Stage Twenty Four: Findings

Once again I found myself being whisked away by Hidan to the Akatsuki compound. He actually let me see where we were going, and once we got there, I realized the compound was more of a city of its own than a small subdivision of one. I had never been allowed to venture into its streets, thus I never got a feel for how big it actually was. It must have shown, as Hidan swore something about it being obnoxious and obvious to anyone who knew what they were looking for. Stuck out like a sore thumb, really.

Rejoining with the various members was not as tedious as expected. Sasori was still rather bruised around his ego, but time heals all wounds, and time wasn't something he was too short on. Kisame wasn't there to greet me, but Itachi told me he had good reason to miss my arrival. Kakuzu handed me my backpack of belongings to add to my other bag; the more luggage I had, the less likely I could take off without notice, I suppose. It wasn't planned on their part, but it worked out that way in the end.

Deidara had not returned from wherever it was that he was hiding. I had anxiously searched each face for the one I did not know, only to be disappointed in his absence. I had a serious bone to pick, once he returned. I knew then that patience would suit me in this endeavour. There was plenty I could do whilst I waited.

His royal Pein debriefed me, choosing to treat me informally as one of his own to command. Hidan sat with me through the entire hour, as he needed it just as well. He kept the conversation interesting, choosing to tell his version of things in a very colourful manor. There were references to things I was sure never happened, and he chose to overlook our various 'tender moments,' which was just as well. I didn't want the awkwardness of being seen as hovering in the limbo of two members' possession. Surely, fights would break out, dominance declared, and blood shed all around. I didn't know who would have fared worse, Itachi, or Hidan. Personally, I didn't want to find out. If what Hidan had told me was true about Pein pitting the members against one another, and ultimately against me, that titbit would be the leverage he needed to uproot me from my only safety here.

The days went by in a hazy manor, rain drizzling throughout. I wandered the streets, looking for Deidara's little portion of the city. I was never alone, though the silence was thick enough for me to feel as though my tailing shadow wasn't really there. It wasn't long that I learned where each member situated himself in the city, based on the reactions they gave me whenever I stumbled on their segment of the vast compound.

Once I got inside Deidara's home, I noticed immediately that he was impeccably neat. It almost drove me crazy. Everything had its own little place, every angle was exact, and every room was dustless, even though he had been gone for who knows how long; a week or two, if he never returned from Otogakure. It was nerve racking to me, piecing this into what little I know about him.

I took a deep breath. His cleanliness didn't matter. I was here for a reason, and I wasn't leaving until I had what I came for. The state of his living quarters might make things a tad more difficult for me, but surely he had to leave a single strand of hair somewhere.

There had to be some poetic justice to what happened that night. Kakuzu was babysitting me, and had decided to wait outside. He didn't care if I snuck out the back, and if he did, he did it half assed and sent a clone to guard the rear, which would just rather be doing something else. I was free to search the house for as long as I wanted. He wouldn't complain; he would just prefer if he could do his own thing. I wouldn't have been surprised if it were two clones guarding me in there.

The living room was void of all signs of life. It was as though he never set foot in that room, ever. I ransacked the place, pulling cushions from the couch, moving the bulkier furniture. I couldn't find one strand.

I moved on to his bathroom. I expected a little less clean, but it was even more so. Even the toilet was sparkling (yes, around the base, too). I couldn't find one strand of hair, not even in his brush. He kept the place stripped clean. There was nothing in the shower clog, or on the bathroom rugs.

I didn't even bother with the kitchen. I knew that if his living room and his bathroom were that clean, then there was no hope for me finding it in the kitchen. Dining room was passed by in the same manor. There was only one hope left for me.

I slid the shoji open to what had to be his bedroom. The bed was dishevelled, which I found odd. I didn't look too closely at it, no. I dropped to the floor and swiftly began searching along the baseboards and under the dresser for fallen and forgotten lengths of hair; to find nothing. This man was meticulous, I could tell. He was cunning, too, if he was this thorough with his cleaning.

