Deidara Yuhiko - Mr Nim

[Mr Nim]

A Goal for Life
(4 days into the timeskip)

Turtle Island, Night time, fifth day of their trip to Turtle Island

Looking around, the young yellow haired man sighed. He managed to slip out of the place they were sleeping at, seeing Natsuki had the shinobi who were around ensure nothing happened to Midori and to alert him if anything might should happen, so that he may rest himself a bit. Deidara wanted to see where did Natsuki had taken Midori, and he figured that if Natsuki saw him following them his sensei would just send him away. Walking silently in the same direction his sensei and teammate went, he watched himself walk on a dust path until he finally reached what he assumed was his target.

A waterfall. Wondering if this was really where Natsuki taken Midori, and he even more wondered if the place had any actual meaning to it, except that it looked very peaceful and sounded calm, with the water hitting the small lake beneth the waterfall in such a nice way. He then noticed a small island in the middle of the lake, which looked a bit odd, seeing it was located directly in front of the waterwall, and in an unnatural way of being exactly in the middle of the lake. There was bound to be something with the island, was what he concluded. Walking to the small island, he reached it and stood on it, wondering if something would happen by simply standing on it. Nothing happened. He decided he might need to calm down, seeing this was a place for people to relax. He sat down and took a deep breath before closing his eyes and allowing himself to hear the water flowing.

"Well, I'll be damned. The little lost boy has come to find out who he really is?"

Opening his eyes quickly and jumping to his feet, Deidara's heart nearly fell. He was looking at himself, only this Deidara had black hair and such black eyes he could nearly feel his soul being sucked into it. The other Deidara took a step closer and let out a laugh "If thats your reaction to me, I wonder what is your reaction to mirrors. Oh, wait, I already know what it is, since I am you." He said, making the real Deidara take a step back and take out a kunai "You are not me. I don't know who you are, but you are definetly not me." He said, trying to sound as brave as he could.

Dark Deidara rolled his eyes "Please, you are not fooling anyone. I know you have good qualities in you, but if you try and spar against yourself you will only end up losing, because I have one quality which you have yet to possess. Increased Intellect." He said and his face now had a slightly twisted smile on it, while Deidara decided that the fake him should just shut up and he charged at him, making Dark Deidara respond with hitting him with a Mist Punch, then reach Deidara before he hit a tree and kick him into the water.

Dark Deidara then approached the floating Deidara and grabbed him by the hair before pulling him up and injuring him with a few fire butterflies and afterwards spinning and throwing him against the cliff. Dark Deidara let out a yawn as he once again ran to Deidara, grabbing him and this time kicking him into the air before creating three water clones, and all of them hit Deidara with a deadly version of the Water Bullets, injuring him quite badly. After Deidara fell down and landed half in the water and half on the small island, Dark Deidara approached him once again, this time doing a few seals and trapping Deidara inside a water prison. Shocked by how Dark Deidara was capable of doing a jutsu he didn't do, He tried moving his limbs but found himself incapable of doing so.

"Now that I have your undivided attention, I shall speak properly. You came here to see who you really are. That is what the Waterfalls of Truth are for. Well, I am the real you. A cold hearted, intellegent person who knows the truth. The one that you are so afriad to say out loud." Dark Deidara said and a scared Deidara simply stared at him, incapable of doing anything "You hate your clan. That is what caused you to be here instead of the battlefields, next to Asami. Because she is the head of your clan and not just your cousin, you could not say no to what she told you to do. You also believe the clan is the reason Ino Namikaze killed your father. You think that he had a connection to a dead member, and she avenged him." Dark Deidara kept on speaking, with Deidara wanting nothing more but to get out of the large water bubble that was keeping him on the spot. While he never said anything outloud, he couldn't help but agree with it. Those were his deepest thoughts. He also started to feel that his air was beginning to run out.

"You can't say that you don't have a grudge against the Yuhiko clan, because you do. In fact, you have a grudge against all the clans that exist. You have a grudge against the whole concept of a clan. So, instead of allowing you to do things and see that you are getting no where, I shall start taking control more often, when I see a chance. I shall begin making sure that you will not mess things up anymore by lending you my intellegence. You know, the thing that is called your brain? You have a great potential, but you lack the commitment to actually use it. So, I shall go ahead and ensure that you do use it properly. That is how I created the Water Prison. You have it in you to learn it, but unless you start acting, you will get no where." He said and then removed his hand from the water prison, allow the water to return to the lake and releasing Deidara from it.

Breathing heavily, Deidara grabbed the leg of Dark Deidara, who simply looked with an amused expression "Don't tell me you wish to keep on fighting?" He asked, and Deidara let go, getting up slowly and using Dark Deidara as leverage by grabbing his arm and then shoulder "No. I agree with what you said. I need to start taking action. So I'll use you, and with a lot of gratitude too." He said and brought Dark Deidara into a hug, which the latter returned "Very well, I shall be off, but if you ever need me, I am always here, and you will simply need to..."

"Pull me out."

Dark Deidara begun turning into black dust, which Deidara breathed into him. As soon as all the dust was gone, Deidara felt like something in him has changed. For better or worst, he was unsure of yet, but he noticed something in his reflection in the waterfall. His left eye turned black, and nothing showed in that blackness...

Opening his eyes, Deidara noticed he was sitting on the small island. Quickly standing up, he looked around and heard a Kumo shinobi who went on patrol nearby, so the young man quickly jumped and left the area, going back to the place they were staying at and intending to sneak back inside, with a new goal in mind.

Get Rid of all Clans.

[Mr Nim]

New Findings
(3 weeks into the timeskip)

"Mom, I'm home." Deidara shouted to the kitchen and went in there, seeing his mom was not there. He went and took a small sniff from the cooking chicken, smelling it wasn't done yet, and he saw the back door open. Going to it, he noticed his mom speaking to their neighbours and exchanging books. It was something he was used to seeing, and soon his mom turned her head to him after being motioned to by the neighbour "Hey sweety. The neighbour was just leaving." She said and turned around completely, beginning to approach the young man as the neighbour went and jumped over the fence to his house. Slightly suspicious, as they never exchanged books in the back yard before, Deidara allowed his mom to go inside the kitchen and closed the door behind her.

