Disclaimer: As usual, I must post this…I guess. I do not own Naruto. Thank you for reading this pointless message which has wasted a minute or so of your life.

Merrawolf


He hated that Itachi.

It was a stone-carved fact. Ever since he had defeated him in combat and forced him to join the Akatsuki, his life had turned upside-down. Deidara didn't like to think much about the incident. Whenever he saw Itachi though, he felt hot anger and hatred arouse in him although it did not show on his face.

And now, as he flew over the Earth Country on one of his stone birds, the memory hit him full force. Deidara recognized this place. It was the spot where Itachi had defeated him…

"Deidara-sempai!" A hyperactive voice came from behind. Deidara silently groaned. He had forgotten that Tobi was riding with him. "You're going the wrong way, Deidara-sempai!"

"What, un?" The blonde ninja looked down and silently cursed himself. He had been so caught up in his own thoughts that he went the wrong way! "Why didn't you tell me, Tobi? If I was going the wrong way then…Tobi?"

"Zzz…" Tobi had fallen asleep, using Deidara's back as a pillow.

Deidara glared at his partner. His hand instinctively reached for his explosives but he stopped himself. Geez, the happy-go-lucky man was getting on his nerves. He steered the clay bird back onto the right trail. Deidara didn't have time to deal with Tobi's childish acts. "Tobi, wake up, un." Tobi continued to snore. Deidara sighed. This was going to be a long day…

Iwagakure at winter was not a pleasant place. Though no snow fell, harsh winds battered the stony land and temperatures dropped rapidly. Deidara landed the giant clay bird in an open, rocky field. Grass was a rare sight in this land: he was surprised that there was a small growth among the rocks. Tobi had woken up, jostled from the landing.

"Deidara-sempai," Tobi yawned. "What happened?"

"You fell asleep." Deidara answered. Tobi responded with some statement but the former Iwagakure ninja's mind was wandering. There were so many memories here…unwanted emotions…that just made the job harder. Screw it!

"Deidara-sempai!" Tobi tugged on his partner's sleeve. "What are you doing?"

"What, un?" Deidara shrugged off Tobi's grasp. Realizing he must've spaced out, Deidara added, "I was thinking about the plan. Let's go Tobi."

Tobi watched as his partner jumped back onto the clay bird's back. This wasn't like Deidara at all… "Why did we stop here then, Deidara-sempai?"

The blonde only shrugged. "C'mon, Tobi, we don't have much time, un. Get back on here." Tobi slowly seated himself on the clay bird's smooth back. In a minute they were a speck in the air, flying into the dark, winter sky.


"E3."

The boy slammed his fist on the table, making the flimsy furniture shudder. "Are you cheating, Sukai?" He was rather strange to look at. The boy wore a long, black overcoat that was obviously too large for him. The boy's slim arms didn't even fit halfway through the leather sleeve. His bright, dark-blue eyes glowed with an inner fire and black bangs covered his face. He was known as Yakitori.

Sukai, the girl Yakitori was referring to, was a complete opposite of Yakitori. Her emotionless, pale eyes seemed to drill into a person's soul. She wore a rather graceful looking kimono that rippled as she slightly moved. Her snow-white hair was tied back into a tight ponytail. Sukai shrugged. "Maybe you just suck at Battleships."

"But still!" Yakitori pouted. "I've only sunk one of your ships and you already sunk five of mine!"

"Then you really suck." Sukai paused and held up a mirror that was beside her. She gazed deep into it, her eyes drilling into her reflection. Slowly, her reflection faded away into a different scene, showing two certain Akatsuki members. "Ah, Yakitori, our guests are here."

The boy stopped complaining and suddenly became interested. "Can I go on this mission this time, Sukai? I mean, you guys never let me do anything else besides spying…"

"No," Sukai slightly grinned. "I'll be taking Usagi with me."

Yakitori shook his head in disbelief. "Sukai, you know Usagi doesn't like to fight! She's a healer! I should go!"

"Healer or not, she's coming with me." The girl stood up and brushed some invisible dust off her kimono. "If you're bored, go play with Keiji. Besides," Her grin widened. "They're coming for me." She picked up the mirror and tucked it inside her kimono. Yakitori rolled his eyes.

"You don't need to showoff."

"Who says I am?"


"Deidara-sempai!"

"What, un?" Deidara snapped. Tobi was getting on his last nerve. It was bad enough that he had to deal with all his emotions and Tobi wasn't helping.

Tobi waved his hands wildly. "Dive, Deidara-sempai! Dive!"

"What the heck do you mean by-"

Before Deidara could finish his sentence, Tobi knocked Deidara down. A kunai whistled above them, barely scraping their heads. Tobi quickly got off of Deidara and shouted, "Over there, Deidara-sempai! Over there!"

There was no need to tell the blonde that. He had already seen the enemy. Deidara's hand was already ready with the clay. The hand's mouth burped out a piece of soft clay. Deidara slowly molded it, his eyes on the approaching danger. Tobi was watching with keen interest, kunai in hand. Deidara's mind raced with questions. Who were they? Was it possible that they were the Stone shinobi? No, as far as Deidara could remember, none of them had anything to fly on.

The enemy, or rather, enemies, as Deidara saw now, was two girls, about the same age as him. They were riding on a giant cloud. One of the girls he recognized and the sight of her almost knocked him off the clay bird.

"Deidara-sempai!" Tobi steadied his partner. "What's wrong?"

"Surprised, Deidara-sama?" one of the girls slowly spoke, her voice dripping with malice. "I thought you'd forget about me after you ran off to join the Akatsuki." Tobi studied her, questions forming in his mind. She was obviously a rogue ninja. Her forehead protector was nowhere to be seen. The girl's pale eyes drilled into Deidara's bluish-green ones, staring into his soul.

