A Love Like Art
One shot for XxYummyCookiesxX
Note: Kirame is XxYummyCookiesxX original character
"Kirame…Kirame…KIRAME!"
The girl opened her eyes. It was still dark as the male's voice saying her name echoed through her head. How strange, she thought, to hear a voice in your dreams that you've never heard before…
Stranger still that the same voice came to her now almost every night, and had been for months. It had a distinct timbre to it, one that she would recognize anywhere, and yet she had heard it nowhere at all. She sat up on her bed and swung her legs over the edge. A deep yet subtle snore came through the opposite wall. The apartment complex she was in was fairly simple, and the walls were thin. Thankfully her neighbor, Hatake Kakashi, wasn't there often. He was usually on missions, so his snoring didn't bother her. Recently, however, he had become the sensei of a Genin team and now spent most of his nights in Konoha. Kirame herself had taken time off from being a kunoichi to practice her music. It was what she loved to do, although many spited her for giving up the ninja way after becoming a Jounin.
Kirame stood on her two long legs and looked at her disheveled visage in the mirror. Her face looked pale compared to her long black hair. The moonlight streaming through the window made her already unusual red eyes appear darker, as if they were the color of blood.
She glanced at her clock; it was four in the morning, and she was restless. So, she did what she always did when she was restless. After changing into her regular gear, she grabbed a long cloak and her scrolls and left the sleepy apartment complex, wandering past the main village gates and into the outskirts of town. Usually, the clearing she went to wasn't too far from the walls of Konoha, but this time she decided to go further, planning on being away from her hometown for more than just a day.
Possibly for a touch of inspiration, she thought.
Kirame wandered further and further, purely listening to the woods. Each of her footsteps fell in a rhythm with the birds chirping and the insects buzzing. Every snap of a twig beneath her feet was like an accent, and she could almost envision the notes on a page, each sound a small black dot with a line attached, a rest here and there, but her footsteps always constant and in time.
After a good while, she came across a larger clearing with a huge flat rock center.
Perfect, she thought to herself.
She discarded her cloak and her bag, grabbing her scrolls along the way. As she moved towards the center of the stone floor, she unraveled the scrolls and summoned three taiko drums. She ran her fingers over each with care. First, the odaiko, largest of the drums. Each time she struck the head, vibrations deep and powerful flooded through her body. Second, the nagado-daiko. She had made this drum by hand with her father, and still her breath caught at the sight of the magnificent stenciling along the side. Her father was known for his artwork, and in Kirame's opinion, this was by far his most precious work. Finally, she picked up the smallest of the drums: the shime-daiko. This higher pitched instrument rang out above the other drums, able to be heard over even the biggest drum. This was what kept the rhythm cohesive and what created organized chaos from the booming drums.
After moving the drums into place and standing behind them, she picked up her favorite pair of oak bachi and began slowly on the odaiko. She closed her eyes and let the power sink into her being, unafraid of the loud sound that echoed throughout the forest.
Slowly but surely, she moved on to the nagado-daiko, beating out rhythms that came to her heart, pausing and moving her body with the calm and flexibility that only a ninja could have. Finally, the shime-daiko. After improvising a few lines, she fell into a distinct pattern, which she played over and over again. With this pattern beaten into her core, she became much more agile, and began playing all three drums, interweaving pitch and rhythm into a song that made her heart flutter with joy.
Whenever Kirame played her drums, she would lose her thoughts and let her emotions overtake her. To her, music like this was one of the most precious things. It was her art, and it was a part of her.
Kirame played on and on, without break for food or water. Her soul was filled with ecstasy, and her bodily needs all but disappeared. At one point during her song, she moved from the shime to the odaiko. Upon impact with the large drum, however, there was an explosion behind her.
She whipped her body around to see what had caused the disturbance, but all she saw was smoke as silence overtook the echo of the drum. After a couple minutes in curiosity, Kirame went back to her playing, but as she hit the drum, another explosion came, this time to her left. It had gotten no closer to her. She then hit the odaiko three times in a row, and surely enough, three more explosions came, yet still at a safe distance.
