Deidara's Story: Clay Hearts Molded
Chapter 15: Red Storm! Red Hand Rising!
Deidara had run out of clay…and as it appeared, luck as well. Having reached into his bag for the umpteenth time that day, he finally came up with nothing. Nada. Zip. Zero. The blonde grit his teeth, staring across the expanse of the stone cavern at the short man dressed in black.
Almost effortlessly, the man named Meechi had systematically destroyed every single creature Deidara had deployed. In fact, from his birds and small animals, all the way to a locust swarm that Meechi had slashed from the air with an ease that almost defied logic. At the moment, the Red Hand leader made himself busy with casting his small chakra threads about himself like miniature whips, creating small dust-devils of broken clay and stirring them into life.
"Come now, shinobi. You can't be completely out of tricks, can you?" Meechi smiled again, his flashing white teeth a stolid backdrop against the darkness of the cavern.
Deidara grit his teeth once more, knowing that if he made it out of the encounter alive that his mouth would be extremely sore. "Yeah…basically." He chuckled, checking another pocket in his coat. "I got three kunai left, and a handful of senbon. OH WAIT! Just found another kunai. Make that four!" The blonde removed the four kunai from his pocket, holding two in each hand.
The torches flickered ominously in the darkness illuminated only by their pale light as Meechi chuckled himself. "That doesn't seem like much. Are you out of clay already? Here I thought you would be a challenge, Deidara of Iwa."
"Well, not so much a challenge really. More of a pain in your ass, un."
"Yes, a pain in my ass indeed…" A chakra thread flicked out, wrapping about Deidara's arm like a whiplash. Deidara barely had enough time to cut the thread with a kunai before another thread wound about the weapon, ripping it from his hand. Before it hit the floor, it already was eroding into dust and rust particles. "Three kunai left shinobi."
In answer, the familiar whistling sound of senbon being cast into the air greeted his ears. His tendrils of chakra flashed once more, wrapping about the weapons before they could even get close. In a thrice, the metal projectiles were like so much dust on the floor of the cavern.
"Now I only have three kunai left…"
"Indeed, shinobi. Three kunai…and less luck."
Deidara crouched for another round. Though he hated to admit it, the Red Hand soldier was right.
His luck was running out. Fast.
Down the corridor, slow, methodical steps sounded emptily against the stones. Lord Setama stalked the walkways, feeling down the corridors as if he could feel the shinobi hot on his heels. First, he had the Red Hand to deal with. He cursed himself for ever having entered a pact with those no-good thieves and cutthroats. They had ruined his plans, and ultimately destroyed a large portion of his manor. Not to mention they had stopped his wedding to his beautiful, if quite reluctant, bride to be. But there would be a reckoning; he had no doubt about that. He would chase them away from his manor. He would hire death squads from the surrounding villages, paying heavy prices for the heads of any who dare walk under the banner of the Red Hand. He would enjoy pulling the fingernails from their hands, cutting the tongues from their mouths. He smiled, imagining the horrors he would perpetrate.
Then there was a wild card. That meddling shinobi from Iwa. Whatever had possessed him to hire the blonde upstart in the first place? He didn't think that a B-Rank mission would have attracted one of the best shinobi of the village, but it had. Not only that, but the miscreant had also impregnated his bride-to-be. Well, he thought to himself smugly, at least I took care of THAT little problem…
Now, he had the blonde shinobi on his trail, following him into the darkest recesses of his lair, down into his inner sanctum. He had created these tunnels in case of invasion by an entire army. He was cowering in the darkness, being chased by one single man!
"This won't do!" Setama shouted, slamming a fist sideways into the rock on his right. His woman whimpered slightly, nursing a bruised face. She had gotten lippy in the tunnel, and he had had to remind her just who the lord was, and who the servant would be. It didn't do anything to slight her attitude, however. She was just as loud and obnoxious as ever.
