Deidara muses on Sasori's attitude towards him and his own attitude towards Tobi. Gen.

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It was only hours into his partnership with the masked incompetent that Deidara first thought now I know how Master Sasori must have felt, and he frowned at the idea of equating himself with Tobi. Or with Sasori, for that matter – but when he berates Tobi he recognises something in his own voice that isn't his own, not really. Familiar, but not from his own mouth.

He's grimly amused the first time he notices himself call Tobi 'brat'. 'Senpai' is a fair way from 'master', but ...

Perhaps I should make myself a sculpture to ride around inside, he thinks. He sort of wants to mention it, but eager to please though he might be, Tobi wouldn't get it.

It does bother him a little, though. God knows he doesn't want to be like Sasori. Besides, it's almost like part of Sasori is living on in him, and that's conceding his memory too much of the immortality he craved. Deidara won't give him that.

So when Tobi's back with the firewood – "I'm not late, am I, Deidara-senpai?" –Deidara doesn't scold him for taking too long. He just flicks a little clay turtle onto the pile and lets it crawl into the heart of the kindling, and grins as he detonates the minute explosion.

It's never been the most practical of methods of fire-lighting – some of the kindling is dislodged, and it's not a neat fire – but it gets the job done, and although Deidara knows his partner is disappointed at missing the opportunity to light it with some kind of fire technique, he can see that Tobi thinks it's cool.

Deidara smiles at that, and tries not to think about the smug look Sasori had sometimes when he could tell Deidara was impressed by his puppetry.