Longer than the last chapter, but not as long as I'd like. Sorry.

Where there are two, you see just one.
But if there are thirty, you will see none.
It comes in a month, but not in a year.
Horror has several, but it causes no fear.
It's in Wisconsin, but not New Hampshire.
It's in a response, but not in an answer.

HINT: It is not a letter in the alphabet.

"Cin?" Sasori called out, and the girl whirled around…and smiled at him.

"Hey, Sasori! You're just in time for tea!"

The puppet paused, "Tea?"

Don't get him wrong, he liked tea (at least, he had when he was alive and therefore capable of actually enjoying the taste, but it seemed a little out of place in Limbo.

"Yes, tea!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands and whirling about in a very un-Cin-like manner.

"We don't have time for that! I need you to come back with me now."

She paused, and it was silent for a few moments. Even the annoying "Limbo" music ceased.

"Go back?" she looked directly at him, eyes cold, "Why?"

A red eyebrow raised, puzzled, "Because we want you there."

A frown deepened, "It'll hurt."

Sasori's eyes went wide, "THAT'S what you're worried about? Cin, don't be so childish."

And now, to his surprise, she pouted, "I can be childish if I want to!" and she clapped her hands, de-ageing right before his eyes. Now, the Cin before him could easily pass for 10 years old, a little petite thing, who laughed at him before sprinting to a table that had just appeared, seating herself at the head. It was practically groaning with the teapots, the food, and all of the delicacies piled on it.

"Order in the court!" the slightly deeper voice of the child laughed, slamming a scepter against the table.

Sasori was confused (as I am sure you are). This couldn't really be Cin, right? It looked like her, but his friend wouldn't act like that.

"Please!" she gestured to the table, "Have a seat!"

Sasori decided to humor her, sitting down, hoping that he'd be able to figure out what was going on.

She smiled at him from across the table as the child grabbed a huge top hat from the table, placing it delicately onto her head, and handed over a set of rabbit ears.

Sasori eyed them with disdain, "I think not."

The child pouted, but the redhead was not moved by the expression. The child (he refused to call it Cin) sighed and changed the offering ears into mouse ones.

"Still no."

The child rolled her eyes and clapped her hands. Sasori's hair nearly burst into flames with anger when he realized that he was dressed in a girlish blue dress with matching ribbons.

He slammed his hands on the table, yelling at her, "STOP PLAYING AROUND!"

The frown deepened, eyebrows lowering dangerously over angry eyes.

"You're not being much fun," she spoke sourly, before suddenly brightening, leaping to her feet as she perched on her chair, "NEW CUP! EVERYONE MOVE DOWN!"

She scurried to the next chair, and glowered at Sasori until he reluctantly did as she said, and then the child brightened again. She lifted a giant ornate teapot, and poured into the cup standing in front of Sasori, before pouring herself one, all with the greatest air of solemnness.

"Cream and sugar?"

"Whatever," Sasori rolled his eyes, making a dismissive gesture.

She smiled gently at him, and poured a liberal amount of both into the cup, stirring each with a silver spoon before placing it daintily in the saucer, and handing one over to Sasori, while cupping her hands around the other.

She took a sip, and smiled, sighing with content.

Sasori looked down, and was immediately puzzled.

"There's nothing in here."

He looked up at her to see a weary smile, one that he had seen many times on Cin's face recently. Too many times, in fact. It was funny that he remembered it in hindsight, but didn't notice it then.

"You want to go back, don't you?"

"…Yes?"

"Then you can't have anything to eat or drink." She waved her hand, and the food all wavered like a mirage, "Limbo functions differently for everyone. It's a reflection of the mind. I've always read a lot of fairy tales, and so my idea of Limbo reflects that. It functions like the fairy realm. And if you partake of food or drink in the fairy realm, you can never return to reality," suddenly she beamed, "Besides! You can't eat anything anyways, Sasori no danna!"

He nodded, even though he didn't quite understand what she was saying about fairy tales.

"Very well, then. Let's get down to business."

"To defeat! The Huns! HUH!" she sang, giggling before gesturing at him to continue.

His eyebrow began to twitch, but he forced himself to continue, "You need to come back."

That stopped her laughter cold.

"I do?"

"Yes. You do."

"And, WHY is that?" she leaned forward over the table, resting her chin delicately on her hands.

It's not the end of your story, yet," was the cold response.

Darkness swirled in the child's amber eyes, "I think it is, Sasori I DIED, remember? That constitutes an end of a story."

"It didn't have to be that way."

"Yes, it did," the grin returned, "NEW CUP! MOVE DOWN!"

He grabbed her wrist across the table before she could move, "You have to listen to me, Cin."

"No, I don't!~" she sang as his hand fell through her as though she was a ghost, "I don't have to do anything if I don't want to."

His eyes narrowed, and he flipped the table onto the flickering figure of the little girl.

"Hey!" the child reappeared atop the table, "What if I WASN'T immaterial, huh?"

