Something Different

A story by Songstone and KajiR

Songstone: CHAPTER TWO. I finally got around to editing this. XD

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Chapter 2: A permanent hideaway

"Oh! My run away son returns" Jiraiya beamed as Deidara nearly ran into him. But he sopped the collision by placing his hands on the other's shoulders. "What's the rush? Came to tell me that you changed your mind about the marriage?" He asked.

Deidara scoffed and rolled his eyes up at the older man. "No, and I don't plan on changing my mind about that either, un." He muttered, squirming out of his father's hold. "I came back because we need a vet." He said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Jiraiya was about to comment that one would usually ask for a doctor when not feeling well, but contained himself as Deidara continued.

"Something is wrong with a horse down at the stables and we need a vet to check on her." He informed his father.

The white haired man sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I'll see if I can get hold of one. There aren't many vets around in these parts . . . What were you doing at the stables? I thought you said you'd never go there after that those things kept throwing you off." He grinned. He had found it funny how the little boy had tried holding on for dear life as the horses galloped about with him on their backs.

The blond's face flushed and he averted his eyes from his father. "None of your concern. Just get the damn vet, un." He grumbled, trying to block out any and all embarrassing situations that the man could use to tease him.

"Will do." The King girnned, giving his son a noogie before leaving. He know how upset Deidara got when someone messed up his hair. It something the boy shared with his older brother, Itachi.

- - -

Jiraiya kept his word about getting a vet, and sent a messenger away as soon as he had spoken to Deidara. But when he couldn't find any downtown, he informed his son as quickly as he could. He found the boy in the music room, tapping keys to the piano while he waited for his father.

"Look up our gardener. He is our doctor too, in case you don't remember. It can't be that hard for him to treat a four legged animal." He told his son as he patted his back.

"The gardener?" Deidara asked with a raised eyebrow. He groaned and decided it was better than nothing. The only thing he wasn't looking forward to was having to deal with the man's bad attitude.

- - -

The blond Prince headed out to look around the property after Jiraiya had told him who to look for. It might have taken forever since it was quite a big palace. Though, thankfully, the gardener wasn't very hard to spot.

"Zetsu!" Deidara called out, walking through the garden and tapping the man on the shoulder once he had found him trimming a few plants. "I need your help with something, un. Come to the stables. There's a horse there that's ill and we can't seem to locate a vet." He summed up quickly, hands on his hips.

"A horse?" The gardener asked with a raised eyebrow as he paused from his work and faced the prince. "My lord . . . I don't think a horse qualifies in my area of practice . . ." He said while putting the large hedge cutter aside and tugging the gardening gloves of his different colored hands.

"Not like we have much of a choice anyway. As I said, no vet. Un." Deidara said, tapping his foot lightly on the ground. He was irritated now for wasting time like this. He sighed, closing his eyes briefly. "Could you at least try and see what's wrong?" He asked, rather than ordered.

Zetsu looked at the young prince for a moment before sighing and speaking again, though in a slightly deeper voice. [Fine I will have a look. Don't expect miracles. He grunted and walked to the tool shed, gathering a bag with a few basic tools. He always had some of his medical supplies in there. You never knew when someone would fall ill or get hurt.

- - -

Sasori was still outside when Deidara led Zetsu to the stable and the mare was now lying on the grass, panting.

"She's gotten worse. She lied down a hour ago and hasn't gotten back up." He stated. He stopped when he saw who exactly the Prince had brought along. "Aren't you the-"

"Gardener." [No vet. Deal with it. Zetsu cut the other off as he knelt down by the caramel coloured mare. He gave her a quick look over. [Fever . . . quick breathing . . . glazed over eyes . . . He muttered the symptoms to himself while rummaging through his bag with one hand.

He pulled out a stethoscope and righted it on himself before placing it against the mare's chest area. He soon enough found the heart and listened quietly.

Sasori, in the mean time, had stepped back and was now holding the foal gently around the neck to keep it out of the way. "The castle doctor?" He asked Deidara, his voice sceptic and low so Zetsu wouldn't hear.

"My father tried to get a vet." Deidara said, shrugging his shoulders lightly. "There weren't any here. I think they all might be a town or so away, un." He grumbled. He began fixing his hair back into since it had come undone from his ponytail a while back and he hadn't gotten the chance to fix it.

"But this is better than nothing. Don't you think?" He asked, watching as Zetsu tried to work on the horse. His eyes moved over to Sasori as well before his gaze fell towards the small foal. His eyes softened slightly in sympathy. He wondered what the poor thing must have been experiencing . . . being held away from it's mother . . .

He tried to look as indifferent as he could, but then again, that was what Itachi was better at than he was . . .

"I guess it is." Sasori said. He glanced up at the prince, smiling lightly as he spotted the clear change in expression. He was most likely comparing him to his older siblings. The blond was at least acting more 'human' than the others would in such a situation.

