Deidara grasped the cracked side of the stone ruin that had once been a glorious monument in a town that housed a long-dead Kage revered as the most powerful in the world.
Yet he was dead, too, and tired.
So very, very tired.
It was only a few more steps until he could rest on his bed of ashes; to try to forget the grim truth of what the ashes truly were.
When Deidara finally opened his eyes again after a night filled with tears and restless sleep, the sun had already risen high into the sky, which even with his blurred vision could be seen through the dirty window of the kitchen. He patted around the ground to his left, searching for his clay creations as the ribbon around his wrist dragged along the ground with every little motion. Though they would not ever be detonated, Deidara made sure to fold the tiniest smidgen of his chakra into each one of them. It soothed his heart that ached for the past, though the same couldn't be said for the dulled, yet ever-unpleasant pain in his leg.
He gasped as a splash of cold water ran down the nape of his neck. Deidara turned his head around to see who had so ungraciously made his bed a freezing, wet mess, only to be met with the bright green eyes of Meisa staring down at him. A bruise now covered the right side of her face, which twisted her fair-skinned complexion into a swollen and misshapen scowl. He hoped it wasn't caused on his behalf.
Meisa must have noticed that Deidara was staring, so she said in a hushed voice, "I wasn't willing to tell another girl why she wasn't allowed in the kitchen. She brought a bodyguard back with her, and..."
She delicately touched the purple welt on her face, whimpering as she did so. Deidara sat up and brushed her hand with the tip of his fingers, as not to alarm her with the tongue that licked at the ground, and gazed directly into her eyes.
"They will both pay for this, Meisa. With their blood, their lives, and their ashes, they will pay."
"You talk like a lordling now?" Sasori snickered from a corner of the room.
Deidara threw the sopping wet blanket at him with as much force as he could muster, but it fell short of its target by a few feet. That only served to make Sasori break out in a full-fledged laugh, and it embarrassed Deidara even more once Meisa lightly giggled along with him.
"You both wanna get blown up inside this kitchen, hm? Because I'll do it!" Deidara yelled.
The laughing died down and Sasori smirked at Deidara. "Relax, you brat. We're going to have to change locations soon, and we can't risk it by having our brave little team leader yelling."
"Why can't we just poison him and be done with it, hm?" Deidara asked with an indignant pout.
"Since we've taken up residence in the kitchen, a poisoning would be easily traced back to your two girls here. The tall one is out scouting-"
"Kanako."
"What?"
"Her name is Kanako. Carry on, hm."
"Um, alright then. Kanako is out scouting for a safe location to move to. The path there will be the most dangerous part, and I don't know which screaming baby is going to be the bigger liability," Sasori gestured to the babe sleeping in a little makeshift bassinet, then sneered at Deidara once he realized the other baby he mentioned was meant to be a dig at him.
"You're a jerk, you know that, hm?" Deidara spat.
Sasori shrugged as he slid a basket of dried bread and apricots over to Deidara. "And without me, you're doomed. I'm sure you know that."
As unwilling as he was to accept food from someone he didn't particularly care for, Deidara was ravenously hungry after the week he had lived through with almost no food to speak of. He shoveled the bread and apricots into his mouth with reckless abandon, while Sasori and Meisa watched on in silence as Deidara filled himself with the entire basket of food.
Meisa took a cloth from a rack by the sink and wiped Deidara's crumb-coated and juice-stained face after he pushed the basket across the dirt floor back towards Sasori, who remained silent even several minutes after Deidara had finished his meal.
Deidara tightened the sash around his waist and briefly tousled his hair before he strapped his clay pack back on, then plopped the six clay creatures into the top of his garb. Sasori held back a snicker at the sight of how he looked, since the way he stuffed the little trinkets in there gave him quite a bosom.
"Well?" Deidara asked, turning around for Sasori and Meisa to view him. "How does everything look?"
