Chapter 39: Thank You

Konan searched up and down the halls for any sign of Deidara but she couldn't find him anywhere. She called his name but he never responded. Where could he have been? While she searched, Itachi proved to be less than concerned, goofing around instead of helping her look. At the moment, he was tapping his foot rhythmically on the wooden floorboards.

"At least make an effort to help me look!" Konan scolded.

"Why? I'm sure he'll turn up. Why bother looking?"

"Who knows what state he's in? I don't want him getting hurt or killed or something."

Itachi continued tapping while he followed her. Getting into his made-up beat, he started bobbing his head in time. His hips were the next to follow. Soon he was dancing down the hall, humming a tune to himself.

"Itachi, would you kindly stop that? What's gotten into you?"

"I'm just in a good mood. What? I can't have a little fun?" He continued dancing, stepping in rhythm. "Like you never make up songs and sing them when you're alone or in a good mood? Besides, I've got a pretty good beat going."

"You just want to distract me."

"That, too." Itachi continued, as if he were on stage. Konan could hear his feet sliding across the floor and stepping in tune to his humming. She tried her best to ignore him, but it was getting harder to do so.

"Deidara? Where are you? Come out, please!"

"No matter where you are,

I will always find you,

Find your place,

Find your place,

Do not move,

I'll come for you now,

Pride comes before our shame,

Not today my friends,

Call and I will come for you,

Show me your foe,

I'm the prince,

I'm the prince,

I'm the prince of the world!"

"Would you stop that?!" Konan finally turned around.

Itachi howled in her face and burst out laughing when he saw the look on her face.

"You know, if I didn't know better, I'd say that you were drunk."

"I told you, I just want to have a little fun. You've been hanging around a kid all day, you know how it is."

"But you're not a child!"

He shrugged while attempting to tap-dance. He wasn't very good, but he didn't care. He just wanted to enjoy himself. "Why can't I goof around every now and again? What's the big deal?"

"Don't you know what you look like? I figured you of all people would feel embarrassed."

Itachi stopped dancing but he was still walking to an unheard beat. "You know, normally I would, but when it's just around you, it's fine. I'm not trying to impress anyone. I mean, I'd do it if I weren't the only one. You know, if the other guys were doing it ,too. It's called having fun."

Itachi sure had changed. This playful side would be missed. Now Konan knew how he played when he couldn't manipulate anyone. It was typical of an older brother, she thought.

"Of course, I'd never do it in front of my father. He would disapprove immediately. But once in a while, when I'm alone, I do it if the mood strikes me. I think I have a decent voice."

"You do."

"Oooh..!" Itachi crooned. "You coming onto me?"

"What?!"

"Haha! Just messing with you. You should see your face."

Konan rolled her eyes.

"Oh, hang on, I want to see if I can do this." Itachi stopped where he stood and jumped into the air, clicking his heels together. "Hey, check that skill out! It's not as hard as I thought it was."

"Can we focus on the task at hand here?"

"Alright, alright…" Itachi took in a mouthful of air, puffing out his cheeks. He followed her without another word or sound. However, every now and then, he would tap his foot on the ground just to annoy her.

Their efforts, or lack thereof on Itachi's part, were all in vain. They couldn't find Deidara anywhere. Itachi started humming again, shaking his head to the beat and tapping his foot on the ground again. Konan went into the kitchen to ask if Zetsu had seen him. She came back out after he informed her that he hadn't. Where else could he be?

"I have no idea where he went to," she sighed. "We've been up and down every single hallway in this building. I'm about ready to give up."

"You may want to look over there before you do." Itachi pointed to the front door, which happened to be wide open. "If he's not in the building then that could only mean that he's not in the building… isn't that right?"

"Why in the world would he go outside? We're supposed to stay in the building to avoid detection. Those were our orders and whole reason of being here." She turned to Itachi.

Itachi stared back. When her gaze did not waver, he responded. "Hey, I didn't tell him to up and leave. This blame is not on me…" Itachi's eyes twinkled. "Although… I am a bit curious to find out where he went and why."

"Then you'll help me look and be of actual help?" Konan asked, folding her arms impatiently.

Itachi bowed deeply at the waist, hand over his heart. "Yes, my dear mistress. Your wish is my command."

