Well... I finished this chapter early last night... but I decided to rewrite the ending this morning... so I dunno where I stand on my work rate in technicality... Anyway, I found out that I'm still progressing, my minimum paragraph length had increased so they are a little fuller now. Hopefully not a wall of text, but not so short that it looks amateurish, y'know?
Disclaimer: I just had a thought. Just after graduating, Kakashi tricked Naruto into kicking his own ass. Now three or four years later, Motoi has him doing the exact same thing. Geez Naru, when will you learn that people are taking the piss out of you?
Pain bearing on the precipice
"After the last great war, the Tsuchikage ordered that a perimeter be put in place to discourage a sneak attack from Suna and Konoha." Deidara said, crouching down as the soared over the skies. Naruto and Gaara both sat behind him, listening intently as he scanned the ground with a strange ocular device he had placed on his left eye. "He had the Yonbi and the Gobi Jinchuriki placed in smaller villages at the south and southeast parts of Tsuchi no Kuni. It's there that they stand guard, but that isn't the only reason they were moved out."
"They didn't want a couple of ticking time bombs sitting in their village." Gaara said, his expression unchanging while Naruto's grew annoyed. They had been flying for a few minutes now, but had already progressed a good couple of miles. They both had to admit it; this means of transport was very convenient.
Deidara looked back with a smirk on his face, giving a small nod as he confirmed their thoughts. He then looked back down to the ground, raising his hand to his device as he zoomed in for a better view. The terrain below was steadily changing from thick forests to grassy plains, the visibility below was becoming clearer. "We're passing over some border patrols… but it's just Kusa nin, so no worries." he said, before sitting back himself. He slipped the device off and placed it back inside his pouch, before looking back at Naruto with a relaxed grin. "You're probably wasting your time bringing that sword with you. If anything the best it'll do is make people uneasy."
"Well yeah, what do you think a sword is used for?"
Naruto glanced down at the blade resting between him and Gaara, it was a strange thing to ask, for him to part with Eko for such a basic reason. But then he caught a snigger from Deidara, and his attention was drawn to the unusual person once more. "Man, you really are Kisame's student." he muttered, looking over at the horizon peacefully. "You'd think losing a thing like that would be the end of the world."
Naruto watched Deidara strangely, so far he didn't know just what to make of this guy. Despite how at ease he appeared to be, he had the sense of someone who was just waiting for something to happen. An eagerness that led to relaxing thought perhaps? Naruto couldn't help wondering just what it was this person sought out that could cause such a mixed image to be made of him.
Gaara looked over the edge of the bird, watching something far below. He somehow managed to catch Deidara's eye, the elder Shinobi turning to him with a curious smirk. "So how come you don't have a giant blade?" he asked. He waited for a response, his smile sliding away as he began to think Gaara was ignoring him.
His thoughts were denied however when Gaara looked him in the eye, staring deep and hard. Deidara had to hand it to him, this guy certainly had in intense look for someone who remained stoic. "The sand is my blade and my shield." he said, in a finalistic tone. He then turned his eyes back to the view below, apparently that was all he was going to say.
Naruto let out a sigh as exasperated sweat dripped down Deidara's brow. The blond drew the other blonde's attention with a small wave, before giving an apologetic look. "Don't mind him, he's not big on conversation." he said.
Deidara glanced back at Gaara with a cocked brow, before shrugging to himself and turning back to the front. He scanned the ground again, and began looking in the same rough place as Gaara. Once more a smile played across his lips, his eyes narrowing a little. "Looks like we'll be stopping for a while." he said.
Yagura, Utakata and Fuu each left Teguse's "office" with his little worker Ageha up ahead of them. Though she had been wary at first, now that she had received her orders the little girl was in quite the chipper mood. Once they were out on the street she turned around and looked up at them, beaming childishly. "Follow me oniisans, oneesan!" she said, before turning to her right and running off down the alleyway. The two "oniisans" and the "oneesan" looked at each other, so far Fuu was the only one who took any liking to the nickname. But nonetheless they went after her, what choice did they have?