"You're absolutely blossoming, Deidara," Sasori said as he tried to hold back his laughter.
Deidara cocked his head, but Meisa spoke up before anything else could be said. "What he means, M'lord, is the way you have those sculptures in your dress makes you look somewhat like a young maiden."
"Well, where else am I supposed to keep them safe, hm?" Deidara asked, his voice filled with anger.
Sasori pressed his left index and middle finger against his temple and gazed off into nothing for a brief moment, seemingly done conversing with Deidara. He huffed, and sat himself back down on the makeshift bed that had been set up for him. Deidara restlessly fixed his eyes on the dirty windowpane; he wondered how long he had really been here.
Meisa fiddled with Deidara's hair as she herself grew fidgety, but when she reached for Deidara's left wrist and the object of her desire, his fingers gently touched her hands before they could busy themselves with the ribbon around his wrist. "No," Deidara said gently, "this is a cursed ribbon, and it's up to me to bear it, not you."
Meisa gave a silent nod, then carried on with her busywork of braiding and knotting Deidara's mane into an increasingly effeminate style. "How cute," Meisa giggled after a few moments of looking him over. "You're like a little sister I did not have, and now you have peacemaker's crown in your hair."
"Peacemaker's crown, hm?" Deidara's eyes lit up as he heard the words come from her mouth.
"A beautiful bridal hairstyle for her wedding day, but it's not very common anymore. No one really wants this many braids, and not many women have that much hair. It's a commodity, you know." Meisa directed Deidara to a looking glass that hovered above the sink and the piles of dirty pots. He smiled; though it was truly a hairdo for the fairer sex, the way the braids were tied at the top of his head and fell in wavy golden locks to his chest and back made Deidara faintly nostalgic, and a bit happy in a way that he could not fully say.
"Loathe as I am to interrupt the sisterhood moment I'm fortunate enough to witness, it's an hour past high noon, and we're expecting Kanako back any moment," Sasori spoke up as Deidara snapped back to his reality, a dirty kitchen and a murderer to guide him to the dining hall.
"Right..." Meisa lowered her head as she tiptoed past Sasori, leaving a dispassionate Deidara by the sink with knuckles as white as the hot white sun, for he grew tired of the endless fleeing. He wanted to find a home to rest, maybe put his feet up by a hearth and take up sculpting as a serious hobby.
As he gazed down at his pale, bony, hairless fingers, he realized that his inner thoughts echoed that of an old man. Just the thought alone made his stomach turn; long white locks would never be permitted upon his head. Deidara would sooner shake hands with the sun that insisted on making Wind Country an inhospitable wasteland.
Meisa gathered her babe from his bassinet while he quietly dreamed of whatever his innocent new mind could. As she held him firmly in her arms, she tiptoed to the plank of a door and lightly pushed it open with her right foot. Sasori gestured for Deidara to follow them, the momentary time of rest now over and done.
The corridor the trio scurried through was just slightly brighter than the Sundance catacombs Deidara and Sasori had crept through before. Meisa guided the duo through any twist and turn, and chose the direction when they came across any of the three forks in their path. It was only a matter of minutes before they reached a room lined with books, a cherry wood desk carved with angels placed in the center, and rich velvet drapes in a wine red color that lined the glass-paneled window that was almost as big as the other three walls. To the left, most notably, Deidara glanced at a map that has been framed and mounted above an oddly tidy hearth.
As Sasori made himself comfortable on one of the chairs upholstered in magenta satin that was propped against the window and covered himself in his hood once more, Deidara fell back to where Meisa quietly sat with her son fast asleep at her breast. He crouched down before her, determined not to scare the gentler of his two maids.
"Did Kanako find any possible allies, hm?" Deidara muttered under his breath. Meisa continued to mind her babe, her eyes not daring to look forward.
