Shaxra15/ CNT15 Note: (Yes the Kyuub has deemed this worthy of the Shax because it's just an innocent one-shot type tribute thing) This stated out as something really random, nothing more. :3 just the typical Deidara and Sasori art debate scene but I added Sai in place of Sasori for the hec of it :P months passed and I kept tinkering with it till finally I was somewhat satisfied. I have horrible writing skills and write to try to improve but that's hard when I have a malevolent habit of doing everything at a speedy pace. This story started out likewise but as it sat for months I slowly messed around with different things-adding more detail. Pretty much I'm saying this is probably the most well written thing I've ever coughed up. ^.^ or rather it's decent for my pathetic level :P
Also all y'all can probably tell who my favorite character is by reading this. I always enjoy working with him. I also feel I need to point out I'm a...err… sub and dub fan...sub being more recent…which the way I write may reflect both. Also the time in which this do-dad takes place is before Deidara VS Sasuke. Kay? Also if I get an age wrong DO NOT skin me alive, kay? And craps sake, for the love of all that is holy and pure, NO YAOI intended!
.-_The Untitled (EXTENDED version)-_.
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Sai held his first two fingers up in the basic hand seal position and focused. Right on cue the bird he had drawn on the scroll before him swished off the paper and into the air. Its shiny ink wings flapping in the daylight sky above him reflected the sun's light off and into the seventeen-year old's eyes making him blink. He heard a swish sound and a small splash. When he opened his eyes he found his bird gone and a puddle of black ink splattered on the ground. He sighed for he saw a kunai right near by the puddle.
Sai was only a small distance from Konoha. He was in an open field that had a few bushes and trees on the perimeter of it. It was peaceful and usually free of people. Sai every once in a while came here to practice his jutsu in privacy or simply draw on his days off. Today he had felt like practicing his jutsu but now he was aware of the presence of another he felt distracted. He figured it was his immature squad mate like usual. He could be such an immature kid at times, who liked to play pranks.
"Come on out, baka. You know not to mess with me while-"
Unexpectedly a voice who was not his blonde squad mate's laughed.
"Hey, never seen you before, yeah. That's some pretty impressive art jutsu, my man." The new figure said.
The figure, who he did not recognize, stepped out from the bushes revealing himself. The young man had long blonde hair that he kept in a tail and bangs that covered nearly one whole side of his face. He wore a plain black cloak hiding his actual outfit. Other then that Sai could not congregate any more information from looking at the man's appearance. He wondered who this guy was and what he was doing here. He had a feeling he had seen him before but he just couldn't place where…He pushed the thought aside.
The man examined the ink on the ground, positioned a few feet from Sai now.
"Name's Deidara. From a distance I mistook you for this brat I'm hunting down. Although now I'm closer to you, I see your skin's paler and hairs shorter then his."
Sai did have unusually pale skin for a shinobi. The reason was because he had spent the majority of his life deep in Konoha's inner most depths as he is a member of Anbu Roots. He never got out enough to let the sun darken his exposed skin. Even now that he spent his days above he still was pale. Perhaps it stayed that way because he spent a lot of time in his apartment drawing nowadays. He must have had thousands of pictures by now.
Sai extended his hand for a shake. "I'm Sai."
"I see you like ink. Hmm, not my cup of tea, yeah?" Deidara held his own hand up revealing a mouth on it.
"I specialize in explosive." He beamed cockily, putting his hand back down. "That's my art."
"Explosives?" Sai inquired, an eyebrow raised.
"Hai! True art is but a fleeting moment!" Deidara exclaimed dramatically spreading his hands and fingers out.
"I'm not quite sure what you mean, Deidara-san." Sai was sincerely curious. He really didn't get to converse about art back at the Leaf...This guy struck him as odd but appealing. His excitement and zeal about his art seemed interesting by itself. Sai especially wanted to know why there was a mouth on each of Deidara's hands. Sai could tell he was a ninja at the least but what function would the mouths serve?
