It had started innocently enough. Sasori was trading 'political bullshit' with the Rain Lord for the past few hours, and Deidara, sitting beside him, was very obviously trying to stay awake. Every now and then his blonde head would slowly sink down, then bob back up rather violently as he caught himself. It was getting to the point where all three of them (Hidan was there, but at least he was awake) were paying more attention to the dozing shinobi than the actual talk.

"…Is she alright?" Oshiro finally asked, gesturing to Deidara, who did another one of the annoying head bob things. Sasori resisted the urge to smack his partner upside the head.

Instead he just plastered a smirk on his face, explaining, "Oh, yes, she's just a bit, erm, tired. Hasn't been getting a whole lot of sleep lately, you know?" Inside, the puppet master was wanting to throw up. Some of the things he had to put up with…and now he had to cover for his stupid partner, who was just idiotic enough to stay up much too late last night playing with his small amount of clay that Sasori hadn't been able to confiscate.

Deidara didn't react in the least (Hidan practically shoved his fist into his mouth to stop himself from laughing at their expense), so the Suna artist surmised that he was really tired. And if he was that exhausted, his chakra was bound to be unstable and weakened. Deidara need to wake up. Now.

Oshiro, on the other hand, was chuckling good-naturedly. It was a forced laugh. Sasori imperceptibly narrowed his eyes, his own smile becoming a bit more strained. Gods, he hated that man. "No problem with that, no problem at all…it's just that it's rather impolite to fall asleep in the middle of a meeting!"

"Mm, yes, I know…But she's not exactly the brightest, and no doubt all this political talk doesn't make much sense to her." Sasori scooted over and wrapped his arm around Deidara's shoulder, shaking him none-too-gently. "Ishiko-chan, wake up." The blonde barely stirred.

He cursed mentally; the infernal Iwa-nin was jeopardizing the mission with his idiocy! The redhead shook Deidara a bit harder, and this time he awoke with a start. "Wha--?"

"Nice of you to join us, Ishiko-chan. Oshiro-sama and I were just discussing how rude it was of you to just drift off in the middle of our talks." He said forcefully, gritting his teeth. He was not known for his patience, especially where it concerned the blonde. Hidan made another sound, almost like a strangled laugh. Sasori shot him a death glare, adding, "It's also rather rude to just laugh at others' expense, Masao. Especially when those others' include two Lords."

"A-Ah, right. Sorry then." Of course, the immortal sounded nothing of the sort.

And apparently Deidara wasn't feeling too sorry, either, as he was now leaning on Sasori's shoulder and snoring softly.

He's going to get us all killed, he thought sardonically. He put his mind to work, trying to figure out a way to dismiss Deidara from this meeting--and any following--while simultaneously keeping him out of trouble. If there was a way he could rejoin Konan and the others… Sasori's muddy brown eyes flickered momentarily towards the Rain Lord. The man didn't notice; he was too busy chortling at the scene. Would it suffice to merely ask that he could send Deidara to his room to catch up on his sleep, and hope to the gods that the dumb blonde was smart enough to figure out that the was supposed to meet up with the others?

But, of course, first he had to wake the ignorant artist up. He could, naturally, do a number of things to his partner, but none of them seemed appropriate for doing in front of the very non-shinobi Rain Lord.

Deidara sighed in his sleep and moved closer to his partner, murmuring, "Bya-chan…" The redhead could've slit his throat and killed them all now--if only he knew where that damned scroll was, he would have. The chances that his partner would forget the circumstances were running high, and he might say something worse than a pet name next time. Sasori really was fighting the urge to strangle him. Instead he remained calm, and shook the blonde again.

"Wake up. Now."

The Rain Lord and Hidan both found the whole scene to be amazingly amusing, however.

"…Mm?" Deidara blinked sleepily, yawning. Then, the thing that Sasori had been fearing happened: the Iwa-nin forgot where they were and slipped up. "Saso--"

The Suna-nin was forced to cut him off by dragging his younger partner into his lap, bending down to crush his lips against the artificially soft ones of his temporary concubine. Deidara jerked awake, or at least into some semblance of consciousness. He gasped slightly, and Sasori was forced to deepen the kiss, not only to make sure the idiot got the message, but for the Rain Lord's sake.

But just as Sasori was about to pull away and shove the blonde out the door under the reasoning that 'he needed more sleep', Deidara responded by wrapping his arms around his neck, pulling him back down.

What the hell, was Sasori's only thought.

-.-.-

And take that, danna, for trying to take advantage of me in my sleep! Deidara thought savagely, half-grinning against his partner's mouth. He had just been sleeping, quite comfortably, until all of a sudden he awoke to find Sasori sticking his tongue down his throat. He was going to make sure that the redheaded bastard never lived this down now.

The redheaded bastard in question growled something, but due to the unfortunate circumstances they both found themselves in, Deidara couldn't have understood him if his life depended on it. Sasori tried to pull him off, but he clung to him, making sure he got the point across.

The Iwa-nin finally let go, though, when his partner managed to detach his arms from his neck. Deidara sunk down, only now aware that he was sitting in Sasori's lap. He glanced over, and found Hidan dying from oxygen deprivation from laughing so hard, but then the Rain Lord was in a similar situation. Oh, so the Rain guy is still here…he thought, frowning mentally. That meant that he still had to act.

"Oh, Daisya-sama, you know how I like to be woken up like that…" He giggled coyly, though on the inside he was just wondering when he could get his hands on some mouthwash. "I'm sorry, did I interrupt something?"

"Oshiro-sama and I were just discussing how impolite it was of you to fall asleep during our meeting." Sasori deadpanned through gritted teeth. "I think it would be wise for you to return to our room to get some sleep, Ishiko-chan."

