Good gravy, as I'm uploading this here, it becomes so painfully obvious that this was put on hold for a year, just from how much the writing shifts from chapter to chapter...anyway, I'm still updating regularly over on my dA account; you guys are welcome to go there if you can't wait for an update here.

Verden. They, trained members of the human Army, were heading for Verden within the confines of a Falkian resistance ship, and Kami knows when they'd be able to get word of their survival back to Earth, never mind actually returning home. To top it off, Sasori was still at risk to lose his life (his military career was already shot, that much was certain) for harboring a fugitive, and was only still a free man at this point because his home base, the Akatsuki battle cruiser, had been blown to smithereens with hundreds of fellow soldiers still on board. It was almost more than Sasori could take, and at the moment, all the redhead wanted was a chance to lie down and sleep for a long, loooong time.

Deidara, on the other hand, was ecstatic about the most recent turn of events. He was back in the company of his fellow Falks, and could now look forward to returning home on the side of peace fighters. Currently, the blond was conferencing with Konan about what should be down with their human captives. It was true, the blue-haired woman had defined the human soldiers as allies, but there was little doubt in Sasori's mind that if any of them made a wrong move, the Falks would quickly turn against them and lock away the Army members without a second thought. Most of the Falks aboard the ship had lost either friends or family to the war, and although Konan and Pein seemed to have accepted the refugees, there was still plenty of tension floating through the ship.

Sasori sighed and flopped down on his cot, staring at the metal ceiling like it was the most interesting sight in the world. He'd been given a private room, as had all the other survivors, and while this had the advantage of privacy for the soldiers, it led to the Akasuna being bored out of his mind. At least if the fighters had been housed together they would have each other's company to keep themselves entertained. But now, Sasori was simply lounging about in his room and waiting for something to happen.

As if on cue, a rapping noise was heard at his door just then. Curious, Sasori rose from his seat on the mattress and opened the door, peaking out slightly from the crack to see who could be visiting him. Deidara would have just burst in, so the blond was out. He was pretty sure Hidan still wasn't on speaking terms with him, and Kami only knows where Tobi had disappeared to. Who was left, then?

Curiosity immediately gave way to shock at the sight of General Kisame, leaning against the doorframe with a haggard look on his face. "Sir-"

"It's Kisame, Sasori. Just Kisame. Mind letting me in?"

Somewhat wary at the lack of formality, the Akasuna stepped back and opened the door wider, allowing the shark to step inside. "I don't suppose Deidara's in here, is he?" Kisame absentmindedly asked, as though the blond's location really wasn't much of a concern for him at the moment.

Sasori shook his head while shutting the door behind them. "He's talking with Konan about what to do, once we get to Verden." Kisame nodded his head slightly and sat at the foot of Sasori's bed, hunched forward with his arms in his lap. "Sir?"

"What did I just tell you?"

"Kisame then." The redhead took a seat beside the general and glanced to his feet, not willing to look Kisame in the eye at this point. The puppeteer was really hoping Kisame wasn't about to deliver his punishment for harboring Deidara; he'd like to live a bit longer, at least until he could get back home and tell his grandmother goodbye. "Is there a reason you came here?"

There was a long pause between the two, the tension in the room escalating to a nearly unbearable level. The silence as Kisame tried to think of an answer and Sasori waiting for it was nearly enough to drive the redhead over the edge. Just as he was about to retract his inquiry, though, the shark finally opened his mouth to speak. "I thought he gave us away." Kisame sighed and buried his face in his hands. "I honestly believed that Itachi turned traitor against us."

"You couldn't have known that someone else was smart enough to break our codes-"

"But I should have suspected it!" Sasori jumped at the sudden increase in volume of Kisame's voice. The blue-skinned man looked furious, but at what Sasori could only venture a guess. "Damn it, he was nothing but loyal and hard-working the whole time he was with us! There weren't any signs of him sneaking around behind our backs, and if anything I should have been more worried about spies on the human side than among the Falks!"

"Hindsight is 20-20," Sasori weakly offered as a consolation. He knew the words wouldn't help (since when can mere words halt something as powerful as self-loathing?), but felt that it was his duty as the shark's comrade to at least make an attempt at some form of comfort.

"I bought into what my superiors said," Kisame went on, oblivious to Sasori's words. "Even when Zetsu tried to dissuade me from thinking about Falks like that, I still believed every word they told me."

"General Zetsu said that?"

The shark nodded slightly. "He may be in charge of the whole army, Sasori, but that doesn't mean he's a blood-thirsty killer like some of the grunts you see in the field. Truth is, he just wants the war to be over so he can bring us all home, safe and sound. The past couple of years, he's even started thinking about helping to rebuild the parts of Verden most heavily damaged by us."

Sasori was silent at this, needing some time for the words to sink in. He'd always pictured the notorious, reclusive general to be about as gung-ho on the battlefield as Hidan, given how many bombing and raiding missions the humans were sent on. Could it be that all those campaigns were little more than General Sherman's scorched earth policy? Cause significant destruction to a concentrated area, as opposed to evenly spread harm all over Verden? "You know, I never did thank Itachi for all he did."

"I think the necklace took care of that," Sasori muttered before he could stop himself. Upon realizing what he'd said, though, the Akasuna had the decency to blush and clap his hand over his mouth. Informal chat or not, that last comment had been waaaay out of line.

