Author's Note: Hmmmmmm
Disclaimer: I obviously do not own Naruto, the world, or the characters. All of these belong to the creator Masashi Kishimoto.
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Chapters 5
Blur
*Flashback*
"You've been more cheerful than normal, hm," Deidara noted through a mouthful of food. Across from him, Mari smiled as she delicately indulged her own appetite. They were eating dinner in a restaurant instead of their home for the first time in years. It helped that the owners recognized Deidara as a friend of the Tsuchikage. Thus, they wouldn't be overpriced like the rest of their clan for their kekkei genkai.
"Have I?" Mari smirked, opening one eye as she drank some water.
"Yeah, you've been humming and stuff, hm. It's weird." Deidara complained with a playful eye roll. "How's teaming with Koton been? Annoyingly idiotic, hm?" The blonde pried with a chuckle.
"It's actually going pretty well." Mari similarly chuckled. "What about you? How are Kuro and Akatsuchi?" She politely asked, though her tone was off. Deidara tapped his fingers against the table before answering.
"Good, hm. It's great that we were put on a team, hm." The boy energetically nodded.
"Great to have Lord Tsuchikage on your side," Mari commented with a grim face. In turn, Deidara squinted his eyes at her.
"What's wrong, sis, hm?" He asked, putting his elbows on the table.
"I want you to stop taking advantage of Lord Tsuchikage's influence." His sister explained with a stern face, her hand folded on her lap. Deidara blinked, before loudly cackling. Tears leaked from his eyes as he slapped the table. Other patrons sent him an irritated look before turning back to their own meals. Mari narrowed her eyes at him disapprovingly.
"That's… that's real funny, hm!" Deidara wheezed, fixing his posture. However, his sister's face didn't falter.
"Deidara, I mean it." She reiterated with the hint of a scolding in her voice.
"Actually…?" The blonde muttered, humour falling from his face to reveal a plaque carved with shock. Mari tightly nodded and he gaped, slamming his palm on the table once more. "It's not like we're using it for anything bad, hm! It's not right how we're treated without it, hm! We're treated like dirt without it!" Deidara accused with a fire in his eyes.
"It's not right, I know." Mari relented with a sigh, moving to stand. "However, antagonizing them will only make it worse." She argued, motioning with her arm to the various glares they were receiving from the staff. Deidara scowled and reluctantly backed down.
"Fine, hm. I'll stop it with those jerks. But, I'm not going to let them treat us like before, hm." He relented. Mari sighed, tucking a stray piece of her hair away.
"It sucks, but I'm sure it'll get better soon, and sooner if we stand down." She steadfastly encouraged, and dragged him out of the restaurant. Though, Deidara wiggled out of her grasp upon exiting.
"Sis, you never used to care about this, hm." The blonde complained while fixing his headband. They both ignored the stares and glares the other villagers sent their way. Deidara continued to just glare back while Mari, as usual, ignored them. However, her demeanour seemed to have a tad more hope in it than before.
"I'm tired of not caring, Deidara." Mari vaguely explained, a smile decorating her face.
—
"I'm surprised you found a boyfriend, hm!" Deidara cackled, ducking to avoid a punch from his sister.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Mari hissed while setting plates down on their table at home. She'd stopped going out to eat with him citing her stance on using Onoki's influence. Thus, the siblings had spent less time together recently.
"One, you're you, hm." He dodged another blow. "Two, you said he wasn't from our clan. So, I'm surprised there wasn't a whole 'clan' issue, hm." Deidara explained after dumping thin noodles in a bowl. Successfully pacified, Mari softly hummed while nodding. She exited the kitchen for a moment to change. Proceeding to return in a loose mint green dress. She rolled her eyes when Deidara playfully gagged at the sight.
"I was too." Mari beamed, giving a small twirl in the room.
"You going to tell me who this guy is yet, hm?" Deidara prompted, causing her to snort.
