The atmosphere in the room had been tense the last few days. They couldn't get a second bed, though they could get an extra blanket and several pillows. The pillows were put between them while they slept, it was Miko's idea honestly. They went out to do their own thing; both gathering information and relaying; they tried their best to remain civil to one both knew they fucked up; but Miko wasn't willing to own up to it now. It definitely drove Deidara insane.

"I'm going out again, don't bother ordering food for me." He muttered as he pulled his shoes on, "I'll be back late if anything, hm." He redid his transformation; knowing it would be suspicious if he went out not looking the same as he came in.

There was a small hum of acknowledgement and a nod, she had heard him but couldn't bring herself to be more vocal than that. She had been going over some of the mission details; who they were meeting, what time and what they information should be receiving.

Deidara sucked his teeth before leaving, maybe the cold would help clear his mind out. He gave a semi friendly hello to the receptionist as he walked out the front doors. It was strange, the snow never ended however it never piled up too high. Was it always promptly removed by days end or did it just melt fast enough to keep a consistent height? Who knew.

It was bright out at least, the sun finally breaking through the grey clouds; though it was still snowed no matter what. From the last two days, Deidara had managed to map out a good chunk of the village, his clay bird giving perfect camouflage by the clouds. If anyone was going to get an up to date map of the village; the Akatsuki would.


It was midday when Deidara returned, Miko was still sitting in the same spot, now with what Deidara would assume was spicy soba. He recalled her mentioning that it was a favorite food of hers and that many places didn't carry it. She had her main bowl with the hot broth then two side containers with extra noodles to her immediate left.

"I need to ask you something." Deidara sat across from her, keeping a meter between them, "A few days ago I asked you why you left your village, you never answered. Why did you leave, hm?"

Miko raised a brow at him, lowering the bowl of steaming soba from her face. Her chopsticks were stained red from the amount of spice that was added to the broth. "Why does it matter? I've denounced this village since I left." she didn't break eye contact with him as she lifted a large portion of soba to her lips.

"No one just up and leaves for no reason. People just don't decide to abandon a place they call home without a reason, hm."

"I don't want to talk about it. It's not important and not vital to the mission." She shrugged, nearly inhaling the noodles, "My reasons are my own and no one has to know."

"If it's any consolation, I was forced into this. I was pretty happy where I was in my life. I made art and whatnot but eventually I stole a scroll that gave me my extra mouths to infuse my clay with my chakra. Apparently it was a terrible thing though it made me a bigger force to be reckoned with, hm."

Miko obviously wasn't too keen on spilling her past, however talking like this was probably better than ignoring the other, "Fine." she finished off her bowl, setting it off to the side. "My entire life was a lie; my upbringing, my 'parents', the love I had for this frozen prison land, everything." She leaned back against the wall, her lips pursed for a moment before closing her eyes, "I was only born to seal away a beast; it's not like the any of the Jinchuriki, but just a monster that terrorized the nation since the second Great Shinobi war. My name is ironic; it's an old name for priestess; but I was no priestess, I was a demon in disguise. I was raised by two jounin masquerading as my parents, they treated me as if I was theirs; probably why I didn't kill them."

It was different seeing her face void of emotion as she spoke, Deidara knew she was pretty expressive when she spoke, even when upset. "I'm assuming you were lonely like most of the Jinchuriki then?" He was definitely getting more than he was anticipating.

"No, I had plenty of friends. Mina, Kyoya, Eiji, loads of them. I wasn't barred from not socializing. The Yukigakure knew that isolating a host from civilians was a bad idea, have you seen the mistakes the other nations made? One mistake and and you had another Gaara but with snow and ice." She ended it all as she added more soba to the now cooled spicy broth, returning to eating, "Why are you asking anyways? It's not like it matters. Both our leaders already know, but I guess its not open knowledge."

"I heard some kids playing and one of them used what was your old nickname. So in exchange for some information; I gave them art." Deidara shrugged, "Don't give me that look, non-explosive, I'm not going to blow up innocent kids for no reason."

"Hmph." Miko looked away from him as she finished her food, easily drinking the broth in the bowl, "We're meeting with our contact at midnight. We set out in two hours when it starts to get dark. It'll take four hours by bird to get there."

"Are we going to use my clay bird to get there?"

"For the majority of the trip yes, there's a mountain range and its dangerous to fly through it. Once we hit those mountains, we travel by foot which leaves us two miles out." She had a faint smile as she got up, "I also stole something for us to use while we're here." Miko went towards the closet, "Chakra armor. Wear it over the new clothes, it boosts jutsu strength and provides extra cushioning when doing taijutsu."

He looked between her and the light colored armor in her hands, "How did you not get caught?" It was very interesting to say. It was tough but flexible at the same time, it looked pretty straightforward to put on; chest and back pieces, upper arms, lower legs and gloves. Deidara was going to forego the gloves of course due to the need to have access to his palm mouths.

