Important note before you read: Rated M for language, violence, and sexual themes. I do not own Naruto or anything related to it. Naruto and all its affiliations (including, but not limited to: characters, places, objects and events) are owned by Masashi Kishimoto. Depending on where you are in the manga, this story may contain spoilers.

Author's note: This is my first Naruto fanfiction. It may take some time for me to update, depending on homework load. But definitly toward the summer things will start to quicken up. If you note any mistakes, please point them out. Please comment and enjoy!


Chapter 1

The sky was a somber crimson mixed with orange and yellow. The sphere of light settled behind a line of jagged, sandy hills. A slight wind picked up loose particles of sand from the hard rock and threw them into the air. The flying sand hit the rock and, in the act of erosion, created more particles of sand.

Sand…

The blond sighed, remembering, thanks to the dusty particles, his partner. His former partner: Sasori of the Red Sand. How had Sasori been able to live in such a place, with eroding sandstorms and blinding sunshine? How had he managed to keep himself from dying of thirst in the water-deprived environment? How had he been able to keep his face from eroding away like these smooth rocks piled about? He would never know. Sasori no Danna was dead.

Deidara smiled. Sasori no Danna was dead. Dead. The man—no, the puppet—who had claimed true art to be eternal. In pursuit of this "art," the red-head turned himself into an "immortal." He became a puppet, just like the ones he fought with and created and cared for. His features never changed, even as the years swept by. And every time he was asked, every time someone (which was usually Deidara) started an argument about art, he had announced impassively, "True art lasts forever."

And now the artist was dead. He had not lasted forever. Deidara's own beliefs, that true art is temporary, lasting only a short while before vanishing, had succeeded in the end. The debate was finally finished: Art is short-lived.

But that victory was not what he concentrated upon. No, his mind rested on the fact that the "immortal" was dead. There was a word for this: irony?

Deidara shook his golden head. Irony did not fully describe the situation. While the artist wracked his brain, the sun disappeared over the horizon. The dark colors of evening set in with blue, pale pink and purple. Scowling, Deidara opened his eyes as he sat, legs dangling over the side of a cliff.

He would have been holding his chin delicately in a thinking pose, but as circumstances permitted, he had come out of battle with no arms to hold his chin. The blond cursed the bastard Leaf ninja for this lack of limbs. But he also cursed himself. He should have been more careful, more prepared when facing the sharingan, even if it was just one sharingan. But no, his pride and ego had fogged his judgment. Deidara kicked the air.

A noise from behind brought the Iwa nin out of his thoughts. He looked over his shoulder (basically all that remained of his arms) and glared at Tobi, a mask-wearing shinobi and proven idiot. Tobi was sitting not too far away sharpening a pair of rocks.

Why, the blond wondered, had Zetsu left him to "baby-sit" this pathetic wannabe? "Because Sasori's body must be taken care of," the plant-man had answered. This thought brought a sad glimmer into Deidara's sapphire eyes.

Everyone knew of Zetsu's job: to dispose of the dead and rotting bodies of all affiliated with the Akatsuki by eating them. Otherwise ninja of other countries might learn their secrets. But how, the blond pondered, would Zetsu consume a puppet? Would he eat Sasori no Danna despite his wooden body? Most likely.

Deidara shook away the thought. "Hey!" Deidara called. Tobi looked up from his work but did not stop hitting the rocks against one another. The blond eyed his hands then scowled. "If you keep doing that—"

CRACK! A chunk of rock went flying and hit the masked man square in the forehead. If not for his orange mask, the ninja would have ended up with a rather large bump on his head. Tobi let out an instinctive yipe to which Deidara returned with an annoyed groan. Leave it to Tobi to do childish things and then mess them up.

He turned back to the sandy hills. Where was Zetsu? He should have been back by now. As though hearing his thoughts, the tall man spoke up, "So-o-o…"

Deidara shot him a glance, making the other flinch. "You think I'll be able to get into the Akatsuki now?"

"What do you mean 'now,' un?"

"Well, I mean," he tapped the portion of his mask where his chin should be, "now that Sasori-san is dead—" Deidara narrowed his eyes and the man shut his mouth.

After a short silence, he continued, "Now that Sasori-san is dead, don't you need a replacement?"

