A/N: Chapter Four! And I haven't died! I'm really sorry for not updating, but my mom's computer is out, and it'll take a while to fix it. I'm writing all these chapters in advance, so please excuse any errors because of that. I've decided to sorta give a look into Tsume-chan's past again. Well, at the moment it's a dream, but yeah. I'm totally guessing on how Tobi and Deidara act in this, and if I'm completely off, please tell me, cause I wanna keep them (and Kisame and Itachi) in character as much as possible. And if you're getting tired of all the angst, blame whoever made the Naruto music. I'm listening to it as I write, and there's lotsa angsty music on the CD I burned. So, here's chapter four!

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Tsume felt quite tired as she stepped out of the bathroom and closed the door behind her. She held her backpack in one hand as she walked across the floor, trying to be as quiet as possible. The day had passed quickly, and cleaning and bandaging the worst of her wounds had taken longer then Tsume had thought. After Kisame had left her alone, Tsume had taken a long, hot shower, and her hair was still wet from the water. It was dark in the room, and Tsume made out the shapes of Kisame and Itachi lying in their beds, presumably asleep.

Turning her head away from them, Tsume walked over to the couch, and set her backpack down beside it. She saw that a blanket and a pillow had been placed on the couch, and she smiled in the dark. Tsume had changed into the small black dress from before, and found that the straps had a habit of falling off her shoulders and that the skirt only came to the middle of her thighs. But no one could see her in the dark, or at least she hoped so. Yawning, Tsume lay down on the couch, pulling the blanket up around her and laying her head on the pillow. She curled herself into a ball, closing her eyes. As her mind began to drift, Tsume thought she saw Kisame sit up in his bed, shadowed face turned in her direction. But then Tsume was asleep.

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The dream was the same as it always was, vivid and loud. Screams filled the air, the stench of blood heavy and nauseating. Tsume was held against a strong chest by one arm, while another arm held a sword out to defend her. She felt a warm spatter of blood hit her back as the defending sword hit something, and the cry as the attacker fell. A male voice was speaking above Tsume, tone worried but comforting. Then suddenly, whoever was holding her jerked forward, and over his shoulder, Tsume saw the grinning face of another man, his kunai buried deep in her defender's back.

"Ts-Tsume . . . ru-run!" With those last words, the defender fell forward, flinging Tsume out of the way. She wanted to run back to him, to save him, but her body would not obey. She was suddenly running, running as fast as her child body would allow. But someone was behind her, laughing coldly as he chased Tsume. She cried out as pain burned across her back. And then, Tsume felt something cold against her throat. She tried to scream again, but the sound ended in a strangled rasp as the edge of a blade slashed across her throat. Tsume fell to the ground, looking up into her attacker's face. She could only just see him, his deathly pale face lit red by the sky. And then . . .

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. . . she woke up. Tsume's eyes snapped open, her mouth open in a soundless scream. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, body shaking uncontrollably. As after every dream, Tsume longed for someone to hold her, to stroke her hair and whisper in her ear that it was was only a dream. A dream created in Tsume's desperate want to know about her parents. It was her mind's twisted way of explaining everything, of explaining the scar across her neck, the scar on her back, and her inability to speak.

"Onna." Tsume was too distraught to be surprised by Kisame's voice. She turned her tearful face towards him, and saw him looking down at her as he sat before the couch. She couldn't see his face because of the dark shadows of the room, and she didn't know what to do. Her body acted on its own then. Tsume sat up, and wrapped her arms around Kisame's neck, hiding her face in his chest. At that moment, she didn't care who he was or what her situation was, she just knew that he was there before her, and that her nightmares wouldn't dare return if he were near.

"Please, don't go," Tsume begged silently. "Don't leave me alone. The dream won't come back if you're close. Please don't push me away. Just this once."

The next thing Tsume knew, Kisame had caught her up in his arms and stood. Tsume clung to him, tears still falling. She felt Kisame walk across the floor and lay her down on his bed, her head resting on the pillow. Then Kisame had laid down behind her, pulling up the blankets before sliding one arm around her waist and pulling her up against his chest. Tsume's eyes snapped open and she blushed. This felt so similar to the dream. Kisame's arm was strong and protecting, just like Tsume's defender. He was so warm. Without thinking, Tsume turned in Kisame's arms and pressed her face to his chest, her left arm wrapping around to grip at the muscles of his back. She started to shake, but was unable to shed tears. She had no more tears left to cry, so she simply shook and trembled against Kisame's chest, hoping and praying that he wouldn't push her away. And he didn't.

"I don't want you waking me up with any more of your bad dreams, onna," he said quietly, tucking Tsume's head beneath his chin as he had done before. "If being near someone keeps those dreams away, then you're sleeping with me from now on, alright? Just don't wake me up, and it should work. Deal?" Tsume nodded vigorously, and Kisame chuckled, pulling Tsume closer. "Alright then. Go back to sleep . . . Tsume."