Deidara continued.
"Let's take your little ink birdie for example, when my kunai-" He bent down to pick it up, "hit your little friend it went ka-splat and it sent ink swooshing out."
"Huh?"
"Didn't you see it when the kunai hit?"
"No, I blinked. The sun was in my eyes."
Deidara then dug his hand into a bag he had on him and pulled out some white clay. "See this? Now watch."
He fed the white clay into his mouth that was on his hand and after a few chews it somehow created a clay bird. He handed it to Sai.
Sai examined it. So this sculpting jutsu was the reason this guy had a mouth on each hand...As for the bird it was interesting to look at, not heavy, and had a smooth white surface and little black hole for eyes.
Suddenly the clay bird exploded in Sai's hand. He quickly dropped it and fanned his hands as the miniature explosion had nearly burned him.
"What was that?"
"My Art! Art's...an explosion, yeah!"
Sai rubbed his temple. "You just destroyed it..."
"Did you not see it?! It was beauty!"
"But the clay bird you made..."
Sai was not comprehending what the stranger truly meant. Deidara groaned.
"The explosion IS the art! Can't you see that? I see potential in your jutsu, that's the reason I got your attention in the first place, my man"
"My jutsu? But they are for missions..."
"Missions? How about art? You making your drawings come to life, my man! Put some emotion into it! Bust it out or let me do the busting it for you! Better yet, splash it all over the place! We could make some wicked art together, yeah?"
Deidara's proposal to join up with him couldn't have been a bigger strait up rejection.
Sai shook his head and stated rather matter-of-factly, "One: that would be a misuse of my ink, two-in the Anbu I was trained to banish emotions. Finally the third reason is destroying things and watching them explode is not art."
Deidara was about ready to pull his hair out now.
"Geez you sound just like Sasori now! Him and all his 'Oh art's eternal' garbage! Art was made to be destroyed! All things must come to an end someday no matter how much you put into it, so you might as well make its end big and an epic event for all to behold!"
Sai was tired now and ready to call it quits but he had a feeling this nut wouldn't let him off so easily. He was practically bouncing with vigor for his so-called art.
"Man, no one appreciates my art, nor is left to debate with me anymore," Deidara complained, "and then here stands you-not only do you doubt my art but you just said you have no emotion. If you feel nothing for your pictures then how would you even name them? Since you're the type who doesn't see the art in explosion and probably even frame your drawings."
This conversation felt a bit redundant now, Sai smiled. "I don't call them anything."
It was true. His apartment did have a few of his drawings framed and underneath all of them hung a bare name card. He could never think of a name because he never felt anything when he drew. He just did it. Drawing was something he had always done to pass the time and to perfect his jutsu. They held no real meaning to him or purpose…though exploding them, like Deidara would do, would only be a meaningless waste of the paper and ink that had been used.
"Untitled." Sai said still smiling. When Sai had explained this to Sakura a few months back she had made a somewhat puzzled expression, the look on Deidara's face echoed that expression ten-fold. Deidara then regained his composure and replied.
"Whoa and woe man, that's sad. I'll show you how it's done if you give me a moment."
All of a sudden they heard a distant voice yelling "Sai!"
Deidara chuckled; he knew that voice all too well. So Sai was buds with the Nine-Tailed Jinchuuriki...
"I think I should disappear for now, yeah. I really ticked that guy off last time we met." Deidara said beginning to look away. He had done more then just tick Naruto off. He had purposely taunted the fifteen-year old to the point Naruto couldn't even control his anger and the Nine-tail's chakra started taking over. Naruto had nearly beat Deidara to death as he had him on the ground pinned...Deidara barely escaped. Deidara wasn't so anxious to mess with the brat today when he had another to find and was saving his special C clay just for him. The punk he was hunting down had taken down the great Orochimaru after all. Deidara would need all the exploding clay he could get. It was gonna be a hec of an artistic fight.
