clay fox chapters 1-13

8/7/2019 Clay Fox chapters 1-13

1/91

Right, so this is a Deidara/Naruto NON-YAOI fanfic. If Naruto belonged to meSakura would never have existed and the Akatsuki would be alive and the goodguys. Sense this is clearly not the case Naruto still belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

Translations for dummies;

Konohagakure- konoha (I think _)

Clay Fox is sadly not my creation but AbaratFoxs the original can be found at;

Naruto awoke in a dark alleyway. He stared up at the starry sky as best he could throughhis swollen eyes. The drunken villager's beating had been particularly bad this time, ifNaruto had been a human it would have taken him days to be able to even move.However, Naruto was not a human. He rolled onto his stomach and slowly got to all fours.The only reason he could still move was the same reason he had been so mercilessly

beaten. Uzumaki Naruto was the son of the Kyuubi no Yoko, destroyer of Konohagakure.

Naruto hauled himself to his feet with the aid of one of the alley walls. He leaned heavilyon it as he made his pained way towards a side street where he hoped no one would be. Itmust be 2-3 o'clock in the morning; most of the drunks passed out before midnight.Naruto was dimly aware of the streaks of blood he had smeared on the wall and that theshredded clothes that he clad himself in where now unusable. All he wanted was to gohome and sleep in his own bed. Too bad he would never get to.

Deidara was incredibly board. There was not a single worthwhile art museum/gallery

in all of Konoha. Not only was there nothing to do but he was here with the

Iwagakure academy group. A bunch of shallow, stuck up pricks with absolutely no

interest in art. No interest what so ever. Hello Deidara, welcome to living hell. Ugh,why hadn't he stayed home?

His roommates had started a wrestling match in the middle of the hotel floor. Deidarapromptly lost all interest in the little sculpture in his hands. He put on his thick gloves,stood up from his bed, and leapt easily over the buffoons that were trying to smother eachother with pillows. He exited the room as quietly as possible; with any luck he would hisroommates wouldn't have noticed him leave. They didn't. Freedom at last! Deidara snuckdown a flight of stairs and out the front door without a single chaperone being any wiser.

Deidara grinned and broke into a run. He was positive that he would be able to findsomething artistic without all the dunderheads he had the misfortune of travelling with.Deidara rounded a corner and almost trampled a small, blonde child.

Naruto couldn't believe it. He stared at the ruins of the place that had once been his

home from across the street. Shattered windows, the door ripped off its hinges, his

worldly belonging a small pile of ash in the middle of the street. Naruto bit back tears.

GET OUT DEMON! Had been painted in black across the front of his house. Naruto

didn't even notice as a much larger boy charged around the corner and almost

bulldozed into him.

"Whoa, kid! What are you doing out of bed at this hour, un?" Naruto whipped his headaround and at the same time leaped back. He did not want to be beaten again. Then his

jaw dropped. The person he was staring at looked as if he could have been Naruto's

brother. His hair, eyes, and skin tone was almost identical to the fox child's. Only his hairwas a bit long and he had no whisker marks. Deidara, on the other hand, was wonderinghow this child had managed to get himself so mangled.


2/91

"A-are you lost kid? Do you need help, un?" Naruto stared, mystified, into Deidara's kindeyes. Why was someone being nice to him? Deidara thought that he had frightened thechild. "What's your name?"

"U-u-uz-u-Uzumaki!"

"Hello Uzu-kun. I'm Deidara, un." Uzu Uzumaki? Now that was an unusual name. Deidaracrouched down so he could look Naruto in the eyes. "Are you lost Uzu-kun?" He said askindly as he could. He didn't want to deal with a sobbing child and he could not in goodconscience leave him either.

Naruto shook his head and blushed. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto." Deidara's cheeks flushedslightly as he realized his mistake.

"Are you lost, un?" Deidara pressed. Naruto shook his head. "Do you need help gettinghome?"

"I can't go back home. I'm not wanted." Deidara started slightly. This kid-Naruto-couldn'tbe much older than five, was he a run away? That might explain the wounds.

"Did you run away, un? I can help you if you need it." Deidara knew perfectly well whatabusive parents were like. "Where do you live, un?" Naruto pointed, slowly and reluctantly,to his house. Deidara was horrified. Who would treat a child like that? He looked back toNaruto for an explication,

"My father he-um-well, h-he was-"

"It's okay, Uzumaki-kun, you don't have to tell me, un." Deidara smiled. Outwardly he wascompletely calm but inwardly he was seething. They where tormenting Naruto based onwhat his father had done? Well it was clear that Konoha was unsuitable for children.Deidaras next words came unbidden and surprised even Deidara himself, "Uzumaki-kun,

would you like to come stay with me at Iwagakure, un? No one would treat you like that."He gestured at Naruto's ruined home.

Naruto's eyes where brimming with tears of joy. "I-if it is okay Deidara-sama."

"Of corse." Deidara straightened up and held out his hand. "Let's go, Uzumaki-kun, un."Naruto took his hand and together they walked back to the hotel Deidara had fled fromonly minutes earlier. They walked in silence. One was to overcome with joy to speak, theother wondering just how he would manage a five year old kid when he himself was onlyseven.

"Deidara-sama?"

"Un?"

"Can you call me Naruto?"

That had been way more painful than it needed to be. Deidara shut the door to his (andNaruto's) new hotel room then sank to the floor. He rested his head against the door andgroaned loudly. What had he gotten himself into? Who knew that Naruto was- where wasNaruto? Oh, there he was, asleep on one of the beds. Deidara sat back down though hecouldn't remember standing.

Deidara was planning on leaving for Iwagakure first thing in the morning, before anyone inKonaha had a chance to wake up and stop them. He needed to pack all his things, find

clothes that would fit Naruto, find supplies for the journey back (he was notgoing to stickaround for the rest of the academy group.) but before he did anything he needed a breakand some time to think.


3/91

Flashback starts now

Deidara had to practically drag Naruto back to the hotel. It seemed that the kid had beenbarely standing when Deidara had found him. He was also way lighter than he looked; did

he ever eat? Didn't anyone ever bother to make sure Naruto wasn't starving? How couldanyone expect such a young child to fend for himself? Deidara put one of Naruto's armsover his shoulders to help the kid stand.

"Do you need me to carry you, un?"

"I'm okay Deidara-sama!" Naruto grinned. Then his knees buckled and he started to fallforward. Deidara only just managed to save him from face planting the sidewalk. BothDeidara and Naruto sank to the ground.

"Grab my neck, will you, un?"

"B-but I'm fi-"

"I know, Naruto-kun, but this way we can move more quickly and more sneakily. Likegrown-up ninja, un." Naruto's eyes glazed over as he fantasized about being a big ninjathat could defeat even that jerk Sasuke. Without anymore protest he wrapped his armsaround Deidara's neck and locked his knees around the older blonde's waist so he wasriding piggybacked.

Deidara stood and began a slow jog towards the hotel, careful not to jostle Naruto toomuch. For someone so light this kid was really heavy. He stumbled a few times butmanaged to stay upright. For some reason Deidara didn't want Naruto to know that he washaving trouble carrying him.

Naruto was having the time of his life. No one had ever been as nice to him as Deidara-sama was. Not even gramps! And not only was Deidara nice but he would let Naruto livewith him! But where did Deidara live? His accent was so strange and comforting Narutowondered if Deidara-sama would be angry if Naruto started saying 'un' too. Oh well,Naruto buried his head into the other's hair and began to doze.

Deidara glanced around the lobby and was relieved to see no one he knew. As quickly ashe could he moved across the lobby and up the flight of stairs that led to his room,pausing only to readjust Naruto. The kid had apparently fallen asleep. 'I'm okay' he hadsaid. Yeah, right.

Deidara nearly sighed with relief when he got to the room. He could put Naruto to bed and

get back to work on his sculptures. He reached out a hand to open the door whensuddenly- THUNK THUMP DUM-BUM "CHEATER!" THUMP "LIAR!" CRASH TU-TUMP "GO TOHELL YOU-"Deidara turned and ran back to the lobby. He had forgotten about his idiotroommates, apparently their wrestling match had escalated.

Luckily Naruto was still asleep. Deidara didn't want to explain what all the curse words hehad overheard meant. Well, nothing for it. Deidara would have to check out a new room.He started to walk towards the front desk; wondering if he could afford a room.

"Deidara-kun? Why are you up?" Oh, crap.

"Um, hi Bovra-sensei, un. I was just ah well." Deidara faltered slightly. Although hewould never admit it, the huge, blue haired Bovra had always scared him a little.


4/91

"Is that a child?" Deidara gulped. What would happen? It's not like Deidara could just putNaruto back like a lost puppy. But to his surprise Bovra just stroked his chin thoughtfully."He looks a bit like you. Is he your brother?" SCORE! Bovra was a bit like a burntmarshmallow; scary looking on the outside but warm and gooey on the inside. Not tomention completely brainless.

"Yes, actually. This is my younger brother, un. He was sent here when we where little andso I came to get him back. I'm down here because our roommates where keeping him upso I thought I would get us a new room, un."

"Jolly good! But how will you pay for it?" Bovra's eyes twinkled as he looked at the'brothers'. "Tell you what; I'll pay for your room." Bovra smiled warmly and steered theboys to the front desk, chatting excitedly all the way. Deidara didn't know if he should feelrelived or irritated, so he settled for confused.

The woman at the front desk was writing in some sort of memo and Bovra was perfectlydelighted to continue his ramblings. Something about growing chickpeas and ivory(Deidara had no idea how the two correlated). As politely as he could, Deidara rang thelittle bell. Both adults, however, ignored it. With mounting irritation, Deidara rang it again

and again and again.