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Tsume was awakened by the sun streaming in through the window. There was nothing to block the determined rays, and they hit Tsume full in the face. She made a face and rolled over, pulling the covers up above her head. She would have groaned, complained, or cursed, but could do none of them. She settled for swearing mentally at the dastardly rays that seemed intent on making her morning life miserable and uncomfortable.

"This's the girl, un? She's pretty, un."

The unfamiliar voice jolted Tsume, and she sat bolt upright, eyes snapping open and looking blearily around her for the source. She found that it was a blond-haired person who was standing to Tsume's left but a little ahead of her, smiling down at her. At first, Tsume couldn't decide if the blond was male or female, seeing as the blond had a ponytail on top of its head and the golden hair had such a high gloss to it. But then the blond spoke again.

"You're Tsume, right, un?" the blond asked, proving itself to be male. Slowly, Tsume nodded, looking warily at the blond-haired man as he smiled at her. "Kisame was right, un," he said. "You are cute, un."

Tsume found herself blushing at the comment, and looked around the room. She saw Kisame, Itachi, and another person sitting around the taller of the two tables. They seemed to be eating something, and whatever it was, it smelled delicious. Kisame saw Tsume looking at him over Itachi's shoulder, and nodded at her. "Morning, onna," he said. Then he nodded at the blond standing over Tsume. "Meet Deidara, of Iwagakure."

"Formerly of Iwagakure, un," Deidara corrected, turning around to sit on the edge of the bed. "You know I renounced my village when—" Then Deidara looked over his shoulder at Tsume. "Eh, never mind, un." Tsume blinked curiously at Deidara, but then turned her attention to the other new arrival. He was looking at her as well, and Tsume saw that he was wearing a very odd mask. It was bright orange, seeming to swirl in to the singular circle around his right eye. His hair was black, and stuck up in multiple directions. He was wearing the same cloak as Itachi, Deidara, and Kisame, though at the moment, Kisame wasn't wearing his. Deidara must have followed Tsume's gaze. "Oh, that's Tobi, un," he said. "He's my partner, just like Kisame is Itachi's partner, un. Tobi and I work together, un."

"Or at least you try to," Kisame said, putting a bit of what Tsume saw was a fish-stuffed rice ball into his mouth. "Though you often end up fighting."

"It's all Tobi's fault, un," Deidara huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Tobi is a good boy!" Tobi protested, sounding quite childish.

Tsume blinked over at Tobi, tilting her head to the side. She looked questioningly at Kisame, a slightly lost expression in her eyes. Kisame just shrugged. Rolling her eyes, Tsume slid her feet to the floor and stood up, yawning again. Deidara stood up as well, looking Tsume up and down. Bandages and band-aids dotted her body, the heaviest bandaging on her shoulder.

"What happened, un?" Deidara asked, nodding at the bandaging.

Tsume hid her blush as she bowed to Deidara and then to Tobi. Then she moved towards the couch and lifted up the backpack. She looked at Kisame for approval, and he nodded. Bowing in the general direction of the ninjas, she moved as quickly as she dared, and forced herself not to slam the door behind her. Letting out a heavy sigh, Tsume leaned her back against the door and slid down, clutching her backpack to her chest.

"Oh, dear Kami!" she thought, hanging her head. "How am I supposed to deal with this?! I'm being surrounded by the most unusual people in the world! What did I ever do to deserve something like this?!" And then Tsume's hand rose to her shoulder where Kisame's bite was bandaged. Why had she reacted that way when Deidara had asked what had happened? Kisame had only bitten her to stop her senseless struggling, right? But then there had been that tenderness with which Kisame had cleaned and bandaged her wounds. What had made him act like that? Tsume shook her head and got quickly to her feet. "No, Tsume! Stop thinking and just move along! Just get dressed and get something to eat!"

Tsume dressed quickly, brushing her hair with the brush that was on the counter. Then she washed her face and scrubbed it clean with a washcloth, looking up at herself in the mirror. There were a still cuts on her face, and a dark bruise on her left cheek. There was also a band aid above her right eye. Tsume quickly looked away, stowing her black sleeping dress back in the backpack and closing the bag before slinging it over her shoulder.

Opening the bathroom door, Tsume stepped out, and was surprised to find that Tobi was standing only a foot away with a plate of food in his hands. He held it out to Tsume, and his tone suggested that he was smiling. "This is for Tsume-chan!" he said happily. "Tobi saved some for you because Tobi is a good boy!"

Tsume couldn't hold back the happy, grateful smile that spread across her face. She blushed as she bowed in thanks, straightening up to take the place from Tobi. She found it to hold three of the fish rice balls that Kisame had been eating, assorted vegetables, and a small cup of still steaming tea.

