Sculpting for Dummies

Chapter 13:

"Let's go somewhere today, Sempai," Tobi suggested when they finally crawled out of bed that morning. "You haven't been out of the village since we arrived."

"Where're we supposed to go, idiot? There's nowhere in Forest worth visiting. And I want to get starting making that porcelain, un," Deidara told him. Tobi grabbed him and enveloped him in his arms.

"Come on, sempai. It'll be fun. There's a festival in Forest City this week, and there's even an art show going on. Please?" He gave Deidara his best puppy-eyes. The artist looked away with a snort.

"We won't be able to get there by today, dumbass. It's a two-day trip on foot, un," the Iwa ninja pointed out. Tobi smiled.

"On foot, yeah. But if we flew…" He brushed Deidara's hair out of his face so he could gauge the blond's reaction. Deidara didn't meet his eyes. He shrugged.

"Whatever. It's your chakra, un," he said. He pushed Tobi away from him. "I'll pack up the pieces I have ready. If I'd had more notice, I could've made something extraordinary," he mentioned pointedly.

"Sorry, sempai. I didn't know about it until I got there a few days ago. But I bet the people of Forest have never seen artwork like yours before." Deidara pretended not to smile, but Tobi caught the twitch of his lips. "You'll dazzle them."

"I guess this year will be a warm-up. Next year, I'll show them true greatness, un," Deidara continued as if he hadn't heard Tobi.

The artist wandered off to his studio, murmuring his plans for the art show next year, and debating about which pieces to bring with him to sell. Tobi returned to his bedroom to pack. They'd stay in Forest two nights at least, probably more to make the journey worthwhile. It wouldn't hurt to take a week or so of vacation- they had just finished up a large order of ceramics, and they had enough of their Akatsuki emergency funds left that they could afford to take it easy for a while.

Tobi hadn't unpacked yet from his mission to Forest City, so he switched out his dirty clothes for clean ones and went into Deidara's room. Knowing his sempai, Deidara would spend all the time before they left getting together his art and forget to pack his bag.

"Sempai, I'm packing your things! What do you want me to bring?" he yelled down the hall. Listening, he heard the crinkling of paper as the artist wrapped up clay pieces to insure they didn't break.

"I don't know- the usual, un," Deidara called back. Tobi rummaged through his doors. There wasn't a large selection. Almost every article of clothing he owned was black.

"Long-sleeves?" he asked. The blond wouldn't admit it, but he didn't like wearing short-sleeves when others could see. The disfiguring scars on his arms made the Iwa shinobi self-conscious, Tobi thought.

"Yeah, un." Deidara agreed. Tobi stuffed a few black long-sleeves into a bag along with pants, socks, underwear, and a raincoat. He found Deidara's brush and toothbrush, and tossed them in too. Before he could zip up the pack, he spotted the linked dolls he'd made that morning. Smiling as he picked them up and held them, he decided he'd bring them too. He liked the thought that he and Deidara were tied together by the red thread of fate.

"Sempai, are you almost ready?" Tobi yelled. Deidara grunted in reply. The pale man carried their packed bags into the studio and sat them down. Deidara was taping closed a cardboard box. Three other boxes were already neatly sealed and stacked by the door.

"Will your bird be able to carry all that and us, sempai?" Tobi asked skeptically. The blond gestured at the boxes. On top of them was a tiny clay bird…sort of shaped like a pelican.

"Don't doubt my art, un," the artist growled. He ripped off a strip of tape and stuck it onto the box. "Activate it," he ordered.

Tobi summoned his chakra like he'd seen Deidara do thousands of times, and channeled it into the tiny bird. It fluttered off of the stacked boxes and onto the empty floor of the studio. The wet white clay rippled and expanded. Empty eye cavities stared straight at Tobi. When the hulking clay bird reached its maximum size, it plodded over to the boxes and scooped them up into its mouth. The two packs followed into the clay cavern.

Tobi manipulated the bird and made it take to the air and take a test flight around the studio. It seemed to bear the weight with no difficulty.

"Told you, un," Deidara said, and stuck his tongue out at the taller man. (Tobi wondered how much trouble he'd be in if he leaned forward and captured it in his mouth.) "I'm going to make a sandwich for the trip, un," he mentioned.

"Ok, thanks. I'll run over to Mrs. Kin and let her know we'll be away."

