Shikamaru leapt back and broke the connection as he concentrated on staying ahead of the flame. The single stream of fire was quickly joined by others. It seemed as though a wall of fire came rolling off of Desaad's body. Shikamaru was fast enough to stay ahead of it. But he doubted an ordinary person would have been able to. The fire seemed to extend out for about a hundred yards in a perfect circle. The flames stood about ten feet high. The sheer volume of fire was impressive and horrifying. He'd seen Sasuke on a few occasions create fire balls about ten feet across. He was from a clan that specialized in fire jutsus and people proclaimed him a genius. The amount of fire Sasuke could make was a bucket beside a lake. Staying a good thirty yards beyond the limits of the fire he watched it.

"Shikamaru!" Temari landed beside him. Not surprisingly she was staring at the massive wall of fire in front of them. "What the hell is going on?"

"The prisoner we were sent to collect turned out to be a lot more dangerous than we thought. Apparently he freed himself and wiped out the village. Now he's trying to take me out."

She gawked at him. "One shinobi is doing all this?"

Shikamaru shook his head. "One person is doing this, but he says he's not shinobi and I didn't sense any chakra from him. He was in my shadow possession and he was able to create fire without any hand signs. I tend to believe him, but I have no idea what he is or how he can do this."

She slowly nodded. It was a lot to take in but she digested it. "So what do you want to do?"

"Do you remember the summons you used to take out the flute girl?"

"Sure, is that what you want?" He nodded. "You know it'll kill him."

Shikamaru looked back at the massive wall of fire. Despite being over land that was completely charred it showed no signs of diminishing or weakening. He just imagined what this kind of fire could do in Konoha. "Right now I think that's the best option."

She nodded and bit down on her thumb. "All right then." She spread her blood on her fan. "Slash Slash Dance." With a wave of her fan a gigantic one eyed weasel appeared holding on to a massive sickle. Without a further command the summon dived into the flame wall. Shikamaru reached out and hung on to the remainder of a wall as hurricane force winds struck him in the face. He had trouble breathing and had to force air into his lungs. The wall of flame immediately began to flicker and flare and then it began to go out. Like a pie being shrunk as lines of it are cut out the mass of fire shrank back in on itself. It was an awesome spectacle to behold.

As he watched the fires being extinguished he spared a quick glance at Temari. She was standing in the wind's backlash still holding her fan and smiling like a lunatic. She was enjoying this. All right mental note to self, never ever get Temari really mad. After only a minute or two it was done and the fire was completely out. There was still a residual heat in the air and wisps of smoke drifted up from the tortures landscape. In the center of where the fire had been he spotted some flames still burning. "Didn't quite put out all of it."

"No way!"

He looked over to her. "I'm not complaining Temari! That was incredible."

She shook her head. "No, what I mean is that no fire could withstand that level of wind. Even if it were burning oil it should have been put out."

"Let's take a look." He began moving towards the remaining flames and she quickly fell in beside him. They go to the original spot of where Shikamaru had first confronted Desaad. They both got a good look at what was there.

"No way!"

Shikamaru calmly nodded. "I guess he really wasn't human."

Desaad had been neatly chopped up into about a dozen pieces. It was a gruesome way to go but that was not what had caught their attention. At the end of each piece, where there should have been blood there was fire. Flame poured out of each open wound but the flesh remained unmarked. The air was filled with the smell of smoke but not of burning flesh.

"What the hell was he?" Temari wondered aloud.

"I have no idea; I just hope there aren't any more like him." Shikamaru answered.

"Fun."

Temari and Shikamaru both jumped back. Desaad's head was still in one piece connected to most of his neck. As they both watched the mouth moved. "So much fun."

The fires from each remaining piece flowed out and merged with the others. A small stream of flame quickly connected all the pieces. Then they began to be dragged, pulled towards one another. "Fun, fun, fun." Desaad's head laughed.

Shikamaru reached into a pouch and tossed three kunai. Each sank into the head. From the wound each caused a small spurt of fire leaked out. The head continued to laugh.

"Is he some sort of demon?" Temari asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine." He began tying an explosive note on to another kunai. "Is that what you are?" He called out. "Are you some sort of demon?"

"Fun." The head kept laughing either unable or unwilling to answer.

"Here, have fun with this." He tossed the kunai. Once it struck it exploded. The head was blown up and the pieces scattered. But no sooner had they come to a halt than wisps of flame escaped them and flowed out to connect to one another.

He turned to Temari. "I think this mission is going to be a lot harder than I first thought."

