~Chapter One~
~Connection~
Deidara sat on the clay bird, a wide visible grin on his features. He glanced over his shoulder as Iwagakure got further and further away. He'd probably get a promotion for what he done back there. If you consider 'S-ranked' an improvement from Jounin. The blonde was only eleven and he'd already messed up his life beyond repair and he didn't care one little bit.
He had managed to get hold of the coveted Kinjutsu his village had being hiding. He looked at his hand and at the pink tongue on his palm. It would take him awhile to get used to the mouths but he will in time. The mouth on his chest was lolling around. He had taken off his shirt as it had being bothering it. Deidara doubted he'd ever get used to that one...The extra tongues were worth it though. He loved the beautiful art they could create. Fleeting, just the way he liked it.
Facing ahead, Deidara closed his eyes. He enjoyed the feeling of the wind blowing through his golden hair. It stung his wounds but he pushed the pain to the back of his mind. He was free now. That's all that mattered.
He opened his blue eyes and flashed his grin once more. He didn't know where he was going to go or what he was going to do now. Perhaps become a bomber for hire? Whatever happens, he isn't going back to the rock. No way, no how. He had risked his life just to get this far and he wasn't going to allow them to drag him back again. Ever.
Deidara's smile faltered and his eyes drooped. The bird dropped. His chakra and stamina levels were low due to his escape and he no longer possessed the energy needed to keep it in the air. He looked over the side and jumped, aiming for the river. The bird exploded in an array of yellow and red as the blonde sped through the air. His body made a large splash as it broke the surface of the water.
Deidara managed to muster up enough strength to drag himself onto the bank. He collapsed into a heap, panting heavily. He wondered what would happen to him after he passed out. Hopefully he won't wake up in a cell. He was only mildly aware of the voices around him and only managed to catch a glimpse of the owners' faces before his world faded to black.
Sasori raised an eyebrow at the Akatsuki leader. "You want me to what?" Currently, the puppet master was standing in Pein's office. Sir Leader informed him he was taking up a solo mission for a couple of months and was having trouble coming to terms with his given mission.
Pein sighed. The mission was simple. There shouldn't be any questions asked. "I want you to pretend to be the one tail's older brother," he repeated. "At the moment, he is only seven years old and should be quite gullible. He has family but is rarely seen with him so you shouldn't encounter any problems in convincing him. Your similar hair colour and style should help as well. Do you understand now?"
"Of course I do. It's not rocket science," Sasori replied, rolling his eyes. "I just don't see why we shouldn't just grab the brat and run. It takes less time!"
Pein shut his grey eyes and let out a soft sigh. "This way builds 'trust' with the child as he might prove to be useful in the few years we can't extract his demon!" he told him. That's exactly what Madara said to him when he suggested Sasori's plan earlier that day.
Sasori looked at him, a stoic expression on his face. "What about Orochimaru?" he asked. He presumed his partner wouldn't be joining him on the mission, unfortunately. The snake was more interested with children than he was. Plus the red head didn't have the patience.
"He'll be staying here."
"How am I supposed to stay undetected in Suna?"
"You won't. You'll go in, meet the boy and flee to Konoha."
"Konoha?"
Pein sighed. "Yes. Because you are well known to travel around in your puppet armor, no one will suspect you to be wandering around without it. Also, no one would expect an S-ranked ninja of your caliber to be living in one of the five great ninja villages. Besides, if you do get discovered, it shouldn't be too hard to grab the one tailed and run back here."
Sasori sighed softly and looked around the room, weighing the good and bad points against each other, trying to decide if this mission was really worth it.
"When do I begin?"
Naruto marched out of the academy, an evident grin on his whiskered face. He had just finished his very first day at the academy. He'll be Hokage in no time! Believe it!
So far, he was enjoying his lessons. He found it difficult to understand this chakra stuff but it was only his first day. He'll get the hang of it soon and will be even better than that blasted Uchiha! Sasuke Uchiha was the only one who understood what the teacher was talking about. Nerd.
Although, poor little Naruto found it difficult making friends. The other kids treated him like dirt, just like their parents did. He had tried his very hardest to be nice to them but they just called him a monster and kicked sand in his face. He couldn't understand why. What was so scary about him that made him a monster? He wasn't any different than the others... It wasn't fair.
