Chapter 44: Akatsuki Christmas Arc - A World of Light

It always feels weird posting holiday-related chapters, especially since it's quite far from Christmas. In addition, although my deadlines are finished...I got them all back today with a truckload of edits that I now have to make. Ugh...

Being a beginner and all, I'm not exactly sure how the character development is going with you guys. I mean, yeah, I need to write more about Naoki and Yukio, though I'm trying to bring out Naoki's spoiled, complaining personality as well as Yukio's mischievous and sassy one in these chapters. I originally intended for their roles to be more major, but I guess the plot ignored them for a while... XD

However, they will be the definite stars of the sequel, though I will still focus a bit on Kaiya and Deidara, as well as Obito and Kagami. I feel like whenever I write anything about DeiKai, it just turns into a very long chapter...but then again, I ship it, though I doubt a lot of people that read this do... XD

If any of you are interested in becoming my beta, feel free to PM me! I'm in need of one, but then again, I always think my writing is horrible.

Disclaimer: I own nothing! Just the OCs and the plot, that's all.


Perhaps it was the sad, wistful feeling that I was giving off that attracted them inside of my room on Christmas Eve.

As I played around with different squares of origami paper, trying to make lifelike figures, I sighed, remembering exactly what my partner was doing. Pein wasn't doing anything, but I could tell from the way he laid down on the bed that he still was feeling upset.

Weeks had passed since the sports incident happened, and yet, he had still not recovered. At first, I assumed that he was distraught about what had happened, but based on my observations of his behavior throughout the past couple of weeks, his condition was in no good shape. Pein barely ate anything at mealtimes, and it was rare to see him speak to anybody.

Occasionally, he did that whenever he mourned Yahiko, since neither one of us could truly forget him, despite twenty years having already passed. But this time around, I could tell that something was definitely up after Hidan was screwing around in front of him, spinning a wooden pole around and smashing a few vases and objects in the process. I had expected him to chew Hidan out properly, but to my surprise, he did nothing and continued walking, completely ignoring the Jashinist.

I didn't need anybody else to tell me that Pein was depressed. From the way he walked, acted, and slept for so many hours a day, I knew. But despite knowing what he was depressed about, I wasn't really sure how to handle it. It had never gone that far before.

Imagine my relief when Naoki and Kaiya arrived in my bedroom that morning to devise a plan to help Pein get better.

"Hey, Konan," Kaiya said, placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder. I was tempted to slap it away, but this time, I let it go, feeling the desire for comfort overtaking my heart, "Are you alright?"

I answered with a shrug. "Don't worry about me," I responded, pointing towards the bed. "Worry about him. He's been like that for weeks, and I can't stand seeing him like that anymore. At first, I thought I could handle it, but even kunoichi have their breaking points."

Naoki's gaze shone with worry, something that I had only seen in his eyes when a situation regarded his siblings. "You're very strong, having handled this for almost twenty years. But it's just a necklace. Can't he get a new one or something?"

One thing that I had observed over time was that Naoki was not as sensitive to the emotions of strangers as his two sisters, despite being twice Kagami's age. Sighing, I shook my head.

"Naoki," I began, "you seem to know the most about the world where we come from. Do you know about my backstory, too? When you first met him, you did try to refer to Pein using his real name."

He nodded. "Somewhat, at least. I don't know everything about what happened to...Yahiko—" Naoki found saying that name to be incredibly uneasy as well, remembering how much Yahiko had meant to me— "but I know that his death largely impacted both you and Pein. Still, what does that have to do with the current situation? Is Pein still in grief about Yahiko?"

"Both of us still are," I explained. "No matter what conquests we make or how many deeds that we carry out as the Akatsuki, Yahiko is always on our minds. I know that his sadness originates from being reminded of Yahiko's death, but this is the worst I've seen him yet. And I might just know why…"

"Why so?" asked Kaiya, and this time, I could easily detect how much worry and sympathy was reflected in her gaze, in comparison to her brother's. But as I spoke, his cloud of worry became clearer, almost as much as Kaiya's. Suddenly, her eyes widened in realization. "Wait, do you mean—"

"Yes," I interrupted, guessing what she was about to say. "That necklace that was broken during that game of Capture the Flag...was given to him by Yahiko. Even more, that was Yahiko's final present to him, given just a few months before he was murdered."

Naoki did not seem too surprised, but Kaiya's eyes widened in complete shock after hearing that last statement. "Murdered?" she questioned, a dubious edge to her voice. "How was he killed?"

"Technically, it's not truly murder," I replied, making her sigh in slight relief. "Yahiko...he...he chose to die. He stabbed himself with a kunai...right in front of both of us. Still, I understand why Pein is feeling upset about it, but I'm surprised that I'm not in a worse condition."

