Eternity in an Hour

If ignorance was bliss, Ino was in Hell, and the impact of the fall from paradise had all but cost her her life. Exhausted, unarmed, and cornered, Ino was painfully aware now of just how screwed she was. Pay attention to detail. It was one of the fundamentals of shinobihood Ino had been taught in the academy. If she would have done that all along, she might have been able to avoid being caught off guard. She couldn't believe it, the signs had always been there, right under her nose. How had she missed so many clues for so long? Angry at herself, Ino rammed a fist into the packed dirt she crouched on. The dirt continued existing painlessly, and Ino felt provoked by its indifference to her rage. Her fingers were already curling in preparation to strike again.

"Save your energy, yeah."

Furious sky blue eyes met with a calm ice blue one. Ino smoldered. She always knew that some way, somehow, she'd die because of a man. She'd never thought it'd be because of an Akatsuki though. Blame it on naivety.

A month ago, when Ino had first caught wind of the news that Akatsuki had been spotted in Konoha territory she'd had only the thought that it would be cool to watch the fight between Akatsuki and AnBu, with a sense of worry only for possible lives lost. When she'd spotted one herself one day and engaged him in combat, she'd been nervous, and thought he would escape. She was right. After only a few seconds of fighting, the criminal suddenly looked at her strangely and retreated. Confused, she had pursued him, to no avail. Ino remembered, she reported in to the Hokage feeling shamed and useless, no matter that she was just a Chuunin and likely wouldn't have survived had the Akatsuki not fled. To her pleseant surprise though, Tsunade-sama put her on the pursuit team, thinking to use whatever perceived 'fear' the criminal had for Yamanakas against him since all other shinobi who'd encountered him had perished.

Redemption!

In spite of realistic reasoning about her skills, Ino felt it just might be her chance to prove herself and be recommended for promotion to Jounin. Looking back at that time, the situation was very ironic.

The second encounter Ino had with the Akatsuki was two weeks after the first, and that was when she realized for the second time in her life just how vast a difference there was between Chuunin and S-Class. Her entire team was annihilated, save for her. As the intruder eyed her once more while she lay bloody and battered but alive, he apparently saw hostage potential and kidnapped her. She fought for her life, tried everything she knew but her kekkei genkai. A very real fear of death had sunken in and Ino was shocked by just how afraid she was. After three days of his dragging her along in his escape, terror made Ino crack, and against her teachings in the academy of what to do when captured, Ino used her Shintenshin. And that was when the proverbial shit hit the fan.

She knew it was unwise to use her technique on an enemy she knew little about, nervermind how ridiculously powerful he was. What she saw, heard, and felt was so overpowering and jumbled, not to mention horrifying (this guy was sick!) that Ino suspected at least a day had passed when she came to, lying awkwardly on the packed soil of a cave's floor. The first thing she'd done was involuntarily scream from the after-images running through her mind like a slideshow. A quick slap snapped her out of it. Aching and suddenly feeling more docile, Ino took mental note of what little she did have. She was alive. Her clothes were still on. And if she calculated the few days they'd been on the run correctly, they were somewhere in Grass country, not that far from Konoha. Those were the good facts. The bad fact was that she still had no idea as to why he'd singled her out and kidnapped her. And that answer would be a vital part of her survival. So she asked; afterall she didn't have much to lose.

"What do you want?"

The man -- boy? Now that she got a good look at him, he couldn't have been more than five years her senior -- looked at her with an expression akin to annoyance and pity.

"You're a rude one, yeah. No 'Thanks for sparing my life, Akatsuki-san!' or nothing. Konoha-jins, hmm."

He slouched against the inner wall of the cave across from her looking positively nonchalant, as if Ino were no threat at all. It pissed her off, but she suppressed the emotion, it would get her nowhere in this situation. Damn blonde. If it weren't for his baritone timbre, he could easily pass as female. Ino shifted, carefully moving her limbs to get more comfortable -- she'd seen his fighting style and she wouldn't be the least bit surprised if the cave were boobytrapped with explosives. She tried to level with him since she really had no other choice, from what she'd seen in his mind, he was twisted, clever, and physically superior in every way. If she was going to make it out of this alive, it would only be because he permitted it so, which meant she needed to at least pretend to cooperate. Cue her kunoichi training. Accounting for the situation, she could either be a good little hostage and do as told or try for seduction. Seeing as he reminded her of a younger version of her father, Ino went for the former. Still, her voice radiated distrust and resentment.

