A/N: Gah! Ten words shy of 4000! I'll allow it. From now on, chapters shorter than 4000 words are allowed in this story and they don't need to be special.

I thought it would be much more of a struggle to finish this chapter on time than it actually was. Whew. Not a lot of trouble here. Things appear to be good so far, at least if you don't mind shorter chapters.

The following chapter contains references (in order) to things last mentioned in: chapter 35 (Kakuzu), chapter 59 (Nagato), and chapter 48 (Yahiko). Seeing as it's been literally a year since the most recent of those, I'll go over what happened in the end notes. Can't believe I need to do catchups on my story now. *sigh*

Fun!

.

Deidara

It was a good day to give Clay a bath. He was starting to need one, and it was also a good idea for...other reasons.

Deidara had yet to see any of what the demon boy had seen. So far, his ability to command Clay to do things was unaffected. The owl did not make any extra movements of his own. Deidara had to scrub just as hard to get dust off, so the physical properties of his clay were unchanged.

I wish Konan was around, hm. Flying with her is so much fun. It'll be boring to do acrobatics for no reason, yeah. He doubted that he could pull off any of his usual acrobatics without her weapons flying at him. He had reacted poorly to them once, but now they were strangely calming. His mind had this way of focusing that he couldn't quite achieve under any other circumstance.

But Konan was busy somewhere else, so he would have to make do. Deidara sighed, grabbed his bag of clay, and hoisted himself onto his bird. They flew over the trees into the forest.

Deidara looked down and watched the trees passing by below. They looked so small. Did the trees in Konan's world look any different? What kind of forest was Clay meant to fly in? I wish I could know… It would be nice to be able to visit, yeah. But worlds don't work like that. Before meeting Konan, he had fantasized sometimes about another world, a world of adventure and wilderness and all the sorts of things that he liked. He still did, even after finding out that her world (which matched his fantasies exactly) was a hellhole. He just made sure his fantasies were strictly about the good parts now, and not the parts she had told them about. Is that any different from what I have here? All the adventure and flying and stuff, without the hardships of hiding my powers or dealing with authorities or being feared? What am I gonna fantasize about then, hm?

Instead of fantasizing, he made himself focus on a sheer dive down into the trees. For the duration of that dive, he could not and did not think. When he broke through into a relatively clear area where it was safe to stop, he did so. Okay. Did anything unusual happen just now?

No. Nothing unusual had happened, as far as he could tell. The reflexes he was honing and improving in training with Konan had worked, and Clay had worked, and nothing about the experience had changed in any way. Deidara frowned. He'd suspected that, if anything had happened to Clay, the ideal time for it to show would be when he wasn't actively controlling the bird. If nothing happened when he was in a mindless, thoughtless, entirely reflexive state, then it didn't seem likely that anything would ever happen.

Deidara sighed. "Guess I'm not gonna see anything, huh? That's fine. I don't need to see anything. I mean, I don't think you'd try to hurt me, so what's there to worry about, yeah?" He patted Clay on the head. "I think… I think we should get ice cream, yeah."

He flew off, looking forward to a completely fantastical adventure of buying ice cream with a giant clay bird and nobody saying anything about it.

Kakuzu

Sasori said nothing when Kakuzu arrived to pick up his truck. Smart. It would have been unwise to give Kakuzu the idea of charging for the use of his truck if he didn't already have it.

Unfortunately, Kakuzu did already have it. "That'll be 50 dollars," he pronounced.

Sasori sighed. "Are there alternate forms of payment available?"

Kakuzu thought about it. I already established that I'll need help for what I'm looking to do. I thought Hidan would be the most helpful, but in case he isn't… "Maybe. Payment due by tonight."

Sasori nodded. "I'll be in my new office looking through a desk full of papers. Call me anytime."

Kakuzu nodded and drove away.

His first order of business was to scout out the pool place his bookie had told him about more than a week ago. Perhaps he could try his hand at a few honest games; he'd never played, so who knew. He might have some talent at it. Once he'd established what kind of people frequented the place, gotten a feel for the average skill level, and of course asked around for the names of any fellow sharks or people who were unusually talented, then it would be time to start planning how to best fleece them out of their money. That would be the fun part. Kakuzu growled softly under his breath at the thought of it.

