1 Year Before...
"Hey! Stop thief!" Shouts rang out behind her as she weaved around civilians, dodging their outstretched hands with an unexpected speed and grace for such a small body. Clutching two loaves of bread to her chest she swerved to the left, narrowly missing the corner of a building.
Glancing behind her she felt a brief sense of satisfaction bubble inside her when she saw that she was putting more and more distance between her and her pursuers. When she turned back, there was no time to dodge out of the way, contact was swift and hard, with both who were involved falling backwards and onto the dusty street beneath them.
Snapping her head up, she glared, only for the look to soften when she caught the boy's lifeless brown orbs. He was young, maybe a year older than her, and an old woman stood by his side, watching the scene with a faint trace of amusement.
Looking into each other's eyes they communicated their mutual pain, the loneliness of losing their parents, however it had happened. The grief of having no one who understood. The agony of not trusting anybody else enough to talk about it, and not being able to feel the love of a family someone their age desperately needed.
Chiyo's POV
I was truly startled when a girl, approximately five years old, suddenly slammed into Sasori, knocking him down while losing her own balance as well.
At first she showed anger, which quickly changed into something I recognized as empathy. Somehow this young girl needed only to look at Sasori and know exactly how alone he was, despite my efforts at cheering him up. Damn that Sakumo Hatake. He will pay. My thoughts of revenge on the White Fang occurred daily, and it was easier to push aside the current need for his death and focus on the scene at hand.
The girl's face was dusty, and her simple trousers and oversized shirt were more than worn out, sporting rips, tears, and permanent dirt stains, while she hadn't even bothered wearing shoes. Her short dark hair was greasy and the only way I could even tell she was female was by the soft curve of her lips. With just another speck of dust, she would have been completely disguised.
During my analysis, I found that in her icy blue eyes, there was a tinge of yellow, as if lightning had struck and lit up her gaze, only the flash didn't fade, it remained. And contained within those unusual eyes was an intelligence that reached far beyond her years, both with emotional loss, and mental capabilities.
The next moment was a blur. She used one hand to hold onto the bread and lunged forward, grabbing Sasori's wrist with the other before she took off, dragging him to his feet. He followed willingly behind her, intrigued with the orphan who had quite literally, crashed into his life.
Girl's POV 3rd Person
She wasn't sure what had come over her, but she had seen the boy's eyes...they had the same look hers did. Towing him behind her, she raced through the allies, a map of every crevice and getaway passage in Suna burned into her brain as she manipulated them without hesitation.
She had only lived here for a month or two and had immediately found that the heat was durable, but the village was confusing. She had spent the first two weeks memorizing every store and street so she didn't have to worry about getting lost.
Hauling the red-head along behind her she took him to a warehouse that had been abandoned for at least a decade. It was identical to the other buildings with the same layout and she climbed through the first floor's open window, trailed by the now cautious boy.
Shutting the window she turned to him.
"I'm Rae."
"Sasori." He mumbled, blushing lightly.
She laughed. "Follow me and I'll introduce you to my friend. He's an orphan, like me," Rae said, taking a match out of her pocket and striking it against the floor. It lit up and she proceeded to lead him down a hallway, lighting torches that had been mounted along the wall, as she went. "Are you an orphan, Sasori?"
He shook his head. "No. My parents were killed on a mission."
"Oh. At least you can be proud of them. They died protecting the village," She turned, giving him a wane smile. "I bet that's what everybody tells you. They'll always give you excuses not to cry because it's how they cope with losing a comrade. It doesn't help. You're still sad and you still miss them."
He stared at her back, startled. She had been right. On all counts. But how had she known?
"Did you go through the same thing?" He asked quietly, noting how her shoulders tensed.
"Nobody's story is exactly the same. Mine...is something I wouldn't even want to tell anybody for fear they'd have nightmares. Besides," She gave him a cheeky smile. "I don't give and I don't like pity. Pity just makes it worse. People need a friend who understands, not a friend who feels sorry for them."
They came to a door and she knocked once, then pushed it open. A single lightbulb hung overhead, illuminating the middle of the room, where a pile of ragged blankets had been set up.
A small form lie atop the makeshift cot, trembling with sickness. As Sasori came closer, spurred by Rae's nudge, he saw the pale, sweaty face. A wet rag had been laid across the person's forehead and drips of excess water left streaks of white on otherwise dusty skin.
Short blond hair splayed out beneath the child's head and a blanket had been draped across their body. The gender was unidentifiable, due to both the dirt, and the slight feminine features.
Pale blue eyes fluttered open and the kid frowned up at him.
"I don't know you."
Rae moved forward, kneeling beside the body. "Deidara, it's okay. He's a friend. His name is Sasori. He's just like us."
"Like...us?"
Rae nodding, lifting the rag and taking a water bottle from a backpack that sat a little ways away. Unscrewing the cap she poured more water onto it, then wrung it out over a beat-up pan before setting it on Deidara's forehead again.
"Are you feeling any better?"
The boy attempted a weak smile. "Yeah...good as new."
She chuckled. "Are you hungry?"
Deidara shrugged, before drifting off into another deep sleep.
Sighing Rae dumped the stolen food to the side and stood back up, glancing at Sasori. A silent war seemed to take place in her. One side stubbornly refusing, while the other pleaded that it was the only chance.
With a brief hesitation, Rae spoke. "Sasori...I hate to ask, but...will you help me?"
He remained quiet, waiting for her to go on.
"Deidara's getting worse and I'm afraid he won't live if I don't get him some help, but I'm not a medic and I'm just a kid. I can't do anything and I don't have enough money for medicine. Do you know anybody who could help?"
He nodded, briefly lingering over the irony of her having run into him, of all people, and asking him for help, out of everybody else, when he was possibly the only person who could help.
"I know the perfect person to ask. She'll do anything for me."
Rae's eyes lit up and she wrapped him in a tight hug. "Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!"
Blushing, he stared at his feet while Rae pulled back, grinning widely at him.
"I'll go get her." Spinning around, he hurried away, wondering how Granny Chiyo would react to his new friends.
First chapter. I changed the timeline around, obviously, and the backgrounds are different too. Sasori won't end up a puppet, Deidara didn't blow up half of Iwa, and they're both close to the same age as Naruto, with only a few months difference. R&R please!