This story is actually inspirited by a flash comic created by an extremely talented artist by the name of Yuumei on deviantart. You can actually find her works on deviantart site, and I think that there are also several music videos made of her work as well. This story is inspirited by the very first artwork of hers that I've seen with the same name – 1000 Words.

As a side-note, this story is extremely AU, and is actually set in the modern world. My first time trying a Deidara/FemNaru and this is a friendship story, so no romance here, people!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, 1000 Words, and any of the characters, but the OC characters belongs to me

1000 Words

It was a beautiful day in the country of Japan, in the small countryside village of Konoha. And a very handsome blonde haired teen with blue eyes, with his hair tied up into a high ponytail on the back of his head, with his blonde hair covering the right side of his face, was sitting on the grass by the riverside, sketching the landscape that he could see.

The small village of Konoha is well-known for its beautiful scenery and peaceful countryside, and many tourists and travellers usually came to the small sleepy village just for the view, especially for the sunsets, particularly during the autumn seasons.

The blonde artist was concentrating on his nearly ninety percent done sketch when his sharp ears caught the sound of footsteps crunching on the soft and sweet grass behind him, and he nearly groaned, thinking for a moment that it is very annoying self-proclaimed best friend behind him, the artist wondering just how the hell Tobi had found him in the first place.

'Maybe if I ignore him, he'll go away.' Deidara thought, turning his back onto the owner of those footsteps, and sketching fervently.

But as five minutes passed, and he didn't hear a single peep out of the new arrival, Deidara glanced out of the corner of his eye only to see a small girl around the age of seven or so with red hair barely reaching past her chin, and with blue eyes so much like Deidara's own. The blonde raised a curious eyebrow before turning back to his work, thankful that it isn't his self-proclaimed best friend who is extremely annoying.

Deidara had only known the guy for five months ever since freshman year had began in the art school that he had been attending in France, especially since the guy will be his roommate for three years until graduation, and already, the blonde was already halfway on the highway to the psycho ward.

The sound of light footsteps approached Deidara just then, and he looked over his shoulder only to see the little girl from before looking over his shoulder, staring at his sketch. Finally, he smiled and turned his attention to the kid.

"What is it, ojou-chan?" asked Deidara kindly.

The blonde always did have a soft spot for kids, especially since his elder brother had almost been like a father to him, raising him when both their parents have divorced when he was only a mere toddler. Both their parents have abandoned them after their divorce, thus leaving it up to his brother to bring Deidara up.

And after his brother had gotten married about eight or so years ago, Deidara had gradually lost contact with him, only knowing that he had immigrated to some unknown country with his new wife whom Deidara had never even seen in his life.

The girl managed a sweet smile at him like how only kids her age could. "Onii-san, can you teach me how to draw?" she asked in a child-like high voice. She smiled as she looked at his drawing of the trees and the riverside. "You're really good…" Her smile then dropped, and Deidara wondered what he had done wrong to make her sad. "Please teach me. I want to draw something…special…"

She then withdraw her arms from behind her back, and Deidara blinked owlishly as he saw the rolled up paper in her hands which the little girl unrolled only to show a rather colourful drawing of what seems to be a happy family standing in a field. Deidara instantly recognised the little girl in the drawing as the girl currently standing before him, and thought privately to himself that this girl had some talent for an artist in the future if she is this good now.

When Deidara was her age, he could barely make an apple look like an apple in his drawings. His elder brother used to laugh himself silly whenever Deidara tried to make sense of his drawings when he was a child, much to his embarrassment. Thinking back on it now, Deidara actually thought that it is actually a miracle in itself that he had even become an artist.

"But the best that I can draw is this."

Deidara smiled. "That's actually very good," he said comfortingly. "What is your name?"

"Sayo," said the girl. She then took in a deep breath. "But I want to be better like you…"

Deidara managed a smile. "Just practice every day and you will be great in a few years," he said. 'And who knows? I might even see your name on artworks in art exhibitions one day.'

"A few years?" Sayo's eyes went wide. "It'll be too late by then…" She mumbled.

Deidara raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by too late?" he asked, perplexed. "What will happen?"

