Beacon of Light

Since it was an inn for commoners, the wooden building was a simple affair constructed mainly of bamboo and cream-colored washi paper walls, with a few wooden pillars for support. The tables were rickety and worn. Besides the counter were a large cask of sake and several stone jars for serving the rice wine. He caught a glimpse of the inn owner, hurriedly stowing away the few precious china bowls he owned.

He turned back at the men, his hand itching to grab his pouch. Besides him, he felt his partner's presence, thoroughly pissed off as well.

"I said, you're in our seat." The leader of the gang hissed, his hand holding a bottle of sake. He had a katana fastened to the obi around his hip, judging by the clean handle wrapping cloth, unworn and still fresh in it's original color, he assumed this man was nothing but all talk, perhaps never even gotten into a real fight before. The man was no larger than himself, a small beard on his face. He had this smug smile on his face, assuming he had caught the two newcomers in a corner of shame.

Tobi twitched in annoyance, "we already moved." He said calmly, not wanting to start an unneeded fight in a civilian inn restaurant. He noticed the man with a generous belly besides the leader, smirking, but he cut him off before he could make any remarks about his strange orange and swirly mask. "We will be leaving when we finished."

It had been way too long without food for Deidara to just leave a hot meal. Their mission was painfully long, and they're still on their way traveling. The route was filled with commoners, villages and towns, eyes virgin to the shinobi world. They were ordered to stay low and not to attract any attention, thus, they had stowed away their Akatsuki cloaks neatly into their packs, as well as their shinobi weapons, two pairs of sandals and two spare kimonos for their trip. They had finished their container of rice and mochi, and they're down to their last jug of water; they needed to stop by the inn to stock their supply in food once again.

Despite the fact that Tobi had said they would leave when they're finished with their meal, the blonde and the leader had other ideas. The leader took a sip from his sake bottle, frowning, "leave now." He hissed, clutching the jug so hard it might just break from the force. The looks was scary, enough to scare away any commoner that fears violence and not going home to see their family. The leader thought he had them with this stance, thinking they are nothing but the common farmers that linger around the inn for a quick meal.

The blonde reached back into his pack slowly, gripping the familiar cloth of his clay pouch. He felt eyes on him, and most importantly, Tobi's glare. Don't you dare, he thought he heard him say in his glare behind the endless void of his mask eye-hole. You're endangering many innocent people.

The gang members flinched at Deidara's movement, and unsure what to make of it. The skinny one at the back assumed that the blonde was getting some coins to pay them to leave them alone, but the leader didn't seem to be that naive. The man was cunning and quick, he unsheathed his katana and pointed the razor sharp tip at the blonde's neck. The members glanced at each other and shrugged, following the leader's action and unsheathed their swords as well.

His flaws were so obvious. Tobi stared at the leader, his grip was all wrong, he had no balance with the blade and he obviously never had any real fighting training in his life. Tobi could just bet that the man had stole the sword from a swordsmith or a masterless samurai. Though it wasn't possible for the latter, as ronin are still as deadly as any trained samurai, even without the loyalty of serving under a daimyo. He could easily disarm the leader and his two members, seeing as he had fought with countless of samurai and ronin.

Before Deidara could even zip his clay pouch open and grab a handful of clay, Tobi had reached into his own pack without attracting the gang member's attention, taking the first weapon that came contact with his gloved hand. The crisp sound of metal scraping against metal was sudden and the owner and his daughter ducked behind the counter, fearing the worst. The kunai had disturbed the grasp of the leader on his sword, and with a loud clatter with steel against wood, the sword was discarded onto the floor, it's polished blade catching the sunlight seeping through the battered windows and momentarily blinding the gang leader.

The other members gasped, their hands trembling to hold their own swords. As with the leader, they have no obvious courage and skill of getting into a fight and actually survive. The skinny one gave a cry when the kunai reflected off the support pillar of the inn, leaving a deep scratch mark, bounding back into the gang and buried it's blunt butt into the skinny one's sword hand. The katana hit the floor as well and the kunai pinned it down through the tsuba, the guard of the sword.

The member continued to whimper in fright, and only stopped himself from fleeing when the leader hissed at him to shut up as he tried to regain his eyesight. But Tobi was faster, he took out another two kunai before any of the two members could react from the earlier shock of the sudden attack, and launched another. He shot the two weapons at the fat one and the leader respectively. The first kunai hit it's target, scraping itself against the obi of the fat one, the belt instantly falling onto the ground. The fat member wailed his fright and almost peed his pants.