Replacement? Did the idiot honestly think he could replace Sasori of the Red Sand, the great puppet master? The thought almost made Deidara laugh. "You?" he asked, turning around again and wearing a cat-like smirk.

Something in the face made Tobi cringe. Shaking fingers reached to protect his covered neck, recalling how, a few hours ago, Deidara, without hesitation, had attempted to suffocate him. And without arms!

After some rocking backward and forward the armless ninja made it to his feet. Despite the expression from before, he heard the annoying giggles of the brunette nearby and the muffled words of "you looked like a worm." Without a second thought Deidara ran up to the man and kicked him hard in the shin. He smirked as Tobi hopped up and down, holding the spot where the artist had injured him.

"Ow! That hurt!" the man in pain exclaimed, settling a bit. Deidara remained silent. Tobi waited another second or two for a response. When none came, he said forcefully, "That wasn't very ni—OW!" Deidara stomped his foot onto Tobi's revealed toes.

Toes were basically the only shred of skin the ninja revealed. Why?—no one really knew or wished to ask. Maybe it was to show off his painted nails, an essential part of the Akatsuki's wardrobe. But then the questions arose: why painted nails and not the large conical straw hat? Why just his toes, why not his fingers? And why didn't he show more that his toes? Did he have some liking to his name and "toes" sounding similar?

As the brunette hopped around, biting back pain, the blond went for a cluster of smooth rocks and settled against them. The scene before him made for a good show, at least until the pain in the taller man's legs subsided and he could concentrate on the blond.

Brow furrowed, Deidara listened to Tobi's questions and comments. He tuned out most of what Tobi said, but at every mention of Akatsuki or Sasori, the blonde's eyes would soften and look directly into the dark hole in the other ninja's mask.

Five minutes of random babble later, they heard the unmistakable sound of Zetsu's jutsu and turned to see the Akatsuki member grow straight out of the rock-face. Many wondered what kind of jutsu gave one the ability to phase in and out of solid objects.

"Hey, Zetsu-san!" the masked man waved. It was unclear whether or not Zetsu heard the welcome; his head was encased in the large leaves growing from his body. They parted slightly once his body was completely apart from the rock.

"What took you so long, un?" Whether it was from Sasori's influence or his own personality, Deidara was not entirely the patient type. The hours of waiting and having to baby-sit an annoying masked man had been almost unbearable.

From behind the bars of the carnivorous looking leaves, Zetsu gave Deidara a slightly irritated glance. "Deidara should learn to be a bit more patient." The leaves parted further revealing Zetsu's full head. His skin was split in half, the right side white, the left black.

Deidara looked into the strikingly yellow eyes intently. "Did…did you—"

"Yes." Sasori's body was disposed of. "Why? Is there a problem with it?" The change in speech—from Zetsu's light side to dark side—was still something Deidara needed to get used to. Tobi, however, being an apprentice to Zetsu for years, was used to the change of character even in mid-sentence.

Deidara turned down his gaze. "No. Just wanted to be sure, un," he lied. He did not want to be sure. The idea of Sasori being killed, and then his body possibly eaten, made the explosive artist sick to his stomach.

"In any case," the black-and-white ninja started, "we should be leaving for the nearest base. Leader-sama will want to have a report."

At this, the masked ninja sprang to his feet, managing to elevate at least a foot off the ground. "You're not coming, un."

"Yes he is, Deidara," Zetsu intervened just in time to save the dark-haired man's spirits. "Tobi has asked to join us. Tobi is a good boy. I believe he should have a chance. And besides, he's my disciple, not yours so don't order him around."

Deidara scowled harder but remained silent. He couldn't argue against that fact and besides, there was no chance in hell Tobi would be able to join. At least that's what he thought.

With the setting of the sun vanished the near unbearable heat of the day. The trio traveled swiftly down and up and through crevices in the rock. It was like being in another world here. Here, a once mighty river wore away rock and polished it smooth into strange, random and fluid forms. Some rocks flowed and curved like the hills on the horizon while others formed a wall with a gaping hole in the middle. The structure of the stone reminded the Iwagakure ninja of the architecture of the village hidden in the sand, Sunagakure. The thought of the village put a bad taste in the ninja's mouth.

"How much longer?" came a tired and whiny voice.

Deidara growled, annoyed, and answered for the fifth time, "Just wait, un!"

