Akatsuki: Seven Deadly Sins [Deidara] Pride
A oneshot involving Deidara, based on the deadly sin of Pride. Deidara thinks his art is the highest form of perfection, and vainly brags about it to anyone who will listen. He only stops when he receives an embarrassing lesson at the hands of a kunoichi who teaches him the true meaning of humility.
Pride in oneself is important; it imbues self-confidence and the belief of self-worth in the person experiencing it. Pride can aid a person in getting through their day, making them see the world in a favourable light. Of course, only the person who feels pride views themselves in the way they do, everyone else sees a vain and uncaring fool, a fool who loves one's own excellence. When you're proud you become intolerable, and people learn to keep their distance lest you irritate them too much. Pride is an insufferable fault.
Deidara was proud, proud of his art, proud of his career, proud of his power, even proud of the way he looked. Deidara thought he was the epitome of all that was great, albeit privately. With a calm assurance of being, Deidara would live his life how he wanted, because he had the right to do so – because he was right. He did things the best way, so he got to do them. It didn't matter what others thought, he was the one who did things the right way. He was the one who was perfect. Yes, Deidara knew in his heart and his mind that he was the only great one out of the Akatsuki, the only one with proper potential.
Sure, they were all powerful, highly-skilled ninja that instilled terror into the hearts of others, and at one point even himself when he was younger and vulnerable, but, powerful though they were, Deidara was better. Why? Deidara was better because he believed in something. The others fought for no reason other than personal gain, that wasn't the way you were supposed to do things. You picked something and dedicated your lives to it. The only other person in the organisation who was truly dedicated on the level of Deidara was Hidan. But Hidan had dedicated himself to some stupid, make-believe God, so Hidan didn't count. Hidan was a laughing stock to Deidara.
Deidara had chosen his art, and later on, himself, to dedicate his life too. So you see, Deidara was the best of the Akatsuki, he knew he was. Deidara's belief in himself and his almighty art was so great that he thought himself invincible. Sure, some fights could be tough, long lasting and physically tiring, but that just proved his art was supreme, because he always won in the end. He worked hard to reach perfection, and he was close, oh so close. Deidara never expected to be taught a lesson in humility anytime soon, least of all from someone so wrong...
The sun beat down in an endlessly savage glare, scorching the bare earth red and chasing the water away from shallow, low lying areas back into the air, causing a sticky, humid day with an absolutely scorching blaze suspended an impossible distance up in the sky. Anyone out in such a heat wave had to be extremely careful, overheating was no small possibility, and it was almost a certainty in this heat. This had driven the many creatures in the area, including the human inhabitants of small villages nearby, to scuttle away into the deep, cool shade of their homes and burrows, hiding away until a more agreeable temperature settled upon the land.
No-one dared venture out of the safety of the village boundaries in case they collapsed and weren't found in time. Bears roamed the woods, lynxes, wolves even. It wasn't safe to go out alone. But two people had gone out alone into the Forest.
They'd headed into the supposed cool offered by the forest to escape the soul-crushing heat blazing in the open, only to become disheartened when they realised the shade and cool provided by the thick canopy of leaves above was a mere illusion, and in reality the temperature in between the trees was not dissimilar to the outside world. But there was a slight difference, and both members of the travelling pair were immensely grateful, although one wasn't willing to admit it.
Deidara and Tobi were on a routine scouting mission, basically they were looking for signs as to the whereabouts of their assigned jinchuuriki. Deidara was almost at breaking point due to Tobi's ceasingly endless levels of incompetence, and Deidara had even sent Tobi away from the camp last night because he'd been doing things wrong. Tobi drove Deidara to distraction with every single thing he did. But Deidara in turn irritated Tobi out of his mind with his constant supremist behaviour and self-praise. Tobi was fed up with his Senpai's mindless ramblings that did nothing but show him off as an incredibly repulsive person, but Tobi was far too polite and wise to point it out to Deidara. Tobi didn't dare suggest that Deidara stopped talking about himself so much, Deidara would murder him.
