AN: And everything begins to weave together… For one, please listen to the piano version of "sadness and sorrow" by Toshiro Masuda. It was my inspiration for the chapter!
Deidara took his first step into his hometown, not having touched the ground since he was a child. The place looked basically the same, beside for the buildings that he remembered were older looking and new ones had sprouted up from beside the old. The village at first glance appeared empty, but Deidara knew keenly that that wasn't the case. Streets that held many of his first attempts to duels and his childhood memories, had now fallen to erosion.
"Brother, can you play with me?"
"No! Go away, un!"
He was cautious of his surroundings as he proceeded down the main street. All around him were either towering cliffs holding watch towers, or extreme cliffs that held no bottom. Here he was yet again, on the steps of his old home . . .
Aurora Australis
Chapter Four
The Precious Aurora of Our Past
Deidara proceeded past the familiar wooden gates of his home into the courtyard. An aged tree sat in the middle of the yard, it's leaves had long gone.
It only added the dreary effect, he thought to himself, proving how much he didn't want to go further. But, he had ran in front of explosions, nearly killed himself, and lost a loved one, what else could possibly happen?
For all Deidara knew, his father would be dead the moment he walked inside.
He slid open the shoji door slowly, and walked into the house, his eye immediately peering down the hallways.
"Welcome back, Deidara. I'll have dinner ready soon, hm!"
The corners of his mouth twitched at the sound of his mother's voice echoing through his mind. Why was he being so sentimental suddenly? Why was he suddenly remembering the past?
Maybe it was because this was the past.
"Young man, can I help you?" Came an elderly man's voice, his hand holding desperately onto his cane. Deidara turned fully to meet the man's wrinkly face and smiled his usual.
"I'd like to speak to the leader of the Kuchi Clan, un."
As if glass all around the man had broke, he clutched his cane harder. His eyebrows lifting as he strained to focus onto the other's face.
"A voice that sounds like a younger Iwao, but the eyes of the beautiful Teruko, could my eyes and ears be deceiving me this time?" He questioned as he took a step closer to Deidara. He pitied the old fool and his smile was lost instantly as the elder's hand reached up to Deidara.
"You eyes are deceiving you . . . because I have no idea who Iwao and Teruko are, un."
Deidara hadn't moved an inch, but the man appeared to becoming more distant by the second. His hand dropped and he wobbled with his cane, yet his tired old eyes stared at him.
"I know who you are, Deidara-sama."
Deidara twitched at the formality.
"However, I do not know why you have come to this place. Are you here to finish the oath?"
He blinked, "What oath, un?"
The man's head lowered, "I see, so you do not know of the oath yet." Looking up to Deidara, he frowned, "You've come here to speak with your father? If so, follow me."
He turned around and began walking the other way, and he was slow about it too. Deidara couldn't help but feel some agony as he also went the same direction, he didn't particularly want to speak with his father or to see those sharp, strict eyes again, but he had to.
What ever Nami was talking about, and what this old man was talking about, everything about his family began to confuse him. Before, when he was a teenager, he could care less about what his family was up to.
Now, it appeared curiosity had the better hold of his neck than he originally wanted it to be.
"Iwao-sama, you have a visitor."
There was no reply and the old man opened the door slowly to a candlelit room. Deidara barely made it past the door, he had stopped the moment he had seen his father. He didn't smile, his eyes didn't widen in shock, he just stood there, as emotionless as ever.
What was before him was no longer the leader of the Kuchi Clan. What was before him was an old man with wrinkles that withstood time itself. He had long white hair, the tips of it barely touching his shoulders, and his eyes had turned a soft grey. There were deep wrinkles around his eyes and lips, and the rest of his body had lost most of its muscle. He looked like a skeleton, and was probably on the edge of dying as well.
Iwao was the first to speak, "It's been a very, very long time . . . Deidara."
His voice was like sand paper, and it sent small shivers down his spine.
"Un." Was his only reply.
