Sasori was able to enjoy several hours of semi-peaceful sleep before he was rudely awakened by a hand shaking his shoulder. "Monsieur Sasori, please get up."

The redhead slowly blinked his eyes open, his vision blurry and muscles screaming at him for just a few more minutes of sleep. Sasori's internal sleep schedule had been completely wrecked over the past few days, and as a result his mind was so muddled and his body so sore that he would undoubtedly be useless for any task over the next few days more taxing than a simple patrol around the camp. As he groaned and waited for his eyes to focus, the hand that had shaken him glided over and shook Deidara as well. "You too, Deidara. Zis is urgent."

Sasori suddenly recognized the speaker's voice as Konan's, and moved to sit upright in bed so that he could properly greet the VUM commander. The poor woman looked worse for the wear, he was sad to say. Her once vibrant blue hair had been singed by fire, and most of her clothes were covered in a foul mixture of blood, oil, and soot. She was leaning heavily on the bed, easily as tired as Sasori but still managing to retain the aura of a commanding officer. "I apologize for ze lack of beds," she stated, seeing how close Sasori and Deidara were pressed together. "But for ze time being, zere is nozing I can do."

"It's fine," Sasori assured the woman. "You have bigger things to worry about right now than how comfortable the sleeping quarters are."

"Indeed. Now please come wiz me."

Sasori was eventually able to rouse Deidara from his slumber (and if anything the blond looked to be in even worse shape than him). Both of them finally got out of the cot and followed after Konan out of the tent and through the camp. Although they were underground, resulting in Sasori having difficulty telling exactly what time it was, the Akasuna guessed that it must be some time in the middle of the night, maybe even early morning. Very few Falks were out and about at this time, save for a few guards on patrol, and the MESS tent was completely dead. Sasori desperately wished that he was back in bed and sleeping like everyone else, but knew that if Konan had bothered to awaken the pair at this hour, she must have had a damn good reason. And so he suppressed his grumbles and yawns in favor of just following after the Falk.

Konan seemed not to notice any of this and led the duo nearly across the whole camp before they encountered what appeared to be the only permanent structure in the entire settlement. It was a small two-story building, made out of rocks and sheet metal that had been fastened together with concrete and shoddy welding. The trio stepped inside the building and walked to the back of the ground floor, entering a room which contained an exhausted looking Kisame sitting behind a large conference table. Apparently Sasori and Deidara weren't the only ones who had been unwillingly pulled from dreamland. "I am sorry for ze late 'our of zis meeting," Konan apologized as she shut the door and locked it behind her. "But what I am about to tell you is very sensitive information, and ze fewer risks of ze wrong people hear it, ze better for us."

"What happened in the jungle?" Sasori asked. They were all worn out, so in his mind the quicker they could get through this meeting, the better. Besides, the attack had been completely unprovoked and delivered without any warning, leaving the Akasuna anxious that another fight could happen again unless they were better prepared.

"It was an ambush, zere is no doubt about zat," Konan stated grimly. "Ze enemy knew exactly where to strike us and when."

"A traitor on the inside?" Kisame suggested.

"Oui. My men caught him trying to make a getaway when ze fighting started; naturally, zey bound 'im and brought ze bastard 'ere to question 'im." Konan hissed several things under her breath, probably against the traitor since Deidara nodded in agreement with her. "My men burned because of zat accursed traitor; I shall see to it zat 'is demise is just as painful." The woman shook her head, trying to calm herself down. "But we were able to get information out of 'im, at least."

"Did he know who was behind the attack?" Kisame inquired.

"Oui. Orochimaru." Deidara tensed at the name, prompting Sasori to place a comforting hand on the blond's shoulder. Unlike Konan, Deidara seemed to recognize this gesture and didn't pull away, but instead gave the Akasuna a brief smile in thanks. "We 'ave left zat man alone for too long, it would seem; ze bastard wished to spread 'is shipping network out into ze wilderness, and our campsite was in ze way. Additionally, it seems zat 'e was responsible for ze neurotoxin attack on ze ozer branch of VUM near us. Apparently, VUM settlements are now bad for business."