Either way, the redhead was jerked out of his thoughts by the doctor. He was asking for basic health information. Such as how many heart beats a horse should have per minute.

Once getting Sasori's answer, Zetsu nodded in a 'this is bad' manner. He rose and moved behind the horse, feeling along the spine. He held a syringe in his black hand.

[I need one of you to hold her head and the other to hold her front legs. So you'll have to get on your knees and get a bit dirty."My lord." He informed. He kept his white finger against the spot on the mare's back where he would take the spinal fluid sample.

Deidara snorted lightly and nodded his head. "Sure. I can do that. Unlike my brothers, a bit of dirt won't bother me, un." He said with a slight grin.

"You hold her head." The redhead said. He trusted the horse enough not to bite the Prince, but kicking . . . All horses kicked when stressed, scared or in pain. He didn't want to put the other at risk of getting hurt.

With a nod, Dedara carefully moved over to the horse and knelt down besides her head. He put his arms around her neck to keep her still as best as he would be able to.

The mare's brown eyes looked up towards him, having a soft gaze in them. She shifted her head to lay comfortably on Diedara's lap and closed her eyes for a moment, almost as if knowing what was going to happen.

The blond blinked back down at the horse's brown eye and gave a soft smile as he gently scratched her neck. He was still very wary of the large creature. She was so much bigger than he was and he was terrified of being injured. Just hearing what had happened to Sasori made him tense. But he figured that he shouldn't let it bother him.

After all, the redhead still got out there and worked with the horses everyday despite what had happened to him. Deidara would be better off following his example.

The horse let out a whine as the needle entered between the spinal bones. Zetsu slowly began drawing the back of the syringe out, bringing back a rather murky looking liquid.

Once he'd removed the needle, Sasori relaxed the hold he'd had on the front legs, sitting back to start stroking the caramel coloured fur. Once more, the horse had looked up at Deidara, sighing heavily through her nose.

Once he saw that it was okay to release the creature, he let go of his hold from around the mare's neck, though he stayed seated so he wouldn't disturb her and make her move her head again.

"So you don't know what's wrong with her now, un?" He asked Zetsu, though he stayed looking down at the horse, now petting her forehead and between her eyes, palm flat against the soft fur.

[I know . . . The man sighed, shaking the syringe lightly. [This . . . should, in normal cases, be clear like water. Not look like cream. He stood up slowly. [She's very sick . . . I can give her a dose of antibiotics. I don't know if it will save her, though. What's her weight?

Once getting the required information out of the farm hand, Zetsu closed his bag and turned to go get the medicine he had mentioned.

"You'll be fine . . . You've got a baby to look out for now. You'll fight. Won't you?" Sasori smiled weakly and ran his hands over the smooth coat on the horse's side.

Meanwhile, the colt had moved to behind Diedara and was gently nudging the prince in the back of the head. After a moment, though, he began munching on the blond hair, seeming rather content with himself.

Deidara squeaked in surprise and shut his eyes tightly, ducking his head beneath his shoulders. "Don't bite me, un." He said in a whisper as he reached back and pulled his hair free from the foal.

"Don't worry, he won't bite. He's just tasting new things." Sasori assured, not bothering to stiffle a snort of amusement at the other's reaction. He was too worried about the mare at the moment to bother with formalities.

The prince flipped the ponytail and loose hair over his shoulder, trying to keep the colt from biting it again. He carefully patted him on the head as well, being extra cautious since he wanted to keep all of his fingers in tact. "You think she can make it?" He asked, looking over at Sasori with worry in his eyes since it was obvious he'd gotten really interested in this situation.

"Doesn't hurt to hope. Does it?" The redhead sighed. "Just a shame if she were to die . . . It means he will be an orphan." He gestured to the rather playful colt. "And one of the nicer horses is lost."

You couldn't really blame the guy for getting attached. After all, he more or less lived with them.

Deidara nodded his head in agreement and glanced down at the horse again, petting her neck and scratching it lightly. "I haven't been this close to a horse in a long time, un . . ." He mumbled aloud.

He paused for a while, looking over at the colt, who was still behind him, and then down at the mare. He sighed softly and leaned down, hugging her neck gently, blond hair falling onto the ground. "Does she have a name?" He asked Sasori, peeking up from his hunched position.

"I call her Candy. Your sister knows her better as 'stupid horse', 'idiotic animal' and 'bitch'." Sasori sighed and smiled a little while watching the other.

"Huh. Really? Wow, those are the same names that I use for my sister as well, un." Deidara said, smirking slightly as he stayed down, shutting his eyes and relaxing. He could hear the mare's heavy breathing and continued to pat her neck lightly, nails scratching over her fur gently.

"Candy, then." He said, smiling faintly as he chuckled.

Sasori nodded and smiled gently. "They're good company. I can't imagine why you'd be scared of them."