"Yes, M'lord. My sister knew of a couple of other women... .maybe a handful of elderly servants, and a few children who would enjoy a change of master, especially if he means to let us go with a handsome sum. Unfortunately, not many able-bodied men will so much as speak with her, much less obey one as... .young, as you."
A master of the decrepit, women, and children. Small good any of them will do, Deidara scowled. He was to become a master of the most useless of a household, and to burn the ones who could protect him or train him into a fine Shinobi. Though it was not entirely a loss; at the very least, they were extra bodies Sasori would have to plow through to catch him when he escaped.
"Meisa. . . ." Deidara glanced back to Sasori, who was quietly looking out the window to the bright blue skies and sand dunes on the horizon. He's listening in, Deidara realized. He was being too quiet.
Somber green eyes looked into his. She knows it too, he thought.
After a short pause, Deidara broke the silence when he cleared his throat. "Meisa, would you, ah, ever consider staying as one of my personal maids, hm?"
Sasori's head tilted when he heard Deidara ask that, and Meisa's light brown skin blushed a deep crimson. The little babe gripped at her dress in his sleep while his mother searched for an answer that satisfied her.
"I don't want to tell you 'No', M'lord, for want of no further pain in my face. But will my sister be able to stay with me? My son?" Meisa kept her head lowered as she slowly forced the entire response out.
Shocked, Deidara was about to balk at the idea of him striking a woman, but Sasori piped up before he could speak. "Deidara doesn't make the decisions here. It's my choice whether you all are coming with us, and I forbid it. The only one who will be leaving with me is Deidara, and frankly, I don't care what happens to the rest of you."
"You do not control me, you red demon!" Deidara yelled.
Sasori shot him a piercing glare. "I don't care how I'm bringing you to River Country either. If you keep resisting or attempt another escape, I'll just drag you around in irons until I've turned the damned lock on the door of your room."
"The hell you will!"
"I'll chain you to the wall by your arms and neck, and gag your loud mouth if it keeps you where you're supposed to be."
"Stop it!"
The sound of her voice raised brought the two to silence. Meisa looked pained, her arms clutched tightly at her son who had miraculously remained in his peaceful slumber. Through gritted teeth, she gathered herself and spoke once more.
"You two must not speak so freely! If you woke my baby...no, even if you keep arguing the way you are, you will be caught. Maybe by Argento's bodyguards, or maybe one of his 'scouts', M'lord..."
Meisa shot Deidara a glare. The way she looked at him afterward, however, with a pitying gaze, told Deidara what she had meant by the last part of her scolding. From that point on, as the three sat quietly on opposite sides of the room, Meisa kept a close eye on Sasori. She wouldn't let Deidara leave her side, and whenever Deidara tried to speak, Meisa gently pressed her index finger to her lips.
The gilded clock's ticking was the only sound that occupied the room. Deidara restlessly fiddled around with his garb, constantly assuring himself that his creations were unharmed. Meisa nodded off every now and then, but she snapped back to her vigilant watch over Sasori every time he so much as cocked his head.
She pressed her ear to the wall, and closed her eyes to listen for any sign of activity nearby. When she pulled away, she signaled for Deidara to lean in close to her.
"Kanako should have convinced the group of defectors to follow you to safety by now. It's been too long for a bodyguard to not have found you, so that must mean that they were successful in throwing them off of your trail."
Deidara's chest fluttered with excitement, his sealed tongue quivering as he felt his spirit soar. He was doing it, he was really, truly going to be free.
Just then, Deidara remembered Meisa's words to him as he woke. "What of the girl and the guard, hm? Wouldn't they want to stay loyal to their master?"
Meisa shot daggers at Sasori. "That man silenced them. He is not a man of empty promises, he showed me as much. He'll make quick work of Argento as he almost did of you, M'lord."
"You mean..."
"The poison this man uses is of the Ninth Circle of Hell, M'lord. The agony you were in, even in sleep...I feared you would not wake..."