The second one drew blood. The cold metal sliced itself across the cheek of the leader, a thin line of blood at its wake. The gang gasped and took a step back. With lightning speed, so fast that people can pass off the blurr as their minds playing tricks on them, the masked ninja picked up the leader's discarded weapon from the wooden flooring, holding it correctly and only the Two Heaven sword style's Autumn Leaf strike may disarm him. He pressed the kissai against the leader's neck, a small drop of blood dripping from the spot.

Tobi opened his mouth to say something, but was cut short by the whimpering and cries of the leader. "N-Ninja!" He cried, legs shaking. "F-Forgive me, O-great one! I want no bad fortune!" He dared not to move to bow and kneel as he was held hostage at sword point, but he motioned for his two members to do so, eyes pleading for freedom.

The skinny and the fat one quickly obeyed their leader's order, the fat one throwing his sword away and leaving another deep scratch mark on the wooden flooring. They kneeled and bowed their head until they touched the floor, repeating the chant, "gomenasai! Gomenasai!"

Tobi tch'd, only apologizing for their rudeness when their life is on the line. He shoved the sword tip against the leader's neck, leaving a light cut. "Leave without your money and swords." He said calmly and slowly, watching as the leader shrudder in pain. The gang followed his order, without any worry that they were being robbed and pulled out their string of coins and left their swords discarded on the floor, the leader was carried out by his members as Tobi stared after them until they're gone.

Picking up the coins, Tobi headed towards the counter, where the owner and his daughter was hiding. He raised his hand and heard the owner cry, "please don't hurt us! We want no trouble, ninja!" Raising an eyebrow at the civilians mutual fear of ninjas, he placed the coins on the counter.

"I think this will cover for the repairs." He said, studying the strings of coins the gang members had discarded. He glanced around and noted all the damages, some of the tables were flipped and broken from fleeing customers, the supporting pillar Tobi stuck was beginning to creak under the roof's weight, and the bamboo was missing in some places. He also noticed a barrel of sake broken at the side, but the liquids of the rice wine was nowhere to be seen.

Deidara crossed his arms, staring at the back of Tobi's shirt and tapped his foot impatiently, angry at Tobi for stopping him from showing off his art, and at him releasing the gang from any serious injuries.

The owner and his daughter blinked at the masked ninja, obviously confused by his action of kindness. But they accepted it, and the young daughter looked up, trying to make eye contact with the heroic ninja. "Thank you, ninja-san." She said in a quiet voice, and without her father's permission, she took out four straw containers of rice and two jugs of water, as well as a snack of mochi and dango. "For you and your friend, for the trip." She said, bowing politely and handed the offerings in both hands. "It was obvious you two are traveling, as we do not see you around often and that you are not from around here." She continued, answering Tobi's unspoken question.

Tobi hesitated in taking the gifts, but bowed politely back as he accepted them. "Thank you. What is your name?" He asked, pocketing the food into his pack as he does not trust Deidara with their food supply, much to the blonde's confusion and frustration.

"Hana." She smiled, keeping her family from her answer. Even though they saved her life, it is very important that a civil townsperson to keep any important information from outsiders, and especially if they are ninja. Tobi understands that this town must have never had anyone to protect them, and any warriors are fearful in their eyes. "Thank you very much for fighting them." She continued, not sparing a glance at her father as he was stowing away the money. "They often bully our customers, and scare them away before they can pay. They also never pay for their meals by threatening us with their blades. You were the first ever to lift a finger at them... and survive."

Tobi nodded his head in acknowledgment, slightly worried at the last statement and turned to head out. He paused to gather his kunai and to pull Deidara with him and avoided his punches. "You can keep the swords," he called back, ducking when Deidara tried to hook fist him. It was against his better judgement to tell civilians to keep samurai weapons, but these innkeepers needed it.

As the continued on the road, Deidara's protests and arguments faded as more and more people notice their presence as ninja. News travels quick, Tobi thought, silently walking on. They will need to stay at an inn tonight, as the sun had already climbed halfway through its route. Hurrying their steps, they arrived at a nearby inn that was located at the edge of the town, and by then the sun was already setting. He sighed and walked on in, the blonde behind him silent as the villagers continued to look on.

Tobi headed to the counter, trying to get two rooms close to each other. And to Tobi's delight, and Deidara's dismay, there was two connected rooms available. He grabbed the keys and headed up the stairs, wincing at every creak. Even with his ninja training, the Art of Stealth, the old wooden stairs were too weak to actually hold anymore weight.