"I saw there is some chicken cooking. He said, and his mom nodded as she went to check on it "Yep, Nagato's.... I mean, your father's favorite dish." She said and took out the chicken which was only half done. She placed the books on the counter as she went and took a couple of spices and a pre-made sauce, and then went back to the chicken. Deidara went and decided to look inside one of the books, as his father always told him not to do so, but now he was gone.

Opening a book while his mom was looking away, He raised an eyebrow. The pages were empty. Completely empty, as he skimmed through all of them "Mom, I think you got thw wrong book. This one is completely empty." Deidara said and quickly grabbed a second out of three books, and opened it too. That one was also completely empty "I think the neighbour just got a few of our books and ripped us off. I'll go and ta-" He didn't manage to finish his sentence as he found his mother standing right behind him, biting her lower lip. Giving the open books and the closed one a glance, he looked at her eyes "They are empty for a reason, huh?" He asked.

His mom looked down at the ground as Deidara turned again to face the books. He opened the third one, and figured he would try understand what was so special about them that his mom couldn't tell him. He was about to rip a page, but he heard a small scared noise from his mom. That wasn't it. He took a glass, filled it with water and raised it above one of the books, to which he also heard a scared voice. He pretended to do seals and finish with the Tiger seal "Fire Techinique..." He didn't need to say anymore and he now felt his mom's grasp on his shoulder, her attempt at stopping him.

"I'm really sorry, but I can't tell you what these are for. I really am sorry, but once you come of age I will tell you all." She said and moved away from him, hoping he would let the books go, which he did by closing each of them. He then moved to the doorway to the living room "Its fine. I'll just go and ask Asami then." He said, and now he heard something was dropped on the floor, and turning around he saw a fork on the floor. His mother's hands were shaking, and she now appeared to be incredibly scared.

She shook her head for a moment before approaching him and placing her hand on his shoulder. He was still growing, but he already reached her height. Closing her eyes and placing her free hand on his forehead, Deidara noticed his eye sight was becoming slightly blurry "I hoped we won't need to come to this, but you gave me no other choice. Deidara Yuhiko, the last 10 minutes shall be forgotten. Hidden Techni- She suddenly felt heat all around her, and the room begun filling with mist. She felt her skin has begun to burn slightly, but it was definetly more powerful than Deidara's technique.

"Ah!" Was what Konan Yuhiko said as she felt Deidara's skin boiled up as well. Taking a few steps back and grabbing the counter from behind her, she watched as her son now looked at her as if he did not know who she was "Konan Yuhiko. Mother to Deidara Yuhiko and past wife of Nagato Yuhiko. You shall tell me what is inside those pages or I will be forced to take the answer out of you by..." He stopped just before he finished speaking as he noticed the pages of the books, who opened by themselves when the mist begun, now contained words. Doing a few seals, he created a few water butterflies and then added a seal to create a few fire butterflies which spun around his mom, keeping her in her spot.

Approaching the books, he noticed all of them contained hidden jutsus for the Yuhiko clan. Each book only contained a couple of jutsus on a random page, but they appeared to be very unique jutsus "Tell me, Konan, how long has hiding jutsus in books like this have been going on?" He asked, and upon looking at her the butterflies came closer to hr body and begun forcing her to move in his direction a bit "Hiding the jutsus is something we did since the clan got split up, many years ago, but we used to hide it in one shelf, which we could easily claim is a shelf which will be filled with stories of the next generations of the clan." She said, amazed at the skill of her son. The butterflies he created were not the gentle things she has come to know, but they looked more like... killer bees. They had sharper wings and appeared to be more focused on being deadly rather than create beauty.

As Deidara skimmed the two jutsus in the first book, he noticed that only one of them were for Mist Release. The other was a water jutsu, but not one he has heard of before "Not all jutsus are mist release?" He asked, and she shook her head. He moved onto the second book, and while the first jutsu appeared to be very useless to him, the second caught his eye. It was named Mist Disguise Technique. Reading it fully, a smile came to his face. He might've just found an answer to something he asked himself since the week on Turtle Island, if he could learn how to use the jutsu properly.

"Why did you react so badly when I mentioned asking Asami about this?" He asked, and now Konan appeared to be more ashamed then scared "We made further security when she became the leader, after Nagato died. Because of her connection to Jinyaru back at the time, we did not want to risk being found hiding jutsus which the village could use, only because we wanted to keep this as our heritage, as our way to ensure we have some surprise in our sleeve for any kind of situation." She said, feeling the decision they made was a bad one. Shaking his head, Deidara moved to look at the third book after closing the second book and holding it. He found the fire jutsu in the third book to be a very nice one, but the water one was a bit odd, but he could understand how it could be effective... In some situations.

Closing and grabbing the third book as well, Deidara did the release seal, making the butterflies vanish all together and the mist around the room was also dispersed "You will tell no one about this. And do you know what jutsus do these books contain?" He asked, and fortunate for him she shook her head "We never check what jutsus the books have, to ensure we are unable to answer any questions in case these are found." She said and the young man nodded and left the room, making his mom bite her lower lip once more, wondering if she had made a mistake by answering his questions.

Going to his room and closing the door, Deidara immediatly created a mist in his room, which was more than enough to make the jutsus in the pages appear once more. Looking at the Mist Disguise one, he decided to just go for it. Closing his eyes, he did the seals which were written and focused on a certain figure in his head. Opening his eyes, he saw a proper cloud of mist in front of him which appeared to have a pair of unclear arms, or legs. Very odd look, but it was a start, he thought and released it. Now all he had to do was train, and he would have the first tool he needed with achieving his goal.

[Mr Nim]

The First Test
(2 months into the timeskip)

A Collab between Fieryfly, Chromehound and Mr Nim

Summary

SPOILER: Click to show

Deidara attempts to test out his newest jutsu, the Mist Disguise, on two people he knows well.

SPOILER: Click to show

Closing the door behind him, a young man with long blonde hair looked around carefully. He had a cloak which covered his clothes completely, and an optional hood to place on his head as well. He begun walking away from the house behind him with a quick and silent pace, attempting to attract as less attention to him as possible, which wasn't too difficult for him. While several people knew him, he was still pretty invisible to most, being a very much average young fellow who was still no one.

