For Naruto Rare Pair Week 2020
Day 4: Soulmate AU | Bad Things Happen
AU where you only see in black and white until you meet your soulmate.
There are a few rules that I have added to this AU:
1) You and your soulmate must have at least some sort of attraction to each other before you see in color.
2) The two of you must be in close proximity before you see in color (simultaneously).
3) The loss of your realized-soulmate will result in your world being plunged into black and white once more.
Deidara watches as Sasori picks and chooses the fabric at the stand. He tilts his head a little, trying to determine what's so different between the two that he's selected.
"Do you have one that's redder?" Sasori asks.
"Redder?" the vendor echoes. He blinks and clicks his tongue, then tells him to wait a moment.
"Hurry up," Sasori says. "I don't have all day."
The man leaves the stand and comes back with a woman moments later. "This man wants a deeper red," he says to the woman. "Is that what you want? A deeper kind of red?" he asks Sasori.
"No," Sasori replies. "I want one that's redder. Brighter. Fresher."
"Ah," the woman replies. Deidara notices that she has a wedding band on her finger. She turns and rummages through a pile of fabrics, then she pulls out one that looks the same to Deidara, and shows it to Sasori. "Is this better?" she asks.
Sasori makes no noise, but Deidara has known him long enough to recognize that it is his way of approving something. Deidara huffs and pays for the fabric, then helps him carry it when he pockets the change.
"What's the goddamn difference between all of the fabrics you looked over?" Deidara mutters as they leave the stand. "They are all the same, hm."
"They're all the same to you," Sasori replies. "The first few ones they showed me were horrendous. Dull colors, completely offensive. The man has no idea what he's doing and he's definitely relying on his sister to sort the fabrics out."
Deidara just shakes his head. "Whatever you say, Danna," Deidara says.
They head back to a temporary hideout of theirs and Deidara tosses the fabric down on Sasori's workbench. He sits down in front of the small pond and lies down against the stone, taking a deep breath.
Sasori says something under his breath, probably something about him being lazy, and gets to work. Deidara listens to the sound of fabric cutting and sewing before he decides to speak up.
"You never really talked about your soulmate, Master Sasori," Deidara says.
"I don't have one," Sasori replies.
"Huh?" Deidara opens his eyes and glances at Sasori, but the puppet is working intently. "But you can see in color," Deidara replies.
"I've always been able to see in color," Sasori says.
Deidara frowns. He turns his gaze back on the ceiling. "Why is that?" he asks.
"I don't know," Sasori replies. "Don't ask such stupid questions. It's not even important."
"Don't you think it's a shame that you don't have someone to share it with, yeah? The beauty of the world?"
"It's not that beautiful," Sasori says.
Deidara makes another huffing noise but he stops talking. Sasori is not one for idle chit-chat.
He dozes off and is awoken hours later when Zetsu pops his head out of the ground. "Yo," White Zetsu says, startling Deidara into awareness. "The leader has an assignment for you," he says, taking out a scroll. "Information-grab. You know what to do, Sasori."
"Where is this man?"
"Hiding out in a nearby village," Zetsu says. He tries to give Sasori the scroll, but he doesn't take it. Deidara takes it instead. "He's near Kiri," Zetsu continues, "but the village is a non-shinobi one. I think they hate the shinobi or something, so no one can use any jutsu once you're inside."
"Why do we have to retrieve him? Wouldn't Kisame or Hidan be a better choice? I don't want to waste my time chasing after a little mouse," Sasori says.
Deidara opens the scroll and checks the details. The man is a mercenary for hire.
"No weapons are allowed in the premises either," Zetsu replies. "Though, they didn't explicitly mention the type of weapon that Hidan uses… Too bad he's not calm or smart enough to handle something like this."
Deidara scoffs. "You got that right, hm," he mutters.
"We'll get to it," Sasori replies.
"Hey, actually," Zetsu says as Sasori starts to pack up, "I was wondering if you can also take Tobi with you."
"Tobi? Who the hell is that?" Deidara asks.
"The newest recruit," Zetsu replies. "The leader wants him to get some field experience before he gets fully inducted."
