Author's Notes:

Please don't kill me for whatever reasons you might find. I tried my best for this chapter, though I do admit it's a little boring.

Thank you sooooo much for all your help with the bonding scene, Nutbrain. I really appreciate it :) I couldn't have done it without you and your awesome criticism :)

I also posted a pic of Crossdresser!Deidara on my DA, if you want to see it, it's a fully coloured inking, even though it's failed, it's just so that you can picture in your mind how Deidara's hair and clothes are. Just replace the (dot)s in the address by the actual .

www(dot)crazy-about-loz(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/CrossdresserDeidara-for-my-fic-159696975

As usual, thank you soooo much to all the people who bothered reviewing and giving me their opinion. I love you all: Josephin Tonks, Nutbrain, Killergirl01, HarajukuSushi, Skarsgaard, Teenage Neko, .lolcatsrule., Midnight Moonfly and DecepticonDefenestrater :)

//EDIT:// Fixed some grammatical and spelling, as well as some text coherence problems. If you see any more, please don't forget to tell me about them :)

Now please read and enjoy! :D

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"Why are you late, brat?" Danna asked as soon as I reached his side at the bottom of the mountain a couple of minutes after him.

"Some last goodbyes, I guess, un." I shrugged.

"Let's not waste anymore time. We need to get there as soon as possible, since we want you to meet your two teammates and get used to their fighting style a bit before the exam." He informed me as we started jumping across the field, towards the trees.

"Do they know who I am, really, un?" I asked curiously.

"No. We told them you were a kunoichi from Ame who needed partners for the Chuunin exam, and their sensei agreed to let you into their two-man squad." Sasori-Danna explained as we reached the trees, jumping onto the first one, and initiating the tree-hopping part of the travel.

"But they wouldn't believe any of us, un..." I remarked.

"Leader-sama told them." Sasori-Danna answered my silent question. "He's the current leader of Amegakure, and had sent his assistant to look for a two-man squad to integrate you in. Since everyone in Amegakure is loyal to their current leader, they took his assistant's words to heart and quickly found you a team."

"Leader-sama sure is powerful, un..." I commented, shifting my pace nervously to keep up with Danna.

"Yes. Which is why if anyone asks questions about your ties with him, you must never answer. Never ever. Don't even bother lying, because your lying sucks, brat." He muttered tonelessly.

I crossed my arms, insulted. Sure, my lying was bad, but it had saved me a lot of questions a bunch of times before.

"Fine, un." I blew him a raspberry in a very childish manner, almost missing my next step.

"You're still such a child, brat." Sasori-Danna sighed, and I blushed, realizing that he'd somehow seen my last movement.

There was a small silence that pressured me, as I felt like I had to talk, or at least say something coherent.

"Danna, un." I called, making sure I had his attention before wasting my breath. "What's my cover up name anyway, un? Surely I can't just waltz in there calling myself Deidara." I asked.

"Up to you to decide. The entrance forms for the Chuunin exams are going to be handed to you upon entry in the village. You'll have to fill them out right in front of them, and hand it over on the spot."

"You have any suggestions, un?" I asked nervously.

"Use a compound name, so it'll be easier to remember." Danna shrugged carelessly.

"Compound name, un?" I sighed, confused. "How about... Aosora?" I thought over it, then shook my head. "Nah, too weird, un..." I scratched my head in deep thought. "Or... Shiroyuki?" I groaned, shaking my head. "This is hard... Any suggestions, Danna, un?" I pleaded.

"Akahoshi?" Danna muttered half-heartedly.

"No..." I sighed.

"I don't know then."

"How about Akasuna, un?" I joked.

"You can't." Sasori muttered through his teeth.

"Why is that, Danna?" I asked sarcastically.

"Because I won't let a cross-dressing brat take my name." Danna simply answered.

"Thanks, un." I growled. "More suggestions please, un."

"Inazuma."

"No, un."

"Taki."

"Nope."

"Midori."

"Nooo."

"Tatsumaki."

"Dear Kami, no! Could you get even more complicated names for me, un?"

"Screw this, think of something on your own, brat." Danna growled in a warning tone.

"Fine then, un. I don't need your help." I snorted. "How about Tamashii?" I asked myself, then shook my head. "No, sounds weird... How about Hikari, un? Nah, too cliché, no one will buy it." I sighed and scratched the back of my head. "Tsukikage, un?" I laughed at myself. "How the hell do I come up with these names anyway, un?"

"Brat, keep it down, it's nightfall, and we don't want anyone intercepting us." Danna warned from in front of me.

"But I still haven't found a name yet, un!" I protested.

