Clay and Puppets

Summery: In which, Sasori gains, through a string of seemingly unfortunate incidents, a new partner named Deidara. Reluctant to form any kind of friendship with the young Iwa missing-nin, Deidara seeks to get to know Sasori, while adjusting to his new life in the evil organisation of the Akatsuki.

Disclaimer: This product is meant for entertainment purposes only. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Some assembly required. Batteries not included. Use only as directed.

A/N: Hello all! This is a Sasori/Deidara fic, in which Deidara is completely male, I will point out, to clear any confusion on that level. This is Yaoi, so if you are not partial, do not read. I love SasoDei personally, and figure I should finally write my own story of how it is they came to be partners. :)

Please enjoy the story to come, as I will do my best to make it interesting!

Chapter 1: Iwagakure

It began with a bang.

"Just my luck." Sasori grumbled to himself, moving quickly as he ran alongside the dark figure beside him, and they made their way stealthily through the surrounding darkness.

The air was cold and harsh, and even through the parts of his body that were hard and wooden, the wind seemed to cut like ice - as the majority of the man that was still regretfully human seemed to strongly protest his moving about without the warm protection of Hiruko. Unfortunately though, the large bulky traveling puppet was simply not suited for this type of mission.

Stopping suddenly in front of a tall, slightly shrouded building, Sasori held himself still - as he and his companion hid themselves in an outcrop of bushes, just across from the precariously veiled backdoor of the structure they approached, and away from the guards who manned the front entrance.

The retrieval of the sacred scroll of Iwagakure was an especially important mission for the organisation - or so Sir Leader had told them - and Sasori had been required to be able to move quickly, without the dragging bulk of his favorite puppet. The organisation in question, was of course the notoriously evil Akatsuki - an infamous congregation of S-class criminals, boasting nine of the most dangerous missing-nins in the bingo book. It used to be ten - until recently, when Sasori's own partner within the organisation had, rather unsurprisingly, left without a word.

Which is were Sasori's recent bad luck seemed to stem from. Unusual as the current mission was for him, it was a well-known fact that all of the redheaded puppeteer's attacks originated from Hiruko and his other puppets - and with the recent loss of his partner, Orochimaru, he was left without an absolute defence, forcing him to rely upon the other members of the Akatsuki who were with him on the mission, while the puppet master's attacks were limited to the one puppet he had been able to bring.

"Sasori." His companion spoke lowly then, the monotone voice calling quietly from beside him, as it retrieved him from his thoughts.

Sasori gazed to the man beside him, and was met with flashing red eyes, as he nodded - a silent code to stay alert.

Tense and ready they sat, as the minutes ticked on without fail, and they continued to watch the silent building before them. It was sometime indeed, before they heard a decisive thump from inside the adjacent door - like the dropping of a heavy sack of potatoes on a wooden floor; and saw the flashing of a light in the window facing them - the sign they had been waiting for.

Moving quickly, they both darted to the entrance, concealment jutsus now lifted as they came to stand before the rickety back door of the building - a pathetic mock-protection for the treasure housed inside.

The red-eyed man was silent, as he lifted one thin hand and knocked twice on the wood of the door - the return signal for the one who waited inside. The door opened swiftly, and without pause, the two moved inside unhesitatingly - pushing the door closed behind themselves silently, as they turned to their new companion.

Hoshigaki Kisame grinned widely at them, the Mist Village missing-nin and tallest Akatsuki member bearing his sharp teeth, as he stood menacingly in the poor light of the now-dark back room of the old village storehouse.

"You took your time." Uchiha Itachi muttered to his partner, red eyes scathing as he sent the larger man a glare, to which Kisame only grinned wider - as they moved through the back room, and with quiet precision, opened another door - soon finding themselves standing in a maze of connecting hallways and sub-chambers, only one of which would lead to the main treasury of the repository.

Moving through the separate rooms of the building, Itachi led the way with his clan's pride, the infamous Sharingan, blaring; as he maneuvered them around and through the vast collection of artifacts that filled every room of the repository - seeking out their prize.

