Snow drifted slowly, spiraling down towards earth and landing noiselessly. The silence was unnerving, so much that anyone would expect an ambush at any moment, and any sound of an attack would be muffled by the packed snowdrifts. There was no movement whatsoever, not the slightest twitch of a rodent scrabbling at the ground, no sound of birds high up in the trees. Moonlight filtered through gaps in the trees, sending dappled light splaying against the pristine silvery-white blanket of ice. It had to be below thirty-two degrees at least…possibly even below zero. Most people would be inside, trying to get warm. But on this night, one person didn't seem to understand this concept.
Tobi slumped against a tree, gazing up at the sky as snow flakes landed all around him. His hair was covered in the tiny flakes, until he would occasionally shake them off. His mask was off for once, and his breath trickled out in wisps of cloudy air. He wore a thick scarf and black leather gloves apart from his Akatsuki cloak, but despite the lack of protection from the biting cold, he seemed unfazed. He was completely still, barely moving apart from the gentle rise and fall of his chest—the only intimation that he was indeed alive. Other than that, he was unmoving, and if you didn't know any better, you might think he was dead, or frozen by the cold.
This carried on for hours, until a faint noise sounded behind him. He only smirked. It was so obvious who this was…another faint shuffle of feet only proved to widen his grin. "Sempai, I thought you hated the cold!" he called out in the direction of the noise. "Unghfff!!!" yelped Deidara. Tobi raised an eyebrow, staring in the same direction as before. Through his sharingan, he could see, even in the dark—and Deidara was dangling from a tree branch from the hem of his cloak, flailing wildly. "I…um,Tobi—I can't—AARGH!!" snarled the blonde as another branch jabbed him in his side. Tobi sweatdropped. Getting to his feet, he trudged over to his partner, not bothering to replace his mask before doing so.
If Deidara had gone through all this trouble just to find out what was under his mask, he might as well get to see. But Tobi couldn't help wondering—was it really worth all the trouble? "Eheheh…Tobi,you wouldn't mind helping me get down, would you?"asked Deidara meekly. Normally, it would have been more of a command, but he was far too cold to push the point any further right now, especially when it was nearly impossible for him to get down by himself. Tobi grinned as he tried to unhinge the blonde's cloak from the unforgiving tree. "Wa-wait,Tobi—I'm gonna--!!"
CRASH!!
Deidara yelped again as he fell to the ground. "Ah!! Gomenesai, gomenesai!!" chided Tobi anxiously. He lifted Deidara up by his arms and pulled him to his feet. Deidara half glared at him, but smiled guiltily all the same. "What're you doing out here, sempai?" Tobi asked, although he already knew. Knowing was one thing, but he wanted Deidara to confirm his suspicions. "I was—you know…"he began shakily. He hadn't exactly expected to be caught spying, and he certainly wasn't about to openly admit to it. "Well, what were you doing out here?!" he finally replied, making an effort to look a lot more composed than he actually was. Tobi saw through it right away. "Well, while you were spying on me, I was watching the snow fall." He said. His gaze returned to the sky, and Deidara's gaze followed.
"It glitters when the light hits it, you know. That's part of the reason why the Northern Lights happen where it's snowing, because of the light. I wonder if something like that ever happens in places like this?" Tobi mused. Deidara flashed a quick glance in his direction, then back at the sky. "It's been know to happen, un." He replied.
"You know, it sort of reminds me of danna…" he added thoughtfully. Tobi blinked in surprise. "Really? Why?" he asked, "Danna always said that art was everlasting, and the sky is something that can never truly be destroyed, right?" Tobi nodded in agreement. "And sometimes, the sky is so beautiful, just like art is. Everlasting art, un."
Tobi nodded once more. "I'll bet Sasori would be happy to hear you say that." He murmured. Deidara laughed, "No, no—he'd probably say 'I told you so!' like he always did when he was right." "So basically, you picked up on his attitude?" Tobi pointed out. Deidara snorted, "Yeah, right!! I'm nothing like him!!" "Sure you are! You like art, right? You're always going on about it. You're impatient, too. Just like he was!" concluded the young Uchiha. Deidara's eye twitched, but he gave in.
"I guess you have a point…but wouldn't that make you more like Zetsu?!" Deidara asked. Tobi stiffened. "How?" "The black hair, the way you speak…and, oh yeah, the fact that you're bi-polar?" Deidara replied. "I am NOT!" growled Tobi irritably. Deidara smirked, "Psht, could've fooled me." He muttered. "But then again, that's what makes you so…I dunno…you, I guess. There's nothing wrong with it."
Tobi raised an eyebrow, but was silent for once. Deidara had a point, though…he was a lot like Zetsu, all things considered. But where had that last comment come from?
Tobi cast a curious glance at his partner, whom had followed his lead and was gazing up at the sky again. He took no notice of Tobi's questioning stare. "Have you ever wondered where people go when they die? Their souls, I mean?" he asked quietly. "I've though about it a lot, to be honest…" Tobi replied. "I'm guessing that as long as they had a reason to live on earth, their souls still survive. Maybe that's why you act so much like Sasori now… a soul bond of some sort. He passed on some of his qualities to you…whether you like it or not." Chuckled the Uchiha lightly. Deidara shivered. "Either way, I certainly gained more of his attitude than I would have liked." He said grumpily.
"It's like you said, sempai…it's almost like we're never truly ourselves, because somewhere along the line, we pick up on the way others act…and I guess that only makes us even more unique." Tobi pondered. Deidara gave him a strange look.
"When did you get so smart?" he asked.