"I don't train lackeys," Sasori says.
"Don't worry," Zetsu says, "Tobi won't cause you any trouble. He just needs to see how things work. He won't get in your way. He's a good boy."
"Whatever," Sasori says. "It's not my fault if he gets taken away."
"He's a good boy," Zetsu repeats.
"How old is he?" Deidara scoffs. "'Good boy,'" he mutters.
Zetsu pretends he hasn't heard what Deidara said. "He's going to meet you at the village, so don't worry about having to pick him up, or anything."
"Picking him up," Deidara scoffs again.
"See ya," Zetsu says and disappears.
Sasori packs up all his items in a scroll and steps back into his puppet. "Come on," Sasori says, "I don't want to be late. Someone is waiting."
"Ugh," Deidara says. "I bet you he's the one that's going to be late. He sounds like a kid."
"Who cares," Sasori says. "He's none of my business. He's only here to observe. If he's late, then he doesn't get to tag along." He heads out of the hideout and Deidara follows.
"What if we get in trouble for that?" Deidara asks.
"None of my business," Sasori bites out.
The walk to the village takes almost the entire day. The village is nearby, but the scroll specifically said to not use any jutsu to go there, lest they attract suspicion from the villagers. With the snail-pace that Sasori walks in, the trip takes even longer than necessary.
The entrance of the village is marked with an ominous path littered with warning signs.
"Shinobi keep out."
"No ninjas allowed."
"Forbidden for chakra-users."
"Shinobi, turn away now."
"Sheesh," Deidara says as they pass the tenth sign in a row, "these people need to calm down."
Sasori says nothing. Deidara huffs.
"Do you think they'd recognize our cloaks, yeah?" Deidara asks as they near the village entrance.
"Doubt it, if no shinobi are actually allowed in this village," Sasori says.
Deidara stops Sasori before they reach the entrance of the village, gesturing for them to move to hide behind a stone lantern. Two guards stand in front of the gates, armed with spears and wearing thick-rimmed straw hats.
"Tobi is supposed to meet us here," says Deidara.
Sasori makes a noise of acknowledgment and the two of them wait.
Several minutes later, the shrubbery behind them rustles and Deidara readies to defend himself, but the masked figure that steps out already has his hands raised.
"Hey, hey! It's me, Tobi," Tobi says. "Don't attack me, please!"
Sasori doesn't even look at him. "You're late," he says.
"Ah," Tobi says, dragging out the vowel. "On my way here, I actually saw a cat in a tree. It looked very pitiful and scared, so I guess it was stuck up there. I went to help it, but it—"
"Enough," Sasori says. "I don't want to hear your excuses. Let's go."
"Wait," Tobi says, "you guys can't go in like that. They don't let anyone who looks remotely like shinobi to enter."
"That's fucking annoying, yeah," Deidara mutters.
"Lucky for you, I have some clothes for you!" Tobi puts down a knapsack and takes out a set of clothes for Deidara. "And you get to have a different kind of robe, I guess," Tobi says to Sasori, looking over his puppet. "Or you can just go in there in your original form."
"No."
"Okay, a different robe it is." Tobi takes out a robe and drapes it over Sasori's puppet.
"It's ugly," Sasori says.
"Huh?"
"The color is ugly," Sasori repeats himself.
"But it's just gray," Tobi says.
"No, it's a hideous green."
"I don't know…" Tobi mutters. He turns to Deidara, who is already dressed in the commoner's outfit.
"Beats me what green is," Deidara replies. "He can see color, it's weird, hm."
"You're not a real artist if you can't see color," Sasori hisses.
"Oh, fuck you," Deidara says. "You're not a real artist if you can't work with a monochrome palette, hm."
"Let's not fight," Tobi says, raising his hands again. "Don't we need to have some sort of team spirit?"
"Give me a robe with another color," Sasori demands.
"I don't have any," Tobi says, "and I wouldn't know what color you want or what the color even looks like. My soulmate died."
Deidara utters a soft, "oh," but Sasori scoffs. "Who cares?" he asks. "I want another colored robe."
"You should go naked, then," Tobi says, upset. "I don't have another robe."
