duality

Deidara has lived an interesting life. He's a firm believer in Isshun no Geijutsu; a single moment is full of more art than any lasting structure could ever be. Living for eternity is nothing compared to the single moment when you are truly ascended.

Single moments make up Deidara's life. Sasori, the fool, never understood that. Always so focused on living forever as an immortal puppet and not on what was happening in the now. Deidara can respect him for having an opinion on art, not many do, but Sasori lost many points with his everlasting nonsense.

Not many truly understand Deidara's stance on art.

Tobi, surprisingly, is one of them.

The masked man is a fool, always hopping around and annoying Deidara, but he doesn't pretend to know what true art is. He doesn't try to change Deidara's lifestyle, so Deidara doesn't try too hard to kill him. He half-heartedly strangles him, but he never goes long enough to do any more damage than giving the idiot a sore throat and a light head.

Deidara lives in the moment and Tobi is simply along for the ride.

Pein-sama tells them where to go and what to do and Deidara scowls, but he listens. He doesn't want to be here, has no desire to actually do any of the things requested of him, but he lost the bet to keep him here, fair and square, so he sucks it up and grinds his teeth through the worst of it.

Sometimes, though, he rebels in little ways.

Deidara is not a good man. He's rude and he knowingly betrayed his village in order to expand his understanding on the art style he has chosen to live by. He holds no regret in killing others or striking down those in his way.

He's a shinobi and he lives in the morally gray area that goes along with that.

Still, on a random day, when he's in a peculiar mood, he does things that contradict his otherwise nasty nature.

He's on a reconnaissance mission with Tobi, snarling angrily at his incompetent partner, when an approaching sound cuts off his enraged tirade.

"Someone's coming," Deidara hisses, dragging Tobi along as he springs to the side of the road, crouching down. He manhandles a whining Tobi next to him, glaring at the pouting man until he shuts up.

Deidara feels stupid when he sees the cart come over the horizon, the sight not in any way threatening. The closer it comes, the more details Deidara can pick out. A man sits at the helm, reigns in hand as the cart is pulled forward by a pair of oxen. In the back of the cart, instead of wares, are two other people. Cradling a protruding stomach is a young woman, her eyes closed and a soft smile on her lips. Across from her sits a tired looking child, choppy black hair moving lightly from the slight breeze their movements cause.

Deidara watches them sweep past their hiding place, eyes locked onto what he assumes is a small family. It's incredibly unlikely that they're anything other than what they appear to be, but on the off chance that they're travelling missing nin in disguise, Deidara would rather be on the safe side.

Tobi whines slightly next to him and Deidara tightens his hold, his arm wrapped tightly around his chest and neck. His hand is hovering over Tobi's mask, not quite resting against it. Deidara can't cover Tobi's mouth, not with the mask, and he wouldn't want to anyway, but the implication is there; if Tobi doesn't shut up, Deidara will shut him up.

The cart passes them slowly, all three members of the family looking sleepy in the early morning light. The child is swaying, eyes struggling to stay open, and eventually they give in to sleep, arms slipping down from their crossed position to rest next to them. Out of their grasp falls a small doll.

Deidara blinks and stares at the doll on the ground, glancing back to see that the child is asleep and hasn't noticed their missing doll.

On most days, Deidara would not care. So a child loses a doll, what does it matter to him? But today was an early start, waking up to Tobi's annoying singing as he cheerily cooked breakfast over a campfire. Deidara had scowled in annoyance, but he hadn't made the other shinobi stop, only grumbling sleepily as he choked down the burnt mush Tobi insisted was pancakes.

Deidara is in a good mood, feeling more generous than he has in months, so he takes some clay in his hand and when he opens it, a clay bird flutters out of his palm and into the road in front of them. It swoops down and grabs the small cloth doll, taking a moment to hover in the air. It flies forward and deftly drops the doll onto the child's lap, managing to startle the child awake. The kid blinks groggily, clearly confused, but then simply blinks at the doll in their lap before gripping it to their chest tightly and once more slipping into a peaceful sleep.

Deidara huffs and catches the bird in his free hand, unmolding the clay. He doesn't need it at the moment, so there's no need to keep it around.

There's silence for a moment, the natural sound from the surrounding forest the only noise, before Tobi has to go and ruin it.

"Senpai has a soft heart," is the soft whisper that breaks Deidara out of his melancholic mood.

"Shut up!" Deidara snaps, hating that he can feel his face warm. Suddenly realizing how closely he is holding Tobi, he pushes the masked man away, scowling as the man lands in the bushes they were just hiding in.

Deidara stomps away, face pink, as Tobi whines in the background, the idiot struggling to get himself out of the bush he was shoved into.

"We have a mission, get yourself together!" Deidara snaps, not knowing if he was yelling at Tobi or himself. He doesn't wait for Tobi to catch up, just simply moves forward onto the road and in the opposite direction of the traveling family.

Tobi eventually catches up, strangely silent as he walks next to Deidara. Deidara's embarrassment has left him, leaving only quiet contemplation in its place.

"Senpai shouldn't be embarrassed," Tobi says eventually, breaking the silence.