"Can... Can I let you in on a secret?"

Deidara blinked once at her best friend before beaming. "Sure, you can tell me anything, yeah."

Kurotsuchi sighed before slumping against the training post that they had been mock-sparring against just some minutes ago, sliding down it. Both girls were covered in sweat, and their muscles were sore, but all in all, they were feeling rather good about the work out that had just had.

"I don't wanna become Tsuchikage."

"What?"

"When the year is over, I'll be going back to the city." Yes, Deidara had heard already, and she dreaded the thought of parting from her. "I'm finally old enough to start training under my grandfather." The black-haired girl drew her knees to her chest, eyes dull. "But I don't want to lead Iwa. I just want to hang out with you." She flashed her a remorseful smile. "When I first came here, I looked down on everything because I thought you were all just a bunch of hicks."

Deidara pouted. "Oi!"

"But I was wrong," Kurotsuchi appeased, grinning slightly now. "And, well... I don't wanna leave. I like it here. I like your mom's cooking and her music. She's great, y'know? Everything here is great. Oh! And they cute boy, Kou! I think I've finally figured out where he lives."

"Ugh." Deidara rolled her eyes. "Can we not talk about him? He's not that cute. And don't have to be Tsuchikage if you don't have to, hm."

Kurotsuchi gave her a funny look. "Uh, yes he is. And yes I do. Iwa is lucky enough not to be led by a monarchy like Suna, Tsuki, and Ame, but there are still traditions and stuff. It's just less severe. I'm perfectly capable of being a leader, but I just don't wanna, okay?" She sighed. "I wish summer could last forever. Then I'll never have to leave."

"But even if you do...!" The blonde girl stood on achy legs, holding her hand out for her friend. "I won't let them make you into something you're not, hm!" Surprised, Kurotsuchi took her hand. "You know what? I'll become Tsuchikage instead!"

"Haaahh? You?" Kurotsuchi guffawed, and Deidara stuck out all three of her visible tongues out at her. "No offence, Deidara-chan, but you're not the elegant leader type."

"So? Neither is your pops."

But the crux of the matter was that they were both girls, and if either of them were to take up a leadership position like Tsuchikage, they would be under immense pressure to maintain their appearances.

"I'll follow you to the city," Deidara promised as they started to do some rudimentary stretches. "And I'll march right up to old Onoki's face and poke him in his big, pimply nose!"

"Oh my gosh!" Kurostuchi's arms dropped to her sides as she shrieked in laughter. "Deidara!" Her friend had met her grandfather only once, and they had merely been a curt exchange of words.

"Poof! I'm Tsuchikage! Piece of cake, yeah." She smirked at the other girl. "Don't underestimate my powers of persuasion~!"

"Oh, you'll persuade him alright. Persuade him to let you spend a night in a jail cell!"

"Only a night? Too easy, hm." She shifted into a stance, one that her father had taught her long ago, and one that she had expanded on to make it more personal. "Now come at me!"

"No need to tell me twice, blondie."

Deidara lifted her hand from her face and blinked blearily against the sunlight flooding in through the windows. Kurotsuchi? Why? It's been so long. Whatever, I'll still take it over what I normally get. Yawning, she rolled out of bed and straight into the bathroom she shared with Chiyo. She could smell breakfast being cooked in the kitchen, courtesy of the old lady.

After freshening up, she meandered into the kitchen, which shared the same space as the dining room, wearing only a loose shirt that went down to the lower half of her thighs. It was something she had bought on impulse before she had left for Sickleleaf Town, mostly for the amusing caption on the front which said Explosive Temper.

"Morning, Chiyo-baa-sama." She had grabbed her work stuff from her room, and laid out sheets and sheets of paper in front of her. They had to be reordered, having been scattered in the scroll she kept it in. Some of it was crinkled, but that didn't matter—when she submitted it to Fatso, he would send it off to someone else to edit it and print it properly. When her portfolio was finished, it would all be published in the paper.

