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.

Sasori

Sasori groaned in annoyance from where he sat, wishing his grandmother could just pass of old age and put him out of his misery. She had been lecturing him like a child ever since he'd lost his temper and strangled the blonde. The redheaded king was getting rather sick of it, and for once he actually wished he could hear that annoyingly 'un'-infested voice.

Unfortunately, the annoying prince was still out cold. Chiyo was fussing over him while Sasori waited by the door. Currently, Sasori's grandmother was fixing the blankets to cover the blonde's feet. Apparently he was too cold. It was always one thing or another; every time she fixed something the old hag found something new to fix in order to make the prince more comfortable.

The brat was much too weak. He was all bark and no bite, as some may say. The kid didn't seem to think twice about his words, and would casually use curse words in his speech — even in the presence of other royalty. He was much to feminine, yet at the same time he was the complete opposite. He looked like a girl, no doubt. In fact, Sasori would have thought him to be a girl on sight if he hadn't known the prince was feminine.

His egotistical attitude often angered the king, due to the irrational things coming from the blonde's lips. He'd never been stuck with someone so incredibly annoying, loud and obnoxious before. If someone had even dared to do so, they would no longer be alive. He supposed that's why it never happened. His people knew better than to annoy him and get on his bad side. That discipline was something the Fairy Kingdom lacked.

"Hey, 'Sori? Can you wait here with him while I get him some water?"

"Ask a guard to do it."

"Nope. This is your punishment for attacking him in the first place."

Sasori groaned as Chiyo exited the room, leaving him alone with the unconscious prince. The king was glad to at least get some peace, but someone up there clearly hated him; the blonde began to come to. His bright, cerulean eyes flickered open and he stared silently at the ceiling for a moment before he turned his head to look at Sasori. The redheaded king found himself in a trance at the sight of those beautiful, blue eyes. No. He couldn't be thinking such things. Deidara was his prisoner, and a male.

"You're awake, brat."

"No shit, un." Deidara replied weakly.

Sasori frowned, but chose not to start a fight. If he attacked the blonde again, his grandmother would never let him hear the end of it. Besides, if he remained silent then maybe the prince would shut up too. Deidara seemed to read his mind and said nothing for a while, allowing Sasori to worship the beautiful silence that was floating throughout the air. Unfortunately, it didn't last very long.

"I'm back, 'Sori. Oh, you're up! Good to see you're feeling better."

Sasori snickered at the blonde's discomfort whilst he was pushed around by the elderly lady. Deidara was finally understanding how the redhead felt to have the old hag nagging him and following him around all the time. Perhaps she was his blood relative, but they had never been close when Sasori was little. The redhead was distant from most of his family, except his mother. Even so, he preferred not to talk about his past.

"Are you finished with this foolishness?" Sasori demanded of his grandmother.

"Well if you're going to act like that, then you can take care of him."

"I'm not taking care of the brat."

"I'm sitting right here, un!"

"Do I look like I fucking care?"

Sasori watched as the blonde 'hmph'ed and looked away, almost as if he were pouting. The redhead wanted to kick himself when the word 'cute' crossed his mind. The prisoner was not cute and Deidara was a male. A guy. A boy. Perhaps he looked like he was a female, but he clearly wasn't. The king did not date, and being in a relationship with another male was wrong.

"Sasori Akasuna, you are taking care of him. If you refuse, then you're grounded for a week."

"What the fuck? You can't ground me, I'm king!"

"Actually, she can. Sorry, your highness."

Sasori whipped his head around to glare at Kakuzu who was entering the room. He couldn't even process what was happening. How the actual fuck could Chiyo ground him? He was the king of the dark forest and she was just an old hag. Sure, she'd been Queen, but it was a long time ago. There was absolutely way that she could ground him, not in his position.

"She can't, it's not possible!"

"A former ruler can step in if they believe the current ruler needs to take a break. Whether you're doing wrong or not, she has the power to do so."

"You will be taking care of him, Sasori. Or you can be temporarily stripped of your title. Imagine the rumours..."