The little red-head woman glowered at him and said, "Can I help you?" In a tone thatwould freeze lava. Bovra didn't seem to notice the 'I'll kill you' aura radiating off her.

"Hello! I wanted to check out a room for two, please." The woman began to angrily jotsomething in her memo. Bovra went back to his ramblings, "Wonderful? I had no ideathat Deidara-kun had a brothermagicalthey just look so happy." Was all Deidara heard.

The angry woman dropped a white card onto the counter. "You're in 2-0-Oh!" She shriekedand stood up.

"200? Okay Deida-"

"The yoko brat! They said they killed him!" Naruto shifted slightly and murmuredsomething in his sleep. Wait, yoko? As in a fox demon? What was this lady talking about?Deidara glanced over his shoulder at the sleeping Naruto. Was she calling Naruto a yoko?

Bovra looked concerned. "Err, Miss? Are you alright?" The woman screeched slightly andkeeled over in a dead faint. "Miss? Are you alright?" He vaulted over the counter andbegan to fan the lady.

Deidara dropped his old card, grabbed the new one, read the little room number printed onit, and ran up the stairs as quickly as he could. That front-desk lady was crazy. But what if

there had been some truth in what she had said? Deidara unlocked and kicked open thedoor then deposited Naruto on the nearest bed.

"Mmm, what?" He glanced around blearily and yawned. Deidara sat down next to him andsmiled.

"Hello, Naruto-kun." He needed to know now. "Can I ask you a question, un?"

"H-hai, Deidara-Sempai!"

Don't be frank, do not be frank, "Are you a yoko?" Damn. Naruto's eyes stretched wideand his lower lip started to tremble slightly. "Um, uh, I mean, un" Say somethingDeidara! He berated himself mentally. Naruto was staring at the floor, his face pained.


5/91

Without thinking about it, Deidara put an arm over Naruto's shoulders. Then he huggedthe child. "I'm not angry, Naruto-Kun, un. I just need to know." Naruto nodded as best hecould.

"Yes." He whispered. "T-that's why everyone hates me."

"Well I don't hate you." Naruto's head shot up. "And you can still live with me if that'swhat you want."

"I do!"

"Good." Deidara let go of Naruto and hopped off the bed. "Well I'm going to go get somefood. You wanna come, un?" Naruto shook his head. "Do you want me to bring yousomething back? " Naruto shook his head again. Regardless of what Naruto said, Deidarawould bring something back. "Alright, try to get some sleep now."

Flashback Ends Now

Naruto twitched into wakefulness. He didn't want to wake up; the bed was so warm andsoft. He had such a good dream Reluctantly he opened his eyes to see a ceiling thatwasn't his. Naruto sat up as if he had received an electrical shock. The window to his rightwas too large to be his and the furniture was far to lavishing to belong to him. "What'sgoing on?" he wondered out loud.

"Shut up, un." Someone to his right grumbled. "I'm sleeping." Naruto shook his head toclear it, was he still dreaming? No, he was defiantly awake and that was defiantly Deidaraleaning against the door with an enormous Thanks' for Coming! take-out bag next to him.Naruto lay back down and tried to keep tears of joy from falling.

BAM! Someone slammed into the door and startled Deidara into awareness. "What the hel-un, heck was that?" BAM, BAM, BAM the knocking continued.

"Deidara-kun? Naruto-Kun?" Bovra called. Deidara got to his feet to open the door. Thatwas when he noticed the window letting in the late morning sunlight. Lateafternoon?Deidara groaned inwardly to himself as he let his sensei in. He had meant forNaruto and Himself to be well away by now; what kind of worthless ninja was he? Ninjaswhere neverlate!

Bovra threw the door open and walked in. Naruto shied away from the massive man, untilhe noticed the friendly smile and deep laughter lines on his face. "Good! I thought the twoof you had left already! The girl at the front won't talk to me." He looked slightly

downtrodden at he said the last part but he perked up right away as he continued. "And Idon't want to keep you so here-"He handed Deidara his backpack, "Now then, I have atour to run. See you at home m' boys!"

Bovra turned on his heel and left, leaving both boys feeling very confused. Deidara's bagseemed to have grown dramatically so he set it on a bed and began to rifle trough it.Clothes for both of them, Deidara's clay, food, money, ninja weapons, Bovra had thoughtof everything! He pulled out a small set of clothes and handed then to Naruto.

"Um, Deidara-sama, what's going on?"

"Well, Naruto-kun, as soon as you're ready we can leave for home." Naruto lookedstunned. Then he grinned at Deidara.

"Hai!"


6/91

This was disconcerting. Apparently Bovra had decided that as 'brothers' Deidara andNaruto needed to look alike. And on that note he had somehow managed to get all ofNaruto's clothes to match Deidara's so that now both boys where dressed in black pantsninja-fish net shirts (with Iwa's symbols embroidered on the back). Naruto had evenattempted to flatten his hair so that he would look a bit more like the older boy. The onlydifference between their outfits was that Deidara still had his gloves on. To Deidara, it was

like having a tiny clone following him and it was starting to creep him out a little.

"Alright so," Deidara laid a map on one of the beds and gestured for Naruto to come over."Here we are in Konohagakure. The fastest way to Iwagakure is to head straight acrossGrass Country and into Stone Country, un." Deidara traced the route with a finger.

"You're from Iwa?"

"Um, yeah, un." Had Naruto been planning to follow him anywhere? "It takes about twodays at a full out run so if we include breaks for food and rest I'd say about four days, un.You ready to go?"

"Hai!"

"Any last goodbyes, un?" Naruto shook his head. "Then let's go." Deidara would becarrying his backpack which contained most of their supplies but he let Naruto carry thetake out bag; more to help boost Naruto's miniscule ego than because it was heavy. Sureenough, Naruto was practically bursting with pride to be given such an important task.

Under the pretence of acting like ninja, Deidara and Naruto snuck out through theirwindow and down a pine tree so that they could avoid the psychopath at the front desk.Deidara still had the cardkey but he didn't really feel like giving it back. It was sort of likea mini act of spite for the trouble she had given them the night before and for thecockroaches in the bathroom.

Naruto was nervous to be walking out in public with all the villagers glowering at himso he kept close to Deidara. Fortunately, none of the ones that had beaten Naruto

seemed to be out; they were most likely in bed with hangovers. Naruto did see some

of his friends. He waved at Sakura and Ino and they smiled back before their parents

hurried them off. Hinata was out with her cousin (Neji wasn't it?) and uncle and the

two younger Hyugas said 'hi' to him. Choji and Shino were having an argument but

managed to nod at him before continuing their debate. Naruto kept up with Deidara

until they passed a group of his closest friends.

"Naruto!" Kiba shouted.

"Hi." Shikumaru grumbled.

"Sup, Dobe?"

"Sasuke"Itachi warned. "Hello, Naruto, how are you?" Deidara stopped and stood to oneside as Naruto greeted his friends.

"Dobe, why are you wearing Iwa's symbol?"

"Sasuke! Be polite!"

"That's actually a good question."


7/91

"Yeah! What the heck are you doin' that for?" The tree of them had made a semi-circlearound him. Itachi had somehow ended up standing next to Deidara but both of themwhere paying more attention to the younger boys than to each other.

"Um, actually I am leaving for Iwagakure."

"EH? What? When? Why?" All three of them said it but Kiba's voice drowned out theothers. After all, Kiba was his best friend.

"Now."

"Y-you can't leave! People here care about you!" Deidara snorted and Itachi shot him asideways glance. "You don't know anyone in Iwa!" Kiba was almost in tears.

"Sorry, Kiba! I'm leaving now with Deidara-sama!"

"Who?" Sasuke and Shikumaru said at the same time. Itachi shot another glance atDeidara.

"Y-you need to pack right? I could help!"

"I'm all packed. I'm leaving now. For good." Kiba bit his lower lip to stop it from trembling."You could visit me sometimes! All of you could! And we could write!"

"Dobe-"

"Sasuke!"

"None of us can read or write." Shikumaru grumbled, sounding more abysmal than ever.

"They can." Naruto pointed at Itachi and Deidara. "We could have them write for us thenread the letters."

"She is Deidara?"

"Um, Dei-"

"I'M A MAN GODDAM-DARN IT, UN!" Pedestrians glowered at Deidara for his outburst.Itachi frowned at him. Naruto had to promise several times to write as soon as he got toIwa and hug everyone multiple times before they would let him leave. At that point Kibawas bawling openly and Shikumaru and Sasuke suddenly got sand in their eyes. Deidarapretended to not notice Naruto wiping his eyes as they walked away.

Naruto continued to cling to Deidara as they neared the entrance/exit of Konoha. They

were getting a lot of attention. People whispered loudly as they passed, Deidara only

caught fragments.

"Does he know?" "Yoko brat." "How dare he show his face here?" "In broad daylight." "Isthe older one a demon too?" "must be" "The nerve!" "Stupid Kitsune." "deserves to die" "Iwish he would leave." Don't worryDeidara thought, if I have a say in it none of you willever be able to hurt him again.

Naruto flinched as they insulted him and he cringed under their glares. Deidara walkedprotectively in front of Naruto and glared back at the villagers in the way that only children

and cats can do properly. Just let them try anything; Deidara would kick their asses.Slowly the crowds began to thin and after a while they were alone and at the gates.


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Without a word or backwards glance, Naruto and Deidara left Konohagakure.

Kitsune is an animal supposed to be mysterious, fascinating, and mischevious. And he is

believed to be very grateful for the kindness done to him, as seen in many tales, and is

also affectionate as revealed in some dramas. He is enshrined as a god because of his

supernatural power. He is endowed with the subtle art of metamorphosis, and he is able to

bewitch men in the guise of a charming girl. An exceedingly interesting and entertainingbeast Kitsune is.'

