Sunny Side up,
Chapter 4: the Red or the blue?
Deidara loved the feel of the wet clay running under his fingers as the potter's wheel spun. It was nice to be working with true art once more even if in the end it would become a rigid changeless thing. He fround at the thought of his beautiful clay being used as a vase.
Maybe it could be an exploding vase?
The blond sighed. no there where to many problems with that. The man who had ordered it had been a ninja he would most likely survive and then he would know that it was the vase and deidara would be exposed…. Besides it wouldn't due to blow up his new neighbors in the first week. Especaly when the man… Inochi was it? Yeah, that was his name was likely to become a loyal customer.
Inochi had entered the store just after Naruto had left. Tall and muscular Deidara would have known the man was a ninja even without the headband he had wrapped around his head. the man had been very polite and the two had talked for a while. Apparently, Inochi owned the flower shop crossed the way, not only that but the man had been eagerly awaiting the Grand opening of Deidara's clay works. The only other potter was all the way on the other side of town and the Yamanaka flower shop needed a near constant supply of display vases.
Buying said vases from Deidara would save the Yamanakas hundreds of Ryo in shipping coasts. And so, they had struck up a deal, every month Inochi would pay Deidara for the creation of 40 vases and would walk over a couple times a week to pick up however many had been made. It was a win-win situation for sure.
That's what Deidara was doing now, creating the first set, bent over a potters wheel in the workshop of his Store/home. A bare little room with the tools of his new traid, a kiln, his work bench littered with brushes and pots of glaze, and of course the row appon row of wire shelves on which he would store his completed works.
He worked masterfully. A flick of the wrist here, a curl of the fingers there and th wheel did the rest. The work went quickly and soon Deidara was on his third vase, it was then as he was centering the clay, that he heard the door chime.
The chime meant a visitor, a visitor was a potential customer and customers were equal to more money. Given this Deidara stopped what he was doing and came round the dividing wall into the storefront with a large grin.
"Hello and welcome to Sunny Side Clay Works, yeah? What can I …." Deidara's sales pitch trailed off as he saw exactly who it was standing in his reception area.
There in all his official red and white glory, was the sandame Hokage. The Professor himself had come to call. He was standing arms folded in front of him hands pushed up into the sleeve of the other arm.
To be completely honest Deidara was in shock not only that the man had found out about him, and from the edge of steel in the old man's eyes Deidara had little doubt that he knew exactly who Deidara was, but rather the fact that the he had come alone. To Diedara it seemed the height of carelessness, unless of course the Professor believed he was capable of beating someone of deidara's abilities one on one.
That thought sent a shiver down his spine.
The blonde's mind was moving at the sped of light trying to figure out how in the name of art he was going to get out of this one. He couldn't use his clay for several reasons, if there were to be a blast in this enclosed space it would kill him as well as the hokage, but if he where to take the fight outside and get to the proper range then the Sandame would open up with his legendary arsenal of jutsu. The sheer amount of chakra used in such a fight would be noticeable even to the dead. No Deidara would stick to taijutsu, he might even have the advantage in hand to hand, the Hokage was most likely beginning to feel his age…
Deidara had no more time to think because at that moment the Hokage stated to pull his hands from his sleeves and fearing a weapon of some kind the ex rock nin charged.
He moved straight in trying to close the gap between them, and then body flickered straight through the Hokage just in time to avoid a face smashing high kick that should have been impossible for someone so old to pull off.
Deidara dropped low and swung his foot round in an undercut, attempting to sweep Sarutobi off his feet but the old man was ready. With one leg still in the air from the kick he pushed off with the other foot, at the same time twisting back and to the left. It put the professor into a horizontal spin, as Diedara's kick scythed under him the Hokage let his spin carry him until he was over the blonds head where he arced out his arm and brought a sort of round house punch down and around to smash into Deidara's back.
The force of that punch sent him tumbling and sliding across the floor towards the back wall. Just as Sarutobi righted himself and started to follow Deidara reached it and pushed of hard launching himself into the air. Half way to the old man, he flipped around midair so that he was flying feet first towards the hokage. Seeing this Sarutobi stopped ad braced himself and when Deidaras flying mule kick caught him in the chest the Blonds momentum sent him sliding back a few feet but he managed to trap Deidara's feet to his chest using his forearm. When he was able to get a firm footing his other arm snaked out and he planted that forearm behind the artist's knees. Holding Deidara's legs tight the old man lead back raising him into the air then brought him back down slamming him into the ground. Then up again for another slam.
