Hello again! Just to let you know: from now on the point of view will sometimes switch between Mizuiro and Deidara, so that you get a better understanding of the hows and whys. Enjoy and thanks for reading!


A week and a half into the new school year she gets called into the Hokage's office. She doesn't think too much of it until she's standing in the room and Inoichi and Kakashi are there again.

It's like a déjà vu and her stomach drops. With all the excitement of the past weeks, she forgot about this completely. "Is this about Deidara?"

"Indeed it is," the Hokage says, folding her hands underneath her chin. "He was transferred into our care at the beginning of the month in a top secret mission. Since then we've gone through some procedures to make sure he really is innocent and not being controlled by someone. But now we decided to change his accommodations a little to keep his goodwill."

Mizuiro tilts her head in confusion, looking back and forth between the others. "What does that have to do with me?"

"We need someone to supply him with food and other necessities. Kakashi and I have other things keeping us busy, so we can't do it but the Hokage wants someone she doesn't have to brief on the situation. So you are the only option left."

"We know you just started your job at the academy but this shouldn't consume too much of your time. Maybe an hour two times a week. Just buying the groceries, bringing them to him and checking on how he's doing. And on top of that a quick report every two weeks to me," the Hokage adds and it doesn't sound like she gets much of a choice here.

"Is that safe?" It's the only thing that pops into her head at the moment.

"We blocked his chakra as much as we could without risking damage to his body. And in the sense of Taijutsu, your abilities are enough to overthrow him since he's not at his strongest right now."

"We also developed a plan of keeping watch over him during the times you would be able to visit him so that you wouldn't have to wonder about whether or not you are on your own. And the door and windows are locked with a chakra seal that can only be opened by specific persons."

"Okay." It sounds fair and as safe as it could be. Probably. She really doesn't see any reason to say no. And it's not like she has to be actually around Deidara for long if it turns out she can't do it without getting nervous. That doesn't mean she isn't quietly freaking out on the inside though when she says, "I'll do it then."

"Fantastic. It's obviously a no-brainer that you won't mention this to anyone else."

"Of course, Hokage."

"And if you have questions or worries just come looking for one of us," Kakashi adds, smiling but Mizuiro can't quite return it, with how her stomach is twisted into knots.


She visits the apartment Deidara is being kept in the next day after she leaves the academy. She knows the building it's in — an older one with barely any occupants left in it, no matter the good exposure the building has. She likes checking out the adds for empty apartments around the city. Just out of curiosity, of course, she doesn't have the money to move out and with what she'll be earning as a teacher it won't happen any time soon either. And considering that she's alone at her parents' house most of the time anyway it's not like she actually has to.

At the bottom of the stairs, she hesitates a moment. Originally she wanted to buy the groceries first and then just drop them off. But after thinking it over for a while she thought it would be nice of her to ask if he had any foods he doesn't like or maybe even favorites. Now though she feels awkward for thinking that far. He's a prisoner no matter the place he's being locked up in. She shouldn't be treating him like she would a friend or even a stranger.

The wood of the door is cold against her left palm when she presses it against it. She focuses the chakra on the responding seal they placed in it and a moment later the door opens without any trouble. It's really that easy. She pushes it open further, keeping her eyes up and her right hand on the sheath of her katana, ready to jump into action. They told her he was behaving docile and apathetic but there's no telling if he isn't just waiting for someone to come by that isn't stronger than him.

There's no movement though and she steps inside, pulling the door closed behind her. It falls shut, the lock clicking back into place and then everything is quiet. The apartment smells stuffy — probably from month-long disuse still — but other than that it doesn't differ from any other standard apartment. Tiny open kitchenette to the left, door to the bathroom on the right and the hallway opening up into the living room from where the bedroom can be reached too. Enough for two people in theory. But only if you're out of the apartment most of the day.

She takes the few steps down the hall until she can oversee the living room. She spots Deidara immediately. He's standing in the opposite corner of the room, back to the wall and fists clenched at his side. When they make eye contact he seems to relax a little and after they've both simply stared at each other for a while he says "I remember you."

She smiles hesitantly and fights against the urge to nervously twist her hands in front of her. He can probably read it in her body language anyway but she should still pretend to be just fine with being here. "I was part of the team send to Suna, yes."

His face twitches but he bites his lip and doesn't say anything else.

"I'm supposed to buy you groceries for an unforeseeable time." She glances around the room, it's sparsely furnished, just an old coffee table, a relatively okay looking loveseat and a side table with a lamp on it. She immediately figures that she needs to bring him some form of entertainment — books, most likely. They are the safest choice — to keep him busy. Else he'll probably go crazy within a few weeks. Not that books are ideal for a long-term situation either but for now they'll be enough. "Do you have any food you don't like? Or maybe things you'd like to eat?"