Sasori clicks his gears and says, "Fine. I won't wear the Akatsuki cloak, but I'm not going to wear this either.
"Then what are you going to wear?"
Sasori pulls out his scroll and a doll falls out. He undresses the doll and uses that robe instead.
"What's the difference?" Tobi asks.
"Apparently, it's red, yeah," Deidara says.
"How silly," Tobi replies. "I bet you that half the people in there haven't found their soulmates yet."
Deidara laughs. "How long do you think it will take for someone to comment on the color of his robes?"
"Probably forever because no one ever says anything," Tobi says.
The two of them cackle and Sasori walks away.
"Oh, wait!" Tobi exclaims. He picks up the discarded clothes and folds them, shoving them in his knapsack. He tosses the knapsack over his shoulder and finds that Deidara is waiting for him.
They walk quickly to catch up to Sasori. The guards stop the three of them at the gate with their spears.
"What's your business here?" one of the guards asks.
"We're here to take a rest for the night," Sasori says. "We have been traveling all day."
"There are other villages nearby," the guard replies. "Why this one?"
"This one is safe from the shinobi," Sasori answers. "We have been on the run from them. They drove us out of our village."
The guard nods. "I understand," he says. "You may enter, but keep in mind to not cause trouble while you are here, travelers."
"Thank you," Tobi says.
As they enter the village, the other guard calls out to them, "You can visit the old woman at the top of the hill. She can offer you advice and help."
Deidara waves back at the man.
"Are we actually going to get to rest?" Deidara asks.
"No. We are going to look for the man."
Deidara groans. Tobi turns to him. "Are you tired?" he asks.
Sasori glances at them. Deidara shakes his head. Tobi hums but says nothing. He looks over to Deidara, but he notices a ramen store right behind him. "Hey!" he says, pointing to the store. "How about we grab something to eat? I haven't had lunch… I'm so hungry!"
"No," says Sasori. "We have to find the man. We are on a time crunch."
"But wouldn't they get suspicious if we leave the moment we find the man? They think we're going to spend the night!"
"I have my ways."
"We aren't allowed to do anything here," Tobi reminds him. Sasori grunts.
"I can watch him, yeah," Deidara says. "I haven't eaten in a while, either."
"Whatever," Sasori says. "Go and waste time. I'll find the man on my own."
Deidara glances at Tobi, and then hands Sasori the scroll. "His picture is in there," Deidara says before Tobi grabs his arm and drags him toward the ramen store.
Tobi sighs loudly as they near the store, Sasori's shuffling fading in the distance. "That man is really stuck-up, isn't he?" Tobi asks.
Deidara shrugs. "I can't say," he replies. They sit down at the store and order.
"Why not?" Tobi asks.
"I call him Master Sasori for a reason, hm."
"Is it a stupid reason?"
Deidara rolls his eyes.
"Okay, what if I call you Deidara-senpai for no reason? Would that make such a difference that I can't badmouth you?"
"You shouldn't badmouth me, yeah," Deidara says. "I'm more experienced than you. Besides, if you get into this organization, calling me senpai would be natural!"
"Okay, then," Tobi says. "I'll call you Deidara-senpai but only if we are partners, otherwise, it's just going to be Deidara!"
Deidara laughs. "You being my partner? That's a joke. Sasori prides himself with immortality, yeah."
"He can be removed in a different way." Tobi shrugs.
The chef places their food down in front of them. "Enjoy your meals," he says, and he goes back to cleaning extra dishes.
Deidara digs in quickly. Tobi pulls his mask aside and turns to eat his meal.
"You're really bold," Deidara says. "Threatening Sasori like that… That's really impressive, hm."
"Thanks," Tobi says with a laugh. He wipes his mouth and replaces his mask. "Sasori seems really mean. I don't want to hang out with him anyway."
Deidara seems surprised that he finished his meal that quickly, but he shrugs and says, "He can be worse, hm."
Tobi remains quiet.
"I mean," Deidara says quickly, "it's not like he's terrible. He's just not really a people-person, yeah."
"Do you want to prank him?" Tobi asks.