It was the third day since they had left Konoha and they were now in a bed and

breakfast a little ways into the Rock Country. If they kept up their pace they should be

in Iwagakure by sometime tomorrow afternoon. Although, Deidara reflected, the pace

he had set might be a little too harsh. The past few nights it was all Naruto could do to

just kick off his shoes before collapsing in bed. Deidara did feel a little guilty about

that. But he had told Naruto it would take only four days

The woman who owned their bed and breakfast had been kind and very old, and was

apparently a retired Iwa ninja too if her headband was anything to go by. She hadsomehow become convinced that Deidara and Naruto were her great-grandchildren. Or,more specifically that Deidara was.

"My Husband, your great-grandfather, and our son both died so long ago." She had toldhim, "His oldest daughter was a bad egg, but I'm sure you knew that being raised by her.The younger one ran away after her parents died, poor thing, I don't know what happenedto her. Anyway, your Mother, she married a man worse than she was. He called her his'little whore' and sometimes he had her go sell herself when he was short on boozemoney." She made a disgusted face. "You would have liked your grandfather; it's sostrange to call my son that, he looked just like you. Ha! But it was my husband that said'un' after everything. Though you get the bloodline from me!" Deidara didn't know what tosay, her story of his parents where disturbingly close to how they actually where.

She had made them a huge meal of roasted potatoes, corn chowder, pulled pork, deviledeggs, and chocolate pie. Naruto had loved the attention she gave him and she wasconstantly dotting on him. She taught him how to get a spoon to stick to his nose and inreturned he untangled a basket of yarn a kitten had discovered ages ago. She showedDeidara her collection of art books and he spent dinner with his nose buried in a copy ofPictorial Press.

After dinner the trio settled down in her cluttered living room. She gave Naruto a plushyfox and a glass of milk and then read him a bedtime story while he curled up in front ofher hearth; as soon as she finished he dozed off and had to be carried to his bed (byDeidara). When he returned she was flipping through an old photo album.

"It's remarkable." She said without glancing up, "How young people always feel as if theywere so old but it's not until you are very old that you realize how short people's lives are."Deidara watched her flip through her cracking book until she said, "Call me Granny."

"Um, I'm going to bed now Granny, un."

"Take off your gloves once in a while. Your hands would thank you for it." She smiled athim "Goodnight Deidara-chan."

Naruto had found heaven on earth. He felt, for the first time in his life, loved. There

was Deidara who would beat up anyone that tried to hurt him and there was Granny

who had read him a story and given him a fox toy. As far as he was concerned, he had

everything he would ever need to be happy. Naruto snuggled into his blankets and

was soon sound asleep.


9/91

Deidara woke up when he rolled out of his bed and smacked his head against the

bedside table. He grabbed his head and swore loudly. Who the hell had thought it was

a good idea to put a wooden corner monster deathtrap next to a bed? When his eyes

stopped flashing colors, Deidara stood and slung his backpack over his shoulder. Oh

what a wonderful way to start the day.

"Hey, Naruto-kun! Wake up, un!" he called to the door to Naruto's room. No response. "Oi!Naruto-kun!" he knocked on the door and it swung open. Inside there was a neatly donebed and a nightstand with a lamp; Naruto was now where in sight.

"Deidara-sama! We're down here!" The comment was followed by loud giggling. Deidarafound them in the kitchen, covered from head to foot in flour with raw eggs in their hairand syrup on their fingers. It looked like the entire kitchen had been mauled by the greatpancake monster.

"Deidara-sama!" Naruto locked him in a floury hug. "We made pancakes!"

"Yes, I can see that, un." Granny handed him a plate of the syrup-sodden mess. "It-err-itlooks delicious, un!" Deidara managed to force down a few bites while Naruto beamed athim. "Um, Naruto-kun. Why don't you get cleaned up so we can leave for Iwa?"

"Hai!" Naruto ran up the stairs to the bathroom.

"So, how much do I owe you, un?"

"Nothing, of course!" She looked offended. "What kind of woman would I be if I madefamily pay for staying at my house?" She handed Deidara a plate of sausage links which hedutifully began to munch.

Naruto scrubbed out his hair under the sink and got most of the flour off his clothes

with a damp towel. That should be good enough. He grinned at himself in the mirror;

Konoha already felt like a distant memory. Even the marks from the villagers' last

beating had faded into small, discolored marks. By tomorrow they would be

completely gone. Somewhere in the back off his mind, Naruto knew the villagers had

meant to kill him. He also knew that if he had stayed they would have made positive

that they did next time. But now he had Deidara and Deidara would keep him safe.

Naruto ran back downstairs only to find that Deidara had gone outside.

"Come on Naruto-chan, I'll walk out with you." Granny rasped and held out her hand.Happily, Naruto took it and together they walked outside where Deidara was waiting.Granny patted Naruto's shoulder and he ran over to Deidara. "Come again sometimes!"Granny waved.

Naruto waved one of King's (the toy fox) paws back and Deidara waved a hand over hisshoulder. Naruto continued to watch Granny wave as they walked away.

"Deidara-sama." He tugged on the older boy's shirt.

"Un?"


10/91

"Granny's hand is smiling." Deidara looked back and saw that a wrinkle on the old

woman's hand had split and grinning like a Cheshire cat.'Take off your gloves once in

a while. Your hands would thank you for it'Deidara turned around and continued to

walk.

"That's Iwagakure." Deidara pointed down the bowl-shaped valley to a city of roundbuildings and swirling streets. The mid-afternoon light made it gleam golden.

Naruto stared down at the village that was so different from his own in every way."Where's your house?"

"You can't see it from here, but it's over there." Deidara pointed towards an indefinablepoint in the midst of the sprawl. "And it's ourhouse now. Come on, Naruto-kun." Deidarasmiled and started the walk down into Iwagakure with Naruto trotting after him.

"Itachi! Kisame! Sasori! Leader-sama wants to talk with you!" Tobi pounded on each oftheir turns then scampered off to avoid any irritation from his senpais. "And come ready to

leave to! You guys have a mission!" he half sang as he skipped down the hall, waking upmost of the other members in the process.

"GODDAMN IT TOBI, SHUT THE FUCK UP! DO YOU HAVE AND FUCKING IDEA WHAT TIMEIT IS YOU SHITHEAD?"

"CAN IT, HIDAN!"

"DO YOU FUCKING WANNA DIE YOU DUMBASS, KAKUZU?"

"LIKE YOU COULD!"

"BRING IT, BITCH!" Kakuzu and Hidan (both of them had actually been up for hours andhad just been returning from a mission when Tobi passed them) began a full out battle inthe middle of the hallway.

"Stop it, both of you." Itachi ordered. Both paused and scooted of to one side so Sasori,Itachi, and Kisame could walk by. However, as soon they went around a corner and Hidanstopped giving them the finger; the immortal duo went back to trying to kill each other.The other members rolled over in their beds and covered their ears with pillows. Why didthis transaction need to happen at 3AM?

"What is it Leader-sama?" Sasori said in the scratchy voice he always got when in hisscorpion puppet.

"It has come to my attention that since Orochimaru left," his eye flickered momentarily toItachi. "That you are now without a partner. Doubtless you are fine without one but I'mgiving you a new one any way."

Please don't say Tobi, please don't say Tobi, Sasori prayed. "His name is Deidara." ThankGod. "He is an Iwa missing-nin and an S-rank criminal for his terrorist bombings."

Itachi was raking his brain. Where had he heard Deidara before? Suddenly he remembereda scene from long ago; a little blonde boy that had once been a friend of Sasuke and hadsuddenly left with a kid from Iwa. He also remembered reading letters, out loud,addressed to Shikumaru, Kiba, and Sasuke for several years after. He rememberedDeidara; and his perfect, tiny, impossible to read handwriting.

Pain handed Sasori a sheet of paper with Deidara's information. "Says here he's onlyfourteen."


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"Age is irrelevant, his strength-"

"I better not have to baby-sit the brat."

"As I was saying, you won't have to. He has shown himself to be extraordinarily skilled onhis own; I highly doubt he will rely much on you." Sasori handed off the sheet to Itachi

and continued to protest about getting a brat for a partner.

Itachi glanced down the paper and was slightly disappointed that it didn't mentionUzumaki Naruto. There was only general information such as age, rank, gender

"Would you rather I partnered you with Tobi?" Sasori said nothing and Pain smirkedslightly. "Right, Deidara is somewhere in Rock Country! Find him and bring him back!Aliveand with all limbs attached." He glowered at Kisame as he said the last part. "Now GO!"

So you turned out to be a terrorist bomber?Itachi thought, I wonder what happened toNaruto?

One year earlier

"Are you sure you want to do this, un?"

"Why do you keep asking that? I already said that I-"

"You'll become a missing-min, you know. You'll have to leave Iwa, un. Are you sure-"

"Deidara! Yes! Positive! There is not a single doubt in my mind that this is what I want!"The two of them where sitting in their shared studio, at the work table. However, they

where not discussing art and all their sketches and projects had been pushed to one sideand maps and plans had been laid across the table in their place.

Deidara fiddled with his headband. "I'm being selfish, un. This isn't fair to you."

"Of course you're being selfish and unfair." Deidara looked crestfallen. "Look, I don't careabout that. I want to help you. We both know that you would do the same for me. Alright,operation; Steal Kinjutsu, Art of a single moment commence!"

"Whoa, Naruto, you're such a kid, un."

"Shut up! I'm only eleven! What the hell do you expect?" Deidara snickered and Naruto

tried (and failed) to look angry. "I'll head out now. Meet you at the Maple." To mostpeople, that comment would have made no since as the forests surrounding Iwa's valleyswhere chalk full of all sorts of trees. But the Maple had been a secret meeting spot for thetwo of them for years. Coincidentally, the Maple was also an oak tree.

