Daisuke ran. He ran as far as he could, for as long as he could, as fast as he could. He had no idea where he was now, but he knew he had to be far away from Amegakure. Hopefully it'd take awhile for someone to track him down--if they ever did. Ame was severely understaffed after that war, and he doubted Pein would spare anyone to try to find him. One little missing-nin? Not worth the effort.

It was several days later when he finally collapsed. He had only slept once since then, and he had already been exhausted from fighting Sasuke and the war in general. Midori's death took its toll on him, too. Daisuke doggedly kept trying to keep moving, just for something to do, but fatigue caught up with him. He staggered the last few steps his body could take, and then fell against a tree. He pushed himself off, trying to keep going, but just collapsed onto his hands and knees. Then onto his stomach, just lying there. Daisuke's shinobi sense told him he was spent, but he refused to believe it.

So he just lied there, breathing contentedly. It was all he really could do. He didn't even have the energy to try to find something to eat--something he also needed to do, very badly. When he realized this, he just chuckled to himself. Looks like you're going to die after all, idiot, he told himself. He had to have known what running for days on end did. All ninja did.

Ruby eyes slid closed, but reopened a moment later. If he fell asleep now, he probably wouldn't wake up for at least twelve or so hours. Depended on whether or not he was still in Ame country; rain would certainly wake him after awhile. And plus, no telling where he actually was. He hadn't bothered to check anything more than the fact that he'd been heading north. Daisuke didn't feel like getting his throat slit--or a kunai shoved into his frontal lobe like Midori--by some hostile shinobi.

Even with all of this knowledge and the fact that it would mean he was practically defenseless if someone did happen to come upon him, his eyes slid closed once more. And this time, it took a few moments before they reopened. Daisuke sighed, and then closed them for the last time.

-.-.-

There was warmth. And a bright--something. He wasn't sure what it was. It seemed to converge on one point, however, so Daisuke just stubbornly turned his head away from the source. There, much better. Aside from an annoyingly wet something now stuck to his cheek.

Eventually, he opened his eyes. (After much internal arguing about whether or not he really wanted to interrupt his slumber.) The first thing he realized that the light was (no surprise here) the sun. Daisuke groaned and sluggishly lifted an arm to place over his eyes, shielding them. Where was his sunglasses when he needed them…

The second thing he realized was that there was someone standing over him. It took a few moments for it to penetrate the haze of sleep, but when it did, he bolted upright. He nearly collided with the stranger, already reaching down to his leg for a kunai. His fingers scratched on nothing but the fabric of his pants. Before he could even get a good glance at this person, his gaze snapped down to his leg. His kunai pouch was gone.

And, feeling on his head, his sunglasses where, too. What else was missing?!

Whoever it was spoke. Daisuke froze, expecting retribution for Midori's death, but then he realized that he had no idea what it was that the person said. It was definitely a kid, at least. He leaned back down, looking up at the person. The kid, a scrawny little brunette (he honestly couldn't tell the gender from appearance alone) was wearing his sunglasses, and holding up his kunai pouch curiously. It said something else, and, after getting no response from the jounin, said slowly and with a thick accent, "Shinobi."

"Yeah. Can I have that back now?" he asked, holding out his hand for the weapons. (And his shades, damn it. That was his favorite pair.)

The kid shook its head stubbornly, backing up a few steps and clutching the pouch to its chest. It said something else in that foreign language of its, and Daisuke had to wonder how far north he had really gone. Was he even still in Rain country?

"Shinobi," the kid repeated.

"Yeah, I'm a freaking ninja. Now give me back my stuff before I have to show you what that means for unfortunate little kids like you."

"Ame shinobi?" the genderless child asked warily, turning slightly. It almost looked as if it were hiding the kunai from him. Did it really think that depriving Daisuke of a few knives would protect it?

Though he didn't know how to answer, now. For all intents and purposes, he should just kill the kid, get his stuff back, and be on his merry way. But there was just something about the way it moved, the way it was so careful, the way he could almost see the eyes behind the dark lenses.

"…Sure, let's go with that."

"From Ame? City of Ame?"

Great, apparently the kid wanted specifics. "Yeah…"

"There is war there. Here, too."

"Pretty much everywhere."

"War in Ame is over? Why else would shinobi be here?"

"War is over. I mean--the war is over." Now he was even talking like the scraggly little thing. "Pein-sama won, blah blah blah. War--the war is over and the world is safe." Isn't that what the Akatsuki had been preaching about their leader? Close enough, he supposed.

The kid's face broke out into a dazzling smile. Daisuke felt a bit blindsided; had he just unwittingly become some child's idol for bringing such news? He didn't need hero worship right now. He needed some information.

But this would work to his advantage… "Hey, kid." It looked up at him, still clutching his kunai pouch and wearing his sunglasses. "Are we still in Ame territory? Rain land?"

"Yes."

"Do you come from a village or something?" He hoped so. A quiet little out-of-the-way village would be perfect right now. Somewhere to hole up until this thing blew over.

"Yes. Not far." And then, suddenly, Daisuke was being dragged through the damp undergrowth by this kid who still had his stuff, tugged towards a potentially hostile village he knew nothing about. Shinobi training took over, and he stopped, pulling hard on the kid's wrist. It fell to the ground, unbalanced by the sudden halt. "Why?"

"You move really well, you know that?" Daisuke remarked shrewdly, narrowing red eyes. "Are you a ninja?"

"No! Sister is, though. She is good shinobi." He didn't bother correcting the kid that if it was a girl, it'd be a kunoichi. "She in war, too! But now war is over, so sister come back to visit!"

At least it'd make sense. An older sibling would have taught a few tricks to a younger one. It happened all the time. "I'll take your word for it, kid." He knew how younger siblings were. The girl was probably a genin or maybe chuunin, off to battle in Ame for a bit. She'd be lucky if she came back at all. He swallowed nervously, and hope he didn't have to see some family wrecked because of a kunoichi he didn't know. That'd be terrible. But at the same time, if some girl came back from Ame and recognized him, then there would be dire consequences.

"Aoko."

"Huh?"

"My name. Aoko."

"Oh…right." So this thing was a little girl, then? Or maybe a little boy with a girl's name. That'd be funny…Daisuke gave himself a little shake of the head. "I'm…Daisuke. Can I have my stuff back now?"

The little brunette girl looked down at the kunai pouch in her small hands, frowning. She looked back up at him for a moment, and then back down. Apparently it was a tough decision. Daisuke put his hands on his hips, tapping his foot. The girl was what, ten or so? He could snap her wrist in one hand if need be. So why was he waiting?

"…Yes," she said softly, and then offered the kunai pouch as if it was something sacred. Aoko watched with fascination as he fastened it back to his leg, and then held his hand out for the sunglasses. With a sheepish smile, she took them off, handing them back to him. "It was…for safe. Safety."

"Yeah, I can understand…" Daisuke's voice died in his throat.

Aoko looked up at him with dull green eyes, half-hidden by her brown hair. She smiled blankly, waiting for him to finish his sentence.

-.-.-

Daisuke went with her to her village. He told everyone there--who thankfully all spoke both their odd foreign dialect and the one he spoke--that the war was over, and Ame won. He celebrated with them, though with a hollow feeling inside. He hadn't the heart to tell Aoko that her sister wasn't coming back. Midori wasn't ever coming back.

(And in a way, this was the retribution he'd been expecting. He just wasn't sure how to handle it.)