The old man chuckled, "You . . . you are the same! Amazing how the time appears to fly by. I . . . I have become an old, decrepit man and you . . . you are still enjoying your youth."
"I'm not interested in bitter talk, un." He tried to break the subject but it seemed that his father wasn't even listening.
"You turned out much more like Teruko. You even have her eyes. If only she could see you now, Deidara, I'm sure she'd be happy to see her son."
Taking a spot in front of his father, Deidara frowned. Bitter conversations like this one was definitely something he wanted to talk about. Something so depressing as this always made Deidara feel worse in the long run.
"I was the unfortunate one, having a daughter who looks like me and would go so far as to betray this village. Nami, that rascal, I hope the ANBU find her and teach her a well-deserved lesson."
"Speaking of Nami," Deidara finally spoke up, breaking his father's trail of thought, "she sent me to speak to you about our family's past, un. What she was talking about, I have no idea-"
"The oath." Iwao finalized what Deidara was trying to say and straightened his back, "she sent you?" He looked at Deidara with curious eyes, though a little demanding, Deidara felt obliged to nod his head whether his father could see or not.
"I see."
Obviously, his father wasn't blind.
"She wants you to know of the truth then."
Truth? No one spoke to him about the 'truth.' Was there something about his family he didn't know? He gave Iwao his full attention, and wished the elder would continue.
"Deidara, I once spoke to you that when the day came, you would learn of your purpose on this world. I had once hoped that through the Akatsuki, you would learn for yourself and avoid it, however . . . you apparently didn't." Deidara's eyebrow twitched in response.
"How the hell am I supposed to remember that, un?"
"You are probably wondering what this 'oath' is, and what is it about our family history that Nami wants you to learn about. I will try and describe to you the history that is doomed to repeat."
Repeat?
That's what Nami had told him.
"Yeah, because it appears history will always repeat itself."
Deidara frowned, "What do you mean, 'doomed to repeat?"
"One thing at a time, Deidara."
Deidara took a deep breath and slouched, he hated waiting. It was a nasty little habit that he had gained from Sasori.
"Many generations ago, before Stone Village had been created, a great war raged between every human being. It was a horrible war, millions of people died for no reason and everyone was confused. It was not like the peaceful times of this era. Our ancestor, who at the time had been lying in his own blood, had become extremely fortunate. A woman had fallen from the heavens above, and her eyes glowed like a perfect emerald. He described her to be that of an angel, cast down from heaven to save him.
Later on, after she had finished healing him, he asked her who she was and where she came from. She replied:
"I am the morning's glow, I am the dew on the leaves, and I am the crisp air that awakens when the sun rises. My name is Eos, Goddess of the dawn."
Deidara's mouth slightly opened, "I remember this story. Eos told it to me once, she said that the Goddess's name was Aurora which was also known as Eos, correct?"
Iwao's facial expression remained strained, "there's more to the story than what Eos had told you."
Deidara paused, how much more was there that was different from the story he had heard 5 years ago?
"The war that our ancestor had been fighting was slowly diminishing, strangely enough. As long as Eos was beside his side, he was unstoppable. It is true that sooner or later, they fell in love with each other and Eos promised him eternal happiness. In other words," Iwao paused, "she promised him immortality."
"However, she did not mention the promise to eternal youth as well, so our ancestor soon grew old and rotted away. His soul was all that remained, and souls are already immortals. Eos was distraught, she had no idea how she could cope with the loss of the man she loved."
Holding up the lantern to the cave's walls, Iwao motioned for Deidara to see. On the wall was the writing of an old language.
"One day, as she stood next to Green lake, she made a promise to our ancestor out loud."
Deidara strained to see, coming in closer to try and read the words, he spoke softly:
"Here I sail, upon the glazing waters
Here I shall stay for eternity
Nay, I'll never stray from this path
I stay here for you, my love
I will become part of this world
And then I shall be born into it
When I wake, so shall thee
And I will meet you, yet again
In the pastured gardens
I shall forever stay here for thee
Until thee can bring me thee's heart again.
So may it be."
