Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and TV Tokyo. Also, the plot for this story was based off an animated movie called Strange Magic that I saw on Netflix once, although of course it's filled with my own little twists.
Deidara
Deidara could feel his arms and legs shaking, and he was struggling to stay up. Sasori had been having a long conversation with Kakuzu as he used the prince as a foot rest, and Deidara wasn't sure how much more he could take. He wasn't used to this sort of thing, and never in his kingdom would anyone be cursed with this sort of treatment. He felt lucky that he had been raised there rather than in the dark forest.
As Sasori shifted his feet, Deidara's arms and legs let out beneath him. He collapsed onto the floor with a whimper, the shaking not going away. He felt so exhausted; he couldn't even think straight. Something connected with his side and the blonde whimpered in pain, struggling to get up once more.
But he couldn't.
He felt weaker than he'd ever been before. He was exhausted, he was starving, he was dehydrated, and he desperately wanted to be home in his castle with his family. His eyes weakly trailed over to his trembling hand as it rested on the concrete floor. He couldn't even lift it.
"Get the fuck up, brat."
Deidara yelped as he felt a foot harshly hit with his side. It hit again, and again, followed by several more times. His mind was begging for it to stop, but he couldn't get away. He didn't understand how even after a week of working for the redhead, he wasn't used to the labour. He felt himself growing more tired and more shaky as the time went on, and he hoped that his family would come for him soon.
"Your highness, don't you think you've overworked him a bit? He hasn't eaten in a couple days, nor has he gotten much sleep." Kakuzu spoke.
"Do I look like I fucking care about the brat's needs?"
"I understand, your highness. But at this rate, he'll die. If he dies, then our bait is gone."
"Hmph, fine. Give the brat to me."
Deidara felt himself being lifted from the ground, and he could see Kakuzu hovering over him. His eyelids were heavy, and he struggled to keep them open as Kakuzu held his body away from him. Deidara felt himself being taken by another pair of arms, and his eyes fell on messy, crimson hair. Despite his blurry vision, he knew that the king was the only one in the dark forest with such hair. That could only mean one thing.
Sasori was carrying him.
Deidara felt Sasori shifting as he walked, and he could just barely make out the designs of the walls. After a minute of walking, he felt himself placed on a chair and someone barked orders from beside him. The blonde's head landed on the table and he groaned on pain, reaching a shaky hand to hold his forehead. A hand hit the back of his head, distracting him from his attempted sleep.
He quickly lifted his head at the continuous taps and instantly felt dizzy from sitting up so quickly. Something waved in front of his face, but he couldn't process it. He just felt out of it, and the next thing he knew there was a pleasant taste in his mouth. He slowly chewed, feeling more exhausted with every movement of his mouth, trying to swallow the food. He didn't know what it was, but it tasted a lot better than the food he normally got.
"Hurry up, brat. You have work to do."
Deidara continued to eat as things were placed in his mouth, but he still continued to feel a bit dizzy. He began to feel sick to his stomach after a couple minutes, due to him getting so used to eating a small amount of disgusting gruel each day. The larger portion and rich taste was too much for his stomach to handle so suddenly, and he struggled to keep the food down.
"You better not puke, or I'll use your hair to clean it up."
The blonde weakly turned his head away, trying to escape the endless food that was being shoved into his lips. It followed him as he turned, and Deidara whimpered slightly. Finally the food was moved away, and the prince found his eyes finally focusing on what was in front of him. Sasori was scowling, holding a plate in his hand. Deidara's hand moved to his mouth as he felt queasy, causing the redhead to snarl.
"I... I don't feel so good, un..."
Sasori rolled his eyes at his words, and Deidara rested his forehead on the table. He could feel his eyes slowly closing, and could barely open them. Exhaustion poked at his mind, and his brain begged for sleep. His request was denied, with a harsh poke at his shoulder. He couldn't even bring himself to lift his head as the finger jabbed into his shoulder once more.
"Get your filthy hair off the table, brat."
Deidara found his head yanked up by his blond hair, and something was shoved into his mouth. He coughed heavily, trying to spit it out before it made him even more sick. Sasori growled as he continuously attempted to get him to eat. His gaze was growing harsher, angrier, and the blonde struggled to ignore it.
"Aww, 'Sori. Are you feeding him?"
Deidara watched Sasori cringe, and his head whipped around to glare an elderly lady. Immediately, Deidara felt himself shoved and he was knocked off the chair. He yelped as his head hit the ground, and slowly curled himself into a ball. He just wanted to sleep.
"Now, 'Sori, that was rude! He may be a prisoner, but he's still a prince. In fact, he's a very handsome one. A good marriage candidate if you ask me."
The blonde watched as Sasori seemed to choke on air. He snarled at the old lady and she simply gave a suggestive grin. He didn't know this lady, but Deidara decided he liked her. He didn't like being suggested as a marriage candidate, but she seemed like the only person who could freely push Sasori around. He found it amusing to have Sasori so annoyed, but appeared like he was unable to do anything.
"Now look at you, you're so weak. Sasori, you give him the rest of the day off and let him sleep." She demanded.
"Why wou-"
"Sasori, now!"
Sasori grumbled in annoyance at the old lady's demanding tone as he rose to his feet. Deidara felt himself being lifted from the ground once more, and his head rested against the king's chest. He heard an 'aww' from the elderly lady, and it didn't stop with Sasori's harsh glare. The bog king growled before storming from the room, his grip tightening on Deidara. Sasori moved quickly and Deidara found himself carried through a maze of hallways.
