Author-chan: A long time ago when I was little I used to have a stuffed animal named Lucy. Only I spelled her name Loosie. She was about as big as my hands put together and had glassy, beady eyes.

I carried her everywhere until I lost her at the age of ten. I still miss her.

But that has nothing to do with the story. I just wanted to tell this to everyone. IF YOU FIND LOOSIE PLEASE MESSAGE ME. *tears* I MISS YOU LOOSIE!

~*~*~Black Ice~*~*~

Chapter 37

Pein's voice rose up over the sounds of daily activity.

"I have an announcement that concerns all of you."

I glanced up without much interest. The last announcement was that Konan was on her period and that we were not to make her angry for the next week. Whoot.

No one else seemed to WANT to hear anything else after that.

I sat on the couch between Kisame and Itachi as I read over Itachi's shoulder and fed Kisame's sword my chakra like a dog.

"Akatsuki is resuming its traveling stages in search of the Bijuu."

Hidan spat coffee all over Deidara, who had been trying to make his hair do that flippy thing.

Kakuzu tripped over Tobi's cloak and face planted into a wall.

Kisame fumbled with his sword, and it ripped through the ceiling and made a big hole.

Itachi dropped his book and looked up, eyes slightly wider than usual.

Sasori stopped just as he was about to re-screw a finger back into place.

Zetsu just stood there. Konan frowned.

I blinked.

Suddenly I had ten pairs of eyes on me.

"What did I do?" I asked in confusion and annoyance.

Pein pointed to me and stated, "You have to go with someone."

I understood the looks now. Oh yeah… who is getting the funny chick who loves to run around in towels? (see last chapter). I hope we do! Pervs.

Anyways…

Pein looked at me and smirked, "So, you get to pick."

Wait… I get to pick?

"I don't know…" I mumbled.

I sighed and rubbed my chin like a moron.

Every eye was on me.

I laughed nervously and scratched the back of my head.

"So… maybe if I go with each of you for a week, I can choose…"

That was what decided my fate on the matter.

By the end of the day, I had a schedule of who I would go with and when. I would spend my first week with Deidara and Sasori.

And so the next few days were filled with packing and stacking things into boxes.

I placed all of my weapons into my holsters. My clothes were placed into my backpack as the closets were hastily cleared. My few possessions were packed away for next year since I wouldn't need any of them during the travels.

My hair was constantly in a tussle of blond and frizz. I didn't have the time to really fix it.

I was the one who cleaned out the kitchen, which turned ugly when Tobi decided to help. Let's just say he ended up with his hand stuck in the sink drain and we had to jerk it out. You don't want the details.

Cleaning the bathroom was a hassle when Deidara "accidentally" turned the shower on me as a prank.

The day we sent everything to storage went horribly wrong when SOMEONE sent the stuff to Konoha on accident, and we had to get them back…

So basically the last week of my time with everyone was filled with stupidity.

And at last the time came to leave.

This is where the chapter really begins… Whoop.

~Story really begins~

I stood in my room, holding a book in my hands. Itachi had kept it out for me until I could finish it. I flipped the last page and sighed. So many days had passed with everything calm and quiet… I could hardly believe they were over.

Deidara was pestering me to finish getting my things together so we could go. I would have been happy to if I wasn't so deep in thought.

I decided on a quick walk before leaving. Itachi took his book back.

The trees here were so beautiful. They seemed bigger than life. In my world, they would have been chopped down for paper or to build cities. My world was so messed up.

That was the funny part. This world was centered around murder, but even still my world seemed more messed up.

Drew was dead, my world was far from reach, and for a moment I felt totally alone.

Wait a second. I am not alone.

I heard Kisame's voice and turned. He slid to a stop and grinned at me.

We had gotten a lot closer since I had first arrived. That was pretty cool, if not surprising.

I had been so afraid of these men, but not anymore. I was happy here. I knew I would miss them all.

Kisame told me that Sasori and Deidara were ready to leave, and that I was to report back.

When we returned, I took a moment to stand in the base and look around. Everything seemed so dear to me now that I wouldn't see it again. It was custom, born out of tradition if not necessity, for the Akatsuki to never return to the same base.