"Did you love Yahiko?"

I jumped slightly, Kaiya's question taking me completely by surprise. Of all the questions that I had expected her to ask me, I did not expect her to throw that one out. Nevertheless, I answered. "Was it the way I spoke about him?"

She paused for a second, then nodded. "Well, your voice had some sort of wistful note to it, as if you were deep in thought. In addition, the only reason that I can think about for wanting to be in a worse condition is that you obviously care about him more than Pein does."

At first, I was reluctant to do so, but I sighed, wanted to ease the pain a little bit. "Alright...yeah, I did have feelings for him. I still do, but it's not like I'll be able to tell him, anyway. Besides, the necklace he gave me is the one that's still intact."

Hesitantly, I revealed my locket to both of them, but as I expected, neither of them were surprised at all, having seen it already. That was, until I opened it, allowing the sunlight to reflect off of the engraving that was written inside.

"You're my Guardian Angel," Kaiya read aloud, and as she repeated every word, I resisted the urge to cover my ears. "Wow, did he get this for you, too?"

I nodded. "He found those two necklaces for Pein and I after we explored an abandoned jewelry shop. It was his last gift to me as well, but now that Pein — or should I say, Nagato — has broken his, he's fallen into a severe state of depression. Not suicidal or anything, but still, it's pretty bad."

Suddenly, Kaiya seemed to get an idea. "Maybe you should buy him a new necklace, or maybe get him something to remind him of Yahiko again...not in a bad way, of course. Just something that might get him out of the state in time for Christmas."

"But what can we get him?" I asked, tilting my head towards the side a little, trying to display some sort of emotion so that I didn't look so cold. "That necklace is already damaged beyond repair, and I was only able to rescue one gold shard."

My hand reached into my pocket, searching for the remaining bit of the necklace until I felt something sharp prick my palm. Making sure to avoid the rough edges, I fished it out, showing it to Kaiya and Naoki as it gleamed in the sunlight that flitted through the window behind Pein's bed.

"Maybe we can take it to a jeweler," suggested Naoki, deciding to throw in his two cents. "Aren't there some around here, onee-chan?"

She shrugged. "Possibly. I recall okaa-san buying some earrings from a local jeweler around here, so there's got to be someone who can polish and smooth out the edges of that shard. Then, perhaps they can turn it into another necklace."

"That's actually a pretty good idea," I responded, nodding my head. "If that's what we're going to do, then we should head out now, since we can gift the necklace to Pein on Christmas morning. Then, perhaps he'll cheer up and maybe even remember how to smile."

Naoki gave me a confused look. "What do you mean, he doesn't know how to smile? It's just curving your mouth upward to make a happy expression, that's all!"

I shook my head. "It's not that simple. Sure, I can flash that kind of smile anytime I want, but I haven't shown off a genuine smile in twenty years. Even if I try to fake a smile, it won't make me truly happy."

"Then why are we still in here?" questioned Naoki, grabbing his sister's hand and standing up. "Let's fix that necklace!"

Kaiya placed a finger to his lips, motioning towards the sleeping form of Pein. "Keep quiet, otouto. Make it a surprise, so he'll end up a bit happier that way. Let's go."

The two siblings walked out of the room, and I quickly followed them, right after I had used the Henge to change into my high school identity. By the time that I had exited the room, they were already downstairs, but being mindful of the stairs, I calmly walked down the steps as the waited for me by the front door.

Naoki pushed open the front door like a butler, and allowed his sister and me to leave the house first before tailing us. Feeling the cold breeze caress my cheek, I summoned a wool scarf around my neck before I fully left the yard, wanting to keep warm as we headed towards the jewelry shop.

"I've never been to the actual place before," said Kaiya after we had traveled a couple blocks down, "but I might have a slight idea of where it is. Naoki-chan, are you following us?"

He nodded, sighing. "Of course I'm following you, onee-chan. Still, are you sure about your sense of direction? I don't want to get lost…"

"Otouto!" scolded Kaiya, waving her arms around. I knew that Deidara or Yukio would have probably laughed at that moment, and even I was slightly tempted to, watching the familial exchange. But my lips stayed shut, not budging even a centimeter as we walked on.

Eventually, about twenty minutes later, we ended up at a jewelry store, though Kaiya was looking at it with a puzzled expression.

"You know," she announced, causing Naoki and me to look at her in surprise at her sudden proclamation.

"Onee-chan, what is it?" Naoki asked curiously.

"We somehow managed to wind up here even though I didn't even know its name the whole time."