In no time at all, they found what they were looking for. A scroll, held up on a pedestal of gold, and covered in ornately detailed hiragana - the sacred Keiden scroll of Iwagakure.

Their mission would be a success.

Sasori felt himself relax marginally, gaining confidence at the sight of their goal - and an optimism filled him at the idea of simply grabbing the powerful object, with no mind at all for the rest of the priceless artifacts displayed throughout the gigantic building, and heading back to the hideout without even being seen - as he stepped towards it purposefully.

It was then that it happened.

For such incidents occur at times like these - when the simplest of accidents can set off a string of events that would inevitably lead to a future that one Akasuna no Sasori had never envisioned for himself, and one little mistake would set not only his own life, but the lives of countless others, on a different course.

It began with a bang.

The door to their left burst open, sending dust and smoke cascading through the air; and Sasori only had time to register the sudden beams of light streaming in through the door from two dozen fire-torches, before the shouting of the guards from the front entrance bellowed into the room.

Before anyone knew it, they were fighting; rolling on the ground, forming hand-signs and yelling deadly jutsus at the enemy through the dim red light of the torches. The Uchiha's Sharingan had inflamed to a blood-red, as he used his katana to smite those nearest to him, slashing the figures around him relentlessly - while Kisame and Sasori fought back to back, the puppet master conjuring his best poison-specialist puppet, shooting toxic needles at any who approached; and Kisame used his great Samehada, the famous shaving sword of the water country, to fend off those who approached them.

As the battle progressed, figures continued to fall around them - slowly at first, and then suddenly, the dropped fire torches that fell from the ninja-guards' limp hands beginning to grow. Before any of them knew it, the old storehouse had caught fire - and as the flames grew, so did the panic of those who fought on.

"The scroll!" Kisame called fiercely to the other two, eyes wide as the red light of the fire danced off of his blue skin, and he gestured meaningfully to the object of their mission, as he fought off two of the larger Iwagakure Jounin who still sought to defend the burning treasury.

Sasori's eyes flashed to the scroll quickly, then back to his current opponent - and with a deadly maneuver of his arm, the puppet he conducted, now bearing poisoned blades as long as a man's shin, stabbed the kunoichi before him through the chest - her face darkening instantly, as the puppet master let her drop heavily to the floor.

Turning then, with the dead mounting around them, the Akatsuki members watched as the last of the Iwa shinobi fled the scene, no doubt a short-lived retreat - and they made hastily towards the scroll.

"We must leave." Itachi intoned, panting slightly from the efforts of his fighting, and coughing harshly as oxygen became thin in the blackening air around them - though his tone held an urgent edge. "They will call reinforcements."

Sasori needed no further encouragement, as he rushed forward - his companions' eyes following him as he made towards the golden pedestal that held their prize, his arm stretching through the shroud around him as he reached for the scroll - and something stopped him.

It took the puppet master all of three second to realise what had happened, what now stood between he and the mission's goal.

Someone had stepped in front of him.

The smoke around them billowed thick and dark, obscuring any view of the figure's face - though through the darkness, Sasori could see it was another Iwagakure guard, overlooked it seemed - as they stood, smaller and obviously younger than the rest had been. And yet, this one had come to stand between the redheaded Akatsuki-nin and the desired scroll, kunai in their hand and raised to strike - but it was that, if anything, that gave them away to the old puppet master.

It was just a kid, he realised.

Sasori could have laughed.

It was pathetic.

But the situation was dire, and the young ones defiance only served to aggravate Sasori further, as the hots flames around them rose, and the wooden walls of the building began to fall. Thinking to end this quickly and without hassle, the man motioned for his puppet to come drifting before him, the wooden figure's blades raised threateningly, as Sasori's fingers twitched with anticipation of striking the young ninja down, before-

"Stop!" The kid yelled suddenly, his tone sharp and imploring - though it was nothing the puppeteer had not heard from his victims before, and he remained unfazed, poised to strike - until the youth continued; "I will not let you leave with the scroll, unless you take me with you!"

