Nue's POV

I should be used to this now. I should be used to losing people. But this is one loss... is something I can't get over. I was in a hotel room with my back against the wall, my knees pulled to my chest. "Why, Deidara...? Why did you have to do it?" I whispered as tears spilled over my face. 

I never got a chance... to say goodbye. I hugged my knees to my chest tighter before pounding my fist against the wall behind me. When I did that, someone fell out of my cloak pocket. I looked down, noticing it was the scroll Tobi had given me.

"This is why you gave it to me, isn't it? You knew Deidara wasn't going to give it to me in person because he would..." I trailed off, hiding my face in my knees. I want to hear your voice one more time. Please... Just one more time...

I opened the scroll and smoke began to pour out out of it. Realizing it was a summoning scroll, I threw the scroll on the ground and out came a clone of Deidara. "Deidara!" I said in shock as I immediately stood to my feet.

I was upset that it wasn't the real Deidara. This Deidara was summoned to send a message. 

"Hey, kitten. If you're getting this message, then it means I'm dead. Nue, from the moment you joined Akatsuki, I've developed a crush on you. As you were growing up and the more time we spent together, I started falling in love with you. So, to express my true feelings towards you, I'm gonna sing this song for you." The clone said. He closed his eyes and began to sing:

Suddenly, it all hits like a wave

Like a force you can't contain

Just losing gravity

As our world flips upside down

And all hope's buried in the ground

And there you are

Staring and praying for serenity

And times standing still

So, take a ride

Take a ride with me

Where we'll discover our infinity

Losing all sense of reality

We'll be shining in the stars

And I will love you past my last good day

Forever, my love will remain

With your heart

In your soul

I'll never let you go

Goodbye is just a phrase we say

To end a time to part away

This heart is weak, don't be afraid

'Cause on that day

You'll be okay

And I'll fight

I'll fight for you, my grenade

You held onto

This pain demands on being felt

You cannot do this by yourself

A day will come where I surrender

But what we had will last forever

And I will love you past my last good day

Forever, my love will remain

With your heart

In your soul

I'll never let you go

Goodbye is just a phrase we say

To end a time to part away

This heart is weak, don't be afraid

'Cause on that day

You'll be okay

And I'm on a roller coaster

That only goes up, up, up

And I'm stalling oblivion

A force that I just can't outrun

Affliction, yes, it comes and goes

And sometimes it's a lonely road

We'll be okay, okay forever

Just knowing that we've had each other

And I will love you past my last good day

Forever my love will remain

With your heart

In your soul

I'll never let you go

Goodbye is just a phrase we say

To end a time to part away

This heart is weak, don't be afraid

'Cause on that day

You'll be okay

"I wish I could've sang this song to you in person. Listen, I'm sorry to leave you like this, kitten, and I don't mean to make you cry. But you're not alone because I'll always be with you," The Deidara clone walked up to me and gently placed his hand over my heart. 

"Right in here." He said with a gentle smile. He gently took my face in my hands and kissed my forehead. "Happy Birthday, Nue. I love you, un." Deidara said. I hugged him tightly, not wanting to let go and he turned into a puff of smoke. 

"Deidara!" I said as he disappeared. "Please, don't... Don't leave me all alone." I pleaded in a whisper. I fell to my knees and closed my eyes, hugging my body while tears down my cheeks. "Deidara..." I just want to die. That way, I'll be with the people I love. 

"What did you say?!" I opened my eyes when I heard someone snap. "Huh?" I looked behind me, looking at the wall. I crawled over to the wall and pressed my ear against it, listening to the other side. 

"Suigetsu, I'm not gonna let you get away with it this time!" I heard a female voice yell. "Suigetsu?" I repeated. Why does that similar? The next thing I heard was an angry cry, making me stand to my feet.

"Oh no! Jugo's impulses have started!" 

"Sasuke, hurry!" 

I frowned as my eyes changed purple. "Sasuke Uchiha..." I growled under my breath. "Deidara is dead... and it's all your fault." I said, angrily. I grabbed my katana off the wall and ran out of the room. I stood outside the room Sasuke was in as my hand gripped the handle of my katana. 

"It's all your fault... It's all your fault..." I said, angrily. I gritted my teeth and sliced the door opened. Three people stood to their feet as I bust the door open while Sasuke was asleep. "Who are you? What do you want?" Suigetsu demanded. 