He immediately facepalmed, then crossed his arms while glaring at her. "How insane are you, onee-chan? Walking to a place that you don't even know exists? We might as well have gone to the Narutoverse already!"

She shot him a look. "Quit complaining. We're here, and that's what matters. There's no need to be so sarcastic about it. Besides, what will Santa Claus think about your behavior?"

Naoki scoffed. "I don't believe in Santa Claus, remember? And don't say that we met him at the mall a couple of years back. I could easily tell that it was just a fat old man in a suit."

"So?" Kaiya countered, placing her hands on her hips. "That's no reason for you to get so whiny. You may not think that Santa exists, but karma does. And it will bite back harder than the thought of all of your gifts turning out to be lumps of coal."

Finally, he sighed, knowing that he had lost. "Fine, then. Anyway, we've been out here long enough. Let's get this whole necklace thing fixed before the others begin to worry."

Agreeing, we walked inside of the empty jewelry store, hearing the bell above the door ring as we entered. A woman stood at the counter, then turned her head upon hearing the bell.

I've got to admit, even I was quite surprised when we first saw her face.

"Harumi-san?" asked Kaiya, staring at the familiar lady working at the jewelry shop. "What are you doing here?"

She smiled, stifling a small bout of laughter. "This is my holiday shift. During the holidays, when I don't have to babysit or run the pet shop, I usually work up here instead."

"But it's Christmas Eve!" Naoki protested. "What about your family? What are they doing without you?"

Harumi-san just giggled. "Don't be silly. I'm coming back home to our town tonight, after I finish working here. I just don't want families up here to not be able to give gifts of jewelry to each other, since pretty much every other jewelry store is closed today."

"That's very nice of you," Kaiya commented. "How is Mayu-chan?"

"She's doing very well, thank you," she replied, a sweet smile gracing her lips. "But still, she won't stop spreading the news about your famous kittens to literally everybody she sees. Anyway—" Harumi-san pointed to me, causing all three of us to freeze— "who is this lady with you?"

Kaiya didn't seem to know exactly what to say at the moment...either that, or the words got stuck in her throat. "Um…" she stammered nervously, but I quickly cut her off by dipping my head and introducing myself.

"My family was taking a vacation here as well," I lied calmly, "and I ran into Kaiya's family along the way. I instantly recognized her because I know her from our high school, so I just decided to help her repair some jewelry."

It was easy for me to lie to the woman. Especially since I had been living one my whole life.

"Well then," Harumi-san spoke, dipping her head politely. "It's nice to meet you, er…"

"Osaka," I quickly corrected her. "Same to you."

Kaiya then decided that it was her turn to speak up. "Anyway, we came here to see if we could find a jeweler to polish this gold necklace fragment, and possibly even turn it back into a necklace. Can you manage that, Harumi-san?"

"I'll try my best," she answered honestly. "It depends on the size of this fragment, anyway. Where is it?"

I handed her the small fragment, which she looked at rather curiously before turning back to the siblings.

"This is only the size of a pumpkin seed," she told us, as if we didn't already know that. "I can polish it and turn it into a chain necklace, but are you sure you want one in this size?"

"Yes, please," responded Kaiya. "How long will this process take you?"

Harumi-san glanced at the clock on the wall. "I'd say in about an hour. I'm not an expert jeweler, but my father once was, and I learned by watching him. If you guys are hungry right now, there's a refreshment café right next door."

"Thank you, Harumi-san," thanked Kaiya, curtseying to the woman before grabbing Naoki's hand and walking out of the jewelry shop. I came out last, but not before taking one last look at the lady and asking her one last favor.

"Harumi-san," I said, slightly surprised at myself for tacking on an honorific, which I never did, "is it okay if you shape that fragment into the shape of a raindrop? In addition, can you make it shine as much as possible while making a comfortable chain necklace?"

She nodded. "Of course."


Late in the evening, I sat in my room alone, an old friendship bracelet kit laying open in front of me.

In my hands was a long thread of thin string, about a foot long. Assorted beads dangled from it — most of them being yellow — weighing it down slightly. Sighing, I pinched both ends with my fingers, then looped them around each other, tying them around each other carefully to make a bow, like on a shoelace.

Smiling, I placed it where a large pile of bracelets laid, satisfied at the work that I had managed to accomplish in just around four or so hours. The number of bracelets totaled a perfect thirteen, which meant that there was a unique one for everybody.

I pumped a fist in the air, cheering. "Yes! I finally did it!"

Jumping onto my bed, I grabbed both of my white stuffed rabbits, although it was already quite hard to tell them apart, other than the fact that Shiroyuki was slightly larger than Usagi. And although it couldn't be told by looking at them, one was a gift from Obito, and the other was a gift from my family.