"You sure about this niisan?" Utakata asked, taking his double standard to Yagura with a glance. The shortest of the three of them gave a nod in reply, he didn't have much more to say than that. Neither of the other two was satisfied with this however, they were regretting letting him take the lead back there. "If this goes wrong then we'll have Konoha nin right on top of use."
"I'm not stupid, this is a dangerous mission." Yagura replied, folding his arms as they turned a corner after Ageha. The little girl was keeping ahead of them, looking down every turning as she worked out the quickest route in her head. "But this is the sort of thing we need. Getting word out is the most important thing right now. As long as we can keep out identities concealed, we shouldn't have to worry too much."
Fuu nodded along with Yagura's words, she didn't understand, but he sounded confident. She wouldn't deny that she felt nervous though, the terms of this mission meant that they would almost certainly be getting into a conflict. Glancing over at Utakata, she got a feeling she wasn't alone with that uncertainty. "Do we really need to do this?" she asked, looking between the two older boys for answers.
Utakata sighed loudly, slipping his hands behind his head and looking down at the ground. "After Gaara and Naruto left for that mission, the money we had dropped by a considerable amount." he replied. Yagura looked at his close friend from the corner, privately glad that he understood. Utakata missed the look however, he was much too busy thinking about the duty that could very well be handed to them. "We have to do what we can for the sake of the mission, that's the entire reason we're here instead of staying in Kiri or Taki."
"Hey oniisans, oneesan, over here!" said Ageha, waving to catch their attention. She reached up and chapped hard on an iron door obscured by a pile of boxes on the end that led into the street. Yagura and the others approached the door, just as they heard locks grinding. The door slowly opened and someone peered through, a large gruff looking man wearing a flat cap and plaid shirt. "Hey, we found some people to help you out!"
The man behind the door frowned, opening it a crack wider to get a view of Yagura and the others. Where his initial surprise had been the short amount of time before sending the note to getting a response, he was now met with the shock of the young faces standing before him. "These kids are what he sends us?" he asked aloud, though to no particular person. Utakata let out a sigh, he was nineteen years old and still getting classified as a kid? The man gave them a second look over however, before grunting to himself. "All right, guess we don't got much of a choice. Get in."
He closed the door once more and rattled with some chains, before pulling it all the way open. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a small clip of money and tossed it Ageha, who caught it in both her hands. She smiled up at the man before running off, waving as she headed back the way she'd come. "Bye oniisans, oneesan!" she said, as she disappeared around the corner.
"Something tells me she's got it easier than you'd think." Yagura muttered, his eyes turning tired as his stature faded a little. He and the others turned back around and headed towards the door, nodding to the man as he let them in. Once the street was empty, the door was locked many times over.
They stood in a dark room, lit only by the dim bulbs hanging loosely from the ceiling. For how clean and pleasant the rest of Nami no Kuni had seemed, this place was inversely decrepit and foreboding. It was just a backroom, like Teguse's office, but this one held little more than a chair and a small table in the corner. It was this chair that the man who'd let them in occupied, picking up his newspaper before nodding to the door. "Down there." he said, before dismissing them completely.
Yagura gave a word of thanks before he and the other two made for the door. Behind it was a rickety old staircase leading down into the darkness. Fuu let out a little mew of nervousness, the outside was one thing, but being in the pitch darkness of a basement made her a little nervous. Nonetheless they began their descent, heading towards whatever lay in store for them.
The giant clay eagle finally landed in amongst a nest of boulders by a small hill, closing its wings as it sat down on the ground. Naruto and Deidara each leapt off the model bird and landed on the rocks, the first of the three looking around in confusion. "Is this the place?" he asked, looking around him with a raised brow. This seemed a little off, were they even in Tsuchi no Kuni yet?
"No, no where close." Deidara replied, pulling his cloak aside as he reached in for a pair of pouches on both his hips. He slipped his hands inside and left them there, looking off in the direction they had come with a smirk. "With the way I see things going, I'm gonna need a little time to prepare. And besides, he would probably appreciate being allowed to make an entrance."
