AN: yes, yes, i know. i hate me too. for all of you who hate never-ending cliffhangers, i officially share in your disgust in me as an author. i eagerly hope, however, that the fight sequence in this chapter somewhat eases the murderous intent boiling up in you from the wait. this chapter is where the story starts to divert from the orginal storyline, so i wanted it perfect. sorry, im a perfectionist when it comes to my stories. sometimes it gets the better of me.

"Kazekage-sama, Lord Shizuku requests an audience with you. He seems very persistent. And agitated. Shall I show him in?"

Gaara looked up from his paperwork, glad for the interruption but annoyed at the cause of it. Matsuri looked down at him questioningly, waiting for his answer.

The red-haired kage sighed. Not because of Matsuri, of course. She had recently made chuunin after undergoing rigorous training overseen by none other than himself and he had had her promptly assigned to his administration as his- *ahem*- secretary. She was very smart and hard-working, so she fit in well, but Temari had teased him when he had done it, saying that he only assigned her there because he had a huge crush on her… and he had never denied it.

Only his brother and sister knew of his feelings for the girl, though Kankuro pretended that he didn't, and Gaara had promised himself that- for decency's sake- he would not confess himself to Matsuri until she had become a jounin. The upside of that was that she was definitely good enough to qualify. The downside was that, as kazekage, Gaara personally decides who becomes jounin and he was afraid that his feelings would conflict with his duty. Not to mention that he was terrified of telling her what he thought of her.

He stood and turned around so that he could stare out of the large window in his office. Matsuri waited patiently for him, just like she always did. Although his love for her was originally just gratification for seeing him as a person and not just the shukaku, that soon grew into something more as he spent time with her as her sensei. Now, after years of training under his strict and watchful eye, her body was as beautiful and as graceful- not to mention as powerful- as an angel. Now whenever she entered his office he struggled to shift his focus away from her, afraid that she might distract him from his job. Despite his steely mental fortitude he remained unable, as ever, to focus in her presence.

Shaking his head to wake himself from the lovelorn reverie, he cleared his throat but did not turn to face her.

"You may send him in. However, please inform him that an outburst like his previous one will not be tolerated. At all."

While he made no physical indication of his thoughts, his voice more than aptly conveyed the sincerity of his words. Matsuri nodded. It was an interesting personality quirk that Gaara never raised his voice above a conversational tone. That is, if it even reached that.

Matsuri retreated from the office, leaving the sixteen-year-old leader of a powerful ninja village staring off into the sands.

Deidara flew high in the air, overlooking what he thought of as the most pitiful sight he could imagine. Artistically, the sand village was worthless. It was bleak, colorless, odorless, tasteless, silent except for the howling wind, and coarse in texture. Plain.

He was already in a bad mood, having just left that imbecile Sasori, and now he was forced to come and deal with some weakling Kazekage with one of those things locked away inside of him. He was probably as uncreative as all those other jinchuuriki, who never fought for themselves and always seemed to bring out their bijuu before the fight had even begun. Deidara was tired of it. If only he could fight someone as creative and artistic as himself. Then he would have a true blast!

Hmm. Three guards watching the skies. They don't suspect me as being anything other that a bird, so maybe it would be better to leave them be.

After thinking for a moment, his single eye squinted in reconsideration. Mm. Then again, maybe not. After all, there is a chance that they could make things more difficult for me in the long run. Plus… it's far more explosive this way!

The camera that took the place of his left eye clicked as it covertly took the pictures of the three ninja in question, and Deidara ascended into the sky as he readied his jutsu. After only a few moments of chewing, the mouths on his hands produced the clay necessary for his art. On his palm lay three spider-shaped clay figures, each with the volatile force of roughly two explosive tags, which he tossed almost carelessly into the wind.

Slowly, calculatingly, the bug-like creatures floated down to their intended targets as if they each had a mind their own. Deidara didn't even bother to look as the three guards were knocked unconscious by the concussion trio, and he sent his mount into a steep dive, straight in to the heart of the village.

Gaara struggled to contain his temper as the head of the Oashisu raged angrily against him. Over the years since being defeated by Naruto, Gaara had slowly become popular with the people of the sand village, but there was a group of old-fashioned thinkers in Suna that still feared him as a beast instead of a person. Shizuku Oashisu was one of the foremost backers of this philosophy. That, coupled with the fact that he was head of the most influential clans in the village, made him a formidable- and tenacious- political opponent.

At that moment he was ranting, once again, his biased arguments.

