Blurred imaged swam across Sasori's vision as his heavy eyelids opened slowly. A painful throbbing in his head made it hard to remember what had happened. He blinked several times to clear out his vision, and soon his surroundings came into focus.

He was staring at the memory of a once beautiful section of forest. He recognized it as the spot that Sasuke had engulfed in flames a few weeks earlier. The land was desolate and barren, screaming for life to spring forth from its roots once more. Trees surrounded the wide clearing, rising tall into the faintly lit sky. It was dawn, Sasori could see the sunlight peeking up from the treetops, making its way to the top of the earth to announce the new day.

Sasori tried to pull forward, and then realized that he was tied up to a tree. That's right, he had been kidnapped. The memory flashed before him again, awakening an angry beast inside him. Who would dare kidnap him and knock him out?

"You're awake." Of course. Sasuke Uchiha.

"What the hell?!" Sasori seethed, eyeing his former apprentice with pure hatred. The sunlight began to shine in on the clearing, contrasting vividly with the male's dark toned hair.

"Deidara is beginning to annoy me, I'd like him to leave. I needed bait to lure him out. I'll threaten to kill you if he doesn't leave me alone," Sasuke declared his evil plan as though he was reciting simple mathematics. All emotion was robbed of his speech. Sasori wondered what had happened to this man to make him like this.

Sasori grumbled to himself, knowing there was no point in arguing with the dark-haired Uchiha. He fidgeted his fingers, trying to loosen up the rope. It was certainly wrapped around him tightly, he could barely move a muscle.

Sasuke laughed darkly, "Don't even try it. Chakra flows through that rope, making it extremely durable. A genin level ninja like yourself would never be able to break through it."

"Hmpf!" Sasori huffed. He wasn't about to just sit there like a damsel in distress. He closed his eyes, trying to calm his nerves so he could devise a plan and secure a way out of this mess. He thought back to all his shinobi lessons with his grandmother and Deidara.

Sasuke paced the blackened forest, waiting impatiently for Deidara. Sasori thought it would be best to distract the Uchiha, so he asked, "How do you know Deidara will come for me?"

"I sent my hawk with a letter to him. He'll know. Apparently he is more interested with you than I recently thought," Sasuke explained in an offhanded manner, not breaking from his back and forth pace.

"And how are you so sure?" Sasori asked him. He was building chakra up in his fingers, hoping that his plan would work.

"I watched him that night that I gave him my warning. I wanted to make sure he would leave. He searched all over for me, muttering about how he would beat me to a pulp for destroying whatever relationship you two had. I thought he might leave the next morning…but it seems he's a stubborn one." Sasuke's lips curled in annoyance at the last statement.

"Yeah, like me," Sasori muttered under his breath. He felt the chakra radiate through his finger tips, now if only he could mold the chakra so that it emanated in a fine, needle point…

"Why are you so desperate to have him gone?" Sasori asked him. This was a question that he was actually interested in knowing the answer to.

Sasuke snapped his head sharply to stare a menacing look into Sasori's brown irises. "I want nothing to do with the shinobi! I want to be left alone! Deidara thinks he can bring me back to the shinobi world!? He's a fool."

"If you want nothing to do with the shinobi, then why did you come to work for me at my art shop? Surely a top level ninja like yourself would have sensed my chakra."

Sasuke stopped his pacing to consider this question. "I was intrigued by you Sasori. I wondered how you had come to live here with the rest of the world, and how you had never learned of your true self. It was pretty obvious upon meeting you that you weren't aware of your ninja prowess. I was merely curious." Sasuke then started to pace again, walking back and forth across the blistered earth.

"Hm…" Sasori considered this response as he worked on forming his chakra into a fine needle point…he was almost there. "So you weren't the tiniest bit disappointed when you realized that I didn't know about the shinobi? I think you were looking for a connection to the shinobi world, you were looking for someone to talk to about what you had done. You wanted to find someone who would understand you. I still remember the first time I met you, you cried to me about mistakes you had made."