After 15 minutes of walking throughout Kumo, he stood in front of a different house, and then resumed his walking, only in the direction of a small garden nearby. He noticed that a couple of Jounin wandering in the street, so he lowered his eyes to the ground and allowed them to pass by him without making them glance at him for even a moment. After he decided it was safe, Deidara moved at an even faster pace, reaching the garden within a couple of minutes and then moving to a couple of trees in it. He quickly climbed one of the trees, the one he decided was more dense and would be harder to spot anything in, and sat on a branch. Placing the hood over his head and covering his face so he only saw the cloth, he then did the boar, tiger, monkey, shadow clone seal, snake and bird seals. This created a small cloud of mist in front of him, and after being in a cloud form for a moment, it formed one of the two Jounin he saw earlier. Deciding against using a jounin he saw within the village, the Jounin now turned into someone he remembered seeing back on Turtle Island. The man, who appeared to be mid twentys, jumped down from the tree and looked around to ensure everything was safe.

Finally time to test things out. The man thought to himself as he begun walking casually towards a certain house in the street. The cloaked and hooded young man, known as Deidara Yuhiko, remained completely still and frozen on the tree, concealed from almost everywhere except for those who looked up from below the tree. It was almost as if his mind was somewhere else completely. After taking a look in Deidara's direction, the man turned back and moved towards the door of the house. He knocked on it a couple of times, figuring no one would find it weird to see a man knock on a door.

After a moment of silence the door was opened by a small orange haired girl wearing green. A second she looked questioning to the man, her mouth slightly open, her eyes confused. She didn't recognize him. Then she blinked and Midori spoke. "Hello...? Are you here for my mother?" She gave the man another good look because maybe she was mistaken and she did know him. But the second inspection didn't give her any insights.

"No, Midori Sato, I'm here for you. I have something very important to talk to you about, and I was told by a friend of yours where I could find you. Its regarding your father." The man said, staying where he stood and allowing Midori to choose if she would let him inside the house, or even just stay to listen. The man decided he needed to very carefully choose his words, as one wrong step could lead to Midori shutting the door on his face "I need to see your father and talk to him about a very important matter. Unfortunatly, I could not find him, so I thought I would ask his child if she knew." He fully explained himself, hoping that would make more sense.

Her dad? First Midori perked up at the mention of her dad, but then she frowned when the man continued. "How do you know my dad?" She asked wondering. The Sato clan traveled around a lot, that was true, and they met a lot of people, but they never had much to do with people from the city. "Also, how do you know that I am his daughter? Did he tell you that? Did you see him? How is he doing?" Midori started before abruptly closing her mouth and biting her lip.

The man almost rolled his eyes, but he didn't after seeing Midori biting her lip and stopped asking questions. He coughed before beginning to answer "I know your dad after encountering him and your clan over a year ago while I was traveling. We traded a couple of things, as I needed supplies and he was willing to spare them in exchange for something I did not need so much. I was curious, as I never heard about a nomad clan before, and I asked him a bit about it, as well as how is it like to raise a family while moving so much, and he told me that his wife and daugther remained behind in Kumo, so his daughter could grow up to be a fine shinobi and have a proper place to be devouted for, as a traveling shinobi is not something which is very smart or safe." He said and took a moment to remember the last two questions in her list "Seeing he told me he had a daughter and wife in Kumo, I came here and asked where can I find the Sato family. After getting a few locations, I went to someone who apparently knew you, and they told me where you live and what's your proper name, instead of just refering to you as Sato. And he was fine last time I saw him." The man finished speaking, hoping she would finally let him inside.

For some reason it felt good to hear that her father was still doing great. She never doubted that, of course, but still... However it seemed that he didn't understand the Sato's really. "Sato's are not a shinobi clan. My dad is not a shinobi" Midori said, but it didn't really matter anyway. Suddenly she realized that she was still standing in the dooropening. That was not very polite of her. She opened the door further. "Do you want to come in? Or are you in a hurry mister...?"

"I have time as long as I don't know where your father is, not too much time, but enough to come in and sit down." The man as he entered the house quietly, and looked around for a moment before going into the living room and sitting down, avoiding Midori's questioning tone as to what his name was, as if he did not notice it at all.

The streets were relatively quiet as Reyna made her way through them. She had been walking for awhile and the fresh air was inviting. Reyna looked around to check for familiar landmarks. She was on her way to her friend, and teammate, Midori's house, and she wasn't entirely familiar with the area. Spotting a familiar shop, Reyna knew she was getting close, just a few more blocks now.

As she rounded the corner she spotted Midori's house. A smile came to her face as she thought about hanging out with Midori again. It was hard not to have fun around the other girl. Approaching the door Reyna adjusted her light coat and then reached out to knock the door.

Midori had just closed the door behind the man and was about to show him where the living room was when another knock was heard. The girl halted, beckonned the man to walk to the living room and turned around. For the second time withint minutes she opened the front door now to find Reyna there. Her face lit up. Reyna was great. "Hi!" She said, happy to see her friend and teammember. "You found the house without getting lost?"

"Hi Midori! Yup, thanks to the directions you gave me I managed to find my way here. Sorry I took so long." Reyna smiled warmly upon seeing her friend. Truth be told she was relieved that it had been the right house. "Is now a good time?" She asked, hoping they would be able to hang out.

"Now is a perfect time." The man suddenly spoke from behind Midori, after getting up and going back into the hall to see what was keeping Midori. Seeing his teammate and knowing she would not know who he was, he decided it could be a good chance for him to hit two birds with one stone. He pretended to examine Renya for a moment "I actually have a small desire to talk to you as well, Renya Azuma." He said, and marked to both Midori and Renya to come to the kitchen, not revealing where he knew Renya's name from or how he wanted to tell them.

"It's fine, it is just that-" Midori's explination of why a man was in her house was cut of by the fact that the said man appeared behind her even though she had told him to go to the living room to see her mom. But then he knew Reyna's name too. Midori spun around and frowned. "Have you met her father too?" She asked. "Or do you know the names of all my friends? Are you a stalker?" Her tone didn't sound overly worried but inside she was certainly concerned. Who was this man?