"Okay, un. If all goes well-"

"It will."

"I'll see you shortly after midnight, un." Naruto stood up and hugged Deidara. Then heturned around and walked out of their house for the last time, both of their backpacksslung over his shoulder.

"Bye-bye, Dei-chan!"


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"Will youplease stop calling me that, un?"

Naruto's laughter echoed around the now strangely empty house for a long time after hehad gone.

Deidara stared at the maps and plans he had memorized weeks ago. Then he stared out

the studio window until he thought he would die from anticipation. He had to steal it now.If he didn't something would go wrong what if Naruto was discovered leaving packedwith all the supplies two people would need prior to going rouge? No, Naruto was tooclever for that. What if they changed the guards today and their careful plans went toruins? No, the plans took that into account; even elite ninja would be woefully unpreparedfor what Deidara had in store. What if

Deidara stood up and began to pace around. It must be time to leave soon. He thought.He took a deep breath and turned to look at the decrative clock hanging on a tiny patch offree space on the wall.

"Nno way, un." Deidara was stunned. "IT'S ONLY BEEN TEN MINUTES?"

"Naruto, Naruto." Naruto groaned and shifted to a more comfortable position. "Naruto."

"goaway" he mumbled.

"Naruto! WAKE UP, UN!" Naruto jolted awake and stared down from the perch he had beensleeping on.

"Deidara!" he cried out delightedly when he saw the slightly tussled older boy holding alarge yellow and red scroll. Naruto leapt down from the Maple's low branch and scrambledover to Deidara to lock him in a bear hug.

"You act like you're surprised to see me, un." Deidara said when Naruto let go.

"I was worried!"

"And you showed that by sleeping?" Naruto stuck out his tongue and handed Deidara hisbag.

"So"

"Now we go to Granny's house and lie low for a bit. We covered this already, un."

"I knew that! It's just" Naruto stared in the direction of the village with sad eyes. Deidaraalmost regretted stealing the scroll.

"You can still go back. You didn't steal the scroll."

"I'm notgoing back." He said it so passionately that Deidara half thought he had imaginedthe sorrow in Naruto's eyes. Then he grinned, "Let's go to Granny's. I need to give Kingback to her anyway." Naruto turned and walked away, deeper into the forests he nowknew by heart. Deidara hesitated as he was almost overcome by a wave of regret. Then hesighed and followed the Kitsune whose life he had saved six years ago.

It was dangerous to be in Iwa. In truth, it was dangerous to be anywhere in Rock Country.

But no matter where Naruto and Deidara had traveled in the past year, they alwaysmissed the great forests and twirling rock formations of Rock Country as well as the


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artistic design of Iwagakaru. Deidara missed it more so than Naruto. He missed their threestory house and its too-small-for-training-backyard, he missed living a short day's walkfrom Granny, and more than anything else he missed the feeling that Naruto (and to someextent, himself) was safe. Naruto felt none of Deidara's private desires; he was happy thathe had chosen to leave Iwa and any longing he felt for Rock Country came only frommissing his childhood home.

So, without really planning on it, the two of them had wandered into a small village a littleways into Rock Country border from the Waterfall Country. They had halfheartedly arguedto each other about who had misread the map and what they would do if they were caughtbut both could barely keep themselves from running off to explore. Neither were terriblyworried about being caught either, the last years had changed their appearance enough tomake it hard to recognize them on site; or so they told themselves.

"I'm going to-"

"Look at the art museum, I know, I know. I'm going to-"

"Get more food, un. I know. I'll meet you in an hour at, um."

"That pavilion?" Naruto pointed to a green and white building perched on a seeminglyrandom hill overlooking the village.

"Sure." Naruto grinned and took off toward the delicious smells of frying foods and Ramannoodles. Deidara sighed; no matter what he did Naruto point blank refused to switch to ahealthier diet. Deidara wasn't even sure how Naruto managed to pay for all the food he atebecause he had never once asked Deidara if he could borrow some money. Oh well, it'snot like Deidara had exactly set him a good example, whatever he did. Deidara sighedagain then headed off to the museum.

Itachi, Kisame, and Sasori had been searching for at least a month, maybe two. Sasoriwas impatient, Kisame was board, and Itachi was getting sick of dealing with them both.This Deidara kid was almost impossible to track. He seemed to wander around completelyat random and every time Itachi found a pattern in his movements he would break thepattern with seemingly no rhyme or reason. Not to mention all the false trails and chakraactivated traps everywhere. If what Itachi remembered of Uzumaki Naruto was correct,and of course it was, the child had loved pulling pranks and most of the traps seemed likethey were dreamed up by an experienced prankster.

Itachi doubted that they knew the Akatsuki was after them, they probably had beensetting up these precautions since they had first left Iwa. Although Itachi doubted that anytracker, no matter how devoted, would keep up this ludicrous pursuit for an entire year. Of

course he used the word 'they' assuming Naruto was still with Deidara.

Anyway, the trail of the missing-nin had lead them in a huge circle from their base inWaterfall to Fire then Tea, Wind, Bird, Fire, Sound, Lightning, Fire, Rain, Grass, and finallyback into Rock barely 20 miles away from Waterfall and in a tiny, practically no-nametown. The three Akatsuki members had managed to scrounge up varying degrees ofrespect for the young Deidara. Sasori had even stopped complaining about having to baby-sit his partner; no it was just his 'Damn too troublesome little brat for a partner.' Itachiassumed this meant he had warmed up slightly to Deidara without actually meeting him.

The three of them walked through town in hopes of spotting some clue as to their quarry'slocation.

"Woo-hoo! Won again!" someone shouted from the interior of a dimly lit store called theGilded Casino. Sasori and Kisame continued to walk but Itachi slowed down slightly; that


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voice had been familiar. He gave a sidewise glance at the store and saw a young Iwa-ninjaholding a frog wallet under the money dispenser of a slot machine and laughing like alunatic. The boy was around twelve with close-cut blonde hair and huge blue eyes. He hadhis forehead protector in standard position and he wore a black muscle shirt, black ninjashoes, black fingerless gloves, and bright orange pants like a fireman's or an astronaut's.But the feature Itachi paid the most attention too was the three whisker marks on either

cheek.

Uzumaki Naruto was here. Itachi sped up again and didn't glance at the casino again. Aftera short while he said. "He's here." Kisame believed him instantly and Sasori seemedcontent to listen to him. "We should get to an advantage point then survey the area."

"How about that pavilion, Itachi-san?" Kisame pointed to a green and white buildingoverlooking the village. The same one Naruto had pointed to not long before. Wordlessly,the trio started the trek to the building, unaware that their prey would soon be walkingstraight into their hands.

Naruto and Deidara met at the base of the hill by accident. They surveyed each other insilence then they both turned to the pavilion. After a few seconds pause they bolted up thehill.

"You're going down!" One of them (or both) shouted as they sped up into a full sprint. Thetwo of them got along well and where rarely competitive; except when they were racing.Running was the only thing they were equally good at and they honestly wanted to knowwho was faster. No dirty tricks or exploding clay was ever used.

About halfway up the hill, Deidara stumbled on a rock and Naruto zoomed ahead andmade it to the top in record time. He stood in front of the door less pavilion entrance andshouted, "Ha! I beat you!" down to Deidara.

"Shut up, un! I tripped!"

"So not only am I faster but I'm a better ninja too?" Deidara was now standing by Narutoand shot him his beast glare.

"Hello, Deidara-san." A deep voice said from inside the building. The blondes whippedaround to stare into the gloom at the three figures. Naruto grabbed a kunai and Deidarastuck his hands into the pre-made clay bags at his sides. If someone in Rock Countryrecognized Deidara then they could be in serious trouble.

"Who are you?" Naruto challenged. He could see fairly well in the dark and he didn't like

what he saw. One figure was bulky and hunched over; as if under a heavy burden, anotherwas tall with a massive sword slung over his shoulder like it was a sack of potatoes, andthe third (the middle one and the speaker) was small and weaker looking but his eyeswere glowing red. All of them had ninja forehead protectors but Naruto couldn't make outthe village symbol. "Ninja" he hissed to Deidara.

"Hiya!" Said the big sword dude, "I'm Kisame! That guy is Sasori-san," he gestured at theslouching man, "And this guy is-"

"I am Uchiha Itachi." Said the middle figure. The name stirred up a distant memory forNaruto; a dark blur of pain and hatred that had been his life before he met Deidara. But hecould not place the name. However, Deidara remembered Itachi. He had been the brotherof one of Naruto's best friends in Konoha. Itachi of the sloppy, jagged, impossible-to-read

handwriting. Why was he here?


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"We want to recruit you to the Akatsuki." Itachi said as if he had read Deidara's mind.

"What?" Deidara and Naruto asked.

"Feh, do I really get this brat for a partner?" Sasori grumbled but everyone ignored him.

"The Akatsuki is an organization of S-rank criminals from around the world. A memberrecently left and we want you to replace him." Itachi explained.

"No way."

"You don't get a choice." Kisame grinned and raised his sword. "We could cut off his legsand-"

"No, we can't. We were explicitly ordered not to do that." Sasori grumbled.

"How about this? We fight; if I win you come with us but if you win we never bother youagain?" Deidara and Itachi stared at each other in silence for a short while.

"Fine. Naruto, stay out of this." Naruto nodded reluctantly and moved out of the way.Deidara was as stubborn as he himself when it came to fighting.

