Ninth Day: Explosion

Based off of The Candy Shop War by Brandon Mull. Written in 2017.

It was like second nature for Deidara to flock towards mirrors, especially when he was first made a fuse. How could he not admire himself, especially whenever he spoke a spell, power to flooded through him, the mark growing.

A red valley, originating from his heart, spanned over his chest, then abdomen, growing like a creature with its own will across his limbs, taking him over. Deidara marveled at the crawl of the mark, edges singing like hot embers when he cast an enchantment. Simultaneously, it was a beauty and a curse. Once it'd cover the whole expanse of his skin, the power built up would blow him up in the greatest, most destructive spell ever witnessed.

"Are you quite done fawning over yourself? Pein needs us to gather ingredients."

Deidara scowled and stared passed his scarred reflection at Sasori, a living doll, not like those pixie dolls which were controlled by a remote conscious. Living dolls were far more rare, and permanent. Sasori crossed his arms, joints clicking against his clothed chest.

With a sniff, Deidara stood from his vanity, and put up his hair to show off the mark creeping up his neck. "I'm not sure you would understand, Sasori. Who would want to look at a splintered body, only loved by termites, un?"

The words failed to rile up the doll, chocolate eyes remaining bored. "Anything else you want to say to waste time?"

A moment was all Deidara took to contemplate a response. "You'd be more useful as kindling, un."

"You've said that one before."

"It's a classic," Deidara countered, moving around his room to pick out a loose shirt that would show off his scarred collarbones.

Fifteen minutes later, Sasori began tapping a hole into the floor with his heeled boots. "If you don't–"

"We both know that Pein is fucking old. It won't kill him to wait a little longer for whatever he needs, un. Or... will it?"

Sasori rolled his eyes.

"Besides," Deidara said, sweeping his marked arms sideways with flare, numerous bracelets rattling. "I am ready."

Sasori gave a hum of distaste. "I've never met a fuse so eager to show off their death."

"And you, my dear Sasori, have already said that before."

Another hum met Deidara's ears.

The supplies that their master, an ancient magician, needed were in another state, which required henchmen to retrieve. Unlike the children that Pein would bribe with treats, that of which manifested all sorts of powers in those gullible grade schoolers.

"I don't understand why he doesn't send us out to do the easy stuff, un. You think some kids hopped up on his candy would do a better job at scoping out a town?" Deidara's head spilled out over his arms which swung outside the car window. He loved the feel of the wind, watching the road and dusky desert flash by him. It was fortunate that Sasori was such an impatient being and drove well-over the speed limit.

"Do you really want to blow up over some reconnaissance? The children work well because they are naive and can be easily dismissed."

Sasori, always the logical one. An irritated grunt came from Deidara as he sat up. "When will we get to the motel, un?"

"Feeling tired already?"

"You know that's not it, un."

Sasori cast him a small glance, but nothing more as he said, "At ten."

Deidara smiled crookedly as he propped his feet up on the dashboard. The warm wind felt nice even when it wasn't raging through him. "With you driving, I suspect it'll be around eight."

"I suppose it doesn't matter as long as you stay quiet this time."

"No promises, un," Deidara sang.

At the motel, Sasori checked in for the both of them, wearing gloves and a long sleeved shirt to hide his joints. The employee cast them both wary glances, but said nothing as Sasori supplied a large tip. The cement was warm as Deidara walked on it barefoot, sneakers dangling from his fingers, his duffle bag swinging carelessly from his other hand.

"You gonna grab anything, un?" Deidara asked as Sasori passed by their car, referring to the spare appendages that Sasori kept in the trunk in case he got dinged beyond repair.

The doll replied flatly, "No point tonight."

Deidara chuckled softly, knowing that wouldn't be the case as he usually scratched Sasori up like an eager cat and bit him with the same ferocity, but that night was a tad different.

It took most of Deidara's concentration to keep his bottom lip bitten, because like hell he was being blamed again by the motel owners about the noise. But even with his wrists and ankles tied up to the bed posts, muscles tensing severely, he was finding it hard to keep quiet. His abdomen spasmed as another shock of pleasure spiked through him.

Sasori found the whole thing amusing as Deidara's loud mouth betrayed him, portraying him as weak-willed. "Too much? Color?" Sasori paused his ministrations.

Deidara took in three deep breaths through his nose before letting his bruised lip go. "Green," he panted gently, staring at Sasori with hooded eyes that urged him to continue.

