Sorry about the lack of updates! I got really sick over Thanksgiving break and, needless to say, didn't really feel up to writing. Then I had to go back to college and the last week of classes before exams (my first exam was today actually), so I had no time to write an update for Monday. In an attempt to apologize, this chapter is slightly longer than usual (although, as I look back, the chapters seem to be getting progressively longer anyway).

I am hoping this story will be drawing to a close soon, since I'm running out of lyrics from the song. However, I keep coming up with such fun ideas to prolong the tortu--I mean, fun. Anyway, enjoy.

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-sama. "A Little More" belongs to Skillet.


Let the World Crash

'Love is all around you now,

So take a hold.'

Chapter Nine

Deidara cursed under his breath, yanking impatiently at the thorny branch which had caught the sleeve of his Akatsuki cloak. When it didn't yield, he tugged harder and was rewarded with a loud, ripping sound. One blue eye glared incredulously at the large hole his sleeve was now sporting, before he turned with another grumbled curse. He batted a branch out of his way, only for it to swing back and nail him in the back of the head, nearly making him fall flat on his face.

"I'm gonna kill him, yeah," he vowed.

Needless to say, the blond Akatsuki member was not at all pleased with the situation he found himself in. He and his partner had just been assigned a mission...only the ditzy masked nin had pulled a vanishing act. Of course it fell to Deidara to hunt the idiot down. Since Tobi usually travelled underground like his teacher, Zetsu, that meant Deidara had to lower himself to following his partner's trail from the ground.

On foot.

Also needless to say, this was not the first time since he set out that the blond promised to kill Tobi. However, when he reached the point where his partner's trail ended, it quickly became obvious that he was not the one who had been able to have that pleasure. His chakra had been concealed out of habit, thus giving him a few moments to take in the scene unobserved.

Tobi--he knew it was his partner only from the Akatsuki cloak, since he had never seen the other man without his obnoxious orange mask--was lying in the grass surrounded by blood. His own blood, judging by the gaping hole in his chest. A few feet away, the brunette Konoha nin knelt beside Itachi, green chakra surrounding her hands as she worked over the unconscious Uchiha. She seemed completely focused on her task, so the blond decided to move closer.

A heartbeat later, he threw himself backward as a kunai sliced through the spot he had been standing in a moment earlier. He rolled back to his feet to find the kunoichi had risen to her feet and was now facing him. She was crouched over her lover like a wolf protecting her offspring...though fallen mate was probably a better analogy. Her lips drew back in a snarl, exposing razor sharp canines, and Deidara decided that this was perhaps not the best time to be debating what to compare her to.

"You sure are ungrateful to the person who has saved your life twice now, Leaflet," he said.

Her brown eyes narrowed.

"You are Akatsuki. I have no reason to trust you," she said warily.

"You trust him," Deidara said with a nod toward Itachi.

His blue eyes had turned contemplative. He glanced toward Tobi's body, then back toward the other two in the clearing.

"Leader's not going to be happy about this," he said.

"Not my problem," Hana responded shortly.

She carefully returned the kunai to its pouch at her side and knelt back down beside Itachi. The blond relaxed slightly, the mouth in his hand spitting out the clay it had been prepared to mold should she continue to be aggressive. He carefully stepped into the clearing and watched her continue to work on the Uchiha.

"Do you really think you can get him out of here alone?" he asked.

Her shoulders stiffened, but she didn't respond. Deidara eased into a crouch beside her, lowering his voice into a cajoling whisper.

"I can help you, yeah. I know this area, know Akatsuki. If they come after you, you can't expect to fight them off yourself. I can, or at least I can delay them long enough for you to get away with him," he said.

He didn't even see her hand move before a kunai was pressed against his throat, the edge digging just deep enough for a thin line of blood to bloom on his tanned skin. His hands tightened into fists but he managed to control himself from blasting her to pieces.

"You told me you hate Itachi. Why should I trust your offer to help us?" the kunoichi demanded.

