A/N: In the past week, I had a friend confess that he liked me, spent several days as an anxiety-riddled mess, then had a follow up conversation in which we reached understanding and agreed that everything was alright. So yeah. Big chapter this week.

Yahoo!

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Kakuzu

"...A breach? What does that mean?"

Kakuzu sighed. He was apparently the only one who had secretly been considering this possibility, turning it over in his head in the small hours of the night. "Like any society, the rules that govern life in this creepy little town only work because everyone agrees to them. What if someone comes who does not agree?"

Deidara looked frightened. "Like the vampires, yeah? How they're efficient and organized, and we aren't?"

"Yes. But I mean something more… Hm. Just plain more, I suppose. Not only efficient and organized, but immune to narrative convenience and plot twists. Unresponsive to surprises. Possessing a will."

"That can't happen here," Yahiko said, sounding shaken. "Anyone who appeared here would be a character, which means they would have to live by the same rules as us. Right?"

"It's just an idea," Kakuzu said. "And you should know how unwise it is to say something can't happen around here. I can rephrase, if you would like. We need to bring back common sense and order and stop living by craziness because the only reason we can live like that is because we're being coddled. We have this helpful little town full of helpful little NPCs, like we're in a game for children. In the real world, this group wouldn't last a minute."

Deidara shrank in on himself. "Why are you…?"

"Because the real world has a way of intruding when you least expect it to. You don't really think this bubble is going to last, do you?"

From the looks on their faces, it was clear that Yahiko and Deidara had in fact expected that. Kakuzu sighed. "In every story I've ever heard of where a character discovers they're living in an artificial bubble world, the first thing they do is try to escape. That's the normal response. But nobody has tried that or even suggested it here. Looking at you two, I think I finally know why that is. You're all too aware of your inability to survive out there, aren't you?"

Yahiko and Deidara looked at each other. "I'm getting better, yeah," Deidara muttered. "I got a job. But I'm not all there, yeah."

"Not having a job is important for me," Yahiko muttered. "It's nice to have that time to explore myself. Out in the world… With pressure…"

Kakuzu rolled his eyes. "There might just be a reason why your original died." Too late, he realized he'd gone too far.

"What the fuck, dude?" Deidara exclaimed. "That's so not cool."

"I…" Yahiko shook his head. "I'm different from him."

"Still not cool, yeah."

"No, it's okay, Dei. Kakuzu's kind of right. I mean… He's not right-right, but… This is something we should think about."

Deidara huffed. "Well, I don't feel like it, hm." He turned to leave. He looked over his shoulder and shot Kakuzu a look. "Good luck explaining yourself to the dolls." He left.

Oh, shit. Kakuzu looked down. He'd forgotten about them. The dolls sat still, staring up with rapt attention, the crayon box forgotten. He had no idea how to explain himself to them.

Yahiko sat down and called to them softly. The dolls looked at him. "Uh… I - Imagine that you guys… Were out and about, wandering around the streets, in someplace that's very different from here, and you met people who didn't care about you. They didn't treat you like pets, or like children. They didn't seem to…to think about what you were at all. They were so busy thinking of other things, they ignore you, or, or, kick you aside if you get in their way. But not out of anger. Like they just don't care."

Solis waved his arms. Yahiko's jaw fell open. "You know what I'm talking about?" Solis waved his arms more, seeming very upset and angry. "...Wait, Kisame took you out around town once, didn't he? Has Kisame met…"

Kakuzu already had his phone out. He dialed Kisame's number in record time and put the call on speakerphone. When Kisame answered, the shark man was already on guard. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," Kakuzu answered. "Not immediately. I want to get some information from you to find out if the probability of something going wrong has risen recently. Solis indicates he had an unpleasant experience while out in town with you?"

"Yeah. I took him with me to work. For most of the day, I left him at the stingray pool with that coworker-friend I've told you about, Tammy. She looked after him and everyone who approached wanted to pet him. He got really worn out from the constant attention. For the last hour or two, I let him ride on my shoulders as I went about my day. I got called to the main hall. You know the fucking place I'm talking about, Kakuzu - big open space, fancy displays every which way, tons of families in there all at once. Well, a kid saw him and started saying 'I want one!' I gave the kid a bit of a lecture on bodily autonomy, and Solis did a nice thing. He came down. The kid restrained himself for maybe two seconds before squeezing the hell out of him. Poor Solis couldn't do anything. I had to tell the kid to let him go." Kisame sighed. "This happens all the fucking time whenever I go into the main hall. A little girl gets bratty about some doll I wasn't even looking at. Someone manning a display is all sunshine and rainbows for visitors but grumping and cursing and moaning as soon as they're out of earshot. That fucking place is a perfect encapsulation of everything I hate about other people. If I'm getting too deep into my personal improvement project and I start to forget why I was the way I was, setting one foot in there reminds me of all the very good reasons why I live like a hermit." He took a deep breath. "I'm not actually as angry about it as I sound. If that place didn't exist, I would think I was crazy to be so paranoid. It's nice to not think I'm crazy. But Jesus H. Christ."

