The moon illuminated the boy's frozen breath as he concealed his presence behind a snow-covered tree. His wireless radio was silent, which put the boy's nerves on high alert. His team was supposed to be in contact with each other 24/7. The fact that the radio was silent meant that they had either been captured, or were too close to the enemy, two very unfavorable situations. The boy growled under his breath and continued on his way by maneuvering through the forest's canopy. Deidara was very young for his occupation at eleven years old. His long blond hair was tied into a ponytail, with one long bang hanging in front of his left eye. He wore his Stone Village headband proudly on his forehead. His team were considered natural geniuses, having some of the best records in ninja history, only being eclipsed by the legendary Sasori of the Red Sand, who had made Jonin, Deidara's current rank, at the age of ten.
"Deidara nii-san! Do you copy?" Deidara's heart filled with relief as he heard his comrade's voice through his earpiece.
"Kurotsuchi? Where are you guys?" questioned Deidara. "I've been looking all over for you, hmm!"
"I'm sorry. We were dangerously close to the enemy. I was separated from Akatsuchi..."
"Where are you now? What's your position?"
"About ten meters west from the Landmark Tree. Please hurry!" Deidara quickened his pace towards his comrade's position. He began to unwrap the bandages on his hands on the way. He knew what to look for: Kurotsuchi had short black hair, and pale pink eyes. She had a paler complexion than Deidara's, and always wore the basic Jonin attire for the stone village with her right sleeve missing. Akatsuchi was a rather chubby fellow with a large nose. His spiked black hair was usually covered by a bandana, and he wore the basic Stone ninja attire as well. Deidara knew that he could find them easily. That's the Landmark Tree, thought Deidara as he passed an oak tree larger than the rest in the forest. Almost there, hmm!
A rough hand seized Kurotsuchi's hair after she cut her transmission. Akatsuchi tried to help her, but was held back by two other ninja. Emblazoned on their headbands was the symbol of Kirigakure, the Blood Mist.
"Nice work, girly. He's bound to come running."
"D-damn you..." muttered the captive girl. The remark was met with a hard punch to her face. She let out a small cry of pain and fell on her back.
"Didn't your daddy ever teach you not to insult the big, scary guys?" asked the assailant in a mocking tone. Kurotsuchi felt tears well up inside her eyes, but she wouldn't show these thugs any weakness.
"Th-that all you got..?" Another blow was delivered, followed by another and another.
"Learn your place, you little bitch!" Kurotsuchi could feel herself losing consciousness when she caught sight of a boy with blond hair in the trees. Deidara... nii-san... thought Kurotsuchi before her consciousness faded.
The sight before Deidara made his blood boil. His two dearest friends were held captive by the Mist ninja they were sent to deal with. He thrust his hands into the large sacks at his hips. He could feel the moist clay being devoured and molded by the mouths on his hands. His unique Kekkei Genki would be his best bet right now.
"Hey," called out the boy. "Is picking on girls all you're good at, hmm?!"
"He's here," remarked the ninja who had assaulted Kurotsuchi. "Get him! The Mizukage wants that boy alive!" Deidara smirked at his two assailants as one of their fists broke through his chest. The boy lost all color, becoming a white blob, barely similar in appearance to Deidara. The ninja's hand was stuck in the clay, which did not release its hold, no matter how hard he tried. Deidara smiled at their incompetency as he weaved his hand sign.
"Ha!" The clay shape swelled until it burst, killing the attacking shinobi within seconds.
"What the hell?!" shouted the second ninja. "He exploded?!"
"Stay on your toes!" Commanded Kurotsuchi's assailant, obviously the one in command. "It was just a clone made of clay. Stay away from that stuff." Deidara made a silent signal to Akatsuchi. The boy nodded and began to charge his chakra. Within moments, a form made of stone began to emerge from Akatsuchi's mouth.
"Idiot!" screamed the commander. "You let the boy perform his jutsu!" The ninja moved to stop Akatsuchi, but Deidara blocked their path with spiders made of his detonating clay. "Damn..." Deidara's make-shift mine field allowed Akatsuchi enough time to create his golem, a humanoid structure of stone towering above the Mist Jonin. The titan threw a fist of stone at the shinobi, shattering the chest of the unfortunate victim, leaving only the one in charge.
