Ok so for the purposes of this story, Pein and Konan are a little bit older than the rest of the Akatsuki. that's why there are so many references to Konan being like their mother. it's deterimental to the story. no it's not really, but i wrote it so read it.

"Hey Danna un, let's go into town!"

Deidara was restless and he had been all day. Sasori had expected him to be mopey and sad like the children were, but he was hyper and jumpy instead. He kept insisting that they go places and do things; it was beginning to get annoying.

"No brat, I don't want to go into town," Sasori said firmly, for what felt like the ninth time in the stretch of ten minutes. He hadn't known upon accepting the task, that it would be this hard. He wondered if Konan knew that it was going to be like this.

Was that why she'd decided to give him this task? Maybe it was some kind of joke to keep his mind off of tomorrow, so that he wouldn't mess around with the future. Yeah, that was probably it.

"But Danna!" for some reason Deidara seemed to think that raising his voice was going to make a difference, "I hate it here, there's nothing to do, un! I don't want to sit around and watch a bunch of kids hang out with their families, un!"

"Yeah it is kinda rough sitting around and watching this, isn't it?" Sasori agreed.

They were sitting a bit away from the children and their families, who had taken advantage of the sudden wonderful weather and were sitting out in the sun at tables which had been dragged outside by their children. The other four Akatsuki members were sitting around with the families, two having come from Konaha originally anyway and having connections with the people there, and the other two having formed a connection with the children – unwillingly of course – after having shared their rooms for about a week.

It was like any other day, really.

It was sad to think that maybe, when Itachi died, nothing was really going to change; the children would still laugh and play, Pein and Konan would still go into town on mysterious business trips, Hidan and Kakuzu would still take their fights a little too far and Zetsu would still talk to himself. It would be as if nothing had really changed, and Sasori found that thought really sad. The only people how might be eternally effected, would be Tobi, Sasuke and Kisame; the only ones around here who were already beginning to show the signs of depression.

Sasuke was sitting with Naruto and his family. At first, Sasori figured Naruto was one of those poor kids who didn't have a family, because he was so strong and independent – and he behaved as if he didn't have a mother – but he did. His parents, Minato and Kushina were great people, the latter was a little temperamental, but overall she was a nice woman. Sasori had only met them once, but he knew for sure where Naruto had gotten his personality from.

Tobi was the opposite from his cousin and decided to keep himself away from most of the people and not talk to anyone. Of course, he kept close to Zetsu as he usually did, which meant he had with a few of the other people.

"Exactly un, that's why we should get out of here and go into town! They don't need you here un, so let's go!"

"Can't," Sasori stated simply, "we're supposed to stay here."

That seemed to cause Deidara to deflated considerable. He sank down and gave a pout, "but Danna un!" he complained.

He was beginning to sound like a twelve year old.

"What would you do if we went into town, brat? You have no money, you have no one to see, no place to go. People like us don't belong in nice places like Konaha."

Deidara seemed to sink even further, "un, that's what everyone tells me," he said, "but Itachi always says that there's nothing special about Konaha, so I shouldn't be afraid to go there," then his eyes lit up, "hey un, let's go and see Itachi!"

Deidara was on his feet instantly, tugging on Sasori's sleeve but the puppet was unrelenting.

"I said no brat. Can you just sit down and accept that we're not going anywhere today? When Konan comes back, you can talk to her about it."

Deidara did as he was told, "Konan told you to stay here, un?" he asked, thinking carefully about the nod he received, "and she said I have to stay here too?" he got another nod, and began to understand. "Okay un, if it's what you want, we'll stay here."

While getting back into a comfortable position, Deidara began to think about things.

There was something deep in the pit of his stomach that told him to leave the camp grounds. Konan had always called that feeling fate, whenever he had mentioned it to her. Because sometimes when he was younger, he used to do stupid things and in the end would always be caught and yelled at. Konan would always ask why he'd done it, and he would simply bring up that feeling. Fate, she had always called it fate and yet now, it seemed she was trying to stop that feeling from getting through?