The Rain Lord abruptly stopped laughing but didn't say anything. That alone was damning--for all of them. Deidara gingerly stood up, his legs stiff from kneeling on them for so long. He bowed to the three men, but Sasori caught his wrist as he turned to leave. The wanna-be Lord yanked him back down to his level, and turned to plant a peck on his cheek.

But instead, for what appeared to be another kiss, Sasori just hissed, "Find Konan. Tell her to find the scroll." He then released his partner, smiling pleasantly. "Have a nice nap, Ishiko-chan."

The Iwa-nin nodded, unsure of exactly how he was supposed to find the woman. He departed hastily. He also didn't miss the glare Oshiro had sent Sasori. Things are getting tense, he noted, closing the door silently behind him.

Deidara sighed in relief once he was out of sight of anyone who he couldn't trust. Thinking on that, he almost laughed; was there anyone he could trust nowadays? He looked around curiously, wondering something along the lines of 'what now'. He knew next to nothing of the building's layout, and from what the Hyuuga had said that first day, the palace was nothing short of monstrous in size. Konan could be anywhere.

He turned on his heel and impulsively decided to head left, in the opposite direction of their room. So…look for Konan time. I hope Bya-chan is still with her. …But not Itachi. Man I hate that guy. The blonde grimaced, crossing his arms over his breasts. The sooner I can find them and we find that damned scroll, the sooner I get rid of these things and I can return to normalcy.

He came to an intersection of corridors, and stopped dead in the middle of them. Which way now? None of the other three hallways coughed up any answers, and all of them looked the same and completely harmless.Maybe I can find a bathroom with some mouthwash, he thought with a twitch. Deidara turned left again, his bare feet making no sound on the thick carpet. The only noise was the steady tinkling of the bells on his anklets, and even those seemed quieter in the absolute silence of the place.

He came to a door on his left, and with a 'what the hell why not' shrug, he grabbed the handle and opened it. It was just what appeared to be a study, with a wall of scrolls on the far side. "Oh yeah…supposed to find a scroll, too, yeah." He muttered, but he seriously doubted that the one they were looking for would be casually thrown into a pile in the room before him.

Deidara continued on, completely lost now. He started humming, trying every door he came across. Surprisingly, there weren't that many. He found a bathroom in the next hallway, and eagerly ransacked it for mouthwash.

Now gargling some of the cleansing liquid, the blue-eyed blonde was standing in front of another door, wondering where he was going to spit. In one hand he still had the bottle, and the other reached forward to open the door. If there's a trashcan or something in here I'll just spit into that…it's not like anyone'll find it, with all of these stupid rooms--his thoughts died in his mind, however, when his eyes found the far wall.

The scroll--it had to be the scroll, there was no doubt about it--was hanging on the opposite wall, encased in glass. The two ANBU guarding it looked up, startled by his sudden emergence into the room. Deidara spat the mouthwash in his mouth out, bringing his hand up to point in shock at the scroll. He had just managed to stumble across the very thing they had been searching for!

"Hey!" One of the ANBU stood up, drawing some sort of sword.

He gave a guilty start, hissing, "Shit, yeah."

-.-.-

Hinata stared at the green-eyed girl in front of her. There was something…off here. Instinctively, her Byakugan activated. The girl noticed this and instantly frowned.

But not before the Hyuuga saw the chakra circulating in her system before she suppressed it.

"You--you're a ninja!" Hinata gasped. Itachi looked back at her sharply, and was behind the girl before either of them could react. He slit the girl's throat in one motion, but her Kage Bunshin just dissipated in a harmless puff of smoke.

Hinata felt her chakra behind her a split second before the cold metal was pressed to her back. "You're both kunoichi as well, huh?" The girl whispered in amusement. With her Byakugan, she noticed that Konan had noticed the scene and stood up, watching them. Itachi was merely staring at them both with a lidded, solidly black, gaze. "I've never seen eyes like yours before. Are they special, like mine?"

"Haya--" the Uchiha said carefully, making use of her fake name. His eyes shifted to red, and Hinata immediately knew what to do. She squeezed her eyes shut, as she heard him call out, "Tsukuyomi no jutsu!"

Why he had chosen to use the Tsukuyomi she had no idea, but her body gave a violent shudder as she heard those words again--even if they were said in his female voice. She cracked open an eye hesitantly. The blade fell away from her back, and she saw the girl's eyes go wide and blank. The green-eyed kunoichi stumbled a step backward, falling forward onto her knees. Hinata turned to face her, crouching down with a questioning look shot in Itachi's direction.

"Seventy-two hours is plenty of time to question her." He replied calmly, though his voice was strained. He rubbed one heel into his eye, wincing as they faded back to black. "She was stubborn…"

"You-You-You're…" The girl stammered, her body trembling forcefully. She looked up at the disguised Konoha-nin, her eyes fading into a darker, duller green from their previous ice-like color.

"She wasn't with that ANBU. She says she's just here for cover from the civil war. She has some sort of eye-based bloodline limit…but I have no idea as to what it may be." Itachi said, his voice growing fainter as he continued his explanation. "She planned on assassinating the Rain Lord as well, though much later than when we were…I shouldn't have used the Tsukuyomi…" Hinata turned in alarm as he pitched forward, his illusion disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Girls started screaming at the sudden intruder in their midst, and Konan rushed over to see what was going on. She took one look at Itachi's limp body, now supported by a nearly-panicking heiress, and stated, "We need to fix this."