As the man appeared behind Midori and spoke, Reyna could not help but jump slightly. Something about the man made Reyna wary, he seemed to know her but she was fairly certain she had never seen him before. Entering the house, Reyna stayed close to Midori. Until she knew more about this man she wasn't going to take any chances. "I am sorry, you seem to know my name sir, but I am not familiar with yours." She would wait for the man's response and for Midori to enter the kitchen before doing anything else.

Slightly shaking his head, the man looked at the two girls "Midori, I wasn't lying before, just so you can be sure. As for how I know Renya's name, well... I met your father a few hours ago. I asked him if he knew were Midori's house was, and he told me he didn't and instead told me I should go ask your other teammate, Deidara Yuhiko. As for why I would want to talk to both of you, well... How about you will accompany to an empty room and I will properly introduce myself, to both of you?"

Midori shot the man a sceptic look. "How about you introduce yourself here. That way we won't bother my mother either. There is no need to bother her with stuff I can just handle by myself. I know where my dad is so we don't really need to go inside. Why don't you introduce yourself?"

He let out a sigh before moving his sights between both girls "My name is The Mist Shadow. You shall refer to me by that name only. I have come here to try and find Midori's dad and warn him about a danger which is coming. One which can be avoided, but only if I find him in time. I came here to look for him, as this was the only lead I had on how to find him. But, seeing I have the two of you here, I can explain what is the danger, so you two can also pass it out." He said, and moved to look only at Midori "Someone has decided that its time to get rid of clans, and he thinks that the right way of doing it is by killing everyone who belongs in a clan. And while he means shinobi clans, he decided the Sato clan is among them. So, I need people to help me track him down and stop him. While I do not believe clans are the best thing in the world, I do not wish to see innocent people die. Will you help me?" He asked, and sounded very serious.

The Mist Shadow? What a strange name Reyna thought, eyeing the man warily. She listened as he spoke and grew increasingly worried. Why would somebody want to kill clans? As the man mentioned Midori's clan, Reyna's eyes widened in worried shock. This man seemed to be telling the truth, but Reyna still found him to be quite suspicious. "How could one person kill everyone from a clan? Is there really somebody that powerful?" The man sounded deadly serious, but Reyna wanted to find out more before agreeing to help him. She wasn't even sure that she could. If there truly was somebody powerful enough to wipe out entire clans she wasn't sure what she could possibly do to help prevent it. Reyna looked from the man to Midori, waiting to see if she had anything else to say, afterall the man had said that her clan was being targeted too. But wait, Reyna was also apart of a clan. Her stomach started to sink as she realized that her family might be in danger as well.

"What is wrong with clans?" Midori huffed slightly upset by the words this Mist Shadow had spoken. "And what Reyna said, how can someone do that on his own?" She shot a look back to the hall of the house. Her mother should not hear this. She would worry way too much. If this was true, and the man seemed serious and truthful about it, then her father had to know. He had to get some kind of protection or something. The Sato clan could never defend itself against an very skilled ninja. The girl bit on her lip again. "I don't see how we can help. You should go to the Raikage. He will help and he is strong... I think. I've never seen him fight though. But he is the Raikage, he should help you to get the clans protected. Besides, how would that man find my dad if even you apparantly can't?"

"That man has a lot more resources than what you think, and he can find anyone he wants. He managed to find me twice while I was in constant move and didn't contact anyone or stayed anywhere, and tried to kill me. I need your help because going through the regular channels to request help will take too long, or people will ignore me. I am aware your sensei is Natsuki Hikaru, who is someone I have met in the past. He helped me in my time of need, and seeing you are his students, I want to try and return a favour. I cannot be sure of who to trust, which is why I am going to you two. No one will suspect you two, as you seemingly do not know a thing, and thus, you are also out of that man's sight. While I told you before I have time to stay, that was a lie, as I was hoping to get your fathers location and then be on my way, but if you will not give it to me, I will tell you this. Anyone else who comes requesting your fathers location who you do not know, or trust, do not give it to him or her."

The man took a moment to breath, and after a moment resumed speaking rather quickly "I said I did not believe clans are the best things in this world because there villages exist, and they already bring people together, so I do not see the need to have smaller groups of people in a place which is meant to ensure everyone within it is are happy together, and thus, are united. While I do not want to disturb those who wish to remain in a clan, the other man thinks the clans are a thing of the past completely, and they should be gone, even by force. And he does not take out clans on his own, he also hires bandits and merceneries, as far as I heard." He finished speaking and took another deep breath. He hoped he managed to convince the two young girls, even by a bit.

"You know Natsuki-sensei?? Reyna was baffled with everything that was going on. It was all too much to take at once. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself before she spoke. "If... if we do decide to help you, what are we supposed to do? How are we supposed to fight against whoever this person is that is a threat to our sensei, and to entire clans?" Reyna looked at Midori who seemed just as bothered by all this as she was. Looking back at the man with the strange name, she tried to control her breathing and settle herself once again. Whatever the man would say next, Reyna needed to know how she could keep her family safe, and her friends safe too.

Midori fidgeted with the strings on her hoodie. She shot another look to the halls of her house where her mother was sleeping. If her father really was in danger he should know. This man knew an awful lot and it distrubed Midori more then it frightened her. "Clans are like family." She said. "You can't just destroy families. It is impossible. They share more then just friends. They share their past." She paused and looked uneasy back and forth. "You really want to help my dad? Help him against this man?" She asked the man then. "Because... because I can give you the location and you can warn him. Meanwhile we can go to the Raikage and inform him. That way we should be covered and we have time."

Reyna looked to Midori as the girl spoke. If she was willing to try and help, then Reyna would support her entirely. She was terrified about her family getting hurt. This whole situation was confusing to her, and the fact that both her's and Midori's families might be at risk made Reyna want to do something about it. For now she simply looked back at the man, waiting to hear what he would say.

