Author's Note: Heartsy, here! This is important! Itachi is going to be older as well because Deidara has to be younger. Itachi, at the moment, is 21. I'm so sorry about the age changing, but it won't really make a difference. Deidara and Itachi are the only ages I'm changing. Right now, Deidara is 19 and Itachi is 21. Sorry. I'm hoping to update every week! That's my goal! Hope you enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Naruto! Only Emiko and the idea are mine!

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Thoughts

Eight years later…

Emiko's POV

The gentle wind brushes through my short, dirty-blonde hair. It feels the same as it did when I was in my natural form: the Juubi. Unconsciously, I narrow my eyes. I had been so miserable. At the time it wasn't that bad because I had known it all my life. Anyone that saw me tried to kill me or control me except…

A small smile pushes itself onto my face. Everyone except Deidara, my chichi. He helped me out of that hell. He gave me a chance to communicate and be loved. These eight years have been my entire world! For once, I haven't been treated like an unwanted beast!

Lying back in the grass, I feel at peace. The waterfall crashing into the lake just past my bare feet fills the warm air with cool refreshing mist. Surrounding me is a grassy jungle of flowers, about three feet high. My special spot is exactly where I lay. I've cut the grass down to a couple inches to allow a comfy bed right by the water and under the sun.

Sitting up, I crawl to the edge of the water and stare at my reflection. My hair is just about shoulder length, but gradually gets shorter towards the back. My eyes are the same sparkling blue as the lake. Smiling, I look at my pointed canines, my sabers. It's nice having something familiar.

The clothes I'm wearing still feel extremely bizarre. I know it has been eight years of wearing clothes, but for much longer I was in beast form not wearing any human apparel. As of now, I'm wearing my favorite, but still awkward-feeling outfit. It consists of orange shorts that reach mid-thigh, an orange half shirt falling off one shoulder, a sky blue cami underneath, and sky blue converse with orange laces. Orange is similar, but brighter and a lot more fun than my Juubi fur, while blue is the color of the sky that's always been above my head.

Picking up a flat rock, I skip it across the lake. The water distorts, making my reflection a blur. The blur expands as someone walks up behind me. Jumping to my feet, I twirl around to wrap the visitor in a hug. I smile warmly and shriek, "Chichi! I missed you!"

He smiles down at me, looking through the blonde bangs covering his left eye. The sunlight reflects off of his Iwa headband, making it impossible to look at him. Quietly, he admits, "I missed you, too. Now, how about we sit down, un?"

Nuzzling my head further into his waist, I comply. I plop down, taking Chichi with me. We tumble to the ground in a heap. I start to giggle at his now disheveled hair. All I get in return is an amused look and light shove towards the water. Peaking at my reflection, I wildly attempt to fix my unruly hair. Now sticking up every which way, my hair simply refuses to cooperate. Pouting, I glare at a laughing Chichi. I hiss, "Oh, shush."

Stifling his laughter, he teases, "I'm so sorry, un. It's just so feline! You look adorable, un."

Continuing my glare, I stand. I throw my hand out to Chichi. "Let's head home. I want to see some of your art!"

That gets his attention. Chichi jumps to his feet with a large smile on his face. Prideful, he states, "My art can never be beat, un! I can thank you for that! It's finally complete thanks to what you gave me eight years ago. Now, with the mouths on my hands, I can mold my clay with Explosion Release, un. Art is a bang!"

I grab his hand as we head home, not at all disturbed by the mouths. Smirking, I mention, "Art is a bang, but it's even better when put to use. Even better than that is when it gets back at the disgraces that are those humans from Iwa. How dare they chase you out and call you a rogue for saving their idiotic butts? Had you not come around, I'd still be killing them to protect myself! Now, due to their idiocy, I still want them dead!"

Chichi laughs quietly as he pats my head. He swings our arms as we talk. Amused, he reminds me, "Emiko, un. You're a human, too. Just call them people because when you say 'humans' it sounds like you aren't, un. Don't glare at me. You are a person, just like everyone else, un."

Rolling my eyes, I detest his opinion. I'm not a human! I'm just in human form. I refuse to be considered one of them. Chichi is the only decent person out there.

I come back to Earth when Chichi clears his throat. He nods his head to our small home. It's a traditional, one floor house with a main sitting room, small kitchen and two bedrooms. Wow, we got home fast.

Together, we walk into our house. Chichi sits on the floor, pulling out his explosive clay. Sitting next to him, I ask, "Can you make me a bird? One prettier than I've ever seen?"

Smirking, he brags, "Anything I make will be more amazing than anything you will ever see, un. Art is a bang!"

Suddenly, I can feel dark presences near the house. I do not like the feeling of their chakra. A deep, annoyed voice pierces the air, "Brat. Art is eternal beauty that's left long into the future. Explosions aren't art."