"You…you're going to pay for this!" She screamed, slamming a hand into his side. He batted her away like a plaything, watching with a sick pleasure as she was pushed into the wall, sliding down to rest on the ground.
He sneered down at her, grabbing her hair and lifting her to his eye-level. "You little whore. How dare you touch me! Why don't you do something useful for once…and SHUT UP!" With no more words, he opened a cell placed on the side of the wall, throwing Shizune in forcefully and slamming the door closed before she hit the opposite wall. Dejectedly, she slumped on the ground, crying silently to herself. Sniffing, she glared up at her captor, wishing for the entire world that she had her wrist launcher. How she would smile if she could place two senbon in the man's evil eyes.
He smiled from behind the bars, glaring at her with animal intent. "Keep glaring at me girly. You'll warm my bed at night, glaring at the pillow each and every night as I do what I want with you. Whether you allow me to or not. To tell the truth, I'd rather have you be squirming and obstinate. Makes it better…" He gave his groin a tug in her general direction to be sure he gave her the right idea.
Turning around, he began to stalk off when a shoe suddenly careened into the back of his head. "Monster!" It was enough. He twirled, stalking back to the cell and grasping the bars. A small amount of spittle flew through the air, missing his face by a mere centimeter. The woman's face was as defiant as ever, the bruises standing out against gossamer skin. Her breath was ragged from their flight through the darkness, but still, the hope shined within her eyes.
His anger suddenly flared, seeing her defiance as an act against his will. Pointing a finger at her, he yelled into the tiny cell. "You foolish little bitch! What the fuck do you think you'll accomplish by continuing this stupidity?!"
"Deidara-san will come for me," she said back, not shouting, for truly she had no energy for it. She spoke softly, but with confidence defying her situation. She spoke with the hope of those who haven't lost the last string of it. "He'll make you pay. He'll kill you." She was staring at the ground, willing the blond to appear from it, to magically stand from the stone and whisk her away from her nightmare. He was sacrificing so much to help her, and she could do nothing to help him.
Suddenly, a demonic laugh sounded from beyond the bars. Her head slowly rose, to stare at her captor convulsed in mirth. His sides rocked, and Lord Setama howled, the sound of his laughter echoing against the cold steps. "What!? What the hell is so damn funny!?" She took off her remaining shoe, throwing it at him with all her strength, which was rapidly waning. He barely bat an eye as he slapped the offensive weapon from the air, to skitter hollowly on the ground.
"You think your blond shinobi is even a match for my might? You're as stupid as you are nieve, you little idiot!" Setama glared across the expanse, waiting for her response. When none came, he turned back around, going to a small alcove that had been chiseled into the wall. Reaching his hand onto the hard stone, he felt about for a moment before his finger slid into a slight recess in the smooth granite and limestone of the cavern. With a whoosh of decompressed air, a trigger mechanism slid a shaft into the rock, and slowly, a smaller, less obtrusive alcove was revealed. A small amount of phosphorescent light filled this alcove, and Setama smiled with a demon passion as he reached his hand in for a bottle, grasping it and pulling it out. Inside lay four small orbs. In the dim light, Setama could barely make out the fact that each was differently colored. "I got this special from a source of mine in the Land of Fire…"
Turning back to the cell, he held the bottle up. "The ancient power of the Akamichi clan, refined from what it once was. It's twice as potent, with less risk than the original formula. I paid good yen for this, you know. Thousands upon thousands. It wasn't cheap…but then again, power seldom is."
Shizune's eyes widened. She had only ever heard of the potent power that the Akamichi clan held. It was a secret formula. The formula for a soldier pill, but one that was far more deadly. The user's power increased exponentially when using the pill. It was also rumored that, in dire situations, the Akamichi clan had much stronger pills to use for different situations. These pills had to be taken in succession, otherwise the power load on the body was too great and it essentially exploded. But that was all that Shizune knew. Being locked up almost twenty four hours a day made it hard to learn about the outside world besides from the few traveling vendors and street performers who could give her information when they stopped by…which was less often since the roads had been overrun with bandits and Red Hand mercenaries.
