A Student's Pride

Sunrays glared down at the two children, the tension of the air cautioning the forest animals to steer clear. A wind blew across the area, snapping a leaf free from a nearby tree as it flew in between them, circling in the air.

Deidara's mouth set itself in a thin, line, lowering his sculpture a few inches closer to the ground. He didn't dare blink, not while in the presence of this stranger. If he learned anything from Sasori, it was that you should never shut your eyes in battle.

Black pupils passively looked over the blonde, then gazed up above him to the temple on top of the hill. The stone path passed through a red torii, his current goal at the moment. By now, he couldn't afford to waste any time. This kid seemed pretty determined, and if it was a fight he wanted, a fight he would get.

The raven closed his eyes. "If I win, you'll let me through." Opening them revealed red irises, a strange pinwheel pattern.

What's up with his eyes? The boy quirked an eyebrow, squinting slightly. Whatever that was, he certainly hasn't dealt with it before. Probably one of those 'Dojutsu' things that Sasori told him about. Regardless, it was inferior to his art. Sasori had yet to truly compliment it, but he knew he master liked it.

Deidara raised his sculpture again. "I'm fine with that. Just don't mock me. You'll see..." The blonde hid a hand behind his back, chewing up some clay and pressing it in his hand. The product was a long insect with many legs, twisting in curls in his palm to make it more portable, a centipede.

He grinned eagerly. "That you messed with the wrong kid!"

His arm winded back over his head, tossing the clay minion towards the other. Itachi jumped back to dodge the attack, exactly where the eleven-year old wanted him. Once the raven had entered the bomb's vicinity, Deidara pulled up his hand seal excitedly.

"Katsu!"

BOOM


BOOM

Everyone in the room fell silent, shuddering at the large sound. Collectively, the members began to gather at the large entrance, gazing a bit towards the East where a large smoke column had blown its way through the air from the forest.

Kisame revealed his pointy teeth and clasped his sword, looking further on. His sword murmured in response, the bandages began to undulate excitedly as if something alive was trying to break free. "So who is it we gotta fight?"

"Who knows, I hope they have a high bounty though." Kakuzu raised his hand into a claw, taking a step onto the road.

"Wait, we don't want to reveal our meeting place." Pein instructed the group. "If more than two of us arrive, then this will place will be under suspicion." He turned to the woman standing by the door. "Konan."

She shook her head. "I don't know."

That's a bit far...could it be? Sasori watched behind everyone else, pushing back the hunch that he knew exactly who it was. Many ninja out there used paper bombs, and Deidara was instructed specifically to wait out at the front on the other side of temple. What would he be doing over there?

Attentions gathered as a shiny spot appeared on the wooden boarded floor, forming a lump that grew and greened. The cylindrical shape became two halves of a large Venus flytrap, two halves opened to reveal a two-colored man. "Did you guys see? There's a fight going on near here. One of the kids fighting looks suspiciously similar to Sasori's subordinate."

Sasori cursed, his hunch proving true. The members turned to Hiruko, pregnant silence asking the answer that didn't need to be said. He gauged them, knowing well that he'd have to explain this sooner than later.

Sasori groaned exasperatedly.

"That damn brat."


"Hehe...you talk big but it looks like that's all you've got." Deidara straightened, smiling at the scene.

The strange ninja was stuck on the spot, a large centipede wrapped around his body restricting movement. Though the silence and flat face of the other child disturbed the blonde a little, he could plainly see that this kid had no escape from his jutsu. His smile widened as he commanded the centipede to tighten around the other, watching as clothes began to stretch and the stranger's breathing began to hitch and struggle, causing a few twitches to make its way through the legged creature.

He made the hand seal again, looking over his work as if he'd just taken down a king. "That's what you get...for disobeying me."

The seal raised itself to eye level. "Ka-"

THWACK

The next thing he knew, the boy's head began to throb heavily, someone had hit him, and hard. Sounds meshed together, muffled by the harsh pounding that had been mixed in with dizziness.

"Ow, ow, ow!" Deidara held his head, then snapped angrily at the guy behind him. "What was that for!?"

He immediately regretted those words, as before him stood the bulky puppet of Hiruko, tail raised over his head in a sign that it was Sasori who had struck him. The harshly put question sparked an anger in the puppeteer, who growled at him. "Did you hear me you idiot? Take a good look at yourself!"

Idiot? What's wrong with Danna? What's he angry about?

