Ugh. Got held up by mail call and other such bullshit!

By the way, something I forgot to do in the previous chapter is thank you all for your reviews and support :) Love you all very much, it makes me happy to see that after like...idk maybe 5 years, this story is still getting attention! Please bear with me as the uploads are not at ALL regular...that's just what happens when you're in the Army. Unpredictable schedule!

It kind of occurred to me that, for those of you that have been following this story (and any other stories of mine) from the beginning, you've all kind of...seen (well not literally seen but you know what I mean) me grow up :) I started this story when I was 14. I'm now 18 :D

Anyway..love you guys, love this story. Enjoy!

Chiyo POV

I watched as the boys hugged each other, screaming incoherently- cries of joy. I felt tears sting my eyes at the scene. I had always been fond of Deidara.

But was this scrawny, dirty little boy the same timid child that had come over to play time and time again, hiding bruises behind long sleeves, soft-spoken and polite? He looked different.

I stared at him, standing on the landing of the stairs, talking loudly and excitedly with my grandson. He looked older somehow. His hair was unkept and dirty, now growing past his shoulders. He didn't have that same air of innocence that he had once had, and the sparkle that gave life to his eyes was now gone. His smiles seemed forced at times, and he looked exhausted- I noticed dark shadows under his eyes.

I saw him flick something off the balcony, something trailing smoke. A cigarette? Jesus! I was sure he was Sasori's age and here was, smoking! I decided to say nothing until later, until he and I could have some time alone to talk. I missed our talks.

"Deidara!" I cried, and crouched down . I finaly gave into my temptation to hug him for a very long time. I held him, and could smell smoke on him, confirming my suspicion. Still, I said nothing.

"Chiyo-san!" he cried.

"Oh, but Deidara! You've been gone for forever! We were told you moved to a different town with some relatives! But we knew it wasn't true, you would have said something...and you've never mentioned any relatives," I said sadly. "You ran away from home, didn't you?"

I let him go and stayed crouched at his level, holding him at arm's length by the shoulders and looking at him, concerned.

"Yes, ma'am," he said, lowering his head slightly. "I ain't goin' back though!"

I was aware that he now carried himself differently. He had a rather defiant pose about him.

I ignored his reply. "Well, Deidara why don't you join us inside? You can even spend the night!" I stood up and away from the door so as to let him in.

His face fell. "Oh, Chiyo-san...I'm only just getting off work, I still have to go turn in my earnings! I can't..."

Work? I thought to myself. He's only twelve...

But I smiled. "Tell you what," I said. "You go do that and then come on back. We'll be waiting with dinner."

The little blonde positively beamed. "Yes, ma'am! I've just got to go ask Shinji for permission afterwards, but I know he'll say yes!"

I barely had time to wonder who Shinji was, as he was quick to say goodbye and then was off.

That evening, I made Deidara's favorite meal (spaghetti) and I watched him work his way through three giant helpings of it, getting spaghetti sauce everywhere and even some noodles in his hair. It didn't matter that he ended up looking like he dipped his face in a pot of the stuff, what mattered to me was that he was well fed and looked happy. I had him take a shower with plenty of bubble bath, though at first I hesitated to suggest it. At the age of twelve, Sasori no longer wanted anything to do with bubble bath, but Deidara was positively elated at the mention of it. It made me sad.

He was now clean and clothed in some of Sasori's clothes while his own clothes were being washed.

It was now eleven o'clock and I was busy putting the last of the dishes away, humming softly to myself. I heard the sound of small feet on the carpet and turned around. I was greeted by a tangled mess of blonde hair and sleepy eyes.

"Can't sleep," he mumbled, huffing.

I put the last plate away and closed the cabinet with a sharp snap. "Why not, hon?"

Deidara shrugged. He looked tiny in the clothes Sasori had lent him. There had been a time when Sasori had been the little scrawny one, and that was no longer the case. Sasori's clothes were at least two sizes too big. Deidara was obviously not being fed at regular intervals- he had not been this thin the last time I had seen him.

I patted a stool behind the counter, signaling for him to sit down, which he did. I sat down opposite him and watched him as he brushed his hair out of his face with his hands. It really struck me how he held himself differently- defensively, almost. And, almost at once, I noticed the pattern of bruises running up his arms.

I hadn't noticed them before because he had been so dirty, it just looked like dirt. After the bath, he had gone straight to bed, looking horribly exhausted. But now I could see the rainbow of black, blue, and crimson that littered his arms. Even looking at them made my own arms hurt.

"Deidara, what happened?!" I fought to keep my voice at a reasonable level.

Deidara looked down at his arms with a slight air of surprise and shrugged. "The high school voice. They take my things sometimes."

He said this so matter-of-a-factly, that I was inclined to believe this was a constant ocurrence.

I bit back words of reprimand. Reprimand for what, I did not know. Not fighting back? No, that was stupid. He was twelve, they were probably in their late teens. He was the size of a ten year old, I didn't doubt they were fully grown.

I sighed and grabbed the mug of coffee that I had left at the edge of the counter. The dark brown liquid inside was lukewarm at best, but I still drank it. It gave my mouth something to do other than ask Deidara questions he might not want to answer. I knew I had to talk to him, to find out everything, anything, but I did not know how and I was beginning to suspect that he knew this. I think we might have both known I was not the right person to be trying to talk to, but I couldn't help myself. I set the mug down with a light thunk.

"Deidara, what have you been up to..? You've been gone for a really long time. Who have you been living with? And where?" I had to force myself to say this, because I did not know how else to get on the subject, but I knew I had to.

Deidara hesitated. He looked up at me with those eyes, those tired eyes. "Just trying to lay low. I got found by Shinji and his sister, Katsumi. We're staying...in that abandoned building by the old pharmacy. It's quiet."

