The village was set on fire. Houses burned to the ground, collapsing, taking its inhabitants with it. Deidara could hear his parents screaming among the villagers, begging for mercy, for an end to the brutal suffering. In the distance he could see his twin looking at him from the burning house, her eyes accepting of her fate, her death. She watched him with her sad blue eyes. There was no accusation, no hatred. Just acceptance. He tried to move through the fire, to reach her. But it was no use. He coughed as the smoke got thicker and clouded his eyes. He looked up to try to find her, but she was gone. The house was gone. All of it, destroyed by the fire…

"Desari!" He cried "Desari! Desar-"

"Deidara!"

Deidara awoke to Sasori shaking him, calling his name. Sasori shook the blonde a moment longer, then sighed and sat on the bed.

"You dreamed of her again, didn't you?" The redhead asked.

"Yeah, un."

Sasori sighed and went to fill a glass with water from a nearby pitcher. He had grown used to these nightmares, as they have been happening for two years now. Recently, they became more frequent causing both Deidara and Sasori to get very little sleep. Not something they needed when they had so many missions lately.

"Here. Drink this." Sasori handed Deidara the glass then sat beside him. Deidara thanked him and stared at his glass.

"She would have been seventeen by now. Probably even married. She was always so beautiful and sweet-natured. She would never hurt a soul, human or otherwise. And she had such a way with nature! I used to envy her ability to move the earth and water." Tears filled his eyes as he laughed. "She used to complain that she couldn't make clay explode. She'd sit there and pout even as I got in trouble for blowing something up…I miss her." The last was barely audible, but Sasori heard him anyway. It killed him to see his best friend and partner hurting for the loss of his sister. He patted Deidara on the back and took back the untouched water. Deidara laid back down on the bed and softly cried himself to sleep.

Sasori watched his partner for a minute before returning to his own bed.


"Where is Deidara?" Pein looked at Sasori in annoyance. He had a mission to deliver and he hated to be kept waiting.

Sasori was unapologetic as he answered, "I didn't wake him. He needs more sleep and would not be useful in his current state."

Pein looked Sasori over as he digested this bit of news.

"Nightmare again?" He knew all about Desari, as he was God and knew all.

"Every night for two weeks now." Sasori replied, concerned for his friend.

Pein nodded and turned to the remainder of the group. "This mission is a simple one. I have been watching the movements of a powerful female nin who deals in fire and earth. She has recently been spotted at a nearby village. The mission is to find her and recruit her into the Akatsuki." Pein looked around the group. "She will not be given the option to refuse. Kisame, Zetsu and Tobi will be taking this assignment."

"Yay! Tobi is a good boy!" The orange masked kid screamed.

"Tobi will you quit saying that!" Kisame, a blue skinned man resembling a fish complained. "Why do I have to get paired up with them? Can't someone else deal with them?"

"No." was Pein's quick reply. "This girl can obviously control the elements-" Sasori perked up at this. "-therefore with your water jutsus you can match her skills. She is still young and has not fully mastered her abilities-"

"How old do you think she is?"

Pein glared at Sasori, annoyed at being interrupted. "Her age is not important, only her ability to fight."

"But," Sasori insisted "would you say she is in her mid to late teens?"

Pein looked at Sasori, ready to commit murder. "Sure."

Sasori's eyes lit up even more at the possibilities. What if she was…? Should he tell Deidara? He mentally shook his head. No. It's better not to get his hopes up.

As the others left to complete the assignment, Sasori slipped on his sandals and headed to the village.


Desari was ready to leave the village. Her appearance here was drawing too much unwanted attention. Apparently the people here knew of her brother, the legendary Akatsuki member, Deidara. Some have mistaken her for her brother and begged her not to blow them up. She shook her head at their theatrics. While she may look like him, she and her brother had very little in common. He enjoyed art that was fleeting in nature. She enjoyed art that lasted. He liked to blow things up. She liked to revive that which was broken. He destroyed. She created. Yet together, they were a team, perfectly complementing each other.

She sighed. It has been seven years since she last saw her brother. All she knew of him, she learned from others these last two years. She wondered if he thought about her. If he cared whether or not she survived the village fire. She shook her head. Of course he cares. You are his baby sister. It wouldn't be fair to doubt him.

"We finally meet."

"Huh?" Desari turned around to see three strangers making a semi circle around her. Immediately she went on guard. "What do you want?"

"You will come with us to the Akatsuki base as our newest member." The blue guy – the one who first spoke – answered.

"…And if I refused?"

"Refusal is not an option. We will use force to bring you back." Desari looked at the new speaker. He had two-toned skin, a Venus flytrap encasing his head and a… split personality?

"You may try." Desari prepared for battle as the blue guy attacked first, summoning his water element to attack her. She laughed at the weak attack and sent the water back at her opponent as ice. The plant guy attacked next, melding into the earth to hide his location. Child's play. Desari searched the earth to find him and sent a burst of fire in that direction. She was rewarded with the sound of his screeches as he reappeared and ran to Kisame for water to put out the fire.

Desari smirked at the easy victory, and turned to face the remaining opponent. To her surprise, the boy lifted his mask to reveal bright red eyes, and then she was trapped in another world.

Less than a minute later, she fell to her knees, tears pouring from her eyes. Exhausted from the torture she just endured, not knowing if it was even real, she summoned her last bit of energy and swallowed herself up in the earth to a new destination.