A tear fell from the outside of Sayo's eye. "This…" Deidara raised an eyebrow in confusion as the redhead ripped the drawing in half before crumbling to the ground on her knees. "Mommy and Daddy have been hurting each other. After they separate, I won't be able to draw my family, no matter how good I am. That's why…please teach me."

A very long silence befell between them both, and the wind blew through the riverbank just then, sending a few stray leaves through the air. Deidara was silent for several moments before he raised his right hand up, partially shielding the sun from his view.

"I can't," he said at last. "It will take years to teach you. And I'm a transfer. I'll be gone by tomorrow. And besides…" He closed the fingers of his right hand around a leaf that had somehow blown itself into his hand. "…would it not be better to have your family instead of just a drawing?"

Like an omen of things to come, dark clouds covered the sun just then, casting a shadow across the riverside that the two were at. Deidara was silent for several moments, finding the current situation rather similar to his own years ago.

I don't want to feel so helpless.

Deidara then got to his feet, tucking his sketchbook beneath his left arm before patting the girl's head, making her look up at him with tear-brimmed eyes. "Don't despair," he said with a smile. "Someone once told me that art is about content, not skills. And a picture is worth a thousand words." His smile brightened. "I have an idea." Sayo blinked up at him through tear-brimmed eyes. "Why don't we make an art trade? Your drawing for one thousand words."

Sayo blinked at him with confusion. "But…it's ripped," she said, showing the torn pieces of the drawing, and Deidara didn't have the heart to tell her that it is ripped because she is the one who had done it moments prior. "And what can I do with one thousand words?"

Deidara smiled as he took the two torn pieces of the piece of artwork from Sayo's hands. "Maybe, just maybe, one thousand words will be enough to convince your parents," he said with a smile. He then turned to leave, giving a backward wave at the redhead as he did so. "Meet me here tomorrow. You'll see."

Sayo blinked owlishly at the blonde before smiling and nodding. "Sure! I'll wait here!"

XXXXXX

The Next Morning
Riverbank of Konoha

True to his word, Deidara was back at the riverbank the next morning, only this time with his art-bag slung on his back. He had to catch a flight back to France later that afternoon, and his self-proclaimed best friend was currently in a frenzy back in their hotel room, trying to find this and that which had mysteriously gone missing during their two week stay in Konoha.

Sayo beamed up at Deidara as he approached her, being seated at the riverbank. "Onii-san! You're here!"

Deidara smiled down at the girl. "Of course!" he said before fumbling about in his bag and drawing out a medium-sized sealed manila envelope, handing it to Sayo. "As promised, one thousand words." Sayo took it with wonder, staring at it before looking up at Deidara. "But don't open it. Give it to your parents."

Namikaze Residence
Konoha

Uzumaki nee Namikaze Kushina and Namikaze Minato both looked on with wonder at the piece of ripped artwork patched with tape on the back of it in the manila envelope that their small daughter had handed to them before running off to her room.

Kushina suddenly felt tears running down her cheeks as she looked at the drawing of a supposed happy family, suddenly missing the happy times before all this – before every single day was just spent arguing with Minato even over the tiniest thing.

Just what had happened?

And she didn't even realise that their arguments have been hurting their daughter so much…

No matter what, the sun will always shine. Just look for a brighter tomorrow, and you will find…

XXXXXX

Three Years Later
Riverbank of Konoha

It was a beautiful day in the small sleepy village of the countryside of Konoha. The birds were singing, and the sun was shining, and Deidara was walking down the pavement that would allow him to pass by the riverbank where he had met that little redhead that had wormed her way into his heart three years ago.

It was his end-of-year holidays from art school in France, and he had taken the chance of the two week vacation to head back to Japan, neatly bypassing Tobi, his self-proclaimed best friend, from dragging him off somewhere like how he did three years ago. Though that 'forced vacation' three years ago is about the only thing that Deidara will thank him for, as if it wasn't because of him, Deidara would never have met Sayo in Konoha.

And he wondered for a moment how Sayo is, and if she still had her family with her, especially since he had to leave for France on that day when he had given Sayo the 'art trade', and schoolwork and projects at art school had kept him so busy that he couldn't even spare the time to head back to Japan to check on the redhead.

