A/N: Sasori! Deidara! You sell outs!

The following morning found Deidara tossing his final bag onto the shoulders of the concierge from before. "I do hope that's everything..."

"So... do I..." The concierge groaned. Sasori walked past, tossing Opal's and Gold-dust's cages on top of the growing pile, Saso smiling as he walked over to his mother,

"I can't wait to get home, ano sa! The kids here are so weird..."

Sasori gave a simple shrug of his shoulders, "Yes, well we need to get home to see if we can have any time to fix up Itachi's ensemble." So, sighing that their time in the bright lights of Luminescent Valley was done, they all walked towards the front door...

Just to be stopped by a letter being slipped through the door. "What's that un?" Deidara asked, Sasori picking it up and opening it to read,

"'To the desk of Akasuna Sasori and Azumoji Deidara,

Your presence is requested at a garden party to be held at the Luminescent Valley Crystal Gardens tomorrow afternoon. We hope to see you there.

Yours truly,

Jet Settington and Uppity'."

"Oh my gods," Deidara shrieked, "A Luminescent Valley garden party?"

Sasori shared his lover's surprise, shaking his head in shock, "Next to the Shooting Star Ball, Luminescent Valley garden parties are the most exclusive events in Terram!" Saso watched his parents shriek and giggle with joy like school-girls for a few moments before he stood and insisted,

"If we go to that party-thing we'll miss Itachi's birthday, ano sa!" He shook his head, tears threatening to fall from his eyes, "Ever since we've gotten here the two of you have been acting so weird. I want to go home, ano sa!"

"Saso, quit being so misunderstanding!" Deidara pulled at his hair, "We've finally gotten to the upper-class, un. We can't ruin what we've worked so hard for!"

"And if we ruin this," Sasori explained, "We might never get this opportunity again!" Saso shook his head,

"But what about our home, our friends? I don't like it here, ano sa! The kids here act so fake and they're not anything like the Chakra-Mark Musketeers!"

Deidara wasn't hearing it, "You'll get used to it! I can't let this pass me by, I can't!"

"And neither will I." Sasori spoke, his voice resolute. "Saso, hand me that pen."

"I want to go home!"

"HAND ME THE PEN!" Saso sniffed back tears before he threw the utensil at father and then ran to his room. Sasori shook his head and began writing on a sheet of stationary:

"'Dear Itachi,

It is with a heavy heart that I must inform you that Deidara and I won't be able to make it to your birthday party tomorrow. For the reason that'..." He looked around, hunting for an alibi, when it clicked, "'Opal and Gold-dust have taken ill! Oh, such an unforeseen tragedy! They're in no shape to make the long trip back home! I hope that we have your understanding. Your friends,

Sasori and Deidara'."

"I suppose," The concierge gulped, "You no longer need my assistance with these bags?"

"No," Deidara smiled, "But you can help us unpack." A pained grunt was released as the concierge collapsed to the floor with all of the luggage on top of him.

The following evening Saso didn't say a word: settling for glaring at them as they fussed over their attire for the party. Sasori walked by Saso dressed in a new, copper suit with an accompanying pocket-watch, "What do you think?" He asked, "Too much?"

Saso was silent.

"Right, too little." Sasori nodded before taking a golden top-hat and placing it on top of his head. Deidara walked over, a shimmering powder added to his foundation to give him as much sparkle as his dress.

"And we're off, un!" He beamed as he beckoned for Saso to get up. The blonde bird-demon opened the door, expecting to see their means of transportation. Instead...

"Sasori, Deidara!" Itachi smiled as he poked his head in, the rest of the gang jumping behind him and shouting,

"Surprise!"

"Oh dear gods!" Sasori and Deidara shrieked, grabbing onto one another. Tobi only giggled,

"Yay! They're surprised!" It even turned out that they had brought the children along, Saso gasping as his eyes went wide in joy,

"Guys!"

"Hi Saso!" They all called back. However, Deidara gritted out (emotions out of whack due to this turn of events),

"What are you all doing here?"

Hidan shook his head with a smirk, "So shocked that he can't even think straight..."

"What he meant," Sasori cleared his throat, "Is what are all of you doing here here?" Itachi took a step forward explaining,

"When I received your letter explaining what had happened, I asked Tobi if he wouldn't mind setting up another party here in Luminescent Valley and Kisame offered to rent out a room in the city for the event so you wouldn't miss it."

Tobi jumped in front of the two fashionistos, beaming, "Balloons are super easy to pack!" He opened a bag, allowing hundreds of bright balloons to fly out.

"We couldn't let you guys miss out," Kisame added, "No matter how far away you were."

