Deidara wiped a bit of sweat off his forehead. “You aren’t so bad, Uchiha bitch.” He grinned at Itachi in the illumination of flames.

Itachi returned the compliment with a smirk. “And I think I like your idea of art.” He turned to the burning building. “It’s definitely beautiful, Blondie.”

A few hours later, they strolled into the underground cavern Hakumei used as a headquarters. Pien, Zetsu, Kakazu, Hidan, Konan stared in awe at the scene entering the room, but it was Sasori’s jaw that hit the floor the hardest. Itachi and Deidara were not only walking next to each without trying to tear the other’s throats out, but smiling and laughing.

“What in the hell is going on? You two hate each other, right?” Sasori stared, awestruck. “Why are you acting like you screwed each other?!”

“Because Blondie’s an awesome uke,” Itachi grinned.

“Are you kidding? You’re the uke, Uchiha bitch!” The peace of the moment was already gone as Deidara clenched his fist, staring Itachi down.

“Would you like to take this outside,” Itachi’s lips curled evilly, “or into the bedroom?”

“You fucking-!” Deidara raised his fists, but Sasori had already moved to catch him before a fight broke out.

“ENOUGH!” Glaring at Itachi, he kept one hand clamped over Deidara’s mouth. “Itachi, if you keep this up, I SWEAR, I’ll…”

“You’ll what?” He crossed his arms, tilting his head with a relaxed expression.

“Do you really want to know?”

“Ah,” Itachi shrugged his shoulders, “No, not really Sasori-dono.”

“That’s what I thought.” Sasori released Deidara and trudged back to an annoyed and befuddled gathering. Giving Itachi one last wary glance, the blonde followed, feeling his arrogant grin.

As they arrived, Pien caught Itachi and Deidara’s eyes with a solemn glower. “So, I take it this mission was also a success?”

“Yes, Pien-sama,” they answered in unison.

The orange-haired and metal spotted man’s face softened into humor. “Good. This team seems to be working well, despite… circumstances. The third hit this week, Uchiha-sama will be glad to hear that.”

At the name, Itachi lowered his gaze. ‘Uchiha-sama… I have to wonder exactly who he is. Damn that bastard.’ He rubbed his right hand subconsciously, narrowing his stare.

The group began to break up, and Zetsu, Hidan, Kakazu, and Sasori filed out, leaving the dynamic new team with Pien and Konan. They were about to follow suit, but Pien pulled them aside.

Itachi fell to a stop gracefully as Deidara swerved unsteadily back around. “Yes, Pien-sama?” Itachi asked smoothly.

He pulled out another small piece of paper. “A new mission for you.”

Deidara took the note slowly, wondering why they had been pulled aside specially. “We’ll have it completed soon.” Itachi nodded in agreement as the mysterious higher-ups began to turn away.

Making to do the same, Itachi and Deidara were surprised as Pien tilted his head in their direction. “Be careful with that one.”

“Yes, of course,” Itachi answered quickly, dragging the blonde away with him.


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“So, the usual plan?” Deidara peered up from his lap, which held a small clay bird.

“Yeah,” Itachi answered distractedly, fingering the edge of an over-sized paper that mapped out their target. “I’ll take out people, you obliterate the building. Quick and easy, just like the other missions…”

There was an awkward silence as Deidara stroked the explosive bird, deep in thought. “Itachi…” He made sure he had the other’s full attention before continuing, “Why is Uchiha-sama ordering us to take out other bases? Doesn’t this seem odd to you?”

Itachi pulled his gaze away the blonde’s and folded the map that had been spread over a small table. It was a moment before he met Deidara’s eyes again, answering slowly. “In truth… No. It doesn’t seem odd to me at all. It only tells me that over the course of two years, nothing has changed.”


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Slipping through the shadows behind the stone facility, Itachi and Deidara stopped at a corner, checking quickly for various kinds of security. “Doesn’t look like they have anything left up, I think you got the main wire back there.”

“Good,” Itachi fitted his back against the wall, melting into his surroundings with Deidara. “You remember the signal?”

“One shot through the hanging light in the center of the main room, visible from the skylight.”

“Exactly.”

Deidara glanced around the corner again. As he caught sight of a man in a uniform identical to theirs, he nodded toward Itachi. “Go time.”

Wordlessly, he appeared from the shadows, catching the man off-guard and shooting him squarely between the eyes, never giving him a chance to yell. The shot was loud, and back-up was already arriving as Deidara scaled the building. He glanced down, debating whether or not to aid Itachi, but decided against it. Deidara watched in silent awe as each bullet went exactly where Itachi desired it, uniformed recruits falling and littering the floor around him in a large circle. Shaking his head, he continued the stealthy climb.