Sasuke's eyes flashed dangerously, "Shut up Sasori! Do you want me to kill you right now!?"

Sasori was about to retort when he saw a sudden flash of golden locks sway behind Sasuke's form. "That won't be necessary hm. Hand him over," Deidara's voice rang throughout the forest with malevolence.

Sasuke spun around to face him. He chuckled madly, bellowing out a deep laugh. "Look who finally arrived!"

Now was Sasori's chance. He used his thin needle-point chakra manipulation to cut through the thick ropes. He was relieved when the ropes fell at his side, freeing him. He stood up and charged at Sasuke, ready to punch him with all his strength.

Sasuke didn't even turn around. He pushed out his arm and grabbed Sasori's outstretched fist in it. He used the momentum of Sasori's sprint to shove him forcefully to the ground. Sasori flinched as his body hit the ground, spraying up dirt.

Sasuke still clutched Sasori's fist in his hands, and he looked down at the redhead on the ground wearing a disgusted expression. "How dare you!? Now, you will face the ultimate wrath of the Uchiha!" his eyes suddenly changed from their dark sullen blackness and flickered to a bright red with a black pattern. Sasori had never seen anything like it.

"No!" Deidara cried, rushing forward.

"Yes!" Sasuke responded with an evil smirk. His eyes locked on his prey, "let him feel the full power of my genjutsu!"

Sasori stared up into those strangely patterned red eyes and blinked. What was supposed to be happening? Was this the part where he was supposed to be whisked away into a dream like state and see horrific images of who knows what?

Sasuke's eyes narrowed and a bulge in his temple began to form. "What is this? Why aren't you falling under my genjutsu?" he asked. Then his eyes widened with shock, "No…" he said, his voice trailing off with disbelief.

Sasori wasn't quite sure what was going on, but he took advantage of the momentary distraction nevertheless. He bolted up and landed a punch on Sasuke's shoulder. He had been aiming for his face, but Sasuke had dodged at the last second. The Uchiha was a skillful fighter, and his sharingan eyes could see through each attack.

Deidara wasted no time in joining in the skirmish. He kicked a leg out, attempting to knock Sasuke on the ground. Sasuke jumped up, avoiding the attack and stepping back. Sasuke's hands were motioning quickly, forming hand signs so fast Sasori could not read them.

Deidara pulled on the hem of Sasori's shirt and wrenched him away. The two narrowly missed the oncoming fireball jutsu. Sasori felt a few stray strands of hair singe from the heat.

Sasuke had disappeared from their view, Deidara stood his ground, eyeing the forest cautiously. Sasori stood next to him, unsure how to act next. They waited for a sign of the raven haired ninja.

Sasori's ears pricked as he heard the Uchiha cackling from within the forest. His voice echoed, making it impossible to discern where he was hiding, "Sasori, you ruined my plan," he stated.

"I wasn't about to just lay there tied up!" Sasori spat back, eyeing the thick trees, trying to find the source. Deidara hovered closely to him, his hands already munching away in his clay bags.

"Clever boy, I didn't suspect that you had learned such advanced chakra control. But what I'm referring to is the device that lays beneath your hazel eyes," Sasuke said, his voice continuing to ring and bounce off the empty forest. Deidara pulled out his hand and a clay bird emerged, he silently nudged Sasori to follow his lead.

"Device?" Sasori asked, baffled. The clay bird jumped out from Deidara's palm and hit the floor gracefully before growing in size. It outstretched it's wings, allowing space on its back for the two to climb on. Deidara began to crawl up the bird, reaching a hand out to help the redhead. It was a moment too late though.