My biological family.

In addition, there was a large teddy bear in my room back at our hometown that was also from my late parents, with a sign that said Do Not Touch on it. I didn't want to touch that one either, for reasons that I really didn't want to talk about. In addition, there was another hidden reason why it always sat on the very top of the pile of stuffed animals.

Usagi, on the other hand, was a toy that I had no problem with touching at all. If anything, it was my sole comfort object until Shiroyuki came along, and now I treasured both of them equally. Either way I looked at it, it wasn't really all that fair to either one of the poor bunnies.

Squeezing both of the bunnies, I quickly set them back down, as if they were living beings as well. Leaping back onto the floor, I swiftly scooped up all of the bracelets that I had made and hid them inside of my pillow, so that when Obito came back inside the room, he wouldn't be able to see what I made the Akatsuki and him for Christmas.

Rin-chan? I tried asking, tapping my finger against the side of my head like I was knocking on the door of a dollhouse. Hey, are you there?

The reply came almost immediately. Yes, I'm here, Kagami-chan. Is there something you want from me right now?

Not really, I replied honestly, scratching my head. Even though it's a day early, I wanted to wish you and Shisui-san a Merry Christmas!

At first, I thought that I was just imagining it, but this time, I could actually sense her smile at me. Thank you! she said. That means a lot to us, even though we don't celebrate it here in the shinobi world!

You're welcome, I answered, my face lighting up before quickly turning into a frown of disappointment. I'm sorry that I can't give you anything in return, bring a mortal and all…

Oh, don't worry about it! Rin laughed. I think just wishing us to have a wonderful time is quite enough. I'd have Shisui-san come in here as well, but he's still trying to master it. Even for a prodigious shinobi like him, learning these forbidden techniques are quite hard.

Have you told anybody else about this? I inquired, feeling curious. I mean, I'm sure you have good friends other than Shisui-san up there, with that sweet personality that you have…

Hmm, she spoke her thoughts aloud. I've been considering telling one of my other good friends up here, but unfortunately, I haven't seen him in so long. But knowing him, he's probably camping out somewhere and working on his origami skills. Nevertheless, I'm pretty sure the majority of the spirits know that the scroll to the forbidden jutsu is still missing, since I never put it back, not even after four months.

My eyes lit up excitedly. Ooh! What's his name?

His name is Yahiko, she answered, but her voice suddenly had a sorrowful-sounding note to it. He used to be real close to Konan and Pein, but he died young, just like I did. Oh, and did I tell you that he was the founder of the original Akatsuki?

Really? I asked with interest. Wow, the original leader of the Akatsuki? But then again, why did he die young?

She paused for a little bit before answering. That's something for him to tell you himself. Usually, the other spirits won't be too pleased if they spill each other's life and death stories out to random mortals...not saying that you are one. You're a rather special one, Kagami-chan. Somehow, Obito hasn't tried to kill you yet…

What do you mean? I panicked, feeling queasy at the mere thought of him stop being a cold-hearted killer. Does he do the same with other people or something?

Rin was silent for about a minute, as if she was trying to find the right words to say. Finally, she spoke again, but in a more grave and serious voice.

How do I say this to you…? she wondered aloud, making me feel even more sick about what she was insinuating. Well, yes, Obito did perform a lot of acts of trickery throughout the years, and he purposely sacrificed a ton of shinobi that tried to trust him, despite his evil ways—

Alright, you can stop now! I cried, covering both of my ears, even though I knew well that it wouldn't do anything to block out her voice. Please don't tell me any more than that, Rin-chan! But thanks anyway!

I guess you'll learn in time, she murmured quietly. Unfortunately, I can't tell you more even if I wanted to, since my chakra level is running low right now. See you later, and Merry Christmas.

After that, I felt her presence inside of my mind fade, and I sat up casually, just as Obito entered the room, yawning and stretching his arms tiredly. As soon as he saw me, he gave me a slightly suspicious look.

"You've been up here for quite a long time, Kagami-chan," he said, as if it weren't already obvious. "Is there something that you're hiding from me?"

I shot him my signature innocent look. "Not necessarily, Obito! Why? I'm not telling you that I made Christmas presents for everyone while I was up here anyway...oh, whoopsie! Did I accidentally say that?"

"I knew it!" he exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at me. "Tell me where it is!"

Playfully, I stuck my tongue out at him, despite Rin's earlier warning about him being evil. "Nuh-uh! I'm not telling you! That will spoil the surprise, and Christmas is all about wonderful surprises, ya know!"