Setama grasped the bottle in his hand, pulling out the cork stopper and depositing the contents of the jar onto his palm. He smiled down at the four small pills, turning each over as to look at the markings on each one. Choosing one, he picked it from the others, placing the remaining three back in the bottle. He smiled over at Shizune, who held her breath. "This is the first one…" With less ado, the Lord of the manor slipped the pill into his mouth, holding it there before swallowing it down. He smacked his lips, feeling a coarse energy fly though his veins like wildfire. His muscles began to expand and contract of their own accord. With a grunt, his fist flew into the wall, cracking the dense stonework like a thin sheet of ice breaks on a warming day in the middle of a frozen lake. The spiderwebs laced through the wall, small amounts of dust and tiny stones falling to land on Setama's shoulders and the floor. Shizune gasped as a large crack began to spread in the direction of her cell, stopping just shy of the door.
A crackling cough of a laugh echoed wildly down the passages, as Setama began to feel the power of the pill course through every essence of his body. Ramming the remainder of his stash into his pocket, he turned towards the door. The lord of the manor took two steps before stopping, turning to address his captive through gritted teeth. "When I return, I will give my new wife a kingly gift. It will be the head of her beloved Deidara of Iwa." With that, he stomped out of the dimly lit room, leaving Shizune to cry her loneliness to the darkness.
Sweat dripped from the brow of the blond shinobi as he sucked in mouthfuls of air. With his chakra nearly at nothing, and his clay bag completely empty, he had nothing left to give. Usually, about this time, someone would come to save him. But this far underground, in the middle of a dense cavern and cave system that was a labyrinth of ridiculous proportion, Deidara knew that no saving grace would come. He would die, under solid sheets of stone, the victim of the Red Hand. Between himself and his three cohorts, however, the Red Hand would be quite understaffed for the next few years. It could be years before the criminal syndicate was back up and running. That was Deidara's only respite. The fact that he had hurt the one thing that had done so much damage to his beloved Iwa.
Standing across from the blond, Meechi sighed. "I guess it is time to end this, shinobi. You put up a good fight, I agree. But this is the end." He walked the few paces to the blond, standing over him like a titan over a mortal. Even with the difference in height, Meechi still only stood a foot over the cowering blond. It was enough to make the man smile, but not enough for his pride. The Red Hand's foot crashed into the Iwa shinobi's mouth, and Deidara went down to his stomach on the rough cut stone, gagging for breath as blood gushed from his lip. Meechi crackled a laugh as thin tendrils of chakra wound their way around the blond's body. "I will slowly seep the life out of you, Deidara of Iwa. You will die, but it will take a long time...and you will agonize over every second of your death. A minute will seem like an eternity, and then, when you are nearing death and your body cannot take another moment of the pain and anguish...then you shall die, Iwa. Only then..."
Deidara groaned. He could feel the threads beginning to work, his chakra, or what remained of it, beginning to slowly seep out of his body. The feeling was akin to that of being shoved through a cheese grater. As his chakra was pulled out, he could feel a cold, clammy numbness, being slowly changed to a searing, stabbing pain. His groan turned quickly into a moan.
Above him, Meechi continued to smile. I do have more work to do. But I will enjoy this for as long as I can…His had been a rise through the ranks of the Red Hand that could only be described as legendary. Once, he had been a lowly shinobi of the Grass. He had gone on nothing but D rank missions until he had been twenty three years of age. His team had slowly been replaced over the years as his teammates had died. One after the other they had ceased to be, and one by one they were replaced by another who was equally as mediocre as the last.
It wasn't until one day, one mission, that it all changed.
"Oy! Who the hell are you?" Meechi had asked. A youth stood there, smiling up into the trees. Her face was a gossamer white, and her hair radiated with a beauty that was unknown of in the Grass village. Her teeth shown with the same white as her skin, and as she turned her gaze to him, he felt his heart skip a beat.