"Money?" Sasori gaped. "He killed all those people just so he could sell a few more guns?" It didn't make sense to him; the Falks were already suffering badly enough during this war without men like Orochimaru wiping out even more of them off the battlefield.

"What do you zink is more valuable to Orochimaru, a group of live rebels or a group of live slaves?" Konan hissed. "A man like zat only sees ze world in terms of what kind of profit can be made from it. It is true, 'e possesses enough power and weaponry to be a dangerous adversary, but our concerns 'ave been focused elsewhere until now. However, if Orochimaru is willing to attack us, zen retribution is in order."

"Let us help," Kisame asked. "Not all of my soldiers made it out of the camp." Sasori's stomach twisted at the revelation; he hadn't seen all the other humans yet, but he'd been hoping it was just coincidence that their paths hadn't crossed. Now he knew for sure that they'd never cross again.

"Of course, Monsieur Fishy," Konan promised. "But vengeance must wait until we recover. We are currently camped out in the old sewers of Regi; no one will look for us here."

"Regi?" Sasori whispered to Deidara.

"Second biggest city on Verden, after Domini," Deidara whispered back. "There was talk in my village of moving there because it was more accepting of refugees at the time than Domini."

"We will gazer our strengz," Konan stated. "And when we are strong again, we shall speak wiz ze informants living in zis city to find out where Orochimaru is 'iding. Zat man will not stay on his spaceship forever; some zings must be taken care of in person, I'm sure. And when he finally arrives to 'andle 'is business, we shall take care of ours."

"Regi…" Kisame muttered, shaking his head slightly. "Why is that name familiar to me?"

"Monsieur Fishy…I do not wish to get your 'opes up, because a long time has passed, but-"

"The receipt!" Kisame exclaimed, smacking his hand on the table in front of him. "The man who bought Itachi lived in Regi at the time!"

"Oui. Zat person may still be 'ere; Regi is a large city, well-defended and relatively safe from ze war. It is quite possible, zen, zat someone living in Regi two years ago would remain in 'ere for as long as zey were able to. But time passes, and people die or move on to ozer places for reasons unrelated to war. My men shall look into zis, but if it turns into an, 'ow you say, dead end, zere is nozing more we can do at zis point."

"It's ok," Kisame replied, forcing himself to calm down. "The safety of your people should come before one human's need to right a wrong he made years ago. Right now, being this close is enough for me."

"Thank you for your understanding," Konan said. "In any case, I doubt we will be fortunate enough to meet Orochimaru any time in the near future so we can finally rid ze world of zat monster. Zere will be time to look for Itachi during our stay in zis camp; I promise." Kisame nodded, content with this answer. "Final order of business. While I am in charge of the VUM as a whole, zis base is typically run by one of my subordinates, named Tsunade. She will decide what is and isn't appropriate for you to do will we are staying 'ere, wizin reason. I will 'elp you if she seems to be acting unreasonable, but if you deliberately do somezing to upset 'er or go against ze rules she 'as instituted for her camp, your moose is cooked."

"It's goose, but we understand," Sasori assured her. "I'll tell Tobi and Hidan first thing in the morning."

"Merci, Monsieur Sasori," Konan replied. "Your group 'as been manageable up until zis point, so I do not foresee any immediate issues with Tsunade, and will tell 'er such in ze morning." At this point, Kisame and Sasori both yawned. "But for now, let us rest. It is useless to plan too far ahead into the future when one is, 'ow you say, dead on zeir feet."

Grateful for being dismissed, Sasori and Deidara quickly left the building and made their way back to their shared little tent, quite happy to crawl back onto the cot and return to dreamland. At least, Sasori was; Deidara, on the other hand, chose to stay awake and stare up at the ceiling, mouth set in a grim line.

The last thing the blond wanted was to ever encounter Orochimaru again. The man was an albini Falk; of all the types of Falks that lived on Verden, the pale-skinned, dark-haired albini were said to have the worst tempers and coldest personalities. Thinking back on it, Itachi had been an albini too, but at least seemed to have emotions other than rage and greed.

Orochimaru, on the other hand, exemplified what it meant to be a heartless monster. He destroyed countless lives for the sake of building his own wealth, and treated everyone and everything around him as something disposable that could be tossed out when he grew bored of it. Frankly, Deidara was amazed that he'd been left alive for as long as he'd been under the man's care. He'd escaped before things could have gotten too bad for him, and now there was a chance that Deidara would have to face the subject of many nightmares once again.

