Ya Gotta Be

Ya gotta be: Tough

Tobi watched silently as his parents fought over which school to send him to. His father wanted him to go to Iwa. His mother wanted him to go to Konoha. Tobi himself wanted to stay right here in Mist. But his parents would never allow it. So he'd tough it out. And hope they didn't kill each other.

Ya gotta be: Bold

His father won. Tobi was sent to Iwa, Cloud, to be exact. Gulping, Tobi entered the classroom, a patch over his blind eye. "Um... h-hi. Uh, I'm Tobi. I was told to see Jiraku-sensei..." Twenty pairs of eyes turned to him. One pair caught his attention. They were shining blue. "Tobi-san. Go sit next to Deidara-san." The teacher ordered. Tobi ducked his head. "Yes sensei." He sat where the teacher indicated, next to the blue-eyed boy. He smiled nervously. "Um, hi." "Don't talk to me, un." The boy ordered. Tobi's smile wobbled. "Oh. Uh, sorry."

Ya gotta be: Bad

Tobi waited, letting the teacher lecture him, trying not to look at the other children. He hadn't known you weren't supposed to go to the bathroom for longer than five minutes. But when he sat down, Deidara grinned at him. "Hey, Tovy." "It's Tobi." Tobi muttered. "Yeah, whatever, un. I thought you were a bit of a wuss, un. But you got guts, man! Let's hang out after class." Tobi blinked, then grinned. "Sure!"

Ya gotta be: Wiser

Tobi gaped up at the tall building. "You... you wanna blow up that place?" "Well, yeah, un!" Deidara whispered enthusiastically, digging his clay out of his pocket, "It'll be fun, un!" "But... Dei-sempai... shouldn't we be more careful? Like, sneak into the basement and lay some traps? That way, no one will trip over them, and we won't be caught out here." Deidara stared at the blushing Tobi. "...Dude, that's smart, un." Tobi grinned.

Ya gotta be: Hard

Tobi tried not to puke when they brought out the bodies. Blown to millions of pieces hardly described the horror. He turned away, and pushed his way through the people, to the edge of the crowd. Deidara stood there, dry-heaving, tears running down his face. Tobi put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "C'mon." he whispered shakily, "Let's go home." Deidara nodded, and clung to Tobi's arm all the way home.

Ya gotta be: Stronger

"Dei-sempai." Tobi whispered. Deidara turned, his eyes crazed. He grinned ferally. "Tobi, ol' buddy. C'mon, let's leave this shit-hole." "No... Dei-sempai, please, don't leave the village! You're needed here!" Deidara lost his grin in an instant. "I AIN'T NEEDED! THEY HAVE YOU, DUMBASS!" he screamed. Before Tobi could move, he hopped onto the clay bird's back and soared far above. Tobi stared after the pale shape. "...Dei-sempai..." he pleaded. "Please, come home... I didn't think you were jealous..."

Ya gotta be: Calm

Tobi struggled not to cry out and hug Deidara. Years of searching, and he'd found his friend. "Dei-sempai." The blond man whipped around, hand going to a pouch on his thigh. The low, hulking man beside him turned slowly. "Who is this one?" He creaked, glancing at Deidara. Deidara's face was empty of emotion. "...An old friend." He took a step forward, still expressionless. Then he grinned. "Tobi. How've you been?"

Ya gotta be: Cool

"Tobi, this is Zetsu." Tobi smiled from behind his mask. "Hello, Zetsu." The plant man stared at him, golden eyes unblinking. "...You look Delicious... I was going to say 'young', but that works too." "Don't eat him, un." Deidara warned, "Pein-sama will serve you for dinner, un." He turned to Tobi. "Don't let 'im scare you, Tobi, un. He's harmless, unless he's hungry." Tobi nodded.

Ya gotta: Stay together

"Dei-sempai..." "GO AWAY, UN!" "Dei-sempai, please, Sasori wouldn't like this..." "WHAT DO YOU KNOW, UN? YOU DIDN'T KNOW HIM, UN!" Tobi bit his lip to keep it from trembling, but he couldn't stop a tear leaking out. "Dei-sempai... I thought I was your friend, too." He said softly. Deidara's furious expression didn't change. "SHUT UP AND GO AWAY! I HATE YOU, TOBI!" He screamed, and slapped Tobi. Tobi waited until Deidara was gone before struggling to his feet. "Why do you still try to break through to him? It's impossible, Tobi-san." Tobi sighed and turned to Zetsu. "I know. But I have to be there for him." He smiled bitterly. "He's going to need me soon enough..."