Tobi slipped out of the back door. "Damn it, Tobi, I'm not making one for you! Make your own damn sandwich!" the blond shouted after him. Tobi smirked and slipped on his mask before he knocked on his neighbor's door.

When he told Mrs. Kin they were going out of town for a few days, she smiled and coughed a cough that sounded suspiciously like 'honeymoon'. "Have a pleasant trip, Tobi," she told him.

When he stepped back into the studio, Deidara was waiting on the giant pelican, with a brown paper bag and a canteen slung over one shoulder. Tobi beckoned the bird out of the door, locked up their house, and climbed on behind Deidara. It was a long-ish trip, so they both sat down. The clay molded to the shape of their bodies comfortably, giving them a steady hold on the vehicle while keeping their hands free.

Tobi knew he wouldn't fall off of the bird, but as it flapped its wings and ascended, he wrapped his arms around his sempai and held on anyways. Yes, he was shameless… but who needed shame when there were sexy blond artists to be cuddled?

Deidara made him a sandwich, Tobi discovered when they opened up the lunch-sack. It was slathered in mustard, which Tobi hated. Tobi threw the mustard-covered slice of bread overboard and ate the other half. He wasn't mad, though, because when his stomach growled an hour later, Deidara had a mustard-free sandwich that he fed Tobi himself.

………………………………………………………………..

Team Kakashi dropped their bags in their hotel room in Forest City and flopped down on the beds.

"What now, Kaka-sensei?" Naruto growled. Kakashi flipped through his favorite book.

"Tenzou and I will take care of the information gathering. Why don't you three go enjoy the festival?" Kakashi suggested.

"What!? I want to gather information too! We've got to find Sasuke," Naruto yelled, pumping his fist in the air. Kakashi sighed.

"You aren't subtle enough for reconnaissance, Naruto. Go have fun at the festival, and keep your eyes open for any information. You might find something."

The blond boy didn't look convinced, but Sakura put her hand on his shoulder and led him to the door. "Come on, Naruto. We need to get dinner anyways, and I think I saw a ramen stand on the way in."

The two left. Kakashi turned to Sai. "Aren't you going too?" he asked the boy.

Sai shook his head. "There's an art show. I'll get food on the way there." The dark boy tucked his scrolls and paint brush into his pockets, pulled off his hitai-ate, and brushed the dust off of his pants. He left the room too.

Kakashi looked at Yamato. The younger man stared at him for a moment. "You don't actually they'll actually find anything here, do you, Kakashi-sempai?" he asked. Behind his mask, Kakashi smiled.

"It'll be a cold day in hell." The two jounin changed into civilian clothes and headed out of their room. "And I don't know if our chances are much better."

……………………………………………………………………..

Sai walked down the crowed street, looking a stand after stand of art displays. Craftsmen from all over Forest used the festival to sell their goods and advertise their business. The young ninja found the booths to be more exciting than the actual art show taking place at the courthouse. When Sai had walked in, the artists and critics had sneered at his shirt like they'd never seen a midriff. The craftspeople, on the other hand, were friendly and eager to share their art. Maybe they had read the same social-interaction books that he was reading.

The young artist bought a new set of calligraphy brushes for his Ink jutsu, and after a moment of hesitation, a beginner's set to give to Sakura. She usually showed an interest in his art, and his book on building relationships mentioned 'thoughtful gifts' as a means of strengthening a bond with a friend. He might have invited his teammates along with him, in fact, except he wasn't sure whether they were on a 'date' or not. After dinner, he'd caught a glimpse of them playing carnival games, which might be considered a romantic outing. 'Better safe than sorry,' he told himself, and he left them alone.

The Root ninja was fine on his own, anyways. There were hundreds of drawings and prints spread out among the various stands to look at and compare styles. After studying them, he thought of a way to modify some of his jutsu. Sai imagined that Naruto would be bored out of his mind if he'd come along. Should he try to find a gift for Naruto too?

The next stand was lined with ceramics: pots, bowls, vases, figurines. They ranged from simple glazed pieces to elaborately colored patterns, but Sai could tell each piece was finely made. There was a line of shoppers waiting to make purchases from the blond sitting behind the stand. Sai wondered if the buyers were all pottery enthusiasts, or if the blond tossing golden locks and smiling at each transaction was the reason for the sales rush. Nonetheless, his teammate Naruto liked ramen, and ramen was served in bowls, and an orange bowl with wavy lines would make the perfect gift for him. Sai picked up the bowl he'd been eyeing and went to the back of the line. If his purchase meant he had to flirt with a hot blond guy too, he didn't mind. Sai rather liked blonds.