"You have a days' worth of travel until the border to think about it. Now shut up and move faster." He ordered.

"Come on, Danna, I'll be stressing the entire way there if I can't find a name! Please give me some suggestions, un!" I pleaded, jumping with a chakra momentum to land at his side.

"I don't know, you've asked me a million times, and you always refused what I told you!" Danna shooed me away, annoyed.

"One more, I promise it's my last one, un!" I pleaded.

"Leave me alone, brat, and stop screaming like a baby."

"Please Danna!"

"No."

"PLEAAAASE!?"

"Shut up, brat, for goddamn's sake!"

"PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEAAAASE!?" I screamed in a super high-pitched voice, drawing Sasori-Danna to his last line.

"OKAY, OKAY, FINE! Akaiame, how does that sound to you!?" He all but yelled at me.

I shut up and considered the option. Red Rain. Not a bad nickname if I do say so myself. Plus, it contains hints from both my real affiliation and my fake one. It's all fine and all.

"Alright, Akaiame it is, un!" I slowed down to let Danna cool off some of the annoyance he'd built up arguing with me. "THANKS AGAIN, DANNA!"

"BRAT, SCREAM ONE MORE TIME AND I'M GOING TO RIP YOUR HEAD RIGHT OFF OF YOUR SHOULDERS!"

.......................

Travelling with Danna alone is something I'd rather not do again. I mean, he never talks, and never even takes my conversation prompts, so I can never have any conversations while travelling. At least Itachi used to talk to me when we went from Iwa to the hideout for the first time, and also the second time, too. Now, I had to endure an entire silent day until we travelled across the Rain Country and the Hot Springs Country, nearing the Fire Country's borders.

Also, he never stops, even when I tell him I'm tired. Nooo, Danna wants to continue, we'll continue. Deidara wants to stop, we can't, because Danna's always right. Seriously, how unfair.

I was about to ask him once again if we could stop for the night, as it was now pitch black, and I could barely see where I was stepping because of the rain clouds hanging above us, when he suddenly stopped on a branch in front of me. I pushed on my emergency brakes, landing on the branch next to Danna, but my momentum was too big, and I kept going, my feet sliding on the side of the branch.

I realized I was about to fall and opened my mouth in a gasp, when someone grabbed me by my clothes and kept me from falling. I used the opportunity to gather chakra on my feet to stick to the branch.

"Really, you can't even hold yourself straight on a branch. How do you expect to become a Chuunin anyway?" Danna's whispered remark reached my ears, and I crossed my arms indignantly, frowning.

"Excuse me, un. You're the one who decided to push the emergency brakes without telling me." I rolled my eyes, fidgeting so he'd let me go. Getting my message, he let me go, and I calmly walked back up to his side. "So why did we stop anyway, un?"

"The border is close to us. About an hour from here. We'll camp out here tonight so that you can replenish your forces for tomorrow's very probable battle at the border." He ordered, jumping down the tree.

Trying to check how much chakra I had left to sleep in accordance to that, I walked down the tree. By the time I got to the bottom, I could still stand, but my feet hurt.

"We can't light a fire to keep our location a secret, so just eat whatever you have and get to bed. Obviously, you didn't think of bringing a bedroll, so you'll have to deal with the consequences." Danna muttered, sitting down against a tree. "Now get some sleep, we'll be leaving early tomorrow morning."

"Yes Sir, un." I rolled my eyes sarcastically, taking my place next to the tree on which Danna was leaned on.

"And why are you so sticky today?" Danna inquired.

"Hey, in case of attack, you can just wake me up faster this way, un." I grinned, leaning down and putting my head on my bent arm to keep it from touching the ground. "Good night, Danna." I muttered, yawning, then closing my eyes.

There was a brief silence, then Danna shifted from next to me, sighing.

"Good night, brat."

XXXXX...(3rd POV)...XXXXX

Around three in the morning, a light drizzle started dripping on the two Akatsuki members. Sasori's eyes snapped open, and he looked at the dark sky, evaluating the time.

Finding it too soon to get going, he simply sighed.

"Again with Leader-sama's stupid jutsu." He muttered lifelessly, raising his eyes so that the rain could drip off his face. "Hopefully, now that he knows where we are and what we're doing, he'll stop it."

The puppeteer sighed, clutching his Akatsuki cloak tighter around his right arm. This was the kind of weather the puppeteer despised the most.

Not only did it rust the metallic joints of his puppet body, but it froze the parts where his body was still human.

And unfortunately, for now, only his lower body and his left arm were puppets. It'd take him up to eight more years before his entire body became a puppet, especially his head and the area around his heart.

