Chapter 11

The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.

So Deidara's arguments were pretty good.

One: Kiba was already dead, so Deidara didn't have to kill anyone this time for Sasuke to bring them back.

Two: Kiba actually wanted this. Who was Sasuke to deny him that?

Three: Deidara said that since Kiba was someone who had been through a lot, and who already knew about the whole necromancer thing, there probably wouldn't be side effects. Which was good.

Four: Deidara kept saying how it would make Sasuke stronger somehow.

Five: Apparently Kiba was a good fighter. That time he had been stabbed by Sasori didn't count; he had been caught by surprise.

Six: Kiba got bonus points for really hating Sasori and Temari and wanting them dead.

But still, Sasuke couldn't believe he had let Deidara talk him into doing this.

They had taken a cab to Queens. Deidara said he was too tired to teleport. Still, Sasuke used the opportunity to ask him some questions about the whole teleporting thing. Deidara explained that there was only one important thing, really. He had to make sure he knew exactly where he was going. If he wasn't sure about the destination and what it looked like, then it could be dangerous.

Well, once in the cab, they couldn't exactly talk, since Deidara was in invisible mode. The driver might have found it weird if Sasuke started talking to himself—besides, their conversation topics weren't exactly normal. So Deidara just curled up on the back seat and slept with his head on Sasuke's lap for the whole twenty minutes ride or so.

And now they stood behind some creepy crypt in the middle of Mount Olivet Cemetery. The few trees provided very little shade—and pretty much zero protection from inquiring eyes if anyone were to walk by and look this way.

Deidara had visited the niches and stolen the urn containing Kiba's remains. He replaced it with some empty fake urn he had made Sasuke buy just before so that no one would notice.

"Are we really doing this now?" Sasuke spoke in a low voice even though there was absolutely no one around. "In broad daylight? Shouldn't we do this at night?"

"Why at night? What difference does it make?" asked Deidara.

"I don't know." Sasuke crossed his arms, looking from side to side nervously. "They always do this kind of thing at night in movies."

"It's fine, Sasuke. No one will come."

"You don't know that."

"People visiting their loved one's graves all the time is also something you only see in movies." Deidara placed his palm next to his mouth like he was telling a secret. "No one really does it," he whispered.

"And on that cheerful note," said Sasuke sarcastically, "one more question. How on Earth am I supposed to put him back in his body… if there is no body?"

"It's completely possible," Deidara said firmly. "Don't worry about it. You'll figure it out."

"Uh-huh…" Sasuke wasn't convinced. He sighed. "Should we really be doing this? It feels kinda… wrong. Why is Temari doing it anyway? I mean fifty people… Does she get some kind of thrill out of it? Is she addicted to it now, or something?"

"There's probably some of that," Deidara admitted, "but that's hardly the only reason. First of all, they want to make sure they beat us. And secondly, I've seen necromancers do what she's doing before—or I've heard of it, anyway. She's trying to take over town. Think about it. She can get better at appearing in public and making sure everyone can see her; this way she walks among humans and no one knows the truth. She can climb the social ladder and make it all the way to the top. Surprisingly easy when loads of people absolutely adore you for no reason and are always ready to help…"

"We have to stop her."

"I'm glad we agree. Necromancers can be dangerous if they lose control. You know, I've heard Malachy once became a God for some Aztec tribe a very long time ago; he would bring someone of their choosing back every full moon, so they worshipped him and did whatever he wanted. Until he got bored and killed all of them."

"My demon father sure sounds charming."

"Never mind that. You should go get Kiba. I'll wait for you here." Deidara went to lean against the stone wall of the crypt tiredly, the urn still in his hands.

"Where is he?"

"In Hell."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "I know that, moron. Where exactly? I don't have all day to look for him."

Well actually he did, since he had the day off. But he didn't want to leave Deidara alone here too long. He looked like he might just drop dead any second. Sasuke wasn't sure he believed him when he said his injury would heal.

"The night club. I told him to wait for you there."

"You told him to wait for me? How did you know I would say yes in the end?" Sasuke shook his head in disbelief.

Deidara said, "I'm persuasive."

"Whatever. I'll be right back."

He let thoughts of blood fill his mind—not the most pleasant thing, but he had to do what he had to do. He lowered himself to the ground, putting one knee down as he started to see a circle of gleaming red spreading. The air seemed to darken around him, like dark smoke was rising. He closed his eyes, and let himself slip through.