"Grab Kurotsuchi and get back to the village," commanded Deidara. "I'll show this amateur my art's perfection, hmm!" From Deidara's (rather grotesque) hands erupted two snakes made of his exploding clay. The ninja nimbly avoided Deidara's strikes and drew a katana from his back. Akatsuchi quickly grabbed Kurotsuchi and left towards the village with her on his back. The mist ninja growled to himself, and turned his gaze back at Deidara.
"You seem to like ranged combat. Let's see how you deal with a foe at close quarters!" the ninja leapt at Deidara, bracing his blade for a slash. Deidara quickly molded an owl out of clay and leapt off the branch, landing on the now-mobile creature. He took off into the air, laughing all the while.
"You'll have to catch me first, hmm!"
"No need," the ninja replied as he weaved several hand signs. "Water Style: Water Trumpet!" From the foe's mouth erupted a stream of water that broke through the owl's wing. The impact caused Deidara to lose his balance and fall.
"Shit," muttered Deidara. "I was careless." The mouths on Deidara's hands began to gather a large amount of clay. They molded it into a large winged shape, a dragon. Deidara quickly weaved the hand sign, and the beast took to life. The mist ninja could only stare in awe and terror.
"What the hell..?"
"Well?! Are you impressed?! Has my art blown you away? This is my legendary C2 Dragon!" Deidara transferred chakra into the beast's neck, causing it to extend at a rapid pace, biting the ninja's waste faster than he could react. "Got ya!"
Several hours later, Deidara stood before the now imprisoned Mist shinobi in Iwagakure(the Hidden Stone)'s holding cell. The man had been stubborn since he had been captured, and hadn't released any information.
"Just give it up, Nii-san," sighed Kurotsuchi. "He's not going to give us any information."
"I can't just give up," replied Deidara, who had lost patience a long time ago. "If this guy knew about my jutsu, the Mist could be planning something big. Why the hell else would they travel such a long distance?" The imprisoned ninja began to chuckle to himself(it was the most they'd gotten out of him all day).
"What's so funny?" inquired Kurotsuchi. "You're not really in a position to laugh!"
"Did you forget we were Jonin? You can't have expected us to not have a backup plan."
"What do you..?" began Deidara, but his sentence was cut off as the Stone ANBU guarding the prisoner removed their masks, revealing Mist headbands. More Mist ninja broke down the door and surrounded the pair. Deidara could tell that Stone ninja wouldn't come in time. He'd have to protect Kurotsuchi himself.
"N-Nii-san, what do we do?" asked Kurotsuchi.
"Stay calm," responded Deidara. "I'll think of something." For all his reassurance, Deidara didn't have much of an idea himself. He couldn't use his explosion style indoors, and there were too many to defeat without it. The ninja began to strike at the partners with kunai and katanas. Deidara and Kurotsuchi deflected them for as long as possible, but the overwhelming odds soon caught up with them. Deidara eventually found himself on the ground under a ninja's boot, and Kurotsuchi was being restrained by more mist ninja. The shinobi took the key from Deidara's belt and unlocked the door, allowing their comrade to escape.
"Hey boss," spoke a ninja. "Why don't we take the girl with us? She could always be used for ransom. Besides..." The ninja licked Kurotsuchi's cheek with a wicked grin on his face. "I haven't had a toy in so long." Kurotsuchi began to shake, her fear obvious to Deidara.
"Leave her alone!" Deidara shouted. Deidara frantically tried to come up with a plan. He knew his C1 would do no good against this number of opponents, and his C2 Dragon was too large to use in the building.
"Hey, let us in too, Daisuke!" Mused other members. "It's been a long time."
"Aw, look. She's crying." Mocked another as tears streamed down Kurotsuchi's face. Something within Deidara snapped. He would not let her be harmed by these scumbags. He thrust his hands into his sacks and absorbed as much clay as he could.
"Get... get away..." whimpered Kurotsuchi. "P-please..."
