A/N: Wow. It still feels like just a short while ago I was creating a folder called New Life Year Two and putting chapter 53 in it. It does not feel like a whole second year of this fic has passed. Probably because less than a whole week passed in it! :D

A Guest reviewed this story to congratulate me for writing so much without a lot of feedback. To them, I just want to say, thank you for reading so much of what is not exactly a story, but rather a kind of weekly journal that I happen to publish online in story form. I'm glad to know you like it, and I hope this fic helps somebody out.

There are references to fictional properties in the chapter below. The first one talked about is Brother Bear, and the second is Race To The Edge (the second spinoff How To Train Your Dragon television show). I can't believe I've only recently seen Brother Bear. It is fantastic!

Happy Fourth! If any of you are in heatwave country, I'm so sorry, and please avoid fireworks.

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Kisame

"Aw. So they're like your kids?" Ruta asked.

They already had a fire going, so dinner had been made and brought out to the backyard for relaxed outdoor eating. Ruta and Hidan, however, were far more interested in each other. They had barely touched their food, choosing instead to demolish an entire box of cat treats. Hidan practically had stars in his eyes. This person was like him!

Itachi and Deidara had dragged Nagato and Yahiko aside to plan things. Konan and Sasori sat together silently on the porch. Kakuzu sat silently as well next to the fire, winding and unwinding a bit of thread from his forearm, which was obviously a bad sign that nobody dared ask about. Samehada slept on the grass to recover from his recent exertions. That left Kisame free to watch Hidan and Ruta as much as he felt compelled to. Painful as it was, the way they vibed together was impossible for him to ignore. Probably because of all these recent thoughts I've been having about not having anybody like that for myself.

"Eh…" Hidan rubbed his head. "I don't look after them enough for that. But they do feel kinda like my people. We're all wild kids."

"If they're your people and you treat them that way, then that is looking after them." Ruta's voice had pain in it. Kisame looked away. Poor kid. He doesn't have much of a people either. I shouldn't have been so harsh on him. If he wants to make up a world that makes sense, who can blame him?

"Yeah…" Hidan visibly warmed to the idea. "Fuck yeah!" He and Ruta fistbumped.

"I want to meet this demon!" Ruta exclaimed. "He and I sound like we have a lot in common!"

"Really? What?"

"Gathering information, and thinking of things, and not sharing all of it." Ruta's hands twisted in his lap.

Kisame snorted. "You? Keeping secrets?" He got up from his place next to Kakuzu and sat next to Hidan in the grass so he wouldn't have to speak very loudly. "I'll believe that when I see it."

"I keep lots of secrets," Ruta said. He appeared perfectly sincere. "I don't talk about things that are dangerous to talk about. Talk is serious; a lot of things are too dangerous."

Kisame raised an eyebrow. "Really?" He tried to remember what Ruta had said or not said before. What does he know that could be dangerous? He was there when I said I didn't have any family, and he hasn't talked about that. But maybe he's just forgotten. He's talked with Konan about all kinds of things, so he has to know something about Hidan. I know she's keeping something about Hidan from us. But he hasn't even hinted at shit, only random cat-related things that aren't dangerous at all. Damn, he could be telling the truth.

"You talk a lot though," Kisame said.

"Only about things that are brought up."

Kisame's respect for him grew. "So you don't volunteer things you aren't asked about?"

Ruta made a face. "That'd be rude! It would just be weird to jump in with something nobody asked anything related to. There's lots of stuff I want to talk about but can't because nobody else talks about it so it would be super awkward to mention."

"So anybody who wants to milk you for information has to already know the answers they're looking for," Kisame said with a grin. "And how does that mesh with dangerous or not dangerous speech?"

"If it's dangerous and I'm asked a direct question, I'm not answering that question. If the question can be answered in a way that's true but unhelpful, then I'll answer it that way. If the question is more like a statement because they already know, I'll treat it like any normal thing to talk about. If it's not dangerous, then if they ask me I'll talk all about it and if they don't I won't."

