I actually raised the boy like he was my own. That's the funny thing I guess.
A couple years ago, I had met a man and he fell in love with me. I was in love with a traveling shinobi who had left me years ago for a war. I was sure he was dead. But my heart was unwilling to move on, and I stayed helplessly in love with the shinobi who had taken my heart. The man, unable to accept that I would not love him in return placed a curse on me.
It wasn't so much of a curse, since it lengthened my life quite a lot, but the boy, Deidara, had gone and made it a curse.
"Deidara! Where the hell are you?" Cierra, Deidara's foster mother called.
"I'm right here, Cierra!" Deidara poked his head out of the room. The seven year old's bright blue eyes shining with mischief.
I grabbed Deidara by his waist and picked him up easily. "Gotcha." I laughed, dragging the boy behind me. "It's bath time.
"Were you hiding from Srakani?" Cierra smiled, narrowing her eyes at Deidara.
"I don't want a bath!" Deidara protested, squirming in my arms.
"Too bad! If you want, I'll get in with you." I sighed. Deidara was such a little brat. He refused to take a bath unless someone, always me, got in with him.
Deidara squealed and laughed.
"Get undressed, I'll be with you in a moment." I sighed, and went to get my bathing clothes.
Cierra's estate was gigantic. It had hot springs in the back and fields of crops and cattle of her own. She often hired other people to work for her. She needed to keep her skin pale white so that she could find a man. I always laughed at her silly imagination. Men didn't prefer pale skin – she never listened.
I slipped on a black gown and deftly tied up my long black hair into a messy bun. I could hear Deidara splashing around in the hot springs from my room. Before he could get into any trouble, I rushed outside to join him.
"Srakani! The water feels great, un!" Deidara laughed, making little figurines out of clay with his strange hands. He had mouths on his hands that chewed his clay and spat it out, molded. He didn't have many friends because of the strangeness of his hands, but his carefree nature pushed all of the negative thoughts away.
I slipped in the water beside him and all the tension in my shoulders and back dissipated. "This is great." I sighed.
"Hey Srak." Deidara sat beside me. "What's this weird black circle-y thing on the back of your neck?" He poked at a tender area on my neck.
"It's a curse mark." I closed my eyes, relaxing in the hot water.
"What kind of curse is it?" Deidara was sitting on my lap, his arms around my neck.
"A bad one." I looked down at the little boy who was looking up at me with adoration.
"Can you tell me about it, un?" Deidara said, curiosity shining in his big blue eyes.
"It's a long story." I warned. "About thirteen years ago-"
"When you were my age?" Deidara interrupted.
"No, not quite." I sighed, "Listen to the story." Normally, he would have been right since I am 20. But I've been 20 for quite some time now. "A man I loved died in war, and I never got over him. A couple days passed by, and I worked at Cierra's hotel, working to pay off his debt. I gave up life as a shinobi for a year to work it off since Cierra gave me a room as well as food, and the money to slowly pay off his debt, but if I had continued working as a shinobi, I would make enough money to support me, but not enough to pay off his debt.
"A man came one late evening and requested a room. I gave him one, and he asked for company. So we had dinner late that night and he told me he was in love with me, and he told me he had been watching from afar for a long while.
"I refused his affections, and in return he gave me this curse. If I ever fell in love, I would spell out doom for the man I loved." I paused. "So I can't fall in love. Ever." I finished, looking down at Deidara's teary eyes.
"But that's horrible!" Deidara whimpered.
"But it's alright. This curse makes it impossible for me to age. And so I never age, and I'll never die with old age." I smiled reassuringly at him.
"So you'll be with me forever?" Deidara smiled through his tears.
"Forever." I replied, hugging him close to me.
"Srakani, can you get me my clay pouch?" Deidara called from down the hallway.
"Get it yourself, lazy blond." I called back. The clay pouch lay beside me, but I was curled up with a good book, and reluctant to leave my spot.
"Srakani, seriously? It's like right beside you." Deidara's tall figure was blocking the light from the doorway. I could hear a smile in his voice, so I didn't worry too much.
"But you're a growing boy, you should do these things yourself and leave us old people to die slowly." I flicked my hand in his direction.
I heard Deidara move behind me, and his hands make their way under me. Before I could react, Deidara had picked me up, bridal style. "You're a lazy old one, aren't cha, un?" Deidara kissed me on the cheek.
