A/N: New book recommendation! "Finding Your Own North Star," by Martha Beck. Why am I placing this recommendation at the front of a chapter? Because it's that important, that's why. Martha Beck, at least back in 2001 when this book was published, was a future version of myself. My same viewpoint on what life is, my same beliefs, even the exact job I've been fantasizing about having someday. She uses different words than I would, but it's all the same concepts, and she has already completed the steps of working with actual people to help them solve their problems and compiling successful techniques into a book. Go read it! Anyone who actually bothers to read THIS story will definitely like her book.

Aside from that...dunno. New chapter! Great progress! Yay!

Enjoy.

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Kakuzu

"Kakuzu, I don't know what to do and I'm horrible at leadership and please help me!"

Kakuzu looked down at Yahiko, who knelt on the floor of Training Room 1. He had been having a nice morning punching the bags when Yahiko ran in, tears streaming down his face and body quivering like a Jello outside its cup. Kneeling on the ground now, Yahiko did indeed look anything but leaderly.

"I thought you were supposed to be strong and capable of handling things now."

"I thought so too, but it turns out that Nagato's been questioning if he should even be part of this group and I had no idea and I am such a bad friend."

For fuck's sake! Kakuzu sighed. "I'll call him."

"He doesn't have his phone."

"Where the fuck is he?"

"I don't know. He was angry at me. He didn't want me to try to soothe away his pain. He said he was angry about being told to shut up. Is that what I've been doing? Does my soothing chakra really just mask problems that are still there?"

Kakuzu's fists clenched. I hate whining. "Look, if you are to fix anything -"

"Oh my god I broke my promise!" Yahiko leaped to his feet, eyes wide, horrified. "I promised him that I would check on him and give him a push! I promised him that I wouldn't take over and do everything for him! I promised him that I would face his problems directly instead of trying to pretend everything was fine! And then he said to me earlier that his life was a disaster, and the first words out of my mouth were 'No it's not.' Oh my god. I can't believe I did that. I betrayed him." Yahiko wiped his face dry on his shirt.

Kakuzu wanted to punch something that would break. "So shut the fuck up and do something about it!" he roared. "Like it or not, you're in charge now. Act like it. And get the hell out of my space."

"Yeah. Go back to, to, to being like that kid. I need to be strong. Oh man, I suck." Yahiko left the room. Kakuzu attempted to destroy the punching bags. He thought he heard a seam split and smiled.

Nagato

Nagato made it to the northern campground by the afternoon. Only upon arrival did he realize he'd left his phone behind. Good. I need total isolation. I need not to be called back just because someone thinks they need me. It wouldn't be true. His anger had ebbed. Now he just felt depressed again. He found a porch to sit on and sighed. Now what?

The answer to his question was nothing. Without someone else to live for, what meaning did his life have? He could not imagine anything to do that other people did not in some way need him to do. I guess I'll just sit here all day. Maybe I should eat something eventually.

His stomach had stopped growling and gone numb by the time Nagato heard laughter. It sounded familiar. He looked up. Jiraiya led a beautiful woman out of the forest. No doubt he intended to show her a good time, then keep her overnight. Tears welled up in Nagato's eyes. I really need him right now.

"I have some folding chairs we can sunbathe on," Jiraiya told the woman. "Bask in the warmth, hold hands, bare our hearts…"

She laughed. "A poet too? You are a charmer."

"Dad?" Nagato whispered. No, not even a whisper. It was only a tap of the tongue, no air involved at all. The word didn't even make it to his lips.

Jiraiya led the woman forward, both of them laughing again. Then suddenly he jumped. "Oh! Jeez. N-Nagato. What are you doing here?"

"A friend of yours?" the woman asked.

"...Not exactly. Do I look that good for my age? Ha!"

I don't want to ruin his good time. Nagato looked down, unable to say anything at all.

There was a long silence while Jiraiya made his decision. Eventually, he said to the woman, "He's my adoptive son, actually." Jiraiya strode over and sat down on the porch next to Nagato. He put a large, warm hand on Nagato's back. "You alright?"