"..." What do I say? Should he know? Kakuzu glanced at Yahiko. Yahiko nodded. Kakuzu said carefully, "So there is exactly one location in this town where narrative convenience is not the law. Good to know. And you're the one who has access to it. That explains why you're the troublemaker and holdout."

"I'm sorry, what?" Confused chirping and squealing came from the other end of the call. "I have Same with me. You're on speakerphone."

"I have Yahiko and all four plushies with me. So are you."

"Back to my question."

"Of course. As everyone except you and me seems to have forgotten, there is a real world outside of this little bubble world. I'm concerned about possible intrusions from it. Your story is reassuring; it tells me that there already is a controlled access point available to us, that this town's existence is not founded on denial and the real world is probably not going to come and shatter our illusions into dust. Furthermore, it gives me reason to suspect that the way we live isn't entirely illusionary. You are connected to this little bit of reality, and you bring it back to the rest of the group. Thanks to you, we're probably not entirely unable to survive should narrative convenience fall. Thank you."

"..."

"How are you guys?" Yahiko asked. "And where are you? Are you going to work today, Kisame?"

"Out of an abundance of caution, I decided not to. I'm not gonna take any chances with blood. Same and I were just going to see a doctor to get their expert opinion about my wounds. Your healing keeps infection out and stops bleeding, but I'm still missing actual skin there."

"Great idea, Kisame. Post it in the group chat when you're done. I hope you get good news."

"Yeah. Thanks. Bye. I, uh, don't know if anyone's gotten more leashes yet."

"I don't believe so," Kakuzu said. "Too busy prepping for the battles."

"Then I'll do it." *click*

Yahiko jerked. "Wait! I had something to ask him! It was something Itachi asked about. I could ask Itachi instead." He pulled out his phone and called Itachi, putting the call on speakerphone.

*ring* *ring* *ri- "Hello?"

"Hey, Itachi, where are you?"

"On my way to visit the Hatakes."

"I guess we'll have to make do with a phone call, then. Uh… Right. You said earlier that Kisame is also a reservoir of social emotions. What'd you mean by that?"

"Social emotions are emotions that only social creatures can experience, such as jealousy, shame or embarrassment."

"I know. But what were you saying about us?"

"...It is not obvious?"

"No, it's not."

There was another pause. "You are a reservoir of positive social emotions, such as love and empathy, as well as some less beneficial ones such as embarrassment. By that, I mean these traits are your most prominent and they dominate your character arc. Kisame's most dominant traits are negative social emotions such as paranoia, hostility, and… Ah… That one where you dislike humanity in general. I'm having a tip of the tongue moment. At any rate, he is the one who holds onto those traits and deals with them as part of his character arc. Misanthropy. That's the word."

"Okayyyy, I still don't know what that means. Sorry."

"It might be related to what we just discovered," Kakuzu said. He told Itachi everything they had just learned about the aquarium.

"That explains a great deal," Itachi said when he was done. "Kisame is relatively unaffected by Jashinist influence because he has exposure to other influence. He feels torn because he is. I wish I had known this earlier. It did not occur to me that his workplace could be what you've said it is."

"I still don't understand what you're saying, Itachi," Yahiko said. "I'm sorry. I'm just not seeing connections."

"Well, you are a reservoir of all feelings that assume that other people are worth interacting with and their opinions worth considering. Kisame, on the other hand, represents other people not being worth interacting with and their opinions being valueless. It is very interesting that he is the only one so far with a connection to the real world, because that tells me why our bubble world exists. This is a space in which kindness can be nurtured. Without it, our author runs the risk of becoming a misanthrope and a jerk. Immature impulses towards kindness would not have survived contact with real-world unpleasantness."

Yahiko twitched. "Would not have. Past tense. Because of immaturity." He looked up at Kakuzu. "I need to go there."

"Be careful," Itachi told him.

"Oh, I will."

*click*

Yahiko

Yahiko had to visit Nagato, who usually held onto the car keys. He called Nagato to find out where his friend was. He and Kakuzu heard ringing from beyond the shared wall. He ended the call, exchanged a glance with Kakuzu, and picked up Little One in case a therapy doll was needed.