"Can't Tobi just take the cloak off Senpai?" Tobi asked yet again. Deidara was forcing Tobi to wear his thick, long and totally black Akatsuki cloak in this heat; it truly was an unforgiving act. Tobi was sweating profusely, and he could see that Deidara was suffering in much the same way; sweat trickled down the sides of Deidara's face every now and then, and Deidara's hair hung limp and damp with moisture and heat. But Deidara stubbornly refused to take of his cloak, and he wouldn't let Tobi remove his either.
"No," Deidara snapped irritably. The heat was getting to him, his face was flushed and his throat was bone dry. In all honesty, Deidara should have removed the merciless garment ages back, but he'd decided to soldier on through the heat with it on, fully buttoned up to the collar. He'd only recently given up and taken off the conical straw hat the Akatsuki wore, and Tobi had been relieved beyond belief. But Deidara had felt the removal of the hat was a small defeat on his part, so now he refused to let his pride take another blow. He would keep the cloak on.
"Senpai, Tobi respects you and your decision, but Tobi is too hot now. Tobi doesn't want to overheat, so Tobi is taking the cloak off." Deidara looked up in surprise at Tobi's remark, but quickly covered his momentary weakness with a mask of irritation. Deidara stopped walking and stood perfectly still in between the gnarled trunks of the trees. Tobi watched Deidara silently, aware that he was close to crossing the thin boundary of Deidara's patience. "Why are you so bothered, Senpai?"
"We're supposed to wear the cloaks at all times, it's the rules, h'm," hissed Deidara. "We have to wear them. You wanted to be in Akatsuki so much, but when you get in you refuse to follow the rules? What are you playing at? Your logic's flawed, h'm. I'm going to keep it on. You don't see me complaining about the heat, do you? You need to grow up and get a backbone, you're in Akatsuki now; act like it."
Tobi stared from behind the safety of his mask at the smaller, younger man glowering at him, and scolding him like he was a small child. He'd admit that Deidara was strong, but he was beginning to annoy Tobi with his ridiculous behaviour.
"Tobi thinks having a backbone is important, you're right Senpai." Tobi noticed with a wry smile how those simple words began to placate Deidara.
"Of course it's important, be more like me and the others, Tobi h'm. Or else you won't get far."
"But Tobi also thinks that having brains is important too, Senpai."
"Well that's where you miss out, isn't it h'm?" Deidara smirked.
"No, Tobi is smart enough to take of his cloak so he doesn't faint from overheating. Senpai looks like he'll get heatstroke any second now." Deidara's expression soured considerably. Tobi continued to stare at Deidara, head cocked to one side. Deidara's irritation only grew.
"So you're saying I'm the stupid one? You're the one who doesn't know anything h'm. When you speak to me with the respect you should be showing me as your senior, I'll come back and help you, Tobi. Until then, you can find your jinchuuriki on your own!" Deidara snapped savagely. With that Deidara leapt away into the tree canopy, melting away into the gloom available. Deidara's usual explosive temperament wasn't being made any better by the heat, Tobi observed.
Tobi watched him go before shrugging and continuing on his own. He would, at some point, go and apologise to his Senpai. Tobi knew that Deidara's swollen head could be damaged very easily, and his ego bruised just like it. Tobi would leave his Senpai to calm down, then he'd go and apologise, Deidara would lecture him – all the while drinking in the praise and flattery Tobi would throw in – and then they'd go and carry out their mission.
The wind felt refreshing against Deidara's flushed face as he travelled with speed through the tree canopy, not really sure where he was going, but knowing he'd know when to stop when the time came. The wind generated by his momentum blew the cloak back from his heated body and Deidara couldn't help but relish the feeling as he began to cool down. Today really was far too hot, but they weren't allowed to take the cloak off, so that was that. Tobi was just demonstrating the incompetence he'd become known for in the Akatsuki. Deidara did not want to be tarred with the same brush.
Although, Deidara was admittedly feeling a tad dizzy; perhaps he was dehydrated. That wouldn't be a surprise considering his last drink was the night before. Deidara decided that he'd find something to drink and then carry on; he didn't want to faint after all. Deidara paused, and listened intently. It took awhile, and a good deal of searching, before Deidara heard the sound he was looking for. It was faint, but he could hear trickling water. Deidara headed off, guiding himself by ear until he found the source of the noise.
