Disclaimer: I don't own anything! Especially myself... I'm pretty sure I got sold to Kakuzu for some crackers.
A/N: This seems really odd now that it's been revealed that Tobi is actually Madara (who is actually Obito) and is pure evil. But, what the hell. Why not rewrite this and cling to the act of Tobi for another few years?
They, the last remaining Akatsuki after the war, were being hunted.
There was no safety.
There was no solace, and it all came down to the single moment of their lives; the last moment, the freedom and the finale.
Deidara and Tobi stood surrounded by a large group of Rain ninja, weapons at the ready as the enemies prepared their attack. Faces of both friend and foe turned on them, it had been like this every single time their identities had been found out in a new village, and Tobi, he was a mental child- innocent. He didn't understand death.
The Akatsuki had been getting eliminated cell by cell after war had been declared on the Leaf Village, all of the nations had joined against them. With Pain's 'Almighty Push' came the end of life as the missing-nins had known.
First Sasori, and then Hidan and Kakuzu, and Kisame.
Gone.
It was only a matter of time before the two were wiped out as well, and Deidara knew this. Yet he still ran, holding close to Tobi as a companion as Deidara had come to realize that he was one of the only people he had left. The familiarity- he needed it.
Life as they had known was over. It was only a matter of time until Konan and Pain were taken out, and then Itachi himself left to rejoin the Leaf.
He was a spy- the bastard with his eyes.
Long ago, noticing the death, they had hung up the Akatsuki robes.
No one would understand...
They only desired peace.
He had feared for Tobi's life since that moment, behind all of the annoyed screams and 'hns'.
Deidara and Tobi had been looking for Zetsu in the woods on the border of Rain when they were ambushed. Rumor had it that a giant venus fly trap was seen growing there.
'Creature feature'.
It was all of the talk for a week in the small town they had taken refuge in just a few miles south, of course they had to go see- Tobi and Deidara had only known one giant fly trap, and that was Zetsu. Sure, it was possible that Zetsu could be alive.
Right?
There hadn't been any news of his death, and Deidar didn't even know if Zetsu could die. There was hope, for a small while. A sliver of companionship, a piece of their old contented lives in the Akatsuki.
They didn't really know why they felt the need to see him- didn't know why it was so important.
The sky swirled around their heads as Tobi fought to stand, like the cracked swirl upon his mask. He couldn't let himself fall, because he was almost positive he would never get back up again.
He could feel Deidara's weight upon his back as the ninja closed in.
The small amount of clay that Deidara had could only burn the skin and irrate, not kill.
"Deidara-Senpai?"
His partner answered in a choked-off annoyed manner, his arm bleeding as several kunai embedded themselves into his skin. "What the fuck do you want Tobi? I'm busy, uhn."
Deidara only answered so harshly, because of the fear that would seep through his words without the aggression to seal them.
"I know, but, Tobi has an idea."
Hope. That same lingering hope.
A chakra enhanced hit met Tobi's chest, cutting him off before he could elaborate, and then came the blood, running down his chest and sticking his black shirt against the well-chiseled muscles of his chest.
"T-tobi, uhn?..." Words shaken with fear, Deidara spoke them.
Blood dribbled from under Tobi's mask, dripping off the orange edges of his mask, something he re-adorned himself with when their cover had been blown.
There was a moment of angry retaliation from the normally 'good boy', and he struck an attacker hard enough that the tip of his kunai broke against the ninja's chest.
Thunk.
Behind Tobi, Deidara coughed and held his sides.
They finally overcame them.
Deidara was cut off before he could even speak. One of the Rain ninja jammed a sword into his ribs, and he slid down Tobi's back to the ground.
"..Deidara-Senpai?"
"Damn it Tobi, uhn! Don't worry I'm fine! Get going!" Deidara wheezed, and lied to him, painfully holding his ribcage.
Ripping the blade from his side that had caused his fall, he swung it wildly in front of him like a mad man: he could barely see now, his vision blurred.
Both of their chakra was spent, and Tobi himself doubted he could even stand for much longer. He was over-exerting himself as he was now with just fighting with weapons and no jutsu, like a car trying to drive on an empty tank. Two tired ninja just couldn't beat forty seven well rested ninja with food pills and well sharpened senses. The odds of their survival were low, even a child could see that.