He hoped Hidan was skilled at pool. Now that they were in close contact more often and participating in violent activities like fighting, Kakuzu had to admit it. He and Hidan were similar, after all. Kakuzu had always thought of himself as more civilized, but it was impossible to deny that the thrill he felt at the thought of seizing another's money was nearly identical to the thrill of fighting. Hidan knew that thrill. He would understand why separating others from their cash was a worthwhile pursuit. He already had in the past. It would be nice to have a partner in crime who understood and agreed.

Kakuzu parked some distance away and walked to the place. He was taking a risk by coming in person. He might be recognized, sending everyone who was worth fleecing into hiding. That was a risk that was worth taking, because the personal touch was an absolutely essential element of these jobs. If he couldn't be there, it was no fun. Kakuzu shook his head. I am starting to sound too much like Hidan for my comfort.

If he was recognized, it wasn't obvious. He glanced around and saw nobody looking up at him, moving away, or anything else. He had a fairly good time playing pool with a couple of eager 20-somethings who were about as good as he was, and they came here at least every weekend. Kakuzu guessed that his original's background as a ninja gave him enhanced abilities to estimate where projectiles would go and how much force he should use to send them there.

After them, someone else approached. Someone with a very different air about him than those fun-loving kids. Kakuzu had seen this guy watching him as he played. "Good for 50?" the man asked. He rolled his tongue around his mouth in the sleazy way that gangsters in movies did.

Kakuzu did not like that. He did not like that at all. What the hell. If I lose, it'll keep me from seeming suspicious. If I win, it'll be obvious that it was an honest win, since I am being honest. He nodded.

The man smiled. "What's a friendly little bet between friends?" Kakuzu hated his friggin' guts. If he's deliberately provoking me to throw off my game, he's got a surprise coming. Kakuzu happened to get much, much more focused when he was angry. In cases like this where expressing his anger was what he needed to do, that meant the man would achieve the exact opposite of his goal.

Kakuzu couldn't help but notice how similar the sharp, sudden motions of his hands as he struck the balls were to the jabbing motions he would probably use to kill somebody. Good. I was about to worry that my original's instincts wouldn't translate well to playing pool. He didn't do that much better than he had against the kids; he was no expert after 2 games of practice. But he did win himself 50 dollars. That sum of money wasn't very satisfying. I wanted to clean the floor with this smug, egotistical bastard.

The man shrugged. "Damn. Better than I thought. Rematch?"

In a flash, Kakuzu realized the true purpose of the insulting comments. He's a shark. He's fucking trying to scam me. The idea of that was so funny that it deflated Kakuzu's anger. He tried not to laugh. If he was too obvious, the man might realize that the only way he could have caught on so quickly was if he was a fellow scammer, and Kakuzu's plan would be ruined.

He curled his fists, pretending to still be furious. He looked away and took slow breaths, as if trying to calm himself. "No." Kakuzu shoved himself away from the table. "I'd rather not undo all my training." He made sure to look at the guy's throat as he said that. The implied threat was not too far off from what he had actually wanted, so it should pass.

The sleazy man smiled thinly and backed off. Kakuzu turned and walked out. I wasn't even lying, he realized. I really should avoid undoing my anger management efforts.

He was going to get plenty of practice at that. In the world of pool, he apparently seemed like an easy mark. He hadn't gotten the information he needed this time, so he was going to have to come back. That meant confronting more sharks. Kakuzu shook his head and decided to spend his evening meditating or something in preparation.

Nagato

Ring. Ring. Ri- "Hello?"

"Hi." Nagato sat against the front of his car out in the parking lot, the only place on the premises where he was allowed to use his phone. "I have updates on the event."

"Will I need to position myself conveniently?" Itachi asked.

"Unclear. Marsha has specific standards for music, so she wants to know exactly what you'll be playing."

Nagato expected that to be an unpleasant thing to hear. He was surprised when Itachi said, "That will not be a problem. If she has suggestions, I will play those."