The doll nodded and added a fourth finger into his partner, thumb rubbing up and down his perineum slowly, watching Deidara writhe against his bonds. A twang thrummed through the air as Deidara's legs pulled against near invisible strings. They were Sasori's creations, purposed to ensnare their enemies in a cinch, but the strings functioned just as well in the bedroom. The bottom posts of the bed protested against the pull, but Sasori knew they would hold. They would have to, because like hell Sasori wasn't getting his deposit back.

"Would you like attention here as well?" Sasori would have breathed against Deidara's cock if he could, the organ already dripping pre-cum onto the fuse's scarred abdomen. Deidara's hips lurched forward towards Sasori's mouth, but the doll moved upwards and away. "Use your words," he tutted, fingers digging deep into the blond's prostate.

Deidara gave a breathy gasp as he let go of his now bloody lip. "Y-yes, un."

Sasori scowled and began to withdraw his fingers.

"Wait, wait," Deidara panted, trying to look down to plead with Sasori. "Yes, I would like that very much, Danna, un. Please, can I have your mouth?"

Sasori preferred it when Deidara begged, loved the control as he literally held the strings. "Of course," he purred, reaching for the lube on the nightstand. Opening the tube with a snick! he squirted two globs onto his tongue, as he did not produce saliva, and swooped down onto the still-leaking member.

Deidara didn't bite his lip in time, a jagged cry flying past his lips, but he closed up as Sasori peered at him with the intention to stop. Once Deidara's mouth was secured, Sasori continued, fingers pumping and stretching inside of Deidara, while the doll's lubed tongue lapped at his cock.

This teasing went on for nearly a half hour, Sasori removing himself from Deidara every few minutes to rile him up. The fuse looked down at him with some much yearning that Sasori thought Deidara would blow right there without the mark ever being completed. But some more begging got Sasori to pity his partner, and he finished him off in less than a minute, fingers and mouth rough on him.

While Deidara came down from his orgasm, Sasori spat out the cum and lube into a tissue and tossed it into the small bin by the bed, a lubed surgical glove following it. Next, with gentle fingers, Sasori untied Deidara's bonds, massaging each ankle and wrist once it had set him free. Deidara merely crooned under the treatment, casting Sasori soft smiles as the doll tenderly kissed his bruised skin.

Deidara knew that Sasori would never admit it, but he knew that his partner admired the fuse on his skin, the varying shades of pinks and reds already the norm (now his true skin) while only his neck and face remained unmarked (now strange). Once Deidara was kissed and caressed everywhere, his pale skin saved for last, Sasori cleaned him up with a damp hotel towel, climbed onto the bed, and pulled the covers over the both of them.

"What's with this, un?" Deidara mumbled sleepily.

"So I don't get anything out of this then?"

"Um, pretty sure you dominated the hell out of me for an hour." Deidara sat up just enough to put his pillow over Sasori's outstretched arm. The wood always hurt to sleep on directly. "And you don't sleep, un."

"I rest," Sasori clarified.

Deidara gave no response and Sasori seemed satisfied at winning the little tiff, even if it was because Deidara falling asleep.

Sneaking onto another magician's territory was near suicide, especially if they were old as balls. Deidara usually said that he hated old people in general, sometimes even Sasori, as the doll would take full charge of any mission they were sent on.

"You're fucking reconnaissance is going to get us spotted, un," Deidara hissed as they slunk behind a large boulder, desert sand slipping into the cracks and folds of their clothes. Sasori had already shaken out his legs thrice to eradicate the hollow appendages of sand.

The doll didn't reply, twisting his left hand off and setting it on the ground where it stood on its fingers as a claw. Next, he slipped the eye from his left socket and screwed the gum ball-sized orb on top of the wrist. "You talking will get us spotted," he finally retorted, closing both eyelids. A second passed and the hand skirted away with the eye, slipping through the chain-link fence. "Unless you have a better idea that will not give us away–"

"I do–"

"Without blowing us up in the process," Sasori bit out, facing towards Deidara an inch. "Now shush, I need to concentrate."

Even as a doll, Deidara could see the near grimace on Sasori's face. Deidara imagined that if Sasori was human, the expression would create a valley of wrinkles. God he was old.

He never knew Sasori as a human, hearing from another old-as-balls henchman that Sasori was a brat that worked for Pein, but when he reached the age of fifteen, the candy he used had no effect on him anymore. Pein offered Sasori a chance to continue a life of magic, but only if he worked for him. Deidara thought that Sasori's childhood must have been shit for him to agree to that.

Regardless, decades later, Sasori was still here, and would probably continue to exist long after Deidara blew up. But the two of them decided to make the most of it, and their bitter-sweet relationship was born.