Kirame smiled to herself, curious as to what would happen should she play a song. She began slowly, and at certain accents, explosions of different sizes would appear, adding a whole new dimension to her music. She played faster and faster, working up a sweat as the explosions matched her speed and her rhythm. After giving it everything she had, she finished her piece and let her bachi fly up into the air while she smiled and laughed openly. The brilliant explosions lit up the now darkened sky and she watched the light show with euphoria.
As suddenly as the finale began, it ended, and darkness blinded her.
"Did you enjoy the show?"
Kirame jumped nearly out of her skin. It wasn't because the voice came from right behind her, or that her eyes were still adjusting to the darkness. She jumped because it was that voice.
The male voice laughed at her. "I didn't mean to scare you. What's your name?"
"K…Kirame."
"Beautiful. Did you like my show?"
She smiled to herself. "It was…a bang!" She turned around and came face to face with someone almost the complete opposite of her. Male, blonde haired, blue eyed. He was leaning forward and staring at her with a stupid grin on his face.
"I'm Deidara," he said. "Pleased to meet you. Your music is beautiful, by the way."
"I…well…thank you," she replied, flustered. She was still shocked, not by the man's beauty, but by his voice.
The voice that had filled her dreams night after night was finally standing in front of her, in flesh and blood.
"I feel like I know you." Her voice sounded forlorn to her own ears; she had not meant to speak those words.
"Well, all artists know each other in one way or another," he said. "We may have different art forms, but all of it has a language. We speak to each other through that language, and I believe it can sometimes even travel through time and space."
"What about dreams?" Kirame said suddenly. She was surprised at herself. Usually she didn't speak her mind so freely, but for some reason this man was bringing all of her walls down.
"I suppose, sometimes, even dreams."
She glanced down, suddenly nervous. "And your art is…explosions?" she asked hesitantly.
"Something like that," he replied with a grin. He held his palm out to her to reveal a small yet intricate bird.
"May I?" Kirame glanced up, making contact with the man's icy blue eyes, and immediately blushed. His grin grew wider as she delicately picked up the clay bird with her nimble fingers.
"Do you like it?" he asked her, barely containing his excitement.
"It's gorgeous!" Kirame replied, influenced by his enthusiasm.
"Then watch this!" Deidara took the bird back and made a hand form. The same bird was suddenly life size before them, flapping its wings back and forth. Kirame gasped in awe and remained speechless.
"You want to fly?" Kirame closed her eyes and let the beautiful tone of the man's voice swirl in her head. Do you want to fly? he had asked. A surge of excitement rose up inside of her and her eyelids came up, revealing a fierce intensity that Deidara hadn't expected.
"Yes!" came the reply, almost as fierce as her red eyes. Deidara smiled and took her hand in his, helping her onto the great bird. Her hands were quite warm compared to his, and he liked that they still remained soft and smooth, even with the calluses she possessed from her drumming.
He hopped up in front of her and told her to hold on. Kirame put her arms around his waist, and smiled with pleasure as she felt his strong abdomen with her hands. Thankfully, Deidara didn't see the warm blood rushing into her face.
As the bird took off in flight, Kirame's stomach dropped as the feeling of weightlessness overtook her. Her long black hair streamed in ribbons behind her, but the breeze felt wonderful in the warm night air.
"Do you fly often?" she asked in a flurry, her breath still trying to return from the initial takeoff.
"Yes. Do you like it?" Deidara asked hesitantly after hearing her shortness of breath.
"Yes…" she whispered back. He turned and glanced at her, and grinned widely after seeing the excitement in her bright red eyes. Their color was intriguing to him. She was just as beautiful as any piece of artwork, and the fact that she practiced her own art form made her that much more appealing.
"You're a ninja as well, right?" he asked her, nodding towards the forehead protector bearing the Leaf's mark.
"I was. I gave up that way of life just a few months ago to focus on my music. Playing taiko is really what I love to do most."
"You're lucky. I would love to have more time for my art, but thankfully, this is my ninjutsu as well."
"Um, what?" Kirame was totally confused.
"You remember those explosions?" he asked. She nodded in affirmative. "Well, it's my artwork."
The bird slowed to a stop as he continued to explain. When he saw that she didn't quite understand, he decided to show her.
Kirame watched as he reached his hand into a bag attached to his side.