Three cloaked figures walk into the open room. The one that spoke is hunched over, a mask covering his nose and mouth. An immense wooden tail emerges from his cloak: a black, ankle length cloak with red clouds. The other men are wearing the same cloak. One is blue with gills, towers over the other two, has dark blue hair spiked to a point, plus his teeth are as sharp as a shark's. The last one is a raven, probably in his early twenties, whose eyes are red with three black tomoe.

Slowly, Chichi stands, while forming the clay bird. He growls, "Who are you, un?"

The raven responds, "Akatsuki."

He doesn't waste any words. Akatsuki? What's that and who are they? I don't like this. Plus, what's with his eyes? I haven't seen them before. It must be a kekkei genkai from a different village, the leaf judging from his headband. One way or another, they definitely aren't the rinnegan the Sage of Six Paths had, I'll never forget those eyes.

"Akatsuki? What the hell's that, un," Chichi asks before adding, "Get lost! I'm trying to take in the art here with my daughter."

The hunched figure grumbles, "Why do I have to get stuck with this brat…and a kid! Don't get me wrong, Itachi, the brat has spunk, but he's definitely going to die on us. Plus, I will kill that kid. One brat is more than enough."

The raven, now known to be Itachi, sighs. He explains, "Leader's orders, Sasori. His abilities will be useful to us…"

Opening his mouth to speak, Chichi gets cut off by the blue shark questioning, "You've been acting as a terrorist and causing damaging explosions. What purpose are you trying to achieve, now that you left your village?"

Chichi scoffs, "Purpose? I don't have one, un. I'm hired to blow things up, and I do just that with my art, un! My sculptures are true art! Though, they start out as models, my art lives and breathes, un!"

Smirking, I stand and pridefully interject, "His art explodes! When it does, that moment is the only time it is true art! Art is an explosion!"

Chichi gives me a loving pat on the head, showing his care and pride. Sasori grumbles to the shark, "They are so annoying, Kisame."

Itachi quickly announces, "I'll fight him. If I win, Deidara, you must join Akatsuki."

Locking eyes with Itachi, Chichi shouts, "DON'T underestimate my art, un!"

Chichi throws the bird at Itachi, making it explode in fiery colors at the yell of 'katsu'. Itachi jumps out of the smoke, only to be encased by an enormous centipede. As he prepares to finish the battle, Chichi challenges, "That all you got, un?"

Itachi stays extremely calm as he instructs, "You'd better take a look at yourself."

Somehow, Chichi is trapped in a centipede of his own. Shocked, he questions "Genjutsu? When…"

Kisame informs, "When you looked into Itachi-san's sharingan you were trapped."

The centipedes recede, leaving the two free to move. Chichi shakes from fury. He feels weak, but I don't understand why. He lost, but only because Itachi started the fight before it even started. Itachi calmly declares, "You lose."

Through clenched teeth, Chichi grounds out, "Fine. Wait for me outside. I'll be out in a minute."

The three Akatsuki members leave momentarily. Looking up at him, I can see the hate in his eyes. I whisper, "If it helps, that was definitely the most beautiful bird I've ever seen. I'll go grab my clothes and weapons so we can leave. Then I'll burn the rest to keep us from being tracked."

As I turn to get my possessions, Chichi halts me with a hand on my shoulder. He look at me with sad eyes before apologizing, "Emiko, un. I'm so sorry, but you can't come. I recognized two of them from the bingo book I had as a Jounin of Iwa. They are S-ranked missing-nin. Whether you come or stay is too dangerous. I'm going to take you to Konoha. The village is very peaceful, so I'd be comfortable leaving you there."

Taken aback by his decision, I stutter, "B-but…I'm the…you-know-what! I-I can hold my own, but I can't be on my own! I need you! You're the only human, I mean person, I trust! I'll never last with an entire village of people I can't trust. Please! Please, don't do this to me!"

Tears form in my eyes, blurring my vision. I know tears show weakness, but I can't stop the flow. I can't be on my own. I need him. I've never had someone special in my life until now, and that's my weakness. Once I actually have someone, I can't be without them. I don't want to be alone again!

Chichi brushes my tears away with his thumb before pulling me into a hug. He comforts, "Emiko, un. You'll be fine. I promise. There will be people you can trust. If you ever need me, I'll come running. This is where you need to be strong. I can't let you come somewhere full of S-ranked criminals that have already threatened to kill you. I want you to be safe, even if that means being away from you."

Pulling away, I nod my head in understanding. I wipe my tears and look up at Chichi's sad smile. Smiling brightly, I go to my room to grab whatever I want to take with me. He just wants me to be safe. I know how much he cares about me. I'll be strong…for him.

Author's Note: HOPE YOU LIKED IT! To put a super huge smile on my face, click that cute little review button there! Until next chapter (hopefully next week)!

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