He just stares at her and doesn't respond. It feels awkward fast and after a few minutes, she lowers her eyes. "I guess not. That's okay too."

She'll figure it out by herself sure. It's not a real problem, just might take a bit longer, than the other alternative. But with the budget she got for this, she shouldn't run into trouble with being less choosy. She smiles awkwardly at him. "I'll come back later then and bring you the groceries."

He still doesn't speak, doesn't even nod his head in response, just keeps staring at her and she can't anymore. So she leaves the apartment again and the second the door snaps shut behind her, she feels a weight drop off her chest. This is going to be hard.


The second the door snaps shut behind that girl, he gasps and presses his hands to his eyes. His heart is hammering in his chest and he can't breathe properly. What are they doing? Are they messing with him on purpose? He doesn't understand what they are trying to do with him, to him. It doesn't matter. He sags back against the wall. It's cold against his back and helps ground him a little. It doesn't settle the confusion in his head though and his breathing stays unsteady for far too long.

How good of an actor would she have to be to fake that unease? It was clear as day that she was scared. But of him though? He's not in any position to do anything, his chakra is blocked and all he feels is tired and exhausted right now. And if she really was scared than who is she? Why was she part of the group that traveled to Suna for him? Why is she the one supposed to visit him? She can't be of Jonin level, can't be someone strong enough to overpower him if he seriously tried to attack her — but with his chakra blocked maybe? — if she looks scared just facing him. He doesn't understand this, anything. He just wants to sleep. But she's coming back. He can't let his guard down, he can't — he doesn't trust them to not change their mind suddenly. They are already being too nice to him — an apartment really? Why? He could have stayed and rotted in the cell he was in for the first few weeks. They have his information, his life in their hands, what else do they want from him? He didn't attach his confession to conditions. Not that it would have mattered with how they went through his head, dissected every memory, every experience for truth and jutsus put on him.

They came up empty of course. He was smart, he didn't push Sasori that far. He knows there was someone in Suna under his command through a jutsu. He knows Sasori was able to do those things to people but he never pushed him far enough for that. Never misused his trust that much, even if he fucked up regularly on purpose. It sucks, he would have done things sooner if he had the chance but he had to wait. All that wasted time, wasted part of his life.

The door clicks open. He startles, pushes back onto his feet — how long was he sitting on the ground in the corner? He didn't feel his legs give out. He didn't feel anything besides the panic and confusion. There's cold sweat trickling down his neck and his back is drenched. He can feel his hair sticking to his face. It's uncomfortable, it's gross and she'll certainly notice. There's no way she won't wonder then, try asking questions. He doesn't know what her purpose is. He's frozen in the corner, listening to her footsteps but they never come close. They stay in the kitchen area, wandering back and forth but never coming close. Does she know? Did she realize what her first visit did to him? How uncomfortable he feels right now and here and just in general?

He wishes he could blow something up, blast away all the questions in his head and replace them by the familiar ringing in his ears and the quiet settling afterwards. But he can't.

She only enters the living room for a few seconds, near the end of her second visit. She's smiling nervously again — why, why, why? — and says, "I forgot to introduce myself earlier. I'm Mizuiro Kandeya. If there's anything you need, please tell me. Or write a note if you don't want to talk to me."

Then she leaves for good and silence settles over the apartment. Slowly but surely his brain follows too and after he's waited a while to make sure she won't come back suddenly, he lays down in front of the window, flat on his back. He's in view of everybody passing by on the rooftops, of everybody possibly watching him right now. He doesn't care. It's not a safe place but it's the only place that gives him enough natural light, to make it feel a little like he's outside, camping in a hidden ditch with Sasori. It's the only place where he feels comfortable sleeping. They gave him a bed. He hasn't touched it. He didn't spend much time on the cot in the cell either. It's too much, it's a trick, they'll take it away sooner or later.

Notwithstanding the above, he hasn't had a full night's rest in over a month. It's cut off by nightmares, unfamiliar noises waking him, not feeling safe, everything. He's lucky when he sleeps three hours straight and everything they did to him — so many memories pushed to the forefront of his mind, so many things he forgot, so many things he wanted to forget — made him so tired. Mentally mostly but physically too. Or maybe that's just the lack in chakra. He doesn't know.

He closes his eyes and drifts off.


Mizuiro touches the seal on the door and lets her chakra flow into it. A second later the door clicks open. She pushes it open further and steps inside, making sure that the door is shut completely behind her before she focuses on anything else.

