"Why are you here?" The Tsuchikage stood before the six men. Two other jounin blocked their path to him, but that was of little consequence.
"Hehe, shut up, old man. Just make this easy on yourself and give up," said the man in front. The others sniggered in the back.
"Tsuchikage-sama. I implore you to run. We'll hold them off!" The jounin on his right had two kunai at the ready, and the one on his left had his hands up to make a hand sign. The six still stood, the leader of the group showing his teeth.
"Come on. You know you're all dead anyways. This could be all over real fast," he said. The other five chucked again. The Tsuchikage took a glance at the headbands that they wore, and snickered.
"So…why is the Hidden Mist attacking the Stone? We aren't in a war right now," he said. The leader shook his head.
"We aren't with the Mist anymore. We're special ops, hired hands you know. We don't need the Mist or their rules and regulations," he said. The Tsuchikage nodded.
"Ah yes. Special ops…missing nins is more like it. Deserters, bandits, ruffians…take your pick of the lot, they all suit you," he said. The shinobi in the back took a step forward.
"You shut your mouth old man!" The leader held a hand up, silencing his subordinate.
"Well, you can call us what you want. The bounty on your head is far to large to let go of, so we can take a little verbal abuse…we'll just trade you for physical abuse," he said. Suddenly, he darted forward, kunai at the ready. The Stone jounin on the right swiftly countered, blocking the thrusts. Another shinobi appeared behind, catching the man in the back and sending him sprawling. He thudded across the floor as another charged, pushing him through the wall. It splintered, and both men crashed into the hallway.
The Tsuchikage and his other jounin stood, watching the hole. The five remaining assassins also stood, waiting for their friend to join them again.
"Hehe, looks like…hey, who the hell…oof!" The leader cocked an eyebrow.
"Tetsugae? Hey!" Instead, three children walked into the room. The Tsuchikage's eyes widened.
"Deidara…but…Deidara, get out of here. This is no place for you!" Deidara stood, his grin on his face.
"Sorry, Tsuchikage-sama. But this is exactly the place for me!" Bushio and Yoko ranged themselves behind Deidara, both with kunai in their hands. The Tsuchikage had time for one more word of warning before the shinobi split up. Two went for the kids, three after their primary target.
"You three are dead!" One of the assassins was already starting to pull shuriken from his pocket. Deidara, having fed his hands copious amounts of clay, was already hard at work. Bushio jumped in front, blocking three shuriken and dodging a forth. The man threw himself at the three, striking down at the girl's unprotected back as she was dodging a kunai thrown by the other assassin. Bushio's foot lashed out, catching the hand and sending the kunai flying. The man jumped back, but Bushio was already on him, limbs flying. The other was swiftly attacking Yoko, who, having lost her kunai, was dodging to the best of her ability. She took a slash to the arm, going down on one knee. The man laughed.
"Time to die, girly!" His arm went down, the kunai blade poised to stab. Suddenly, Deidara was there, holding his arm up.
"Don't you dare, un!" His free hand was already working, and he slapped the man's arm before being kicked to the side. The Mist shinobi sneered, returning to the girl before seeing the spider crawling up his arm. He swatted at it, but it hung from his arm on a thread, crawling onto his back. Deidara, from his position on the ground, created the hand signs, grinning with delight as the spider exploded, sending the man through a pane of glass, and tumbling out the window. It was…a long way down.
Bushio was still busy with his shinobi. He was skilled in hand-to-hand fighting, but the other had the weight of years and experience. He was slowly wearing the child out. Bushio realized this, hopping backwards.
"Give it up, kid. You're doomed!" The man's hands went together, and he formed a seal.
"Ninjutsu arts! Poison Mist jutsu!" He inhaled sharply, exhaling a purple mist that surrounded the three. They held their breaths, knowing that breathing would kill them. The shinobi smiled as he put a gas mask on, turning around and hopping out the window to join the fray taking place on the street below, the other combatants having abandoned the enclosed space of the room for the larger space of outside.
