A/N: Edited the number of people still alive. That's a major plot hole in itself as there's no way there could have been 60+ people to begin with but I seriously cannot be bothered to go and rewrite whole paragraphs right now. I'm very tired and this chapter took a long time to push out. So, sorry?

Cracka-boom!

Daichi winced, feeling the thunder box his ears as he shifted on one of the few beds provided in the bunker. Beside him, Rin slept soundly, the stress that had engulfed her since the death of Obito erased from her features, the muscles on her face slackened. Hikari was squeezed between her big brother and her mother, snoring softly with her rosebud lips parted. The Uchiha boy craned his neck to try and stop his nose from burying into Hikari's dark brown locks—he would sneeze, and he didn't want to disturb everybody from well-needed rest.

Feeling thirsty, Daichi quietly slid off the side of the bed, shivering at the feel of the cold floor on the bottom of his feet. Sneaking around sleeping bodies—there weren't enough beds to provide for everyone, so most slept on futons or simply hard concrete—Daichi exited the bedroom and went over to the only other room in the bunker: the kitchen. It was where they kept all their supplies, including the water canteens (the water collected from the mountain's pure rivers). He chose a random one and drank just enough to quench his thirst.

Thunder rumbled above him, and Daichi's shoulders tensed, his fingers pressing into the skin of the canteen painfully. He hated thunder. He hated the rain. Most of all, he hated how Obito wasn't here to comfort him anymore.

Don't be a baby, he scolded himself, screwing the cap back on the canteen again and putting it back where he had found it. The crack of lightning sounded again, and Daichi found himself jumping. It wasn't just the thunder—he jumped at almost every little noise now, and he wasn't the only one. The need for constant vigilance was greater than ever, even in perceived safe environments. It was so dark in the kitchen—dark enough that Daichi wouldn't have seen a clever monster hiding in the shadows upon entering. Paranoia creeping up his spine, Daichi tossed a wary glance over his shoulder, expecting an otherworldly thing to emerge from the darkness and lash out and him with its long claws. He had not seen the brutal way which Sawako had been murdered, having closed his eyes as soon as Deidara screamed and the monster lunged with death permeating its entire body, but the... knowledge of her gruesome, undeserved death sat at the back of his mind, whispering harshly about how the same fate could befall him.

When Daichi returned to the sleeping quarters, he was surprised to find everyone up, wariness glinting in their eyes. Multiple lamps had been turned on in his absence, and he was able to see the relief fill his mother's eyes as she spotted him. Guilt pricked at his heart, and he returned to her side, wrapping his arms around her lithe frame.

Hikari, blinking sleepily, looked up at their mother, having just woken up from a deep sleep. "What's going on? Why is everyone awake, aniki?"

Before Daichi could answer, a wet, hacking noise filled the room and chilled him to the core.

Izumi worriedly crouched over him, Itachi coughed his lungs out, and Sakura and Shizune didn't even need to use a diagnostic medical jutsu to tell that he had a serious lung infection. Izuna lay asleep on the futon a bit behind his mother, completely unaware to what was happening in this dark world.

Itachi took a deep, rasping breath, chest heaving, before five others joined him in his discordant coughing. Mori—the man with the thinning hair who had argued with Naruto yesterday—hacked away, choking on his own mucus at times. Young Udon, Shogo's grandmother, Yukari, and little Itsuki seemed to be ill with the same disease that had suddenly befallen Itachi, seemingly manifesting especially strongly in the young ones—particularly Udon, who had always had a weak constitution.

"Oh," Izumi's stricken gaze landed on her sleeping child, "Deidara, could you please—?"

Deidara hastily picked up Izuna, looking a little distressed as she stepped far outside of her comfort zone. "I got it, un."

"Sounds like a terrible case of bronchitis," Chiyo commented at the edge of the room. She had refused the bed offered to her as an elderly woman, trading the mattress for a futon on the floor with someone who needed it more. "Do you have any medical supplies to treat it?"

They didn't. They had bandages, basic painkillers, and maybe a splint or two, but nothing beyond what could be found in a basic clinic. A group was supposed to have been sent out to a nearby medical bunker tonight, but the recent attack and the pouring rain had forced that little expedition to be postponed until tomorrow.

"We could use our chakra to thin the mucus," Shizune said with a slow nod of the head. She bit her lip. "It would ease their breathing and altogether make things more comfortable, but it won't be enough to kill the bacteria."

"Bacteria still exist in such a cold environment?" Hanabi questioned, hair mussed on one side.

"Yes. Some strains survive better in the cold than others, and that makes them especially dangerous," Sakura informed, passing one hand through her hair. "Okay, okay... I won't lie, this is potentially life-threatening. Itachi, if we want any chance of curing this, we'll need those supplies now. Considering how quickly and out-of-the-blue they manifested, I'm guessing the bacteria lay dormant until certain conditions were achieved, and reproduces at an incredible rate."

"Please!" Itsuki's mother blurted, rubbing her ill son on the back as he coughed painfully. "You must go and save my son! He's the only one I have left!"