Jesus. The kid's planned this strategy down to the dot. "Nice."

"I think the demon kid doesn't answer shit just because we'd act in less interesting ways if we knew stuff," Hidan said.

"I like this demon kid better already." Wait a second...why? Why do I really like talking about keeping secrets?

As if she had read his mind, Konan appeared. "That's not all Ruta can do," she said to Kisame. "He is very resistant to torture; the ability to communicate is the first thing he loses when distressed."

What the hell? Torture? "Interesting." Oh my god, it actually is interesting. What's wrong with me?

"I thought you would appreciate that," Konan said with a smile. "Your original made it his life's work to keep secrets from being spilled, after all." She left.

"Fuck. I'd forgotten that part," Kisame said. "I was focused on the part where Other Me betrayed his own teammates regularly, and how that makes me paranoid. I forgot about why he did that."

Ruta leaned in and whispered, "He killed people before they could talk?"

I'm seeing it with my own eyes, so I believe it. He actually can be discreet! "Yeah."

"That must've been hard." Was Ruta being sympathetic towards a backstabbing murderer? He was.

"You gonna finish that?" Hidan pointed to Ruta's food. Ruta started to eat.

On a whim, Kisame decided to tease him. "Nice imaginary worlds you have there."

Ruta immediately put his plate down. "Yeah, I -"

"Shouldn't you be eating?"

Ruta glared at him. "I need to concentrate to eat, okay?"

"I know. Couldn't help it." Kisame grinned. He sat back and allowed Ruta to concentrate on eating.

"Dammit!" Kakuzu swore. "I forgot about the papers. Excuse me while I find out whose room they were left in."

Ruta chewed his last mouthful slowly before asking, "Does he always act grumpy like that?"

"Yep." Hidan slung an arm over Ruta's shoulders. "He's a bear."

"Black bear or grizzly?"

Hidan blinked. "Can grizzly bears have black fur? Shit, I need to find out." He consulted Google. Ruta did as well, and they began to share bear facts back and forth with each other, until an animated movie about bears was mentioned, and the whole conversation switched to gender politics. "It's not even accurate!" Hidan complained. "I can change forms, so I would know. My eyes are the same in both forms."

"Nice how the only non-feminine female bear is the one that's shown as a monster." Ruta frowned and crossed his arms in agreement. "Though I like that they didn't magically change her appearance after she was revealed to be sympathetic. Have you ever seen…"

5 minutes later: "So good characters are always bad actors?"

"Maybe it's motion sickness from their personality swinging around so fast."

Hidan scratched his head. "How badly must it suck to be a character in a story and have your personality and world and shit sliding out from under you as the author changes his mind?" On the other side of the yard, Itachi wondered what Hidan felt about having run away from home. Did he miss his home? Did he have regrets? Itachi had a lot of regrets. He normally wasn't the sort to have any, because normally everything that happened made sense. He could not regret things that had contributed to who he was, since he liked who he was and did not want to change. But he regretted the fight with his mother and father, and regretted the way he had left Sasuke. He couldn't make that into a part of himself at all. It would always be a thorn in his psyche, nagging at him. It was out of place now that he looked back, but it had seemed to make perfect sense at the time. Itachi had a flash of insight; what if that had been a false memory within the rest of his false memories? The idea that he'd somehow been tricked into falsely remembering leaving his family in such a cruel way hardly made sense, but it made more sense than the event actually having happened. Could he trust his memory at all? His sense of self-doubt grew.

"That is the ultimate form of gaslighting," Ruta murmured. His eyes were wide. "Oh my god. I knew authors can be unimaginably cruel to their creations, more than any fellow creation can, but that is…"

"Shit," Hidan exclaimed. "Maybe the suddenly-bad acting after it's revealed that they were a good guy all along is really because of mental trauma. Oh man."