"I hate you." I struggled in his arms. "Put me down." His bare chest was pressed against my arm and I felt his firm chest and abdomen and blushed. "It's good to have you back from those Akatsuki fellows. Nasty men." I said, avoiding his eyes.
"It's good to be back." He smiled fondly at me. "Why don't you come with me? You're a shinobi." Deidara looked at me, his eyes still the same blue from when he was younger.
"You're 21, you should handle these things alone." I said drily, trying to reach my book from his arms.
"And you're 20, you should be out there, trying to get married." Deidara shot back.
"You know I'm like forty-seven years old." I raised my eyebrows at him.
"But you're still beautiful." Deidara paused, "And you act like you're five, un."
"I liked the first bit." I commented, back-flipping out of his arms.
"Did that guy who placed the curse on you ever tell you when you'll start aging?" Deidara asked, picking up the clay pouch and fastening it around his hips.
"Yeah, when I fall in love." I said, collecting kunai and shuriken from around my room.
"You should do that soon so we can grow up together." Deidara pulled on a shirt.
"Who says I wanted to grow up?" I raised my eyebrows at him again, laughing.
"Well I don't think you want to watch me grow up and age, and then die." Deidara put his hand on the small of my back.
"So you want me to grow up with you and die with you?" I snorted.
"Exactly. Then you won't mourn for your loss, un." He smirked.
"Trust me, I won't be mourning." I smirked back up at him and put my arm around his waist. He was a full head taller than me, and he made sure that I never forgot it.
He stopped walking and twirled me around so that my face was in his chest and his arms tightened around me. "Don't say that." He whispered, holding me to him.
My hands were curled up in fists and resting against his chest. I felt him put his chin on the top of my head and his chest slowly rose and fell. I let him stay like that for a moment and whispered back, "You know, if Cierra was still alive, she'd scorn you for holding me like this. You should treat elder women with more respect."
Even though it wasn't really true I was older than him. He was a year older than me. Although I had grown up, or just aged without the aging part, my mind never grew older. I still acted like a twenty year old, and my mind collected knowledge, so I was smarter than the average twenty year old.
"You aren't older than me, un." Deidara's grip loosened, but he didn't completely let go.
"You'll be late for your mission." I said trying to push him off.
"It's a solo mission. I can start whenever." He raised a blond eyebrow down at me.
"Well whenever starts now. Let's go!" I ducked down, out of his grip and started running.
And I fell in love with him. Or rather, he fell in love with me, and I returned his affections. I didn't mean to! But it happened. We went on many missions together, and because of our continued successes, Team Deidara and Srakani never got a third member. We worked hard, and our teamwork was unmatchable.
"Srakani! To the right!" Deidara yelled, ducking another fiery breath.
I did as I was told and fired off a watery ball to the right, and threw a kunai straight at the threat that was in front of me. The molten lava beast moved to the right, dodging Deidara's clay bird that came in from the left and my kunai which had come in head on. The ball of water made contact. The monster fell to the ground, shrieking.
"Finally, un." Deidara huffed, his body covered in multiple burns and bruises.
"Oh shit," I gasped, taking in the severity of his wounds. I had a water shield over me the entire time, and I couldn't cast one on Deidara since his element was earth. "Lie down." I instructed.
He did as he was told. He growled as the grass poked at his burns.
I took out a kunai and cut his skin tight pants off. I peeled off his shirt from his battered body, and he winced in pain. He lay in a pair of black shorts and I could assess all of his wounds. They were horrifying. He had massive burns everywhere, and I didn't know where to start.
"Where does it hurt most?" I gathered green healing chakra in my hands, preparing to start.
"My legs." Deidara moaned, closing his eyes.
"Don't die on me." I said simply and started to apply chakra.
I heard a sigh of relief as the chakra began to work through his system. I worked slowly but efficiently. I tackled all of the worst burns, worked on the biggest bruises and then handled the minor injuries like scrapes and cuts.
"You're exhausted." He commented. The night sky was dark, and the moon was nowhere in sight. "Let's just rest here, un."
"We need to get back." I panted. My chakra was simply gone. I depleted all of it, saving Deidara.
Deidara ignored me and set up a tarp, hanging on branches, creating a slightly sheltered area. He lay rocks on the edge of the tarp to keep it in place and made a pile of sticks. "Have enough chakra to light a fire?"
