You're Falling – Chapter 3: Demolition
A/N: Instead of rant at you about my rage at my defeat and the marring of my fabulous skin by my sparring partner (grrrrr I will defeat you next week, Roger, I swear to god!) (sorry, I'm way too…yeah…don't ask. It's one of my things. I have a thing about winning when it comes to my martial arts things. If I don't win, then I get really, really competitive, especially if the opponent bruises me. That's the mark, y'know? I have to do it…it's a matter of pride! I must remove the dishonour of the marks!) Weird habits aside, I present to you the newest chapter of 'You're Falling'. Once again, like last chapter, I will be sticking close to the actual canon thing, basically using what is dialogue from the anime but edited. Which means, action sequence no jutsu! It's time for Deidara to fight (or really, not fight) Itachi! For those of you who are not in the know, I won't spoil it for you, but on the basis that Deidara is a part of Akatsuki, then the outcome is obvious. Song of the chapter is 'Horseshoes and Hand Grenades' by Green Day. Go read the full lyrics and listen to the full song, it's actually epic and highly relevant.
This is thinking/dreaming.
This is regular story.
This is author's note.
This is title
Warning: Violence. And mind fuck, on the part of the epic Sharingan of epic. Oh, and swearing, but that's standard. Dude, if you're not offended by alcohol abuse, terrorism, prostitution and yaoi, then you won't be offended by a little bad language, eh? And since we're cranking it up to proper lemons later, then run away now if me saying 'fuck' gets under your skin. You're here with the knowledge this will turn into erotica, so you probably don't have a problem with a bit of dirty language.
Disclaimer: Although my dialogue and action sequence is close to that of the anime and manga, neither of which I own, I am not directly copying it and I do not claim any credit for it. It isn't mine; it all belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, the lucky bastard. Right, don't sue me. Please. I have to go on holiday in a week and a bit, so being locked up or fined a lot of money will really throw a spanner in the works. Also, the trip is costing me (me, personally, not my parents) £800. Plus winter gear.
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Maybe you're the runner up
But the first one to lose the race
Almost only really counts
In horseshoes and hand grenades
oO..Oo..oO..Oo
"Annoying," The short figure grumbled. I twitched, offended, but I bit back a retort. What the hell? My art was fascinating, exciting, amazing, not annoying. What did this guy know?
"I'll take care of it," Glowy-eyes said, his eyes flaring red. I couldn't help but stare, transfixed. They were really hypnotising, watching the irises flare from dull red to bright scarlet, three black tomoe surrounding the pupil. If I painted, I would want to capture that. Not just the image of the red eyes looking out from under the scratched Konoha hitai-ate, but the deadness in the eyes. I hadn't seen that look in a long time. It was the kind of look old whores who know they aren't making enough money for their next shot have, the kind gang leaders get right before their throats are sliced by their rivals. That kind of acceptance that nothing is worth anything anymore and that the mind behind the eyes is just going through the motions.
I had seen the expression, but never the dojutsu. I had heard of a few with unimaginable power, but I had never actually seen one in action. I knew nothing about this particular ability, so I was fighting blind. But I still wanted to fight. These guys were strong; just wearing the cloak meant you were strong.
"You wanna go?" I shouted, my voice echoing off the walls.
"If I win, you will join Akatsuki," He said it like there was no other outcome. I bit the inside of my lip, anger growing in my chest. I was going to blow these guys up and walk out of here a free man, just because this bastard said that. Childish, yes, but that wouldn't stop me.
"Don't underestimate me or my art. My ninjutsu is nothing short of pure art, yeah!" I threw the bomb already in my hand towards my opponent, following with my visible eye as he jumped back. A small clay centipede crawled out of the mouth on my free hand, snaking across the floor while he was distracted. "Katsu!" I shouted, detonating the clay and blowing a hole in the fragile wall of the shrine.
He landed in front of the cloud of smoke, straightening up and looking down as something wrapped itself around his ankle, before it wrapped itself around his entire body, pinning his arms to his sides. I laughed at his confused expression. I had beat this guy, in what, two moves? I hadn't even broken a sweat! If this was Akatsuki, then they were way weaker than I expected.
"Is that it, or are you just all talk?" I jeered, smile plastered across my face. "It's over, un!" I made a hand seal, preparing to blow the shit out of the guy.
"Take a closer look at yourself," He said, his face returned to its expressionless boredom.
I looked down, only to see the centipede wrapped tightly around my own body, and he was completely free. I struggled a little within my own restraints. How was this even possible?
"Just in time. If we'd waited any longer, you would have blown yourself up," The tallest figure said.
"I told you this kid is the type that dies young," The shortest figure growled in his low voice. Surely that should go without saying, but if I was going to die young, then I was going out with a bang! Not at the hands of some freaky-eyed bastard. I considered my options. I could detonate the centipede and die, or I could join Akatsuki.
"Fine. Whatever. It's not like I had anything better to do, un," I dispelled the centipede letting it fall to the ground as a useless lump of shrinking clay. I suddenly felt rather humbled; this guy had beaten me in about thirty seconds, without really trying. "Genjutsu? When?"
