Chapter Text
Deidara struggled to open his eyes, feeling as if he were floating in a dark, endless sea. His limbs felt strange, as if they weren't responding to his brain's commands. He tried to reach out, but to no avail — a tingling sensation persisted throughout his body.
Where the hell was he?
Memories from before that moment slowly returned, but all it did was sharpen his confusion.
He had used his C0 in the hopes of killing Sasuke Uchiha – he had reached the pinnacle of his art, which should certainly have killed him.
Well, maybe he was really dead; it would make sense why he couldn't open his eyes or move his limbs, or even feel like he was floating. However, if this was some kind of afterlife, it was really shitty. Would he just be adrift in the darkness forever?
He hopes not. Maybe someday his soul will wear out and disappear. But it's not like he wants to find out — he'd much rather exist in hell than wander through the void until he's reduced to dust.
Deidara opened his mouth, ready to say something, maybe yell some curses at anyone who could hear him to put him somewhere else, but he froze in shock when he heard only babble coming out of his own mouth.
Babbling…? – He thought to himself, before making an even greater effort than before to open his eyes.
The feeling of movement slowly returned to his limbs and he tried to stand, only to find that he could not.
He noticed that his limbs seemed shorter than before, almost impossibly short for a man his age.
Finally, Deidara was able to open his eyes, feeling them tremble briefly.
To his shock, however, the sight that greeted him was a woman with hair as red as a ruby that cascaded down her face and shoulders, as messy as possible. Violet eyes brimmed with happiness, love, and unshed tears. She seemed to be saying something, but it was all lost to Deidara's ears.
He felt himself shudder, trying to pull back with all his might, though he couldn't.
It had been a long time since anyone had looked at him with such affection. He knew he wasn't lovable, never worthy of love — he was unpleasant and arrogant — and yet, this was the second time someone had looked at him like that.
The last person who looked at him with that look died in his arms.
He quickly pushed such thoughts to the back of his mind when he recognized the woman's look turn to one of concern.
“H-He’s not crying, ‘ttebane!” The woman exclaimed, tightening her arms around him with a fearful expression.
A man with a lightly tanned skin, spiky blond hair, tired sapphire blue eyes, and an overall disheveled appearance approached, concern shining in his eyes. He started to say something, but Deidara couldn't hear.
This tired and worn-out man was none other than Minato Namikaze, the Yellow Flash , the Fourth Hokage . The same one whose name was practically forbidden in Iwa.
What the fuck? – That's all he could think.
He tried to look around and then looked at his own arms, which were chubby and extremely childish looking.
His eyes involuntarily filled with tears as deafening screams escaped his mouth, shame rising through his being, though he was unable to control himself.
He regrets everything he said. He would rather have remained in the void for the rest of eternity.
A month has passed since the day Deidara woke up to a new life – a very unwanted one, by the way.
The only positive aspect of this whole farce was that he could spend hours screaming his frustrations out until he was exhausted. Being able to scream endlessly without fear of the consequences was incredible. Liberating, as if a weight were being lifted from his chest. And perhaps it was; it had been a long time since he'd allowed himself to break down and cry.
Despite this, there were also downsides.
The first thing, well, was that it was completely humiliating to depend on others for everything with the mental age of a nineteen-year-old. He had never imagined he would know what it was like to wear diapers — since he had forgotten the early years of his childhood.
Not only that, but he also had all the time in the world to think about his past life and his current life — after all, he was a baby who couldn't do anything. Being left alone with his thoughts wasn't much fun, but then again, there wasn't much he could do about it.
After a while, the blond realized he wasn't just in the past, but also in another timeline — from what he knew, the Fourth Hokage had died before having children. He'd probably been reincarnated as the Yellow Flash's son, because there's nothing the universe loves more than irony.
An Iwa ninja reincarnated as the son of the man who decimated entire platoons of his homeland. Haha.
It's both comical and tragic at the same time. Tragicomic.
Perhaps it's a good thing Deidara didn't really care about his village. They were ignorant and didn't know how to appreciate true art. And they were experts at making living in society hell, especially since many considered his kekkei genkai disgusting.