Everyone exchanged nervous glances, before Kisame walked forward. "I'm down. If it means keeping more people from dying, then I don't see why not."

"Not that I disagree," Anko said, crossing her arms and eyeing all of them, her piercing viper-like gaze lingering on Sakura for a moment. "But you do know that it's a storm out there, right? This mission could potentially end up disastrous." Even in the chilly bedroom, a nervous bead of sweat was trickling down the side of her head. "And is it really safe, even without the rain? Just because we haven't seen any monsters doesn't mean there aren't any."

Discussion was thrown back and forth, Anko's concerns validated by a few more people. In the end, however, it was decided when the heavy rain lessened to a gentle pour. Sakura, along with Kakashi, Kisame, Kagami, and Sasori for protection, headed off to the medical bunker with Shikaku's map memorized.

"Be safe," people murmured as they exited, crowding at the only entrance.

Sasori, at the back of the group, was the only one who glanced backward as he stepped out into the rain. His gaze fell on Deidara, who seemed barely rested from her chakra exhaustion. She had Izuna tucked in her arms, the babe burying his face into her shirt, which was sporting a new tear on the shoulder area. He tore her gaze away from her when Izumi clutched her shoulder to have Izuna returned to her. The Uchiha woman looked even more tired than Deidara, her Uchiha genes the only thing keeping her from aging too rapidly.

On their way to the medical bunker, Kisame spat and spluttered when a cluster of leaves and twigs blew into his face. Kagami cackled in wicked delight, ducking when Kisame threw a particularly large twig at them.

"Boys," Sakura said sharply, and Kagami and Kisame both turned to her. "Honestly, Sasori, I feel like you're the only mature one here in this bunch..." Her lips quirked upward in grim amusement. "Still, as long as we all don't die, I guess I shouldn't complain."

The rest of their trek was uneventful, the most dangerous thing they encountered being a famished snow leopard with particularly deadly claws. Mostly, they walked in silence, words only being exchanged to give a direction. The wind and water was on their backs as they walked, and lingered even when they reached the bunker.

Sakura's heart sank when she saw the grim looking state of it, and even Sasori frowned disapprovingly when he saw it, said frown deepening when Kakashi nonchalantly strolled ahead of them. The masked man turned back slightly, expecting them to follow. They did, proceeding with an exercised caution.

It smelled like rot, and Sasori resisted the urge to pinch his nose. Someone had died here, and by the smell of it, it was recent. That alone set off alarm bells in his head, and he warned the others, though he suspected they already knew. The bunker was run-down, but bigger than they had expected—there was even a set of stairs leading further underground.

There was a funky sort of stench coming down from there, and Sasori wrinkled his nose. It was a scent he had familiarized himself with, and one he hated to sniff. The upstairs level only stocked the most basic of supplies (Sakura cleanly swept everything she could into a storage scroll), and it was likely that it was downstairs that the more helpful medicine was kept.

They gathered at the top of the stairs, exchanging questioning glances in the darkness.

"Well," Kakashi said eventually, "Shall we?"

Kisame led the way, unsheathing Samehada, and Sasori brought up the back. Their most valuable member, Sakura, was smack bang in the middle, flanked by Kagami and Kakashi. The former's Sharingan eye was spinning in the darkness, and Sasori was glad that he didn't have to look at it. As they descended, it grew colder and colder, the air becoming uncomfortably damp.

The smell of death—yes, thought Sasori, death—was even stronger when he stepped off the last step, his shoe stepping on something too soft to be comfortable. By the stiff shoulders of his party members, he knew they were having a similar reaction.

"What," Sakura breathed out, "the hell." The others couldn't see it, but her face had grown incredibly pale, and she bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself from vomiting all over herself and making things messier than they already were.

"My god," Kakashi muttered, holding a hand up to his nose, trying to block out the nauseating stench of decayed flesh that was assaulting his nostrils. He squinted at Sakura in the darkness, wondering if she was going to cry, or worse. But to her credit, Sakura stepped over the bodies of Tsukigakure soldiers.

"We should get masks," Sasori said abruptly, Kagami's facial attire giving him an idea. "If we can find any." It probably wouldn't help much, but he was willing to take whatever he got.

"Good idea," mumbled Sakura, placing one cold hand on her forehead. "Let's do that. I don't think there's anything down here, but let's stick together. Just in case."

"One person should guard the entrance. Want me to?" offered Kisame. "I'm probably the most durable one here, so if I get attacked..."

"Can we not entertain that option?" Sakura grimaced. "It's a good idea, though... Hoshigaki-san—"

"Kisame."

"—Kisame, you go stand guard then. We... We'll search."

As everyone—minus Kisame, who had left with their only lamp in tow—wandered down the corridor, checking each room, Sasori stared long and hard at the bodies at the bottom of the stairs. They'd been there for weeks, by the smell of it, and he couldn't help but feel a morbid fascination toward the corpses. So this was the consequence of death. It wasn't like he hadn't known such a thing would occur, but having it unfold before him was...