Some moments were more bitter than others.

Nearly five minutes later, Sasori said, "All right, I found the door where Pein said it would be. We need to get to the lowest level of the warehouse; that's where the God Tree seeds will be."

Even after being a fuse for three years, and being immersed in the magical world for more, hearing some things made Deidara scoff. "Fucking seeds, un," he grumbled. "What are the guards like?"

Sasori's hand came tottering back, but as Sasori put himself back together, he remained silent. A nudge from Deidara got him to answer. "There were none."

"What?" Deidara could feel himself tensing in agitation. "Not even sentries? That means that there will be something else keeping us out, Sasori," he hissed. "Something far fucking worse."

"I know, but we still have a job to do. The sooner we get it done, the sooner we can get out of here." Sasori stood up to shake his legs once more, Deidara following in suit, sand sprinkling from them both. "I didn't catch anything with the fence so we can just hop it. Let's be fast."

Sasori was proficient with his pace, never becoming fatigued, and he thought just as quickly, making snap decisions like changing direction or ducking down low without ever alerting Deidara. The fuse himself was used to it, and read Sasori like a picture book.

They made it to the warehouse in less than a minute, sticking to the shadows like roaches until they reached the door. Sasori rotated his index finger and with a click, a lock pick popped free, but Deidara shoved him out of the way.

He murmured the words, deep in his throat, and the air shimmered as if from heat, creating a mirage. With a click, the lock released and the door swung open an inch. Deidara's mark sizzled at the edges and grew an inch, now up his neck. Sasori was scowling something fierce, but Deidara stepped into the warehouse without saying anything.

Per usual, they were cautious of any traps as there still weren't any guards, and after a few minutes of skittered around, they found the staircase leading downward.

Deidara smirked over at Sasori. "I ride one rail, you get the other? It'd be faster, un," he sang as he sat on the rusted metal, legs prepared to launch himself downwards.

"I'm not going to be the one to explain to Pein how you got tetanus." Sasori began walking down the metal-grated steps, hands in his pants pockets. Deidara knew for a fact that Sasori was already preparing his strings incase someone came after them.

Three flights of stairs popped them into the bottommost floor, and Deidara could sense Sasori's anxiousness in how he held himself, strings already out. Deidara himself did not like the prospect of being so far down, the only exit a narrow staircase three stories up.

They stepped carefully into the room that was crafted like a greenhouse, minus the glass ceiling; racks and rows of numerous plants underneath a rainbow of lightbulbs. Deidara couldn't even see the other end of the warehouse, and the width was nearly indiscernible. Sasori took the lead once more, and Deidara was almost thankful, having no idea where to even start.

"They'll be under the purple lights, but the seeds themselves will be in a clear container. Be wary of traps."

Deidara grimaced as they passed by a large-leafed plant that tried to flap at them. "Right, surprised we haven't run into anything yet, un."

Sasori said nothing, another sign of his nervousness.

Ten minutes of walking got them to the correct section and Sasori quickly deciphered what clear box they needed. Both he and Deidara stood in front of the container showcasing three innocuous almond-shaped black seeds. The fuse cleared his throat. "So," he drawled. "Did you grab any tongs or something 'cause I'm not sticking my hand in there. You can though, un," he pointed out quickly. "It's not like you'll feel if anything happens, which is probably why Pein sent you, I mean it makes sense–"

"You're rambling," Sasori said without taking his eyes off the box. "I'm going to check for traps, but if anything is set off, you run." At that, Sasori finally looked at Deidara, chocolate eyes darker in the purple light. Why did the doll look so intense?

Deidara's head nodded against his will. "Yeah, yeah, you can bet your ass I'm gonna run, un."

"You know that neither of us can be caught. These guys can't know who sent us or else Pein's entire operation is going down. They'll probably send agents after him and everyone else," Sasori said.

Deidara hummed in agreement, hands drifting to the new growth of his mark in contemplation. If Pein went down so did every one of his henchmen and Deidara was partially bitter with himself to realize he liked some of them. But they don't matter at the moment, Deidara thought as he watched Sasori position himself beside the box.

Sasori's hands finally lifted, strings drifting lazily as he moved them around the top of the container, trying to sense anything without setting it off.

"Do you think–"

An alarm blared, and after the initial muscle tensing panic, Deidara was dashing for the exit, not even checking to see if Sasori was behind him. Guilt overcame his better judgment. A glance back revealed Sasori a few steps away, but his left hand was missing, his forearm crumbling.

