For the next nine months, Deidara stayed in the Academy, going back to the palace every night to eat, bathe, and sleep. He studied hard. He wanted to show the Tsuchikage that he had what it took to be a ninja. He barely slept at night, going over tactics, proper kunai placement, correct chakra release points, and hand signs. They went over and over in his mind, and he had a difficult time with sleep. Usually, he would content himself with getting up and doing more homework.
One night, about an hour after midnight, there was a knock on the door. By candlelight, so he didn't disturb the other residents of the palace with bright light, Deidara was practicing hand signs. He couldn't make any explosions, because he was afraid it would wake up the others, but he could still practice his signs and make them faster.
"Yes?" He walked to the door, opening it. In his doorway stood the Tsuchikage, a kindly smile on his face. Deidara stared for a second, and bowed. "Tsuchikage-sama. What can I do for you, un?"
"Deidara, it is nearly one in the morning. Are you still studying?" The Tsuchikage sounded worried about him, so he sighed, turning back to his room.
"Yes, Tsuchikage-sama. I couldn't sleep, so I was just practicing some hand-signs, un," He went back to his table, picking up his homework. He walked back to the kindly old man, handing the sheet to him. The Tsuchikage glanced at it, running over Deidara's tactical displays and answers. He smiled. Deidara was already much better at this stuff than he had been when he was young. He shook his head. The youth of today…they were amazing.
"Deidara, this is fantastic. However, even the best shinobi sleep at some time…and from what I can tell, you haven't been able to do that for a while now," he said. Deidara, ashamed, put his head down; the Tsuchikage, seeing that he had upset the boy, smiled and knelt down, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"What is troubling you, Deidara?" He smiled warmly, and Deidara grinned back.
"I was just…thinking about things, un. Actually, I really want to succeed at this. I haven't been a student as long as the others, so I don't really have a background in this," he said. Then, he looked up at the Tsuchikage, hope shining in his eyes. "But, I hope to one day be as a great a ninja as you, Tsuchikage-sama!" He was excited, the old man could tell. He chuckled, standing up.
"I'm sure you will be, Deidara. But please, try to get some sleep tonight. You have a full day of school tomorrow. I'm sure you can wait for that," he said. Deidara shook his head, going back to the table.
"Sorry, sir, but the genin exams are today. If I want to pass, I need to keep studying. But don't worry, I'll make you proud of me. I'm going to be the best! The best!" He knelt down, studying his tactical equations again. "Ok, so, if someone uses lightning attacks on earth based ones, then…" he began muttering to himself. The Tsuchikage smiled to himself again. This young boy was going to turn out to be quite a ninja….he might even be good enough to be Tsuchikage one day. He chuckled, quietly allowing the boy to continue studying. He began walking down the hall back to his own room. Yes…the youth of today were quite amazing indeed.