Well, I'm back. This chapter took for freaking ever because I had a family issue… And I was kind of ticked that Kishimoto killed off almost all of my favorite characters. Moving on; the plot makes its appearance in this chapter! If you thought that this was just another pointless feel-good story then you were sorely mistaken. I have plans for this story! And I do feel bad that all my chapters are so short though so stop bitching at me, I'm trying! (You know who you are) Temari will be given a larger role in this story because of Deidarakiller's request. I hope you enjoy!


Deidara ran through an unfamiliar part of the Akatsuki lair. He had seen Naruto disappearing into the area a few times after dinner and he had no other ideas as to where else the kitsune might be. Deidara rounded a corner and kicked open another door but still no luck. The blonde chewed on his bottom lip to stop the panic he felt from showing on his face. He had less than 15 minutes to find Naruto before he had to leave on his mission with Sasori.

Deidara rounded another corner and came face to face with a bright orange spiral mask. Deidara yelped and leaped backward, smashing the back of his head painfully against the wall then slumping onto the floor. "Shit, un!" He yelled and Tobi started laughing. "Tobi! What the hell's your problem! Do you just hide behind and corners and scare people, un?"

"Yep, but you're the first person to ever fall for it." Tobi managed to say between snickers. Deidara took a few deep breaths to slow his pounding heart. He stood up on shaky feet and glowered at Tobi who was still laughing.

"Tobi, where is Naruto, un?"

"Why?" Tobi asked innocently but Deidara felt cold dread wash over him. There was no way Tobi knew! Naruto was too smart for Tobi to have found out! But Naruto was only a twelve year old kid and he was pretty naïve at that. Deidara shrugged off his doubts and took a nonchalant pose.

"I'm leaving soon and I wanted to say goodbye, un."

"Naruto left the base last night." Deidara glared at Tobi until he started to squirm. "Naruto said he was bored and took off! That's all that happened, I swear!" Tobi shifted from one foot to the other in mock agitation and Deidara sighed inwardly with relief. He must have gone to see Granny again. Deidara thought. Naruto had already done that several times since joining the Akatsuki.

"Well, tell him when he gets back then, un." Deidara instructed and Tobi nodded earnestly.

"Tobi will!"

"Yeah, yeah, un. That's great, Tobi, un." Deidara turned on his heel and started to walk back the way he had come. Wordlessly Tobi followed him, herding the younger ninja to the main part of the base. Deidara tugged uncomfortably at the sleeve of his Akatsuki robe. He was not looking forward to working for this organization.


Flashback

Deidara stood next to Sasori in Pein's office. It had taken him only a few seconds to get ready and he was antsy to find out what the mission was. Pein was sitting behind his desk and Konan was at his shoulder. Deidara glowered at his leader but avoided looking at Konan. She was too nice for him to dislike.

Pein cleared his thought even though he already had everyone's undivided attention. "Your mission will be to go to Sunagakure in wind country. You will capture the Sand's jinchūriki." Deidara stared at Pein blankly. What the hell's a Ginger-Wicky? He wondered. "Doubtless you don't know about the jinchūriki so Konan will be briefing you. Sasori, a word."

Pein stood up and motioned for Sasori to follow him out the back door. Konan waited for the two to leave before she smiled at Deidara. "Sit, please, Deidara-kun."

Deidara wordlessly sat into one of the uncomfortable chairs littering the room and Konan took a seat across from him. "You know what a jinchūriki is?" She asked without the condescending tone that Deidara had half expected.

"No." He admitted reluctantly.

"Do you know what a bijū is?"

"No, un."

Konan smiled again but Deidara noticed another emotion flicker in her eyes. Anger or sorrow? "A bijū is one of nine demon-tailed beasts with huge amounts of chakra and a jinchūriki is a human host of one of the tailed beasts. Your mission is to capture the host of one-tailed raccoon of Suna. He's a red-haired ninja about Naruto's age. His name is Gaara of the Sand. You and Sasori must capture him alive and bring him back here so we can extract the demon."

"Why?"Deidara asked but Konan smiled and shook her head. Deidara frowned. "What are the other bijū, un?"