Gutwrenching. He did not pity them—no, not in the least; after what they'd done to his home—but their deaths had not been pretty.

He breathed out, trying to calm his beating heart to a healthier pace. "What a world..." He popped three more lamps from the storage scroll he had brought along, giving two of them to Kakashi and Sakura. He needed the third one for himself, so Sasori could only pray that Kagami's Sharingan gave them more of an advantage when it came to searching in the dark.

"I don't think anyone's here," Sakura's voice sounded in the darkness a few minutes into the search. "We've checked every room right?" She sounded a lot more timid than usual. Afraid.

"Yep." Kakashi popped his head around the doorway of the room he had been occupying, nearly hitting Sasori. "Oh, sorry... I got a bit lost and thought this door led to a closet."

Sasori side-eyed him. "Hmph, whatever. Let's just hurry up so we can get the fuck out of here. This place..." He would never admit it to Kakashi, but it scared him more than any monster ever would.

Kakashi's light-hearted facade dropped for a moment, allowing Sasori to see what he was just as solemn as him. Then the silver-haired man disappeared back into his room, Sakura hurrying in right after him. She paused for a moment to regard Sasori. "Find anything useful?"

"Yeah, but you should probably check the room I searched to see if I missed out on anything important." He was sure he hadn't, as his knowledge of medicine wasn't too shabby thanks to his grandmother's tutoring, but it would be better for Sakura to check anyway. She was the trained medic here, not him.

She nodded, head twitching slightly when she caught sight of the dim, barely-there outline of the corpse pile behind Sasori's shoulder. The black-haired medic couldn't help but feel like one of those corpses would jump up and attack them at any given moment. "I will. You've been a great help." She touched his shoulder briefly in appreciation before joining Kakashi.

When it took longer than five minutes before Sakura got to inspect Sasori's already searched room, he began to grow antsy, and he knew he wasn't the only one. Kakashi kept shifting his weight from his left foot to his right, and the small pulse of chakra he felt probing at the back of his head told him that Kagami was turning their Sharingan on and off in anticipation.

It's not a coincidence that those bodies are here. It was recent, meaning that the bunker was in use before... that happened. Despite his gut screaming at him not to approach, Sasori crouched next to a half-rotten corpse and held the lamp at its face before hovering the light source along its crooked, broken body. They hadn't managed to find any masks after all, and Sasori's iron stomach and... prior experience was the only thing that saved him from making a complete mess of himself as the nauseating smell of decay burned the inside of his nostrils and contaminated the delicate creases and folds in his lungs. He held the back of his palm to his nose, recoiling slightly. The wounds... only one thing up in these mountains could produce these kinds of injuries. Memories of Sawako being cleaved in half swam to the forefront of his mind, and his world almost swayed for one moment before righting itself. It would also explain why the outside is ruined. If it was a big one, it wouldn't be able to get in without causing any structural damage. The thoughts processed in his head at a million miles per hour, and it was only the sound of footfall behind him that got him to slowly stand back up, as if he hadn't just gotten more up close and personal with a corpse than he would have liked.

"Making new friends?" Kagami taunted, but Sasori could sense no malice in their voice, so he simply ignored them. It was probably just Kagami's twisted way of trying to break the ice.

When they stepped over the corpses again to make for the stairs, Sakura let out a small whimper, tightening her grip around the storage scroll she held. It was dangerous to haphazardly store all the supplies into one single scroll, but the danger only lay in opening the container so that it wouldn't all spill out, which she was sure Sasori or Kakashi could help her with.

Sakura pulled away from them when they got outside, not even heading to where Kisame was waiting. Kagami glanced at Kakashi and Sasori. "Can one of you hug her or something?"

"Hatake will," Sasori volunteered his enemy's son immediately.

"I—tsk. Of course." Kakashi didn't sound annoyed at the prospect of being the medic's source of comfort, but rather vexed at the fact that Sasori had gotten a word in before him. Kagami raised an eyebrow behind their mask. Perhaps it was a man thing they were unaware about. Nevertheless, they made their amusement known with a small chuffing noise.

Sasori and Kagami slowed their pace a bit, not wanting to catch up to Kakashi and Sakura too quickly. The Hatake and Haruno exchanged a few words; at one point, Kakashi actually grabbed her face and told her sternly, "It's not your fault. You're the one who's saving lives, not destroying them."

She was crying now. "I couldn't even save Ino! T-there was a corpse by one of the cabinets and she looked just like... like her!"

Sasori let out a small sigh, even when a noticeable chill ran down his spine from the way her voice pitched in blatant distress. "She needs to keep her emotions in check..." It's too dangerous out here. We can't stop because she's having a breakdown. We have to keep going. Even as he said those words and thought those thoughts, there was a... rawness in her voice that he couldn't ignore, especially when he reminded himself of how much Ino had resembled Deidara. He couldn't just brush this off and declare it just another casualty in a world where it was eat or be eaten; he couldn't just wipe the blood off of his gloves or burn everything away. It was there: a huge black, festering stain that he couldn't look past.