"Oh you think?" She looked at what was happening. "We have to kill him."

"How?"

She stared at him. "I don't know you're the genius."

"Hmmm…" he calmly sat down and put his hands together in an, 'O.'

"What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to figure out a way to kill him."

"Are you really just going to just sit there while this guy pulls himself together?"

"Relax, at the rate his body is moving I would guess we have at least ten minutes before he is put back together."

"What if you are wrong?"

"I have more explosive notes. Now please be quiet while I think."

She frowned but kept quiet. She found it disturbing that in this case cutting someone up into multiple pieces and even blowing them up wasn't good enough. She wondered if suffocating him in sand might work better.

After a couple of minutes Shikamaru opened his eyes and got up. "All right I have a plan." He took his map out. He showed her a spot on it. "We have to get him here."

She saw what he was pointing to. "Interesting idea, but do you think we should go back to Konoha first and get some help?"

He shook his head. "If we do that who knows where he'll get to in the meantime. There are other villages around here. I won't let what happened to Calista happen anywhere else if I can help it."

"All right, what's the plan?"

"To start we both make twenty bushins."

XXXXXXXXXX

As his body pulled itself together Desaad was not capable of real conscious thought. But he could dream, and he could remember.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Please I was just having a little bit of fun that's all." He pleaded.

"Fun?" Orochimaru laughed. "Yessss, I am having fun now but I guess you are not having so much."

"Please I'll pay back what I stole I swear it."

Orochimaru sent him an amused smile. "What you stole?"

"I was just wanting some money to go and play. To have a few drinks see a few ladies, that's all! I swear I will repay it all if you just let me go."

Orochimaru reared his head back and laughed and laughed. "Is that what you think? That you are here as punishment for your petty crimes." He laughed some more. "You are here to help with an experiment. You are a lab rat and that is all. I do not know your name or anything about you. It doesn't really matter as you are likely to be dead in a few minutes."

"Why?"

Finding it amusing he decided to tell the poor doomed soul. "I am on a quest for knowledge and for greater power. My quest takes me in many different directions. Now for instance I am studying how to use elemental beings. Tell me do you know what those are?" At the shake of the man's head Orochimaru decided to play teacher for a bit. "We live and exist on a single plane of existence, but we are hardly alone in the universe. There are multiple planes of existence very different from out own. From such planes come the tailed beasts sometimes called demons and the summons. These creatures have varying amounts of intelligence and power. Normally some sort of contract or seal is required to control them. Now there also happen to be planes of existence where beings made of an element of nature exist. These planes being made of fire, air, water, and earth. The elemental beings that exist there have tremendous power, but alas no intelligence. They seem to lack any ability to understand or obey commands. They lack even the basic thought patterns of mere dogs or snakes. They there fore cannot be bound by contract or normal seal." Orochimaru smiled wickedly. "That is why you are here now."

"I don't understand."

"I have a theory that they can be bound into a human and made a sort of hybrid being. Thus giving the human control of the elementals powers. You are here so I can test that theory."

"Please my Lord I don't want this!"

"The lab rat never does." Orochimaru pulled out a scroll and began chanting.

Desaad continued pleading but was ignored. He desperately yanked at the iron chains that held him down on the stone floor. It was useless but he wasn't thinking anymore, all there was inside him now was sheer panic and a desperate total need to get away. The spot where he was bound was surrounded by a circle and within that circle seemed to be an infinite series of weird and complex runes and signs. As Orochimaru continued reading off his scroll those markings began to glow and Desaad could feel the air around him start to get hot. He howled like a mad beast and let the iron bite deep into his wrists and ankles. He fought and struggled but still was held there like a fly in a web.

Then just a few feet above him he saw the air seem to crack open. Suddenly the empty space became a vision of hell. He looked up and he could see an unending sea of fire and he could feel it like being at the edge of a cook fire. His skin was burning and his lungs hurt as he breathed in. Then as he watched a finger of fire leapt out. It touched his chest and he began to burn alive. Mercifully he became unconscious and the blackness came.

XXXXXXXXXX

He slipped out of his dream and back into the real world. He was staring up at a grey and cloudy sky. The thought of rain sent a shiver through him. He sat back up. He didn't hurt. He couldn't feel pain anymore. He couldn't feel a lot of things like hunger, thirst, or even the desire for a woman. But he could still feel pleasure, he could still have fun. He looked back up at the sky. He could also still feel fear and dread.

"Are you ready for more fun?"