"Prank him?" Deidara's eyes widen. "He'll kill me."
"Nah," Tobi says. "I won't let him do that to you! If you die, who will I call senpai?"
Deidara laughs. "I guess you can call him senpai. How about that?"
"Sasori-senpai?" Tobi says. He hums. "No, it doesn't have the same ring to it," he says. "I like saying your name better."
Deidara shoves his shoulder. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"
Tobi laughs. He pays for the food and the two of them follow Sasori's path. They eventually find him in the village's bar. He is sitting next to the man they are looking for.
"So, I suppose that wouldn't be a problem for you?" Sasori is asking as they approach him.
"No," the man says. His voice is tremoring.
"My associates will accompany you to your room," Sasori says.
"Huh?" Tobi asks. He grunts when Deidara slaps him on the arm.
The man stands and heads toward them. Deidara lets the man pass and grabs Tobi's arm before he follows him out of the bar.
"What was that?" Tobi asks.
"Sasori wants us to follow him back to his room and then stay there with him," Deidara replies.
"Ooh," Tobi sing-songs. "Two single people in a hotel room. How suggestive."
Deidara shoves his arm. "Stop it," he says. "Stop that."
Tobi laughs. "I'm just teasing you, senpai."
"Don't call me that, I'm not your senpai, hm."
"Not yet!"
They follow the man up to his room at the inn and stay at the other side of the room.
"Are we going to watch this man all night?" Tobi asks.
"Yeah," Deidara replies. "Sasori can't do anything in this village, so we need to escort him out tomorrow morning."
"Wow," Tobi says. "You two work very well together."
"More like he is great at ordering other people around," Deidara says. "It's annoying working with him. He has all these rules, yeah."
"We didn't prank him," says Tobi.
"I don't want to prank him," Deidara replies. "You can do that, though. I wouldn't mind seeing that man suffer a little."
"What should I do to him?" Tobi asks. "Maybe I can dump water on him."
"That's not a prank."
"I'm not that clever, Deidara," Tobi says. "Maybe you can lend me some of your genii?"
"As if," Deidara says.
They chat for a while and then Deidara seems to remember something.
"How did you know that man has found his soulmate?" Deidara asks, pointing to the now-sleeping hostage.
"Oh," Tobi says. "It said so in the scroll."
"You didn't read the scroll."
Tobi is quiet for a moment, and then he says, "I read it before Zetsu gave it to you."
"Oh, alright," Deidara says but there is a look in his eyes that Tobi knows means he does not trust him.
The next thing they know, the sun is rising, and the man turns on his futon. "You guys are very loud…" he mutters.
"Mind your own business, hm," Deidara says. "We're going."
Tobi groans loudly as he stands. He stretches his back and sighs when his bones pop.
"Jesus," Deidara says. "How old are you?"
"Older than you!" Tobi says.
"Damn, you don't act like it."
"Do the Akatsuki have to act their age?"
"You have a lot to learn," Deidara says. He puffs out his chest. "I don't mind teaching you, but only if you are my kouhai."
Tobi makes a sound of wonder. "Wow," he says, placing his hands on either side of his face. "Deidara-senpai is going to formally take me in as your kouhai!?"
"Only if you get to be my partner," Deidara says. "It might not happen."
"I'll make it happen! Whatever it takes!"
Deidara laughs. "Even if it takes drastic measures, hm?"
"Whatever it takes," Tobi says again, with a firm nod.
"Alright," Deidara says, "I'll wait and see."
The man changes into a fresh set of clothes and Tobi and Deidara escort him out of the inn. The man checks himself out, pays for the nights he spent and walks out of the village. Sasori is already outside the village.
The guards are different from the men they saw last night, so they say nothing as the three of them walk out.
Once they are far enough from the boundaries of the village, Deidara kicks at the man's legs and creates a bird. The bird bites down on the man and traps him in its mouth.
"Wow," Tobi says, giving Deidara a little clap. "Impressive, impressive!"
Deidara grins but he shrugs the compliments off. "It's whatever," he says.
"Stop wasting time. Let's go," Sasori says.
Deidara climbs onto the bird and the man starts to complain.