Because clearly, she knew he'd try to leave the camp grounds and so she'd stopped it at the source.

But why?

She had never stopped him from doing anything before, and had always just watched him get hurt, to yell at him later. That was all she had ever done before so why was she changing it up now?

Deidara didn't know what was going on but he knew he couldn't ignore that feeling in his stomach for much longer.

He got to his feet without really thinking about it and began to walk away from where Sasori still sat, only to have his movement restricted by Sasori's weird blue strings.

"Where are you going?" Sasori asked.

Deidara found the lack of freewill and movement both amusing and strangely thrilling, as he'd never been in a position from which he couldn't escape before, so being trapped now was kind of cool – to say the least.

"Just for a walk, Danna un," he said casually. A walk wherever that little knot in his stomach led him.

"Well hold up, I'll come with you."

Sasori got up and made his way over to a smirking blonde.

"Konan really wants you to keep an eye on me, doesn't she un?"

Sasori sighed, "what are you talking about brat?" he asked, feeling more and more as though this was just an elaborate plan of Konan's to make him waste his day, though at the same time he was happy he got to spend a waste of a day with Deidara, "is it a crime to want to spend my time with you?"

Deidara looked him over suspiciously and said, "I've never paid much attention to the law."

"Well then, there shouldn't be a problem."

Upon entering the hospital in Konaha, Konan and Pein were automatically recognized, the latter was dragged toward the counter and forced to sign a stack of papers, being Itachi's legal guardian now for a few more months until he was eighteen – though it looked like that wouldn't be happening now. Konan, however, was left to watch the swarm of patients and their awful futures.

There was a middle aged woman who had contracted HIV from her cheating husband, a teenage girl waiting for her baby brother's surgery to come to an end, the boy would be fine but they'd get a call a few hours after it was over to say their father had died. Then there was a man who was going in for a routine check-up and would be mauled by a bear over the weekend.

She had always hated hospitals, because of the thoughts she picked up on and the futures she read, and it was never made any better by Pein's relentless insistence that he could see ghosts and the fact that she could never tell whether or not he was lying. She could remember once in Yuga when they'd had to take Tobi in for emergency appendix removal surgery and the rest of the Akatsuki had joined them – this was when both Itachi and Tobi were new – in the waiting room. Upon Pein's mention of the word ghost, there was an immediate reaction; Zetsu and Kakuzu had bet on whether or not the hospital was actually haunted, resolving to use Itachi's eyes to find out, and Hidan had gotten the bright idea to go around haunting the patients.

They had all been a lot younger back then, though.

That was one of the many times while raising the teenage Akatsuki – well, practically raising them anyway – that Konan was able to forget about her miscarriage and pretend she had become a mother. Those boys used to get themselves into so much trouble wherever they went, they used to be so much fun, so alive and reckless.

And now here she was.

Standing in the waiting room of a hospital though this time she wasn't there to watch teenage Akatsuki screw around, she was here to watch one of those boys die.

Standing there Konan had to ask herself how. How had she let this happen? How could she have let all that time slip between her fingers? And how the hell did her family deserve something like this?

Had the things been on the minds of one of the Akatsuki, she would've replied, "questions, without answers," but right now, that simply wasn't good enough.

For the past, well she didn't know how long, she'd taught herself not to care and that everybody dies and it's for a reason. But now that she was here…

No. now was not the time to doubt.

"Alright, now if the two of you will follow me, I'll take you in to see him," the nurse said. She stepped out from behind the counter with a smile and led the way into a closed off, secluded room.

It was a nice room to die in, as rooms come, but Konan knew that this wasn't Itachi's final resting place. He'd be fine for a few more weeks before his heart just gave out. She knew Sakura had been up all night and most of the day, consulting with the doctors and trying to figure out a way to make him better. It would grant him two more weeks before Iwa.

Both Itachi and Kisame were sleeping, the latter resting half on the bed and half off. Itachi looked terrible, alive but terrible.

