Tobi walked out of the school building alone. The last few days he had walked out with Deidara, or Ino or Sakura. But today, he was alone. Well, it didn't really matter anyways.

He walked out, turning towards his house. Standing a few feet away, he saw Deidara, with a red-haired, young looking man. Tobi walked over to them.

"You've changed," the mysterious man said. Deidara crossed his arms over his chest and looked away.

"Hey Deidara!" Tobi exclaimed. He turned back to look at who called his name, and when he saw Tobi he scoffed. The man smirked.

"Is this you friend?" he asked curiously.

"No."

"Yes."

"I see. So, how does Deidara act around you?" he asked. Tobi took a deep breath.

"Mean. Cold. Anti-so-"

"That's enough," Deidara cut him off.

"If anythings enough it's your fake attitude," the man retorted. Deidara glared at him. "You see," he started, turning to Tobi. "Deidara is really-"

"Don't," he cut off once again, and walked away. Tobi looked at the man. He smiled at him.

"Sorry. My name is Sasori. Can we talk?"

----

"I apologize for dragging you away from anything you had to do," Sasori said, looking at Tobi over his cup of tea.

"It's fine. I had nothing to do anyways."

"Great. So, where were we?" he took a sip of his hot drink and looked at Tobi seriously.

"You see, Deidara... He never used to be... How he is now," Sasori started. "I've known Deidara since we were kids. And well, he... He was very different. He was kind, and gentle, and sweet." Tobi scoffed.

"Hard to believe," he muttered. Sasori chuckled and nodded.

"Yes, but its true. Things change, though. Before he lived in Konoha, he lived in a small town. The school that he went to, the kids didn't think too highly of him. They thought he was a snob, even after much proof of his sincerity. And, at the time his parent's didn't work as much. They were always there to welcome him home. Days started getting busier, to the point where he wouldn't see them the whole day, or maybe even two or three. And school was getting worse. The students began picking on him. Of course, he didn't like it. So, he fought back. But not for long, because his dad was transferred to a different location for his job, and they moved to Konoha. I ended up reuniting with him in middle school, when I came for a visit. He had turned arrogant, very arrogant."

"Like how he is now," Tobi said. Sasori shook his head.

"No. Arrogant as in 'My art is awesome, better than all, I'm most important, bow down to me,' blah blah blah. He said it out loud, too. He told everyone. Now he's more quiet, still arrogant but more like, he gives the vibe, he doesn't have to tell everyone because instantly they know it. He wasn't as cold, either. He was actually pretty lively and friendly. I left first year of high school and came back the second. I left again this year, a little before you came. But while I was here, he was like how I just described. I don't know what made him change, but I know for sure he's still the kind, generous person I used to know."

Tobi flinched, remembering the time he bumped into him.

As he continued walking and staring, he felt a body shove against his. The powerful push sent him flying back, falling onto the hard pavement. He heard someone gasp, and he looked up to see the back of long blonde hair.

"Ah! I'm so sorry!" the blonde said suddenly, twirling around and extending his hand down to the body before he could see who he was speaking to.

Tobi looked at Deidara. As he realized who it was he knocked over, Deidara's usual hollow expression returned.

When that happened, he had thought Deidara was another person. But it seems that was his true personality.

Tobi looked at Sasori.

"Why are you telling me this?" he asked. "Isn't there anyone better than me to tell?"

"I thought you were... different. Deidara seemed a little interested in you," Sasori replied. Tobi, confused, looked at him.

"Huh? What are you talking about? Are you saying that when someone says I'm not their friend it means that they're interested in me?" Sasori chuckled.

"I just got a feeling. He seemed pretty intent that you didn't find out who he was. With his new personality, I would've thought he didn't care." Sasori sighed and stood up. "Oh well, one can never know. I'm just saying, maybe you should talk to him. Maybe you could... I don't know." He reached into his back pocket and pulled out some money. Setting it on the table, he smiled at Tobi. "Thanks for speaking with me. It was nice to meet you. And I know it might seem that I trusted you fairly quick, but I think you can turn Deidara back into his real personality." And with that, Sasori exited the cafe.

-----------

He had called Deidara. He didn't know why. He asked Sakura for his number and called him. But he was frozen when he actually answered.

"Hello?" Deidara repeated. "Who is this?" Tobi didn't respond for a few moments before a plan settled into his mind.

"Um..." his deeper voice said. "Is this Deidara?" There was silence on the other end.

"Yes," Deidara replied after a few seconds. Tobi took a deep breath.

"Well, you see... Um, you know who Tobi is, right?" he asked. Won't be surprised if he said no, Tobi thought.

"...I do," he replied. Tobi's eyes widened.

"Right. Well, he is currently out but he asked me to call and ask if..." If what? "...If you would mind if he went over to your house. I'm going out on a mission and he gets lonely." There was more silence on the phone. Tobi bit his lip. "Oh, I'm his brother."

After about seven seconds he heard a long sigh.

"Oh... Well, it'd be fine, I guess. I'll... text you my address," he replied. Shocked, Tobi agreed and hung up.

-----------------------

About thirty minutes later, a shaken Tobi stood in front of the huge mansion door. Trying to control his heartbeat, he knocked on the door slowly. A few seconds later he heard footsteps, and the door flew open. Standing in front of him, a home Deidara.

Deidara stared at him, and after a few seconds smiled the smallest of smiles. He opened the door wider to let Tobi in. Quickly he entered and watched awkwardly while Deidara shut the door.

"So, uh, do you want anything to eat or drink or anything?" Deidara asked, beginning to walk to the kitchen. Tobi walked behind him quickly, trying to keep up with his fast pace. As soon as they got to the huge kitchen Deidara opened the fridge.

"Actually, I'm not really hungry," he lied. He wished he had eaten something before he came. Deidara stopped rummaging around the fridge and looked at Tobi.

"Oh. Are you sure?" he asked.

As soon as he asked that, Tobi's stomach growled. He quickly looked away and rubbed the back of his neck. Deidara sighed.

"You're such a hassle," he said. He pulled out a bottle of chilled water and handed it to him.

"Wait here, I have to go ask my brother something," he said, exiting the room. After he left, Tobi took the advantage and slipped off his mask. He opened the water bottle and put it to his lips. He drunk quickly, as fast as he could so he could avoid any accidental face reveals.

But it was too late.

Deidara walked back into the room.

"Oh, I forgot-" before he could continue, Tobi sputtered the water he was drinking and put the water down. He coughed violently and looked at Deidara.

"Y-You..." his deep voice caught in his throat.

Deidara was staring at him, frozen in place and eyes wide.

-----------------------

>;3