"Morning to you, too, girl. Sunny side up?"

"As per usual." Deidara smiled at her, but Chiyo wasn't unaware of the dark circles beneath her eyes and her overall rather haggard appearance.

"What happened?" the old woman asked smoothly as she turned down the stove and opened the cupboard for two plates. Deidara caught a glimpse of a third plate tucked inside before she closed the door.

"That... I'm not sure if I can even say, hm." She lowered her gaze, staring blankly at her papers as she checked over and over again if she had it in the right order. Then she used the stapler she had brought with her to the dining table to attach them. I don't want you to know, Chiyo-baa-sama. This is something I have to deal with myself.

Chiyo leveled her with a serious stare. "Deidara, I will never force you to open up to me. But don't keep this to yourself—it'll pull you apart at the seams. I've seen it happen to others before you."

"... Was Sasori one of them?"

"He was one of many." She closed her eyes. "No more talk for now, dear. Let's eat."

Deidara let out a relieved sigh. "That's the best thing I've heard all morning, un."

They had finished and were cleaning up when there was a knock on the door that could only be described as exuberant. Chiyo raised an eyebrow in clear confusion, while Deidara, instantly recognizing just who was at the door, perked up a little.

"Gai?" She threw open the door, and Maito Gai beamed at her.

"Deidara! It's been far too long!" Deidara let out a muffled grunt when Gai practically scooped her into him and proceeded to almost crack all of her bones in the tight chokehold he called a hug.

"Goddammit, get off me, yeah!"

Smile turning a little more sheepish, he let her go. She narrowed her eyes at him, huffing.

"Looks like some things never change, hm," she remarked frostily, but there was no real ice or malice behind it. "Wanna come in?"

"I would be honored! Is that alright with you, too, Chiyo-baa-sama?" Gai nodded respectfully at the woman, tilting so far forward in the action that Deidara thought he was about to kowtow at her aged feet.

The old woman let out a belly-deep laugh that sounded more like a cackle than anything else. "Certainly! Have you eaten yet, Maito-san?"

"Please, call me Gai! And yes I have, but thank you for the offer. In all honesty," he scratched his cheek, "I've come to invite Deidara for some laps around the neighborhood."

"Depends," she hummed. "I'd rather not do more than a hundred. You know, because I'm not insane like you, yeah."

Gai took the jab in stride, giving her a good-natured slap on the back. She didn't flail or fall, and was inwardly quite pleased at the fact. Slowly, but surely, she was building back the strong body and muscle she had had during her time in Akatsuki.

"I'll get dressed, then."

"Yosh!"

Fifteen minutes later, they were completing their first lap around the neighborhood. They took it slow as to not disturb the other residents, who were already up and about. They did garner a lot of attention, though, as the shorts that they both wore exposed their legs—which, for Deidara, meant displaying her prosthetic for all to see. She cared little, however, and on their fiftieth lap, they took a break. Deidara was mildly out of breath, while Gai didn't even appear chuffed.

"How?" Gai grinned with all of his teeth as Deidara shot him a sour look with the question, unscrewing her drink bottle and taking a few gulps. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, still glowering at Gai. "It's like you're inhuman, honestly."

Maito Gai let loose a boisterous laugh. "I'm blossoming in the springtime of youth, more like!" He gestured dramatically to the trees around them, some of which were starting to flower. "Springtime in Konoha is a marvelous sight—even more so, I dare say, than in Ame!" He began to stretch then.

"Ame, huh?" Deidara joined him in his stretches. "So, Gai, how's everything for you, hm? What are you up to?"

"I have recently signed a contract with a wealthy landlord! I am to be the master of my own dojo, and Lee and Tenten are working to get the word out!" He stroked his chin, a little contemplative. "Speaking of Lee, he has made a decision that even I did not foresee."

A dojo, hm? Once he starts it up, I'll put in a word with Fatso to try and get it advertised in the paper. "Oh? And that is?"