I could tell from his stance that he was glaring at me behind the mask. "Hey! That's not fair! You aren't going to tell your roommate, guardian, and best friend what you got for him for Christmas?"

Secretly feeling happy that he was currently acting playful and very much like his Tobi persona, I upped the ante a bit more. "Nope! Exactly my point, Obito!"

He scowled, making me giggle at him again. "Fine, then," he growled defiantly, "but for not telling me, I'm taking the bed tonight. Feel free to have the sleeping bag, but I want all the pillows."

I shrugged, totally unaffected by what he had definitely meant as an insult. "Okay, then! That's fine with me, since I'm quite used to sleeping down on the floor, anyway! Besides, you've always sounded more comfortable on the bed."

Obito sighed, then threw himself on the bed, yawning once more. "Well then, I'm going to sleep now. Wake me up tomorrow morning for Christmas, but please don't pounce on me like you do with everybody else, alright?"

"Don't you do that, too?" I countered, grinning. "Tobi-chan?"

"Oh, be quiet!" he roared at me, causing me to burst into laughter. For some reason, I was starting to enjoy the feeling of being sassy, but that was probably just a reminder that my birthday was coming in about a week. Oddly enough, my birthday happened to fall on the same day as New Year's.

Curling into my sleeping bag, I adjusted the pillow that I had filled with the bracelets, making sure that I didn't accidentally crush them with my head. My arms pulled my two rabbits close to me as I gazed at Obito, who was still trying to adjust his own pillows.

"Good night, Obito," I yawned, closing my eyes. "I'll see you tomorrow morning."

He nodded silently, which I saw just before my eyelids fluttered shut. "Good night, Kagami-chan."

The next morning, I made sure to get up early, on a personal mission to wake everybody in the house in the most necessary way possible. Yes. Jumping on their beds and screaming as loudly as possible.

"It's Christmas morning!" I shouted in Obito's ear, yanking the blanket right off of him. "Get up! Get up! Get up!"

Obito, now fully awake, threw his arms n the air and cheered. "Yay! Christmas is here!" Suddenly, he seemed to shoot me a mischievous grin. "I bet that I can wake up more people than you, Kagami-chan!"

"You're on!"

And with that, we both sprinted into the hall, banging on every door we passed, stomping our feet loudly on the floor, and leaping on every living soul that either one of us saw.

"Tobi says wake up!" the masked boy screamed, and I could hear Deidara and Naoki yelling at him from all the way across the hall.

"All right! We're getting up!"

Dashing over to my sister's room — which she had ended up sharing with Sasori and Zetsu — I noisily kicked open the door and began jumping on all three of them, who were all still fast asleep.

"Come on!" I shouted in their ears, causing all three to wake up and narrow their eyes at me. "Leave the bed! It's Christmas morning, onee-chan! I wanna see if Santa Claus came and gave us all presents!"

Kaiya rubbed her eyes lazily, while Zetsu just sank into the ground, being able to easily head down to the living room. "Okay, I'm getting up, imouto. Just give me five minutes, alright? Go wake up your two brothers for me, alright?"

Nodding, I sprinted out of the room, banging on Yukio's door to wake him, Hidan, and Kakuzu up. Yeah, he had somehow ended up with two of his least favorite Akatsuki members sleeping in the same room as him. Well...I didn't know how he felt about Kakuzu, but I was sure that he disliked Hidan.

"Get up, nii-chan!" I shouted while kicking the door violently, discovering that it was locked. "Wake up! Santa came last night!"

"Alright! I'm getting the f*** up!" thundered Hidan from the other side, causing me to back away slightly. Shivering, I ran downstairs and towards the Christmas tree, patiently waiting for everybody to come.

Sure enough, Obito was already there, standing with Konan, Pein, Deidara, Kisame, Itachi, and Naoki. When he saw me, he bounced up and down excitedly, racing towards me and placing his hand on my shoulder while pointing at the presents underneath the tree.

"Santa Claus came! Santa Claus came!" he chanted, and I jumped up and down with glee. The bottom of the tree was filled with presents, with many different patterns of wrapping paper.

"I know!" I responded, giving him a hug before realizing that I had left all of the bracelets in my pillow. "Whoopsie! I left your presents upstairs! Let me go get them!"

Quick as a wink, I rushed back up the stairs, charging past my older sister and brother just as they began walking down the stairs. Hidan and Kakuzu looked at me curiously as I dashed into my room, retrieved the entire pillow, and sprinted all the way downstairs.

"Found them!" I announced to everybody, who had already assembled in the living room. "Come on! Let's open our presents for each other now!"

