I may be getting ahead of myself with this one. there's still lots to do... i think. anyway, i like to sometimes end with a question, so here it is. id deidara got rabies, would that affect his art?

Disclaimer: if it's original, it's mine. Umibe for example.

Lost in the rain

"There." Kakuzu said.

"Thanks, un." Deidara replied, stretching his arm out. Kakuzu had just handed over the Nibi & was about to head out to do some bounty hunting when he remembered that the artist needed his arm back.

"Deidara-kun?"

"Hm?"

Deidara looked up to see Temari looking nervously at him.

"What's up, un?" he asked, resting his arm on his knee.

"When you're done here, rest up." Gaara told Temari. He left with Kakuzu, who was putting his cloak back on.

"So what now?" Gaara asked.

"Hidan & I are going bounty hunting." Kakuzu replied, "You're welcome to join us as long as you keep Hidan occupied."

"Alright." Gaara replied, "My sister has business with Deidara, so Kankuro & I have time to kill."

Kakuzu nodded & headed off to find Hidan, who was sharpening his scythe by the road outside the hideout, Kankuro was sitting beside him. Hidan looked up at them as he heard the door close.

"Hey, you guys tagging along again?" he asked, "That's cool, as long as you keep the bastard occupied."

"Shut up." Kakuzu growled.

"WHY DON'T YOU MAKE ME, BITCH?!"

"Calm down!" Gaara said, "Fighting an immortal opponent is a waste of time."

Both continued to glare at each other, but at least the yelling had stopped.

"Kakuzu-san, which bounty are you looking for?" Gaara asked.

"A former member of the Twelve Guardian Ninja, the head monk of Fire Temple, Chiriku."

"Wait a minute." Hidan butted in, "We're attacking a temple? You want to go to hell or something?"

"There is a thirty million ryō bounty on his head." Kakuzu replied. Hidan groaned. Kankuro whistled.

"Thirty mil?" he repeated, "Guy could buy a lotta cheese with that."

"That's right." Kakuzu said, "If you make yourself useful, I'll give you a cut."

"Done."

They made their way through Fire Country, heading straight for the Fire Temple. Gaara & Kankuro didn't speak much on the way; there was too much risk of setting Kakuzu or Hidan off.

"Damn this place is hard to get around!" Hidan complained, "Who builds a temple in the middle of a forest anyway?"

"Monks who don't want people trespassing on their holy ground." Kakuzu replied.

"Tch. Damn monks. Don't they know Jashin-sama is the only real god?"

"No he's not. Gaara-sama is." Umibe piped up.

"WHO THE HELL SAID THAT?!" Hidan demanded, whipping his head round.

"Who are you talking about?" Gaara asked, trying to avoid a situation.

"Gah, never mind." Hidan grumbled. Gaara let out a sigh of relief. He really needed to speak with Umibe about what he shouldn't say around religious extremists.

"How much further is there to go?" Kankuro asked.

"We're close. Roughly another mile & we'll be there." Kakuzu replied.

Kankuro nodded.

"Hey Gaara." He said, catching up with his younger brother, "Why'd we leave Temari back there?"

"She wishes to speak with Deidara." Gaara replied, "Lately she's been developing feelings for him."

"What?!" Kankuro exclaimed, "No way is that gonna happen!"

Gaara frowned, "Why not?"

Kankuro groaned, "Am I the only one that actually talks to these guys?"

He then sighed.

"Never mind." He said, "You'll probably find out from Temari anyway."

Gaara stared at Kankuro for a second longer before turning away. For what possible reason would Deidara turn Temari down for?

"Is that it?" Hidan asked.

They glanced up ahead, where a large temple was sitting. There was a large sign reading 'Fire Temple' on it.

"No." Kakuzu replied, "You go on ahead, we'll rest here. Let us know if you find it."

"Alright." Hidan replied, walking ahead. Gaara looked up at Kakuzu, who surprisingly enough, winked at Gaara.