At that point, manly tears started to pour down from his eyes, and Deidara scooted away a little, eyebrow twitching.

"Telecommunications!" blubbered Gai. "The dear boy wishes to enter the world of telecommunications and have a hand in the making of the mobile phone!"

"Mobile phone?" They started jogging again, Deidara silently offering her water bottle to Gai when he began to get more and more choked up. He didn't take it. "Never heard of it."

"I'm no expert either, Deidara. You'll have to ask Lee about it if you want to know more. Yosh! Let's pick up the pace!"

"Guh... Gai, hold on—dammit, Gai!"

They ended up sprinting another fifty laps around the entire goddamn neighborhood before Deidara got to collapse on her back in a grassy park, chest heaving as she tried to speed up her air intake.

Much to her annoyance, Gai appeared to be only a little tired from their hellish exercise session.

"Never again," she vowed as she panted. "Ever."

"Just one more lap, perhaps—"

Deidara nailed Gai in the face with her drink bottle just as Sakura, Hinata, and Tenten, all of them with sticks of dango in their hands, walked past.

"Um," Tenten managed, blinking. "Should we...?"

In the end, they didn't even need to intervene, Deidara chasing Gai off on her own. He promised to do one hundred more laps, with Deidara glaring intently after his retreating form. Then she groaned, flopping back onto the grass and staring up at the clouds.

At least he's a nice distraction if anything, she thought cynically, moving her right hand into view. Deidara frowned at the sight—thick black threads stitched her hand-mouth firmly shut. She could tell by the feeling that all the teeth had been removed from that hand. It was probably for the better, though, as most of the teeth had been smashed and broken when Kabuto laid her out on that table and—

She nearly choked when three faces obscured her field of vision. Hyuuga Hinata, Tenten, and Haruno Sakura all stared down at her before Sakura grinned.

"Morning, Deidara!" she greeted cheerfully, and Deidara had to raise an eyebrow at that.

"Okay, what day is it, hm?"

"Sakura-chan's birthday," Hinata informed with a small smile on her face.

Tenten helped Deidara to her feet, and the blonde dusted off her backside.

"Oh, is it? Happy birthday, Sakura."

"Thanks. Oh—that reminds me." The pinkette snapped her fingers as she recalled that had escaped her. "We're having hotpot to celebrate at Tomoko's tonight! You should come."

'We' probably meant everyone else who had come with them to Konoha. Deidara fiddled with the cap of her drink bottle. "Yeah, I don't see why not. Count me in. Is... everyone really coming?"

"Everyone," Sakura confirmed seriously. Then she paused. "Well, we're missing a few of course. Sasori—"

Obviously. Deidara's cheek twinged in blatant annoyance.

"—Neji, Kakashi, and Kagami-san. Not everyone has gotten back to me either, and I didn't invite the kids."

Kakashi and Kagami? Her brow lowered. I know that Neji's gone missing, but what happened to them, hm? "So, tonight. Tomoko's. See you around, guys."

"Ah...!"

Before they could invite her out, Deidara was gone, leaving the trio of girls to exchange glances.

"Well," Tenten said bluntly. "That was a bust."

Sakura shook her head. "No, no, it went better than I expected, honestly." The city passed in noise and colors around them as they walked down the streets.

Hinata finished her dango. "What do you mean, Sakura-chan?"

"We've never been close to her," ventured the pinkette. "Yeah, we were comrades. But... all the people that she really, absolutely cared about are, well, gone. We've all been through a lot—we're not the right people for her to find comfort in, but it was worth a shot."

Hinata lowered her gaze. "Yes... I understand. I'm lucky to have you girls with me, and Hanabi-chan." And Neji-nii-san... I hope you're safe. Undoubtedly, the Hokage had been alerted of this development by now and was pulling strings to try and get him back.

"Here."

Fatso looked up from his desk to see Deidara standing in front of it, arms crossed and a smile that bordered on cocky and impatient at the same time. Wordlessly, he took the stapled papers she had dumped on his worktable, flipping through it. As he skimmed her writing, his eyebrows rose to his hairline and a smile bloomed on his wide face.

