A/n: I hate it when I'm supposed to be writing and then I get sidetracked on a one shot. Oh well. Enjoy. I just had to get the Deidara out of my system.

Short Japanese Jutsu lesson, just incase you need to know:
Katsu – Deidara uses it to activate his exploding clay
Doton: Retsudotenshou – ground sucks the person in using a whirlpool of sand/ground.
Kanashibari no Jutsu- paralyzes the person.
Mokuton: Moku Jouheki- restrains the person using wood. Mokuton – Wood style. Doton – Earth Style. Suiton- Water style

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or it's characters. Though I do enjoy writing about them every now and then. Accept they are mostly smutty fics, this however is not a smutty fic. I think I'm getting off subject…I Don't own Naruto.

Deidara sat outside the current Akatsuki hideout. His red cloud embroidered shawl lay spread out under him. The dust from the desert had already covered it in a thin layer from the battles throughout the day. The sun was beginning to set on his eventful day. Not only had he lost a limb, but a dear associate. Deidara was not sure if he could call him a friend. Deidara would consider him a friend, but Sasori didn't keep friends. Though the lost of his partner left a bruise in his chest. It was a dull pain that hurt more than having his arm blown off. It even hurt more than Kazuku's shotty job of reattaching aforementioned limb.

He had nothing but respect for his master Sasori, perpetrator of fine art. Out of all the Akatsuki, Deidara thought they fit together the most. Two artists with different views on what a fine art is. Though they had their disagreement they both respected the others art form.

Deidara suddenly turned his head at the light thump behind him. Toobi crouched down in his new Akatsuki uniform. He walked in front of Deidara and cast a shadow over the blonde artist.

"You're blocking the sunset." Deidara said icily to Zetsu's former underling and his new partner. Toobi stepped out of the way and gave Deidara a thumbs up. His gloved hand bore the ring that had once belonged to his master. Deidara glared at his insolence. Though his face was hid, the young artist could tell that Toobi was smiling.

"I guess I'm your new partner now, full fledged A-Kat-Suki!" He exclaimed crossing his arms across his chest and giving a confident nod. With one quick flick of his wrist Deidara flung a piece of clay at Toobi. "Katsu, idiot." Deidara said coldly as his clay spider exploded on his chest sending him falling backwards off the edge. Deidara did not miss a moment before he jumped down after him and landed with his foot on the cocky boys' chest.

"You're not even worthy!" The blonde growled with his hair hanging messily over one eye. "You know how many people I had to kill to get here?"

Toobi glared up at him. His masked face made him look almost doll-like. His eye was not even visible, it was like staring down into a void.

"I killed a lot too." He said simply as he rolled out from under Deidara's small foot.

"You just showed up out of nowhere!" Deidara snorted. "Did you just wake up on day and want to me Akatsuki, hmm?" Toobi's mask looked up towards the sky for the moment as he thought about it.

"Pretty much!" They both remained silent. The young artist had no words. This man was so infuriating to him. He was so cheerful compared to every other member. 'Katsu' Deidara slurred as he flicked another piece of clay at him and it exploded slightly above his head sending a shower of sand down onto his black spiky head.

"Fool." Deidara walked back up the hill and sat on his coat. He began to wonder if he had annoyed Sasori this much when he first met him. Deidara held his arm which had begun to hurt again. The last bit of sun slipped behind the calm desert mountains.

--

A young blonde man stared proudly at the rock wall of a building in Iwagakura. He held a paint brush in his teeth and looked at the sloppy picture he had painted on the wall. He tilted his head to the side. The young artist put his finger on the wall and wiped away the thin stream of red blood that had dripped down from his painting.

"I don't know. It's not my best work." he said stroking his boyish face. He threw his paint brush at the wall and walked away. 'Katsuuu…" he hissed as the building exploded behind him. His long hair blew into his face as part of rock pelted his back. Deidara smiled as the city burst into panicked screams. The guard would soon be there to greet him; Diedara took off running into the hilly woods.

A young ANBU stood outside the smoldering ruins of the building. He picked up a scorched paint brush and rolled it between his fingers. Four other ANBU appeared at his side. One picked the paintbrush up and sniffed it for a moment before flicking it with his finger.

"It's him again." Said an ANBU with the face of a monkey painted on his white mask. The ANBU took off into the forest to find the young terror that had been attacking Iwagakure on a regular basis. Including these current murders he was taken the lives of fourty Iwa villagers, twenty-nine Iwa ninja, and six ANBU black ops. This didn't even count the lives he had taken from other villages.

Deidara sat around his fire in a forest clearing. He sighed watched the smoke curl high into the clear blue sky. He thought that those ANBU would've found him by now.

"Perhaps they think that I wouldn't light a fire so this must not be me, yeah?" He muttered to himself. Those ANBU always thought they were so smart. They had ruined his art so many times when he was among their ranks.

Deidara smiled as he crafted a few more things out of clay for his ANBU friends. He could feel them coming. Their bloodlust was almost tangible in the air. His hand vomited up one last clay figure as five ANBU appeared from the trees and immediately surrounding Deidara.

"Hiya." He said groaning as he got to his feet and brushed the dirt from his backside. "Well, there seems to be an extra here. I thought you only came in fours!" The ANBU moved in closer to him without saying a word. He smirked; one would slip up and attack first.