"It's a surprise!" Mari deflected, jumping when someone knocked on the door. "I got it!" She yelped, racing towards it. Deidara blinked, dumbly staring at the floor as he listened to Mari laugh farther away. Though, he gaped when she walked in with her surprise boyfriend.
"Kai Konto?! Mari! You're seriously-" Deidara angrily started but was cut off.
"I told you it'd be a surprise." Mari chuckled as the couple sat down.
"Didn't expect it to be unpleasant." The blonde mentally insulted, glumly taking his own seat. Deidara fought a glare off his face for his sister's sake. Though, throughout dinner, he couldn't help harshly stabbing each piece of pork.
"It's nice to meet you." Kai cheerfully greeted, revealing a charming smile as he spoke. Deidara's eye twitched as he answered.
"Same… dude…?" The blonde nodded, hiding his clenching fists under the table. "So… you and Mari… are on the same genin team?" He questioned through clenched teeth. Mari melted as Kai took the lead in the conversation.
"Why yes! It was rocky at first, clan drama and all. But she eventually fell for my charm." Kai chuckled, wrapping his arm around Mari. Deidara paused, taking the sight in. He wanted to barf. "We've been quite successful together with my clan mate. You've heard?" The other boy inquired after swallowing, sending a warm look to Mari who returned it in full force.
"I… have." Deidara nodded, a smirk coming to his lips. "You guys scored second behind our team, hm?" He nonchalantly noted, causing Kai's bright expression to falter. Though, Mari kicked him under the table, which he ignored.
"Yes… It must be nice having Lord Tsuchikage as your mentor." Kai sassed, weaving a hand through his greasy hair.
"It is, hm. Especially when your teammates are his pupils, hm." Deidara snarked, disliking the undertone to the Koton's voice.
"Mhm, having Lord Tsuchikage to bail you guys out of any troubles. I'm just saying-" Kai pushed, causing Deidara to mentally scoff.
"Ha! The old fossil bailing us out? If anything we need to bail him out most of the time! I got to tell this to Kuro later-" He smirked before Mari abruptly stood and cleaned off her dress. She sent a polite smile to both of them.
"Let's not get into an argument, alright boys? Now, I'm going to step out. And when I come back you two better get along." Mari scolded, pointedly looking at her brother to his outrage and Kai's satisfaction. "Stop trying to cause a fight." She quietly threatened him as she left with a huff.
"Me?!" Deidara mouthed before finally glaring at a grinning Kai. "I don't like you, hm." He insulted, pointing his chin up.
"I could care less about what some lowlife from the exploding clan thinks." Kai hissed, narrowing his eyes into a judgmental glare. Deidara blinked before arching forward, grunting.
"You realize that my sister is from the same clan, right? He questioned, his hands itching to blow the guy's face up. Though, Kai merely scoffed in response. "What's your deal, man, hm?" Deidara interrogated, his chair falling to the ground.
"She has a pretty face… and will hopefully get the elders off my back about getting a wife when that time comes." Kai casually detailed, spitting their cooking out. "You're a horrible cook, though I wasn't expecting it to be this bad." He insulted, as if personally offended. Deidara hopped the table to stand next to the other boy, baring his teeth.
"How in the world did Mari fall for you, hm? You're horrible, hm!" He exclaimed, stray sparks escaping from his fingertips.
"Personally, I have no idea or care. I told her that I had no expectations of her and that seemed to do it. Though, it's working out for me so I don't have to commit to anything." Kai nonchalantly droned on as if bored. Deidara felt a boiling rage pile up and his face turned red. He raised his fist to attack the Koton boy before Mari shrieked.
"What are you doing?!" She yelled, forcing him off Kai. "I'm so sorry, are you okay?" Mari asked her boyfriend, who somehow shifted into an innocent facade.
"F-Fine!" He reassured, taking Mari into a tight embrace. Deidara could only watch, shocked as Kai sent him a victorious smirk. From there on, whenever Mari wasn't around the Koton would give him that same leer.