Feared, or hoped? Deidara wondered. It wasn't as if she was indebted to him for anything, though the promise of money from a wide-eyed, hopeful boy may have been enough to sway the sisters. The thing that truly worried Deidara was that if Sasori was capable of using a poison that could do. . . whatever had befallen him in the catacombs, then it was likely that he would be well-stocked in the same vile concoction to ensure that every promise he had sworn to Deidara would come to pass if he continued to resist.
"I wouldn't recommend using my poison as a method to try and kill yourself as an escape from your situation again. Well, at least I wouldn't recommend dying in such a painful way. If you want to die so badly, why not become part of my collection? I'm not actually sure I have an explosion release user."
Sasori threw his head back and chuckled once he saw the mixed look of horror and a childlike pout that marred Deidara's face. It earned him no affection from either of the fools in dresses that sat across him, but it certainly brought him the vastly underrated fear that kept his life running as he pleased.
"So, Meisa, is your rock-jawed sister going to be done herding the useless ones for Deidara sometime this decade?" Sasori asked, finally directing all of his attention to Meisa and Deidara, who remained close by her side.
Meisa's brow furrowed. "She told me she would be done by sunset. Be patient, these are not things chambermaids normally train for."
Sasori shifted his sharp gaze over to Deidara. "If these girls fail to accomplish this by sunset, we are leaving. Bounty or no bounty. Do you understand?"
Deidara gritted his teeth, but remembered what had been promised to him if he did not obey. Instead of a rude gesture or a tongue lashing, Deidara simply nodded.
"A miracle. He learns."
"You condition him like a dog. Will you ask him to eat from a bowl or bark on command?" Meisa rolled her eyes at Sasori's smirk.
"You know, if Deidara weren't here, I would have killed you for that," Sasori said bluntly, and made no effort to look her in the eye as he threatened her.
Tap. Tap.
Two audible taps echoed throughout the silent room. Deidara held his breath, until after a brief pause another two taps filled the still air. Meisa smiled, her eyes closed as she sighed in relief, a hand rested against the wall.
"Was that...?"
"Kanako, yes. We did this when we escaped before. She'll be leaving through the catacombs, along with your people. You will guide them with wisdom and valor, I am sure."
Sasori scoffed, and pushed his legs off from where they rested to stand before the two. "Didn't we just have this conversation?"
Meisa's eyes did not open, nor did her head turn. Tiredly, she said, "Do you have yet to poison Argento? It is almost his supper time, I suspect it is a good time to do so."
As Meisa yawned, Sasori crept over to Deidara and held out a hand to him. Hesitantly, Deidara allowed Sasori to help him up, but he was pleasantly surprised to find he was not restrained or pushed as he followed Sasori to the magnificently carved door that lead back to the narrow corridor.
A little cough vexed Deidara to sharply turn back to Meisa, not willing to forsake his gentle maid hopeful. She gave a little weary smile at Deidara, her exhaustion on full display with the last of her tension dissipated.
"I'll be fine, M'lord. Kanako will be here for me soon. Be safe, and be quick." The words Meisa said did little to soothe Deidara, who was stricken with the realization that he was truly about to murder a man for no reason other than the price of his head.
"Come on," said Sasori as he grabbed Deidara by his right wrist. "Let's get this over with."
Deidara didn't mean to see it, but as the two tiptoed through the dark corridor he saw Sasori slip a vial full of a dark liquid out of his sleeve. Before Sasori could turn around to catch him with a look that plainly read apprehension, Deidara locked his gaze to what lied ahead of him.
The Earth Mother was kind this afternoon. When Sasori nonchalantly waltzed into the kitchen with nary a care in the world the pair was greeted with the silence of an empty room, as luck would have it. The redhead deftly approached a pot filled with water that awaited a scullery maid to come set a fire under it for boiling, and after a careful examination, Sasori gestured for Deidara to come and observe the setup of cookware with him.
"What do you see that's wrong here, Deidara?" Sasori said, his sweet tone masking the venomous intent behind them.