Sasori cringed at his grandmother's words, anger growing within him. She couldn't be serious. This couldn't be happening to him. But she was serious, and Sasori was just starting to process that fact. He tried to sort through the options within his mind, but there were no ways out. The ruthless king had no choice but to do exactly what his grandmother instructed him. To take care of that stupid brat.

"Fine, but I have stuff to do so he better keep up. Let's go, brat. On your feet."

"He's not ready yet, 'Sori."

"I can't take care of him if he doesn't go with me, so do it yourself."

"Fine, fine. Come on, sweetie. Up you get."

"S-sweetie, un?"

Chiyo ushered the prince to his feet, using the blonde's mortified state from the nickname to her advantage. Sasori couldn't help but chuckle, liking the expression that was plastered across the brat's face. Pure and utter horror. Sasori smirked at the sight of him, liking this face. The king considered trying to scare the heir like that more often. With such a face to fuel Sasori's ego, it was worth it.

"Hurry up, brat."

"Yes..."

"Yes, what?"

"Y-yes, Danna, un."

Sasori nodded in satisfaction towards the frail boy before turning and exiting the little room. Deidara trailed after him, down through the halls and up a large stair case. The redhead entered his workshop, immediately going over to his desk and sitting down. Several puppet parts sat in front of him, and he pulled out his tool box so he could begin working on putting it together.

"You... like art, un?"

"What do you think, brat?"

"S-sorry, un."

"Do you want to know what I like even more than my art?"

"What, un?" He asked, sounding excited.

"Doing my art in silence."

"Oh..."

"Just... do something quiet to entertain yourself."

"Yes, Danna, un..."

The redhead sighed slightly, enjoying the quiet as he began to work away. He got a wood screw out before carefully positioning it in the right position. After getting it in the wood and tightened, he moved onto the next screw. Doing all of them probably took him about 15 minutes, due to the large amount of them, but at least now he had finished the torso. He shifted his wings slightly as he leaned closer to the puppet, to get a closer look.

His body jumped at a loud noise from behind him, causing his tool box to fall to the ground. Sasori snarled in anger, slamming a fist against his work desk. He slowly rose to his feet and turned to face the blonde, whom was trembling on the floor beneath a collapsed shelf. The shelf was broken, as well as many of the materials that had been on it. Sasori found himself fuming at the sight.

"Didn't I tell you not to touch anything, you brat!?"

"N-no, un."

"Well, look what you've done!"

"I'm sorry, Danna. I... I just wanted the clay, un."

"The... clay?"

"Yes," he nodded, "the clay, un."

"What the fuck do you want the clay for?"

"I wanted to make my art, un."

"You're actually an artist?"

"Uh huh! My pieces are versatile. While they hold shape they are merely objects...but they can also explode. And when it does explode it makes it's existence more sublime, and it finally comes fully into it's own. I feel that true art lives, un, only in that flash of sublimation. True art, is an explosion, un!"

Sasori cringed at the words, burying his face in his hand. How could believe that shit to be art? The kid had it all wrong. Clearly, the Fairy Kingdom did not teach art properly. What was the point in something if it were simply to disappear again? Deidara clearly needed some sort of mental help, if he was spouting such nonsense. But then again, Sasori was pretty sure the brat needed mental help anyway.

"You're wrong, brat. True art is something that lasts forever. True art is eternal."

Deidara looked shocked and was about to fire back, but instead a yelp of pain escaped his lips when he attempted to move. He looked towards his wrist in pain, which was unfortunately stuck underneath the shelf. Sasori sighed before moving closer, forgetting the argument to help the brat. After removing the shelf, Sasori saw the piece of glass in the blonde's wrist. He sighed at his clumsiness. It was injury after injury with this kid.

"Go sit at my desk, brat."

Sasori got his first aid kit from the cupboard as Deidara went to sit where he was told. His eyes remained glued to his lap, almost as if he were ashamed to look up. Sasori chuckled slightly, surprising both the blonde and himself, as he dug through the first aid kit. Getting out a pair of tweezers, he very carefully put them around the piece of glass. Deidara whimpered as it was pulled out, but bit his lip to prevent any more sounds.