Again, Tsume bowed to Tobi, imagining him to smile as he spoke again. "There are some chopsticks on the table, and more tea if you want it," he said happily. "I tried to save some of the other fish, but Kisame-senpai ate it all." Tobi sighed and hung his head in defeat.

Tsume couldn't stop smiling. She decided that she liked Tobi. Directing her smile at Tobi, Tsume moved over to the table, bowing her head at both Kisame and Itachi as she lifted up a pair of chopsticks. Then she walked across the floor to sit down a the low table, letting out a tired sigh as she picked up her chopsticks and set her tea above her plate. Closing her eyes, Tsume clapped her hands together above her meal. "Let's eat!"

She then proceeded to tear into the food ravenously, unaware that she had been so hungry until now. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Tsume thought that even if she had been eating dried fish and plums it would have tasted just as good as what she was eating now. Having not eating for nearly two days and not noticing the hunger, Tsume ate every scrap of food on her plate. Once that everything had been devoured, Tsume was about to set down her chopsticks when someone brought three more fish rice balls, set on a small plate, into her line of sight. Tsume looked up to see Deidara holding the food out to her. He was smiling at her, and Tsume was too hungry to read into the expression. Once she had finally downed all the food, Tsume set down her chopsticks and lifted up the tea. She gulped it down all in one go, exhaling contentedly as she set the cup down.

"Looks like onna's got a healthy appetite," Kisame said with a light laugh.

Tsume sighed and hung her head. There he went, calling her 'onna' again. But then, she couldn't hope for too much in the current situation, could she? Tsume sighed again, lifting her head up to look out the window. The sun was still shining in but not so aggressively. "Well," she thought, "here begins another day. At least I slept through dawn this time."

"What's with that sad look, un?" Deidara asked, interrupting Tsume. "You can be depressed later, Tsume, but I wanna ask something, un." Tsume nodded respectfully for Deidara to continue. "Do you think that the best kinda art is the kind that explodes, un? That lasts only for a moment, un?"

Tsume blinked for a moment, mentally composing a response. Then she looked around for the pad of paper that she had been using earlier. Kisame tossed it and the pencil over from the table. Nodding her thanks, Tsume wrote out her answer to Deidara's question. "Well, yes, I suppose so. I've always loved fireworks, and there's a . . . I don't know how to explain it, but there's a real beauty to something that is so wonderful but only lasts for a moment. It shows that nothing in life can last for ever." Tsume smiled sadly. "It makes me happy and sad at the same time."

The next thing Tsume knew, she had been hug-tackled from the other side of the table by Deidara. "Finally, someone who understands what true art is, un!" he cried happily as he nuzzled his face comically against Tsume's own. "Now I am no longer alone, un!"

Tsume looked to Kisame imploringly for help, completely flustered and confused at Deidara's actions. "Leave the onna alone, Deidara," Kisame said with a sigh. Deidara ignored him completely and continued nuzzling Tsume's cheek happily. Kisame rose up and walked over to where Tsume was trapped beneath the eccentric ninja. He bent down and lifted Deidara up by the back of his red and black cloak. Unfortunately, Deidara hung stubbornly onto Tsume.

"No, she's gonna be my apprentice, un!" he protested.

Kisame glared at the blond. He put one arm around Tsume, and pulled her from Deidara's grip. Then he held Deidara at arm's length and Tsume possessively against his chest. "She's my prisoner," he said, giving Tsume a light squeeze. "Go find your own, Deidara."

"But, Kisame!" Deidara protested, reaching out childishly towards Tsume. "She understands what art is, un! I wanna teach her, un!"

"You can teach her all you want, Deidara," Itachi interrupted, instantly pulling all attention to himself. "Tsume-san will be learning from us as we travel. Kisame seems intent on keeping her, and training her will prevent her from being useless." Then Itachi turned to look directly at Tsume. "She has a photographic memory, which will speed up the learning process considerably."

Then Tobi joined the conversation. "Tsume-chan is a good girl if she's trying to be useful to everyone! Tobi will teach you all that he knows because Tobi is a good boy and wants to help, too!"

Itachi nodded. "Very well. We all shall teach you."

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A/N: Well, that was chapter four. You like? I had fun writing the part with Deidara and Tobi. I think Tsume's just trying to ignore the fact that she's a prisoner surrounded by ninja to keep from going into shock. She got bitten because she started freaking out earlier, and I don't think she wants a repeat of that. And she's been alone for most of her life, so no matter who they are, she's happy that she can be around people now. And her dream, I'm not sure if it is her mind trying to give an answer, or just me giving her a glimpse of the horrid past I put her through. (feels bad) Any ideas, please message me. But not too many, because my muse might go nuts. (It was bad enough the time she met Jiraya and started showing him her yaoi ideas, which, by the the way, she won't show to me.) Anyway, R & R!