Hidan was quite a way away. He was about to pass the sign when he spotted it. After studying it for a few seconds, or perhaps just tryingto read it, he realized he'd been had.

"HEY BASTARD!" He screamed, "THINK YOU'RE FUNNY?!"

Kakuzu was laughing silently, his shoulders bucking as the Jashinist fumed. When they caught up with Hidan, the guy looked seriously pissed.

"I'm gonna sacrifice so many people." Hidan grumbled, heading up to the main gates, which were closed. It looked like it would take a great deal of force to break the door down.

"Excuse me." Kakuzu said, pushing to the front & rolling back his sleeve. His fist turned a dark shade, it looked like coal. He threw his fist & completely obliterated the door.

Inside, monks were rushing to positions. They all formed in front of the main building & faced the intruders. Hidan seemed to relish the attention.

"Hey! I don't suppose I could convert any of you to Jashinism?" he asked, in a very charismatic way.

"We only want Chiriku, there is no need for any of you to die." Kakuzu said.

"Stand down." Came a voice from the main building. From the shadows appeared another monk. Like the others, he was bald. But unlike the others, he bore the sash of the Twelve Guardian Ninja. He walked through the other monks, standing in front of them.

"Chiriku-san." Kakuzu said, "There is a five million ryō bonus if we bring you in alive."

"Trespassers are not welcome in this place." Chiriku warned, "We are peaceful people, but if you attempt to use force we will resist. Please leave now."

"Then you will not come with us?" Kakuzu asked, "That is unfortunate."

Hidan grinned & whipped out his scythe, dashing forward. Kakuzu ran at Chiriku as well, both his hands darkening. Chiriku took on a stance with one hand placed in a seal, the other with the palm of his hand facing the ground. He closed his eyes & focused. Gaara's brow rose as he saw a strange figure appear behind the monk, a many armed woman looking kind and forgiving.

But suddenly, Hidan & Kakuzu were thrown back as ethereal fists flew at them. The woman had changed into an enraged beast; Chiriku's calm expression had changed to match the beast-man.

"Ow!" Hidan complained, "That hurt, fucker! Hey, stay out of this. I'm gonna sacrifice that bastard!"

"Very well." Kakuzu said, his fists returning to their normal colour, "But at least leave his head, we'll need him to be identifiable."

"Yeah, I know." Hidan replied, smirking.

"We'll take care of the rest." Kakuzu said to Gaara & Kankuro.

"Very well." Gaara replied. He stood forward, surveying the other monks, who were poised & ready for battle.

His cloak started to move independently of him. It changed shape & size, expanding & constricting, until it was something else entirely. A black figure with red clouds on its body had itself wrapped around Gaara's right leg, torso & left arm, with its head not far from Gaara's, facing the monks, who where surveying the monster in fear.

"Umibe," Gaara said, "Attack."

* * * * *

The fire temple was in ruins. Stone crumbled & wood smouldered. Corpses were everywhere, all the monks were dead. Well, almost. Gaara had decided to keep quiet about that one. Kakuzu hurled Chiriku's body over his shoulder.

"The nearest bounty station is quite far off." He said, "We'd better hurry if we are to cash him in before the sealing of the Nibi begins."

Hidan was lying on the ground, on top of a blood seal, with a blade through his gut.

"Tough luck bitch, I'm nowhere near done with this!" he replied, blood dribbling from his mouth.

"I'll stay with him until he is finished." Gaara said, "We will catch up with you."

Kakuzu nodded, "Don't take long."

He & Kankuro left, Gaara staying behind.

"Gaara-sama!"

Gaara turned around to see Umibe with all sorts of talismans & other peculiar possessions hanging from his teeth & sticking out of his body.

"Er... Umibe, you know I can't possibly carry all that." Gaara said. Umibe looked at Gaara with worry.

"Sorry Gaara-sama, please forgive me!" he exclaimed, bowing down.

"It's fine. Just see if you can detect chakra on any of those. Keep the ones that do, I'll check them out later. Leave the rest."