"I brought food," she says into the seemingly empty room and kicks of her shoes. She doesn't bother with a greeting since she knows she won't get a response anyway. Not that Deidara really responds to anything else she offers. He's pretty much stopped talking since he came to Konoha from what she's heard and the four weeks she's been supplying him with food and books hasn't proven her different — yes he said a few words to her once in a while but it's not the norm. On top of that, she wonders if it maybe has something to do with him not knowing what the hell is going on. She'd certainly be confused in his place if she was locked up in a semi-comfortable apartment instead of a cell. To be honest she's wondering about it even though she's not in his position. She assumes the Hokage had her reasons for it but she sure as hell can't figure them out. Keeping his goodwill doesn't seem like enough.

She throws a glance into the living room on her way to the small walled off kitchenette and sure enough, he's lying on the floor in front of the big window, the sun only covering a patch of the spot he's in, and staring at the ceiling. He's been doing that a lot, lying around in the sun. She assumes he misses being outside. After all, he spent nearly four years out and about and now he's suddenly stuck inside.

With a sigh she starts putting away the groceries she brought along, discovering again that even for a person who does nothing all day, he's not eating enough. Not that she has any idea how much he used to eat before but it must have been more than this. It's kind of upsetting that she knows so much about him but not really anything of importance.

And whatever the hell the Hokage is trying to achieve, Mizuiro is pretty sure it isn't working. She seriously needs to talk to her and also come up with a way to at least temporarily fix this by herself if the Hokage doesn't budge. Because having him lead a miserable existence until someone decides he isn't needed anymore, isn't a solution.

She finishes her job in the kitchenette, throwing some things away and making a mental note to take the trash with her when she leaves, and then walks out to the tiny, barely furnished living room again. She can feel his eyes on her but continues her way to the rickety couch table by the couch. There are two stacks of books on there that she brought with her two weeks ago. He must have started reading them after all. Or maybe he just restacked them. She's not sure but she also doesn't think she'll get an answer from him if she asks.

"You can take the right stack. They're boring."

She startles at the sound of his voice and turns to him. He's pushed himself up a little and is looking directly at her. Every single time he's said something to her she's been surprised but still, she appreciates it. "Do you-" her voice cracks a little and she clears her throat. "Do you want me to bring you some more?"

He shakes his head.

"Alright." She turns back, plucks a scroll out of her pouch and unrolls it, places it onto the loveseat and the books on top if. A few hand seals later they're gone and she rolls up the scroll again. She tucks her loose hair behind her ears, to make sure none of it is in her vision and returns to the side table. She concentrates her chakra on her eyes and a second later feels the familiar sharpening of her awareness. She lets her eyes scan over the titles of the books and oh yes she can see why he likes them. She knows there are more like them in the library and there's also that one she has at home. Maybe also - the second she notices Deidara's hand in the corner of her vision, she inhales sharply and reflexively grabs his wrist to push it down. He looks startled by her reaction but there's an unmissable curiosity in his eyes and oh that's burned into her memory forever. She blinks and the sharpness of the world is gone but his eyes are still at the forefront of her mind.

"What kind of jutsu was that?" he asks.

"It's a Kekkei Genkai," she replies automatically. She lets go of his wrist and takes a step back. He's not really in any position to attack her, with his chakra still repressed by a seal, but she's still a little wary with him this close. It's unsettling.

"What does it do?"

"Uhm it's official name is Shashin Shisen. But it's not really taking pictures. It's more like a photographic memory. When it's activated it sharpens my visual senses and the rate at which I can process new and old information rises rapidly and even when I deactivate it the information is still there and usable."

He tilts his head. He looks genuinely curious and it's been a while since anybody was actually interested in this. She's a little surprised this is what got him talking but she sees it as a plus, so she continues explaining it. "Using it for too long at a time can come with the simultaneous delay of other senses though. For me, that mostly affects my sense of hearing."

"So you go partially deaf?"

She shakes her head. "No, it's more like the information not going through properly. So it's literally a delay between seeing someone speak and actually hearing them for example."

"Huh, interesting."

"Well what also might interest you is that I already have twenty-two other books in mind I can bring you when you're done with these."

His eyebrows rise. "Not bad."

She grins and for a moment they look at each other, before he averts his eyes, shoving his hands into his pockets. Her smile drops a little and she glances over at the clock on the wall. It's already close to three pm and she has to leave soon if she wants to be on time for training.

"Any specific meals you want me to buy for next week?"

He shrugs and it kind of makes the mood shift again. He draws back into himself and she has to suppress a sigh. She was kind of hoping this conversation would have him be a little more agreeable but apparently no such a luck.

"I'm sure I'll figure something out." Like she did the last four weeks. To be honest she's just been buying the same things twice, once for him and once for her, only slightly changing it up when she sees he didn't eat something — like the celery. She looks back at the couch to make sure she really repacked the scroll. "Well I have training soon, so I gotta go."