"Um...no one is here making dinner?" Deidara asked, unsure what the right answer was.
"Look in the pot, brat."
Deidara balanced himself on his toes to glance into the large cast-iron pot. Inside was water, and nothing else, aside from flecks of red and a smell of iron or copper. What precisely the source of the foul smell was, Deidara could not say. It was then that his eyes caught a glimmer in the water, yet only a small gasp was able to escape past his lips.
"It's..."
"An earring, yes. Our little scullery maid was dispatched, and probably the whole kitchen staff, too. The only question is by whom," Sasori said, a hint of excitement in his voice.
"You don't think one of Argento's men found out, do you, hm?" Deidara asked as he firmly planted his trembling feet back on the ground.
"Who knows, and who cares? It doesn't matter who tries to attack us, they'll all die the same." Sasori minded the little vial he had snuck out of his sleeve before, and gingerly opened the cap with the teal nails of his index finger and thumb.
"Wait, we're gonna poison him anyway?" Deidara exclaimed as Sasori delicately swished the vial around in his hand.
"Not just him," Sasori chuckled as he glided to the pipes that carried water to the entire homestead. "This entire folly has gone on long enough. Now, let's end this and be on our way..."
Before Sasori could lower the vial Deidara was already on him, his hands snapping as he struggled to hold Sasori back. The two knocked into a cabinet, a case of dishes and the pot on the stove, before they dragged each other to the dirt floor where they both tried their damnedest to subdue the other. "No!" Deidara shouted every few moments that passed, and each yell, grunt and cry sounded off further into the distance.
The thunderous roar of a horde of Argento's men was the cue Sasori took to slam Deidara into the glass cabinet, shattering each panel as little sharp crystals rained upon the bloodied boy that lay still under it. By the time five massive men that were armed to the teeth with weapons entered the destroyed kitchen, only the tiny bloody mess that was Deidara remained.
He assumed Sasori thought he had killed him, or injured him too gravely to be worth continuing this mission. Good, and good riddance he thought as he worked to reshape the clay beasts that he had tucked into his garb. Thankfully, not much damage had been done to them, aside from the cat's nose. He couldn't quite fix that the way he had hoped.
The tranquility of the moment was broken with a boot that smashed into the side of his chest, causing him to cough up blood and double over where he lay. A strong pair of arms grabbed him off of the floor which made the world spin around him. He could barely keep up with where he was going, until he was thrown onto a large silken cushion. He looked to the mosaic ceiling above him and sighed.
Why did caring for others have to be so inconvenient? Deidara asked himself.
Warm water was poured over his body, making him writhe in stinging pain. A big pair of hands gave his cheeks a single pat, but he dared not open his eyes to see who the hands belonged to. As imminent as his death was, he didn't want to face it. Not yet.
"Sundrop?" Was that Roshi? No, he didn't want to delude himself. No one was coming to save him. His shoulder was shaken by a much smaller hand, but far more rough and calloused than the ones before. Yet he knew to not be so foolish.
"You know this one, friend?" an unfamiliar voice called out.
"'Course I do, this here is my nephew, he wouldn't hurt a fly. Looks like something sure hurt him, though," Roshi said back to the stranger.
"I see, so this isn't the one they're looking for. Men, please make sure no harm comes to either of my guests."
A cold shiver passed through Deidara. Argento. He knew it was him, from how he claimed him as a guest and the orders he gave the guards around them. His eyes snapped open, only to get a view of Roshi's bearded, ruddy-skinned face. Not too far behind him sat a man as fat as a cow, if that cow dressed in silks and decorated themselves in gold and emeralds. As the two locked eyes, Argento gave him a wide, gap-toothed grin.
"Uncle, you know this man, hm?" Deidara asked, feigning a weak voice.