"Excuse me. Thanks for sparing my life Akatsuki-san. Is there a reason I'm not dead yet?"

"Why? You wanna be, hmm?"

He shot right back at her cynicism with some of his own. Ino tensed.

"Just figured I ought to know why. Just because you haven't killed me doesn't mean you're not going to later. Don't wanna get my hopes too high."

She drew her knees to her chest and rested her chin on her forearm. Her kidnapper grunted and rolled his eye.

"I aint gonna kill you. Ought to know that from that little stunt you pulled, yeah."

Ino was quiet, eyeing him for a minute while she thought back on what she'd seen when she invaded his mind. Explosions, bloodshed, some beautiful scenery from places he'd been, and a woman with blonde hair. She hadn't seen much really. Ino doubted she held the Shintenshin no Justu for more than fourty seconds. It was mostly faded visions speeding by, though if she focused she could still feel a tiny wave of euphoria attached to his old battle memories lingering. Sicko. Though he probably didn't know how much she'd seen, or that the stolen memories faded very quickly. To tell him she hadn't yet perfected her justu would put him in an even bigger position of power, but then again, she was already defenseless. What difference did it make?

"It didn't work right. I've got nothing. Do what you will, it doesn't matter."

He looked at her then with that same emotion he had in his eyes the first two times she saw him. Silence sat between them.

"You just don't care about your life at all, do you Deidara? Fighting at school, running away, joining the military! Do what you will, it doesn't matter."

Deidara swallowed non-existant spit.

"Just like her.."

He trailed off. As a shinobi, there was next to nothing Deidara found creepy, but that just caught him off guard and weirded him out. Ino raised an eyebrow. Just like who? What was that supposed to mean? She searched her thoughts for a clue to the riddle. And found it. When she had taken over his mind, she had seen a thought of a blonde woman. Was he talking about her? Was he keeping her alive because she was blonde? Because maybe, in some tiny way, she resembled someone he once knew? It was her only clue, might as well follow it.

"Her? The blonde chick?"

Startled, Deidara looked her square in the eyes but said nothing. Ino pressed on, damn if she was going to let her only lead go cold.

"She an ex-girlfriend or something? Do I look like her, is that why you spared me?"

Her stomache quietly begged for food and they both ignored the quiet rumbling. The corner of Deidara's mouth turned down and his face seemed to become more serious. His voice was matter-of-fact.

"You really are ignorant, yeah. It's a damn shame. Konoha-jins, hmm."

Now Ino's temper was starting to get the best of her.

"What the hell does being from Konoha have to do with being ignorant!"

Easy way to piss Ino off? Talk shit about her village. Deidara paused.

"Hmm, you're right. It's Hi no Kuni's fault you're ignorant, not Konohagakure's."

Ino fought the urge to do something very stupid and, instead, retaliated verbally with inspiration from his hitae-ate. It was childish, but it made her feel a little bit better to try and defend her country, even if only in words.

"Ignorant? If Iwagakure's ninjas are so smart, how come you lost the war, huh?"

Cheap shot, but all it got from Deidara was a frown.

"Beause of a damn traitor, that's why. At least we know our own origins, yeah. Yamanaka."

Ino actually gasped. How did he know her name? True, she'd used her Shintenshin which might've become recognizable from her dad's adventures, but the old Ino-Shika-Chou never used their real names on missions, they always had codenames. No one outside the village that knew Inoichi's name ever lived. Ino was getting scared, and a small voice in her head reminded her to get back to the original topic. She took one breath. Then another to calm herself. Be nice, Ino. Be patient, stay focused.

"The woman. If she wasn't your girlfriend, who was she?"

Deidara made a short 'tsk' sound with his teeth.

"She was your aunt."

Silence. An ant could have sneezed and they would have heard it. Did......did he just say what she thought he said? Ino broke out in laughter. This guy was crazier than she'd thought!

"Funny! Good one, really. Don't have any aunts. I come from a small clan."

"It's bigger than you think."

