Day 1

Pein stared at the 5-year-old child in his office. His office in the Akatsuki. Electrifying blue eyes stared back at him seemingly calm even in the presence of such an imposing, authoritative figure.

She glanced back up to her left where her brother stood, the latter having insisted that she join the Akatsuki along with him.

"Deidara-nii, why does leader-sama have eyes that look like onions?"

Pein sighed, as the other members of the Akatsuki tried to hide smiles or smother laughter.

He tried to convince himself that having a shinobi well versed in the medical field was going to be useful but to no avail.

This child is going to cause far too many headaches...

°°°

Day 4

"Uchiha-san, do you have a moment?"

The said person turned around, finding that it was the young child who had recently been recruited who had called him. He turned around and continued to walk down the dark hall, nodding as he did. She fell into step with him, walking by his side.

"Why did you do it?"

Itachi tensed, knowing what she was referring too, but continued walking.

"It's none of your concern."

Paying no heed to the warning in his voice, the child continued to speak.

"You were loyal to both your village and your clan, and yet you chose the village over your own blood. Why?"

Itachi, feeling slightly uneasy, unconsciously edged away from her. Slowly, but surely, she was piecing together a puzzle almost the entire world didn't even have the pieces for.

"Why the sudden interest in such a thing?"

He cautiously asked, scanning the surrounding vicinity for anyone who could be listening. There wasn't anyone, but he couldn't be completely sure.

"Curiosity, I suppose."

She nonchalantly said. Itachi was silent. The child sighed and walked off.

"Remember, everyone deserves a second chance, even you. Live for the sake of your brother, if not for yourself."

The underlying message was clear to him.

So don't try to die.

Unfortunately, he wasn't planning on following through with that.

°°°

Day 6

"Sasori-san, what do you think eternity is?"

He didn't have an answer in particular.

"...Everlasting art and beauty, that is eternity."

He finally answered. The child he had been speaking to tilted her head.

"Is that so? Is that what you plan to achieve with eternity?"

She asked.

"Yes."

Blue eyes glanced up from a scroll they were scanning.

"Anything can be destroyed. Nothing will ever last forever. If you'd simply open your eyes to the world around you, you'd see that there's much more to life than eternity."

°°°

Day 7

"Kisame-san, if you were given the option to start over with a clean slate, would you take it?"

Kisame looked at her with saddened and rather wistful eyes, although it was carefully concealed. However, he had a nagging feeling at the back of his brain that she knew exactly what his eyes held.

"You know that's never going to happen. Not for me, not for you, not for any of us."

She looked at him calmly, with no hint of emotion whatsoever.

It was a bit unnerving for Kisame, to be stared down by a 5-year-old in practically the most dangerous criminal organization out there.

"I didn't ask whether or not you think it would happen, I'm asking whether or not you would take the offer."

Kisame sighed and closed his eyes, mulling over her question.

"...yeah. I would." He finally answered.

The blonde looked at Kisame.

"Well, you know there's no harm in hoping, right? It's what keeps us sane in this harsh world."

°°°
Day 10

"Hidan-san, what is Jashin, to you?"

Hidan looked at her strangely, as if he was silently questioning why she asked such a stupid question.

"He's a fucking God, that's what he is!"

The child sighed.

"You'll recognize this story, because it's yours.

There once was a child, without a care in the world. He didn't know what was going around in the world around him, as has he grew older, he still didn't.

Ir maybe it was because he didn't want to know.

As time dragged by, the hands on the clock ticking away, the pages of the calendar fluttering away in the wind,

Slowly, but surely,

Empty bottles began to pile up.

At first, his father was only having a bit everyday, so the child wasn't worried.

But a bottle turned into two, then four, eight, sixteen, stacking up and stacking up, until the father could no longer drown his anger and frustrations in them, and took it out on his son.

The child was relentlessly beaten, whip lashes, rulers, metal poles, knives, anything and everything the father could possibly think of.

Until one day, the child had enough.

And killed his 'father',

But no longer was he his father,

No, his father was dead,

And all that was left was a mutilated lump of meat, one that he created.

And as he left the village, he couldn't help but wonder,

Where will I go now? Is anyone even going to care?

So he joined a religion, and committed himself to a God he knew never existed,

But he believed in him because if he didn't, then who was there to believe?

And so he gained immortality,

Although the cruel reality,

Was that he had died already,

A long,

Long,

Time ago."

Hidan stumbled back, hearing this, shaking, clutching his head.

"Get o-out... now..."

She complied with his request, and got up to leave, but not without saying one, last sentence to Hidan.