Sasori smirked dryly, "You died, remember?"

"Oh, so you DO know! That's good to hear. I'd hate for you to have lost your wits, just to visit me."

"Who says I'm just visiting? I'm bringing you back with me."

"I don't think that's going to happen, Sasori. It doesn't work like that."

"It worked that way before."

"Yeah, it did."

"It will work again."

"No, it won't."

The voice didn't come from the child in front of him. he whirled around to see a second Cin come from behind a random door that was leading to nowhere, this one an adult. She was polishing a bright red apple on her shirt as she looked at him, tired.

"And why is that?" he asked.

"Hey! Don't ignore me!" the child cried out behind him, but his focus was completely on the figure that he was certain was the REAL Cin.

"Pay no attention to the person behind the curtain," she spoke wryly to him.

"What she said!"

"Why won't it work, Cindra?"

She lifted her chin slightly as she examined the apple, checking over to ensure its perfection.

"Because I don't want to go back."

Pain groaned as he massaged his forehead. All of this stress and chaos had turned his minor, constant headaches, into major, constant migraines. He just wanted Cin back so that she could FIX this.

He understood the fact that most of his team saw her as a person, as a friend. He understood that it was something easy to do.

But he couldn't afford to think that way. He was the leader, the man behind the curtain. The man pulling the strings.

He needed Cin to be nothing more than a tool to the team. Any other method was a liability. He had tolerated the friendship in the beginning, because it was a way to integrate the team into a foreign area. But he hadn't expected it to grow beyond that.

His whole team was nothing more than a tool to him. And they were nothing more than tools to each other.

That is how S-class criminals work. That is how shinobi are SUPPOSED to work. He was quite aware that some shinobi (sucha s those native to Konoha), were starting to have different ideals, focusing on teamwork instead of simple toleration of divergent personalities and useful skill sets.

But when they became friends with Cin, somehow they became friends with each other as well. Not best buddies, but friendly enough to care when something happened to the others. Even now, they were all waiting in Sasori's room, praying for the best.

All but him.

Going against Konoha for Cin''s return was a calculated risk. He only made it because of the value she brought the Akatsuki, and the disadvantage she would create if she sided with Konoha.

If the team had refused to obey him, had he decided NOT to make that risk, he would have slaughtered them. There were other S-class criminals out there that he could recruit. The only ones that were truly necessary were himself, Konan, Tobi, and Zetsu.

And those were the four that would refuse to risk everything they had worked for in order to save the girl.

But this, this wasn't sanctioned by him. The team was out of control.

That girl had come into their lives like a virus, to which they had no immunity, and had spread like a cancer, even infecting his Uchiha.

He wasn't even leading them, anymore. At this point, he was merely the figurehead, and he HATED it.

It made him feel ignored, made him feel like the ignorant Nagato again.

He felt useless.

And there was nothing he could do to stop it.

They were in there now, conducting a procedure that, if it failed, would cost him not only the healer, but also Akasuna and Hoshigaki. Deidara was so sure that he was in love with this girl (PLEASE, the whole of Akatsuki could tell, even when both the bomber and the healer were unaware), that he'd probably go off the deep end if she didn't return.

He should never have sent Deidara out there in the first place.

She had forced a change in all of his criminals, even the ones firmly loyal to him. if she got too close to him, she'd destroy Pain, and force Nagato out of hiding.

This world NEEDED Pain. That was why he had created him in the first place. Him, Yahiko, and Konan.

The world needed to learn how to fix its problems from the School of Hard Knocks, just like he and his friends had.

If they didn't, then he would end them, and make the world a better place.

And finally, when he was the only corrupted being left on their planet, he'd rid them of him, once and for all.

But this was only possible so long as poor little Nagato didn't come forward.

He wished that he knew how to avoid it, while still keeping a firm hold of his little tool. But as it was, it was becoming more and more of a liability to the stability of his plan.

"What are you thinking?"

He turned to see the figure of Tobi appear behind him.

"Madara," he greeted the shinobi by the name he had been given. Whether or not it was his true name, Pain didn't care. He only needed the power and the plan formulated by the mysterious figure. Everything else, he couldn't care less about.

"We have a slight problem."

"I know."

"And?"

"I'm working on it."

"Good. See that it is done."

If they enacted the moon plan quickly enough, perhaps he could kill off Cin, and yet keep the idea that she is alive in the members' minds? Make them addicted to the idea of the moon plan, make them dedicated to making it perfect.

And then he could get rid of them, those threats to his perfect world.

It wasn't much of a plan.

But it was a start.

So long as Nagato did not appear.

… … … … …

Don't you just hate it when you are aimlessly writing, and something else just RANDOMLY appears? This was completely stream of consciousness, so let us just hope it continues to work. Hopefully I haven't bitten off more than I can chew, but trying to unwrite it at this point just doesn't work for me.

Hope everyone is continuing to enjoy reading this story! And we'll get back to Cin and Sasori next time!