Naruto had reached the edge of the huge field by now.
"Who? Naruto? He can get over it; you said you'd show me something." Sai retorted back, he wasn't going to let Deidara just scamper off. Deidara grumbled 'very well' and grabbed Sai's scroll. "Lesson one-"
"You!" the blonde yelled as he had reached them by now and pointed angrily at Deidara.
"Leave him alone, he's showing me something." said Sai holding pulling Naruto back.
"Yeah, Nine-Tails. I'm giving him a lesson in art: something you wouldn't know anything about."
'How's he know that? I thought that information involving Nine-Tails was kept top secrete...' Sai thought to himself but was interrupted by Naruto shouting.
"Dude! When ya gonna learn no one cares about what you say!? Last time I heard you talking about that crap you were having a stupid debate while sitting on top Gaara!"
"Calm yourself, my man. Of the moment I'm not here for you and who's this Gaara?"
"The Kazekage!"
"Oh yeah, the One-Tail..."
"WE HAVE NAMES!"
Sai pulled Naruto back again as he struggled to land a blow. This was a touchy topic to say the least. The burden of being a Jinchuuriki was heavy as they were usually always treated like living weapons. Naruto was fortunate Konoha didn't use him as such-though he was severely mistreated, verbally abused and shunned during a huge part of his life. Gaara on the other hand...He had his hard days when it came to the monster weapon inside him. He had been a murderous child with an unbeatable sand jutsu. He had been used by his village to kill and to follow a plan to take over the Leaf during the Chunin Exams years ago.
They weren't called Jinchuuriki, "human sacrifices", for nothing.
Twelve-year old Naruto was able to reach and pull him out of that darkness years ago. Humbled down, his face coated in dirt and their blood, he saw past Gaara's monster and realized how deeply connected he really was to his enemy who knew the same pain as he...Gaara soon changed, even becoming the Kazekage-the leader, of the Sand with the goal to strive to be a protector of his village. The very village that feared him and even had tried killing him, gaining their trust was not an easy task but he pulled through all because Naruto. They've been close since.
"He will be on his way as soon as he shows me something. Calm down. I'll let you go once he's done." said Sai.
"Fine, five minutes then we go, we're supposed to meet at Ichiraku Ramen with the rest of Team 7 and I'm starved, ya know." Naruto grumbled grouchily.
Ah, ramen. It practically made up 99% of Naruto's diet thought Sai amused.
Deidara quickly doodled on the scroll what was supposed to resemble his clay bird. He handed the scroll to Sai. Sai took it with his free hand, the other one still clinched onto Naruto's T-Shirt, and asked what he was supposed to do.
Deidara grinned crossing his arms, "Think about something that makes you just get excited and make it come to life, see if it explodes, yeah?"
"My jutsu don't work like that and did you not just hear what I said about my emotions, nothing excites me."
"Yeah, nitwit." Naruto said sticking his tongue out at Deidara, he just couldn't resist the opportunity.
"Shut-up, Nine-Tails." Deidara spat.
Naruto growled. "Sai, give me five seconds."
"Sure." Sai was done with this guy. He let go of Naruto.
"Rasen-"
"What!?" Deidara recoiled back. "I offer you an opportunity and this is how you repay me?!"
He threw a bomb and in the smoke disappeared, leaving Sai and Naruto alone in the field.
Sai rubbed his temple tiredly. 'That was a bit random. What a nut, I've never met anyone like him. How does a guy conjure up such a weird jutsu and idea?'
Naruto huffed, "Sai, whatcha doing playing art with that guy? You know he's in Akatsuki right?"
'Well that explains why when I first saw him he seemed somewhat familiar. He was listed in the Anbu Data book as a S-Rank criminal. I would have seen his picture…' Sai thought to himself then replied to Naruto.
"What? Why didn't you say so sooner, baka? I didn't see the Akatsuki symbol on his coat so I didn't think of it."