Desaad looked over to where the voice had called him. There was the young ninja and he was standing beside a blonde girl with a huge fan. They were only about twenty yards away. He smiled and got to his feet. "Fun!" He gathered the flame and sent it out. Look at it! Look at the beautiful fire! How he loved to see it burn! The fire struck the two of them and they disappeared in a puff of smoke. Seeing that he felt a crushing disappointment. He felt cheated of his pleasure.

"Over here!" A new voice called to him. He looked over to the edge of the village. There was the girl with the fan waving her arms at him.

"Are you playing with me girl?" He called out to her annoyed.

"I thought you wanted to play. Come and catch me if you can." With that she turned around and began to run.

Desaad smiled. "Oh I'll catch you all right. And I don't need to run to do it." He concentrated on the soles of his feet and let out a gout of fire. He threw himself up about five hundred feet into the sky and in the general direction the girl had gone. He couldn't really fly, once he was in the air he had no control what so ever. But he could launch himself and no matter how hard he landed he couldn't be hurt. While coming back down he spotted him below. He sent down a dozen or so massive boulders of fire. She was caught and hit. And she disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Damn! What are you playing at?" he shouted as he came crashing down into the forest. The landing didn't hurt and he was soon back on his feet.

"Come and get me."

Desaad looked to see the guy this time. "What are you two playing at?" He demanded.

"I thought you wanted to play." Shikamaru shrugged. "You keep going on about fun after all."

"What sort of game is this?"

Shikamaru smiled. "It's a game we call needle, the point is to find the real one among all the clones."

"I don't play silly games! When I play people burn! I won't waste anymore time chasing shadows."

Shikamaru shrugged. "Fine then I'll just stay right here and tell you what a gutless coward you are. Big brave man setting a village on fire when they were all sleeping I'll bet. Aren't you proud of yourself?" He let out a stream of fire but it fell well short. The forest all around was beginning to burn. "That's about what I thought, you have a limited range don't you? You know Desaad now that I've seen your limits you aren't that impressive. In fact I know a good two, three dozen ninja who are a lot more powerful than you."

"Is that so?" He felt like a child being teased. The idea that he should ignore it never even crossed his mind. "I'll show you!" He concentrated the fire into his feet and launched himself.

XXXXXXXXXX

Well hidden in some bushes Temari turned to him. "I'll give you credit you have a real gift for annoying people."

"Gee thanks." He watched as Desaad flew into the air again. "Just like a sky rocket. I didn't see that coming. We'll have to adjust how far our clones are to compensate for how much ground he can cover."

"You know the way things are going the forest will be burning all the way there."

Shikamaru nodded glumly. "Hopefully the rain will put the fires out but it can't be helped. I'd rather he burn some of the forest than another village." He saw Desaad land. "Come on we have to keep him in sight. And we need to stay hidden."

"Right."

XXXXXXXXXX

His head was pulled up out of the water tank. The rest of him remained submerged though. He was conscious but kept his eyes shut. That bitch with glasses was here again. Whenever she showed up it meant another round of experiments.

"He was in the water for six months this time. Any sign of permanent harm?" She spoke in her irritating and screechy voice.

"No Karen-sama. As previously, as soon as he emerged from the water he was completely conscious and had his full control of fire. As we have previously discovered he does not require air, food, or water. He no longer has any normal bodily functions. He has no heart beat or brain waves. So far as we can tell his innards are nothing but fire."

"And no progress in finding a means to kill him?" Her annoyance was obvious.

"I am afraid not Karen-sama, so far we have not even found a way to cause him pain. The only things which seem to affect him at all are water and ice. If he is completely surrounded by either he becomes dormant. But even that does not seem to cause him pain or real injury."

"I see. Open your eyes you ass I know you're conscious!"

He did and he smiled at her. "What do you want bitch?"

"What do I want?!" She screeched at him. "I want some freaking obedience you bastard! Orochimaru has all sorts of plans for you! You need to obey him or you spend the rest of your life in this fish tank!"

He laughed at her. "Tell Orochimaru to go screw himself! You and I both know he can't do anything to me! You just said you can't kill or hurt me. So why should I do what that snaky bastard wants?"

"If you don't you stay right here forever." She threatened.

"Sounds good, I could use a nap."

She stared at him with impotent fury. "That your final answer?" He nodded. "Put him back in!"

The cable lowered him back into the tank and he began to dream again.

XXXXXXXXXX

He saw an image of the girl disappear in a puff of smoke. "This is getting boring!" He screamed out into the forest. He hated this; he hated feeling like he was just being played with. He liked watching people burn, it was fun. Seeing these clones puff into smoke again and again was boring. He wanted screams and he wanted to see people running about like living candles before they fell.

