Sasori was then allowed to join Deidara, and any members that could help did so, Kakuzu being the main one to sew up her wounds. The others found any medical stuff—mostly bandages—that they could find in the hideout to give to her. It seemed strange that even though no one—maybe not even Sasori—knew her well, if at all, and yet they were doing all they could to help her. To save her life. Even Hidan could help. He knew injuries better than anyone, and could easily tell what kind of things would be needed. Deidara, in any other situation, would have brushed these things off, but now he was thanking every single one of them, even Itachi. He would hug—possibly even kiss—Itachi if it meant Angel would remain alive. He had done so little to help her before compared to what she had done, and now he was determined to repay the favour.

In some ways, focusing on healing her stopped feelings and thoughts of guilt into his head, yet at the same time brought it back so strongly while looking down on her unconscious body. He was working so hard he didn't have time for trivial things; but knowing that she had allowed him and Sasori to leave earlier to keep them alive, even with what she knew would happen, and he had just let it be, though comprehending the suspicions involved. She had been the sacrifice for them being okay.

But Deidara was not about to accept that fact.

And—fortunately—luck was on his side that day.

Hours passed after her arrival, and though there were times were her pulse slowed; where Deidara thought she was gone from his life, it came back and continued on. Sometimes it felt, when he laid a hand on her, looked at her face at times when her pulse slowed, something seemed to happen. It all slowed down; the only thing he could hear was his breathing and his heart pounding in his ears. But then came a beat that intertwined with his, and through the physical contact passed his will for her to live straight into her. And so her pulse came back, almost like she was fighting herself, a deeper sign in her subconscious that there was something unfinished in her life, or just the idea it was not her time; she wasn't ready yet.

And as the late hours of night grew into the early hours of the morning, the sun edging into the sky with golden, pink and orange waves that extended for miles, acting like a beacon of hope. She became stable; the medication they had, they gave it to her, she wasn't bleeding anymore and her breathing was steady. She was gonna be okay. Deidara, exhausted emotionally and physically, grabbed a chair and sat down next to her, putting his head in his hands. Sighing numerous times, he surprised a few as a few minutes later a laugh broke out of him. He had such a huge sense of relief that it was over; he'd been so pissed off with his dreams as he looked after her, with all of them coming true, and now all that filled his mind and his body was that feeling of the last dream. That it was all over and it was all okay. He had nothing to be afraid of, and everything to look forward to. Everything was fine.

But it wasn't over yet. Leader now came into the room, everyone following and looking over at him; even Sasori. Deidara hadn't explained anything to him, even back in the town. So now he had a lot of explaining to do, everyone expecting him to have made up the crap about her being to do with the riddles and the rune just to make sure she was okay. But even if he had, he wasn't going to let them take her away from him. He'd almost had that experience twice already. A third time would have broken him. So as Leader bluntly asked what the hell he had been talking about, Deidara began,

"Well, in basic terms, Leader-danna...she is the rune."

"Deidara, even I don't get that, and I've been on this mission with you. What do you mean?"

"The picture of the rune, Sasori-danna. It's tattooed on the top of her back; but if she's lived here for most of her life, where could she have got it done, un? There's no places in the area. Not to mention it can't be coincidence. She didn't even know about it, un," He responded quickly, then adding,

"And that riddle. 'Although unbreakable, it's more fragile than it seems, un, it doesn't make any sense. A solid object as in a stone can't be both. Plus 'its own beliefs and dreams'? A stone can't have that. A person can, un. And then the last two lines; 'the scars and wounds will always be felt, but to be strong, it will need to turn its healing unto itself', un. All things that don't add up to it being a stone."

"I wasn't sure about this at first, Leader-sama...but it might be right. They are riddles; and although you said it would be like a gem or stone, a human is solid. And if the idea of a human is placed with the riddles...a lot of them make sense." Sasori suddenly cut in, Leader's eyes darting over, narrowing his eyes in slight confusion. He had never considered this possibility, but both of them were pretty much certain. Even Sasori, who hadn't known the full details. The girl had the tattoo. Came from the area it was in. In a house that had all the information on it. It was plausible...

"I don't think Bokun had figured that out, though; all he knew that she was something to do with it. Maybe he thought she knew where it was. That her family had had it and it was now in her possession. If he wanted something like a rune with untold power, he wouldn't have kept a young child with him and looked after her as she grew up if he didn't want something from it." Sasori added, Deidara nodded and continuing on from this,

"But she didn't either; but it could be that it wasn't the rune itself that was being passed down to her from older generations, un. Maybe it was knowledge of the rune; that someday there would be a child that would have its powers, that was what Bokun was looking for. But with the way he treated her, it wouldn't surprise me if Bokun had killed them before that knowledge was passed on. Before she was able to know about and accept her powers. I told you about some of them; I don't doubt she has so many more. She is the rune, Leader. And that's why I—we—can't let her go."

Smirking yet sighing at the same time, Leader didn't look away from Deidara's gaze as he thought about it. Whatever he chose, Deidara would influence it. If he said that they couldn't accept a person, it hadn't been in his plan, Deidara would go berserk. With the connection he had seen, it would be impossible to part them. Not that he wanted to; with a person it would be easier to train, to shape the powers for use with every member of the Akatsuki. With Deidara there she would be more willing to learn in order to stay with him and therefore try harder. It wasn't like they didn't have the space. And eventually, he nodded, Deidara visibly relaxing at this fact.

"I can't let her go; I told you to get the rune for its power, and though it is a woman, she still has that power. I won't let the opportunity for that kind of ability to slip past because she's a person, not a stone. But she'll have to be trained in it, you do realise. If she doesn't truly know about all of her heritage, then we need to fill her in and get her started on using her power. And I can't exactly get on at you for it anyway, Deidara-san. You did complete the mission after all."

Grinning at his words, Deidara thanked him and pulled his chair closer to the bed, sitting by her and absentmindedly stroked her arm as he thought about stuff and when she was going to wake up. Leader rose an eyebrow at what he was doing, but let it be, turning slightly and saying softly, though in earshot of every Akatsuki,

"Though somehow I don't think that was your first priority."

Laughing out loud at Leader's comment, everyone slowly filed away, Sasori lingering in the doorway the longest, glancing back and forth from Deidara to Angel with a smirk, allowing himself one little bit—okay, quite a bit—of relief at her remaining alive, but then shaking it off, falling back into his normal expression and pausing only once more, continued on. Now Deidara was left completely alone with her, and moved in ever closer, holding her hand and stroking it with a smile. He wanted to stay awake to make sure she was okay; but something inside of him told him that even if he slept his subconscious would tell him if something was wrong. So he laid his head onto her shoulder, and slowly drifted off to sleep beside her.

Her calm heartbeat was his lullaby.