Deidara removed his hands from the clay at his sides and the mouths spat out twincentipedes. The little animals launched themselves to the ground and Deidara expandedthem. Itachi's eyes whirled, literally. Naruto had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach;he knew who would win this fight and he could to nothing. Deidara didn't seem to noticeKisame's smirk or Naruto's worried face. He sent his insects at Itachi but they stopped feetaway from him. Deidadra's eyes widened as he stared into Itachi's sharingun. Then hisknees buckled and he sank to the ground as the genjutsu broke.

"I win. You will leave with us now, Deidara-san." Naruto ran to Deidara's side and helpedhim get to his feet.

"Are we going to run?" He whispered.

Deidara shook his head. "I made a deal and I won't break it" He hissed back. Naruto feltdeflated. They had been captured and the enemy hadn't even broken a sweat.

"What about the littler one? Can I kill him?" Neither of the two blondes had heard themapproach but now both Sasori and Kisame stood over the two of them. Kisame had his big-ass sword in one hand and was waving it dangerously close to Naruto.

"Try it and I will-"

"What? Fail epically, again?" Kisame smirked.

"Kisame. Do not kill or maim either of them. We will take both of them to the base.Perhaps Naruto-kun can be Tobi's partner?" Sasori and Kisame both chuckled slightly andNaruto felt a small stab of fear. What kind of terrifying person was Tobi that the thought ofNaruto being his partner was amusing?

Itachi's eyes were now black but they still seemed to be staring straight into Naruto's soulwhen he looked at him. "We will leave now. Try to run and you will die."

Deidara sat on the other side of the campfire with his head hung. Itachi had wisely decided

to stay the night just inside the Waterfall Country border. Presently, it was just him andthe defeated looking Deidara in camp; Sasori was off doing god knows what and Naruto


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and Kisame had somehow managed to become friends and were currently 'gathering morefirewood' aka planning elaborate pranks on the other Akatsuki members.

"So" Itachi attempted to start a conversation rather lamely. Seeing the younger child likethat was starting to creep him out a little.

"How are Sasuke-kun, Kiba-kun, and Shikumaru-kun, un?" Deidara's voice was flat andhollow.

"Fine, last I saw."

"And Konoha in general, un?"

"Fine?"

"So now you're part of an organization that wants to bring down Konoha, un. I bet yourclan loved that one when you told them. Oh, right, you killed them all to test yourstrength." Deidara snarled slightly and glowered at Itachi. Itachi was slightly relived to see

some light in the blonde's eyes, even if it was rage.

"I had my reasons and the Akatsuki's goals differ from what you think. It's really not sobad." Deidara snorted at this comment and Itachi arched an eyebrow.

"Is that why you have to force your members to join, un?" Itachi couldn't think of anythingto say to that so the two sat in silence for a while.

"It's safer, you know. We are easier to pick off alone and there are plenty of people eagerto do it. Even S-rank criminals need protection in numbers. Akatsuki is like a mini village.We all joined for different reasons but we all are glad to have done so in the end."

"Yeah? Well I had a companion and we were fine together, un. We didn't need Akatsuki forprotection. But thanks a lot for forcing us to join your crazy-ass cult and separating us, un.We are eternally grateful."

"You speak for both Naruto and yourself?" Deidara snorted and turned away, successfullyending any more conversation.

"Right, then there's Zetsu and he's just a walking plant with split personalities. Any goodideas for him?"

"Umm. Ah! How about when he's on a mission we fill his room with dirt and plant flowersand grass?"

"I think he might enjoy that." Kisame rubbed his chin in thought. "We could chase himaround base with watering cans."

"Nah, that's too boring. Help me out with this, will you?" Naruto struggled to pull a deadlimb off a tree. The two of them where indeed gathering firewood; currently they had asmall truckload of dry, burnable wood but they were having way too much fun to just goback. Kisame freed the limb with one swipe of Samehada. "Um, how about this Tobifellow?"

"What about him?" Naruto had to word this carefully; he needed information about the

man they thought would be a good partner for him.


17/91

"How do you think we should prank him?"

"I don't think we need to."

"W-what do you mean?" Naruto was getting nervous. This Tobi must be absolutelyterrifying if even Kisame didn't want to prank him!

Kisame grinned at him like a Cheshire Cat. "I'll let you figure that one out for yourself." Heturned away from the blonde so he wouldn't see him trying not to laugh. "I think we haveplenty of wood now." He said after the urge to laugh had died down. "Let's head back tocamp."

"The Akatsuki base is a cave?" Deidara asked doubtfully. The five of them where standingbefore the sealed entrance to the infamous organizations' lair. The two newcomers werekind of disappointed in what they saw; if the Akatsuki was so wonderful why did themembers live in a cave?

"Stop whining, brat."

"Whatever you say, Sasori-danna." Deidara said 'Danna' as if he couldn't think of anythingmore disgusting than the word in existence. Kisame and Naruto, on the other hand, werespeaking excitedly in hushed tones.

"Every member gets their own room and they're pretty big too! We work in two cell groupsand partners have rooms that are either side by side or across from each other."

"Is Tobi-san's room close to Deidara and Sasori-sama's?"

"I dunno were Tobi's room is. But we only have an open room for Deidara; we weren'tplanning on getting you too. Maybe Deidara will have to blast you a room somewhere?"Itachi ignored them all. He stared at the seal on the boulder and waited patiently forsomeone to open the door. While he waited he thought about the new members.

Deidara hated him. He had made it perfectly clear that he would love nothing more than achance to get back at Itachi for the humiliating recruitment. Itachi would need to keep aneye on him. As for Naruto, Itachi was a little disappointed that the boy hadn't recognizedhim yet; Uchiha wasn't exactly a common name. Although Naruto had been five when theyhad last met and was probably suppressing the painful memories about his former village.Besides, if he did remember he might ask Itachi difficult questions.

"We have a huge kitchen! Everyone likes different foods and we keep it well stalked so no

one goes insane and tries to eat someone else." Kisame continued, positively delighted tohave a captivated audience and he found Naruto's wide-eyed expression hilarious. EvenDeidara and Sasori had stopped sulking and were paying attention to the fox child.

"Eat someone else?"

"Oh, yes. Zetsu loves nothing more than eating people for fun." Kisame sounded positivelygleeful.

"Let's not forget that he could also be sacrificed to Jashin, maimed, have his internalorgans sold on the black market, poisoned, be turned into a puppet" Sasori listed all the'death-by's' he could think off. Although normally completely void of all emotions, Sasori

was enjoying Naruto's terror way too much. Even Deidara smirked slightly as Naruto triedto formulate a good comeback. "Anyone that's too weak to ward off an attack isn't neededin Akatsuki." Sasori finished.


18/91

"B-but I-"

"Door's opening." Itachi brought all of their attention back to the lair. The great boldertrembled slightly, and then rolled aside as the seal was deactivated from the inside. Itachiwas relieved to see that it was Konan standing in the entrance as she rarely askedquestions. "Hello Konan-san." He greeted her and she smiled in return. She waved one

hand at them to beacon them forward then turned around and walked into the darkinterior of the cave. Naruto and Kisame followed immediately after her but the other threepaused. Deidara was reluctant to enter the cave because it seemed to him that the secondhe did so his freedom would end and the other two wanted to make sure he didn't tryanything.

In the end, Deidara entered because Naruto was getting out of his sight. Deidara hadreluctantly come to the conclusion that the Akatsuki wasn't bad for Naruto and byextension, himself. Hadn't he wished that Naruto could have some friends and trainingsince they left Iwa? And now that wish had come true in a twisted and bizarre way. Itachiand Sasori still followed Deidara closely even though he no longer had an opportunity toescape.

Naruto and Deidara both stumbled slightly on the unfamiliar terrain of the cave when thesealed door slammed back into place and cast the cave into total darkness. Kisamegrabbed Naruto's upper arm to prevent him from falling but neither Sasori nor Itachi evenattempted to stop Deidara from walking into a wall. Konan giggled as the five scuffled andprotested amongst each other in a very childish manner. Naruto was suddenly glad of thedark because it masked his blush wonderfully.

"The lights will come on in a second." Her voice sounded like church bells to Naruto's earsbut the others didn't seem to notice anything. "If it helps, you can hold still until they do."Just as she finished speaking a line of torches along either wall flared into life. They musthave been created using some kind of jutsu because they all burned without an apparentfuel source and they produced no smoke.

Konan lead them deeper and deeper into the cave; up and down twisting tunnels andtrough doors with seemingly no proposes. "Who made this?" Naruto wondered out loud.

"Dunno, good question though." Kisame stroked his chin while he thought.

"I know." Konan glanced back and smiled again. "This place was once a great ninja villageback before even the current countries existed. It was the first ninja village ever; beforethis place existed ninjas existed as roughs and assassins-for-hire."

"Well that's what ninja are now only we're the roughs and the villages are for hire, un."Deidara grumbled.

"While this village was alive. It was the most peaceful era of the world" Konan soundeddreamy.

"What happened then?" Naruto asked.

"Hmm?"

"The village, I mean. What happened?"

"That's one of the answers we're searching for. But it seems likely that there was a wordwar and the village was torn in two. The opposing sides abandoned this village and wentaround the world. As they moved smaller parties broke off and formed our current ninja

villages."


19/91

"And the ones that didn't settle, un?" This time it was Deidara who spoke.

"They faded away and with them the history of this place. The current villages all have thisstory but they have become so distorted by region that we don't know what exactlyhappened." Naruto and Deidara raked their brains for the ninja origin story they had beentaught in the Iwa academy. Sure enough they both recalled a story very similar to the one

Konan had just told. Only they had heard it as a golden palace in the clouds that had beentorn apart by corrupt demons pretending to be ninja. Konan's version was more believableand besides, as a kitsune Naruto (and Deidara for different reasons) hadn't been fond ofthe whole demon bashing thing.