Deidara listened; the one to his back left had stepped on the piece of clay he placed there. He was closest. Deidara had never met this ANBU before; it was obvious he was new. Too bad, if he were promoted another time maybe he could've lived.

"Katsu." The clay bombs placed around him exploded. The new ANBU let out a scream as a shower of blood splattered across the ground. His left leg was little more then a stub with splinters of bloody white bone poking from it. He rolled on the ground and the ANBU backed off from the cloud of smoke sent up by the explosion.

The earth began to swirl around underneath Deidara. He jumped up and landed on the wounded ANBU. 'Doton: Retsudotenshou, hmm?' He thought to himself. 'That could've been painful.'

The dust cleared and Deidara slit the throat of the fifth ANBU. The others were nowhere to be seen, but he knew they were still around. Iwa ANBU never retreated.

"There, such an uninspiring death for him, but at least you have your normal number now." The blonde wiped blood off his forehead protector and stepped onto the loose ground.

Deidara tapped his foot on the ground. "Oh that right…" He had almost forgotten one of the most basic Doton jutsus. "I must say, ANBU are much more fun than those plain old Hunter-nin, Especially since I knew you all, yeah." Deidara threw all his clay spiders onto the ground and they burrowed into the soft dirt. "…Katsu."

Dirt flew up into the air around him. Three ANBU resurfaced and came out fighting. The young budding artist dodged a Suiton attack and landed a kick into another ANBU's stomach. Deidara froze with his hand grasped around a clay bird.

Wood began to curl up from the ground and wrap around his body. 'Shit…Kanashibari no Jutsu with Mokuton: Moku Jouheki to boot. I think I might have to take this more seriously.' The ANBU surrounded him. The cruel smiles on their masks covering the merry ones they sported underneath. 'Let's see…I guess I could live with loosing a leg.'

Deidara heard the sounds of snapping bones behind him. He could hear something rattling behind him as well. The mokuton jutsu released and the paralysis soon after. Deidara turned around and looked into the cold eyes of a redheaded puppet. The smooth wood on his face was chipped and it seemed to have sand in its joints. Deidara drew a weapon as an ugly man slid from the trees, dragging a limp ANBU behind him. He looked at Deidara with lifeless eyes. His body seemed to be much like that of the puppet.

This ugly man with his hunched back unrolled a scroll and the puppet appeared to have disappeared within it. He rolled his scroll up stuck it in his pocket. The man stared at him. His hair came out of his head in black tuffs and was tied back in a ponytail. Only his eyes were visible as his mouth was covered by black cloth.

"Impressive." Sasori complimented as he looked at the damage to the surrounding area. "Very impressive." He repeated as Deidara's eyes burned into him.

The young artist reached into his pocket. This puppeteer would be a nice challenge. Sasori waved his hand in front of his face.

"Don't bother; your clay wouldn't be effective to me." The puppetmaster walked over to him. This man looked fascinatingly smooth, he felt an overwhelming desire to reach out and see if he was real or not.

"I have a proposition for you." Sasori whipped his hand upwards and grabbed Deidara's forearm which was reaching at his head. "Not smart" His fingers clattered like wooden tablets as he let him loose.

The young artist pouted and looked away from the creature. "KATSU, KATSU, KATSU!" he yelled out furiously. The ground all around them exploded. Sasori stood were he was as a clay dog crawled from the ground and exploded under him. Sasori stood were he was, unscarred by the explosion.

"Silly child, you have so much to learn." Sasori laughed, his mouth moving jerkily behind his black face cloth.

"Oh yeah, I think after killing over one hundred people I know enough. My art is great." Deidara cockily scoffed placing his hands on his hips.

"Cannon fodder. They were all cannon fodder." He said staring up at him with his void eyes.

"But still. They were all fine pieces of art. Carved magnificently and then passing." The young artist reminisced; he vomited a piece of molded clay from his palm and showed it to the hunched man.

"That is what you call fine art?" He asked, his voice expressed his discontent but his face remained that of a blank puppet.

"Dear boy, fine art is something wonderful." He turned his back to Deidara and took something from his pocket. "A magnificent piece of art that lasts a life time for all those to see!" In bursts of smoke puppets began to appear around the area, each puppet with a different face, different size, and different shape. Deidara saw the same redheaded puppet he had seen previously. "You're art is just a fleeting burst, mine is a constant gust."

Deidara stood silent for a moment. "You have no idea what you are talking about! If art is around long enough it looses its thrill!" Sasori dispersed his puppets and rolled the scrolls up.

"I see." Sasori said calmly. "I think I have a gift for you then." Sasori reached in his pocket and pulled out a ring. "Wear it on your right index finger." Sasori placed the ring in Deidara's calloused hand.

"But…Why?" The young artist asked staring at the ring in his hand.

"Akatsuki, the organization in which I belong to, requires your talent as an artist."

--

Over the months to follow Deidara and Sasori worked together for Akatsuki as partners. They did well together, even though they had such different opinions of fine art. In time Deidara's respect grew for Sasori and his lasting artwork.

"Just like a piece of fine art. If you last too long you get blown away by the change." Deidara blew the desert sand out of his palm into the night air.