Nagato burst out crying. He didn't know he was going to. One second he sat frozen, hardly able to breathe as Jiraiya came near. The next, huge wracking sobs threw his body back and forth, making his chest ache. He pulled up his knees and buried his face in them. He cried for a long time. Jiraiya kept a firm hand on his back the whole time, never once speaking to the woman. Eventually Nagato uncurled and turned to hug him. Jiraiya welcomed him in, squeezing him tightly. Nagato clung desperately. "I don't know what I'm doing with my life," he squeaked. "I've spent so long being there for people that I don't know who I am when I'm alone. I don't know what I want. I'm defined entirely by who I've followed around. I didn't even decide to join Konan's group; I just followed Yahiko. I feel so sad, and lost, and mad, and - and - and I don't know who I am or how to live. I've been such a doormat my whole life. I'm nobody." He buried his face in Jiraiya's shoulder hard enough to make his nose hurt.

Jiraiya gave him a squeeze. "It'll be alright. You'll find out. It's never too late to find out new things."

"I just - I don't -"

"Shhhhh."

Nagato gave up and went along with Jiraiya's instruction. He continued to cling, weeping silently, feeling his heart break. Jiraiya patted his hair.

Eventually Nagato released him and sat up. Sniffling, he said, "I was mean to Yahiko earlier. I've been feeling depressed lately, and angry. And I take it out on him because on some level I blame him. For being there for me, for allowing me to cling to him and depend on him because I said that was what I wanted. I wish he hadn't given me what I wanted. But if he hadn't, he wouldn't be who he is." Nagato took a deep, shaky breath. "I should stay here for a while. Apart from him. I don't want to hurt him anymore."

Jiraiya rubbed his back. "Good thinking. Can he reach you if there's an emergency?"

"No. I left my phone behind."

"...Sure, why not. A phoneless retreat!" Jiraiya slapped him on the back and smiled. "Good on you for taking action! See, I told you you'd figure something out."

Nagato managed to smile back. "I'm… I'm really glad you're here. I'm sorry for ruining your date night."

Jiraiya looked up. "Oh! Haha, I'm not so sure of that." The woman was still there. She knelt several feet away, watching them. When Jiraiya noticed her, she got up and joined them on the porch.

"I don't know what you're going through exactly," she said to Nagato. "But whatever it is, I know it'll get better. You're a very lucky man, with such a caring father. It'll be alright."

Nagato sniffled and wiped his nose. "I'm really glad that I didn't ruin anything. I feel better. I think I can find some grass to lie in and listen to the birds. Go on. Enjoy your sunbathing."

"We'll be over there," Jiraiya said, pointing. "Come over if you need to talk, okay?"

"I will. Thank you." Nagato gave him another hug. Heh, if what he said all those years ago is accurate, I probably made him a thousand times more impressive in her eyes. He's going to have an even better time tonight than he would have if I wasn't here. After the hug, Nagato found a tree to sit under and watched birds fly back and forth. Their cheery chirping made him smile. What was I so depressed about?

Sasori

In bits and snippets over the course of their workday, Sasori managed to relay the basic story of Obito and Zetsu to Laurie and Ruta. They were shocked, excited, but also fearful about the possibility of meeting an actual real-life multiple personality case. "I've never seen that outside the movies, and I know movies are inaccurate," Ruta said. "What if I do something wrong? What if it's disrespectful?"

"As long as it's genuine and he can see that you are trying, it'll be fine," Sasori said. "You can come over to meet them sometime. It's totally alright."

"Well, I don't want to accidentally end up gawking at them like they're zoo exhibits…"

"Just treat them like people and nobody will mind," Sasori repeated.

"I shouldn't…"

"Ruta. You're getting way too anxious. It's not a big deal. Everything's fine."

"But what if I try to be the perfect example of respectful and non-stereotypical and I screw up?"

"Look, do you want new friends or not?"

"Yes please."

Meanwhile, Laurie was ashamed at how long it had been since she'd joined them for dinner. "I'm so out of touch. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"I don't think you've visited since the dolls were brought to life, so yeah, it has been," Sasori realized. "Excuse me while I request permission to invite you over tonight."