"Then quit fooling around and come on." Konan hurried out the door. Itachi followed her up to the threshold. "What's the matter?" she asked.

"You said we weren't supposed to leave… so…" He looked down at the ground inches away raising his brows and pursed his lips.

Rolling her eyes again and groaning loudly, she waved him on. "Just come on! Help me find him."

"You're the boss." Itachi jumped beyond the front door, stepping out into fresh air for the first time in nearly a week. He inhaled deeply, loving the scent of the trees. "Ah..! Much better than the smell of dirt, wouldn't you agree?"

"Come on!" Konan was worried. Deidara knew better than to leave. Something must have been wrong with him. His course of action wasn't normal.

Konan and Itachi went deep into the woods to search for the blond artist.

They searched high and low for him, calling his name. No matter where they looked or for how long, he just wasn't there.

"This is bad…" Konan kept muttering to herself. "This is all my fault. I should have never done this. This is bad. This is very bad."

"What's the big deal? You're acting like he's a little kid who went off to play in the street."

"He knows better than to leave the building. He also left the front door open. That alone tells me that there's something wrong with him. He's not in his right mind."

"I don't think he ever was," Itachi said, looking up at the trees.

"You saw how Hidan behaved when we left him in a trance for too long. He had no idea what was happening. He was loopy!"

"It was funny though."

"Still, who knows what Deidara will do if he's in such a state? We have to find him. What if he wakes up and finds himself completely lost? He'll want to know how it happened and why."

"We'll just tell him he was sleepwalking. He's dumb enough to believe that."

"What if he gets himself hurt?"

"A bonus."

Growling, Konan started looking in trees and behind bushes. Itachi was of no help to her whatsoever. He was too busy playing around.

"You're upset," he told her.

"No kidding!"

Itachi sighed. "Is it because of what I said before? The whole manipulation thing?"

"That has nothing to with it now help me look."

"The fact that you denied it so quickly and then changed the subject to distract me and avoid talking about it any further means that it is the reason. Part of it at least."

He was so insightful it was almost eerie. Konan felt like her heart was an open book.

"You try to hide it, but you're insecure. Aren't you?"

"What would make you say something like that?" she turned around.

"The fact that during this week you've been asking other's insight. But you don't want them to know you more intimately for one reason or another. Maybe it's because you don't want to appear weak, or because you don't want to get close to people out of fear of losing them. That's why you only ask them when they're out of it. You know they won't remember and that they'll be honest with you. That's when you ask."

It wasn't just eerie. It was downright freaky how much he knew about her just through simple observation.

"You're too caring to be a ninja. That's your fear. Maybe you were told that in the past or maybe that's what's nagging you in the back of your mind. You don't want to seem weak. Maybe it's because you're a girl and want to show that you're just as tough as the guys and don't need anyone's pity or protection. Maybe you care too much about what people think." Itachi paused. "Or it's because of you. It's more personal, isn't it? You made a mistake in the past, you were easily taken advantage of… or just overpowered and used by you enemy. You were taken hostage or something and someone got hurt because of it. Someone dear to you. After that you noticed a change. Something happened and after that you promised yourself to get stronger so it would never happen again."

Konan flinched. He was right. He didn't know her story, but he had it right. Her teammates were told that the only way she would be allowed to live would be if one of them killed the other. She was alive today because she was captured and why one of them was dead.

"You're a wallflower because you're afraid to make another mistake." Itachi pulled a leaf down from one of the low branches and played with it in his hand. "I may not know much about you, but I know that you're very loyal." He looked up at her over the leaf. "You're in a relationship, aren't you?"

"W- what?!"

"Don't deny it. I know it's true. There's someone you want to protect. You want to see them happy and you'll do anything in your power to make sure they achieve their desires. Isn't that right?"

Konan didn't answer.

"It's either out of love or guilt. Or both." Itachi dropped the leaf on the ground. "You don't have to tell me. I don't really care."

"No, you just want to mess with me. You think it's funny."

He shrugged. "Not exactly. Some things are funny… some things are harder to explain. This is one of those things."

"Ok, then let me ask you this." Konan folded her arms. "How do you know I'm in a relationship?"