He nods and then wanders off to the window again. There's not a single speck of sun left by it but he still stands in front of it and just stares into the distance. He looks just as apathetic again as he did when she first saw him today and it kind of feels like all kind of apparent progress she made disappeared just as quickly again. She grabs the trash bag from the kitchenette and with a quick "I'll see you next week." she leaves, making sure to check the seal after she closes the door behind her.


He let himself go for a moment. He got curious when he noticed the sudden spike in her chakra. But in turn, he got answers. Answers he wanted, answers he needed. Not many of them but at least a few of his questions aren't in a constant loop in his head anymore. Granted they were smaller ones but in the end, he doesn't care. Everything helps.

But the most surprising thing is still that she answered his question. She didn't look at him like he'd done something wrong in asking but instead just gave him an answer straight to the point. He wonders what else she would tell him if he asked. Would she say why it's her taking care of him? He noticed again how scared she looked — even if her reflexes were quick and on point. Would she tell him what their plan for him is? Why he's locked up here? He wonders and he knows his curiosity will get the best of him sooner or later. It's a fight he's already lost and to be honest for once he doesn't care about keeping his cool.

So he makes conversation with her and she looks so surprised when he starts talking the next time but then after a while she gets this pleased little smile on her face. Like she's glad he's talking. He can't imagine she really is but he apparently did something right. He keeps his questions easy, carefully testing out what is and what isn't okay to ask and to get a feeling for what she'll answer.

A lot as it turns out. At least the easier questions send her on a seemingly endless monologue and she goes off on a tangent more often than not. And she knows a ton, she mentions things he's never even heard of before and it leads to so many new questions that it makes his head swim again. But it also distracts him from the whole situation he's in. It's a nice change and it makes him want to have her around more. Even if it means he'll have to answer her questions too. Not all of them but he knows she'd rather buy him food he likes, so he willingly gives her answers on that topic. To be fair he's tired of eating things he doesn't enjoy as much, too. So it's useful in the end.


The weeks after that she makes sure to visit him on days when she has nothing to do afterwards. She also splits her shopping trips to two days, so she has a reason to check on him more often. And so that she can try talking with him some more. It's partially successful up to the point where he starts making conversation by himself and actually asks her things that she's happy to answer. He even asks her to stay for a little longer one time, after she just finished talking for ten minutes by herself. But she's actually happy about that and since he seems to enjoy listening to her talk, she'll gladly continue doing so. She even manages to get his favorite foods out of him, which she counts as a personal victory in itself.

Still when it's time for another bi-weekly update to the higher-ups about how he's doing she's still not happy with the situation. He's still not eating enough and by now she can see the effects it's having on him. And the lack of fresh air and movement have become startlingly apparent too.

So she actually makes an effort this time to see the Hokage directly and not just hand in her report to Shizune. That she gets lucky on her first try is surprising, considering what the rumor mill about Akatsuki's scheming is saying — apparently they attacked Suna again and were successful this time.

"I don't have a lot of time right now, so this better be quick," is the first thing the Hokage says to her once she's closed the door behind her. She seems stressed which isn't a good time to bring this up at all but well she at least has to try.

"Of course," Mizuiro replies and rattles down the usual things she mentions in her reports. When she's done she takes a deep breath and before the Hokage can dismiss her, she adds "I actually also have a request concerning him."

She holds eye contact with her and waits for the slight incline of her head as the go ahead. "I don't know what you're planning for him and I can assure you that I'm not trying to undermine any of your decisions but I made assumptions on what I heard here and there and from the mission details back when we were asked to help interrogate him. And based on that I came to the conclusion that you're trying to use him as an asset in a possible fight against other Akatsuki members but I'm worried that he won't be of any use if we keep him locked up like that."

The Hokage's eyebrows lower and her mouth twist into a frown. "Keep going."

"I mentioned before that he's not eating properly and that being locked up seems to be taking its toll on his physique too. I'm not a Medicnin, so maybe under his conditions, it's still in the range of healthiness and maybe he's doing things to keep his strength up too. I'm not sure. And I'm sure he didn't expect to be welcomed with open arms in return for the information he gave us but to me, it feels like this could lead to him actually regretting his choice and maybe even turning on Konoha if he ever gets the chance to."

"Has he made any remarks in that direction?"

"No, but it also took me nearly five weeks to get his favorite food out of him, so I don't see why he'd tell me something like that. Anyway, the point is that we don't know how long it's gonna be until Akatsuki targets Konoha or rather the ninetails. It could be three months. It could be three years. And if my assumptions are correct it would be in our best interest to ensure that he stays on our side and healthy for as long as we need him to be our ally and to achieve that we need to treat him differently."

