Something Different

A story by Songstone and KajiR

Songstone: TEH WOOT! A joint story. XD Me and my buddy started to RP this out and thought it would make a really awesome fanfic. So, with a bit of editing and rearranging, here it is!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Chapter 1: The hiding place

"What!? Why me, un!?" There was a loud shout echoing down the many halls of the palace. It was the middle of the afternoon, and was usually one of the quietest parts of the day. The three prince's would be in their rooms and the only princess would be outside somewhere with her friends.

However, today was very different due to all the shouting coming from the King and Queen's throne room.

"Because Itachi is too old, Sasuke is already engaged, and Ino is a female. You're the only one left, Deidara. So stop complaining. This had already been decided long ago. You're supposed to marry Sakura Haruno. It wouldn't only strengthen ties with neighboring countries, but it would secure you a place at the throne since you would be King once she was given the title of Queen." Tsunade informed her third born son with a straight face.

"This isn't fair, un." Deidara complained, crossing his arms. He had lowered his voice at least. "I don't want to marry her. I don't want to marry anyone for that matter." He was barely nineteen! He should have gotten a choice with what he wanted to do instead of being forced into marriage just because it kept him in royalty.

"Stop your complaining and get use to the idea instead." The King sure wasn't being much help to the young prince in his current situation. "And don't give me that girly 'but I wan't to marry someone that I love' talk either. You will be marrying the girl wihtin three months and you will be happy about it . . . Just like I told myself when I married your mother." He grinned and crossed his arms over his chest. Sure, Tsunade had been married once before. But that didn't stop Jiraiya from jumping in when the old King, Orochimaru, had . . . mysteriously died.

"Too . . . too old?" Itachi, Deidara's step brother, was still in a small state of shock to have been called that, and was busily looking at himself in the mirror. "I'm . . . too old?" He asked and looked at his mother. Sure wasn't a big boost to his self asteem to be called old. And by his own mother ontop of that! At least he wans't crying like his younger brother always would as soon as something went wrong or he didn't get what he wanted.

Tsunade, after delivering a punch to her husband's stomach, turned to Itachi with a bored expression on her face. "You're up there in years, Itachi. You're twenty-five and Sakura is sixteen. The girl is too young for you even if you were interested." She said, rolling her eyes.

Sasuke, Itachi's younger brother, stiffled a laugh at the eldest son's expression after hearing that explanation. "Yeah. They're right, Itachi. You're much too old already. Just look at those bags under your eyes. Pretty sure that there's some gray in your hair too . . ." He bit down on his lip again and snorted in amusement.

"Shut up, Sasuke. I am not that old - gray hairs? Where? Oh my God . . ." Itachi whimpered as he quickly opened up his ponytail and got up form his chair. He made his way out of the room looking in the hand held mirror, searching for the mentioned abominations on his head.

Sasuke covered his mouth as he laughed lightly. His older brother could be so vain at times and he loved to play on that. "Lemme help you look." He offered, hopping up from his seat and hurrying after his brother to pluck out the unwanted hairs. He would only tell him after that two more would grow in their place.

Deidara didn't seem to be paying attention to either of them. He narrowed his eyes at his mother. "I am not going to be forced into anything, un." He insisted with an icy glare that he had gotten from his mother's side of the family.

Tsunade, however, returned the favor. "Do not talk back to me. This is going to happen. Get over it. Suck it up." She said. Ah. Nothing like motherly love . . .

The blond grumbled and turned his head the other way, muttering a near incomprehensible 'I hate you, un' under his breath.

"Mo-om!" The argument was interrupted by Deidara's older twin sister, who made a dramatic entrance as she raced towards her parents. Stopping by her mother's side with a sugar sweet smile on her lips, she leaned her hands on the arm rest of the throne. "Can I have some money to go out with my firends to town? Pleaaaseee?" Well, it was worth a shot. If mommy said no, daddy was always there as a backup. He was a sucker for all his kids after all. Expecially his only daughter.

"Hm?" Tsunade asked, looing over at Ino. She sighed and gave an eyeroll as she handed her daughter a small amount of money out of a coin purse lying at her feet. "Sure. Don't stay out late." Might as well let her go. Jiraiya would always give in and hand over money anyway.

Deidara shook his head as he looked at his parents and his sister. This . . . was beyond unfair. Sasuke got to at least chose who he was going to marry! And he didn't even have to if he didn't want to!

