A/N: This chapter was a pain to write for some reason...ugh...

Many thanks to Asheza and Red Moon Lollipop. Your reviews inspired me to finish. You guys rock.


Chapter 4:

As loud explosions shook the building and a few stray students scurried past him, Deidara wished he had paid more attention to Sasori. Or, more specifically, to Sasori's tour of the school.

The other students knew exactly where to go once he told them. The south side exit, apparently, was mostly unused but well-known. How did that even work?

It didn't matter. What did matter was that while everyone else knew the path to safety, Deidara didn't have a clue.

Heck, he didn't even remember what side of the school he was on. Sasori's bored voice had all but lulled him to sleep. He hadn't thought it would be useful information…and that decision was coming back to thoroughly bite him on the ass.

He wasn't even sure what side of the school he was on anymore.

"Haruko!"

The panicked cry jerked him out of his chaotic thoughts, and Deidara whipped around to see part of the wall crumble above a younger girl. Her friend had run ahead, frozen in shock and horror.

Deidara was closer.

Without thinking, he charged at the girl (Haruko, wasn't it?) slamming into her and sending them skidding across the floor as the wall collapsed above them.

As soon as he was sure they were out of the danger zone, he rolled off her, and pulled Haruko to her feet. She looked dazed. Her friend ran up to them, relief etched on his face.

"Haruko!" He pulled her into a fond embrace, looking up at Deidara from her shoulder. "Thank you so much!"

"It's nothing, un." Deidara muttered, wincing at his sore shoulder. They hadn't completely missed all the debris. That was going to bruise later, he was sure of it. "Just get going, un, it's not safe in here."

Remembering Sasori's instructions he added, "Head to the south side exit, un."

The boy's eyes widened in recognition. "The south side…oh. Oh. Okay, we will. You better head there too. Thank you, again."

With one last grateful glance and a small watery smile from the girl, the two of them disappeared around the corner.

Deidara pushed himself off the wall and started off again, calling out every once in a while. He hadn't meant to save her, really, but it'd been instinctual. It was one thing to hear about bad things, quite another to see them happening right in front of you.

Deidara was a lot of things, but he wasn't the type of person to sit and watch someone get hurt. Besides, now that he thought about it, she looked a bit like Kur—

A sudden thought stuck him, and he slid to a halt.

Kurotsuchi. Akatsuchi. His fellow orphans, the only people who knew him at all. Who didn't know where the south-side exit was.

Deidara swore viciously under his breath, running faster. Those idiots had decided to take the tour of the school the next weekend, which meant they didn't know where anything was, and in the confusion….

He remembered the crumbling wall, and for a moment in his mind's eye, the girl was replaced by Kurotsuchi, as the heavy rock fell upon her.

His blood ran cold. Now that he had realized such a thing could happen, it wouldn't leave him alone. What if they went out the wrong exit? What if they were lost? What if they walked out an open door into a roar of gunfire?

With every possibility his mind came up with, the fear only grew, until all Deidara could think of doing was finding his fellow orphans and making sure the idiots hadn't gotten themselves killed.

And if they were…

Then there would be hell to pay. Deidara would make sure of that.

OoOoO

Itachi scaled down the wall, sliding quietly and softly, making sure to keep his footsteps as quiet as possible. It wouldn't due to be caught by an enemy or even an ally. Especially an ally; they'd make assumptions. Like accuse him of being a traitor. He would rather like to avoid that, really.

He spared a brief moment to think of what Yagura would do if he heard that thought. Probably snicker or roll his eyes, depending on the light-haired boy—err, man's mood.

Yagura wasn't the ideal partner, but Itachi liked him better than anyone else. Yagura was a good fighter and even better tactician, and had a lot of good ideas. Even better, he actually treated Itachi like a person, which was a definite plus.

The only other person would be Shisui, and Itachi wasn't sure if his cousin would be able to stop himself from doing something stupid. At least Yagura knew when to get serious…if his partner let himself fool around at all.

Two people out of more than two hundred or more who knew him at all. It was rather…sad, considering.

Well, Itachi could deal. Two was better than none.

Of course, there used to be…

"W-who the hell are you?"

Ah, Itachi mused as he calmly analyzed this unexpected development. I got careless.

Hmm. He was getting lost in thought more often now. It was habit he would have to break.

For now, however, he had questions to avoid and students to escape from.

Itachi swept his gaze over the first student (boy or girl? It was hard to tell…by the sound of the voice he would guess female), taking in the short black hair and light pink eyes. Odd. The only other person he knew with that same shade of eyes was Yagura. Maybe a distant relative?

New to the city as well. If they weren't they would have recognized him.

It only took him a few seconds to take this all in, and then when it became clear to the student that he wasn't going to answer, she hefted up the long thing metal pipe she was using to threaten him with. Behind her, an overweight boy with a large nose was doing a terrible job of trying to blend into the background.

Itachi mentally sighed. He didn't have time for this.

"Who I am is nothing of importance. Why are you here?"

The girl swallowed. "Does it m-matter?"

"Yes," Itachi deadpanned. Of course it matters. Her school is being attacked, why isn't she with the other students?

"Well, I'm not telling you!"

Had Itachi been anyone else, he would have facepalmed. As it was, he resisted the urge to roll his eyes and instead fixed her with a blank stare.

She didn't shy away from his gaze, just took a deep, fortifying breath and squared her shoulders, gearing up for a fight.

I really don't have time for this.

"Go to the south-side exit," Itachi ordered softly. "It's the one farthest away from the gunfire."

She didn't move an inch, still glaring at him. Behind her, however, the large boy was squirming.

"We…we don't know where that is. It's our first day here."

The girl whipped around, enraged. "Akatsuchi!"