Naruto glanced at Gaara, who also had his eyes settled on the same place as Deidara. He however had his back turned to it, facing the head of the bird in a suggestive manner. "There's no point in getting in an unnecessary conflict." he said, fixing his eyes down onto Deidara. The Akatsuki member acknowledged his words, but kept his eyes ahead. "We should just keep going."
Deidara shook his head, lowering his stance and arcing his arms out a little to each side. He wore a look of anticipation on his face, his smirk growing into an excited grin. "Nah, he's got my scent, he'll just get in the way." he replied, as he pulled his arms back out of the pouches and began forming hand seals. It's better we take care of this now, so he doesn't cause trouble later."
Gaara watched the back of Deidara's head, taking a pause as he weighed his options. Then he realised that Naruto was giving him a strange look, and in the end he too jumped off the bird to stand close by Naruto. The two of them watched as Deidara looked at his hands, before he slowly raised his eyes to the top of the boulders ahead of him. "Should be any… minute… now…" he muttered, his smile gone as he simply waited. True to his thoughts, just a few seconds later a figure leapt over the rocks, striking the three of them not just with his appearance, be the killing intent he exuded.
"HOOOOAAAARRR!!!" he roared, his black half-mask hiding what looked like bared teeth. He lunged down at Deidara with a long, thin blade, smashing into the ground and stirring up a cloud of dust that completely obscured the two. Deidara leapt out of the cloud, landing just a couple of feet before Naruto and Gaara, wearing the same cocky look on his face.
As the dust began to drift aside, the person inside the cloud slowly became visible. He was what looked to be a middle aged man, his early thirties at best. His skin was tanned, and from what could be seen over his mask, he had sharp features. A long thin scar ran across his forehead and through his right brow, leaving a slight bald batch among his already thin eyebrows. His short and spiky black hair was specked with the dust, as were the tight muscle shirt and trousers he wore, both of which were also black. He wore the flak vest of an Iwa Shinobi, a light grey with nothing more than a small pouch at the bottom.
He slowly straightened up, raising the long nodachi sword, the matte guards on his arms and shins hiding the muscles that it took to wield such a dangerous blade. On the hips of his baggy trousers were a pair of wakizashi, placed just above a pair of weapons holsters. He was certainly well armed, and judging from the look in his eyes, he was well practiced too.
Deidara chuckled lightly as he bowed his head, locking eyes with the man in front of him. The two didn't dare to break eye contact as both of them straightened up, Deidara seemed to be the only one at all glad to see this person. "Hey Kirai." he said, smirking casually lifting his head so he was looking down at the other man. "It's been a while."
"It has." the man named Kirai growled, as he stuck his blade into the ground. He then took one hand to the other and began unwrapping bandages tied around his right hand, letting them fall to the ground carelessly. His eyes narrowed as he glared at Deidara, a definitely hateful look, "Too long… partner."
"Bitter as… always…" Deidara began, his smirk slowly fading as he stared at Kirai's right hand. His brow creased in confusion as a thought struck his mind, his eyes flitting between the hand and Kirai's face. "Is that…?" he asked, leaving his question hanging. It was answered in moments however, as the last of the bandages were unfurled and discarded to the ground. "Impossible!" he exclaimed, his eyes widening in shock. "When did you?!"
Kirai kept his glare solid as he slowly raised his hand, revealing the palm to Deidara and the others. A thin horizontal slit opened up, revealing two rows of very sharp looking fangs, and a pointed tongue that unfurled from the opening. The moment it was released saliva began dripping from the tongue, landing on he ground with a splash. "I don't forget." he said, as the tongue lashed up and licked his palm. "And I never forgive."
Deidara took a step back, his brow twitching nervously as he glared back at Kirai. His attention was diverted however, when something passed his line of vision. Gaara had stepped around, and made his presence known to Kirai. "You would do well to leave immediately." he said, his voice demanding no resistance. He fixed Kirai an unflinching stare, his eyes locked onto the demented man's.
Kirai leered at Gaara, clearly showing no inclination to do as he was told. Gaara however maintained his look, stopped only by Deidara who stepped back in front of him. "You two might wanna make some distance." he said, looking at Kirai seriously. But then a thought reached his mind, and he gained a thin smile as he realised something. "What you're going to see here is a real work of art… hmph."
