Sasori sighed as he continued to read his book, his servant bugging him, "Why do you have to read about Ame, un?" Deidara asked, looking over Sasori's shoulder. "Because, I need to learn about all of the villages and countries." "But why, un?" Sasori growled and turned around, making the blond back up. "Shouldn't you be doing something?" he asked, his eyebrow twitching.
The servant just shook his head, "You said that while you study I don't do anything, un." "Then don't do anything." was all Sasori said before turning back around and looking at his book... "Shouldn't Neji teach you, un?" Sasori groaned and closed his book shut. "I could always just let you go and pick berries in the fields, you know. Or go back to scrubbing floors?"
The blond quickly shook his head, his hair flying around everywhere. Even just after a year, his hair had grown longer. His birthday was only a month after Sasori's, so he was now six. "Then be quiet. I'm going to have a few friends coming over and I want you to stay quiet. Understood?" "F-friends, un?" "Understood?" he quickly nodded and when Sasori went to the door, he opened it for him
They began walking down the hall, then down the stairs. "We will be meeting in the main parlor, then we'll be going outside for some tea." Deidara nodded, making a mental note in his head. "If they ask or tell you to do something for them, or for someone else, do it." another nod and they were at the parlor. "Your highness." a guard said, addressing the prince, as he just ignored him.
Opening the door, Deidara peeked around the redhead, seeing who his friends were. "Ah, Sasori!" the redhead smiled and stepped into the room, Deidara following him. "It's good to see you too, Pein." the auburn haired male, smirked and stood up, "And who's that?" he asked, looking over the redhead to see the blond, who just shrunk closer to his Danna.
"This is just one of my servants." Pein nodded and his smirk grew, "What's your name?" "... D-deidara, un." "Hm? This girl may be of some use in the future." Sasori smirked when he saw Deidara turn bright red, "My servant's a boy." the older teen raised his slender eyebrow and grinned, "You may want to cut off all of his hair, so they know that it's a boy."
Deidara shrunk back even further and held onto some of his hair. "I think it's fine, as long as it doesn't prevent him from doing anything." Sasori yawned, covering his mouth. "Well, I'm sure you don't want to stand the whole time." was all Sasori said, before taking a spot and lounging on the couch. "No, I wouldn't want that." Deidara watched as Pein sat down and quickly looked away, when the teen caught his stare.
"You should teach your slave to not stare, Sasori." the said redhead turned his head and glared at the six year-old, "I've also been trying to teach him how to be quiet, but we've been working on that one for a year now." Pein just sighed and grinned, "We have all of our slaves broken in. Even the servants. If they don't take one order right, then father sends them for ten lashes. Then again, another mistake. Twenty, then thirty. The furthest was seventy, but she died afterwards."
Just the thought made Deidara shudder in fear. "No, we don't do things like that around here. Makes us look even worse, then what we already are." Pein snickered and sighed, "We barely have any time to talk anymore." "Yeah, I know." Sasori said, looking down. While they continued to talk, Deidara sneaked by Sasori's chair and stood there, hiding,
"Are you going to actually take Meme to the ball?" the noble asked, with a questioning gaze that was returned with a glare. "No, I'm not. She's the most annoying creature in the kingdom with her high pitched voice and her stupid velvet dresses." Pein chuckled at the redhead's expression. He seemed like a four year-old who was pissed off for having to wear stupid shoes.
"I thought that you liked her?" the auburn haired teen asked, popping a purple grape into his mouth, from the table. "No, I never did. I was just being polite... Maybe I should start being more harsh?" the idea brought a smirk to his lips. That would be easier then not always being so passive. "It doesn't seem like you entirely. You seem to hurt slaves and servants just fine with you being uncaring."
Sasori smirked, "I guess I do."
-Meow-
After three long hours of talking, Sasori headed back to his room, his blond servant following him. Or was he a slave. Deidara looked down as he walked. He felt like he was both. He was born in the Akasuna castle and he worked here because he had nowhere else to go, but would he want to go anywhere else? He barely knew what was outside the walls.
He knew there were nicer parts of the kingdom, like the castle's berry fields and the little shops, but he couldn't leave, so maybe he was a slave? He shook his head, when he gave up. Looking up, he noticed that he wasn't following his prince. When he rotated his body, there was no sign of him. He gulped and turned around again. No sign.
He was lost. He thought he had been following the redhead, but he may have taken a turn and was probably somewhere else in the large castle. After a minute he took a step forward and flinched when he felt a hand fall onto his shoulder. "Don't get lost, brat." he sighed when he heard it was his Danna. "W-where were you, un?"