He groaned and turned on his heel, stomping out of the room. He needed some fresh air. He couldn't stand to be with his family for much longer after that announcement. "I'm leaving." He shouted over his shoulder, not caring if they heard or not.

Jiraya made an attempt to call after him they weren't done talking, but failed as he curled over again. The Queen sure packed a punch . . .

- - -

Outside, the mood was a lot lighter and happier then the mood indoors. It was late spring, so most of the plants in the garden were bright green. Some of the flowers were already blooming.

Not far form there were the stables. They were kept quite clean, considering that there were ten horses taking up residence in there. The guards that had horses for thier job kept thier animals to care for elsewhere. It was only fair since the king figured it was enough with just one stable boy.

"Don't let them bother you that much, Deidara." Ino said in a fake try to cheer her sibling up. "You're probably just cranky because you're still a virgin. You should try get one of the guards into bed." She suggested with a grin and placed an arm around his shoulders. "That is if you don't want to try and bed a maid . . . if you have an interest in girls, that is."

"Shut up, Ino." Deidara shot back, shrugging away from his sister's half embrace and dusting his shoulder off as if his clothes had just been dirtied. He groaned and put a hand to his forehead, shielding his eyes from the sun as he looked around for someplace to hide in.

He eventually got an idea and smirked slightly, heading for the stables. That would be a good place to hide in. Besides, Ino hardly went there anyway. Afraid to dirty her clothes, most likely. She only went there in the morning to take a horse out to ride.

"Just because you sleep with every man around doesn't mean that I will. Same for women. I just don't like anyone, un." He said, crossing his arms as he hurried away. "So, if you would kindly leave me alone, I would appreciate it." He said, tossing a fake smile over his shoulder before he headed into the stables completely.

"If you'd take my advice, you'd see! You'll be thanking me one day you jerk!" She called after Deidara. But she turned around and left in the opposite direction, her nose wrinkling lightly at the thought of going into that nasty place. Why be around those dirty animals when there was no need to?

- - -

"You out there. Could you be kind and hand me the towel there on the hay?" A voice came from one of the boxes as the young Prince stepped into the stables fully. Besides the open door was a larger towel laying on the said hay.

"What?" Deidara asked, jumping in surprise by the sudden voice calling out to him.

"Hurry up. The mare here doesn't have all day." The voice said again. He couldn't really know it was the Prince that he was speaking to. But right now he didn't care who was out there as long as they could be of use. He couldn't leave the mare's side since she was on the ground and the foal she was giving birth to was stuck half way out.

"Easy girl, easy. You'll be done soon." The man assured with a soft voice to calm the animal while petting the horse's thigh.

Deidara snorted and looked around for the source of the voice. "Excuse me? Do you know who you're talking . . . un?" He asked, stopping himself when he heard the grunts and neighs that the horse was making within the container. He walked over cautiously and peeked over the side before his eyes widened. "Oh!" He made a surprised noise. He'd had no idea that something like that was happening!

He quickly hurried in and grabbed up the towel off of the hay as said, though he slowed down as he neared the animal. He hadn't really been around horses too much. Not since he was a young boy. He held the towel out to the worker who was besides the large creature, keeping his distance from both he and the animal. "H-here. Un." He said in a quiet voice.

"Thank -" He stopped himself when he looked up at the blond. "Oh." He said upon realizing who he'd just been ordering around. "Sorry Your Magesty." It really didn't sound like he meant it, but he had other things to worry about now. He took the towel, shifting a little as his hands gripped the front legs of the foul. "Okay girl . . ." He said to the mare. "On three . ." He sighed and took a breath. "Three." And then he pulled.

The foul slowly slid out, though barely moving. The farmhand quickly began cleaning out the nostrills and rubbing it's chest where the heart was while the mare lied panting and exausted on the hay bed.

Finally, a breath of air and a few kicks later, the foul began squirming and the red haired male could breathe out in relif as he gently cleaned the foul's head. "Congratulations. Its a colt." He smiled as the mare slowly moved to stand up. She took care of cleaning the rest of the male foul.

The man stood up and dried his bloodstained hands on the clean parts of the towel. It didn't help much considering it was wood he was trying to clean. "What brings you here, my Prince?" He asked while turning his attention back to Deidara now.

Diedara stood back, moving away from the animals as they began to move around. He slowly eased his way out of the container and out into the stables again, hand over his chest. He had never witness anything like that before. It was . . . messy. Slightly disturbing. But still, he had to admit that the newly born foal was a sight that was well worth it. He gave a slight grin and leaned against the wooden doors, peeking over the edge to see the mother and child animals interacting.