Kakashi, however, was just as good as ignoring his emotions as Sasori, and he said something that made Sakura bravely wipe away her tears and say, "Sorry about that. Let's go back."

"Oh, I agree," Kagami said suddenly, when they and Sasori were still catching up to the other three members of their group. "She does, but isn't there something beautiful about that? Artful, even?"

Sasori barely spared them a glance. "There is nothing beautiful or artful about hell. Shut up, Kagami."

"You're missing the point. I know you're not dumb, so it's not ignorance. Perhaps... you are afraid to identify it's beauty?" By now, they had caught up, so all conversation ceased there.

There was a river between the medical bunker and the one they were staying in, and it had grown swollen with rain when they reached it for the second time that night. Morning. Night. They had no problems crossing it, though, simply jumping across the body of water. Kisame helped Sakura across.

When they got back, everybody was still loitering at the entrance for some strange reason, only they were noticeably panicked this time. The majority of the group were pressed against the bunker entrance or trying to scramble inside but were rooted to the ground with morbid fascination. A distance away from them, the civilian Mori was crouched on the ground, holding out his right arm in a pained, pleading manner. Near him, the wrinkled corpse of a small monster flopped on the grass.

"I'M NOT INFECTED!" Mori screamed, waving his bleeding right arm in the air. Crimson liquid arced through the air, and people recoiled when it threatened to splatter on their skin. Spittle flew from Mori's mouth as he tried to convince them of his innocence, or, rather, Shisui and Gai. "I'M NOT! SEE?! I'M FINE! I'M FINE!"

Gai seemed rather unsure about the whole thing, but Shisui had his tanto drawn and was pointing it at the civilian in a defensive fashion.

"Liar!" Hitoshi accused from the front of the crowd. "You're a damn liar, old man! I saw it claw you! Saw it claw you with my very own eyes!" He was almost hysterical, pointing at Mori wildly like a cornered animal. "Are you two insane?! We have to kill it before it kills us."

"What the hell is happening here?" Kakashi demanded as their medical expedition party rejoined the group. "Gai?"

"We had an attack," Gai reported gravely. "It was only one small monster, so it was dealt with quickly, but not before causing a panic. Hitoshi-san claimed that Mori-san was wounded in the commotion, but Mori-san denies it. He claims that the wound is from scraping his arm on the side of the entrance."

"No," Sasuke was saying now, glancing at Hitoshi. "I saw it, too. Not all of it, but enough. It was standing over Mori and managed to lash out one more time before Tenten thrust her staff through its heart."

"See?! He agrees!" Apparently, Hitoshi had abandoned his disdainful view on Sasuke for now, only caring about rallying support. "Look, I know I'm an asshole, but you have to believe me! I wouldn't lie about this kind of shit!"

"Where's Itachi? Shouldn't he be dealing with this?" Kagami mused before answering their own question. "Maa, he's probably resting... Missed everything, didn't he, the damn bastard..."

"Please," Mori pleaded, moaning. "Please, please, please..." He clawed at his cheeks, blood mixing with tears. "PLEASE! SAVE ME! MEDIC! MEDIC!"

Personally, Sasori thought it was best to just declare him infected, kill him, and deal with the backlash later. His behavior was frankly not natural, and—

Mori leaped at Shisui, salivating with madness. Most could only catch the flash of the metal when lightning split the sky, and were blinded in the moment that Shisui lopped Mori's head off, his blade slashing through flesh and bone with terrifying ease. Considering how blunt the tanto was, anyone with an ounce of sense knew that it had taken a mighty effort for him to decapitate a half-transformed Mori. But perhaps he wasn't as monstrous as they'd thought, because the detached body twitched once before going motionless. There was no effort made to stand up, and no vines started soaring at gathered crowd.

Still, Shisui stabbed Mori's heart for extra measure. The heart bled crimson, not seaweed black and green.

Someone—a child?—let out a startled, terrified sob before going silent.

"Okaa-chan?!" Itsuki looked up at his mother, horrified. "Why did they kill that poor uncle?!" But Itsuki's mother was too frozen in shock to answer, the sight of Mori's head face-down in the grass knocking all the wind out of her.

Daichi, standing close by to the younger boy, swallowed a lump in his throat, trembling. "Because he was infected... he was infected. He was gonna die anyway. They're... not humans anymore."

Itsuki started to wail, hammering his little fist on his mother's thigh when she refused to hug him, rubbing her hands up and down her own arms as she tried to calm herself down. He yelped when another woman—Deidara—scooped him into her arms. The child's fingers tangled painfully in the tips of her hair as he wriggled, but her face remained a mask of grimness.

"Why don't we head back inside?" Deidara suggested eventually, trying to diffuse the situation. "No point in standing out in the cold, un."

The bunker was undeniably small and not built for more than twenty people, so, in the morning, a few of the braver ones trickled outside in a steady stream, still skittish and tense. It had stopped raining by the time the sun was up, but with the sick people, they wouldn't be able to travel until they got at least a little better. The now-patients remained inside the bedroom in futons, asleep. Itachi had slept through the entire fiasco last night, and had awoken for only a few minutes before the sun woke up before falling back asleep. Their conditions had worsened during the night, and Itachi's coughing was surprisingly much more violent than the others'.