"Excellent!" Fatso complimented. "I'll send this off to one of my most trusted editors—he'll fix it up so that it's just right. You've done well for your first assignment, Deidara-san."

"Thanks. Say," Deidara took a seat opposite him, "You told me the project will take the whole year, un. But you never gave me any deadlines for each assignment. The Gazette will continue to fund my travels if I leave tomorrow, right?"

"Tomorrow? Well, yes, but why on earth would you want to do that?"

She shrugged listlessly. "Just a thought." She didn't say anymore, merely tapped her finger on her bicep.

"Hmm... In any case, the answer is yes, though I do recommend that you stay for a bit longer before departing again. Don't you have friends to see and catch up with? It has been three weeks." He carefully avoided any mention of family.

"I... Yeah, of course. Like I said, it was just a thought, hm." Deidara stood. "Can I go now, kachou?"

He waved her off. "Yes, go ahead." As the door closed behind her, he sighed, scratching his head. I thought that this would help, but she seems to have gotten even more closed off. Well, there are still plenty of clients left to go. A bird flapped its wings outside his window, and he turned his head, mustache twitching. She's got a year.

Haruno Sakura was inviting everyone to her birthday hotpot tonight, but Itachi wasn't entirely sure if he could make it, or even entirely sure that he actually wanted to go.

As he gently pushed the baby swing, Izuna gurgled in delight, making the corners of Itachi's lips curl upward. His son—their son—was the only thing that made him want to continue living now. He spent most of his days either entertaining him or signing papers and making sure that their life could continue peacefully, especially since that he was living off his own fortune, which he had managed to access from Konoha.

There was a knock on the door. Deidara, Itachi immediately knew, judging by the familiarity of the chakra presence outside his house. When he opened it, his assumption was correct.

Deidara tilted her head to the side a little, offering him a crooked smile. "Can I come in?"

The door opened for her a little wider.

"I'll make tea," he told her, and there was merely a thankful silence on her end. As he was boiling water, he could hear Izuna glee when Deidara peered over the baby swing, eyes wide.

"Oh gods," she muttered, squeezing the baby's pudgy cheek between her fingers. He was so soft and delicate. "Are all babies this... jello-like? Hm?" She sat back against the couch when Itachi brought in a tray and placed it on the coffee table. He poured them both some green tea, watching in slight amusement as Deidara poked her finger against Izuna's belly, making him giggle.

"Someone's enjoying herself," Itachi commented, bringing his cup to his lips. "You can pick him up if you want."

She laughed but did so anyway. "Are you sure?" Izuna snuggled against her chest, calmed by her freshly-showered scent—after her impromptu torture session with Gai and her encounter with the girls, she had immediately gone home to wash off the sweat and grime. Deidara stilled, her face blank as she imagined Izumi in her place—the woman who should have been holding the child. There was an underlying sense of wrongness permeating the scene, but she tried to chase it away.

"Itachi," Deidara started once Izuna had dozed off in her hold and she had put him back into the baby swing. "Where's Sasuke, hm? Doesn't he live with you? I never see him around." Truth be told, she wasn't particularly interested in Sasuke anymore—any anger she had held toward him for his betrayal had long simmered away. There were other things that had suddenly popped up—other things that required more time and energy than she could provide. But they're brothers, aren't they? And that's why I—

"Aa, he does. But he's normally busy with the military police."

She cocked an eyebrow. "Military police? I can't say I'm surprised, yeah, but..."

"I know."

A silence—not uncomfortable, but far from comfortable, too—followed, the only sound being the noise of Itachi pouring more tea into his cup. Deidara was holding hers in both hands, the glass warming her fingers. It was half-full—or half-empty, as she would have called it if asked.

"What would you do?" Deidara abruptly broke the silence. "What would you do if you had to kill Sasuke, hm?"