"Hai, Gaara-sama!" Umibe replied. Gaara looked at Hidan, who was laying still.

"How much longer do you have to do this?" Gaara asked.

"Not much longer." Hidan replied, smirking, "I usually take my time to piss off the bastard."

"I see."

Umibe was studying the amulets closely.

"Anything?" Gaara asked. Umibe shook his head sadly, "That's fine. It's unlikely that monks would carry anything valuable."

A little while later, Hidan pulled the sword out of himself.

"Alright, I'm done here." He said, putting his cloak back on.

"Umibe. Come on." Gaara said. Umibe dropped the talismans & dispersed, resuming the form of Gaara's cloak. They left the destroyed temple, heading in the direction Gaara had seen Kakuzu head off. It didn't take long to catch up to him & Kankuro. Kakuzu looked back as he heard Gaara & Hidan.

"I thought you were 'nowhere near done'?" he said. Hidan shrugged.

"I decided to do the short version for a change." He replied. Kakuzu growled & continued on his way. Kankuro smirked to Hidan, who smirked back.

After two days of trekking, Kakuzu stopped outside a public restroom.

"What? Need a squirt?" Hidan asked. Kakuzu shook his head.

"This is the exchange point." He said, stepping in. The rest followed him.

"God, this place reeks!" Kankuro exclaimed, placing his hand over his nose. Kakuzu stepped over to one of the urinals & tapped on a wall. The wall fell back, revealing a secret room behind. A bald, scarred man appeared.

"Please, come this way." He said, retreating into the shadows. Kakuzu followed him with the others behind. Inside, the room was filled with lockers along a wall. The stench here was even greater. The man opened one of the lockers & pulled out a large metal tray. Kakuzu dropped Chiriku's body on it & looked up at the man expectantly.

"Damn, I don't know if it's the corpses or the piss, but the smell in here is fucking gross!" Hidan complained, "I'm going outside."

Hidan left as the scarred man pulled out a larger copy of the bingo book & began flicking through it. He settled on a page & looked Chiriku up & down.

"That sash, there's no denying it." He said, "You caught a good bounty, Kakuzu-san."

"I know." Kakuzu replied.

The man turned & walked to a table against another wall, picked up a briefcase & placed it on the tray in front of Kakuzu, who opened it & began counting the money inside.

"Here." He said, tossing a couple of bundles to Gaara & Kankuro. Gaara looked through his wad. There was one million ryō inside.

"Thanks man!" Kankuro said, flicking his money.

Kakuzu continued to count as Gaara stepped out of the room & into the restroom.

He heard a sound from outside, like metal hitting metal. He pressed himself up against the wall by the door of the restroom & glanced outside.

A Shinobi wearing a Konoha flak vest stood with his back to him. Hidan was a few metres away, his scythe in his hand. Gaara silently stepped back towards the hidden room.

"We've got company." He said. Kakuzu & Kankuro looked up at him.

"What kind of company?" Kakuzu asked.

"The Konoha kind."

Kakuzu closed the briefcase & headed for a trapdoor.

"I'm using this, is that ok?" he asked.

"Yeah, fine." The scarred man replied, "Just make sure no-one sees it."

Gaara & Kankuro followed Kakuzu as he climbed up a ladder.

Silently, Kakuzu lifted open a hatch. He climbed through & closed it after Gaara & Kankuro were out. A few metres in front of them, another Konoha Shinobi crouched with his back to them. Kakuzu walked up behind the Shinobi, his fist darkening. He roared as he threw his fist at the Shinobi, who managed to dodge just in time, leaping down to his comrade. Two other Konoha Shinobi were holding blades impaled into Hidan. Kakuzu, Gaara & Kankuro leapt to his side. The two broke off, joining their comrades. Gaara looked at the Shinobi from the rooftop.

"Shikamaru-kun, it's been a long time." Gaara said. Shikamaru stared at Gaara, a look of understanding on his face.

"So you really did join Akatsuki." He said, "Naruto was right."