When they crossed paths during missions…
When they saw each other in town…
When Kai came to pick Mari up from their clan…
When Mari married him…
When they saw each other in Onoki's office that fateful day…
—
"Mari?" Deidara blinked as he saw his sister approach Onoki's office with Kai.
"Hey, Deidara." Mari softly smiled, though there was an awkward air between them. "What are you and Kuro doing here?" She politely prodded as they stood outside the door. Her arm was intertwined with Kai's. Whose other arm was preoccupied with a tight scroll. Deidara recognized it as coming from the same collection that was stolen from earlier. So, there'd been two thieves! He silently noted to tease the Tsuchikage about said fact later.
"We both finished missions, hm. Konto?" Deidara gruffly responded, crossing his arms.
"Same here," Kai answered with a warm smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. Though, the blonde seemed to be the one who noticed the insincerity.
"And I was nearby. So, I'm supporting him!" Mari vibrantly clarified, causing Deidara to inwardly groan. "Actually, why don't Kai and Kuro go on ahead. I'd like to talk with you for a moment, alone." She continued, sharing a discrete look with her husband. The blonde protested before relenting, shrugging to Kuro as he was dragged away by Mari.
"What did you want to talk about, sis?" Deidara quizzed as they descended a set of stairs.
"Just a little longer!" Mari deflected until they reached the ground level of the Tsuchikage's building. She exhaled, sitting on a nearby chair.
"Mari, hm?" The shinobi repeated to grab her attention.
"Yes! I wanted… to reconnect. We haven't really spoken to each other since Kai and I were married and I moved out." Mari quietly explained, playing with her hair. Deidara paused, briefly looking away. He buried down the numerous insults he had prepared for the Koton heir. Meanwhile, his sister appeared skittish as he the longer he took to answer. She often glanced up, as if studying the ceiling.
"Mari, why do you like Kai, hm?" Deidara earnestly questioned, leaning against the stone walls. His sister softly smiled, moving her hand above her chest as if relieved they were talking.
"He doesn't expect anything from me, Deidara. Our whole life people have needed us to do or be something. The other villagers want us to stay away from them. The academy wanted us to go into the explosion corps and just mindlessly blow things away. I use to just go through life fulfilling those expectations. But, Kai doesn't want any of that. He just needs me there, and that's… that's all I want." Mari calmly explained with a tranquil aura. Again, he paused before answering.
"…Sis, I'm worried about you, hm." Deidara answered with a frown. Mari nervously chuckled, taking his hand.
"Don't be. I'm happy now. I really, really, really am." She comforted. He frowned, opening his mouth to respond before the ceiling shook. They both gasped and Deidara leaped forward.
"That was the old man's office, hm!" He hissed, already running towards the scene.
"No! Deidara!" Mari yelped, trying to pull him away. However, Deidara swivelled out of her grasp.
"Get to safety, hm! I'm going to check it out!" He yelled before vanishing up the stairs. The blonde barely made out his sister's cries as dust clouded his vision. He jumped the stone three steps at a time until he finally reached Onoki's office. Though, his breath hitched when he caught the sights inside.
"Die already!" Kai hissed as he sliced at the Tsuchikage again and again. Kuro was at his back, attempting to subdue the Koton.
"The hell's going on, hm?!" Deidara yelled as he joined his team without hesitation.
"It's called-getting someone else-someone better in the Kage seat!" Kai exclaimed as he parried Kuro's quicklime, throwing scrolls on the floor as he dodged an explosion. The trio quickly learned why Kai's team had been second in the rankings. He was annoying skilled at playing keep away. Kuro grunted as her blade scratched a pillar and not Kai's head.
"With who? You? As if, hm!" Deidara taunted, not particularly caring if he destroyed Onoki's office. After all, having the opportunity to murder Kai seemed much more important to him. "I've been waiting to do this for a long time, hm!" The blonde grinned, readying a fiery explosion. Kai growled, throwing a kunai in his direction. Deidara scoffed, ducking and easily avoiding the attack.