Ino stopped laughing. Was he serious? Seriously serious? No way! But missing-nins knew confidential information, didn't they? It wasn't funny anymore. Should she bother asking? What if it was just a trick? But then why would a cat trick a mouse when it could just eat it?

"How much bigger?"

The words came slowly, carefully. Deidara didn't bat an eye.

"Hmm. I assume you're the only kid, there weren't any other blondes in your squad, so it's probably just you and your parents, right? Then just one more. Me."

Ino stared.

"You? But you just said---"

"Your aunt. My mom. She died a few years back."

Ino did a double take, putting her palms on the ground and pushing her chest against her knees to lean in. Ice blue eyes. Oval face. Pale blonde hair past his shoulders. Although she'd already noticed he looked like her dad in some aspects, she noted now that he also looked a bit like her. Not quite like twins, but definitely passable as an older brother.

The inspection was mutual. His eyes took in the sight of healthy pink skin, cherubic lips, a petite body and modest shape. Just like his mom looked when he was little. If her hair were wavy and a bit shorter she'd be a dead ringer for Isaki Yamanaka. Ino sat back for a minute, speechless. The moment passed and she was bursting with questions.

"Ww-wait! Hold on. How do you know that it's me who's your cousin...and not Naruto? That's why you were in Konoha, wasn't it? Wouldn't he be the Yamanaka you're looking for?"

Deidara sighed, this was going to be a long conversation and he wasn't sure how much time they had.

"Hey, I was never looking for you. And it's you, not him. He doesn't have the jutsu. He's from Iwa, yeah, but he's not a Yamanaka."

Ino's brain froze.

"Naruto is from Iwagakure?"

Deidara shifted.

"You really know nothing. How many blondes do you know, hmm? Not many, I bet. Everyone with blonde hair and blue eyes came from Iwa. And the only native bloodline in Konoha is the Sharingan."

"How do you--?"

"Itachi."

Ino let it sink in. Her mom was brunette, so that left herself, her dad, Naruto, and Tsunade as the only blondes in Konoha. She had always wondered why her hair color was so rare. All of them from Iwagakure. Ino was confused.

"But Tsunade-sama's the Shodaime's granddaughter. Her family's always been here."

"Her eyes aren't blue, are they hmm? An' she's got a mother, don't she? Konoha-jins! Always ignoring the other side of the family, yeah."

"Don't you think 'always' is assuming too much?"

"Pssh, no. What about the Hyuugas and the Uchihas, huh? Feud been going on for forever, yeah."

Ino's eyes widened.

"Itachi told you that?"

Did Akatsuki really chat that much when they weren't chasing Jinchuuriki?

"No. Was in Konoha for four weeks, yeah. Think I came for the food?"

Ino thought.

"What does that have to do with ignoring family?"

"The two used to be one, is what I heard. Branched off."

Her head swam. Sharingan and Byakugan were the only kekkei genkai in Konoha that were doujutsu, she guessed it was possible. And if Neji and Sasuke looked nothing alike and were distantly related, she guessed she and he really could be cousins. Which reminded her.

"So....does this mean you have it too? The Shintenshin?"

Deidara stretched out his arms, fingers curling and uncurling to make the popping sound of knuckles cracking. As they uncurled, the mouths yawned and Ino stared in a kind of grusome fascination once she realized what they were.

"Nah. I take after my dad, yeah."

After staring a little longer, Ino asked her next question.

"So why didn't your mom come to Konoha with my dad?"

"It was wartime, yeah. There was him, her, dad, and me. Got seperated. Dad didn't make it. She couldn't go looking for her brother with a noisy little kid with her, yeah. Certain death. He was a grown man, yeah. Could fend for himself."

"So my dad's a refugee? Wow..."

It made so much sense now. Why her dad had no pictures of his childhood; why he never talked about it. Why Shikaku and Chouza were his only friends. Why they were the smallest clan in Konoha except for Sasuke and Naruto. Perfect sense. It was quiet again in the longest stretch of silence since Ino had regained consciousness. She decided now was a good time to ask the million dollar question.

"You didn't kill me because...?"

Deidara's eyes briefly scanned Ino's form and he nodded slightly, as if confirming something in his head.

"I recognized you. You're family. I might've done some terrible shit, yeah, but I could never pull an Itachi."