"I'm sorry I deceived you."

Hidan glared at Gaara.

"Why the hell are you apologising to these bastards?!" he demanded.

"You're not getting nostalgic, are you?" Kakuzu asked, dangerously.

"Not at all." Gaara replied, "I'm just a courteous person. I wronged this person unnecessarily, so I am apologising."

Shikamaru glanced at Hidan & Kakuzu. Gaara knew what he was thinking.

"And the rest of what Naruto said?" he asked, "Is that true as well?"

"It is."

Kakuzu looked to Gaara.

"They know?" he asked. Gaara nodded.

"I see... so there's only one way this is going."

Shikamaru formed his hand sign & his shadow leapt forward, aimed at Gaara & his comrades. Each dodged them easily, landing apart from each other. Gaara & Kankuro were on one side, Kakuzu & Hidan were on the other.

"I'll leave them to you." Gaara said, walking away.

* * * * *

"It is time to seal the Nibi." Pein said, through the rings.

"I'm ready." Gaara replied. He & Kankuro had returned to the hideout they'd left Temari at just in time for Pein's announcement. He found the highest point, sat down & channelled chakra into his ring. He opened his eyes & found himself in a cavern, standing on his designated finger of the sealing statue. On the ground between the two arms was Yugito, lying unconscious in the dirt.

"God damn it!" Hidan complained, "I almost had those guys! You stopped us just to seal the Nibi?!"

"Without Sasori-san, this will take longer." Pein said, before glancing at the spot where Konan should have been, "That, as well as the other absence means that this will take between three & four days."

"You still aren't here?" Gaara thought, "What are you doing?"

"Three or four days?" Hidan repeated, "It's raining over here!"

"Shut up." Kakuzu ordered. Hidan grunted.

"I didn't even get the chance to tell those godless idiots about Jashinism." He muttered.

"Konoha is far from godless." Pein said, "They view the generation before them as heavenly beings & follow the Will of Fire. Although you could say it's just another excuse to fight."

"Are you making fun of me?!" Hidan demanded, "Comparing Jashin-sama to a bunch of old geezers?!"

"No. I'm not trying to belittle your reason for fighting." Pein replied, "Remember, I'm in the same boat as you."

His eyes narrowed.

"Your reasons don't matter at all." He continued, "Religion, Ideals, Resources, Land, Grudges, Existence or Just Because."

Gaara listened closely up to this point. He was familiar with this speech, having received it himself once. But Pein had missed out a very important detail.

* * * * *

With the Nibi now sealed, Gaara stopped channelling chakra into his ring & stood.

After briefly stretching his arms & legs, which were very stiff by now, he looked for his siblings.

He found them outside, sitting on boulder. They looked up as they spotted him.

"Hey, I didn't have time to ask..." he said. Temari gave a small smile.

"It's ok." She replied, "He turned me down."

Gaara frowned.

"Why would he do that?" he asked. Temari slid off the boulder & was leaning against it.

"He said that there were things he needed to do before he even considered a relationship. He thought it would be unfair to me if I had to come second to those things."

"What's so important to him that he would turn you down?" Gaara asked, becoming agitated.

"He hates Itachi." Kankuro replied, "He wants to kill him more than anything."

"To kill Itachi? I see." If Deidara were to fight Itachi like that, he would surely die. Maybe it was better that he turned Temari down, to save her the pain of losing him. He suddenly remembered something.

"We're going to Amegakure." He said, "There is someone I have to find."

"Who is it?" Kankuro asked, "Another Jinchūriki?"

Gaara shook his head.

"A bounty? A new recruit?"

Again, Gaara shook his head. He felt Temari's eyes on him. He looked at her, but immediately averted his gaze.

"I knew it." She whispered, "Those things you said..."

"What? What's going on?" Kankuro asked, confused.

"It's nothing." Gaara replied, "Let's go."

Kankuro dropped from the rock.

"Alright then-" he began, looking up. But no-one was there. He looked to his left & saw Gaara & Temari running.

