The sky was a deep blue, the wind blowing the salty aroma of the sea into the air. Two men in black cloaks watched the waves crashing in on the shore from atop a hill, the wind ruffling their hair. The blonde grinned, adjusting the lenses of the scope on his left eye as he saw farther into the distance into the town below them.
"Looks kinda boring," He muttered, glancing over at his red-haired partner, "You sure this is the right place Sasori?"
Sasori nodded, his hazel eyes staring out beyond the sea. "Never judge something by its appearance Deidara, or else risk being caught off guard."
"But you can tell so much just from appearances," Deidara argued, "Like that city where Pein went? One look at that tells me that they're strong, and that they're not afraid of a battle."
"Yet behind those walls are men who wish to never face battle," Sasori retorted, "They are not brave; they are cowards that hide behind their armor and present a façade of strength to the world."
Deidara grunted, frowning. "People don't need to care about façades or truths; as long as what they present in that single moment is their self of that moment, then there is nothing else to care about!"
Sasori glanced over at him, eyebrow raised. Deidara met his gaze; they stared at each other, each trying to read the other's intents. Sasori eventually sighed, beginning to lead his horse down the hill.
"You're doing it again," Sasori called back; Deidara grabbed the reins of his horse, following after him.
"Doing what," Deidara replied, falling into step beside him.
"Trying to convince me that you're art is superior to mine," Sasori stated, "Except you're using people's personalities in favor of your actual art."
"Well excuse me if I happen to be correct in this matter," Deidara retorted, "Besides, you're not going to stand there and argue with me that in a single moment, what is the most important about a person is their long term self and not their self in that moment."
"And why wouldn't I," Sasori glanced back, "It is the same with my puppets; they are eternal, as are the true selves of people behind their façade. And while it may not garner much attention in a moment, as the sands of time run they shall be immortalized; whereas your art will crumble away to nothing."
Deidara huffed, glaring at the back of Sasori's head. "My art will always be remembered, yeah! My explosions will be noted throughout history, while your puppets will merely fade to the background! After all, it is the transient occurrences that are important, and not the sturdy."
"After this, we'll see whose art is the true form of beauty," Sasori replied, "And I'm confident that Isobu will appreciate my form the most."
"Hmph, that dragon will appreciate the transience of mine," Deidara grumbled, "He's been around for so long that a shining moment of new light will surely bring him to my side, yeah!"
"One as old as he will appreciate my art, as it mimics his lifespan." Sasori stated. "And, as anyone with half a mind knows, imitation is the greatest form of flattery."
"We'll see about that," Deidara replied as they entered the town. People were bustling about, merchants selling fish in their stalls as children ran through the streets. In Deidara's eyes, destroying the town now to preserve this image was an opportunity that he'd hate to waste; however, capturing Isobu was his first task, so destruction would have to come later. It was with these thoughts that the two traveled down to the water's edge in search of a boat to take them where they needed to go.
"Look at how blue it is," Naruto called out, hand shielding his eyes from the sun. He stood in awe at the edge of the beach, watching as the waves rolled in, the afternoon sun glinting on the water. He breathed in the air, tasting the salty tang on his tongue; he turned around, grinning brightly at his companions. "Have you ever seen anything so awesome?"
"It is quite impressive," Sakura admitted a small smile on her face as the wind blew her pink hair. She had been cleared for travel a few days after the fight with Shukaku, when the only remnants of the battle were nasty bruises covering her torso; even after traveling for a few weeks, she still winced when she moved certain ways. Kakashi was in a similar situation, though his wounds would take far longer to heal than hers.
"I've seen better," Sasuke replied, walking ahead of her. Sakura frowned, eyebrows furrowing together as she stared at his back.
"It's not nice to ruin other people's fun," Sakura called out, walking behind him. Sasuke shrugged, passing by Naruto, his footprints barely leaving imprints on the sand.
"It's the truth though," Sasuke replied, "These seas are nothing compared to the forests of my homeland."
