Chapter Ten

'I wonder what I should do for today?'

Nakiro pursed her lips in thought as she stared at her reflection, tapping her foot against the floor as she pondered the possibilities, maybe she needed to just go simple for once. She nodded a little to herself at the thought, focusing. She watched quietly as her hair straightened itself out, climbing up until it was halfway down her back in length, parts of it climbing further than the rest, giving her an assortment of layers throughout her hair. The color quickly darkened from brunette to a soft black, her bangs swooping across her forehead. Her eyes changing from the hazel color to onyx, she could've giggled when she realized she passed for an Uchiha.

"Oka-san it's not fair!"

'Well, there went my quiet afternoon.'

Nakiro exited her room at the sound of her sister's shouting, walking down the hallway of her home slowly. She was having another one of her famous temper tantrum's and Nakiro most definitely didn't have the patience to listen to it through the walls, she knew what it was about, it was always the same thing.

"I'm the eldest!"

"Kuri-chan-"

"Otou-san it's not fair!"

The young girl bowed her head, trying her hardest to hold in a groan of annoyance as she made her way to the exit. She had to stay quiet or she'd get dragged into the conversation again, she didn't have the time to sit through her father droning on about the same thing she'd heard so many times before, just to appease her sister's bratty attitude. She loved her family, despite how dysfunctional they could be at times, she just wished her sister would grow up, it wasn't like she'd asked for this.

"It's always the same shit! Nakiro this, Nakiro that. What about my achievements? Don't they matter? Don't I matter?" she was screaming, Nakiro quickly grabbed her sandals.

"Of course they do sweetheart." her mother was saying from the other room.

"Then why is everything always about her?"

"Everything isn't about your imouto-"

"It is too!" Nakiro quickly shoved her feet into her sandals, her heart racing as she quietly moved towards the door. "Because she's the clan prodigy! I should be! Not her! I'm the eldest!"

"It doesn't work that way Kuriko." her father yelled.

'Shit, time to go.'

Nakiro slid open the door of her house, managing to slip out before getting dragged into the conversation, bolting down the stairs and out the front gate, into the street. She jogged down the street away from her house, finally slowing down to a walking speed once it was out of sight, turning her gaze to the dirt road. She was beyond stressed out with her sister's constant whining, she hadn't asked for any of this, it wasn't like she even enjoyed being a shinobi for that matter, she was just carrying on tradition like it was expected of her. If her sister could just understand what she was dealing with, she'd know the truth about being a prodigy and what came with it. She knew it wouldn't happen though, no one understood, except Itachi.

Her heart was skipping at the thought of him, at the idea of seeing him. Maybe his parents wouldn't mind if she visited for a couple hours, she needed the company and Itachi was the only one that understood where she was coming from. Even though they were unspokenly a couple, he was still her best friend, he always knew the right thing to say to make her feel better. She nodded slightly to herself, a small smile coming to her lips and head off towards the Uchiha compound.

Within a few minutes she was standing outside the door of his house, trying to gather the courage to knock. She didn't want him to feel like she was suffocating him with attention, she'd been by his side every free day they'd had together for the past month...was she being clingy? She shook her head to herself at the thought, no. She wasn't being clingy, she just needed a friend. With that thought in mind she knocked lightly on the door, waiting patiently for an answer. She bit down on her lip when the door slid open, Fugaku standing in the doorway.

"Konnichiwa Uchiha-san." she greeted sweetly, Fugaku raised an eyebrow.

"Going for the Uchiha look now Nakiro?" he asked, she grimaced a little at his tone.

"I was bored with everything else." she said easily. "Ano...is Itachi home?" He nodded stiffly and opened the door wider, allowing her to step inside.

"He's in his room."

Nakiro nodded and slipped off her sandals, walking further into the house, trying to shrug off the feeling of Fugaku's eyes on her. He'd changed so much since she first met him but she had an idea why, Itachi had told her the clan was corrupt so perhaps it was something that went hand in hand with that. However, she wasn't going to put her nose where it didn't belong. The Uchiha's business was simply that, their business. She stopped at the door to Itachi's room, knocking softly, the door sliding open after a moment. She felt her cheeks burning when onyx met onyx, a soft smile coming to Itachi's lips.

"Look at you." he murmured. Her cheeks went hotter when he tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, his fingers brushing her cheek. "I'm sure every Uchiha is jealous right now."