Unable to complain anymore and not wanting to attract any more than necessary attention among the commoners inside the inn, Deidara kept silent, following Tobi and held his hand out to get his key to his room. Tobi glanced at Deidara and watched him slide open the shoji door, disappearing inside. The masked nin sighed, sliding the door to his own room and headed inside as well, Almost instantly, he noticed the shoji door on his right, the cream-colored washi papers seem to be less transparent. He assumed that this door was the one that is one of the two barriers disconnecting the two rooms. Not wanting to disturb the blonde, he headed to lay down his pack in the middle of the room and grabbed his fresh pair of clothes, heading to the bathroom to take a shower. He assumed Deidara was doing the same, as this is the first time in their third night to actually sleep in a bed.

Their travel has to take them to Mount Fuji, almost half way across Japan from where they started. It was already their third week traveling, and they still have a lot of ground to cover. Pein had given them the time of five months to complete the entire mission and return without attracting any attention. That means their return trip would be the same as their current trip. He knew Deidara wouldn't be happy, since he always preferred using his clay birds and making an airborne trip to the location instead. Frankly, Tobi preferred flying as well, after the second week. He wasn't a usual fan of flying on Deidara's birds, as the blonde teases him and makes the flight rougher than necessary.

Getting out of the shower and drying himself off with the provided towel of the inn, he felt much more relaxed and comfortable as his sore muscles were relieved from the warm shower. He slipped into his pair of clean clothes and went to place his dirty one into the laundry basket of the bathroom.

Tobi limped to the center of the room, quickly taking out a futon and rolling it out. He laid down and sighed loudly, resting his sore legs. He thought he heard a shoji door slide open, but dismissed it as a simple trick his tired mind was playing. Tobi felt relaxed resting in the soft bedding of the futon.

He gasped when he felt someone step on his chest. He had almost fallen asleep before Deidara thought it was a great idea to step on the raven to wake him up. Tobi sat up and twisted Deidara's foot with lightning speed, smirking to himself behind his mask as the blonde squeaked at the unexpected attack and fell down onto the tatami matted floor. The attack wasn't painful, and Tobi made sure he delivered it with care, in fear that he might hurt the blonde.

Deidara groaned loudly and glared at Tobi, standing up slowly and rubbing his sore butt, he slowly got back his stance and resumed his earlier speech, which he had to repeat since the damn kohai was dozing off!

"As I was saying..." The blonde began, but was once again taken down. He wasn't sure why he was being pulled down to sit besides Tobi on the futon, but he didn't complain as he was also sore from the travels. Shifting his weight and playing with the sleeves of his new pair of clean clothes, he cleared his throat and stared at the lines of the soft tatami flooring. "I'm still pissed off at you; for not letting me show them the true power of my art, un." He mumbled, losing his previous temper quick.

"You will hurt innocent villagers." Tobi said matter-of-factly, fiddling with Deidara's blonde hair. "We don't want everyone to know we killed someone, that will cause us a lot of trouble and time." He continued, twirling a strand around his finger. "I already tried my best to not use any ninjutsu during the little fight, but they seem to recognize my skill with the kunai as ninja skill." He sighed, recalling the fight.

The blonde huffed, paying no mind in Tobi's playing of his hair, and silently, he enjoyed the gesture. "You only care about the villagers!" Deidara huffed, crossing his arms across his chest as he tried to ignore the affectionate play of his hair. "You never care about me! You know my art is important!" He mumbled, not expecting Tobi to catch it; but he underestimated the raven again, forgetting he was a trained and extremely skilled ninja. His usual act could have really fooled him, being such an idiot all the time. It was original wonder why Pein had accepted him to the organization in the first place!

Tobi blinked in surprise, not expecting Deidara to actually say it. He had always knew that he meant more to the blonde than he shows but he never realized it was like this. "I... I didn't want you to get hurt..." He replied, almost silently.

Deidara sat there silently, his anger slipping away again. He turned and faced the raven, blinking at him. "...dumbass..." He muttered, turning so he can face him properly. He settled himself on his lap, "do you really mean it, hm?" He said in the same tone, quiet.

Tobi clicked his tongue in annoyance, he had to ask that. Why would he say it if he didn't mean it?! He blinked, then chuckled to himself when he realized he was acting just like the blonde when Tobi asks a stupid question. "Yes, I mean it. I don't want to lose you like I lost everyone else." He replied, smiling at him, but then he realized that he had his mask on; no use smiling if Deidara couldn't see it. "You're like the beacon of light in the dark times to me."

