Chapter Four

Encounters

It all went wrong the minute the misunderstanding occurred.

"Can I come in?" Sasuke had asked, standing proud and tall in his knight wear, and projecting his voice to make it sound as though he were far older than he actually was.

Deidara, midway through getting back into the dress he'd wrestled off his person the night before, could barely make sense of the words from between the disarray of ruffled clothing. "That you, Danna?"

Sasuke could not clearly hear the Princess at his distance, a door and a dress dividing them. "I said, may I come in?"

Already frustrated, Deidara bit his lip in an attempt to grind his teeth, throwing his mind into a heated overdrive. He savagely wrenched the dress off and reached for the mess of his bed sheets to make a makeshift towel, as he called out, "Get in here! This isn't working, Danna!"

Sasuke, catching the gist of the sentence to be an invitation to enter, thrust the door open calmly. He was already too far inside the room to back out as he caught sight of Deidara, wrapped in the thin white of the bed sheet. Deidara's flush beat even his own to the surface.

"My God, woman!" Sasuke cried out, knocking his sight away crossly. He could feel the irritation embarrassment always spurred rising in his tenor. "Have you lost it? You don't invite a boy into the room while you're indecent!"

Deidara had his golden hair in a flutter, wisps of it dangling down across his face and over his nose. He looked plaintively innocent. Deidara gripped the bed sheet tighter than was necessary, roused to anger himself by Sasuke's aggression on top of his own miserable night's sleep. "Since when do you visit me? I thought you were Sasori!"

Sasuke glowered, perplexed and speechless. Probably shy, more than anything.

"What did you want?" Deidara added, after the longest pause that he had ever witnessed in his life.

"The Prin mon few…" Sasuke mumbled with his eyes half lidded.

"What?"

"The Prince Itachi summons you," Sasuke declared audibly, and with a forceful exit, concluded the discussion on both their parts.

Deidara pushed the loose strands of his hair back into its golden stream, frowning. "Well, if that's all then."

He stepped outside his rooms after another ten minutes worth of wrapping himself in the dress. He was in dishevelment. His face gave it away that he was quite dissatisfied with the job he'd done of getting the dress back on. Iruka came bounding up from out of nowhere, dashing across the blinding white tiles of the outer hallway, and evidently noticing the inept dress arrangement, but electing not to mention it. "Your Highness!"

"Sir," Deidara bid him, dejected, and with an air of snobbery.

From behind a pillar, Kakashi stood and snorted, sure to keep his thoughts in his mind, where they would not get him in trouble with Iruka. 'PMS.'

"How did you sleep, Madam?"

"I didn't."

"The excitement?" Iruka asked hopefully, although judging by Deidara's angry eyes, he'd had no need to ask. "Anyhow, if your Grace doesn't mind accompanying me to the Prince Itachi. He is awaiting you at the river."

"I haven't eaten."

Iruka blinked, caught off guard by the interruption. "Ex…cuse?"

Deidara was not one to be swayed by any other person's helplessness. "I said…that I haven't eaten. But what I mean is-and since you're so very confused, I might as well spell it out to you in big bold letters—I'm starving. Out of. My mind."

Iruka was surprised by the demanding tone. "Wow," he breathed, verging on bashful. "I don't know what to say. Are you not familiar with how the Uchiha linage and hierarchy works, in the slightest?"

"Not in the slightest."

"Well, it sort of goes, King, Princes, male cousins, male outlier descendants…the queen, and, then well, you." He only hoped he'd phrased that acceptably. Though clearly he hadn't.

Deidara took a delicate step forwards, painting an instant contrast as he snatched Iruka up at the scruff of his livery. "Is that sexism I'm hearing?"

Kakashi stifled a chuckle, even so emitting some kind of amused snorting noise, hidden well behind his pillar. Iruka, face to face with the confrontation, was not so brave. He was awfully shocked by the vehement display. "Your Highness! It's unseemly for a woman to behave in such a manner. As well as to make the Prince wait!"

"No, it's unseemly for a Prince to make a woman wait when she's hungry. Can you point me to a kitchen, Sir Iruka?"

"Madam, I—"

"A kitchen, Iruka." The glint in his eyes was far from feminine.

Iruka swallowed, making the concession at long reluctant last. "It's just past the dining hall, your Grace."

Deidara let him go, a placated expression replacing the anger. He smiled sweetly. "I thank you, Sir." With a sweep of his poorly fitted dress, Deidara flit away in the direction of his target, calling back, "Send the Prince Itachi my regards, in the meantime. And thank him for his patience."

Kakashi stole out from behind the pillar in a fit of giggles as Deidara slipped away. "God, she's hilarious. She's like a free bird in a small space, bound to knock everything over. And there's a lot of glass, aka delicate feelings and inviolable laws and sensitive issues, to be broken in here, of that I assure you."

"What are you talking about?" Iruka asked, granting him a devastated look of concern. "The Uchihas will kill her for it. She's a bird in a house of snakes."