"You seem like you thought about this a lot already."

"I tried to come up with solutions that wouldn't include unreasonable requests to you and the other higher-ups. Because after all even if he's got his chakra sealed, he's still an S-rank Nukenin and that means he needs to be watched at all times. Who knows what he got up his sleeves. So if there was a way to keep him happy and useful without letting him leave the apartment I would be all for it. But I couldn't find anything, so I'm making a formal request to be allowed to take him outside."

The Hokage leans forward in her chair, folding her hands and resting them on the table. She's staring directly at her and it takes everything in Mizuiro to not just bow her head and take everything she just said back. It feels like an eternity before the Hokage purses her lips and says "I need to talk to a few people so don't get your hopes up too high. And I need you to understand that if this goes through and anything goes wrong you will be the one held responsible for the fallout. So I want you to think long and carefully about whether or not you still want to be the one doing this job. Now go."

"Thank you, Hokage." She bows her head a little and then practically flees the room. Her hands are shaking — god she hates requesting things outside of the rules — but at least she did go through with this. And now the only thing she can do is wait.


It takes a surprising two and a half weeks for her to get called back to the Hokage tower. By now she's sure that even Nanami and Keiko noticed that something is going on — she's still a little bitter that she was sworn to secrecy about this whole thing. On one hand, she completely gets why but on the other, it's so hard lying to her friends about why she's so busy even after she finished working at the academy. At least she doesn't have to come up with a lie as to why she isn't allowed to go on missions at the moment — god bless academy rules.

But outside of that, she's technically been on a mission for nearly three months now. On top of that, it's an S-Rank one which holy shit, she's fifteen and a Chunin, and she's glad her parents aren't home because if they knew she's doing this they'd go crazy. And it's not even that the pay is spectacular. Yes, it's way more than she ever received before but in comparison to what a normal S-Rank mission entails, it's nothing.

There are a lot more people in the Hokage's office than she expected when she arrives. The Hokage and Shizune were expected of course. But furthermore, there's Sensei Yutaka, which of course makes sense, he wasn't happy to begin with, that she joined the mission to Suna and he still sort of feels responsible for Team 4. Then there's Kakashi and Inoichi also perfectly fine because they were part of the initial mission too. And then there's Iruka who looks like he has no idea why he's here in the first place.

"Please close the door."

She pushes it shut and then turns back to the group of people. She steps a little closer to them and then just waits. The Hokage is staring at her intently but nobody says anything. So Mizuiro clears her throat and starts the conversation.

"Sensei Kakashi, the Kazekage is save again, I assume." Out of the corner of her eye, she can see Yutaka sigh. He's never liked how much information she gets from everywhere and everyone, being convinced it'll get her in trouble one day.

"He's doing well but Akatsuki got what they wanted."

"I see."

The Hokage sighs. "I'm not gonna ask how you found out about that top secret mission. You're already causing enough trouble as it is."

She swallows and ducks her head in embarrassment. She didn't know she would be this right with her assumption about the mission the former Team 7 left on. She literally only heard rumors about Naruto being sent on a mission to Suna directly after arriving back in the village and just put it in the timeframe she had for everything else happening. "What's the verdict for my request?"

"I'm not happy about admitting that you might be right. He's still very much a prisoner and it will stay like that. But we had him brought in for questioning again and Inoichi went through some of his recent memories when he wouldn't talk and found out enough to base an informed decision on it. But first I need to know if you've changed your mind."

"I didn't. There's no benefit in resetting the small progress I've made with him and after the Kazekage was attacked again who knows how long we have until it's our turn."

"Alright." Tsunade turns to Iruka who's still looking slightly confused. "Iruka, for the unforeseeable future Mizuiro's hours at the academy will be cut short. Her apprenticeship will have to take a back seat for a while. I know she hasn't been with you for long so I don't think it should be a problem."

"If she's okay with that then I guess I'm too. It's not like we're at a level where she can't take it easy."

"Furthermore if she requests it, she'll get a classroom after hours to teach him in."

"Uhm sure. Just who exactly are we talking about here?"

"The former Akatsuki member that handed himself over to the Kazekage and was then handed over to us," Kakashi says.

"An Akatsuki member? She's taking care of an Akatsuki member?" He looks a little shocked but it quickly morphs into anger. "We have an Akatsuki member in the village? Are you going insane Hokage?"

"Iruka let's discuss this once we're done here. I know for a fact that some of us have other things to do today."

He glares at her and shakes his head. He's obviously worried and probably rightly so with his close relationship to Naruto.