The members of the Akatsuki, a group of rouge ninjas, were usually distinguished by their trademark black cloaks with red clouds on them. Their headbands always had a scratch centered on the village symbol as a way of showing where they came from and they all were extremely dangerous criminals. Their mission was to capture and seal away all nine of the tailed beasts. When the Tailed-Beast was removed from their Jinchuuriki host, they'd die. The fact Deidara did not attempt to (once again) capture Naruto worried Sai. What had Deidara been on his way of doing? Who had he been hunting down before he met up with Sai?
Naruto rested the back of his head on his hands, "I don't know anything about art but I would even say your stuff's better then his-though there's still nothing special about it."
"Just like your bal- never-mind. Naruto don't get off topic, I was just getting on to you for not telling me he was in-"
Suddenly a scheme came to Sai. "Let's go ahead and get going."
"Well, alrighty." Naruto said turning around and walking towards the direction to the Leaf.
Sai, as he followed behind, quickly drew a bird on his scroll and had it fly above Naruto. When it was in just the right position he released the jutsu liquidating it, making black ink splash all over Naruto.
"DANGETT SAI!"
Sai felt like smiling, this feeling..."Now that is art. I would say the black ink rather compliments your bright blonde hair."
"SHUDDUP 'TE BAYO!"
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"You realize this is expired, right?" asked Sai holding a milk carton up.
"Ah man, really? I-wait a minute-you're supposed to be helping get this ink out, not digging through my stuff!" yelled Naruto as he was hunched over in his kitchen sink trying to wash the ink out of his hair in the running water. The two boys were both at Naruto's small apartment-it was Sai's first time there and he was a little surprised at seeing how messy it was...It was a complete pigsty, hadn't he ever heard of a trash can? Then again Naruto never had any parents or anyone else to look after him...
Sai had grown up in Roots without parents likewise but he always had Danzou or other Anbu members who kept surveillance on him. He was never given anything and was expected everything from. The only person he had or could share his drawings or dreams with was his "brother" who was dead now. Shin is what kept Sai going for awhile there. There had been days Anbu Root's mental/physical training was hard, punishment was great and Sai just didn't think he could keep up with it all. His friend encouraged him. Over time Sai became strong, one of the finest for his age. He was even trusted with the job of assassinating Rouges. His feelings of loneliness were replaced with obedience to Danzou and the Roots no matter how unethical missions seemed at times and as he was trained to banish all emotions. The Roots had been all he'd ever known. He could only imagine how he would have sunk completely if it weren't for Shin.
How alone Naruto must have been before Team 7...Sai had heard rumors from long ago of how, in his academy days, young Naruto was constantly alone. He had spent countless recesses on the old swing, watching the others laughing together. When he had tried joining in with the children their parents would charge towards him and push him away calling him mean names. Most simply shunned him and eventually their children picked up on it and treated him likewise not even realizing why they did it or that it was wrong. Over time Naruto became the class-clown just to get attention. It was the only way for him to get any recognition, even if it was a bad kind that would only tarnish his reputation further.
"Is it all out yet?"
Sai looked closely, "Nope, there's still some ink in your hair. The top."
Naruto cursed and continued scrubbing.
"Shouldn't we be going? You said Team 7 was supposed to meet up at Ichiraku." said Sai as he continued looking around. Most of the trash was cartons of expired milk and a mountain of old instant ramen containers. There were some piles of dirty clothes and a lot of shinobi scrolls tossed around. He had a few posters taped to his wall that said stuff like 'Train' and '#1 Ninja'. Sai smiled when he saw an old dusty dummy that resembled Kakashi, his sensei and squad leader, in the corner. He must have used it for training long ago.
"I'm not going anywhere till I get all the ink off-I don't want Sakura-chan seeing me like this. So uncool."
'Not as 'uncool' as this mess...'
Sai noticed a picture frame, the only thing not thrown about in the mess as it was placed neatly on a counter. The picture was of the old Team 7: Kakashi Hatake, Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno...and Sasuke Uchiha.