{*XOXOX*}

"And this one's for injuries. Of course, if you don't trust me, you can always check with the infirmity." Shikamaru's eyes traced up Sasuke's body, aligning with his stoic expression as it set on the distant waves of grass on the hillsides. He lowered the hand that held the violet flower to focus better on his Prince. "Sasuke?"

Sasuke's expression remained far away, even as he looked back at Shika. "Do you think it's too soon to hate her?"

"Pardon?"

"Is it too soon to hate the Princess?" Sasuke snapped, shifting his gaze back up so as to be cross at the mountains instead of Shikamaru. "I mean, she isn't exactly welcomed here. She's royalty, sure, but royalty of what exactly? The Hidden Stone? That place is off the map, it's so insignificant. Of what name shall her son and our heir bear anyway? Itachi's heir, part son of the Uchihas, and part son of the nobody-even-knew-it-existed village."

"Sasuke," Shikamaru berated him affectionately, frowning as he cupped his Prince's hand into the one still holding the flower. Sasuke's eyes wandered inquisitively down to the lilac flower that now lay bound between Shika's hand and his own, as the fragile plant rippled at the mere whisper of wind that streamed past them. "You're over thinking things again."

"She is like a flower," Sasuke said at random, his fixation still firmly planted on the one between them.

"What are you talking about?"

"A flower. The brightest ones are poisonous, didn't you say?"

"That's right," Shikamaru confirmed. "So, you do listen."

"Then she is like a flower, Shika." Sasuke placed a hand unthinkingly on Shika's jaw, to pull him nearer. "She is sweet like a colorful flower. Enticing, but just as well marked for poison."

Shikamara's careful gaze considered looking away for a fleeting second. When Sasuke's mind delved into the heavy weight of his lamenting, his sight became too intensive to bear holding.

Sasuke kissed him before he dropped his gaze. "I love you, Shika. You sort my mind out in your own unintentional ways. And you make things form sense."

"I…love you, too," Shika granted him, suspect as Sasuke drew away from him. "I just…wish it could make sense to me."

{*XOXOX*}

Replete at last, Deidara felt content enough to wander down to the river where the Prince Itachi expected him. Of course, Itachi's bored expression revealed that he'd expected him a long time ago. Deidara felt friendlier now that he was at least full. He wondered where Sasori had gotten to as he approached the pier decking the crystal blue-grey waters, and noticed the horde of men that were gathered there. Men he did not know, and men who made him think of Sasori at once. Because he always felt safe, even outnumbered, when his Knight Sasori was around to keep watch of him.

Sasori did not appear, however. The Prince Itachi merely noticed his descent down the incline of grass and arose from his idle sitting to come over and assist the Princess.

"Princess. You made it." His voice did not betray any reproach, which meant he clearly wasn't too fazed about Deidara's detour. Not that Deidara would have tolerated any mentioning if he had thought to criticize him.

Deidara dipped a bow, his most alluring smile set in play. "Your Majesty."

Itachi proffered his hand. "I meant to take you out on a raft," he explained, as Deidara haltingly accepted his hold. Itachi led him down the steep descent. "You love fish, after all."

Deidara grimaced. "Or so I'm told."

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing," Deidara conceded, quick to brush a piece of hair back to shield his unimpressed face. "I mean, I'm honored you thought of me."

Itachi shrugged, a little more detached than perhaps made Deidara feel comfortable. "Well, I didn't think it up," Itachi admitted, as though it really wasn't his idea of fun to be carting the Princess around all day either. "It was my father's notion." They had landed on even ground, at the end of the hillock, and Itachi freed the Princess's hand to finish approaching the docked raft.

Deidara's face conveyed his injury. He recovered in time to appear regal and made the rest of the walk over to the raft on his own, unaccompanied.

The marsh the raft had been nestled into was clean, clear cut at some point, to allow the passengers space to board. Deidara was assisted onto the raft by one of Itachi's helpers; a boy Deidara recognized from the dinner last evening. Perhaps it was the boy's astounding eyes, alight with notable acumen. Keen intelligence. A significance that singled him out from the ordinary helpers.

"Your Grace," the boy said, helping heft Deidara across the marshes unscathed by water, onto where the grounds were dry. As Deidara touched down atop the wood raft with a clopping sound, he recalled that the mysterious boy's name was Neji.

"Distribute your weight," Itachi said, matter-of-factly.

Deidara barely heeded the warning, due to his incomprehension of the advice. "Do what now?"

When the raft rocked into movement, Deidara understood what he'd meant quite unequivocally. It was quite a grandiose raft, with a wide berth of space between any person and the water off the side, but even so Deidara clutched at Itachi's fine jacket to avoid an untimely tumble into the gloom below. He smiled shyly as Itachi sprung his gaze on him. "Relax, your Majesty. I am to marry you."

Unsure what that even meant, Itachi rotated his gaze away again. The water wavered as the weight of the raft creased through it, crushing the waves aside like folds of clothing. The two men navigating the vessel appeared engrossed in some talk of geography, most likely strategizing where the raft was to steer towards. Other than them, the royal couple was alone.