"This village does not need, of all things, a monster calling the shots in times of either peace or war! You say that you have the safety of the villagers in mind, but if that were true you would leave!"

Gaara fixed his sky-blue eyes on his verbal enemy and spoke in a steely voice, his posture masking his thoughts, and said, "I warn you, Shizuku, do not let your emotions overcome you again. I will not agree to your demands, but that does not give you the right to become hysterical. Remember the consequences of the last time you lost control."

The older man stared at the ninja leader through narrow eyes. His memories of the last encounter with the boy were still fresh in his mind, and he resented them- and him- all the more because of it.

"As a small reminder, I will repeat my earlier statement that no judgment will come to you for your… oversight. However, that doesn't excuse any future infringements. I can assure you-"

"I am well aware of your earlier words, boy! Don't try to humiliate me with your so-called mercy! I will not have it!" His words were cold, but his face was red-hot and furious. His eyes bugged out in ire, and he was sweating.

Though he was not entirely sure, Gaara suspected that this was at least partly out of fear, as the younger ninja held the man's life in his sand-protected hands.

Earlier in the week Shizuku had been standing in the same spot, in the same fit of rage as then, when the livid ninja had pulled a kunai out in an attempt on the Kazekage's life. Seeing as it was a spontaneous action- added to the fact that Gaara had really been trying not to kill anyone if he could help it- he had let Shizuku off with a promise: if he ever tried it again… he would die. End of story. Names he could accept, but no matter how much he wanted to earn the trust of his clan leaders he could not accept blatant mutiny.

Shizuku, however, had seen the act of clemency as a form of degradation and had resented it entirely.

Gaara knew even then that the issue would only be resolved in a way that the Oashisu understood. Total and utter annihilation.

He sighed. "I can see things will have to be the way you want it. If you wish to challenge me for my title as Kazekage… you may do so. But remember. I WON'T be playing academy games with you." his gaze hardened. "If I don't die… you will."

Lord Shizuku's face was overcome by a look of sinister delight. "Very well then, Lord Kazekage. I will submit my challenge immediately. Honestly, though… I never thought you would grow the stones to actually be willing to face me in combat!"

He turned to exit, and Gaara watched him as he strolled toward the door. He relaxed, sure that the worst of the conflict had been resolved. But then…

He tensed. Could that be…? No, it's not natural, so it must be…

"Shizuku, wait." having just made it to the door, the man paused, and then turned around with an annoyed look. "You're not going to-"

"Quiet, fool! This is no longer about that petty squabble for village sovereignty!" A transformation had overtaken the boy, and now he looked less like the boy who happened to be Kazekage and more like the Kazekage who happened to be a boy. Even Oashisu, who felt absolutely no respect for the one-tails jinchuuriki found himself unconsciously heeding his words.

"Go and retrieve- no, never mind that." Gaara's mind was working quickly, and he saw a chance to kill two birds, metaphorically, with one sandstone. "Actually, this would be the perfect time for you to understand my will to protect- and my capacity to kill!"

Shizuku attempted to object, a look of confusion on his face. Gaara, however, gave him no time to do so and promptly began issuing orders in his gravelly voice.

"I will shortly be engaging an intruder in direct and deadly combat, and I see it as only fitting that you should witness for yourself the evidence. In this way you will be aware of my devotion to this village, and perhaps you will find that it might be wiser if you were to withhold your bid to challenge my authority. Find your way, please, to a rooftop and watch closely." Even as he finished his last statement, his body seemed to disintegrate into grains of sand that spilled out of the now-empty chair he was sitting in and poured itself out the open window, only to rise high into the air.

Deidara was once again in the air, taking advantage of the standpoint's altitude. He was confidant that he was invisible to any of the ninja in the sand village. After all, they weren't the leaf ninja, who had the Huuga's Byakugan to aid their eyesight. He swept the village again with his eyes, careful to look for his target- the Ichibi. The sun was setting already, but he didn't let that worry him. The beast was also the Kazekage, which meant that he probably had duties or some other task he would be compelled to carry out before retiring to his home. Deidara was prepared to wait and watch well into the night- even until the morning- if it was necessary.

In the silence of the desert under the full moon Deidara waited patiently, and his breath was calm and paced. In and about the village he could see the Suna ninjas, oblivious from the potential death from above, laughing, talking, and calling out their greetings and partings as any other day. Had this not been a specific mission Deidara would have rained down his clay explosives like surprise fireworks, shocking the citizens and soldiers with his glorious art. And they, never looking up, would see it only when it was too late. Death drifting in like the sand blowing on the air.