"We have to get out of this gas!" Bushio turned, running out of the hole in the wall and down the hallway, followed closely by Yoko and Deidara. Yoko fainted suddenly, hitting the ground. Deidara heard the thud, turning around and running back. His lungs felt like they were on fire, and he could hardly see in the purple haze. He picked the girl up, feeling her dead weight hold him down as he continued running down the passageway. Bushio reached the door first, kicking it open and waiting for the other two to get there. When they had safely reached the portal, he threw the door closed, locking it in place.
"Whew! That was a close one!" Bushio said, leaning against the wall. Deidara put Yoko down, putting a hand to her cheek.
"She's cold. She needs help, un!" He began undoing his jacket, putting it around her as she shallowly inhaled oxygen. Deidara turned to Bushio. "Get her to the hospital. Make sure she's alright, un!" He turned, throwing a clay bird at the wall. It exploded on impact, creating a hole. Bushio plucked the girl up, carrying her to the wall. He turned back.
"What are you going to do?" Deidara went to the hole, looking down. He saw the building in front of him, judging the distance.
"I'm going to help the Tsuchikage, un!" With that, he took a step back, and then threw himself into the void. Bushio inhaled sharply as Deidara barely gained the ledge of the building in front of them, falling off and catching himself on the lip. He pulled himself onto the roof, giving himself a moment to recover before hopping the roofs. Bushio shook his head, glancing down at the unconscious form of Yoko.
"Be careful, Deidara," he said. He jumped, gaining the roof, and began to make his way to the hospital. Hopefully, he would be on time to save Yoko from the effects of the poison…hopefully.
The Tsuchikage and his jounin were busy in the Northern part of town, where the fight had been taken. The three remaining assassins were slowly taking them apart. The Tsuchikage, though unharmed, knew that they couldn't last out. They had been caught off guard…a shinobi's worst mistake.
"I'm going to enjoy killing you, old man!" The leader took another swipe, throwing kunai as he stabbed out. The Tsuchikage easily deflected the weapons, turning to the side and letting the kunai go past him. He lashed out, barely missing the man who dodged to the left. The one on the right made a hand sign, directing his chakra flow to a nearby well.
"Water element: Water Gun Jutsu!" The well shook, and a stream of water shot out of the abyss, circling in the air and plunging down at the two nin. The Jounin jumped in front of the Tsuchikage, making his own hand signs.
"Earth element: Wall of Rock Jutsu!" The earth trembled, and a wall of shale shot up into the sky, protecting the two from the torrent of water cascading down on them. The Jounin sighed with relief, only to have the wind taken from him by a lashing fist. He flew through the air. The other assassin made another hand sign.
"Water element: Rain of Tears Jutsu!" The water on the ground shot into the air, directing itself at the two. Suddenly, it rained down, pummeling the ground and creating craters where it hit. Not meant to kill, but more to stun, the jutsu traveled swiftly towards the two. The Jounin wasn't lucky enough to dodge, and was beaten by the heavy drops. The Tsuchikage merely disappeared into the ground, waiting for the rain to cease. When it did, the three assassins quickly ran to the spot that he had disappeared to.
"Earth element: Earthen Armor Jutsu!" They jumped back as the earth shook, and the Tsuchikage rose from it, his body encased in rock and earth.
"Now you see my ultimate jutsu. This uses the earth to protect me…and give me strength!" He lashed out, catching one man with his fist and sending him sprawling. In the same movement, he twisted, backhanding another, who barely had time to block. He went flying through the air, but not before the Tsuchikage put his hand up, facing him.
"Rock Shard Bombardment!" Rocks and debris flew from his hand, pelting the shinobi as he flew through the air. He hit the ground without another sound. The Tsuchikage smiled, turning back to the remaining shinobi. He glared.
"You haven't won yet, old man!" He put his hands up, creating a hand sign.
"Water Element: Hidden Mist Jutsu!" The air became thick and heavy, and a heavy mist, fueled by the excess water on the ground, arose, blocking the Tsuchikage's view of the battlefield. He turned around, trying to sense the other man. Three kunai suddenly hit him in the chest, and he glanced down. They hadn't pierced his defensive armor, so he had been saved from any serious injury. That was when he noticed the explosive notes that were beginning to fizzle.
"Damn!" He let his armor disintegrate, jumping away as the notes exploded. He had a moment to catch his breath before a hand shot out of the darkness, catching him in the face and sending him sprawling.