Itachi frowned. "Elaborate on the circumstances."

"Let's say someone was holding Izuna hostage," he stiffened at the notion, "And... hypothetically, it was Sasuke, yeah." He would never do such a thing. He loves Izuna. "And," Deidara continued, never hearing his thoughts, "If you didn't kill Sasuke, he would kill Izuna."

"This is getting morbid," Itachi remarked, and Deidara tensed, knowing that he was severely disapproving of this conversation.

"Just hear me out," she said quietly. "Please." He made no motion to stop her, so she went on, "If you had to make a choice like that, what would you do?"

"I..." His mouth suddenly felt dry, even with all the tea he had drank.

"Alright, it's not Izuna," she swiftly amended. "But it's someone innocent. Someone," her voice hitched a little, "someone you know who doesn't deserve to die—someone who has their whole life ahead of them. And if you don't kill your brother, that someone is going to die, yeah, and so will others." A beat. "And Sasuke won't hesitate to kill you if you spare him, hm."

"Deidara..." Itachi sighed.

Her grip tightened around her cup. "Just answer the question, Itachi."

He deliberated his answer, and the one he gave solidified her guilt.

"I would rather let myself and others die than Sasuke."

It was a purely selfish, emotionally-driven response, but—

"You're crying." His voice was a mixture of awe, confusion, and understanding all at once.

"What?" Growling, she wiped at her face aggressively. "No, I'm not—" Deidara choked on her words when Itachi closed the distance between them, pulling her into a hug. Her face fell then, her mouth opening and closing as she fumbled for words. In the end, she just buried her face in his shoulder, crying soundlessly into his shirt. She didn't know how long they stayed like that before she told him, "His name was Kou."

He was paying attention, she knew, even when he didn't say a thing.

"I killed him two weeks ago."

Her tongue felt numb but she kept going.

"I didn't even recognize him at first. I thought he died before I left Iwa, hm. You should have seen him," she whispered harshly, "You would have seen the madness in his eyes. In a way, I killed him twice. The first time when I abandoned him in a burning building. The second when I shoved that spear through his chest." And I'd do it all over again if I had to. "Itachi... maybe I'm not like Rin, or Izumi. But I'm not," she struggled for the word, "I'm not Kabuto either."

"Of course not," he agreed, his voice sounding right next to her ear. "You did what you thought was necessary."

Not right, but necessary.

"What would have been the right choice then, hm?"

Itachi drew away from her, looking her in the eye. "Sometimes, there's no such thing as a right choice in this world. There aren't always obvious and clear choices." He unfurled both of her hands, her breath shuddering when his fingers traced over the closed lips of her mouth hands. "Sometimes, you must ask yourself—where should I go? To the left, where nothing is right?" He clutched her left hand as he eyes moved to her right. "Or to the right, where nothing is left?"

Something gripped her heart and refused to let go then, her brain coming to a shuttering halt as she recalled how Kabuto had mutilated her right hand, merciless with her body from start to finish.

"You'll find that in the paths you walk, there are terrible consequences for both actions."

Izuna began to stir then, whining for attention. Both adults almost didn't hear him for a moment before his father was moved into action, lifting him from the swing to burp him.

"Why?" Itachi exhaled sharply when Izuna was calm. "Because it is simply the reality of it."

Deidara didn't like to look at her hands, but sometimes it was unavoidable. Such a time was like now, where she stood in her studio alone, sculpting a bird perched on a branch. The creature's wings were spread out as it prepared to take flight, the moment frozen in time. A frustrated growl rose in her throat when she had to shake out her right hand for the umpteenth time, her fingers aching from the cool temperature of the room. They always got stiff and sore when the room was below twenty degrees Celsius—which it currently was.

Silently cursing Kabuto to the depths of hell in her head, she flexed her fingers—they still couldn't straighten properly—before continuing her art. The inherent pleasure she took from her work eased her mind, but she couldn't help but feel a little lonely in the art studio. More than once, her eyes drifted across the room, where Sasori's section was collecting dust, his worktable drenched in the late afternoon sunlight.

