Deidara awoke, grabbing a pillow and pressing it to his head. Yoko lay on his left, and Bushio on his right…and both were adamantly snoring. Looking upwards, Deidara snorted, getting out of the small tent and going outside. He looked up, staring at the stars that twinkled in the night sky. He smiled, looking down at his hands.
"Well, I never really did like that tent anyways, un," he said. His hands were closed, so no answer came from them. He shook his head, looking up at one of the trees that surrounded them and hopping up into a lower branch. So far, the three had been Genin for only six months, and Tazuriko-sensai had pushed them hard, trying to prepare them for life as a ninja. So far, Deidara had learned to control his chakra much more efficiently, found out how to walk on water using chakra on his feet, and even been able to throw weapons that had chakra implanted into them. He took another look at his hands.
"Chakra is amazing. I didn't know you could do so much with the stuff, un!" He stared back up at the stars, and decided that he needed to get better…for the sake of his art. He got up from his limb, jumping back to the ground, forcing chakra into his legs to lessen the impact of the fall. When he hit, he tumbled over, drawing a kunai in the exact same instant and letting fly into a nearby tree trunk, where it quivered in the middle of a small knot on the trunk. He smiled, going over and plucking the kunai from the tree. Wiping off the sap, he stuck it back into his pouch.
"Well, I got the whole kunai thing down. I suppose I should continue working on my own jutsu's, un." He walked off into the woods, leaving the tent and the sleepers behind.
About a half hour later, he came upon a small stream out in the middle of the forest. He sat down, taking a drink from the brook before plunging his hands into the water. He groped at the bottom, forcing his way through the mud and muck. Suddenly, his hands struck clay, and he smiled. He balled as much as he could and began pulling his hands back with a suction noise and lying on the bank. When he had caught his breathe, he grabbed the clay, his hands eating it voraciously. He let them process the raw material while again looking up at the stars, watching them sparkle. The moon hovered serenely over the scene, throwing off enough light to see by. He smiled. Then, his hands spat the mixture out into his palms.
"Well done, you guys, un. Now, let's see. How about….a bird?" He worked the clay, molding it. When he was done, he had a small bird in his hands. It twisted its head around, looking at its surroundings, and took off. Deidara watched it go for a second, but began to frown. He could see the flaws in his work, though he didn't like to admit them. This bird had much more chakra than necessary, so it was big and unwieldy. He needed something that was much faster. He began to mold again, not putting as much chakra into the clay as before. He released his creation, a smaller, more streamlined bird. This one took off like a rocket, and Deidara could barely see where it went.
"Not bad, un! Not bad at all! Ok, so, I have spiders, birds, and regular clay…which could come in handy, un! What else can I make?" He began experimenting with different things, from small deer, to trees, to small rodents and insects. Most were duds, as he couldn't put the right amount of chakra into the clay to make them work. He shook his head at a field mouse that was bounding in the grass, making a hand sign and watching it poof away.
"Well, I guess that's enough of that. I suppose I should be getting back, un!" He turned, walking back towards the other three.
"I wish I could fly. That would be the easiest way to do this!" He grumbled to himself, kicking a rock that lay I his path. One of his clay birds that he hadn't exploded landed on his shoulder, and he looked up at it as it glanced sideways at him.
"Hehe, I wish you were bigger, un! That way I could ride you without having to walk!" He turned back towards the trail, the bird still sitting on his shoulder. Suddenly, he stopped. He glanced back at the bird, who was preening itself.
"Wait…my art becomes big the more chakra I put into it. So, if I put a ton of chakra into a piece of clay…" he began. He thrust his hands into his pockets, letting them eat the clay he had brought back with him. Taking them out, he let them chew, and then spit out the earthen material.
"Great. I hope this works, un!" He molded the clay into a bird, feeling the amount of chakra that had been placed into the clay. He smiled, setting the bird down. He stood a ways back, and then put his hands up in a hand sign. Normally, a small bird with that much chakra would be able to blast a good size hole in something. But, if he used the stored up chakra to expand the clay into something that allowed it to be more stable, the bird would grow…or, that was his theory anyways. He finished, and the bird expanded exponentially. He stared at his new creation, something between a fat turkey and a pigeon. It stared right back at him, and he smiled.