He'd arrived at the edge of a small woodland glade containing a rocky outcrop from which water poured over the rocks it bubbled out of until it trickled down over the edge into a small plunge pool it had managed to carve in the bedrock. Deidara swallowed with difficulty, the dry lining of his throat sticking momentarily together. He left the cover of the trees and crouched down by the spring. It was always better to drink from the source of the water because it was more likely to be contaminated further down.
Deidara crouched and inserted his hands into the cool water, forming a makeshift cup which he brought to his lips. Deidara drank deeply, feeling how the cold water ran down his throat and then registering its process down through his chest by the sudden spreading of coolness. When Deidara was satisfied, he made to stand. It was then that the change in height altered the way the sun fell on an object partially hidden in the flowing water. The movement of the water stopped Deidara seeing the gleaming object too clearly and in a momentary lapse of judgement he stupidly decided to not bother with it. Deidara took a step back, and the object in the water moved.
It rocketed out of the water, heading for Deidara's head. Without time to duck or leap to the side, Deidara instinctively raised his right arm into a defensive position in front of his throat – just in time. The thin metal wire bit into the material of the heavy cloak and Deidara felt the pinch on the bare skin of his forearm under the cloth. The wire kept going back, knocking Deidara off balance as something caught him from behind. He vaguely registered something wrapping around his ankle, his knee joint, his other arm became pinioned. And then he swung violently to the side, up into the air over the clearing where he juddered to a halt, suspended in a web of metal wiring.
Deidara opened his eyes, which he'd screwed shut as his hair had whipped into them in the breeze, to take stock of his situation. He tried to move, and found it impossible. He was completely stuck, his legs separately bound by various wiring, his left arm twisted underneath him by a wire tugging on his poor wrist which was already beginning to chafe, and of course, the arm protecting his throat, which would no doubt have been slit by the wires if he hadn't stopped them in time. Deidara took in a deep breath, and held it, exhaling slowly. He was in trouble.
Suspended high up in the middle of a clearing from where he couldn't move an inch – let alone get to the ground safely – he'd successfully made himself the easiest target in recorded history, loftily hanging there as if he hadn't a care in the world, perfect for any shinobi to pick off as they pleased. And he was embarrassed, oh he was embarrassed. He couldn't believe he'd fallen for it. It was such a simple method of capture, yet genius in its execution. Now how to get down...
Deidara wet his lips thoughtfully as he pondered this rather difficult conundrum. This was a serious problem, if he didn't get down before the person who set the trap got back he'd be killed, no doubt about it. His cloak would give him away for sure and then they'd just have to check his face against the picture in the Bingo Book to know who he was, where he was from and what he'd done. And deserting to become a terrorist who could be hired by anti-nationalists was not a good thing to be tried for.
Deidara began to experiment; how far could he move his leg? How far could it go before the pain became too unbearable and the risk of injury too great? Could he rotate anything out of the wires? Did the wires become looser the more he tugged? Could he see where they emerged from within the trees? Deidara gained almost no valuable insight from the experimentation, however, and his leg became sore and tired very quickly. Deidara let his head flop back with a cry of frustration.
As Deidara looked down on the world below, a dull headache started up, caused by the disorientation he was feeling of seeing the world upside down. He was also uncomfortably aware of the sticky heat he was surrounded in. His position in the centre of the clearing, above any shade, had out him in direct contact with the sun's rays. The cloak that had just saved him from becoming peppered and sliced by the wires was now going to help roast him to death. Mercifully, the cloak was half off because of the method of travel that had taken him up there, but it was a small consolation.
Deidara blinked as he spotted something, or rather, someone standing on the rocky outcrop where he'd just been swept off. The figure was obviously female, dressed in loose fitting clothes though they were. Deidara couldn't make out a face though because of the hat, not dissimilar to his which had fallenout of his cloak near the spring, that she was wearing on her head. Deidara felt a pang of annoyance when he realised it was his hat, he could hear the charm tinkling to itself.