A soft gasp-
"MARI!" Kuro screamed in horror, turning still as a statue.
Time stood still as Deidara froze.
Foul-tasting bile formed in his throat as he turned.
There Mari was, clutching the doorway with a bloodied hand. A kunai lodged in her throat as she painted the floor red. Her eyes were wide with shock and hurt as she clutched at her throat. A sickening gurgling sound haunted the office.
"D-Dei…" Mari tried to stutter but was stopped with a choke. Her eyes glazed over and she collapsed, unmoving like the stone she lay on. Deidara paled, racing for his sister before a searing pain paralyzed him. His eyes slowly ticked to the side to find a leering Kai and his blade. The edge impaled Deidara's shoulder like a knife to wood.
"Good for nothing-" The Koton had started to say. However, he never got to finish before the office was suffocated in smoke and flames. The last thing anyone heard was Deidara's screams of pain, his pain, Mari's pain.
—
"He's gone?!" Kuro shrieked at her grandfather, her face contorted in pain both physical and mental. Jounin still worked on clearing the sight of his previous building behind them. Her limbs ached at every movement but her anger dulled it away.
"He stole two scrolls and fled! We're still looking for him!" Onoki gruffly explained, turning to speak with one of his shinobi before returning to her. Kuro clenched her fists together as she saw Kai and Mari Koton being carefully laid to rest. Mourners from the Koton clan wept over their lost heir. The sight made her blood boil with rage. She briefly imagined walking over and exposing the liar to his clan. However, Onoki pressed a hand against her shoulder. "Don't." He warned.
"Why not?! They tried to kill you! And now Deidara's being blamed for it!" Kuro seethed, glancing at a newly drawn wanted poster of her friend.
"The Koton clan is one of the most powerful in Iwagakure. I can't just accuse their heir without investigating the matter further, Kuro! We don't know how many of the Koton clan, let alone other clans were involved. You'll understand when you're Tsuchikage one day…" The elder irritatedly reprimanded.
"It's Deidara-" Kuro tried to plead.
"I know, Kurotsuchi! I know!" Onoki snapped before softening, a wave of guilt melting over his features. "The best you can do right now is 'hunt down that traitorous thief' as soon as possible." He ordered, fixing his voice. In a quieter voice, he continued away from spying ears and eyes. "You and Akatsuchi know the boy best. Find him and make sure he's alright…" Her grandfather sincerely requested, and Kuro nodded resolutely.
"… I will, grandfather. I will." She muttered antecedent to sprinting through the dusty streets.
Kuro had a guess on where her friend had run off too. The familiar paths and cracks felt unbearably empty as she traversed the fields. However, relief overcame her when she heard a light coughing from the cave - Deidara's cave.
"Deidara-" Kuro shouted as she stumbled across the stone. But, the kunoichi froze upon finding her friend.
"K-Kuro… HA! HA!… I… HA-" The blonde stuttered, clutching his head with a crazed smile laced on his face. He kneeled on the floor while simultaneously laughing and crying. Kuro couldn't stop herself from taking a step back before snapping out of it and approaching.
"Deidara, what happened to you?!" She cried, grabbing his arm before gasping as a tongue licked her wrist. Kuro yelped and scrambled backwards, eyes glazing over as they found an opened scroll near Deidara. It was a forbidden kinjutsu from Iwagakure that had been stolen only days before. It has just been retrieved by Kai before… it happened. "You-You didn't?!" The kunoichi questioned in a horrified whisper.
"I-I-I didn't want to, HA! Hm!" The blonde screamed, clawing at his face only to reveal two twin mouths sticking out of his palms. Kuro could only watch, stunned as his maniacal laughs morphed into ugly sobs. He fell against the floor as if weakened.
"I…" She tried to say, but the words died on her lips. There was nothing she could say.