"Not so much fun now?" The guy ninja said again. And like every time he was beyond his range. As he was about to reply the rain started to come down. He looked up into the skies with hatred. "Does the rain hurt?"

Desaad laughed. "No, nothing can hurt me now."

"But it does weaken you doesn't it?" Angered by the smug words he sent out a stream of fire willing the clone to shut up. The stream came well short. The clone nodded his head. "Good, that went only about half the distance of your previous attacks. As I suspected being a creature of fire water is your natural enemy."

"Don't get your hopes up! As soon as the rain stops I'll be back to normal!"

The ninja nodded. "But so long as you remain in it you will remain severely weakened. So what would happen if you were in a tub of water?"

Growling he launched himself into the air again. He was annoyed to find he couldn't even do that as well anymore. He sent out a dozen smaller boulders of fire. Weakened or not he still had no trouble destroying the clone. When he hit the ground he struggled just a little getting to his feet.

"Hey tough guy!" The blonde called out taunting him. "You're moving a lot slower. Do I need to wait for you?"

He stared at her bitterly. "I'll show you."

XXXXXXXXXX

He opened his eyes. Again only his head had been removed from the tank. The bitch with the glasses was there glaring at him.

"It's been a year. Any change of heart?" She screeched.

He thought about it. "I'm bored."

Karen looked at him consideringly. "Does that mean you're ready to obey Orochimaru-sama's orders?"

"Maybe, but only if I think they're fun. I want to have fun."

She held back what she wanted to say. "And what is your idea of fun?"

He thought about it for a moment. "I want to burn a lot of people and watch them die."

For the very first time he got to see Karen smile. "Oh I think that can be arranged." The smile was quickly replaced by one of her usual scowls. "But don't get any ideas about doing whatever you want. You'll have three shinobi guards who are all specialized in water jutsus with you at all times. If you try anything they'll subdue you and bring you back here. Understand?"

He nodded cheerfully imagining what her screams would sound like. "Sure."

XXXXXXXXXX

"Please don't!" The half burned ninja tried to crawl away from him.

"That was fun!" He'd waited three days before turning on his three, 'guards.' As he'd suspected all along their pathetic water jutsus weren't enough to do more than slow him down. "Too bad you can't run anymore it was a good chase."

"Please no! I surrender!" The crippled Sound nin pleaded. The next instant he was screaming.

Desaad turned away from the still burning corpse and began to walk. He was somewhere in Fire county, how ironic, but didn't know anything more than that. The idea that he could now begin a new life and use his gifts to help others never even crossed his mind. All he thought about was what would be the best way to start having fun. He decided he would play a little game. He would kill one person a day and see how long it would take the authorities to catch him. He's been arrested several times in his life but had gotten away with hundreds of thefts. He thought it might be entertaining to be surrounded by police and watch their faces as he cooked them. Maybe he'd wait to be tried and cook a judge while he was at it. Laughing to himself he set off to find his first victim.

XXXXXXXXXX

The guy ninja came to a stop near the top of a small hill. "All right this is where the game ends."

Desaad looked at him curiously. He'd been chasing these two for miles now and he was just about at the end of his patience. "Really? Just what does that mean?"

The ninja crossed his arms and had a bored expression. "It means once you destroy this clone you'll get to meet the originals. It's time for the end game and for me to beat you."

"You beat me?" He laughed. "Fine go on believing that if it gives you the guts to come out and face me." He forced the fire into his feet and launched himself. While still rising he sent out some fiery boulders. The clone never moved and was destroyed. His trajectory was sending him over the hill. He saw what was past it and where he was going to land. "Noooo!!" He forced flame out of his hands in desperation but he could not alter his course. He went straight down into a huge pond.

He somehow managed to back to the surface and push his head above the water. He was thrashing but knew it was useless. His body was becoming numb.

"Well I don't know about you but I am definitely having fun right now." The ninja was standing there on the shore. The girl next to him laughed and nodded her agreement.

"This… won't… kill… me." His arms and legs were numb and he was beginning to sink. "I'll… just… sleep."

The ninja simply nodded. "Thanks for that information. I'll ask the Hokage to arrange a more permanent resting place for you. I don't want you waking up one day if we have a drought."

Desaad longed to make a reply but the waters closed over him and he drifted off to sleep.

XXXXXXXXXX

Shikamaru both stood there and watched as their enemy disappeared beneath the water. When he was gone and the water was still again he turned to her.

"So, want to go watch some clouds?"