Hidden Villages

I: Sculpting

Anger caught in his throat. He found himself struggling with the frustration he felt. Clay in his fingers simply felt right. He could mold it and make it into anything he wanted, but he still remembered the wide-eyed expression on Kurosutchi's when he first presented her with a small bird he'd made.

The bird was simple, as were the details on the feathers. Yet, she said a word he'd never thought he'd hear from her tomboyish mouth. "Cute."

She kept the sculptures he made, but they brought a smile to her face. He also enjoyed the smile his sculptures brought to the face of his step-mother who used the word "beautiful" when she described his work. While he wasn't fond of the woman who effectively replaced his mother, she did fulfill the role in this regard.

His father on the other hand...

Deidara pressed his thumbs into the clay and pressed hard as he let his frustrations at the favoritism his father showed bare down onto the sculpture he was making. In a world where sons were normally favored over daughters, the daughter was favored over the son. His fingers pressed into the clay again making a hole in the clay and forcing him to start over.

His father looked down upon his art. The man was fine with Kurosutchi's dance because said dance was made for training towards specific ninja techniques, but dance was considered a suitable past time for a kunoichi. However, his sculpture was not appropriate for a young man training to be a shinobi.

Deidra pounded his fist into the clay letting it splatter across the table in an appealing manner. The corner of his mouth twisted up into a grin as he saw the mess in front of him. A frown spread across his face upon realizing what he'd done, and his eyes closed.

A clay covered hand reached up and touched his forehead as he attempted thinking about the feelings he felt. He pushed his lips together. He found himself in conflict emotionally, feeling both jealousy and love towards Kurosutchi. His fingers pinched into his facial features as tears welled at the corners of his eyes as he bit slightly into his lower lip.

"Shinobi are to forget emotions. They hold you back." Letting out a deep breath Deidara leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. His clay covered hands hung down beside him as his blue eyes took in the ceiling above him.

"Deidara!"

A deep sigh escaped his mouth, but he didn't move. In the back of his mind Deidara found himself glad Kurosutchi wasn't around to hear what was going on. Of course, he might be unlucky and find out that his sister was there, or she might show up at some point and overhear the conversation his father was going to have with him.

"Deidara, did you actually skip class today?"

The blond-haired preteen turned his head away from the door, but didn't say anything.

"Are you really going to ignore me like that?"

Deidara finally spoke. "I didn't think you would notice."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I mean the fact you'd rather ignore I exist."

Kitsuchi walked over and slammed his hands down onto the table. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You don't appreciate me for who I am, and would rather I just disappear."

"I'd rather you actually do what you're supposed to do rather than wasting your time making silly objects which are of use to nobody."

"You mean how Kurotsuchi's actually able to provide something with her skills?" Deidara turned so he could look at the man.

"Don't bring your sister into this!" Kitsuchi was definitely angry at him. "Don't tell me the reason you're doing all of this comes down to the fact you're jealous of the fact she was allowed to graduate before you despite being younger than you?"

"I wouldn't exist if she weren't younger than me."

"You know what. If you really want to wallow in your own self-pity Deidra, go ahead. Stop, though, skipping your classes at the academy. You need to attend so you can graduate."

"Apparently..."

"I said to leave your sister out of it."

The man walked away, but slammed the door hard. Deidra turned back towards his clay and began thudding it down onto the wooden surface hard. The more he did, the less angry he felt.

Eventually he started moving towards pinching and shaping the clay, yet nothing came to mind as he continued working the clay. The door slid open, but Deidra didn't look up.

"Are you working on a graduation gift for your sister?"

"It's not working." Deidra's lips pushed together in frustration. He didn't look Akatsuchi in the face. "I'm not coming up with anything."

"Maybe because technically you were supposed to be graduating before her?"

Deidra paused, before smashing what he'd gotten done down into a flat lump of clay. "I want to say I'm not jealous, but I know I am. I think my frustration comes from the fact she's accepted for who she is, but I'm not. He'll never accept this, what I enjoy doing, but anything I make for him won't be good enough in his eyes. I can never make that one thing that..."

"Just..." Akatsuchi paused. "You know, I wanna hear the brother from another mother stuff you always say rather than this."

"Oh." Deidra frowned. "I say that because you look more like my father than I do." He looked at the clay. "I think I know what I'm going to make her."

"Oh."

"You may not be blood-related to us, and she and I may not have the same mother, but we're still family."

"That still doesn't tell me what you're going to make."

"Us. The three of us." Deidra started shaping the three small figures. He started by giving them a body making sure Akatsuchi was a bit heftier than others. He added the limbs before adding the basic facial features and then clothing. He carefully put in more detail before finishing.

"Now you just need to fire it."

"Yeah."

Timeline
~ Monday, April 13, 77 ~ The academy starts in all of the five major hidden villages. Hana celebrates her birthday, but Kira thinks she is twelve.
~ Thursday, April 16, 77 ~ Darui follows C. Deidra makes his sculpture.
~ Monday, April 20, 77 ~ Tsunade arrives in town.