"M-Mari… Mari is… HA! Mari… HA… Mari… no… no… no… no… no…" Deidara stammered with laboured breaths. "Koton… HA! Koton… Did I get him? HA! He's dead, right, Kuro? Right? I got him, right?!" The blonde realized, abruptly standing and looking at the shadows as if expecting the Koton to appear again at any moment. Deidara's fingers twitched with sizzling white clay clumps and violent sparks. His legs shook and he fell down once more.
"He's… dead…" Kuro murmured, concernedly tracing her friend's steps.
"YES! YES! HA! TAKE THAT! HA!" Deidara cackled on the ground. Unfortunately, his eyes suddenly dilated as he started to cry once more. "Mari… no… no… no… no…" The blonde bemoaned, curling in on himself.
"Deidara… You need to stay hidden for a while, okay? Kuro carefully explained, swallowing down her own grief and focusing on the task at hand. "My old man needs to figure things out back at Iwa. And, well-" She was rudely interrupted by Deidara nearly slamming into her forehead.
"Old man… old man… I… HA! Tsuchikage… He… his fault… Mari…" He mumbled and mumbled and mumbled, as if in the zenith of the storm.
"Deidara!" Kuro yelled in turn, taking a fearful step away. Instantly, Deidara's face crumpled and he seemed to have a moment of consciousness through his mutterings. His hands slapped his temples once more and all of his anger and grief seemed to turn inwards.
"STOP! M-Make it stop… make it stop…" He wheezed as if suffocating on the air itself. "Kuro!" The blonde screamed, marching up to her face. She paled, feeling pebbles of dread slowly build into a mountain.
"What do you want me to do?!" The kunoichi prompted while shaking her head. Deidara smiled at her, though it was without any humour or energy. Or, perhaps it had been diverted by something else like a rock in a stream. Deidara scrambled on his person before throwing another scroll at her feet. Kuro unsurely glanced at the title before immediately feeling a tad lightheaded.
It was the scroll she'd retrieved from the same collection. One that irreversibly obliterated memories.
"Make it-" Her friend was saying before she interrupted.
"I won't-can't just wipe your memory, Deidara!" Kuro retorted, slashing the wind with her arm. "The kinjutsu's messing with your head, Deidara! You're not thinking straight! Just-" She tried to placate to no avail.
"Kuro, I'm begging you! MAKE THE PAIN GO AWAY! MAKE IT GO AWAY, PLEASE!" Deidara sporadically pleaded, hitting the ground again and again. The cracks travelling ever so close to Kuro. Her heartbeat picked up, sweat coalesced on her brow. A shameful part of her wanted to run. But, she looked at his grief-stricken face so horribly broken and crumpled.
Kuro picked up the scroll.
She had to leave when some other scouts approached the cave.
When Kuro came back Deidara was gone, Mari's old paintings on the ground in faded pieces.
—
It was some months later when she saw her friend again. Kuro was scaling a small mountain near Iwagakure after having returned from a solo assignment. She'd been going on many more of those after Deidara's disappearance. The heat of the sun blared down on her back. Kuro had returned to the cave after talking with the others only to find Deidara vanished. She worried about him often like an unscratched itch.
"Deidara… where are you…?" She muttered, allowing her back to slouch as she overlooked Iwagakure. However, she looked up when a sudden shadow fell over her. Though, it vanished as quickly as it came. Her hair stood on edge as Kuro turned back towards the village. She squinted at just the right time to watch as a white blob soared over Iwa… and paint the sky with fire.
She was blown back by the shockwaves, falling to her stomach in disarray. Black ash climbed the air and coated it with a tight foul smell. Kuro coughed but quickly regained her wits, moving to sprint across the rock field to the village.
"What the-" She cursed but was cut off by the screaming. People burned inside Iwagakure. People were torn to sherds inside their homes. People cried out for their injured or dead loved ones in the streets. "Gramps! Akatsuchi!" Kuro shouted as she busted a door down to lead civilians outside.