He found Nagato sitting on the bed against the wall, doing something on his phone. "Hey. I…haven't seen or heard you leave your room this morning."

"I'm depressed," Nagato replied. He looked and sounded it. His gaze as he played some game on his phone was vacant and distant.

Yahiko sat next to him and placed Little One on the bed between them. Little One crawled into Nagato's lap and took the phone away. Nagato let him do it. "Is there anything I can do to help?" Yahiko asked.

Nagato looked at him. Yahiko put on his strongest, most serious face. Eventually, Nagato said, "I need your help. I need it very badly."

Such a direct demand froze Yahiko's breath in his throat and scared him. He swallowed. "I'll give it."

Tears came to Nagato's eyes. "I miss you. I miss us. I miss me. It feels like everything's been taken away from me lately. Everything I vaguely hoped for was based on a lie and was never going to happen. I wasted years of my life. Now I have to make a new way forward, and I don't know how to do that without you." He sobbed.

Yahiko's heart pounded. He's crying! I'm scared! I, I have to do something. What do I do? Tell him everything's going to be okay? Yahiko caught himself hyperventilating. The more he looked at and listened to evidence of his friend's grief, the more terrified he felt. His feelings are scaring me! But in the real world, I would meet people who were unhappy all the time. In order to survive out there, I need to face this. I can't run away from it. I need to face it head-on. He remembered the animated episode that Sasori had shown him, about the boy who kept bending to every pressure and trying to find ways around his problems. The episode ended with him learning to stand strong and face his problems directly. Yahiko drew strength from that episode. If he can do it, so can I.

He reached out and held Nagato's hand. "I'm here. We'll make a new way forward together."

Nagato turned away. "But I'm supposed to be learning how to not need you."

"Even if you don't need me, I'm here," Yahiko replied. "You could make a new way forward by yourself, but it would be hard. I want to make it easier."

"What if I fall back into my old patterns, where I let you do everything?"

Yahiko took a deep breath. "I'll control myself. I won't do everything even if I want to."

Nagato looked up at him. Yahiko looked back. Secretly, he wondered if he could keep that promise. Can I trust myself?

"Promise me you won't let me go back to being the doormat I've always been," Nagato pleaded.

Can I promise that? Can I deliver? Yahiko hesitated before replying, "I don't know if I can do that by myself. But I promise to find someone or something that can."

Nagato embraced him. "Yahiko!"

Yahiko hugged him back. He was still mostly frozen in terror, but he smiled. I did it! I faced his sad feelings without backing down! Nagato made a sound that could have been either sobbing or laughing, or both. Yahiko didn't worry which it was. He could handle both.

When Nagato was ready, they ended the hug. Nagato wiped his face. Yahiko looked down at Little One, who was obviously using magic to interact with the phone. His plushy, fingerless hand didn't even touch the screen. Little One seemed to be engrossed in the game and was being gentle with the phone, so Yahiko let him be. He let out a massive sigh of relief. "Oh, man, that was scary. But I did it! You were sad, and I just dealt with it! Yay!"

"I was worried," Nagato admitted. "I always worry. I don't want to hurt you."

"And you were right to worry about that, because I was way too easily overwhelmed by feelings before," Yahiko admitted. "But I feel stronger now. I'm unsure if it's gonna last, or if it's just because I was really inspired by talking with Itachi a little while ago. But I feel better. And I keep my promises. I really will try not to get in your way, because you are capable of doing stuff and you should do it."

"I need more than a clear path. I need a push. If - if you're up to it."

"Okay. I'll get you a push. From somewhere, maybe not from me, but definitely from somewhere. …What kind of push do you need?"

"That. That kind. Where you stop and ask me what I want, reminding me that I have my own wants."

"I haven't been fair to you," Yahiko murmured.

"Hey, it's… It's a thing. Just a thing. That's all."

"Neither good nor bad? Like Sasori says?"

Nagato smiled. "Sasori's great."

Yahiko got a brilliant idea. "We should put together something for him when he wakes up! I saw Deidara and Kakuzu talking to him earlier as if he was going to go back to sleep. I think he's staying home today. He must be feeling really bad to do that. Let's pamper him."

"Okay," Nagato agreed. "How the hell do you pamper someone like Sasori?"

Yahiko bit his lip. "Let's have a lot of possibilities ready. Food prepared, a couple nice movies picked out, permission from the plushies to borrow the red blanket they got for their cousins. I don't think he'll say no to free food. Then we could watch a movie with him, cuddle under the blanket if he wants, offer to help him with, like, chores and stuff. I don't know what he likes either. We should just be ready for anything."