Sasori couldn't believe it, Deidara was shocked as well, as he spoke, "Wow... First that generous loan and now this... I don't know what to say-"

Alfred interrupted the sweet moment, "How about explaining what's up with the fancy threads?"

"These?" Deidara gulped as all eyes went on them. This wasn't the type of attention they had been wanting. "Oh, these!" He gave a nervous chuckle as he tried to think of an excuse, "We... always put on something nice when Opal and Gold-dust are under the weather! Cheers them right up, un!"

"Poor things..." Zetsu shook his head, peeking into the suite, "Where are they? Ivan brought some herbs that probably might help."

Deidara... obviously hadn't thought that far. Sasori quickly excused himself as he rushed into the suite and slammed the doors behind him, leaving a group of confused creatures at the doorstep. Inside, Sasori quickly grabbed the scorpion and the canary and with a quick,

"I am terribly sorry for this.", he dumped them into the bathroom sink, soaking them with water before he tossed them onto the bed and rushed back out. "They're... resting on the bed!" Immediately, Zetsu rushed in and picked the two up.

"Poor dears! Their bodies must be trying to sweat out the fever." The others walked inside, Itachi noting right away the clothes on the mannequin.

"Are those... for me?" He asked, picking up the foundation jar. The time came to bite the bullet as Sasori and Deidara gulped,

"Yes..?"

Itachi circled the mannequin, observing, "It's so... simple. So practical..." Just as the two fashionistos were about to go on an apology spree, Itachi clapped his hands together, "Such a reflection of me! You two really outdid yourselves, I love it!"

"Phew..." The scorpion-demon and the bird-demon sighed, Sasori whipping the original design-plans into the trash with his tail, "You have no idea what that means to us."

The limo-bus (since it seemed that limos were the only means of transportation in this city) carried the group towards their destination as Kisame, who couldn't seem to keep his hands off of Itachi, was talking about where they were going, "I had to call at least five different places to see if they had any space available and, as luck would have it, there was only one!"

The limo stopped, everyone filing out as Sasori and Deidara flinched upon seeing where they were: the inner workings of the Luminescent Valley Crystal Gardens. "The room I rented out is inside."

They passed through many stained-glass windows and doors as they walked towards the large ball-room that had been decorated ceiling to floor in birthday décor.

"Wow..." Sasuke whistled, "I almost expect to see some prissy socialite in here!"

"SOCIALITES?" Sasori and Deidara gasped, jumping behind a table, "Where?" After a moment, they realized that everyone was looking at them, so Sasori cleared his throat,

"Um... where did you find the time to do all of this Tobi?" The joy-demon giggled,

"The staff here helped Tobi a lot. But Tobi couldn't have done it without his XZ-17 Class Party Cannon!" He reached behind himself and brought out the shiny orange weapon. He pulled a string, a cloud of confetti and streamers bursting forth: some of it covering the two fashionistos, Deidara gritting his teeth in poorly concealed rage.

Kisame walked towards the largest window of the room, giving a shrug of his shoulders, "I originally asked if they had any room outside. But apparently some prissy, upscale demons reserved it for a party of their own.

They couldn't help themselves: carefully, so no one would see them, Sasori and Deidara took a peek at the Garden Party outside. Oh, how the elite class looked so elegant in their finest attire...

They didn't notice Tobi sneaking up behind them until he shouted, "Time to party-hardy!" And grabbed them to join the fun.

Naruto started up the sound-system: dance music filling the room as they all tossed Itachi up in the air, calling out various forms of birthday greetings.

Next came the wonderful cake, courtesy of Kakuzu and Hidan. The red and white confection was sliced and divvied up between them all: everyone enjoying the delicious treat until Alfred's Trickster blood came roaring in. He tossed what remained of his slice into Ivan and Kisame's faces.

The Trickster's laughter filled the air until he was pelted to the floor with a piece of cake. The two fashionistos winced as they were caught in the cross-fire, admitting to themselves that this evening was turning out to be somewhat enjoyable.

"Come on everybody, conga-line!" Kisame whooped as everyone danced around the room in a single-file line: Sasori and Deidara at the end. Yet, when they passed the windows, Deidara had to ask,

"Would it be so bad to just make an appearance?" Sasori shook his head and, when they were sure the coast was clear, they snuck out into the gardens.

The vampire music-troupe had scored another music-assignment: their leader Roderich playing on a much older piano since his new one had an unfortunate... accident. (A/N: See chapter 'Four Carats')

All around, socialites buzzed and flitted about as they gossiped and drank themselves silly on expensive wine. "Such a lovely event!" Deidara called out to signal that they had arrived. Uppity immediately rushed over, in an attempt to save face,

"Darlings! So glad you could make it!"

"Hey!" They looked over and saw Sakome and Deianne walking over, the redhead fashionista smiling,

"So good to see you two here."

