That stupid brat...
Those damn eyes….
It's always these fucking Uchihas...
He glared down at Sasuke from his bird, feeling a stinging pain on his arms as blood dripped down.
His every attack was outmaneuvered by this cretin. The fact that Sasuke possessed lightning affinity was just a complete disadvantage to him. He could see right through his art as if it was just a mere game. Deidara wouldn't stand for it.
How dare he mess with him!
His art was flawless and unbeatable!
He would not lose! Not to an Uchiha!
There was no reason to hold back. He would kill him with what he had in store for Itachi. Grabbing a large portion of clay from his bag, he munched on it as quickly as he could and prepared the hand seals for his yet deadliest attack.
"I saved the best for last! Be honored to be killed by this, hm!"
The C4 Karura formed into a giant version of himself and he watched with pride as Sasuke's eyes grew wide with shock and fear. That's right, cower before the ultimate perfection!
Sasuke turned on his heel and fled as his giant creation followed pursuit with heavy steps.
"Hoi, you just gonna run away?"
Deidara reeled in the moment of watching the Uchiha try to escape his inevitable death caused by this ultimate art. Just a little sign and it would be over- he would have defeated the Uchiha, he would have triumphed over them.
No longer being able to contain his excitement, he released the explosion.
"Art is an explosion! Katsu!"
And then everything that moved sublimated, transitioned into a state or raw and true beauty, even Sasuke's ugly form looked artistic as he turned into dust, just how it should be.
Oh, how beautiful…
"Now this is my greatest masterpiece, hm!"
Well, guess that was one thing, if not the only thing, he would thank Itachi for.
"This is it! I won! I won! My art won-"
And he saw it.
But of course, he had been tricked just like he expected from the devious kind the Uchiha were. He had never neglected training his left eye to counter genjutsu and he would not fall for the same trick again!
He saw Sasuke appear from behind, mercilessly slicing his sword through his clone's chest, like he really intended to kill him. Well, the feeling was mutual.
"Seems like you're out of chakra. Your reaction was slow."
Those eyes… those damn eyes…
"Just because your explosives are too small for the eyes to see doesn't mean my Sharingan can't distinguish chakra by its color. I could see it as clear as smoke and easily get away from its range but I don't think your girlfriend was lucky enough to do so."
"What the hell do you mean?!"
"She tried to stop me while I escaped from your mini-bombs' blast range but I evaded her and haven't seen her since."
"Bullshit! There's no way she could be anywhere within range, hm!" He had made sure to get Anjira as far away from here as possible… right?
Sasuke simply shrugged. "She was. Not like it matters to me, it saves me the trouble of killing you both."
"Ha.. ha ha..." Only a dry laugh escaped the blonde's throat. Surely Sasuke was just lying to get to him. Anjira was not that stupid to come close to the fighting vicinity… right?
He grabbed Sasuke's ankle from his hiding spot inside the bird while the latter still had his sword stuck in his clay clone's chest.
"I anticipated your genjutsu, you're just like Itachi, hm!" He would win this battle and leave victoriously! "And you're just making shit up about Anjira to get on my nerves! The only one who's turning to dust here is you, hm! Eat my C4!"
He chewed and spewed out another C4 Karura Doll which enveloped Sasuke, making it impossible for him to escape, and entangled his arms and legs inside just to be extra sure.
"Seems like you're the one who's out of chakra! Can't even dodge, hm!"
He jumped away to distance himself from the bombs and although tremendously thrilled about winning this battle, he was disappointed about the doll as he made it in a rush, not being able to shape it to complete perfection. Oh well, it will have to do. Just a bit more and he would blow this sucker off space and he could reunite with Anjira, who was patiently waiting for him somewhere safe. She had to be.
All of a sudden, Sasuke broke through the doll with his lightning blade and flew towards the blonde. There was no way his lightning blade could reach Deidara and the nano-bombs were still in his bloodstream.
"It's over." Deidara grinned and released the explosion.
He fell through the trees and hit the ground hard. He caught a glimpse of Sasuke's wing disintegrating into non-existence and silence followed.
