Deidara woke up the next morning when he felt something light tap on his face. He felt it again, this time a bit harder. "hm, what's that?" he yawned as he got up. He saw two crumbled up pieces of paper on the bed, Sasori had thrown them at his face to wake him up. Deidara glanced at the clock, it was half past eight.
"Finally," Sasori said from the corner of the room, "I was wondering when you'd get up. You must be a deep sleeper."
"Huh?" Deidara rubbed his eyes, "I thought you were gone all night?"
"There wasn't much to see, this town was near empty last night. I came back here and worked on more puppet modifications." Sasori explained. He brushed back some of the brown puppet hair from his face.
Deidara blushed a little, feeling self conscious that Sasori had indeed watched over him as he slept. He got up from the bed and stretched. His stomach gave a loud growl.
"Food on the table," Sasori said, not looking up from the puppet hand he was examining. Deidara saw that Sasori had made some breakfast for him, there were two eggs and some toast.
After eating, Sasori and Deidara prepared themselves for the day. Mai and Daichi walked out of the motel into the bustling crowd. "Where are we going today?" Daichi asked, in a rather haughty tone. He wasn't going to let Mai do everything today.
"Let's go check out the Hana Castle," Mai said with a cheerful voice. Deidara wondered what kind of information they would gather from this castle.
They took a tour of the castle, walking in it and admiring the artwork and culture. Deidara's wonders on the importance of this trip soon faded, as he marveled at the castle's glory. This castle is from ancient times, it would be so wonderful to see it explode, my art could make this great castle burst with splendor for a few seconds, but everyone would remember it for a lifetime, hm!
Mai and Daichi enjoyed the tour, talking lightly with the other tourists. They giggled and held hands, acting drunk with love for each other. Deidara was beginning to realize that this walking tour was just for show, just to demonstrate to others that they were indeed travelers, and not spies.
When the tour of the castle was over, they hung back in a flower garden, smelling the flowers. Deidara enjoyed flowers very much, they were beautiful for a moment in time, and then they withered away. It was the perfect art form, beautiful for an instant, just before its death.
Daichi inhaled deeply one of the red roses, "Smell these Mai, they're gorgeous," he said.
She took the rose from Daichi and placed it to her nose. Hm, I'm not even sure if the puppet can smell Deidara's internal thoughts were always rambling. "Lovely," Mai said and then kissed him on the cheek. There were a few other people around them in the garden.
One of the other tourists that had been with them through the Hana Castle tour walked up to them and said, "Koma and I are going to get drinks later tonight, you two should join us." His name was Akira, his girlfriend Koma smiled at them. They had overheard Daichi and Mai's conversation about the chunin exams from earlier, Akira added, "I'd like to talk more with you two about the chunin exams, perhaps we can discuss bets over our drinks."
Daichi looked at Mai and asked, "What do you think darling? That sounds like fun to me."
Mai nodded with a smile, "Yes," she said in a cool voice, "that would be lovely." They made plans for a time and place to meet up and then they left, heading back to their motel room.
As they entered the room, Sasori began speaking about the plan, "I'd like to confirm tonight my suspicions about the genin from this village," he said.
"What are your suspicions?"
"I suspect they trained under Orochimaru himself. Although I am not sure why he's entering his own genin into the chunin exams…It could be that he has a bigger plan behind all this."
"What exactly does this have to do with the akatsuki?" Deidara wondered.
"It may have nothing to do with us, or it may intercept our plans. We don't know that yet." Sasori said, "the akatsuki will soon be hunting out the tailed beasts, and we can't let that pesky Orochimaru get in our way…he already knows about the akatsuki's plan since he was once a member…so our purpose here is to make sure that his plan with this chunin exam will not hinder our own. There is a young jinchuriki living in Konoha, Orochimaru might be plotting to take him or kill him during this exam."
Deidara nodded that he understood, "do you think Akira and Koma will know anything about that?"
"They might know more about these genin, yes. From the way they were speaking earlier, it seems they have a secret." Sasori said.
Mai and Daichi arrived at the small restaurant a few minutes before 8, and secured a table in the back of the room, secluded from others. Mai flashed a charming smile at the waiter, along with a seductive wink and ordered some sake. The waiter did not ask her age, but promptly went to get their drinks.
"You're pretty good at acting as a temptress," Deidara told him.
"Shh," Mai silenced him, "here they come."
