Title: Never Really Home (Chapter Eleven)
Pairing: Sasuke/Naruto, Kakashi/Iruka, one-sided Sakura/Sasuke, hints of Lee/Naruto
Rating: M mostly for language, but for some sexual content as well.
Warnings: Eventual spoilers up to recent chapters.
Disclaimers: Don't own Naruto.
Deidara watched the boy's furrowed brow. Obviously he was trying to figure out how to beat the latest creation, but was coming up with nothing. Not surprising, really. This was the one of the single greatest pieces of art that Deidara had ever remembered making. It would be impossible for a puny kid with only fire jutsu to take it down.
Suddenly, Sasuke took in the appearance of his opponent. The black robe covered in red clouds… how had he not realized it! This guy must know Itachi somehow! With a renewed anger he shouted his question over the water, "Do you know my brother, Uchiha Itachi!"
Deidara chuckled at the question for a moment. So this is Itachi's little brother, then? He turned his head up and shot a gaze directly into Sasuke's eyes, his voice much lower so it was barely heard over the distance, "I did know him. Sadly, he's dead now…yeah."
After straining to hear the words, Sasuke was not sure if he had heard what he thought. Dead? How could Itachi be dead? He was Sasuke's to kill; no one else could take his life! The rage began to surge up within Sasuke, he shut his eyes in frustration and a thousand images flashed by. Pictures of his parents, the Uchiha clan, his brother in the past, all of the hard work he had forced himself through. It was all for nothing, now.
"How did he die!" came the shriek from the boy. He was in a state of absolute shock; nothing like this had ever been expected. How could his brother, someone with such supreme power, die? It was impossible, had to be.
Deidara's face was plastered with a twisted smile. He rather enjoyed the kid's anger. It looked like Itachi had been someone important, but what did that matter? All that he had to worry about was taking care of the Jinchuuriki, the only reason this kid was worth any time was to crush the Kyuubi kid's spirit. After a moment of deliberation, Deidara answered, "That's more than what you need to know… yeah."
It was the moment that pushed Sasuke over the edge. His eyes bulged for a moment and he doubled over with the terrible shock. The steady stream of chakra he had been releasing was ruined and he fell down into the water. There he could clearly see the giant serpent swimming around in a wide circle, but he was paying it no attention. He looked up towards the surface of the water, his bloodline eyes activated and full of rage. As he began to kick back towards the surface the seal on his neck glowed and came to life, spreading the swirls all over the boy's body. When Sasuke reached the surface he exploded upwards, eyes locked on his opponent.
"Well he's gotten a lot stronger… yeah," the casual mumbling clearly showed how insignificant he considered this fight to be. He saw the curse seal that had spread all over the kid's body, one of Orochimaru's stupid things. That would make this kid cost him even more time, what a waste. With a simple motion of his hand the serpent came flying up from the water to attack the kid.
The Sharingan made all the difference this time. He could almost see the creature come flying out of the water a second before it did. With a fluid motion he hopped backwards and pulled out several shuriken. Sasuke released the shuriken in a wide arc, sending them all flying towards the serpent. It twisted in midair and the shuriken all flew past, but when Sasuke tugged on the string he had tied on it pulled them back, looping the strings around the beast.
With the monster tethered to him, Sasuke turned his angry eyes up to Deidara, letting him know how serious this fight has become. His hands a blur, he formed a series of seals and roared, "Katon! Ryuuka no Jutsu!" A deep breath was the only prelude to the violent stream of flame that erupted from his mouth. It seemed to take on the form of a dragon and roar with a fury akin to Sasuke's. The dragon took only a moment before it crashed into the creation.
The blast from the collision was tremendous. It sent Sasuke flying backwards, skipping across the water almost back to shore. He flipped up as he slowed and landed on the water, bloodline eyes scanning the battlefield, looking for his opponent. Finally they revealed a sphere of the same material that the creature had been made of. Sasuke was baffled for a moment, but then the bird's wings began to unfold.
Deidara's eyes were burning with rage. This brat had destroyed some of his finest art! The explosion had been expected after an attack like that, so his carrier had shielded him from the blast without a problem. A quick glance around told him nothing; the smoke was still too thick. But the sound of another approaching fireball was all the warning needed for his carrier to place its wings up in defense again. The fireball dispersed on contact, as he had known it would, but what came after was unexpected.
Sasuke had formed hand seals with incredible speed, holding his hand down and focusing chakra into his palm. The chakra formed into a glowing mass that launched bolt of pure energy out, making the familiar sound of the thousand birds. With this attack at the ready Sasuke ran forward, merely a blur along the water. His red eyes focused on the target in front of him. As he approached the wings of the giant bird curled up again, but his Chidori was more than enough to deal with that obstacle. By merely kicking up his leg he swung his arm in an arc that sliced off the wing of the creature, leaving Deidara fully open to an attack.
The attack followed swiftly, leaving no opening for an escape. Sasuke wedged his other arm and one of his legs into the opening he had made. His other leg struck out and landed a solid hit on his opponent sending him flying backwards. In the same instant he flung himself forward at high speed, hovering over the enemy for a moment. Their eyes met for a second, the red glare of the sharingan piercing into Deidara, who had finally begun to realize that he could lose.
With a single fluid motion, Sasuke's leg whipped out and crashed into Deidara's arm, followed up by a fist directly to the chest. The two crashed into the lake, sending sheets of water in all directions as they came to the shores. Sasuke stood over Deidara, and slowly his eyes began to change. Deidara's body froze and his eyes became glazed over for a second before he grabbed his head and shrieked in pain.
"Tell me how my brother died!" came Sasuke's desperate roar, grabbing Deidara's collar and breaking the trance. The sound nin glared intensely at his opponent and whispered "never", but did not get another word in before he grabbed at his head again, pulling his hair and trying to end his suffering. "TELL ME!" Sasuke's voice cracked slightly as he screamed at his opponent.
"Make it…stop. Make it STOP!" whimpered Deidara, completely shaken by what was going on in his head.
"Tell me how my brother died!"
"He…he was going blind!" whispered Deidara, too weak to fight back. "He was becoming so paranoid that he was attacking everyone who came near him. So…so our leader decided to kill him. But in the battle, both of them perished."
Sasuke's eyes widened in anger and confusion. Barely even caring, he grabbed a kunai and stabbed his opponent in the chest. As Deidara's eyes began to fade, he thought he saw the Uchiha stumble to his feet and head back into the forest.
If I get any crap about this chapter being late, I will laugh. After this, I think about three chapters, and I have yet to write any of them. However, it will be my writing. I stuck to Ed's writing because it flowed better if the whole fight was written by the same person. Also, I like his style, regardless of what anyone else says.
Anywho, I know what is happening in the next chapters, and I wanna finish the story before school starts (sept. 7th) so look out for chapter 12 soon.
Reviews make me feel inspired (just a hint.)