And to the surprise of both the child and himself, Sasori did still at those words. Caught off-guard by the young shinobi's proposal, the puppet master's hand stilled, fingers frozen in mid-command - Itachi and Kisame also unmoving, as they stood in silence behind him - and a shocked quiet grew in the air, disrupted only by the crackling of persistent flames. The puppet master squinted through the smoke, the fire drawing nearer, as he attempted to see the hidden expression on the young guard's shrouded face.

Take the kid with them?

After a moment, Sasori frowned as he regained his presence of mind - and remembered what precious little time they had, as the heat of the storehouse permeated the deep folds of his cloak.

"Stupid brat!" The puppet master yelled, watching with growing aggravation as the kid jumped at the harsh sound of his voice, but did not retreat. "I will kill you here, if you will not move!" He declared cruelly, this time allowing his puppet to strike - as the blade sliced cleanly through the air, the arm of the puppet lunging towards the youth.

"No!" The Iwa ninja yelled then, almost in frustration; and the puppet master watched as the youth released something from their hand - a small bird made of clay, it seemed, which dove itself instantly at the menacing puppet - surprising Sasori, when it exploded upon impact, leaving a large hole in the once-flawless wood of the figure, and completely destroying it's arms.

Before the puppeteer could react, watching as his precious weapon fell uselessly to the burning floor, the child released more strange clay figures from his hands - tiny spiders now, which immediately jumped from his palm, and latched themselves onto both the lifeless puppet and the three members of the Akatsuki.

"Katsu!" The young ninja yelled, and the already-destroyed puppet exploded once again with greater force - the blows reducing it to charred wood and tarnished metal before it's creator's eyes.

Sasori gazed in shock at what had once been one of his deadliest puppets, before focusing once again on the kid in front of him, who had destroyed it so quickly - and felt himself stiffen, as he registered the clay spiders currently residing on his own body.

The threat was clear.

"Sasori." Kisame hissed next to him, urging the puppet master to act, as the flames of the building continued to rise to increasingly alarming heights - threatening the existence of the scroll.

Sasori was torn, as he continued to stare at the dangerous child before him - and felt, more than saw, the intensity with which the youth gazed back at him.

And when the same gentle voice reached him again from the shrouded figure, it was demanding this time.

"Take me with you." The kid repeated.

Sasori was silent for a moment, feeling every second that passed, as he pressed himself to make a decision. This low-level guard, this child, more than a half a head or so shorter than him - although no doubt much younger - was willing to betray his village and come with them, the enemy, the infamous Akatsuki, and in doing so would give up the scroll; after having destroyed one of his favorite puppets, and inadvertently threatened to blow them up.

Who was this kid?

A crash from outside alerted them suddenly then, the group of Akatsuki growing anxious, as they became immediately aware of the back-up for the the guards arriving just beyond the walls of the treasury.

They had run out of time.

Sasori had no more time to think - as he grabbed the arm of the kid, opting simply for the choice that was quickest, as he yelled aggressively to the youth; "Come on!"

And then they were escaping. Turning on their heels and running full-speed from the scene of their fighting, the rooms they passed through now full of light from the spreading fire, they jumped over crumbling wall and burning wood all around them as the smoke rose in their lungs - making their way haphazardly through the collapsing storehouse, and to the back door once again.

When they spotted the barricaded back entrance, their speed doubled - the voices of the pursuing Iwa shinobi echoing not too far behind them - only to stop short when they found that the door was now aflame, the roof collapsing from above rapidly, as a heavy wooden pillar came crashing through the adjacent wall - blocking the escape.

"Kisame!" The Uchiha shouted meaningfully to his partner.

The shark-like man wasted no time, pulling Samehada quickly off of his back - and swinging it forward with great force, the gigantic blade impacting with the charred wooden door full-force - as it burst open, the wooden pillar breaking through to land on the ground. The sudden chilled wind of the outside air filled the blistering building, enraging the flames, as the four escaping shinobi ran through the newly cleared entrance.

Sasori's lungs burned as he ran, the man only then realising that he still kept a firm hold of a thin arm, though he wasted no time looking back as they jumped up into the trees - swiftly running through the branches and away from the Iwa treasury, all the while listening for tell-tale signs that they were being followed.