"We wouldn't have missed it for the world." Sasori replied, kissing Sakome's hand. However, Deianne gave a gentle sneeze as something wafted past her nose.

"Do I smell..." The model sniffed, "Cake-frosting?" Sasori gulped, not knowing what to say: he hadn't realized that there was still some cake left on his person. Luckily, Deidara swooped in to save him,

"Er... Yes! Well, actually you don't smell actual cake frosting, that would be absurd, un!" He flipped his hair, "A little trade-secret of mine is to add a little vanilla and butter to my perfume: gives the conversation a warmer feel, you know?"

"So clever!" Sakome nodded, Deianne whispering,

"Remind me to order something from him the next time I go to see a potential client." After that, Sasori excused himself to go see what was over at the hor'duevre table. While they were walking, Deidara whispered,

"I'll go back to Itachi's party and you'll stay here. Every ten minutes we switch out, agreed?"

"Agreed." And with that, Deidara rushed off back to their friends.

Ten minutes later found Deidara watching his friends try to take down a large pinata. He waited a moment before he slowly backed away, meeting up with Sasori as they switched out.

Another ten minutes later, Sasori was wiping chocolate from his mouth as he excused himself from Itachi's party to go check on Opal and Gold-dust, switching out with Deidara.

However, as smooth as they thought they were being, they soon tripped themselves up in their little scheme all thanks to Sasori accidentally bringing in a croquet mallet from the Garden Party as he and Deidara switched out.

"Is that..." Ivan asked, "A croquet mallet?"

"What croquet mallet?" Sasori failed to feign stupidity. However, all of the others soon closed in, Itachi asking,

"Have you and Deidara been popping into that other party?"

"Well..." Sasori gulped, sweat washing down his forehead, "I... We..."

"Sasori..." Kisame frowned, "Don't lie to us." That tore it, Sasori released a heavy groan,

"I'm sorry! Let me explain!"

"Explain what?" The shark-demon laughed, "You're using my loan to its full potential! You sly businessman, you!" Sasori blinked,

"Beg pardon?"

"Those demons out there are sure to have some gilded pockets," Kakuzu nodded, "And isn't award season coming up? You timed this just right to do some marketing. Even I'm impressed!"

"But that's not-!" Saso tried to pipe up, Sasori clasping a hand over the small demon's mouth,

"Yes, yes! That's exactly what we're doing! Oh, Deidara was so afraid that you would think that we were being rude so we didn't say anything. Oh, your powers of clarity, my friends, are quite exemplary!"

"Well then, don't let us stop you!" Hidan waved the redhead off, "Go on, you and Deidara go do your thing!"

Sasori couldn't help it that his eyes had started to water from his friends' understanding, "You all really are the best friends a demon could ask for! I don't know why I ever thought you wouldn't understand!"

"Understand what?" Zetsu blinked, Sasori coughing out,

"Nothing, see you later!", as he rushed towards the door. However, Kisame called over,

"Hold on a minute!" When Sasori stopped he added, "I'm sure they wouldn't mind us checking out their party too. Come on you guys, let's show them how we party by the sea!"

Meanwhile, in the Garden Party, Deidara was talking to Deianne when a sudden chill ran through his spine. "Something very, very, very bad is about to happen." He meeped before looking over and seeing his friends walking into the elite event with their loud music and extravagant laughter. "Danna!" He walked over to the scorpion-demon, "What the hell is going on, un?"

Alfred decided to try his hand at croquet and ended up sending his mallet flying through the air: knocking an old demoness's wig off. On another end, Zetsu had made friends with the squirrels and birds that inhabited the main tree.

Tobi had helped himself to the desserts table: his face stained in chocolate and caramel and turning some of the other guests away from their meals entirely. Ivan had found some plants in the garden that he couldn't get at home, so he had gotten straight to picking as many of them as he could.

"So, I was collecting the mail one morning," Hidan began recalling a riveting tale to a group of socialites, "And when I opened the mail-box up what do I see but this huge, fucking rat! I mean, the little bastard was massive! Almost as big as that guy's steak!" He pointed to a guest who had been eating but was immediately turned off of his meal.

The younger female guests had all, of course, flocked to Sasuke: the dragon resorting to his best threats to get them to back off. Naruto was seeming to have the opposite strand of luck: all of the male guests hitting on him.

And, in the middle of it all, Kisame and Itachi were dancing to the music from the radio that Tobi had brought along: the device blasting the latest, lust-filled song on the charts. The uninhibited, sensual movements that the two were performing caused all of the other guests to back up at least ten feet away.

Both Sasori and Deidara quickly downed the strongest drinks they could find. Then, Jet Settington asked with a scoff, "Can you believe what they're doing?"