"So back to the matter in hand. Mizuiro's been already pulled from all future Team 4 missions since she's generally speaking on a mission right now. But if you find you need her you can request exceptions, Yutaka."

"What are we supposed to do if Nanami and Keiko start asking questions?"

"I don't see why they would but if it does come up in any shape or form, lie. Tell them Mizuiro is busy at the academy. This is none of their business right now."

"Well we'll see if that works," Mizuiro mumbles to herself. She's horrible at lying and Yutaka isn't that good either.

"Now, Mizuiro, I made the decision that you will be allowed to take him outside. Keep it to twice a week for now. And this happens as a trial for now, so if he screws up we take the privilege away from him again. Please make that clear to him. Of course, you will be shadowed on all occasions so you won't need to worry about being overwhelmed by him. But it also means there's no use in lying to us about details. So we need you on your best behavior and aware of your surroundings. Be alert and avoid taking him to risky places, like the training areas or common meeting places for other Ninjas. Also, we need you to come up with a cover story, it should be obvious that you can't tell anyone who he really is. You're allowed to take him to the academy and use the material there to tell him about Konoha's history or whatever you see fit. Just make sure to show him clearly what our values are and how much worth we put into them. Understood?"

She nods.

"Alright. Furthermore, I want you to give weekly feedbacks now and to tell me, Kakashi or Inoichi about any suspicious behavior he shows or hints at. Inoichi will also tell you about what we found out with our check-in. If you have any questions or worries that come up during the next few weeks, come to one of us or even Yutaka if none of us are available. All four of us got all the details and I gave the three of them the authority to decide in emergencies. Any questions?"

"I don't think so. Though I'd actually prefer if I did not get all of the details on what you found out. Just the important ones if possible. I feel like we've already invaded his privacy enough as it is and I don't think he'll ever trust anyone if we keep sharing his thoughts between all of us."

"I'll try keeping it short then," Inoichi says.

"Thank you."


Mizuiro brushes her hand over the seal and opens the door. She's kind of excited. Today's the first time she's officially allowed to take Deidara out and also the first chance she had to actually tell him about it. She hopes he'll take it well and not think she's trying to make fun of him or something. She didn't even bother combining this visit with buying groceries for him since she wanted an excuse to come back tomorrow if he does take it badly.

"Good morning!" she says loudly enough for it to echo a little in the seemingly empty apartment. There's no answer as usual but she's sure he isn't asleep anymore. It's already past eleven and it can barely be called morning anymore. Sure enough, he appears in the doorway to the bedroom, arms crossed in front of his chest and an angry look on his face. It's unexpected but not new. She had been on the end of his short fuse a few times already. Though she guesses he's passing on his anger on the interrogation team members onto her this time.

"What do you want?"

"I have a surprise for you."

"What is it this time? Another stupid card game?" Yeah no, she won't be that dumb again. He not so very nicely kicked her out the day she offered to play cards with him.

"No something much better."

He raises an eyebrow.

"But first I need to apologize because it's partially my fault they pulled you in for interrogation again. I didn't know that would happen so I'm really sorry."

"What did you do?"

"I requested to be allowed to show you around the village every now and then and I got the permission."

For a slight second, there's something akin to joy in his facial expression but it's gone just as quickly as it came. "Where's the catch?"

"There's none. The only things you need to know is that we'll be shadowed at all times and that a single misstep will get this privilege taken away again. Oh, and we'll surely end up running into people who know me and want to know who you are. To them, you'll be a friend of my cousin Kaito who's thinking about moving here because this mission is still kept under wraps." She stops for a second, he looks a little dumbfounded. "So you wanna smell some fresh air again?"

"Seriously no catch?"

"Nope."

"Okay."

She smiles. "Great! Get a sweater, it's a little fresh today and we don't want to have to cut this short right?" Logically she knows that he's a ninja too and that all of them are used to being in weird weathers and temperatures in unfitting clothes. But from what she read she's pretty sure their bodies subconsciously regulate body heat with chakra in those situations and well she's not sure whether he can do that or if the seal prohibited that too. "Oh and if you could tie up all of your hair that would be great too. Just to make you look less like your bingo book picture."

He raises an eyebrow at first but follows both her requests. He's already wearing shoes when he comes back out of the bedroom.


He stops responding to anything she says, the second they leave the building he's living in. He withdraws and straightens up, clearly on edge and more importantly on guard. She knows he too must have noticed the Jonin following them by the way he keeps checking over his shoulder.

So she makes small talk on her own, telling him little tidbits about streets and buildings, mentioning in passing the shop she buys his groceries at and where her parents always took her to get ice cream. Just random thoughts that pop into her head when she sees certain things and it seems to help him relax a little.

