1/12/2009
Greetings everyone! A shoutout to my muses Asuma, Kushina, Zetsu_Akatsuki, and Uchiha-Curse.

Also, I have posted a new story. "Orange Masks and Chopsticks" - A Tobi/OC & Madara/OC story.

I do not own Naruto or 'Turn to Stone' by ELO (Electric Light Orchestra)


Chapter 22: Strings and Sand take Flight

Song of the Chapter:
Turn to Stone – Electric Light Orchestra
Reason: Sometimes when you have nothing left to lose, you start to cherish what you might gain.


Sumiko's steps halted and she stood still for a moment. Her hands fisted and she felt a traitorous tear trail her face. Deidara noticed her silence and seeing her start to cry, dashed back and held her in his arms, "Are you ok, un?"

Sumiko was silent as the tears just kept trailing her face. She did not even bother to wipe them but her eyes traveled to Deidara's lone eye and softened seeing the concern. "I knew this day would come, but I did not expect it to hurt so much." She closed her eyes hearing Deidara's voice soften in attempts to comfort her.

"Sumiko-chan… please don't cry…un." He nuzzled her cheek and sighed. "It hurts to see you cry." She opened her eyes and tried to make the tears stop but they kept overflowing slowly.

"If going against the Kazekage bothers you so badly, I could request Leader-sama to send you after a different tailed beast." Sumiko stared at her brother and shook her head.

"No… if I did that, Leader-sama would be suspicious and my chance at proving myself will vanish." She untangled herself from Deidara's grip and pulled him along towards Sasori. "Let us go… I would prefer to be in and out of that sandbox as soon as possible."

Deidara smiled and began to mold the transportation. "So… will you stay with Sasori-danna or come with me to get the One Tail, un?"

Sumiko looked at the blond with a raised eyebrow before leaning in to plant a gentle kiss on his cheek. "You have to ask?"


"Gaara! They found Temari collapsed inside a house but she's all better now." Gaara stood up and faced his brother who rudely broke his door open but for the sake of his sister, he was willing to ignore it. Instantly he vanished into sand and reappeared in the hospital room. He looked at his oldest sibling who looked fine despite a bandage around her head.

"Temari…" Gaara touched her head and to his surprise, she laughed.

"My head… I feel so free for some reason… Like all the pain fled. Gaara… Something happened to me to take away something but I do not know what it took away. I do not know what was taken from me and that… is my only worry…" Temari's eyes closed as she fell into a peaceful nap. Gaara looked at Kankurou who just came in.

"Watch over her and try to figure out what it was that she forgot…" Kankurou nodded as she took his spot next to his sister. Gaara looked outside and touched the window.

"Gaara… what do you think happened to Sumiko-sama?" Gaara's eyes narrowed and the window shattered to everyone's surprise.

"Don't say that traitor's name around me…" Gaara felt the desert wind blow the rebellious tear away.


Sasori smirked and looked at his two companions. "It has begun." Sumiko looked at her twin brother with a smirk.

"Which of those bastards did you…?" She smirked as they came closer and she recognized the man. "Yuura?" The man bowed down to her and Sasori.

"Sasori-sama, Sumiko-sama!" Sumiko looked at Deidara who still had the clay bird out.

"Let's go, un." Together the two stepped aboard. Quickly they took off.

Sumiko sighed as she sat on the bird while Deidara stood and used his eyepiece to take note of the guards. "Should I just sleep if this is all we are going to do?"

"No, un," the blond whined. "I want you to see art!" Sumiko smiled and looked over the edge of the bird to where Deidara had dropped the clay spiders onto the guards.

"Only three… wow… the defenses are definitely lackluster around the Kazekage." Together they jumped down and were met with a seething, eyebrowless glare. "Gaara-kun, long time no see." Gaara stared at her and frowned at her proximity with Deidara. Her greeting was answered by a current of sand and seeing this, both Akatsuki members jumped back onto the bird.

"What are two Akatsuki members doing here I wonder? You two were easy to spot as there exists no such bird in the desert…" Sumiko laughed as Deidara looked at her funny.

"Told you that you suck at infiltration." Deidara rolled his eyes and molded more clay birds. Sumiko smirked as her fingertips started to tingle. "Deidara-kun… watch out. We are only surrounded by his greatest weapon." The bomber nodded and launched a barrage of clay based avians at the Kazekage.

Gaara however, encased the area around him with a clay ball and when Sumiko saw the Third Eye, she wasted no time. Deidara cursed seeing some of the area's sand almost wrap around them when Sumiko took action. She wrapped herself and Deidara with chakra strings and solidifying them, she catapulted them out of the trap. "Thanks, un. I could have lost an arm."