"Aside from your behavior?" Itachi sighed and stuck his hands in his pockets. "It's because all this week, with this power, you've never once tried to make one of us your lover. Not once did you try it. The most you've done is make Zetsu loyal to you so you can get out of cleaning."

"Has it ever occurred to you that I simply don't like any of you and that's why I didn't try anything like that?"

"I know that's a lie."

"How do you know?"

Itachi pointed at himself with a smile. "Because I'm one of the guys here and no girl can resist me. I'm the best looking out of everyone here. There's no way you wouldn't try anything with me."

Konan rolled her eyes.

"The only reason I know you haven't done anything is because I'm not having black-outs like the others. Which must mean that I'm not under your control." Itachi put his hand back into his pocket. "All women want to have guys fawning over them. They want love-slaves and with that kind of power, it would have been easy for you to do. Only you didn't. Which means you're already in love. It's hard to make such a move without feeling like you're cheating on them or something. I wouldn't know for sure. But I do know that you didn't do anything like that to any of us. Therefore, you must like someone already. Your heart belongs to them."

Konan looked down. Itachi really could read her heart. She felt ashamed.

Itachi grabbed a low branch and started doing some pull-ups. "Don't worry. I'm pretty insightful. It's not just you. I know a bit about everybody. I know how people will most likely react. That's half the fun." He dropped to the ground but didn't let go of the branch. Now he was swinging from it.

"Itachi…" Konan began. "You're being pretty open. Is it because you feel comfortable around me?"

Itachi chuckled. "You're a smart girl and you're already pretty insightful." He stopped swinging. "I think I can tell you things because I do feel comfortable around you. Like I know you won't tell the others about it or make fun of me. It's weird." Itachi let go of the branch and started walking closer to her. "It's a strange feeling, aside from that other stuff I said. I can't really explain it, but I feel free. Like I can say anything I want."

Maybe because he wouldn't feel guilty about having done so afterwards.

Konan tried to put the whole conversation out of her mind. "Let's just find Deidara." She turned around and started walking again. Itachi followed after her. As insightful as he may have been, he didn't seem to notice how distracted she was. Or perhaps he simply didn't care.

As they walked, they came across a strange sound. It sounded like a cat. Konan looked over a bush and found Deidara on all fours, scratching at a tree trunk with his nails.

"What is he doing?"

Deidara bent his knees and jumped straight up into the tree. He crawled to the edge of the branch and started licking his sleeve.

"He thinks he's a cat!" Konan turned around and saw Itachi giggling, very amused. "Did you do this?"

"No… but I kinda wish I had." He burst out laughing. "He's a freaking cat! Ha!"

"Since you think it's so funny, you get him down!" Konan pointed into the tree.

Itachi saluted her. "Yes, ma'am." He walked to the bottom of the tree, looking straight up. "Shouldn't be too hard." He whistled. Deidara looked down. Itachi spread out his arms. "Come on, Deidara. Get down from there."

Deidara only stared.

"Here, kitty-kitty-kitty," Itachi called. "Come to Itachi. Be a good kitty and get your furry ass down here."

Deidara turned up his nose and faced the other direction.

Itachi frowned. "Stubborn little bastard…" He looked at the trunk of the tree, examining his options. He could always climb up there and get him, but climbing the tree seemed like a lot of work. Using the climbing technique would be simpler, but then there was the issue of grabbing Deidara and bringing him down. He had a feeling Deidara wouldn't come easily. "Maybe we should just chop the branch off."

Konan slapped the back of his head. "Just go up there and pick him up."

"I'm not climbing up there just to have him cling to the branch or move to another. I'm not falling on my ass. You go get him if you don't like my idea."

"Think of something else. That won't hurt him or the tree."

Itachi sighed. "Well, he thinks he's a cat… Got any string? Or tuna?"

"Yeah, I go around carrying tuna fish in my pockets."

"Worth a shot." Itachi tried to think of something else. "We could always make barking sounds and scare him down."

"No, he'll stay put where he is if he thinks there's a dog around."

"Oh, right." Itachi scratched his head. In the meantime, Deidara was climbing further up the tree.

"Just go up there and get him."

"I'm not climbing a tree and I'd rather not try picking him up." Itachi looked at Konan. "Why don't you just knock him out? You know, say the command and have him go back into a trance?"