"Look, just because you're missing home, doesn't mean you have to ruin our experiences," Naruto said; Sasuke snorted, rolling his eyes at his statement.
"I am not missing home," Sasuke retorted, "I am merely stating that these are not impressive sights when compared to the forests of the elves."
"Sounds like missing home to me," Naruto muttered. Sakura nodded, leaning in conspiratorially towards his ear.
"That, or being an arrogant prick," She muttered; Naruto guffawed as Sasuke's ear twitched in annoyance, his excellent hearing having caught the response. Kakashi sighed, smiling slightly behind his mask, Rin chirping happily on top of his head.
"Alright now, let's settle down," Kakashi stated, riding alongside the group. "We've still a lot of ground to cover if we want to reach Kiri by nightfall, and we won't get anywhere if we keep bickering."
"Fine," Naruto and Sakura groaned, heading in the direction of Kiri; Sasuke merely grunted, walking behind them. Kakashi merely smiled as he clicked his heels against his horse's side, urging him along to keep up with the others.
It hadn't been hard to procure a boat, especially since they had said they would be able to go themselves. Sasori worked at the oars, while Deidara stood at the prow, looking forward in search of the island. He squinted, working his scope to try and find any land masses; however, a thick fog had rolled in, making it highly difficult to find anything in the ocean. He cursed, plopping down onto a seat, causing the boat to rock.
"Don't flip the boat over just because you can't find him," Sasori reprimanded. Deidara huffed, crossing his arms over his chest as he glared out at the open water.
"I just don't understand why we can't see it, yeah," Deidara grumbled, "I mean, it doesn't have a mage, so it's not like it should be a challenge to find!"
"Considering that the townspeople consider him merely a legend, I'm supposing that Isobu hides himself very well." Sasori replied, "Besides, they say that the fog rolling in is a sign that you're getting close. So stop complaining and keep looking."
Deidara grumbled, adjusting his scope to get a farther range of vision. As he scouted the area, he suddenly caught sight of something slipping beneath the water. He stood, trying to get a better look; Sasori watched him carefully, still rowing the boat.
"Was that it," Deidara thought, going to sit back down on his seat. Suddenly, large waves crashed into the boat, sending Deidara over the edge and into the water. He slammed into the water, arms waving frantically as he worked to stay afloat. Sasori glanced over the edge, having been able to remain in his seat.
"Are you alright," He called as Deidara began to swim back to the boat. Deidara's eyes widened as behind Sasori, a large grey tail rose from the water. Sasori noticed his expression, and turned just in time to see the tail slam into the boat, destroying it and sending him flying into the water as well. Deidara frantically scanned the area, looking for Sasori's head to pop up from the water; a sense of relief washed over him as he saw the red hair pop up, followed by coughing from Sasori.
"Looks like we found our guy," Deidara called out, swimming over to him. Sasori merely nodded, focused on treading water. In the distance, Deidara could see a gray back rising out of the water, wings acting almost like fins as it began heading towards them. He cursed, ripping open his pouch and pulling out a small bird figurine. He threw it up into the air and focused on making it grow; with a loud 'pop' the figurine became a large white bird that hovered above the water. Deidara quickly climbed on top, helping Sasori up as well; once they were on, they immediately flew away from the spot, missing the jaws of Isobu by mere inches. Isobu looked up at them, glaring, giving a loud roar of frustration at having missed his prey.
"Doesn't look too happy," Sasori noted; Deidara rolled his eyes as he kept the bird out of Isobu's reach. Isobu growled, lowering his head into the water; a massive current could be seen heading towards Isobu, mouth swelling with the water he took in. He aimed upwards and, opening his mouth, began firing large bullets of water at the duo. Deidara cursed, dodging the shots skillfully while Sasori dug through his pouch, finally pulling out the crystal given to him by Kaguya.
"Create a diversion," Sasori shouted out. Deidara nodded, pulling out a few more clay figurines shaped like fish; he threw them towards the water, each of them growing larger as they dove into the water. They swam towards Isobu as he lowered his head back into the ocean to suck more water in. As he breathed inwards, the clay fish were sucked in as well; as Isobu finished and went to aim at the bird, they suddenly exploded inside his mouth. Isobu roared in agony, his head thrown back as he fell back into the water.