"Maybe for the characters that were supposedly undercover for a long time," Ruta muttered. "But what about her?" He was asking about a specific character he had just been using as an example of this trope. "She was only acting evil for maybe two episodes before the heroes discovered she was on their side."

"Well…"

5 minutes later: "Aliens. It really makes the most sense for it to be aliens, right? What could possibly cause plasma breath to evolve naturally?"

Kisame burst out laughing. Hidan sputtered, and Ruta grinned reflexively. The rest of the backyard became very quiet, except for Samehada, who woke up and chirred. He doubled over, folding over his aching midsection, until the laughter subsided and he was able to sit up straight again. "You two are nuts. How did you manage to go from feminine bears to alien dragons?"

"With a stop at lasting psychological trauma in the middle," Ruta said, which caused Kisame to start laughing all over again. Samehada joined in. Hidan gave up and let himself fall back onto the grass giggling endlessly. Ruta grinned so much his facial muscles started to hurt, and still he couldn't stop.

Itachi came over and asked Kisame if he was all right. Kisame grinned back at him in response. I swam as a shark, I found out I have long-lost family, and I get to enjoy lighthearted fun for once. I'm more right than I've ever been. Today had been a very good day.

Kakuzu

The first place Kakuzu checked was his room, and that was where the papers were. He picked them up carefully, suddenly aware that he did not know what to expect. The papers had already sprouted writing where there had not been any before. What else might they do?

Nothing happened, so Kakuzu began to flip through the pages. A number of exotic symbols were pictured, but there was no mention of the one symbol that he sought protection from. Kakuzu perused each and every bit of writing on the pages, reading over it three times to make sure. When he was done, he took a deep breath and tried to identify the source of his rising anger. Was what he had learned really so frustrating, or was he in the mood for breaking things because of the symbol?

Regretfully, he had to conclude that it was false anger generated from being near the symbol. I have no reason to be angry at this news. It makes perfect sense. Of course shielding symbols have to be drawn on a person, and not around the symbol; the symbol affects everyone differently. Protection from it has to be individualized, a personal shield. But the personal shield, if he got one, would be formed from symbols similar to the ones that put a god in their basement, using similar techniques, probably drawing their power from the same god, and would be invisibly etched into his skin forever. Kakuzu didn't even have tattoos. He was not going to be happy about putting a permanent mark on himself, no matter what.

But he wasn't the only person whose opinions mattered. Kakuzu closed his eyes and called up recent memories of Hidan and Ruta getting along excellently. That kind of interaction was what he wanted to have. Friendly interaction, not threats and nearly killing people. Furthermore, he wanted others to have those kinds of interactions too. Kakuzu ran down his list of reasons why annoying childlike people should be happy as patiently as he could. He clenched a fist and fought off the temptation to get angry as he did so.

Be reasonable. I have anger problems, clearly. So I have to do something about them. If this is the only way…

Yahiko

"Maybe he just found it funny," Yahiko said. Uncharacteristic behavior didn't always have to be bad, right?

"I don't know anymore," Itachi murmured. "I haven't failed to notice that Kisame is on some separate personal journey. I don't know him well enough to be sure anymore. I hope the Hatakes are helping him."

Yahiko said nothing. Itachi sounded sad, and normally he would have tried to be comforting, but it was a relief to hear he and Nagato weren't the only friends undergoing tough changes. Now that he had personal experience, he didn't know if comforting was even possible, either. It feels like the only thing that will help is waiting. Maybe I can offer to wait with him?

"They're like him," Nagato said in a low, oddly strained voice. "I'm sure they are, just by being like him."

Yahiko narrowed his eyes and took hold of his courage. He had once failed to see that Nagato had problems. Never again! What is he really saying? Is he upset because he wants people like him? That seemed logical. But why? He's basically the standard for a normal guy. He's strong, and smart, and, you know… Normal. A guy. Not whatever I am. What group of people could he want?

Yahiko tried his best to probe. "Is that important?"

