Chapter Text
The second Tenten sees Deidara open his mouth, she knows he’s about to start something with someone. It just so happens to be Neji, he’s fixed the Hyuga with a look of pure distrust and loathing.
“Oh great it's another clan elitist. Why am I always getting stuck with them!?”
“He’s not—“
“Elitist?” Neji echoes.
“Yeah you heard me.” Deidara approaches Neji, but isn’t close enough to be considered within his personal space. The big-mouth is lucky that Neji is such a calm and patient person, if he had been anyone else they’d have been throwing punches already.
“Big name clan, rich, spoiled, arrogant, thinks they’re better than everyone, and somehow also thinks the world is out to get them just because someone made fun of their hair or some shit when they were five.” He throws his arm out to the side in an emphatic sweeping gesture. “I can’t fucking stand you people!”
Neji’s eyebrows knit in confusion and displeasure at the sudden outburst that’s been directed at him. “I don’t think I'm better than anyone,” he states firmly.
“And everything else?”
Silence passes. Deidara probably thinks he’s won whatever this was, but Tenten knows Neji. She knows he doesn’t want to deal with something as stupid as this, and he’s wisely choosing not to add fuel to the fire. Where was this all coming from anyway? Which clan was it that hurt him so badly?
Tenten turns to Kurotsuchi who’s been suspiciously silent. She should be talking some sense into him. Or even just tell him to shut up. Basic manners, hello? Especially since she was the one who practically begged them to somehow get Deidara assigned to them.
Well, if Kurotsuchi wasn’t going to call him out, then Tenten would. Though, she does realize that if Neji wasn’t going to involve himself with it, then he probably wouldn’t want her involved either. Damn it, she just can’t help herself. Tenten can’t help feeling offended on Neji’s behalf because she knows none of what Deidara said is true. And it’s not just a whisper behind his back this time. Deidara is being an aggressor, he was going out of his way to be an asshole. She wasn’t going to sit back and let it slide.
Tenten’s thoughts become more heated by the second; she takes a step forward in anger. “Do you always talk shit about people you’ve just met?”
“Yeah, I do because I know it’s fucking true.”
Tenten’s fists ball at her sides. She hears Neji call out to her—he’s telling her it’s not worth it to get worked up over something so insignificant. Even so, she doesn’t heed him. “I’ve known Neji for years. You’ve known him for what? Not even a minute? You don’t know anything about him!” Her voice has risen in pitch and volume, and Neji probably thinks she’s lost it for getting so pissed off on his behalf. Although, at this point she just wants a reason to tell Deidara off.
“I don’t need or want to know about him.” The blonde spits back, his arms are now crossed with his head tilted back. “Besides, doesn’t that make you biased? Knowing him for that long, maybe you’re just used to all his bullshit.”
Tenten wants to shout—it takes so much strength not to, but she prevails. “You’re saying that we’d give him a pass for being a clan elitist just because we’ve known each other for years? That doesn’t even make sense!”
Tenten turns full body to Kurotsuchi this time. Her silence on the matter makes it evident that she agreed with what Deidara was saying to some degree, maybe even all of it. But if she was going to remain silent any longer then Tenten wouldn’t hesitate to tell her that things between them weren’t going to work out and that they were going to haul Deidara's ass back to the Hokage.
“Tenten...” Neji tries again, placing a hand on her shoulder.
“Kurotsuchi, seriously!? He’s being a dick for no reason!”
Kurotsuchi sighs and says, “Deidara, don't talk to the clan elitist.”
Tenten raises both eyebrows. It’s a look that says: And?
“And stop arguing with Tenten about the clan elitist.”
“Oh for the love of—“
Neji’s hand slips down her arm and settles to her wrist. “Tenten it's fine don't waste your breath. They can think what they want.”
“It's not right.” Tenten mutters.
Neji shakes his head, resigned. “I know. But we won't change their minds.” He squeezes her hand reassuringly and that's enough to make her drop it but not without glaring hard at Deidara.
He grumbles something unintelligible, and Tenten sighs.
1 WEEK EARLIER
Deidara had gone off to “practice his art” again. Even though she’s seen his art an infinite number of times already, Kurotsuchi would normally tag along just for the sake of it. Because credit where credit was due, the man at least knew how to keep his art exciting. Well, admittedly, Deidara as a person was exciting. She supposed that was just more of how he lived his life.
He played his part in the village–what little part he had, but ultimately he did what he wanted. Deidara was a person who valued his freedom, he refused to be held down even by his own village. It was a good thing Kurotosuchi was the granddaughter of the Tsuchikage, she was getting him out of trouble more often than not. At this point he was eternally in debt to her, but it’s not like she expected him to make it up in any way shape or form.