Not even bothering to do much else, the red head puppeteer drew his knees up to his chest. Being a half-puppet, his brain needed less rest and nourishment because of his puppet limbs, and so, he could go for about four days with no rest or nourishment and hydration right now, whilst a normal human would die at the end of two. Once his puppet body was complete, he could go for up to two weeks without anything.

The soft sound of the drizzle coming from above them was all that occupied Sasori's mind for a while, until there was some shifting and whining noises from next to him.

Wondering what the hell was so important that his entire attention would be given to it, he turned his head lightly, his auburn eyes locked on a shivering pile of muddy blond hair.

At first, he just watched with sick fascination as the blond shivered harshly under the combination of rain and wind, then his mind snapped back into place when the little boy switched sides, his feverish face easily visible through the filtering moonlight. The fact that barely no clothes at all were covering his body didn't help at all as he unconsciously hugged his body closer, covering his skin and the little cloth he had on him in a bit of mud. His teeth were also clattering, and Sasori briefly wondered why.

Then, remembering that the kid used to live in Iwa, a very hot village, and hadn't ever been out in weather like this, his body wasn't as cold resistant as his. Even though the puppet master was from Suna, his numerous years in the Akatsuki hideouts, notably the one in the Land of Rain, had steeled him against the cold weather.

"If he keeps this up, the damn kid's gonna end up getting sick!" the red head puppeteer thought slightly agitatedly, before he could even stop his own thoughts.

He suddenly groaned and shook his head, beads of water dropping down his red hair. He wasn't supposed to even think that way about this kid, much less care for him. Not after his last partner.

"He's just my partner. Who cares? I'm not a babysitter." Sasori muttered out loud, feeling something wrench in his heart area as he flashed a look towards Deidara's shivering little form.

A little unsettled that he, the stoic, heartless Akasuna no Sasori, would even bother caring, a random thought, or maybe it was a denied truth, popped into his mind. Even though he was slowly becoming a puppet, his heart was, and still would be, after all those long years, human.

"Baka." he threw at himself. "Caring is a woman's job. Care has no place in a man's heart..." he tried convincing himself, failing when his gaze wandered yet again on his shivering student and partner. "I mean, we do missions together, and we fight together, but I'm not supposed to take care of him in any way. He made his way into the Akatsuki, so he should have some clue on how to take care of himself." He sighed, even more uncomfortable now, fidgeting slightly on the spot he was sitting on.

He looked back at Deidara's flushed face, and suddenly flinched when the subject of his attention sneezed, dry coughs following afterwards.

"Screw this, I have to think of something. There's no way I'm gonna let this mission go south, and then have Leader-sama kill me when he's the one who got sick in the first place." The Suna-nin rubbed his forehead, sighing and getting up. Pulling a summoning scroll out of his scroll belt, he opened it and quickly summoned his travelling puppet, Hiruko. The hunchback puppet dressed in an Akatsuki cloak and a straw hat appeared in a puff of smoke, standing in front of Sasori.

The latter pulled his cloak off, wondering idly if it was the last time he'd see the beloved garment in a perfectly unblemished state. Wincing at the thought, he moved towards the shivering blonde and wrapped it around him, trying to get the least dirt possible on it, since he'd definitely be wanting it back later.

Once he completely wrapped the kid in the oversized cloak, he shuddered, feeling rain drip on his exposed body, the fact that he was wearing a sleeveless navy blue shirt becoming painfully obvious.

Not wanting to expose himself, or his protégée, to the elements any longer, the puppeteer hastily, nonetheless gently, lifted Deidara deeper into the forest, where he'd be shielded by the thick canopy of trees. His job done, he didn't waste time rushing back to Hiruko and slipping inside right afterwards.

"At least now I can't be blamed if the mission goes wrong." He snickered humourlessly as he closed the trap that led inside the hunchback wooden figure.

Attaching chakra strings to his favourite puppet, Sasori manoeuvred his way to Deidara's side, and, slightly relieved that the younger boy was no longer convulsing in shivers, he turned his eyes away and started working on oiling his puppet joints.

XXXXX...(Deidara's POV)...XXXXX

I woke up in the morning, feeling awfully well rested, if not a little cold. Scanning around, my first impulse was saying that I didn't remember this place, but when I saw Danna leaning against a tree next to me, I figured I must have remembered the area wrong, since I was sure I fell asleep next to him.

"Good morning, Danna, un." I greeted, getting up and stretching. Only then I realized that I was completely muddy from head to toe and winced. "Did it rain last night or something, un?"