"
Deidara sat down onto a nearby rock and sighed, "So, how long has it been since the last time?"
Iwao also sat down, placing the lantern by his feet and resting his hands on his knees.
"It has been 27 years since the reincarnated birth of Titanius."
Wait a second here, he was 27 years old!
Deidara's eyes shot up to his father's, but he didn't have any energy left in him to glare at his father. Instead, he sat there baffled and barely able to manage the right words to say.
"Eos, the one you know and the one mentioned in the oath, are the same Eos. Though, their abilities differ, their personalities remain the same." Iwao watched as Deidara's eyes widened slowly and frowned, "Deidara, it was mere fate that drove you two together. It was fate that made sure you didn't kill her."
Deidara laughed, "Fate doesn't control me, nothing can control the ways of an artist, un!"
Iwao glared, "Then explain to me the reason that you, a member of the Akatsuki who were supposed to kill anyone who knew about the deaths, let a girl like Eos live. You never knew who she was, yet you allowed her to be the only one of your victims to survive! She threatened you, tried to kill you, and yet she stayed with you and you allowed her. Wasn't there something that was telling you to keep her with you?"
Deidara continued to snicker, "Eos was the whole reason why I lost the ability to hold back my emotions. That slight control she had over me was the only thing that kept me interested in her, un. Love is something that is foolish, and is nothing more than an emotion that gets in the way of anyone's rational thoughts. Un, un! I did not love Eos as you may think, Father. I did not love her because I was meant to, un!"
By the time Deidara had finished, Iwao and himself had be standing glaring at each other.
"Deidara," Iwao hissed, "Eos is waiting for you! Why don't you go and be with her finally?!"
SNAP!
"EOS. IS. DEAD! Father! She died five years ago by Nami's hands! Thus it appears like history will once again repeat itself!" Deidara spat angrily, his words on the other hand, had a powerful effect as Iwao immediately drew back.
"Eos died . . . five years ago?"
Deidara stayed silent. Why had he just reacted the way he had? He had put her death in the past, or so he thought. She was nothing more than a memory to him, a ghost that would fade away. Even when he died, the place he would be going would definitely not be the place Eos would be going.
Eos was dead.
Eos was dead!
"Deidara." Iwao uttered slightly, and the strangeness in the man's voice caused Deidara to look up.
"Nami . . . killed Eos . . . did she?"
Deidara didn't realize it until a few moments ago, but his eyes had watered up. Maybe Eos wasn't just a ghost in his mind, maybe those emotions from five years ago were still raw?
"Un." Deidara nodded as he struggled to gain control.
Iwao closed his eyes, "In the end, she really did go along with her emotions. Does Nami not realize that your mother died by her own hand?"
"That's what Eos was saying, that it wasn't her fault, un." He took a deep breath, placing both his hands in his pockets.
"It wasn't her fault at all." Iwao whispered, he turned his face away from Deidara down to the darkness of the cave.
"Eos did not kill Teruko . . . I did."
Deidara once again had that annoying baffled feeling, his blue eyes fell upon his father.
"What . . . un?"
Iwao returned his soft gaze to Deidara, "I felt so . . . horrible . . . watching the one I cared for most fade away. I did what was necessary, but I had no idea of what the consequences would be for that child. I used chakra strings and monitored your mother's movements, as she steadied the knife above her belly. Then with ease, I pulled the knife down on her . . ."
"You did what?" Deidara had so many emotions flowing through his mind, he had no idea where to start and where to end. It was too much, learning that Eos was originally supposed to be with him, then learning that his own father had inevitably caused Eos's and his own pain.
"Deidara, I understand after hearing this, you hate me, but before anything else happens . . . let's make a plan."
He shook violently, something inside of him was urging him to put his hand into his bag of clay.
"Let me get some recruits, together . . . we'll take down Nami and her army of criminals. Please, allow me to do this much, son."
Twitch.
"No!" Was his command, "I refuse, this is my battle, and no one is going to take me out of it, un. If you want to take down Nami, go ahead, but do so without my help, un! I'm only alive to get revenge for Eos's death."