Blowing on the air…

"S***!" With lightning speed Deidara sped through some handsigns, cursing himself for his blindness. "Kai!" the mount he stood on exploded instantaneously, and he leapt up, already readying a new flying figurine with his enlargement jutsu. He had barely landed in a kneeling position when he heard a dry, rough voice speaking to him, as conversational as if it were a cordial meeting.

"You must be Akatsuki, judging by your appearance and skill. Very few people have ever seen that attack before they were already dead."

Looking up, Deidara saw his target. He was standing on a hovering platform of sand, arms crossed and eyes brimming with calm, analytical confidence. It seems I underestimated the one-tails brat. He may be young, but he IS Kazekage.

Out loud, however, he spoke confidently. "Well hello there, Ichibi! And thank you! Now I don't have to waste time looking for you." A grin crossed his face, and he stood and faced him boldly.

"That was an interesting move, though. Floating into the air in the form of sand, positioning yourself behind me, and then attacking me from on high- just the place I, who trusted in my own vantage point, wouldn't think to guard from. Be careful now, if you work too hard I may have to actually try to kill you!"

Gaara, ignoring the Akatsuki member's ignorant non-differentiation between him his caged beast, returned with his own barbed complement.

"Equally so with you, Akatsuki. Your insight to use your own explosion to disperse my sand, and then to use a barrier seal to protect yourself from the blast in that short amount of time was quite impressive. It appears that I no longer can use genin to protect me from assassins. A chuunin should work."

Deidara chuckled. "So, the beast has a sense of humor…yeah!" He noticed the invisible barrier though, so he's no pushover. I was hoping to make him think I was invulnerable to my own art, but…

"There's only one thing I don't understand, 'chibi. Just how did you happen to know that I had dropped in on this quaint little hamlet of yours?"

Gaara stared at him for a moment, his lazy stare piercing his opponent, and at length he raised his arm and pointed into the distance to his right.

Deidara hesitated suspiciously, wary that Gaara might have some trick hidden up his sand-covered sleeves. In the end, however, curiosity got the better of the art-obsessed ninja, and he looked. At first he saw nothing, but soon he caught sight of the object Gaara indicated. There, some two hundred feet off, floated an eye made of sand. Its eerie glare was fixed on Deidara for a long moment, but it eventually turned its gaze elsewhere.

"I keep at least one of them high above the village at all times- just for these occasions. Disturbances in the sandy ground I can feel instinctively, which makes the sky the village's one weakness in the event of a sneak attack." All the while Gaara maintained his confident cross-armed pose and his eyes never left the blond intruder.

For a minute neither one moved, each staring the other down and sizing him up. This might be more difficult than I had originally guessed, thought Deidara, Even so, one thing works on my side: his eye is still looking around, so he must suspect that I have reinforcements coming. Which means he won't be using it to watch me.

"Well, then! As much as I'd love to stand around and admire other people's artistic talents, I really have a jinchuuriki to capture… I don't suppose you'll want to come willingly?"

In answer, kunai formed out of the sand around Gaara and hurled themselves forcefully at the former Iwa-nin.

"Heheh! I was kinda hoping you'd say that!" At that the giant bird sculpture dove straight down, careening toward the village. Immediately following it came a torrent of sand, cascading through the air like a massive, dry waterfall. Swiftly, the river of sand gained on its flying victim, and within seconds it was within a few inches of the "tail feathers" of its prey-of-bird. The speed of the sand was terrifying, and Gaara never let up for even a fraction of a moment, his right hand casually but forcefully guiding it in its pursuit.

Closer…Closer…!

Just before the sand could grab hold of the mount its wings flared, causing it to pull out of the dive and swoop back upward with nothing more than a single flap of its wings.

Deidara flew up, high above his opponent, until he was at last satisfied with his position. It was a battle in the air, and altitude was victory.

Gaara seemed unperturbed at this sudden change in the situation, and wasted no time in redoubling his attacks.

"Hidden sand jutsu: sand beast!"

The desert shook, and the sand shifted as if something were alive and moving underneath. Suddenly, an entire dune erupted, and from it burst a birdlike figure. In size and shape, it was much the same as Diedara's clay bird, but the surface of the dusty sculpture boiled and seethed. As Deidara managed to look closer he saw that each individual grain of sand chafed and rasped against the others surrounding it, making it a very deadly projectile.

The sand platform Gaara stood on dispelled, and he fell through the air until he landed on the back of the beast. The moment his feet touched the marionette it shot through the air and Deidara barely had time to duck and avoid the abrasive fowl.