Just like that, everybody except for Pein began sorting through the gifts, trying to figure out whose gifts were whose. However, upon realizing that there were no tags, the people that had wrapped the gifts began passing them out to the ones that were supposed to be the recipients of the gifts, having memorized who they were for. Actually, some of them had the recipient of the gift written on the paper in permanent marker.

I had wrapped some gifts earlier in rainbow polka-dot wrapping paper, and felt warm in fuzzy inside as I watched everybody tear open into the gifts that I had gotten them. As I watched them open the presents, I sorted through my bracelets, taking them out of the pillowcase and determining whose was whose.

The first person I handed their bracelet to was Zetsu, who was pleased with the blue visor and all the gardening supplies he had received from everybody. When I approached him with a bracelet that read, Nature Rules in beads, he gladly took it and allowed me to give him a hug.

It felt kind of scary, hugging a guy who I knew ate humans back in his world. However, after being around him for four months, I was no longer all that afraid of him. In addition, he was really friendly, even his dark side, occasionally.

"Thank you, Kagami-chan," the two sides said together. "We appreciate your gifts and efforts to help nature."

I scratched my head, feeling slightly embarrassed, before running off to deliver the next bracelet to Itachi. "Anytime!"

Itachi stood by the tree, examining a pair of kitty ears that Kisame seemed to have gotten him. His expression was completely blank, but I could tell that his eyes were shining with interest. Kisame grinned at Itachi, clutching the Sushi Go! Box and a mako shark plush in his arms. Tapping him on the shoulder, Kisame and Itachi spun around, allowing me to hand them their bracelets.

"Love Whisperer," Kisame read, his grin spreading. Itachi said nothing, but looked over his, which read, Intelligence.

Kisame decided to use this time to hand me a gift, which I excitedly tore into. I gasped, seeing that it was a toy bow and arrow, designed to look like one of a cupid. There were even heart-shaped pink feathers at the end of each arrow.

"Thank you, Kisa-nii!" I exclaimed, throwing my arms around him. "I love it very much!"

I gazed at him endearingly, my eyes sparkling. At first, Kisame seemed to be a little scared of the hug, since he shivered slightly as soon as I had wrapped my arms around him. A blank look spread across his face for a moment, followed by a small pink blush. Seconds later, he returned the hug, smiling goofily.

"You're welcome, Kagami-chan," he replied, slipping the bracelet on his wrist. "Thanks for the game and bracelet, as well. I'm glad that the little sushi characters are happy."

Nodding, I sped off towards the remaining Akatsuki members, handing each and every one their assorted bracelets. Sasori's said Puppet Master, though he was glaring at a smirking Deidara, whose bracelet read, Art Master.

Maybe that wasn't the best thing to write.

Hidan and Kakuzu were arguing about who got the better bracelet, though those two were the ones that I had the hardest time with. In the end, I wrote Jashin's Apprentice for Hidan, and First Class for Kakuzu. Next, I had given Konan hers — reading All That Jazz — then skipped over Pein, because as much as I wanted to make him a bracelet, I was afraid of him. Yes, like Zetsu, I had gotten used to his existence, but I was still worried about how he would react due to still being affected by the broken necklace incident.

The last Akatsuki member I gave a bracelet to was Obito, who gasped with surprise as I slipped it on his wrist with a smile.

"Look!" I said cheerfully, tapping the beads with letters. "It spells Forever! And it matches the bracelet that I made for myself, too!" I rolled up my sleeve, revealing a small bracelet that read, Friends. "See? Friends forever! Isn't that right, Tobi-chan?"

Obito immediately gave me a hug. "Tobi loves it! Tobi loves it! Thanks, Kagami-chan! Now open Tobi's!"

He handed me a gift, which I immediately tore into, while Obito giggled at me. Once I had cleared out all the wrapping, I reached into the box and pulled out a flower crown.

"Tobi saw it while Tobi was shopping," he admitted, taking the crown and placing it on my head. "And then Tobi thought immediately about Kagami-chan! Does Kagami-chan like it?"

"Of course I do!" I answered, tackling him with a hug. He was taken by surprise at first and fell over, but quickly picked himself back up and hugged me back, almost as tightly as I was embracing him,

Suddenly, Deidara approached both of us, gifts in his hands. I turned around to face him, and with a smile, he handed me my present.

"Merry Christmas, Kagami," he said as I tore open the gift. Squealing, I removed the painted clay bunnies from the box, gazing at them adoringly. Setting them down, I charged into Deidara and gave him a big hug.