"Look at where you're going!"

Deidara whipped his head back to see two completely white figures with yellow eyes and green mops of hair blocking the path, so he turned down another aisle, Sasori fast on his heels. Three turns later, Deidara saw just how many white figures there were, cutting them off at every moment of escape.

For the first time in their partnership, Deidara wished that Sasori had not given him the lead to dictate their route out of the warehouse. It was selfish, but Deidara didn't want to be the blame for their downfall.

A jarring clatter accompanied the panicked breath in Deidara's ears. He stopped to see Sasori's right leg broken off at the knee, pant leg dangling. The strange sentries were throwing something at Sasori, and Deidara dodged them as he turned back for his partner who stumbled against a shelf. Another hit landed on Sasori's left ankle and he tumbled downward, only for his crumbling forearm to be taken off.

They looked like miniature wooden canon balls, so Deidara did his best to avoid them, quickly grabbing Sasori by his uninjured hand and hauling it over his shoulder, another hand around the dolls waist so they could stumble out together.

"You're not getting out if you help me," Sasori said, voice near calm. Deidara didn't know why he expected it to be strained; he knew Sasori felt no pain, but he at least thought the doll would be frustrated at the situation.

Deidara managed a chuckle as he avoided some more yellow-eyed sentries, running in circles. "You underestimate me, un. Besides," he panted, feeling worn down from the extra weight, even as the doll tried to help lift himself with his busted ankle. "They were aiming for your non-vital spots. They want you alive, and we can't have you spilling all of our secrets, un."

"Yeah, well–"

Deidara didn't get to hear the rest as white hands emerged from a near-jungle of a plant and pulled Sasori away from him. A startled gasp escaped Deidara as he tried to dive in, but the giant leaves prevented him from entering, and soon more startling white sentries began swarming towards him.

But it was hearing Sasori yell that got Deidara to start chanting the words to claim all control of the situation. All nearby plants responded to his voice as he commanded them to take hold of the sentries, suspending them into the air and squeezing until the figures convulsed in an inhuman-like spasms.

Next, he ordered the small jungle to let him in and found Sasori on the ground, arms and legs finally ripped away with his too-human heart exposed, almost removed from his wooden chest. Deidara was about to rush to him until he felt his skin tingle and hum.

He had never been told what it felt like when the mark was completed. How could he have been told, as whenever a mark was completed, the person perished? Deidara fell to his knees and stopped his chanting, trying to contain any and all of his power from growing any further. For once in his life, Deidara wished that the fuse would just stop.

A minute later, when all was still but the rustling of the plants, Deidara released a shaky breath and practically crawled over to Sasori, weary and weighed down from holding in so much power. Hefting Sasori's torso into his arm, the doll looked far from pleased, and perhaps even in pain. Deidara could see his heart trembling, dark red dribbling from what looked like a laceration across both ventricles. Perhaps those sentries weren't trying to contain them after all.

A scarred hand hovered over the organ briefly, unsure of what to do.

"I–I can hold them for a bit–a bit longer, enough time to g–get out of here. We–we have spare parts in the car, c'mon, un." Deidara tried to heft Sasori up, but his legs were already numb.

"You're barely holding it back," Sasori whispered.

Consciousness was slipping from the doll, quivering heart slowing. Reaching up with his hovering hand, Deidara could feel the fuse simmering around his left eye, still smoldering and wanting to be complete. The chuckle that left Deidara's lips wasn't intentional, because nothing was funny. Actually, Deidara was morose that this was how he was going to end it. He thought he could at least control how he died, but he had never wanted to drag Sasori into it.

"They won't get us," Sasori reassured, head slowly falling into Deidara's shoulder, eyes drooping to half-lidded.

Another strained chuckle slipped by Deidara's lips as the rustles of their pursuers freeing themselves met his ears. "At least I'll have one spectator, un."

The corner of Sasori's lip twitched upwards. "If you make it big enough, you can show others. Taking out the whole building," Sasori mused.

"Are you saying I should show off, Sasori?" Deidara teased, and he waited for the doll's response but there was none. The heart nearly stilled, but Deidara considered that good enough. "I'll give them a show, un," he whispered.

He put the last of his power into actually completely the mark over his eye, and he swore he could taste the blinding white that seared through his veins, entire being shimmering until nothing. With Sasori's permission, Deidara could finally lose control, unleash what he thought was beautiful before, his death, but it was bitter with the doll included. Sasori did not deserve this death, one he did not want, but Deidara was willing to share his beauty to cover the ugliness of it all.

We'll be beautiful together.

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