It took him a moment to hear the question, and when he did, he turned his attention to the farm hand. "Oh. Nothing, un." He said, straightening up and dusting himself off lightly. "I need a place to hide in. That's all." He said, crossing his arms and leaning against the wooden frame again, flipping some stray hair over his shoulder.

"Well, make yourself at home" He shrugged at hearing that and closed the door so the two could have some peace now. Moving right along with his job, he picked up a bucket and went to the back where the fodder and such were kept. Taking the appropriate amount, he moved to another box where a brown stallion was kept and opened the door to it so he could feed the horse. "Mind if I ask why you are hiding?" He questioned, not bothering to look at where the Prince was at the moment as he petted the eating horse.

"None of your business, un." Deidara said, looking over at the other male with a light snort. But he felt how he was dying to tell someone about his misfortune. He sighed and tilted his head back against the wooden door frame and then quickly moved away when a horse came close to him, sniffing at his hair. Inspecting the newcomer. He smoothed out the blond locks and twirled his fingers around the strands absently. "I just needed to get away from my family. My brothers and sister. My mother and father, un." He growled lightly. "They're forcing me to get married."

Sasori forced back an amused smirk as he rubbed the muzzle of the horse. "That so? Spares you a lot of trouble then. You don't have to go around looking for someone. And your family will take care of wedding invitations, set up, etcetera." He pointed out. As if that would make the whole thing easier to deal with.

"Doesn't matter." Deidara said, crossing his arms over his chest. "I don't want to be married. You're missing the point, un." He growled, irritated. "And they just had to chose the most annoying person on the face of the planet for me to marry." He added. He had known Sakura ever since he was a baby. They had practically grown up together.

They had never gotten along.

"I thought that was your sister." The other pointed out while exiting the box and placing the empty bucket aside.

Deidara scoffed at the other, rolling his eyes. "You've got no right to be speaking like that about my sister." Even if what he said was true, he had to admit.

"My apologies." The redhead said quickly, and in such a way that didn't make him seem apologetic in the least. "You could always find someone else to marry. Then you can at least marry someone less annoying." He made a small hand movement to that. "At least someone you can tolerate. Don't see the big deal really. Not like you'll have to do much more then that. Along with trying to impregnate your new mate."

"And it's not just about marrying someone that you tolerate." The blond gave an eye roll to that. "It's for the good of the country, un. To 'strengthen ties' and make sure that we're all on good terms and blah blah blah . . ." Deidara grunted. He shrugged off the jacket that he had been wearing over his shirt and swung it over his shoulder. He was about to add something else to his own words, but paused and tilted his head before he pointed to the other's arms. "What happened to your hands, un?" He asked.

At the mention of his arms, the redhead looked at his hand and then smirked lightly with a shrug as he went to grab the long toothed hay fork and placed it in the one wheel wagon so that he could clean out one of the empty boxes.

"Accident." Was the answer he gave to the inquiry.

Deidara put his hands to his hips. This guy spoke to him almost like he was talking to another farm hand rather than a Prince! But he disregarded that for the moment, curious about the other male. "What kind of accident, un?" He continued, moving to lean on the door of the empty container. He absently fiddled with the lock and got it open, giving it a tug open so the other could get inside.

"Thank you." Well, it didn't hurt being polite when you had a Prince open the door for you.

Once he'd set the wagon down and began filling it with the old hay, he talked again. "It happened when I was about eight. I was helping my dad with the horses and two wolves spooked them out on the field. I tried calming them down and got trampled." He said that as if it was nothing more then he'd sprained an ankle or, at most, broken a bone. "Lost both arms and legs".

Gripping onto the door of the stable, Deidara grunted and heaved himself up onto it, balancing before he sat down and swung his legs, resting them on either side of the door. He looked the other over slowly, eyes stopping on the mention limbs. "Doesn't seem like it at all, un." He mused aloud. "You move around just the same as I do." He continued, still swinging his legs absently.

"I've had eleven years to . . . perfect my movments if you can call it that." The redhead replied and heaved another laod of hay and manuer into the wagon untill the box floor was relatively empty.

He moved out with the items and headed towards the back to discard the load for the gardener to use for the plants later.