Suddenly, a tightness plagued his body, breath hitching as he felt something coil tightly around his leg and torso. Deidara stood frozen, accidentally biting his tongue as the sensation came to light. In a struggled, he turned his head down, eyes widening at the state he was in. His own centipede, his own creation was tightly wrapped around him, in the same manner that it had constricted the other boy.

"What?" Deidara tried to move his arm, finding it tangled in the mess of legs he intentionally molded. "How?"

"That was close. A little later and you'd have blown yourself up."

Deidara twisted over his shoulder, teeth grit as he tried to get a look at the owner of the new voice. A tall man stood with an Akatsuki cloak. He had an angular boxy face with unusually blue skin. He squinted a little, eyeing what suspiciously looked like gills right below his freakish eyes. He made a snide grin, revealing pointed triangular teeth, like a shark's. He noticed a giant sword on his back with an unusual hilt, not wrapped in the usual Same(1) grip.

Looking around, Deidara began to feel small as the other Akatsuki's gazes fell on him, staring him down with an unreadable gaze while encircled around the pair. Humiliation settled in, but before he could complain, he needed to know what was going on.

For a moment, he wondered if the shark could read minds, since his question was answered pretty quickly. "You were caught in Genjutsu."

"G-genjutsu?" Deidara managed, trying not to taste his own blood on his tongue. "Since when?"

Deidara frowned as no explanation was given, a quiet silence being the only response he gained. An anger rose within him, directed straight at the guy he assumed cast the Genjutsu. How could he look so calm? Didn't he know he was surrounded by the most powerful and dangerous ninja in the Shinobi lands? Not to mention, his master, Sasori of the Red Sand himself?

"What's everyone doing? He's an intruder!" The boy demanded.

"This intruder..." A smooth voice interrupted him. Pein stepped up to the plate, standing beside the intruder. " Is our new member."

New member? Deidara barely noticed as Hiruko's tail carefully cut the centipede in half, causing it to loosen its grip and free his body. The bug fell to the ground, giving the child the freedom to whirl around in Pein's direction, barely weighing his next few words.

"Huh? This kid!? He's an Akatsuki member!?" Deidara exploded, pointing accusingly at the stoic raven.

Ringed eyes narrowed, obviously not liking the back talk he was receiving from a mere child. At this, Sasori quickly reacted and wrapped Hiruko's tail around the blonde's head, earning muffled protests. Over time, he'd refined his skills and accuracy, to the point he wasn't scared anymore to handle Deidara with it.

"Shut your trap, brat!" Sasori hissed quietly. Hiruko's head turned apologetically to their leader. "I'm sorry about my subordinate. He has a bit of a foul-mouth. He respects you, I don't doubt that."

"I accept your apology." The glare faded, returning to the usual intimidating stare that Pein would usually give. He turned back and scanned through all the other Akatsuki.

"A new member has arrived."

Itachi followed the older man's gaze, dojutsu still activated warily.

Sasori urged the child back, scolding him briefly before the brat finally managed to grudgingly keep his mouth shut. Returning his attention to their leader, Orochimaru caught his eye, a tiny smile making its way onto the pale-man's face. From what it seemed, the snake was paying some extreme attention onto the new boy, restraining himself from something.

What's he up to?

Orochimaru made a sneer. "Itachi Uchiha."

Pein ignored the snake, continuing. "Itachi Uchiha may be young, but he's as fully-fledged a shinobi as any of us are."

Two members separated to make way for another, Konan emerging from behind both Kakuzu and Sasori. Deidara also stepped back, curiously wondering what she was approaching Itachi for.

Konan walked over to the child, receiving no comments as she did. She held out a hand, though too far from the Uchiha that he could make a shake. A crack formed in her cheek as a stack of papers fell and flitted into the air, more blank papers flurrying around them to finally form what looked like roses wrapped in more paper. She presented it to Itachi, who took it hesitantly.

"Welcome to the Akatsuki, Itachi Uchiha."

Deidara scowled as he saw steely her gaze soften, a burning rage bubbling in his stomach and clenched his fist. Who was this guy? He wasn't any older than the blonde was so why was he being acknowledged while the bomber had to take a backseat to him? All he did was perform some fancy genjutsu; it wasn't like he did any actual fighting.

Tch! I'll show them. Deidara glared daggers at the newcomer. I'll show them who's really stronger!