"Haha! You can't see me old man!" He got up, looking in all directions.
"Well, that just means you can't see me, either!" The voice in the mist laughed again.
"You think that really matters? Ha! I'm going to pick you apart…little by little." The Tsuchikage turned towards the voice as a foot lashed out from behind him. He went flying, tumbling on the ground. I can't fight like this! He got up, breathing heavily. He put his hands together, creating hand signs. Four rock clones appeared from the ground, ranging themselves out. Well, if I can't fight him, maybe I can hold him off for the time being. The laugh rang out again.
"You're just delaying the inevitable old man!" His clones ran towards the sound, but found nothing. They turned, walking back towards the old man. He sighted them in the mist, waving them over. They walked over and ringed him, and he closed his eyes, trying to feel the enemies presence. Suddenly, one of the clones lashed out, catching one of the others and crumbling it. Two kunai pierced the other two, and they crumbled as well. The Tsuchikage had time to barely block before a kunai sliced his shoulder and a foot kicked him in the stomach. He went down, staring up at the clone, who was smiling down on him. It changed, becoming the Mist shinobi.
"So…used my own clone…against me," the Tsuchikage, bent over in pain, rasped out. The mist cleared, and the Mist shinobi gazed around.
"Well, it looks like this is it. It was fun and all, but I suppose the fun is over!" His kunai twirled in his hands, and he poised to strike. "Goodbye old man. Just know that the bounty on your head was well worth the five men that you killed!" The kunai went down, and the Tsuchikage closed his eyes, a smile on his lips. But, he didn't feel it penetrate.
"What the hell is this!" He looked up, staring as a bird, enraged, flew at the man's head. He batted at it, trying to make it go away. Suddenly, it exploded, sending him flying.
"I told you…I won't let you hurt the Tsuchikage!" Deidara stepped from the shadows of a tree, cold hatred in his eyes. The shinobi got up off the ground, breathing heavily.
"You stupid brat. I'll kill you!" He charged, running after Deidara, who turned and ran away. The Tsuchikage couldn't get up, his chakra having run out.
"Deidara, run!" His words were lost as the shinobi chased the boy. Deidara ran like he never had before. To let the shinobi fight him one-on-one would have been suicide.
It was five minutes later when the Mist shinobi saw the boy duck into a cave. He smiled. He had staked that cave out before. It had no exit in the back. He walked in, deadly intent written plainly on his face.
"You have nowhere to go, you brat! Come out and fight like a man!" He said, walking deeper into the cave.
"Fine, you wanted me, so here I am!" Deidara walked from the shadows, staring at the man. He chuckled.
"Well, you got guts, kid. I'll give you that. But this is the end for you. After I'm done with you, I'll go back and finish off the old man," he said. Deidara laughed.
"Wrong. I'm going to beat you here!" Then, his eyes went wide. He stared down at the kunai in his chest, then back at the shinobi holding it.
"You can't do that…when you're dead, kid," he said. Deidara coughed, backing up. He sank to his knees, gasping for air.
"Pathetic. Here I thought this was going to be a fight, and instead I get you. Worthless!" The man sneered. Deidara looked up at him, and a slow smile graced his face.
"You…you lose," he said. Suddenly, he crumbled, the stone clone coming apart.
"What!" The man had time for one exclamation before grabbing his shoulder, ripping the spider off of it. He stared at it as it stared back, its clay legs working. He looked up, only now noticing the multitudes of spiders crawling around on the ceiling.
Deidara stood outside the cave, staring into it. He heard the man scream once before completing his hand signs. The cave rumbled as a massive explosion rocked it. Dust and particles flew through the air as Deidara stared at it. The Mist shinobi was thoroughly defeated, buried under tons of rock and debris. Deidara, his chest heaving, sank to his knees. He coughed, staring at the blood coming from his mouth. He smiled. He had taken in some of the gas, after all. He hit the ground, his face against the cool rock. It felt good. He felt hot for some reason. He let his eyes close, his one last thought before slipping into unconciousness being, "I did it…I...did...it." Then, the blackness of oblivion closed over him, and he lost sense of time and space.