Deidara shrugged, wincing as the motion caused the kunai to press a little harder against him.

"I do hate Itachi, but I hate the Akatsuki more. I didn't join them; I was drafted, yeah. The Uchiha was the only one stopping me from making a run for it, since I knew he'd just hunt me down and use that bloody Sharingan on me again. If he's going, then I'm getting out too," the blond said.

Hana hesitated, then withdrew her weapon. Deidara used the torn sleeve of his cloak to wipe away the thin line of blood, then shed the cloak completely. He balled it up, then tossed it contemptuously to the ground.

"Wish I could burn it, yeah," he muttered.

He pulled off the ring he wore on his right index finger. Under Hana's suspicious gaze, he then pulled off the ring Itachi wore on his right ring finger. He rose and cautiously approached Tobi's body, taking the ring from his left thumb. He stowed all three in the pocket of his pants.

"Why did you do that?" Hana asked.

"When we wear them, Leader can contact us mentally. I don't know if he can locate us with them too but I'm not taking the chance," he said.

"Then why keep them?" the kunoichi asked.

"Without the rings, we can't be replaced. There are supposed to be ten of us, but we've managed to extract bijuu with only nine. I'm betting that it'll be impossible with only five," he stated.

Hana did some mental math and frowned. He had said that there were nine of them now. With Tobi dead and Itachi and Deidara gone, that should leave six, not five. The blond saw her confusion and elaborated.

"I'm betting that Hoshigaki will catch up with us. He is Uchiha's partner, after all," he said.

"But only in the organization," she said.

He smiled thinly, "Uchiha has a way of inspiring loyalty in a person."

"I thought you hated him," Hana said, her smile matching his.

Deidara's visible eye widened and he sputtered for a moment.

"I do. I was talking about Hoshigaki, yeah," he said at last.

She couldn't stop the laughter which bubbled out of her. It was such a relief to laugh after the past couple hours...for that matter, the past couple of weeks. Deidara glared at her, looking like a bird with its feathers ruffled. At last, his lips tilted up in a crooked grin.

"I'm glad you think I'm funny, yeah. But we should get out of here," he said.

Hana sobered, but couldn't resist getting in one more jab.

"I never agreed that you could come," she said.

Deidara gaped at her as she smothered a giggle.

"You can come, at least until Itachi wakes up," she said.

He glared at her and grumbled, "Or until I get tired of you, Leaflet."

The blond knew better than to protest when she picked up Itachi. He followed along behind her as they struck out away from the Akatsuki base.

.o0o.o0o.

Due to Deidara's hunch, neither of the two nin were surprised when they sensed Kisame's chakra ahead of them. The fact that he was not concealing his presence suggested that he had come in peace, but just in case he hadn't, Deidara took the lead. Kisame was leaning against a tree trunk, dressed simply in an all-black outfit that emphasized how large he really was. He was not wearing an Akatsuki cloak.

His head lifted upon their approach, white eyes moving from Deidara to Hana and her burden. Without a word, he tossed a small object toward the blond. Deidara registered what it was a few seconds before he caught it. He tucked the ring into his pocket along with the other three.

"I'll take Itachi," Kisame stated gruffly.

Hana's brown eyes narrowed as she tightened her arms around the unconscious male. The shark nin stepped closer to her. He kept his massive chakra suppressed, but merely his height was enough to intimidate. He smiled at her, clearly showing the row of razor-sharp teeth lining his mouth.

"I don't want you to drop him, Leaf. We've got some traveling to do today if we want to get out of the organization's reach. You'll endanger him with your stubbornness," he said.

Hana glanced at Deidara, but the blond studiously avoided her gaze. He did not want to get in the middle of this situation. She reluctantly surrendered her burden.

"You better not drop him," she warned.

A low laugh was her only reply.