Sai suddenly felt like an outsider...He shouldn't be here...
"You guys really hated each-other didn't you? You were too busy making faces at each-other you didn't even look at the camera when this was taken..." He said.
He heard the running water stop, drip then...total silence.
"We were rivals...so young..."
"It's an old picture..."
"Everyone in our team has a copy. It's the only picture of all our squad together." Naruto said quietly. It was his most prized procession-that and Sasuke's old headband. He kept it in a safe spot so it would never get lost. Naruto wished desperately the day would come when he could return it to his long lost friend.
"You said everyone has a copy of that picture...but you know he left it behind along with you-" Sai didn't mean to but he had hit a sensitive part in Naruto's emotions.
"Shuddup! Don't talk about him when you know nothing about him!" Naruto yelled angrily.
Sai just didn't understand him, what was so special about that criminal? All he knew was that Rouge was one of the last Uchiha-a family with a dangerous Keikai Genkai. He also abandoned Konoha for Orochimaru's dark powers. When young Naruto had tried to stop him, Sasuke nearly killed him-he would have if it weren't for the Nine-Tails chakra inside that boy.
Even much later how Naruto had pushed himself to keep running, overexerting himself and collapsing before he could even find Sasuke in Orochimaru's hideout. Sai had to help carry him to another room because Naruto didn't even have enough strength to even walk, he had used up his chakra fighting Orochimaru. It was in there with Naruto Sai remembered the drawing he wanted to and never got to show his brother. It was then Sai truly smiled for the first time...But what about Naruto? All the talk and fights he had with Sai about Sasuke. How intent and confident he was to bring him back. How much he pushed himself to not give up... It all meant nothing in the end.
When they had reached Sasuke and Naruto was face to face with him for the first time in many years there was no hesitation when the Uchiha held his katana to Naruto's neck...It was by Sai's hand that the katana was prevented from decapitating Naruto. Sasuke had been his teammate, his friend...his brother. Was that really friendship? Sai couldn't but help doubt the more he thought about it as time passed. The image of fifteen-year old Naruto who had spoken so passionately about his friend that he had even convinced Sai to believe in him only to later be crumbed to his knees, his shoulder shaking because his friend was once again out of his reach would never leave Sai. Why did he choose to suffer for Sasuke and take his cruelty? Why did he not just give up and end the grief and misery? Giving up would have saved him years of pain…In face, Naruto was still suffering.
"I know what he's done to you guys. I've seen your and Sakura's pain and I've watched both of you guys cry over him. I know I was supposed to replace him on Team 7 but I never can. You're so attached to him even though he's tried killing you, he's a criminal-"
"I told you to shut-up! Didn't you say you were going to help us bring him back, huh?! What happened to that?"
Sai paused, "I'm sorry, I don't know what got into me..."
Doubt...
He listened to the sink squeak as Naruto turned the water back on and tried scrubbing the rest of the ink out. Other then those sounds the room was so silent it was almost tangible. It was an awkward silence that seemed to last what felt like an eternity as Naruto furiously scrubbed his hair and Sai leaned on the wall looking out the window. A bird that been sitting on the tree outside the window took off to the sky. A black feather floated down till the wind caught it and carried it off.
Suddenlly there was a knock on the door and Kakashi barged in.
"Naruto I told you to meet up-what have you done to your hair?" Kakashi asked seeing black ink mixed in Naruto's hair.
"I told you to get Sai-not play with his ink." the silver-headed sensei reprimanded.
"What?! Oh come on! That jerk dumped it on me!"
'Oh?'
Kakashi looked over at Sai. Sai smiled.
"Yeah, I was just having some fun; I guess I got carried away..."
Kakashi chuckled. Sai...fun? Maybe Naruto was rubbing off on him...
