Sorry readers, I know I've taken months to upload this chapter, but there have been a lot of things going on recently. Anyway, I hope that making it long and extra-dramatic will persuade you to forgive me. As always, read on, enjoy, and any criticisms or comments are more than welcome.

And no, as usual, I don't own Naruto.

…...

The phone call was as expected; full of squealing (predominantly from Ino), and 'Repeat exactly what happened, detail by detail,' from the ever-observant Tenten. I had to hang up after fifty-seven minutes of that; I felt a migraine coming on. I could blame it on a faulty connection later. That or Gaara. He often used to disconnect the phone if he felt like he'd had as much social interaction as he could take. Well, he used to…since meeting his twin-like best bud Sasori, social interaction didn't seem to be as problematic for my little brother.

Really, was I supposed to keep a journal of every moment of interaction between Hidan and I, dated and timed and all? I shook that thought away quickly, realising that Ino would probably think it a good idea. I swear, the girl needed gossip like oxygen; without it, she'd just wither.

Hence why hanging up the phone had seemed like such a good idea. I knew I'd get it in the neck later, from Ino especially; she didn't think hanging up mid-conversation was a good idea at all, but I just didn't want to think about it at that precise moment.

'I guess from the look on your face that you told the girlies,' Kankuro drawled, his fingers tapping against the mug of coffee he was holding. His expression was not one I could figure out; my eyebrows knitted together just trying to decipher it. I was used to my brother's ever-present smirk, or his babyish pout when he was pissed off, but now he sat perfectly calm; his face blank and void of emotion.

'You okay?' I ventured.

He nodded slowly 'Fine, Sis, absolutely fine.'

In my experience, when a usually perky guy like Kankuro says 'fine' with such a lack of emotion, they're about as far away from being fine as you can get. But I also knew from experience that going for the full-on pushy sister routine was not the best way to get your brother to open up to you.

Deep breath, Temari, approach with caution.

'So, why don't you tell that to your face?' I began. Humour usually worked pretty well with Kankuro. 'Seriously, Kuro, it's like that time you dropped your favourite doll in the toilet.'

Kankuro's eyes darkened visibly. 'That was a puppet, not a doll. And we don't talk about that.'

A smirked tugged at my lips. 'We'll be talking about it a lot more if you don't tell your dearest sister what's up.'

'Nothing, really,' he sighed, shaking his head. 'I'm going to bed. Night.'

I hadn't even had time to respond before he was gone. That was it, something was definitely wrong. Kankuro was my over-dramatic, freaky, weird, blunt but loveable brother. He was nothing if not emotional; seeing him so flat, so blank, was more disturbing than the time I'd accidentally run into Gaara as he was coming out of the shower; covered only by a small towel. We both agreed to never mention that moment again.

I was determined to find out what had got Kankuro into such a state, but not at that precise moment. I wasn't going to venture into the pit that was my brother's bedroom.

There was tomorrow for that.

…...

My next plan to corner Kuro and force him to tell me what was bothering him didn't work. He'd gone out before I could pounce; leaving nothing but a scrawl of 'Out, bye. Kuro x' lying on his bed. I wondered how long he'd spent on that note; probably not even a minute. He hadn't put any thought into it, and I felt bad just knowing that. Knowing that Kankuro didn't want me to know what was wrong. Every wall that had disintegrated with the arrival of our new neighbours seemed to be going back up twice as fast.

That was it then. Maybe they could help me get to the bottom of it.

To my surprise, when I crossed the street, it was Pain who greeted me at the door with a 'Hello, Temari, how would you be doing?'

He really did have a certain…way, didn't he?

'Oh, yeah, hi,' I nodded, 'You're not out with Kankuro?' It sounded like more of a statement than a question when I spoke.

He shook his head, his orange hair ruffling. 'It would appear not.' A smile found its way to his lips, 'He's with Deidara and Kisame. Hidan too, though I expect you knew that.'

'Yeah, sure,' I lied. Why hadn't Hidan said? It wasn't that it bothered me; I wasn't the possessive type, and truthfully, my boyfriend (the word was still so new) getting along with my brother was a lovely revelation, but I still felt a little out of the loop with neither Hidan nor Kankuro having bothered to tell me.

It was at this point that I realised Pain was wearing a pair of black latex gloves, and I was vaguely reminded of that creepy doctor from the Rocky Horror Show. I held in a shudder, but he seemed to sense my revulsion anyway, because he laughed briefly and indicated the gloves with a smirk.

'I was about to dye my hair,' he explained, 'Believe me, that stuff stains skin pretty badly.' He noticed my raised eyebrow and laughed again. 'You didn't think my hair was this orange naturally? Sorry to disappoint, Temari.'

I had to laugh at that. How, despite how camp anyone else would have looked wearing latex gloves and talking about hair dye, Pain still managed to look fiercely intimidating, and…manly. It would have been hilarious, but I had other things to think about.

'If Kankuro calls back here later, please, tell him to call me, or text me at least. Just to tell me he's ok.'

