Author's note: This oneshot was done purely on a request from my good friend Beth, she loves Deidera, and I have to thank her for the idea of the timeframe of the pairing. Beth you rock, hope you (and everyone else) enjoyed this ;). Oh and as a little disclaimer, I DO NOT own the characters; however I do own the plot. If I owned the characters, there would have been an Itachi Gaiden.

~ 3 ~

"Here's the report from the last mission in Amegakagure Itachi-sempai."

"Thank you Kakashi-kohai, did the specs for the next mission come in? I was told this next one was a solo assassination." Itachi replied. Just lately, since he had been made a captain in the Anbu black ops, he had been given many more solo missions, most of which were assassinations. At first people called him the child of the Anbu, claiming he'd got in on luck, they even had the disrespect to call him Itachi-san. He soon beat the insolence out of them, and he went to Itachi-kohai… until he became a captain.

"Yes it's here Sempai, it is another solo, this time out near Sunakagure. The man is a Daimyo, and one that many want dead, he recently sent ninja to neighbouring villages to steal important scrolls, and as such needs to be brought down. He is a fuuton user, so you were chosen for the mission." Kakashi continued, "You are to dispatch for Suna by 8pm today, Danzou wants you back in 5 days."

"Understood kohai, dismissed." Suna, that would normally take 3 days each way, but 2 could be done without too much difficulty, once he was beyond the village gate he could flashspot to Suna, recover from the chakra used, and complete the mission.

After reporting to Danzou, he went back to the Uchiha part of the village, to pick up the required things for the mission. He made sure he had a full pouch of kunai, paper explosives, and most importantly, soldier pills, before going downstairs and wishing Sasuke and his parents fair well. Luckily he didn't have to go and see the Hokage before leaving, it would waste time, and Danzou would take care of it anyway. As he jumped from rooftop to rooftop he wondered what this mission held in store for him, he hadn't been to Suna on a solo mission before, and despite being his usual emotionless self, he couldn't help but be a little excited. He contemplated the days ahead as he slid the mask down his face, and passed through Konoha's gates, nodding to the guards as he passed.

Once he was right outside the village, he found a secluded place and removed the scroll from his pouch. It was a complex space/time ninjutsu that would take him to Suna – flashspotting this way would take a lot out of him, as he was using his chakra to transport 3 day's travelling distance away, but it would save a lot of time. He performed necessary seals, and placed his hand on the scroll, feeling his chakra being sucked out through his palm as he was instantly teleported to Sunakagure. He entered Suna and went and booked a room, expenses allowed him one night's stay. As soon as he got up to his room, he unpacked, preparing for the next day, and then he crashed on the bed, sound asleep.

He awoke to the sound of the streets bustling below him, the early morning traders setting up for the day. He looked up at the sun, guessing the time to be around 6 am, and started to get ready for the day ahead. He had three days to find the Daimyo, and take him out, and the Daimyo was a couple of hours from Suna, so he needed to go as soon as possible. A Daimyo was not always easy to get to, as guards had to be taken care of. He donned a cloak and hat over his Anbu gear, and only fitted his mask once he had left the city's high walled enclose. He took off at a steady rate eating breakfast as he moved, an empty stomach was the last thing he needed, and he finished off his breakfast with a soldier pill.

He arrived at the Daimyo's camp around an hour and a half later; he had made good time due to the solider pill's chakra boost. It was basically what seemed to be a small fortress of tent material at first, but on closer inspection appeared to be made entirely from stone, this had obviously been created from a powerful earth type jutsu, as no trade of the formation had ever been there on the way from Konoha to Suna on his last visit.

The first part of the mission was reconnaissance, Itachi had to find all the entries and exits to the place, and also assess the guards and other workers there, as they could be a potential problem. Using chakra focused to his feet, he run up the side of the fortress, making sure to move in the blind spots of the windows. After a quick, yet thorough search he theorised that there was only one visible entrance, and at least three emergency exits that could only be accessed from the inside. Not only this, but there were also eight constant guards, rotating so that 4 were always on watch of the visible entrance. There stood in a cross shape, two facing the opposite way to the door, and the other two, one facing left, one right. It was a simple task to jump from the top of the fortress to land in the middle of the four, taking out the guard that could see him silently. He then took out the left and right facing guards without so much as a muffled moan, and grabbed the last guard. As soon as the guard looked around he was trapped in a special genjutsu of his own creation that forced the person trapped in it to speak nothing but the truth.

"How many guards are there inside?"

"Fifty eight, not including the four stationed outside," the guard replied.

"Where are the emergency exits?"

"There are three, one inside the chamber where the Daimyo sleeps, one in the dungeons, and one hidden as a closet on the second floor," he dutifully replied again.

"One last question; where will the Daimyo be right now, and how many guards will be with him?"

"Right now the Daimyo is taking care of a visitor in the dining hall which is situated on the first floor. He will have no guards with him, as he is a powerful jounin." He said after a short pause. Itachi then took an exploding tag from his pouch and wrapped it round the man's head. Anyone you gain information from must have their brain destroyed, memories are powerful evidence, this was an Anbu teaching he had to follow.

Itachi then focused his chakra to his feet again, climbing quite a way up the fortress wall before performing the tiger seal and sending a small fireball down to the man. The explosion would be a handy distraction, Itachi thought as he slipped in through an open window in the first floor. He had entered straight into the dining hall, in a secluded part, however something felt wrong. He was about to search for the Daimyo when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. There was an earth signature chakra, and the chakra was focusing in on itself, it was a bomb. As a blonde man riding a designed-for-speed clay bird flew out of the window he had just entered through, Itachi realised he had seconds, if that, to get out.

Just as he activated his shunshin no jutsu, and managed to get outside of the window, the room blew up… with the Daimyo in it. Yes, he could definitely detect no trace of the Daimyo's chakra left inside, and a quick glance inside the room confirmed it. The room was simply a mass of rubble thanks to the mysterious blonde man's bomb. He was about to turn to go, his mission technically complete when he felt another source of chakra, the same sort as before hurtling towards him.

He used the shunshin no jutsu once again, and moved out of the way of the bomb, visibly reappearing about a metre from the blonde man. As he moved towards the man, his eyes locked with the blonde man's visible eye, the other was covered by hair. Two feet away, the man moved his hand up to his fringe and moved the hair covering his other eye. One foot away, they locked eyes, sharingan red instantly fading back to onyx black.

The man caught Itachi as he faltered, their eyes still locked, and pulled him into an embrace.

"Hello little Anbu, my name is Deidera, un." The blonde named Deidera replied, putting his hand on the back of Itachi's neck, licking it with the tongue on his hand. Shivers ran down Itachi's spine/

"Uchiha Itach…" was all Itachi managed as a reply before Deidera pulled Itachi's mouth to his.

"I must return to Konoha, Deidera, but before I go I will say this. We will meet again some day, and when we do, you will make your left eye into your saving grace, keep your secret hidden" Itachi's young, yet powerful tone rang out to the older man.

"I know Itachi-kun" Deidera said as he pulled Itachi's lips back to his for the last time…