"Tobi, I need more newspaper, un!" the blond artist yelled as he wrapped up another vase for a costumer. A tall masked man popped out from behind the stand with an armful of newspapers.

"Here, sempai. Need me to help wrap?" he asked. The line went faster with the two taking money and wrapping up clay pieces. Sai quickly found himself handing over his money to the blond. The buyer behind him handed a set of plates over to the masked man and whistled.

"Boy, the merchandise sure is flying out of this stand! I haven't seen you folk here before. Are you new to the festival?" the customer asked. The masked man nodded.

"Deidara-sempai and I just moved into the area," he confirmed.

The blond looked up from Sai's bowl, which he was packaging. "Next year I'll bring more and be more prepared. We've almost sold everything, un." He handed the bowl and a few coins in change over to Sai.

That name sounded familiar…He'd definitely heard Naruto and Sakura mention it before. He'd have to ask them later.

The artist tucked the bowl into his bag beside his brushes and Sakura's calligraphy set. He wandered along to the next stand, which was lined with carved wood. Maybe he should pick up a set of chopsticks to go with the bowl. He was getting good at this whole 'friendship' deal.

………………………………………………………………….

"You know, sempai," Tobi mentioned to Deidara as their final clay piece disappeared into a satisfied shopper's bag, "when I said you should be friendly, I didn't mean you had to be that friendly."

Deidara tossed his hair over his shoulder and smirked at him. "It sold my art, didn't it? I can't help it if you're jealous, un."

Damn. Having Deidara wear his hair down was a mistake. He'd thought when they'd walked into the city that maybe it would keep his sempai from being recognized, not that he really thought anyone in the Land of Forest would know a missing ninja from a courier. When they saw him with his hair down, most people mistook Deidara for a girl, a pretty blond girl who would smile at potential buyers. Their stand, hastily set up in a space on the crowded street, filled up with people looking as much at Deidara as his art.

Not to mention that with his hair down, Deidara could do that sexy, veiled stare that he was directing at Tobi…

The masked ninja stuffed their earnings into his pocket and seized Deidara's wrist. "I'm hungry," he declared. He took off down the street, artist in tow.

"Idiot, the food stands are that way, un," Deidara protested. Tobi turned and leaned close to him.

"They aren't selling what I'm hungry for, sempai," he whispered.

"Oh," the artist said, and allowed himself to be led outside of the city limits, and into the isolation of the surrounding forest.

…………………………………………………………………….

Kakashi and Yamato trudged back to their hotel room. They paused in front of the door and listened.

"Sai, you didn't have to get us gifts!"

"Awesome! What'd you get me?"

"I guess the kids are back," Yamato said.

"The brats will be disappointed," Kakashi sighed. Though the two jounin had spent nearly half a day in the seediest pubs and darkest allies in town, they'd found no leads on Sasuke's location. The trail had gone ice cold.

"And we have to leave tomorrow to get back to Konoha by Tsunade's deadline. They aren't going to be happy." Yamato paused. "I think you should be the one to tell them, Kakashi-sempai. They're closer to you."

Kakashi snorted. "They like you more. They call me a lazy pervert."

"Yeah, but I freak them out with my eyes."

"Jan-ken-pon you for it?" the copy ninja offered. Yamato nodded.

"Jan…ken…pon!" Yamato held up scissors triumphantly. Kakashi looked down mournfully at his paper. He was too used to playing with Gai, who was always rock. Yamato opened the door and shoved Kakashi inside.

The kids looked up eagerly as he stumbled in. Sakura sat down a newly unwrapped calligraphy set, and Naruto waved a pair of chopsticks around dangerously.

"Kaka-sensei, did you find out anything?" the orange-clad boy shouted. Kakashi scratched the back of his head.

"Well…about that…you see, I was asking around about Sasuke, but my informant turned out to be a mime, and when he tried to tell me, the mime mafia-"

"LIAR!!" Sakura and Naruto screeched together.

"So you didn't find out anything?" Sai asked. Sarcasm still confused him sometimes.