He took a moment to think about it. Was it right to inform the Raikage? It would pretty much mean that he will need to operate with a lot more caution in Kumo, but since this jutsu allows him to take any kind of face, he figured he would be fine for a while "That would be a good idea. Let me go and warn your dad, and you two go, and make sure both the Raikage and his assistant know. I heard his assistant is quite ruthless, so she will most likely ensure that nothing bad happens to the clans in the village. After I inform your dad I'll go and warn other villages. Thanks for the support, Midori, Renya." He said, staying where he stood and giving them a quick bow.

The Raikage's assistant? Midori froze. For some reason she had pushed the idea of Asami away when she had thought about the Raikage. She didn't want to go to Asami. She didn't want to talk with her or be somewhere remotely near to that woman. Uneasy Midori looked around as if something would just randomly pop up and save her. The only thing that appeared however was Pear, bouncing out of the dooropening. At the sight of her dog Midori smiled slightly and took the creature up into her arms. Maybe she could just go to the Raikage straight away and avoid Asami, that should be possible.

Midori bit on her lip. "My father should be in the east near the shore. They tend to follow the sealine for a while to the north before turning westwards towards the higher mountairs." She said. "If you ask around in small villages near the sea you'll probably find them soon."

Seeing that Midori had made up her mind, Reyna accepted their course of action. Nodding towards the man with the strange name, she could not think of anything else to say. Reyna trusted Midori, and if she wanted to go and talk with the Raikage then that was what they would do. Though she still felt torn and confused at the news, Reyna was at least glad that she now had a goal, a purpose. She could do something to help. Something to keep her family, and her friends safe.

Nodding, the man went to the door and walked outside, passing by Midori and Renya "Thank you, Midori Sato. I will be sure to let your father know of how you helped save the clan. I do not have much time left now, so I will go on my way. I hope we will never need to cross paths again." He said and then jumped away, moving away from the sights of Midori and Renya. Upon reaching a spot the two girls could not see him at, the man did the release seal and vanished into a mist cloud which dissolved itself shortly afterwards.

Opening his eyes, Deidara stood up on the branch and then dropped to the ground. He decided against going to Midori right now, as he figured it might look like a very weird concidence. Walking in the direction of his house, he had a small smile on his face. His jutsu was working just fine, and he also got something to add to his list of targets. The Sato clan.

[Mr Nim]

A Risky Move
(3 months into the roleplay)

Moving quietly into a tree branch, Deidara wore his dark cloak once more and looked around. He had observed the area before with his Mist Disguise technique, by appearing as random people, and he managed to somewhat figure out that Jounins patrolled throughout the area on a regular basis. He also managed to noticed that the moment a threat came, the jounin who were patrolling left the are for, at most, 10 minutes, before either they came back, or a different patrol came. This make him know that if he wanted to gain access to his destination, he would have a short time, and would still need to cover his tracks very well.

Doing a few seals, he created the small cloud mist in front of him, which went next to the ground and behind the tree's trunk. It took on the appearance of a man he remembered from the time Ino attempted to capture Midori and her friend. This is the appearance of the crystal user one. The disguised cloud quickly moved into a position that allowed the two jounin patrolling the area to spot him well. As soon as they caught sight of him, one of the two knew who he was from the bingo book and told the other to come with him as they begun chasing the cloud. Deidara led the cloud and the jounins for about five minutes worth of distance away before making the cloud take a swift turn behind a building and releasing the cloud, making it vanish just before the jounins can make the turn.

Knowing now was his chance, he quickly dropped from the tree and silently walked inside the Raikage's office building. Making sure no one was around, he walked in a direction opposite of where one would go to meet the Raikage in his office. Hearing footsteps, Deidara quickly went inside the closest door he could find, and then looked around, while listening to the footsteps outside. He was inside a small broom closet, and one of the brooms nearly fell on his head, but he quickly held it with his hand, to ensure complete silence, and he heard the footsteps pass by the door and the move further away. After carefully placing the broom back in its proper spot, he opened the door quietly and saw the jounins that were walking away from the closet. Most likely another patrol. Going outside of the closet, he continued to walk down the hall, and then reached another nameless door. He tried opening it, but found it was locked. Of course it would be locked.

He took out a kunai and while looking around, placed the edge of it inside the keyhole and twisted it a few times. Eventually he managed to break the lock, and he quickly went inside. Looking around, he was slightly surprised. He was inside a record storage, which appeared to contain records from the time off the First Raikage, which was quite impressive in his eyes, to manage to keep so much things in tact for so long. Knowing he doesn't have long, he quickly begun to skim between the different drawers, all filled with files on different people. He spotted his own file, as well as Asami's and Midori. He decided to take out his own file and Midori's, wanting to see what they had on them. Deidara then took out a small book, which contained nothing. Doing a few seals, a couple of hidden jutsus were revealed inside the book. He then took out a quill and spinned it in the mist, allowing it to become damp in the mist.

Writing notes down, Deidara was slightly surprised. While he knew Midori had gone through something, it wasn't even written here. Wondering what could've Asami done to make it be hidden from the official file, he then went to his own file and begun looking over what they knew on him. It appeared that they knew nothing about his latest jutsu, as well as his future goals, which was good for him. He was pleased that he appeared to be like a drop of water within a sea. Closing both files and placing them back, he then moved to look for something else.

Deidara then noticed the files Kumo had on different clans. Quickly taking a few, he opened them and wrote down their location and name of the clan. There was a file on the Yuhiko clan, in which it was noted the clan was seperated into two halves, one in Kumo and one in Konohagakure. Wondering why it happened, he decided it didn't matter and continued to write names and locations of a few more clans. He knew that he would eventually need to look for more information, but he figured he had other ways of doing so. He returned the files to their place and then moved to look for something else, before quickly finding what he was searching for, which was the bingo book.

Taking the outdated Bingo Book, Deidara quickly opened it and begun skimming through the pages. He was looking for certain people, and he wrote names in the book along with notes of speculations on how to find a few and possible locations. He also came across a name which made him curious. Moujin. There was a picture of a young fellow, and he was noted to be missing from Konoha for quite some time, with no actual crimes commited. Wondering why such a person would be in the, he wrote down the possible ways of tracking him down and a couple of other notes about him before moving onto different people in the book, until he came across a name which made him pause for a few moments.