Konan listed all the bijū and what their current village was but it wasn't until she got to the nine-tailed fox that Deidara felt a surge of confusion. "The nine-tailed fox is dead, un. Konaha's yellow flash killed it." Konan's eyes danced with laughter and Deidara felt a surge of cold panic grip his heart.

"Yes but we got lucky. Not many people know this but the nine-tailed demon fox had a son. And better yet the kit was never put into a host! We think we can use the demon's kit in place of the original demon."

"For what?" Deidara pressed again but Konan just shook her head. Deidara's face was the perfect mask of curiosity but his insides squirmed uncomfortably. Naruto was the nine-tailed demon fox's son! They had both unwittingly joined the organization that was after Naruto! "What happens to the hosts, un?" Deidara forced himself to ask the first question that popped into his head however his lips felt numb.

"That depends on the host. The weaker ones die and what we do with the survivors is dependent upon their personalities. We either kill them or erase their memories and have them join the Akatsuki." Deidara nodded and Konan beamed.

"Would it be alright if I said goodbye to Naruto?" Deidara asked, his mind whirling with plans for an escape.

"Yes. You have half an hour." Konan had a sympathetic look in her eyes as she stood up and left. Deidara sat in his chair for a few moments before he stood up stiffly and bolted for the door.

End Flashback.


Naruto sat in Granny's kitchen and fiddled with King. It had always surprised him that the old woman had kept his first toy and secretly he was kind of glad of it. Naruto sighed and leaned back in his chair until his head bumped against the wall behind him.

"What the hell am I supposed to do, King?" He groaned. Naruto peered at King and was half amused by the innocent look of the toy's face.

"I'm going insane. Why the hell am I talking to a toy about this?" He tossed the toy onto the table then flopped down next to it, resting his chin on his folded arms. He frowned and furrowed his brow as he debated with himself.

The entire house was dark and unnaturally quiet and this disturbed Naruto to no end. This house had always been a permanent thing for him, it was his only real home since he and Deidara had left Iwa and now it seemed like it too would soon be gone. Naruto flinched as a loud, raspy cough boomed down from the upper floors. He grabbed King and hugged him to his chest like he had once done as a small child but even that could not block out the noise.

Naruto squeezed his eyes shut and buried his nose in King's fur. He was at a loss for what he should do. He had known that Granny's health had been deteriorating but for her to be dying… Naruto bit his bottom lip and quietly waited for the old woman's coughing to stop.

Naruto had arrived in the early hours of morning, before even the sun had risen and had immediately felt uneasy. The house had looked abandoned and there had been a strange odor about it; a strange mix of sickness and decay. He had run into the house and found Granny slumped in one of her overstuffed armchairs and looking skeletal. She was too weak to even lift a finger.

Naruto had scooped her up and carried her to her room. She was awake and she had told him that yes, she was dying. No, there was nothing he could do. No, he couldn't take her somewhere. No, he couldn't bring someone here. There was really nothing to do! Many years ago she had been in a fight and the enemy had used a technique on her and she was finally feeling the results. Yes, she was sure it was incurable. She knew because she was the bloody best damn healer nin Iwa had ever seen! Now look, it was her wish to die in her own home.

Eventually Naruto relented so Granny could get some sleep. She had told him that she wanted to die alone but Naruto was reluctant to leave. He had spent the rest of the morning disposing of the rotting food and cleaning up the gardens while he tried to figure out what he should do but he was still at a loss. Naruto knew that he could force Granny to seek attention but he didn't have the heart to go against her wishes. In the end, he had simply grabbed King and settled down in her kitchen.

Slowly Granny's coughing fit ended and Naruto blinked open his eyes. He wiped his eyes with his sleeves and sniffled discreetly. He was way too old to be crying! Throwing off his doubts, Naruto left the kitchen and marched up to his Granny's room.

He paused in front of her door and prepared himself for the discussion he would soon be having. He shuffled his feet and hugged King tighter before he knocked once then strode confidently into the room. His heart skipped a beat when he saw how frail and withered he looked but he pulled up a chair regardless and sat down. The two ex-Iwa ninja stared at each other in silence for a few minutes before it became unbearably uncomfortable.

"You know, Naruto-chan, you really do look so much like Deidara. I can scarcely believe that you aren't biological brothers." Naruto was torn between the urge to frown and the urge to smile so remained silent.