"Should I do what you told Ruta to do? Just treat them like people?"

"Yeah."

Laurie blushed. "...I'm really sorry to ask this, but… But how? They're clearly…different."

"They're people who live under special circumstances," Sasori answered. "Like roommates, except you can only talk to one of them at a time and they can't talk to each other."

"Roommates?" Laurie's eyes lit up. "I know this! I had three roommates in college, and they were all different. I know, like, the full spectrum of possible roommate relationships."

"Right." Oh, yeah. Other people might have actual experience living with roommates. That'll make it easy to understand. I should use the roommate analogy all the time from now on. As soon as I'm done talking with her, I'll put it in the group chat. "I'll stick to describing the ways it differs, then. The biggest difference is that they can't communicate directly with each other. Obito needs people to tell him what Tobi and Madara were up to."

"That's how it worked for me and my second college roommate," Laurie said. Her eyes lit up as she grinned. "I understand perfectly."

"What happened with your second roommate?"

"Well, I had a great experience with the first, but she was a senior so she graduated. My second year, I got paired with a huge grump. Oh my god. She could not have been more different from me. We slept at different times, I was chirpy and she hated other people being chirpy, totally different fashion sense. We really grated on each other's nerves. We avoided each other so much that the only way I could find out anything about her was by hearing gossip, because I literally never saw her. In my case, I didn't want to see her, so I was fine with that. But in their case, they do want to see each other? But they can't, so they have to settle for gossip? But hearing things about someone else is nothing like actually talking to them face to face..." Laurie looked horrified. "Oh, my god. That's awful."

Sasori's brow wrinkled. "I didn't see much of them, and I haven't heard a lot either. I don't know if they want to be in contact. When you meet them, ask how they feel about it. Don't assume you should pity them."

"...I can be sympathetic right now, though, right? Thinking of Obito and the others as being in that awful situation helps me contextualize everything, and it's very motivating."

"Sure." I have no problem with functional beliefs. If a belief isn't true, but it serves a purpose, then it's fine in my eyes. There just has to be some reason for it to exist.

"What other differences are there?"

"They can barge in and replace each other at any time. Tobi's appearance is triggered by cute things, and she disappeared by going to sleep. Madara appeared with no obvious trigger, so you have no way to know if he's going to show up. He can control his disappearance; when he had seen enough of us, he forced Obito back into position. Poor Obito can't control anything, so if he's replaced, you're not going to see him again until his replacement leaves. I don't know if Madara can take over from Tobi or Tobi from Madara." Sasori's brow wrinkled. "I'm not sure if anyone knows that, or if anyone even asked. Huh."

"So I can expect to meet Obito first and stay with him, or meet Obito and then he'll be replaced by someone else, or meet someone else and stay with them?"

"Yeah. It's actually not as unpredictable as it sounds. Very limited options." Kisame'll be glad to hear that.

Laurie slapped the desk. "Okay. Roommates in an unusual living arrangement. I got it. Back to work." She went back to work. Sasori told Ruta to handle the mechanical side of the shop while he typed up very important messages. He ended up paring it down to the bare basics. Hey, everyone. If you ever need or want to talk about Obito and his others, using a roommate analogy works. Normal people understand roommates. I used it to explain to Laurie how she should treat them, and she immediately understood. He then sent another message directly to Kisame. Hey. I think you'll like this. The situation with Obito and the rest isn't as unpredictable as it seems. He told Kisame that there were really only 3 options and what those options were, then turned off his phone and went back to work.

He checked his phone sometime later to find that Itachi had requested an exhaustive, in-depth breakdown of the roommate analogy. Sasori raised an eyebrow. I just told her to think of them like roommates that can't talk to each other, may or may not want to, and can replace each other suddenly. There isn't a lot to break down.

In that case, I will build a fully functional, articulated, solidly constructed analogy, Itachi replied. I enjoy building mental models. Thank you for providing the foundation.

