Deidara
Deidara sat on the floor quietly in Sasori's room, a clump of clay in his hands. Kisame, who had arrived a couple minutes before, was sitting across from him with his legs crossed. He was supposed to attend the meeting with Gaara, but Kakuzu and Chiyo had went and none of them had wanted to leave the blonde alone. Apparently they were still worried about Orochimaru, who had somehow prevented himself from being imprisoned.
"It's almost time for us to get you home," Kisame broke the silence.
"When will be going, un?"
"Kakuzu and I are sneaking you out tonight, Chiyo will cover us if needed."
The blonde prince nodded, his eyes lowering to the ground. His brother would hopefully have passed on the news, but that would also mean his kingdom would have extra protection. The journey may be difficult as from far away the could appear as intruders. As well, the Sand Kingdom could still be blocking the border. There were many factors, but could he trust Kakuzu and Kisame? What if they didn't believe him about Suna?
"How are we going to sneak me out? Sasori's been having me sleep in here, un..."
"That won't be a problem, don't worry. Besides, we have one more person on our team you haven't met yet."
"Who, un?"
"That would be us. We're Zetsu," the stranger announced. He was a rather strange looking faerie with opposite body colours, bordering along a straight line in the middle of his body. His wings were held strongly behind his back, mostly black with a white 'stripe', of sorts, moving up the middle of each individual wing. Overall, the pattern was matching to a White Admiral Butterfly, which was a pattern he didn't think he'd ever seen before.
"I'm Deidara, un."
"We already know that, idiot. No need to be rude!" it spoke in multiple voices.
"They're twins," Kisame explained, "they were born with half a body each, and magic was used to seal them together so they'd live."
"You're Danna's messenger, right, un?"
"Yep, that's us! We just got back from the fairy kingdom. Someone stole the potion and they can't find it."
"I know. I saw my brother at the border earlier and he told me, un."
Zetsu nodded in response and the blonde looked back to his clay, carefully using his fingernails to create some of the details. Deidara inspected the small owl he'd created before he mentally compared it the wooden one created by Sasori. Owls were his favourite things the sculpt, he supposed he redhead had noticed that and chose the design because of it. Yet now whenever he created a clay owl, his thoughts always returned to the gift he received from Sasori.
"Zetsu, how are you helping?"
"We've been in on it since the start, you know. When we went to your kingdom, we met up with a guy who said he was a friend of yours and let him know about our plan. He's going to meet you guys at the border and help you get to the castle."
"Did you catch his name, un?"
"I couldn't care less. I think it was Itorhi?"
"Itachi, un?"
"Yeah, that was it. Sounds right."
Deidara beamed at the news, knowing his friend would be coming to rescue him. Of course, he couldn't have done it without the Dark Forest faeries either, but he truly missed his friends from the Fairy Kingdom. It had been so long since they'd raced, or went out to eat, or went shopping, or even just got together to talk. He missed Itachi's good advice, and Pein's god complex. Hell, he even missed Hidan's constant swearing and Tobi's annoyingly shitty voice. He missed them all, and he desperately wanted to see them again.
"We're going to go, since Sasori'll be back soon. We'll come back in a bit with some lie to get you to come with us, so make sure you're ready to go. Say goodbye or whatever, but not literally. Just... you know what I mean."
After Kisame's failed attempt at instructions, him and Zetsu left the room to leave Deidara on his own. And now that he was alone, he took the time to go sit at the king's desk and grab the redhead's note book and a pen, looking at it with a sigh. He knew he couldn't just leave, not with the risk of Gaara. He couldn't just run away and watch Sasori be betrayed. So, he'd do the only thing he could.
The blonde began to scribble away on the piece of paper, dragging the tiny feather pen across the page. He'd explain everything, as well as say he'd escaped alone. He didn't know if Sasori would believe him, but he wanted to help Kisame, Kakuzu and Zetsu. They were willing to risk getting into a huge amount of trouble to help him, so the least he could do was try to protect them in his note.
Just as he signed his name, he heard the familiar squeaking of the door. The prince panicked as he rapidly folded the note and shoved it into his pocket, rapidly jumping away from the desk before he could be seen. He had snatched a blob of clay, so when the redhead entered it likely looked as if he was pacing and sculpting. It was a reasonable action, and hopefully it wouldn't make him look suspicious in any way.
"What are you sculpting?"
"Hm? Oh, an owl, un."