Thinking about his art, he was relieved to discover that his extra mouths were still there — and that was good for everyone around him, because if he didn't have them, he'd make a point of hunting down whoever ruled that universe and blowing them up immediately. But sadly, he doesn't think his new parents will let him use his explosive clays any time soon.
It was still strange for him to refer to the couple that way.
Back in his past life, he had a mother who loved him and who he was sure would do anything for him. The blond didn't see her as much as he would have liked, as she had to work tirelessly to support them, as his useless father took all his mission pay somewhere he never bothered to find out, returning only to take out his anger on his wife and son.
It wasn't perfect, but it was better than nothing, he used to tell himself as a child, and he believed it wholeheartedly. It could be worse.
He knew, however, that this disorderly arrangement was bound to fall apart, and so it did.
Her screams remain trapped in his mind, scratching at the walls of his unconscious and leaving scars that will never heal.
Deidara shook his head, trying to rid himself of the frightening memories that continually haunted him before his young body began to cry, still unable to regulate his feelings.
His effort was in vain, however, when a scream followed by sobs escaped his lips without his permission.
His new parents approached with loving and concerned expressions, despite their exhaustion — and those faces sent him into another spiral.
They were very different from his former parents, in a way he himself hadn't known was possible.
The blond knew, logically, that his first parents' relationship was unhealthy, wrong, and toxic — and that he had been caught in the crossfire. Even with this knowledge, he had never witnessed a truly happy couple, so he continually denied their existence.
However, his current parents made him question this belief.
The first time his bubble was burst was when he spent more time with them and discovered that Minato was nothing like his former sperm donor — and not even the monster Iwa painted him as. In fact, he was the complete opposite — he treated his current mother like a true queen — and all the screams he heard in the house were either innocent pranks or his own.
It felt wrong. Unnatural.
( And it made his heart skip a beat to realize that he would have the chance to experience the love of a complete family in this lifetime .)
Deidara is still filled with rage for various reasons and he would continue to waste his screams until he could no longer – or until the ugly feeling of uselessness disappeared from his chest.
But maybe… – He thinks as his new mother brings him to her lap while rocking him.
Maybe he can find a place for himself in this new timeline.
The blond boy slowly opened his eyes, hearing a myriad of screams coming from outside his room. He made a disgruntled noise, wishing more than anything that he could blow up the cause of the disturbance, though he knew he wouldn't be able to do so for a long time.
This body was, what, three months old? He bets he'll start walking in four months, tops! But the relearning process would be humiliating.
He let out a long yawn and it wasn't long before the voices that had been disturbing him became clear.
"Sensei! Let us see him!" One of the voices exclaimed in a tone so shrill it made his eardrums sting. It was a strangely familiar tone.
"I bet your son is so cute, sensei!" came a female voice.
“Tsk. Calm down, you two.” Despite the reprimand, there was a bit of expectation in the third voice.
"You're just as anxious as I am, Bakakashi!" The first voice became angry and, consequently, even louder, which made Deidara let out another indignant snort as he realized that they were probably all children.
He won't complain, anyway. He'd give anything to get out of this baby routine, even if it meant having to put up with a bunch of snotty brats all over him.
…Although… he’s a snotty brat now, isn’t he?
The blond wonders which deity he offended to deserve this fate. He could have reincarnated without memories, but no! He needed to remember everything.
"Shh!" Minato — his father — answers them in a lower tone, oblivious to his inner turmoil. "You're going to wake him up…"
Too late – He thought as he let out a cheerful laugh, in order to inform the guests that he had already woken up.
Fortunately, his plan worked, as just moments later the door opened to reveal three teenagers and an adult. The younger ones had expressions of varying degrees of excitement, while the older one had an expression of defeat.
Deidara looked around at the trio as two of them cooed at him, quickly recognizing Kakashi Hatake, also known as Sharingan no Kakashi. This was clearly a younger, more immature version of the man, one who didn't possess a Sharingan. It kind of made him wonder how he had achieved such power in his timeline. Perhaps he might question that in the future.
After that, he spotted a girl with straight, shoulder-length brown hair and twin purple marks on each cheek. It wasn't someone he recognized. Maybe she'd given up the ninja life — or maybe she'd died.
