-:- dream world -:-

"What are you doing here?"

A blond boy had opened his door after hearing someone knock. Upon opening it, he noticed it to be his childhood friend. A small girl, who was not as innocent as she looked. But why had she come here? In the dead of night.

"I'm sorry that I had to come here so late. It's just that, I needed to come here, say goodbye. This is the last time you will see me. In this town anyway"

A look of shock came to the boys' feminine features. She was leaving? But she was the only friend he had. Everyone else in this village was scared of him.

"Where are you going? And why?"

The girl looked up at him with a sad smile. Half her face was hidden by bangs, yet he knew that she was hiding nothing. He could only see half of her face but could tell that she was genuinely upset.

"I can't talk now, I must leave. But I hope that we meet again"

And with that, she disappeared in a puff of smoke. A shadow clone. For whatever reason she was leaving for, she was being cautious. Using a shadow clone meant she was covering her tracks, confusing anyone that may be after her. She was a trouble maker, but why would anyone go after her?

The boy looked down at his doorstep. There was light pooling out onto the street from his open doorway, his figure blocking some of the light from getting out. But he noticed none of this. He was alone. His only friend had just left him. What should he do now? He sighed, and went back inside, closing the door slowly. Maybe he should just carry on with his training. He had yet to become a Chunin. And that had been their end of year goal. He would do it, without his friend.

'"I hope that we meet again"'

Yes, that they would

-:- reality -:-

Azure eyes fluttered open as knocking was heard on the door. A boy in his late teens moaned before uttering a "Come in". The door was opened as the boy threw back his covers and sat up in bed.

The boys name was Deidara. About 5 foot 7 in height, and he was eighteen years old. He had long blond hair, with bangs on his left side and deep blue eyes, which were naturally outlined perfectly. He looked as though he was wearing mascara, but he would never wear makeup.

He looked up to see who he had let into his room, hoping that it was not that hyper active kid, Tobi. The kid was hopeless, and was always wearing an orange swirled mask. What was he trying to hide? He almost sighed out in relief when he saw who had entered the room, but the person who was there was nearly as bad as Tobi.

It was his partner, Sasori. The guy was an inch taller than Deidara, had crimson locks that fell just past his ears, and had dull brown eyes. To others, he was void of emotions. But around Deidara, he was always annoyed, or angry. The two of them would argue a lot, and sometimes, Sasori resorted to hurting Deidara physically. Once, Sasori had almost taken Deidara's right eye out. That would have left him with the one that was always covered by hair, and his scope. Not that it would hinder his performance that much, but he would still like to keep both his eyes.

He looked up at Sasori, making sure that he had eye contact. Sasori hated it when Deidara looked away when he was speaking. He hadn't started yet, but Deidara didn't want to give Sasori a reason to slap him round the face.

"Hurry up and get dressed. You need to go down for breakfast, and then Hidan wants to train with you"

'Yay' thought Deidara. Deidara was still seen as the weakest member of the Akatsuki. Yet he was one of the best when it came to tactics. The only time tactics never paid off for him was when his art was insulted. He went mental when people disrespected his art. It was his life, always had been. And it had scared most of the people in his village. For you see, his art was a blast. Literally.

"Alright, Sasori Danna"

With that, he got up, and collected some clothes. The usual Akatsuki garb; a fishnet shirt, navy blue tank, and baggy navy blue pants. He grabbed a fresh pair of boxers before heading towards the bathroom.

The way that the base was set out, you would have thought it was a mansion. It was huge. But housing at least ten people, you needed a big place to live. Also, the Akatsuki was a criminal organisation. They needed the place to be well hidden. This was one of the many bases that the Akatsuki had. Only two of which were for living in. This one was hidden deep in the forest, located a few miles away from the border of the fire country.

A shower, brushed teeth, combed hair, and finally, dressed in his Akatsuki uniform. All he needed now was his shoes, and he would be ready for the day. As ready as he could be. He decided to keep a small amount of slightly fused clay, just incase Tobi decided to hassle him. The rest could wait until he went out for practice with Hidan.

"Why can't you be more careful?"

"You know I can't stand people insulting my art un"

While training with Hidan, the foul mouthed Jashinist had insulted Deidara's art. After that, the training got out of hand. Bombs were going off everywhere just to prove Hidan wrong. This had resulted in Hidan losing his head, the training grounds being totally destroyed, looking more like a crater in the earth. And of course Deidara had managed to burn himself, being too close to one of his own explosions. It weren't that bad though. It was just a burn on his right arm. That was all. But of course, Sasori would have something to say about Deidara's behaviour. As soon as he had been chewed out by Kakuzu for the cost of repairs, and a lecture from Leader Sama for lack of self control, Sasori thought it was his turn to have a go. And Hidan was still waiting in line to have a go at him.

"How is that art, Brat?"

"I'm not a brat yeah"

*Slap*

Deidara fell to the floor from the impact of Sasori slapping him across the face. He knew he shouldn't have answered back. He knew he shouldn't have raised his voice at Sasori. But Deidara could not stand being called a brat. However, he had resorted to calling Sasori his master, and in knowing this Sasori thought it was ok to call Deidara whatever he wanted. Deidara only called Sasori his master because the guy was a fellow artist, and had more experience in battle. But he could not sit there and take such an insult. He had respect for Sasori as a fellow artist, yet it was never mutual. Sasori hated him, loathed him. And no matter what he did, Sasori would never show him respect.

"You are what I say you are. Or have you forgotten who the master here is?"

Sasori was glaring down at Deidara, waiting to see what his next move was. Deidara couldn't take being looked down on, so quickly stood back on his feet. He returned Sasoris' glare. It was the same everyday for him. Always an argument, always getting hit, always being reminded of the title he had given his partner. Well now he took that back.

"You're only known to me as my master because I respect you. Well now that respect has gone. You're no master of mine un"

That did it. Deidara's eyes widened as he saw Sasoris' next move. Wanting to dodge, but he was far too late. Sasori was fast. He hit Deidara in the stomach, sending him reeling backwards, and into the wall. His head went back and hit the wall. For him, everything went black. There was nothing.

L: Well this was started over a year ago, I believe. The two of us kept going through it none stop

Tori: But we couldn't find anything to change, apart from the location of the hideout

L: But we said 'Screw it, we'll keep it like that and say they have two bases that they use as living quarters'