"Hey, wait! Is this person really that important?!" he asked, running after them.

A few hours later, they were up amongst the trees, leaping from branch to branch.

"Gaara." Temari called out. Gaara slowed down to allow her to catch up.

"I was right before, wasn't I?" she asked.

Gaara looked away. He really didn't want to have this talk.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He replied.

"...huh? But... you made it sound as if..."

"There is someone in Amegakure that I need to find. It is vital that I find that person as soon as possible."

Temari fell silent. Gaara knew what she was thinking, but this wasn't something he wanted to talk about.

"Temari..."

She looked up at Gaara, her brow raised.

"If such a thing were ever to happen, I'd rather that person find out first, ok?"

Temari stared for a while before nodding.

"Ok." She replied.

Kankuro glanced from one sibling to the other. He really had no clue what they were talking about.

The rest of the journey passed quietly. They stopped about five hundred yards away from the main gates of Amegakure. From what they could see, the conflict was over & repairs had begun. But there was a problem. It was raining over there.

"Damn." Gaara said, "I would rather he didn't find out about this."

He crouched down & surveyed the village.

"We need a way in." He said, "To get by undetected & remain that way."

"We could try a Shunshin." Temari offered.

"No, we would still hit the rain."

"What about a diversion?" Kankuro asked, "I send my puppets in, Temari uses her fan to blow the rain away & you use Suna Bunshins."

"He can tell by how the rain lands the shape of what is there. He'd single us out easily." Gaara replied, "There's only one way, but it's risky."

"What?" both his siblings asked.

"We use Umibe to dig a tunnel."

They blinked.

"A- a tunnel?" Temari repeated, nervously. Gaara nodded.

"Umibe." He called.

"Hai, Gaara-sama!" Umibe replied. He shifted to his normal form & burrowed into the ground. Temari looked down into the hole. She flinched & stepped back.

"No way am I going down there!" she exclaimed.

"What's wrong?" Kankuro asked.

"What's wrong?!" Temari repeated, hysterically, "A small dark tunnel underground, what's not wrong?!"

"Fine, you stay here." Gaara said, dropping into the tunnel, Kankuro following.

"Be careful!" Temari cried after them.

Gaara & Kankuro crawled through the tunnel blindly. Umibe could be heard not too far ahead, still digging. They travelled for a few minutes, Gaara stopping every now & then to figure out what position they were in.

"Umibe, up." Gaara ordered. The sandworm gave a muffled response as he began to ascend. They broke through the surface & found themselves in a basement. Umibe dispersed & formed back into Gaara's cloak as he climbed out of the hole, Kankuro following closely.

"Where are we?" Kankuro asked quietly. Gaara looked around.

"We are in a tavern, not far from the tower." He replied, heading for a wooden staircase. At the top of the stairs, a door was open very slightly. Gaara peered through the opening.

"Good." He said, "They aren't open."

As he said this, two young women appeared from a staircase leading to the upper floors. They appeared to work here, judging by their tied back hair & the aprons they were wearing. One headed over to the bar, pulled out a cloth & began polishing it, humming a tune to herself. The other grabbed a box & headed to the basement.

"Distract her." Gaara said, pushing Kankuro through the door. He stumbled out, shocking the young women.

"Sir!" the one at the bar exclaimed, "What were you doing back there?"

"Wha-? Ow, my head!" Kankuro said, rubbing his scalp, "Don't yell so loud!"

"Did you fall asleep back there?" the other asked, sternly, "Well you can get out!"

She grabbed Kankuro by the shirt & ushered him to the front door. Before she got the chance to open it, Gaara Subaku Shunshined to the one at the bar & knocked her out. Kankuro did the same to the other.

"Ok, they're both out." Kankuro said, "Uh... why'd we do that?"

"He knows how many people are here, but not the identity of each individual." Gaara replied, "Therefore, if there are two less people walking the streets, then we can walk outside undetected."

"Oh, smart!" Kankuro said, "But what if someone in the streets recognises us?"

