Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Staying Strong

Summary: Sequel to 'Rendered Weak' (No cheating; if you haven't read that one, go read it before reading this one!). It's been a year and life's good for Deidara and Sasori. But something's nagging at them and their friends – someone's about to betray them all. No one knows that it's going to save their lives though. SasoXDei; TobiXZetsu

A/N: I am a fast little bitch, aren't I? Mwahaha...

1: Deidara

I sighed and put my head on my desk. It's been a year and four months since Sasori and I officially started dating – we had decided not to count the time before our break-up, so technically, we've been together for a year and two months. We're all in our last year of high school (except Pein and Konan who graduated last year) and it's going to be over in a matter of weeks. My life has been pretty hectic – our gang has been in a few more gang wars; Sasori and I have been balancing each other, our best friends – Zetsu and Tobi (who are also dating each other); school; our other friends; and our families. Though all of it may seem like a lot, with a little effort, I've made my life quite easy and I still have time to sit back and take a few minutes to relax.

The thing is, I'm really not taking my life for granted anymore. Last year, I almost died. Thanks to Sasori – who got me to the hospital – and my mom, I'm fine except for a few scars. Last year isn't a year I like to remember. While I admit there were more good times than bad, like when my sister Ino kissed her crush and then when Sasori and I got lost in a city when we were supposed to be fighting in a gang war, there were the bad times too; like the gang war for starters, and then when Ino experienced her first break-up (luckily, she and her boyfriend got past it and are still dating). This year has promised to be just as fun. So far, Tobi and Zetsu have almost broken-up; Sasori's been trying to teach me how to make puppets and I've been showing him how I make my clay creatures; Itachi and Kisame are in a post-break-up state; and everyone's worried about where we're going to go for college.

I lifted my head as the teacher wrapped up her lesson and seconds later, the bell rang. I gathered my stuff and hurried to my locker. I've only got about four weeks left of school and all the teachers have been trying to get as much as they can into their reviews for SAT testing in two weeks. I've been slowly cleaning out my locker so I won't have to worry about it on the last day of school, but every time I take something out, I always put something back in – like now, as I shoved books into my locker, I pulled out a few notes, shoved them into my backpack and replaced them with six new notes. I wasn't looking forward to the last two weeks of school where everyone would be testing and cleaning classrooms and lockers and getting ready to close the school down for the summer. What I was looking forward to was summer itself. Sasori and I were going to be spending more time with each other and that was the best thing summer could offer.

"Are you almost ready to go?" Sasori asked, appearing by my locker suddenly. He grinned when I leaned around the door to see him. I smiled at him and then went back to replacing books in my locker and backpack.

"Almost but not quite ready, yeah," I answered, glancing at the back of my locker. I was still sad about the empty space in the back. The hook on the back was where I had originally put a puppet that Sasori had made that I'd stolen from him. But I'd lost the puppet when I broke up with Sasori. I'd gone back weeks after we'd gotten back together to find it, but was disappointed when I couldn't locate it. I'd searched all over the area, hoping that maybe someone had just kicked it or something. I still haven't found it – even though I go back frequently to look for it. I didn't want to ask for a new puppet because it wouldn't hold the same value. Besides, what was the point of hanging a puppet on the back of my locker for four weeks anyway?

I closed my locker door and Sasori and I left the building. Zetsu and Tobi were waiting by the curb in Zetsu's car. Zetsu and Sasori had passed their driving tests last year and had gotten their licenses, but Tobi and I kept botching ours and couldn't pass. Sasori and I climbed into the car, buckled up (like good little seventeen year olds) and Zetsu headed out of the parking lot.

"So are you doing anything interesting tonight?" Zetsu asked in his best casual tone – which meant that he had something exciting to say.

"All I have to do is homework, yeah. Oh! But I do have to go get something for Ino because her birthday's on Wednesday," I told him, reminding myself of the birthday at the same time.

"I have a little homework, but other than that, nothing really. And Deidara? Guess what? I remembered your little sister's birthday and I've already gotten her something. Don't get her a journal because that's what I got her…" Sasori muttered, sounding upset that he couldn't think of anything better.

"Don't worry. I've already got an idea of what to get her, yeah," I assured him mockingly.

"Well since you're not busy…" Zetsu interrupted and Tobi giggled. "Do you guys want to go to the movies with us tonight? We're going to go see the one that came out yesterday."

"The horror?" Deidara asked, sounding uncertain.

"That's the one. We decided that we need a good scare," Zetsu said, smiling wickedly.

"Didn't get enough on Halloween?" Sasori asked him, grinning at him when he scowled. "I thought I did a pretty good job at scaring you."

"It didn't scare me, it startled me," Zetsu told him matter-of-factly.

"And that's why you had nightmares for a month," Sasori concluded, looking down at his hands distractedly with a smirk on his face. "As for the movie, I'm all for it."