"Now why of all the possible things I could have caught would it be someone like you?" The voice that called up to Deidara was light, mocking him. This woman was ridiculing him! She was enjoying the fact that he was completely powerless. Deidara's pride was hurt now.
"What the hell were you thinking h'm?!" Deidara bellowed down at her. "Setting a trap down there, you should know people would come to drink there! You almost killed me!"
Of course she knew someone would come eventually, Deidara scolded himself for his outburst, and of course she knew she could have killed someone; she was probably trying to! Deidara saw the woman's shoulders shake as she laughed. Laughed at him! Despite everything that he tried, Deidara felt the blush creep up into his cheeks. Oh he must look stupid.
"If you want to know why I laid a trap there, it was because some deer come here from time to time; I was hoping to catch one this way. It'd be a quick and virtually painless end for them if it got their throat, a slightly more drawn out death if I happened upon them later, as I have done with you." She paused and lifted her head up higher, putting her hand up to shade her eyes further. Her lip curled. "Do you want help getting down?" Deidara's heart leapt at her words.
"Yes please," he said as politely as he could. He just wanted to get down and forget about this forever.
"Well too bad, Akatsuki, I'm not letting you down." The blood drained from Deidara's face. Okay, so she recognised the Akatsuki, which was highly likely given she was a kunoichi of course. Deidara slumped in the wires that bound him, knowing there really was no getting out of this. With no handseals, he couldn't perform ninjutsu. Without ninjutsu, he wasn't getting out of here. He was going to be killed.
"Are you going to kill me h'm?" Deidara asked, his voice decidedly emotionless as his features wiped of all emotion. He didn't really want to die with any particular expression on his face,who knew what he'd end up looking like.
"No, I'm not going to kill you," she replied levelly. Deidara narrowed his eyes in confusion and suspicion, knowing there had to be more. "At least, I'm not going to kill you with weapons, ninjutsu or anything of the sort. What I'm going to do is leave you hanging there though; you'll get hyperthermia up there without shade. You'll get more and more overheated until your body can't regulate your temperature, then the thermo-regulatory system will shut down. After that, your temperature will rise dangerously fast, resulting in you turning comatose and eventually dying. I hope you have fun Akatsuki, I'll be right here if you want to beg. I think this is a good end for such a nasty person, don't you?"
Deidara didn't say anything, he just watched with a grim expression as the woman retreated into the shade and settled down to watch him effectively cook in the violent heat. The woman took off the straw hat, shaking a length of smooth black hair loose. She caught him looking, smiled and waved. Deidara turned away.
Staring at the clear blue sky, he willed something to happen. If only he hadn't gotten so annoyed with Tobi and split, he wouldn't be in this mess. They'd be on their way to get the Sanbi still. But Tobi should have followed him, Tobi should have- no, it was he who did the wrong thing. Deidara ground his teeth in annoyance. So, his only option was to wait, wait and ignore the sharp eyes of that stupid woman watching him from below. If he could last till nightfall, he could cool down when the sun went away. Then by tomorrow morning Tobi would have definitely started to search him out.
Tobi would find him, dispatch of the kunoichi and get him down and Deidara...... wouldn't be able to look at Tobi ever again. Most likely he'd lose any respect Tobi still had for him and end up having to defer to Tobi as the senior. No, no way was that going to happen! Deidara groaned in annoyance.
"Are you overheating already? Dear God, at least give me some sport."
Deidara clamped his jaw shut and screwed his eyes tight closed at the sound of the woman's scathing tones. He just had to wait until Tobi arrived, then he'd be saved. Saved... God how he hated how that sounded.
Deidara's eyelids were heavy, his body lethargic and hot, too hot. His throat was dry again and his clothing was drenched in sticky sweat from his body. Deidara's skin had been flushed to an unbelievable red at one point, but now he noticed that his skin was pale, almost greying. The part of Deidara's mind that wasn't gripped by the crushing headache knew that that meant he was in trouble.
While he was sweating, his blood vessels had expanded, allowing blood to run close to the surface to cool off. But if his skin was greying, it meant the blood had begun to run deeper again. That was because he'd sweated himself out to the point of dehydration, used up all the spare fluid he had. That had dropped his blood pressure and made the vessels contract. But they couldn't contract now, he needed the blood near the skin or else he'd die from overheating. Yes, he was in trouble now.