Hinata nodded fretfully, hoisting him up a bit higher. The green-eyed girl was still shaking, clinging to her own shoulders with a desperate grip. Hinata winced in sympathy; she knew Itachi's methods. "She--She's a kunoichi, too." She nodded over toward her, keeping her Byakugan active. The girl's chakra system was going into shock, meaning she was probably about to pass out. "Itachi-senpai used the Tsukuyomi on her to question her motives and the strain was too much for him and he was forced to drop the illusion!"

"Alright, calm down, Hinata-san." Konan smiled vaguely, and made a hand sign. All of the doors to the massive room slammed shut, and the girls inside started screaming more hysterically.

"They're ninja!"

"Shinobi!"

"Shinobi in the palace, shinobi in the palace!"

"Oh gods, they're going to kill us all!"

Hinata bit her bottom lip, trying not to join the screaming. This wasdefinitely a mistake; the leader wouldn't be pleased. If, of course, they managed to even continue the mission. Konan stood up, and made another quick set of seals. "I'm going to go find Sasori. You stay here and calm these girls down. Use genjutsu to make them forget what they've just seen, and tend to Itachi." With those orders, her body simply disappeared into a multitude of papers. Hinata's white eyes widened slightly, especially as each of the papers folded themselves into a small, origami butterfly.

Oh, this isn't good, she thought flatly, looking over to where the unknown kunoichi had just fainted. Hinata took a moment to steel herself, and gently set Itachi down. She then stood up, deactivating her bloodline limit, and glared around at the hysterical concubines around her. "H-Hey!" She shouted, and immediately caught everyone's attention. After a flurry of hand signs, she cast a memory-modifying genjutsu over all of them that she could. It was a basic technique and fairly easy to break, but the main thing here was to avoid utter chaos--plus, they were all civilians, so it should work. Her voice sounding flat and almost echoed, she commanded, "All of you, calm down. Stay calm. There are no shinobi in the building and you are all safe. You did not just see any ninjutsu or genjutsu at all. You're all very tired and you should go to sleep immediately."

A few moments after she stopped talking, Hinata was terrified that it wouldn't work. But then, one by one, the women in the room dropped off to a listless doze, and it was completely silent. The navy-haired girl breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at the two unconscious ninja in front of her.

"Who are you…" She muttered under her breath, looking at the other kunoichi's limp form. Her hair was a dark cinnamon brown and her kimono was really quite lovely, but somehow she hadn't noticed that when she was looking at her eyes. Another eye bloodline limit, eh?

Hinata then realized that she had nothing better to do than watch the two and wait for some sign from either Konan or Sasori. She could only let her mind wander, and wonder. Hmm…is this the girl who was the ninja last night? Or are there more in the building? I can't tell…I wonder what she's doing here, and where she's from. She doesn't look that old.

The minutes ticked by, and since she didn't hear anything that might've been an assassination in progress, she surmised that Konan either didn't catch Sasori, or the situation was being handled. "This is turning out to be a bit tougher than an assassination…" She sighed, and rested her chin on her knees. Her eyes drifted over toward Itachi, who was now back in his all-too-conspicuous Akatsuki uniform. "Poor Itachi-senpai…it must've been hard keeping up that constant chakra usage, huh?" She wiped a lock of his black hair out of his closed eyes.

Then there was a loud thump on the door. Hinata gave a start, and leapt to her feet in a defensive stance. Activating the Byakugan, the Hyuuga noted that someone with chakra was on the other side of the door, and appeared to be trying to kick it open. She hurried over towards it, keeping wary but reaching out to open it nonetheless.

The door flung open, she was shocked to find a panic-stricken, female Deidara on the other side, clutching what appeared to be a large scroll. "Bya-chan!" He said in a high, nervous voice. "Time to go, yeah!"

She noticed that he was splattered with blood. "Wh-What happened…?!"

"Where's Konan? And Itachi…?" He peered over her shoulder, looking for the offending kunoichi.

"Konan-senpai just left, looking for Sasori! I thought you were supposed to be with him!" She exclaimed, ushering him in and slamming the door behind him. "What's going on?!"

"You know that last scroll we needed before we could assassinate the guy, yeah?" He asked with a guilty grin. She looked down at the scroll in his arms, silently mouthing 'oh'. "Well there were these two ANBU guarding it so I had to kill them and then I took it because I didn't know what else to do. The place is gonna be put on high alert soon, so we have to get the other stuff, kill the Lord and get out of here, yeah!"

"Here, give me that," She took the scroll from him, using a Henge to transform it into a bracelet. She then slipped it over the Iwa-nin's wrist, explaining, "Now it won't be as suspicious if we're caught before we can get the others."

"Good thinking--where's Itachi, then, yeah?" She could tell that he was antsy, and he kept shifting from foot to foot nervously. It was either their impending doom or the fact that he had just run into another couple of ANBU; she wasn't sure.

"He…He, um, used the Tsukuyomi again and his chakra system couldn't handle the constant strain so he passed out. And, uh, we found another ninja…"

"What?" He asked sharply, turning to face her. "…Well we're royally screwed then!" She shrugged helplessly.

"I don't know how to contact Konan-senpai to let her know that we're ready to finish the mission…otherwise, this could end badly." She led him over to where Itachi and the other girl were lying. "That's the kunoichi we discovered…she's not an ANBU, but she said she was here to kill the Rain Lord as well. She has some sort of eye-based bloodline limit too, but we're not sure exactly what it does."

"What are we supposed to do with her, yeah?" He nudged the unconscious kunoichi with his toe, then turned to poke Itachi a few times. "If he's out of his disguise…can I drop mine as well?" He asked hopefully. Hinata shrugged, unsure of what to say. It probably wasn't wise, but carrying one unconscious Akatsuki member would be just as shocking as having two with her.

"Sure…?"