"Oh." Was all he said in return. Tobi watched as Deidara began blushing, his inner argument clearly visible as of written all over his face. He flinched when Deidara lifted up a head, reaching to grab at his mask. "If you do mean it, then let me see your face, un." The blonde said, his fingers already hooked at the edge of his orange mask. Tobi was silent for a few moments, looking around and out the window before nodding his agreement. He let the blonde lift up the mask and kept his gaze to the floor. So the worth of his face was some lousy promise, well, what more could he expect from Deidara?

The mask clattered onto the soft tatami matted wooden floor, wobbling slightly on its face before staying still.

Deidara stared at the face that he always yearned for to see, he thought he would've needed to work harder for it, but it seems that he didn't. He reached up and cupped Tobi's cheek, trying to make the raven face him. He blushed when he felt Tobi's warm skin against his own, making his hand mouth lick at the skin. He wanted to pull away but Tobi's gloved hand pressed against his own, keeping the hand in place.

He stared into the eyes, shocked. Swirling black markings in a deep pool of red. The sharingan. Uchiha.

Tobi felt Deidara go stiff, and he held him into place. He wouldn't use any genjutsu on his blonde, so he would have to try and calm him down and explain. He pulled Deidara into a hug, feeling the blonde fight back. "Uchiha! You're one of them! Go away, let go of me, hm!"

"Deidara, please just hear me out." He sighed, the blondes punches weren't painful, and almost felt halfhearted. "I'm not like Itachi, I won't hurt you. I'll protect you. I'll teach you how to fight Itachi." He said, his voice deep as he continued to tried to sooth the blonde.

The blonde didn't say anything, or do anything. Only laid on Tobi's chest and whimpered. He seemed tempted to be taught how to defeat the sharingan. "Promise, hm?" He mumbled through his sobs, but was confused on his own why he was crying.

He smiled, glad that he had calmed Deidara this fast. "Promise." Tobi said, trying to pry away the blonde so he can preform the 'pinky promise' thing.

But Deidara had a different idea.

Staying glued to the Uchiha's chest, he reached up and wrapped his arms around Tobi's neck. Pulling him down do he couldn't reach his mouth. He pressed his lips against the raven's, eyes closed.

Tobi blinked in confusion and shock, what was Deidara doing?! He calmed himself down and thought for a moment, before kissing the blonde back. He subconsciously turned and pinned the blonde beneath him on the futon, his hands on either side of his head to support himself.

Deidara wrapped his arms around Tobi's neck tighter, trying to pull the raven closer to him. He wrapped his legs around his waist as well, pinning Tobi to him.

Tobi parted when he needed breath, and blinked at the blonde beneath him. He smiled, "what're you getting all worked up for?" He laughed, pulling away from the blonde.

Deidara huffed, his cheeks red. He reached up and wiped his eyes with the back of his hands. "Am not!" He complained, releasing Tobi from his bear grip. "It was just a little hot here." He sat back up, glancing out the window and noticing that the sky had gone completely dark, the stars had already started to shine brightly on the black sheet of night.

"It's late," Tobi commented, taking the words right from Deidara's mouth. "We should rest for tomorrow's journey. I bet you we can reach the Aokigahara Forest by the end of this week!" He boasted with a smile, leaning back down and settling besides the blonde. He pulled up the covers and glanced at him, "you sleeping or what? I thought your ideal starting time was eight in the morning!" Tobi grinned again, faking a yawn and a stretch, poking the blonde's side to tease him further.

Deidara smiled back, paying no mind that he was being teased, leaning back down and resting on his back. He paused for a moment before scooting up besides the raven, snuggling into his chest. "Shut up, dumbass, and go to sleep, hmm." He muttered, closing his eyes and forcing sleep to come to him.

Tobi let out a soft chuckle, wrapping his arms around the blonde and closed his eyes. Maybe the trip wouldn't be so bad after all.

Hey guys, Red here!

This is just something to test out my writing a fighting scene skills. I ended it quickly because I didn't want it to stay on my notes for too long, and coming to the point where I just look back and complain about how I didn't do this right, didn't do that right. So I decided to just wrap it up.

There originally was supposed to be a lemon, but when I finished it, I noticed how it was extremely out of place and sudden; despite the fact that this fic on it's own was a pwp. If there is any confusion in the setting, just assume they are in the 17th century Japan or something.

Japanese glossary-

daimyo - Japanese feudal lord
gomenasai - I'm sorry
katana - long sword
kimono - traditional Japanese clothing
kissaki - tip of sword
kunai - small dagger; used typically by ninja
mochi - rice cake
ninja - Japanese assassin
obi - belt
ronin - masterless samurai
samurai - Japanese warrior
shoji - Japanese sliding door
tatami - floor matting
washi - style of paper from Japan