Kakashi said in an pleased voice, "Hey did I ever tell you about the time Naruto graffitied the Hokage Mountain? He had the entire village in an uproar. You should have seen it! He painted the Honorable Hokage bloody noses and-"
"Oh come on Kakashi! I already got yelled at by Iruka for it years ago I don't need you harping on me! I was only twelve!"
Sai smiled, "They say stuff like that is another form of art-expression or something, I can't think of the exact word for it because I specialize more in traditional. Anyway art can be a mirror of what the artist sees either mentally or physically but it's supposed to express emotion or make a statement about one's society or feelings often times. Usually art also reflects the hands and mind from which it gives birth. Example of this could be that the bloody noses could reflect your own perviness."
"What?! Shuddup!" Naruto demanded, "You and Deidara and your art."
"Huh?" asked Kakashi.
"Nevermind." Naruto moaned.
"Hey Naruto you know this milks expired?" Kakashi said lifting a carton up. He never missed a thing. "How many times do I have to remind you to watch-"
"Gee whiz Kakashi, I already heard it from Sai..."
Sai looked up at the sound of his name.
"Hey Naruto, you got it all out now."
"Thanks and next time watch where you aim your jutsu." Naruto said turning the sink water off.
"Okay, we ready to go now?"
Suddenly a new voice rang out. "Hey Kakashi they weren't at the-" Yamato had entered the room and stopped when he saw that Kakashi had already found the two boys. His eyes were wide as he looked at the mess, like Sai this was his first time seeing Naruto's apartment.
"Naruto, who trashed your place?! Did it just happen? Are they looking for you or something you have?!"
Kakashi laughed. "Welcome to the Naruto Uzumaki room."
"Hey I got more important things to do, like training, then stay at my house picking it up." Naruto said flatly. Kakashi gave a little whack to Naruto's head and Naruto stuck his tongue out at him. They laughed.
Sai couldn't help but think the way they acted they were like a family...Naruto may have not had the traditional "mother" and "father" but he still had people looking after him who cared. Even his past academy teacher, Iruka, would take his old pupil for Ichiraku's every so often.
The seemingly most important and missing person in Naruto's family, Sasuke, claimed to have completely severed his bond with Naruto yet Naruto kept hanging on to it even though it seemed hopeless and he was doing it alone-no, he wasn't alone. He had many standing behind him now. Sai sometimes found himself wondering about those connections and wondering if he himself could make his own bonds like Naruto had. They both were orphans yet they were so different when it came to bonds. How had Naruto managed to create so many bonds under his circumstance and while here Sai stood alone?
Did things always have to be like that? No, thought Sai. Something was slowly happening. The more he pondered it the more the idea of bonds came to light to him. He himself didn't understand it but the moment he directly disobeyed Danzou's orders to assassinate Sasuke, there was a flicker. A flicker of a new bond with his team-mate as he freed himself from those orders: the orders that would have hurt Naruto.
"You'd think with your shadow clones you'd get it done..." Sai said in a sing-song voice smiling.
"Waste of my chakra, Sai."
"Last I checked you had plenty to spare."
"Sai..." Naruto warned zipping his jacket back up.
Yamato chuckled. "Boys...do I need to put you in a cage together?"
This wasn't the first time Captain Yamato had made that threat. He had yet to do it though-just the threat of being locked in his four pillar prison jutsu with Sai was enough to keep Naruto in check.
"Sounds like good bonding time, huh Naruto?" Sai said amused knowing he could get a reaction from his goofball squad-mate.
"NO. Dattebayo!" Naruto yelled.
Sai smiled.
Someday.
Someday...if he continued with his Nindo surely Naruto would get Sasuke back from the darkness that had swallowed him just as he was surely bringing Sai out of the Root's darkness day by day. Though Sai felt nothing, in his heart of hearts he could tell there was a light about this boy. A strange and warm feeling that even he could feel...
His light...an invisible art that only few could see. It truly is one of the most beautiful and untitled arts there is...
'No,' thought Sai. 'It has a name. It's name is-'