Pain nodded, perfectly serene. He reached out a hand, and I feared he was going to pat my arm with those awful gloves, but he stopped, almost winced and abruptly dropped his arm to his side. I was pretty relieved. He didn't seem like the touchy-feely sort of guy anyway.

'I will. He'll be okay, Temari, I assure you. We'll look after him.'

It was not what Pain said that resulted in a lump the size of a golf ball in my throat. It was the way he said it. It should have been sweet; being so concerned like that. It should've shown how great the friends my brothers had found were, but it did not. No, instead, all I could hear was the almost possessive tone behind the words. I knew what Pain was wanting to say:

We'll look after him. You don't need to.

I nodded somewhat shakily. 'Yeah, thanks.' I couldn't even recall if I'd said goodbye or not by the time I'd crossed back over to our house. I realised I didn't even care.

I couldn't work guys like Pain out. Even Hidan was infuriatingly hard to read, and we were…close. I could do without all the cryptic comments; they made my head feel like it was going to implode.

My legs somehow propelled me to the kitchen counter; I rested against it and closed my eyes, sliding down the cabinets until I was slumped on a heap on the kitchen floor. Couldn't Hidan come back right now, and tell me everything was going to be okay? Couldn't Kankuro magically feel much better? Of course not. That was just stupid, childish wishful thinking, and it wasn't going to get me anywhere.

It sounded crazy, but I couldn't understand what had got me into such a state. Sure, I didn't like to see my brother upset, but there was something else. It wasn't just that; I was used to dealing with the mood swings and problems like that; we used to laugh about it; how dysfunctional a family we were. But we could deal with it all.

It was different this time. There was something else I couldn't place. Like when you get that shiver that runs the length of your spine; and you know something bad has happened. That was how I felt.

'Temari,' came a voice. It was Gaara. I wondered how long he'd been standing there; looking at me wallowing. I couldn't even think how long I'd been sat there. 'Are you alright?'

I nodded weakly, pushing myself up into a standing position. 'Don't worry about me, Gaara, I'm fine. Just hoping Kankuro is okay. But I'm sure he'll get back soon; Pain said he'd get him to call when he did.'

'Temari-'

'I mean, I don't know where they've gone but he'll be fine. Whatever they're doing, wherever the hell they are, I'm sure he'll be fine.'

'Temari, you don't know,' Gaara sounded almost in pain. 'Just listen.'

I glanced up to meet Gaara's eyes, watching as he withdrew his hands back inside the sleeves of his striped jumper. He looked so small, so childlike. I hadn't seen him like that in so long; it wasn't a pleasant sight.

'What is it?'

He guided me to the living room, stopping at the large window at the front of our house. The perfect view across the street.

'Look, Temari.'

Look at what? I was about to ask, but then I realised. Across the street, the windows were flung open wide. I could pick out Kisame's blue skin, the blonde flash that was Deidara, and Hidan leaning out the window to smoke a cigarette. Kankuro's spiky hair could just be seen in the distance.

'How long?'

Gaara knew exactly what I meant. 'There all day, from what Sasori says.'

Pain had lied. I felt so stupid; they were all in on it; and there I was, the last to know. But why? Why had they felt the need to cook up some elaborate lie? What could have been so important neither my brother nor my boyfriend could tell me?

'Do you know what they've been doing?'

Gaara shook his head, red hair falling messily into his eyes. 'No. Sasori invited me to go, but I didn't feel so great, so I just stayed upstairs.'

I knew he was telling the truth; lying was one of few skills Gaara hadn't mastered. He seemed to be the only one.

'They're probably getting drunk or high on whatever they can get hold of,' I decided. 'Typical teenage brother stuff.' I glanced at Gaara. 'Should I go over there? Bring him back?'

He shrugged. 'Perhaps…I don't know,' I could swear I saw him smile, 'I usually leave the mothering to you.'

I nodded. 'True. And I guess the motherly thing to do is to drag that brother of ours back home, right? You wanna come with me, see the… guys?'

'No,' he said quietly, 'Like I said; I'm not feeling too good. I don't want…I don't want Sasori to see me like this.'

I didn't bother asking what Gaara meant by that. I couldn't have two brothers on the rampage; one was quite enough.

The door swung open as soon as I reached the house; Kisame was standing behind it, grinning broadly. I attempted my best smile; Kisame was always so smiley it was hard not to, but I couldn't help but feel seriously pissed off. Seemed everyone was having a good time but me.

'Came to see Hidan?' he smiled, gesturing for me to follow him.

'My brother, actually,' I replied, keeping my voice as steady as I could.

'N'aww, poor little Hidan in the doghouse, huh?' he chuckled, arms trailing across the walls.

'Something like that,' I muttered, as he led me to the upstairs hallway. He pointed to the first bedroom on the left.

'Your brother's in there. Half the guys too, so don't blame me if in-the-doghouse-Hidan's in there.' As if on cue, Pain wondered out at that moment. He gave a calm; 'Hello', but I didn't even meet his eyes; I knew if I did I'd just end up screaming at him.