A door opened and Deidara was carried into a tiny room before being dropped on the cold floor. He shivered slightly at the coolness, and his eyes weakly lifted towards Sasori. The king was silent, glaring down at him. A chuckle was heard by the door and the old lady walked in, raising an eyebrow. The redhead sighed in annoyance, and Deidara simply watched from his position on the floor.
"Now, 'Sori, he can't sleep on the floor."
"Why the fuck not!?"
"He just can't. Now you go find him some blankets. Shoo."
Sasori stomped from the room in a way that reminded Deidara of an annoyed teenager, and he used the little strength he had left to let out a weak laugh. The elderly lady smiled at him as she moved closer, assisting the prince to sit up. She was gentle, and Deidara found himself liking this lady even more.
"I'm Chiyo," She introduced, "Sasori is my grandson."
"D-Deidara... un."
"Save your energy."
The king returned through the door and pushed past Chiyo, throwing the blankets at the blonde. Deidara found himself blinded by them until they were pulled off his head a moment later by Chiyo. Sasori crossed his arms impatiently and Chiyo set the blankets up like a bed. Deidara watched in awe, wondering how a woman like that was related to Sasori. She was so kind... and he was so heartless.
The elderly lady held her hand out and the prince stared at her silently. She glared at Sasori, and the king grumbled before coming over the assist. Deidara was lifted into Sasori's arms before being dropped harshly onto the blankets moments later. With that, the king stormed from the room leaving Deidara with his elderly and kind grandmother. She continued to small as she covered him with the blankets tucking him into bed.
"Looks like 'Sori's really overworked you..." She sighed.
"'S-Sori, un?"
"My darling grandson doesn't like it very much, but I think it's adorable."
"It... makes him sound less... scary, un"
"Oh, you don't let that nasty glare scare you. 'Sori's just a grumpy little shortie."
Deidara was rather surprised at the woman's words, but when he actually thought about it the blonde realized he was indeed taller than Sasori. He supposed he'd just been too caught up in the situation to notice. Chiyo seemed so carefree, and as much as Deidara wanted to follow her advice... it wasn't as simple as she made it sound. The prince didn't think Sasori was aloud to hurt Chiyo... but the king could definitely hurt him.
"Don't look so nervous all of a sudden. You just need to stick up for yourself a bit."
"And give him a reason to kill me? I'd rather not, un."
"Oh, relax. He can't kill you, you're his bait. Besides, Sasori knows better than that. If he kills you, it'll start an entire war."
"That doesn't make me feel any better, un..."
Chiyo sighed slightly before shrugging, as Deidara cuddled into the warm blankets. They smelled bad and were relatively dirty, but they were better than nothing. They provided him with some warmth, and somewhere more comfortable than the rock floor. He felt grateful to Chiyo for her help, and she provided Deidara with some entertainment. Sasori was pretty hot when he wa—. Deidara cut off the thought, not allowing his mind to go there.
He cursed his preference for the male gender, and himself for finding his captor attractive. The blonde knew that allowing himself to feel for the king would only end in countless heartbreak. He was ruthless, and obviously had no interest in relationships. Not to mention, Sasori was completely and utterly straight. Overall, even if there would good points, which there weren't, ending up with Sasori would likely destroy him.
"He's attractive, isn't he?"
"Un?"
"I can see it all over your face."
"...Un...?"
"I may be old, but I ain't clueless. What kind of straight guy has hair that long—"
"That's a bit offensive, un..."
"I don't care, blondie. You're gay, aren't you?"
"No, un."
"Tell the truth."
"I did, un!"
"Did not."
"Did too."
"Did not."
"Did too."
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
Chiyo was just about to retort when the door slammed opened to reveal a rather pissed-looking Sasori in the doorway. He glared at Deidara and his grandmother, and Chiyo erupted into laughter. Sasori's anger only grew and Deidara couldn't help but chuckle. Even with a glare from Sasori, he kept laughing. He was still exhausted, but his energy seemed to be returning as he once again experienced fun and laughter.
"Shut up, brat. And stop encouraging my prisoner, you old hag!" Sasori snarled.
"Is that anyway to talk to your grandmother, bastard un!?"
Sasori's head snapped in Deidara's direction, but the blonde didn't back down. He decided he would stick up to the redhead, and he didn't care how scary the king was. If Sasori wanted to play captor, then Deidara would be the most difficult damn prisoner to ever exist. Sasori's expression didn't change as he continued to stare coldly at the prince, but Deidara knew he'd be rather confused. After all, normally Deidara would shy away from his stare.
"What did you just call me, brat!?"
"Bastard," Deidara replied, "an ugly, motherfucking bastard, un."
Chiyo chuckled slightly, surprising Deidara, at his words. Deidara grinned slightly at her reaction, loving the shocked look on Sasori's face. The bog king didn't even know how to react. He just seemed to be frozen as Chiyo and Deidara continued to laugh. But after he had a minute to process what had been said to him, Sasori's rage skyrocketed quicker than ever before.
"Say it again, I dare you." The redhead threatened.
"Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bast— Un!"
Deidara found his back against the wall and a hand around his neck in less than a couple seconds. The grip around his neck quickly grew tighter, and the prince felt his airway being cut off. His vision began to turn slightly hazy again as he stared into the king's violent, brown eyes. He was filled with complete and utter rage, and Deidara felt his head growing lighter.
His senses continued to dull and soon enough the blonde found himself completely out of it. A loud ringing was echoing through his ears, and he could no longer breath. His vision consisted of beige, almost like clouds had formed on his pupils. The exhaustion in his body returned suddenly, and he felt himself slumping. He was so weak, tired, sick, hungry, thirsty. But most of all, he was afraid.
And his fear was the last thing he knew before he fell into unconsciousness.