"Now Sasori," Deidara shouted; Sasori nodded, pulling out a scroll. As he swiped his hand over it, a large bird like creature appeared in the air, allowing Sasori to jump onto it. He then guided his creation down towards Isobu, who was still busy with destroying the figurines that kept exploding in the water. As he neared Isobu, he grasped the crystal tightly in his hand; the dragon swung his head just in time for Sasori to push the hand holding the crystal into the beast's eye.
Deidara grinned as Isobu roared, head thrashing as Sasori flew away. The two watched from a safe distance as the thrashing slowly began to cease, the dragon's body slowly sinking underneath the water. The bubbles slowly stopped appearing, causing Deidara to glance over at Sasori.
"Did we accidentally kill it, yeah," He asked, not wishing to face Kaguya's wrath. Suddenly the water swelled as Isobu rose, roaring loudly in answer.
"I do not die that easily," Isobu replied, "Not when Lady Kaguya needs me."
The town of Kiri was just as lively at night as it was during the day. Fishermen were returning from sea, hauling in their catches, preparing to return to their families. Sasuke watched it all from the second floor of their inn; they had balconies surrounding the entire floor, so that in case of flooding it would make it easier to reach the roof. From the streets below he could hear the raucous sounds of the men celebrating a good day of catches, or consoling their friends for their poor luck; he wondered if Naruto had passed out yet from drinking, and just how many men Sakura had already beaten in wrestling. The sound of a door opening behind him pulled him out of his musings, though he opted to continue watching as Sakura made her way to stand beside him.
"You're missing one heck of a party," Sakura stated, leaning against the railing. He glanced over at her, elbows resting against the rail.
"Am I now," He replied. She nodded, running her fingers through her hair, working out the knots.
"Naruto's listening to them tell the legends of Isobu," Sakura said, "You should see him; he looks like a little kid seeing his first snowfall!"
"Ah," Sasuke grunted, resting his head on his hands. Sakura huffed, looking at him; he turned to look at her, the firelight from the lanterns outside reflecting in her eyes. He raised an eyebrow at her expression, causing her to sigh and roll her eyes.
"You're grumpier than usual," She finally stated, "Are you really missing home, or are you just being more of an ass than normal?"
"I'm not missing home." He replied, glaring slightly at her; Sakura merely rolled her eyes at him.
"Oh, get off your high horse," She said, "You've been away from there for what, two months now? It's okay to miss them; I know that I miss my clan."
"Despite the fact that Naruto is practically home on a horse," Sasuke questioned, causing her to laugh. She nodded, the breeze blowing her hair somewhat into her face; she tucked it behind her ear.
"Yes, even with Naruto I miss my clan," She replied, smiling softly, "But I know that this has to be done, and this is my only chance to see sights that aren't mountains. So even when I miss home, I know that I'm getting to experience something that my clansmen can only dream about doing. Besides," She said, grinning, "Somebody's got to keep Naruto in line, as well as to keep you from killing him."
"I wouldn't kill him," Sasuke retorted. Sakura snorted at that, waving her hand dismissively.
"Oh you would too kill him," Sakura stated, "You'd kill him, and then we'd have a whole new mess on our hands!"
"Hn, not my fault he picked up his habits from an annoying dwarf," Sasuke said, a smirk on his face. Sakura pouted slightly, sticking her nose up in the air.
"I prefer the term 'loveable'," Sakura said, "In fact, I've a list of terms you can use instead of annoying. Loveable, adorable, endearing,"
"Irksome," Sasuke added, earning him a punch in the arm from her. She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.
"You're an insufferable elf," Sakura muttered. Sasuke opened his mouth to retort when suddenly the sounds of screaming could be heard. They both leaned over the railing, searching for the cause; they suddenly saw people running away from the sea, women carrying children as men picked up weapons.
