"Jashin, NO WAY I'm washing that dickheads bed sheets again!" A voice yelled, stirring Deidara from his deep slumber.
"Hidan, shut up and just go with it." Another voice said, a deeper voice that was obviously annoyed.
Deidara began to toss and turn, trying to find a position where he could shut out the rising voices and fade back into sleep. However, he found that impossible when more voices joined in.
"Guys, you're going wake up Deidara." A more feminine voice said, Deidara could easily recognize who the voice belonged to – Konan.
"The brat is already awake." Sasori added. Upon hearing his Danna's voice Deidara suddenly felt a bit more awake, but still he didn't want to be.
"I'm sleeping… un." Deidara mumbled and snuggled closer into the hay pile he laid on. Taking a deep breath, the scent from the hay somehow soothed him and made him relax.
"I can hear that." Sasori commented and snorted. The room was suddenly filled low chuckles, which made Deidara quickly sit up and glare at them.
"So this is what the last send ring brought back, huh?" A new voice to Deidara said after the room had turned quiet again. The male had blue like shark-like skin and his eyes were small and round just like a fish. Deidara remembered back to when Pain introduced everyone the day he came and he quickly remembered this guy as Kisame.
"Tobi likes him!" The cheerful voice of Tobi chirped.
"You like everyone Tobi. Who you like doesn't matter." Zetsu said, walking closer to the group who had gathered around the overwhelmed blonde.
"That's not true, Zetsu-san." Tobi pouted and crossed his arms. "Tobi don't like the mean guards. They keep trying to take Tobi's mask off."
"No one like those assholes." The silver haired male stated as he knelt down to Deidara's level and smiled. "Oi, blondie. I'm Hidan. And that jerk with the mask is Kakuzu." He said and pointed at the male who stood behind him. Kakuzu sighed and slapped Hidan at the back of his head, making the smaller one fall onto the floor.
"I can introduce myself you know." He said while Hidan stayed on the ground and kept sending him death glares, which he easily shrugged of like he was air. Kakuzu was tall and quite muscular, and on his arms he had lots of black stiches. His eyes had a unique colour, his irises were emerald green and the sclera was red.
"They are always like that, don't mind them." A new voice to Deidara said, his voice was flat and held no emotions. Turning to face the owner of the voice, he laid his eyes on a raven-haired male who sat in one of the corners alone. Once again remembering back to when Pain introduced them, Deidara figured out that this had to be Itachi.
"That's because he is a moron." Kakuzu merrily said and began to walk towards the door. "We have laundry to do, get up moron."
"Kuzu~ Can you do the bed sheets today, please." Hidan said, doing his best to sound as cute as possible as he followed after Kakuzu out the door. From the hallway you could hear a loud slam and Kakuzu growl, "No, and don't call me that."
"We should get going as well," Pain said after the yelling and cursing from the hallway had faded. "Deidara, all of us have different tasks. As you might have guessed Hidan and Kakuzu work with everything with clothes and textiles, such as laundry and sewing. Also, they bring the royal family their washed clothes and bed sheets. Zetsu works in the garden with Tobi. Kisame makes all the meals in the kitchen, and Itachi serves them their breakfast, dinner and evening food. Sasori is a personal servant, whom he serves can vary from day to day. And Konan she is a maid, which goes under cleaning. Today you'll go with Konan. Tomorrow you'll go with Sasori."
"What about you?" Deidara asked curiously, "You didn't say what you do, un."
"Personal servant for His Majesty," Pain answered seriously, as if speaking highly of himself. "Since you will join Sasori tomorrow, it won't be necessary to join with me for a day."
Deidara nodded, even though this morning had been very overwhelming so far and his head throbbed. Everything had happened so fast, just like as if someone had thrown a bucket of ice-cold water over him that held all events so far.
"So Dei, are you ready?" Konan asked him and smiled. Deidara knew that it wasn't a question, and that he had no choice in this.
Slowly he got on his feet, leaving the warmth and comfort from the hay pile was harder than he could imagine. When he got onto his feet, a sting of pain shot through his body. From head to toe his muscles were sore and ached. Deidara gave a low whimper, but managed to regain his composure.
Suddenly Konan grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the room and down the hallway while cheerfully chirping, "Let's go and get the outfits!"
"O-outfits!?" Deidara repeated obviously terrified. "What kind of outfits, un?"
"Wait and see~" Konan said and winked at him as she continued to drag the blond down the hallway. The way she was so happy and excited, made Deidara expect the worst.
As they stopped outside a door very similar to the one to their tiny room, Deidara's eyes widened as Konan opened the door, revealing the content inside as she lightened the candles.
The tiny room contained mostly buckets and lots of old rags, but what had made Deidara's eyes widen was the maid's outfits that laid folded over one of the chairs. His horrible expectation was much worse in reality.