I walked into my room and breathed in the scent still left by me and my roommates. A sense of home filled me, and I took out a piece of paper and a pen.

I wrote a letter and placed it under the floorboards. Something to remember me by if someone were to find it.

I turned on my heel and walked out the door, excited to travel with my temporary team.

~Day 1 with Dei and Sasori~

Deidara was surfing the air just above the ground on his bird. I walked with my hands behind my head, with Sasori at my side.

I wore a traveling outfit I would normally skip over. It was blue and stopped at my stomach, where I had wrap tied. I'm very self conscious… The shorts were black and pretty short. The black ninja shoes matched, I guess.

My holster was strapped to my upper right arm. I had arm bands like the ones Sasuke wore in the Chuunin exams on my elbows and forearm.

"So, tell me something," I began. "Where are we going?"

Sasori glanced at me. "To gain information on my Bijuu."

I sighed. "Okay." So much for that conversation…

At first, no one really talked. Deidara was constantly moving the bag with his clay on it higher and lower with the strap like an old lady. Sasori, outside his puppet, was tinkering on a puppet arm. I just walked in silence.

I knew everything the future held for everyone. I knew that the two next to me would… I didn't think about it anymore.

Instead, I turned my thoughts to Konoha. One day I'd go back and say goodbye for real, before I searched for my way home… one day for sure.

I briefly thought of Drew, but I pushed it away as well. That was an area I did not need to return to.

I measured the time in my mind. When I arrived in this world, Naruto still had at the very least a half year till his return. I had spent three or four months with the Akatsuki. That's a laugh, especially since our time together in one base was only meant to be one month… So at the very least, I had two months until the Gaara fiasco… and I lost Sasori.

If I spent a week with each team, I would also have three weeks with the team I chose.

If Sasori was going to die I should choose them… but what about the others? Who should I choose?

"MORGAN!"

I jumped back to attention as Deidara waved his hand angrily in front of my face. "WAKE UP!"

I smiled and asked, "What did I miss?"

Deidara sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "I asked you about where you used to live."

I smiled. I trusted them now, so I could tell them the truth.

"Where I lived, there weren't any ninjas or the sort. There wasn't even chakra. But we had manga about this place… The ninja world. All of the Akatsuki were in it."

Sasori nodded, "That was how you knew so much… but how did that manga know about us?"

Okay, lie time!

"We have witches and wizards."

They looked enchanted. "Reeeaaally?" Their eyes were all sparkly.

I laughed and stated very easily, "No."

They anime fell and I laughed.

This world was enchanting. This world with all of my new friends… I felt so safe right now I couldn't believe I was ever afraid.

Suddenly a cruel laugh echoed in my head, and a memory of a dream I'd locked away surfaced.

Hidori killed Itachi right in front of me and laughed at me.

I could almost imagine her voice saying, "Just you wait! I will kill everyone who loves you! Just you wait!"

I curled my arms around myself, but when my comrades asked what was wrong I shrugged and smiled. I didn't need to feel afraid… I was fine. I would not fall prey to my nightmares and fears. Hidori would not come for me. That was final.

~? ? ? ? ? ? ?~

"Look there," a girl's voice stated.

A boy who resembled Drew looked up. He had been the boy to attack Morgan in the village before.

"So that's him, eh?" he asked.

Hidori smirked and tapped her sharpened nails on the wood. "Oh yes, Daichi… That is definitely him."

Daichi stood and smirked as well, jumping down to intercept the traveler on the path. "Come here, boy, I have something I want to tell you."

The boy looked up. "Excuse me, but who are you?"

Daichi smirked and lifted a fist to display four chakra blades. "Your name is Drew, correct?"

The boy in question lifted a necklace from his neck up and showed it to Daichi.

"That is what these dog tags say."

Hidori smirked, "This is… delicious." Her eyes sparkled red and her tongue licked her lips.

"Poor little Morgan, about to lose everyone she loves… Absolutely delicious."

.

-!-

So, for anyone who missed the message, I'll be posting all the original art from Quizilla on my Pinterest. The link is on my profile. Pictures are named according to the chapter they were posted with, though not all pictures are related to the chapter. Some were just posted for fun, or are banners for the story. I hope that's not too confusing...

xoxo, purpleheart3000