A/N: Yes, I realize now that Hyuuga branch members get killed if they betray the family. But for the sake of argument, dont hurt me!!!! Im sorry this took so long. The next part should be up soon because it was meant to be in the same chapter as this but it was too long. So, Ill work on it - plus its more exciting.

I also want to thank everyone for your frequent/long reviews!! I wont mention names because the list might take up too much room, but know I love you, k?

Luckily and unfortunately, the window in their room was positioned just so that the first lights of dawn streamed almost painfully into the red head's face. At least he didn't sleep in like he felt inclined to, but he had the strong urge upon waking to brutally murder the architect for this inn. It took him a few moments to actually get out of the bed and even longer to wake up sufficiently in the bathroom.

After his usual cold water face-splashing, Sasori gathered up his belongings, got dressed and went downstairs to order some breakfast and some coffee.

During that time, Deidara awoke. The light shining onto his partner's bed had reflected off a kunai and incidentally blazed right into his eyes. He sat himself up, still quite comfortably wrapped in his thick bed covers, rubbing his eyes furiously. Deeming himself adequately awake, he slowly looked around the tiny room the two of them had been given the night before.

How had he gotten here again? The last days events were a bit of a blur now that he thought back. All he could remember was running all day. Didn't he collapse? Oh, that's right, Danna carried me. All memory of the strange objects he felt against his stomach were gone. Instead, a blush crept across his face for a reason that he himself couldn't find.

The puppeteer chose that exact moment to return from his errands with a cup of coffee in hand. For a second, he just stared at the blonde still trying to rid his face of the pink tint, which succeeded in making his cheeks get steadily more red, before he turned towards the kunai and scrolls on his bed.

Sipping calmly at the hot liquid as if nothing were out of the ordinary, the red head said in a lazy drawl, "Breakfast might be ready downstairs by now."

Finding that he was getting used to this lack of enthusiasm, Deidara, who had finally managed to tone down the mysterious flush, replied happily, "Oh, un, okay!" With that, he leapt from his bed, almost being planted on his face by the bedclothes still wrapped around his body, and made for the door.

Sasori found himself, yet again, appalled at the blonde's lack of decency. "Put something on, brat." His voice was quiet, but too sharp to ignore.

The sculptor looked down at his state of undress and decided that Sasori was probably right – it wasn't so great an idea to walk around a public inn in just his shorts. His cheeks flushed pink again and he sauntered back over to his pile of clothes to throw on his garments once more.

"Are we gonna leave soon, danna, un?" Deidara ventured before leaving the room.

His partner muttered an affirmation and added, "Get your things ready. We'll leave after you eat."

A quick look about the room showed he had nothing else to take along, so the blonde happily made his way down the stairs. Breakfast had to be the best meal of the day! His mood was further improved when he saw a traditional meal laid out in front of him.

When he finished, the two left the inn and, pausing a moment so Sasori could get his bearings straight, they set off, still making sure to keep as much to the trees as possible.

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"I'm tired and my feet hurt," Ikkaku whined when he and Azuma finally stopped again. Dawn was just beginning to break and the first rays of sun were beginning to shine through the trees' boughs, dancing off the small lake to the left of them.

Azuma resisted the urge to turn around and gag him. Honestly, what kind of shinobi was this idiot if he couldn't take long journeys. No wonder his clan hated him. Anyway, how could the fool complain? The two of them hadn't been bothered since they had taken to traveling at nights, they were almost at the first safe haven at his brother's house, and he thought he had found a very nice rest stop.

"And why are we next to water? We're going to get swarmed by mosquitoes."

Patience, patience, he told himself through gritted teeth, clenching and unclenching his fists. He decided it was probably a good idea to get a hold of himself before he answered. If he ended up saying or doing something that cause Ikkaku to leave, the mission would be ruined and it would be all his fault.

"We are only going to be here during the day and will leave when evening approaches. The bugs wont bother us." His voice was quiet to hide his obvious anger. In all honesty he couldn't see a single insect that would cause them any harm, but it was best not to start an unnecessary argument with this idiot.