"That's why we will disguise ourselves as these girls."

Kankuro looked down at the girls, a perverted grin on his face.

"Kankuro, control yourself." Gaara ordered.

Kankuro shook his head, "Right, sorry."

They both turned into a Henge of each girl before stepping out into the streets. Apparently the girls were popular, as they received quite a bit of attention from the people around them.

"Hey!"

"How's it going?"

"Sorry about the glass!"

They did their best to respond in a manner that wouldn't earn suspicion, but they were both uncomfortable by the large amount of male attention.

As they drew closer to the tower, the amount of civilians decreased & the number of Shinobi increased. Gaara glanced up to the top of the tower.

"Shit."

He could have sworn he had just seen Pein at the top of the tower. But as soon as he looked, Pein disappeared. Was he onto them?

"Hey," Kankuro muttered, "How are we gonna get inside looking like this?"

"Leave that to me." Gaara replied.

"Damn, now what?" he thought. They walked around the tower, pretending to be lost. Luckily, Ame Shinobi were ignorant, so no-one tried to help them. Gaara nudged Kankuro as he spied something. Scaffolding was set up to repair a hole in the base of the tower. Opposite the scaffolding was a store selling ninja tools.

"If we can get in undetected, we can drop the henge." Gaara said, quietly. Kankuro nodded & followed him into the store.

"May I help you young ladies?" asked the storekeeper.

"Yes sir." Gaara said, thinking quickly. He scanned the shelves, "You don't happen to sell soldier pills, do you?"

The storekeeper frowned at the two.

"You don't look like Shinobi." He said, "For what reason could you want something like that?"

"Oh, you're right." Gaara replied, "It's our cousin who's the Shinobi. Father wants to make him food for his mission to help revitalise him."

The storekeeper stroked his beard.

"You know I can't sell to anyone without a licence, right?" he asked.

"We know!" Gaara said, brightly. He was glad that the other Akatsuki members weren't here to listen to him speak like this, "We're just here to check!"

"Well as long as you know." The storekeeper replied, "I think I keep them in the back. Hold on, let me check."

As soon as he was gone, Gaara turned to Kankuro.

"Lets go." He said, in his normal voice.

The two of them turned & eyed the crowd. They waited for the correct moment, ran through the street & leapt through the hole. They got in without anyone seeing them on either side.

"There is a chance he noticed that." Gaara said, dropping the Henge, "So we must hurry."

They were standing in an empty hallway, void of the slightest decoration. Gaara opened a door & turned to his brother, who was busy checking himself out.

"Kankuro, I swear to god." Gaara growled.

"Sorry." Kankuro replied, dropping his Henge. The two of them went through the door & found a staircase leading down.

"If my hunch is correct." Gaara said, "Then the person will be down here somewhere."

They travelled down to the bottom of the staircase to find another hallway. There were pipes running across the walls, all heading in the same direction.

"Hey!"

Gaara whipped his head round to find a Shinobi staring at him.

"You look to be one of Pein-sama's lieutenants, but no-one is allowed near the prisoner." The Shinobi said.

"'Lieutenant'?" Gaara repeated, "You insult me. I am far above your feeble ranks. I have seen Pein-sama's face, what are you in comparison?"

The Shinobi flinched under Gaara's glare.

"I'm sorry sir, but those are Pein-sama's orders."

Gaara sighed.

"I understand that you are just doing your job." He said, "But I am above those orders. Now where is the prisoner?"

The guard seemed troubled.

"Uh... just follow the pipes." He replied, turning & walking away.

Gaara did just that. He listened closely & heard the sound of running water. These pipes were in constant use. For what?

"Hey, Gaara?" Kankuro whispered, "What do we do when we find this person?"

"We'll cross that bridge when it comes." Gaara replied.

The sound of running water was growing louder, turning into a dull roar. The hall ended at a door, the pipes passing through the surrounding wall.

"Please be there." Gaara thought, pressing his hand against the door, "Please be behind this door."