He was really starting to lose his patients with this guy. Deidara had seen Tobi before, mainly hanging around with Zetsu or doing menial chores for the plant-man and other Akatsuki members. Once or twice before Deidara himself ordered the man to carry in some explosive clay. But other than appearance, he did not really know that much about the masked man.

The stars were already starting to fade in by the time they arrived. Before them stood the entrance to a dark cave. Without a moment's hesitation they entered, following the soft flickering light of two flames toward the back. The two flames sat at each top corner of a sealed stone door. Once Zetsu, who was leading the two, came into the ring of light, the stone door rose out of the way and they entered. It fell back down with a large thud and flew dust into the air, cutting off all traces of light.

Tobi coughed horribly from the subtle dirt cloud. Deidara snorted at his attempt at humor. After few minutes the trio's eyes grew used to the darkness. Cracks in the ceiling allowed for strands of moonlight to seep in. Deidara stepped toward Zetsu. "You want to be the one to tell him?"

Deidara recoiled before receiving a response; he really did not want to have another argument with Zetsu's darker side. Zetsu ignored the act and closed his eye in concentration. The other two merely watched, Tobi tapping the bottom of his mask in confusion and Deidara giving him deadly glares. The air sizzled before them and a static shadow appeared. Besides the dark outline and eyes, there was no way of telling what the person looked like.

The hologram of the Akatsuki leader looked around with wide eyes. Their piercing silver went for Zetsu to Deidara and managed, somehow, to expand further . "Hmm…" he hummed, thinking. Without a word, the leader made a seal with his hands and the large silver orbs vanished.

Zetsu opened his yellow eyes and watched the leader work. A minute passed before anything happened. Another sizzling and static noise arose; this time more jumbled. Forming a close circle, the other members appeared as shadowed holographic outlines. The masked man, so as not to get in the way, scrambled over to a dark corner. He studied them fervently. Once he entered their ranks he would be able to partake in their meetings. But for now he was still but a minion.

The leader eyed the others then turned a spiky head to the armless ninja. "Well?" his voice was deep and muffled from static, sounding like he was talking through a broken radio. "What happened?"

"As you know," Deidara started, "Sasori no Danna and I ran into some interference, un."

"And it looks like you got pretty mangled because of it." Another one of the members, one with light pink eyes, was cast a dirty glare from the artist. It was bad enough he had to appear so torn in front of the others; he didn't need any snide remarks.

"I took on the Jinchuuriki kid while Sasori no Danna challenged a pink haired brat and an old woman, un. Sadly," Deidara's eyes turned down, depressed by the thought, "he didn't…he was beaten."

The words rippled through a palpable silence. Some eyes widened and images faltered. Sasori had been one of the most skilled members of the Akatsuki. Hearing a little girl and old woman had been his downfall was laughable. Even the leader seemed a bit shaken.

Deidara nodded once. "And I lost my other arm, un."

"As if that wasn't obvious. What you do? Blow it off with one of your dumb bombs?" the interrupter from earlier disrupted again.

"No," Deidara answered firmly, sending another deadly glare to the immortal. Another immortal, just like Sasori no Danna, only perhaps more shielded from death. "Hatake Kakashi sucked it up with some weird—I don't know, un. Some kind of vacuum of air that sucked in my elbow."

Comprehension flashed in the crimson eyes of another member. It faded away before anyone took notice. "So now you require another pair of arms," said the Leader. He turned wide eyes to another pair of green ones. "Kakuzu?"

Kakuzu sighed and took a moment to ponder. "Do you have your arms with you?"

Deidara nodded and inclined his head to Zetsu. "Zet—"

"Tobi! Tobi found Deidara-san's arm." From the dark corner came the shrill voice of the masked ninja, waving his arms excitedly to gain attention.

If not for the lack of arms Tobi would be a burn on the stone wall. One of the taller holograms let out an airy laugh, showing sharp white teeth, to which Deidara answered with a furrowed brow. "As I was saying," Deidara went on, acting as though Tobi had not so rudely interrupted, "Zetsu should have my right arm, un."

"Yes. And how much of your arm do you still have?" he added.

Deidara blinked absently. "Just about halfway down my upper arm, un. Why?"

"Because now we have to find an elbow," said the darker side of Zetsu. Deidara started. His one revealed eye grew wide then frustrated. Thanks to Gaara he already needed to have a full replacement arm. Adding an elbow only complicated matters.