Of course, Hidan was in there. He had to be, didn't he? Still, he wasn't my highest priority right now. I glanced at Kankuro, lying on the bed. His expression was pained.

'Temari…' he sounded like he was going to pass out. I moved to sit on the bed next to him. To my surprise, he didn't smell like booze or weed or cigarettes. So what the hell had they been doing?

'C'mon, Kankuro, time to go home.'

He sighed quietly, but didn't argue like I'd expected him to. Instead, he offered me a hand so I could pull him up. 'Thanks.'

'Temari,' it was Hidan's deep voice, 'Not going to say hello?'

I wanted to be mad at him, to just leave him pouting in the corner, but I couldn't. I hated the hold he had on me, but I still got butterflies just looking at him. I patted Kankuro's back gently; he practically flinched.

'Go home, Kuro. I'll be back in a little while.'

He nodded weakly, taking one quick glance at Hidan before padding out of the room.

I resumed my seat on the bed, Hidan joining me; for once, wearing a shirt.

'What's up, Temari?'

I sighed. It would sound so stupid if I told him. I'd just sound like those awful needy girlfriends on crappy TV sitcoms. 'Oh, Hidan, why didn't you tell me where you were? Don't you like me any more?' Instead, I changed the subject; a speciality of mine.

'You're wearing a shirt.'

He nodded, 'Yeah, so I am. You like it?'

I had to admit, he looked gorgeous in the smart plum shirt he wore, sleeves pushed up to his elbows. It contrasted so well against his pale skin. Still, it was odd to see. It was a pretty hot day; and he was wearing a shirt. The guy didn't seem to like clothes in cold weather, but on a hot day like this, to be wearing a shirt. It seemed wrong.

As I looked back up at him, I could see the thin sheen of sweat on his face. He pushed a hand through his hair, exhaling deeply to try and cool himself down.

'If you're so hot, take it off.'

He smirked devilishly; and I realised what I had said. 'Yeah, you'd like that. Seriously, Temari, you've gotta stop checking me out all the time. I could call it sexual harassment.'

I knew he was joking; the smirk assured me of that. He pulled me over so we were laying face to face, side by side on the bed; Hidan's long legs dangling over the edge. There was a look on his face I couldn't read; he was smiling gently but his eyes weren't bright like they usually were. If it had been anyone but Hidan, I'd have said it was fear in his eyes. But Hidan and fear was such a weird combination it was laughable.

He brought his arms around me, placing a gentle kiss on my lips. It was brief, too brief, but sweet nevertheless. I brought up one of my hands to rest on his cheek; kissing him softly. I could feel his lip ring against my lips as he coaxed open my mouth, his hands in my hair. I pulled myself closer to him, my fingertips tracing his chest through the thin shirt, over onto his ribcage.

'Aargh, shit!' he groaned, and I pulled my hand away instantly.

'Hidan…what is it? Don't you want to hold me?' I didn't care if I sounded stupid or needy; I just wanted to know what was wrong. Why was everyone in such a weird mood?

Hidan sighed shakily. 'Of course I want to hold you, seriously, who the hell wouldn't? Just, it's my ribs. I…fell over the other night. Got a bit drunk, smashed my ribs on the stairs. Stings like a bitch.'

'Oh,' I nodded, 'Maybe you should see a doctor. Is it really bad?' My hands reached for the buttons on his shirt.

'No, Temari, don't, I can explai-'

It was too late for that. His left ribcage was wrapped in what seemed to be a plastic film, and I knew what that meant before my eyes even picked out the design. The tattoo. He'd got it. It was a simple cloud, but the outline, unusually, was red, not black. It would have been beautiful. But I couldn't see the beauty knowing he'd broken our promise.

'When?' I began, trying to stop the tears in my eyes from spilling over.

'Today,' his voice was hoarse as he replied. 'Pain did them. He's fully qualified.'

Well, that explained those creepy gloves. But wait…them?

'Them? Is there more than one?' I asked, searching his torso for any other tattoos. I couldn't see any.

His head was bowed, he spoke so quietly it was unnerving. 'Not on me.'

'What, Kisame? Deidara? I thought you said the others already had their tattoos…I don't…' suddenly it dawned on me, 'No, not…Kankuro.'

Hidan didn't answer. He didn't need to. I jumped off the bed, glancing at him as he sat, hunched over, head in hands.

'Firstly,' I screamed, the tears falling thick and fast 'You broke our promise! You said you wouldn't get it, you promised me, and now, here we are. And then,' I took in a shallow breath, 'You have the audacity to sit back and watch them brand my little brother! And you expect me to be okay with that?'

'No,' he whispered, 'I don't expect anything of you. You don't deserve to suffer like that. I'm sorry, Temari. I wish I could have saved myself; I should never have pulled you into this.'

I wanted to tell him to stop; it was all lies, all stupid lies.

And then he said it; and I wanted him to feel how I felt. I wanted to stamp on his heart. I wish he could've waited until I left the moment later, but he'd already said it.

'Temari, I love you.'