"Danna? Danna, un!" Deidara called out, just outside of the base's entrance. Heh, this place really took a beating. Sasori must have been really careless during his fight. After all, he was only fighting against an old lady and a little brat that was barely able to walk, never mind fight. And a chuunin at that. Ha! What did they think they were going to accomplish, sending that pink haired fool into battle? She was definitely quieter than Uzumaki, but that didn't mean more intelligent. The only threat in the group was Hatake Kakashi; after all, the bastard had blown his arm clean off, and it was still nowhere in sight.

The demon boy's fighting skills had surprised him; most of the time, fools that spend that much time swearing at their opponents can barely do anything to defend themselves. The blond remembered being the same way when he first became a criminal.

Deidara ducked into the base, surprised that it looked like there had been a major rock slide when he entered. Sure, he had seen that the roof had caved in, but the damage inside was a couple dozen times worse; rocks were shooting up everywhere he looked, giving the room a completely different image. In fact, he could barely recognize it. "Damn, Danna, Kakuzu's going to be pissed, un," the blond said with a grin. He looked around, but saw no hint of the redhead. There were puppets absolutely everywhere, but none even began to look similar to his friend. "...Danna, un?"

There was no reason for him to be worried, but his heart had already begun to pound in his chest. The blond laughed softly and turned over a few rocks. Nothing. But come on, he didn't need to be getting so nervous. After all, Sasori was probably just hiding behind something or other, just in case any other enemies came around. The coast still wasn't clear, even though the Konoha ninjas had long since departed the area. Or at least the lack of chakra around them hinted at it.

"Danna, I'm the only one here, un..." Deidara murmured, kicking over another rock. The only sound he heard afterward was the sound of it tumbling across the room. His heart began to beat even faster. Come on, you've got nothing to worry about. This happens all of the time...

But did it? Deidara tried to think back to other missions they had been on, and other instances where the base had been attacked. Had he ever been unable to find his partner? The redhead was always sure to leave at least a little bit of his chakra uncovered so his partner could find him.

"Seriously, Danna, un!" Deidara shouted, kicking another rock, this time in frustration. Where the hell are you! He almost verbalized the thought, but feared drawing unwanted attention to himself. He was already shouting, and something like that would have been a few times louder.

He rolled his eyes and took a few steps forward, only to have his foot get caught on something, sending him crashing to the ground. Awesome. Deidara felt around for whatever it was, his fingers wrapping around a hand. He growled and threw it to the side, only to snap back and grab it again.

Even if it was made of wood, it was familiar to him. "Danna, un? Damn it, I was really worried about-" The blond turned around, freezing midway through his sentence. He blinked once, then twice, as if doing so was going to change the sight before him.

Sasori's body was sprawled out beneath his, bloody and clearly unconscious. Oh no...no, no, no! A wordless scream came from his mouth, his mind too shocked to make his mouth form actual words. Another scream, and he found his body shaking. "Wake up, un!" he demanded. What good was that going to do?

He wasn't surprised when the redhead didn't respond. Deidara extended a trembling hand, letting it rest on his partner's wooden face. Just like every other time he had done so, the blond expected Sasori's eyes to snap open, and a hand to grab him by the wrist and pull him down.

The expected responses, however, never came. Sasori's eyes stayed shut. In fact, he didn't even move. Even though it was painfully obvious as to what had happened, Deidara couldn't help but pray the blood covering the older Akatsuki member's body belonged to one of his opponents.

That hope was shattered when he saw no other sign of the duo.

Upon a not very deep inspection, the blond saw that blood had begun to seep from the heart chamber, bleeding itself dry thanks to the two swords lodged through what flesh Sasori had left. On either side of the redhead were two puppets that Deidara had scarcely seen; Sasori's mother and father. And some of the only puppets that weren't made from human remains.

Why? he wanted to ask. What happened? The blond knew very well that his partner was stronger than both the ninjas he had faced. So what happened? He shook his head, grabbing both sides of the puppet's hair. That's all his body was now; a cold, lifeless puppet.

His hand moved down and dipped two of his fingers in the blood. None of this should have come as a shock; they were the first to go, after all. S-ranked criminals were wanted in almost every country, with higher bounties, larger crimes, and more enemies.

You've killed hundreds of people...how could I have forgotten? Deidara reminded himself bitterly. Sometimes, he forgot the redhead was a serial killer. In fact, he'd forgotten a bit about his own past a times. Whenever they shared so much as a friendly moment, the bomber was able to forget about reality, and push all of the hurt away.

A single tear slipped down the blond's face, and he hardly noticed it. It wasn't until the water droplet fell onto Sasori's face that his eyes widened and his one hand shot up to his face. What're you crying for, you brat. Shit happens, and there's nothing we can do about it. At the thought, a small smile crossed Deidara's face. That's exactly what his partner would have said.

And it was just enough to let another tear slip, then another. Soon enough, he was sobbing, hand covering his eyes. Run, you brat! Take Gaara and get the hell out of here!

Sasori knew. Before the fight even started, he knew it was going to be his last. And not only that, but he knew that if the blond stayed there, he probably would have died as well.

So why hadn't the redhead let him? He had told the man time after time that if he was going to die, he wanted to go far before the puppeteer.

And what was he going to do now? Sasori was long gone, and he was left here. Not alone, but without his best friend. A stupid mistake, maybe. During their time in the Akatsuki, both artists had made a fair amount of mistakes. Especially in combat.

For a brief moment, the thought of plunging one of the swords through his chest crossed his mind. It was banished as quickly as it came, however. Yes, he would much rather be dead, but if he committed suicide, and ended up talking to Sasori when he died, the redhead would never forgive him.

Deidara wrapped his arm around Sasori and managed to compose himself to whisper a soft "Goodbye, un," before standing up and bolting out of the base.