I promised I'd protect her.
I failed to do so much as that.
"Nami-chan, will you pway with me?" Taro pleaded, his face already holding some disappointment in it. Nami was sad to say no to him, but she really had other things to think about. One was how to survive an onslaught from her brother?
"Taro-kun, if it helps, I'd be more than happy to call on that man." Said Jun as he set down his book, his eyes closing in approvement.
Taro shook his head, "But I wanna pway with Nami-chan!"
"Forgive me Taro, but I have to get this stuff done first."
The boy turned and pointed to Nami, "Then lemme see mommy!"
Nami stopped the movement of her pencil and peered up at Jun, "Take Taro to Madara-san, Jun."
"NO!" Taro protested, "I wanna see mommy! I wanna see mommy!!"
Coming nearly to the point of tears, Taro was lifted from the floor and propped underneath Jun's arm.
"Taro-kun, please don't kick so much."
"Then put him down, un."
Both Nami and Jun stood still in shock, in through the door came Deidara, his eyes locked onto Nami's.
"Um, Deidara-san, you really need to speak with me fir-"
"Mission was accomplished." Deidara spoke warily, his tone turning to the route of sinister.
Nami smiled slightly, "Do you have any idea what I did for you, Deidara? I saved you, I basically turned the tables on her just to save your worthless hide."
Deidara grin reappeard, "Nami, I do know what you've done for me. You've awakened a demon inside of me which wished to annihilate you, un."
Jun set Taro down and carefully watched Deidara, "Be cautious of words you speak to Nami, Deidara-san."
"Deidara-san!" Taro grabbed Deidara's hand immediately and pouted, "Nami-chan . . . she . . . she won't let me see mommy!"
"WHY YOU LITTLE-!"
"Now, why would Nami not allow you to see your mother . . . un?" Deidara looked up to Nami, who glared intensely back.
"Hisoka!" she called out.
In stumbled the scarred man, who apparently was still a little drowsy from the medications.
"Yes, leader!" He barely bowed.
"Take Deidara and Taro back to the training rooms!" She commanded.
Taro began to cry, "Nami-chan! I wanna see mommy!!"
Hisoka watched the child cry and felt the urge to disagree with Nami, but her sharp eyes and straight mouth told him that all was not well within his leader's head.
Before Hisoka could move though, Deidara squatted beside the crying Taro.
"Taro, listen to me." Taro pulled away his hands from his puffy blue eyes. He sniffled as he watched the other blond's lips curl into a smile.
"You'll see your mother later, but right now you have to tough it out, un."
Taro frowned, "Why?"
Deidara's ever so mischievous grin appeared, "To become stronger! Crying won't get you any place, it only shows the others that you don't like the idea, un." He placed his hand on the child's, "so . . . just smile and deal with it, un. It's the best way."
Taro stared at Deidara and slightly smiled, "o-okay."
Standing up, Deidara looked to Hisoka and walked out of the office, following him was Taro who immediately grabbed the elder's hand. Shortly after, Hisoka closed the door behind them and his stomps slowly became quiet.
"Deidara-san… really acted like a father there. It was kind of . . . amazing." Said Jun as his shocked expression met with Nami's apologetic face.
"Deidara has had a real knack for that. He's always had a tender heart."
Jun's eyes slowly narrowed, "There is something that you are not telling me, isn't there?"
Nami's lips curved slightly, "there is . . . Deidara is my brother."
Jun's mouth dropped, "Wait, then that means that he's the one who is-"
Quickly, the woman shoved a finger to his face, "yes, it does mean that."
AN: YAY! Another chapter down!
Next Chapter
When betrayal from the inside occurs, can the leader handle the amount of men lost? When an explosion occurs, will she be able to escape the lower levels of the base? As a man's revenge is finally about to occur, will a stranger's face stop him in his tracks? In the next chapter of Aurora Australis: Revenge for Eos!
PHEW! THANK YOU REVIEWERS!
Fanfic by ione