When Kurotsuchi woke up, there was a clay bird waiting on her windowsill. (She always left her window open a crack in case Deidara had a message for her, or if Deidara himself happened to show up.) The small bird serves its purpose and relays its message, then disappears in a tiny explosion.
Why the hell was he all the way in the Fire territory? She envied the way he was able to just get up and leave (fly) wherever he wanted. Then again, maybe it wasn’t something to be too envious about, she at least had the privilege to go with him. (He should have waited up for her.)
But the Land of Fire huh? She would have liked to go, but ultimately doesn’t plan on leaving her bed so early in the morning for Deidara’s art. He’s so far away, not only that, but she had just started her period a day prior. She felt bloated, lethargic, and crampy; in other words, she felt shitty.
She wasn’t going anywhere.
Kurotsuchi sighed and rolled over. As the feeling of drowsiness returns to her, she could have sworn that the little bird had been formed into a replica of her favorite species. She briefly wonders if Deidara knew, she didn't remember telling him. Or maybe he did know and she was just underestimating his observational prowess.
Who knows, is her last thought before she falls back to sleep.
The day went by uneventfully. Even more uneventfully since Deidara was gone the entire day, he was the life of the party after all. Speaking of, it was unlike him to be gone longer than four hours—it was going on eight now and was getting dark.
Kurotsuchi had remained unconcerned for the majority of the day thinking he had just wanted time to himself. That being the case, she was more than happy to oblige, but eight hours and no explanation from him? That was also very unlike him. They were friends, best friends—maybe more. She trusted that he would have told her if he was going to be up to something grandiose, art related or not. Deidara missing? It was a genuine concern to her now.
Kurotsuchi recalls where exactly Deidara said he was training at and begins to make her way over. She knows nobody in the village really cared where Deidara was nor did anyone like him. In fact, people generally hated him. She couldn’t really blame them for it either. He was brash, annoying, defiant, and constantly talked gibberish about his art given the opportunity. (He did have some better qualities.) For this reason, and although she could be walking into a trap, Kurotsuchi decides not to tell Akatsuchi or Ohnoki. Especially not the old geezer. Gods, they hated each other.
To put it simply, Ohnoki thought Deidara’s art wasn’t art, and Deidara resented him for that. Her grandfather also didn’t approve of the close relationship she had with Deidara, but they were teammates, it couldn’t be helped. Besides, her relationships weren’t any of his business anyway. She had told him time and time again that he needed to butt out.
Whatever, if something really did happen to Deidara, she was sure she could handle it. She was no pushover.
Security is easy to slip past—she and Deidara have done it countless times in the past. Once she’s safely out of range of any and all sensory types in the village, Kurotsuchi procures one of her emergency scrolls and hurriedly unseals it.
You don’t have the luxury I do to be able to just fly off to wherever your heart desires, but with this, I guess you kinda do.
A clay dragon stands before her, head bowed. It’s mid-sized, neither big nor flashy as the ones Deidara likes to show off, which is good for her. The less attention she could attract the better. Kurotsuchi leaps onto its back and urges it towards Fire Country. Thank god for this, she thinks to herself. It would typically take someone four days to get to Fire, longer or shorter depending on location. But flying, it would drastically shorten the trip. She’d be across the border in less than twenty-four hours.
Kurotsuchi couldn’t wait to grill Deidara about his whereabouts, seriously, what the hell? He’d never traveled outside of Earth Country before, at least not to her knowledge. Oh, she was dying to know why. She generates some questions and a punchline to use on him when they finally meet face to face—face to fist actually, then settles down on her back. The stars and the moon look pretty much the same as they do from her home, but like this, actually viewing them from the sky, it just feels different. They’re the same, and yet, they feel so much more radiant.
It’s not the first time she’s flown through the night sky on a clay dragon. She has, several times, with Deidara, of course. And she enjoyed it everytime. Flying, it must have been what true freedom felt like. She understands why Deidara loved it so much, one could get addicted to the taste of freedom.
Kurotsuchi falls asleep under the night sky with lingering thoughts of Deidara and freedom in her head.
The dragon awakens Kurotsuchi as it touches down upon land. Her eyes blink open rapidly and she rolls over and off the dragons back completely. Her shoulder collides with the hard and slightly dewy ground knocking the breath out of her. If she wasn’t awake a moment ago, she definitely was now. Kurotsuchi groans, god damn that hurt!