"Well, I've been falling off of horses professionally for years, un." He clarified to Sasori. "Terrified of them, really. Guess that . . . she's not so bad, though."

"Nothing to be scared about really. I mean . . . if you fall off, you get back on. Or, you never learned how to sit on one. Or you got a inexperienced horse." Sasori said while looking over his shoulder as he heard Zetsu returning.

"I could teach you how to ride. That is if you won't end up screaming in terror like a little girl." A small smirk ran over his lips saying that. He might have been pushing his luck here, but he was having fun while doing it.

The blond lifted his head at that, face dark red. "Take that back, you jerk!" He demanded, but paused when he looked up and saw that Zetsu had come back. He decided he would let that one slide . . . for now anyway.

"So what are you gonna do? Un." He asked the man, tucking some of his now dirty hair back behind his ear.

[As I said, I'm going to give her a proper dose of antibiotics. Twice a day starting now, and then again in the morning. And for a week after. If she makes it through the night that is. He said, holding six white pills in his palm. [If she does, then she might have a chance.

Sasori moved closer to where Deidara sat to help. He forced open the horse's mouth, giving Deidara a very nice look at the teeth and inside of her mouth in the process.

Zetsu managed to drop the pills as far back as possible and Sasori closed the mare's mouth, tilting her large head back and stroking her throat to help her swallow.

[Now we just need to get her up on her feet and back inside. It won't do her good laying out here.

"How are we going to get her up?" Deidara asked, managing to move his legs out from under the horse's head. He inched back a bit, waiting for orders from either man so he would know how to help.

Huh. Roles were switched here. Seems that he was the one taking orders this time

[You can come over here with me. We'll be pushing. Carrot top takes care of pulling. Zetsu simply instructed as he moved his hands a bit under the lower back of the animal. [You take her by the shoulders.

Sasori grabbed a hold of the harness, waiting for the other two. On Zetsu's sign, he pulled, heaving her up as the two male's behind her pushed and lifted her to stand. Soon enough she was on all fours again, staggering a bit and shaking her mane free from dirt.

"That's my girl" Sasori smiled and petted her neck, slowly leading her back to the stables, the foal following close behind. "Thank you doctor. My lord." He said before disappearing inside the stables again.

"I didn't do much." Deidara said, following after Sasori instead of going back to the palace. Nothing really important there anyway. Being out here was much more interesting.

Zetsu leaned back, arching his back a little as he answered with a [Don't mention it. before leaving. He probably should start taking up veterinary studies. If the foul did end up orphan, he'd probably be fit choice to hire for check-ups since he had done a rather good job just now.

"Hope the medicine will work for her. Un." Deidara said, crossing his arms loosely over his chest. He paused as he was about to add something else, and felt his waist and shoulders. "Where's my jacket?" He questioned to himself. He glanced around his feet before he looked a bit ahead of himself and he saw the young colt with the sleeve of his jacket in his mouth.

He made a light groan, but laughed anyway, going over and cautiously reaching around the other's mouth to get the garment back. "What are you going to name this guy anyway, un?" He asked Sasori.

"I don't know yet. I usually name them after colour or personality." He shrugged lightly and then smirked as the foul began a tug-of- war with the prince.

"He's quite fistey though. I might name him Spirit or something." Leading the mare back into the box (the foal soon enough letting go of the jacket to hurry after it's mother), he watched as the female lied down on the dry hay to rest.

"Would be a fitting name." Deidara agreed, dusting off the cloth lightly before tying it around his waist for safe keeping. He moved over to the door and hopped up onto it again, peeking down at the mother and child scene inside. He smiled lightly and then looked down at Sasori.

"You wouldn't mind me coming out here again sometime, would you? Un." He asked. He hadn't planned on sticking around there the whole day, but it was nice outside. And the animals weren't as bad as he thought they were. Or at least Candy wasn't. It had helped take his mind off of his own troubles.

Sasori smiled softly and leaned against the wall. "Not really. It's nice to have someone that actually answers when you talk." Looking the other up and down briefly, he made a small gesture with his hand. "You might want to consider less . . . formal wear though. It's easy to get dirty, even if you just hang around here"

Deidara looked down at himself as well before he gave a laugh and nodded. "Yeah, think I'll do that, un." He agreed. He could easily see the dirt and dust sticking to his clothes and could only imagine what his hair looked like now after he'd had it sprawled out on the ground like he had earlier.

"Good having company here, too. No one here tells me to behave at least." It took him a while to get used to, but he found that he liked how Sasori spoke to him. Not too much respect, but just enough for any average person.

"Other then don't mess up my tools and abuse the animals, you can pretty much do whatever you like." It wasn't like he could stop the prince from coming down for a visit, but . . . he didn't really mind.

Songstone: This came out a bit longer than expected. XD But oh well. Isn't it cute? Please R&R and tell me what you think of our story!