Deidara liked the look of the waters. They were empty but full all at the same time, and although they were dark, like everything in the Uchiha Kingdom, or so it seemed, they also bore a semblance to something light. Itachi's jet black eyes were very similar to such waters.

"You stand quite sturdy," Deidara said, feigning a polite pitch to his tone. "Do you traverse the seas often, Your Grace?"

Itachi didn't look at him, clearly adverse to the idea of socializing. "Sometimes."

"Often enough to know how to stand well, at least."

"Uchihas do everything well," Itachi explained, and although Deidara took the words as a sign of arrogance then, he was later to discover just how rueful and sad that very statement rested in the depths of Itachi's mind.

"I've no doubt," Deidara said, safely choosing to agree despite his inner opinions. Itachi remained aloof, so Deidara pressed on. "Is it not the will of your father to impress me?" He asked quite openly, uninhibited by things ordinary people might have possessed, such as shame.

"My father has many wills," Itachi said, measuring his words. "Most of them are laws. Many laws. One of which, is to arrive on time when a male summons you. Oh, and by the way, did you enjoy your breakfast, your Grace?"

Deidara smiled, fond of the nuance of mockery implicit that time. "Well played."

Itachi rolled his eyes away from looking at her. But a thin smile was on the verge of breaching his inanimate face.

"Is that a fish?" Deidara asked, suddenly quite taken by something in the water.

Itachi dashed a look down, then couldn't help but smiling. Deidara wandered closer to the edge as he identified it in words, "No, that is a turtle, my Lady."

"A turtle?' Deidara asked in surprise, having never seen one over in the arid lands of the Hidden Stone. He was quite fascinated, and took a courageous step closer to the edge of the raft to get a better view. "What on earth is on its back? That's abnormal, is it not?"

"That is in fact quite normal, my lady." Itachi's eyes widened as Deidara made one precarious motion forwards with his hand.

"I want to touch it…"

"My lady, look out!" Itachi was swift, and Deidara's little outburst was rendered relatively unnecessary as Itachi's hands wound round his falling waist.

The raft had dipped a fraction, as gravity promised it would do to those who strayed right to the very edge.

"It's escaping!" was Deidara's first concern, throwing a pointing finger out to the glittering wet shell of the inquisitive little turtle as it paddled away. Itachi's sight ventured after it.

"You are to be careful, Princess. It's not worth drowning to see a turtle." Itachi frowned in amusement. "Are you sure you've never seen one before?"

"Positive! Aw, look. It's vanished." Deidara pouted, right there in Itachi's grasp. He folded his arms and leant them on Itachi's, which were still in perfect position for such an action, bound as they were around his waist. "Dammit."

Itachi scoffed. "You cannot say dammit."

"And just why not?" Deidara asked him, not in the slightest bit offended for once.

"Because. You're a lady."

Deidara snorted that time, glancing back up at Itachi with a defeated smile. "If you say so, your Grace."

{*XOXOX*}

"Neji," King Fugaku greeted, nodding as the boy bowed, to prompt him back up again. "Where is it?"

"It's with my father, your Highness," Neji returned concisely.

Fugaku nodded. "Good. Be sure it remains in his possession until I am ready for it."

Neji inclined his head, loyalty exuding from his every action.

"You may go now, Neji."

"Thank you," Neji said, before tentatively adding a quizzical, "Sire?"

"Yes, what is it?"

"Is it true what they say of the Queen?"

"Many things said about the Queen are said with malice, my young squire. They are not to be taken seriously, but rather as the products of levity."

"Yes, of course, Sire." Neji hadn't wanted to sound like he was prying. It had been his father's orders to pose that question. He was obliged to ask it, despite his own volition not to. It had his heart racing just to get the words out; it had his head hot. The fluid in his brain was searing, and all he wanted was to exit the situation as quickly as possible.

"Although," the King went on, detaining him. "You are always serious, aren't you Neji?"

Neji stiffened inwardly, but tried his best to get his voice out unaffected. "I am inclined to be disciplined."

"You are your father's child, through and through," Fugaku said, leaning in towards Neji to get a better look into his hollow eyes. "Your eyes are barren, as though the life has been carved out of you."

Neji held his ground, tenser than he was brave.

"I suppose diligence is its own beauty," Fugaku mentioned, raking a hand through the wisp of hair that always floated about Neji's face. "And your hair has always been straight, no uncertainties. No ripples. Just straight forward, every single one of you."

Neji was beginning to get the prickling feeling that he meant his entire family. The Hyugas. Neji struck Fugaku's sight with his own the minute Fugaku let go of his hair.

"Pity he didn't have a daughter," Fugaku muttered, and with that gestured for Neji to exit.

Well, there was one in the family. Clearly, he had not met Hinata. Neji didn't feel like mentioning it. With a courteous bow, he rushed away.

Of what did a King want with a Hyuga, anyway?

{*XOXOX*}