The blond sighed. "Well I can re-attach your arms," Kakuzu announced. Deidara stared across the circle into the ninja's glowing green eyes. "But we'll need to come into direct contact. And I was planning on capturing a big bounty tomorrow."

"That will have to wait, un. My armless-ness is a bit more important, don't you think?" Deidara waved the two stumps in the air. "I can't perform any jutsu like this, un!"

The Kakuzu hologram frowned behind the mask. "Fine. Stop whining." Beside him, his partner gave a sly smirk. "Where should we meet up?"

"Here, of course!"

His green eyes narrowed. "Do you know how far away we are from you?" he asked angrily. "It would take at least three days to reach you. And besides," his eyes softened, "this isn't exactly the best place for surgery."

Surgery? The ends of Deidara's arms prickled with an irritating pain as did his gut. Surgery meant needles, sharp objects. The blond gulped.

"It wouldn't be good for you to get an infection from such unsanitary facilities." Kakuzu folded his arms over his chest, staring lazily at the nervous Iwa nin.

"Maybe," said Itachi impassively, breaking the sudden silence that had fallen, "you could meet at the Akatsuki's home base."

Kakuzu seemed to like this idea. "Yes, that's a perfect place," he concurred. "There I can use more fitting medical equipment."

"But that'll take a whole week, un!" Deidara countered.

"Yeah, for you maybe," said Kakuzu's partner. "It'll only take a coupla days for us. So we can fuck off to our heart's content while you drag your sorry, armless ass there. Heh." The Jashinist let out a half-hearted snicker.

Somehow the blond knew this was one reason Kakuzu agreed with the Uchiha's idea; he could use the extra days to find and capture his bounty. The money-grubbing bastard.

"So then it's set," announced the Leader. He turned from Kakuzu to Deidara and back. "You two will meet at the Akatsuki home base in about a week's time. Now," he continued, "on to another important topic."

Deidara blinked—what other topic? "We need to find a replacement for Sasori." The sound of the puppeteer's name made the artist cast down his mournful eyes.

"Any ideas?" The rest were silent, recalling probable candidates.

"I would elect Momochi Zabuza," announced Kisame, revealing his serrated white teeth, "but he's dead. Was a pretty good swordsman, though; one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist."

"And yet he was defeated by such weak opponents," the Mist nin's partner droned.

Kisame turned to his partner, looking somewhat shocked. "Yeah but don't forget he had to fend off Kakashi and three other genin."

A low grumble emitted from Deidara's throat. He hated the Hatake to death right now, and the Hatake's teammates—literally. Next time they met the blond would be sure to give his many thanks.

Hearing this form of annoyance erupting from Deidara, the Leader interrupted the on-going conversation between the leaf and mist missing ninjas. "Do you have any other suggestions?"

"I do!" Deidara announced, lifting the stump of his right arm. A muffled laughter escaped from Hidan's covered mouth. "I know of a few fellow stone nin who would fit perfectly, un."

"Oh, yeah," answered the Jashinist. "Like we need another limbless, self-proclaimed artist hothead in the group."

"Hidan shut up before I kill you!" grumbled Kakuzu to his disrespectful partner. If only, he and Deidara wished, such a thing were possible—killing the immortal.

"I elect Tobi as our new member." All heads turned to the source of the suggestion: Zetsu. Their eyes, except for the Leader's, grew in surprise. Ordinarily such a thought would make any of them chuckle, but not now. Zetsu, a respectable member, had been the one to suggest the idea, and in all seriousness too.

"Tobi has been my disciple for years," Zetsu started to explain. "He is ready and willing to join. Do not judge him solely on his outer personality. He is a good listener and will do as he is told. Tobi is a good boy."

Whether it was because they were all still shocked by Zetsu's proposal or because for once Zetsu had talked a fair amount without "switching sides," the other members of the Akatsuki did not utter a word. Tobi, on the other hand, was trembling with anticipation. His one eye focused on the leader's silver eyes. If no one made a move within a few seconds the ninja may very well have exploded.

Deidara, on the other hand, could not have been more terrified. Nothing, not even having his arms ripped off, could be as horrible as this. His eyes darted to the leaders, their large pupils pleading for a "no."

"All right."