"Shut your goddamn mouth, yeah," Deidara says. He helps Tobi up onto the bird as well.
The man doesn't stop complaining. He eventually trails off into silence and Tobi tries to peer over Deidara's shoulder.
"Sasori drugged him," Deidara says, answering Tobi's silent question.
"Wow," Tobi mutters. "He is scary," he whispers.
Deidara shrugs. "Just don't get on his bad side," he whispers back. "He is just really annoying to deal with then, hm."
"I heard that."
"We didn't say anything, Mr. Sasori!" Tobi says.
"Whatever."
Deidara nudges him with his elbow. "Don't push your luck, Tobi, hm."
"I still have to prank him," Tobi replies.
"It was nice knowing you," Deidara says.
"Don't be mean," Tobi says, "or I'll tell Sasori you had a part in it if I'm caught."
"If?" Deidara marvels.
"Shut the hell up, you two," Sasori says. "I can hear everything you are saying."
"Uh-oh," Tobi says, "I guess we are busted."
"Only you are busted," Deidara says. He nudges him again and Tobi retaliates with wrapping his arms around him, tickling his sides.
"Stop! Wait!" Deidara shouts with laughter, trying to struggle out of Tobi's grasp. "Calm down! Calm down! Please, you! Stop!"
Sasori grunts. "So annoying," he mutters.
They fool around until Deidara is too tired to fight back. Tobi stops tickling him, but he doesn't let go.
"You two are disgusting," Sasori continues to say.
Deidara says nothing, only closing his eyes. Then, when Sasori goes to say something else, he opens his eyes and his heart stops for a moment. He turns to look at Sasori, but all he is saying is how annoying they are.
He thinks for a moment and turns to nudge Tobi again. Tobi lets go. "What—" he starts but then he trails off.
Tobi looks up at the sky, then he looks down at his hands and his scarf and he looks at Deidara's hair.
"Wait a second," Tobi mutters, "hold on a minute."
"It's you, isn't it, hm?" Deidara asks.
"I don't—" Tobi trails off.
Deidara looks at the commoner's clothes Tobi got him. "Hey, Master Sasori," Deidara says.
"What do you want?"
"What color are the clothes I'm wearing?"
"They're pink."
"Pink, hm," Deidara mutters. "Pink!? Isn't that a girl's color? Oi, Tobi!"
Tobi raises his arms. "I didn't know it was pink when I picked it out! I just grabbed a random outfit!"
Deidara pulls his arms away and stares at his mask. "What color is your mask, then?"
"I don't know," Tobi says. "Orange?"
"What are you two doing?" Sasori asks.
Deidara touches the mask and then looks at his fingers. Tobi stares at Deidara's eyes.
"Hey," Sasori says, "did you hear me?"
"Your eyes are kind of like the sky," Tobi says.
Deidara looks up at the sky, and then he nods. "I'm not quite sure about that," he says, "but I'll trust you first, hm."
"Are you guys ignoring me?"
"I never thought I could see in color," Tobi admits.
"Yeah," Deidara says, "I thought you said your soulmate is dead, hm."
"I thought so too."
Deidara grins. "I guess you're mistaken, then."
"It's kind of strange," Tobi says. He wraps his arms around Deidara again, peering at his face. "I really never thought I could see the world like this."
"If you guys say something like, 'The world is prettier when I get to see it with you,' I'm going to throw up," says Sasori.
Tobi ignores him. Deidara rolls his eyes.
"I've seen this happen many times," Sasori continues. "Very mundane. Very boring. You go explore the world and marvel at the fact that the grass is green and that flowers have a lot of different colors. You'll be bored with it by next month. Trust me."
"Stuck-up buzzkill," Tobi mutters.
Deidara laughs and he borrows his face in the crook of Tobi's arm.
They close their eyes for a while because they don't need to see in color now to be content with what they have.
Hey guys, Red here!
Ah, I had the thought to make this "bad things happen" too, that's why I added the third rule, but I guess I chickened out in the end. I am too weak to want to write something sad about Tobi and Deidara.
This is not connected to the rest of the prompts.
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