This time when Deidara hit the floorboards buckled and cracked. Sarutobi started to lift him again but Deidara was ready. He slammed his hands into floor above his head, dug his fingers into the wood and bit down on it with the mouths in his palms. Using the extra leverage he flipped the Hokage up over his head and slammed the man head first into the ground with a crunch.
Deidara clambered to his feet in time to see the Hokage slowly climb to his, the old man tilted his head to the side and it made a popping noise. And then whith a blur of movement the old man was on him, powerful arms pumping left, right, left, right in sharp brutal punches. The hokage kept his center of gravity low and fighting with the sort of burning intesaty that the burning leaf style Taijustsu, the Style the third himself had developed, was known for. Deidara countered the abrupt attack as best he could using the slow steady motions and sudden bone jarring strikes that his own stile, his families style was based on.
If anyone had seen the two fighting they would have seen something rare and beautiful. Something that had not occurred since the formation of the first ninja village, since the time when ninjutsu had replaced taijutsu as the central pillar of schooled combat.
They would have seen to fighters who had each mastered there art, going at it with everything they had using no fancy tricks or flashy jutsu. They would have seen the burning leaf, the physical personification of the will of fire, go head to head with the shifting of the earth the movement of the tectonic plates, and the earthquakes and other disasters they cause. For that was what the earth style, the dance of the sliding stone was based on.
The hokage and missing nin exchanged blow after blow. Neither was the fastest or strongest of there martial art but they both knew exactly what they where doing, knew every flaw and nuance in their respective styles.
It was a stalemate really, and both of them knew it. Thy where evenly matched in Taijutsu to keep going like this would get them nowhere but neither of the was willing to be the first to bring Ninjutsu into play.
Sarutobi had read the report from Iwa, and new his opponent specialized in long range area attacks. If this fight escalated to the point where the blond resorted to his more explosive abilities the village itself would be in danger.
Deidaras reservations where more self serving, true he liked this shop, it was by far the best he had been able to set up to date but he had blown his shops up and moved on when discovered before. No he didn't want that Inochi or any other jonin that might be neer by to show up and make his departure any harder than it was now.
So they stood deadlocked. It was a momentary pause in the fight nothing more, both parties taking an opportunity to catch their breath. However, that was when it happened. A creek from the back room that Deidara realized was the back door to the shop opening.
"Deidara? I'm back where are you?" it was Naruto.
The young blond came round the corner and into the, now partially destroyed front room. He stood and stared in shock at the mess he saw. The display cases which he and Deidara had so carefully stacked laying strewn across the floor. With a whip like motion he turned to Deidara.
"Deidara-nii, some mean person messed up our store!" then quickly turning to the hokage, "old man are you going to help us catch the bastard? That's why you're here right?"
Deidara and Sarutobi looked at each other for a moment and something invisible passed between them. The Tsuchikage had been a harsh, cruel man and Deidara had expected this Kage to be no different, but looking how easily naruto talked to the old man it looked like he was wrong. Deidara decided something would have to be done about the tension. Then the blond missing nin spoke bending down to pick up the shattered remains of what had once been a fruit bowl.
"hai, hai Naruto-kun well catch him, but first we should clean up a bit, yeah?" then, grinning up at the Sandame, "Isn't that right Hokage-kun?" Sarutobi shot the man a quick glare for the kun before jumping into the act.
"Yes that's right, Naruto, would you be so kind as to fetch a broom"
"Sure thing old man!" he gave a mock salute before he was off running, leaving the two s-rank ninja who had just been trying to kill each other scuttling along the floor picking up bits of pottery. For a minuet or so there was an awkward silence, and then…
"Deidara-san, after we are finished here you and I need to have a serious talk."
The artist sighed and settled back to sit on his heals,"I suppose I do owe you an explination, yeah? You want to know what I'm doing in this lovly little village of yours, yeah?"
The Hokage nodded not looking up from his work. "yes I do need to know that, however I am far more concerned with where Naruto learned the word 'Bastard'.
Deidara gulped and quietly went back to work.
((((((((((((AN)))))))))))
well there's that next chapter wont be out tell august as I'll be in France tell then.