As Ikkaku spread out his sleeping mat, he looked out at the light shining across the water and sighed contentedly, completely unaware of the other's desire to kill him. Soon, all the other Hyuugas would pay for putting him, Hyuuga Ikkaku, one with so much potential, into the branch family. He smiled into his makeshift pillow as he drifted off to sleep.

Azuma remained awake for a while to ensure the area was secure enough to drop his guard. They only had another hour or two's journey left to arrive at his onii-san's place. They would travel just left of the Valley of the End so as to further avoid any would-be pursuers and from there enter Oto no Kuni from a discreet pathway on the south western border that he had discovered a long time ago. There was no way anyone tailing them could find them after that.

Three years ago, his village had attempted to kidnap a young Hyuuga girl – the daughter of the head of the clan if he remembered right – and had failed. If only they had known about this traitor at that time, Kumo would already have the secrets of the Byakugan. And now he would get all the credit. His triumphant smirk lingered on his face until he finally returned from his rounds and settled down for the day.

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Deidara found himself enjoying today far more than yesterday. They weren't running at a break neck pace trying to find the quarry that hadn't even been confirmed. Instead, they ambled along the border of Wave Country and the Land of Fire leisurely, occasionally stopping at a village along the way to pick up some food for him to munch on.

It was becoming obvious that Sasori never really ate in his presence. The blonde assumed his partner had eaten breakfast, so the issue didn't make itself so blatantly conspicuous until it reached about midday and his own stomach was growling for the second time during their journey.

"Danna, can we get some more food, un?"

The red head didn't directly respond. He paused for a few moments, still walking, before replying emotionlessly, "You eat too much." Being that he didn't exactly sound angry, Deidara thought it meant, in the puppeteer's own aloof way, that they would find something to satisfy his hunger in the next village they passed.

"What about you, why don't you get something to eat, too, un?" It struck him how odd it was that Sasori didn't eat. He had thought on more than one occasion that the puppet master had gone a long time without food.

The red head stopped to think of how to respond properly. At the moment, he had no intention of revealing his every secret to this brat he had just met. Nor did he particularly care to expose anything about himself to anyone anymore. It wasn't worth the time, effort, and stress.

So, how could he put this? "I'm not…hungry," came the reply after a moment of thought. Yes, that was technically true.

The blonde quickly picked up the hesitation. He ended up spending the next fifteen minutes that it took for them to arrive at their next stop trying to find the cause of such indecision. However, he was unable to piece every hint he may have received in the past together before the smell of hot ramen drove every thought and bit of progress he had made from his mind.

After a short break, the two left the tiny village, Deidara fully satiated and Sasori brought back into awareness with another cup of coffee.

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Only when the sun was getting low in the west behind them indicating mid to late afternoon did they finally stop. They had just passed out of a small, discreet passageway through a tall mountain range and were once more in a thickly forested area. Sasori finally spoke again.

"Stay here and get some rest. I shall return and wake you when necessary."

The blonde found himself surprised at the abruptness of this announcement. "Un?" was all he could get out. Was his partner abandoning him? It felt like a lead weight had replaced his heart.

"Its more than likely we will be confronting the shinobi tonight and we'll both need as much energy as possible," Sasori replied. There was no visible reason for the look of desertion that the blonde currently had all over his face. What the hell was wrong with this kid? Hm…he didn't really feel inclined to explain himself further – he also enjoyed toying with his gullible and oversensitive partner. Without another word, the puppet master turned back around to continue in the direction they were going. His lips played into a tiny smirk as he left the blonde.

Deidara couldn't get the bad feeling out of his stomach as he complied to the other's instructions. What did it matter if that cranky jerk left him? He couldn't understand why he was so affected by the prospect of that possibility.

Laying out his cloak to avoid getting himself dirty, he curled himself into a comfortable ball. Maybe it wasn't just that either. He just had a bad feeling about this whole situation. Still pondering, he drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

Sasori, on the other hand, had no intention of deserting his new partner. He would have hell to pay if he returned without the blonde. Instead, he was merely scouting out their location to the allocated interception point.

He had only to pass over another small hill before he was able to make out the only shape of a cottage for miles. Exactly where they needed to be. Judging by his calculations, their quarry was only moving at night and, by that standard alone, would not have made it to this point yet.