As Kisame had promised, they traveled hard, not stopping until they were in Bird Country. There, they stopped at an inn in a tiny village and rented two rooms. Strange as it seemed, life fell into a pattern while they waited for Itachi to wake up. Hana spent most of her time caring for the unconscious Uchiha, while Kisame and Deidara took turns doing small missions to earn money. One of them was always nearby, ready to protect the two former Konoha nin should trouble arise. At first, Hana found their constant presence smothering, but she grew to appreciate the sacrifice both missing nin were making. The jobs they were taking were far below their skill level. Deidara seemed to be the most frustrated at being caged in a small town but neither of them ever complained, at least not in her hearing.

One day, over two weeks after their arrival in Bird Country, Hana stood hesitantly at the door to the room the other two nin shared. Kisame opened it before she could decide whether or not to knock. He bared his teeth in what was meant to be a comforting smile.

"Something we can help you with, little Leaf?" he asked.

She nodded and he stepped aside to let her enter, then shut the door behind her. He leaned against it, folding his arms across his massive chest. She glanced from him over to Deidara. The blond was sitting at a rickety table. His attention was focused on a tiny sculpture he was creating out of clay, but he set it aside to look up at her.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, of course! I...um...just want to thank you both. You know, for staying here with us. You could have just gone your own way, but you stayed. I appreciate that," she blurted.

She was so horrible at things like this. Kisame's smile widened in amusement.

"It's no trouble," he said.

"Speak for yourself," Deidara grumbled, holding up his hands. His palms were swathed in bandages to hide his bloodline limit. He added, "You aren't tasting cotton all the time, yeah."

Hana laughed at the disgruntled expression on his face and, after a moment, the blond joined her. Kisame watched them both, the smile abruptly leaving his face.

"Well...that's all I wanted to say. I need to get back to Itachi," Hana said.

The shark nin shut the door behind her and waited a moment before turning to Deidara. He was staring at the door with a slight smile still on his tanned features.

"Don't be an idiot. She's too old for you," he stated.

The blond blinked, caught off-guard, then bristled, "I'm nineteen!"

"And you won't live to see your twentieth birthday if you fall for Itachi's girl," Kisame stated flatly.

Deidara glanced away from the other man's sharp gaze, unable to hide his blush.

"I'm not falling for her," he mumbled.

Kisame was silent, studying the blond. After a moment, he nodded to himself and left the room. His point had been made. It was up to Deidara whether or not he would take the warning to heart.


Questions for you thoughtful reviewers out there:

1. -gasp- Deidara likes Hana?! (react to that however you want)

2. Do you think the peacefulness will last?

3. It's been two stinking weeks. Itachi's a pansy if he hasn't woken up yet. Why do you think he hasn't?

And review replies:

SmallButPowerful: -evil grin- It's always more complicated than that. You'll find out why next chapter (if the characters cooperate with me).

Akai-sora: Well, Kakashi was shown to have the Mangekyou in his fight with Deidara during the Gaara arc of Shippuuden (I think I misspelled that). So that part was just working off accepted cannon.
As for killing Sasuke....well, I like Sasuke. Even if he is an overly-emotional, psychotic freak. Besides, after all that Itachi has gone through to keep his little brother alive, do you really think I'd just kill him off like that?
And yes, putting questions does make people write longer reviews for the most part.

Greensapphire: Glad you thought I described Sasuke well. I hope Hana and Kiba manage to reconcile too!

Kiwi4me: Thanks for reviewing!

Cheese Maiden: I hope so too.

The lost kitsune 4: Welcome! Thanks for reviewing. As for your questions...well, now that would be telling, wouldn't it? You'll find out!

WickedWickedDame: Welcome! I'm glad I finally have a reviewer who likes poor Sasuke.

xTxNxLx: And another vote for reconciliation between the Inuzuka siblings! Providing they cooperate, I would like to see Kiba forgive Hana as well. We'll see.

Please click the nifty little button you see below and leave me a REVIEW! It will bring light to my cloudy skies and a song to my silent heart. It will give wings to my earthbound mind and allow me to soar the heavens of inspiration...Wow, stress makes me poetic. Please review!