"Yeah!" In a puff of smoke, Deidara stood in his cloak, grinning broadly. "I never missed being a man so much before! So let's get the Uchiha out of here and look for Konan, right, Bya-chan?"

His plan contradicted Konan's orders, but the circumstances had changed. No doubt she'd have wanted to be notified of the upcoming end of the mission. "F-Fine. Let's go…" Deidara stooped to grab Itachi's arm, hauling him up onto his shoulder in a half-carrying, half-dragging position. Somehow managing to not step on any of the sleeping civilians, he made his way toward the door, which had shut again. The Iwa-nin kicked it down with a loud crack as the wood splintered, and Hinata jumped at the sound.

"Huh. Didn't break when I was coming in, yeah…" She saw his blonde head duck down to inspect the broken door, though his voice betrayed no guilt whatsoever. "Coming, Bya-chan?"

She looked pointedly down at the unconscious girl, but he didn't get the hint. The oblivious shinobi just strutted out into the hallway and out of sight. A bit irked, she sourly thought, Men. Hinata sighed loudly, fighting with herself for a brief moment. Bring the girl, or don't…? Which would be the lesser of the evils?

-.-.-

The downfall of the Rain really began when Sasori noticed the origami butterfly that fluttered into the room.

Hidan spotted it as well, and his fuchsia eyes found the muddy brown ones of the puppeteer. The redhead gave a small nod, keeping a calm face and a vacant smile for the Rain Lord. Slowly, the paper danced above their heads, just out of sight of the civilian leader. The two Akatsuki members tried to figure out what Konan wanted, that she had desperately interrupted and endangered the meeting. Oshiro just continued talking about the tariffs on the country's imports. Sasori kept nodding and smiling, completely tuning the man out.

Konan's butterfly flit back out of the room, and Hidan had the tact to cough loudly. Sasori pretended to ignore him, until he continued coughing. "Masao-san, why don't you go get a glass of water?" He asked politely, keeping his eyes fixed on the Rain Lord.

The man, oblivious, nodded. "Yes, yes, some water. That sounds like a nasty cough you have there…" He said dismissively.

Hidan, still hacking up a lung, nodded and practically teleported out of the room. The two remaining men kept chatting politically, though Sasori's mind was now what had to be happening just outside the door. What is so urgent that Konan would risk a butterfly? he kept asking himself, over and over. …What did Deidara do now…?

-.-.-

Hidan hadn't seen Konan's origami technique before, but he wasn't quite as stupid as many of the other members thought. He saw the way Sasori's expression changed when he noticed the butterfly, and figured he had better investigate. Seeing the blunette appear in a whirl of papers, however, wasn't quite what he was expecting. "What the fucking hell was that?!"

"Kindly shut up, Hidan-san." She replied pleasantly. "I regret to inform you that I've come with…news."

"Like the fact that you can turn into Jashin-damn paper?" He demanded. Konan shot him a glare, and he dropped the subject of her jutsu. "So…uh…what news…?" He asked, looking away. Shit, that woman can be scary when she wants to be, he thought sourly.

"There is an enemy shinobi, we have captured her, Itachi-san is unconscious, and Hinata-san was put in charge of soothing a room full of hysterical women." The woman summed up curtly. The immortal only gaped at her.

"There's a--the Uchiha managed to--you put the bitch in charge of those whores? Okay, let me get this straight. There's some kunoichi bitch that you guys caught, but somehow she managed to knock out Itachi? And then why the hell were there hysterical women?!"

"Well, when you are out cold, do any Henges you wear stay on?" She asked rhetorically. He just shook his head, running a hand through his pale hair in disbelief. "…Where was Deidara-san?"

"Uhh…" Hidan paused to allow himself a well-deserved snicker at his ally's expense, "Didn't he find you? Sasori, um, sent him after you after he fell asleep and…you'll have to ask Sasori the full details."

Konan didn't look amused. "I haven't seen him. Are you saying he's roaming the halls, alone?"

"…Yeah?" Looking at it like that, he could see that they really hadn't thought that through. "There wasn't any other way to contact you." He hissed, almost defensively.

"There is always a way. You're just…unaware of them." She replied enigmatically.

Their conversation was cut short, however, by the sudden arrival of the very artist they were just conversing about. The very male artist. Konan and Hidan both stared at Deidara, who had just now realized that, as he rounded the corner carrying an unconscious Uchiha, and appeared to have been in mid-step as he froze.

"…What the shit are you doing?" Hidan asked in a flat tone.

"Why are you in uniform?" Konan added, her own voice a low, dangerous growl.

Deidara didn't say anything for a moment. Then he looked back over his shoulder, and Hinata came into view, carrying some unconscious girl. The Jashinist raised an eyebrow questioningly. Konan's eyes had widened past her usual lidded stare, and Hidan figured that the unconscious chick was probably…something. He didn't know quite what, but something was up here. "Um…" The blonde looked around casually, avoiding the death glares he was receiving. "Well…"

"Wellwhat, Deidara-san?" The azure-haired woman asked, deceptively calm. She had regained her usual stoicism, and folded her hands in front of her stomach. Her shoulders were rigid, however, and her body was completely tense. No one dared comment on her stance. "You know we're not supposed to do anything until we have that last scroll. Unless, of course, you're planning something or have suddenly had the genius revelation of betraying the Akatsuki's goal…?"

"No!" He said immediately, as if on reflex. It caught most of the others off guard. "I mean…no, I wouldn't betray the Akatsuki, yeah…"

The Hyuuga girl hastily interrupted. "W-We aren't betraying anyone…! Deidara-kun has the scroll you need--hold on--" She held up her free hand in the releasing sign, and a bracelet around the Iwa-nin's wrist vanished in a puff of smoke. A large, decorative-looking scroll dropped to the ground.