The redhead just shrugged and walked forward, "Talking to an old servant about the cooking. I wanted something new for dinner tonight." Deidara nodded and followed the teen. "For the rest of the day I am having my sword fighting lessons. Stay of you want, I may need you to go get me water, or a towel." Deidara nodded, noting all of it in his head.
"Usually slaves aren't allowed to watch this practice, since it could give them an idea of how to kill, but I know you wouldn't try any of that." Deidara frowned and looked down. He was always treated as if he wasn't able to bring any harm to anyone and he was almost tired of it. Sure, he was weak and small, but you couldn't blame that on him; he was born that way and he never got the right nutrition.
-Meow-
"Again!" Deidara flinched when he saw the redhead take another blow from the wood sword. "Again!" he wished the redhead would also keep on continuing and getting even more hurt. "You have to feel the youth in it, your highness!" the instructor yelled; he had black hair that was a bowl cut and was in all green, but the thing that stuck out the most was his very bushy eyebrows.
"Fine!" Sasori took a lunge with his sword and brought it back then lunged again, this time catching the other male off guard and causing him to fall down. "I hate the fact that we have to fight with wood swords," he sighed and dropped the replacement with a thunk, "I want real swords next time, Guy." was all Sasori said, before walking to where the blond was seated.
"Come on, brat; we have to go." Deidara nodded and picked up his things for Sasori, like, a towel, his actual sword and a his ring. This was one of the only times Deidara was actually outside, but he was still in the castle walls, so it wasn't that more extravagant. Even for such hot weather, they were able to have lush green grass and lovely flowers.
Deidara loved that. He always smiled when he saw the different colors, the main one being red. He was amazed when he saw birds flying or frogs jumping; almost anything could get him excited, but for some reason he had the hardest time expressing it. His face would be passive or sad, his eyes always downcast and even if he felt extreme joy, only the corner of his lip would twitch.
His whole life was with so many hardships and six years of it really effected his whole personality. Konan would tell him that he was more happy as a baby, but he couldn't remember so he barely even knew what happiness felt like. "Brat!" his head snapped up in attention, "Yes, Danna, un?" the prince just scoffed, "I was talking to you."
The blond looked down ashamed, "I'm sorry, Danna. What do you need, un?" Sasori sighed and shook his head, "Never mind." The redhead glared at the blond as he went back into his trance. That boy was like a zombie and it pissed him off to no limit. "You can go back to your room." "It's not even dark yet, un. Don't you need anything else?"
The prince just shook his head and continued to walk towards his room. "Wait!" Deidara ran to the redhead and stood close to him, looking around, "I don't know the way back from here, un." Sasori shrugged, "Figure it out." Deidara's eyes went wide and he just watched as his Danna left him alone. He was right, it wasn't dark, but it would be soon.
After a minute, he began walking around, looking for anything familiar. He decided to go to the left, thinking that there may be something there. Only more halls. He knew that by the time he found his way back, if he found his way back, that it would be way past his curfew. He whimpered and looked; turning around, thinking that he wasn't going the right way.
He knew it was now night time since he felt how cold it just got. Wrapping his arms around his, he continued forward and hoped for some way to find his way back to his guardian. "You're not supposed to be out of bed." his whole body went stiff and he turned around to see the head guard, glaring down at him. "I-I'm looking for m-my way back, u-un."
The man just scoffed and grabbed his arm, "If the prince left his servant alone to fend for himself that means that he doesn't care what happens to you." Deidara knew the words were true and he let himself be dragged to the one place he didn't want to be. He already knew his Danna didn't want him and only thought of him as a burden, but he really couldn't care any less.
"Chain him up!" the guard yelled and he felt another hand on his arm, dragging him to the chains high on the wall. It hurt being so high up and only being supported by your arms, but he couldn't do anything about it. "I'll be the one delivering the punishment for tonight." Deidara heard the other guards mumble a "Yes, Sir." and leave.
For some reason Deidara wished that Sasori would come and save him, like the last time. His shirt was ripped off. That maybe his Danna had any sort of compassion for him, at all. Footsteps echoed. Would it be better if he were gone? The whip raised. He closed his eyes, knowing that it would be better for him to disappear.
Crack!
It took him a moment to realize what just happened and he screamed out in pain. Another one and another scream. He bit his lip as more came. He wasn't going to let anything else out. With each lash there was a grunt and another tear fell from his eyes. They kept on coming one after another and he was soon going numb.
His back felt raw, every nerve burning with so much pain. He cried out when he let go of his lip to breathe and he screamed again, before biting his bloody lip once more. What confused him the most was why he was getting so many lashes. If you stayed past curfew, you got ten lashes, nothing more or less. Maybe it was for all of the things that had happened over the year.