"He's risen," A man shouted, running away, "The beast is alive!"
Sakura looked over at Sasuke, worry shining in her eyes. "You don't think…"
Sudden explosions cut off her train of thought, as jets of water rained down on the city. Sasuke instinctively pulled Sakura to him, shielding her from any flying debris. She ducked her head into his chest, eyes shut tightly to keep any dust from entering them. Slowly she opened them, looking up at Sasuke; the fires that had begun to spread cast shadows on his face as he stared out into the air. She followed his gaze, eyes widening as she caught sight of two men astride a large, grey dragons, whose scales seemed to form plates of armor for its body. It roared menacingly; Sakura unconsciously tightened her hold on Sasuke's shirt.
"Isobu…" Sakura breathed eyes wide with wonder. Sasuke nodded, grabbing her by the wrist and practically dragging her back into the building.
"We need to get Kakashi and Naruto," Sasuke said; Sakura nodded mutely in agreement, her mind still trying to wrap around seeing the dragon destroy the town. As they reached the first floor of the inn, people were frantically rushing around, gathering weapons and food in order to flee the city. Sasuke caught a flash of yellow and blue in the crowd, dragging Sakura towards them. As they neared them, Naruto caught sight of them, eyes wide with panic as he stood by Kakashi.
"What the bloody hell is going on out there," Naruto shouted, gesturing wildly towards the door.
"Kaguya has Isobu," Sasuke said; Naruto's face paled at the thought of having to fight the dragon, as well as whatever men she may have sent. Kakashi clapped his hands together, bringing each of them out of their private thoughts.
"Well, let's get started then," Kakashi said, "You three go grab your weapons; I'll go outside and create a diversion to buy some time."
"And if you get killed," Naruto asked; Kakashi merely shrugged, his lone eye crinkling with a smile.
"Let's just hope that doesn't happen," He said, heading for the door to face the dragon. Naruto watched as he left, mouth opening and closing in a failed effort to form words.
"He's joking, right," Naruto finally spoke, looking at Sasuke and Sakura, "Tell me he's joking."
Sakura shrugged, clapping her hand on his shoulder. "It's no joke Naruto; we're about to kill us a dragon."
Naruto just stared at her as she directed him towards where they had left their weapons. "Why do I seem to be the only one panicking?!"
"Because this isn't the time to panic," Sasuke replied, grabbing his bow and arrow, sword already by his side, "This is a time for calm, rational thinking."
Explosions could be heard outside, as well as Isobu roaring in displeasure. Naruto merely threw his hands up in the air, grabbing his sword and shield and running outside with the rest of them. As they exited the inn, they were able to see Kakashi shooting lightning at the dragon, while a blonde man at the top kept throwing what appeared to be figurines down at Kakashi. As the figurines came in contact with the lightning, they exploded, causing small bits of fire to rain down on the town. A red haired man tapped him on the shoulder, pointing towards them; he grinned as he saw them, sending chills down Naruto's spine.
"Why hello my friends," The blonde called out, "And welcome to the party, yeah! While I'd love to be the one that kills you, I have a rather pesky mage problem on my hands right now! So, my partner Sasori here will gladly be the one to rip your beating hearts right out of your chests, yeah!"
Sasori then descended from the dragon on what appeared to be a bird; as he landed, the creature disappeared. He glanced over the three of them, smirking to himself as he pulled out a scroll. He threw it into the air; it suddenly transformed, revealing a humanoid creature. Sasori jumped into the air, his body landing into the open back of the puppet. As it landed on all fours, a metallic tail shot out of the mask on its back, thrashing around in the air. The creature seemed to grin at them as it stayed crouched.
"Well then," Sasori said from within, "Let's see how you fare against my favorite puppet, Hiruko."
A/N: Aaaannnnddd end scene! Hope you enjoyed it, I enjoyed getting this out at a reasonable hour. I'd keep writing, buuuuttt that would involve making like a fourteen or so page chapter. And well, I'm not sure how many people would actually be into reading that. (I like to think a lot, but I know I've a short attention span, so….)