Chapter 1 – Dawn at Midnight

It was a cold winter day, too rough for any animals or normal humans to be outside. Ten inches of snow has accumulated in just a few hours, and the heavy blizzard was far from being over.

This horrid weather didn't seem to affect two figures, however.

The first figure was tall, with flaming red hair. He was slender, yet had a nice build, and his eyes were a mahogany brown color. His expression was very drab, and his face dispassionate.

He was Akasuna no Sasori.

Today was his twentieth birthday. Not that anyone knew, or cared. His partner... make that ex-partner… had proven that much. As Sasori sat outside of what appeared to be a cave, he merely looked out into the snow storm, letting the inches of snow cover him, not fighting the weather.

It wasn't as if he could feel the cold, anyways. Fighting the snow would be like fighting with emotions. Pointless, troublesome, and time-consuming. He "tch-ed" at the mere idea of wasting his time with emotions.

Pointless. Worthless. Idiotic. That is all they were.

The second figure seemed quite more out of place.

It was a tiny, young boy. Scrawny and weak from his looks. His entire wardrobe consisted of a few scraps of cloth, and one beaten-up scratched-out Iwagakure headband. Every step he took, he had to fight the impaling wind and snow, gusting in the opposite direction.

The young boy had shaggy blonde hair, that normally would have hung in his face. His eyes were once a bright blue, but now had faded with the trials of being a shinobi.

He was shaking and trembling considerably. He appeared to be on his last legs of life, even though he looked no older than possibly eleven. That didn't deter him, however, and he fought on, his face contorted into a grimace as he faded into the white.

-+-+-

Morning came.

Little children from almost every village came pouring out into the four feet of snow. Most had never seen it before, and if they had, it had never been this much of it in one area.

Sasori narrowed his eyes. Such dumb little brats. Those little idiots would get excited over the simplest things.

He continued to watch, however. Maybe it was out of boredom, perhaps out of anger, but whatever the reason, it happened that something caught his eye.

While all of the other children were screaming and throwing snow at one another, he saw something moving just above the snow. He observed as it moved sluggishly through, creating a trail that could be tracked out of sight. He raised his eyebrow in a very rare show of curiosity. He began to walk towards the moving object, and just as he was about five feet away from it, he heard his name called.

"Oi! Sasori!!" He immediately recognized the gruff voice of Hoshigaki Kisame, and turned around.

There, like two idiots, were Uchiha Itachi and Kisame, standing directly in front of the Waterfall Village's gate. They were even wearing their cloaks, standing proudly were every villager could most likely see them.

Oh great! Thanks to those brats, we're going to get caught! As if waiting for them wasn't enough…

Kisame at least should know better. That Itachi kid has just joined not too long ago, so he might still be given slack for being the new guy, though Sasori wasn't known for cutting slack at all.

"You idiots." Sasori voiced his thoughts monotonously, though he noticed the lump in the snow stopped moving at his voice being so near. "You're going to get caught if you don't stay out of eyesight." He motioned to his position in the thick forest-like area.

Kisame shrugged, ignoring his insult, while Itachi looked on, matching Sasori's apathy. Finally, he spoke.

"Ah, Sasori-san, it isn't right for you to scold Kisame-san and I while you were so close to that shinobi in the snow." He flicked his index finger out, motioning to the lump.

Sasori had to resist the urge to widen his eyes. That lump had no vital signs he could sense, much less any notable chakra! How on earth could it ever qualify as a shinobi? Sasori quickly trudged over to where it's trail ended, swooping his arm down to trap the intruder. He was surprised to be kicked slightly forward.

He whipped around as fast as he could, drawing out a katana, only to come chest-to-face with the shortest, scrawniest excuse of a shinobi he had ever seen.

The little kid had a blunt kunai pointed up, directed towards his chest. The boy was already panting, his emaciated ribcage rapidly inhaling and exhaling, while the rest of him looked none-the-better. His eyes were sunken in, and his skin had a sickening tint of blue. His arms were shaking just holding the kunai, while his whole body trembled.

Itachi looked on, the same expression on his face as always. Kisame seemed mildly surprised and amused that the 'shinobi' was point-blank standing up to Sasori. The kid, however, seemed to be not amused at all, as his face twisted into a snarl.

"Well, yeah?! What're ya weaklings gonna do to me, un?! You don't stand a chance if you just sit there and gape like a bunch of overgrown trout out of wa-!" He was cut off as Sasori backhanded him, sharply enough to knock him directly off his feet and into a new section of snow.

"Bumbling idiot…" Sasori shook his head.

Itachi watched in silence as the child struggled up, clutching his left cheek now, then he slowly began to walk over. The kid froze, pointing his kunai in Itachi's direction, until Itachi lowered down so that he was on his level.

"You'd better not try to fight Sasori-san, or any of the rest of us. We are stronger than you…" At this, the kid's face twisted into yet another snarl, which Itachi noticed, then added, "At least in the state you're in currently. You couldn't fight a genin and win right now." He paused, then looked the boy up and down. "I'm guessing that you are a jounin. Correct me if I am wrong."

"You are wrong." The boy's blue eyes had a fire in them now, "I don't associate myself with any ranks that belong to a village, yeah! Those idiots never know what they are talking about!" He paused, growling. "They don't understand true art, un!"

And, with that single statement, the young boy had Sasori's full attention. He turned back to him, allowing a seldom smirk to cross his face. "Heh. What's your name, brat?"

The boy narrowed his eyes farther at Sasori, snorting. "I'm not a brat, yeah! I'm thirteen! And, if you have to know my name, give me yours first." He paused, then added, "All of you, yeah."

Itachi went first, being the calmest. "Uchiha Itachi."

Kisame answered after him, with a flash of sharp teeth in a grin, having decided he already like the kid. "Hoshigaki Kisame."

Sasori rolled his eyes. This boy was such a brat, and he just met him. He would have already killed the kid, had it not been for Itachi (of all people) to step in. "Akasuna no Sasori. Now answer, brat."

The blonde growled. "I am not a brat, un!" He kept silent for a moment, before stating all too simply a name that would change Sasori's, and all of the Akatsuki's, lives.

"Deidara."

-+-+-

A/N:

Okidokerz! First chappie! WOOT!

…..Not.

EPIC. FAIL.

This SUCKED. *Hits head on keyboard* The plot bunnehs failed me.

Grrrrr…..

Oh well, feel free to tell me how horrible it was in a review. It WILL get better (and longer!)!!!

**Some changes to note:

Sadly, this story contains no yaoi. I am writing it for my friend, and she isn't too keen on that. Sorry for expectant yaoi-fans! *gets shot*

This is many, many years before the prologue took place. Just to clear up any confusion.

Itachi is more humane currently. This is right after he joined the Akatsuki, and seeing Deidara brought out the better instincts in him. Not to say that they are going to stay friends in this fic, just that Itachi is seeing Deidara as a replacement for Sasuke right now.

And we all know that DeiDei is like a BAJILLION times better than Sas-gay!

Hehehe.