"Yeah." Sasori-Danna nodded, getting up. Poor him, even he has a bunch of mud stains on his cloak. "We're a little ahead, so take this short period of time to clean up a bit. There's a river right next to this place. Once you're done, we'll head towards Konoha again." He explained.

"Kay, but you might as well come too, un. Your cloak's all muddy too." I laughed.

"Go on ahead." Danna muttered, and I nodded enthusiastically, jumping to my feet and sprinting in the direction he showed me in, not missing the huge tracks that led from the clearing to Danna's feet. Wonder what those are...

"Oh well, un." I shrugged and kept running, delighted at the idea of a bath.

The river wasn't very large. It actually was very small, more like a deep stream than anything else. That didn't keep me from jumping in as soon as I made it there.

Laughing like a child, I pulled my shirt and fishnets off, throwing them to dry on the bank, then repeated with my skirt, hairclip and sandals, only staying in the tight black shorts that Tobi had given me to wear from under the skirt.

Diving in deep again, I let my hair flow around, getting all the dirt out of the blond strands. Feeling awfully refreshed and rejuvenated, I quickly scrubbed myself without any soap, since I hadn't brought any, and jumped out to dry. Hopefully, Danna wouldn't wait for me too long.

Thankfully, the sun was nice and hot this morning, and in the next ten minutes, my body was entirely dry. My clothes and hair were still a little wet, but it'd do as Danna told me to hurry up.

I quickly redressed, and ignoring the slightly squishy feeling of my wet sandals, I followed Danna as we set out towards the border again.

Another silent boring hour later, we made it to the clearing where the borderline was. I could see, not far from here, a couple of Chuunins patrolling the border, which was mostly consisting of a high wooden fence sometimes interrupted by watch towers.

We stopped on the last tree before the clearing to analyse the situation.

"Deidara, this is where you come into play." Danna whispered. I nodded seriously, listening to what he was saying. "Your job is to go there and answer every single question they ask. When in doubt, say you don't know. When they ask to see your weapons, just hand them your pouch without hesitation, but not too confidently either. Remember, you're an innocent 11-year old girl, so you can't look too independent when your sensei isn't here." He explained.

"Right, un." I nodded, meaning that he should continue on.

"They'll let you pass for sure. Once you're on the other side, use this." He pulled something white out of his pouch, and I recognized it immediately.

"Hey, you stole some of my clay back at the hideout, un!" I whistled through my teeth.

"I figured we might need your clay for information transport. Anyways. Take this scroll and pen with you too. Once on the other side, get away a bit from the border, and write to me how many ninjas there are, along with their ranks. It's up to you to dig for that info. Also, if you can, any particularities about the shinobi present around. You just write all that on the scroll, make a clay bird, and have it deliver the scroll right at this spot. Make sure it isn't noticed, and please, don't make it explode." He muttered the last part.

"I won't, Danna, un." I grinned, nodding.

"I'll use all the info to find a blind spot and sneak past the security from there. A battle is not what I want to have, as the nearby posts could pick up on it and either alert the hidden Leaf, or back this post up, which we want to avoid, especially with the lack of your use of exploding clay." Danna finished.

"Got it, un." I nodded, crouching to jump down.

"And one more thing." Sasori noted. "Try to swallow that tic of yours, it really does make you sound like a guy."

I snorted and rolled my eyes, smirking at him.

"I'll try, Danna."

And with that, I jumped down the branch.

..............................

Mustering an innocent and lost look on my face, I took a deep breath, relaxed my tense muscles, tried to calm my beating heart, and took a step into the open.

Slowly, my pace quickened, and I saw the Chuunin shifting at the border, looking towards me. I simply kept looking around like I was lost.

I stopped in front of the Chuunin, looking up innocently at the older teenage boy with a confused expression.

"Hello there, mister." I called with a smile. "This is the border between the Land of Hot Springs and the Land of Fire, right?" I asked, resisting adding my verbal tic at the end.

"Sure is, little miss. You want to cross?" the male asked.

"Yes please." I nodded enthusiastically.

"What's your name?" the Chuunin asked.

"Akaiame." I answered confidently.

"Alright, Akaiame, I'm Chairoi, and I have some questions for you. I trust you're from Amegakure?" he asked again, raising his clipboard and writing it down.

"Yeah!" I nodded again, trying to look as clueless as possible.

"How old are you?"

"Eleven, Chairoi-san!"

"And why do you want to go to the Land of Fire?" he asked.

"Well, I'm a Genin, and I'm gonna go to Konoha to become a Chuunin!" I explained, raising my finger to my lip in a pensive manner in an effort to look cute.