I searched everything, until there was only one place left to look: his bed. It was the only hint of humanity in this shrine to the prowess of clean. It was lumpy, mashed up, and bunched in strange places. I scanned the bed for hairs, and it revealed a slender strand to me, which I tenderly picked up.

I would have turned and left then and there, except the strand was still attached to Deidara's head.

I then realized that what I mistook for dishevelled blankets and a very messy bed was actually his concealed form, lying in rest from the journey he embarked on a week ago. I also learned he tended to sleep entirely covered, head to toe, under the blankets. If I wasn't careful, I would wake him, and not knowing what kind of temperament he tended towards, I assumed the worst.

I was in a mental battle with myself. I needed the hair to be certain it was him in my chamber, but I also needed to avoid pissing him off long enough to do the work in peace. I needed to think the decision out, but time was just not on my side. He stirred in his sleep, causing me to release the strand before tension gathered.

He blinked, looking at me with a confused eye. "Can I help you, hmm?" His voice was tired, his hair was messy.

I decided to go all in with this. I put on my best poker face and answered, "I need your hair."

He sat up, the blankets pooling around his shirtless abdomen. His skin was pale in the moonlight. "I really don't think I heard you right. Did you say you wanted my hair?"

I rolled my eyes. He seemed to be a decent morning person, or rather, being woken up with a woman standing over him. I plucked a strand from his head and walked out.

"Hey; ah! That hurts!" he shouted. "What's your deal, hmm?" He followed me into the hallway, not bothering to put a shirt on.

"I told you, I needed your hair."

"What for?" he asked. "It's just hair." He rubbed the site where I plucked his hair out, relieving some of the pain; apparently he was tender headed.

"If it's just hair, then you won't mind me taking it."

"Hell yes, I mind," he answered. "That's my hair."

I sighed. "Stop whining about it. It's already out."

"What do you need it for?" He yawned during the last half of his sentence. Clearly he still needed his beauty rest.

"Dude, go back to sleep. You need it."

He looked at me. "And wake up to you clipping my toenails? I don't think so."

"I'm done with your DNA, but thank you for the offer. If I ever need toenails," I trailed off. A cringe followed the statement shortly after. I didn't ever want to go near his feet.

"So you don't need my hair, you need my DNA?" He sounded rather alarmed at this, stalling in his gait for a moment.

"Yes, so I can clone you. I need a personal slave."

He pulled on my wrist and stopped me. "That's just not funny. Don't even joke about that."

I chuckled. "Just go to sleep." I opened the door and stepped into the night.

"Well, I'm already up. Might as well report in." He looked up at the stars. "Un," he sighed. "I've been sleeping all day."

"What, didn't you sleep when you were out?" I asked.

"Don't worry about that. It's none of your business anyway," he snapped.

"What ever, I don't need to know."

Kakuzu caught up with us by then. "Good morning, princess," he chuckled. He looked at me. "Are you finished, Tsuki? I'm tired of babysitting you. This is Itachi's job."

Deidara looked at him, then at me. "Tsuki; ne?"

Kakuzu just stared at him. "Yeah, what other violet eyed red head do you know of, damn it?"

"Excuse me, I couldn't see her standing over me."

"That's your fault, Deidara."

I left them to argue amongst themselves. I needed to hospital wing's technology. I set off there. I figured that Kakuzu wouldn't mind being relieved early. So that's Deidara, I thought. He's an interesting character.

Aftermath

I ran several tests on his sample of the hair. All of the results matched the tests from the previous sample. The only thing I had to do was compare the genetic structure of the strands, and I would have my answer. Unfortunately, I left the hair with Orochimaru, as Hidan wouldn't allow me to go back for anything I left in the room.

"You're working rather early," Itachi stated. "What is this about?" He picked up a chart and examined it. "You're working on hair?"

"There was a single strand left in my bedroom. I don't know whose hair it is, but I want to know who was in my bedroom."

"Hidan and Kakuzu were in your bedroom," he stated.

"Yes, but neither of them have long, blond hair." I held up the sample I had.

He regarded the strand for a moment. "This is Deidara's hair."