"Hi."
Meechi waited, sure she was too say something else. But she didn't. That word was all she had said, and then she went back to looking at the trees, her body swaying as though being jostled by the very wind that brushed the leaves of the trees. He had huffed, walking around the other side of the tree to stare at her. "Hi? Is that it? Who are you?"
She chuckled. Like musical notes played on a flute, her laughter eased into his very soul, and he could feel his resolve begin to melt. Normally a very tight-to-the-vest kind of person, he could feel his interest pique even more. "I asked who you…"
"You are Meechi, yes?" She turned to him, her face nearly at level with his, though she couldn't have been more than seventeen years of age to his twenty three.
He turned slightly, clearing his throat. "Yes. Yes I am."
"Good! I'm your new leader. Pleased to meet you. Name's Saekio." She gave him a clap on the shoulder. "Gonna be good friends, you and I! I can tell."
"Don't bet on it," he said, grimacing at the strength of her hand. Turning back to her, he growled low in his chest. "And by the way, you aren't the leader of this group. I am. Besides…" he gave her a cursory overview, "you can't be more than seventeen years old."
"I'm actually fifteen, thank you." Her face screwed up, and she reached up and tweaked his nose. Surprised by the reaction, and more than a little annoyed, Meechi took a few steps back, rubbing ruefully at his nose. "And I am a Jounin…where as you are just a Chunin. So, actually…yes, I am the leader, and you will do as I say."
Meechi's eyes began to close until he was glaring balefully at the obstinate child. "I don't care if you're a Kage…you're a little girl and…"
That was the end of the conversation. Not ten minutes later, he found himself heading to the infirmary, nursing two broken ribs, a broken femur (which he was walking on as fast as he could manage to get away), two broken fingers, multiple contusions and bruises, and according to the nurse at the infirmary, a minor concussion.
The second day in his infirmary room, his new 'leader' showed up, teeth as glaring white and face just as beautiful. "Now, you ready to listen to me?"
Meechi glared at her, turning over in his hammock…which was surprisingly difficult considering his condition at the moment. "I'll never listen to an adolescent bitch who thinks that…"
Suddenly, his chest became heavy. He couldn't get air. He couldn't breathe at all. Turning back, he saw the syringe in her hand, the plunger already pushed. The needle was in his pain medication line, and the wicked grin suffused on her face was enough to know what had happened. He gasped vainly at threads, trying to gain back a little oxygen.
She put her face next to his. He tried to struggle, to fight, but she pinned his arms to the bed, hopping on top of him and clamping his body to the bed with hers. Though she was shorter than and not as muscular as he was, Meechi couldn't push her off. He was helpless as a lamb. "Listen to me carefully, you sorry piece of shit." She wasn't yelling. She was just as calm as she had ever been. Even as she murdered him, she wasn't showing any kind of emotion. "I just injected a full syringe of air into your line. Right now, your body is shutting down. Your heart is throbbing, and about to burst. It won't be long until that air bubble gets to your brain, and bursts, sending lots of little, tiny bubbles down the little tiny corridors in that big dumb head of yours." She smiled as he struggled vainly, as the anger and horror suffused itself on his face. "Why? Because I can. Because how old I am and how experienced I am has no bearing on that stupid logic of yours. I am young, yes. Yes I am. However, I am VERY experienced. I've killed more shinobi and regular folk than you've even had the privilege of meeting."
She sighed, and she relinquished her hold on him. It didn't matter. By the time it had happened, he couldn't even function. His body wouldn't move. He could almost feel the bubbles ascending into his brain. He was so close to death now. So close. He wondered…will they just replace me as easily as all the others?"
"But, I won't let you die." Slowly, small tendrils of chakra erupted from her body, and pierced his, slamming into his body and face. He would have screamed if he had had the energy, but he didn't. He lay there, letting her invade him. It was over in but a moment. He could suddenly breath, move…talk.