She perked up when she heard the front door open. "Chiyo-baa-sama?" she called.

The door of the art studio was pushed open, and Chiyo stood at the doorway. "I just came to get my good wok—I'm heading over to Kana-san's for mahjong and dinner."

"You're not going to Sakura's hotpot?"

Chiyo shook her head. "An old woman like me has no place for a gathering of youngsters like that. Sakura-chan was kind enough to invite me, but I turned down her offer."

"Hm, okay then." Deidara examined her work with narrowed eyes. This can be taken to the kiln today. Connected to their apartment block was a brick kiln and an incinerator; she used the former to harden the clay. All of the clay she used for her art was the non-explosive kind, the truly dangerous material she used for her explosions tucked away in her bedroom.

Chiyo gave her a once over, looking vaguely pleased. "You don't seem as stressed as this morning. Good for you, Deidara-shonen. Now! I'm off—don't burn down the place while I'm gone."

Deidara snorted. "Keep saying that, yeah, and I might just do it out of spite."

"Oh yeah? Where will you go then?"

"I'll crash at Itachi's."

"Then I will, too, and then the cycle will repeat itself. Hmph—that poor man."

For the first time since she had arrived, she let out a genuine laugh that wasn't bogged down by any anxieties. "Don't lose too much money, hm."

"Brat," Chiyo addressed affectionately before she left the apartment.

Wow! I'm impressed Tomoko-oba has a table this big, thought Karin as she arrived with Naruto. When Naruto heard that Sakura's birthday dinner was tonight, he had bought the next boat ticket to Konoha City and dragged her with him to attend. Kushina stayed behind in their home, Uzushio, and was expecting them back in a few days.

She looked around for Sasuke, but the black-haired male hadn't showed up yet. Sighing in mild disappointment, she simply seated herself next to Tenten, offering a quick smile as greeting.

Before long, everyone who had confirmed their attendance had come, the only ones missing being Deidara, Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Hinata.

Kisame was sitting with Gai, the spandex-wearing man being the closest to his age, and from the look on his face, he was already regretting the decision as Gai chattered on about something youth-related.

Pitying him, Sakura ordered the alcohol early, and before long, most of them were halfway to getting buzzed when they started putting the food in the huge pot in the middle of the table. Some didn't touch the drinks, however, such as Lee and Masami; the former was warded away from the alcohol by Tenten and the latter stated that she didn't like the taste of sake or other alcoholic drinks.

"Shikamaru! You made it!" Tenten waved to him as he made his way toward their noisy table, his hands shoved in his pockets.

"The drinks better be worth it," he said. "Coming here all the way from work was such a drag."

"You work?" Sakura sounded shocked.

Kisame laughed in the background at Shikamaru's annoyed face.

"Don't sound so surprised," Shikamaru sat down next to Choji, "I'm only doing it because I want something."

Nobody questioned what it was, and the night went on. Hinata and Hanabi arrived next, making the younger Hyuuga the youngest person present at their table.

"I thought this was a no kids allowed thing," Karin commented as the Hyuuga sisters sat down.

Hinata gave an apologetic shrug, while Hanabi rolled her eyes and looked the other direction. She wasn't particularly fond of Karin, having been given a bad impression during their journey. The red-haired girl freaked out at the sight of everything.

The final two members of their party to come were Deidara and Sasuke, both of whom didn't look very pleased at the fact that they had had to walk ten feet into the restaurant side by side.

Sasuke took the seat between Hanabi and Naruto (and getting a noogie from the latter), missing the longing glances Karin was sending him. There was only one remaining seat left for Deidara—the one between Masami and Kisame.

Ah. Deadpanning at the pot bubbling away in front of her, Deidara could feel the tension in the air. This wasn't what I imagined. Still, she made the best of it, joining in the celebration with zeal and laughter.

