A/N: Some of you have been wanting more of this pair, and I aim to please! I do not own. Also, this is rated mature for a very, very good reason. Yes, you know what I'm getting at. However, since I'm writing this mostly for a friend of mine, I will insert an author's note before it occurs. Not in this chapter though, promise!
Ambiguous Love
She looked up at the sky with a sigh, wiping the sweat from her brow lazily. Damn, this was such a long way to go for a stupid plant... though she needed it to combat a poison-related disease currently floating through fire country. With a tired stretch, she kept walking, her civilian clothes shuffling with her. Through this mission, she wasn't even allowed to wear her forehead protector. Out here, everyone was civilian and the sight of a shinobi would sent them all running in a panic. To them, it didn't matter if it was Akatsuki, Konoha, or anyone else. All shinobi were enemies.
Her hands went to straighten the front of her shirt, so unused to civilian clothing that it felt just plain wrong. Long blond strands fell over her right eye, her mouth twisting to blow them away. Clear blue eyes scanned the landscape, picking out every farm house and grove of flowers. She needed to find a red flower with a yellow stem and dark markings at the ends of the petals. No, that one over there was just red... there's a yellow flower, that's not right. With a small frown, she decided to take a break before hunting for the small flower. After all, it was still several hours until dusk and she had just spent all morning running. By now she could use a break.
The small restaurant she entered was an open type, only long cloth banners separating the seats from the street. At times she was reminded of the outdoor ramen shop she and so many of her friends had gone to, all those times long past. The soup was hot, miso and dango. Steam rose, filling her senses even as a stranger sat next to her. His hair was an odd shade of red, something she rarely saw, and immediately her eyes turned to meet his. Deep burgundy eyes flicked to hers, no emotion passing through them but one of greeting.
He appeared to be a civilian, though his red hair had to be uncommon in the area. Maybe his family had come from elsewhere, but had been here for some time? Either way, she nodded in his direction politely. "Good afternoon."
His head tilted slightly. "Good afternoon." He took the newly arrived bowl in front of him casually, pondering over the meal before growing curious again. "What's your name?" Why did he even care? She was just a stranger, but he had to admit that he didn't mind going out into civilian towns and talking to someone other than a deranged lunatic. Being from Akatsuki, he didn't exactly get that very often.
His intense stare unnerved her a little, making her blush from the attention. "My name is Ino... what is yours?"
He paused slightly. "Sasori."
"Ah... nice to meet you." She returned her attention to her bowl and he did as well, though she saw from time to time that he kept stealing small glances at her. Surely he didn't suspect her to be a shinobi... she kept her chakra hidden very well after so many years of practice. Maybe he used to be a shinobi? No, he looked too young... although she had only been twelve when she had taken up being a shinobi. It was possible, though very hard to tell.
His hand withdrew a small scrap of paper and he looked at it for some time, as if memorizing it. As he took one more spoon of his soup, he muttered to himself. "Hmm.. red flower, yellow stem... black markings. Damn." He said it under his breath, but she heard it clearly.
"Did you say a red flower with a yellow stem and black markings? Are you looking for it too?"
He looked up with surprise, his eyes widening slightly. "Yes... And so are you? Are you trying to make a poison as well?"
She smiled a little, turning to face him fully. "On the contrary, I'm looking for it to make a cure for a type of poison. Why are you trying to make such an awful thing?"
His hand went to scratch his head idly, no amount of regret in his voice. "I often need it to subdue difficult prey. For hunting, you know..." Did she suspect that he was a shinobi? No, she seemed to just be a plain civilian girl, probably out looking for the plant because her village couldn't afford to hire shinobi medics.
She nodded. "That makes sense. Sometimes you can't get your prey by strength alone, sometimes you just have to be smarter."
He smiled appreciatively. What luck, he finally found someone intelligent to talk to! "Yes, that's right. I suppose that's how healers work too, being smarter than the disease."
Her smile faded a little, eyes clouded with thought. "That's not always how it goes. Sometimes it doesn't matter how smart you are. There are diseases that can't be cured, and all we can do is make it easier for the victim until... well, you know."
"Oh... I'm sorry I mentioned it."
"No no, it's alright, most of the time we can cure it as long as we work hard! I've been working for years to learn how to heal."
He finished his bowl of soup, noticing that she had done the same. "Well... since we're looking for the same flower, it would make sense to search together. I'm sure there's plenty for both of us."
She rose when he did, both leaving their pay at the counter. After she brushed off a bit of dust from her shirt, she nodded, absently noticing that they were about the same height. "Yeah, it would sure be a lot faster." Her pack hung from her shoulder as she stood, the various tools clinking. As soon as she found the plant, she would need to extract the juices and cook it just right. Fortunately she had brought every apparatus she could fit, along with a few odds and ends sealed in a travel scroll. Thank goodness she probably didn't need those, she didn't want to be seen using THAT in a civilian town.
He had his own pack of essential tools, smirking just a little when he saw how similar she was to himself. One to heal, one to harm, huh?
Dozens of types of flowers covered the fields for miles around, every species coexisting in a haphazard manner. Somewhere in all that mess, they would have to find just the right flower. As Sasori looked out across the field, he sighed audibly. "Any idea where to start?"
She took out her own notes, nodding slightly. "It says in my notes that the flower likes to grow near water, usually found near sandy shores."
"Not here, then, probably by a river. I came across one on my way here, maybe that would be a good place to start." He led the way for a couple miles, away from the village and the noise, appreciating the quiet sounds of nature, as well as his rather quiet companion. She was silently intelligent, he noticed, somewhat like Itachi but much friendlier, not to mention she wasn't completely insane. It was a nice break from the tension in the base, something he was unendingly grateful for.