Sumiko grunted in assent. "If you did that, your fighting capacity would have been reduced seeing as most hand signs would be off limits and making clay bombs would make it harder for you to retaliate." Deidara grinned maniacally as he released a clay bird from his hand and made that one enlarge. Sumiko used her strings to land effortlessly besides her love. The explosive artist looked at Sumiko with a smirk as he produced a bomb she had not seen before. She brushed her hands along the side of Deidara's cheek as she looked at the bomb. "It is beautiful…"

Sumiko did her best to ignore the civilians and shinobi below her but that did not stop some of them from recognizing her. Kankurou shook his head sadly. "Two Akatsuki members after my little brother… and one of them had to be Sumiko-sama…"

"Sumiko-chan… I am glad you understand my art unlike that ass of a brother you have, un." She smiled softly as she watched Deidara enlarge the bomb. She was shocked seeing how large it was and the sheer chakra density it had both frightened and excited her. "I have a plan, but I can't have you going all psycho on me, un."

Sumiko looked at the bomb and instantly when Deidara hovered it over the village; she understood in a heartbeat what would happen. "This is the C3 bomb you were telling me about…" she smirked knowing what would happen. "Perfect."

Gaara's eyes widened watching the bomb fall downwards towards the Sand Village. He used his chakra to try to force the sand downwards to protect the villagers. Meanwhile, Deidara laughed as he looked at the redhead next to him. "Witness one of my greatest artistic creations!" The explosion was massive and Sumiko felt her heart skip a beat witnessing it.

The sheer beauty of it all… and Deidara-kun… he loves it… Sumiko smiled seeing the clay bird sneak up on Gaara and knew that the sand guard would be fast, but she knew that Deidara was a genius and anyone that worked with Sasori knew the importance of planning ahead. "That was a good idea eating some of the sand Deidara-kun…" He held her hand and they watched as the sand ball was rocked by an explosion. They watched the battle-worn Kazekage fall and Sumiko twitched her hands to capture him in her chakra strings.

The barely conscious Kazekage looked at her with tired eyes and she felt the painful stab of guilt at her seeing him. "Sumiko-sama… why?"

Feeling the tears about to come, she closed her eyes for a moment but when she opened them again; her eyes were clear and steely. "You will understand soon Gaara-kun." She made a few hand signs and he fell unconscious due to her genjutsu. Together they flew off back towards Sasori's location unaware that a young puppeteer was following them.


"Fuck… I was too late…" Baki looked at the man and went on the defensive.

"Mamoru! Last seen with the traitorous Sumiko-sama but you were rumored dead." Mamoru sighed as Baki threw some kunai at him and they hit his chest and stuck there.

"Nice welcome gesture asshole…" He looked at the horizon where he knew that the Akatsuki members were. "Yes I am still after Shukaku but if anything, I would have stopped them from taking him." Baki rolled his eyes and prepared the emergency message to the Leaf Village.


Sumiko waved at her brother the moment they caught sight of each other. Sasori grumbled seeing the two. "I hate waiting and you two had to be late…"

"I almost lost an arm danna, un!" Sumiko giggled and kissed her favorite bomber on the cheek. The affectionate gesture made Deidara give a slight blush and he rubbed the back of his head cheekily. Sumiko suddenly turned around sensing a familiar presence.

"Give Gaara back!" Sasori nodded at Deidara and Sumiko who boarded the clay bird again. Kankurou was not one to be denied and he tried to use his puppets against the two only to be blocked. Soon, Deidara and Sumiko were mere specks in the distance.

Sasori smirked seeing the puppets go to pieces before Kankurou's eyes. What he drank in most was the look of betrayal on the young man's face. "Sumiko-sama betrayed us… and you; how did you defeat my puppets so easily?"

"Foolish boy; I made those very puppets that you wield." Kankurou's eyes widened and he knew that it could only be…

"Sasori of the Red Sands! You are… Sumiko-sama's twin brother…" Sasori smirked from within the puppet as Kankurou's breathing became labored.

"That poison will kill you in three days and as you are in no condition to fight, there is no point to continue this conflict."

Sasori stalked off just as Kankurou's vision blurred.


Deidara huffed in annoyance as he looked at the redhead next to him. "What is the matter Deidara-kun?"

"Sasori-danna talks about how he hates to waste time but he is taking forever, un." She laughed at his antics and kissed his cheek.

"Well… he does not have the convenience of a swiftly traveling clay bird does he?" Deidara rolled his eyes as he started to kiss her neck.

"Sumiko-chan… you're supposed to be on my side, un." She gasped as he found a particularly sensitive portion of her neck and he smirked. "Does that feel good, un?"

She gripped at the back of his robes. "You bastard, you know it does." He laughed as he gently began to nip affectionately at her neck when…

"Brat, you better get those mouthed hands of yours out of my sister's robes." Deidara smiled sheepishly as he withdrew.

"Well danna, you took a while so we had to preoccupy ourselves, un." Sumiko blushed at those words and climbed on the clay bird as her brother whacked Deidara.