Hidan swore, eyes glued to the scroll.

But then, as quickly as his disbelief and anger had come--it disappeared completely. Because he was suddenly hit with the eye-opening revelation that they were free of the mission. They had everything they needed. Two scrolls, one kunai and one wall hanging, and the pillaging could happen later.

All they needed to do was take care of one very annoying Rain Lord now.

"You…when…where?" Konan didn't appear to be daring to breathe. Her eyes slowly glided up from the paper to Deidara's face.

"Well, Sasori-danna sent me out to find you," He gave Hidan an odd look when he didn't laugh, but continued smoothly, "And I sort of got lost. I went into one room and there were two ANBU and this scroll, yeah. I killed them, got the scroll, and then found Bya-chan with the Uchiha and that chick who she says is a kunoichi."

"There were two more ANBU?" She asked, obviously alarmed by this new bit of information. "That means…the Lord must have been on to us." The other three shifted uncomfortably, unsure of how to handle the declaration. Did they start going hysterical, did they run, did they shrug it off like nothing…? "Hidan-san, it appears that we have the sudden, urgent need to assassinate a Rain Lord."

The masochist's face broke into a broad, rather feral, grin. With a seal and a puff of smoke, his rosary was replaced with his traditional scythe, which he flipped around his wrist to loop the end of the rope around his arm. He swung it in a wide arc, balancing it on the back of his shoulder. "Fuck yeah. 'Bout time."

He practically skipped back down the hall towards the meeting room, all the while swinging his scythe cheerfully. Hidan heard Konan order the Hyuuga to stay back to watch Itachi (and hopefully wake the lazy bastard up, he thought), and soon both the blunette and Deidara were following him back to the unsuspecting Rain Lord. He took a flying kick at the door, shattering it.

Shinobi reflexes kicked in before Oshiro could react.

Sasori had probably felt their chakra signatures approaching, and had jumped up to get dibs on the Rain Lord before Hidan had even entered the room. The redhead whipped a katana out of his sleeve, though where it had been was beyond human comprehension, it seemed. "Hey! No fair!" The Jashinist shouted, taking a swing at both Sasori and the Rain Lord.

The puppet master glowered. "I got to the man first, and since I was the one who had to put up with him the most, I think I should have the honor of killing him."

"Wh-What?" Oshiro spluttered, keeping himself rigidly away from the katana's tip.

"I was in just as many meetings as you, asshat!" Hidan snarled, jumping over the table to try to get another swing. Sasori ducked, dragging the Rain Lord down under the scythe's blades as well. The pair continued on like that, bickering, until Konan cleared her throat loudly.

It was almost like it was a cue of some sort.

The Rain Lord disappeared in a puff of smoke, a Kawarimi, with a very surprised Deidara. The Akatsuki members looked up just in time to see the real Rain Lord disappearing with a pair of ANBU out the door.

The chase had begun.

-.-.-

Hinata was just waking Itachi up when she got the fright of her life. Two ANBU members, escorting Oshiro, darted around the corner and came to a complete stop right in front of them. A hare-masked woman forced the Lord to the ground as she rolled over to aim a kick upwards, just in time to catch Deidara, who had been hot on their tail, in the stomach with her heel. Hinata's white eyes widened as he flew backward into Sasori, just as he, Konan and Hidan came around the corner as well. Hidan had his scythe out already, and Konan looked angry enough to kill.

Itachi stood up shakily, his chakra still drained. The Uchiha put a hand on the nearest wall for support, glaring daggers at the target and two ANBU. "This place has gone to hell while I've been out…" He muttered under his breath, sighing.

"You shouldn't be standing--let them take care of the Rain Lord." The heiress tugged on his sleeve to try--in vain--to get him to sit back down. "Your chakra is exhausted and you shouldn't be fightinganyone right now."

"My chakra is exhausted by your standards. I follow the Akatsuki's standards." He replied coldly, standing up straighter.

One of the ANBU whistled loudly, just before Hidan decapitated her with his sickle. Her head rolled down the hall, the mask coming off and falling in front of Hinata's feet. She resisted the urge to gag, stepping backward to avoid the blood splattering her sandals.

"Shit! The whistle--it's a signal!" Sasori shouted as he grabbed the Rain Lord by his shirt front. "You. Why are there ANBU from different nations in your palace?!"

Oshiro grinned, obviously already figuring out that he was going to die--either that, or he thought he had an ace up his sleeve. "Do you really think I would be stupid enough not to hire some shinobi bodyguards?"

Deidara pushed his partner out of the way, punching the Rain Lord in the jaw as he did so. "Why the hell are there Iwa ANBU?! Ame and Iwahate each other, yeah!" The blonde snarled, pulling back his fist for another punch. "What kind of sick game are you playing?!"

Konan looked up at his outburst, wiping the blood of the second ANBU off on her cloak. She didn't notice another ANBU appear out of her shadow, jumping up with a kunai to--

"Look out!" Hinata shouted, drawing the woman's attention. She didn't have time to do anything more, as the kunai dug itself into her neck, and blood spurted out as she fell--and disintegrated in a whirl of papers. The Hyuuga's jaw dropped, especially as Konan reformed herself behind the surprised ANBU. She took care of the man with a quick swipe of her own kunai.

"Thank you, Hinata-san." Konan replied primly, though Hinata didn't quite feel like she needed to be thanked.

More and more ANBU started coming, and the scene was quickly degrading into pure chaos. Hinata was desperately restraining Itachi, who was too worn out to fight. Deidara, who had a similar drained chakra system, looked like he was running on pure hatred for the Iwa ANBU. Hidan was delightfully hacking away at anything that came within range and was soaked in blood soon enough. Konan danced in between the fighters, slashing away carefully and accurately at the shinobi as she went. Sasori was pulling weapons out of thin air as he fought, it seemed.