Sasori's ankle was grabbed, and he looked down in shock to see Sasuke's figure emerge from the dirt. His eyes were glowing red with rage. "Your parents built a microscopic apparatus that they implanted in their eyes, it made them resistant to visual genjutsu. I've heard all about your dear old mom and dad, and how they were summoned from this land to help when the nine tailed fox attacked my village. Many thought that my clan, the Uchiha, controlled the beast with their visual prowess. The 4th hokage thought your parents could evade attacks from the Uchiha controlling the beast, using their genjustus repellant eyes. So they were recruited to set out and find whoever was behind the nine tailed beast attack. I never realized that they had implanted the same device into their son. I'll just have to fix that," a malicious smile curved across his impish face as he pulled out his other arm from beneath the ground. The sunlight glinted off of Sasuke's magnificent blade. Sasuke swung his blade in the direction of Sasori's face, aiming for his eyes.

Sasori was yanked upwards by Deidara and the blade grazed his cheek, drawing blood and tainting the blade with ruby droplets. In the next instant, Sasori was flying high up into the sky, sitting haphazardly on top of the bird's backside. He swiveled himself around and grabbed onto Deidara's waist for support, burying his face into Deidara's back. He wasn't sure if he enjoyed flying.

Deidara was scowling, "he's going to pay for this." He pulled out another clay bird with accentuated curves. The bird fell towards the ground, where Sasuke stood smirking.

Deidara set off the explosion, creating a grand sound wave of dirt and debris flying through the clearing. Sasuke had avoided the bomb with his quick feet. He was now standing several feet away from the bombed area, eyeing the clay bird that flew above him.

The bird climbed higher into the sky, until Sasuke appeared as a small ant on the dark terrain. Sasori felt his ears pop unpleasantly at the change in altitude. The wind whipped viciously through their hair. Deidara turned his head around to face Sasori, a look of utmost seriousness plastered across his perfect features. "Listen Sasori, I need you to stay out of this fight. Sasuke is a top ranked rogue ninja, and he will stop at nothing in order to defeat me. That means he'll continue to go after you."

Sasori lightly brushed his cheek, feeling the warm blood smear across his fingers. "I don't care, I want to help. We should stop him together."

"Sasori, I just need to distract him for a little while. I've already alerted the hokage to come and capture him. I don't want you to get in the middle of this, I don't want you to get hurt. I'll drop you off somewhere safe so you can go back home."

"No Deidara! I don't want to be away from your side!" Sasori pleaded. He wrapped his arms around Deidara's waist, hugging him close. This wasn't exactly the way he had planned to forgive Deidara and win him back, but he hoped Deidara understood his intentions.

A soft smile danced upon Deidara's lips, "You are a stubborn one aren't you? Even if I do drop you off somewhere safe, you'll probably come running right back into the battle, won't you?" Sasori nodded in agreement. Deidara's bird began to swoop down, bringing them closer to the earth again. "Alright Sasori," Deidara said, "just stay by my side. Don't let him get to you. I'll do everything in my power to protect you."

"Of course, I already have an idea. I don't have my puppets with me, but I still have my chakra thread," Sasori replied, pulling his fingers up to show the barely visible thin lines.

Deidara's eyes sparkled with adoration. The bird hovered several feet above Sasuke, but still too far away for him to reach them with an attack. Deidara took advantage of the small lull in the battle. He lifted Sasori's chin upwards and planted a sweet chaste kiss on his lips. Sasori's insides exploded with joy. "Sasori, before we do this I want you to know something."

"Hm?" Sasori said, his lips still pursed outwards, hoping for another kiss.

"I love you," Deidara's eyes shone brightly and were locked onto Sasori's hazel ones. Deidara then turned back around, plunging his hands in his bags and preparing for battle with the Uchiha. Sasori was stunned silent. His heart was whole again, pumping fast and sending a warm energy throughout his body.

The bird fell towards the ground again, lowering a few feet so that they were within clear range of Sasuke. Deidara pulled out his arms and the mouths began to spew out white clay, which splattered to the floor around Sasuke. "Let's see what you make of these hm!" Deidara cried. The clay formed itself into various monstrous figures, with black holes for eyes and mouths. They formed crude arms and legs and lunged at Sasuke from every side, and he was locked in battle with these figures, swinging his blade around and slicing through the thick clay.