I raised a hand feebly in the direction of the sticks and flicked a finger. Weak flames sputtered to life.
Deidara came to where I was sitting and picked me up. He took off his jacket and spread the jacket on the ground underneath the tarp. He sat on it, with me still in his arms. He cradled me in his arms, saying nothing.
I raised my arm and stroked his face with my hand. "You've grown." I said.
"You haven't, un." He laughed, looking down at me. His hand reached up to caress mine. He held my hand up to his face moments longer, and set it down on top of me. "You said that you would never fall in love."
I grunted my reply.
"Do you still feel that way?" Deidara whispered.
"I can't not feel that way." I looked away. "If I fall in love with someone, they'll suffer the consequences. I wouldn't have minded if it was me who had to go through the consequences of my actions, but if I love him, I wouldn't want anything happening to him."
He set me down on his jacket and moved into a position so that he was lying down, one arm around me, and the other supporting him up. "But what if someone loves you?"
"Well then they love me." I said matter-of-factly.
"Will they suffer?" Deidara's breath was hot on my cheek.
"Suffer from being not loved, I suppose." I paused. "But not the consequences the man told me of."
"What are the consequences?" Deidara whispered.
"I don't know," I turned away from him, my back to his chest.
He pulled me in so that my back was resting against his firm chest and our legs were intertwined. "I love you." He said softly.
"You shouldn't." I whispered back.
"But I do."
And so we fell in love. I made sure never to say it out loud, or show any affection towards him. But who said that he couldn't show affection to me?
"Good morning sunshine." Deidara smiled down at me from his bunk bed.
"Shut it blondie. I'm still trying to sleep." I groaned, turning away from the light. I heard him jump down from his bunk and move behind me. "If you get in my bed, I will hit you."
He ignored my warning and joined me in bed. "You're beautiful, un."
"I'm sleeping." I mumbled.
He turned me so that I was facing him, and held me close to his chest. "I love you."
"Still sleeping." My words were muffled in his shirt, but I felt his chest vibrate in laughter.
"Alright, un."
A year passed, and Deidara celebrated his 22nd birthday. We realized he was aging without me. And because of that, I said it. I said those forbidden words. Deidara forced me to say them. He didn't want to grow up without me.
"Say them!" Deidara growled. "I can't just grow up alone."
"But the consequences!" I protested, pushing him away.
He pulled me in, "I don't care. It will hurt more if I have to grow up and get old without you."
"Deidara." Tears fell down my cheeks.
"Don't cry, dammit. Just say the three words." Deidara pushed his hair back in frustration.
"I hate you." I hit him with my fist solidly in the chest.
"Not those ones." He laughed and grabbed my hand before I could hit him again. "I love you Srakani."
"I love you too, Deidara." I whispered. I felt something click inside of me, and I felt loose. Something had changed within me.
"You said it, and nothing's happened to me." Deidara grinned down at me, his blue eyes filled with tears.
"Real men cry," I laughed.
But we were wrong. He almost died handful of times. Poisonous food, beasts attacking him, enemy shinobi, everything was against him. So we found the man who had placed the curse on me all those years ago. He was a shriveled up old man by that time.
"Please reverse the spell." Deidara begged; he was on his knees.
"Never." The man pouted.
"Please." Deidara tried again.
"No."
"Please?" I stepped in. "I'll do anything."
"Marry me." The old man smiled in glee, looking at me.
"Except for that," Deidara growled.
"Well then, no."
"Isn't there anything else you want?"
"Your life. I'll reverse the bad luck curse on the blond man if you die." He pointed at me.
"Fine," I said emotionlessly.
"No!" Deidara shook me by my shoulders. "Are you crazy?"
"You'll eventually die from all of these occurrences. I can't let that happen." I said through tears.
"I'll die if you die." Deidara said angrily. "If you kill yourself, I'll follow you. No matter where you go." He promised.
"Fine. No to the death." I sighed, looking at the small old man.
"Bear me a child." The man clapped his hands.
"That's disgusting." I screwed up my face.
"Fine. If you have a daughter, you have to wed her to me." The man raised his eyebrow.
"Only if it's my first child. If my first child is a son, you won't touch any of my children from then on." I snarled.
"Agreed." He started to chant, and the tension behind my neck was lifted.
Deidara pulled the collar of my shirt down to check. "The curse mark is gone." He whispered.
"I love you Deidara."
"I love you too."
"It's a boy."