"Hand over the Uchiha and I might just let you live." I said, aiming the tip of my blade at the sleeping Uchiha. "Not a chance." Suigetsu said as he was quickly in front of Sasuke. "You want to die with him? Be my guest." I said, frowning. 

I made the first move by attacking Suigetsu. He intercepted my attack using the Executioner's Blade. Our blades fought for dominance as we frowned at each other. "Wait, I know you. You're that girl who wouldn't give me the Executioner's Blade." Suigetsu noticed with a smirk. 

"How sweet of you to remember me." I said, sarcastically. "Those things on her back... You're the girl who killed Toshiyuki, aren't you?" The red-haired girl. "So what?" I grunted as I pushed my blade against Suigetsu's. I quickly took out my gun and shot Suigetsu in the head. 

Water splatted on me, making me take a few steps back. "God dammit." I said, wiping the water off my face. "If blades don't work on this guy, I'm starting to wonder if bullets won't work either." I said, once I cleaned my face.

I stepped on Suigetsu's shoulder, keeping down as I aimed the gun at his face. "Because you're made of water, it's fair to say that your weakness is lightning. That's something lucky to have. Well... For me, anyway." I said, placing my finger on the trigger.

"Why were you at the hideout? What was the reason for killing Toshiyuki? Were you trying to send a message?" The red-haired girl demanded. "My, you ask a lot of questions. What's... your name?" I said, calmly.

"My name?" She repeated. I looked at her and smiled calmly at her. "Yes. I'd like to know... your name." I said. "It's Karin." The girl asked. "Karin. Hmm..." I closed my eyes for a moment before opening them to look at her. "I think I know you." I said.

"You know this girl, Karin?" Suigetsu asked. "I don't personally know her, but I do remember her shooting at me." Karin said. "Yeah... My bad. But your name... sounds awfully familiar. Tell me, do I look familiar to you?" I asked.

"Familiar? What do you mean?"

"Do you remember meeting me before? Perhaps the time you were a child?"

"Well... I remember meeting this girl. She helped me and had these things on her back, just like you."

"I see. And do you remember name of that little girl?"

"I think her name was..." Karin trailed off as she looked at me. "Nue Houjuu." She finished her sentence as everyone looked at me. I smirked before taking my foot off of Suigetsu's shoulder. "Long time no see, Karin." I greeted.

"Wait a second, you two met as kids?" Suigetsu asked. "It was a long time ago." Karin said, staring at me.

(Flashback) Karin's POV

"Ow! That hurts! Let go!" I screamed as a man pulled my hair. He and his friend smirked as he pulled my hair harder. "Please, let me go! It hurts! It hurts!" I screamed again, closing my eyes tightly. "Oi!" I opened my eyes as a girl with long black hair and red eyes frowning at us.

"Leave her alone. Go pick on someone your own size." The girl said. "Those things on her back..." I murmured. The men laughed before throwing me on the ground. "Why don't we pick a fight with you?" The men chuckled.

I sat up and adjusted my glasses as the man began to walk towards her. "No! Leaver her alone! Please!" I begged. The girl closed her eyes with a sigh before taking out a kunai knife. "Always gotta to do it the hard way. Humans are so stubborn." She said. 

She opened her eyes, but they weren't red anymore. They were purple. The girl dashed towards the men, stabbing one of them in the stomach before cutting off a man's head with her wing-like weapon that was attached to her back.

"Filthy humans." The girl said before wiping the blood that got on her cheek. She looked at me as I stared at her amazement. "Are you all right?" She asked, her eyes turning back to red. I slowly nodded my head. "Good." She put away her kunai knife before turning around to walk away.

"Wait!" I called. "What?" The girl asked, stopping in her tracks. "Um... Thank you! For saving me!" I said. "Don't mention it. Is that all?" She asked.

"Um... How can I repay you?"

"You don't have to. Just be more careful next time. This world is full of arrogant humans who don't care about anything but themselves," She glanced back at me as her eyes were purple again.

"But not you. Something about you seems... different. You're... not like the others." She said as her eyes went back to purple. "Just go home." The girl said, turning her head the other way. "Who... are you?" I asked. "My name is Nue. Nue... Houjuu." She answered.

"Houjuu..." I repeated as that name sounded familiar. "Just go home. Your family must be worried about you." Nue said, walking away again. I sadly looked at the ground.