"Aren't they cute~" Konan said excitedly and showed one off one of them to the scared male. Deidara scowled when he saw the whole outfit exposed. The dress itself was a smooth mix between black and grey, it was short and looked tight, very tight and had short puffy sleeves. The apron Konan held in her other arm was white, lined with ruffles.
"Am I going to wear that, un!?" Deidara half-screamed after it hit him, Konan was most likely going to force him into that.
"Yep, we both are." Konan replied as she began to take off her old rags. Quickly the blonde covered his eyes and turned around, feeling his cheeks burning. Konan only chuckled at his shyness. "Aw, Dei Dei. Wait a sec and I'll help you into yours."
After lots of screaming, cursing, crying and whimpers, Konan managed to get the struggling blonde into the outfit that was originally made for women. Finishing tying the apron on the back she turned him around to look at her masterpiece.
"You look so cute!" Konan squealed and clapped her hands. "Wait! I forgot the most important detail." She turned to pick up something from behind her and smirked as she held a black bow in her hand. Before Deidara could refuse, Konan placed the bow on his messy ponytail and brushed his bang behind his ear before she nodded in approval.
Deidara, however, wasn't approving at all. The white thighs the bluenette had given him went up to over his knees. Only by luck, he got permission to keep the underwear he had, even though it was indeed uncomfortable to wear after four days of constant use. He had never been this flushed and embarrassed, and he kept trying to cover himself to regain a slight piece left of his pride, but it was useless. In the end, he gave in.
As they both were dressed, they brought with a bucket each along with a rug and began to walk down the dim lightened hallway – Deidara merely followed Konan since he still didn't know the way to any place at all.
They arrived at a wooden door, as Konan opened it with her free hand, the bright morning sun and the blue clear sky was revealed behind. The door leaded straight into the garden, but this was a part Deidara hadn't seen yet. This grass wasn't as healthy and bright green as the part he was in the other day; it had a rather darker green and wasn't looking as healthy. Somehow, this part felt more distant and gloomy.
"Come Deidara," Konan leaded him a bit further into the garden. "The well is just around this tree."
Stopping in front of short round stonewall surrounding the pit, Deidara looked down into the darkness, if he focused he could faintly see the water at the bottom of the well.
"Give me your bucket." She said as she laid down her own in the grass, the blonde did as he was told. When the bluenette got the bucket in her hands, she grabbed the rope that hung over the well, supported by a stick that laid diagonally some feet over the pit. Carefully she tied a knot around the handle of the bucket, not too tight but not too loose. Slowly she sunk it down into the darkness while Deidara watched it going further and further down till it was almost impossible to see it. The plop from when the wooden bucket hit the water surface echoed through the walls.
When it was filled, Konan used all her strength to pull it up. Deidara would ask if she needed help, but he was almost hypnotized, starting down into the darkness, watching the bucket slowly return to the surface.
Untying the now heavy bucket, she replaced it with the other empty one and repeated the progress – Deidara was watching with just as much interest as before.
When both buckets were filled they began to make their way back to the castle. This time they walked towards the main garden and went through a side door leading into the first floor. While Konan leaded him out of the first room and down a hallway, Deidara looked around in awe. On the walls on each side of the wide hall mirrors reflected and made it look like the hall was bigger. Gold tainted the walls as far as the eye could see and the floor was made of marble as clear as the sea on a windless day.
"Isn't it beautiful?" Konan said, her voice had a little sadness in it. Deidara looked at her sad expression, but quickly it changed to a tender smile so he brushed it off for now.
Halfway through the hall they turned to the left, only to walk into a similar hallway. It leaded to a wide staircase made of the same material as the floor.
"First off, we'll clean of the staircase and then work our way through this hallway. You okay with that, Deidara?" Konan informed the other while they began walking up the steps – the said blonde nodded in approval of her last question.
Just after long detailed explanations of different cleaning techniques, Deidara was quick to master washing and polishing the marble floor till he could see his own reflection in the floor – because only then he was satisfied. Cleaning was something he was used to, back home his mom would usually work late, leaving the house duty to her only son.
'Mom…' Deidara tried to remember her. Before he even had a second thought he shook his head; this wasn't time to think back at such memories. Once he had cleared his head he directed his focus back at the task on his hands.
Finishing the stairs they began to work their way from the last step and down the hallway. While Deidara was rubbing the same spot for maybe the tenth time, he stopped as one of the doors opened with a creak. Out stepped a known redhead clad in a black butler suit, as he was out the door he held it open. Deidara's blue eyes meet with muddy brown ones. Sasori eyed the blonde's outfit and smirked. Seeing how he looked so amused made Deidara feel blood rushing to his cheeks and he directed his gaze elsewhere to hide his blush.