"Well, good luck to you, Akaiame. Unfortunately, since you're a Genin, and a young one too, I can't let you pass without your sensei. Is he somewhere around here?"

"Well, yeah..." I thought out loud, inside, panicking. What should I answer? Sasori Danna said I should just say I don't know, but if I don't where my own sensei is, no amount of cute innocence could justify that. "We had set up camp not too far from here, and we were attacked by a couple of bandits." I shuddered, trying to act the part. "Sensei said I go on ahead, that he'd take care of them, pack up, and meet me behind the border. It's his first time crossing too, so I guess he didn't know I can't cross without him..." I sighed. "How perfect..."

"If you want, Akaiame, I can wait with you until your sensei gets here." Chairoi suggested.

Finding this to be the perfect opportunity for some questions, I grinned widely and nodded.

"Thank you thank you thank you, Chairoi-san!" I grinned, and ran to his side as if I was looking out for my nonexistent sensei.

"While at it, what fighting type do you use, Akaiame?" Chairoi asked.

"Hmm... I'm a weapon and taijutsu specialist, though I can cast Earth Style techniques too." I muttered, still concentrated on the horizon to try and 'spot' my 'sensei'.

"Can I inspect the weapons you're carrying on you?"

"Umm, yeah, okay." I shrugged, detaching my pouch and handing it to him, returning to looking at the horizon.

The Chuunin checked the contents of my pouch, and apparently satisfied, he gave it back to me. I smiled at him as I strapped it back on.

"Chairoi-san, can I ask you a question?" I asked innocently, steeling myself as I started getting into the role I was supposed to play.

"Okay." The guard nodded.

"Why are there so many ninjas in one post? Shouldn't they be everywhere around the border instead?"

"Good question. Actually, there are many guard posts, with 1km distance from each other, and there are many ninja in each for one, for the watching shifts, and for two, when people want to cross illegally, it's our job to stop them." He informed me. First info, copied down.

"Do you fight a lot?" I asked curiously.

"Not really, not these days anyway. We're been a very peaceful borderline, here." Chairoi sighed.

"So you're bored?" I cocked my head to the side.

"Pretty much all the time." He laughed.

"And..." I made a counting gesture with my fingers, counting all the easily visible Chuunins around us. "You only have your five friends to stay with you all day long?" I asked innocently, knowing that one slip of my tongue could blow it off.

"Well, actually, I have seven friends with me in total. We're eight by post, two squads of four. One squad is a fighter, the other squad is a tracker/sensor/pursuer squad." He explained. Important info, check.

"So... If someone tries to cross illegally, the fighter squad takes him on, and if he crosses anyway, the other squad goes on after him?" I asked, still trying to keep my innocent mask up.

"You got it." Chairoi nodded with a gentle smile.

"You guys all sound so strong..." I sighed. "I can't believe I'm gonna go take an exam to become just like you and your seven buddies!" I giggled.

"Well, two of my buddies are Jounins, and they're hiding so that the enemy won't see them directly."

"Why would they hide? They're Jounins, they can easily beat the enemy!" I protested, prompting him to go on, my brain whizzing, trying to keep all that info in the don't-forget-this-crap-cause-apparently-it's-extremely-important section of my memory area.

"Because they want the enemy to underestimate us by thinking we're all just Chuunin, when two of us, hiding at the east and west sides of the gates, survey the area and spot intruders, and drop down to fight when the enemy is close enough." Chairoi-san.

"Wow, Chairoi-san, that sure is smart. Did you think of that?" I asked.

"No, unfortunately." The Chuunin chuckled. "The Nidaime of the Hidden Leaf did."

"That was a long time ago, wasn't it?" I asked, looking confused.

"Yeah, over a hundred years ago." The guard sighed.

There was a silence as I finished asking all the questions I had to ask. Deciding it's about time I crossed, I sighed miserably.

"Sensei's still not back..."

"Don't worry, Akaiame, he'll be here soon, I'm sure of it. Which gate did he tell you to wait at?"

Seeing this as a chance to cross, I passed a miserable look on my face, willing fake tears to rush up. I tried remembering sad things and events that hurt me, but all they did was make me feel like puking and tugged at my heartstrings.

"Inside the Northwest gate..." I muttered.

"Oh dear." The Chuunin bit his lip. "I'm sorry to say this, Akaiame, but this is the Northeast gate."

"WHAT!?" I screamed, finally feeling fake tears welling up at my eyes. "BUT I SWORE THIS WAS THE NORTHWEST GATE!" I faked panic, willing my breathing to come out in short, frantic gasps.

"Calm down, Akaiame, I'm sure we can-" Chiroi extended his hand towards me, and I grabbed it with my two hands, looking up at him with beady eyes.