Under his boots he could feel that soft mix of sand and ashes. He opened his eyes to see black and white; the sky was black and so were the trees and that tall building in the distance, but the ground was pure white and it was snowing, each flake seemingly lighting up the darkness so he could see even though there were no stars or moon.

He shivered and started up the path to the black crystalline tower. There was no music this time. Only silence. The shimmering white path was narrow and long, and on either side were streams of dark water. As he looked from side to side, he saw that this world wasn't only black and white after all. Here and there he could see whips of orange flames and sparks coming out of the shadows in the distance.

Then he thought he heard some kind of rustling—or like a disturbance in the air—behind him and he spun on his heel to take a look. He saw those black shapes; those elongated, deformed, contorted creatures that seemed to be made of dark shadows. There were three of them. Low moans came out of their mouthless faces.

Sasuke cursed himself for letting fear grip at his heart. He couldn't let himself be afraid. Fear was what attracted those things, clearly. They fed on it somehow. Now Sasuke was their prey, and they were getting closer. How was he supposed to fight them off? Deidara should have given him his sword. He had nothing.

They can't hurt you. Just ignore them and they'll go away.

But they weren't going away. They were approaching. Sasuke realized with a start that he could feel water licking at his feet. The river was rising up on both sides, drowning the path. It was so cold that it burned, like needles piercing his skin through his boots and jeans. In fact, it felt so strangely painful that he wasn't sure if the black water was boiling hot or freezing cold. He tried to move but his feet wouldn't listen.

Shit. This can't happen. Deidara's waiting for me. I'm supposed to get Kiba and get out of here. Am I really this weak by myself?

One of the black shapes was almost on him. It smelled strongly of ashes in the air.

"Sasuke? Are those things bothering you?" A voice said behind him. He recognized that voice from the other night; Kiba. And then that fluffy white dog ran past Sasuke, barking, chasing those creatures away. Wow, Sasuke thought, a dog barking chased them away, and he hadn't even been able to move in their presence. That didn't do much to boost his ego.

On the plus side, his feet weren't stuck in that weird black water anymore. Because the water was gone, he realized as he looked down. Of course. He tripped as he was suddenly free, and almost fell but Kiba caught his arm.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, um," he pulled away, and cleared his throat. "I just… for a moment there, um…"

"Hey don't worry about it. Happens to the best of us. Especially when we're alone. Isn't it insane how much more afraid we get when we're by ourselves?" Kiba slapped his shoulder. "That's why we got to stick together."

"Well, I'm glad you're here," Sasuke admitted, studying Kiba's appearance. One of his heavy combat boots held a knife pressed against his ankle. He wore dark worn out jeans, a red and gray striped t-shirt, and he had those black fingerless gloves on—borrowed from a reaper perhaps. Hauled over his shoulder was a heavy looking backpack, and at his belt were a sheathed sword and dagger, both hilts made of a matching black and silver intertwining pattern. His hair was dark brown, and his eyes stood out, a few shades lighter.

Kiba smiled. "So are we doing this? I'm so excited. I never thought I'd get to go back to the real world."

"Yeah," Sasuke nodded, "yeah we're doing this. You might want to step closer to me, and—"

"Wait! I've got to say goodbye first."

Sasuke understood what he meant when the big white dog trotted back towards them. Kiba bent over to pet his ears, and the dog leaned into his touch.

"I didn't think there would be animals here. I mean, I saw ravens, but…"

Kiba thought about this. "I don't know about the ravens, but you're right. There aren't many animals. There shouldn't be, I guess, considering…" He scratched his hair. "But Akamaru just… found me. And protected me. So I just never thought of asking questions, and just considered myself really lucky."

As he pet the dog some more, Kiba looked like he was going to cry. Sasuke turned away to give him some privacy.

"It's okay," Kiba was saying, "we'll find each other again some day."

"We really ought to get going," said Sasuke awkwardly. "Deidara is waiting for us, so…"

"Of course, yeah, I'm sorry." Kiba wiped under his eyes.

Sasuke had to admit that Akamaru looked really sad as he looked at them with his big eyes, his tail down. Now even he felt like crying. But he cleared his mind.

He took Kiba's arms, and proceeded to take them back to Mount Olivet Cemetery, making sure to think very precisely about the crypt where he had been standing with Deidara earlier. Thinking about Deidara might help, too, so he pictured him in his mind, holding the urn, waiting for them.