Konan smiled at them once more then stopped in front of a perfectly ordinary door. Sheknocked once then pushed the door and walked in without waiting for a reply. The otherswaited for a few seconds before following her; none of them had the privileges that Konanhad. Naruto and Deidara didn't know what to expect the office of an S-rank criminalorganization leader to look like but whatever it was neither had expected what Pein's roomwas like.

Loose papers lay randomly around the floor with little origami creatures hiding in andamongst them, books and scrolls had been cast randomly onto tables or stuffed ontooverflowing shelves, wilted and fresh garlands of daisies were hanging off of coat pegs,and a woebegone green parrot sat in a corner cage. Deidara half sneered at the mansitting behind the desk at the far end of the room. So this was the most dangerousorganization in the world? Pathetic!

Naruto was watching the two people standing behind his new leader. On the right, Konansmiled reassuringly at him and put a hand on Pein's shoulder; the person standing on theleft was tall and dressed in funeral black. Naruto wondered what he was thinking behindhis orange, spiral-mask.

"Ahem." Pein glared at them and the blondes were disconcerted by his pale blue, ripple-patterned eyes. He shot Itachi, Kisame, and Sasori a look that clearly said Finally! Whatthe hell took you so long?"I believe I told you to bring Deidara, who is the other one?"

"Uzumaki Naruto." Kisame said.

"And why, pray tell, is he here?"

"He and Deidara-san grew up together and it would have been difficult to bring onewithout the other. If we would have killed him Deidara would never had agreed to comehere." Itachi said, "Perhaps he could be Tobi's partner?" The masked man jumped slightlyand looked swiftly to Pein.

"Perhaps" Pein stared at Naruto briefly before turning his attention to Deidara. "Welcometo the Akatsuki, Deidara-kun. Here," Pein held out a teal ring and beckoned for Deidara totake it. "Put this on your right index finger." Naruto noticed that all of the people in theroom, aside from himself and the masked-man, had rings of various colors positionedsomewhere on one of their hands.

"Aoi?" Deidara read the character on the ring before he slid it onto its designated place.

"You will be given a uniform by Konan then Sasori, as your new partner, will show youaround." Sasori grumbled something unhappily. "But first, please put a scratch through theIwa symbol in your headband."

"What? Why, un?" Deidara took a step back from Pein in alarm.


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"To show that although your past was in Iwa, you are now loyal to us." Konan looked atNaruto as well as Deidara as she spoke. Deidara frowned and reluctantly removed hisforehead protector and took out a kunai. He shot a side Naruto a sideways glance beforehe slashed through the symbol of his former village.

"Good." Pein leaned back in his chair. "Itachi, Kisame, Sasori, Deidara, Konan; you are

dismissed." Konan smiled at Naruto as she left and Kisame gave him a quick thumbs-up.Deidara showed no intentions of leaving without Naruto until Sasori threatened to stab himwith his tail. Deidara threw Naruto a desperate glance and then was gone. Naruto wasalone with Pein and the masked-man in an unfamiliar place.

"So, Uzumaki Naruto, I am impressed that you managed to remain unknown to theAkatsuki even though the company you keep is rather well known." Naruto said nothing."You will excuse me when I say that you cannot join the Akatsuki. We had only one openseat and yourAniki?" Naruto shook his head. "Deidara has just filled it. However, youcould become an unofficial member and partner with Tobi." The masked man fidgeted alittle and knitted his fingers together.

"Um Leader-sama? Who is Tobi?"

"Me, silly." The masked-man said. Naruto felt like the sky had fallen. Where was theterrifying ninja? Why was this fool claiming to be the great and mysterious Tobi? "Youseem surprised!" Tobi giggled and Naruto quickly shut his mouth.

"I, um, thoughtwell, I expected I didn't."

"You will have plenty of time to discuss things later. For now-"

"Leader-sama!"

"-I think that-"

"LLLEEEAAADDDEEERRRRRR-SAAAAAAAAAAMMAAAAAA!"

"What is it Tobi?"

"Do we get rings and cloaks?"

"No, now may I continue?"

"But Leader-sama! How can we be members-"

"Unofficial members." Naruto interjected helpfully.

"-Without rings and cloaks? Think of poor Naruto-chan!" Tobi hugged Naruto and thekitsune stiffened. When had Tobi walked over to him? Could he be a better ninja than heseemed?

"Ask Konan later! Do you mind if I speak now?"

"HAI, LEADER-SAMA! TOBI WON'T MAKE ANOTHER PEEP!" Tobi yelled into Naruto's ear. Itake it backthought Naruto; he's a useless fool and a worse ninja!

"Naruto-san, as you are still young you will be trained here. You will report to me and youwill follow direct orders; but as you are not a complete member you will be given small

leeway. Only you and Tobi may leave base without a mission until I say otherwise.Understood?"


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"Hai, Leader-sama."

"Good. Welcome to the Akatsuki, Naruto-san." Pein and Tobi stared at Naruto as hewithdrew a kunai and, with none of the reluctance Deidara had shown, slashed through thesymbol of Iwa.

Naruto sat down heavily on his bed and rubbed his right shoulder. Tobi had literallydragged all over the Akatsuki's massive lair in his 'Ultra Super Awesome Tour ofEpicenes!' Good, he didn't dislocate it, Naruto thought. Does he think I can't walk orsomething? Why would he drag me everywhere?Naruto rested his head and his hands totry to clear his thoughts.

Tobi had shown him the kitchen, dining hall, library, training area (an empty, and until thispoint unused, cavern), meeting area, and how the front door worked. Then, completelyrandomly, he had decided that Naruto needed to see his sketches for what their 'unofficialmember member's uniform' should look like and had dragged him to their accommodationswhich were hidden away deep within the maze like village.

Naruto's room had been painted a shocking, almost painful yellow with orange, darkgreen, and hot pink polka-dots. There were animal-shaped pillows and brightly coloredblankets everywhere; from the little floor he could see, Naruto believed that it was coveredin a pastel purple plush carpet. There were bookshelves stuffed with random jutsu scrollsand books ranging from the wonders of Zen Gardening to Common heart disease in thelate 1580's against one wall. There was also a decent sized work bench in the middle ofthe room with a very lonely bamboo (Tobi had introduced as Kenji-kun) sitting in a vaseon the center. The bed Naruto was sitting on had a black iron frame and an icy bluebedspread. Apparently, Tobi had designed it for a future partner a few years back. Theroom was the most visually offensive place Naruto had ever seen and he loved it.

"Naruto-chaaaaannnnn!" Tobi barged into Naruto's room without bothering to knock andplopped down on Naruto's bed. "Looky! I found them!" He produced a comically oversizedbinder and wiggled it under Naruto's nose. Then he proceeded to show Naruto every singleone of his 7,659 drawings and explain the pros and cons of each. Much to his surprise,Naruto greatly enjoyed helping Tobi pick the best ones to talk to Konan about later. Tobiwas an excellent artist and he had clearly put a great amount of effort, more than Narutowould have ever credited him for, into the assembly of his binder.

They kept at it for a few hours until Tobi bothered to look at the clock (a black disk with acouple of live lizards instead of hour and minute hands). He leapt from the bed, grabbedNaruto by his wrist, and charged out the door.

"Ah! Tobi what the, ow, hell?" Naruto stumbled and tried to keep up with Tobi who was,once again, dragging him.

"We're almost late for dinner!"

"So? Kisame said-ow!- people ate whenever they felt like it!"

"Konan likes throwing Akatsuki-welcome-dinners when we get new members!"

"That's- damn it Tobi, I can walk! - stupid!"

"Do you wanna be the one to tell her that?" Naruto fell silent and continued to try to regainhis footing. "Besides, Konan's such a good cook that no one minds too much." Tobisnickered and Naruto had a funny feeling Tobi was referencing something else. The tworounded a sharp corner and entered the dining hall just as Konan hauled in an irate albino

in from the other entrance.


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"Oh good, we're all here then." She smiled at Naruto and he looked away before he couldblush. By doing so he noticed Deidara, dressed in Akatsuki robes and sulking, sitting nextto a short red head Naruto hadn't met yet. Tobi steered him into the seat on the other sideof Deidara and then sat himself down next to Naruto.

"Hi Naruto, un."

"Hi Deidara!" Deidara frowned at him and Naruto wondered if he had done somethingwrong.

"Why are you so cheery, un? What have you been doing all day?" Naruto shrugged andstarted to answer until a hyper active Tobi cut him off.

"Ooh! How about- Maybe he's happy because I'm rubbing off on him!" Naruto and Deidarasuppressed shudders.

"Oh, yeah, 'cause the first thing we need around here is another Tobi." Kisame sat downacross from Naruto and Itachi took the free space across from Deidara (who was still

radiating a pretty powerful 'kill Itachi' aura).

"What's wrong with Tobi?" "Yes, Tobi is a good boy." "Might be tasty too." A giant plant inAkatsuki robes grumbled from further down the table. From the earlier description Kisamehad given, Naruto guessed that this was Zetsu.

That suspicion was confirmed when Tobi said, "Waah! Please don't eat me Zetsu-san!"Kisame snickered and the plant muttered something to itself.

"What the fuck is this? I thought we were getting only one goddamn new member!" Theirate albino had been forced into a seat next to Tobi by Konan.

"Introduce yourself, its rude not to." Naruto had a feeling that if anyone but Konan hadsuggested that to the albino they would be in major trouble. As it was, he simply gloweredat Konan then began to viciously prod at some spare ribs.

"How much do they eat on average? The cost of food is really high right now maybe theycould starve for a little bit" Said a tan man, only slightly smaller than Kisame, from hisseat across from Tobi.

"We aren't starving anyone, Kakuzu." Konan scolded as she took her seat next to Pein andstarted to pile food onto his plate.

"Those are the zombie brothers." Kisame explained to the new comers.