Nagato sat up straighter. "Having concrete, solid plans to do something for someone is really helping my depression. Let's get started right away."

Itachi

Itachi felt good about life as he walked through the forest. It is good to know that we have a controlled access point to the real world. I seem to be the only one who has been secretly wondering about the stability of this bubble universe. Didn't Deidara and I speak of it once? But that was as more of a theoretical construct, and if he had really worried about it since he would have come to me. Well, it is good that there is little to worry about after all.

His visit must have been perfectly timed to accidentally slip through a gap in the patrols, because he made it all the way to the camp without meeting anyone. A burst of laughter indicated that people were meeting in the outer cabin. Itachi announced his presence to a wolf sunbathing on the ground, who came over, sniffed him, then went back to sunbathing. He thanked them and climbed the steps to the porch. He knocked.

Someone with neatly groomed dark hair answered the door. Their skin seemed to possess normal light-reflecting properties and a normal texture, so they must have been either half wolf or half tiger with unstriped hair. "Hello," Itachi said. "I am from Hidan's group. I have come to visit for purely social reasons."

The man of unknown species turned to address the inside of the cabin. "It's a visitor from the Akatsuki. He says he just wants to hang out."

"Invite him in," a familiar voice replied. After stepping inside, Itachi guessed it was Sakumo who had spoken. Both couches were occupied, with Sakumo in the center of one and a bunch of others clustered around him. Their body language was protective and the room's atmosphere was sad. This was not a celebratory gathering.

Itachi adjusted his body language accordingly as he crept over to the chair near the couches and sat in it. "I see that something troubles you. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Perhaps you can help me think," Sakumo said. His hair was untied and hung around his face. "I hardly know what to think."

Itachi smiled. "I am something of an expert on thought. What is the topic?"

Sakumo hesitated. "How can I identify just one? Let's see… Well, I guess it all comes down to the demon boy. Konan told me recently that, in her world, he was my son."

Itachi froze. So that is what she refused to tell me! Why did she refuse to tell me about it? "What is the cause of your confusion?"

"In this world, my mate did become pregnant with a human-shaped child. But he was stillborn. I never had a son. In Konan's world, the same thing happened but his body was possessed by a demon who I proceeded to raise as a son. It wasn't clear from what she said if Other Me knew it was a demon or not. I'm unsure what to do with this information. Should I try to reach out to him? Should I not react at all?"

"Let us take some time to think in silence. Absolute silence aids thought," Itachi said. Sakumo nodded. They sat in silence. Although Itachi was thinking furiously about Sakumo's situation, he couldn't help noticing that the other wolves seemed uncomfortable. Their idea of helping him doesn't involve silence. The laugh I heard must have been them trying to cheer him up. But distraction isn't always the best way. It is a way of avoiding a problem. That is valuable, but some problems cannot be avoided. They must be faced.

"Imagine meeting the demon boy," Itachi said. "You and him, alone, on a plain grassy lawn. What happens next?"

"I…" Sakumo took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I am unsure what to do. I scratch my head awkwardly. The boy, he… He makes the first move." Sakumo looked up. "I have never met him. Tell me, what would he do?"

Itachi smiled. "He'd be just as awkward at first, then become annoyed with himself. He'd scrunch his face up and growl something about being boring. He'd come right up to you. He might give you a hug."

Sakumo froze. "I...would not know how to handle that."

"As steamrolling as he pretends to be, he is secretly just as uncomfortable. He would let go shortly, pronounce you adequate, invite you back on some vague basis - most likely, 'whenever' - then turn and leave as if that was simply his plan all along, nope, he is not the slightest bit perturbed." Itachi paused decorously, then in a softer voice added, "It is not accident that you have never met him. Perhaps he has suspected something for a long time."

Sakumo nodded. "Thank you. I feel better."

Itachi smiled. "I will leave you to the embrace of your family, then." He got up, thanked the others for allowing him in, and gracefully exited the cabin. He took a deep breath once outside. I think I did well. My understanding of when and when not to intervene is improving. He descended the stairs and sat on the ground in a place where the wolves could easily see him. He also elected to call Konan instead of simply texting her, for the same reason.

*ring* *ri-* "Hello. What news is there? You are on speaker."

She sounds much more in possession of her right mind. "I just spoke with Sakumo."

"Excuse me." There was a moment of silence on the other end. Then she asked, "What did he tell you?"