"GET LOST!" screamed Deidara as he tossed a clay sculpture into the air. He hadn't focused on design, but he knew it would cause serious damage. The ninja moved to brace themselves, giving Deidara a chance to move to Kurotsuchi's side. It all happened in an instant. The clay blob shattered as energy poured forth. Deidara hugged Kurotsuchi close to him and shielded her from the impact. He felt the intense heat and pressure from the resulting explosion. Debris from the destroyed roof and walls rained on him. The pain was unbearable. Deidara's consciousness slipped away from him.
"Ohhh..." marveled Black Zetsu, a form more similar to a silhouette with spiky hair, as he observed the spectacle. He moved over to an unconscious Mist ninja, the very one that had been imprisoned. The ninja's eyes snapped open, and he delivered a wicked grin. All color faded from him, as he took a form similar to the black figure, only this one was white.
"Tobi was right," speculated White Zetsu in a harmonious voice that greatly contrasted Black Zetsu's. "He was an excellent candidate. Where did he go?"
"He ran off a while ago," replied Black Zetsu. "I sent Itachi, Sasori, and Kisame to retrieve him. I expect that you ate the other corpses by now."
"Of course. Tobi wanted this to all look like a random act of terrorism. Shall we return?"
"We shall." The two forms sickeningly merged together and sank into the ground to return to their master.
Eight years later, Deidara laughed to himself as he thought back to his time in Iwagakure. His destruction of that building was seen by the Tsuchikage as an act of terrorism, and Deidara was labeled a rogue ninja. The Akatsuki found him soon after, and recruited him for their cause: to hunt Jinchuriki, ninjas with the Legendary Tailed Beasts sealed within. Deidara found himself enjoying his new life. He was allowed to show his art with no regard for anyone's life but his own. Now, however, was a different matter. Deidara's partner, Sasori, was missing. Deidara could tell that Sasori's endeavor was quite the battle; the cave they had been in was in pieces. Shattered puppets were scattered among the debris, and his famed Hiruko lay broken and useless in the debris. It was clear that Sasori had lost. Even so, Deidara had to find a body, at the very least. It did not take him long to locate Sasori's "body." A crimson haired mannequin stood in the center of the rubble, pierced by another crimson haired puppet, and a brown haired puppet that resembled a woman.
"Damn, my man..." Deidara sighed. "I thought you wouldn't let the old bat get the best of you..." He approached the mannequin and reached for the core of the puppet, the only "human" part of Sasori left. The core, however, was gone. Deidara searched the debris around the puppets when he caught a glimpse of something in the corner of his eye. A teenage boy approached Deidara cloaked in the Akatsuki robe, a black coat with red clouds emblazoned on it. His gaze was emotionless, and his wide brown eyes were framed by his curly red hair.
"What took you?" asked Sasori in his signature calm and melodious voice. "You know I hate waiting."
"How the hell are you alive?" asked Deidara, still in shock. "Hiruko's in pieces and your body's right there." Sasori scoffed at Deidara's remark.
"Do you take me for a fool?" asked Sasori, coldly. "I had a contingency planned just for this occasion, and besides, why would I waste Hiruko on Konoha trash?" The boy reaches down and rolled up a scroll of summoning. "I keep spare puppets in these scrolls. They activate automatically should my body fail me." Deidara couldn't help but be impressed by his cohort. As far as he could tell, this was all but a game to him. The boy unrolled another scroll and placed his palm in the center. With a poof and a puff of smoke, a large puppet appeared before them. It was humanoid, but only barely. It stood on all fours, and had a demon mask welded into it's back. From the mask's mouth sprouted a large mechanical scorpion tail. "I used a wooden copy in that fight," Sasori explained as he climbed into his true Hiruko without a moment's hesitation. "Let's go." he declared in a much hoarser voice than before.
"By the way," Deidara began. "How the hell did they defeat you?" Sasori scoffed again.
"You honestly think I tried? I was told to scout out the power of each ninja that arrived. Since you led the Nine-Tails and Hatake off, I was left with Grandmother and the pink one. My duty to observe was far more important than victory."
"Now that sounds like you," Deidara mused. The pair re-adorned their wide brimmed hats and began their trek back to their headquarters, satisfied by their achievements.