Then Hinata felt a foreign chakra stir behind her--the green-eyed kunoichi. She got to her knees shakily, her brown hair hanging into and shielding her eyes from view. "You…are Akatsuki…" She mumbled. Itachi ignored her, but used her sudden waking to his own advantage; he yanked his arm out of Hinata's grasp, and darted off to join the fray.

The Hyuuga walked calmly over to her. She may not be able to do a thing about ANBU, but she could take care of one weakened kunoichi, no matter the rank. She forced her Byakugan on again, gathering chakra into her palms to sever the chakra from her heart. Quick, nearly effortless killing.

The girl looked up into Hinata's eyes, and for a moment she faltered. Her eyes weren't the glittering, ice-like green from before--they were dull and lifeless. "Akatsuki?" The girl repeated, almost hopefully.

"Yes." Hinata replied simply, pulling her hand back for the finishing strike.

"…Good.." The kunoichi smiled, closing her eyes. This completely threw the Konoha-nin off guard. It took her a moment, but then she noticed the girl use a Shunshin to appear behind her, her head and one arm directly in the Byakugan's blind spot. "The base of your neck is unguarded." The girl said seriously, her voice much stronger than before.

It took Hinata a long moment to work out what to do. But then she whirled around, ducking under the first strike and sidestepping the second. The girl doggedly followed her movements, easily sliding under her guard, no matter how fast the Hyuuga thought she was. Hinata jumped backwards to avoid a kunai aimed at her stomach, but the green-eyed girl's eyes were glittering now, and she followed with all of the speed of the ANBU surrounding them.

"Kaiten!" The move was mostly a reflex, but it got the girl off her back. Hinata ran for it the second she stopped spinning, ignoring the enemy kunoichi's startled expression. The navy-haired Konoha-nin glanced back over her should to check if she was being followed--unfortunately, she was.

With an 'oof', she collided with someone. The Hyuuga fell backward from the force of the impact, falling just under the surprised green-eyed girl's fist. Hinata felt a hand plant itself on her shoulder, using her as a push-off for a rather well-aimed kick. The other girl went flying back, Itachi chasing after her with a determined look in his Sharingan.

Hinata was surprised that the Uchiha would've saved her, though she easily chalked it up to him having a score to settle with the girl. She was now free, however, and had no idea what to do--she couldn't take on that girl, let alone an ANBU. She was only a chuunin, for gods' sake!

But a sudden explosion interrupted the scene quite thoroughly.

Deidara put his hands up, backing up innocently. Everyone else had frozen, the Akatsuki members wondering if Deidara had caused it, and the ANBU members wondering what had caused it. The answer became clear with the smoke, however, when two massive forms stepped out into the wrecked hallway.

"How dare you assholes start killing without informing us?" Kakuzu demanded, crossing his arms.

"Aww, Itachi-san, looks like you guys already got all the good ones." Kisame added, hefting his sword onto his shoulder. The Kiri missing-nin stepped delicately over a fallen body, grinning toothily at his partner.

Deidara, however, looked extremely put-out. "How did you--"

"We are trying to complete a mission here!" Konan cut him off, glowering at them all. "Half of the Rain's forces must be on their way here, and we aren't the only ones trying to end this. Our mission was to assassinate the Rain Lord quickly and quietly."

Properly chastised, the men all scuffed their feet in the dusty carpet. Hidan hurriedly decapitated the nearest ANBU member, bringing their numbers down to a measly few--and the green-eyed girl. Said kunoichi looked around a bit, and backed into the nearest doorway, evidently trying for a hasty retreat. Itachi followed her doggedly, much to her distress.

"Then you take care of these poor bastards, and I'm going to go see how much gold the old guy owned." Kakuzu gave them all a wave, turning to leave. Sasori stopped him, however, with a glare that could peel paint. Kakuzu had the nerve to look affronted as he turned to look over his shoulder for someone's support. No one gave it.

"Once everyone is dead, then you can steal to your many hearts' content. Until then, the highest priority is that no one escapes this building alive who isn't affiliated with the Akatsuki." said Sasori in a low voice. The taller shinobi just shrugged, and did an abrupt about-face.

"Everyone out of the way." He said in a bored tone, making hand signs. He then brought his stitched hand to his mouth, exhaling a ball of fire. Upon contact with the air, the flames promptly, for lack of better description, exploded.

-.-.-

Deidara found himself in another room, coming up out of the Doton he had used to escape the sudden burst of flames. He knew an explosion when he saw one. He could only hope that the Hyuuga--and Sasori, even--got out of the way in time. "Stupid Kakuzu, stealing my art, he doesn't even appreciate it, yeah…" The blonde grumbled, climbing over broken desks and chairs to get back out into the hallway. He could hear someone--a female--screaming, so he assumed at least Konan survived. And whoever was unlucky enough to be the one being screamed at.

Rubbing dust out of his eyes, Deidara stumbled back into the corridor. Everyone else was either singed, bloody, dusty, or, in Hidan's case, skewered on a fallen beam. Sasori just shook dust out of his hair, otherwise completely unmarked. The Iwa-nin was more than a bit jealous of his partner right then; how could the man be soinvincible?

Konan was busy shouting Kakuzu's ear off, something about how paper is a highly flammable substance. Hidan was pulling himself off of the wood, all the while grouching about the splinters. The two Konoha-nin were no where in sight. "Hey, where's Bya-chan, yeah?" He asked loudly, coughing a bit.