"So scandalous!" Another socialite agreed, nearly passing out when the shark-demon and the weasel-demon shared a kiss between their bumping and grinding.

"And just look at what that weasel-demon is wearing!" Uppity shook her head, "It's so plain!" Just as Deidara was about to give his own take, Sakome walked over to Kisame and Itachi and asked the brunette,

"Excuse me, may I have a word?" Itachi backed away from Kisame, nodding,

"Of course."

"Where did you get your ensemble?" Sakome asked, inspecting the outfit. Itachi gladly replied,

"This was a gift from a very special duo of friends of mine from Adamant Falls!"

Sasori and Deidara actually began to fight of the last drink on the table: desperate to escape their upcoming doom in a haze of drunken stupor. Back with Itachi, Sakome hummed,

"Adamant Falls? You don't say..."

"Oh, but I do!" Itachi nodded, "Their names are-"

"Sakome!" Sasori called as he and Deidara walked over, "There you are, we've been looking all over for you!"

"Oh, good!" Sakome nodded, "You're just in time to hear who made this outfit!"

"Such a simple thing!" Deidara gritted out, "Who cares?" Kisame couldn't help the laugh that broke from his chest,

"Since when have you two been so modest? This outfit you made for 'Tachi hugs him in all the right places if I do say so myself!"

Itachi laughed, punching Kisame in the shoulder, "You're drunk, stop!"

However, the damage had been done: a hush washed over the crowd as they watched the scene. "All of your friends think so!" Hidan smiled as the group came together from their various activities.

"You..." Deianne blinked, confused, "Know these demons?"

Deidara clutched at Sasori's shoulder, whining, "They're ruining everything! Danna, what are we going to do?" At that moment, Sasori stopped... He stopped and thought, taking a look around: he saw his friends, the Luminescent Elite, and he saw his son. Oh, Saso looked so happy with his friends.

Just like he used to look.

Finally, taking a deep breath, he walked to the center of the garden. Then, for one and all to hear, he stated, "Yes, we know them. They may not be as high and mighty as you lot but they are my best friends."

"Thank you..." Saso nodded, secretly over-joyed that his father had regained his senses. Deidara, on the other hand, groaned into his handkerchief before sighing,

"They really are the most important demons we know, un."

All was silent... Until Jet Settington laughed, "'Important' demons? This rag-tag bunch of vagabonds?"

"Don't make me laugh!" Uppity snickered, "The only good-looking one of them can hardly even dress!"

"Actually..." Sakome tapped her chin, still inspecting Itachi's outfit, "This one may be ahead of all of us in the fashion-scene."

"Beg pardon?" Jet and Uppity gasped, Sakome explaining,

"Oh, that's right, you little demons have yet to get a hold of an issue of Francis Bonnefoy's latest magazine, have you?" The fashionista pulled an advanced copy out of her pocket and opened it to the right page before showing one and all that:

"'Plain and Simple is In'?" Everyone, Sasori and Deidara included, gasped in shock: looking at their own extravagant clothes in horror. Sakome nodded,

"There was actually supposed to be a fashion-show starring my waifu and the newest trend. But I see that someone here," She blinked towards Sasori and Deidara, "Beat me to it."

"Oh!" A young socialite pushed her way through the crowds, wallet in hand, until she got to Sasori and Deidara, "I'd like to place an order right now!"

"Same here!" Another insisted. But Deianne pulled the two fashionistos away and towards their friends, smiling with eyes that seemed better placed for the bedroom,

"You should introduce us to your friends... I would love to see you all at the show tomorrow." After they shared one more glance, Sasori and Deidara both nodded,

"But of course!"

The following afternoon, after Sakome and Deianne's show had gone off without a hitch, Deidara was leaning on Sasori's shoulder as the scorpion-demon wrote a letter:

"'Dear Juubi-sama,

I wanted to tell you about the important things Deidara and I learned during our stay in your beautiful city'..."

"Well," The dolphin-deity smirked as he appeared behind the two, "I'm listening." Deidara chuckled before taking over,

"'We learned that no matter where you go in life, you should never forget where you came from, un. You should always be proud of your roots, no matter how small they are'." Juubi smiled,

"Very nice. Very nice indeed."

"Quite..." The poor concierge agreed, his voice strained as, once again, he was carrying the family's luggage on his shoulders, "But if you could be so kind as to hurry things up a tick – NO!" He collapsed, all of the bags falling to the floor or a third time.

A/N:

And that is this double-update! Thanks to everyone for being so patient and I hope these chapters were enjoyable. Please review. Seriously, please review. I'm begging again. It's not a good sign when the authoress is begging guys!

-Tyranno's girl.