Kurotsuchi stands and takes in her surroundings while massaging the pain in her shoulder. She’s surrounded by trees and greenery, she was in Fire Country alright. She had expected the dragon to disappear by now; however, it begins to walk forward. Kurotsuchi can only assume it’s going to lead her to Deidara.
The walk isn’t long, the dragon leads her to a clearing before disappearing with a poof. Maybe a better way to describe it would be, “a small warzone”. Crimson is splattered every which way. There are countless kunai, senbon, and shuriken littering the ground; and embedded in bordering tree trunks. Dead, bloodied bodies are slumped over here and there with telltale signs that they had been hit with powerful explosives. Given the masks some of them still wore, they were ANBU. But the most obvious sign that Deidara was there is the singed trees and chunks of missing land.
Deidara did not go gently into that good night.
No. It was too soon to conclude that Deidara was dead. Kurotsuchi surveys the area, apprehensive but hopeful—hopeful that she’ll see a mop of blonde hair somewhere or that he’s used the hidden mole jutsu and will pop out of the ground at any second.
Suffice to say, neither of those things happen, but she does see something small and white poking out from under the upturned dirt. Instinctively, Kurotsuchi rushes over to it. It’s a clay centipede. The abnormally large bug withers in her hand, a message for her: Fighting Uchiha.
Uchiha? So he was fighting Leaf nin, they were practically in their backdoor afterall.
This means… He fought the Uchiha and died?
It’s impossible…
Deidara… he was dead. Deidara died.
It doesn't quite hit her fully, but she tries to process it. How could he be dead? Deidara was pretty much a constant in her life. He couldn’t just be gone... She realizes then that he’s right about art. Art was fleeting, a once in a lifetime moment of profound beauty and brilliance. She never ever planned to tell him, but Kurotsuchi had always thought that Deidara himself was art. She supposed then, that anyone, any living person could be art. People were like that, their lives were so fickle, but they were also so easy to take for granted. She thinks that she took Deidara for granted, and she feels guilty for it.
Her head begins to pound and she suddenly feels light headed. She should have gone to look for him sooner, it was her fault. If only she could have been there sooner, she could have helped him fight. Even if they didn’t win, they’d have been together at least. They would have found a way to escape the village together or die trying.
In a moment of weakness Kurotsuchi drops to her knees and punches the ground repeatedly. “How could you die on me?” She feels the tears begin to prick at the corner of her eyes, but doesn’t allow them to fall. A guy shouldn’t be able to bring her to her knees like this, or make her feel so vulnerable. But alas, she is a woman who has feelings.
Kurotsuchi lays knees to the ground; forehead pressed into the dirt in fetal position for a while before coming to her senses and realizing that she’s in enemy territory. The enemy who could return to the scene at any given moment. Now that she’s thinking about it, she knows that a clan of Byakugan users also inhabited the village. She doesn’t know of their name, but their kekkei genkai apparently gave them the ability to see leagues away. Shit, she hopes they hadn't seen her fly in.
Kurotsuchi retraces her steps and heads the direction she came from, further even for safety’s sake. Well, it might not matter anyway since she doesn’t know the range of the Byakugan. They could have been watching her from the start.
As she glides tree from tree, her thoughts circle back around to his message. Uchiha of all people? Kurotsuchi knew that out of all the kekkei genkai in the leaf village, the Sharingan was known to be the most powerful. They had outstandingly powerful genjutsu. Leave it to Deidara to get caught up with a powerful opponent like that.
Kurotsuchi thinks that maybe his body isn’t here because he blew himself up. He would probably call it his ultimate form of art or something corny like that. It would be so in character for him too. She also thinks that a suicide was better than being taken hostage by an enemy.
Taken hostage by the enemy… Suddenly Kurotsuchi feels a glimmer of hope light up inside her.
Once she's gathered her bearings, Kurotsuchi plops herself down beside a calmly flowing riverbank to once again consider whether Deidara is truly dead or not. She mulls over it for some time and eventually comes to the conclusion that even if Deidara was dead, she would want to confirm it herself. And if she wanted to confirm it herself, it meant that she was going to have to get into the village somehow.
Kurotsuchi begins planning.
She would have to use the hidden mole jutsu, any other way could very well be impossible. She didn’t have the proper documentation to get into the village, nor would she do anything risky like put on one of those dead ANBU’s mask and try and get through the front gates. Attempting to fly over the village walls using the light-weight rock jutsu would also be incredibly stupid.
The problem with using the hidden mole jutsu is that her chakra signature had a high chance of being detected by a sensory type. That being said, the best time to try and get inside would probably be a little past midnight. If luck was on her side, the majority of the village would be asleep and she would end up in a civilian neighborhood.