And it worked. Sasuke felt a bit tired afterwards, and he supposed this means of transportation wasn't exactly costless—not for the body, anyway. Deidara was still there. He looked sickly pale and weak but he was there. Sasuke stepped closer to him as that black smoke faded, with Kiba tagging along.

Sasuke whipped his head around to make sure the section of the cemetery was still empty. There was only silence, except for the wind rustling the shy green leaves of early spring.

"Good work," Deidara said, and it looked like he wanted to smile but didn't even have the strength. He leaned heavily against the crypt, which looked like it hadn't been tended to in a while considering it was covered in vines. He handed him the urn, and Sasuke took it. But he still had no idea how to do this.

Kiba looked shocked. Apparently he hadn't been aware of this. "My family had me cremated? Man, that's harsh. I knew they didn't approve of my lifestyle choices, but still, that's no reason to… And hey, are you sure this is going to work?" he said worriedly, shifting his weight from one foot to the other—if he had any weight in spirit form, that is. "What if I just end up a pile of ashes? No offense, but he," Kiba pointed at Deidara, "didn't tell me about this; if this is too risky, I'd still rather be in Hell. At least I have my dog, and my friends, so…"

Deidara sighed. "Kiba, relax. Just look at the sunlight, and all the green—the colors, the brightness. Don't you want to be alive again?"

Kiba seemed very troubled all of a sudden. He was indeed noticing all of it, clearly, but there was something amiss. "I can't feel it," he whispered, looking down at his hands, "I can't feel the sun, or the wind. Not really. It's so weird. I'm aware of it, but—"

"You'll feel it, once Sasuke's finished," Deidara reassured him. "If you don't trust him, it's not going to work. So just trust him."

"Okay," Kiba said, nodding, "okay, Sasuke, I trust you."

Right.

"Well, I… I appreciate your trust, I do, but…"

Kiba got distracted and ignored him. "What happened to you, anyway?" he addressed Deidara. "Did you party too hard last night, or what?"

"Yes, precisely. I had way too much liquor… I was out of control, really." He clutched Sasuke's jacket tighter around himself and crossed his arms. Sasuke thought he could hear Deidara's breathing wheeze. There was no way Kiba would believe that. Deidara looked so weak and pained—this couldn't possibly be just some hangover.

But Kiba laughed. "I hear ya, that happens to me too sometimes…"

Well, this wasn't too bad. Sasuke looked down at the shiny metallic urn in his hands. As long as Kiba was distracted elsewhere, Sasuke could try to come up with a way to—

"So, Sasuke," Kiba slapped his shoulder, "are we doing this or not?"

Crap.

"Sure, I need to, um, concentrate. Concentrate," he improvised, "on the urn. So give me some space, and be quiet, and—"

"Oh my God, you have no idea how to do this." Kiba pointed an accusing finger at him.

Okay.

Kiba turned to Deidara. "Your necromancer doesn't even know how to do his job! Why'd you tell me he could do it?"

Deidara swallowed. He looked extremely sick, holding his chest with one hand. "H-He can do it. Just t-trust him, right? He'll figure it out. I'm just… I'll be over there, throwing up, if you need me." He crawled his way to a tree and leaned against it.

Fuck. This was stupid. Deidara wanted him to bring some guy back to life using stupid ashes, and he didn't know what the fuck to do, and Deidara was probably dying, and—

Let me help you.

Wait. Who said that? Not Deidara—he was busy trying to gather all of his hair so he wouldn't throw up on it. And not Kiba, either. He was just staring at him with increasingly doubtful brown eyes.

No, that voice was in his head. Oh, great, was he really going mad now?

Let me take over. Just a little…

Sasuke was tired. He was worried about his friend. He was worried about so many things. So when he felt a dark, powerful energy stirring inside him, it felt good, and in no way did he wish to fight it.

So he let it take over, whatever it was.

And it was exactly like that moment you finally start feeling the effects of a drug, or alcohol, or both. He felt confident.

He knew what to do. It was simple, really.

"Come here," he said, motioning for Kiba to step closer.

"Okay…"

Sasuke then shoved the urn in Kiba's hands. "Hold this."

"But—"

"Quiet." He held Kiba's shoulders.

The air around them seemed to darken, like an unsubstantial gray film was covering them both, blocking the sunlight.

"Are we teleporting back?" asked Kiba, frowning.

"No. This is different. I'm linking our energies. Stop worrying so much."