"I don't... have a family. Not anymore." I said. The girl stopped walking and looked back at me. "What do you mean? You must have someone, right?" She asked. I shook my head. "I'm all by myself." I answered. She sighed as I continued to look at the ground.

"Oi," I lifted my head as she gently petted my head. "I don't usually do this, but here." She said, holding out her hand to me. "Come with me. My family and I will look after you for a while." The girl offered. I looked at her hand, then at her.

"Well? Are you planning on sitting there all day?" Nue said. "U-Uh, no! Sorry!" I replied, grabbing her hand. She helped me to my feet and we began to walk forward, still having hold of my hand. "What's your name, anyway?" Nue asked.

"Oh... I'm Karin." I introduced. "Karin, huh? That's a nice name." She commented.

"Um... Nue?"

"What?"

"Those things on your back... What are they?"

"My wings and tails. You've gotta a problem with them or something?"

"N-No! Not at all! I think they're... really pretty."

Nue looked at me with a bit shock to her face. "Thank you... Karin," She looked off to the side with a small blush. I smiled and we continued to walk.

"Karin... You're like... a princess. And me... I'm here to protect you. I won't allow anyone to harm you. As long as I'm by your side, I'm your personal bodyguard." Nue said. "Bodyguard?" I repeated. "Yeah...  I'm your guardian, your protector... Your shield." She explained.

I looked at her as Nue blushed slightly while frowning. "Thank you." I said, holding her hand a bit more firmly.

(End of Flashback) Still Karin's POV

"After Nue took me back to the Houjuu Clan, her parents let me stay with her for a while; They took care of me. Until that day... when it happened. The clan was attacked and Nue told me to run. "I will find you. No matter what, keep running. Don't stop for anything. Don't even look back, Just keep running. I'll find you," she said. And I never saw her again." I explained while looking at the floor. 

"You have a good memory. Impressive. But that doesn't change the fact that I'm still going to kill Sasuke." Nue said, aiming her gun at Sasuke as he was still asleep.

"Wait! You said, you'd do anything for me, right? That's what you said back then!" I said. "And?" Nue asked, still having the gun aimed at Sasuke as she frowned at him. "You can't kill Sasuke!" I said. "I have to. He killed my lover. And for that, he must die. But..." Nue pulled her arm back a bit as she gazed at the floor.

"Someone very special to me... asked me not to." She said, lowering her gun. "You... don't want me to kill Sasuke? That's what you said, right?" Nue murmured. "Yes. You can't kill Sasuke. So, please... just forget about your revenge. Please don't break the promise you made to me." I pleaded.

"For you... I will do anything." Nue put her gun away before lifting her head, looking at me. "I apologize for shooting at you earlier. I was only trying to scare you." She apologized. "Karin's pretty scary herself. It's kind of no question why a guy wouldn't go out with her." Suigetsu joked.

I punched him hard in the head, making his face turn into water. "I said, shut up, Suigetsu!" I shouted. "Wow... You're scary." Nue said, calmly and surprised at the same time.

Nue's POV

I nicknamed her 'Scary Lady' before. I wonder if I should keep it? "Nue-san... I'm sorry for your loss." The orange-haired man said. "Thank you for your condolences. I don't believe I've heard your name." I said.

"It's Jugo."

"Jugo... Sounds interesting."

I stood up and grabbed my katana, heading towards the window. "Where are you going?" Suigetsu asked. "I need some time to myself." I said before jumping down to the ground. I lied down on my side and stared off into space.

"Deidara..." I whispered. Tears streamed over the bridge of my nose before closing my eyes. "I'm so sorry... I shouldn't have left you. I should've stayed and fought, just like how we always did. I just... wanted to protect you... and I failed." I whispered.

I pulled out a necklace from underneath my shirt, which was actually a locket. I opened it up, seeing a picture of me and Deidara, both of us back to back as we had smirks on our faces. I remember the day this picture was taken.

Tobi took this picture, saying he wanted to put it up in the living room. But of course Pein denied his request. This was taken two years ago. I closed the locket and held it close to my chest as it was enclosed in my fist.

I'll never forget you, Deidara. I'll always love you. You were the only person who could lead me out of the darkness. You were my light. But now that you're gone, I feel like I'm engulfed in darkness once again.