"He told me that you had told him that in your world, a demon possessed his son's body. That is why the demon boy looks the way he does: because he is overflow from that very being. Sakumo was unsure what he should do in relation to the boy. I walked him through an imaginary scenario where the two of them met, telling him how the boy would likely respond to his presence. He felt much better afterwards, and looked more confident. He may approach the boy soon."

"You helped him as much as you needed to. Well done. Where are you now?"

"Just outside the cabin. I plan to go on to fulfill my original reason for coming here, which was to visit Satori and the other half snakes and lizards that I had such a good time with."

"Alright. Thank you for your report." She disconnected.

Itachi turned to the sunbathing wolf. "I'm afraid I do not know my way around. Can you show me there?"

Konan

"So that's the mysterious event you didn't want to tell him about," Kakuzu said. They were in the basement taking care of the bloodstained clothes Kisame had borrowed from Kakuzu the day of his fight. After being pinned to the circle by a paper lance, they were no longer bloodstained. Konan gathered them up for washing.

"Yes. I did not wish for the demon boy to find out too much. I only told Sakumo that much because my judgment was impaired. It's really none of our business."

"You sent Itachi to find out what the vampires thought. They were in favor of anything that could restrict the kid's activities." Kakuzu chuckled. "They think allowing Sakumo to parent him would restrain him? If becoming responsible for a whole hospital of ghosts didn't put him on the straight and narrow, having a family won't either. He'll always be a mischief maker."

"Yes, but one they have access to," Konan said. "Previously, the only person who could give him a command was Hidan, who the vampires do not have access to. Sakumo, they could reach much more easily, and thereby exert greater control over the boy's actions."

Kakuzu nodded. "So then, if Yahiko's not going to visit this 'real-world access point' we just found out we have, will you?"

"I would like to gather information about it. And I feel much more stable. I believe I will."

They had climbed the stairs and were now outside Kakuzu's room. He took the clothes from her and thanked her. "I'll take these back to my house for washing."

"There is a laundry upstairs, you know."

"Which I'd rather not use because it's a sign of poor planning. Upstairs? In a building with no elevator? Really?"

"Yes, poorly designed, but serviceable."

"Just like the rest of this town," Kakuzu said. He pushed open his door and dumped the clothes into a corner of the room. He gave no indication that Konan was unwelcome, so she followed him in and watched from the doorway. "How is your mind feeling?"

"Much calmer. It's over."

"Are you going to kill me for locking Warlic in the basement?"

"No," Konan said. "I understand. He was only semisentient at the time, not really intelligent and therefore not controllable. Now that the dolls can be reasoned with, they do not need to be feared anymore."

"In that case…" Kakuzu told her that he had attempted to give the plushies orders.

Konan's fingers tightened. He is still overbearing and punitive. "You do not know how to interact with them, Kakuzu. Let others be in charge of them."

"I am forced to," he agreed resentfully.

"Now then. We must contact Hidan and discuss the future direction of our leadership situation." She called Hidan and put the phone on speakerphone. While it rang, she and Kakuzu sat on Kakuzu's bed.

"Heyo," Hidan greeted her. "So, I've been chatting it up with Moonlight's adoptive dad. He's cool!"

"Invite him to visit," Kakuzu suggested. "Nagato's been depressed lately."

"...Whaddaya mean?"

"I am not using that term colloquially. Actual, clinical depression. Yahiko found a way to help him out of it for now, but it might come back."

"Fuck!"

"There is other news," Konan said. She told him what was happening with Sakumo, what they had discovered about the aquarium, and that the plushies were now taking care of their nonliving cousins. "Itachi believes this to be evidence of a more complex social order."

"Fucking shit. I leave for not even two days and the whole place turns upside down."

She smiled. "Are you sincerely complaining, or do you enjoy it?"

"I love it! Fuck yeah! Should I come back, or let you guys keep vibing?"

"I believe Yahiko and Nagato planned to experiment with being physically apart once you returned," Konan told him, "so return only when it seems that such would be beneficial. I will be your eyes and ears in awaiting that moment."

"Keep me posted!" He disconnected.

Konan smiled up at Kakuzu. "I agree with his positive assessment. As traumatizing as the battles were, their aftermath feels ripe with new possibilities."

"Maybe we should fight each other more often," Kakuzu said. Konan wondered why holding battles always seemed to have such positive results. Perhaps it allows us to release latent conflict? Whatever the case, he is right. We should do it more often.

"Two weekends after," she found herself saying.

He glanced at her. "After what?"

"After the others arrive."

.

A/N: Yay! This is a time for much celebration! Haha!

So, same thing next week - picks up right where this one left off. I like cliffhangers. As long as there's no uncertainty about whether or not it will be resolved, only how, they're fun!