His blue eyes fell to the ground as he lazily kicked a stone. "Onii-san!" Naruto looked up, hearing Sasuke's voice. He watched as the young Uchiha ran towards another boy. He was older than him, maybe around thirteen but already had stress lines etched into his face. The blonde watched him pick up the younger boy and put him on his shoulders.
"Can we get some ramen, Onii-san?"
"Only this once Sasuke..."
Naruto watched them leave, a sad expression on his face. He wished he had a big brother. Someone who would look after him, care for him and take him to the ramen stand. He let out a depressed sigh and walked towards the Hokage's office. Visiting the old man always cheered him up.
Kakashi walked through the forest, Anko at his heels. It was just his luck to get stuck on a mission with that devil woman. After every kill, she insisted on carving her initials into their backs. Then she'd lick the blood off of the wound, to get a taste of it. He was waiting for her to bare a pair of fangs and turn into a vampire.
"Remember when that one guy just wouldn't die, Kashi-kun?" Anko asked him. "And there was blood squirting everywhere, even from his eyeballs? And he kept screaming at us to help him but I just stood on his neck till he died?" she continued and tilted her head. "He was kinda cute!"
Kakashi looked at her, slightly creeped out. Yes, Kakashi 'Copy cat ninja' Hatake, fought in the last ninja war, current ANBU captain was creeped out, by a teenage girl.
He stopped in his tracks. Behind Anko, he noticed a child heave herself out of the river. "Anko, look!" he stated, pointing at the girl. He ran over to her, Anko at his heels. The two Konoha Nin looked down at the blonde as her blue eyes closed. She was in bad shape. Her body was covered in wounds and she had extra mouths on her hands and chest.
"Freaky..." Anko commented, poking the large tongue on the girl's chest. It twitched slightly, amusing her greatly. Anko poked it more, watching it twitch with a grin on her face.
Kakashi eyed the woman strangely before looking at the child again. She was wearing an Iwa headband with a slash through it, a missing Nin. He placed two fingers on her neck, checking the pulse. She was still alive, but only barely. He picked the child up. "We better bring her back to Konaha and get her medical treatment," he said.
"You know that kid's a dude, right?" Anko stated, pointing at the child. Kakashi looked at her before looking at the girl... er boy. He could see it now. He did look quite feminine but now he noticed the masculine features and the masculine feature.
Kakashi sighed, hiding his embarrassment. "Either way, we should take him to Konoha!" he stated and began walking. Anko walked alongside him. She wiped a finger across one of the boy's wounds and stuck it in her mouth, licking off the blood. Kakashi sweat dropped. "Please don't do that again..."
"Don't worry!" Anko grinned. "The blood ain't fresh enough anyway!"
Gaara sat on his usual swing set in the park, gently rocking himself back and forth. His emerald eyes watched the other children running around and playing. Every so often one would glance in his direction and quickly turn away; as if afraid his stare would turn them to stone.
He looked down at his sandaled feet, a pout making his way onto his lips. It's not fair. The other kids always called him a monster, a freak and would run away frightened, just because he was different and much stronger. All he wanted was a friend. Was that so much to ask? Even Kankuro and Temari, his own siblings, shied away with fear.
Gaara slid off the swing and marched on home, away from the scared looks and terrified faces. He found being alone more enjoyable than being feared. Well, he was both, every second of every day. He just found it more endurable when he couldn't see the fear. Sometimes, he even pretended there wasn't anyone scared of him, just shy.
Although, today just wasn't one of those days…. Today, he'll be stuck in the same routine he was always stuck in. Get up, go to the park, go home, kill something, and go to bed. The only thing that ever changed was the 'something' he killed.
Little did he know that today was going to be different….
Hiruzen Sarutobi, the third Hokage, was sitting at his desk doing paperwork when his favourite little blonde marched in. "Old man!" Naruto yelled and ran over to him. The blonde climbed into his lap. "It was my first day at the academy today!"
Sarutobi smiled. That's right. The academy started up again today. It's all Naruto could talk about for weeks. How could he forget? "Did you enjoy yourself, Naruto?"
The child beamed at him. "It was awesome! Believe it!" he told him and started going through every little thing he learned that day.
The atmosphere in the room was a happy one, until Naruto talked about how the other students treated him. Sarutobi frowned. The children were calling him a monster? No doubt was it because of the parents. This was the very thing he had tried to prevent when he told the parents to treat him like a regular child. It was what the fourth wanted.