Akira and Koma sauntered into the restaurant and joined them at the table, greeting them. The waiter came in and sat down a large bottle of sake. "oh mmm just in time!" Akira said, smacking his lips. He poured a drink for the four of them and took a sip.
Deidara had never had an alcoholic drink before, being so young. He wasn't sure if he would like the taste of sake, but instantly enjoyed the feeling of the warm drink as it passed his lips.
"So how are you two liking this cozy village of ours?" Koma asked them.
"It's great, we've enjoyed ourselves so far," Daichi said in a deep voice. He took another sip of the sake, enjoying it immensely.
"That's good to hear," Akira said, "we don't get too many visitors anymore."
"Oh?" Mai seemed curious, "and why is that? I thought the land of sound was a peaceful one?"
"It is, or was…" Koma began.
Akira continued for her after another gulp of sake, "the land of sound is home to many different shinobi clans. They are peaceful clans, but have been used by others for war and have been suffering. A newcomer came along recently, he promised power to help revive these clans."
"A newcomer?" Daichi wondered.
"Yes, we don't know who he is exactly, only that he is very powerful. He convinced our Feudal Lord to allow the set up for a hidden shinobi village. I've heard rumors that some people from various clans have joined him, seeking power." Akira explained.
Daichi took another sip of the sake, beginning to feel the effects of the alcohol. His head buzzed a little, and his face felt warm. "A powerful man, hm. But how does this affect the tourist attractions?"
"Well, the people in our village just don't act the same anymore…not as hospitable. People are more wary of others now, some feel overconfident with having new shinobi. People are very proud that we will actually have shinobi from our village competing in the chunin exams." Akira stated.
"So this powerful man raised up some genin for the exam?" Mai asked, batting her eyes.
"Yes," Koma said, shooting Mai daggers with her eyes, suspicious of her intentions towards Akira. Koma moved closer to her boyfriend, placing a hand on his shoulder. Deidara noticed this movement, and he quickly scooted closer to Mai and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek, as if to reassure Koma that there was nothing to worry about.
"Anyways," Daichi said, continuing the conversation and avoiding an awkward silence, "do you believe these new genin will do well?"
"That's the name of the game, Daichi!" Akira said excitedly, "I'm willing to bet all my money on our three genin, Dosu, Kin and Zaku."
"Hm, I'll take you on!" Daichi responded, "I think the Konoha's Uchiha child will outsmart them all, I've heard great things about him." Deidara wanted to see their reaction to the name Uchiha.
Akira rolled his eyes, "so you've heard about him too, eh? A lot of rumors surround that child."
"Yes," Koma agreed, "I met with Dosu personally, he is very determined to beat the Uchiha."
"You know one of the genin?" Mai asked, surprised.
"Yes, he's a few years my junior, friends with my younger brother." She responded.
"Interesting," Daichi said, "I don't know much about the Uchiha kid save for the rumors, but if you could tell me more about Dosu, then I might be willing to change my bet."
"Ah, that would not be fair, you're supposed to go into the games with limited knowledge and learn about the genin as you watch their matches unfold, that's part of the fun!" Akira said. The drinks seemed to be going to his head a little bit.
"Well, at least clue us in on the type of training he's had," Daichi said, "maybe if we knew more about this mysterious leader…"
"All I know is that they have an elite training ground, very top secret on the outskirts of the village near the forest." Koma said, "that's really all we know. Dosu won't tell me anything about his training."
Deidara considered this information, thinking to himself how easy it was to dig out the useful pieces of intel from these two idiots. He took another sip of his sake while his thoughts swayed in his brain. He felt his cheeks grow warmer from the drink, and the buzzing in his brain intensified. Mai glanced over at him from the sides of her eyes, she grabbed his hand in hers. Deidara's hand felt slightly tingly. What a strange feeling, hm! His thoughts were a little muddled.
"I would still place my bets on the Uchiha," Mai said, picking the conversation back up, "but I've never really been a gambling girl. Daichi, I've never seen you gamble either."
"Oh c'mon!" Akira pleaded, "let's make this interesting! We're all going to be watching the exams, we can meet up afterwards, exchange money then!"
"Yes!" Daichi said, a little too loudly, "we will definitely be there!" He hiccupped just then. "and we'll definitely be victorious, hm!" He took another sip of the warm sake.
"Shh, calm down," Mai said in a slightly irritated tone, "you've had enough to drink."