Ino Namikaze. He saw the picture, which was clearly outdated and aged a few years, from before Ino was even twenty. He looked at the possible connections, and saw that there are plenty of people who kept claiming to see her in different parts of the world, but most would not confirm it at all. He then shut the Bingo Book and placed the outdated copy where he found it, before noticing something hiding beneath the table. Kneeling down, he noticed that there was something making a small stack of files be unstable. Deidara moved the stack and found an old ANBU masked, which was probably not used due to a small crack it had on it. Taking the ANBU mask, Deidara placed it on his own face. He saw that it was a rather good fit, and he decided that he could probably fix it and then keep it for himself.

Walking back to the door with the mask on his face, he listened to the door and heard nothing. He quickly moved outside and begun walking through the hallway to the exit, and then stopped next to the broom closet once more. He saw it was clear, so he quickly moved to the exit itself, and after seeing a couple of Jounin in the distance, annoyed by how a missing-nin just vanished on them, he quickly left the place, knowing he could most likely never repeat it, as the moment people see the lock was broken, the security would be tightened, and Asami would try and find whoever pulled it off.

But Deidara smiled behind the mask, knowing he gained what he wanted. Information on possible people he might be able to recruit to his cause. Knowledge on the first few clans he could attempt to disband. And the best thing of all... He figured that as of now, he was still in the clear. Once he was out of the Raikage's office entrance sight, he begun running in the direction of his house. Finally he could advance his plans further, and perhaps even begin initiating them fully. Things were going in the right way for him.

[Mr Nim]

Resolutions
(6 months into the timeskip)

A Collab between Little Alice, Fieryfly, Gerontis and Mr Nim

Read the Collab on Ino Namikaze's Timeskip thread.

The Collab

[Mr Nim]

Only One Truth
(7 months into the timeskip)

A Collab between Fieryfly and Mr Nim

Summary

SPOILER: Click to show

Deidara meets up with Midori, and the two talk about some things.

SPOILER: Click to show

Standing at the entrance of the teahouse, Deidara looked around, seemingly waiting. He talked to Midori about meeting with her, after a couple of weeks ago they witnessed the death of his father's murderer and her attempted kidnapper, all while working together with a good friend of Midori. He wanted to make sure it didn't have any serious impact on Midori, as he knew she still had a bit of a hard time ever since Asami used Midori for something, and he had no idea what. So he stood there, wondering if Midori was on her way or not.

The streets were no longer as scary as they had been before. Previously Midori had avoided them because people who yell "savior of Kumo" at her, and then she had neglected them because apparantly someone had wanted to kidnap her. Now, things were getting better, slowly. She was no longer jumpy and could enjoy the sounds of the market again. So she was meeting Deidara, at a teahouse, which was great. Over the years her love for tea had grown, her mother had always pushed her to drink it anyway and it had paid of.

Soon she arrived, pushing through the crowd, and spotted Deidara before the doors of the building. She raised her hand and ran up to him. "Hi," she said simply and she arrived next to him, not out of breath. "Did you wait long?"

Upon seeing Midori raise her hand, Deidara raised his own hand and lowered it as he watched Midori arrive next to him and then ask him her polite question "No, I arrived here five minutes ago. We have a table next at the corner, but next to the one which has the window with the view to the small garden outside." He said and motioned to her to go inside first. Following Midori, he nodded to the person who was at the entrance, who gave him a simple nod back, took a couple of menus and then led Midori and Deidara to their table. After sitting down, he looked at Midori "How are you doing? I know you have been through a lot, so I understand if you don't want to talk about it." He said as he opened the menu, but still looked at her with concerned eyes.

Midori shot Deidara a smile as she sat down at the table. For a quick moment her eyes shot to the waiter, slightly wary, but then she returned it to Deidara and the menu. At his question she decided to suddenly find the menu very interesting. "I'm fine." She said lightly, reading the same page again. She wasn't sure if she wanted to talk about it really. Not that she minded Deidara to know, but... It was painful, in more then one way. "I'm doing fine." She said again. It sounded slightly forced. "How have you been?"

Noticing the way she repeated the answer made it slightly obvious to Deidara that she wasn't exactly fine, but at least she was willing to talk now. That was a major improvement on its own. He looked at his menu for a moment before hearing her question "I'm... feeling a bit odd. I mean, two weeks ago I saw my dad's killer die after saving me. I have no idea how to feel about it." He said, sounding slightly confused. Even the Mist Shadow side of him did not see it coming and had no idea what to put of it. He decided what drink he wanted to order and looked back at Midori "I'm sorry if I forced you into the whole thing. I really just wanted to have a nice little training session between us, get you a bit outside of your house. I hope you understand how worried you made me. We're teammates. We're friends. Friends look out for each other, right?" He asked in a friendly tone.

Midori shook her head at his apology. "That is alright. You obviously couldn't have known that that woman would show up." She was still staring at her menu, but decided it was time to look up now. "And I am sorry for making you worried. It wasn't my... intention. I mean, you know or well maybe you don't but... you know." She said, for a moment falling back into her old way of speaking. Hearning herself ramble like that made her giggle slightly. "But you are right, we are friends. We should look out for each other. I want Lemon tea by the way."

Giving her a smile and nodding, Deidara waved to the waiter, and placed the lemon tea order for Midori, which he ordered some forest berries tea. He then watched the waiter walk away, and when he they were on their own once more, he moved to look at her once more "Its nice to see you are slowly going coming back to us." He said and leaned back a bit in his seat, scretching his arms above his head for a moment. After he lowered them, he looked at the window "With so much peace now, most people think of what happened as a bad dream. It seems that way too. And I don't suppose I ever told you about the nasty trick Asami pulled on me?" He said, now sounding a bit bitter.

A bad dream. Yeah, he got that right. It was an awful bad dream that haunted her during the dark nights when she was all alone in her bed. Sure, things had changed between her and Gyuki, but that had not yet disappeared. Yet Midori stubbornly held her mouth and followed Deidara's gaze to the window. Her eyes were abruptly pulled back however when he spoke. "Asami pulled a trick on you too?" She blurted out before she could stop herself. "What did she do?" She asked, genuinely concerned for him.