"Linking our what?"

"I said be quiet. Didn't you hear what Deidara said before? If you don't trust me, it won't work."

"But just moments ago you—"

"Kiba. Shut up. Can't you feel it?" Sasuke couldn't help but smile. There was so much energy in him, it felt almost euphoric. He was giving some of it to Kiba, but it didn't matter because when it came back to him it was even more powerful.

For a moment Kiba just stared dumbly, but then he gasped and held Sasuke's arm.

"Holy shit. Yeah I can feel it. Like… electricity. Hey, Sasuke, don't stop… I think I need more. I'm… I'm starting to feel alive again." His eyes widened. "Fuck, I feel all… I'm so… cold and hot at the same time. This is insane."

"Be quiet."

He saw something in Sasuke's eyes that seemed to frighten him. "Yes, sir."

The air around them was darkening again. Sasuke was creating this dark energy, and feeding off it at the same time. It was exhilarating. He had never experienced anything like it before. He felt so… strong. Unstoppable.

Thunder roared but he wasn't sure if it was real or his imagination. Kiba seemed to hear it too, though. And then lightning was striking both of them, but it wasn't painful. Just powerful and warm. It was strangely quiet, and stayed within that sphere of dark air for a moment, crackling, before disappearing.

"Now drink it," Sasuke said.

"What?"

Sasuke let go of Kiba's shoulders, and let his pale fingers trail down the metal of the urn—it had been cold before, but now it was warm. "Drink it," he said again. Sasuke's voice sounded strange even to him, like it was different somehow.

"Drink? But…" Kiba interrupted himself as he opened the urn. It should have been difficult to open—or even sealed, probably—but it wasn't. He just opened it, and looked inside, and his eyes widened. "Is that… blood?"

Sasuke smiled. "Will you make me tell you again?"

"No, sir."

His hands trembling, Kiba tilted the urn and started drinking the blood. He drank it like he was parched and craved it, and he didn't stop until he had absorbed all of it. Then he dropped the urn and fell back onto the ground, panting.

"I just need to… sit down, for a moment."

The darkness was dissipating, and all of a sudden it was broad daylight again. Sasuke looked around at the quiet cemetery, the trees, the thumb stones, and the flowers. And he sort of just snapped out of it.

Holy crap. What was that? It was like he was a different person.

Kiba was still sitting in the grass, seemingly fascinated with his own hand.

"I can feel the sun," he whispered, "and the wind, and everything. This is amazing. I think it worked."

"Yeah," Sasuke said, "it worked."

He just knew.

And suddenly he remembered Deidara. He looked to the side and found him collapsed next to the tree. Sasuke ran to him and fell to his knees. It didn't look like he had been throwing up at all. He was just passed out. His face was extremely pale, and his lips were dry.

Sasuke clutched his shoulder. "Deidara? Wake up, okay? I can't help you if you don't tell me how."

He moaned, and cracked his blue eyes open, and Sasuke felt a wave of relief.

"Don't worry," Deidara said in a rasped voice, "I'm not dead. Not yet."

"Yeah, well, I don't want that to happen."

"That's sweet."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Just tell me what to do, you idiot! Maybe we should go to Naruto."

"Stop with that. Naruto can't help me."

"Well then, who can?"

Deidara made a pained face—and it wasn't just the physical pain. "Nagato…"

"Then we'll go see him."

"No," Deidara whined, rolling to the side so that Sasuke couldn't see his face.

Sasuke sighed, and brushed Deidara's hair away from his face. "Well, you haven't got a choice, mate. Do you want to die?"

"If… If I could just," he panted, his hand grasping at the ground like he needed something to hold on to, "find another way… I don't want to see him."

Kiba stepped closer. His legs were still shaky, but he looked like he was getting stronger. "What's wrong with him? Really?"

"Got stabbed with a higher demon blade," Sasuke said.

"Shit, really? How is he still alive? Those are extremely poisonous. Instant kill, normally."

"Well he's not dead." Sasuke leaped to his feet. "And I'm taking him to Nagato."

Kiba nodded. "Nagato should know what to do."

"Here." Sasuke took out his phone and entered his address. "Take a cab and go to this address. Forty Ninth West," he finished typing and gave his cell to Kiba, who seemed fascinated by it. For a moment Sasuke worried that perhaps Kiba had been dead a really long time and didn't even know what phones were.

But he just said, "Whoa, this phone is so cool."