Roshi gave a half-smile. "Well, as of a day ago, I do. A guard of his came into the bar I was enjoying myself in, and we got to talking. Turns out the poor lord here has been bleeding servants the past two days, plus every slaver in the Northern Sands is after his bounty. He promised us safe passage to Hestia if we can help dispose of this assassin that's started after him recently."
You mean he's a slaver and he's finally reaping what he's sown, uncle. You stupid old fool.
"Who's trying to kill him?" Deidara asked, for his mind was better left unspoken.
Sounds of deep exhaling left an aroma of smoke wafting through the air. "Sasori of the Red Sand."
Deidara looked back again to Argento, who calmly took another drag from his cigar. "The monster who killed so much in the Third Great Shinobi War that he left the sand red with blood. I haven't a clue why I matter so much to him, aside from that damned bounty."
"We'll help you ward him off, even if we can't put an end to that psychopath," Roshi affirmed, lowering his head to the blob in the golden chair.
"I'm curious how your nephew found his way into my kitchen. Little golden one, would you mind telling old Argento what happened?"
At that moment, Deidara felt the room focus entirely on him. He sat up fully, and collected himself before he began in the most innocent tone he could manage. He would need it.
"I went out for a walk around town a day ago, and then I saw him. He had red hair, maybe we're talking about the same man." Of course we are, not that I'd tell you the truth. "He grabbed me, said that he'd seen my Uncle follow a guard to your manor, and wanted me as a hostage so he wouldn't get attacked by someone as strong as Uncle Roshi. I had no idea you were being hunted, you see, I can't read, and-"
"Alright, I've heard enough," Argento said with his pudgy hand raised. "The boy helps fill in some blanks, to be sure. But a murderer such as this after me is a grave matter. I don't suppose you have any other information on the fellow, do you?"
"No sir, but from what he made it sound like, he meant to poison the water supply here." Deidara took great effort to sound particularly glum. "That's why I'm like this, I tackled him, I couldn't let that happen..."
Roshi wrapped his arms around Deidara, hugging him in a way that his father used to. For only a brief moment, his eyes squeezed shut to fight back tears that he did not want, and he hoped that everyone noticed.
"A hero of the people," Argento lifted his bejeweled goblet of wine, then took a big swig. As soon as the cup was drained, the wine came pouring out of his throat along with his lifeblood.
Clink! The goblet fell to the floor, and the entire room turned to the window that remained open. Deidara knew, he was absolutely sure that it was Sasori. Roshi put a hand on his shoulder, muttering something about being back soon, and how he was a good kid and to be good if he never returned.
Deidara remained still, wistfully gazing out the window to the blue sky and sand that blew in the unrelenting winds. The guards had already scattered. They knew it too. Their time to plunder was now, and they all scurried for the prized hog atop his golden seat. His head wasn't for them though, Deidara would be sure that he left with the bounty, if nothing else. He only hoped that Meisa and Kanako and the others had escaped by now, for this would be the manor's final hour.
Little doves flew from his hands. Peace from a peacemaker, wearing a crown of golden lies. He brought no peace, only salvation. And as he raised his index and middle finger once more, he cleansed the manor of its evil with a bouquet of bursting flames.
The head blew off easily, once he wrapped a little centipede around the corpse's thick neck. A sea of charred others lay around it, but this was Argento to be sure. He had taken great care not to damage him just yet. With the mansion ablaze, he felt the floor creak and crumble beneath him. But it didn't matter now; he had won. Sasori and Roshi both would fight until either died, and in the likely event that Sasori won, he would assume him dead. He had gotten his bounty, he had gotten his followers, and before a charred rafter smacked him atop his head, he had almost gotten away, too.
-and-and-and-and-and-
Kabuto Yakushi packed his things in a hurry. The old woman, Erina, had gone more than senile overnight. The crone had gone mad, choking and cackling as she spout nonsense in her bed. The silver-haired medic wished to remain here no longer.