"Hm, I'm just starting!" Daichi poured himself another drink and downed it in one shot. He could feel the room beginning to spin. Oh no, he thought, maybe I shouldn't have drank it so fast…
Mai was speaking with Akira and Koma again, but the buzzing in Deidara's ears prevented him from tuning into their conversation. Feeling quite drunk, he laid back in his seat, deciding that Sasori could take it from here. Deidara had done his part, he thought confidently.
Deidara focused his attention on the dim lights in the room, which seemed to be spinning and swaying, as if he was on a rocking ship. Deidara closed his eyes, trying to get a grip. He opened them again only to find that the room was spinning more intensely than before. He felt that he had to get up, he suddenly felt suffocated sitting in the hot room.
Daichi got up quite suddenly, interrupting the conversation, "I-I need some fresh air," he stated, hiccupping again.
Koma giggled into her hand, "don't tell me this is his first drink," she said to Mai.
Deidara felt a rush of fury against the silly girl, "don't be daft, I'm just tired of this company," Daichi said rather rudely before walking away. Mai apologized for his behavior, Deidara could hear her saying something about "too many drinks" and "it's been a while" over his shoulder before he exited the building. He didn't care much what happened at that moment, he just knew that he needed to get away quickly.
Deidara stumbled out of the restaurant and threw up along the side of the building. Luckily, no one was around to see him. He wiped his mouth, disgusted with himself. He did feel a little better now, but he was angry with Sasori again. That damn old man, letting me drink all that sake and act a fool! I'll show him, I'm going to end this now!
Still feeling quite tipsy, yet sure of his decision, Deidara walked away towards the forest, eager to find Orochimaru's hideout.
Deidara found himself stumbling around the forest for quite some time before he came upon an entrance to an underground building, right below a large tree. Hm, that wasn't so hard to find! Deidara thought. He walked forward carelessly, still feeling confident from the liquid courage.
Deidara took only a few steps forward before a ninja stepped in his way. She was short, very young. Her long black hair almost reached to the ground and her black eyes stared menacingly at Deidara. "Don't take another step," she warned.
Deidara rolled his eyes. Under normal circumstances, he might have continued his ploy at Daichi, made up an excuse about getting lost in the woods and apologized. But at that moment, Deidara felt like having a good fight against this genin.
"Pff, what do you think you're gonna do about it, hm?" He asked her.
She gritted her teeth, "I don't like the looks of you," she said. Then, she pulled out senbon, or metal needles with points on both ends, from her pocket. "This is your last warning," she said, "leave before I hurt you."
"I doubt you could," Deidara remarked, "what's your name girl?"
"I am Kin, a genin and student under the great Orochimaru!" she said with overconfidence.
"Hm, is he really that great?" Deidara mused, he enjoyed annoying this mere child, "I've heard your name before, you know. They say you'll be competing in these chunin exams."
"That's right!" she said, seeming to forget about striking him with her senbon. "And I alone will defeat Sasuke Uchiha!"
"You alone you say?" she didn't notice that Deidara's hand was currently occupied in his bag full of detonating clay. "Why is everyone so keen on defeating that Uchiha hm?"
"It's a personal order from Orochimaru himself," she admitted, still brimming with confidence.
So that's his play, huh? Deidara thought, Orochimaru wants to kill the Uchiha, or perhaps test his abilities. Either way, he has his eyes set on him for some reason.
Deidara pulled out his hand to reveal three small spiders that he had formed from clay. Kin was shocked, "what's that?" she asked, holding up the senbon in front of her face.
"Be prepared to be amazed by my art!" Deidara cried. He threw the spiders at her and stepped back, preparing to detonate them. Kin stepped away from the spiders, but she was still in the range of attack as they exploded magnificently.
Deidara grinned from behind his hiding spot, hoping to find that she and the hideout had been blown away. However, when the smoke dissipated, Deidara was shocked to find that Kin was nowhere to be seen and the hideout was standing still. The trees in the surrounding area had been blown away. Deidara himself had hidden behind a tree quite a distance from the hideout, and he peeked out to see who had saved the genin girl.
A man with silver hair and glasses stood there with an arm raised. It seems he had used some special jutsu to defend against the explosion, saving the hideout. He surveyed the area, and said "you can come out now, Kin." She walked out from the hideout, climbing up the stairs timidly.
"Tell me what happened," the silver haired man demanded. Before Kin could respond, Deidara slowly crept away backwards, slyly headed back towards the village.
The rush of adrenaline had erased all traces of alcohol through his system, Deidara ran back towards the restaurant as fast as his feet would carry him. He sat back at the table next to Mai, out of breath and pink in the face from his run.