F***! If that thing touches me I'm SCREWED!

Deidara dove and banked left, moving out of the line of fire of the massive grating beast. Without delay, he preformed an impressive reversal, facing his opponent head on. An amateur, had he survived the first few moments of the encounter, would have attempted to place as much distance between himself and his opponent as possible, but Deidara knew that such a stratagem would give Gaara's bird the advantage because of it's speed. The moment Gaara summoned that creature the battle turned into an aerial dogfight. Well, not quite. It was an aerial dogfight… between elite ninja.

Faster than a normal human eye could possibly comprehend the two combatants flew and clashed, dodged and countered, grappled and tore at each other. The ferocious encounter raged, and from the ground it looked less like a skirmish between highly trained ninja and more like a terrifying brawl between monstrous winged brutes. Villagers, civilians and shinobi alike, flew out of their dwelling places and marveled at the chilling clash of aerial titans, the thought occurred to each and every one of them that both their beloved Kazekage and the blond Akatsuki member he fought against had lost their minds to bloodlust and savagery.

But one, hidden among them, saw what the others could not. He perceived the heatless flame- the passionless will to kill- that echoed within their souls. He saw the cold determination and genuine expertise. These were not animals gone mad with fury. These were true ninja, each setting aside whatever hearts they may- or may not- have to heartlessly, brutally, and efficiently kill the other.

Gaara guided his bird as the fray continued, arms still crossed. He knelt on one knee for better balance, but otherwise he remained upright. He surveyed his enemy with lazy-lidded eyes. After a moment he decided that the battle had turned into a deadlock, and mentally steered his mount into a barrel-role, shooting past Deidara. The missing-nin had apparently come to the same conclusion, because he did the exact same thing.

As if mirror images of each other, Gaara and Deidara simultaneously coasted into a sharp turn and came about, only to hover, glaring.

Well that didn't work. Lets try a change of tactics, yeah. Deidara's thoughts lasted for less than a fraction of a second, and he was off, fleeing from Gaara as fast as his mount could carry him. He looked back for a moment and saw with satisfaction that his quarry did not hesitate to chase after him. Once again he performed a barrel-role, only this time he had the added advantage of releasing dozens of art-bombs into the air behind him.

Gaara saw the weapons aimed at him at the last second and dodged them quickly, cursing himself for forgetting Deidara's versatility in combat. He flew higher into the air, both to gain time and to gain the advantage in case Deidara had some attack hidden in his sleeve, ready to be unleashed.

His anticipations were not unanswered. In an elegant sweeping motion, the large white bird ascended, and the kazekage could only just make out Deidara preparing yet another batch of destructive exploding creations.

He matched Deidara's upward motion with his own, always keeping above him. Paying close attention to his opponent's movements- particularly his handsigns- he timed his next move perfectly.

Increasing his speed to the max- and therefore Deidara's- he released the chakra flow and the sand-bird burst into… sand. And it fell. Right on top of Deidara. Deidara, purely on instinct, covered his eye with his arm. Using his camera-eye he looked up, knowing that to take his eyes off the Kazekage was to commit outright suicide. What he saw surprised him almost to the point of admiration.

There, in the slow motion that comes from extreme adrenaline doses, descended the red-haired village leader with his arm outstretched- holding a deadly, swirling Rasengan made of sand.

The sight was shocking. All the information Deidara had received said that the kazekage and one-tails jinchuuriki Gaara of the sand never ever resorted to close-range fighting. Of course no one had ever tried to fight him up close due to the fact that his ultimate defense could quite easily turn a ninja into red paste in a matter of seconds, but even so, it seemed as if he avoided it at all costs. The sight confused him for a moment. Then he caught sight of his eyes. His face, unreadable as ever, only distracted from the fierce warrior's eyes that communicated one message.

Gotcha.

The thought was almost as shocking as the bold move itself. Amusing, even. Despite himself a smile formed on his lips even as the deadly jutsu neared his face. The twerp was holding out! Of all the dirty tricks! It makes sense, though. He's most dangerous at close range, so if he's fighting a tough opponent he can always resort to that- where his defense is strongest and his attacks are hardest to predict. And on top of that, it doesn't matter what type of opponent he's facing- close or long range- the switch is the most effective move in any battle.

Even as his thoughts raced at superhuman speeds, Gaara descended. It was a glorious, heroic image, and the more Deidara appreciated it, the more he hated it.

Well… two can play this game… Yeah.

As quick as lightning, he drew a kunai and held it backhand in his right hand whilst reaching forward with his left. Deftly, he caught Gaara's hand at the wrist, diverted the attack, and held his kunai point-up. Directly in the path of Gaara's falling neck.