"Hey, that's neat, un! Now, I wonder…" he said, going to it. He jumped up, landing on the bird and shutting his eyes. However, not only did it not explode, but it was firm under his feet. He smiled. His plan had worked, and he now had something he could ride.
"Ok, let's go!" The bird flapped its wings, taking off from the earth and into the night sky, a thrilled Deidara standing on its back. He may have been thrown off by a regular bird, but since the bird was clay, he could use his chakra to cling to its back, just like he would use it to cling to a wall or a tree.
It was almost morning when the three others woke up. Yoko stretched, yawning fitfully. Bushio was still asleep, snoring soundly, and Yoko smiled at him.
"Bushio-kun…time to wake up!" She tickled his ear, and he slapped at her hand, trying to kill the annoying insect bothering him. She giggled again, leaning down to give him a kiss on the cheek.
"Yoko…don't you even dare," he whispered. She stopped an inch from his cheek, retracting her mouth and pouting. She had been so close that time. She thought that they were becoming closer since being Genin, but that wasn't the case apparently.
"Fine, but get up, you lazy bum! We have to go! I don't even know where Deidara or Tazuriko-sensai is," she said. Bushio got up, staring out the tent flap.
"They are probably outside already. You know those two. Always doing something before us," he said, yawning. He stood, walking outside and taking a whiff of the air.
"Oh, so you're up? About damn time!" Tazuriko stood, arms akimbo, staring at the youth who stared back with indifference.
"Well, what do you expect, sensai? You're working us like animals here. I was exhausted," Bushio said, knowing that that wouldn't be enough for the Jounin. Tazuriko laughed, staring at the girl who crawled from the tent.
"Your hair…it looks…ridiculous!" He was still laughing as she glared at him and began trying to tame her hair, which was frilled out.
"So, where is Deidara?" Bushio glanced around, not seeing the boy anywhere.
"I don't know. He rushed off in the night, so I suppose he's training somewhere. Good initiative. I don't really like the idea of him leaving in the night like that…but he seems to be more motivated than some…" Tazuriko said, glancing at the other two. Bushio frowned while Yoko stuck out her tongue.
"Hey guys! When are we leaving?" They glanced up, staring at Deidara who was sitting on the back of his bird, smiling down at them.
"What are you doing, Deidara? Where did that thing come from?" Yoko was staring in amazement at the bird, which settled to the ground.
"I made it! I call him Mazai. Do you like him, un?" He reached up, petting the birds head.
"It's cool looking," Yoko said. Bushio grunted.
"Great. Now, can we get on with this?" Tazuriko laughed, but nodded.
"Yeah, we have to get to the Hidden Leaf Village before tonight. They are expecting us," he said. Deidara grinned. He had never been to another village before. It should be cool to see another one.
"When do you think we can get there?" Deidara glanced up at Tazuriko, who scratched his head in thought.
"I don't know. Let's say before the deadline tonight…though, we will have to go pretty hard to get there on time. But, we can do it! I have faith in you!" He turned around, walking towards the Northeast. Yoko glanced up.
"You really have faith in us, Tazuriko-sensai?" The Jounin stopped, turning around.
"Of course I don't. But, we have to get there anyways, right? So I might as well try to motivate you. Let's go!" He walked off into the forest, leaving the three behind him.
"I'm going to fly on Mazai for a while. I'll see you guys later, un!" He took off into the sky, giggling with glee as the bird cartwheeled and spun in the sky.
"Show off," Bushio said under his breath, sticking his hands in his pockets and following the Jounin. Yoko stared up into the sky with awe.
"That's pretty neat. Way to go, Deidara." Then, she took off, catching up to Bushio, so she could walk with him. Having the boy gone meant that they could be alone…but the way Bushio saw it, without the boy…he could be alone. Yoko sighed, walking at the back. This was going to be a long mission.
Welcome to the wonderful world...of fillers!