"-And how old is he anyway? Twelve? I don't get it! Why is he an Akatsuki member and not me?"

Sasori zoned out of Deidara's rant. The ground shook, an indication that the blonde had destroyed something else. As a result, his cup toppled over, spilling the tea all over the scroll and stained it a dirty brown. Sasori closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose out of habit. If only the little boy he took in during the rainstorm was a little more quiet and sensible...

His head made another 180 towards Deidara, observing the boy stomp his angers out and try to blast a poor field mouse into submission. By now, the green grass was reduced to a pile of ashes, several black scars remaining on the land as a mark of the boy's work.

"I HATE HIM! I HATE HIM! I HATE-BLAH!"

Deidara halted his rant, coughing slightly as some blood trickled down his chin. Sasori's pulse quickened. Had the child gotten hurt while he was gone? Why was he coughing up blood?

Immediately, the puppeteer shot up and came to the child's aid, bringing a clean cloth with him. Knelt down, he quickly tried to wipe the blood from the blonde's mouth, rubbing circles onto his back.

"Hey, what happened?!" Sasori hissed, annoyed that his subordinate hadn't told him anything about this injury. If it was bad...

Deidara continued to cough, then looked up at the puppeteer with narrow eyes. "I just bit my tongue, that's all."

The redhead didn't seem to believe him, putting the cloth on his knee before ordering the child to open his mouth. As ordered, the eleven-year old did so, revealing a mess of blood all over his tongue. From what it seemed, he had choked a little on it.

"When did you bite your tongue?"

Deidara felt even more irritated at the hurried voice that his mentor made, quickly swiping away the puppeteer's hand. "I did it when I got trapped by my bug, okay!"

Sasori's concerned face became more sullen, almost making the blonde guilty. Quietly, he picked up the cloth and continued to wipe the boy's mouth.

"You had me worried...brat."

"Worried?" The child repeated and scoffed. "Why are you worried? Shouldn't you be more concerned with that Itachi guy? Like everyone else is?"

The redhead gave a sharp glare, silencing the boy. "I don't remember caring for an Uchiha, just a brat who has a loud mouth." Sasori averted his gaze. "I don't care if you're not an Akatsuki member. Not only that, you were ordered to inform us if you saw anyone strange, not engage them in combat you idiot."

Sasori seemed to hesitate, adding something else in a low murmur.

"You're safer this way."

Deidara paused, still underneath the puppeteer's care. He'd never heard his danna talk like that, not so directly before. It was usually just sarcasm or some small praise. He'd never explained himself.

"As Akatsuki members, we're not completely safe. We're targeted by everyone one of the Great Shinobi lands, so a lot of us...don't make it very long." Brown eyes looked up to meet blue ones. "You remember a year ago? When I left you with Tobi to get a special puppet for my collection?"

Deidara seemed to think, then nodded.

"There's a reason why I didn't let you come. Things like that often end up as Akatsuki missions, and I only let you come to the ones I know you can handle with my help. While I can still order you around without Leader getting on my case, I'd rather make sure you don't get hurt."

Sasori summoned some water out of a scroll and urged the boy to drink it and spit it out so the blood would get out of his system. Deidara listened intently.

"I'm a fool for saying that...especially as a ninja..."

The moment seemed to overwhelm the puppeteer, quickly shooting up from his spot, returning to his usual face after putting away the water. "But I have my reasons."

The blonde watched as his mentor created an awkward silence, having ended the lecture abruptly. Turning his back on the boy, he headed back for the hill. The sun seemed to intensify, making the area even brighter than before.

"You...you should go play somewhere. Have fun."

Deidara noted the haste in his voice, like the Akatsuki was trying to make his words quick and get over with it. He smiled, a fluttering in his chest at the feeling. It wasn't really praise, but Sasori just genuinely expressed worry, and that was good enough. Though it wasn't as if he was gonna change his opinions because of him.

Danna.


The lake would have been a nice sight, beautiful. Itachi thought, staring out at the sparkling water. A clear reflection of the snowy mountains in the distance showed themselves, barely disturbed by anything that breached the water's surface. A morning bird called out in the distance, quickly skimming the tension of the lake as it flew right over it. He currently stood on the docks, his new partner heading off towards the stone path.

The Uchiha lowered his gaze, staring down below the redwood planks. Triangular fins sliced the water's surface, encircling each other in repeating paths as some jerked violently when bumping into another. If it weren't for these sharks.