"In fact I think everyone but the two of you think of you as brothers," The old woman licked her lips and continued with a raspy chuckle. "What are you just embarrassed to show affection for one another? Honestly, Naruto-chan! Call him aniki once in a while! I'm an old woman and I'd like to see the last two members of my family act like bloody family."

"Granny." Naruto cut her off and she gave him a sad smile. Naruto's face looked like it had been carved out of stone and he was very dry-eyed. "I don't care what you say we have to get you to a hospital!"

"Oh, not this again!"

"Yes, Granny. I don't want you to die!" Naruto fiddled with King in his hands and stared hard at the old woman. Granny simple sighed and looked at the ceiling.

"My dear child, I am going to die whether you want me to or not. Even a human could smell the death on me. You must find it unbearable. I won't last the night no matter where I go so can't you let an old woman fade away peacefully in her own home? My great-great-grandfather built this house and I am the last of our family to ever be born in it. I should get to die in it as well." This time when she looked at Naruto he had to look away. He chose to study his knees and strangle King.

Granny reached over and put a hand on his cheek and it surprised her that it was dry. "You and Deidara are missing nin; you can never live here. This house will never be used after my death. Naruto-chan, you know that. Eventually someone will come to check on me and find me dead and they will give me an honorably burial in Iwa. Someone I've never met will give a speech about my services to the ninja world and there won't be a tear in sight because you and Deidara will not come." Naruto's head snapped up and he started to protest but Granny cut him off.

"You will not be captured because you went to Iwa to mourn for me." Naruto looked crestfallen but the old woman didn't attempt to comfort him. "Leave me here. Go find Deidara and tell him I'm dead. Mourn together. Grieve, pick a fight, or just cope. Just do it together like brothers should. Please."

Naruto had looked away again but he took Granny's hand and squeezed it. "Just go. I want to die alone." Naruto stood up on shaky legs and stared at the floor. Wordlessly he bent down and kissed her on her cheek. Granny just stared blankly at the ceiling. She felt herself growing weaker as the old jutsu took effect. She wanted to be alone more than anything in the world. She wanted to join her husband and children privately. Even if that meant Naruto had to leave.

Naruto walked to the door and stopped with one hand on the door handle. "Goodbye then." He said.

"Goodbye."

"I-I love you Granny."

"I love you too, Naruto-chan." Without looking back, Naruto left the room. He paused for a few seconds and clutched King. Then he ran. Naruto ran down the stairs and out of the house but even then he didn't stop. In her room, Granny exhaled for the last time as soon as the front door slammed shut.


Naruto didn't know how long he ran; he just knew that if he stopped running his emotions would catch up with him and he didn't want to deal with them just yet. Eventually he skirted to a halt in front of the giant rock that blocked the Akatsuki base from the world. He wasn't sure how long he had been running but his clothes were soaked with sweat.

He kicked the rock and waited for someone to open the door for him. Naruto knew he must look terrible. He hadn't slept since god only knows when and he had several cuts on his arms and face even though he couldn't remember when he had gotten them. He ran his fingers through his hair and pulled out several leaves and twigs but the action was more to give him something to do than out of vanity.

After a few moments the door opened but it had felt like eons to Naruto. He eagerly pushed forward as soon as there was room and walked past the person that had let him in. He didn't care who it was, he just needed to get to Deidara but the person had other ideas.

"I didn't have to open the door you know." Naruto turned and glared at Hidan. "Holy fuck! What happened to you?" Hidan gapped. Naruto just turned and started to walk away. As soon as the albino got over his shock at seeing Naruto look so terrible he walked after him.

"Damn it, Shorty, were you attacked or something?" Naruto just ignored him and marched down the hallway that led to the dining room. Deidara was always hungry. But Hidan wasn't used to people ignoring him. He grabbed Naruto's upper arm and spun him around so they were eye to eye. "Naruto, what happened to you?"

Although he heard the concern in the older boy's voice Naruto simply glared at Hidan and ripped his arm out of his grip. Hidan was stunned. No one had ever acted like that to him before! But there was something in Naruto's glare that made him almost reluctant to push it. He was sure that the younger boy's pupils had become slits and that his eyes had flashed crimson but they were back to normal before Hidan could get a good look at them. Hidan realized that he had grabbed his scythe without meaning too and he slowly lowered it. Naruto turned again and walked away but still Hidan trailed after him.