That beautiful afternoon is just like that same day when he had first met Sayo, and Deidara managed a smile when he spotted a redhead around the age of eleven or so sitting in the shade of the pine tree where he had sat at three years ago. He recognised Sayo immediately, but her once short red hair had now fallen past her shoulders, and it was a slight bit wavy. She is also wearing a white summer dress which reaches to her knees, and was currently engrossed with writing in that small black book that she had with her.

In fact, the redhead was so engrossed in her task that she didn't even hear Deidara approaching her until he placed one hand on her head, ruffling her hair slightly. Sayo looked up in surprise, and her face broke into a bright smile when she recognised Deidara immediately, and she practically lunged herself at him, dropping her book and pen onto the soft grass.

"Onii-san!"

Deidara laughed as he caught Sayo easily, pushing her back slightly to take a good look at her, and he smiled. "You've grown," he said, patting her on the head, laughing at her slight pout as he still treated her like the eight-year-old that she was three years ago.

Sayo then smiled, still not releasing her hug around Deidara's lower torso. "I want to thank you for helping me," she said excitedly. "But I couldn't find you anywhere, and decided to wait until you've returned."

Deidara smiled, feeling a sense of relief to know that Sayo is alright, and that her family is still intact. No one should have to go through what he had gone through as a child, to know the pain of a broken family.

"So your family is still together," said Deidara absently, thinking back to the phone call that he'd received from his elder brother, Namikaze Minato, three years ago when he'd returned to France.

His elder brother had informed him that he and his wife would be filing for divorce, and that he would be heading back to France soon, as his wife had custody of his child, though he is allowed to have time with his daughter for one week every month.

Deidara smiled at Sayo. "I'm glad."

Sayo smiled and shook her head, and Deidara frowned at that small action. "They divorced the week after," she informed him.

Deidara almost felt his heart plunge down to his boots with that statement.

Another child has to grow up the way that he did.

When his brother had returned to France two weeks after that phone call three years ago, Deidara had tore into him good and proper at the airport for even agreeing to a divorce in the first place, until his brother had told Deidara simply that he would rather stop the pain that both he and his wife have unknowingly been putting their daughter through, and Deidara had kept quiet at that.

As far as he knew, he knew that his brother and his now ex-wife have came to an agreement that as soon as their daughter had reached the age of fifteen, she would be joining her father in France, as Uzumaki Kushina knew that her ex-husband loves his daughter dearly, probably even more than she did, and he would do anything just to see his daughter smile, and to keep her happy. And she also knew that her daughter misses her father dearly, and one week visits and weekly letters just aren't enough for the girl.

Thus why both adults have actually came to this agreement when finalising their divorce with the lawyer.

Deidara stared at Sayo for several moments before closing his eyes briefly and opening them again, sorrow clearly visible in his eyes.

He doesn't even want to imagine what Sayo must have both felt and gone through when her parents were filing for divorce, and wished that he could have been there for her. He might only be a toddler when his parents have divorced, but he still felt and remembered the agony when his parents have informed him and his elder brother that their family will be broken up.

"I'm sorry," said Deidara with sorrow. "I failed to make a difference."

"That's not true!" Sayo chirped, and Deidara looked at her with surprise, wondering how the hell the redhead could still be so happy and cheerful, and still maintaining a positive outlook when her family is already broken beyond repair. He made a mental note to himself to spend every possible minute he could with his niece once she joined his brother in France in four years' time. "You made a difference in me."

Sayo beamed, hugging the black book that she had to her bosom. "I've decided to become an artist just like you. I will make a difference and change the world for the better, one thousand words at a time." Sayo then handed the book that she had to Deidara. "Here, one thousand words of my gratitude."

Deidara raised a curious eyebrow before opening the book, and his lips can't help twitching into a smile when he saw the contents of the book, and he chuckled to himself, feeling his downed mood brightening up immediately.

"One thousand words indeed," he agreed.

All across the pages of the book were countless words of 'Thank You'.

Thank You.

A/N: This story is dedicated to yuumei and her masterpieces. She is still my favourite artist, and I don't see this changing anytime soon. I will probably be attempting a music video for her artwork of 1000 Words, so let me know if you would like to see the video. I'll PM you the link of the video URL once it's done.

Anyway, I hope that you like this story, and please read and review!