"Yeah, whatever." He gave some money to Kiba for the cab. Damn, he was spending a lot of money on cabs today, for someone with the ability to teleport. "Go to that address and wait for me. Or call Suigetsu, my roommate. Explain everything and he'll let you in. Got it?"

"I got it, sir!"

"Stop calling me sir. It's fucking weird. Just go…"

As he turned around Sasuke thought he saw a small tattoo across the back of his neck, it looked like numbers but he couldn't quite read them properly before Kiba walked away. Sasuke ignored it and dropped to Deidara's side again. He grabbed Deidara's arm and put it around his neck, before scooping him up in his arms and getting back up. He wasn't sure if it was the adrenaline rush from bringing Kiba back, or if Deidara just wasn't heavy, but it wasn't much of an effort to carry him.

"Where do I have to go?"

"The city…"

"I don't know what the 'city' looks like."

"Just think about Nagato. It should work. Those things," Deidara breathed as his eyes closed, "don't have to be complicated, Sasuke… Don't over think it. You're more powerful than you think." His head rolled against Sasuke's shoulders and his body went limp.

Shit.

So he thought about Nagato. It should work? Well, it had to work.

He closed his eyes and let his mind be filled with the image of Nagato as he remembered him from that party; huge dark red wings and hair of the same color, pale skin, tall and skinny, tight black pants with no shirt, and he was handsome, in a way, Sasuke supposed, with angular features and eyes that kept changing color—green, gray, blue…

When the smoke started to dissipate Sasuke was standing in what looked like an office with Deidara still passed out in his arms. Well, an office from another century, perhaps; the walls seemed to be made of dark stone, and the desk was covered in parchment paper and quill pens. The chairs were handcrafted wood, and against the wall sat a similarly made bench with a pale fur blanket—maybe that was their version of a couch.

Lit candles all over the room created a somewhat pungent smell, like incense. Out the window Sasuke saw a pale dust road and some other dark stone buildings, rather small and spaced out with nothing in between, and everything was eerily quiet… Well if this was the city it seemed rather depressing. He preferred New York.

Nagato was in the room but he wasn't alone. He was arguing with another man when Sasuke showed up. Nagato looked the same as he remembered, except his wings were hidden this time, and he wore a shirt, though he left it unbuttoned. The other man was thin, average height. He wore a boring looking gray suit and he had short dark hair and equally dark eyes. There was a small tattoo just below his hairline. Dark red numbers. 9103. Same place as Kiba's, Sasuke thought, and it made him feel uneasy.

The man wasn't ugly but his stare was unpleasant as he waved the last of the black smoke away distastefully and looked at Sasuke.

"You let people teleport into your office unannounced, Nagato? In the middle of an important meeting? I'm appalled." He had a bit of a French accent. His voice was elegant and smooth but somehow it still made Sasuke cringe. He immediately decided he didn't like this guy.

Appalled? Who says that? No one.

Nagato waved him off. "Just get out, Louis. Meeting's over." Ah, so this charming individual was Louis. Shocker. Unfortunately, it seemed Louis wanted to stay. He wasn't moving.

"What's this? What's wrong with Deidara?" Nagato asked, his boots stomping the floor as he stepped closer and took a better look. He blanched. "What happened to him?"

"You mean you don't know? Wow, this is rich. He saved your life is what happened." Sasuke's arms weren't even tired—all that rock climbing must have paid off—but still, he went to rest Deidara's motionless body on that bench thing.

Nagato whispered, "What? But my friends said—"

Sasuke didn't let him finish. He didn't care much. "Well your friends left out some details."

Nagato raked his fingers through his hair, looking troubled. "Leave, Louis. Now." He didn't sound too happy.

"But this," he pointed toward Deidara, "I think this is the one who cut Sasori's wing. He described him to me. I know it's him. That is strictly against the rules. He can't be allowed to live."

Sasuke placed himself in front of Deidara protectively. But Louis ignored him. He just glared at Nagato. "We can't allow such barbaric behavior—"

"Oh, really? Sasori poisoned me and tried to kill me in my sleep. Is that permitted, or is that against the rules, Louis? Should we just allow higher demon slaughter now? I'm asking you, since you seem quite the expert."