"What the hell happened to you?" Mai asked, with a more Sasori like tone. Koma and Akira did not notice, they both seemed glazed over from the sake.
"We should go now darling, I really don't feel well," Daichi replied. Mai nodded. They paid their portion of the bill, making up excuses to the other couple, lying to them that they would meet up again soon.
Once back in the motel room, Deidara confessed everything that had happened. Sasori blinked a few times, but did not interrupt. When Deidara had revealed everything, Sasori finally responded. Deidara expected him to yell, but he was quite calm as he said, "our job here is done, let's leave this village now before Orochimaru comes looking for us."
Deidara nodded, and they quickly picked up their belongings. They left the motel quietly, paying the bill still in character. When they had finally gotten a mile away from the village, they hopped back onto one of Deidara's clay birds and took off into the night sky without so much as a whisper.
"Good work," Pain said once they had rendezvoused with the rest of the akatsuki members. "You located Orochimaru's hideout and confirmed his plan. No further action needs to be taken at this moment."
"We know his plan is to target the Uchiha boy, but we don't know why," Deidara said, confused. He thought there would be a follow up mission to this one, perhaps he would be able to show off his art at the chunin exam.
"Sasuke Uchiha is of no concern to me. Orochimaru may do as he pleases with him. No doubt he is going to target him as his next vessel, since his plan to obtain Itachi as a vessel failed. I was worried he would attempt to steal the jinchuriki from Konoha, but it seems his purpose greatly differs from the akatsuki. We will move on from this matter," Pain responded. "Thank you again for the prompt information, Sasori. We can always count on you when time is of the essence."
"It was Deidara who found the hideout," Sasori admitted, "Direct your gratitude towards him."
Pain nodded in Deidara's direction, "thank you. Now, I must take my leave. You will be called upon when it's time for your next mission." Pain walked out of the room, followed closely by the girl named Konan.
Deidara was left slightly stunned. He couldn't believe that Sasori told Pain that he had found the hideout. He was more surprised that they would apparently have time off. "So now what hm?" he asked.
"Rest up, train, do what you like," Sasori said with a deep grumble. He was wearing the Hiruko armor again.
"When will you show me what you really look like, hm?" Deidara asked.
Sasori did not respond, he walked away slowly towards the door. Before he exited, he turned his head and said, "you may be annoying, but you're not the worst partner."
Deidara opened his mouth to retort, but Sasori was already gone. I'm not sure if that was a compliment or an insult, hm.
Over the next few weeks, Deidara occupied his time mostly with training. He created more detonating clay and practiced new techniques. He trained his eye against genjutsu, and learned how to use his long distance scope that he and Sasori invented.
Deidara and Sasori began training together as well. They figured since they were partners, they should learn each other's strengths and weaknesses. Deidara soon learned of the many hidden weapons of Sasori's Hiruko armor, as well as his fighting techniques and styles. Sasori never removed himself from the armor, never revealed his true form. After a while, Deidara stopped asking him about it. They often argued about their different views on art, bantering back and forth on whether art should be eternal or a brief, flashing moment. However, Deidara began to respect Sasori, realizing his true talent as a shinobi and revering his passion for art. Sasori's snide remarks were still regular, but Deidara became used to them. Sasori eventually grew respect for Deidara as well. As he watched Deidara's battle tactics and spoke strategy with him, he realized his value as an akatsuki member.
Pain sent the duo on small missions, to gather more intel or help organize various details of a plan. Deidara was steadily becoming bored of these minuscule missions, but Pain reassured him that they would reach their goal within the next 3 years, and that if he waited patiently he would soon be on a big mission to capture a tailed beast.
A few months went by before Pain asked them to do a large mission. Deidara was 17 now, a birthday had recently passed by. Deidara and Sasori met with two other members of the akatsuki to hear the details of their new mission, as Pain was predisposed elsewhere. Deidara was ready to take on this large mission, which Kakuzu and Hidan said would spread the reputation of the akatsuki.
"So what exactly do we have to do?" Deidara asked with anticipation.
"It's a simple war mission," Hidan said, "you are to go to the Land of This and destroy it."
Deidara felt a rush of excitement spread through his veins. This was the perfect mission to show off his art, to use his new explosion techniques. Sasori's skills won't even be needed, he'll see how truly amazing my art is as I explode away the village with one hit hm! Then he'll have true respect for me and my art. Deidara grinned to himself.