"Kuro!" The kunoichi heard her friend call, muted by the chaos. She coughed again and stared at the white blob that was still gliding above, throwing bombs below. "Whoever that is I'm going to kill-" Kuro screamed with a furious snarl before she saw the attacker's face. She paled, anger immediately morphing into shock. "Deidara…?!" She gasped.
"Hey everyone, hm! Hope you like my art, hm!" The blonde cackled, a foreign mad gleam in his eyes. Kuro finally recognized the white blob as one of Deidara's many clay creations. Somehow, the anarchy around Kuro faded to the background as she stared at her former friend. The horrible sounds, smells, and sights seemed to fade in her mind. She swayed, falling to her knees as the bird flew off.
"No…" The kunoichi hissed, punching the ground and cracking it. Horror began to swirl inside her blood and making her feel sick.
"Kuro, are you okay?" Akatsuchi was saying, having found her through the outrage. He shook her arms thought she paid him no mind.
"No!" She repeated, her voice shaky like an earthquake. "No-No…No… Deidara… what have I done?" Kuro mourned as Iwagakure burned with her comrade.
*Flashback End*
—
"… I'm sorry!" Both Iwa fighters apologized simultaneously, both proceeding to blink and look away. "Why are you-stop! I'll go first-" Both insisted, a moment passed as they dared each other to speak. Eventually, Deidara opened his mouth only for Kuro to slam her hand against it.
"I'll go!" She grumbled, and the shinobi relented with a shrug. "It's my fault you ended up going… insane… I shouldn't have ever wiped your memories of Mari, it just made everything worse… I was weak-" Kuro weakly admitted, a shadow falling over her face.
"I shouldn't have asked, hm!" Deidara retorted, frantically shaking his head at her.
"You were grieving!" She replied with a scowl, kicking a rock against the opposite wall.
"That doesn't m-matter, Kuro! I still shouldn't have done it, hm!" The blonde ranted, holding his head in his hands. The fight slowly left his body as he heavily sighed, a distant look in his eyes. "Mari was trying to distract me... If I just didn't run back to you guys she wouldn't have followed, wouldn't have been in the crossfire. Kai would've definitely been dealt with by you two, hm…" Deidara reflected.
"You can't blame yourself, Deidara." Kuro tried to comfort, resting a hand against his shoulder. He twitched, mouth opening as if to speak before closing, deciding against it.
"Yes I can, hm." He softly disagreed with a grunt.
"Then…" Kuro mumbled, rubbing her fingers against her temple to think. She exhaled, taking her anxiety with it. Afterwards, the kunoichi softly smiled at him, eager and hopeful. "We just have to focus on what we have now, right?! You're here! You're back, and we can explain everything to the others when we all return home!" She tried to be optimistic, though Deidara hesitated before answering.
"… Alright, hm." He shakily nodded, tapping the stone ground before smirking. "What have… I missed, hm?" Deidara cheerfully asked, his strained tone submerged beneath a sunny disposition. Kuro beamed at him.
"My old man eventually dealt with the Koton clan… They lost their prestige, wealth, everything. He just needed time to figure out who were allied with them and how to deal with that." She started with, causing the blonde to victoriously chuckle.
"Serves them right." He grumbled as she continued her tales.
"Oh! This one time…" Kuro prattled as they sat there in that cave, enjoying each other's familiar company. They stayed there in the present for as long as they possibly could. One recalling memories both new and old. The other intently listening to everything he'd abandoned while hiding a guilty vice in his eyes. The shadows and wind became an unmoving constant. The only sound was their voices' echoes within the stone, like a solitary mountain.
It was their present that inevitably became a memory within thousands and thousands of others.
No Akatsuki or dangerous threats lurking in the dark, no worries about the future or fighting ahead, no horrible past haunting their words.
Right then, it was just two friends talking.
—
Author's Note: This chapter is titled 'blur' since Deidara's memories were altered, as if blurring a mirror and making it hard to see. To be completely honest, the mid section of those flashbacks weren't the most fun to write, which may have been apparent. Though, I also struggled with the end conversation as well.
Next chapter: December 18th