Finally, he locked eyes with the high-pitched voiced boy and felt himself stiffen.
An Uchiha.
Of course, he was in Konoha. He knew he'd meet one of them at some point, he just hadn't expected it to be so soon, when he wasn't even capable of blowing him up yet! And then there was the fact that he felt like he'd met this boy before, but he couldn't quite pinpoint when or how.
However, the Uchiha's next move sent sirens blaring in his mind.
As the boy looked down at his small hands and saw mouths on each of them, he seemed to freeze for a moment and a flash of recognition briefly flashed through his eyes.
Deidara's eyes widened as he realized this. This was someone from his past life who had also reincarnated!? He knew him!!?? However, he didn't remember anyone who looked even remotely like the boy.
"Sensei, where did those mouths on their hands come from?" The Uchiha asked shakily, pointing to the blond's hands.
Rude – Deidara thought briefly.
"Honestly, we're not sure…" Minato spoke softly, seeing the children's confusion. "Kushina and I suspect it's some kekkei genkai that comes from my side of the family, but I've never met any of my other relatives…" He finished apologetically.
The three of them were silent for a moment, before the Uchiha grinned broadly. "That's kinda cool! Do you think he can eat through those mouths? And need to brush it's teeth? Oh, do you think he could make sculptures with them?" He spoke hurriedly, practically spitting the words out, though he sent him a discreet glance.
If he wasn't sure before, he is now. This person knew him in his past life and has memories of it. Now, Deidara just needs to remember who this is.
"What kind of questions are these, you idiot?" Hatake said in a bored, yet somewhat judgmental, tone.
"Those are very important questions!" The black-haired boy shouted back, before they were both silenced by the girl.
"Shhh! You'll scare him!" She scolded them, before turning to the blond with a soft smile. "Hello, Deidara-chan! I'm Nohara Rin, and these two idiots are Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Obito." Nohara introduced, pointing to each of the boys respectively.
Deidara sighed internally. He didn't know any Uchiha Obito. Maybe it was someone he attacked at some point? But that wasn't possible; there were only two Uchiha left in his old world.
The blond held out his hands to the Uchiha, who stared at him for a moment before picking him up.
Deidara stared at him, willing his gaze to convey the questions he wanted to ask, but couldn't. Unfortunately for him, however, the black-haired boy didn't notice, merely grinning foolishly, bragging to Hatake that he was, according to him, 'the sensei's son's favorite.'
'Who is this idiot... ' – The blond thought wearily. He felt like he knew him, but he couldn't put a name to the face.
Well… that was a problem for future Deidara.
“M-Mama…”
Kushina froze, immediately dropping the spoon she was using to stir a stew – turning off the stove – and heading towards her son.
“Y-You said it?!” The redhead exclaimed, her eyes shining. “Say it again!”
“Mama!” The baby repeated with a laugh.
"That's right, Dei!" Kushina laughed, picking up the child and spinning him around before hugging him and placing a kiss on his forehead. "You spoke your first word at just over five months old… what's normal?" she pondered, before quickly dismissing it, squeezing her son in her arms. "Anyway, my boy is a genius, dattebane!"
Deidara grabbed a handful of her hair, tugging lightly — the way he always did when he demanded to be released. She laughed and placed him back in the little chair beside the counter.
Kushina laughed. "I can't wait to rub it in Minato's face that you said ‘Mama’ first!" she stated, feeling particularly competitive.
Her son laughed, as if he agreed with everything she said. She smiled back at him.
She wanted to stay in that moment forever.
Deidara yawned, stretching.
Now he was three years old. – Technically, he was twenty-two.
The first few months of his new life seemed to drag on, as he couldn't do anything but cry, sleep, eat, and be completely dependent on his parents. However, this spurred him to learn everything early on: he began talking at five months and began walking independently at eight. And, well, he wasn't as dumb as a toddler, so he could already read, although writing was still a challenge, unaccustomed to such small, constantly growing limbs.
With all this, he was soon considered a genius.
It didn't bother him at all, because he was a genius — but not in the way they thought. Deidara is a genius in art .
And his parents recognized this too, since, as soon as he was able to form connected sentences, the blond asked for some clay so he could make his sculptures.