"Nope. None of you stumbled upon anything of interest, did you?" His subordinates shook their heads. "Then it looks like we'll be returning to Konoha tomorrow."

"But Kaka-sensei…!" Naruto protested.

"We have to return, Naruto. Tsunade-sama has let us stay away for longer than she can spare us, and you know the council doesn't like you out of the village with the Akatsuki still searching for you," Kakashi reasoned.

Naruto growled.

"Akatsuki! That's where I've heard that name!" Sai declared. The rest of the team turned toward him.

"Sai…" Yamato asked quietly. "Please explain."

The artist gestured to an orange bowl on the hotel floor. "The artist I bought that bowl from, his name was Deidara. I knew it sounded familiar. He's in the Akatsuki, right?"

"Are you saying you bought pottery from a missing nin?" Kakashi asked.

Sai nodded. "I think so. Blond hair, blue eyes, good with clay- that's him, isn't it?"

Naruto nodded. "That's him!" he yelled. Sakura frowned.

"Our information says he was killed in that battle with Sasuke, just before we lost Sasuke's trail. How could it be him?" she wondered.

"And he is missing both arms…how could he make pottery?" Yamato wondered. Kakashi took Sai's bowl and examined it with his sharingan.

"It's not explosive. Sai, are you sure he said he was 'Deidara'?" Kakashi asked the artist. Honestly, the craftsman could have been joking and Sai wouldn't have realized it. He was still working to understand the concept of humor.

"His partner said so. They just moved into the area, he said."

Yamato and Kakashi looked at each other. "Maybe it's a coincident, Kakashi-sempai. He can't be the only person in the world named Deidara."

"But if it is him, he's one of the last people we know saw Sasuke before the trail went cold. This could be the intelligence we need, Tenzou," Kakashi pointed out.

The decision was made before Kakashi called for a vote. Sakura and Naruto packed up their things without waiting for an order and waited by the door. So much for resting before setting out tomorrow…

"Alright, Sai, show us where you saw him," Kakashi said. The dark haired artist nodded and led the way.

…………………………………………………………..

Tobi spread a picnic blanket out on the forest floor. Deidara leaned against the trunk of a tree and watched. He never helped his partner set up camp, because he considered the work beneath him (and maybe just a little because of the way Tobi's muscles flexed and showed from underneath his tight black shirt when he lifted their supplies out of the clay bird). With the festival going on, the hotels in the city were filled to maximum capacity. Deidara didn't mind having to camp outside…as long as he didn't have to do the work.

Tobi sprawled on the blanket and tossed his mask to the side. He beckoned Deidara over. "I'll set up the tent later, sempai. Lay with me?"

Deidara eyed the blanket and the bugs crawling along the edge, exploring the new fabric territory. He wasn't going to lay on that. It was hardly better than just lying flat on the dirt!

"Oomp!" Tobi made the funniest noise when the artist sat down on top of him. "Sempai…that's not…what I meant…" he gasped. Tobi didn't make a very comfy couch, though, with his twitching and his bones digging into Deidara's ass. The blond swung around so he was straddling Tobi's waist instead, with his weight in his knees. There, much better.

"Is this what you wanted, un?" Deidara leaned close and whispered into Tobi's lips.

"Yes sempai," the dark-haired man panted. His breath was warm, and they were so close they were breathing the same air. Moments like these made Deidara dread the thought of Tobi ever leaving him. Nothing that Deidara had ever experienced suggested that a relationship could last for a lifetime- but this was the first time he'd wanted one to. Maybe they could do it, just to spite the rest of the world.

"It's us against the world, Tobi, un," he whispered stupidly, sentimentally, hopefully. Luckily, Tobi didn't seem to mind. (Why would he, when the bastard was three times as sappy as Deidara without even making an effort?)

"Us against the world, sempai," he confirmed.

Deidara captured his lips, and then his tongue, before they could start spewing more foolish sentiment.

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"Oh, those two? I saw them headed outside of the city a little while ago. They're just the sweetest things, so moonstruck. Did you know that I sold more pieces today than I usually do all week, just because that lovely girl was selling her pots in the stand next to me," the woman selling wooden carvings and utensils next to the Iwa ninja's stand rambled on. Kakashi waited for her to stop singing Deidara's praises.