"Really?"

"Of course." A pause. "Why do you sound surprised?"

Why do I sound surprised? Nagato cleared his throat as he thought. "I guess...I just thought you would feel insulted."

"Why would I be insulted?"

"I don't know. I think I thought all artists like to direct their own shows?"

Itachi laughed quietly. "I do not play for myself. I play for others. As long as it is not sprung upon me at the last minute, making me feel rushed, I have no problem conforming to a set of standards."

Nagato still wasn't entirely comfortable, and didn't know why he wasn't, so he changed the topic. "I'll ask. I'm sure she'll be happy to hear that."

"Thank you." With that, Itachi hung up.

Nagato sat against his car and took a deep breath, then let it out in a rush. I'm glad I finally followed through on that promise. It's good to feel like my personal life is stable for once! Konan was fine, Hidan was amazing, Yahiko worked just as smoothly with him as he always had, and nobody was dying or in pain. Nagato considered that to be success.

He went back inside. It was playtime.

In town

The bird person was getting ice cream with his bird. Might he get a little extra?

Bird Person blinked, then smiled. "Hey, kid. Want some, yeah?" Yes. "Um...what kind?" Mint chocolate chip.

Bird Person squinted at the display board. "You could be looking at five or six of these, yeah. Do you want this one, or this one, or…" Nod. "Mint chocolate chip? Okay, yeah. One of those, please."

It was good. It was minty and chocolatey. It was best followed by something warm and dense. No mice near the ice cream cart. There could be mice elsewhere. Bird Person said "Bye!" Bird Person was nice.

There was a mouse near the fish place. The fish place was noisy, full of people. Bad. Somewhere else would be better.

The tree place had few people. Good. Want to sit. Want to be small, quiet. The bushes were hard to walk into, but that was okay. That made them super dark and small and quiet. The dark and small and quiet was very nice. Like a den, but no digging.

There was sleep. After, it was cooler. Too cold. The bushes were hard to walk out of. The tree place was not good anymore. Stone was better. Stone, to capture the falling sun.

A cat appeared. She was lonely. She was good to hold. Her tongue was rough against skin. It was good at licking up tears. The kind person was warm and soft and good for holding. Want.

The kind person was in the tree place again. He was trying to talk to flowers. The flowers liked him, but he didn't know it yet. Warm hugs. The flowers could wait. Jealous of flowers? Bad…

Kind Person didn't think so. "Oh, hello! How are you?" Lonely. "Are you okay?" Too cold. "Do you need a hug?" The kind person was very warm. His heart was good to hear. It was very sad to hear. Snakey was almost crushed.

"What's wrong?" Kind Person tried to understand. "I'm sorry." He did understand. Not the why, but the pain. He understood that. "You can come for hugs anytime you want, if you need to."

Curl into a ball. Warm heartbeat. Like other small humans? Did they hear warm heartbeats? Mommy? They seemed to. Mommy. Kind Person's hand was gentle against hair. Thumb found its way to mouth. It was nice to suck on.

More sleep. It was good. Mommy…

Yahiko

Yahiko continued to softly stroke the hair of the small child he held in his lap, even after the boy fell asleep. He couldn't stop himself. A small child, snuggling against his chest for warmth… The feeling of it called to something deep inside him. I definitely want to be a parent someday.

Nagato came out from the trails, which he had decided to explore while Yahiko practiced his spirit-talking. He froze as soon as he saw the little snake boy. He pointed at him, and Yahiko nodded. He didn't know exactly what Nagato was asking by pointing. It didn't matter.

Nagato crept over and sat down as quietly as he could. "He's adorable," Nagato whispered.

Yahiko nodded. Does seeing this call to him the same way?

Nagato crept even closer. After some hesitation, he leaned against Yahiko's shoulder and loosely wrapped his arms around them both. Yahiko grinned. It does!

"What do you think he's dreaming of?" Nagato whispered.

Yahiko didn't even have to pause. "Sunbeams." A little snake, curled on a rock, in the sun… Somehow he was certain that the little snake must be dreaming of that.