Sakura, with the help of Shizune and Chiyo, occupied the kitchen in their production of a cure. A swab had been taken from the patients, which they used as the foundation of their knowledge about the bacteria. Sakura had stolen a single microscope from the medical bunker, painstakingly holding a lamp close to the stage to try and illuminate the bacteria. Without proper, working equipment, it was the best they could do.

Deidara woke up to something poking her lower back. Languidly turning her head, she spotted young Itsuki curled in a tight ball, the crown of his head digging into the curve of her back. Right... his mother sleeps near me, so that makes sense... She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as she sat up, briefly wondering if the bags beneath her eyes had cleared up any. She doubted it, considering the nightmare of a day that had been yesterday. Yesterday's chakra exhaustion had her entire body feeling heavy and achy, but she was feeling too restless to stay in bed all day. Even if Sakura said otherwise, a little exercise would do her good. She'd be fine as long as she didn't strain herself.

In a sea of futons, bodies, and blankets, there was movement, and little Shogo—Asagi's son—crawled over to where Itsuki was folded. He prodded his sleeping friend, a look of childish annoyance on his face. "Hey, lazybones, wake up!" When he realized that he had accidentally jostled Deidara, his demeanor shifted. "Sorry."

"Hm." Deidara stood, grabbing her Akatsuki cloak which was strewn on her futon. She used it as a blanket during the nights. Throwing it across her shoulders, she looked down at the boy. "Your grandmother's sick, isn't she?"

Shogo's eyes widened slightly. "Y-yeah, that's what okaa-chan said..."

Perhaps she would have offered a genuine sympathy for the child, but she couldn't find it within her. She had never been soft, but never this hard either—slowly, she was changing, and she knew. "Hope she gets better, yeah." The words were heavy on her tongue, and as bland as the canned goods they had discovered in the kitchens.

She left him then, and Shogo turned his attention back to waking up Itsuki, who was beginning to stir. There was no natural light penetrating this far into the bunker, meaning that it was harder than usual to wake up.

What time is it? Deidara wondered as she stepped into the kitchens. She didn't dwell on it, however, as she found Izumi, Chiyo, Sakura, and Shizune there. The latter three were occupying a section further from the entrance, trying to procure a panacea. Knowing that they were busy at work, Deidara ignored them, focusing on Izumi instead.

"Deidara!" Izumi startled. "I was just making some herbal tea for Itachi and the others." She tried to smile, and Deidara faltered when she saw crow's feet appear on the corners of her eyes. "You'd be surprised about the number of winter herbs growing up here..."

She looks... even worse than me. Deidara pulled some of her hair up in a ponytail. "Did you sleep last night, Izumi?"

"No, and I didn't try to either. I wouldn't have been able to. I could hear him coughing from across the room..." The ill ones had been moved to a more isolated corner of the room in order to try to minimize infection. Izumi glared at the wall, the lines beneath her eyes becoming more pronounced.

Deidara sat down on the opposite outer side of the kitchen counter. The tea was still brewing. "Where's Izuna, hm?"

"With Asagi. She feels indebted to our family, and I normally wouldn't do this kind of thing, but—"

"I get it, yeah," Deidara interrupted her rant, holding up a hand. She smiled wearily at Izumi. "To be brutally honest, Izuna was born at the worst possible time. Nobody blames you if you have to hand him off to someone else from time to time. Just... make sure not to stretch yourself too much, hm?"

"I... Yes, thank you."

A comfortable silence stretched between them, the only noise being the mutterings of the doctors on the other side of the room. Once the tea finished brewing, Izumi went over to the medics to get some kind of confirmation before hurrying into the room.

The entire kitchen smelled like herbs to Deidara, and it was beginning to get suffocating. After a quick drink of water, she left the premises, narrowing her eyes as she emerged from the entrance. It was yet another gray day today.

At least it isn't raining, she thought sardonically. As she took her first step outside, the grass crunched beneath the sole of her boot, and she looked down. The grass was crisp and dewy from last night's rain. Subconsciously, she searched for any sign of last night's incident, but could find none. The storm had washed Mori's blood away. The body had been cleaned up after everyone went in. Probably by Shisui.

Taking in a deep breath, she lifted her arms up and arched her back in a bone-popping stretch, the sleeves of her cloak falling down her arms and revealing still-healing bruises that hadn't been severe enough to warrant immediate medical attention.

"Hey, look who's awake!" Shisui, crouched opposite Gai, straightened and waved to her. "Morning, sunshine."

"Morning, you guys. What are you doing...?" She made her way to them, head tilted slightly. "Sparring?" Deidara perked up, looking more alive than she had been in the past few days.