"But I'll never make it in time if I travel now to the Northwest gate! Dear Kami, what have I done!?" I cried.

"I have a solution, Akaiame." The Chuunin sighed.

"Y-You do?" I gasped, feeling fake tears spilling down the sides of my face, and I squeezed his hand for added effect.

"Yeah... I'll let you cross on your own. But just this once, okay? Next time, tell your sensei that you can't cross without him unless you're a Chuunin or higher, or a Genin older than 16, okay?" he sighed desperately.

"Oooooh, thank you so much, Chairoi-san! May Kami bless you!" I grinned and hugged him, quickly breaking away because I didn't like hugging people I didn't know.

"Alright, that's enough, Akaiame." The clueless Chuunin laughed, motioning behind him towards the gate. "Now go on ahead, meet your sensei, and good luck in the exams, okay?" he smiled.

"Thank you so much! Farewell, Chairoi-san!" I laughed, trying to keep a shaken innocent tone in my voice as I ran through the gate, into the Land of Fire.

Just in case they were still watching me, I quickly changed my direction to the west, and only stopped once I was out of range of any sensors' abilities.

I quickly kneeled there and pulled out the scroll and paper, a wide grin appearing on my face as I quickly scribbled all the information I'd gotten onto the paper. With the other hand, I undid the bandages on my arm, and liberated the mouth on my palm. It drooled, and I quickly fed it some clay. It started chewing enthusiastically as I finished writing my text.

The bird was moulding in my palm as I rolled the scroll and sealed it. Once it was done, I threw it into the air, and it took flight, coming back down so I could tie the scroll to its legs. Once done, I ordered it to go to Sasori-Danna, and followed from the ground as we returned to the border.

Carefully hiding my chakra, I hid up in a tree and waited for Danna to strike. It didn't take long for the bird to return to me, the scroll gone. I smiled and let it perch on my shoulder as I got closer to the wooden fence that delimited the border, pushing my body against it. Unfortunately, I could not see what was going on, but I did hear.

One second, there was nothing but the sound of the blowing wind, and the other, two thumps as things hit the ground. Cries arose from the border, and I figured that Danna must have killed some people out of desperation.

Sighing, I kept listening.

"You there! Halt! Hand yourself over now, or else we'll kill you!" someone screamed.

"I think not." Danna's voice muttered out from somewhere, and I drew a kunai, just in case he needed me to do something. "Deidara, we're wasting too much time here." He called out. "We need to proceed to get to Konoha in time." He added.

Nodding, I gulped down, and took my stands, ready to jump over the border fence.

"Who's he talking to?"

"Maybe he has a second companion hidden in the shadows of those trees..."

"Stay on your guard, men." a new voice came into play, and it was much deeper. I figured that must have been one of those hidden Jounins.

"Deidara, I don't like waiting." Danna called again, impatiently this time, and I gulped down, jumping over the fence, landing behind the first person I saw. In less than a second, my kunai was up and pressed against his neck. Only when brown hair floated into my view, my eyes saddened a bit.

"W-Who are you?" Chairoi-san whimpered, scared.

"The one who has to kill you now, un." I replied, kind of sad that I had to kill the one who was so nice to me.

"That's the girl from before!"

"Akaiame, what are you doing!?"

"Akaiame?" Chairoi-san called out blindly.

"Yeah..." I gritted my teeth, switching my blade to the sharp side. "I'm sorry, un."

Blood flew as the sound of weapons being drawn out of their sheaths rang out in the air. Letting the body in my arms drop, I turned to the other four Chuunin and the one Jounin, who were all focused on me.

I got ready to attack when suddenly, a shadow flew across the air and landed on a Chuunin, easily killing him. I grinned, recognizing Sasori-Danna's puppet. The puppet master himself stepped out of the trees to effectively see the battle and give me orders.

"Those robes..." someone suddenly noticed.

"He's from the Akatsuki!"

A general uproar started over the surviving members of the border guard, and the Jounin commanded silence.

"All of you, into battle positions! Asuka, I'll leave it to you to send a message to the Hokage about this!" he ordered.

"Right!" Three Chuunin dispersed around me, and the last one ran inside the watch tower to write his message. I would have liked to chase him, but the three Chuunin surrounding me started making hand signs.

"Combo attack!" two of them shouted, one jumping above the other.

"Katon!" the bottom one screamed, unleashing a big fireball similar to Itachi's. I jumped out of the way to avoid it.