He felt Deidara get up and angled himself slightly to hold him up again with his back, wincing at the extra weight on his sore muscles. Tobi's heart felt like it was beating little fists against the inside of his ribs, and he could only hear the blood rush in his ears as he fought.
The numbers of Rain ninja were down to at least thirty from the start of the pitiful battle, but hope was slipping again.
"Tobi...I can't-"
But the two members where at their breaking point, Tobi could feel Deidara's warm blood seeping into the material on his back. He struggled to keep his friend up, his only friend, while fending off the men ahead of him.
"T-tobi..I.." Whatever Deidara kept trying to say was broken off into a quiet gunt, and Tobi flung himself around to desperately hold Deidara up before he collapsed.
Suddenly, there was strange clarity.
No sound, but his own breaths and Deidara.
He took weapons to his back, enemies taking advantage of the vulnerable position.
Deidara was dying. Tobi could tell, seeing his sickly eyes and bloodied shirt.
"Senpai please."
There was that plea, that soft plea, but Deidara only sagged in Tobi's arms, the blood from the bottom of Tobi's mask dripping into his fair hair.
Tobi tried to form his space-time phasing jutsu seals, in that moment, desperate. A sharp breath, and then nothing. The chakra just wouldn't come.
Weak eyes parted, peeks of blue. "Tobi...go." The plea was as useless as Tobi's own pleas for Deidara to pull through, to live for a few more moments. His grip only tightened on Deidara, and he refused to let him go.
"No."
There was a crash of sound as Tobi became suddenly aware, and blocked a kick to Deidara's flank as he looked everywhere around him, looking for a escape route.
Hope, that god-damn-mother-fucking uselessness, it arose.
There was enemies dark clothing and no piece of the once blue sky.
Deidara spat blood up from Tobi's arms, attracting the orange-masked man's attention once more as it ran down his pale chin and down his neck.
"Tobi, god damn it! Go!"
But the masked man wouldn't budge.
He seemed to know already, there was no escape.
He cradled Deidara in his arms as his knees started to buckle, the hits he took to his back finally able to pummel him to the ground as he clung to his best friend in the entire world.
"But Tobi wants to be with Senpai..." And then a blade slammed through Tobi's back, coming out of the other side of his chest just inches from Deidara's head.
Tobi began to bleed out, hacking out his blood like the words that he had just uttered. It spilled out from under his mask, and from the hole in his chest, splattering down onto Deidara below.
The enemies backed off after they fell, Deidara's screams covering the dying yells of their war.
The world spun- vaguely, Tobi remembered hearing a general of sorts to yell for the ninjas to back off, that the two were finished...and he supposed that it was true.
"Deidara." Tobi whispered, his vision spiraling into darkness. "Are you there?"
"I'll always be here.. To-"
Deidara was cut off by a chain of coughs, a spatter of blood spraying across Tobi's mask, and then his head lolled, arms going loose around Deidara.
"T-tobi...?"
The sky darkened and cried as people watched Deidara reach up and tug off Tobi's mask with shaking hands. They had lost so many people of their own, but seeing an enemy die- It was unreal to them...unreal as the thought that these two partners also had feelings. They were human: they could feel, and see, and breath.
They could die.
"Tobi?"
And the once pround man collapsed entirely to the ground, landing on Deidara with almost no sound. But the artist didn't mind, and laid there without complaint, staring at the sky.
Deidara coughed, dried blood on the corner of his lips beginning to flake and slide down his cheek, mixed with the fresh blood from his mouth.
"Do you think we'll go..t-" A cough. "...To heaven, Senpai?"
"Yeah, Tobi... You'll go too heaven, uhn."
Tobi turned his head weakily into Deidara's chest, to tired to get up from his strewn position ontop of Deidara.
"And you..Senpai?"
"...Yeah."
Tobi exhaled a deep breath before he stopped moving, peaceful, and Deidara laied his head back against the ground, breath quickening as he tried not to cry.
No one will ever understand the
pain
of these two men, the
friendships
and the
hardships
they have endured and
lost.
One side of the battlefield will never take
pity,
will never
understand
the other.
This is life,
and with life,
comes death.