"Doesn't this remind you of when they were younger?" Konan asked absently.

Pein scoffed, "do you even remember when they were younger?" he asked, "They were little monsters straight from the start."

"That's not true!" Konan insisted immediately, "You're remembering it wrong! It must be cause you've gotten so old."

"Old," Pein repeated the word as if he didn't know the meaning.

Konan reconsidered her statement, it had only been fourteen years since they started the circus, nine years since they met the first Akatsuki member between them there was a nine year age gap but that had never seemed to matter. It seemed like this all started so long ago and yet the time had flown past in the amount of time it took to blink.

"You're starting to sound like their mother," Pein added. He never very well – better than anyone, in fact – the way Konan thought and felt about these things. "The mother of monsters."

He watched her smile at the name for a few brief seconds before something inside her just seemed to snap. It might've been the memories, it might've been that stupid name, or it might've been seeing them like this, but Konan knew something had to be done and it had to be done now.

"Wait here," she said, annoyed that she could hear Pein's internal satisfaction at her reaction, "I'm going to go and talk with the doctors."

"Brat, quit running around!"

It had been hours. Sasori didn't know where Deidara got the energy. They'd spent literally five hours walking as far as Sasori would allow – basically until he realized they'd left the camp – and back what seemed like a billions times. They'd only stopped to come back and eat, and Deidara had then proceeded to play with the children, with all the energy of a child.

They were heading back to the Akatsuki side of the camp for some much needed rest.

It was later than he'd expected, almost midnight actually, and Deidara was still a relentless ball of energy.

"But I'm not tired un," Deidara replied.

Really, he wasn't. But he knew Sasori was.

Much like a child, Deidara was able to occasionally call upon vast amounts of slow burning energy which he would use to stay up later than whoever was watching him. Tonight, that just so happened to be Sasori. It wasn't as big of a challenge as out lasting Konan had been though.

"I don't care, just quit it. You're going to make me sick."

Obediently, Deidara fell into step at a normal pace.

"Danna un, do you ever feel like you're not in control, un?" he asked as casually as he could, "like there's something else at play other than freewill."

"No," Sasori replied without missing a beat.

"Oh un."

"What's with the sudden deep thoughts, brat? One moment you're like a child and the next you're contemplating the meaning of life? What gives?"

Deidara shrugged, because really he didn't know. Of course he knew what was getting him down.

"I guess I'm just sad, un," he said eventually, "I know Konan's only trying to do what's best for us un, but I keep thinking this thought and it really scares me, un," this was true, as he'd spent a vast part of his day obsessing over one thing, "I mean, what if this is my last chance? What if I don't ever get to see Itachi alive again un, just because I have to stay here? I don't think I'd be able to live with myself, un."

"Don't worry about it, brat," Sasori said, fighting through a tired haze. "Konan's there with him… I know she'll do the right thing."

They made it back to their trailer without further discussion, mainly because both were desperately willing themselves to believe what had just been said.

Deidara watched the other climb into bed tiredly, intending to follow that gut feeling he had once he was sure Sasori was asleep, only to be beckoned forward.

"Deidara come here, I can keep a closer eye on you if you sleep here as well," Sasori said, half asleep, having made just enough room on his bed for Deidara.

He thought about it for a moment, and Deidara decided his gut feeling could wait until the early hours of the morning. He got into the bed and embraced his Danna's warmth, and the arm that wrapped around him.

Yeah, it could definitely wait until morning.

When Deidara opened his eyes again, it was midday Friday and he'd gotten the best sleep of his life. However, now wasn't the time to dwell on that. He had to get up and go. Sasori was still sound asleep, it was only a matter of getting out of the bed without waking him, which was really no great task.

Deidara didn't even spare himself any time to feel bad about what he was doing, before throwing on some clean clothes, and embarking on a journey to follow his destiny.

I don't know if this counts as a cliffhanger, but there will only be about three more chapters after this one, okay? okay. don't expect an update tomorrow because i have to work.