"You have no proof. Clearly your friends made that up since they seem to have something personal against Sasori, which is frankly quite unprofessional. On the other hand, we know for a fact that this reaper is guilty of cutting another's wings, which is completely—"

"Shut up, both of you." Sasuke unzipped the jacket to reveal Deidara's injury. It was getting worst, with the skin really swelling up all around it. His breathing was shallow, too. "He's dying, Nagato. Fucking do something about it."

Nagato faltered when he saw the wound, but then he composed himself and glared at Louis.

"I wonder if he cut his wing before, or after Sasori landed a fatal blow with a blade that wasn't his? Or is that not against the rules?"

Louis swallowed. "I see. Well, the kind thing, in these circumstances, would be to just finish him up, I think…"

Sasuke stepped in. "Touch him and I kill you, asshole."

"Strong words," Louis said, "from such a young soul." Then he seemed to really see him for the first time, and he narrowed his eyes. "You. You're his son, aren't you? When that monster went mad and possessed a human to hide from my men… He had a kid. I heard the stories."

Nagato got really impatient and angry after that, and everything happened really fast.

"I swear to God Louis if you don't leave right now…"

His wings seemed to explode from his back and the whole room trembled like there was an earthquake as the reddish feathery limbs spread out and touched the ceiling. In one swift movement Nagato had pinned Louis against the wall right next to the door with an obsidian dagger pressed to his neck. A single drop of blood was shed. A lit candle on a shelf placed close to Louis's face revealed that his traits showed no sign of fear. But still, he left, slipping from Nagato's grasp as he seemed to disappear into the wall, leaving only smoke and a smell like ashes behind. These people weren't strong on using doors, then.

Nagato rushed to Deidara's side in a rustling of feathers, and Sasuke stepped back. He just crossed his arms and watched. Nagato placed hesitant fingers on Deidara's wound, and Deidara seemed to wince. His eyes slowly blinked awake.

"Oh, no, not you…"

"I'm afraid so," said Nagato. His fingers climbed up to Deidara's neck as he saw the bruise there. "I'm going to kill Sasori," he whispered more to himself. "I don't care if he's a DA now. I'll kill him."

"Don't bother," Deidara tried to laugh but coughed instead. "He'd just come back on us."

"Nah, no way. I have contacts in Purgatory, remember? I'll make sure they find him, and lock him up in the deepest cells so he rots there forever with no chance of redemption."

"Ha, that sounds pretty good…"

"This is all very poetic," Sasuke said, "but can you help him or not?"

Nagato touched Deidara's hair. "How are you even still alive?"

"I'm stronger than I look, you bastard."

He smiled. "Yes, I know you are. But your partner is right. You need my help."

Nagato went to his desk and grabbed a glass half-full of some amber liquid. He made to throw it out the window but Deidara shook his head.

"Hey, no, don't throw that out. I want it."

Nagato hesitated, then went back to sit next to Deidara on the narrow bench. "Really? You're dying, and you want scotch?"

"Hell yeah. Hit me with your best shot, baby."

Sasuke was arching an eyebrow. "Um, I don't think—"

But Deidara was sitting up, as much as he could anyway without passing out again, and he grabbed the glass and emptied its contents.

"Ahh… Now I can die a happy demon."

"You think I'd let you die?" Nagato looked amused.

Deidara swallowed and looked up at Nagato through lidded eyes, and every little movement seemed to cost him. "Well, what are you waiting for? Prove me wrong."

Sasuke rather agreed.

So what Nagato did next was kind of weird. He held the glass in place between his knees and cut his wrist with one of his daggers—a non-lethal one, Sasuke assumed. He slit his wrist pretty deep, and the blood poured down and filled the glass pretty quickly. Then he gave it to Deidara. And Deidara drank it like he was the most thirsty man in the world and this was his solace.

Sasuke brought a hand to his lips, feeling rather confused and troubled. "That's the antidote? Your blood?"

"Yes," Nagato said like it was obvious. He looked at Deidara. "Do you want more?"

It seemed the answer was yes, though it wasn't spoken in so many words. Deidara just threw the glass away and it went to shatter against the wall, startling Sasuke. Next Deidara grabbed Nagato's bleeding wrist and licked it and drank his blood. What the…?

"I think I'm in the wrong show," Sasuke said. "Is this The Vampire Diaries?"

Deidara pulled away from Nagato; his wrist had stopped bleeding. Deidara sighed and fell back down on the fur blanket, rolling to the side and seemingly falling back to sleep.

"Don't be silly Sasuke," Nagato smiled at him. "Vampires don't exist."