However, the girl's partner seemed much more timid. She nervously twisted her thin hands together and her wide, light brown eyes darted here and there. She didn't seem much of a threat.

"I'm fine Tobi, un." Deidara stood up and tried to erase his raging emotions. He failed.

"You've come for me, hmm?" The bold girl continued. "You're after my demon, aren't you, Deidara-sama?"

Tobi watched the scene, feeling lost and confused. The girl knew Deidara-sempai? What was going on? "Who are you?" Tobi demanded and raised his kunai.

The girl glared at him. "I am Sukai, from the Juunikyuu. And from what I've heard, you're Tobi. The goofy one…" She shifted her attention back to Deidara. "Well, Deidara-sama, are you going to get on with it? Or are you too moved to speak?"

"The Juunikyuu?" Tobi repeated the words. "What is that?"

Deidara seemed to snap out of his strange shock. "The Juunikyuu, the Zodiac, is an organization…headed by twelve other ninjas, un."

"You still remember?" Sukai took out a strange, silver mirror and tilted it so it caught the dim sunlight. "I'm impressed, Deidara-sama. You talk too much though. It isn't like you at all…brother."

Brother?! Tobi jumped at her last sentence. "Deidara-sempai! What's going on?"

Deidara clenched his fists in helplessness. Why was this so difficult? She was just another person, nothing more… "It's nothing Tobi." Deidara's voice was smooth…much too smooth. "Let's do what we do best, un?" Tobi uncertainty nodded. Deidara grinned and threw some miniscule clay ants onto the cloud. Before the two kunoichi could react, Deidara flew the bird up higher and clasped his hands together in the familiar hand seal. "Katsu!"

The huge explosion enveloped the cloud, blinding the two Akatsuki members for a second. When it died down, their enemies were nowhere to be seen. Tobi felt a dark shadow fall over them and shouted, "Above! They're above, Deidara-sempai!"

Deidara quickly moved the bird away from the shadow and a huge meteor fell where they were a second ago. Close, much too close.

"Are we going to play games, Deidara-sama?" Sukai's cold voice echoed from above. "Or are you going to end this quickly? I know you can do better."

Deidara thrust his hand back into his bag of clay and quickly flew off. Sukai and her partner were in hot pursuit, chasing the clay bird. "Tobi! Distract them!" Deidara ordered. Damn, this was going to take a while…

Tobi nodded and, lightning fast, his hands formed the hand seals. "Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu! Water Release: Water Dragon Blast Technique!" A huge, roaring wave rose from nowhere, twisting as it formed into a lithe dragon, its glowing golden eyes fixed upon its target. With deadly precision and speed, it attacked the kunoichi, the sheer force flattening the trees below. When Tobi glanced back, he was rather surprised. They were still there, following them. "Deidara-sempai, I don't think they're going to give up easily!"

"Hold them for a few more minutes, un." Deidara muttered. "I'm almost done." The hand at last spat out a huge piece of clay. As quickly and carefully as he could, he began to mold the clay.

Tobi used his justu again, only to see it deflected by the strange mirror. "Deidara-sempai!"

"I'm done!" Deidara snapped. He passed the finished sculpture to Tobi. His partner looked at him in question. "You'll need to get close to them for me." Deidara explained. "Slip it into that cloud and get out of there as quick as you can. I'll cover you, un."

Tobi stared at the clay sculpture. It was shaped like a tiny turtle. A turtle? He had never seen this sculpture before…it was hard to believe that this tiny thing could stop, much less harm, their pursuers.

"Tobi, did you hear me?" Deidara demanded. "We have to get them off our trail as fast as we can, then strike. Whatever you do, don't look into her mirror! Understand, Tobi, un?"

"Yes, Deidara-sempai." Tobi nodded. Deidara acknowledged his answer with a nod. Tobi leaped down into the trees, and Deidara took a deep breath. He suddenly increased his speed and flew lower, forcing the two to follow. As he wove through the branches, Deidara glanced back. So far, they were acting like he predicted…

Deidara opened his hand and released the mini army of clay birds. They fluttered over to his enemies and he formed the hand seal once more. "Katsu!" Several small explosions detonated but most, as Deidara grimly noted, were blocked by some strange chakra field. He could only hope that his plan would work…Deidara quickly retrieved more clay and formed several more birds. He glanced down and saw a flash of orange. Great, Tobi was keeping up. Deidara released the birds once more. "Katsu!" As usual, the bombs were blocked, but they served a different purpose. He had slightly tinkered with them so they would give off more smoke to obscure their vision… "Now, Tobi!" Deidara shouted.

Out from the trees, Tobi jumped seemingly out of nowhere and stuffed the clay turtle into the cloud and fell back. He landed on a nearby branch and watched as the chase continued. Deidara-sempai was leading them farther and farther away…what the heck was his plan? He could no longer see the two and Tobi began to worry. Maybe he should go back up Deidara-sempai…

A loud explosion, rising up like a mushroom, almost blew Tobi off his feet. Heavy, thick smoke filled the air and several trees caught on fire. "Deidara-sempai!" Tobi shouted. He began to jump toward the source of the explosion, searching for his partner. "Deidara-sempai!"

"I'm right here, Tobi. No need to shout, un."

Tobi looked up and was filled with relief. Deidara was on another clay bird, high in the air. "Deidara-sempai! What happened to the girl we were supposed to catch though?"

"She's right here." Deidara motioned to the bird's tail. Wrapped in its large clay feathers was Sukai. "Let's go now Tobi, un. We've done our job here." Tobi followed Deidara, glad that his partner was all right. Something bugged him though. The girl…she called Deidara-sempai 'brother'…what did that mean?


End of Part One