"Correct!" Gai boomed. "In times like this, it is important for us to hone our skills to deadly precision." Sometimes, it was hard for Deidara to remember that Gai could was as much of a warrior as her or Sasori. With his borderline goofy behavior (who was she kidding—he was definitely goofy), Gai was often overlooked. "You should join us, Deidara—afterward, we can do a thousand push-ups using only the tips of our fingers. And if cannot do those one thousand push-ups—"

"Whoa, there," Shisui cut in, sweatdropping. "I appreciate the enthusiasm, Gai, but we're training, not looking for ways to kill ourselves." With that, he jabbed at Deidara, who quickly dodged to the side. A three-way half-hearted battle was initiated then, and some of the other people outside started paying attention.

Hanabi and Hinata were sitting in the grass with Tenten, having some small talk when they saw Shikamaru and Choji walking past, close knit as ever. "Taijutsu battle," Choji said shortly, a hint of excitement in his voice.

"Oh, really?" Hinata straightened at that, curiosity piqued. "W-we should go watch—I haven't seen one in a long time... D-do you girls mind?"

Tenten and Hanabi shook their heads, and the three of them followed Shikamaru and Choji to the hub of excitement. Sasuke, who was sitting on a nearby rock and sharpening his sword, glanced toward where the fighters were dancing around each other. Little Chihiro trotted out of the bunker, summoned by the buzz.

"A Big 4 battle," Tenten said aloud before she could help herself. "Everyone back home would have killed just to see one..." Sadness eased into the creases of her heart. The only one missing is Obito...

"Is it really a Big 4 battle with only three people?" Hanabi said, sounding surprisingly bitter.

No one had an answer to her question, not even Shikamaru.

It was then Tenten felt a tug on her sleeve, and she looked down to see Chihiro gazing up at her. Her heart melted. "Oh, Chihiro..." She remembered hugging the girl tightly when they had reunited, but with all the excitement going on, they hadn't much talked. "What is it?"

"You should join in," Chihiro told her, and Tenten felt her heart jump.

"Wh-what?"

"It's not really Big 4 without a fourth person."

"Chihiro, you don't understand. I can't just intrude like that. That... It wouldn't be right, and—"

"Are you worried about disrespecting my husband's memory?" Tenten almost jumped into the air at the sound of Rin's voice behind the row of teenagers (and pre-teens, too). The older woman was holding the hands of both of her children, though Daichi broke off and stood next to Shikamaru to get a better look of the spar.

"R-Rin-sama—!" Tenten stammered, blushing when she realized how much like Hinata she sounded. Get a grip!

Rin looked faintly amused. "I'm not your boss anymore, Tenten. Just Rin is fine. Or if you really want to, Rin-san."

Hikari lifted one hand to wave at her mother's former employee. "Hi, Tenten-san," she murmured sleepily.

Tenten smiled, softening. "Hey, Hii-chan."

"Obito wouldn't mind," Rin said lightly, palming Tenten's shoulder. "I don't either. We never really were ones to stick too much to tradition."

Tenten's gaze shifted downward. "Are... Are you sure?"

Rin nodded. "Go get your staff if you want."

Remembering that she had left it in the grassy spot where she had been sitting before, Tenten hastily went to get it, only to bump into Sasuke, who had removed himself from his rock. He was holding her staff in one hand.

"Here," the Uchiha said, handing it to her. "You shouldn't leave your weapons lying around like that." He sounded decidedly disinterested and not the least malicious, but Tenten's ears burned anyway.

"Thanks," she muttered, a little more snippishly than she meant to. Swiftly, she tried to amend, "You're not that bad."

Deidara was in for a surprise when she found that she had to dodge Shisui's tanto and Tenten's staff. "What—when did you get here, hm?!"

"Aw, don't complain, Deidara~!" Shisui sing-songed, grinning wildly when her expression darkened with promised vengeance. "The more the merrier, right?"

Tenten laughed apologetically. "Hope you don't mind."

"Oh, I do mind—I mind the fact that I don't have a weapon while you two do, un!"

Gai shot out his arm and nearly grabbed the bun-haired girl's staff then, forcing Tenten to back away and regather her bearings. "No use in mourning that now, Deidara!" Gai proclaimed. "Do not forget that I too lack a weapon!"

The battle ended just as a hunting party that Deidara hadn't known got sent out returned. She eased up when she saw that Sasori was in the front, leading Naruto, Karin, and Rock Lee. The bespectacled redhead seemed to be as jumpy as ever, her eyes flicking to Naruto when his elbow got too close to her shoulder. She didn't know when Yukari had let go of her dead sister's bow and arrows, because the last time Deidara had even registered her was when she had broken down after the bridge attack, but Sasori possessed them now, the quiver loosely strapped around his person. Arrows always were more effective for covering long distances than kunai and other blades. In one hand, Sasori held the bow; the other hand was bloody, and he clutched the ears of a dead rabbit. They'd found a nest, apparently, as both Naruto and Lee had rabbits of similar size to the red-haired man. Karin was empty-handed, and Deidara guessed that she had only tagged along because of her sensory abilities.

There were gasps of excitement as breakfast was finally noticed. The last fresh food they'd eaten was the venison that Shikaku had cooked up. Faces became a little more hopeful, and bodies stood a little bit taller.