Tobi turned around in his seat to look at me. "Do you think you could make some time for your bestest friend?" he asked teasingly.

"Sure…I mean, Ino's present is easy to get to and the store's not very far from my house, yeah. And as for homework? I only have a small assignment, yeah. Besides, I need a few nightmares to liven my sleep!" I grinned as I said that. I'd been oversleeping for the past week and I thought that taking a few hours away from my sleep time would be a good idea.

"Okay…You're weird, Deidara-senpai…" Tobi told me as he turned back around in his seat.

"I know," I replied simply and looked out the window. Last week, you'd never believe it, Tobi and Zetsu had almost broken up. It was over a simple book, but it had been Zetsu's favorite that he'd lent to Tobi and my scatter-brained friend lost it. Of course, he'd found it – just in time to save their relationship – but it kept nagging at me. If something that simple could drive them that far apart, what would happen when they were faced with worse circumstances? I knew that it wasn't really my place to worry for them, but they didn't seem to think of this and that made me worry more.

Zetsu stopped at my house, handing me a ticket for the movie, and I went up to my house. It wasn't unusual for my house to be empty when I got home. Ino was still at school, my mom was either at work or grocery shopping and my dad was currently on a business trip. I'd gotten used to him being away for weeks – sometimes even months – at a time; though when he was home, I'd always spend as much time with him as I could. He'd left last week so I knew he'd be home next week. I opened my door and went upstairs to my room. In five minutes, I was out of my school uniform, in a more comfortable outfit and sitting at my desk doing homework. I glanced at the ticket to check how much time I had then started.

Zetsu didn't waste any time getting to my house at five. And Tobi didn't waste any time talking about what we were going to do when the movie ended. My mom was used to me staying out late now that Zetsu and Sasori both had their licenses (of course, I have my limits – 10:00 on school nights and whenever on weekends). Tonight wasn't a weekend though, so I only had so much time to get out and enjoy myself. But sometimes when I was with my friends, it felt like hours when it was only minutes, which was annoying at times.

"Hey, Deidara-senpai?" Tobi suddenly asked after he, Zetsu and Sasori finished an animated conversation about some couple in school that seemed to be the hot spot in the gossip world. "What are you doing this weekend?"

"I'm stuck hosting Ino's birthday party, yeah. I can't believe she's turning fourteen," I told him. Every time I remembered her birthday, I felt like I'd forgotten a few years. Back before I'd met Sasori and all of his friends/gang members, I'd only known Tobi, Kakashi and my gang. Tobi had been so important for a few years and then I'd met Kakashi who turned everything I'd thought was love into an obsession. I'd been addicted to him, I swear. I couldn't remember once while I was with him where I thought about my family for a second. The only time I came remotely close was when I had to go to the hospital and my mom had been my doctor. I hadn't thought about Ino and it made me wonder how many birthdays I'd forgotten (at most, probably two, but it feels like more). So suddenly she's fourteen and I feel like I've missed two or three years of my life.

"What's the theme?" Sasori asked, snapping me back into reality.

"No idea yet. As long as she's not going to make me dress up as a clown or a princess, I'm good, yeah," I told him with a scowl as he started teasing me about being a princess. It was taking some getting used to still – Sasori, I mean. Tobi and I had always joked around and stuff, but Sasori and his friends took joking to a higher level; they didn't just joke, they basically teasingly put you down. It was a change that I was still getting used to, although, I could be pretty cruel with my teasing as well.

"Hey, dumb-asses. We're here," Zetsu snapped with an annoyed smile. He was probably on the verge of shifting. See, Zetsu had two sides to him – literally. He had his black side and his white side and they mirrored the emotions he usually had when he shifted. I wasn't really fond of his black side, which could be very vicious and violent, so I slipped out of my seat and trotted after him and Tobi, Sasori trailing after me, smiling mockingly.

The next day was dark and gloomy. The sky was blanketed with bruise looking clouds; the cotton covered sky looked heavy with rain. When I got up and saw the threatening storm, I beamed. Dark days like this were my favorite kind of days. When I got to school, I managed to keep my optimism all day. By lunch, my friends looked really worried, except Tobi who was also very happy. Zetsu, Sasori, Tobi and I had reserved the only other empty table behind the rest of our gang. Hidan and Kakuzu joined us often – today being one of the days that they decided that they wanted our company.

"Why are you two so happy today?" Hidan snapped irritably. "It's not like it's any special day or anything."

"I know. Stormy days just make me happier than sunny days, yeah," I explained, grinning. Tobi nodded in agreement. "It's something we picked up after our first gang war."

"They went in at night, but the next day – a sunny day – scared them really bad because police were looking for them. So Deidara and Tobi don't really like sunny days anymore. Besides, stormy days are more fun!" Tobi declared cheerfully, earning a groan from Kakuzu.

Sasori shook his head in amazement. "You two are so weird."