He planned on waking Deidara when the sun was setting. Until then, he would keep watch quietly. After all, he hadn't used any of his chakra, so he didn't need rest.

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Azuma, as the more responsible member of the party of two, woke first, having trained himself to sleep only as long as he needed. The sun was just beginning to approach the horizon, its blazing hues violently brushing the tips of the trees as though trying to set the entire forest afire.

With a sigh of contentment, he rose, packed up his sleeping mat and proceeded to wake his companion who, upon receiving the hard prod in the back responded by merely rolling over. Azuma left it at that for now before he got angry. Instead, he moved on to making a sort of breakfast…or whatever it could be called at dusk.

Ten minutes later, the lazy and complaining Ikkaku had risen and was starting to eat his food silently. Azuma was thrilled to see the white haired Hyuuga wasn't raising his temper yet.

When Ikkaku had finished, he spoke for the first time that morning. "Which way are we going, Azuma-san?"

With an indifferent wave of his hand in a northward direction, he growled in reply, "There's a passage through the mountains on the border of Oto no Kuni that I'm pretty sure only I know of. Its very hard to find and once we pass it, no one can catch us." He paused, determining the distance. "We should reach onii-san's house by nightfall."

"Good, cuz I really want a shower."

Great, here comes the whining. Azuma said nothing in return and shoved his cooking gear into his pack, indicating in his own unfriendly way that Ikkaku ought to do the same.

The two set out within five minutes, leaving the peaceful lake looking as undisturbed as it had when they had arrived that morning.

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From his perch in one of the tallest trees on the thickly forested hill between Deidara and the cottage, Sasori could keep an eye on both as well as the passage he suspected their targets were planning on using. The shutters were all closed in the house and there didn't appear to be any sign of life there, but he knew this to be the right place. He had kept almost stock still for the two hours he had left the blonde to reenergize himself until his keen brown eyes caught sight of movement coming through the opening in the rocky pass.

Lithe as a cat, he shimmied down the tree trunk and made his silent way towards where he had left the blonde.

Deidara had woke some time before and had also found himself a low branch in a nearby tree. The uneasiness from before wouldn't be shaken off. He didn't understand why he felt so vulnerable without his partner. After all, he had only known him for five days.

No, he told himself firmly, it isn't just that. Even when Sasori reappeared across the clearing, his discomfort eased only partially. Granted, he felt better now that he wasn't alone, but everything still seemed a little off. Removing himself from the branch, Deidara grinned at the puppeteer who, for a brief moment, looked confused when he couldn't find the blonde right away.

Sasori lost no time in covering up his expression and scowled in response to the amused smile. But he quickly changed expression to his more serious face (not much of a difference, but Deidara was learning how to differentiate) as he said in a lower voice than they had used earlier, "They're here. The direct path to the cottage is right this way. We need to move."

The sculptor's face lit with nervous excitement. His grin still plastered on his features – this time more anticipating – he followed as the puppet master led through the trees to their right.

Mere minutes later, hushed voices could be heard where the two had stood not long ago. Sasori had judged it dark enough to be able to climb another tree and watch their targets from there without being seen and Deidara was just out of sight following them closely with stealth Sasori wouldn't have thought possible from such a bumbling kid.

The taller, brown haired nin turned around abruptly, looking directly at where the blonde was concealed in the bushes. Before the red head could react, the shinobi lashed out at the brush and Deidara performed a substitution jutsu at precisely the same moment, getting himself away safely.

"Azuma-san, I thought you said we'd be safe here. Stop being paranoid." The white haired young man next to him said in a whiny voice.

Azuma growled as if restraining himself from attacking his companion, but said nothing. It was quite obvious he was more than miffed at striking nothing more than a rock with his katana.

Deidara looked up at his partner with an excited grin. "So one of them is stupid and neither of them get along."

The red head noted that the blonde was able to successfully play things off as if he had planned everything. But he had to give him credit – though it was probably not as intended as he made it seem, it had told them both a few crucial things about their opponents as well as giving Sasori a clear view of both headbands, confirming that the two men were indeed their quarry. It also proved the sculptor had really good reflexes.

But there was no way he'd admit it. Instead, he murmured, "Hn."

The two Akatsuki members watched through the growing gloom as the other two disappeared into the cottage.