Naruto walked into the dining room but Deidara wasn't there. Naruto felt void of all emotions as he realized this and he marched out of the room and down a twisting hallway. Hidan trailed after him and waited for the opportunity to get Naruto to talk. They reached Deidara's room and Naruto kicked open the door without bothering to knock but Deidara wasn't in his room either. Naruto shut the door and turned to face Hidan. He didn't even acknowledge Kisame as he walked around the corner.

"Oh, Hi Naruto-"Kisame grinned at the blonde child without registering how bad he looked.

"Where is Deidara?" Hidan and Kisame stared at Naruto is surprise. His voice was hollow and monotonous. Kisame's eyes widened in surprise as he took in Naruto's appearance and Hidan adopted his regular smirk to hide his mounting concern.

"I don't know but if-" Naruto narrowed his eyes and Hidan felt his skin crawl.

"He went on a mission yesterday." Kisame provided, "He was looking for you but you-" Kisame stopped talking as Naruto pushed past him. He stared after him in shock. When Naruto was gone he turned back to Hidan.

"What's wrong with him?"

"How the fuck should I know, dumbass?" Hidan grumbled and turned his back on Kisame. He bit his lip and wondered why the normally happy boy was acting so strangely. Kisame frowned and walked after Naruto, determined to find out what the problem was. After a while Hidan followed all the while making up excuses for himself that made him seem like a heartless bastard.

Naruto walked into Pein's room without bothering to knock. The occupants all starred at him in surprise. Pein was sitting behind his desk with Konan and Tobi at either shoulder. Itachi was standing in front of the trio. Naruto felt the air behind him stir as Hidan and Kisame came and stood in the doorway. Without looking at anyone but Pein, Naruto marched into the room until he was next to Itachi but still he had eyes only for the Akatsuki leader.

"Naruto?" Konan asked but Naruto ignored her.

"Where is Deidara?" Naruto asked. Pein blinked in surprise.

"He went on a mission yesterday morning."

"Where?"

"That's classified information."

"Where. Is. My. Brother." Naruto said in the same hollow voice.

"I believe I already told you that he is on a mission." Pein said with barely disguised irritation. Naruto grit his teeth and his eyes flashed crimson.

"Suna." Konan said. Naruto glanced at her and nodded in thanks before turning around and marching out. He pushed past Hidan and Kisame and was gone before any of them had time to react. It wasn't until he had long since left the organization's base that Naruto noticed that he was still holding King.


Sasori was growing weary of Deidara's sulking. He was pretty sure that the brat had plenty of time to get used to the idea of working for the Akatsuki but apparently he had been wrong. Sasori wished that Deidara was complaining so that he had an excuse for stabbing him with his tail.

As much as he hated to admit it, Deidara was a way better partner than he could have ever expected even if he had some weird delusions as to what art was. But it was nice to have a partner that liked art at all. Orochimaru had zero interest in art of any kind so it had been hard for Sasori to find a reason to explain why his art was better than any other in the world. Sasori made a strange puppet noise and Deidara lifted an eyebrow but made no comment.

The two of them had recently entered the Wind country and would not reach Suna until evening. They were walking side by side on the sand, looking straight forward and not speaking a word to each other. So it had been since they had left the Akatsuki base. Deidara was too caught up in his own private thoughts of escape to start a conversation and Sasori was just thinking his normal things.

After walking a few more miles Sasori decided he might as well bring up a few points. "Look, brat, this is your first mission but I want it done quickly. Got it?"

"Hai, Danna." Sasori glowered ahead of him. Deidara had a talent for making perfectly respectful words and making them sound very insulting.

"I want you to infiltrate Suna and find the one tail as quickly as possible. Capture it without making a huge fuss and meet me at the village gate with it."

"Hai,hai, Danna." Deidara sounded exasperated. He would take as much time as he needed and Sasori could rot for all he cared. He had more important things on his mind than his impatient sensei. The two walked in silence the rest of the way to Suna.


So how was that? Looking back, Naruto is way more angsty than I meant for him to be but oh well. The great Abarat Fox commands thee to review and tell me what you think! Oh, and feel free to ask questions. Some parts are a bit confusing.