Deidara closed his eyes, hanging completely limp in the metal web. That woman was still watching him and he was ashamed at how easily he'd been reduced to this. He could take a physical blow easy; he could stand mental interrogation, genjutsu, torture. But this was something else. This was asking him to endure something that he physically could not. Mind over matter wasn't going to help him now, he really was doomed. He didn't think he'd make it till nightfall.
"Have you given up Akatsuki?"
That woman again. Every now and then she'd piped up with a useless comment like that, just made to irritate and slander him. Deidara wanted nothing more than to wipe that stupid grin off her face, show her that him and his art were better than her. But Deidara was beginning to think they weren't. She was clever, more so than him, she knew how the body worked. She'd managed to kill him without raising a finger in battle. Yes, she was good, but he wasn't dead yet.
Deidara opened his eyes and glared weakly at her. She laughed. "So you've still got some fight in you yet, good, good. I expected a bit more from someone of your calibre, you see. I've heard about you, but I must admit; the stories are better than the reality I'm seeing-"
"Shut up!" Deidara croaked through the soreness of his throat. The woman tittered to herself before she settled down enough to carry on speaking. Deidara was ashamed at how he looked right now, how he came across, how he sounded. His pride was in pieces, stomped on and scattered by this woman. He hated her the most out of everything in the world right now.
"Do you want to beg me?" She asked abruptly, half rising in her eagerness. Deidara sneered at her, his pride wasn't so far gone that he'd beg her. No way, no how.
"No, I've no intention of begging you h'm-" Deidara began to cough violently. The sound was rough and hoarse, almost hollow sounding. Deidara's booming coughs echoed in the silent clearing and when his hacking stopped, he was exhausted.
"Yeeeees," she dragged out the sound to show her scepticism. "All good things in time, I suppose."
Another hour or so had passed and Deidara had had enough. He didn't care anymore about the shame of begging, he'd do anything for some water right now.
"Water," he croaked. The woman looked up and Deidara saw her amber eyes for the first time, alight with malicious laughter.
"Say please."
"Wa-" He coughed to clear his throat when the sound didn't come. "Water please h'm."
"Okay then, open your mouth."
Deidara didn't even have time to shut his mouth from asking for water before it splashed him in the face, getting in his eyes, nose and mouth. Deidara coughed and wheezed, trying to hold the water in his mouth while at the same time trying to stop it sliding down his nose cavity and into his lungs. Water dribbled from the sides of his mouth but he managed to swallow some. It was hard; he was slightly tilted upside down, something he hadn't noticed before. The water tried to flow back the way it had come and Deidara coughed again.
"That was funny."
Deidara glared at the woman standing on the rocks. She held a flask in one hand which was where she'd lanced the water at him from. His hair was dripping again, plastered to his face, he tried to move it with his mouth with little success, then managed to move the hand by his throat to brush it aside and spread the water to help him cool down. His arm was calloused and bleeding, the wire having cut in and stayed there.
"I-"
Deidara didn't hear anymore except sounds of a scuffle, cursing and then, he dropped. The wind screamed past his ears as he fell sickeningly quick through the air, all restraint from the wires vanishing in a split second. Colours whizzed past his eyes and a disorientating feeling overcame him making him feel quite ill. Deidara plummeted to the floor but stopped shortly above it with a dizzying jolt as the wires snagged somewhere in the trees, halting him a foot or so above a painful end.
"Senpai, what are you doing?" A shadow appeared in Deidara's vision, presumably Tobi judging by the voice;the woman had released the wires and fled upon the arrival and subsequent attack of Tobi mere seconds before. Tobi waited for Deidara to reply but was dumbfounded when Deidara's unfocused eyes grazed over his and instead closed. Deidara didn't say anything. Tobi took in the pale skin and difficulty breathing and knelt to take Deidara's temperature; red hot.