Once inside, she’d pose as a civilian herself. The stone hitai-ate and any and all weapons she had hidden on her person would have to be ditched before hand. And at least she wasn't wearing her jonin uniform. Instead, she had donned a flowing ankle-length, scarlet, high slit qipao. Completely inconspicuous. (What were the odds that at least one person knew she was the granddaughter of Ohnoki? They must have been low, but then again, she knew about the Sharingan and the Byakugan…)
After that, Kurotsuchi would have to make a friend or two in effort to get intel. If Deidara was dead, she’d leave immediately and report to Ohnoki. (Not before shedding a tear or two.) If he turned out to be alive, it meant that the Leaf was holding him hostage and or torturing him… Torturing might be a stretch, it’s not like the Leaf and the Stone were actually enemies; they weren’t overly friendly either. Kurotsuchi doesn’t see why torture would be necessary, but you never know, village secrets and all. She can only hope that it doesn’t come to that, she’d break him out before then.
Deidara, if you’re still alive, stay strong.
Kurotsuchi had the entire day ahead of her. While it physically hurts her to sit around twiddling her fingers, she knows she has to wait until midnight, at the very least.
And so she takes her sweet old time backtracking even further away from the battle scene in order to stash away her weapons and belongings someplace safe. (What better place than in the ground?)
After putzing around the forest aimlessly, Kurotsuchi attempts to occupy herself by nature watching. She counts the squirrels and birds she sees pass by. They look quite different from the ones in Earth Country.
A squirrel more curious than the others that have come and go approaches her. It’s adorable, with its little beady black eyes, and the way its nose twitches in the air. It’s daring and stops arms length away, watching her. Kurotsuchi offers her hand out to it, it backs away skittish but eventually takes the invitation to sniff at her fingertips. Her movement must have been too sudden, because when she reaches to pet its head, the squirrel flinches and dashes off.
She’s bored out of her mind again and a little while later realizes that she won’t actually know what time it is. Thus, she’ll just have to judge the number of hours that pass after it initially gets dark. Ugh, what a pain.
Nightfall comes around painfully slow and the four to five hours after that is even slower.
Waiting is absolute misery.
When the time feels right, Kurotsuchi sets off. She stops by the river to take a quick dip and clean herself up a bit, it’s freezing but she feels refreshed and alert. Exactly what she needs.
Kurotsuchi doesn’t know exactly what direction the village is in, it must be pretty big though so she creates two rock clones (of Deidara because she’s not going to expose her identity) with as little chakra fed into them as possible and sends them off in left and right diagonal directions. She just doesn’t want to end up at the village entrance.
A short while later, the right clone has the village in sight. Specifically, the entrance of the village. Kurotsuchi releases the right clone and makes her way to the left one.
In relation to the village entrance, Kurotsuchi finds herself at the leftmost border. Well here goes nothing… Kurotsuchi makes the hand signs for the hidden mole jutsu and burrows her way underground. The wall is thick, so it takes her quite a while to make it to the other side. She thinks it's the longest she’s ever used that technique before.
Her nerves get the best of her just as she’s about to break the surface. She doesn’t sense anything above the ground, but frets at the idea that someone was waiting up there for her and would kill her the moment she surfaced. Well, it was a chance she had to take, she could still escape if so. No regrets, she tells herself and surfaces.
Kurotsuchi is met with stillness. Her head is the only part of herself that’s above the ground, she scans the area quickly. Still, she senses nothing out of the ordinary and pulls herself out from the ground. Somehow, she had gotten just what she had wished for. Kurotsuchi seemed to have made it into a civilian's backyard. She brushes herself off. So far so good, now what?
Nobody would be awake or out and about at this hour, but when they were, she needed to befriend the old people. Nine out of ten times the old folk were completely unsuspecting and much too nice for their own good. If she could get a couple of old people to trust her, then the younger people they knew would likely be more receptive to her.
This meant that she had to wait again. Well, The Leaf had plenty of trees to go around, she’d have to make one her bed for the night. If only the color of her dress wasn’t so eye-catching…
Kurotsuchi doesn’t sleep at all. How could she? She feels like a total zombie and just about falls out of the tree when she shifts awake. She needed to get out of whoevers backyard she was in.
This village is completely foreign to her. It’s still quite early and there’s barely anyone on the streets. Outdoor market owners on the other hand are busily setting up for the day. Most don’t spare her a glance, others nod, some even stare. It reminds her, she had no idea how she looked right now. She had slept in a tree and probably looked like it too.