That would add up to a large number. All he knew was that it was going to hurt. He winced when he felt the last lash, which was the hardest. he heard panting and he guessed the guard got tired from the punishment he had just given out. Deidara felt his chains loosen and he fell to the ground with a small thud. "Now, you have repaid your debt. I will call a servant to take you from here since you don't have a death sentence."
Deidara didn't respond, he was still trying to catch his breath. He heard footsteps, a door open then close and he was surrounded by darkness. He hoped that this wasn't what death felt like. It felt like how he imagined death. Painful, alone, scared, dark; all of it was becoming to much and he let out a small sob that had been stuck in his throat.
All of his emotions were coming out at one time and soon he didn't know what to feel. Happy, sad, angry, relieved, loved? He knew that Konan loved him, but it almost wasn't enough to keep his sanity. A few minutes later the door opened again and his eyes widened, before he covered his face with his arms, not wanting to be hurt anymore.
"It's okay, Dei." he felt his body loosen and he looked up at his guardian who was analyzing his damaged body. Even a part of the whip had gotten his sides, which wasn't as raw as his back. He could practically feel the stare on his skin and he shifted slightly, so she wouldn't be able to see it anymore. "Don't move, you'll make it worse."
He didn't listen and tried to stand up, "I-I'm fine, un." he took a step forward and collapsed, the bluenette catching him, "We have to get some herbs and cloth." he couldn't process the words as he was being carried away. Konan's arms were always warm and for some reason, always lulled him to sleep.
-The Pain-
"Damn brat. He's late." Sasori muttered to himself as he looked out his window. Maybe he got lost and is still lost. He scoffed and looked at some of the servants children playing in the garden they were supposed to be working in. He was about to shout at them, but decided against that. He wouldn't let them know that they got his attention. That's what they always wanted in the first place.
"Your highness." the said redhead turned around and glared at his tutor, "I know that you couldn't have read the next book I'm about to give you, so let us begun our lesson." sighing, Sasori went to his desk and Neji gave him a book. 'The Forbidden Fruit?' "What kind of book is this, Neji? I thought I was learning about the government today?"
The Hyuga sighed and shook his head, "No, first you have to read that. When was the last time you read an actual book and not the studies I gave you." Sasori glared at the pale eyed man, "I haven't. I learned how to read from you and those were all study books. Now, are you going to teach me about the government?"
Another shake of the head, "No, your father said that he wants you to be a great king, but you have to see how the life is outside of the castle. This book describes it well enough that you don't have to leave the castle in the first place." Sasori growled and stood up, throwing the book across the room, "I will not read such filth. If I have to, I'll go over all of my medical training again, but I will not read a book about some world that I don't need to get into."
With that said, he ordered the Hyuga out of his room, who begrudgingly left. Neji sighed as he walked down the long hall. 'That boy is getting harder and harder to teach.' "E-exuse me, un." the brunette stopped when he saw a small blond walk past him. 'Must be his servant, who appears to be late.' The boy continued to walk till he finally reached the large door, knocking lightly.
Neji sighed and continued to walk down the hall, not wanting to see what was in store for the poor blond. Deidara sighed and knocked a little louder this time. Bitting his lip, he looked around. Konan had told him to not leave bed, but he didn't want to get his Danna upset. Another knock and the door opened, revealing the young prince.
"You're late." was all he said before going back into his room, his servant following him. "Go dust my shelves and books. Make sure that you use a clean rag and don't take anything." Deidara nodded and did as he was told. It was the same rules over and over again, but he didn't mind. Only because he knew he was being treated more fairly than any other servant or slave in the castle.
"Get to work!" he flinched and grabbed a stool to stand on. He began dusting everything that his cloth touched, making it cleaner than it was before. Soon he had to reach for the top shelf and he sweat-dropped. When he was stretching this morning, he couldn't reach all of the way, due to his skin. He bit his sore lip and reached up, already feeling the tearing.
Once his arm was all the way up, he sighed. He could go on from here. Sasori grumbled and walked over to pick up the book he had thrown. If this was the only way to get his tutor to teach him, then so be it. He sat at his desk and opened the book to the first page. He heard a silent gasp and he looked at the blond's direction.
He was cleaning a shelf on the other side of the room and it looked like it was hurting him to reach up. He continued to watch him, noticing something crimson leaking through his shirt. His eyebrows furrowed and he walked over to the unsuspecting blond. Deidara hissed as he had to reach a little higher. "Get off of the stool, brat."