"I've heard the rumors, you've slaughtered all of your Uchiha clansmen." Kisame's smirk grew. "Quite an achievements for a little one like you."


A swishing sound emitted from behind, the edge of the wrapped sword levelled at his shoulder threateningly. "Do you want you know something interesting? Some sharks are ovoviviparous which means that the eggs hatch inside the female's body, then are born. With some kinds of sharks, the number of eggs that hatch are not equal to the number of pups born. Do you know why?"


"They eat each other in the womb...cannibalism." Itachi breathed, closing his eyes. What had he gotten himself into, joining this organization?

"Eh? Did you say something?"

A familiar voice mocked him, a hint of challenge in it. Silently, he turned, facing the boy whom he had faced back on the path. The blonde was definitely younger than he was; he'd been surprised to meet anyone close to age here.

Deidara's eyes followed the shark for a moment, watching the tallest Akatsuki disappear up the stone steps. So that's Kisame...definitely not the walking goldfish I imagined. Sternly, he turned back to Itachi with his arms crossed, trying to control his own glare.

Itachi stood there, unfazed by the sudden appearance of this boy. "Do you want something?"

"...How old are you?" The blonde seethed.

The raven responded with a question of his own. "How old are you?"

Deidara scowled, stomping the deck causing some of the sharks to freak out. "Hey! I asked first!"

One of the sharks swam behind the bow, thrashing the water violently. With a whip of its tail, a large wave splashed onto the child, drenching him in cold lake water. The pair stood there for a moment, Itachi holding a straight face while the bomber felt another stab into his pride.


"I don't need your help."

Deidara muttered as he dried himself off with a towel. Luckily, only his back and a bit of his shoulders were drenched. His hair was also wet but that would dry with time.

The two stood near the torii at the foot of the stone path leading up to the temple, Itachi seated on the first step. The blonde looked him over, noting the boyish features of the new Akatsuki. He didn't look like much; he'd seen plenty like him, just not with dojutsu. Cheater. He'd be like others if he didn't have that jutsu.

"Well, you gonna answer me?" Deidara tossed the towel to Itachi.

The Uchiha didn't meet his gaze, focused on getting up and pinning the towel on a branch to dry. He turned back and sat back on the step.

"I have no obligation to tell you."

Obligation? That's a pretty grown-up word. The blonde grumbled. "We're definitely around the same age. I don't see why you can't answer."

"Perhaps we are the same age, but I'm a higher rank than you."

The statement struck a nerve within the boy, his fists clenching while his hand mouths began to salivate at the idea of getting more clay to blow this bastard up. Deidara made a hostile expression, not liking where the conversation was going. That cloak...he shouldn't even be wearing it.

Itachi contemplated his words absently. "I'm thirteen."

"Finally." Deidara let up a little. "I'm eleven. My master is Sasori no danna."

No response came, simply the Uchiha looking up at the sky. The space between each answer was becoming nerve-racking, since the blonde was more used to getting his answers quick and easily, or at least with some work. Just waiting was stupid.

"Eleven." Itachi sighed. "You're so young."

"Well, you're thirteen, you're just as young as I am."

"No, we're not the same. Maybe we would be if I were thirty and you were twenty-eight, but we're not. Age gaps become larger the younger we are."

"You sure talk big." Deidara huffed, crossing his arms again.

"Where are your parents?"

Deidara glowered and quickly exploded. "I'm not a little kid! And I don't need parents. I have my master."

Itachi's gaze fell on the blonde. "Parents and masters are not the same thing. Have you ever had parents? Aren't you better off going back to them then sticking around people like us?"

"I've never had parents, I don't need parents. They just spoil their kids, they don't actually teach them. All they do is buy them things when they're young and complain about it when they grow old. It's all the same."

"Is that how you see it?"

Deidara quirked an eyebrow.

...

The blonde turned away, closing his eyes in defiance. "My name is Deidara. Not so nice to meet you."


A/N: Anyone realize that whenever there's a BOOM I switch scenes to someone else to who saw it? I noticed that...now it's cliché and I have change it up. Anyway, Itachi is here like I know some of you wondered where he was.

(1) Same(samegawa/same-kawa) is stingray or shark skin wrapped around the tsuka(handle) for grip. Fun fact: the pattern of which it is wrapped is called Samehada(Sharkskin).

Thanks to Anniegirl132 for being my Beta! Please review if you'd like!