"Old man?" Naruto piped up at the end of his story. "Can I get a big brother? Like Sasuke-teme?" Sarutobi looked down at his innocent blue eyes surprised. He wasn't expecting him to say that and he no idea what to tell him. Luckily, he didn't have to make up an excuse.
"Sir?" his secretary said, knocking lightly on his door. "Hatake-san and Mitarashi-san are here to see you. They say it's urgent!"
Sarutobi gave her a nod before turning to Naruto. "Run home Naruto. We'll talk about this later!" he told him, picking him up and setting back on the ground. He smiled softly at him and ruffled his hair. "I promise!"
Naruto pouted, obviously disappointed that the old man hadn't said yes. He sighed and forced a smile. "Goodbye Old man!" he said, running out the door while waving at the Hokage.
The third smiled and waved back at him as Kakashi and Anko walked into the room, carrying a small blonde. "Hey old man!" Anko greeted him with a catty grin, flicking her wrist in a slight wave.
Sarutobi nodded at her and at Kakashi. "Anko, Kakashi," he greeted before glancing down at the child in Kakashi's arms. "Who is this and why'd you bring her here?"
Anko rolled her eyes. "For the love of... Can't you people tell a chick from a dude? Old man, that her is a him!" she informed him, pointing down at the blonde.
Sarutobi looked down at the child again and his eyes widened slightly as he realised Anko was correct. Kakashi sweat dropped and took a step forward. "Hokage-sama, we brought him here first because we thought you might be interested. This child is a missing nin!"
He glanced down at the blonde and noticed the slash on his headband. He... kind of reminded him of someone. A small grin graced the third's features. Now, Hiruzen Sarutobi was a good Hokage and he'd be the last person in Konoha to come up with an idea of this caliber but, it wouldn't hurt to give it a shot. Sarutobi stood and approached the limp body. He gripped the headband and slowly pulled it off, careful not to hurt him. He gave a quick inspection of his person making sure to remove all ninja-related items.
"Kakashi; Anko; take him to the hospital and get him admitted to a private room. Tell them it was requested by me if necessary. But, in no circumstances, must you mention he's an S-ranked criminal nor must you mention he's from Iwagakure. If they ask, he's from one of the nearby orphanages. Make sure they sew those mouths shut too and I don't want rumors spread about them either. He's to be treated immediately. One of you must be at his side at all times until he wakes up. Then, call me. Understand?"
"Hai Hokage-sama!"
"No problemo, old man!"
"You may leave. I have some business to attend to." he said, waving them off. Kakashi bowed his head and Anko gave a half-assed wave and the two left the room.
Sarutobi reached into his desk drawer and pulled out some paper and a quill. Dipping the feather into the ink, he began to write.
Dear Tsuchikage...
Sasori followed the young red head, wearing a hooded cloak so he wouldn't be recognized. Pein was right. The kid did look a lot like him. He didn't seem to notice the puppet master following him either. After all, he should've only started the academy and shouldn't be able to detect chakra yet. Sasori waited until there was no one but him and the one tailed around before making contact.
"Gaara no Sabaku?"
Gaara whipped around to face the cloaked figure. He backed away and looked up at him, his eyes full of fear. Who was this guy? And how did he know his name? He looked around. They were close to the middle of the village where sand was the most scarce. There wouldn't be enough to protect himself if this man tried to hurt him – which he was sure he will.
"Don't be afraid…" Sasori said in a soft voice and kneeled down to the boy's height. "I'm not going to hurt you…" he added, pulling down his hood. His hazel eyes met Gaara's green ones and let a small smile grace his features. "I'm you older brother, Sasori, and I'm going to take you back home with me!" he told him, extending a hand in his direction.
Gaara looked down at the hand and back up at Sasori. His… brother? But he already had a brother - Kankuro! Besides, his father never mentioned another brother. He eyed him warily, examining him. He did sort of look like him…. He was more similar to him than Temari and Kankuro. Plus he wasn't scared of him, like a real sibling should be. Maybe he really was his brother…?
Gaara looked up at the smiling face again and smiled too. He put his small hand in Sasori's much larger one.
Sasori let his smile grow and clasped his fingers around the tiny hand. He stood up. "Come on Gaara. Let's go home!" he said and led him towards the gates of Suna.