Once the other was through with the box, Deidara swung the door shut by kicking his leg against the wall. He hopped off of the door, not bothering to lock it up again, and followed the other out of the stables. He didn't know why he was following this guy around. Perhaps it was just boredom.

Taking a moment in the sun, the farmhand unclasped the shoulder straps to the overalls he wore and then removed the long sleeved shirt he wore beneath it, exposing the two wooden arms. The prosthetics started just below his shoulders and were held on with a harness.

For being shorter and seemingly younger than the Prince, the man was surprisingly well built. Not too muscular, but still in good physical health. His skin was seemingly smooth, though there was a rather nasty scar on the left side of his chest.

Deidara paused when he saw the other without his shirt. His eyes went over the redhead's body, admiring his form and shape and also studying his arms and the harnesses that kept them in place. It was an interesting sight, he had to admit.

"Doesn't it ever get difficult for you, un?" He asked, tilting his head. He was rarely curious with anyone else's business, but he wanted to know a bit more about this person. He intrigued him. "What's your name anyway?"

"Sasori. And only sometimes." Was the reply that came as he righted one of the shoulder straps and took a look at the weather. It wouldn't be raining at least. So he could let the mare and foal out. It would be good for the little one to go out and stretch his legs. "I hardly see you down here, unlike your sister and brothers. You don't like riding? Or horses in general?" He asked. Come to think of it, he did recall the other get spooked when the animals got too close.

"I don't care for riding horses like my brothers do, un." Deidara said, putting his hands behind his back. "Didn't have a fun experience when I was younger." He grumbled. He'd fallen off at least six horses before. Having his father laugh at him was enough to embarrass him into never wanting to ride again. That had been quite a blow to a five-year-old's self esteem.

Once having returned back in and opening the door for the said pair and putting a harness over the mare's head, Sasori lead her out of the stable and out into the pasture. The colt followed on slightly shaky legs.

He slowed down however as he looked at the mare. She still seemed quite exhausted, when usually they would recover quite quick after a birth. Once on the field, the colt was more curious about the grass, so while he was smelling the ground and soil, Sasori inspected the mare.

Deidara backed away from the animals again, but he cleared his throat and stepped forward again, not wanting to show any fear in front of the other. "Is she all right, un?" He asked, seeing Sasori examining the mare.

"Not sure. Do me a favour and feel her forehead, will you?" He asked, gently tugging on the head harness so the animal lowered her head. "Check for a fever."

"What?" Deidara asked, blinking in surprise at the request. "Why don't you do it yourself, un?" He asked, crossing his arms.

Sasori held up his hands. "I can grip things. Not feel." His voice was slightly annoyed at the other. "Not like she will bite your head off. She's one of the nicer ones we have here. Go on. You can compare her temperature to mine." And with that he used his free hand to move away the red bangs from his forehead.

The blond didn't look too confident, and he seemed outright irritated, but he sighed and slowly moved forward. He backed up a bit when the horse leaned over to sniff at him. He squeaked something, but swallowed back his fear and reached his hand out, placing his palm flat against the mare's forehead. He did the same to Sasori, putting his hand on his head.

He kept both there for a moment, heart pounding. He was just relieved that the horse hadn't tried to bite at him or anything of the sort. "Well, her temperture is higher than yours, un." He said. "Isn't that how it always is, though?" He asked curiously, relaxing slightly now that he was so close to the creature without problems.

"Shit . . ." Sasori grunted lightly at hearing that and shook his head. "Should actually be a little cooler then us . . . dammit . . ." He swore while gently betting the crest of the horse. "Could be an infection in her uterus. But I need a vet here to check on that." Sasori looked over at Deidara now. "Would it be to much to ask of the King to get one here?"

"An infection?" Deidara asked, looking now at the horse, keeping his hand absently on her forehead. He furrowed his thin brow lightly at hearing that. He didn't really want to go back to speak with his father, but knew that it would be animal cruelty to just leave her alone if something was wrong with her. "I'll go tell him to get one here, un." Deidara agreed, backing up towards to palace again. He sped up, going at a light run towards his home.

"Thanks, my Lord." Sasori said, not bothering to raise his voice to make sure that the other had heard. He instead looked at the female horse. "You'll be fine. The vet will make sure of that." He said assuringly while the foal now began suckling milk from under it's mother's belly.

Songstone: Yay! Well, I'll end this chapter here, and see what you guys think of it so far. If you've got any questions, feel free to ask! R&R pretty please!

P.S. Thank you to my Sasori-danna for coming up with the title, un!