"What the fuck!?" He screamed. He turned over, his right hand extended out, trying to get a grip on this little bitch that would dare attack him in his hospital bed. She was just out of reach, the slings holding his arm above his body and his leg immobilized keeping hold on him.
She chortled, turning her back on him. "I showed you what I could do. I showed you what I will do. On my team, you will be strong…or I will kill you myself. I don't really care how many teammates I go through until I find the right ones. I will keep on killing you all off until my unique team is complete. We will rise through the ranks of this damn village," and she turned to stare at him, those eyes so full of wonder and amazing beauty just yesterday suddenly full of righteous insanity, "and I will become the Kage of the Grass Village. You can either help me…or I will bury you." Suddenly, her demeanor changed, and she smiled. "See you later! Get well soon! Got lot's of stuff to do! Bye!"
And that was it. Two weeks later, he walked slowly to the hill, where he was supposed to meet her…this kunoichi named Saekio. He saw her there, sitting on the hill, an errant root under her like a chair. Another shinobi, one he'd never seen before, stood on the opposite side of the tree. She looked up, seeing him. She smiled wide, hopping onto her feet and walking up to him. "Hey! You're out, huh? Lookin' good!" She gave him a pat on the butt as she turned, winking at him. "Hn. You heal up good!"
Meechi grunted, staring at the other member of their team. "Who're you?"
The man, a man larger and more fearsome than he had ever seen, stood up. His face was an eternal mask, a sneer mixed with a smile. "Name's LaoFang. Welcome to the party."
Meechi snapped out of his dream-like state to stare down at the shinobi at his feet. "Fucking bitch…" Even though Deidara was in a state of severe pain, it still wasn't enough for the Red Hand shinobi. His foot crashed down, again and again, pummeling Deidara's ribs and the back of his head. Meechi smiled in delight as he raised his foot again; ready to bring it down on the shinobi's unprotected back, when a small sound interrupted his thoughts. He blinked, turning just as an incredible fist buried itself into his upper body and flung him clear across the room.
Meechi gasped in pain and surprise, his swirling vision taking in the scene before him. Outlined against the back wall, with the candles flickering, an enraged and much enhanced Lord Setama stood, heaving slightly as he glared at the Red Hand shinobi. "YOU!" Like a bull, the crazed lord howled, running full long at the short Red Hand fighter, leaving Deidara to cough up bile as his chakra that was left began to spread out through his body. The blond turned his head, trying to will his vision to clear so he could watch what was happening.
Meechi was fast, which was his only saving grace. Setama was a creature out of horrifying myth. Across the chamber he charged, bringing his fist up to slam it down against the stone where Meechi once stood. It didn't save his smaller opponent, however. Bits of rock broke against the force, piercing Meechi through his coat in more than one place. The Red Hand grunted, wiping a smidgeon of blood away from his face where a small wedge had lodged in his cheek. No time for a pithy remark, Setama stood, running at him yet again.
Across the chamber they raged, Setama throwing powerful punches and kicks, and Meechi dodging most of them. When one landed, it was ferocious, and Meechi felt each one as a sledgehammer blow.
Deidara could only grin. Guess he's getting what's coming to him… He felt his chakra again. It was next to nothing. These two could fight all they wanted, but as for Deidara, he was done. Nothing he could do but wait for the end. One of them would win, but Deidara would lose, so it didn't matter.
A powerful kick to Meechi's ribs caused even Deidara to flinch as a crack echoed in the chamber. Meechi felt himself airborne, slamming into the wall and sliding down. He caught his breath, standing and glaring across at Setama, who was attempting to catch his breath. The Red Hand grimaced, feeling his rib where he was sure it was broken. "So…new haircut, Lord Setama?"