"Thank you, Deidara-san!" I thanked him as he awkwardly pushed me away. Looks like the guy wasn't really used to hugs. Either that, or perhaps he has a recurring nightmare about how I had nearly suffocated him on the day that I had first met him…

I half-expected Deidara to turn away, but suddenly, he approached Obito, tapping the boy on his shoulder. Obito flinched, then stopped as soon as he realized that Deidara was reluctantly holding a present to him.

"Just this once, un" he muttered hesitantly, slowly handing the gift to Obito. The boy squealed, then quickly undid the fancy ribbon tied to it, as well as the wrapping paper. Casting the paper aside, he opened the small cardboard box that was inside, revealing Deidara's gift to him.

"Is that...a box of candy?" I gasped, eying all the chocolates and assorted fruity candy that was inside the box. Obito was gawking at Deidara in surprise, the latter immediately turning away and letting out a sigh.

"You know, this doesn't mean that my dislike towards you hasn't changed one bit," Deidara growled, causing Obito to hang his head. However, a few seconds later, he finished with, "kohai."

I was pretty sure at that moment, people that were five miles away from our house at that moment could hear Obito squeal in happiness.

Although I said nothing, I stared after Deidara in surprise, surprised that he just acknowledged the boy that he strongly disliked as his kohai.

Did...did I just see that happening?

Before I could run up and question the blonde, a loud shriek echoed throughout the entire room, almost the same volume as Obito's after Deidara had acknowledged him.

"A skateboard?" cried Yukio, his eyes sparkling as he stared at his present in awe. "This is just what I've always wanted! Who got this for me? Was it you, onee-chan?"

Kaiya shook her head from the other side of the room, followed by Naoki. "We didn't get you that, unfortunately. Honestly, I don't even recall buying anything as expensive as that…"

Yukio's head sunk, but seconds later, it lifted back up in curiosity, eying the various Akatsuki members around the room. Turning to him, the majority of them either shook their heads or turned away, remaining completely silent.

Just as my brother looked like he was about to give up, Hidan approached him from behind and tapped him on the shoulder, making sure to quickly back away from the boy right after.

He shot the Jashinist a look. "What?"

"Look," mumbled Hidan uneasily. "I honestly don't give a d*** about Christmas. I never even intended to steal my b****** partner's money from a bet just to pull off that lame-a** stunt. It's not part of my religion or personality, so don't f****** expect me to do something like that ever again, you little s***."

When he finally finished speaking, Yukio was still gawking at the man in surprise, his brain still processing what he had just heard. Before I had expected it, he immediately ran up to the Jashinist and slapped him square in the face.

"Ow!" he roared, glaring at the boy. "What the f*** was that for—"

Hidan trailed off as soon as Yukio took his hand and shook it, shocking him into silence. "I'm pretty surprised, Hidan. You may be feather-brained and dim-witted and a totally complete idiot and all—"

"I f****** get it!" he thundered in response. "Here, I'll take back that d*** skateboard and sell it for more money if you don't want it!"

"Let me finish," Yukio retorted, placing his hands on his hips defiantly. "As I was saying, you are the biggest moron that I have ever met in the entirety of all eleven years of my life...but I guess even today proves that somebody like you is still capable of caring for others."

Hidan crossed his arms and raised his eyebrow. "Who said anything about caring? I still hate you, you little s***."

"Too bad," Yukio countered, a small grin painting his lips. "I detest you more."

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do ******* not!"

"Do too!"

Off to the side, I giggled at the exchange, but deep inside, my heart felt slightly warmer, especially since neither of them was trying to kill each other.

Perhaps Christmas wasn't really all about the loving, gifts, or giving. Maybe it was about the changes that underwent during the time the entire family got to bond together. Even worst enemies could gather and become best friends.

And that day, even the Akatsuki proved to be capable of doing just that.


I stood by my sister and Konan, feeling — although I never wanted to admit it — slightly nervous.

"Are you sure that he won't yell at us?" I asked Kaiya, who handed me a red present with a silver bow tied around it. "He still looks like he's in a bad mood, onee-chan. I don't know if he's going to kill us or not…"

"Don't be silly," giggled Kaiya. "If Pein's objective was to kill both of us, then he would have done so when the necklace shattered. But we're all still alive and unscathed for now, so I think that you should be okay."

Gulping slightly, I sighed, then began to approach Pein, who was sitting on the stairway alone. He seemed to be staring blankly at the scene of everybody opening their gifts in front of him, but when I approached him, he turned and glared at me, sensing my presence.

"What do you want?" he growled darkly, definitely still upset.

Slowly, I showed him the present, causing his eyes to lose their flicker of malice. He stared at it curiously, until I told him what to do with it. "It's for you."

"For me?" Pein asked me in surprise as I handed him the gift that read his name on it. His face depicted a puzzled expression, shocked that he, of all people, had received a gift, especially during a time when he was feeling upset.