"What?" the boy defended. "We don't! We need help, Kurotsuchi!"

Before the girl could snap back a stinging remark, Itachi forcefully shouldered his way between the two, scooping the girl under his arm and gesturing for the boy to follow him.

"I'll take you," he said flatly, in a no-objections tone. As the girl screeched under his arm and kicked at him, the larger boy just nodded, a grateful smile taking up half his face.

It took all of Itachi's willpower not to stare at him. First the boy cowered behind a girl half his size and now he was smiling at someone who could be a potential enemy? That just wasn't normal.

Deliberately ignoring the weird boy, he sprinted through the building, looking back to make sure he hadn't lost anyone. The large boy was faster than he looked.

Good, Itachi thought. I don't have much time…

If I'm not fast enough, everything's going to go to hell.

OoOoO

If Deidara had been a little lost before, he was just plain lost now. He hadn't even been to this side of the school.

Definitely should have paid more attention to Sasori.

He spun on his heel, trying to remember what class Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi were supposed to be having. Except…

It was lunch, damnit. They could be anywhere.

Deidara swore under his breath, turning around and running back the way he had come. How the hell was he supposed to find them if he didn't even have a clue where they might be?

"Hey kid, what are you doing?"

Deidara turned, hands automatically reaching for his belt before he caught himself. He stared at the speaker intently, then blinked and drew himself upright, hands falling loosely to his side.

"Kid, un?" he repeated, eyeing the odd child before him. "I'm probably about ten years older than you, kid."

The gray-haired child bristled in irritation, and then visibly calmed himself. "Every, single, time," he muttered, before pinning Deidara with a glare. "My age is of no concern. What is, is why you are here. Are you selectively deaf or just amazingly stupid? Your school is under attack, and you're heading straight for the attackers."

Deidara hissed through his teeth in frustration. "I can't, un. My…comrades are somewhere in the school, un, and I have to find them."

"Comrades?" the boy repeated, then waved a hand dismissively. "No wait, never mind. How do you know your…comrades are still in the building?"

Deidara scowled at the floor and said nothing.

"You don't," the strange boy concluded. "Geez, you really are an idiot. Do you really think your comrades will appreciate you running into the line of fire? They're probably waiting for you at the other side of the school. South side exit, was it? Go there."

For such a small kid, Deidara mused; he sure demanded a lot of respect. Heck, if it weren't for his appearance Deidara would have taken him for an adult.

Out loud, he said, "I'm new. Don't know and don't remember where that exit is, un."

The boy sighed loudly. "Figures. Fine, I'll lead you there….but under one condition."

Deidara wasn't quite willing to give up his search just yet, but had to admit the boy had a point. "Alright, let's hear it, un."

"Don't ever mention this to anyone," the boy said. "I have a reputation to uphold."

What kind of reputation would a kid like you have anyways? Deidara thought, but wisely kept his mouth shut and nodded his agreement.

As the kid led him back to safety, Deidara wondered what he'd do if Akatsuchi and Kurotsuchi weren't at the exit.

Well. That was a stupid question.

He'd go right back in to look for them.

OoOoO

Haru has logged on.

Michi has logged on.

Haru: You lead an army of idiots.

Michi: Hello, Haru. It's nice to hear from you. If you want to complain, do so to Akarui. He's the leader. Also, by your standards, you are implying the Hana and Tsuki are also idiots, which last I checked they are not.

Haru: Oh, hello. Hana is okay, but Tsuki is either suicidal, reckless, or both. Same goes for you, actually.

Michi: I'm assuming that means you're adding me onto your list of idiots.

Haru: Don't worry, you're pretty low on the list. The only reason you're there at all is because you get kind of freaky when you lose your temper. And seriously, what is it with you guys and avoiding the subject?

Michi: Fine. Why, Haru, do you believe I lead an army of idiots?

Haru: Because Aki is either dead or ignoring us, Tsuki hasn't replied back since he interrupted a conversation between Aki and I, and no one knows where Umi is. Oh, and Eimei is apparently in 'leader mode' according to Nintai. This scares me, because last time that happened, he almost got impaled.

Michi: This is… worse than I thought it would be.

Haru: No kidding.

Haru: So what are we going to do?

Michi: What do you want me to do? As you said, no one knows where Umi is, and I don't even want to know what the others are doing. Also, we're still running the shop. If we close down now we'll only draw suspicion to us.

Haru: Still…

Michi: I know you don't like this, but be patient. If anyone gets injured, they'll need you to patch them up again. Keep calm.

Haru: I know, I know. But what if someone dies? What if I can't save them? What then?

Michi: Then we'll deal with it. Dying is a fact of life, Haru. No one can stop it. It's the ending to this endless cycle of pain.

Haru: That doesn't even make sense, damnit.

Michi: Peace has a price, especially when those searching for it go against the ones starting wars.

Haru: …I guess you're right.

Michi: I'm glad you think so. I have to go, we have a customer. Keep an eye out.

Haru: I will.

Michi has logged off.

Haru has logged off.

Chatroom is empty.


A/N: Another chapter down, many more to go. Deidara just keeps getting into trouble...and this isn't even the worst of it.

The school attack will be resolved in either the next chapter or the one after that. Then all the big reveals start happening.

Yay, more Itachi. And I really hope I'm getting Yagura down right...

If you see any mistakes, please tell me! I'm always looking to improve.

Codename: Translation

Aki: Autumn/Fall

Umi: Ocean/sea

Tsuki: Moon

Akarui: Bright

Michi: Path

Hana: Flower

Haru: Spring

Eimei: Wise, bright, clear-sighted

Nintai: Patience, endurance

Any more guesses for the chatroom? Also, just because I'm curious, what do you think will happen next?

Reviews are always appreciated!

~Dreamer