"You know that gift wasn't a thank you present," Kisame shot back, although there was a distinct lack of anger in his voice. If anything, the blue-skinned general just sounded exhausted. "Actually, getting him a present seems stupid now. Most Falks don't place a lot of emotional value in gifts they get, unless they're practical. Guess Itachi was an exception."

"I'm not too sure about that," Sasori whispered, more to himself than Kisame. Deidara had been ecstatic about getting a book and dictionary, to be sure, but that could be written off as the blond wishing to better his English, and thus rendered the items practical. However, the Falk had also formed some sort of attachment to Sasori's little puppet (the only one to survive the Akatsuki's explosion, he mentally added), which had about as much real-world practicality as square wheels. The redhead frowned; he was beginning to wonder exactly how much the Army knew about the people they were trying to destroy.

Pulling away from his musings before they could get any darker, the puppet master looked to Kisame and took a deep breath. There was something he needed to ask the shark, and considering the last remark he'd made, there probably wasn't a whole much that was off-limits now. "Kisame, I appreciate you coming to vent to me, but I can't help but think you need something else." Not the simplest way of phrasing it, but a bit of formality was probably a good idea when dealing with a superior officer.

Kisame chuckled and nodded. "Your file didn't lie when it said you were pretty sharp. I actually do need a favor from you."

"What kind of favor?" the redhead asked warily. Sasori realized that he was in no position to argue with any orders that his general gave to him now, especially considering the Deidara fiasco, but that didn't mean he was going to blindly leap into certain doom.

"The kind that will save you from getting court-martialed and that Falk of yours from being executed." Now he had Sasori's attention. "The alien…Deidara, right?"

"Yes."

"I need him to talk Konan into keeping me with the resistance when we get to Verden, instead of sending me back home with the rest of you."

Sasori was shocked. The general, one of the most powerful and respected leader's among the human commanders, was requesting to all but be marooned in enemy territory, with no grasp of the people's customs, language, or any knowledge other than what was filled out in military reports, which Sasori was beginning to suspect had been slightly embellished, at best. "That's suicide!"

"I need to find Itachi. If anything's happened to him over these last couple of years, it's entirely my fault. I should have sent out a search party to retrieve them as soon as their ship was captured."

"Kisame-"

"They were labeled as allies, Sasori!" Kisame all but shouted, making the Akasuna jump in his seat. He'd never even heard of General Kisame losing his temper, never mind bearing witness to the event itself. To see the normally cheerful and composed commander like this, with his hands curled tightly into fists, lips drawn back in a snarl that exposed rows of pearly, sharp teeth, and his entirely body so tense that one would think it was about to snap…it was terrifying, to say the least. "If it had been some of our own men that were captured, you can bet I would have gone after them in a heartbeat. But, when I heard what had happened…how they thought Itachi was the one to give us away…I just…I couldn't…" Kisame sighed and shook his head. "Why'd you have to bring that kid back to the ship, Sasori? It would've made my life so much easier if I could just feel heart-broken and betrayed for the rest of eternity."

Sasori looked away from his general and focused instead on the ceiling. He leaned back against the wall and twiddled his thumbs, not entirely sure what the correct response to the shark's angst would be. However, even if his mind couldn't come up with a proper reply, his tongue was more than willing to act on its own accord. "That's pathetic. You should be happy that I found Deidara."

Kisame shot his underling an incredulous look. "How? How should any of what's happened within the last 24 hours bring me even the slightest bit of joy?"

Deciding that Sasori hadn't dug his grave quite deep enough, the treacherous tongue kept going. "You still love Itachi, that's pretty obvious. Well now you know that he didn't betray you. He was always loyal to you, Kisame. That's what I mean when I said you should be happy. And now that you know what really happened, all you have to do is find him and apologize."

The shark blinked once, twice, then cupped his hand over his eyes and began laughing. "Well when you put it that way…"

"I'll have Deidara talk to Konan, on one condition."

"You're in a position to be negotiating?"

"Let Deidara and I stay behind with you. Not all Falks are going to share the same human sentiments as the Verden Underground Movement. You need at least one human here as back-up, and I'm in no hurry to get back home." Sasori couldn't pinpoint exactly what was making him want to stay, although desiring to find out the truth about Falks couldn't have been a small part of the explanation. And then there was the fact that Deidara was so eager to see his home world again… "Besides, Deidara seems to have a better grasp of the English language than any of the Falks on this ship, and the last thing we need is trouble caused by a mistranslation."

Kisame seemed reluctant to accept Sasori's terms, but after a while was able to see the logic behind the Akasuna's suggestion and reluctantly conceded to the redhead's demand. "Fine. But when I start groveling for forgiveness, you two need to make yourself scarce. You do that, and I'll make sure the official report lists Deidara as an ally we found on Verden afterbeing rescued by VUM."

"Deal." Sasori extended his hand and shook Kisame's, overwhelming relief flooding through his system at the agreement. Deidara and he were safe, at least for now.

The pact was made not a moment too soon, for the next instant found the door to Sasori's room flung wide, and Deidara rushing inside. "Danna, Konan says-" the Falk paused in mid-exclamation, eyes widening in fright at the sight of Kisame. The memory of being flung against the wall was still fresh in his mind, and Deidara was in no hurry to invoke the general's wrath again. "Sasori danna, what's going on, un?"

"Nothing much. But Deidara, we need your help with something."