Of all the girls he could have chosen from, he chose Emi.
No one knew why, not even Emi's parents. Except for him.
Sasori was always a good-looking young man, and good-looking young women always took interest in him. Anywhere he went; people spoke to him with admiration and respect. Except for Emi.
Emi was . . . special. She was not extremely intelligent, she was not an amazing shinobi in any aspect, and she was plain-looking at best. But she was quick-witted, her tongue was always her sharpest weapon, and she had a certain foreign intrigue about her.
She was not beautiful. Maybe she was not even plain-looking. Her parents loved their devoted daughter dearly, but they wouldn't describe her as pretty. The large burn mark that covered her right cheekbone obscured the beauty she once held. There was a large crease on her jaw line and smaller, circular scars lined it where stitches had been. The skin bubbled up below her eye and was dry across her cheek, it was stained a pale gray with livid pink streaks interwoven across the mottled skin. In the middle of that mixture of colors, balanced directly on her cheekbone, was a deep brown oval. This imperfect oval, along with the rest of the makes, was the result of the skin that was charred during an accident in the weapons store.
It had happened nearly three years ago. Emi's skin had been the color of porcelain. But the accident had left her with a mixture of colors. The first layer of skin had sloughed off and the second layer had blistered. She was unrecognizable at first when she was found. And Sasori had been the one to find her among the heap of rubble that was what was left after the explosion. Her entire body had been cocooned with red, blood and burn marks alike. He immediately carried her to the hospital.
His team had been searching the piles of debris, searching for anyone who had been in the store, when he stumbled across her body. Literally. He had tripped over her. But the burns on her neck had swelled and she could only emit a low murmur. Despite being commanded to take any survivors to the medics on the site, he had taken her to the hospital for two reasons. One; the paramedics at the sight were incompetent in their area. And two; he wanted to find out who she was.
The only feature he had recognized was the one eye that was still untouched from the blast. It was a deep blue and was ringed by the color of emeralds. He had recognized it for two reasons as well. One; he had stared her straight in the eyes when he had fought against her in the Chunin exams. And two; they had been in the same classes in the academy. At that time, however, he was unaware of why he felt that they were so familiar.
Upon further examination after cleaning all the wounds, it seemed a charred piece of flesh had split, cutting through all the tissue exposing her jaw bone. They did their best to stitch it back together and heal all the charred skin on her face. Even then it was hard to decipher who it was. Two hours alone were spent going through medical files and pictures of teeth to identify her. Eventually, they found the one picture that she most closely resembled. Ironically, that very person had died four years earlier.
Sasori remembered how frustrating it was, going through those piles of paperwork. But he also remembered the satisfaction he felt when he had uncovered his classmate's paperwork and compared the girl's teeth with the dentist's photographs. They lined up exactly. It was most definitely Emi.
He also remembered when her parents were escorted to the hospital via Anbu and the looks on their faces when they realized that their little girl might die. And if she didn't, she would most definitely be disfigured for the rest of her life. He had been in the room with them when the doctor had revealed the horrible truth. And in that room, while standing over her heart monitor, he chose her.
She was almost dead, but her heart beat as if she was just sleeping. It didn't falter once.
When she did get out of the hospital, eight months later, she looked like a poorly made collage (or would it be an extremely well made collage?). Her skin was a random patchwork of tones, ranging from light gray to deep pink and forever deformed. And she was blind in her right eye. It had faded to a milky sky blue. She wasn't okay with this new change at first, but she began to accept it little by little. She was very accepting, and even more forgiving. Sasori soon developed a soft spot for her.
However, Sasori had not always been fond of the girl. He found her quite annoying in the beginning, actually. There was just something about her that bugged him. But he couldn't figure out what it was exactly. Maybe it was the way she was disrespectful to him? Or maybe it was the way she had mocked him? Whatever it was, it had diminished.
Eventually he found himself here. He was just about to leave Sunagakure for the final time. And her face flashed across his mind. A warm gush of emotion rushed over him. He supposed it would be the last emotion he would feel after the process was complete. It was welcomed.
A small hand was placed gently against his shoulder blade, and he slowly turned around. A contented smile graced his usually placid face and he felt his heart speed up just a little, like it did whenever he saw her.
Emi's demeanor had calmed, she had grown up a lot in the last few years. She was gently and caring. She had become a medic after reasoning that her impaired sight made it too hard for her when it came to aim.
"Don't go." It was a command, but it seemed soft. It was the first thing she had ever told him to do since the accident.
He faltered with his speech for a second. But he didn't need to say anything because she stepped up to him in that moment.
She pressed her lips against his gently and pulled back. "Now you can go." She turned before she even spoke and began to walk away, her feet making no noise against the ground.
He gripped her by the forearm and spun her around to face him again before pressing his lips down on hers in a long, passionate kiss.
"Come with me," he commanded, but his eyes pleaded weakly for her to join him.
She smiled but bit her lip in the way that she did. He felt something deep in his stomach roll with pleasure at the small action. The smile faded, and then slowly reappeared. She got on her tiptoes and leaned toward him to place a peck on his cheek.