"Don't just stand there," Sasori groused, eyebrow twitching in annoyance as he watched them salivate. "We can't cook these without a fire, you brats, so start hauling ass a little quicker." That sent them into a flurry of motion, and Sasori turned to Shisui. "Help me gut the rabbits. And Gai..." His brown gaze flicked over to where Rock Lee was having a discussion with Naruto about the size of their catches. "I think you should start paying a bit of attention to that one."

Deidara watched, amused, as Gai adhered to his orders and approached Lee with a determined curiosity. Gai's mini-me was instantly delighted. Danna's snapping out orders like a drill sergeant... She wasn't exempt, however, as he stalked right up to her and stared at her, deadpanning.

"Why aren't you in bed, brat?"

"Ehh? I'm feeling fine now, hm, so no need to worry. I'm not going to keel over anytime soon."

"Really?" Sasori wasn't convinced. "Because I remember succumbing to chakra exhaustion once and it took a week for me to fully recover, even with one of Suna's best healers at my bedside."

She shrugged, sticking out all three of her tongues at him in a decidedly smug manner. "Fast healing...?"

He exhaled sharply, glaring at her. "Whatever happens next isn't my problem, then..." The way he turned away from her was almost childish, and Deidara had to muffle a snort behind her palm. "At least have Shizune or Sakura check you over." Then he was sitting with Shisui, a blade drawn and ready to get his hands bloody with rabbit.

It touched her, honestly, that concern of his. And it wasn't like it was unwarranted either—how she had recovered so quickly was still a mystery to Deidara. She had vague memories of someone bending over her sleeping form during the night, but the face was too fuzzy to put a name to. He's right, I should probably get checked over. She took one last moment to observe all the flurry before heading back inside. Like the lack of natural light had triggered something in her, her shoulders sagged, her exhaustion finally catching up to her. She would have fallen in the corridor had Chiyo not popped her head out of the kitchen doorway and seen her swaying on her feet. The old woman was by her side almost instantly.

"By the stars!" Chiyo exclaimed. "Are you some kind of idiot, girl?" Deidara winced at the sharpness of her voice. "That tea I fed you last night wasn't supposed to be a bypass for you to abuse yourself like this!"

"It was... only a bit of exercise. I needed it, hm." Righting herself, Deidara clutched her head. So that's the story behind it. She recalled something about Chiyo keeping medical textbooks in her home, and Sasori mentioning something about herbal teas in a dark and dirty street in Akatsuki. It was her who helped me. Chiyo led her to the shared bedroom, where the isolated patients were all lined up in the furthest corner of the room, tucked in their futons. Izumi was crouched over Itachi, eyes at half-mast.

"Exercise? Pah! And you!" Chiyo snapped at Izumi, who startled. "Why are you still here? Didn't I tell you to get some fresh air? We've finally found a cure adequate enough for killing this strain but it's limited. No use in getting yourself sick, fussing over him." Her eyes were stern as she beheld Izumi, who twitched slightly under her burning gaze. "Well?"

Izumi let out a resigned sigh. "Where did Asagi go? I left Izuna with her."

"She's entertaining him outside, probably close to the entrance," said Chiyo. Deidara recalled seeing the woman sitting down on a rock with Izuna on her lap.

When Izumi was gone, Chiyo checked her over, her hands glowing mint green. "As I suspected," the old woman muttered. "Good lord, my grandson sure knows how to pick them..."

It's not really like that. The words were on the tip of Deidara's tongue, but she didn't bother correcting her. Yes, they'd gotten closer over the month, and yes, she had entertained the idea more than once, but...

Chiyo's voice drew her from her musings. "Back to bed you go. You're going to be resting up for at least another week."

"A week?! We can't just stay here for a week because of me—"

"It's not just you." Itachi had woken and sat up just in time to hear the last bit of their conversation. He looked to his left and right, and Deidara followed his gaze, looking at all the sick people with no small amount of guilt. Shit, they were battling a potentially fatal disease, and here she was, complaining about chakra exhaustion. Grudgingly, she calmed herself, lying back on her futon.

"Ah, the Uchiha has finally awoken," Chiyo said, her dry humor present as ever. "You missed quite the drama last night."

"You really were out of it, hm." Deidara shifted her head to look at him. He blinked back at her. "There was an attack. Mori died."

Itachi's eyes dropped to the floor. He wondered if he should be grateful that they had only suffered one casualty, or embittered because they had suffered one casualty.

A coughing gained their attention. Udon continued to hack away before his coughing ceased, and he rolled in his bedding. Just then, Sakura and Shizune arrived with the medicine, and began to dose everyone ill with the appropriate amount.

Itsuki blearily bleated when Shizune tried to feed him the medicine. "Where's okaa-chan? I want my okaa-chan..."

"Shh." Shizune stroked his hair. "She'll be back soon." Back soon from gossiping with Masami outside. I hate that woman. "Drink up, and you'll feel all better."

"O-okay..."

"Will they really be alright?" Deidara asked Chiyo when the patients had fallen back to a delirious sleep, including Itachi.