"Futon!" the one at the top screamed, and he unleashed a current of wind over the fire. My eyes widened as the flames increased drastically, widening their range. I covered my face with my arms as I went flying backwards, propelled by the wind and flames combo. The attack left a few burns marks on my arms and a singed spot on my face, but fortunately, I was able to evade in time to avoid greater damage.

Wondering where the third one has gotten to, I received my answer when I heard shuriken soaring at me. I grasped my bloody kunai and quickly deflected off the flurry of shuriken, going into defensive as the third Chuunin came in close for weapon combat.

Seeing my chance at hand for some practice, I drew a second kunai and defended myself, keeping an eye out for the two others, who were running towards us to assist their friend. I couldn't get caught up with them.

I back flipped away and jumped away from the three Chuunin aggressing me, quickly making some hand signs.

"Doton, un!" I cried, slamming my hands on the ground. "Giant mudslide!"

The ground under the two pursuing confused Chuunins' feet slipped away as it turned into mud, letting them fall.

I followed by two more earth type hand signs, and put my hands back onto the ground.

"Swamp Prison Jutsu, un!" I yelled out, and two Chuunins started sinking into the bog.

I then turned my attention to the third one, who had taken my jutsu casting time as time to advance on me. I barely dodged as he swung his leg at my head, and jumped back as he used his hands for support to attack again in a barrage of kicks.

I suddenly decided to counterattack, and punched, blocking his punch. We ended up in an awkward defensive-offensive position where he blocked my punch and threw me a punch that I blocked. Pushing on each other's knuckles, we gritted our teeth as we competed for strongest.

"Deidara!" Danna suddenly screamed through his battle with the Jounin. "Don't let the messenger bird get away!"

I gasped and turned my eyes towards the tower, where the remaining Chuunin was about to let the messenger hawk take flight. I was busy with this guy and now Danna expected me to take care of the messenger too?

An idea lit up in my head, and I turned my head to look at the clay bird that was still perched gently on my shoulder.

"Go after that bird and kill it, un." I ordered.

Without wasting another second, the clay bird lifted off my shoulder and soared towards the hawk carrying a scroll. A few moments of chasing later, an explosion sounded through the area. I grinned. Mission accomplished.

Bringing my attention back to my opponent, I decided to break our tie and jumped back. He simply went into the offensive again, attacking wildly. I blocked all his attacks, my reflexes wide and awake as I tried to find a way to break through his line of defence.

The only trick I could come up with, though, was deceit. Biting my lip, I tried coming up with a plan when I suddenly thudded into a tree, my bark pressing into the bark. Shit. I was so concentrated on my opponents that I forgot about the environment.

My lack of observation skills was rewarded by a punch that made it through my defences and hit me in the cheek. Feeling sore in the jaw –and in the arms from blocking so much-, I reeled back. My legs buckled when the Chuunin performed a sweep kick from under them, letting me fall to the ground.

Finding this as my opportunity, I hid the ground hard and remained unmoving, my eyes closed.

I heard the Chuunin shifting as he got closer to me to make sure I was unconscious. I only waited until he got close enough to check if I was still breathing, and suddenly whipped my eyes open.

"Just kidding, un." I giggled madly, drawing a kunai from my leg pouch and stabbing him in the back, hard.

A shocked look overtook the Chuunin's face as his life drained, flowing over my arm and until my elbow. Some of his blood, dripping from his lips, dripped on my face, running down my cheeks like tears.

For just a moment, I felt bad for killing these innocent people, but shook it off as I threw the body off of me and got up, dusting myself off.

I quickly looked at the remaining Chuunin, but relaxed when I saw he was struggling with the bog from my former Swamp Prison jutsu. Amazing how a guy like this ever became a Chuunin in the first place...

I quickly bounded over to him, not missing the fearful look flashing across his eyes as I drew a kunai.

"Please don't kill me!" he screamed, falling to his knees into the sticky mud that I made sure to walk over using chakra.

"I can't do that, un." I shook my head solemnly.

"Please, I won't tell! I swear it over my loyalty to the Hidden Leaf!" the Chuunin pleaded.

"I'm sorry." I shook my head again and raised my kunai. "But to fulfill my mission, there must be sacrifices, un. Don't worry, it won't hurt. I promise over my loyalty to the Akatsuki, un." I sighed sadly.

"Please, Akaiame-"

"Deidara."

"Huh?"

"Akaiame is my infiltration name. My real name is Deidara of Iwagakure, un."

And I swung my kunai, ripping through the soft tissues of the teen's throat, blood spilling out from the cut. No longer breathing, the teen fell into the artificially created bog, sinking slowly.