Deidara turned his head to look at Sasori, giving the redhead a sad look. "Sasori danna, I'm sorry, un. But if Konan tries to make me face Orochimaru again…I think I'll have to leave you guys behind, un."

-n-

Kisame grunted as he tugged on his boot, wishing that getting dressed all the way didn't have to be such a challenge. He was currently in his room, sitting on the edge of a very untidy bed as he tried to make himself presentable for the crew on board the ship. "Stupid military grade shoes," he grumbled.

"You need to undo the laces," a gentle voice admonished from beside him.

Kisame turned his head just in time to see a fully-dressed Itachi kneel down in front of him and begin to loosen the lace's on the human's boots. "If you don't undo them all the way, it will only cause trouble for you later."

"Thanks Itachi." With the Falk's help, Kisame was soon properly dressed from head to toe, which of course made the shark let out a sigh of disappointment. "I wish we didn't have to rush this every time. Hell, I wish we didn't have to hide it at all."

Itachi stood on his tiptoes to kiss Kisame briefly, giving the shark what he hoped would come across as an understanding look. "You know why we have to. After the war, things will be different."

"After the war, I'm getting a bedroom for us and keeping it locked for a solid week." Itachi smiled at Kisame's assertion and kissed the shark again. "Oh, but I have something for you for now."

"What is it?"

"A gift," Kisame answered as he began rummaging through the drawer on his bedside table. "Where'd I put it…"

"Why?"

"Because I wanted to get you something," Kisame explained. "Here it is!" The shark thrust a small, hastily wrapped box into the weasel's hand. "Go on, open it," he urged.

Itachi obeyed the command and quickly removed the wrapping paper, opened the box and peered inside. "Jewelry," he stated, though his tone failed to convey whether he thought that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Yeah. I, uh, wasn't sure what to get you, so I got a necklace with an inscription on it."

"'To my angel'," Itachi read, before looking up at the shark. "Why angel?"

Kisame looked uncomfortable now; maybe going with a pet name wasn't such a good idea after all. "You know how some humans, when they get really emotionally close, give nicknames to each other?" Itachi nodded. "Well that's my nickname for you. Angel. Because you're just so…perfect, really."

Itachi let the words sink in for a moment before giving Kisame the biggest smile he'd ever seen on the Falk's face. "Thank you, Kisame."

"Let me help you put it on," Kisame offered, already reaching for the necklace. "Just, lift you hair out of the way…there we go, that's it…"

Soon the shark had fastened the necklace in place, pleased that it dangled high enough to be fashionable but low enough that Itachi could hide it should the need arise. As he retracted his hands, however, his fingertips ghosted over strips of slightly darker, softer skin that ran down both sides of the Falk's neck. Itachi's eyes fluttered softly as a breathy moan slipped out. "Be careful," he whispered. "Unless you want to get back into bed right now."

"I do, but I know better," Kisame grumbled. "Time for us to go back on duty, angel."

"Kisame?"

The shark stopped himself from opening the bedroom door and looked at Itachi. "Yeah?"

"Might i…give you a nickname as well?"

Kisame grinned. It was so cute how Itachi tried to imitate human quirks to make Kisame happy. "Sure thing. Just don't think you have to rush picking one out-"

"I already have one in mind."

Kisame blinked in surprise. "Oh. Well, what is it?" Itachi beckoned for Kisame to come closer and bend down. Once they were barely separated, Itachi whispered something into the shark's ear and pulled back, making Kisame frown. "No fair, you know I don't speak Falk."

"I'll tell you what it means when the war is over," Itachi promised. "Once you get that bedroom for us."

"Going to be mysterious about this, eh?" Kisame shook his head and smiled. "Fine. But I'm holding you to that promise, all right? No backing out on it later."

"Hn."

-n-

Kisame suddenly awoke from his dream, alone in an empty VUM tent and Kami knows how many miles away from Itachi. Grateful for the solitude, Kisame rolled over onto his stomach and buried his face in his pillow, hoping that it would muffle his sobs.