"I made ANBU before I defected, wasn't the best but infiltration was my best field." She pulled out a second set, "Those of us in the snow have special technology to help us fight in the snow. It wears you down and being exposed for too long will have irreversible effects." Miko tucked her armor under her arm, walking towards the bathroom, "I suggest you start getting ready."

Deidara sighed before nodding, "Are the extra clothes in the scroll too?" He got his answer as she tossed a scroll towards him, "Thanks I guess, hm." he muttered as he opened the scroll, releasing the seal. A set of off white and pale blue snow shinobi clothes were now neatly laid before him, they were more form fitting than he was expecting but he couldn't complain. Miko had really planned out this mission with them both in mind.

The clothes themselves were made from a very thick fabric, more than likely for compression and to keep warmth in. The armor wasn't too hard to figure out once Deidara saw where the pieces locked into place. If anything at the moment, he could easily pass as a Snow shinobi with all preparations that were made.

"God, its like a bad dream being back in these clothes." Miko had her hair pulled back into a bun, her clothes were similar to Deidara's, the only difference was it came with a half skirt that went over her left hip. "We'll have the upper hand if this ends up being a ruse." she fiddled with her collar, making a face at the feel of it.

A faint nod left Deidara, "I thought the clothes for this village was supposed to be bulkier. Why is it more form fitting now?"

"Special jounin clothes, heavy duty without being heavy. I snagged them also when I stole the armor. It'll help us blend when we are flying and in the mountains. I, for one, am glad that they don't feel so bulky." She sat back down in her original spot, "the person we are meeting used to be apart of the old council, pretty shitty person since he was bribed a lot and caused a lot of the further towns to fall into disarray. His name is Fūmo Shiyuko. He lead the coup that took out Princess Koyuki and reinstated the Daimyo rule."

"So someone on the inside wants to bring down the current Daimyo then, seems like this land is constantly at war with itself, hm"

"You have no idea, it's kill or be killed or freeze; the cold doesn't discriminate. I've seen some of the leaders let the smaller villages within the land freeze and die, either it starts now or it starts when our leader united the land under his rule." She frowned, "I plan to change that once our goal is achieved. What about you? After the Akatsuki reaches its goal, what's there for you?"

Deidara never thought about it, he honestly assumed as a shinobi he'd die you; it was more common that he'd like to think, "Travel the world I suppose besides making my art known. Probably beat Uchiha and get the recognition I deserve, hm."

There was a faint nod from Miko, pondering her future after the Akatsuki. What would she do afterwards.


Miko wasn't wrong when they would need the stolen clothes, the terrain was absolutely terrible to travel through for Deidara. He was grateful for the chakra armor since it was a great insulator. He hadn't detonated his clay bird, instead he had it on standby just incase. The walk to their destination took just over an hour to reach; Deidara couldn't tell where they were going but Miko did. She didn't tell him why she knew, but he didn't question it. However he did have questions when they came across a demolished village; though he had a feeling from the other's forlorn expression that she had history here.

"We have company Deidara, get another bird ready just in case if a fight breaks out."

"Already on it, I can tell that the snow is just ready to cause an avalanche."

They both kept their relaxed postures, though their guards were on high alert; times like this they both wished they were sensory types. Once the presence was getting closer, Miko pulled a mask over her lower face, her eyes narrowing at the figure.

"Ah, dear friends! I take it that you are of the Akatsuki yes? I hope you like the clothes, they are yours to keep." A man warmly welcomed, he looked vaguely familiar to Deidara but he couldn't pinpoint from where. He had dark grey hair, ash blue eyes and small blue markings under his eyes. "I am Fumo Shiyuko."

"We know who you are." Miko's voice killed any pleasantries, "Give us what you promised and you have our promise to get rid of the Daimyo as requested." it was obvious that she did not like this man in the slightest.

"Now, now, it's only courtesy to introduce yourself back." Fumo kept his positive tone, though under it laid an underlying bite.

"Maiko, my associate is Deidara." She wasn't going to give him the right of her real name, "Scroll now." she took several steps forward, holding her gloved hand out.

Fumo wasn't having any of the attitude she was giving, "How then, how about we go into the nearby village and have tea before discussing further, I'm sure we have lots to catch up on, dear Maiko ." the way he said her fake name made her on edge.

Deidara and Miko exchanged looks before nodding, Deidara was quick to speak up, "We are on a very strict schedule. We will be in contact again but for now, we need the scroll to take to our leader, hm."

The smile on Fumo's face immediately dropped to a scowl at Deidara's insistence now, without hesitation he put his hand in the air before closing his fist; this was an ambush.

"In the air now Deidara!"