Deidara nodded and put his arm back down, sighing as the pain decreased. "Yes, Danna, un?" Deidara asked, looking up at the redhead. "What's wrong with your back?" Deidara's eyes slightly widened, but went back to normal, "Nothing, un." he turned back around, but was stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder, causing pain to course through his body.
He felt his shirt getting tugged off and he cried out. He wished that he'd be more gentle, but how was he supposed to know? Sasori eyed the blond's poorly bandaged back and sighed, "What did you do?" Deidara shook his head as a tear fell from his eye, "I-I was walking and h-he took me t-to the dungeon... I-It hurt a lot and I don't w-want to go back, un."
Sasori shook his head. He wished the blond wasn't so vague, but it seemed more like he was traumatized. "Konan didn't do a good job of wrapping it up." Deidara didn't sayanything; he just sat on the floor, holding himself. Sasori sighed and kneeled down to undo the bandages, which got him a squeak from the blond.
He quickly moved away. Servants and slaves were never allowed to touch a noble unless they were ordered to. "Stay still." Deidara did so and winced when the bloody rags were taken off, revealing his forever scarred back. Sasori's eye wandered around the red back, seeing if there was anything not scarred. "Konan didn't use the right medicine for this."
Deidara turned his head around to see his master walking to a shelf in the room and reaching up for a bottle with a thick blue liquid, "This should numb the pain and this," he said, grabbing another bottle, this one a greenish color, "Should make you heal faster." Deidara turned back around and stared at the wall in front of him.
A few seconds later he felt one of the two concoction onto his back, making him hiss, his back arching away from the liquid. Sasori sighed and slapped him on the side of his head, softly, "Stay still." Deidara frowned, but did so, letting the redhead continue. Using a cloth, Sasori wiped the blue mixture around on the reddened back, making Deidara whimper and bite his lip.
Sasori switched to the other bottle and poured some of the green liquid onto a new rag. He began rubbing it on in a downward motion getting most of the scars that way. "P-please stop, u-un~" Sasori sighed and watched the blond's body rock with tremors of pain. Deidara was trying so hard not to cry, but when Sasori started putting on the second bottle, it just hurt.
It felt like his whole back was set on fire then doused in oil. "I have to keep going, brat. I'll even out more of the numbing stuff on your back afterwards, okay?" he had no idea, what had gotten into him to reassure the blond, all he knew was that it worked. Deidara nodded and his hands clenched his shirt. "Okay." Sasori tried to move as softly as possible, which didn't make a difference to the blond in the amount of pain.
Sasori looked at the three inch bottle and sighed. He had used over half of it and he knew he'd have to make more if he used anymore of it. Grumbling, he poured more on the blond's back and his shaking stopped only by a little bit. "I have to bandage it up now, so that's going to hurt too." Deidara nodded and waited for the redhead to start wrapping his back up.
"Sit up." Deidara nodded and straightened his back. He saw two arms come from behind him with a roll of bandage. He felt the roll come around his stomach, then his back, then his stomach again. It continued on till he was all the way up to his underarms. "I can't get all of it with just bandages, so I'll need to use gauze." Deidara nodded, but was confused to why Sasori was telling him this stuff.
Konan wasn't saying anything through the whole thing when she was fixing him up, probably trying not to scare him from what just happened, but Deidara couldn't care any less about that. Deidara felt a thin pad being pressed against his shoulder and he winced. The pad stuck to his skin and he sighed when relief washed over him.
The medicine was finally kicking in and it was making his whole back go numb, just like Sasori had said. Once he was all patched up, Sasori stood up, letting his legs have a stretch. "Deidara!" the said blond's head snapped up to see his guardian standing in the doorway, her face filled with rage, "I thought I told you... to..."
She looked around the room, seeing the used cloth and bottle of medicine and that's when she noticed Sasori wiping his hands off with a clean rag, "You need to learn how to give proper attention to certain wounds. This one needed medicine and the rags were too loose." Konan nodded and frowned, "He isn't supposed to be out of bed."
Sasori sighed and waved his hand before sitting down to read his new book, "Take him, I don't need him for the day." Konan nodded and went to the blond servant, who was now trying to stand up, "Come on, Dei." he frowned and wiped the remaining tears from his face, before grabbing his shirt. "Thank you, your-" "You can call me Sasori, Konan." the redhead said not looking from his book.
Konan just smiled and nodded, "Thank you, Sasori." the prince didn't respond, he just continued to read his book. By this time Deidara had gotten his shirt back on and Konan was holding his hand, like a mother would. "Let's go now, Dei." he nodded and followed the bluenette out of the large room.