However, when they realized what their kekkei genkai was doing, a rule soon emerged in their house: no unsupervised explosions – and none too dangerous either.
Which was… not that bad. He could still do his art, as long as he was accompanied by a guardian. They even encouraged him to add more colors to the explosions!
He didn't want to, but he'd admit: this reincarnation thing was kind of cool. And Konoha beats Iwa 10-0.
"Dei-chan, are you ready?" His mother called softly, making him snap out of his mind.
"Yesssss!!" Deidara shouted, before jumping into her outstretched arms. "Where are we going? Are we going to eat bakudan?!" He questioned, already feeling his mouth water just thinking about his favorite food.
Another positive point: he could eat bakudan at any moment.
The moment was not that, however.
"No, no. We're going to my friend's house!" Kushina smiled. "She has a son who's almost your age, so it's the perfect opportunity to make friends!"
Deidara resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
He knew his mother was worried about him for not interacting with any children “his age” and only talking to teenagers and adults, but there was no way he could explain to her that, in reality, he was a twenty-two-year-old man who had no business talking to some brats.
The blond crossed his arms and turned up his nose. "Let's see if he's worthy!" he said, making his mother laugh.
“Only you, Dei…” she said softly, before heading towards the door, where his father was waiting for them.
They walked through the village for a few moments. People passing by waved at them, and a few tried to stop and make fun of Deidara, but were quickly chased away when he grimaced.
After walking for a while longer, they arrived at their intended location and, as soon as he realized where they were, the blond felt an immense urge to run away.
Because they were in the Uchiha compound.
'They took me straight to the lion's den! ' – Deidara thought angrily, clenching his fist.
He looked at the redhead. "Mama, let's go back!" he demanded. He tried to give his parents puppy-dog eyes. Minato looked ready to oblige.
Kushina, however, didn't give in. "But we just got here, Dei!" she exclaimed, before smiling widely when a woman with blue-black hair appeared in the doorway and called out to them.
"Kushina-chan, Minato-san!" she greeted, before looking directly at the blond boy with a smile. "And you must be the Deidara I've heard so much about. I'm Uchiha Mikoto! It's a surprise it took so long for us to meet."
The redhead laughed. "Yeah! It's always a struggle getting him to some places, and he seems to hate the Uchiha compound." she said, looking down at the skittish boy in her arms.
"Did Obito really traumatize him that much?" Minato joked, lightly ruffling his son's hair.
Deidara sent him a glare for messing up the little braid he wore in his hair, but was met with a laugh and another mess of his hair.
‘I’m going to put clay caterpillars on his pillow at night. ’ – The blond thought indignantly.
"Maybe." The Uchiha laughed, before waving her hand. "Come on in!" She said, starting to enter the compound and head towards her house, followed by the other three.
When they entered the woman's house, Deidara patted his mother on the shoulder twice so she would put him down, which she soon did.
He was tempted to go deeper into the house and blow up some room out of sheer spite – using the clay he had hidden inside the mouths in his hands – but stopped himself when a very familiar face appeared.
Itachi Uchiha's face appeared in the corner of the room, quickly walking to stand in front of him. The other boy looked just as shocked.
"Dei, this is my son, Itachi!" Mikoto introduced, pushing her son forward slightly. "Itachi, this is Deidara. He's two years younger than you. Say hi."
In contrast to the boy's expressionless face, his eyes seemed to shine with a myriad of emotions. Confusion, sadness, recognition, joy…
Wait. Recognition?
Deidara's eyes widened at the same time Itachi bowed slightly.
“Hello, Deidara.” The boy greeted, looking directly into his eyes.
The blond instinctively looked away, as if the warning 'Don't look an Uchiha in the eye' was ingrained in him. He bowed slightly back, staring stubbornly at the ground.
Forget blowing up a room. He'll blow Itachi's face off if he keeps staring at him.
However, when he looked up, he saw the other boy looking at him with a slightly sad look, but Deidara soon looked away again.
To his surprise, however, his wrist was grabbed and he began to be pulled into the house.
"Deidara and I are going to play!" Itachi exclaimed, ignoring the other adults' surprise.
“I didn't agree…!” The blond began, but was silenced by a look from the black-haired boy.