I was never really one to freely give gifts away. But at the same time, I wasn't greedy or a selfish person. Usually, it just took a lot of complaining, arguing, and convincing in order to have me give a gift to someone. However, this time, it was out of my own free will, mixed with both Kaiya's and Konan's.

In response, I nodded. "I wasn't sure if you were going to like it or not, but if you want, I can open it for you."

He shook his head, undoing the ribbon. "It's fine, Naoki. I kind of want to open your gift myself."

"It's not just from me," I clarified, handing him the present. "It was onee-chan and Konan's idea...well, it was our idea, whichever way you want to put it.

I let him open the gift, realizing that it probably was important to him that he had even gotten one. As soon as he was able to tear off all of the wrapping paper, the cardboard box revealed itself to him. Cocking an eyebrow, he proceeded to open that box as well, which was sealed shut with tons of masking tape.

Handing him a pair of scissors, I smiled as Konan and Kaiya watched intently. "Use those. They are easy to use and can easily cut the tape."

Nodding, he grabbed the scissors from my hand and emotionlessly cut the tape away, though if I squinted, I could still detect the faint glow of curiosity coming from deep inside of his eyes.

Konan and Kaiya came up beside me, watching intently as Pein began to open the cardboard box and reveal our gift to him.

His reaction wasn't immediate...if you could even call it a reaction. Unlike most of the others, he didn't gasp and his mouth didn't even move, but his eyes widened significantly enough so that all three of us could notice it. Seconds later, he drew out the object from inside the box, letting it glitter in the sunlight flitting through the living room windows.

He held up what Harumi-san had managed to make us: a silver chain necklace with the now polished fragment in the middle, shaped exactly like a smooth, two-dimensional raindrop. It literally glowed and sparkled in the sunlight, even better than vampires did.

"Is this…" he began, but trailed off, stunned by how we had managed to come up with the surprise for him. Kaiya smiled at him, and Konan nodded in confirmation, not smiling. Perhaps she would have smiled as well, but simply couldn't.

Konan rose and calmly took the necklace from Pein's fingers, and he allowed her to take it, as if he knew what she was going to do next. At first, I thought she was going to gaze at it for a while, but instead, she personally hung the necklace around her partner's neck.

I swore that the necklace glowed brighter when the chain touched his skin.

Pein stared at the sparkling necklace again, then muttered one word that I had never expected to hear come out of his mouth, knowing his stoic and tough personality.

"Yahiko…"

"He's here today, to celebrate with us again," Kaiya said, placing her finger on the gently polished pendant. "His soul lives on in that fragment of the necklace, and he will always be there to guide you. Never forget the wonderful things that he wanted you to do."

Beside me, Konan nodded, touching the raindrop pendant as well. Her finger lingered longer than my sister's, and I faintly recalled how Konan had loved Yahiko during their childhood days.

"Thank you," Pein whispered, rubbing the pendant and watching it shimmer in the sun.

"You're very welcome, Pei—" all three of us started, but were both silenced by him.

"Stop," he muttered, continuing to rub the pendant. "Don't call me Pein anymore. It's not exactly a name that fits me, especially when I know that there are people looking out for me."

Tilting my head slightly, I blinked. "What do you want us to call you, then?"

After I had finished my question, he smiled — just a little — at the three of us. I could hear his face muscles crack, and he quickly rubbed his face in pain, then changed his expression back to a straight one. However, no matter how much his conscience strived to hide it, I could tell that he was very happy.

"Please," he said in a rather amiable tone. "Call me Nagato."

For a moment, all three of us were stunned, not just because we had seen Pein of all people smile, but for once, he was going to let us use his real name instead of an alias that burdened him with the death of his best friend. Even I, too, had no choice but to smile right then and there.

"Of course," I responded happily. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you...Nagato."


A/N: Aww...Nagato has finally come out of his shell! Writing love-hate relationships are so much fun...perhaps that's why I really like writing DeiKai. They both have several things in common, such as lack of parents, argumentative personalities, as well as being childish and loving fireworks. Next chapter will focus on them...we'll be moving into a brand new major arc!

Question: Do you guys know any good Akatsuki Kitten fanfics? I know Consider Yourself Kittens, Akatsukitties/Kitty Karma, Kitty Kurse, Well, This Might be a Problem, Saving Anna, AkatsuKitties, My Akatsuki Kittens, and Oh my Jashin! Kitties! Any more good ones?

Thank you for bearing with me...I hope you enjoyed, and please review if you did! Reviews make chapter production faster!

See you all real soon!

— Tenshi —