Itachi glanced at him as if he knew exactly why Yahiko asked that, which he probably did, and did not answer. Nagato looked away. "Yeah. It's pretty important. Just to know what's possible for people like you, what matters… I wouldn't be surprised if he thinks a lot more about being a shark now. Things like scale care don't exactly come up in conversation with people who don't have to question their species."

So… He's upset about things we never would have talked about? Yahiko was appalled. There were things they didn't talk about besides their dead families and his inability to be a proper man? Oh no. I thought all those conversations about all kinds of stuff, all those years of sharing a life, I thought all that would mean we knew each other. Was it a lie? Were we lying? I wasn't lying, I was just...leaving stuff out… Oh no. Maybe I was lying to him. Maybe I'm a liar. His stomach dropped. The peace he envisioned for the world was possible, he believed, if only people would be honest and truthful with each other. Where there was honesty, there could not be discord. That was what he believed, and he thought it a simple and realistic goal. If he was wrong, had he failed? Was he really not helping people at all? Had he made others like him, other people with painful secrets, feel bad by saying that honesty was simple? Oh no.

"I wouldn't be surprised by that either," Itachi murmured. "I did my best to ask and talk about such things, but there is a difference between honestly treating it as normal and forcing myself to because I think I should. I should visit them one day, to experience the difference for myself."

Nagato cleared his throat. "Can we get back to the vampires?"

"Yeah, hm." Deidara looked very uncomfortable, and no wonder. He didn't have a personal relation to this topic the way everyone else did. Yahiko realized that Deidara must be encountering this difference, this feeling of being an outsider and not having a group, right now. And there was nothing he could do about that, because he couldn't magically give Deidara a need for a group of his own or a friend with such a need, nor did he want to. It was starting to look like there was a lot of sadness and conflict in the world that was just unsolvable.

No! If I believe that, how can I solve anything? Wait, though… Yahiko looked closer, and noticed the black and white thinking in his own thoughts. There had to be something in between making the whole world a happier place and doing nothing. What did that in between look like?

I don't have the first clue how to do what I want to do. I'm not wise enough, not grown up enough. Help! He wished Jiraiya was around. Jiraiya might know about gray areas and making peace with things he could not change. Yahiko was starting to realize he was actually pretty bad at making peace with most things. Especially with himself.

While Yahiko was absorbed in his own thoughts, Itachi had gone ahead and summarized the plan they'd put together for when the vampires were next approached. He agreed with Nagato that honesty and truthfulness was the best way to minimize conflict, so they should be upfront about their refusal to attack Hidan or the symbol. He admitted that he too saw no way to cushion that news except for pairing it with a different kind of shock. "Do you see any, Deidara?"

"They're the ones who brought up prophets in the first place, yeah. They're the first people who should know he is one."

"So we are not keeping it a secret from anyone else. Hidan's going to be the only person who doesn't know he's a prophet." Nagato waited until he received nods, then sighed. "I guess that was kind of what we were already doing, and what he wants. But it doesn't feel right. It feels like gossiping about him behind his back."

"If it doesn't feel right…" He knows what I think about trusting instincts. Do what feels right! Assuming that the advice I give is any good… Maybe it's not. I should take it back.

"You're right," Nagato said. "I can't do this behind his back. I have to ask him somehow if he agrees to this plan first."

"Would that be dangerous?" Deidara asked.

"I'll be careful," Nagato promised. "Asking him what he wants me to do and getting his permission first is what feels right. Thank you, Yahiko." His face, formerly clouded with inner conflict, was now clear. He smiled.

Yahiko's thoughts grew even more clouded and unclear. So I do give good advice? What is it? Am I good at this, or… Oh no, that's black and white thinking again. I'm more gray. What does that mean?! Am I only partially good at this, or good sometimes and bad other times, or… How much should I believe in myself? He was starting to slip into thinking he was secretly a bad person again. No! I need to remember my good qualities. But didn't he risk overstating himself and accidentally doing the wrong thing without realizing if he did that? How much was too much, and how much was enough? Kakuzu is right. I am so much like a little kid. I don't know how to handle things!