There was a clear skill different between the snow shinobi and the Akatsuki duo; Deidara and Miko were obviously better than the now dead or dying bodies littering the floor. The duo weren't without their own scrapes and bruises however. Miko had lost one of her sleeves and half of her leg armor, blood smeared on her cheek and a split lip. Deidara was still high in the air; he was holding his side as he had a ice shuriken slice into his side, enemy blood smeared across his chest and in his hair, and an ice kunai slowly melting in his thigh.

Fumo was had seen better days, it was just him verses Miko now; she told Deidara to keep out of it.

"Don't you think you should have him help you out, it's obvious that you've gotten soft." Fumo sneered, he knew he had little to no chance surviving, but he wasn't going down alone. He had a broken wrist, bleeding heavily from his thighs and an array of stab and slice wounds across his body and what remained on his armor. Despite the broken wrist, he managed to still weave hand signs; he wasn't going down without taking one of them with him.

Immediately Miko recognized the hand signs and and began to move back onto the defensive

Ice Style! Lightning Ice Shard!

It was too late, before she knew it, a spear like ice shard tore through her side, blindsiding her. There weren't many things she couldn't dodge while in the snow, however this one jutsu was a ice-lightning hybrid and even with her reflexes she couldn't dodge it. It had happened so fast as she collapsed to her knees, her hands pressed to her side.

With another flurry of hand signs, Fumo sneered maniacally, "If I'm going down, I'm taking you with me!"

Ice Style! Avalanche Devastation!

The ground shook violently, soon there was a steadily growing rumble from the mountain not too far from them; soon a monsterous avalanche was heading straight towards the two on the ground. Miko forced herself to her feet and began running; Deidara was hot on her trail on his bird to grab her before the snow got to her. Fumo had been taken over by the snow; having no qualms with dying in such a way as the bodies on the ground were covered as well.

"Reach out to me!" Deidara called out, his bird dangerously low as he held his hand out to Miko to grab, "Give me your hand, hm!"

The snow was gaining on Miko fast, the hole in her side making it hard to keep up with the speed she needed. She desperately reached up to grab his hand; however right as she was within reach, the snow caught up and overtook her.

Deidara had to pull up away from the moving snow, obviously distraught that he couldn't grab onto her hand. She was right there and he couldn't grab onto her; he felt hallow as he waited for the snow to stop, he was going to find her even if it was going to kill him; he wasn't going to lose another partner.

.-.-.-.

"Hey, Deidara, think there's an afterlife?" Miko held her hands out to the fire in front of her. She'd removed her soaked cloak and had it propped up on a makeshift stand near the fire, hoping it would dry by morning.

It was pouring outside, they were held up deep inside of a cave; originally it wasn't too bad with their wide brimmed hats but then the wind picked up and lightning stroke the ground not even three meters ahead of them. Deidara had spotted a cave not too far from them and they booked it. By a stroke of luck, whoever was in the cave previously had left a pile of dry wood; more than likely leftovers.

He raised a brow at her before shrugging, "Not really the religious type honestly. If there is an afterlife, it won't be pleasant for any shinobi I can safely say, hm." Deidara's cloak was next to Miko's, not wanting to wear it since it was just as soaked. It was weird having someone trying to make small talk, though it was definitely appreciated.

It had been just over a month since Sasori had died and his leader insisted they were to be paired up, seeing that they could counter their weaknesses; he was a mid to long range while she was close to mid range. They didn't mix too well in the beginning; she was originally too quiet for his liking, but he found out she was wary of most new people. It took him saving her from a vortex of fire for her to fully trust him.

Deidara's answer made Miko go quiet, contemplating what she should say next, "I hope reincarnation is real honestly, maybe I'll come back born into a better village. You could be reborn and find out that people started truly appreciating your art." She laughed at the last part.

Amusement danced in Deidara's eyes, the visible one at least, "Are you saying that people don't appreciate it now? I think that might count as an insult." He did his best to hold back a grin, "What art do you think is best then, hm?"

"Something that is permanent but at the same time can change over time. Life is like that; you know? We're only here for short periods of time but the decisions we make now can feel like they are permanent but it can change the course of the future." It was strangely insightful even for Miko, "My home village nothing changes, I hated it but here, on the mainland, everything changes and that's what I think its artistic."

It was weird, Deidara could see himself somewhat agreeing with what she said, though he would never admit to it, "Wrong, fleeting art is the best. Here for a moment then gone the next, hm."

"Hey! Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, you can't just say my views are wrong." Another laugh left her lips, shaking her head as she let her hands fall, "There is no right or wrong art."

Deidara could see their partnership working out very well, he was looking towards them sticking together for the long run.


Deidara felt his hands going numb as he continued to dig for Miko, it wouldn't take long before he would lose her to the snowy depths. "You can't die out here! Not like this!" He yelled, his face burned and he realized his fingertips were slowly turning blue the further he dug. Soon his freezing hands reached a body; he immediately pulled them out. "Thank god-." It was Miko, who was unconscious but at least breathing.