"WHOSE A ZOMBIE, BASTARD?" Hidan made and series of rude hand gestures and Kakuzuwaved a fork with liver on the end in halfhearted protest.

"The bad mouth is Hidan and the big one is Kakuzu." Kisame continued as he loaded hisplate with shrimp and crab. With a start, Naruto realized that he himself was beingimpolite by not having introduced himself and that Konan might disapprove. He quicklystood up and bowed.

"I am Uzumaki Naruto, former Iwa ninja and current partner of Tobi." He sunk a quickglance at Konan and was delighted to see that she was beaming at him.

"Good. Now you introduce yourself, brat." The red head said to Deidara. Naruto stared at

him. The short red head was Sasori? Why was he suddenly so tiny and human looking?


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"Go to hell." Deidara started on the bowl of bakudan in front of him and seemed to loseinterest on anyone else. Sasori made a disgusted noise in the back of his throat andglowered at a plate of roasted peppers.

"You can sit down now, Naruto." Tobi tugged on Naruto's sleeve and he sat back down.Naruto noticed that, with the exception of Sasori, he was the only one with an empty

plate. Even Tobi had loaded his own plate with dango and cakes. No wonder he's alwaysso hyper. Naruto and Deidara thought.

"I didn't know what you liked so I made a little of everything." Konan said to both of theblondes. Deidara shrugged and Naruto waved his hands and assured Konan that anythingshe cooked would taste fine. By the time he looked back at his plate, it had been piled highwith assorted meats, pastries, and tarts curtsey of Tobi. Naruto raised an eyebrow at hispartner but Tobi merely giggled.

"Deidara, where is your room, anyway?" Naruto said after a while.

Deidara frowned, "In the hallway with everyone else's rooms, un. Why? Where's yours,un?" Before Naruto could answer he felt a gentle poke on his shoulder. He glanced at Tobiout of the corner of his eye. He had his mask tilted so that it covered the upper half of hisface but Naruto (and the rest of the Akatsuki) could see the lower half of his very paleface. Somewhere in the back of Naruto's mind, Tobi reminded him of someone, or perhapsa clan of someone's that he had known a long time ago. All this Naruto registered in asecond.

Tobi shook his head and Naruto repeated to Deidara the words Tobi's lips formed. "Idunno. Konan found me a room somewhere but I'm not familiar enough with this place tofind it without help." Deidara lifted his eyebrows but made no protest. Naruto felt a littlebad for lying but he also knew that Tobi must have a good reason for wanting him too. He

just needed to figure out just what that reason was.

Deidara's fuck off attitude had diminished in the last month but he was still was as snarkyas ever. He still 'accidently' left clay animals wander around the base and detonaterandomly but he had found it difficult to continue hating everything Akatsuki when Narutoloved it all so much. In fact, Deidara was now a little jealous of Naruto just because of howwell he fit in with the Akatsuki.

Having befriended Konan, Tobi, Kisame, and Itachi (?); Naruto had been working atbecoming friends with everyone and it seemed to be working. Sasori was teaching Narutohow to make poisons and hide weapons, Kakuzu had shown him how bounty-huntingworked, Hidan had made sure that Naruto was well versed in the wonders of Jashin-samaand immortality, Naruto was now helping Zetsu with his garden on a daily basis, Konan

had helped him make his fist paper crane a few days ago, and Tobi had been trainingNaruto at almost every opportunity. Deidara was amazed by how quickly Naruto haddrawn everyone to him without even trying. Although something had changed aboutNaruto and Deidara wasn't sure he liked the difference. Naruto could now pop out ofanywhere and he often disappeared for long periods of time. That alone would not havebothered Deidara, it was the changed in Naruto's personality that bothered him.

Naruto had become more secretive and cunning. He would not tell anyone where his roomwas and he refused to talk about what Tobi was training him to do. Also all his pranks (sofar he had painted the cloud's on Pein's coat blue, put green tinted contacts on Itachi whilehe was sleeping, and convinced Kakuzu that he was being haunted) had been almostimpossible to trace and he had managed to avoid getting into too much trouble. AndNaruto's eyes now had a strange glint to them as if he always knew something that no one

else did.


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Deidara sighed and fiddled with the lump of clay in his hands. He was sitting in the cornerof his liver-colored bedroom, behind his bed so that if someone entered his bedroom theywouldn't see him. The room was cramped and smelled of snakes but it had a balconywindow (it even opened to the actual outside) and for some reason it had a closet abouthalf the size of the bedroom and Deidara was using it as a work place. There were worsesituations to be in but even then he wouldn't be trapped in a creepy room, alone. I miss

sleeping outside and I miss not having to wear a uniform and I miss spending time withNaruto. He complained in his head. He grit his teeth and tore rather viciously at his half-finished sculpture.And I miss having things to do! I think I'm going to die of boredom!

Deidara was roused from his thoughts by a knock at the door. He had only made it halfway to the door when Sasori opened it. Deidara noted that he was in his puppet-form andwas wearing traveling gear. "Move it, brat," he growled, "We have a mission."

Deidara ran through an unfamiliar part of the Akatsuki lair. He had seen Narutodisappearing into the area a few times after dinner and he had no other ideas as to whereelse the kitsune might be. Deidara rounded a corner and kicked open another door but stillno luck. The blonde chewed on his bottom lip to stop the panic he felt from showing on hisface. He had less than 15 minutes to find Naruto before he had to leave on his mission

with Sasori.

Deidara rounded another corner and came face to face with a bright orange spiral mask.Deidara yelped and leaped backward, smashing the back of his head painfully against thewall then slumping onto the floor. "Shit, un!" He yelled and Tobi started laughing. "Tobi!What the hell's your problem! Do you just hide behind and corners and scare people, un?"

"Yep, but you're the first person to ever fall for it." Tobi managed to say between snickers.Deidara took a few deep breaths to slow his pounding heart. He stood up on shaky feetand glowered at Tobi who was still laughing.

"Tobi, where is Naruto, un?"

"Why?" Tobi asked innocently but Deidara felt cold dread wash over him. There was noway Tobi knew! Naruto was too smart for Tobi to have found out! But Naruto was only atwelve year old kid and he was pretty nave at that. Deidara shrugged off his doubts andtook a nonchalant pose.

"I'm leaving soon and I wanted to say goodbye, un."

"Naruto left the base last night." Deidara glared at Tobi until he started to squirm. "Narutosaid he was bored and took off! That's all that happened, I swear!" Tobi shifted from onefoot to the other in mock agitation and Deidara sighed inwardly with relief. He must havegone to see Granny again. Deidara thought. Naruto had already done that several timessince joining the Akatsuki.

"Well, tell him when he gets back then, un." Deidara instructed and Tobi nodded earnestly.

"Tobi will!"

"Yeah, yeah, un. That's great, Tobi, un." Deidara turned on his heel and started to walkback the way he had come. Wordlessly Tobi followed him, herding the younger ninja to themain part of the base. Deidara tugged uncomfortably at the sleeve of his Akatsuki robe. Hewas not looking forward to working for this organization.

Flashback


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Deidara stood next to Sasori in Pein's office. It had taken him only a few seconds to getready and he was antsy to find out what the mission was. Pein was sitting behind his deskand Konan was at his shoulder. Deidara glowered at his leader but avoided looking atKonan. She was too nice for him to dislike.

Pein cleared his thought even though he already had everyone's undivided attention. "Your

mission will be to go to Sunagakure in wind country. You will capture the Sand'sjinchriki." Deidara stared at Pein blankly. What the hell's a Ginger-Wicky?He wondered."Doubtless you don't know about the jinchriki so Konan will be briefing you. Sasori, aword."

Pein stood up and motioned for Sasori to follow him out the back door. Konan waited forthe two to leave before she smiled at Deidara. "Sit, please, Deidara-kun."

Deidara wordlessly sat into one of the uncomfortable chairs littering the room and Konantook a seat across from him. "You know what a jinchriki is?" She asked without thecondescending tone that Deidara had half expected.

"No." He admitted reluctantly.

"Do you know what a bij is?"

"No, un."

Konan smiled again but Deidara noticed another emotion flicker in her eyes. Anger orsorrow? "A bij is one of nine demon-tailed beasts with huge amounts of chakra and a

jinchriki is a human host of one of the tailed beasts. Your mission is to capture the host ofone-tailed raccoon of Suna. He's a red-haired ninja about Naruto's age. His name is Gaaraof the Sand. You and Sasori must capture him alive and bring him back here so we canextract the demon."

"Why?"Deidara asked but Konan smiled and shook her head. Deidara frowned. "What arethe other bij, un?"

Konan listed all the bij and what their current village was but it wasn't until she got to thenine-tailed fox that Deidara felt a surge of confusion. "The nine-tailed fox is dead, un.Konaha's yellow flash killed it." Konan's eyes danced with laughter and Deidara felt a surgeof cold panic grip his heart.

"Yes but we got lucky. Not many people know this but the nine-tailed demon fox had ason. And better yet the kit was never put into a host! We think we can use the demon's kitin place of the original demon."

"For what?" Deidara pressed again but Konan just shook her head. Deidara's face was theperfect mask of curiosity but his insides squirmed uncomfortably. Naruto was the nine-tailed demon fox's son! They had both unwittingly joined the organization that was afterNaruto! "What happens to the hosts, un?" Deidara forced himself to ask the first questionthat popped into his head however his lips felt numb.

"That depends on the host. The weaker ones die and what we do with the survivors isdependent upon their personalities. We either kill them or erase their memories and havethem join the Akatsuki." Deidara nodded and Konan beamed.

"Would it be alright if I said goodbye to Naruto?" Deidara asked, his mind whirling withplans for an escape.