At just that moment, an eerie sound rose from the forest. It was high, and sad, and wavered as if in pain. There came another sound just like it, then another, until the whole forest vibrated with them. The sound drew all attention to it, made thinking of anything else impossible. It could have been an hour before it stopped, or 30 seconds. When it did, Yahiko realized he had gotten to his feet and was searching uselessly for something that should be at his side. So was everyone else, with the exceptions of Kisame, Hidan and Konan, who had weapons with them. They held them in a decidedly non-useless manner.

"That was the 'something bad is happening' howl," Ruta translated. "It's like an emergency signal. It calls for immediate help, or retreat, or a warning to get ready for bad things."

Samehada growled. Kisame was startled to realize how much the shark had stiffened his body. For the first time, he could see how Samehada could have been a sword. Kisame relaxed his grip on Same's tail and tilted the shark back to lean against his shoulder. "That's all? "Something bad'? You have no specifics?"

"'Something bad' is specific enough."

Konan nodded. Yahiko saw a chance to win some more of her approval. "Yeah. It tells us what we should do, and that's enough. We should stay here, prepare in case whatever is happening comes our way, and try to stay out of it until then." I'm not going to run to a demon again. I promise. You can trust me.

Konan nodded again. Yes! "I heard it from the north and northwest. How quickly can you travel east to your base?" she asked Ruta.

"Pretty fast," Ruta answered. "No way I'm sending an email back, so I won't need to carry my laptop." He gave it to Sasori, who was sitting again. "Now?"

"If it is safe." Konan looked into the dark forest again. The whispers of wind in the trees suddenly sounded menacing instead of friendly. "Does a lack of howls to the east indicate that the problem has not spread that far?"

"Yup. The pack always heads out to the west. If the problem was closer to home, we'd have heard the howl earlier." Ruta took off running, vanishing into the trees in an instant.

Kakuzu landed in the backyard with a thump. "Nothing visible," he reported. "Not from this roof in this light, and that's not saying much." There was not a lot of natural light available and the roof was not very high.

"Thank you." Konan turned to Hidan. "You and I will keep watch. Use your sensory ability as best you can to detect hostile forces. I will set up a perimeter of butterflies: a perimeter only, in case their presence in the forest would attract attention."

"The rest of us?" Nagato had to swallow before he could speak. He hadn't gotten that much more comfortable with using his powers against people.

"Get some sleep." Konan sounded almost bored as she said that, as if it was obvious. But it was paradoxical! Go to sleep when there was an emergency happening? "It is late, you will need strength if a battle occurs, and the goal is that a battle will not occur. Keep your phones nearby, and active."

The howl was long gone and no other sounds were audible. Whatever was happening seemed far away or just not very destructive or both. Most of the Akatsuki members realized that they were tired and would like some sleep. Samehada yawned and unstiffened his body, crawling back over Kisame's shoulder to resume his nap. For the most part, they followed her advice.

But not Kakuzu. "I would rather be on the roof," he said in response to Konan's questioning look. She continued to look at him for several seconds, then turned away and allowed it. He joined them up on the roof, where he put his excess energy to good use patrolling all four sides at a fast pace. Hidan sat in the broken corner and made that strange hand sign he used to concentrate, and Konan stood in the center making butterflies.

When that was done, she perched next to Hidan, and settled into the long business of waiting.

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A/N: Another chapter that's less than 4000 words, but feels like it's meant to be that way, so I'm allowing it. Yay! Flexibility!

I actually did think of a fanfic idea for How To Train your Dragon where, among other things, Night Furies were revealed to be descended from related dragons that were altered by aliens to produce plasma as fuel for their ships. I'm glad I'm not writing that. I love the idea of creating a whole society of dragons and imagining how they work and socialize and live, but there are better ways to do it than by bringing aliens into the equation. No aliens allowed!

I am looking forward to a most excellent and hopefully much-improved third year. See you all next week!