I dropped my bloody kunai into the mud with a soft frown, keeping a moment of silence for the people I'd killed. Sure, I'd killed before, but not so many in such little time. Truth be told, I never liked killing. I didn't mind fighting, but I was always reluctant on killing, especially when the person in question was innocent.

"Brat."

I turned around, a smile crossing over to my face.

"Yes Danna, un?"

"Let's go. Bury these bodies with your mudslide jutsu, and let's get moving. We've lost enough time here already." Danna ordered, storing his puppet away.

"Fine." I muttered, kind of disappointed he didn't compliment my fighting.

"And I did notice something about your fighting." Danna commented.

"Yes, un?" I smiled sweetly.

"It's sloppy."

My grin deteriorated into an angry frown, and I glared at his back.

"Whatever, un." I shrugged and went back to burying the bodies under the soil moved by my mudslide jutsu.

"But I'm glad you can finally take on some ninjas and prevail without having to commit suicide to kill them as well." He nodded.

"Thanks, Danna." I smiled softly, finishing by moving a layer of grass over the mound where the bodies now rested.

"Alright, now let's leave. Next river we see, you'll have to get all that blood off of you. We only have about a day's worth of travels towards Konoha." Sasori-Danna told me.

"Alright, un." I nodded, getting back to his side as we crossed the border like nothing had happened. "I'm following."

......................

The next morning, Danna had informed me that we were an hour away from Konoha, and from that point on, he wouldn't be able to go with me, or else the risks of betraying my affiliation with the Akatsuki were too great.

"Now remember, you're Akaiame." Danna made me repeat.

"Hello there. I'm Akaiame, and I'm from Amegakure!" I greeted with a cheerful smile.

"Good. Keep your hands bandaged at all times. If someone asks, it's because..."

"Well, it's because I'm a taijutsu user, and the bandages help pad my knuckles." I giggled.

"Good. You're all set. Remember to make yourself some clay as soon as possible, but absolutely do not use it unless your life, and the Akatsuki, are threatened."

"Okay, Danna, un..." I bit my lip, feeling the moment of separation nearing.

"I don't have much to say anymore. This time, no one will be watching your progress. You're on your own, except for your two fake partners, who are Genin like you, and might not be of much help if they discover who you truly are." Danna muttered in an emotionless tone.

"Okay, un..." I gulped tears down.

"And swallow that tic of yours too."

"It's hard to swallow it, un."

"Do it for the mission, and for everyone back at the hideout."

"Alright." I nodded, taking a deep breath as Danna turned around to leave. "So this is goodbye?"

"Yes, it is goodbye." Danna turned to me, and the briefest glint of happiness flashed through his eyes for just a millisecond. "Good luck, Deidara."

And he was gone. Just like that, he disappeared, leaving me to face the rest of the trials alone.

As I set back out towards Konoha with a sad frown, I listened to the silence around me. This was a different kind of silence. It was a lonely silence. Even when Danna didn't speak, I was comforted by his presence at my side. That presence wasn't here anymore, though, and I was left alone.

An hour later, I ended up staring at the huge gates of the Hidden Leaf. And, with nothing but the thoughts of my fake identity streaming inside my mind, I gulped down, took a deep breath, and walked into Konoha.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Author's Notes:

The ending was kinda thrown together, as you can see. But I'm still kinda sick, every time I swallow, it feels like I'm swallowing a knife, and I can't write a single paragraph without breaking out in a coughing fit. So this is pretty good, considering my brain's slow responses :)

On a random sidenote, my best friend's Shih-Tsu is officially in love with my blue converse. It wouldn't stop licking them today O_o

Once again, a biiiiig thanks to Nutbrain for helping me with the bonding scene! Everyone say "Thank you Nutbrain, because without your help, this fail of an author wouldn't have been able to write such a good bonding sceeeeeene~ :)"

Yeah, uh, I'm tired. It's 12:30 in the morning, and I'm SOOOO glad I'm on Spring Break right now.

Yeah... CONTEST TIIIIIIIYEM! :D

Whoever can find the meaning of five japanese words throughout this chapter (ANY japanese word works, as long as it's japanese, and it's found somewhere in this chappie) shall get a CAMEOH :D I'm looking for cameos, about 2 more :) So... first two people to answer correctly get cameos :) Dictionnaries are useful for finding the meanings, though most of the words are compound. Akaiame doesn't count since Deidara mentionned what it means. If you want to participate, a good translation site would be englishjapaneseonlinedictionary(dot)com. Good luck to everyone who wants to participate!!! :D

Anyways, I'm gonna go make an attempt at sleeping, cause I can't stop coughing. Please review, I hope you liked it :) I liek criticism ;O

--Next time: Chuunin Exams, START!