"She made a promise and broke it. After she gave me a few short lectures, and I stood up to her and finally managed to convince her to let me fight alongside her on the front lines, she goes and lets Natsuki take me to Turtle Island instead. That felt like she backstabbed me." He said and let out a sigh "And don't think I haven't noticed you said too. I already know Asami did something to you, but both you and her are keeping me in the dark, which feels more than annoying. To be left in the dark by my cousin who used to be one of the few people I could trust, and by my teammate, who had a sudden change of personality because of it." He said, and now had more concern in his voice than bitterness.

Another broken promise. Midori opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the waiter who came to bring them their tea. Patiently she waited till he was done and gave him a nod in return when he was finished. Immediately she poured the whole bag of sugar into the hot water. While she stirred she tried to talk again. "I... I'm ... It was not for talking." She whispered finally. "They all think I am a hero, that I'm the one that saved Kumo." Midori guestured around to the people in the teahouse. "But that is not true. I wasn't the hero... I was just the weapon." The spoon clattered against the glass as she released it and stared to the water that slowly stopped moving.

Slightly surprised, Deidara looked at Midori, who suddenly begun speaking about what happened before. When he heard she refered herself as a weapon, his expression turned into a more angry one. He waited a moment and poured half a sugar bag into his cup and stirred in silence for a moment "So you mean to tell me that she used you? That she saw you as a weapon?" He said and grabbed a strong hold of his spoon. Asami definetly crossed the line there. No one should be treated like that. Not ever.

"I was." Midori replied slowly, thinking back to the weak seal that had held Gyuki behind bars. "I was a ticking timebomb. I was dangerous." She looked up to him. "It is what a Jinchuuriki is, Deidara. In a very basic way we don't belong to ourselves anymore. By accepting the beast we have become a weapon for the city." A shaky breath. It was hard to talk about this. "So yes, that is what she did. She opened the seal and released Gyuki's chakra in a burst. It blew the masts apart.... And me, nearly." The last words were spoken almost without sound.

Hearing the way Midori talked about herself just made Deidara angrier. Was this Asami's doing? She turned his teammates mind into thinking that she is a mere weapon and nothing more? Now he knew for sure that he needed to talk to Asami about it later, but he also had to make Midori see otherwise first "You are not a weapon. Jinchuuriki are not a weapon. I won't be surprised that if you went and spoke to your friend, Lilia, she will tell you the same. Jinchuuriki's are simply...simply..." He tried to think about the best way he could put it "A person who was chosen, because someone believed that person would have the best of chance of connecting with one of the greatest gifts given to the world. The Bijuu. While you might think that makes you a weapon, it does not. In fact, it makes you quite the opposite, and I do not mean a trigger or a time bomb, or anything which can be used. I mean that it makes you so much more." He said and then took a sip from his tea.

"What Asami did to you back there was wrong. Very wrong. She turned two living creatures into lifeless objects. That is not why you were chosen to be a Jinchuuriki. I cannot say I have experience with it, but I think that since you have the Gyuki within you, it only means that you got a unique chance, and that someone believes you can connect with him. You even know some things about him that some people don't. You once told the team that Gyuki likes puppies. How could you possibly know that, unless you managed to connect with him on some kind of level?" Deidara said, and tried to come up with more examples. He then took another sip from his tea, deciding to see if what he is saying is reaching Midori or not.

"You don't understand." Midori said the second Deidara stopped speaking. "And you couldn't, but what you say is not true. It is something I used to think too. I was a timebomb." Her words were harsh. "Gyuki showed me that. Genmyou didn't... He didn't... His seal was faulty. If he wanted Gyuki could break out any moment, meaning I did put you all in danger just with being around you. That is fixed now. Asami fixed that... after everything. As for knowing about him," she paused and her gaze became even harder, "yes I do now. But you don't know how much he beat me for that later. You don't understand.

I am not all weapon. I am still me, but there is a part of me that is no longer of myself. Its Gyuki's and it is this city's. And I am sure Lilia will agree with me. And I am not a timebomb anymore. I can control things now. I know what to do. But don't say that this is the greatest gift in the world. Do you know what Gyuki wants the most? Be free. And do you know the only thing I can't give him? Freedom. But he can never have that because I was chosen to keep him imprisoned. Connection doesn't matter. We will both never been as free as we could be."

Listening to Midori's words, Deidara took another sip from his tea. So Genmyou made a faulty seal and Gyuki could escape at any time, yet he never did so. Not to mention the time at the rice country. Deidara's eyes suddenly opened slightly more "If he wanted Gyuki could've broken out at any moment. Yet he didn't." Deidara suddenly said, and then lowered his tea back to the table "And at the rice country, where the seal was also slightly opened, you managed to convince him, with Gakuko and Natsuki's help, to stay there. Why stay there when he could've gained his freedom with ease? Its not like you could've truly stopped him. So, either Gyuki is confused on what he really wants, or you are. But either way, he had more than plenty of chances to break out, and he didn't. So unless you can explain to me why he didn't do so, I still have to go and say that you were not a timebomb. Asami turned you into one before fixing it. Before she approached you, have you had any big trouble with Gyuki? And I mean besides the rice country. Any specific incidents with him, or actual arguments, which lead to outbursts of chakra like the one you said happened?" He asked her, hoping she would begin to understand what he meant.

Midori frowned. This was all so confusing. Indeed Gyuki didn't break out before but he explained that he didn't want to. And then Asami told her she was a timebomb. Gyuki had never spoken about it before, about escaping or leaving her. Though... "There was one time. During the occupation. Before Asami."[ She said suddenly remembering. "He took over and Jinyaru-sama had to save me. There were two tails." However Midori realized that she was not completely truthful here. Gyuki had clearly stated that he had wanted to save her. There had been soldiers, and bullets and she had not gotten hurt and neither had that other little girl. Was what Deidara said true? Had Asami's words made her a timebomb instead of Genmyou's faulty seal?