"First of all, I don't know who did this to him. I don't want to mess with the commands and get his brain broken or something. Besides, if I do, he'll only fall out of the tree and break his neck."

"And the down side is..?"

"I'm serious. Unless you want to catch him."

Itachi groaned. "How about this?" He picked up a rock and threw it at Deidara, nailing in in the back. The angry cat turned around. "See?"

"Is that really a smart idea?"

"Maybe not, but I've always wanted to do that." Itachi threw another at him. It bounced of Deidara's shoulder and he hissed.

"You're making him mad."

"Your point being..?" Itachi threw another one. This rock got him out of the tree alright. Deidara leapt from the branch and dove straight down at Itachi as he bent down to pick up another rock. He pinned Itachi down, sat on his chest and started clawing at his face with his newly sharpened nails. Itachi screamed, trying to pushed Deidara away. "Ahh! Get him off! Get him off!"

Konan started laughing. "Good plan, Itachi. You got him out of the tree. Nicely done."

"Don't just stand there! Help me!"

Konan took out a kunai and held it up to the light. It cast a small triangle shaped light on the ground. Spotting this, Deidara stopped scratching, watching it move from side to side. His head turned from side to side following the beam. Then he got off Itachi and started chasing the light. He tried to catch it in his hand but it was still there. Konan moved the knife from side to side, making the light zip from one place to the next. Meowing curiously, Deidara went after it. He slammed his hand on the ground, trying to catch it again. Now the light was over there. He pounced on it but now the light was over there. He chased the light happily playing with it.

"This is fun," Konan giggled.

Itachi got up with a bloody face. "Can I use that to return the favor?" he asked, pointing at the knife.

Konan put the knife away. Deidara sat on the ground, confused. He couldn't find his elusive prey anywhere. The woman bent down beside him showing him her hand. He sniffed it curiously. Then she reached up slowly and started petting his head. He purred. She started scratching behind his ear and he sprawled out on the ground happily enjoying it. "Good kitty, good kitty," she praised him. He rolled onto his back wanting her to scratch his belly. She did so. He curled his hands around her arms and started to playfully nibble on her sleeve.

Itachi watched all of this take place from far away. Konan had a way with animals… and apparently people who thought they were animals.

After getting him relaxed and comfortable, she lifted Deidara onto her back and started carrying him. He nuzzled her shoulders and curled up, trying to take a nap. "Let's get back before he comes to his senses and starts asking questions."

In the distance, they could see their hideout. Deidara wasn't asleep but he had his eyes closed contentedly. He was very comfortable where he was. Itachi walked ahead of them. Their travel back was spent in silence. Then as the hideout grew closer and closer, Itachi stopped. Konan stopped as well. He wasn't doing anything. Just as she was about to ask him why he had stopped, he said something.

"Thank you."

"Huh?"

Itachi didn't turn around. "I know you did something to change me. Even though I don't remember what you did to me, I know I wouldn't have asked you to if I didn't want it. And I wouldn't have asked you if I didn't trust you to do so." He sighed. "Even if I can't remember the reason or the request…"

Konan stared at his back wondering what she should say.

He turned around and grinned at her. "I just wanted to thank you while I still can. After all, I don't know what will happen when this wears off in the next few minutes… but in case the other me doesn't say it, I wanted to. I had fun this week. Thanks for giving me that chance."

She was at a loss for words again. Finally, she said it. "You're welcome."

He grinned again, looking at peace with his life and everything in it. He looked happy.

In that moment, Konan understood what he meant before about how forcing something on other people could be a good thing. She didn't hypnotize Itachi to be happy. He was happy. His joy was real. All she did was make him forget the horrors of his past and allow him to have fun without feeling guilty. He was truly happy. A feeling he may not know again when he comes back to his senses. She let him have a chance to be happy and enjoy himself. For that he was thankful. Even if he didn't know what he was thankful for, he knew he was. Hopefully when he went back to normal, he would still be thankful to her.

It made her happy. And sad at the same time. Even if this wasn't supposed to last, she wanted Itachi to be happy. Even if he didn't think he deserved to be.

This fic will end in the next and last chapter.

Please review if you want to know how it all ends ^-^