Though that's over the second somebody calls her name from behind them.

"Oh damn it" she mumbles but still stops and turns. Deidara stops too, though he keeps looking up at the Hokage monument, and she makes sure to position herself so that she can keep him in her sight.

"Natori, hey," she says when he reaches them. Deidara turns towards them a little more, clearly mustering Natori.

"You weren't at the academy today and nobody could tell me where you were, Mizu-chan." He sounds a little accusing but there's still a smile on his face when he plucks a piece of paper out of his pouch and hands it to her.

"Sorry, I asked for fewer hours since I have some other things to take care off at the moment. But thank you for bringing me their letter."

"Just don't make a habit of it. I can't run through the whole village all the time because you decide working is no fun."

"Well, it's not like you can judge that. I remind you that kids are way more difficult than birds."

"Sure." He jokingly rolls his eyes but it seems to draw his attention towards Deidara, who's lost interest in their conversation and is staring at a rooftop – she assumes it's the one where the Jonin that's following them is hiding. "So who's this guy here?"

He startles, blinks and looks over at them, clearly not expecting that he would be noticed.

"This is Deidara," she immediately jumps into his rescue and damn she should have thought of a different name too, shouldn't she. "He's a friend of Kaito and he's thinking about moving here, so I'm showing him around a little."

Natori's eyes narrow. "Two questions. Is he as much of an asshole as Kaito? And is he staying with you? Because I'll have to report that back to your father."

Now it's her turn to roll her eyes and she harshly stabs her finger into his chest. "No to both. And you are not my big brother as much as you like to pretend you are, so shut it. Also, it's none of my father's business what I do when they leave and you know that. If he wants to make sure I follow his rules, he should be here and check himself and not make you his spy."

He defensively raises both his hands. "You know why I do this."

"Yes but that doesn't mean I have to like it!"

"Alright, alright. Don't worry. I won't go into details with him. I have more important things to worry about then you being mad at me."

"Great, thank you. Now was there anything else?"

"Actually yes," he says and steps closer to her. His voice is quieter when he starts talking again. "Did you hear about the rumors coming from Suna? I know you've been interested in that lately, so I thought I-"

"Right now is really not the time," she interrupts him and gives him a look that she hopes conveys how very much she wants him to shut up right now. She nervously glances back at Deidara, who's back to watching them closely.

"What? Is your friend not supposed to know how much information you collect without anyone knowing?"

She feels her cheeks heat up and says "This is not about that. So let's just leave it at the fact that I already know about it."

"I see. Then I guess I'll see you at dinner on Sunday." He starts walking backwards, eyebrows raised and clearly not satisfied with her answer.

"Yeah. Thanks for bringing me their letter." She smiles gratefully at him and he gives her one last nod before he jumps up onto a roof and disappears. She sighs and turns back towards Deidara. "I'm sorry for him. He's a family friend and I-"

She startles when he grabs her lower arm and after a quick look around tugs her off the street into an alleyway between buildings. "What are you doing?" she hisses at him. But instead of answering he forcefully turns her around and corners her against the wall. She feels her heart jump into her throat in panic while the more rational part of her brain immediately starts assessing the situation for ways to get the upper hand again.

"What rumor was he talking about?"

He's glaring at her but she's not about to just back down. She tries tugging her arm free but he doesn't budge. "Let me go."

"Does this have to do with them?"

"I'm not allowed to talk to you about these things, so back off."

"Mizuiro, please."

She bites her lips and finally looks away. It's a weird feeling to have him address her by her name. She can't remember him ever having done that before. The fact that he's saying please doesn't make her feel better either.

"I can't-" she starts but gets interrupted by a noise to their left. They both look over and she uses his surprise at the interruption, to shake off his hand and step out from between him and the wall. The Ninja standing at the end of the alleyway musters them and she assumes he's the Jonin that was assigned with watching them.

"Everything alright here?" He's looking directly at her, clearly only caring about her response.

She straightens up and swallows done the nervousness that's starting to rise in her. "We're good."

"Sneaking around in alleyways doesn't make you seem trustworthy. So keep to the main streets from now on," the ninja warns them and she nods with a tight smile. "Also I'll have to report this."

She crosses her arms in front of her chest. "I'm aware. But as you saw nothing was going on. We were just talking."

"Just remember you'll be the one in trouble if you can't manage to keep him in line."

"Like I said, I'm aware. Can we leave now?"

"Go ahead." He's gone within a second, probably off onto a roof again and she angrily huffs before starting to walk back towards the main street. She can hear Deidara fall into step behind her. This experiment could have started out so much better but no, they had to fuck it up on the first day. And she can't even be mad at Deidara because it's not his fault that they ran into Natori who couldn't keep his mouth shut.