"Your little pet followed Itachi who followed that other bitch." The Jashinist supplied helpfully, pointing down the hall. "I dunno whether or not she got through that blast that my DUMBASS PARTNER WAS STUPID ENOUGH TO SET OFF." The last part was directed at Kakuzu.

Of course, the taller immortal just flicked him off and replied, "Itold you to get out of the way. Consider it another test of your reflexes, newbie."

"I ain't the newbie no more!" Hidan bawled, searching frantically for his scythe. "Oh just wait until I get some of your blood, you fuckin' bastard, you are so Jashin-damn dead then…"

"Kakuzu, Hidan, be quiet!" Konan snarled, rubbing her temples. "You are giving me a headache with all of your whining. Sasori, gather up the bodies and count them. Deidara, you help him. Kisame, go find Itachi and Hinata. Kakuzu, Hidan, kindly shut your loud mouths and go loot the place. Keep the necessary things with you." The blunette ordered.

Deidara, though the last thing he wanted to do right then was handle carcasses and work anywhere near Sasori, meekly followed the demands. The woman definitely wasn't in a mood to be trifled with. The blonde situated himself so that Sasori was between him and Konan, just in case.

But after a few minutes, to make sure that the men were following her instructions, the kunoichi disappeared in a whirl of papers. Kisame had disappeared the second she gave him the order--probably a wise move--and Kakuzu and Hidan were arguing loudly down the hall. Deidara found himself alone with Sasori, for the first time in nearly a month.

"You're staring." Sasori deadpanned, glancing at him out of the corner of his eye.

"No I'm not, yeah!" The Iwa-nin instantly denied the charge. Instead he turned to the nearest body, and hauled it up over his shoulder, carrying it to the pile. He removed the mask and put that in another pile; it was easier to count masks than corpses.

After a few moments, the redhead stated, "…Here, I'll move the bodies, you just count the masks. You're pathetically weak, you know that?"

Deidara stuck his tongue out at him. "I'm as strong as a shinobi my age should be. You're just a freak, yeah." Just to spite his partner, he marched over and picked up the biggest body he could find. Of course, he ended up more dragging than carrying it.

So he was very surprised when something wrapped around the carcass's torso, lifting it into the air almost effortlessly. Deidara's head snapped back to look at Sasori. The Suna artist just raised an eyebrow, the cable coming out of his sleeve and following seemingly no verbal or physical direction. "You're still too slow, brat."

"We don't have a time limit, yeah." He replied automatically, but his eyes were still on that cable. "What is that?"

"A long metal cord." The redhead gave him a small grin, withdrawing it back into his cloak with a shhhhhk. "Now how many casualties has the Rain experienced?"

"That wasn't what I meant, Sasori-danna." Deidara sniffed, wiping his nose on his sleeve. The dust was starting to irritate him. Of course he hadn't been counting, as he was more fascinated with his partner. Hastily he started numbering off the masks. "Where do you get all of those inane weapons of yours, yeah?"

"My weapons are far from inane--and you're one to talk, anyway. The only inane thing here is you and your 'art'." They were starting to slip back into their regular argumentative natures, all lingering thoughts of that horrid kiss nearly forgotten. Their relationship was again just as happily strained and tense as it had always been.

That was, until Konan came back, ordering them out of the half-destroyed building. Deidara protested hotly, stating that he wasn't going anywhere without the dark-haired girl. Konan replied by informing him that she--and Itachi, unfortunately--were both outside waiting for them. Then the Iwa-nin was more than happy to leave the burning piles of rubble and carcasses.

Once outside, however, Deidara changed his mind about that.

It was eerie out. There was no other word to describe it. The sound of flames and the occasional rumble of a falling beam were completely eradicated, and it was practically silent. Everyone else was already outside, in various states of disarray and health. The trees surrounding the mansion, already sparsely placed, tall and skinny, were surrounded by a thin mist. Deidara's bare feet didn't make any more sound to disrupt the unnatural scene.

Itachi was holding a crying girl by her brown hair, pointing her face down at the ground. The Hyuuga stood beside him, holding her bleeding shoulder. The blonde instantly made his way to stand beside her, looping a concerned arm around her shoulders. "It's cold…" She murmured, leaning against him a bit. Up close, he noticed that she was hurt more than anyone else (with good reason, of course).

With a jolt, Deidara realized something. "…It's not raining…"

Konan wiped a lock of hair out of her eyes, smiling at him. She and the other girl were still in their kimonos, but it didn't exactly ruin the effect. "It means…Pein has won. The Land of Rain is now under Akatsuki control."

"And how the fuck do you know that?" Hidan demanded loudly, visibly unnerved by her proclamation. "Killing a civilian Lord wouldn't do any such thing."

"We were only here to be a distraction and to take out a pawn. Pein was sent to kill Hanzou while we were on this mission. Since it's not raining…it means he won." The woman said softly. At the end of her sentence, however, a light mist began to fall. Within minutes, it was a sprinkle of rain, and before Hidan could point this out, it was getting stronger.

"Yeah, looks like it ain't raining." He muttered. Even if it proved him right, the Jashinist didn't exactly look pleased at the sudden soaking they all received. Deidara snorted, pulling his uniform off to wrap around the dark-haired kunoichi's shoulders. Sasori gave him a dirty look, but didn't say anything.

The brunette in Itachi's grasp, however, suddenly gave a small jerk and looked up to the sky between the treetops. Her eyes were still watery, but now her expression was one of sheer awe. The Uchiha merely narrowed his eyes a bit, but did nothing else. Most of the other members were looking pointedly at her now, silently asking for an explanation to her presence, but Itachi didn't say anything.