"Did they mention if they were coming back?" he asked her. The lady sighed. "Deidara-san sold every bit of clay she brought with her, if that's what you wanted. I imagine she'll be back around with that young stud, though. They never got the chance to look around at everything here, too busy. I'm telling you, the lines were..." Kakashi tuned her out again.

"They went out of the southern gate, then?" he prompted. The woman nodded.

"Yes, dear, but I wouldn't go looking for them." She paused and blushed. "They way they were looking at each other when they walked off together, they might not want to be disturbed just yet."

Kakashi nodded. "Of course. I'll have to find them when they come back, then. I was hoping to commission a piece. They didn't leave a contact address, by any chance?"

The lady shook her head. Kakashi bought a wooden carving of a dog from her, to thank her for the information, and to keep her busy so she didn't start talking about the blond Akatsuki member.

As he left the stand and walked toward the southern gate, his team fell into step behind him. Four to two: if this blond artist was the ninja they were looking for, he wouldn't stand a chance of escaping them.

……………………………………………………..

Tobi still lay flat on his back with Deidara straddling him, but the blond showed no signs of letting him up. Deidara's loose hair formed a veil around their faces as they kissed.

A warm hand slid up under Tobi's shirt and worked the fabric up to his armpits. Deidara still kept him pinned to the ground. Fingers ghosted up and down his lower stomach, sending shivers through his body.

"Sempai, do you…do you want to be on top?" he asked. So far, Tobi had always been dominant, since the artist had never shown any interest in it. But if Deidara wanted to… 'That would be so, so hot.'

"I am on top, un," the blond noted. He raised his weight up a little and then lowered himself back down deliberately. Oh…oh wow. Tobi decided that letting Deidara keep leading was a wonderful idea.

The artist leaned up, and Tobi almost protested the distance and the loss of kisses, until Deidara repeated that up-down motion. Oh damn it, that felt good.

…………………………………………………………………

Team Kakashi crept through the forest. Kakashi held a finger up to his lips, then pointed at a clearing up ahead. Pakkun had located their quarry.

He pointed at Yamato and gestured for the jounin to circle around behind them. He looked at the three young ninja. Kakashi wasn't sure he wanted them getting any closer. Naruto was to stealth as Jiraiya was to abstinence, and the copy nin wasn't sure the other two would do any better on this particular mission. Pakkun had confirmed the pair they were seeking was otherwise engaged, and with Sakura's fan-girl reaction to Konohamaru's boy's love jutsu and Sai's strange obsession with penises, he didn't trust either of them to assist with the capture.

'Stay here and be my back-up' he signed to them. They nodded. Kakashi pushed his hitai-ate up and revealed his sharingan eye. He was ready to move out.

………………………………………………..

Deidara almost chuckled as he unbuttoned Tobi's pants and fiddled with the zipper. A stray thought wouldn't leave his mind: 'Tobi, I'm going to ride you like a pony,' he kept thinking over and over. As soon as he got Tobi's erection free from his pants, he could get started. What would Tobi's face look like if he took the whole thing inside of him in one go? Not without preparation, of course, but before the pale man was expecting it. Deidara bet he'd scream. 'It's a good thing we didn't get a hotel room after all' he thought.

A discreet cough behind Deidara stopped that train of thought completely. He and Tobi froze guiltily, and Tobi pulled his mask onto his face with lightning speed before he sat up.

The pair turned to face the interrupter. Tobi seemed more concerned with getting his pants back into place, but Deidara paled when he saw who had caught them.

"Tobi, we need to leave, now," he whispered, as he stared straight at Sharingan Kakashi.

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An: Hello. This is a cliff-hanger. It's very pleased to meet you. It's sorry it's so late in coming- I wanted to introduce it earlier, but I've had midterms, and then I had to go to an art show of my own and buy gallons of delicious apple cider. I'll try to be a better authoress (and I have a few days break, so I will actually have time to write!) and get the next chapter up soon.

Next chapter: Deidara and Tobi vs. Team Kakashi! Will our beloved duo escape? Will Kakashi and company find out where Sasuke is? Will Deidara ever get to ride Tobi like a pony? Find out soon. (Don't worry; suspense doesn't kill. It only causes severe discomfort in some individuals.)

And fun with spell-check (not from this chapter, but still fun)- 'Sasori' equals 'Savory'- hell yeah it does! He'd mah puppet bitch!