Disclaimer: I do not own Deidara or any Naruto character. I only own any I have made up, including Yanoi.

If you haven't read the first arc, Deidara's Story: The Early Years, this may be quite confusing to you. Read that first before reading this.

Short Synopsis of First Arc: A boy, beaten and jeered at for years. His mother is killed by angry villagers. He must find a new home away from the derision he has suffered for so long. Can Deidara find a home with the Village Hidden in the Stones? Or will the venture just be more loss and regret. The first arc in a three arc series.

Deidara's Story

Clay Heart's Molded

Prologue: Heart in Turmoil

Deidara stood at his open window, gazing out at the Village Hidden in the Stones. He sighed, feeling the wind whipping his hair back and forth as he stared up at the moon, the opalescent object peering down, casting an eerie glow across the sleeping city. He had trouble sleeping at nights, usually, and so he would stand at his window and survey the city. The chill in the air was cast off by the heavy woolen clothes he wore, and he cinched his belt up tighter to ward off the cold. Looking down the length of the Tsuchikage's palace, he grimaced. Even with his ocular looking device, the drop still seemed immense, having been removed to almost the top floor of the building. He liked it there, where he would summon his bird and fly around the city, being sure that nothing was amiss.

It had been eight long years since the Chunin Exams. He had graduated fully. He scratched at the Jounin head-band he wore on his brow, reflecting at what it had cost to achieve. Nearly a year in the hospital, close enough to death that he could feel the grip of the reaper clawing at him. He had spent the year in and out of conscious thought, his side open as if someone had cut through him with a kitchen knife. It had taken almost thirty medics to heal him that time...thirty medics, and one very dangerous, forbidden jutsu. In return, he had life. He also had a curse. He scratched nervously at his chest, feeling the marks and the scars from the ordeal.

He remembered clearly the fight as well. The Jounin Exams, the exams that had nearly killed him. The boy that stood apart from him...Bushio. His friend and ally. They had found themselves at the end of the exam, fighting one another. He had figured that Bushio wouldn't...couldn't do anything serious. They had been fighting with pleasure before Bushio had unleashed his jutsu. His jutsu. Deidara grimaced, placing a hand on his chest once more. That jutsu. The Kirikizu Kokoro Naifu no jutsu. How could Bushio do something like that? How...He shook his head, feeling the affect of exhaustion weighing on his mind. How...He couldn't fathom the attack. He had stuck to the spot, stricken. His side had been ripped apart. He had gazed down at his own organs, at his open chest. Bushio had looked as if he hadn't meant it to go that far. He himself had been outraged. He had already used his clay, had already lain the trap long before. He didn't think he would use it. After all, it was Bushio he was fighting. But, he had used it. He had used his clay. He had...almost destroyed Bushio the way Bushio had almost destroyed him.

In the end, the match had been declared a tie. Both had become Jounin...at a terrible price. Bushio now knew Tazuriko's pain. His limbs were all prosthetic. He was much like a walking, human doll. The only thing that was real on him was his torso...a human torso with puppet limbs. Deidara grimaced, closing his eyes. That had been the hardest year ever for him. For anyone. It had taken him almost three years to forgive Bushio for what he had done...and almost five to forgive himself for what he had done to Bushio.

A spider crawled out from the crack it had hidden itself in. Deidara smiled, playing his fingers down so the creature could crawl up onto his hand. As it ran back and forth across his palm, Deidara grinned. Letting it go to crawl some more, he waved a hand at it.

"Thank you, little one. You have given me more inspiration, un!" He quickly threw his hand into his pocket, concentrating chakra into the clay that his hand began to chew, almost thoughtfully. He looked up again, noting the shadows that crept across the moon. Birds on their yearly flight South to better hunting grounds. Soon, his hand released the clay, and he began molding it in his palm, not even looking at what he was doing, to concentrated upon the moon above. Silently, he opened his fingers, revealing the small, clay insect in his grasp. It twitched, all eight legs moving in accord. It hopped up onto Deidara's shoulder, turning around to look up at his face. He smiled at it. "Another job well done!" Taking it, he threw it out into space, waiting until it was in the clear. "Katsu!" It exploded, the shards of clay lighting up the night brilliantly.

"Hm...maybe to much chakra in that one. Next time, I will use less, un." He again went back to staring up at the stars, the moon, and the sky. Stars. What were they but large blots against a black background? Dots of color splashed onto a paper that had been covered in ink. Deidara smiled slyly. The stars were like his art. Though they lasted much longer, in the time of space and life, they lasted only as long as a blink of an eye or a gasp of breath. Then, they twinkled into nothingness, to be replaced by more stars. Brilliant. The being who had made the stars had truly known what art was. Brilliant.

"To live is irrelevant when you die. To become that which is pure is irrelevant when the world around you is so full of hatred and pain. But, to go out with a bang! That is what life is all about, un." He repeated that sentence to himself often. It reminded him of just how his life was. Though, he never truly wished that he would ever die. He knew, unequivocally, that the process of life included death, and if he were to die, his death would be with a bang. He wouldn't die without leaving his mark on the world beforehand. No, not him. Not Deidara.

"Deidara! Come back inside! It's cold out there!" He smiled as the sultry voice floated in on the breeze. Standing, he continued looking at the stars.

"I will be there in a moment, Yanoi. Please be patient with me." He smiled as he said the phrase. Patience was a virtue. However, no one would ever say that he was a patient man. When he finished missions, they were always done as fast as possible. Why wait around for something when one could have it before then? He never understood the art of waiting and watching. That was boring.

"Deidara!" He sighed, turning and closing the window. Yanoi looked up from the bed she lay in, her eyes full of playful annoyance. "Deidara, you'll catch a cold out there!" Deidara smiled, laying on the bed opposite her and kissing her gently on the mouth.

"No, I would never do that, un. If I did, how would I kiss you as such?" He leaned in for another kiss, but she stopped him, pushing him playfully away. Feeling hurt, he watched her as she smiled.

"Deidara...what would I do without you?" Deidara smiled, taking his shirt and pants off before getting into the bed, snuggling up against Yanoi's lean, lithe body.

"Quite possibly, you would be much colder, my dear." She smiled, giving him another kiss as the beams of the orbiting body shone down through the open window, illuminating the scene with the glory of a full harvest moon. It was lost on the two, however. They were more inclined to pay attention to what was happening in the room...not what was outside.

Katsu: Explode.

Kirikizu Kokoro Naifu no jutsu: Literally translates to The Cutting Mind Knife Jutsu.