They were interrupted, however, when three figures appeared in the rain, near the mansion's gate. All eyes turned to them, but no one tensed. As they neared, two were visibly taller than the one in the middle, but he (for it was apparent that they were all male by now) appeared to be leading the other two.

Deidara mostly ignored whoever it was. He was still thinking about Konan's words--and what they implied. Every shinobi of the day had heard of Hanzou, the leader of the Rain. Though he wasn't a Kage, he was still formidable. It was said that even the great Sannin of Konoha hadn't defeated him working together. Whoever this 'Pein' guy was defeated him? Just like that? The Hyuuga girl beside him looked equally confused, though her white eyes were on the three approaching men.

Eventually, two of the figures were recognizable. Zetsu and Tobi, soaked and looking worse for wear, the latter limping slightly. Between them, however, was a spiky redheaded man--even though his hair was moreorange--that Deidara hadn't ever seen. Must be this 'Pein' guy…

Konan bowed slightly when they came up to them. Sasori and Kakuzu did as well, though no one else moved. The man had the strangest eyes, too--grey with a bunch of circles in them. Deidara must have made some sort of face, because Sasori elbowed him sharply in the side a moment later.

"How did it go?" Konan asked quietly, folding her hands in front of her stomach. Zetsu rolled his eyes, otherwise keeping quiet.

"It went as well as can be expected." The ginger-haired man replied carelessly, glancing over the state of the other Akatsuki members. Unlike Zetsu and Tobi, he only had minimal injuries. Very minimal. Amazingly minimal.

"As was expected…" She echoed, stepping aside for him to address the group at large.

And address them he did. Though shorter than both Tobi and Zetsu, the man wasn't short. In fact, he was quite tall, but even so, his presence was just…dominating. Not to mention all of his piercings. Those were just creepy. But the more he stared at him, the more Deidara was beginning to suspect something…

"I come to you today bearing news of the Rain's downfall. Hanzou is dead--and Oshiro is dead. The Land of Rain is now entirely in the Akatsuki's grasp, and all opposition to us that remains will be exterminated soon. The plan is coming to fruition and the Akatsuki now has its own country to be its stronghold." The second he heard the man's voice, Deidara's jaw dropped. He knew that voice…

Hidan, apparently, likewise recognized it. Itachi and Kisame both appeared somewhat surprised, though they masked it a bit better.

The man called Pein just surveyed them all dispassionately. His grey eyes glanced at each in turn, lingering slightly on the crying brown-haired girl. "…And who is this, Konan?"

"A kunoichi we found in the palace, likewise undercover to assassinate the Rain Lord. We have yet to extract a name, but she has a bloodline limit and her loyalties are unknown." The azure-haired woman told him. He stepped over toward her, and Itachi dragged her to her feet. She wobbled slightly, completely unsure of what to do or say.

"What's your name?" He asked emotionlessly. Deidara resisted the urge to frown; this man was more stoic than Itachi…

"Is-Is it true?" The girl asked instead, her green eyes wide. For a moment, they flashed a clear, ice-like color, then resumed their normal dark, dull coloration. She then fell to her knees in front of him, staring up at him with an awed look. "You…you have no weaknesses!"

"So that's what she sees…" Itachi muttered audibly, grimacing.

"It's true that I have done many things. Be more specific." Pein didn't seem overly worried that she hadn't answered his question, and in fact now looked a bit interested in her own queries.

"You defeated Hanzou?!" She breathed, clasping her hands in front of her chest. "Did you…did you really?" Strangely, she sounded actually relieved at this revelation.

"Yes. I did." He replied simply.

"…" For a long moment, the girl did not speak. Then she ducked her head, shouting, "Thank you, thank you! You've saved us, you've saved the Rain, Pein-sama!"

He smiled. And when he smiled, it wasn't exactly flattering--frankly, it scared Deidara. He now fully suspected this man of being the leader of the organization, and it was an unnerving thought.

"Konan, we will need a new Rain Lord, one who can defend himself against an assassination attempt without needless ninja guards." Pein said loudly, his eyes still on the girl at his feet. "I think this woman will do."

The brunette's head jerked up, eyes wide and ice-like again. "Th-Thank you, thank you, thank you!!" She seemed unsure of what else to say. "Praise you, Pein-sama!"

"Keep saying that. Spread the word." He commanded with another one of his sinister smiles. Then Pein turned back to Konan, saying, "We will have to track down any remaining rebels in the country. I'll leave that up to our new Rain Lord--you and Zetsu can help her. I want every last one of them eradicated."

"Wait, wait, wait." Hidan interrupted, and Pein's eyes flashed dangerously as he turned to him. "You come in here, order us around, appoint this little bitch as the new Rain Lord--and say that you've defeated the legendary Hanzou with a team of three? I know we're Akatsuki and everything, but isn't that a bit much?"

"Zetsu and Tobi didn't help me. They were on their own mission. I defeated Hanzou myself." The man replied coldly. The silver-haired immortal paled considerably, shutting his mouth. "I'd keep quiet in the presence of your leader, Hidan."

"So…you're really him, yeah?" Deidara was unable to resist adding. He needed a straight answer!

"Yes." Pein grinned once more. "Welcome to the new regime of the Rain. Led by Pein-sama, Leader of the famed and feared Akatsuki."

As they left, Deidara could only think how similar it was to five months ago, when he was welcomed into the organization. This whole thing was eerie.

-.-.-

Next Chapter: Well, the Rain has officially ended its civil war--with the Akatsuki winning!! The Leader is finally revealed to the younger members, and a new Rain Lord has already been appointed who sympathizes with the infamous organization! But now, Deidara will be forcibly reminded of his time limit on training for the repeat of the Sand to capture Gaara. And what's this? Something about a race?