Tobi pulled out a kunai and began to savagely attack the wiring - with a bit of work he managed to start cutting through and Deidara slowly began to become untangled. But of course, Deidara was unconscious, Tobi had to work quickly. It was obvious Deidara was suffering from hyperthermia, but Tobi didn't know how to tell how far along someone was. He knew that most of the time they had to be taken to the hospital as quickly as possible because of complications of the heart that could arise. Tobi was thankful that Deidara was in peak physical condition.
Tobi dragged Deidara to the edge of the small pool at the bottom of the rocks, took off the murderous cloak as quickly as he could without damaging the fastenings and gently immersed Deidara in the water, hoping it would be enough to cool him. Tobi held Deidara's head above the water and waited, checking his forehead now and then to see if anything was happening. Tobi was worried now, Deidara wasn't waking up; he'd hoped the dunking would have done it, but it looked like Tobi would have to shake Deidara awake.
"Senpai, wake up!" Tobi slapped Deidara hard across the cheek. Deidara didn't move, even as Tobi watched the blossom of angry red spread across his cheek. Tobi shook him some more and struck him again, this time on the other cheek. Tobi saw movement underneath Deidara's eyelids. "Senpai!" Deidara groaned as he warily opened his eyes. "Senpai drink this."
Tobi propped Deidara up as best he could and helped him drink some of the cooling water to rehydrate him. Deidara managed fairly well and seemed to readily accept the fact that he was completely submerged in water. But then again, Tobi didn't think Deidara was completely there yet. Deidara blinked and shook his head, suddenly realising where he was.
"Tobi, g-get me out of here h'm." Deidara's teeth were chattering. Tobi helped Deidara out of the water and watched as the blond man began to shiver violently.
"At least you're cold now Senpai," Tobi said relieved.
"G-give me my c-c-cloak now h'm," Deidara stuttered, reaching for it. Tobi wrapped the warm, dry cloak around Deidara and hovered about uncertainly, not wanting to touch his Senpai any longer than needed; Deidara had a habit of flying off the handle when it came to the invasion of his personal space, no matter how reasonable or well-intended.
"We need to get out of here Senpai, that woman will have gone for backup," Tobi said urgently, glancing around the clearing quickly, looking for signs of movement.
"H-help me up."
Tobi dragged Deidara to his feet where he stood unsteadily. Tobi knew Deidara wasn't going to walk anywhere by himself anytime soon. Tobi wrapped his arm around Deidara's waist, slung his arm over his shoulder and leapt into the trees. The journey was hard on Deidara, but he kept quiet and kept going with grim determination, knowing they couldn't afford to rest even for the briefest of moments lest the pursuit the woman must surely have initiated catch up to them. Finally, Tobi decided to stop for the good of Deidara, and Deidara slipped into a sitting position on the branch where he wheezed and coughed, completely exhausted and strained past the limit of his current state. Tobi cast around worriedly, risking a quick probe with his chakra in all directions to check for danger.
"Tobi," Deidara said, his voice rough from his coughing fit.
"Yes Senpai?" Tobi drew his attention away from scouting their perimeter with his chakra, satisfied they weren't being closely followed if not at all. He turned his masked gaze onto his sitting partner. Deidara wasn't looking at him, rather his gaze was rather pointedly fixed straight ahead, unwavering.
"....Thank-you, Tobi, thank-you for coming back and getting me, h'm." Well that was a surprise. Tobi looked harder at his Senpai, wondering what on Earth had gotten into him. The blood pooling in Deidara's head as he hung there must have done more damage than he'd have guessed. After a short pause, Tobi smiled, his expression unreadable to Deidara as always.
"Don't mention it Senpai," Tobi said, truthfully a little embarrassed.
"You saved me," Deidara pressed, turning around to look at Tobi now, fully intent on continuing his thanks. Tobi decided to cut him short.
"I said don't mention it, Senpai."
And Deidara never did mention it again, although he had learnt his lesson. From then on Deidara tolerated Tobi a lot better than he had done, and whenever Deidara got a bit too big for his boots Tobi would casually remind him of what had happened and Deidara's ego would deflate as quickly as it had grown. Their partnership had never been better; Deidara had learnt that Tobi deserved as much respect as he did.