"Even the dead can dream."

°°°
Day 17

Kakuzu had to admit, she was a strange one. She had done nothing, except go on missions and heal the other Akatsuki members after they were done theirs.

And yet, she still got quite the amount of respect, even from the most stoic of people, Itachi Uchiha.

So he decided to ask her about it.

When he did, she set down the book she was reading and calmly looked at him.

"Why does money mean so much to you?"

She asked him. Kakuzu narrowed his eyes.

"I asked you a question, and I expect an answer."

She showed no signs of discomfort or intimidation whatsoever.

"Answer my questions, and you might just find an answer to yours."

Kakuzu sighed, but complied with her.

"Money's the only thing that won't betray you in life."

Now, it was the child's turn to sigh.

"You'll someday find that counting stars have much more meaning that counting bills."

°°°

Day 21

As Konan walked back to her room, she noticed something on her dresser.

A package, along with a note.

She read the note first.

Happy birthday~

The handwriting was unmistakably hers. Neat writing, flowing freely yet clean at the same time.

With trembling hands, she unfolded the package.

Paper cranes spilled out, along with another note and a small square of paper.

One thousand paper cranes means a wish that can be made. All you have to do is fold the last one, and the wish is yours.

Remember, there's always hope, and if you can't see any stars to wish on, wish on cranes instead.

Konan broke down crying, and with shaking hands, carefully folded the last crane.

°°°
Day 23

"Leader-sama."

Once again, it was her.

The girl who had changed the Akatsuki in less than a month.

Platinum blond hair cascaded down her back, eyes appearing to be blue, but when light hit them a certain way, you could see a forest green gleam. Pale skin was paired with these physical characteristics.

Konan often gushed about how adorable and pretty she was. That caused a few headaches here and there.

Pein raised his head, acknowledging her presence.

"You strive to achieve peace, yet you cause chaos. What do you think peace is?"

She asked. Pein had no hesitation in answering.

"An eternity without conflict, war, or hate."

He answered.

"Hate is born from love. Conflict is born from hate. War is born from conflict. Your dream is admirable, but in order to achieve it, you would have to rid this world of love."

She replied back. 

Pein, or rather, Nagato, was silent.

"Before trying to better the world, leader-sama, you must first try to better yourself."

Day 24

"You are... Uchiha Madara, correct?"

The mentioned glanced behind him to find the newbie of Akatsuki addressing him.

"Where did you obtain that information from?"

He questioned.

"I didn't."

She simply said.

She was either extremely cheeky, blunt, bold, or clueless to what politeness was.

Or maybe all of them.

The so-called Madara thought.

"Your plan... it's to resurrect the ten-tails, if my theory is correct, and use it to cast a genjutsu over the entire world. Please do correct me if I'm wrong."

She mused.

"No. Everything you said is correct."

He replied.

"I'm not saying this applies to everyone else, but I would rather have the security of reality than live an illusion."

Day 30

October 13.

A Friday.

A superstitious day of bad luck.

This had befallen Sasori, who had been fatally injured in a mission.

After he was brought back to the base, he was declared dead.

But not for long.

For Hoshiko, Deidara's sister, the youngest member of Akatsuki, had used a life transference jutsu to bring him back to life.

Sacrificing her own in the process.

Day 31

It was raining, like usual, in Amegakure.

But this time, to Deidara, it felt like the skies were mourning, like he was.

A gravestone was next to him, with fresh white lilies on it.

One from each Akatsuki member, as strange of a phenomenon as it was.

But Deidara wasn't complaining.

He glanced over at the gravestone he was leaning on. 

Hoshiko

A loving sister, a beautiful child, and a wonderful lifetime that could have been lived.

Her existence may fall to the clutches of time, 

But never will the memory of it.

In Deidara's hands was a necklace with a crystal on it, a metallic, multicolored sheen to it he was planning to give to her this very day.

He looked up to the heavens, Hoshiko's last words to him echoing in his mind.

"If you ever get lost in the darkness, just look up to the stars, and remember that I'm up there watching over you, illuminating your path.

I love you. Never forget that, Deidara-nii."

Today was October 14th.

Rain mixing with his tears, Deidara whispered three words.

"Happy birthday, Imouto."

•••

Slowly, the Akatsuki went back to their normal selves, as if Hoshiko had never existed.

The impact of her existence faded, but never did they stop hearing her voice echoing in their ears, then glance behind them, expecting to see platinum blond and either electrifying blue, or vibrant forest green,

And seeing nothing but an empty corridor, the soft glow of a flickering torch on a wall illuminating it.