I looked at him closely and could not identify any signs of wanting to open up further than that. He seemed distant, and emotionally exhausted.

In the harsh yellow light that the kitchen lights threw upon us, the dark shadows under his eyes seemed more pronounced and drained his skin of all color, makiing him look ill. I could see his bottom lip was slightly fat and there was a half-healed cut running down the middle of it. A yellowish bruise, hardly visible, was painted upon his cheekbone. Someone had really let him have it.

"Deidara-"

"I think I'm feeling tired again, Chiyo-san. Thank you for sitting with me."

And with that, he hopped off the stool and was off to bed.

The next day, after a great breakfast consisting of chocolate chip pancakes and bacon, Deidara was off to work for the day and Sasori was off to school. During breakfast, I had mentioned that Shinji and his sister might want to take the apartment next door, as it was no longer being rented out as a result of a fire that had taken place in it the year before. I had gone downstairs while the boys were eating breakfast and had gotten the approval of the landlord, who had agreed on the condition that Shnji do the occasional odd job for him, which Deidara assured me Shinji would be glad to do.

It was now threee o'clock. Deidara had apparently gone and given Shinji directions because he and his sister had finished moving their pitiful amount of posessions into the apartment next door. Not five minutes ago Shinji had knocked on my door and had thanked me profusely for the opportunity, then had set off downstairs to ask the landlord whether he needed anything done. No sign of his sister, who looked sicker than anyone I had ever seen in my life.

I jumped, startled, as someone banged wildly on the door. Annoyed, I set down my tea and went to the door to find Sasori dancing around in front of it.

"Grandmaaaaa, open the doooooor!" he cried. "Ahhh, I need to peeee!"

Holding back my laughter, I opened the door and watched as he threw his backpack onto the couch and took off running into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.

"Watch the door!" I warned him. I chuckled quietly and picked up his backpack, dropping it off in his room, while I went back to my cup of tea and dinner, which was simmering on the stove.

I stirred the pot on the stove as Sasori came out of the bathroom, poking his head into the kitchen, sniffing and licking his lips. I saw him retreat to his room, no doubt positively starving by now.

As it had been decided, Deidara would come next door to eat his meals with us. Shinji and his sister were welcome as well, but Shinji had insisted on them getting their own, he had said something about already taking too much. To each his own, I decided.

Over the tall counter, I could see the top of a blonde head walk past.

"Home early, hon?"

Nothing.

I heard the bathroom door close and put it off to him not hearing me over the loud sizzling noise coming from one of the pans on the stove. Still, I felt worried.

A few minutes laters I called the boys for dinner. Sasori pretty much tore the place apart in a crazed attempt to get to the table and was already stuffing his face when Deidara practically dragged himself into the room. He hopped up onto his place at the table without much enthusiasm- none at all, actually. he kept his head down as he ate slowly.

"You alright?" I asked, leaning forward.

That's when I saw it. His right eye was swollen and bruised and painful-looking. "What happened to your face?!" I blurted out, clapping a hand over my mouth, shocked.

Deidara looked up, and I saw him look, not at me, but through me. His eyes were glassy and his stare empty. He shrugged and turned back to his food, which was nearly gone by now.

Even Sasori had stopped eating and was looking from Deidara to me with undisguised curiosity.

Deidara hopped off his stool and did his little trademark bow. "Thank you, Chiyo-san, that was really delicious. I've got to go help Shinji with the apartment now."

He and Sasori exchanged quick goodbyes and he hugged me before he went next door. I sat there, feeling confused.

"Sasori-kun," I murmured, taking a large gulp of water.

"Yes, ma'am," he replied.

"After your shower, you should go over there. Spend some time with him. Try to get him to tell you what happened, because I think you can tell he's in a very dark place right now. That's not good for him," I was voicing my fears aloud, the ultimate taboo in my book. I felt that, as long as I didn't voice it, it was not real. But Deidara really had me worried.

Sasori smiled. "Of course, grandma. I think he needs a friend. Well, I mean, he has me, but he needs me to be there for him."

When Deidara walked into the apartment, it was dark.

He walked past the master bedroom and saw that Shinji and Katsumi were sleeping in the beds provided by the landlord. They were old and used, but that didn't matter. Deidara smiled and wondered how long it had been since the two siblings had slept in a bed. They looked comfortable.

Deidara found the other bedroom and was pleased to see that Shinji had moved all of the blonde's things in there for him. There was a small bed, no doubt also provided by the landlord. He sat on it. It sagged under his weight, the broken springs offering no support.

He set about unpacking his few posessions, placing them in the drawers and closet that had been left behind by the previous owners. Only the kitchen had been damaged by the fire, and so these things were still good. They hardly looked used.

Deidara found the pipe Shinji had given him and set about breaking up a little nug of weed, the leftovers from a dime bag that Shinji had bought. It felt good to have a full tummy, but his face was aching.

(should've ran)

He packed the bowl with his mind elsewhere, thinking back to that afternoon, and how the highschool boys had ambushed him yet again, this time taking his brand new pack of cigarettes. He silently hoped they got hit by a car. The memory of a fist colliding with his face made him wince. He found it easy to remember the impact making his nose bleed as well as his eye swell and the feeling of blood dripping down his face in the hot midday sun, that coppery smell, it almost made him sick.

With his mouth on the mouthpiece, he lit the lighter and held the flame up to the bowl, conscious that the scrunching motion he was making with his face hurt his eye, but he didn't really care.

He inhaled. The contents of the bowl glowed a fierce orange, he felt hot smoke travel into his lungs.

It was going to be alright.

YES I'm still insired enough for the next package c: R&R? Hehe, thank you guys.