Gaara hesitated for a moment, but from a gesture from Naruto he conceded. The two of them turned and headed back, jumping up the rocks to give the two room to breathe. They both watched the two presumably former Iwa nin as they faced each other, both of them ready to start their battle. Deidara held his hands at either side, while Kirai held his nodachi in a low horizontal grip.
"Heh." Deidara chuckled, his smirk widening as his confidence rose. "You're getting slow." He said, before whipping his head up high and throwing his hands together in the serpent seal. Kirai suddenly looked down as the ground beneath his feet erupted, and from it a pair of giant clay centipedes emerged. They rapidly ensnared Kirai's legs, wrapping around them up to his thighs. "You've already lost!" Deidara cried, before calling out at the top of his voice, "KATSU!"
Gaara and Naruto both tensed for the sight before them, as the centipedes started reacting violently. Then, to Deidara's stunned surprise, the centipedes crumbled apart. His eyes widened in shock as Kirai charged at him, bringing his sword back with a lethal look in his wide eyes.
"What?!" Deidara exclaimed, but reacted in time. He leapt up into the air and landed on the eagle, which had already begun to take off. Kirai quickly followed him, leaping past Naruto and Gaara with impressive speed. The two boys turned around as the nodachi wielding nin leapt into the air, chasing after Deidara.
"I don't get it, what happened?" Naruto asked, frowning as he looked at the angered expression on Deidara's face. He glanced back at the mounds of what had been the clay centipedes, from the looks of things whatever Deidara had been trying to do failed. His thoughts were disrupted however, as a booming explosion suddenly filled his ears.
"He was probably expecting something like that." Gaara said, as Naruto whipped his head back around. The two of them watched, Gaara stoic while Naruto shocked, as their view was filled with small explosions. Large clay insects, big enough to hit in the palm of your hand, fell from the sky and set of small explosions as Kirai neared them.
"Whoa." Naruto breathed, as Kirai expertly dodged the tiny bombs cascading down on him. The wave of small explosives then came to an end as Deidara came to realize such methods wouldn't work. He took off higher into the sky, reaching a distance that Kirai couldn't follow.
"Looks like he's got a way to disable my explosives." He thought, watching as Kirai placed his blade in the ground again and began running through seals. He crouched down low and had the eagle swoop through the sky, predicting his opponent's actions as best he could while preparing some moves of his own, "Then I have to attack where he can't find them."
Kirai finished his Jutsu and threw his right hand down to the ground. He clung to the earth for several moments, before tearing his hand back off and whipping around. He gripped his wrist and aimed his palm at Deidara, the mouth on his hand chewing furiously. "Katon: Firebomb Jutsu!" he cried, locking on to the aerial enemy. The slit on his hand slowly opened, before rapidly spitting out flaming chunks of earth it had pulled from the ground. The blazing clods shot through the air, coming repeatedly in a wave as the eagle twisted and turned.
Deidara gripped the eagle tight as it flitted through the air, plummeting slightly as one of the firebombs struck its left wing and exploded. He was forced to disembark from his position and land down on the ground, narrowly avoiding crashing with his bird. "He can use Katon Jutsu with that thing…" he thought, as he opened his hands up. He threw the model centipedes in his hands as Kirai began running towards him. With a seal and a puff of smoke the centipedes grew to massive proportions and broke under the ground, heading straight towards Kirai. "Just how integrated is his body with that Jutsu?!"
Once more Yagura and the others stood before a desk, though this place was hardly what Teguse had. Cigar smoke filled the air as a middle aged man with long greasy hair took a puff of the brown roll between his fingers. He looked up at the three Shinobi with half closed eyes, lightly brushing ash from his purple pinstriped suit. Behind him stood two guards dressed in jeans and loose vests, standing with their arms folded as they watched their guests like hawks. The person at the desk leant forward, his stumpy face lit up by the lantern close by.
"I don't care if you guys are kids." he said, waving his cigar around lazily. Though Yagura and Utakata both maintained their composure, Fuu was getting a little dizzy from the smoke. "You guys can do the job I hire you to do, you'll get your money and we'll leave it at that, got it?" he asked, looking pointedly at each of them.