They ran and jumped, as fast as their feet would carry them, for what seemed the longest time - until eventually they came to a halt, at the top of a cliff overhanging Iwagakure. Now safely outside the perimeter of the village, the four panted and coughed, relief filling them at their escape - and feeling sure that they were not being pursued any longer.

"That... was close..." Kisame huffed seriously as he gazed over to his partner, where the Uchiha rested against a tree, eyes closed and chest heaving.

"Too close." Sasori replied sullenly, looking down over the forest that stood between them and the hidden storehouse they had infiltrated, before he gazed beside him for the first time, to the kid whom he had dragged along.

And the puppet master's breath caught in his throat.

Let it be said, that Akasuna no Sasori had never been a man to find much value in the appearance of others - infamous criminal and missing-nin of Sunagakure that he was - but in this circumstance, he could not help but stare at the creature in front of him. Long blonde hair reaching far down to the youth's lower back, a thin waist and slightly curved hips, delicate hands, full lips - and the most striking blue eyes Sasori had ever been one to witness.

Indeed, it was only the flat chest which led the puppeteer to conclude the youth to be a boy.

"Look!" The young ninja cried then, his blue eyes widening, as he pointed down to the village once again, at the treasury from which they had just come - as it glowed a flaming red in the dark.

Sasori tore his eyes away from the child, gazing down just in time to see a burst of light - and feel the huge explosion that erupted into the air, blowing him onto his back from the force and blinding him - even at their distance from the village, as the boom resounded over the cliff, ringing in the puppeteer's ears.

Sitting up quickly in alarm, after the white light faded out of his view, the puppet master looked quickly over the cliff once again in his shock - at the building that was now a fiery torch in the sky. Iwagakure ninja swarmed the newly-exploded building, as hundreds lay dead outside, many of the structures surrounding the treasury also destroyed by the blast - and a large section of the protective wall which surrounded the village of Iwagakure lay in rubble.

The puppet master looked then to the boy, who sat next to him now, gazing down from the cliffside in wonder at the destruction he had caused. He turned to the redheaded man then, meeting the older man's gaze with a wide grin, blue eyes sparkling with excitement - and it was then that Sasori knew, that this was no normal kid.

The puppeteer looked behind him, breaking eye contact with the jovial boy, as he gazed to Itachi and Kisame - who also looked on in slight shock at the sight of the explosion.

It was Itachi who broke the ringing silence.

"We should go." The Uchiha announced quietly, as he helped Kisame up off the cliff floor where the large man had fallen, and turned to take off.

Sasori continued to gaze at the boy next to him in astonishment, taking a moment, before he rose to stand - bright blue eyes following him all the while, as he turned his back then, ready to depart the scene. But the puppet master hesitated, as he heard the youth come to stand behind him, brushing dust from his standard black pants - and the redheaded man found himself turning back to stare once again at the deceptively alluring young man, who's blue eyes seemed equally as fascinated with him.

Before Sasori could help himself, he asked the boy - his voice barely a whisper as his eyes held a suspicious edge;

"Who the hell are you, brat?"

The young ninja's eyes widened at the term, and he seemed a little surprised to be asked - but after a moment, the boy smiled widely, his eyes gazing intensely into Sasori own brown-red orbs, as he replied in a cheery tone;

"My name is Deidara, un!"

The puppet master stared, incomprehensive of the joyfully-given answer, and might have, under normal circumstances, admonished the boy - but decided immediately that he would let it go. It had been a difficult night.

"Come on." The man commanded instead, for the second time that night - and the boy seemed only too happy to oblige.

They too took off then, quickly catching up to the other two Akatsuki shinobi, and finally; with only a hesitant nod from the puppeteer, and answering indifference from the others, they began the journey back to the hideout - one more than when they had left.

A/N: And that is how they find him. Next chap: Their return to the Akatsuki, and Deidara's actual joining of the organisation.

So please let me know what you thought of this chap, of the characters, and if you want me to update!

Thank you,

-Emerald-