The redhead was gentle, which was very unlike him, as he wrapped Deidara's wrist. After all, he didn't want his grandmother to temporarily strip him of his title like she'd threatened. As well, he knew the blonde would make a fit if it hurt and the king was desperately craving some quiet. As much as he liked to cause others pain, this was the best approach for the situation.

"Th-thank you, Danna, un..."

"Whatever, brat. Just don't get used to it."

"Okay, un."

Sasori stared at the prince for a second as he moved his wrist slightly, face scrunching up from the pain. The king knew he couldn't be staring and he knew that he had to look away. But a part of him at the same time didn't want to do what he was supposed to. Still, he was king and he would do as his father instructed him. He would be proper, and he would rule with fear. Yet he couldn't figure out, why was he somewhat attracted to the blonde? Sasori decided it had to be his feminine appearance, as blonde hair and blue eyes was not at all common in the dark forest.

"Danna, un?"

"What?" Sasori grumbled.

"C-can I... un..."

"I don't have all day, brat."

"Un..."

"Clay? Is that what you want?"

The blonde's eyes widened before he began nodding rapidly. Sasori simply rolled his eyes as he put the first aid kit away, before getting some clay from a drawer on the side of the room. Deidara's entire face lit up as it was placed in his hands and he immediately began to take it out of the package excitedly. The king couldn't help but watch in amusement as he began to sculpt with it, starting to create a figure.

"Otousan never lets me create my art anymore, un."

"He won't let you blow things up? I wonder why, brat." Sasori rolled his eyes.

"No, not that; I know I can't blow things up in the castle. He won't even let me sculpt anymore, un."

"Why not?" Sasori asked, feeling generally confused.

"All he cares about is the next heir. I have to be the perfect king, with the perfect wife and the perfect child. I don't want to get married, why can't he see that? Over and over, I tell him I'm not getting fucking married. But the bastard won't listen to me, un! He-"

"-Okay, okay. Calm down, brat."

"Sorry, Danna..."

"I'm sure your father is-..."

Sasori stopped talking the moment the door opened, and Chiyo entered with a grin on her face. Deidara looked over towards her curiously, and Sasori groaned in annoyance. His grandmother looked at the clay in Deidara's hand and raised an eyebrow, a smirk crossing her lips. Sasori immediately stepped forward and ripped it from the blonde's hands, destroying what he had been creating.

"I told you not to fucking touch that, you brat."

A hurt look flashed in Deidara's eyes when his sculpture was taken and destroyed, but he quickly hid it again before Sasori could be sure that he had seen it correctly. What Sasori did see, was confusion. The king did not need to explain himself to his prisoner, especially not in front of Chiyo. The elder woman knew that Sasori never let anyone touch his art supplies. No matter who they were and how loyal they were. Even as a child, he didn't let anyone near his art room."Now, 'Sori, I'm sure he didn't mean any harm."

"I told him not to touch my stuff, and he did the exact opposite." Sasori snarled.

"B-but Danna, y-Ouch!"

Deidara's hand went to his cheek at the burning sensation where Sasori's hand had hid it. The redhead growled in anger as tears poked at the prince's eyes. Why was that prince so damn annoying? He talked big, but cried like he was a toddler. He was probably pampered endlessly as a child, and now couldn't take care of himself. He'd never known what it was like to lose a loved one, or to suffer.

And Sasori despised him for it.

Deidara's entire life had been handed to him on a silver platter. His parents sheltered him from every possible evil and kept him innocent. Sasori was exposed to the true nature of the world at a very young age. His mother had been brutally killed by his father one night, when she refused to provide him with her body. Sasori had to grow up saying nothing, pretending she had been attacked by a kingdom traitor. If he dared speak up, he would have suffered the same fate.

The boy always promised himself that he would change the kingdom and that he would become a better ruler than his father. Yet as he grew up, he found himself changing. Sasori was trained and taught by his father, and slowly he began to become more and more like him. Before he even realized, he had become an exact replica of his father. A ruthless man who would do absolutely anything to gain power. He became feared, even more so than his father.

No way was a pampered brat going to change that.