Ino looked at Deidara as if seeing him for the first time all over again and had newly-born appreciation.

"Thank you, I guess."

Deidara huffed and looked away.

"Don't thank me yet. AnBu's on our tail, yeah. You're compromised since we're related. That makes you a missing-nin. Can't ever go back."

Ino felt all the air go out of her lungs. Good feelings gone, old panic feeling back.

"But! But I didn't even know you before! I was raised here!"

She was almost yelling from surprise, her hands gesturing at her sides as she spoke.

"That's what makes you a liability, yeah. You know everything about the area and their systems."

"But I would never..."

Deidara grunted.

"You're associated with Akatsuki now. By blood. Don't think they don't know your family's history. They'll sooner kill you than take you back now."

Ino looked crestfallen. Deidara drew a deep breath.

"I wasn't thinking. If I'd left you alone, you'd never know; they wouldn't be after you too. Selfish, yeah. Should've left well enough alone."

She studied him in his ragged cloak, faded shoes, torn pants. The scarred rough hands, tired body, and lone eye that seemed to have already seen everything. And suddenly Ino understood. He was lonely, being the last one of their family and an S-Class criminal, constantly on the run. The emotion she had seen in his eye when he found her was hope.

"So you told her?"

A third voice cut into the silence and Deidara was instantly on his toes. Ino knew that voice anywhere.

"Daddy!"

Her father approached from around the corner leading to the cave's entrance, stopping just a few feet away. Ino ran to hug him; for a minute there she thought she'd never see him again. Inoichi stared at Deidara, who stood completely still and stared back. Then Inoichi smiled and spoke again.

"You got tall for a little squirt, Deidara. Thought you'd come around one day. Always thought that you'd be a merchant or something though."

Deidara returned the smile with a small one of his own.

"Mom wasn't too happy about it."

"I bet not if her temper's still what it used to be. How is she?"

Deidara gave a look, which Inoichi understood immediately.

"Ah, that's why."

Deidara nodded. Inoichi paused, turning to glance behind himself. Deidara followed his gaze.

"Won't be long now."

Inoichi muttered to himself, releasing Ino from the hug and looking down at her seriously.

"You know you can't go back now."

"I know."

"You've got to run, Pumpkin."

"Dad...!"

"Your mother will be fine, she doesn't know anything, but you've got to get as far away from Konoha as possible."

"....aren't you coming?"

It was an obvious question with an obvious answer. As a shinobi, she knew what her father would do. But as a daughter, she hoped she was wrong, and needed to hear him say it.

"I'll hold them as long as I can."

He wasn't coming. And he wasn't going back either. In shinobi terms, that always meant someone was making a kamikaze move. He would die stalling to buy them time. Ino wanted to cry, being mature really sucked just about now and she hugged her father again, tighter this time. Inoichi eyed the cave entrance again and Deidara stepped closer to the two.

"The bombs I set up around the perimeter will give you a three minute warning before they breach the area."

Inoichi smiled.

"Less. It took me one minute to disarm one, but they won't waste time disarming. You two better get moving."

He released his daughter again and took a good look at her.

"Go."

Obligingly, Ino stepped away from him to stand by Deidara. Taking his hand in hers, she dropped it in shock and a little bit of repulsion. She'd forgotten about his hands. Deidara smirked as she held his wrist instead.

"I've got a lot to learn, huh?"

"Plenty, yeah."

And together, they were off.

To see a world in a grain of sand

and heaven in a wild flower

hold infinity in the palm of your hand

and eternity in an hour

-- William Blake

(A/N): Totally unbeta'd. Pretty much a real rough draft that I'll revise if I have time later, I just really wanted to put it up and get some reactions. Obviously inspired by the poem at the end. Japanese terms can mostly be looked up though I think it's understandable without having to do that. Written in like 2 hours on paper when I was supposed to be working, lol. My second crack at a non-romantic pairing, after my Neji/Hina fic, I wanted to do a second family-based one. This is set in Shippuden, post-Asuma but pre-Tobi, so obviously Deidara doesn't die in my world. Secondary influences/inspiration for the fic came from Dei and Ino looking alike and the idea of "What if all blondes came from Iwagakure?" and random queries about Yondaime. Review please!