Days later…

After having the poison removed, Kankurou sat up as he told Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura about the enemy he faced. "Well, I fought against Sasori, but… The blond one that Gaara fought against was there too and… Sumiko-sama was with them; she fought against Gaara also."

Chiyo was noticeably quiet as she slinked off to prepare for what was ahead. She smirked noticing that the Leaf Ninja were about to leave when she jumped off of the wall in front of them. "Let me give my grandchildren some love," she muttered smirking.


It was not long before the three Akatsuki members came to the sealed cave but Sumiko sighed at the quiet trip. Sasori was being unusually overprotective and Deidara was being defensive so to be safe, she had to sit between them. Upon entering, they noticed Pein's image glare at them. "Prepare."

Nodding, all three members leapt onto their respected fingers. Pein looked at them and at Sumiko who nodded. "I am ready Leader-sama."

"It will take three days and nights so have all precautions been taken?" Sumiko nodded and they noticed an intricate chakra string trap in addition to the ones that Deidara and Sasori set. "Let us begin!" Sumiko felt a tremor as the energy started to leak from Gaara.

She felt shaken when later she heard Zetsu's voice. She tried to concentrate but her mind felt blurry and confused. She faintly heard Kisame go on about a grudge he had and closing her eyes, she worked to block out any more distractions from the process at hand. It was not long before she heard Zetsu's voice again but when he mentioned Leaf Shinobi and an old Sand shinobi, her curiosity was peaked. "Zetsu-san… can you describe the Sand ninja?"

"Old… wrinkly… I believe her name is Chiyo." Sumiko would have fallen over in shock if it was not for the jutsu she was currently performing. "Are you wishing to delay them Sumiko-chan?"

She shook her head as Itachi spoke. "I believe I would be better suited to the task." Sumiko blinked in his direction and noticed as everyone became quiet again.

It was not long before another distraction worked at Sumiko's nerves. Her twin began to complain about the subordinates lost for some Imitation Shape Shifting Technique. However, Pein's voice was the one that held complete attention. "We are almost finished extracting the tailed beast." She looked down at Gaara's now completely limp body as it crashed to the ground. "It is done…" Sumiko felt herself swerve but felt familiar arms hold her.

"Don't worry, un. You just need some food and you'll be as good as new." She smiled as they heard a rumble. "The hell?"

Sasori smirked. "We have company and one of them is a tailed beast…" Itachi glared at the puppet master who looked delighted at the prospect to finish his task ahead of schedule. The holograms of the other members disappeared and the three looked at each other.

Sumiko held her ears and groaned. "It is getting loud outside…" She looked at Deidara who was already joyous at the thought of another fight. "Deidara-kun, what did Itachi-san say about this tailed beast?"

"Well… Loud and will rush you or some shit like that, un." Sumiko raised an eyebrow as Sasori looked at the blond.

"He… did not have anything more specific?" Deidara shrugged as the three of them jumped down around Gaara.


An hour later…

Sumiko just barely finished some onigiri when they heard a loud impact and the boulder that blocked the entrance was smashed. The rocks hung almost artistically in the arm before exploding into dust. She chuckled. "Damn… guess that counteracted my trap…"

Chiyo saw her grandchildren and they noticed her fingers twitch. However, everyone's attention was on the dead Kazekage. Sumiko looked at him and sighed as she brushed some dirt off of his face. Deidara's hand rested on her shoulders. "Sumiko-chan, Sasori-danna, who do you think is the tailed beast, un?"

Naruto began shouting something about revenge before he shouted at Gaara. Sumiko shook her head in pity. "Obviously that blond is the tailed beast. Just so you know, talking to Gaara-kun is useless when he is dead." She looked at the blond using him as a chair with a cold glint. "That is disrespectful to the dead Deidara-kun…" She looked at the group ahead of them and sighed. "Look, let us give them the body; we have no further use and there is no point taking a tailed beast we cannot seal yet."

Sasori looked at his sister and sighed. "Fine… Let's go." They were about to leave when Naruto tossed a giant shuriken at them. Sasori deflect it effortlessly with his tail. "This is putting art to work brat."

Sumiko groaned as Deidara and Sasori began another art argument while the shinobi before them tried to figure them out. Grumbling, Sumiko got a hold of Gaara and using chakra strings, tossed him to Kakashi. "We have no further use for him as he no longer contains the tailed beast." Chiyo smirked at her granddaughter.

"So… you have hardened your heart against the Sand Village to actually have assisted in fighting him and in killing him." Sumiko's eyes narrowed and the other Akatsuki members stopped their fighting upon feeling a surge in killer chakra.

"Shut the fuck up grandma. You do not understand everything I am going through. You are lucky we are letting you escape with your lives so appreciate this kind gesture because it will be one of the few you will get from me or Sasori." Turning around, they began to board the clay bird when Naruto dashed at them. She smirked as he got caught in another chakra string trap and he received some cuts. "They stumble so fast…"

She looked at Deidara who took them higher elevation wise before releasing a small present into the cavern.