"Itachi didn't come?" Kisame asked somewhere along the night, when both he and the blonde had alcohol in their systems. Deidara, her face red, turned to him.

"Nope, he had to look after Izuna, hm, and this isn't really his scene anyway. Why?" She grinned at him. "Do you miss him?"

A shrug. "He's a quiet guy, but his company is more preferable than... this man's." He sent a pointed glance at Gai, who was shouting to Lee from across the table. "I didn't realize anyone could be so loud."

Deidara, still facing Kisame, nodded understandingly and reached out to grab her glass. She was about to reply when her words turned into a pained hiss, and her eyes widened at the steaming hot beef tongue that had landed on the back of her hand.

"Terribly sorry." Masami didn't look at Deidara as she hastily grabbed the beef tongue with her chopsticks and put it on a napkin, unwilling to eat it.

Glowering at the woman, Deidara dabbed at her hand with a tissue, grimacing at the redness. "It's fine," she said shortly.

Kisame scratched at his cheek, the alcohol loosening his tongue a little. "Sometimes I forget that you two have history," he said to both of them, making them startle. "I didn't realize you two were still mad at each other, heh."

"I'm not mad at anyone, hm," Deidara said coolly.

"Nor am I." Masami's tone was clipped. "Don't insinuate such a thing, Hoshigaki-san."

Kisame was decidedly unimpressed. "Is this a woman thing I don't know about?"

"Hardly," the blonde scoffed, eyeing Masami warily. "But now that you mention it, walking on eggshells like this sucks ass, hm." Maybe it was just the alcohol, but Deidara placed a hand on Masami's shoulder and almost glared her into submission.

Masami twitched. "What?"

"I'm sorry."

"... What?"

"For punching you." Deidara tapped at her cheek. "Knocked out a tooth, didn't I?"

"Well... yes, you did." Masami sighed. "Although, I suppose I did deserve it at least a little."

"You were scared," Kisame pointed out as he took a swig. In the background, Sakura was tensing up, as if she were preparing to do something. "We all were, Kobayashi-san."

"Oh, is that your family name?" Deidara slurred a little. "I never knew."

"Still," sighed Masami. "An outburst like that was sure to get me backlash. I didn't realize how strongly you felt about Sasori-san, Deidara-san."

"Yeah, well..." She grew more somber. "The heart works in funny ways, hm. For a long time, I thought my art would suffice forever, but then he butted into my life." Deidara paused. "Or maybe I butted into his, yeah."

"Perhaps," the older woman mused, and the conversation was over when Sakura suddenly stood on her chair and tapped her spoon against her glass. By now, things were starting to wind down, all the food having been devoured, and several empty bottles littering the table.

"Everyone! Can I get your attention!" she announced, obviously well on her way to getting drunk.

"What are you doing?" Tenten whispered, but was ignored. Hinata placed a hand on hers, giving her a reassuring smile.

"I just want to say," Sakura began when their table fell quiet, giving the birthday girl their utmost attention. A few of the tables around them stopped talking to pay attention, too. "I'm so proud of us." To most of their shock and horror, fat tears started rolling down her cheeks, her bottom lip quivering. "I'm so proud that we made it here, that we continuing to live. It's hard, moving on. We lost so many, and..." She almost choked on her words. "But in the end, here we are. We're alive, we're breathing, and we're making the best of things. Even to those who couldn't make it tonight, I'm still damn fucking proud." By now, there were less dry eyes in the crowd, even the most stone-hearted of the lot moved to tears with the alcohol in their system. "SO LET'S DRINK! Not that we haven't already," she added, gaining some raucous laughs, "But let's drink to our lives! TO US!"

"TO US!" They couldn't help but echo at the top of their lungs, even Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Deidara getting caught up in the heat.

That's right, Deidara thought giddily as all of them—even Lee and Masami took some sips (the former watched over very carefully by Tenten)—drank enough to make Tsunade jealous. We survived. We beat the Zetsu!

Ah, but then...

