Newsstands blow up
for no reason. Bookstores as well.
You're clamped to a windowsill
gibbering with adrenaline
as the light-beam swings past you.
Holy hell, you whisper.
Now, that's finally meaningful.
- Margaret Atwood, Thriller Suite
Deidara was a simple kid. It takes so little to make him happy. He didn't need expensive toys, just give the boy a little clay and he's off creating toys of his own. He doesn't like the newer synthetic clay in rainbow colors other kids were so find of, but prefers the soft white natural clay abundant in Earth country. It was a delight to watch the child's eyes light up as he shapes the clay in his fingers. Even for one so young, he was already showing the signs of a budding artist.
He shapes recreations of insects and animals, some deformed representations of people he knows. He was talented, but he tends to create a wonderful masterpiece then destroy it after. He reshapes the clay again to form something new. It was alright, because the next one is always better than the last. A finished product didn't satisfy him as much as the thrill of creation.
"Dei-kun, there is so much clay, but why do you keep on playing with that lump? Give it to me, we'll display it along with other artworks..." the teacher would tell him, and he'd be flattered and happily give it to her. The clay cats, dogs, grasshoppers, and birds were the teacher's favourites. The classroom shelf was filled with his work. His classmates also asked him to make clay creatures for them, and he always agreed and gave his work away for free. A good, friendly kid.
Another thing Deidara likes is fireworks. During celebrations such as New Year and Founding Day, kids would gather with their parents and Deidara always climbed up his Dad's back to see the lights. He never missed any event with fireworks.
It was another day in Art class. Deidara had the best sketches while the others were struggling with stick people on crayon. The teacher has to keep an eye on them, as they tend to color not only the paper but the tables, chairs, and walls. Deidara didn't like drawing as much as sculpting, and after getting bored drawing he'd pick up clay again. If there was no clay, he'd stare out the window.
There was something odd about the sky. Among the clouds, there was another disc of light, like a smaller sun.
"Look!" Deidara shouted to the whole class, which made everyone gape at the moving bright spot and ran out of their seats to gather in a crowd at the window.
The bright circle was coming nearer, fast. Then everything went searing, brilliant white.
###
Everyone instinctively covered their eyes. The thing crashed a few blocks from the school, its impact causing a small earthquake. The teacher instructed the children to duck under tables, and once the quake has settled they were made to fall in line to get out. Once they reached the grassy field along with students from other classes, the teacher did a head-count.
Deidara was missing.
Some shinobi present instructed everyone to keep calm and not enter any buildings. The teacher informed the shinobi guard, about a blonde boy named Deidara who may still be inside the kindergarten classroom. He immediately went inside the building.
The kid was still standing near the window.
"Hey, Deidara-kun," the guard called out but the boy stood still and didn't seem to notice him. The kid's eyes were staring straight out the window, unaware of his presence. Shock, maybe. The boy didn't blink. The guard gently picked him up and carried him, and thankfully the kid just held on to him. They walked out the room, but Deidara was still staring intently at the window. "I saw everything, I didn't blink at all…" he whispered to the shinobi.
###
A meteor crashed. It wasn't the first time, but the first of this intensity. No one died, but many were wounded from damaged buildings. It landed on a lake. It took several specialized shinobi to haul it out using Earth jutsu. A crowd watched as they surrounded the lake, concentrating on their hand seals as the meteorite slowly floated to the surface and settled on dry ground.
Classes went back to normal after a week. The teacher had an impromptu lecture about outer space to the curious, excited youngsters. They heard the word meteor for the first time.
"Meteors are made of ice and rock..." the teacher began.
"But how can ice burn? There was smoke like a fire!" Deidara interrupted.
"When the comet's orbit comes close to the sun, the ice and rock begins to thaw and release those glowing gasses that makes the meteor light up. In fact, today we'll be going to the museum to see it, the crashed meteor. Now everyone stand up, fall in line, and we'll get going!" said the teacher to the excited students.
###
It weighed a few tons, the stony-iron meteorite. The metal's color was somewhere between silver and gold, and its surface was embedded with amber-yellow and emerald-green rocks that look like uncut gems. It was displayed in the center of the museum where the glass ceiling focused sunlight to the meteorite's surface, and its reflection made it look like it was glowing out of its own inner light. It was placed on a circular pedestal five feet high.
When the kids arrived, all of them looked up with wonder. It wasn't enough for Deidara, and he asked a guard nearby to carry him so he can see it clearer. It was the same shinobi who carried him out of the school building when the meteor crashed. Deidara was brought face to face with the meteorite. The wonder in his eyes turned neutral, then changed to something resembling disappointment.
"It should've exploded like last time with the crash. Have you seen it in the sky, Shinobi-san? It was prettier when it was burning," he told the older man. Ah, odd kids.
"But I think this is beautiful as well, Deidara-kun, and we'll always have it here for a long time."
"Well, they'll like it now and get used to it and it won't be as pretty anymore when they saw it for the first time."
"You must like meteors more than rocks, eh? They said there will be a meteor shower on May 5th around 10 PM."
"What's a meteor shower?"
"A lot of meteors will fall from the sky."
"Really? May 5 is my birthday! Will they fall from the sky like last time?"
Shinobi-san laughed. "No. They'll look just like fireworks but farther away. You can go to the city observatory if you want. Just be sure to ask permission from your parents, okay? I'll be there too."
"I'll tell them. I think they'll be happy to come with me to watch. I'm sure they will allow me, it's my birthday after all…"
Other children were already lining up to the shinobi carrying Deidara, asking to be near the meteorite, too. "See you then, Shinobi-san! Thanks again," Deidara said as he was lowered to the floor.
###
Years later, Deidara remembers it was his eighteenth birthday while travelling near Iwagakure. He surveys the village from above: the Tsuchikage's office, the Academy, and the museum are the largest buildings recognizable from this point of view. He made it a point to celebrate by giving them a tiny fireworks display – blowing up the meteorite in the museum that has been nagging at him since he was four. It fell in a blaze of light, so it will disappear in the same way. He imagines the surprise of the onlookers, how a clay snake slithered around the pretty rock and combusted in a quick concentrated chemical fire.
It was the real kind of love at first sight, when he saw it fall years ago. Something mysterious from the heavens fell to the earth, and for a moment everything disappeared to brilliant white light and it was beautiful, it was the very definition of art.
How about rising from the earth to reach the heavens in a way no one has done before? Now, that's an idea.
###
AN: Remember the meteor crashing in Chelyabinsk, Russia last February 2013? I've watched countless videos. It was beautiful. Also, the meteorite in this story is inspired by the Fukang meteorite. Pretty.