Sasori borrowed Deidara's kunai and shuriken tools. He lunged a shuriken in Sasuke's direction. Sasuke blocked the tool with his blade cleverly before slicing through another one of Deidara's clay creatures. Sasori smirked, expecting this. He tapped his finger slightly, and the shuriken sprung forward once more, aiming towards Sasuke with intense speed. Sasori's chakra thread on the weapon had come in handy.

The shuriken grazed across Sasuke's cheek and nose, drawing crimson blood. Sasuke's eyes narrowed, "chakra threads on a shuriken hm?" he moved his blade upwards, cutting through the thread.

Another clay figure was upon him, but he turned around just in time to defend against the snowy white creature. The clay splashed on the ground, it had been the last of the creatures.

"Come on Deidara, you can do better than that," Sasuke claimed.

"Oh this is just the beginning!" Deidara cried, throwing a clay spider at the smug Uchiha. The spider clung onto Sasuke's shirt and grew in size. Sasuke clawed at the clay, trying desperately to detach it from his body. Deidara smirked and set off the explosion. The dirt showered up into the sky once more.

As the dusty smoke cleared, Deidara and Sasuke searched frantically for Sasuke from their perch in the sky. "Where is he dammit?!" Deidara muttered in frustration.

"Chidori stream!" Sasuke's voice burst through the clearing, and a lighting stream emanated forth from within the thick trees. The stream of lightning pierced through Deidara's clay bird's wing.

Sasori and Deidara began to fall fast to the earth, clinging onto the bird for support. Deidara grabbed Sasori's arms and pulled him close to his chest. A few feet from the ground, Deidara jumped up and tucked their bodies forward into a roll. Sasori was protected in Deidara's grasp, but he still felt the sting of oncoming bruises around his back and shins as they spun forward on the ground.

Deidara pulled up fast to stand, still grasping onto Sasori. Sasuke was stepping forward from a thicket of trees. "How did you avoid my attack hm!?" Deidara's nostrils were flared in fury.

Sasuke walked closer to the duo, his blade had been sheathed again. "A clone," he stated simply. Deidara growled in annoyance. "Sasori, that eyepiece is quite unique, and because of it I can't place you under my genjutsu. However," he paused and flashed his menacing red eyes at them, directly into Deidara's azure orbs, "I can do as I please with him."

A bloodcurdling scream escaped Deidara's lips. He was writhing with pain, rooted on the spot. Sasori looked on him with horror, and reached up a hand to tap him out of the genjutsu.

A sharp stab of pain struck Sasori's outstretched hand. Sasuke had thrown a kunai at him. "I won't allow you to free him from this genjutsu. The game is over. You can't defeat me on your own Sasori."

Sasori scowled at him, then jerked his fingers forwards. The kunai that Sasuke had thrown came flying back towards its owner's direction. Sasori had been able to attach a chakra thread onto the kunai, just barely in time.

Sasuke sidestepped and pulled out his sword, ready to block the kunai. But Sasori changed the trajectory at the last second, before Sasuke could react. He sent the kunai in Deidara's direction.

The kunai pierced Deidara's thumb, bending it back in an unnatural way, with a stream of blood pouring forth. Deidara's glazed over eyes became soft again as he returned from his visual nightmare. Deidara smirked and pulled out the kunai, flinching slightly. "Thank you Danna."

"I apologize if your thumb is broken, but I couldn't get near you to release you from the genjutsu," Sasori said. The two positioned themselves in a fighting stance, poised for any attack.

Sasuke smirked devilishly at them, ready to strike. "This won't be pleasant for either of you, I'm done playing games." He pulled his sword over his head, ready to rush forward. Sasori braced himself, holding onto his next weapon tightly, ready to send it flying.

However, before Sasuke could charge, someone stepped in between the fighters, blocking Sasori's view. He stood with his backside to Sasori and Deidara. A billowing white robe with orange flames patterned on the bottom fringe blew through the light breeze. The word "hokage" ran down the length of the white robe and a mass of spiky blonde hair topped the head of the owner. He stood poised and confident.

"Naruto." Sasuke's voice was filled with wrath.