"Who am I to know?" was the old woman's reply. "I'm not God."

Sasori was used to blood. He was used to spilling it, and having it spilled from him. He was used to washing it from his hands with soap that made his skin rough, and having it dry on the front of his garment when things got especially messy. But coming from Suna, where rainfall was rare, he was not used to having blood swept away from his body by a sudden downpour.

It was especially annoying, because almost everyone was outside for breakfast.

"Everybody back inside!" Kakashi took the reins with Gai, and everybody fled back inside before they could get soaked.

Sasori was one of the last ones in, and he took one final look at the treeline before retreating.

A pair of white eyes stared back. Then they disappeared, fading into black.

He felt his skin crawl. Monster.

Daichi blinked down at the baby he was carrying in his arms. Izuna stared right back at him with wide eyes, his thumb in his mouth. He was not sucking it, however, merely holding the digit between his lips in what seemed to be contemplation. With how much he looked like his father in general, it was almost as if he was the second coming of Itachi. When Izuna reached up one chubby hand and grabbed Daichi's curls, he winced, laughing uncomfortably.

He remembered how much he had worshiped Itachi's prowess before the war, and wondered if this was how Itachi felt to have a younger boy focusing all of his attention on him.

It was a cold environment up here in the mountains, and Daichi made sure to hold Izuna very close to his chest, so that the baby wouldn't freeze.

Izuna yanked Daichi's hair harder, forcing the boy to tilt his head downward.

"Can I hold him next?" Hikari demanded, tugging on her brother's sleeve. When he was too busy trying to gently pry Izuna's hand from his hair, Hikari twisted her legs around his leg and wrapped her arms around his torso. "Aniki?"

"U-um, hold on, imouto—"

Oh, how Izumi and Rin both wished they could take a picture of their children. Days had passed since they had arrived, waiting for the ill people (and Deidara) to recover enough to travel. Itachi, Udon, and Itsuki seemed to be doing well now, but Yukari and Shogo's grandmother were still iffy. Nevertheless, it'd been nearly a week, and it was time to continue whether everyone was completely able to or not.

"That's enough, you two," Rin admonished when Hikari's tugging nearly caused Daichi to drop Izuna. "Why don't you go play with Chihiro instead? She's looking a little lonely without Kisame."

"The knife girl?" Hikari asked.

"Kunai," corrected Izumi. "She's getting pretty good at using them, too. Why don't you ask her to teach you? It's always good to know how to defend yourself, especially... out here." Izumi herself had basic training with weapons and taijutsu, and Rin studied in a dojo before meeting Obito.

Daichi handed Izuna back to his mother, took Hikari's hand, and led her to where Chihiro was sitting in the room, looking a little lost. At the same time, Tenten approached, and they all ended up going outside with the supervision of Gai, who encouraged all sorts of training. By his side was Lee, who was now basically attached to the man after he showed him some attention. Anyone with a brain between their ears and a functioning pair of eyes could tell that Gai genuinely liked the boy, and they grew closer every passing day.

"Where is Kisame?" Rin wondered after a little while, letting Izuna play with her pointer finger.

"With Sakura," Izumi informed her. "Last time I talked to her, she said she was trying to make something to reverse the effects of monsterization."

She was—and she was using Kisame's odd healing factor and Mori's body as a foundation for her findings. There was an excited shriek from the kitchen, and they knew that she had made great progress.

The next day, they all prepared to leave the bunker, packing up everything. From all the weapons lying around, they all figured that Tenten's weapon training had really taken off with some of the younger ones. Naruto could now wield that three-pronged kunai of his more effectively than ever, and Konohamaru, Moegi, and Daichi had the basics of kunai throwing down. Shikamaru and Choji had both received basic taijutsu training from their fathers, and had sparred frequently with Tenten.

"There's a cave system over here," Shikaku pointed to the map, Kakashi, Gai, Itachi, and Sasori all looking over his shoulder, "that we can travel through. It'd be a better option than travelling out in the rain, where more of us could get sick, and it's high enough to avoid flooding."

"It's also an enclosed space," Sasori noted, frowning. "With limited sight."

Shikaku grimaced. "Yes—which is why I have to consult with all of you. Is the risk worth it?" His genius mind was telling him that it was, mostly because he had traveled through these caverns himself once, as a very young boy toward the end of the Great Migration, and it had been almost generously spacious. If they had to fight any monsters, they would still be able to do so. And the prospect of anymore monsters appearing was slim, even with Sasori reporting that he had spotted another one a few days ago, considering that their base camp was now cut off, and a majority of their forces had been wiped out. The ones that they had seen since then were very likely stragglers that had crossed prior to the bridge incident.

There was debate, but in the end, it was decided that they would travel through the caves. The cold and wind would only make them sick—fatally so for some of them.

That was their first mistake.

A/N: There is plot point that I want to reach next chapter, involving Sasori, Deidara, and probably a few others. Hopefully, it turns out well for me. There will be Hanabi and Hinata helping out with their Byakugans as well (we haven't seen much of them, so ye).