"Yes, Itachi. That is Deidara's hair. I plucked it just last night. He wasn't all too happy about that, but it had to be done."

"So you're just cross referencing it, then?" he asked.

"Yes, I already ran all the tests I could when I was in Otogakure."

He looked around my workspace. "Are they here?" He lifted several papers, manoeuvring the class A mess.

"No, I didn't dare take them with me to Konohagakure."

He looked back at me. "You weren't going to Konoha. You were coming here."

I sighed. "No, Hidan waited until Orochimaru lifted my house arrest."

Itachi regarded the statement. "That was uncharacteristically kind of him. It creates less drama for you when you return."

I looked at him, incredulous. "You mean, if I return, right? They have their hold on me. I don't think Pein is going to relinquish that all too easily."

Itachi regarded me carefully. "There might be hope for you, yet." He looked out at the night. "Kisame returned from his mission last night. He came with a girl. She might be able to replace you in Pein's plan."

"I don't even know what that plan is," I admitted.

"None of us do, but he has to have something in mind." He looked out the window at the early morning dew.

"I don't think she could replace me. I'm one of a kind, Itachi. She won't hold the same power that I do, and doesn't captivate Pein in the same manor."

He sighed, confirming my statement. He filled the silence with small talk as I whisked the room clean of my work. I only needed to provide mundane answers, simple things like how Sasuke was adjusting, the weather in Oto, Kisame's mission, and other simple things. He told me of the Jinchuriki they were tracking, which ones they had already extracted, and which ones they were close to retrieving. I told him about Gaara's prolonged life, and that he has remained Kazekage throughout the entire ordeal. It seemed to impress him, the amount of trust the village would put into someone they once considered a monstrosity. I agreed with him.

When the files were tucked away under my arm, he escorted me back to his segment of the city to dispose of them. We then returned to the commons, where the majority of the members had gathered already.

My main reason was to see this girl that Kisame was ordered to bring in. I was curious as to who Pein would deem on the same level as my in terms of importance. My vanity was wounded, but only slightly. I was confident that I was still the superior being.

I saw Kisame first. He met my gaze in form of greeting, but didn't gesture or say anything to acknowledge me. This may have been because the others hadn't noticed me, and he didn't want to be the one to shift their attention; it may have also been because he didn't really want to form that close of an acquaintance with me. It really didn't matter.

I looked to the other members, as they were concealing her from my view out of their own morbid curiosity. Sasori was blankly standing there, not showing interest in her, but not looking away, either. Hidan was looking like a predator, and I felt mildly bad for her. Kakuzu was standing there, defensively with his arms folded across his chest. Zetsu looked incomprehensible to me. I could never distinguish his moods from his face alone. Half of him looked bored, and the other half looked angry. Itachi stood behind me, uninterested in her, playing with a strand of my hair. Kisame wasn't even near her. Deidara was lounging on one of the couches, not even interested in being near her.

He watched Kisame look at me, then followed his gaze to see me, and then looked over my shoulder at Itachi. I looked back to see Itachi staring right at him, a small battle of dominance being waged at my expense. Pein was no where to be seen, and the mysterious Konan was just as absent.

I then decided to approach the girl standing amidst the crowd. Deidara and Kisame's eyes followed me across the room, both simultaneously holding their breath in anticipation. One by one the attention of the members shifted from her to me, adding to the tension in the room. I saw Sasori snarl at me; Hidan smirk as he thought of what I might do. She was focused on Hidan, glaring at him in such a way while trying to talk to Kisame.

She turned around to face me, and I was shocked. Her Kirigakure forehead plate hit the light, her mahogany hair shone, and the faint, green eyes had discontentment in them. "I was wondering when I'd get to see you," she growled. "What, have you finally deemed me worthy of my presence?"

I turned to Kisame. "What the hell, fish? Why her?"

He looked at her, and looked at me, then looked at Hidan. He muttered something about orders and not wanting her to be here.

"Am I not good enough for you, kid?" she asked.

Kisame stepped before me. "Dunno if you know this, Tsuki, but she's your sister."