Note: Hey. Zero here. Sorry for making you read it all over again, but, as it was originally, I wasn't completely comfortable with where the story was going. I think this fits what I had in mind better than the original version.

Disclaimer: Masashi Kishimoto has and always will own Naruto. I own all OCs.

Prologue: The Magician

Deidara's POV

It was so quiet I could hear myself think, not that I was thinking of much other than food and stopping to rest. "How much further?" Now, I'm not one for whining, but, truth be told, I've never walked so far in my life. "Not long. But don't relax just yet; the new recruit is rumored to be very powerful." "Oh, give it a rest! We're more than a match for anything that comes our way." The conversation ended when we came upon the small building that, according to our sources, housed the person that we had been searching for.

I'm an extreme fighter, which is why they came for me in the first place, but I was in no way prepared for what happened next. One moment, we were gazing at the house, and the next, my partner and I discovered ourselves in a darkened room. I was, to say the least, surprised, and I must have looked quite a sight, groping around in the darkness, screaming challenges and profanity at our unseen assailant. "Show yourself!" There was a sound, like laughter, except it was coming from all directions, echoing inside my head. "The wise attacker waits patiently until their opponent's defenses are dropped." I felt her cool hand on my forehead, there was a sound like cannonfire, and I knew no more.

Do you know that feeling where you're awake, but you don't truly realize what's going on? That was how I felt when I came to. It was the middle of the night, and we were lying in a clearing. Me and Sasori, and Kenshiin, the new member, that is. I can't recall when or how she joined, but she had said that she was partnered with us until the leader could locate Raidon. I knew her, but, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't recall even the smallest detail about her. The voice in my head told me that something was wrong, but neither myself nor Sasori could place what it was.

It was a strange trip, traveling back to base with Kenshiin. Even having seemingly known her for quite a while, I had never truly seen her face. Although, I didn't see much of it here, in broad daylight. Rain or shine, she always wears a long black scarf. It winds around her neck, hiding the lower part of her face, and is scuffed at the edges, where it trails at her ankles. It's kind of hard to distinguish it against her dark cloak. One of the very first things that I did notice, though, was her hair. It was long, about mid-way down her back, and very… strange. It was a peculiar faded silvery-black, with a distinct metallic quality, like the sky just before the dawn. Something that took me quite a while longer to figure out was why she wore beads. There they were, bright silver beads, woven into her long hair. I eventually came to the conclusion that they were for decoration, to make it look like the night sky. Then I asked, and got a very different answer. It turns out, those beads count how many people she's killed; she adds a bead each time. That revelation left me standing at least five feet from her; I trailed behind Sasori the whole way back.

"Mission accomplished?" I snapped my gaze up to meet that of our leader, and replied hastily, "Y-Yes, Leader-sama.", although I had no idea what mission we were sent on in the first place. The others were already there, normally we would have been punished for being late, but we were supposedly sent on an important mission. "Which tailed beast is it?" I asked. "Three." Several members answered, as if that fact had been common knowledge.

Kenshin's POV

I was accepted into the Akatsuki a couple days ago, although they don't know that. Against my wishes, I was assigned a partner. Just so I don't forget who he is, I'll write down a description in here, my journal. His name is Raidon, and he has black eyes and neon green, spiked hair. He wears a black bandana over his brow, and carries two large swords. Heh! More like meat cleavers. The strangest thing is that the entire left side of his body is molded of pure steel. He doesn't talk much, and even then, only in rhyme, so I think we might just get along. Barely. He was assigned the Four Tails, and I the Seven. At the moment, we are on the trail of the Four Tails, simply because it was the first one we found any information on. As we walk, I pull out several scorched pages from a deep pocket inside my brand new cloak, which is black, and marked with red clouds. The papers are many years old, and start to crumble at the touch of my fingertips. One of them I kept just because, and the other to remind myself of what I truly deserve. They are beginning to fall apart, so I will write them again here. The first page reads:

"I love him. I love everything about him. I love the way he looks at me. I love his smile; that toothy grin always cheers me up. I love his eyes, so mysterious and alluring. So dangerous. So… Purple. I love how he gets fighting mad when something doesn't turn out right; the look on his face is absolutely priceless. I love the way his eyebrows furrow when he can't figure out the homework for school, and he starts cussing at the paper. I love how he never forgets my birthday, when I can never remember it myself. And, last but not least, I love the way he loves me."