"Nande?" she asked curiously, his smile widened.

"Because you pass for one of us." he replied. "The change was perfect."

"Except for my fake Sharingan." she joked. He chuckled softly and motioned her inside, sliding the door shut behind her. "I know I just saw you yesterday and I'm not trying to be clingy, demo-"

"It's alright." he assured. "Seeing you brightens my day." She felt a smile come to her lips when he cupped her cheek, his free hand resting on her waist. "What is it you need to talk about?"

"I just...you know how it feels." she started. "Being...talented."

"The prodigy thing again?" he guessed, she nodded sullenly.

"I hate it." she admitted. "Kuriko hates me half the time because of it. She talks like I asked for all this, like I enjoy it."

"She merely doesn't understand the pressure that comes with it." he soothed, running his fingers through her hair. "It isn't her fault Nakiro."

"I know it isn't." she sighed. "I just...I don't know. It's exhausting." He nodded in agreement, she knew that he understood exactly what she was talking about. "I wish that things were different, she acts like I had a choice in the matter."

"One day, she will understand." he told her. "And when she does, everything that has happened between you both won't matter anymore, your relationship will get better."

"I hate that it's going to take a long time for that to happen." she mumbled. Her cheeks went warm when Itachi placed a light kiss to her lips, leaning his forehead against hers, their eyes locked.

"Until then, you'll have me."

'Itachi.'

Nakiro sighed silently to herself at the memory, forcing herself to remain in control of her emotions. She just had to keep telling herself that she would find him one day, that it would happen, it just wasn't happening as quickly as she wished. It'd been three years since she'd last seen him, three years since she'd last heard about him but she knew that he was still alive because she hadn't heard anything. She tried to see that as a good sign, however difficult it was. He was still out there in the world somewhere and she would spend the rest of her life searching for him if that's what it would take.

"Kiro." She turned her eyes from the window, meeting Deidara's gaze. "Everything okay hm?" he asked, she nodded agreeing.

That part of her life was something she still hadn't shared with Deidara, as much as she wished she could, she wasn't sure that she could take that step just yet. Perhaps one day she could open up to the blonde about her long lost love but until then, she'd keep it to herself and reminisce when she was able.

"I was thinking maybe we could try to find some work while we're here hm." he commented, pulling on his jacket. "I'm not sure how much money these guys are wanting for that information so it could set us back if we aren't careful. What do you think hm?"

She nodded again, agreeing with his suggestion. They had a fair amount of money saved up from the contracts they'd been taking up, Nakiro had taken charge of their funds when Deidara openly admitted he wasn't the best when it came to money. She'd made sure that they wouldn't spend any outlandish amounts, always opting for the cheaper inns and making sure that no attention would be drawn to them. So far they'd stayed off the radar from anyone that would ask questions, they'd even managed to avoid most of the Iwa shinobi that were tracking them.

"Do you need to change before we leave hm?" he asked.

'That's probably a good idea, just in case this is a setup.'

Nakiro closed her eyes at the thought, focusing her chakra and her appearance slowly began shifting. After a few moments, she opened her eyes, now a chocolate brown color. Her hair had changed to a deep red color and the length had changed dramatically, falling just below her chin in an asymmetrical bob style. Her skin had darkened to a darker shade of ivory, freckles running underneath her eyes and over her nose, down her arms and legs. She met Deidara's gaze, her cheeks going pink when she saw the grin on his lips.

"I love watching you do that hm." he told her. "It's really cool." She nodded shyly, smiling a little when he stowed her conversations book in his bag, throwing it over his shoulder. "Ready to go hm?"

She nodded again, bouncing up from her seat and crossed the room to his side, quickly heading out. They made their way out of the small inn, walking side by side down the street together, Deidara threw his arm around her shoulders as they walked. He always seemed to be doing that, did he just enjoy being close to her or was it something else? She blinked curiously at the thought, moving her eyes to his face, surprised when she saw the irritated expression. His mood had changed so suddenly, what could've caused it? She pursed her lips in thought, turning her eyes from Deidara and let them wander around the street, passing over different people until it finally clicked.

'Is he being...territorial?'