"... I won. My art triumphed ..." He huffed, looking around with exhausted glee. "He..hehe..."
But no, what was this feeling?
"Why?!"
In a split second he felt a sword slice right through his lungs. He slowly turned his head in shock to Sasuke, who was no longer in his cursed seal form, heavily panting as he firmly held the sword in place.
Damn it, why was he still alive?!
Streaks of lightning appeared from his body, which answered his questions. He had disarmed his C4 by applying it to himself. He had figured out the weakness of his art so quickly and so accurately. Unbelievable. Unforgivable.
This was all wrong. Sasuke should be dead, Anjira should be alive, and he should have eradicated the Sharingan with his art. What was going on? He had planned everything so carefully over these years so he could avenge his art, avenge Anjira, Sasori, and get his revenge for Orochimaru and Itachi. His art was supposed to prevail over it all, why was the Uchiha's sword pierced through him? He had a son, for crying out loud, who still needed to learn much about art. Things were not supposed to be this way!
Sasuke pulled the sword from his chest and the blonde fell from his knees. Before the Uchiha could strike him again, he created clay snakes to defend himself but Sasuke emitted lightning from his body to disarm them. Fortunately, this tired him out and he crouched on the ground, worn out from the battle.
"Not such tough shit after all, huh!" Deidara spat out in disdain but choked on his own blood which already rose up to his throat. His whole body hurt like hell and he barely had any chakra left. He couldn't die. He wouldn't be killed by an Uchiha! He would go back to Anjira alive! But was Anjira alive? She wasn't dead, was she? She couldn't be!
"You're lying to me! Anjira wasn't anywhere near!"
"She was there, trying to block my escape and I could no longer see her after I ran ahead. Go ahead and try to look for her but I don't think you'll find anything."
"How can you be so sure?!"
"If she tried to stop me from escaping your blast, she should have also tried to stop me from attacking you on your bird. She has wings like me, she would have been able to attack me or alert you."
Why would she try to stop Sasuke? Why was she even remotely around here? He told her he couldn't have her caught up in his explosions!
He didn't want to believe it but Sasuke's analogy made perfect sense.
This was just like her, wasn't it? She never listened to him. Always walked away, always went to places that put her in danger. So many times did he almost lose her and now… he lost her for real. Why did he ever fall in love with her?
Agony soared through him, more painful than his pierced lung and he couldn't about their plans of travelling around the world, him showing her the Hidden Stone and eventually rescuing their son, being an artistic family together?
What was the point of it all now? His art was disrespected beyond comprehension, he had killed the love of his life, an Uchiha was about to murder him and the Akatsuki was falling apart.
With great struggle, Sasuke, still holding his sword, got up on his feet and walked over to the artist. He even deactivated his Sharingan.
No, he would not let things end this way. He would take the Uchiha down with him.
"This has been going on for too long. Let's end it here."
"You're underestimating me, hm!" Deidara growled. "I'm not gonna get killed by those eyes, those disgusting eyes that constantly disregard and disrespect my art! I will kill you! It's you who will lose, hm!"
He tore off his blood-soaked shirt. Sasuke wounded him pretty badly but at least the mouth on his chest was still intact.
He bit off the stitches keeping it shut and fed it clay, feeling himself slowly becoming one with his art. He could see the fear growing inside Sasuke's eyes and it exhilarated him.
"This is my ultimate art! In death, I shall become art and it will leave a scar unlike anything anyone has ever seen and I will finally receive the admiration I always deserved!"
His ultimate art, an explosion so resplendent it will cover a ten kilometer radius, a once in a lifetime to be seen kind of beauty to leave a mark on this earth, even the most inartistic can't deny it's breathtaking aesthetic. His only regret was that Anjira would not get to see it. He always wanted to die first so she could witness the true beauty of it, because only she could fully understand the ephemeral virtue behind it and remember his death in an artistic way he always deserved. But this was not the end of his art. Hiroaki was his legacy and he was sure he would take after his footsteps. If only he could witness it.
Forgive me.
"Now tremble! Be afraid! Recoil in despair! Cower in awe! And cry your heart out, because art… is an EXPLOSION!"