He noticed that she wasn't bleeding anymore but there was red ice where the wound was, so herself healing had kicked in at least. She felt unnaturally cold as he cradled her body to his and rushed back to his bird to head back to the main village; luckily if he rushed, he could get them back to the inn before the receptionist would be in by morning.

There was just silence and the wind for the longest time, he could see the dim lights of the town. The quiet was slowly killing him inside.

"Dei...?" Miko's voice croaked, disoriented from being hit by the snow and some blood loss, "Should of left me..."

Deidara sucked his teeth before rolling his eyes, "And be without a partner again? Fat chance, save your strength you moron and stop talking, hm." His arms tightened around her protectively.

She didn't say anything for a while after, instead she let her head rest in the crook of his neck, "Sorry about fighting with you, I was just angry... I really like you, a lot. I want to be your partner again, it was loads of fun." a tired smile graced Miko's face.

"Didn't I say shut up? You really don't like to listen, hm."

A faint laugh left her lips, "Hey, I just realized you have really pretty eyes Dei, and your hair is nice too.. A lot of things about you is... nice..." She drifted off, falling silent once more as sleep took her.

Deidara didn't know if the redness was from her words or the icy wind whipping against his cheeks, either way right now it wasn't important as they got closer to town. There were just a handful of people out, mostly drunkards so it was unlikely that anyone would notice two bloodied shinobi rushing up into a room; luckily for them, no one did.

He wasn't too worried about himself but the ice on Miko's side was starting to melt and leave a dripping mess. Deidara laid her down before going through her scrolls for medical supplies; knowing she was prepared for anything. It took a few minutes to find what he needed; releasing the seal to get disinfectant and bandages. Deidara knew he wasn't the best with patch jobs but he did his best as he cleaned cleaned then wrapped her midsection; tearing open her shirt to get to her stomach. Once he was done with her, he started working on himself; letting out faint grunts.

It was sunrise after he was finished; now sitting against the wall as he waited for Miko to wake up. They still had two days before needing to report back to Pein, though it wouldn't be good news to him. Granted it gave more incentive to not return to the Yukigakure any time soon due to the fake informant.

"Deidara...?" Miko groaned faintly, squinting slightly as she looked around the room. It was now midday, the sunlight from the window waking her.

He looked over at her, giving a silent sigh of relief, "You should really stop making things hard for me. I can't afford to explain to our leader that I lost another partner." he tried to keep a joking tone but it faltered at the end, "You...You really scared me for a moment there, hm."

Miko slowly sat up, hissing faintly as she held her side, "we're... back at the inn... You shouldn't have saved me, you could have been miles and miles away from here-" She was downright confused on why he stuck to saving her, he could be at the mainland at this point.

"I couldn't; not with how I feel about you." Deidara hesitated before moving over to help her sit up, "I almost gave myself frostbite from it. Out of all the Akatsuki, I'd save you no matter what, hm."

"You ignored your own aesthetic, isn't art fleeting; just like life?" A weak smile formed on her face, leaning back against him, "You could have finally gotten rid of me. What gives?" Miko leaned her head back against his shoulder.

Deidara made a face before looking away, "True art is fleeting, however, there are a few things that I would prefer not to be gone in an instant." He didn't like admitting that there were something's he didn't want his views to reflect on.

From the corner of her eye, Miko swore she saw his cheeks flush, she couldn't help but laugh faintly. Her eyes closed as she relaxed against him. "Hey... I'm sorry for going off on you, it wasn't right. I was angry and scared, the last three months not working with you put me in a bad headspace, I was having fun. I felt ali-"

A pair a firm lips pressed to her own cut her off, catching Miko off guard before she returned it at full force. Within seconds, she'd forced her body to turn and face him, moving a hand up to rest against his cheek. Deidara's arm went from supporting her to holding her as close as physically possible. It wasn't long before they pulled away; their foreheads pressed together as they looked the other in the eye.

"You.. have really pretty eyes-." Miko said softly, unsure of what to say.

Deidara bit back a laugh, "You've told me. How about we pretend the last three months didn't happen and start all over again? We can both agree that we were sort of jerks, hm."

"I'd like that a lot..." Miko gave him a faint grin. She pulled herself from him, wincing as she brought herself to a sitting position, sitting up as straight as she could as she looked him in the eye, "I really like you Deidara, more than a friend of partner should."

"Hmm, I don't know if I feel the same," He hummed, holding his chin in pseudo-deep though.

" Hey! "

He laughed as he pressed their foreheads together, "I like you too, just as much or more even, hm."

"Outta kick your butt for that-" she reached up to twirl a lock of his hair between her fingers, "You absolute terror."

"I'd like to see you try, hm." He grinned, tugging her back in for another kiss.