"Please don't get freaked out," he asked her, genuinely worried. When he pulled his hand out, a mouth on his palm was chewing what looked like clay.
"Are both of your hands like that?" she asked, intrigued. Deidara looked at her, surprised.
"Yes," he said. His hand stopped chewing, and then spit out three small butterflies.
"What are those?"
"My weapons." As Deidara formed a hand sign, they came to life and began fluttering away. When they were at a far enough distance, he formed yet another sign and all three exploded in the night air, lighting up the darkness.
"Woah…your art is so…versatile! I wish my music could be that way. I would enjoy working as a ninja a whole lot more."
"Why can't your music be that way? I've seen shinobi who fight with sound."
Kirame was shocked! "Really?! How?"
"Sound waves are just energy, right? Different sounds have different variations on that energy, which can make it useful in battle. By mixing it with chakra, you can do way more damage, especially because the sound of your drums is so intense."
"You…you really think I could fight with it?" she asked.
"Of course! Let's go see!"
They flew back to the clearing where Kirame had left her drums. After they dismounted from the beautiful bird, Deidara began to instruct her in the ways of fighting with sound.
"I'll be your target!" he told her excitedly. "Fuse your chakra with the sound and aim it towards me!"
Kirame agreed to try, but was still unsure that she would be able to pull it off.
She began playing the nagado-daiko. Then, focusing her chakra through her arms and into her bachi, she transferred it onto the drum as she was beating it.
"Good!" she heard Deidara say. "I can feel your chakra in the air. You have to focus it even more though!"
Kirame stopped playing and took a deep breath in, calming herself, concentrating. She let go of herself and began playing again, merging her chakra with the power of the drums. She kept playing and playing, letting her arms move of their own accord and only thinking about channeling her energy.
Suddenly, a huge explosion startled her in the night and she stopped playing. Deidara was immediately standing before her, panting hard.
"You let go, and your chakra was too much. I couldn't get your attention to stop you, so I had to distract you instead. That was…powerful…" he said, trying to catch his breath.
Kirame burst out laughing. The unexpected sound startled Deidara, but he was pleased to hear it. "It's almost like a game of art, isn't it? We've been playing all night, but I do believe that I just got the upper hand," she said jokingly.
"But only because I helped you!" he replied. "You'd be nowhere without me!"
"Yeah, without you I'd still be peacefully playing my drums like I had originally planned." She put her hands on her hips and took a step closer to him.
"Yeah, and without me your evening wouldn't have been so exciting," Deidara said, also taking a step closer.
"You are just a bundle of modesty, aren't you?" Kirame took another step closer.
"Really, I am. Quite humble of me, to show off my beautiful art to you for free." Deidara took a step.
"And you just got to hear a top rated concert, for free." She moved even closer.
Deidara's next words were lost, because they were now so close that they were almost touching. He listened to her breathing in the dark and peered down into her mysterious red eyes. She was even more beautiful in the moonlight. The next thing he knew, his lips were touching hers. Softly, at first, but she didn't pull away. He put his hands on her waist and brought her closer while she succumbed to his touch.
To Kirame, everything in Deidara's embrace felt right. After hearing his voice in her dreams for so many nights, she felt as if they were already comrades. After being with him all evening, she knew that they were already lovers. She let herself fall deeper into the kiss, just as she had let herself fall into the rhythm of her music.
Deidara pressed Kirame closer, desiring her body's warmth against his own. He broke off the kiss.
"I only have one night…" His voice was rough, but he desperately didn't want her to think this was just going to be a one-night stand.
"One night is more than enough," she whispered back to him. This surprised him. He froze stock still with a curious expression.
"Not many women say that. I'd have thought you'd be angry at me."
Kirame looked at his chest, running her fingers up and down, making him shudder with delight. "I've been waiting for you, Deidara, and if it's all I have, one night is more than enough."
"I wish it weren't just one night," he whispered, and kissed her forehead before moving back to her lips.
"It won't be," she said while she began to slip off his shirt. "Love, like art, is a language. Lovers, like artists, speak to each other through that language, and I believe it can sometimes even travel through time and space."
"What about dreams?" Deidara asked.
"Yes, I suppose, even dreams." Kirame smiled contentedly as her lips touched his once more.