The redhead walked directly over, plucking the figure from Deidara's hands. The blonde was rather surprised as he stared at his now empty hands for a second, realizing his art had been stolen. By the time he attempted to get it back, Sasori had already put his bed between them. Deidara scowled in annoyance, what did Sasori want with his art? Could he not see that he was in the middle of sculpting when he took it? Stupid bastard.
"It's nice, but it's not your best work."
"Un?"
"You're clumsy, brat. You were pushing too hard with your fingers, and you left nail marks."
"My bad, un."
"Is something bothering you, brat? Is this about your brother again?"
"N-no! Nothing's wrong, I'm just spacing out a little. Nothing's happening, nothing out of the ordinary. Just... molding clay, u-un..."
"Uh-huh? You're acting weird."
"I'm not, un!"
"What's wrong?" he mumbled boredly.
"Um... I, uh, I... Un..."
"Just spit it out, you brat!"
"I-it's my brother. I'm just nervous," Deidara finally spoke. He just needed to get the redhead off his back, because the blonde truly was a terrible liar when under a lot of pressure. Besides, he didn't want to lie to his Danna. He wanted them to be honest with one another, that's why he'd written the note. He'd needed to tell Sasori the truth about Gaara, and about why he was leaving. He just hoped that the redhead would forgive him.
"I told you, he'll be perfectly fine. Just trust me, you brat."
"Okay, un..."
Sasori tossed the clay figure and the blonde lifted his hands to catch it. Deidara caught the redhead's brown eyes, and he couldn't help but stare. This may be the last time he'd see him in a while, it could be the last time he'd see him ever. He'd miss Sasori, despite the rough start they'd have. He'd come to care for the king, and consider him a close friend. On the inside, he was truly friendly and kind. He just didn't show that side of him to a lot of people.
"Danna?"
"What is it?"
"Will you miss me, un?"
"Miss you? What the hell are you talking about, brat?'
"When I go back to my own kingdom... I can't stay here forever, Danna, you know that. I just wanted to know, un."
"Not particularly, maybe I could get some peace for once."
"Oh, un..."
"Heh, look at how depressed you look. Maybe just a little bit," the king chuckled.
"You better! I'll miss your stupid face, un."
"Nice, incredibly mature, brat.
Deidara couldn't help but giggle slightly in response, likely making him sound more feminine as his voice came out in a slightly higher pitch. Sasori only rolled his eyes as he reached across the bed, grabbing the blonde's sleeve. Deidara yelped in surprise as he was yanked onto the bed, and a slightly shorter body flopped down beside him. The prince lifted up his clay above him and stared upwards as he continued to shape it.
"Teach me."
"U-un?"
"Teach me how to sculpt. Since I'm a better artist, I'll be able to show you a truly exceptional piece."
"No way! You could never create a better clay sculpture than me, no way am I teaching you, un!"
"You too afraid that I'll make a better sculpture than you?"
"No!"
"Then, team me."
"Fine, un!" the blonde snapped as he rolled off the bed. He went to get a blob of clay off Sasori's work desk before returning to jump onto the bed. The king only grunted at the bounce in the mattress, taking half of the blob. Deidara immediately began to roll his own half of the blob to form a half sphere, half cylinder. He didn't particularly know what to call it, nor did he care. It was a spherical cylinder.
"Uh..."
The blonde turned towards the redhead who was holding a mess of clay, and he couldn't help but laugh at the redhead's failed attempt. The king scowled and turned away, but the prince swore he could see a faint pink forming on his cheeks. He reached over with a chuckle and placed his hand's over Sasori's, guiding the faerie's hands to create the correct shape. After that little moment of error, there were no more problems as the redhead followed along with the instructions.
By the time of completion, Sasori simply crushed the little owl in his right hand before Deidara could actually get a look at it. The blonde prince raised and eyebrow, sending a glance in Sasori's direction, and the king simply shrugged, looking away from him. A slight grin formed on the prince's face, and the redhead only scowled in response as he refused to catch Deidara's eyes.
"It doesn't matter whose was better. I, uh, just said that to convince you to teach me. Wipe that stupid smirk of your face, you brat!"
"Whatever you say, Danna, un," the blonde giggled.
"Shut up, brat."
It was then that the door opened, and Kakuzu leisurely against the frame. As soon as Deidara saw him, he knew it was time. His head lowered to stare at the floor, and then he realized he somehow had to leave the note without Sasori realizing. Quickly racking through his brain, he rolled off the bed and 'accidently' bumped into the night table. The clay scorpion he'd made for Sasori fell to the floor, and the blonde leaned down to pick it up.