Nagato laughed. "More thematic appropriateness?"

Yahiko stopped halfway down the boy's small head. Wait… Is that true? He hadn't thought it was. Trust myself. Trying to do that. So… I guess it isn't true? "Um, no?" How does this work? Am I supposed to believe it just because I decided to say so? I can't just make myself believe something that easily. Can I?

"I was joking," Nagato whispered. He relaxed against Yahiko. Yahiko relaxed too and resumed patting the boy's head. He was so small! So delicate! So much that the thought of it makes me want to cry. His eyes were threatening to drip. Yahiko thought they might be happy tears, so he smiled.

Nagato took a deep, strained breath. "Are we going to sit here until he wakes up and leaves?" It was unclear what answer he was hoping for.

Yahiko furrowed his brow. "I don't know. The demon boy usually looks after him; we could ask him."

The demon boy did not appear. Neither of them wanted to call out for him, so they stayed right where they were. Yahiko started to rock back and forth just a little. Nagato grew increasingly tense. The sun noticeably lowered, throwing them into shadow. Nagato bit his lip. Just when he was maximally uncomfortable, a hand suddenly tapped him on the shoulder from behind. He jumped, nearly making Yahiko fall over.

The demon boy giggled. "You guys spook so easily!"

"What do we do with him?" Yahiko whispered.

"You do not get to take him inside a people house. He doesn't like that," the demon boy said sternly. He glared at Yahiko. Then he smiled, his eyes forming happy little curves. "But he likes being carried!"

"Walk him home?" Yahiko asked. The demon boy sighed happily. "Okay."

It was surprisingly hard to shift his arms around in order to carry the snake boy. Yahiko had to fight to relax his arms at every step because the boy was so delicate that Yahiko could barely touch him. He'll be fine. He's not as delicate as he looks. Children survive being held all sorts of ways all the time. Eventually, with great effort, he fought past the complaints of his own muscles and successfully stood up. I did it! And he didn't even wake up!

Nagato hovered nearby, just in case. And for the first time that either of them knew about, the demon boy walked alongside like a flesh and blood human. He did not teleport mysteriously, or fly away, or anything. He walked to Yahiko's right like a normal boy, looking perhaps a little sad. Yahiko wondered if he would also accept a hug. He wasn't going to put the snake boy down to find out, so he did the next best thing. "How was your day?"

"Nice!" The demon boy started to walk more vigorously, skipping every so often. "The big person let me heal him, and then we played. Didja know he's no good at hide and seek when he can't cheat? I mean, I don't have a smell, but still."

The big person? Who? "Why don't you call people by their names?" Yahiko asked. "I don't know who 'the big person' is."

The demon boy stared at him. "Cause I don't think of names. Duh." He turned away, leaping forward and splashing in a puddle.

"How do you think of me?"

The demon boy looked a little… Embarrassed? Is that possible? "You're the kind person," he answered.

Yahiko smiled. Wow… I didn't know he could give such high compliments. He looked down at the sleeping serpent in his arms, making sure the boy was secure. "I'm glad you had someone to play with all day."

The demon boy skipped ahead. He seemed really happy. The little snake was safe and sound, and Yahiko had just been called a kind person by a demon, and everything was right in the world.

It was a long walk all the way from the park through town out to the old hospital. Fortunately, being a ninja made carrying a sleeping toddler easy and sustainable. In the silence and rightness, time detached from their journey. It could have been hours. It could have been but half of one. Nobody knew or cared. There was only the steady rhythm of feet hitting pavement, of body weight shifting back and forth, of breathing. Yahiko got a mental image of a band of early humans traveling in just this way. That explains why it feels so right.

The snake boy woke up. It wasn't very obvious that he did. He didn't coo, or whimper, or make any sound at all. Yahiko felt a slight increase in tension in his body, and his fingers held onto Yahiko's shirt more deliberately. That was enough.

He glanced at the demon boy. The demon did not look back, just kept looking around. That probably means it's fine and we should just keep walking. So he did.