Sasori blinked. "He's an engineer too, but of ideas instead of materials?" It was a strange concept. I live with a bunch of weirdos, he thought as he went back to checking bike cables, cleaning rust, replacing screws, checking oil tanks, and everything else. It was physical work. It was exercise. It grounded him in the outside world and made his mind quiet and restful, like meditating. This is nothing like what Itachi does at all.

Itachi

Itachi paced around the whole building, designing his own roommate analogy. The parts clicked into place neatly and easily. He delighted in his own skill. For the duration of the construction process, everything was simple and no distractions could intrude. Ah, just like meditating. I wonder if Sasori feels a similar way about his job. Itachi returned to his room to change his shirt, which was sweaty from his relentless pacing.

After that nice, relaxing break, he returned to trying to figure out what the hell was happening to their group. Nobody could promise him that everything would be okay. In the absence of outside reassurance, he was forced to reassure himself. He had to know and understand everything so that anything that happened would make sense and he would know what to do about it. From a meta perspective, relative priorities seem to be in flux…

Konan stopped him. "Why do you move restlessly around the building?"

"Oh. I'm sorry, was it annoying? I could walk through the forest instead."

Konan tilted her head. "I have heard about Nagato. What do you think is happening?" Itachi shared with her what he had so far. She listened attentively. When he was done, she asked, "How does this influence further action?"

"I have no idea. This is only my way of reassuring myself that everything will be alright."

She narrowed her eyes. "I require action. If you cannot tell me what should be done about Nagato, then return to your previous assignment of researching multiple personalities."

"...I can try." I might not succeed.

Itachi was surprised when he succeeded. He found himself compiling notes and not thinking about Nagato at all. How did I change my focus? It must have been because her in-charge tone of voice made me feel reassured. That's right. She and I get along well. He smiled and continued working.

In the haunted hospital

"I'm weirdly tired, you know?" the demon boy said. He lay on his back on the floor of his office. The snake boy sat on a stool: his version of a therapist's chair. "Maybe I'm depressed."

The snake child held his stuffed toy snake out and rubbed its snout on the demon boy's forehead. "Mm," the demon boy said. "Very nice. Do I feel any better?" He thought about it. "No. No, I don't. Watching other people go crazy and run around like headless chickens just doesn't have the appeal it used to."

His serpentine friend got down from the stool and lay on top of him for a cuddle. The demon boy patted his shoulder. But this does. Huh. Maybe I should cuddle more? With who? I don't wanna interrupt all the cool stuff that's happening.

Something occurred to him. He knew someone he could cuddle with without interrupting everything. Someone who would welcome him in. Someone who would feel very special and different, like more than a living comfort provider. The demon boy blushed. No way. Too… Too much, I guess.

Wait a second! I'm a demon! Nothing is too much for me! He blazed to life, lifting up off the floor and holding his snakelike friend in midair. "I'm gonna be awesome," he declared. "And brave, and strong, and I won't let anyone or anything stop me! I don't get told what to do!" He flew out, still carrying his snakelike friend. The younger boy clung to him, but not from fear. They trusted each other absolutely.

He stopped midway through the forest. "Hmm. No, that's not the place for you. You belong somewhere else." He detoured north and dropped off the toddler at the campground where the awesome grandpa guy was. "Have fun! I'll be back later." He flew away towards the other campground, the one he had never before visited. Not from ground level. Not in a way where he could be seen.

Sakumo led a soccer match in the open dirt in the center of the camp. The boy watched silently from above. He looks happy. Of course; he was a hybrid of two sociable species, playing in a group game with friends. Of course he was happy. He was surrounded by his own kind. That was a situation the demon boy would never find himself in.

Maybe that's why. Everyone has someone now. The Big Person has that other guy, the one who also wishes he was alone. The thoughtful person has the awesome lady and the guy who builds things, and maybe also the plant people. The nice person has Tobi; they can mess with gender together. They all have people just like them to be with. But I have nobody. There's nobody else who rules over everything like a king and can do whatever they want and make up all kinds of fun.

So maybe…

Maybe it's time to come down from my throne.

