Pein sat at his giant oak desk with an air of importance about him while Konan sat next to him in a skimpy dress that looked more like a few pieces of stitched together cloth.
"Pein, let's just punish him already!" she pouted as she wrapped herself around the orange pin cushion. She smirked darkly at their victim.
"Soon. But first we must make sure he knows what he did." Pein narrowed his swirly eyes. It made him look more pissed off. Deidara winced slightly at the look he received. He knew he was in a lot of trouble and wondered what his punishment would be. Pein stood up and walked towards Deidara who silently gulped. He walked behind Deidara and put his hand on his shoulder. Again, Deidara winced. Pein leaned close to his ear. "Are you aware of your errors?" he purred in Deidara's ear. Deidara gulped and nodded. Pein smirked. "You know you have to be punished, now, right?" Again, Deidara nodded. "Konan, take him to the rack." Deidara's eyes went wide with fear.
"The rack, un?" he asked quietly. Konan pushed Deidara out the door, towards the room that contained the rack. On the way there, they came across Azumi and Kisame.
"Where ya goin'?" Azumi asked.
"Deidara here is going to the rack," Konan answered.
"Oh..." Kisame responded. He was merely the driver of the workers and had no idea what the rack was. All he knew was that the torture devices were only used on the workers when they did something against the rules.
"Ooh," Azumi said, sympathetically. 'I wonder what he did...'
"Help me!" Deidara mouthed to Azumi as he passed her. Konan continued to push Deidara to the room with the rack. Azumi and Kisame continued to walk in the other direction.
Deidara dreaded the next fifteen steps to the room. Once at the door, he gazed at the sign on it. The Rack. It was painful as hell and Pein and Konan were merciless. They couldn't give less of a shit if he was in pain and the measure of it.
Konan opened the door and pushed Deidara into the room. "Over there," she said. She directed him to the medieval torture device in the middle of the room. He did as he was told and leaned against the cold wood. Immediately, he lifted his torso up and tried not to shiver. Konan pushed him back down and strapped his ankles and wrists to the rack. He bit back tears. He knew the pain he was about to experience for he had been through this before. However he did not want to give his "owners" the satisfaction of seeing him that way. If things went his way, they would never see him cry.
To make things even worse than they already were, Pein came in with a video camera. 'Great,' Deidara thought. 'As if things couldn't get any worse.' His thoughts were cut off by the agonizing scream that came from his mouth. Konan began to stretch him. The pain seared through his muscles as it slowly tore them. His breathing increased to hyperventilation. He shut his eyes trying to shut out the snapping sounds of his ligaments. Konan never went so far as pulling his joints. That would require too much medical attention and down time.
Outside the door, Azumi and Kisame pressed themselves to the door; even though Deidara's screams were easy to hear from down the hall.
"That poor guy," Azumi said.
"What exactly is the rack?" Kisame asked.
"It's one of the most excruciating devices ever thought of. Personally, I've never been unfortunate enough to be subjected to it. Basically, you're strapped down onto really cold wood and the ropes are strained and you're stretched from bottom to top…"
"How many of you guys had to deal with that?"
"Just Deidara...this is his second time."
"Maybe we should go. We still have to get Gaara." He walked away from the door and Azumi followed. Deidara's screams could be heard through the whole Akatsuki prostitute house.
No matter how much or how loud Deidara screamed, Pein and Konan did not stop. People began to gather around the door. They listened as the screams of pain went on for another fifteen minutes or so. When it stopped, everybody took a few steps away from the door. Sasori nearly tore the door off its hinges. Deidara, his Deidara, stumbled out of the holds of the wretched device. He stumbled out of the room with his head hung low. Sasori felt a lump grow in his throat. There were severe bruises around the blonde's shoulders,elbows, knees, ankles, and wrists. Everyone stared after him. There was a heavy silence as they watched the blonde move past his red headed lover.
Sasori turned on the ball of his foot and took long strides until he reached the other's side. He did not dare take Deidara's hand despite the ache he felt to reach it out for fear the "Leaders" were still watched him like hawks. Instead he guided him back to their shared room down the hall and ignored everyone's stares. Deidara kept his face hidden behind his long bangs. The large group of resident prostitutes dispersed when they saw Pein and Konan slither out of the room with smirks of power and pride.
"Ssssh, Dei. It'll be fine. Don't worry," Sasori tried to sooth the blonde. "We'll get out of here…soon." He cradled the younger man to his taught chest. Deidara sniffled in Sasori's clothes; he didn't notice the glare match with Pein, who was at their door.
"Not listening to the customer's demands is against the rules, Deidara," Pein said. Deidara jumped at the sound of Pein's voice. Sasori stroked Deidara's hair to calm him down.
"That 'toy'," Sasori sneered the word, "was pure evil! If you want to keep making money the way you do now," he narrowed his eyes and flared his nose, "you'll be wise to treat Dei a little more gently." Silence drenched the air. Tension seeped through the pores of the atmosphere. Pein quietly walked over to Sasori, who stared up at the calm man. He knew what was about to happen. Pein raised his hand. Deidara winced at the sound of the burning smack to his lover's face.
Deidara looked up at Sasori, slightly. 'Sasori-danna?' he thought. Sasori looked down at him and smiled a bit in an attempt to let him know he was okay. Deidara relaxed a little. Then he dug his face into Sasori's chest.
"Watch what you say," Pein glared. He turned and walked away and closed the door on his way out.