It was dark by the time they reached their street, and ninja or no ninja Yahiko's feet and back were starting to complain. He set the toddler down and stretched. Ow. Primitive instincts aren't everything they're cracked up to be. How did prehistoric women manage this?

Aaaaand that was when he realized that he'd spent his entire evening doing something very, very womanly. He went stiff as a board, flushing. It was a good thing he'd put the little boy down, or else the change in heart rate would have scared him. Yahiko's thoughts went blank, transforming his mind into a shrieking white wilderness. His nerves went on high alert. Was somebody going to say something? Something bad? Something hurtful? If they did, his nervous system was primed to know it as soon and as deeply as possible.

Nagato stretched too, sighing deeply. "This was nice."

The toddler petted his snake toy as he walked over to the demon's side. The demon grinned. "He agrees!"

"Take care of yourselves." Nagato smiled. He looked at Yahiko, who wasn't saying anything. In fact, now that he was looking, Yahiko both looked and felt scared. Terrified. Nagato's smile vanished. But he didn't want to say anything on such a peaceful night with a little kid right there…

"See ya!" The demon boy picked up his little assistant and disappeared.

"Yahiko? What's wrong?" Nagato took his arm.

Yahiko flinched. "N-nothing." He was starting to breathe better. Some of the immediate terror was fading, leaving behind a lingering bad feeling. Bad. Jesus. Why do I do things like that? In public? I shouldn't! It's embarrassing! Yahiko did his best to fight off these thoughts and recall the feeling of peace and joy he had before. He tried so hard he began to shake. But his terror shrieked at him so loudly that it was impossible. Try as he might, he couldn't just push aside his most deeply rooted insecurities. His nerves stayed on high alert. Nagato. Oh no. What am I doing to him? What is he going to say?

Nagato was now terrified on Yahiko's behalf. There was something very scary. Something Yahiko didn't want to or couldn't tell him about. What to do? The answer was obvious. Nagato did what he'd always done in the face of trouble: reach out to Yahiko so they could face it together. He gave Yahiko a hug.

Yahiko gasped. His itching nerves were unsure how to respond. It took a few seconds for him to respond. He hugged Nagato back. Slowly, in fits and starts, the hug eased his nerves.

Nagato restrained himself from giving his best friend a soft kiss on the cheek. Impulses like that didn't always register as unfamiliar; he had to remind himself that that was not an established part of their relationship. It hurt. He swallowed that hurt as he always did and forged ahead. "Yahiko. Are you all right? I don't want you to be scared."

"I'm sorry." Nobody wants that, but I keep scaring myself anyway. I should do better.

"No, I meant…" Nagato sighed. "I don't want you to not feel things, I want whatever's scaring you to go away."

I'm scaring me. It's all in my head. I'm just insecure and pathetic. Yahiko said nothing. I shouldn't be scared. There's nothing wrong. Do I not trust you? Why would I think you'd ever be mean to me? I'm sorry.

Nagato's heart beat a little faster. Something was very wrong. Genuine, absolute heart-pounding terror should not spring up in the complete absence of any threat. That was unnatural. Something had to be going on. But what?

He squeezed Yahiko a little tighter. "If you ever need to tell someone what's on your mind, I will stop everything and listen. I would like to hear it."

Yahiko started to cry. "Thank you." He did not feel capable of taking advantage of that offer, but hearing Nagato say such a caring thing made him feel better. He also felt much worse and chastised himself much more harshly for failing to give Nagato the trust he deserved.

One of the best nights in his recent experience ended in one of the worst ways as he walked into the base tired, confused, rubbing tears from his eyes, and convinced that he wasn't as good a person as everyone around him thought.

.

A/N: First, to clarify the references:

In chapter 35, Kakuzu talked with his bookie about opportunities to earn some money. The bookie mentioned a pool place where betting happens.

In chapter 59, Nagato told Itachi that the dog shelter was having some kind of community event at which Itachi might be able to play without feeling too exposed.

In chapter 48, the demon asked Yahiko about "the other guy," who turned out to be Hidan. This isn't his first time being confused about who the kid was talking about.

And now...

Aww! Sad! *sniff*

That's all. See ya next week.