"If you think that's weird, you should hear why I hate certain songs now, yeah," I told Sasori, grinning again.

"Pass," he muttered, staring at his food. "Anyway, Deidara, did you have nightmares all night long last night?"

"Hell no," I cried, frowning. "The movie sucked ass, yeah."

"So why were you screaming bloody murderer, Deidara-senpai?" Tobi asked teasingly, his head tilted to the side in that way that meant he was smiling.

"What I'd do to have heard that," Hidan muttered with a serene grin on his face.

"I didn't scream once, yeah! You must have been hearing yourself," I told him defensively.

"I don't get it. You've been in more gang wars than the rest of us, and yet…you get freaked out by a horror movie?" Zetsu asked, looking mystified.

I glared at him. "Well…You guys just ruined my good day, yeah." I messed with my food a little, bored and a little down now. I perked up some, remembering something. "Hey, where are Itachi and Kisame?"

Everyone at my table looked at me for a minute and then at our old table. Sure enough, Itachi and Kisame were missing. "I don't know…" Sasori muttered, sounding a bit worried.

"Itachi said he was going to go to the library during lunch, but I haven't heard anything from Kisame in awhile. He's fighting with Itachi, not me. I don't know why he's ignoring me!" Zetsu said; his voice tight with anger.

"He just likes to get mad at everyone," Sasori told him calmly. "I think this will blow over in about another week."

"We've only got four before summer, yeah," I muttered, frustrated.

"What happened to all that optimism I saw earlier?" Sasori asked teasingly. I knew he was trying to brighten my mood, but it wasn't working very well.

"You burned it, yeah," I moaned but couldn't keep the smile off my lips. "Why do you guys like horror anyway? Don't you get enough of that everyday, yeah?"

"I guess, but I think it's more fun to watch Hollywood horrors. Compared to our lives, they're lives look so fake," Zetsu told me.

"That's because they are fake, Zetsu," Kakuzu said and Zetsu shrugged. At that moment, there was a loud eruption of cheering and everyone looked over at one of the sets of stairs. Kurinai stood there, motionless. "Looks like the almost defeat of Deidara got around the school," muttered Kakuzu.

"Fuck," I growled. The cafeteria quieted as Kurinai walked over to our table and stopped by me. "What?"

She pulled an envelope from her back pocket and extended it to me. "Here. I'm supposed to give it to you."

I took the envelope, examined it briefly and then looked back up at her. "Do you even go to school, yeah?"

"Not usually. Why do you even bother? Jesus, you've turned into a goody-goody. I suppose you've been getting straight A's too?" Kurinai mocked, her hands on her hips and her voice tight.

"Not really. But I highly doubt you want to hear about my grades, yeah. I bet you're more concerned with your new leader and all the members you're having to kill because people keep leaving, right?" I smiled up at her. She wasn't the same as the last time I'd seen her. Her eyes seemed darker and her voice wasn't as light. She looked really tired too. It wasn't an improvement either. She looked more vicious than before and I hadn't thought that possible.

Kurinai growled softly. "Like you have a clue, traitor." She turned on her heels and brusquely walked out of the cafeteria.

"Lovely, isn't she, yeah?" I asked lightly as I examined the envelope again. I didn't recognize the handwriting on the front at first but when I did, I wasn't surprised.

"What's with the letter?" Hidan asked, staring at the envelope in my hands.

I shrugged, shoving it into my backpack. "Probably something I don't care about, yeah," I told them. But I was a little worried. Why would they go through all the trouble of getting a stupid letter to me?

When I got home that afternoon, I went up to my room, closed and locked my door, and sat on my bed with my backpack. I fished around in it until I found the envelope. I sat there for a few minutes, just staring at the white envelope. I didn't want to open it but I knew I had to. I took a few deep breaths and carefully opened the envelope. Inside was a piece of paper that was folded carefully into thirds. I pulled it out and unfolded it, setting the envelope aside. At first, I just stared at it; I didn't read it, just stared at the handwriting. When I finally read it, I felt my heart sink. I read through the letter two more times and then set it aside. I leaned back onto my hands and stared at my ceiling.

The last circle had broken, I knew it had because I'd never been so happy for so long. But something else was starting off of the last circle and it was turning into something that would keep going unless I found a way to stop it. The minutes dragged by and Ino came home. I heard her and her boyfriend, Shikamaru, making something to eat downstairs. I found my MP3, put my headphones on and listened to some music while I thought. An hour passed and Shikamaru left. Ino called up to me to ask if I was okay. I told her I was even if I didn't feel like it. After another hour, my mom was home and I had finally found an answer.

I just didn't like it.

Why do I get stuck with so little options?

A/N: I dunno about you, but I could sit there for two and a half hours. Of course, I'd need music or something, but I could do it. So yeah, it is humanly possible to sit there for two and a half hours.

Fast paced, ne?

Please review.