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"Yes. You have half an hour." Konan had a sympathetic look in her eyes as she stood upand left. Deidara sat in his chair for a few moments before he stood up stiffly and boltedfor the door.

End Flashback.

Naruto sat in Granny's kitchen and fiddled with King. It had always surprised him that theold woman had kept his first toy and secretly he was kind of glad of it. Naruto sighed andleaned back in his chair until his head bumped against the wall behind him.

"What the hell am I supposed to do, King?" He groaned. Naruto peered at King and washalf amused by the innocent look of the toy's face.

"I'm going insane. Why the hell am I talking to a toy about this?" He tossed the toy ontothe table then flopped down next to it, resting his chin on his folded arms. He frowned andfurrowed his brow as he debated with himself.

The entire house was dark and unnaturally quiet and this disturbed Naruto to no end. Thishouse had always been a permanent thing for him, it was his only real home since he andDeidara had left Iwa and now it seemed like it too would soon be gone. Naruto flinched asa loud, raspy cough boomed down from the upper floors. He grabbed King and hugged himto his chest like he had once done as a small child but even that could not block out thenoise.

Naruto squeezed his eyes shut and buried his nose in King's fur. He was at a loss for whathe should do. He had known that Granny's health had been deteriorating but for her tobedying Naruto bit his bottom lip and quietly waited for the old woman's coughing tostop.

Naruto had arrived in the early hours of morning, before even the sun had risen and hadimmediately felt uneasy. The house had looked abandoned and there had been a strangeodor about it; a strange mix of sickness and decay. He had run into the house and foundGranny slumped in one of her overstuffed armchairs and looking skeletal. She was tooweak to even lift a finger.

Naruto had scooped her up and carried her to her room. She was awake and she had toldhim that yes, she was dying. No, there was nothing he could do. No, he couldn't take hersomewhere. No, he couldn't bring someone here. There was really nothing to do! Manyyears ago she had been in a fight and the enemy had used a technique on her and she wasfinally feeling the results. Yes, she was sure it was incurable. She knew because she wasthe bloody best damn healer nin Iwa had ever seen! Now look, it was her wish to die in herown home.

Eventually Naruto relented so Granny could get some sleep. She had told him that shewanted to die alone but Naruto was reluctant to leave. He had spent the rest of themorning disposing of the rotting food and cleaning up the gardens while he tried to figureout what he should do but he was still at a loss. Naruto knew that he could force Granny toseek attention but he didn't have the heart to go against her wishes. In the end, he hadsimply grabbed King and settled down in her kitchen.

Slowly Granny's coughing fit ended and Naruto blinked open his eyes. He wiped his eyeswith his sleeves and sniffled discreetly. He was way too old to be crying! Throwing off hisdoubts, Naruto left the kitchen and marched up to his Granny's room.

He paused in front of her door and prepared himself for the discussion he would soon behaving. He shuffled his feet and hugged King tighter before he knocked once then strodeconfidently into the room. His heart skipped a beat when he saw how frail and withered he


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looked but he pulled up a chair regardless and sat down. The two ex-Iwa ninja stared ateach other in silence for a few minutes before it became unbearably uncomfortable.

"You know, Naruto-chan, you really do look so much like Deidara. I can scarcely believethat you aren't biological brothers." Naruto was torn between the urge to frown and theurge to smile so remained silent.

"In fact I think everyone but the two of you think of you as brothers," The old womanlicked her lips and continued with a raspy chuckle. "What are you just embarrassed toshow affection for one another? Honestly, Naruto-chan! Call him aniki once in a while! I'man old woman and I'd like to see the last two members of my family act like bloodyfamily."

"Granny." Naruto cut her off and she gave him a sad smile. Naruto's face looked like it hadbeen carved out of stone and he was very dry-eyed. "I don't care what you say we have toget you to a hospital!"

"Oh, not this again!"

"Yes, Granny. I don't want you to die!" Naruto fiddled with King in his hands and staredhard at the old woman. Granny simple sighed and looked at the ceiling.

"My dear child, I am going to die whether you want me to or not. Even a human couldsmell the death on me. You must find it unbearable. I won't last the night no matter whereI go so can't you let an old woman fade away peacefully in her own home? My great-great-grandfather built this house and I am the last of our family to ever be born in it. I shouldget to die in it as well." This time when she looked at Naruto he had to look away. Hechose to study his knees and strangle King.

Granny reached over and put a hand on his cheek and it surprised her that it was dry."You and Deidara are missing nin; you can never live here. This house will never be used

after my death. Naruto-chan, you know that. Eventually someone will come to check onme and find me dead and they will give me an honorably burial in Iwa. Someone I'venever met will give a speech about my services to the ninja world and there won't be atear in sight because you and Deidara will not come." Naruto's head snapped up and hestarted to protest but Granny cut him off.

"You will not be captured because you went to Iwa to mourn for me." Naruto lookedcrestfallen but the old woman didn't attempt to comfort him. "Leave me here. Go findDeidara and tell him I'm dead. Mourn together. Grieve, pick a fight, or just cope. Just do ittogether like brothers should. Please."

Naruto had looked away again but he took Granny's hand and squeezed it. "Just go. I wantto die alone." Naruto stood up on shaky legs and stared at the floor. Wordlessly he bent

down and kissed her on her cheek. Granny just stared blankly at the ceiling. She feltherself growing weaker as the old jutsu took effect. She wanted to be alone more thananything in the world. She wanted to join her husband and children privately. Even if thatmeant Naruto had to leave.

Naruto walked to the door and stopped with one hand on the door handle. "Goodbyethen." He said.

"Goodbye."

"I-I love you Granny."

"I love you too, Naruto-chan." Without looking back, Naruto left the room. He paused for afew seconds and clutched King. Then he ran. Naruto ran down the stairs and out of the


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house but even then he didn't stop. In her room, Granny exhaled for the last time as soonas the front door slammed shut.

Naruto didn't know how long he ran; he just knew that if he stopped running his emotions

would catch up with him and he didn't want to deal with them just yet. Eventually heskirted to a halt in front of the giant rock that blocked the Akatsuki base from the world.He wasn't sure how long he had been running but his clothes were soaked with sweat.

He kicked the rock and waited for someone to open the door for him. Naruto knew hemust look terrible. He hadn't slept since god only knows when and he had several cuts onhis arms and face even though he couldn't remember when he had gotten them. He ranhis fingers through his hair and pulled out several leaves and twigs but the action wasmore to give him something to do than out of vanity.

After a few moments the door opened but it had felt like eons to Naruto. He eagerlypushed forward as soon as there was room and walked past the person that had let him in.He didn't care who it was, he just needed to get to Deidara but the person had other ideas.

"I didn't have to open the door you know." Naruto turned and glared at Hidan. "Holy fuck!What happened to you?" Hidan gapped. Naruto just turned and started to walk away. Assoon as the albino got over his shock at seeing Naruto look so terrible he walked after him.

"Damn it, Shorty, were you attacked or something?" Naruto just ignored him and marcheddown the hallway that led to the dining room. Deidara was always hungry. But Hidanwasn't used to people ignoring him. He grabbed Naruto's upper arm and spun him aroundso they were eye to eye. "Naruto, what happened to you?"

Although he heard the concern in the older boy's voice Naruto simply glared at Hidan andripped his arm out of his grip. Hidan was stunned. No one had ever acted like that to him

before! But there was something in Naruto's glare that made him almost reluctant to pushit. He was sure that the younger boy's pupils had become slits and that his eyes hadflashed crimson but they were back to normal before Hidan could get a good look at them.Hidan realized that he had grabbed his scythe without meaning too and he slowly loweredit. Naruto turned again and walked away but still Hidan trailed after him.

Naruto walked into the dining room but Deidara wasn't there. Naruto felt void of allemotions as he realized this and he marched out of the room and down a twisting hallway.Hidan trailed after him and waited for the opportunity to get Naruto to talk. They reachedDeidara's room and Naruto kicked open the door without bothering to knock but Deidarawasn't in his room either. Naruto shut the door and turned to face Hidan. He didn't evenacknowledge Kisame as he walked around the corner.

"Oh, Hi Naruto-"Kisame grinned at the blonde child without registering how bad he looked.

"Where is Deidara?" Hidan and Kisame stared at Naruto is surprise. His voice was hollowand monotonous. Kisame's eyes widened in surprise as he took in Naruto's appearanceand Hidan adopted his regular smirk to hide his mounting concern.

"I don't know but if-" Naruto narrowed his eyes and Hidan felt his skin crawl.

"He went on a mission yesterday." Kisame provided, "He was looking for you but you-"Kisame stopped talking as Naruto pushed past him. He stared after him in shock. WhenNaruto was gone he turned back to Hidan.

"What's wrong with him?"


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"How the fuck should I know, dumbass?" Hidan grumbled and turned his back on Kisame.He bit his lip and wondered why the normally happy boy was acting so strangely. Kisamefrowned and walked after Naruto, determined to find out what the problem was. After awhile Hidan followed all the while making up excuses for himself that made him seem likea heartless bastard.

Naruto walked into Pein's room without bothering to knock. The occupants all starred athim in surprise. Pein was sitting behind his desk with Konan and Tobi at either shoulder.Itachi was standing in front of the trio. Naruto felt the air behind him stir as Hidan andKisame came and stood in the doorway. Without looking at anyone but Pein, Narutomarched into the room until he was next to Itachi but still he had eyes only for theAkatsuki leader.

"Naruto?" Konan asked but Naruto ignored her.

"Where is Deidara?" Naruto asked. Pein blinked in surprise.

"He went on a mission yesterday morning."

"Where?"

"That's classified information."

"Where. Is. My. Brother." Naruto said in the same hollow voice.

"I believe I alr

clay fox chapters 1-13

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