Chapter One: Running Away


My breathing was barely irregular as I ran into an alley on the right side of the street.

Putting my hands together in a hand-sign, the words 'Otohenge no jutsu,' filtered through my mind. A haunting tune sounded quietly around me, the music visibly swirling around me like softly glowing, white strings. My body was obscured from view for several moments before the tune came to a slow halt. When the soft light disappeared my body was completely different from before. The figure I saw reflected in a puddle I stood over was a male with cropped copper hair, broad shoulders and toned muscles.

I shifted my stance as I ran, easily adjusting to the higher centre of gravity and longer, thicker limbs. I fit into the henge as if it were a well-tailored suit—even my chakra was highly attuned to this form due to its excessive use. The illusion wouldn't break unless I let it, or if my chakra levels were dangerously low.

Cautiously, I took off running again, but near the end of the alley I ran into another shinobi. Literally. My now significantly larger body crashed into his and we collapsed in a heap of limbs upon the ground. Wondering why in Yomi-no-kuni I hadn't just taken to the rooftops instead of a back alley, I quickly jumped into a loose fighting stance, but he only laughed.

"S-sorry 'bout tha'." His words came out slurred and I noted that he was drunk. I rolled my eyes and took off. If he wasn't going to expose me there was no reason to attack him, which reminded me why I was avoiding the rooftops.

I was being hunted.

I sped up when I realised I was nearing the main entrance to the base. Well, technically, for someone who was trying to escape, it was the exit. Silly me, it wasn't a quiet escape attempt. My arrogance is why I was running so quickly and in a disguise even though I desperately wanted everyone to know I was ditching this damned place.

Sprinting, I remembered the actions that had put me in this situation. To get everyone's attention, I stole a fucktonne of money from my family's household and then set off a dozen fire-crackers in front of the houses of every shinobi residence I could think of.

Of course, when I reached the gate I realised—just a tad too late—that leaving the village in a henge form that I use more often than any other, wasn't one of my brightest ideas. There were more shinobi guarding it than usual.

Also, writing I'm leaving; thanks for nothing, love your dearest Tacit Resonance on a jounin's door wasn't a brilliant plan either.

I jump-kicked the nearest guy in the back of the head. He hit the ground with a thud, alerting the rest of them.

I smirked at the thought of a challenge.


Skip Two Days


Damn it all! Why in Yomi didn't I plan where I'd go after I escaped?

After running non-stop for nearly two days, having no idea where to go, anyone would be angry. My clothes were caked in dried blood and I couldn't begin to guess how much of it was mine. There was a large gash down my left arm from some woman's katana, I'd been stabbed in the my left side with a kunai, my right forearm had a large cut on it from a serrated knife and my face was dyed red from the amount of thin, dammit-where-are-these-branches-coming-from induced cuts.

I wasn't even sure how I was still running. Even with the injuries my legs had sustained and at least three shuriken stuck in my back, I had yet to collapse. I had pulled most of the damn things out earlier but I'd given up so I could concentrate on my feet.

I had killed two of them. Maybe. I definitely injured all of them terribly, especially the bastard who stabbed me. Come to think of it, he might have been one of the shinobi I killed.

It didn't matter.

I slowed to a stop when the sound of running water reached my ears. Further ahead, a gaping gorge stretched before me. A wide river had scarred the land deep; it was at least a hundred meter drop. Weary and curious, I scanned the edge of the river. About half a mile downstream I spotted a large cave.

The flood of relief nearly overwhelmed me. The water made faint splashing noises as I walked along the river's surface. I could feel my strength draining from my limbs with each shaky step; I wouldn't be able to last much longer. I trudged along weakly into the cave, shoulders hunching painfully.

A tired chuckle fell from parched lips at the small good fortune. Since when had I had any sort of luck?

I wanted to check my surroundings, but the action of turning my head made the cave around me spin.

Someone cried out in pain. From my new position on the rocky ground, I realised distantly that it'd been me.

This is the point in the story where the protagonist usually says such melodramatic things as, Is this how it... feels... to die? but all I did was sigh miserably into the dirty face of my new friend, the ground.


Deidara


Someone was coming towards the base. Fast.

And of course, I was the one who was sent to check it out.

Sealing the entrance behind me, I marched over to an alcove and sat with a huff. The shadows at the back of the cave did well to hide me as I waited impatiently for whomever decided they had a death wish.

Fortunately, it wasn't long before a man in bloodstained clothes appeared, walking slowly into the cave. The man laughed weakly before he fell over with a sharp cry.

Standing up, I stepped lightly over to the man and knelt beside him. Whether the excessive amount of blood he sported was from him or his ex-opponents eluded me.

The man rolled onto his back and groaned again as the shuriken in his back were pushed further into his skin.

A few moments passed silently, and if it weren't for the faint, unsteady rise and fall of his chest, I would have thought the man had died.

Which would have been just as well; then I'd get to go back to moulding my clay figures.

Regrettably, his eyes reopened, and I found myself staring into their dark, glazed depths. "Well...aren't you a cutie?" he jeered weakly, a small smirk tugging at split lips.

I scowled at him, at which he merely chuckled breathlessly.

Do I really look that much like a girl? I mused angrily, contemplating shoving a bomb down his throat just to get this annoyingly-slow death over with.

Another deep breath and the man muttered, "Kawaii-kun…"

-kun? my thoughts echoed in bemusement. Not -chan?

He looked up at the ceiling and frowned. "I finally escaped!" he gloated. What a ham. "…I finally escaped, and now, am I going to die? I finally left those bastards... " Another deep sigh. Eyes sliding shut again, he continued, "I never thought I would regret death. I've been wishing for it most of my life, but it never happened…" He laughed, a wretched, self-deprecating sound as he began to pass out. "Wow, Aisu-kun was right, I really have…finally lost..."

Eyebrows pinched, I watched him uncertainly for a few moments as I sorted my thoughts. He was still breathing, faintly, but if I didn't hurry, he really would die.

Well, that wouldn't be very fun.

Decision made, I picked him up gently and brought him inside the base. I walked quickly through the winding hallways toward Leader-sama's room and kicked—in lieu of knocking—at the door once I got there.

"Enter."

I resisted the shudder that threatened to make its way down my spine.

"Leader-sama," I greeted confidently as I sat down in a chair, still holding the injured man bridle-style. I explained what happened and what he'd said—keeping the Kawaii-kun part to myself. Finished, I waited impatiently for him to make a decision. The man was dying

"I see," he replied after several long moments. "Find Sasori to bandage him. When he is able, tell this man to come see me," he explained.

"Leader-sama," I agreed, getting up and stepping out of his office. Crossing the threshold was like weights had been lifted from my shoulders—it was a relief to be away from his presence.

I made it to my room uneventfully and placed the man on the floor, being careful to keep him off his back so the shuriken wouldn't cause any further damage. I retrieved a few thick blankets from the closet, put them on the floor, got a towel from the bathroom to put on top of the blankets so that his clothes and wounds wouldn't ruin them, and finally moved the man onto the blankets. I stared at his ashen face for half a heartbeat before darting off to get Sasori-danna.

I had a feeling things were about to change with this man's arrival.


EDIT (Jan.16.11): I've rearranged a few things, I hope it sounds better now and makes more sense. Not to mention Dei-chan's more in character...

Edit (April.09.14): Deleted first author's message, fixed typos, etc.

Edit, Sept.27.14: Updated things to match future content.