He slipped the note out of his pocket and quickly moved it underneath the figure before standing, placing it and his note on the night table. He just hoped that the redhead would get it in time, but he also hoped he wouldn't get it too early. That would be bad, and possibly ruin their plan. If Sasori showed up to stop them, that then would be incredibly bad. Kisame and Kakuzu would be in a huge amount of trouble, and who knows what would happen to Deidara.
"Sorry for disturbing you, but Chiyo wanted Deidara to help her with something."
"Help her with what?" the redhead demanded.
"She didn't say, but she's in one of her fusses. I'd suggest just going with it."
"Yeah, whatever. Have him back here by nightfall."
"I can't guarantee that, you know Chiyo." "Fine, if it's late then have him sleep in the room next door so he doesn't wake me."
"Yeah, I'll let Chiyo know. Come on, Deidara."
The blonde slowly walked towards the door, quietly looking back to Sasori who was still laying on the bed. He'd miss him, he knew he would. He'd miss sculpting with his clay again, he'd miss having another artist around to talk to, he'd miss Chiyo's constant nagging, he'd miss Kisame and Kakuzu's kindness. Hell, he'd even miss the territory itself. Perhaps the rest of his kingdom thought it to be ugly, but Sasori had shown him what was to love about it. It was just as beautiful as his own kingdom, if not better.
"Danna?"
"What is it, brat?"
"What I asked you before, I'd miss you a lot, un."
The prince quickly slipped past Kakuzu and into the hall before the redhead could answer, or somehow clue in. The door was pushed shut and the blonde didn't want to keep walking. He missed his family and his home terribly, but he didn't want to leave. He didn't want to leave Sasori. For some reason, he found himself much happier when he was around the redhead. He wanted to be home, but he wanted to be around Sasori. Why was he so important to him, anyway?
"Deidara, we have to move," Kakuzu grunted.
The blonde stumbled forward slightly at the much elder male's push before he began to walk forward on his own. Deidara was led to the throne room where Chiyo, Kisame and Zetsu waited, and the blonde knew it was time to say goodbye. Chiyo simply pulled him into a hug hich the blonde gladly returned. She had looked out for him since he'd arrived, and he'd started to see her like a grandmother.
"Thank you, Chiyo. Thank you for everything, un."
"Dei, honey, just call me Granny," she murmured softly.
"I'll miss you, Granny Chiyo, un."
"Good luck, kid. We didn't know you but you seem pretty cool."
"Thank you, Zetsu. You did something incredibly risky for someone you didn't even know. That means a lot to me, so thank you, un."
"It's time to go," Kisame spoke next.
Deidara looked around the throne room and his lips formed a smile. This would be his goodbye, and it would be the last time he'd see this place for a long time. He may not see any of the people for a while either, and that upset him. But he had to leave. His kingdom was in danger, and it was his duty as the heir to the throne to protect it. With that, he turned his back on the castle and followed Kisame and Kakuzu through the front doors.
Both lifted their wings, and Deidara got to study them for the first time. Kisame had the wings of a Common Blue,. They were a light colour, kind of like the sky. Although he guessed the wings were brighter. Kakuzu, on the other hand, was a Common Sootywing. A dark brown colour that could easily blend in with the night, although they had a couple white spots on the upper wings.
Deidara lifted his own wings and took to the air, following them in the direction of the border. His eyes explored the territory once more, and he couldn't resist the urge to brush his hand against one of the curled up plants as he passed, watching it rise up to the sky. A small smile formed on his lips as he looked forward once more, and once again the blonde's body moved on it's own as he stepped on one of the venus fly traps like Sasori had shown him.
"Deidara, you have to move faster."
"S-sorry, un."
"You okay, kid? You seem distracted," Kisame slowed slightly.
"I'm... I'm just going to miss this place, un."
"Well miss having you around too, but it's for the best."
Deidara nodded in response to Kakuzu's statement and he soon found the border in sight. And standing there in plain sight, was the Uchiha he'd despised for most of his childhood. Yet as time passed, Itachi became a great friend. The prince turned back towards his escorts and pulled them into a hug. Both were quite surprised, and not thrilled, but it was returned. And finally, the blonde flew down to join his friend.
"Itachi, un!"
And he couldn't help but cry as he was pulled into his best friends arms. So many emotions were hitting him all at once, and it was too much for him. There was the happiness of returning home and seeing his best friend, of knowing he was returning to his family. But there was also the sadness of leaving behind his new friends from the Dark Forest. And finally, was the biggest pain of all, the one he hadn't known about until it was too late.
The pain of leaving the person he loved.