"From the start. From the moment you looked into Itachi's Sharingan, you were caught in his genjutsu," The blue guy explained.
So that's what it was. The Sharingan. One of the famous ones, the one that could replicate any technique and hypnotise opponents with simple eye contact. There was a reason it was famous; not many people walked away from it in a serious life or death battle. Using it, Itachi had defeated me without any real effort at all. I felt some kind of grudging respect towards his skills, but the larger part of me responded to the challenge; I would get better, and I would develop my art into something more fantastic.
"We're leaving. I have work to do back at the base," The short guy said, turning and walking away slowly. The others turned to follow, and I jogged after them.
"What kind of work, un?" I asked. At this point, there wasn't really any point in being a bitch about it. At least, not to any of them except Itachi. There was no way in hell I could do that. He defeated me; I felt obliged to be a bitch to him.
"You'll find out soon enough, since you're supposed to be his partner," The blue guy reached a hand up, absent mindedly stroking the hilt of the wrapped sword strapped to his back. At least, I assumed it was a sword. Considering this was Akatsuki, it could be anything as long as it was powerful.
"So who are you? Tall, dark and brooding is Itachi, but who are you two, un?"
"I'm Kisame, Itachi's partner, and that's Sasori. You're his new partner, after Itachi scared the hell out of the last one," He waved a hand in the short guy's general direction, who grunted in assent.
"What happened to him?"
"Tried to steal Itachi's body," I quirked an eyebrow, a little confused. That sounded a little…dodgy. "You've heard of Orochimaru, right?"
"Creepy paedophile guy, international criminal, big on human experimentation, yeah?"
"That's the one. He tried to steal Itachi's body for the Sharingan, but Itachi trapped him in a genjutsu and cut off his hand. He ran away screaming like a little girl,"
"He wasn't like a little girl, Kisame. It was unfortunate that he left; he was a valuable asset. I sent a spy after him, but I assume Orochimaru already discovered and killed my agent since I haven't heard from him in a long time," Sasori spoke up.
"Valuable asset?" I asked
"He was a good ninja, if very-"
"Twisted? Disturbing? Crazy?" Kisame pointed out, ticking traits off his fingers.
"Just because he was odd didn't make him less of a good ninja. I don't care what my partners are like as long as they're strong. Hell, if they're weak I'll kill them myself. I could always do with a few more Akatsuki wannabes for my collection," Grim amusement crept into his voice, a sinister aura emanating from his small frame.
"You collect people? What the hell is your hobby, un?" I asked, suddenly worried. Was I next?
"I make puppets,"
"Ah, so you're an artist too, un!" I smiled. Maybe I'd met another great artist, and we could work together to make a real impact on the world. Yes, through Akatsuki, I could spread my art throughout the world, and create the most beautiful explosions of all time. If Sasori was an artist, surely he'd understand.
"No, I am an artist; you are a child with a bad habit for blowing things up. You won't last a day in Akatsuki,"
"I am an artist, un! I'll prove it!" The level of my voice rose with annoyance. I did not have a bad habit for blowing things up, that was all a part of my art! No, that was my art, art in its purest form, bright energy from the beautiful explosion. Who did this guy think he was?
"What, by blowing shit up? That isn't art. Art is eternal, lasting for generations to come, not some flashy explosion,"
"What? No, art is fleeting and transient, there one second and gone the next, yeah! That's what art really is,"
"You're too much of a brat to understand. When – if – you grow up, you'll realise I'm right," He growled, waving a hand dismissively.
"No way, un! I'm definitely right, and those lucky enough to see my art will remember it forever!" I dug out a handful of clay, concealing it behind my back in my palm, kneading chakra into it. Not only was it a brilliant offensive weapon, but it was great stress relief.
"Yeah, if they aren't blown up in the process,"
"That's what makes my art really special, yeah, 'cause it transcends three dimensions! It lives forever in the fourth dimension of the human mind,"
"You clearly don't even understand the true meaning of art, brat. Art mimics human life, and to control that life is the greatest, most perfect form of art. To make it last forever defeats the ultimate human obstacle, death, thus becoming art in its most beautiful form," He lectured. Human nature? Why would art have anything to do with that? Human nature was cruel and disgusting, why capture that for all eternity? It's better just to blow it all up.
"Art has nothing to do with human nature, un. It's all to do with-"
"Alright, that's enough. Argue about it later, you're doing my head in," Kisame interrupted. Itachi nodded, silently agreeing with Kisame.
"Fine, un. But my art is still better!"
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A/N: They haven't known each other for five minutes and already they're arguing about art! It's classic, no? I found this incredibly hard to write. It's currently twenty past one in the morning, and I have to get up for church in a few hours. Yay… still, if I fall asleep during mass and dream about yaoi, I think I'm going straight to hell on principal. But in the mean time, I'll write you some more! Reviews make me happy :3 Pretty please with a cherry on top?