"I remember that time. I tried to reach you but Jinyaru went and took you away from there. But I don't remember anyone got hurt during that, at least from what I saw. Pretty sure I saw a young girl leave unharmed before I went looking for you again. Only found Asami later, but if I had known what she will do..." Deidara said, and continued to look at Midori "But I didn't know about the two tailed cloak you got there, though I do believe there were some soldiers at the area. It was the same time they arrived, if I'm not mistaken." He said, trying to piece something together. Why would Midori have a two tailed cloak with Jinyaru around? Unless Jinyaru wasn't there before... And Gyuki was protecting her. With a slightly surprised face, he took another sip from his tea before speaking again "Was Jinyaru there when the two tails appeared, or did he arrive later?" He asked, being curious now.

"Later." Midori muttered. Yes, Gyuki had been protecting her even though she hadn't known it at that time. She had realized later. And then Jinyaru had calmed everything down. She had liked him. He was nice. But he was gone now, like so many other people. "There were soldiers there and they were shooting and ... everything was red." Midori decided to distract herself with her tea and took a big gulp. Ouch! That was hot. With a grimace Midori put the cup down. "I don't even know what happened to the soldiers. But they were bad people right? Right?"

Deidara almost let a small smile slip when he saw Midori take the big gulp of the hot tea, but then heard her question "Yes, they were bad people. People who wanted to hurt you, Gyuki, Jinyaru, Natsuki-sensei, and plenty other people. So it was good Gyuki protected you." He said, and now allowed the smile to slip "Do you maybe agree a bit with me now? You were never a timebomb. Asami... She knows how to get inside people's heads. It takes a lot to properly face her and not give her what she wants." He said, hoping she will understand what he means, but he also couldn't help but want to kick his cousin, even though he knew that he couldn't do it, yet, anyways.

"I..." Why was everything so confusing? Why was everyone saying different things. Asami, Natsuki, Gyuki, Deidara. They were all shouting different things at her. Did she have to decide who was right by herself? Why wasn't there someone saying, this is the truth? She just wanted the truth, or at least something that would help her find it. What was she? Who was she? Slowly she shook her head back and forth. "I don't know..." Her voice had something desperate. "Everyone is telling me things. Everyone thinks they know. But... but how can they know? I mean... I mean... I don't even know what I mean anymore!" Her hands curled into fists as she turned her face away from him and to the window. If she could only just run away. But she guessed that Asami wouldn't let her.

She had a valid point. It was hard to know what was right when more than one person told him things, but he realised that he understood what the truth was, eventually, by himself. He chose it. It was his truth. Looking outside the window, he then realised what might help Midori right now. He stood up, took out his wallet and paid for the two cups of tea "Come on Midori. We are going for a little walk. I have a feeling I know what will help you right now." Deidara said and looked at her, hoping she will be willing to come with him.

Midori was contemplating about saying no. He had confused her enough today and she didn't need any more things that would only make her mind a more complicated place to be. But... he did sound concerned and he did sound like he wanted to help and he was her friend. So she let herself be dragged along in a way. She shove her chair back and got up. "Okay." She said only and followed him outside.

Smiling to her, he motioned to her to follow him, and on the way outside of the teahouse he thanked the waiter that served them. Walking outside, he led the two of them into the small garden behind, and walked on a small path which eventually led into a much more quiet spot, which was hidden behind quite a few trees, giving them privacy. He saw a small gazebo with a bench in it, facing the forest that spread on the other side of the teahouse. Sitting on the bench he looked at the forest and then at Midori "Come sit. I have just the thing to help you become less confused." He said in a calm tone.

The place was quite wonderful, Midori thought as she looked around. She had never known that this was here. Without hesitation she sat down next to her teammember. The quietness was soothing. It wasn't often quiet around her house and neither in her head. "This place is great." She said. "How did you find it?"

"My dad showed it to me. He told me that if I needed a place to think about something, this is it. Not a lot go this far into the garden, and it makes it very quiet." Deidara said and looked around for a moment, enjoying the peace before turning to look at Midori once more "That's what I want you to do. Think. But not about what I've told you, or what anyone else told you. I want you to use this silence and peace to think about what you think is right. Just take your time, and it will come to you." He said and then leaned back on the bench, giving Midori all the silence she needed while enjoying it himself. He closed his eyes and allowed the small sounds to come to him.

"Your dad was great, wasn't he?" Midori asked before she fell silent. Thinking what she believed to be right... that was not that easy. People said so many things that it was hard to fish her own thoughts out of the bunch of others. They had become intertwined. They had clouded her own memories and ideas. Of course she was better friends with Gyuki now since the deal with the Falls. They both had learned something. But it had also become more they and less just her.

What did she think?

There were so many thoughts. She wanted to believe Deidara that she was not a timebomb. She had never felt like one after all. She had never really lost control and hurt the people she loved. So that was good. That is what she wanted: protect those people. But could she do that? Wasn't she also a weapon?

Midori rubbed her eyes. "We can stay here, right? For a long time? Because I can't decide this right now. I need... I need more time." She said to Deidara.

Opening his eyes, Deidara gave her a gentle smile "We can stay here for as long as you need. And if you can't decide today, you can always come back at different days too. But for now, we can." He said, hoping that she had managed to start slowly clear her mind.

Midori smiled and closed her eyes again. Maybe like this should could get an answer at some point. It might take time but that was okay. She was not in a hurry now.

"Oh, Midori." Deidara suddenly said and opened his eyes. He placed his hand inside his pouch and took out a small scroll from it, and then went and placed it inside her hand "I want you to know that no matter what, I will try and make sure that Asami will never do what she did to you again. As long as I am around, and you have that scroll, you can call me at any time. This is a small communication scroll. I have the one connected to it, so if you see Asami coming over, you can quickly write in it, and I will be over in no time to help you out. You have my word as your teammate, and friend." He said and looked at her, hoping she will accept it.

Midori stared at the scroll before her. There was silence and then she suddenly grinned broadly. With a quick move she accepted the scroll and stored it away in her own pouch. "Thanks Deidara. You... are a good friend." She said still smiling as she leaned back again and closed her eyes. Maybe yes, maybe she could find her answers now. At least she had a good friend to help her.
Giving her a grin back as she leaned and closed her eyes, Deidara looked at the forest and couldn't help but remember the last time he was here with his dad. It seemed like forever ago, but at least now he could be there with someone else. Feeling truly happy for the first time in a long time, he wondered how long will the two of them be there, just sitting and enjoying the silence like that.