"Watch it," Deidara says and tugs her out of the way of a group of people she nearly bumps into. She looks up at him and then shrugs his hand off again. He sighs heavily. "Does this mean a lot of trouble for you?"

"For me? No. Why should it? I didn't do a thing. You were just trying to get me to talk in the most inconvenient way possible on your first day allowed outside after getting a clear warning off only having one strike."

"Guess I played myself then."

"We'll see. But maybe we should head back before we run into any more trouble."

"Lead the way."

They don't talk during the walk back but her head is spinning with thoughts about whether or not she should tell him about Akatsuki successfully capturing the Kazekage. She didn't even contemplate it before. Now that he knows something's going on though, she kind of feels like she has to. Because what good will it do him if he hears the rumors and then goes back to being locked up by himself and with only his thoughts as company. That'll surely drive him mad.

It takes her until she's already halfway to her parent's house after bringing him back, to make up her mind. She immediately turns around and makes a beeline back to his apartment. She's not sure if there's somebody watching it 24/7 but if there is, it'll look weird for her to show up again. So she makes sure to loudly say, "I'm sorry, I forgot something!" when she enters his apartment. She's not sure it'll fool anyone but well she can try.

He's not in the living room or kitchenette, so she hesitantly peaks her head into his bedroom. He's lying on the bed but staring directly at the door. He looks surprised to actually see her — he probably assumed she'd be in and out without talking to him. She closes the door behind herself and swiftly walks over to him.

"What are you doing?" He sits up and she hesitates a split second before sitting down on the edge of the bed, so she doesn't have to look at him while saying her part. That it places her with her back to the window, making anybody outside unable to read her lips is a bonus.

"I shouldn't be telling you what I'm about to tell you. But after what you did I think it's only fair that you get some information back."

Out of the corner of her eye, she can see him tilt his head curiously.

"Akatsuki made their move. They finished up your job a few weeks back. But the Kazekage is alive and safely back home." She turns a little towards him and can clearly see how hard he's clenching his jaw. "The team send to rescue the Kazekage actually also managed to kill your former partner."

"Sasori is dead?"

She nods.

He actually laughs a little at that and rests his head on one of his hands. "God I would have loved to see his stupid face when he realized that art isn't a thing for eternity after all."

"So this is good news to you then?"

"It's fantastic news. Not that I wouldn't have preferred to end him myself but you know. Beggars can't be choosers. At least this way I have one less thing on my list once I'm allowed to move freely again."

She swallows and looks directly at him. "About that. I really hope you know what I'm risking here. The fact that I even know these things is not good for me and if somebody finds out that I told you. Let's just say it'll be troublesome, okay?"

"Don't worry. Something like today won't happen again. I have no interest in landing myself in an even worse situation than being locked up in this apartment."

"That's good to hear." She smiles and he actually returns it, though it's more of a smirk. It suits him though and it makes him look more at peace with this whole thing than she has ever seen him look before. She stretches her legs out and then gets up again. "I really should leave now. I already stayed way too long, for just having forgotten something."

She grabs one of the books of his nightstand. "I'll give it back to you the next time I'll visit."

"It's fine."

She can feel him watching her walk to the door and open it.

"Will you tell me the next time something happens?"

She hesitates a second on the doorstep and then just nods before finally leaving. This surely won't blow up in her face, right?


Deidara doesn't sleep that night.

He's glad she told him about it, even after he got them in trouble — or just himself? He's not sure if she was being honest when she said she wouldn't be affected by it. It just threw his mind into chaos again. He's genuinely happy the Kazekage is okay though. He struck him as a nice and understanding person. Not judging him even when he dropped to his knees in front of him, practically begged to be taken in and locked up. It was embarrassing and probably the lowest he'd felt in his life. But at the same time, he was proud to finally be able to take his life into his own hands again. It was damn time for it anyway.

Now though he wonders who they send. Sasori probably again. Suna isn't an open area to fight in so he has no idea who else could have taken on the job beside him. Maybe Konan or Kakuzu. Both of them are pretty flexible in crowded areas. Does Mizuiro know it? He shouldn't ask her though. She made clear that she wasn't allowed to talk about this. Neither with him nor in general. It sucks but he gets it. He's a prisoner after all.

He rolls over on the bed, closing his eyes again. He sighs deeply. He wonders if they went looking for him too or if they already wrote him off as dead. Maybe the Kazekage even told them he wasn't there anymore. He can't imagine it though. The Kazekage seemed too nice for that. But he hopes the Hokage considered both options and what it could mean for Konoha. He should tell Mizuiro about it when she comes by the next time.

Just to make sure.