Gaara looked up at his older brother. Finally, someone to look after him, care for him and shield him from all the looks and stares. Someone he can look up to and will protect him from danger, someone who would never hurt him or deceive him. Someone he can trust.
A smirk tugged at Sasori's lips. This mission was a piece of cake.
Deidara's eyes flickered open. He blinked up at the white roof, half expecting to see the sky. He looked around. White walls… white roof… white bed…. He was in a hospital. He noticed a brochure sitting in the bedside table. 'Konohagakure Hospital' he read. Konoha? He was in Konoha? He was dead meat. This village was one of – if not THE strongest of all ninja villages. He was done for.
Unless he escaped before he was recognized. Deidara sat up in his bed, causing him to let out a pain filled groan before falling back down onto his pillow.
"I wouldn't move too much if I were you!" a cool voice said. "You might undo your stitches!" Deidara turned his head to look at the silver haired man perched on the window sill. He was dressed in the standard ANBU uniform and a navy mask covered his face. The blonde recognized the bright orange cover of an 'Icha Icha' book. Great. Not only was he stuck with a Konoha ANBU but a perverted one at that….
Deidara narrowed his eyes. "Who are you and what are you doing here, hmm?" he asked, eyeing him skeptically.
The man raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't I be the one questioning you, Deidara?"
His eyes widened. "How did you…?"
The man smiled. Or at least, Deidara think he did. It's hard to tell with that mask covering the bottom half of his face. "The Hokage did his research. Don't you think he'd be curious when an S-ranked criminal is found half-dead outside his village?"
Deidara's eyes widened more. The Hokage knows about him? That means it's only a matter of time before he ships him back to Iwagakure. The old man will surely lock him up in a cell for the rest of life for the destruction he caused! He was doomed! Unless he blew up the pervert and made a break for it. It didn't matter that he'll be in too much pain to bear. He won't have to move much when he's on his clay bird anyway. Deidara reached down to the clay pouch attached to his hip to only discover it was missing.
The ANBU captain chuckled. "You're not giving our Hokage much credit!" he told him, turning the page of his book. "But, to answer your earlier question, I'm Kakashi Hatake and I'm babysitting you until the Hokage gets here!"
Wait… the Hokage's coming? Deidara groaned. He is so dead….
The door swung open. "Hey Kashi-kun! S'up twerp!" a woman with purplish hair exclaimed as she walked over to him. "Hey… you're kinda cute when you conscious!" she said, poking the blonde in the cheek. Deidara swatted her hand away and glared.
"Anko, leave the boy alone!" Another voice said. Deidara looked towards the door to see a short old man dressed in robes. His eyes widened. The Hokage….
He smiled at him. "Hello Deidara. It's nice to see you're awake!" he said, approaching him. He turned around to the girl and the pervert. "You two can go now!"
Kakashi bowed to him in respect and swiftly left the room. "Later old man! Bye twerp!" the girl said and waved before leaping out the window. Deidara watched as the Hokage sat in the empty seat next to his bed.
"I suppose you're wondering why I'm here?" he asked.
Deidara rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "You're gonna send me back to Iwa, un!"
"No, I'm not."
"Huh?"
The third smiled. "I have a proposition for you. I won't send you back to Iwagakure, if you look after one of the orphans in this village, as an older brother!"
Deidara eyed him warily. This was the Hokage he's talking too. There's no way he's not going to turn him in if he looks after some snot-nosed brat. It's just too good to be true. "What's the catch?"
"There is no catch!" the third said. "However, if you cause any trouble whatsoever or cause any harm to the boy, I'm sending you to straight to the Tsuchikage!"
Deidara bit his lip. He didn't want to look after some kid. But, then again, anything was better than staying in a jail cell. "Fine. I'll bite, yeah. What's the kid's name?"
The third smirked.
"Naruto Uzumaki!"
A/N:
And another story joins the ranks. This idea was spawn from a picture on DeviantART, in which Sasori and Gaara were sitting next to each other and I couldn't tell which was which. xD Eventually, my mind made the Deidara and Naruto connection and viola! This story was born.
I actually came across another story quite similar to this one after I had finished this chapter, in case you may be wondering. I read it for curiosity and it's a lot better than this one I have to say, but I like to think mine has its charms…
I doubt they'll be any major pairings in this, but if there is, it won't be canon. Just a little warning to those crack pairing haters out there. There should be very little OCs in this story. I don't have any planned as of yet but you never know.
Review~?