Hehehe. I may be primarily a long range fighter, but that doesn't mean I can't handle myself when someone pulls a switchup on me. Art… is adaptable. After all, this is Akatsuki, and Akatsuki doesn't hire idiots!

The surprise on the kazekage's face was priceless as he noticed his mistake- one second too late. Deidara relished the feel of the blade sliding smoothly onto his opponent's neck- which promptly burst into a cloud of sand.

D***! A sand clone! He used the single second I had my eye off him to form it. Which means the sand that fell was actually…

Cold steel dug into his throat: threatening, but not piercing. The raspy voice he had so soon come to despise growled softly.

"This fight is over. The only question is whether you want to be imprisoned… or mercilessly annihilated. I can accommodate either request."

Deidara tried to raise his kunai in retaliation, but found it pinned to his side. Looking down, he saw that he was covered entirely with sand. Probably the same sand that had made up the clone he had just killed. More admiration- and hate- welled up in him at the thought that he had underestimated his opponent. However, the mighty kazekage was wrong about one thing. The fight wasn't over yet.

"well played, 'chibi! Well played indeed. I hate to admit it, but your art may actually rival my own. But you need to learn a single lesson about art."

Behind him, Gaara's black-rimmed eyes narrowed in suspicion. "And what might that be, intruder?"

Deidara smiled. "Art. Is an EXPLOSION!"

Light emanated from beneath the sand holding the blond ninja, and a moment later a powerful explosive force ripped through it, dispersing it like a child playing in a sand-pit.

Gaara was thrown several yards, protected by his special chakra-infused sand. As if on its own, more sand seemed to be drawn directly out of the air and formed into a platform- upon which Gaara landed perfectly. Immediately he was set upon by more flying clay creations, forcing him to raise his ultimate defense, though he was reluctant to fully enclose himself in the sand shield due to his opponent's unpredictable nature.

Upon seeing this, the Akatsuki member redoubled his efforts, baking more and more, exploding them at random times and intervals. Sometimes one would swoop close as if to injure the red-haired ninja leader- only to swoop away at the last second. Others would explode at times when Gaara expected them to keep their course. They were becoming far too unpredictable for his tastes.

With no choice left, the kazekage covered his entire body with his sand, and his mind raced, trying to think of a way to get eyes outside of his orb. eyes outside of his orb.

It took him less than a half a second to connect with the sand-eye floating above the village he so zealously protected. Closing the two that remained permanently attached to his head he peered anxiously through his third eye, and saw… nothing.

There was Deidara, of course, floating on his ever-present clay bird, but instead of attacking he was standing. And smiling. Gaara frowned at the unexpected turn of events.

Why doesn't he attack? Is it because he knows he cannot breach my defenses? No, if that were the case he would not have forced me into this position. Besides, that smile is eerie. I don't trust it. Or him.

His thoughts were disturbed by the soft, dry rustle of falling sand. At first he thought nothing of it, as it was not an abnormal sound to hear in the desert, but then remembered that he shouldn't be hearing anything inside of his orb, especially since all of his sand is held entirely inert by the force of his own will. He opened his eyes to look- and for the second time in a single moment- was shocked. There, crawling about the inside of his Ultimate Defense, were hundreds of tiny bug-sized explosive creations, each and every one as dangerous as their larger counterparts.

Checkmate. Gaara hated to admit it to himself, but the Akatsuki ninja was truly a worthy opponent. There was absolutely nothing Gaara could do in his situation, with inevitable doom waiting within and without his own protective shell. A pang of disappointment ran through his heart at the thought that he had failed his village, that one domain to which his loyalty and life were demanded, even to the point of death.

Taking a deep breath, he readied himself for the coming blast that would decimate his consciousness and leave him open to death or capture. Through his third eye, he could see Deidara forming his hand-sign, taking a deep breath, and…

Chirping. Birds chirping. He had heard this sound before, once, in a memory that would never leave him to his dying day.

A bright, shimmering blade burst into his defenses, crackling with electrical blue and white energy. The lightning surrounding the blade spread, flickering across the inside surface of sand orb. It did not so much as touch him, rather it ripped through the bug-like figures with impressive ferocity. They fell, lifeless, in a pile at his feet.

Stunned, Gaara slowly lowered his sand, revealing a the last man Gaara ever expected to come to his aid. There, balanced on nothing but a few floating grains of sand, stood the raven-haired, red-eyed, and emotionless… Sasuke Uchiha.