Setama growled, taking an uneven step in his direction. "Among other things…scum." Another step closer. Meechi watched the feebleness and uncoordination. He has no shinobi training. Otherwise, with the amount of power he was exerting, I should have been dead long ago…
"You should have trained, Setama. That would have been a more effective attack." Chakra tendrils unwrapped, threading their way through the air to ensnare the Lord of the manor. Setama growled, lunging forward as the threads of sinuous chakra enrobed him. His arms burst from the mess, groping forward as he took a gigantic step forward. Meechi felt the immense chakra coursing back to him, his tendrils strained to the limit by the massive amount of energy surging like waves from a tsunami. How the hell did this man find this much chakra? He couldn't even be considered for a shinobi, much less have this much chakra to dwell in.
However much chakra he had had, Setama was losing it quickly, and as his energy failed him, he went to a knee, still groping forward until he went to both knees, his hands falling to the ground to keep his bulk from falling onto the stones. Meechi didn't hesitate. The chakra tendrils retracted, and without a sound, the small man stepped forward, slamming his foot into the grounded Lord's face and sending him flying through the air into the opposite wall. His bulky body struck with the force of a freight train, Meechi having given his attack some power, and slid to the ground in a haze of dust.
The Red Hand shinobi laughed quietly to himself. "Well, that was entertaining. Now, to finish you both off. I have a treasure to take, and a country to subjugate. Busy busy busy busy…" He stepped slowly to where Deidara lay, taking a knee at the blonde's head and leaning down. "By the way," he half-whispered, "when I'm through here, I'll find that girl. That one that you took so long ago now. I think I'll enjoy her for myself…before I cut her throat." A tendril of chakra slithered from his hand, to slowly wrap itself like a snake around Deidara's throat. "Now die, shinobi. Die…"
Slowly, so slowly, the chakra thread tightened. Deidara's strength was already at the nil stage, and he felt himself begin to slip into the darkness, his air cut from his chest. This is it…no coming back from this one, he thought to himself. A shinobi's life was dangerous, and though he had given death much thought, he always considered himself invincible, as though an invisible shield of luck encompassed his body, and even when it was pierced, it would come back together again to keep him from harm. No dice this time. That shield was shattered, and now, his luck had completely abandoned him.
But from the corner, where the dust began to settle, a growl began to echo through the cavern. Slowly, Meechi's head rose from his work, to gaze to the corner where a being of immense chakra and power stood. Setama now stood at least ten feet tall. His body seemed made of stone, glittering with energy, as though it had hardened and turned to diamond-like iridescence. Meechi's eyes narrowed, as his brain tried to grasp what he was looking at. "What the fuck…"
Setama didn't waste time on words. His arm began to morph into a long pillar, and in but a moment, it rocketed toward the small Red Hand soldier, slamming into him with the force of a freight train. The breath slammed from his body, Meechi felt himself airborne, the pillar like arm propelling him backwards into the wall. He grunted, feeling bones bend under the pressure, tendons and ligaments cushioning his body. The pain wasn't as lenient however, and stars exploded in his head as his skull bounced against the rock.
As he landed on the ground, he raised his head, staring at the monster in front of him. It was a seething, roiling mass of anger, hatred, pain, and an overwhelming killing intent. The Lord Setama had done something that had created in him a monster, and this monster was reflected in his image and persona.
Meechi groaned as the thing took three steps towards him, pulling it's arm back for another attack. "This should be entertaining," he said to himself, grimacing.
One thing was for sure.
Lord Setama was out for the kill, and Meechi was right square in his sights.
Next Chapter: Lord Setama has taken the second pill, and Meechi finds that his particular specialty in removing chakra doesn't work when your opponent has more than enough chakra for half a continent. Does he have what it takes to defeat Lord Setama and finish Deidara once and for all? Or does Meechi have to resort to something that he hates to use? Compromising.
Next Time: The Rage of Lord Setama!
A/N: Hey y'all, thanks for continuing to read. I'm sorry that the updates aren't all that fast, and I am truly sorry that my original projection of June or July to finish with this arc was extremely off. But, if you believe it, I think I may have it done in about 5 more chapters, and it should be complete by December. If you've stuck with me, thank you, really. If not, I understand.
Ciao for now!