1. introduction ; title - names are just words to me

Deidara sat on the rock, in the cave where Sasori died. It really was it, wasn't it, Sasori no Danna? All those talk about how art was eternal, and here he was, dead. Pierced in the only place that made him human. Perhaps it was a heart, perhaps it was not. Deidara didn't remember anymore. His first partner, his fellow artist.

Does that mean he has won the little banters that the two often engage in? Art was truly fleeting then, seeing as Sasori was already gone. The blonde scoffed, staring down at the hollow shell puppet that used to be his partner. Upon closer inspection, it would seem that his ring was gone. Right, Zetsu had probably been sent out by Pein to do some clean up. Casting one last glance down at the lifeless face of his Danna, he scoffed and planted a foot into it, crushing the wood into pieces, caving the neatly carved facial feature into its own empty head. Without the chakra, it was really just some pathetic wooden puppet.

His cloak was ruined, torn at the sleeves. It was be normal, seeing as both his arms were taken from him. At least Zetsu managed to recover them, with his loud and annoying mask wearing subordinate. He was going to be the replacement for Sasori, wasn't he. Deidara met him before, had his neck between his thighs in his last attempt to shut the annoying man up. Just because he didn't have his arms, doesn't mean he couldn't put up a fight.

Deidara flexed his reattached arms, turning away from the puppet. Kakuzu stitched them back on, and replaced the missing part of his arm with the help of Zetsu's cell regrowth. It left him disgusting scars, but he didn't care about them. Let them be there, to remind him of this horrid day. No, it wasn't the first time he has lost a comrade in battle. It wasn't the first time he lost a person he could consider as his friend. It was the first time that Deidara had lost someone whom he had looked up to, who he found a reason to bicker against, who shared his passion in art.

"Deidara," the dark side of Zetsu rasped, his voice cutting through Deidara's train of thought and the bomber turned to stare at the man. Imbedded inside a wall as usual, Zetsu was only visible from the shoulders up, his large green venus flytrap looking flaps protruding out from his collarbones and into the air. "Your new partner."

Right. The man wasn't going to let Deidara forget it. Turning his gaze to the man next to Zetsu, he sighed. The lollipop was going to be his new partner, and there really wasn't anything he could do about it. Deidara couldn't whine to Pein, or bug Konan to get rid of the idiot for him. He was the youngest of the Akatsuki, seconded only by Hidan, but that doesn't mean he wasn't nineteen years old and it doesn't mean he didn't have a sense of pride.

In fact, the man could be overly arrogant. That was why he was dangerous.

The man was an idiot. What was with the annoyingly bright orange mask? They were supposed to be sneaky. Anyone with half an eye could see that mask. Deidara's fingers twitched, and the next thing they knew, three kunai whizzed through the air and straight for his new partner. A test of strength, perhaps. Or something to let Deidara vent his anger on.

Everything happened too fast, but the distinct sound of the three kunai imbedding themselves into the cave wall at the opposite end was clear enough. What happened left Deidara shocked, and he would've missed it if it weren't for his left eye. The blonde swallowed, stepping toward his new partner as the taller man seemed to cower in fear.

"D-Deidara-senpai! Why did you do that?" He asked, his annoying, squeaky voice making Deidara's head hurt.

"No matter, hmm," the artist knew he was pretending. Who knew that this man was such a great actor? "Come, Tobi, uhn."

As he walked out of the cave, he let himself muse over what had happened. Tobi dodged his kunai, did a little wave, then stepped back into their paths. Whatever happened then, was something that could only be one of Tobi's special abilities. They passed through him. He was unfazed by it all, and only put up an act so that it made it seem like Deidara was the "leader" of the two. Deidara didn't stop for Tobi, who was calling for him to wait up somewhere back there.

Tobi stood in front of Naruto and Killer B, his face hidden behind the new mask he had fancied himself. "The war has already begun," Tobi said, staring at them intently through the eternal darkness of his two eyeholes. His voice was deep, his normal voice. One that he almost forgot after spending so long behind the facade of Tobi. "My name no longer matters. You can call me by my old name, Tobi, if you prefer. Madara, Tobi, call me whatever you want."

Truth was, they were just words to him now. The only person who could say his name and instill something within him that he thought had long died was dead. Although Deidara was now revived, Tobi knew that walking corpse held nothing similar to his "senpai" other than his appearance. The spell residing within him only gave him his voice and personality. In the end, they were all just controlled by Kabuto. The damned little snake really knew how to blackmail.

The Uchiha remembered the first proper introduction with Deidara-senpai. It was the only time where he proved to the bombshell that he wasn't just an idiot with a mask on. He was an outlaw hiding his true identity. That little name, Tobi, uttered with hatred and exasperation from that boy strike a thrill in him that not even starting the Fourth Great Ninja War could reproduce.

Hey guys, Red here!

Surprise! I'm not dead! This is the first challenge for the 100 one-shot challenge! I'm doing random pairings, and decided to start it with TobiDei as a blast from the past. It's not very apparent in this one, but trust me, you can see it if you read between the lines. Originally posted on WCRPG/FF.

I might do the rest of the challenge with Tobi and Deidara, I'm not sure. Might as well, though. I've been rude to run away from this pairing C:

Have a nice day!
Cheers, Red.