The soccer match ended with Sakumo's team's victory. It was close though; there was only a one-point difference. Everybody laughed together, punching each other on the shoulder and teasing others about their blunders. There were no hard feelings anywhere. Only love and camaraderie.

Eventually, one of the tiger people froze. His eyes darted towards Sakumo. He punched the nearest person, harder than normal. The other person touched their arm, confused. After some frantic eye movement, they also froze. Others noticed the freezing. Someone grabbed Sakumo's hand. The entire camp became dead silent.

Everyone else parted, leaving a clear path between Sakumo and the demon child. The two of them stared at each other. The demon boy was surprised and frightened to find his eyes misting over. Not that far! I can't let anybody think of me as weak! He walked forward. Sakumo somehow worked up the courage to walk forward, too. Only by a few steps; the demon boy covered most of the distance. They stopped within arm's reach of each other. …Maybe I can descend a little farther.

Sakumo reached out. The boy let him. As Sakumo hugged him close, the boy realized he'd never been the impenetrable, invulnerable king he pretended to be. Someone who had once been all-powerful would not have a heart ready to burst open at the slightest touch. Someone who had once been invulnerable could not end up clinging to someone else and weeping.

I…I want…to have a home. It's all I've ever wanted.

In the northern camp

The birds flew. There were a lot of them. They were loud and cheery. The grass was soft from so many people sitting on it. The person who sat on it now was also very soft. He was a nice person, but there was already a nice person. He was a quiet person, but there was already a quiet person. What could he be called? What was special? The sad person. That would do for now.

The sad person said, "Hey. Um… It's been a while. How are you?"

Friend Person was very smart. This was the right place. The sad person's lap was good to sit in. His aura wasn't as soft as the nice person's, but his arms were nice. And his chest. His heart beat fast.

"Yahiko," the sad person whispered. "He… He panicked about holding you because he was afraid it would look feminine. He was afraid of looking motherly. But now, he's not afraid anymore." Now his aura was just as soft as the nice person's. It was soft from sadness. "He's doing great. I'm not. And I hate him for it."

His arms, his hands, his fingers softly stroking hair, his heartbeat… It was all very sleepy-like. But his words were interesting, too.

"I like holding you like this. I like taking care of people and animals. But… But I feel so bad because I never chose that. I only followed him." The sad person sighed. "Maybe I should try being a dick to people? Just to feel like I can choose something? But I don't want to hurt anyone. No, stop it. You just said you hate Yahiko. Clearly, you do. Just last weekend, all those houses… And you enjoyed that. Admit it. You liked destroying things just to see what you could do."

So sleepy-like. But so interesting. How to do both?

"Maybe you can help me. You're friends with a literal demon. He can do anything. He crashed cars once. More than once, actually; Hidan made it sound like a regular habit. Anyway, he did all kinds of stuff with his power, and he's very powerful. Like I am. I guess we have that in common. Do you think… I could… Would it be okay if I… You know, um, learned from his example? Would that make me a bad person?"

Oh. That was how. It took some sitting up, some pushing away the sleepy feeling. Pointing into the trees and barking disturbed the sleepy-feeling. But it came back! And the words exchanged as the powerful person told the nice grampa that he would go visit some wolves were not nearly as interesting. No conundrum at all.

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A/N: Hey, it's been a while since we saw these characters. Especially the snake kid; he hasn't appeared in a long time. I wonder what they've been up to -

Oh.

I am so flippin' happy that the part of me represented by the demon kid finally took this step. Yes. It was really boring, you know? Perfect control over everything stinks. And maybe now that I'm taking steps that are eventually going to translate into this story as Samehada's character arc, the snake kid will appear more. He and Samehada have a lot in common, function-wise.

I'll have you know, this chapter was edited severely to prevent Sasori from sounding exactly like Itachi. Characters realizing what they have in common and starting to blend with each other? If that's not a good sign for my mental state, I don't know what is. Oh yeah. Good stuff ahead.

But enough about how wonderful my life is. Go on. Enjoy your life. There will be a chapter waiting next week, as usual.

Rar. *hugs*