Yagura's arms slipped into a folded position, once more he assumed the role of spokesperson for the other two. "That's just fine with us." he said, earning the eyes of the boss, who placed him under plain faced scrutiny. "We'll need to know exactly what it is you want first though, Teguse-san was a little vague."
The boss scoffed inwardly as he sat back in his chair. He turned lightly in his seat, placing the cigar in his mouth and letting his hands drop to his side. "What I offer is a little entertainment you won't find in the mainstream." he said, letting out a thick and smoky exhale. Utakata glanced out of the corner of his eye, nonchalantly slipping his arm behind Yagura and supporting Fuu, who was on the verge of swooning from the lack of oxygen. "I gather the less fortunate people. Let them fight for their food and let the spectators do a little gambling, nothing too big."
"Underground fighting you mean." Utakata said, his blank stare silently accusing the boss before him. Yagura shot Utakata a quick look while Fuu just swayed from side to side, both of them said nothing. Their would be employer however seemed a little peeved at Utakata's allegation, but managed to keep himself enough as the situation dictated.
"Yes, underground fighting." he repeated, with a look of annoyance. He slowly got up to his feet, taking his cigar back in his hand as he stepped towards a window along the wall to the three Shinobis' right. He peered through the blinds to the next room, his eyes narrowing as he watched the cause of the small grinding noises and footsteps. "Konoha nin have been getting a little cosy in the area, they might be looking to shut this place down. What I want you to do is keep an eye out for them in case they show, and if they do, make sure they don't cause me any problems. We'll be moving on to new territory soon, this place is too clean. Tomorrow will be our last night, I don't wanna end it with knives to my throat, ya hear me?"
"Have no worries." Yagura said, indicating that it was time for them to leave. He and the other two turned around, Utakata keeping his arm around the dizzy Fuu's shoulders and guiding her along. Before they made for the door however, Yagura looked over his shoulder. "As long as you pay us, you'll have nothing to worry about." he said, before the three of them finally took their leave.
"I don't like this." Utakata said, once they were out in the street. Fuu stood beside him, her head raised to the sky as she took in mouthfuls of blissfully clean air, gulping it down and letting out the putrid taste. "These guys don't know honesty. If they're looking to bail, it's because business isn't doing so well for them."
Yagura cast his eyes to the steel door they had left behind, before gesturing for them to move on. It wouldn't do for them to talk about the mission right outside their employer's office. They headed out into the open street, stepping into sunlight for the first time since leaving Teguse's office. "As soon as we left our villages, we left our lives completely to chance." he said, wearing a serious but understanding look on his face. Fuu finally cleared her head and blinked at Yagura, she herself had never really though of it that way. "This is a dangerous risk, no doubt about it. But we didn't escape from the hidden villages to hide in fear of them."
Both Fuu and Utakata stared at Yagura as he spoke those surprisingly strong words. It was rare for him to slip out of his nihilistic attitude, the mask that time had placed upon his face. Even the person who referred to him as a brother, Utakata, was caught a little off guard. "Niisan..." he whispered, as a small smile appeared on his face.
Yagura came to a stop, looking first to Utakata, and then to Fuu. Both of them were smiling at him, even though his face remained straight. "We're Jinchuriki." he said, as he looked into both of their eyes with the hard, yet calm determination of someone who genuinely had no doubts about his own words. "We've each had a massive burden placed on us, one that the world judges us for. But that's ok. Even though we've got this weight on our shoulders, we've also got our lives, and our freedom. There isn't anyone in the world who can take that from us, you understand me?"
He looked between Fuu and Utakata again, seeing the faint shine in their eyes as his words got through to them. "Got it!" They said, both giving broad grins and nodded to him, their positive looks making it impossible for him to keep from developing a small smirk of his own. He turned ahead and began to continue on, oblivious to the look the other two shared. Before he could do so much as resist, the two of them had pulled him into a one arm hug, pretty much pinning his arms above his head. He swore aloud as he saw where this was going, and true enough they lifted him off the ground and started running.