The faces of the dead—Hitomi, Ino, Izumi, Shisui, Obito—flashed in front of her eyes, merging with the bright ceiling lights.

Why does it feel like that we were the ones who lost?

Sai knew who he was. He was Sai, and he was Shin's younger brother. Some would argue that they weren't really brothers, but to Sai, they were brothers in all the ways that mattered. Shin saw Sai's talent when nobody else did, when the orphanage matron told him that art had no place in his life.

He wished that Sasori would obey properly. His insolence was growing unbearably irritating, and had Sai not abandoned his emotions for ROOT, he would have surely snapped by now.

Shin's life was hanging by a thread, and Sasori was holding the scissors—

Thump.

It was the second night of their search for Yaobami.

Thump.

Sai sat up in his bed, ready to kill. He slept with his trusted tanto strapped to his body, and it was this that he drew from its sheathe, the metal glinting in the moonlight-drenched room. Which was strange, because he had definitely closed—

The balcony doors were fully open. Narrowing his eyes, he rolled out of bed deftly cautiously approached the oddity. Where was Sasori, anyway? Surely, such a master assassin would have been alerted by the noise as well.

A backward glance had him glimpsing Sasori's trademark red hair partly covered by the sheets in the other bed.

How disappointing.

Never mind—he would handle this himself.

But when he exited the room and went out to the balcony, there was nothing. Even when he looked beneath the overhang and above to the roof, there was no sign of life.

His next thought—

What has Sasori done?

Feeling ill at ease, Sai turned and looked up once more—

"Apologies."

And his world went black.

"Apologies."

Sasori was not apologizing to Sai, but rather the woman standing on the balcony railing, having come out of her hiding place on the roof, where Sai couldn't have possibly spotted her from his position.

"He's troublesome," he added. "But he'll need to come with us."

She stepped off the railing, orange eyes boring into him. "I understand. Though I must say, Akasuna no Sasori—based off the rumors, I didn't take you as the sort of man to take gambles. Especially one as deadly as this." Her hand disappeared into her cloak and reappeared holding the E3 scorpion.

"It wasn't that big of a risk." He inspected the room one last time, packing all of Sai's stuff haphazardly into a single storage scroll. All of his stuff was already gone. The woman raised an eyebrow when he pulled off the blanket off the puppet he had left behind—a crudely made imitation of himself. He hadn't had enough time to perfect it. "Had you been truly my enemy, you wouldn't have been able to find me using those."

She laughed airily. "Yes, I suppose. I'm impressed you're so well-versed with Ame's unique code and map coordinates." Yaobami twirled the scorpion carving in her hand. "And dramatic enough to add some of your personal flair..." No doubt a nudge to his identity. She tucked it away.

"I'm an artist," he deadpanned, as if that explained everything. After wrapping up Sai in his own cloak so that only part of his face showed and securing him on his back, he gave a final nod to the room. "We can leave now."

"Good. And tonight," Yaobami stepped into the moonlight-drenched balcony, and then the railing, "You'll find out why they call me the Angel of Ame."

Sasori's eyes widened a little. "Wait—"

In a flurry of paper, they disappeared into the night within the blink of an eye.

"You are surprisingly light, Akasuna no Sasori, even with that boy saddled on your back."

"I haven't exactly been dining on the Emperor's table," Sasori bit back, perhaps more than a little agitated at the fact that Yaobami was literally carrying him through the air, her kekkei genkai allowing her to manipulate paper to great extents. "Not all of us can be devourers, Yaobami-san."

The woman laughed. "Konan. Yaobami-san is too fearsome for me."

A pettier side of him wanted to refer to her as Yaobami just to spite her, but the logical side remembered that she was the only thing stopping him from plummeting to his death.

Konan dropped him off in front of an inconspicuous building before landing beside him herself, her paper wings seemingly falling back into her body with a near-silent rustle. "We're here."

A/N: About the devourer comment, it's because the suffix -bami means "devouring" in Japanese. Totally got this from Kakegurui :p