Nakiro glanced around at the epiphany, her eyes bouncing from person to person, easily recognizing that any man that looked her way, averted their gaze from her just as quickly. She'd been right then, whether the blonde was knowingly being territorial or not, she wouldn't know but it was obvious that he was making it known that no one was to approach her. She wasn't sure how to feel about it, especially when she didn't know what motive Deidara could possibly have for behaving the way he was. Was it because of Orochimaru's followers, was it to keep her safe? Or was it that, he was attracted to her and was silently claiming her as his? She could feel her cheeks burning at that, trying to hide her blush as best she could but the blonde was far too perceptive, he noticed immediately.

"Nani hm?" he cooed. "Embarrassed?"

She vigorously shook her head at the words, avoiding his visible eye like the plague to which he just chuckled, moving his arm from her shoulders to her waist. She blushed darker at the action, walking next to him as they entered a small bar, allowing him to lead her across the building to a more secluded area. Nakiro moved out of his touch and sat down in the small booth, scooting over towards the wall to give him some room, he quickly took the seat next to her, his hand taking hers.

"They should be here soon hm." he stated. "Would you like a drink?"

She blinked dumbly at the offer, tilting her head to the side slightly as she looked at him; she'd never actually had a drink in a bar before. Sure, she and Itachi used to sneak sake from their parents and have a few drinks at their old spot a few times, but this would be her first time actually drinking in a bar; was he sure that was a smart move to make? Deidara chuckled softly at her confused expression, her face was on fire.

"I mean, one drink before they get here won't hurt hm." She raised an eyebrow at him, he merely chuckled again. "Come on, it'll be our first drink together hm." he pressed, a sly smirk coming to his lips.

'I guess one drink won't kill me.'

She nodded grudgingly, Deidara's smirk widened and he brought her book from his bag, placing it down next to her. She took the pen he offered her, flipping through the pages for a clean one, writing down her drink of choice. Deidara looked over her words, nodding in agreement and rose from his seat, heading off towards the bar to order their drinks. As she waited, she began doodling in her book, drawing a small cartoon version of them standing on one of Deidara's clay birds. Deidara returned by the time she'd finished, setting a glass before her. She stirred her drink with her straw, watching as Deidara poured a couple of shots, nudging one over to her. Without bothering to argue against it, she raised the small glass to her lips, downing it in one go.

"Wasn't sure if you liked shots hm." he chortled, she giggled silently to herself and nodded her head. She turned her attention to the men heading in their direction, placing her free hand on Deidara's arm and scooted slightly closer to him as the men took seats across from them at the booth. "What do you have for us hm?" Deidara asked, his tone changing to professional.

"We managed to put a file together for you on your target." one of the men spoke.

"That'll cost extra." the other added.

"How much are we talking hm?" Deidara pressed.

"¥56604."

'It's not as bad as I thought it'd be.'

Deidara turned his eye to Nakiro, who nodded in agreement with the price, the blonde turning his attention back to the men.

"Alright hm." he agreed. "Start talking."

"We managed to uncover some information about this group he recently joined." the first man began. "It seems the group came about during the reign of Hanzo. As of right now they appear to be comprised of eight members, Orochimaru being one of them."

"All members are rogue shinobi, all of them at an S-Ranked status." the other man stated.

'Eight S-Ranked shinobi...this complicates things.'

Nakiro turned her eyes from the men to her partner, tugging on the sleeve of his jacket. He nodded knowingly and moved his gloved hand to her thigh, squeezing it reassuringly. She felt herself relax slightly and tightened her grip on her pen, writing down a few words, Deidara reading it before looking up at the men.

"What's the name of this group hm?" he asked, repeating her question.

"They call themselves, the Akatsuki."

Author's Note: We are a day early on our update!

The Akatsuki have finally been mentioned! I would also like to take a moment to point out the timeframe we're in with this story to avoid confusion. As of right now, Orochimaru is still a member of Akatsuki, this is before he defected so the organization itself is still a work in progress. So we have Pein (controlled by Nagato in the shadows), Konan, Itachi, Kisame (who has recently been recruited), Sasori, Orochimaru, Kakuzu, Zetsu, and Obito aka Tobi (in the background and unofficial member). Hidan is still off doing his own thing and we'll just roll with Kakuzu having killed one of the many partners it was known he had. So this story takes place before Deidara is recruited (obviously) but the recruitment scene we know and love will be mentioned in later chapters. I will be following the main plot of Akatsuki to the best of my ability through this story with a few alterations to accommodate Nakiro's presence. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Thanks for reading!