When they reached the Uchiha's room, Itachi quickly locked the door and motioned for him to sit on the futon.
They stared at each other in silence for a moment.
“You were…”
“You…”
They spoke at the same time, stopping simultaneously.
"You were also reincarnated." Itachi said as a statement.
"That's right." Deidara confirmed with a frown. "I just don't understand why I was reincarnated here in Konoha and not in Iwa… and have to stay here seeing your ugly face."
The other boy tilted his head. "Would you rather be reincarnated into the same family you had before?" he asked monotonously.
The silence that followed was enlightening.
"Don't make me blow up your house, Uchiha." Deidara threatened after a moment.
However, Itachi just smiled. Smiled .
The blond looked at him with a confused look. "Are you crazy?"
The black-haired boy shook his head, still smiling softly. “No. I just liked the familiarity.”
Silence reigned for a moment, before Deidara leaned forward and placed a hand on the other boy's forehead, who pushed it away without much of a fight.
"You must be sick." Deidara stated, before turning his back to him with his arms crossed. "It's not like I care if you die!" he stated, before stopping. "Wait! If you reincarnated too… you died!" the blond shouted, pointing an accusing finger at the Uchiha.
"Guilty as charged." Itachi replied blankly. "I don't think the whole compound has heard yet, so you can speak louder." He joked.
Did Itachi Uchiha just say something sarcastic? Is that right?
"Who was the lucky one who managed to kill the invincible Itachi Uchiha?" Deidara scoffed.
"And who was the poor guy who killed artistic master Deidara?" The Uchiha retorted.
The blond was about to explode at the mockery, but stopped and stared at him silently for a moment, before looking a little apprehensive. "You're different. You don't seem to be carrying the weight of the world anymore." he said, in a rare moment of softness.
Itachi looked a little shocked. "I didn't realize you were so... emotionally perceptive," he said slowly. "I should be nervous. I think I am. But I can't help but feel relieved... that I can fix everything. I have the advantage this time." He explained, leaving it vague.
Deidara was silent for a moment before pointing to the other boy's eyes. "Did they come with you?" He asked the question he'd been wanting to ask ever since he'd discovered the black-haired boy had been reincarnated too.
"...Yes." Itachi replied after a few moments, and he didn't miss the way Deidara flinched when he showed his Sharingan. "Mangekyou and all, but it's like it's new. And I don't think I can use it to its full extent." he explained purposefully, continuing when that didn't calm the blond. "I... I won't use it on you, you know? Actually, I think we should be partners."
Deidara didn't look Itachi in the eye. "How can I trust you?"
“I have nothing but my word to give you. But I can assure you: we are not enemies.”
"Even though I may have killed your brother?" It came out of the blond's mouth before he could control himself, and he quickly backed away.
However, Itachi's expression didn't change — in fact, he could see a hint of amusement in his gaze.
"Oh, you didn't kill him. After all, he was the one who killed me." The Uchiha spoke softly. "Just like I planned."
A heavy silence fell over the room before Deidara pulled his knees to his chest and rested his chin on them. "So... what are we going to do? Honestly, I have nothing to change. I'm not even in my old life."
Itachi's gaze became analytical. "I don't know how much your presence here in Konoha has changed the timeline. In fact, we might be in a completely different timeline than the old one. That's why we need to investigate," he began, before looking directly at him. "It's still too early. All I can do is pay attention to my father's conversations, in case he's planning a rebellion. You can pay attention to yours, in case he's having problems with Danzou regarding the succession to Hokage."
Deidara looked at him wearily. "You speak as if I understand anything you're saying."
"Oh, that's right." Itachi seemed to remember. "Then I'll tell you everything you need to do." And with that, the boy spent the next hour explaining everything that had happened in his past life.
"Who knew Konoha would have such an ugly side?" Deidara whistled when the black-haired boy finished explaining. "If I can blow up some things — or people — I'm in!" he exclaimed.
Itachi smiled at him. "I knew you'd agree. So, let's make a plan…"
As the other boy continued speaking, Deidara felt his eyes grow heavy and his head began to droop.
The last thought he had before falling asleep was, ‘I feel like I’m going to regret this.’