"The Mother!" the grey crone screeched, followed by another hacking cough. Then another burst of mad laughter, prompting Kabuto to speed up his escape yet.
Kabuto hurriedly threw his medical supplies into a pack, but soon ran out of the room. It was too much of a hassle to carry all of his things, so he opted to leave behind the majority of his map work and clothes. Just then, another screaming howl came from downstairs, it's demonic echo startling him once more.
"The Mother shall claim her land once more! A blight! A curse upon those who accepted the sacrifice! A blight shall restore the land again!"
Damn it Kabuto silently kicked himself. He couldn't take the phone, so Orochimaru would just have to have a surprise visitor in a week or two. He had accomplished all he wanted to do, anyway. By now, a strong recovery party from the Stone Village and a Sand Village faction would likely both be honing in on the Northern Sands. Whether they caught the boy or killed each other, Kabuto didn't care. What mattered is both parties would be weakened, which would help further his lord's plans greatly.
"Burn! Burn! Burn! Cower in despair as you lose all hope, for the Mother has awoken, and a blight shall be inflicted upon this damned land!"
She had been placid for a week, but yesterday Erina began this disturbing diatribe, and would not cease no matter how great the amount of sedatives were given to her. In the wee hours of the dawn, Kabuto hurried down the stairs and passed the old hag as she choked on her own laughter.
"A Blight! Death! Destruction! Death! A Blight!"
A blight indeed, Kabuto couldn't bear to be near this for another moment. As Erina hacked and coughed herself to death, she yelled and screamed for the Mother's return.
Kabuto slammed the creaky wooden door shut. He had only begun hearing tales of this Earth Mother once he arrived in the Earth Country. It seemed a small group of lunatics worshipped a monstrous Goddess. Or God, he did not know a woman as evil as this one sounded. He was glad such a creature, such a beast, wasn't real or likely apt to hurt him.
And he hoped nothing so uncontrollably vengeful would ever exist outside of that choking crone's prayers.
-and-and-and-and-and-
In the early hours of the dawn, a little tribe of people gathered around the remains of what was once their prison. The women, children, and elderly alike gazed upon the wreckages of the beautiful home they once were chained inside.
There were broken gems, melted gold and steel wares, as well as the occasional ruin of a piece of furniture. Skeletons of grown men and a few women littered the ash and sand like a garden of bones. In the wreckage sat a little golden boy, clutching a half mangled head, his body covered head to toe in soot and his clothes completely scorched off of him.
Yet he was unburnt.
Kanako had taken a naginata to guard the small group of weaklings, but as brave a fighter she may have been, she fell to her knees at the sight of Deidara amongst the ashes. Meisa, the other two young women, the five elderly, and the three children gathered beside her, all marveling at the sight before them.
Deidara looked to the people who kneeled before him, but his mind could not dwell on it for long. For around his neck, the little red dragon worried about his new parent. A white dragon crawled upon his arm, a dove rested in his lap, while a little hawk nestled by his side. A wolf pup and beastly cat minded their parent's feet, nipping his toes whenever they wiggled.
The red dragon spread his wings and let out a shrill, deafening cry. The white followed, and soon enough the others. Deidara proudly gazed upon his children, ones that never flew from his hands or would ever be detonated. They were his, and like these people, they would be his in a way that they never would be for another soul.
The little white dragon let out a cry even louder yet, as red and white fought to cry out the loudest. My furious children, let the world hear your cry Deidara thought.
Screeching little roars carried the group into the morning, and through the afternoon and evening. Even cleaned, clothed, and sitting by a fire, the group listened intently to their new "Mater" while he doted on his children. There was no mistaking it; these people put their lives in his hands. They would follow him until he burned every last slaver in the world.
And who would argue that he would not? Not even a day ago he filled the air with tears and pleas for mercy, and now he filled it with the cries of beasts and the cheers of freed people. With smoke, fire, and ashes throughout it all.
-and-and-and-and-and-