Kurotsuchi ventures deeper into the village, walk-in shops and eateries begin to pop up on either side of the street and the larger buildings in the distance start to become more discernible. She’s supposed to be befriending old people right now, but she supposes that can wait. It wouldn’t hurt to get a little lay of the land before starting anything.
There’s a quaint little tea shop to her left and huoguo right next to it. Huoguo isn’t open yet, but the tea shop looks like it’s just opening up. Kurotsuchi can see the short, stout elderly woman moving about inside behind the glass window. She must be able to sense Kurotsuchi outside because she opens the door and beckons her inside.
The shop is just as cozy as it looks outside. It’s just one big room: A kitchenette and a couple small tables and chairs. A small hallway leads towards the back, presumably storage and a washroom. The furniture and decor is all very antique. Kurotsuchi worries that if she accidentally brushes up against something that it will break.
The old lady invites her to take a seat, and Kurotsuchi does while attempting to fluff up her hair a bit (she still had no idea how she looked). There’s actually someone else here too. A girl who looks to be younger than herself, her hair is done up into two twin buns. It’s a cute look; practical in a fight for sure, she’s a shinobi after all. They lock eyes and offer polite smiles to each other. The other girl is already nursing a steaming cup of tea.
As the old lady, presumably the shopkeeper, works on preparing a second cup of tea, she suddenly begins to converse in Kurotsuchi’s native tongue: she’s asking what her plans for the day are. It catches Kurotsuchi off guard because she initially thinks that the lady is speaking to her; however, she is addressing the girl sitting across from her—TianTian.
TianTian replies, explaining how it was a day dedicated to training. She had gotten up early to train with her teammates. She doesn’t usually like getting up super early to train, but it’s a nice way to spend time together nonetheless. She was just taking a little break to refresh herself and would be back at it when she finished her drink.
The old lady returns quickly with another steaming cup in her hand and offers it to Kurotsuchi who accepts graciously. “What is your name darling?” She asks, kindly.
“My name is Kurotsuchi. Thank you for the tea.”
“And what are your plans for the day, Kurotsuchi?”
“Oh you know.” Kurotsuchi begins flippantly, “shop around, people watch. Who knows, I live life spontaneously.”
I can’t believe I’m quoting Deidara now…
Her response earns a titter from the old lady and a giggle from TianTian.
“Oh you young people. Enjoy your youth and freedom while you can!” She takes TianTian's empty cup and returns to the kitchenette.
TianTian sighs across from Kurotsuchi, her exasperation is evident. “I just can’t get away from talk of youth and freedom can I?” She says it more to herself than anyone else.
Kurotsuchi sees this as a chance to gather intel and initiates small talk with TianTian. Once Kurotsuchi gets TianTian talking, she then allows the other girl to lead the conversation. As much as Kurotsuchi wanted to ask questions, none of her questions were questions you’d ask someone you just met. All she can do is lie her ass off and reciprocate the questions that were asked of her.
Once Kurotsuchi deems that the ice has been broken, she goes in with a bold request. “I’m sorry, this may seem sudden but if you don’t mind, could I watch you and your team train? I just want to see what it’s like… to be a shinobi.”
TianTian appears surprised at what was asked, her eyes flit to the left in momentary thought. “Oh! Um, well I don’t see why not. I’m sure my teammates wouldn’t mind. Would your family be okay with it?”
“I’m not married,” Kurotsuchi reassures her, “it will be fine.”
“Okay! Well, I’ll be ready to go whenever you are.”
“Me too, let me use the washroom and then we can go.”
The pair exchange goodbyes and give their thanks to the old shopkeeper, then make their way to wherever TianTians team training grounds were.
Eventually Kurotsuchi inquires about TianTian’s teammates. She thought it was appropriate to ask since TianTian had mentioned them a few times already, she was about to watch them all train together too. TianTian offers their names: Neji, Rock Lee and Gai sensei. But that’s it, she says, “You’ll see what they’re like once you watch them in action!”
TianTian ends up being the last one to arrive.
Two men in questionable green spandex onesies greet TianTian enthusiastically. The older one is evidently their sensei, and the younger one must be Rock Lee. They talk very loudly, and at the same time. Kurotsuchi has half the mind to pay attention to what they’re saying, but she definitely catches the words “youth” and “youthful” come up more than once. Now Kurotsuchi understood what TianTian meant in the tea shop…
The third party, Neji, stands in silent judgement—crossed arms and abnormally pale eyes. Kurotsuchi can tell he’s the proper type and fills in the blanks with all sorts of stereotypes about him. Good god, I don’t know this guy, but someone just pull the stick out of his ass already.
After the green spandex rambled greetings end, Gai asks, “So who’s your friend here? I don’t think I’ve seen her around.”