As he reached the roof, he caught sight of the gargantuan skylight. ‘Perfect…’ he knocked a small piece of it in and began sending clay spiders down. The white creatures floated to the ground, unnoticed by the panicked group inside, and scuttled over the floor, retreating to their predestined spots.


Itachi relaxed, letting his senses guide him and the sharingan determine his timing. One after another, they fell like sandbags. Nameless, faceless attackers, coming from all directions, his only goal was to hit the imaginary target on their foreheads. He backed against the wall, figuring it was better not to take chances by leaving his backside unguarded. ‘Who knows… Maybe one of these guys can pose a threat…’ His back hit metal, and he sighed softly, taking down two more armed attackers.

Suddenly pain exploded in the back of his head and he tumbled to the ground. The gun nearly slipped from his grip as the blow distorted his vision. Itachi pulled himself to his hands and knees, gingerly feeling his head. It was throbbing, and as he pulled his hand away, he caught sight of blood. ‘Shit…’

More were coming from all angles, and he did his best to shoot them down and remain calm, but as he lost more blood, the blur of his surroundings began to increase. ‘This is not good…. Damn it!’ Then he realized the person who had hit in the head was still behind him. Dodging a vicious stomp, he rolled onto his back, sending a bullet into the man’s chest and searching for the rat who had snuck up behind him.

Sucking a sharp breath, he noticed a window above the place he had been standing. In the window, his shadowy aggressor made to leap down on him. His vision had gone to hell and left him blind, but he aimed unsteadily and fired. The first shot missed, but the second got his foe in the dead center of his chest.

As Deidara crouched down, watching the inside of the compound from above, a shot flew through a window, slicing straight through the hanging lamp. ‘That’s it… Clean up time.’ He smirked, setting off the first explosive in what would be a wondrous chain reaction. The ceiling under him was already beginning to give way as he made a graceful bound down the side of the building.

The ground flew toward him, but he had no fear of it. He gathered chakra in his feet, and landed softly. The roof was collapsing in on itself as he looked back. Tearing his eyes away to leave before the second boom, his gaze fell over Itachi. He was struggling to stand, his head wound bleeding more and more. “Shit, what the hell!?” Deidara rushed forward, catching him before he fell.

“It’s nothing, Blondie…” He muttered, staggering slightly.

“NOTHING!? Damn it, Uchih-“ his sharp answer was cut off as the second blast went off.

Both turned in horror as the firestorm exuded by the first floor raced toward them. There was no time to think as Deidara grabbed Itachi under his arms and threw them both behind a large, metal storage unit. Itachi tried to escape his hold, but as they landed on top of one another, the air was forced from his chest. Then the heat hit, sucking all breathable air from behind their unreliable shelter.

As the impact wave followed, the top part of the shed was sent to oblivion, throwing shrapnel in all direction. The sounds of ripping and wrenching metal drowned out everything else. As the explosion died, its sound began to fade, and the abrupt quiet was eerie. For a moment, there was nothing but the pant of their breathing.

Itachi struggled under Deidara’s weight, wanting nothing more than freedom from the pressure on his chest. Wriggling awkward, he managed to pull himself to a sitting position, his blonde partner still sprawled over him. Still gasping for air, he looked down, thinking he would shake the blonde and they would be able to stumble away to safety; he was wrong.

Adrenaline not only righted his senses, but heightened them, clearing his head. Pieces of the storage unit jutted out of Deidara’s back at odd angles, and his stomach turned. Not because he hadn’t seen gore of this kind, but because of who was suffering it.

Somewhere between the adrenaline’s clarity, and his shocked daze, he pulled the blonde’s cell phone. Flipping it open, he hit the green call button searching his list of recent calls. Sasori’s name was on top, and he jabbed the luminescent key without hesitation or thought.

The phone rang only twice, but it felt like hours. “What the hell are you calling for now?” Sasori’s familiar voice answered, garbled by the poor signal.

“It’s me… Itachi.” He replied quickly, not sure what to say. He’d never been in a situation like this. Until now.

“What…? Is something going o-“

“Get down here. Now.” He paused for a second, trying to compose himself. “Deidara and I are at the objective site. Bring medical supplies… Lots of them… fast.”

“Objective site? Itachi, where’re-“ he started, but Itachi cut him off again.

“Ask Pien-sama.” There was another nervous pause in the conversation. “Bring medical supplies,” he choked. “Lots of them.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got your back.” He heard the swish of Sasori shutting his cell and continued holding Deidara’s phone as the line went dead.

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