Out the open door a male stepped out, ignoring the one who held the door open for him. He looked to be at the age of newly obtained adulthood, a dark blond tainted his hair, which was closer to brown to even call it blond. His green eyes traced his surroundings until his gaze fell on Deidara and Konan.
"Oh~" His voice was boyish and carried an arrogant pitch like he had no worries in the world. The manner he spoke in was sassy and naughty which made Deidara cringe. "So this is the new slave my father summoned~"
Walking towards the said slave, he wore a grin as he got closer and closer to Deidara – who was trying his best to ignore the approaching figure.
When he crouched down in front of the other blonde, he took a firm hold of his face and yanked his head up to face his own. Startled, Deidara tried to turn away from the nerve-wracking gaze, but he couldn't move his head an inch. The others green eyes pierced through Deidara's blue ones, and before the smaller one knew what happened the gaze was broken as he got a hard slap across his cheek.
Looking up while rubbing the place where a hand had hit his flesh painfully, the culprit looked down at him while settling his hands on his hips, a mocking smile plastered his perfectly shaped face. "Oh no no, a slave must not look at his master without permission. Do you remember me giving you permission, hm?"
"My price, you have an appointment to attend." Sasori suddenly spoke up, his face was at its usual emotionless state, but still you couldn't help to feel the aura he gave off – which definitely did not contain any happy emotions.
"Aw… Can't you just let me have some fun for once."
"Your majesty father wanted you to attend this afternoon tea with your fiancée, so I'm afraid you don't have time my prince."
The prince's response was just a loud humph as he swirled on his feet and begun walking in the direction of the main hallway. Before Sasori followed after the prince, he hurried to help Deidara back on his feet and gave him an apologetic look as he quickly a moment afterwards was disappearing down the hallway as well.
For several moments after, Deidara merely stood at the exact same spot, blinking a few times trying to grasp what had just happened. He was pulled out of his trance when he heard Konan sigh.
"Of course he would appear…" She looked at Deidara with worry in her amber eyes. Deidara couldn't help to think that she might wanted to say something, but she kept her mouth shut.
They both got back to work, but the blonde struggled to focus. From time to time he got lost in his thoughts, wondering over questions like 'That arrogant asshole was the prince?' or 'Why did Sasori no Danna help me? He's a cold hearted bastard.' or he would just find himself thinking about the redhead in general. Deidara didn't understand really why he was thinking so much about Sasori, shaking his head he attempted once again to focus rubbing away the trail of dirt ruining the gorgeous marble floor.
By the time him and Konan had finished the whole stairs and the hallway, the moonlight shone through the windows and shimmered on the smooth newly cleaned floor. After studying their work one last time, they began to walk back to the basement.
While they were walking, Konan had told Deidara about the prince and how he always behaved like he did earlier. It made the other's lips twitch slightly upwards and he somehow felt relief rushing through his veins.
This time when they entered their common room – Deidara had decided to call the cramped room that –, mostly everyone were still awake. All eyes were on them from the moment they closed the door and Hidan held his hand over his mouth trying to contain his chuckles.
"Nice dress, blondie." He blurted out between constant coughs and giggles.
Deidara looked down, he was still dressed in the maid's outfit and as he realized that his face turned red as a tomato.
"Whoops, we forgot to stop by the utility room." Konan said nervously while getting the most hateful glare from the flushed blonde, she rubbed the back of her head and lead him out of the room to the utility room to change before someone would most likely get hurt.
Returning, Deidara walked past everyone and flopped down at same pile of hay he sleep on the previous night, unaware that someone already had occupied it.
"Brat." A voice that had became too familiar to the blonde. Looking up, he looked up to meet with Sasori's calm eyes.
"W-why are you in my bed, un?" Deidara asked and narrowed his eyes at the redhead.
"This is my bed, Deidara." Sasori said as he pushed him off, making him fall on the floor. "Last night you fell asleep before you even saw whose bed you fell on."
"Where's my bed then, un?"
"There." Sasori pointed at the pile right next to his own, and Deidara crawled over to it and laid down his face buried down first, trying to hide his embarrassment.
"How was it to handle the prince today?" Pain asked Sasori, breaking the awkward silence that had fell over the room.
"He was an annoying prick like usual. To be eighteen, he acts like he was fifteen." The redhead replied and shrugged. However, he had no plans to mention today events, especially not how he had treated Deidara. Only the memory of it made anger take over his calmness, defeating it like it was its prey.
"I see." Was Pain's only response before another long silence returned, until he spoke up again. "So tomorrow you'll take care of him Sasori."
"Of course." Sasori said flatly and looked over at the blonde that had fallen asleep again, he felt his lips twitch up to a small smile.
I'm so so so so so so so ashamed for publishing this, it's so bad XDD Well well, I write this more or less for fun and practice.
Still, review?