Sounds awful romantic, doesn't it? Sometimes, I wonder. What does it feel like to be loved? I can't remember. Anyway, the other letter is from much later. And it's not nearly as happy as the last one:

"Now, he loved pleasure. I knew that. So it came as no surprise when, on many occasions, I would find him in bed with another woman. I kept thinking, hoping, that his intentions were pure, so I never really minded. Then one day, our already-strained relationship snapped. Just like that. I'll replay it all here, painful as it may be. And I'll keep rewriting it as long as I live, so I can never forget what I did. The details will get worse as time goes on, but the general idea will still be there. It's already been a few days since I left him, so they're already kind of off. I'm surprised I can still remember. Come to think of it, my mind has never been able to retain a memory for so long; they normally only last for hours at a time. If I catch them at all, which very rarely happens. Anyway, before what's left of that memory fades, I need to write.

'I got home, late as usual. My excuse? Lost my way. I've either gotten lost or forgotten where the house is so many times, I've had to tattoo it on my hand to remind me. Planning on getting some well-needed sleep, I headed to the bedroom. I knocked on the door, and waited a moment. There was a muffled "Come in", and I entered. He hastily wrapped a towel around his waist, and staggered over to greet me. I'm not the most observant person, but even I could tell that he was drunk. He brought his broad arms around my shoulders, and planted a sloppy kiss on my lips. Ugh. I could taste the whiskey. I heard a low moan, and broke away. Facing the bed, I watched as the lump in the sheets squirmed, revealing a very disheveled Aoi. Her pastel blue hair was strewn about her face, and her crystal eyes of the same color were half-lidded, clouded with whiskey. Right in that moment, seeing that my best friend of ten years had slept with my fiancé, something inside of me snapped.

I was there in a flash, my hand wrapped around Aoi's slim throat. I dug my fingernails into her pale skin, letting the crimson blood flow freely over my knuckles. I can't even recall how long I stood there, ignoring her pleas. Suddenly, I was brought back to my senses when my hands were pried from her lifeless throat. The rage in my eyes cleared, and my fiance's tear-stained face swam into view. As he shouted at me, I struggled to understand the words tumbling out of his mouth. "You never minded before! Aoi's dead! You killed her!" He jabbed his thumb at the corpse on the floor. My eyes followed, and I unconsciously smirked. "Oh, sober now, are you?" I struggled in his iron grip. "Didn't you realize?! I loved you! I really did!! But now, you can rot in hell, for all I care!!" I was screaming then, my voice harsh and worn. Clawing at his arms to get away, I left blood smears on his skin. He finally released me, and I bolted for the door, hitting the lock on my way out. I stopped only at the threshold between our home and the outside world. I knew that, if I stepped out now, I could never come back. Without another thought, I left, leaving behind my home, my 'true love', my 'best friend', and everything that had once been dear to me.'"

The wet smudges on this paper are not tears. We are simply walking through a vicious downpour. I haven't cried-not even once-since that day, but even if I had, the tears would be gone before I even knew they were there. Now that I have this paper to remind me, those painful memories will haunt me for as long as I live. And I deserve it.

Translation Notes:

-Kenshin= sword heart

-Raidon= thunder god, thunder and lightning

-Aoi= blue, hollyhock

Note: I know this chapter seems a little angsty, but the rest will be adventure, I promise. By the way, in the first half of this chapter, Deidara's and Sasori's memories were messed with. Hint, hint.