Ahead in a small, rocky valley, water flowed through a deep ravine, sandy shores lining the bends of the river. She silently cursed her luck. If she hadn't had this companion with her, she could have just used her chakra to walk down the cliff face, but it looked like she would have to do it the hard way. Although... it would be a nice challenge. It had been far too long since she had used normal means to climb, and the change of pace looked inviting. Her well-toned muscles handled the descent quite well, though she went slowly and cautiously. He had also taken to the cliff slowly, just as cautious as she was. Interesting... it seemed that they were both very cautious by nature, never doing anything uncertain unless they took it slow and steady. Neither were risk takers, leaving all the show-boating to those more reckless and short-lived than themselves.
He noticed this as well, wondering again at how peculiarly similar they were. They were both medics of a sort, since he COULD make antidotes and do normal healing, though he rarely did so. She was cautious, taking few risks and standing by what she knew was certain. Yes, she may have looked strikingly similar to his partner, Deidara, but the two couldn't be much more different.
Before long, they reached the bottom of the cliff, pausing to sit on a rocky slope, taking a break from the exertion. He didn't need to rest as much as she did, being halfway through with his puppet transformation, but he wasn't about to let THAT one slip. They sat there for a time in silence, Ino rubbing her calves with a wince, Sasori looking ahead at the raging waterfall. After a long moment, Sasori finally spoke.
"That waterfall..." His eyes suddenly lit up. "I wonder how long it's been there..."
She sighed, looking up as well. "Judging by how winding the river is and how deep the ravine, it's probably been there for thousands of years."
A small smile ghosted over his lips. "Thousands of years... that's amazing!"
With a nod, she smiled as well. "And to think that it started as a tiny trickle, flowing down into the ocean. Stone might be tough, but even that can be worn away by time."
His smile faded slowly. "Time is a harsh mistress. That's why the permanent, ever-lasting things are the most beautiful."
She pondered this for a moment, but soon disagreed. "No, I don't think I would be content with a tiny stream forever. I like that time worked on this river, creating this beautiful waterfall. Eventually the falls will fade too, but then something else just as wondrous will be left behind. Even though time may wear away at something, the end result can be just as beautiful."
He thought this over for a long time. His partner had often argued with him about art and about fleeting things being the most beautiful, but he hadn't really made a good argument. She, however, made perfect sense. Even so, he was quite set in his beliefs. "That may be, but the ever-lasting things are more dependable, more predictable. Those are the only things you can count on."
"That's the problem, though. Nothing in this world is truly permanent except the fact that everything is unpredictable. Things have a way of not going how you planned, and then you have to change your course to adapt to it. You can't depend on anything, really, except that change leads to adaptation."
"But the things that last forever defy that logic, and therefore are more dependable."
"Sasori... the only thing constant in life is change." She looked at him resolutely, her warm blue eyes adding emphasis to her beliefs.
One slim red eyebrow raised curiously. "And how exactly did you come by that conclusion?"
A wry smile twisted her lips. "It's the things that change that last forever. When a species of animal or plant can't adjust to the changes around it, it dies out forever, leaving only memory behind. However, the animals or plants that can adjust go on living, still existing despite the changes around them. That is the essence of ever-lasting things."
He was very quiet, thinking the logic over carefully. Yes, things changed, but those same things eventually died, their lifespans spent. However, he knew what she was getting at; he too had seen various species of plants die out just because of a change in temperature or something small like that. Once those were gone, he would have to make do with whatever was left behind, exploring the new species as well. She had a point, but art was different from life. "So what is art to you?"
"Art?" Her own brows rose suddenly.
"Yes... To me, art is ever-lasting, never fading away with time, always beautiful even through the changes and ravages of a lengthy span."
She took a deep breath, thinking her answer over carefully. If it was one thing she had learned in her brief time with him, it was that he was a cautious, deep thinker, much like herself. Just like him, she wanted her answer to be well-thought and meaningful. "Art is the eye that sees it as such."
He stared for a long moment. "What do you mean?"
"It's not always the piece itself that is beautiful, but rather the thought in someone's mind. If someone can appreciate something as art, then that thought is what is beautiful. Without it, art would be nothing more than an object in space, unnoticed and unrecognized, never appreciated or wanted."
He nodded slowly, looking out at the river thoughtfully. "So you believe that everything is art, but only if someone sees it that way."
"Yes."
His eyes darted up to hers, appreciating her unusual insight. He was about to say something else, but something small and red caught his eye. When he leaned to one side, there it was, a patch of flowers with red petals, yellow stems, and black markings. With a small grin, he pointed over her shoulder. "Look, there are the flowers!"
She turned around, smiling and rising quickly, rushing over to the large patch. With a grin, she knelt beside it, taking a few of the flowers eagerly. "We didn't have to look very far, huh?"
He walked over much slower than she did, kneeling across from her and taking a few flowers as well. The rest would be left there to repopulate the patch. "Yes, you had good directions. Now all we have to do is find out what this is made of..." He opened his pack, taking out a small alembic and placing one flower inside, adding a vial of strange liquid to the mix. The mixture fizzed suddenly, glowing a pale purple as the liquid dissolved the plant.
She collected a bundle of dry wood and tinder, taking out her sharp flint stone to strike sparks at the fragile tinder. For some odd reason, doing things the old fashioned way was just as intriguing as doing it with ninjutsu. Before long, a fire started and she took out her own alembic, cooking the small plant with her own concoction, though when she added her vial the mixture turned a pale yellow.
He leaned forward curiously, his head just inches from her concoction. "Interesting, what was in the vial that makes it into this yellow color?"
"I used saffron extract, taken from wild orchids. There's a touch of special acid in the mixture to neutralize the natural poisons in the flower, leaving only the liquids that help heal. It's odd, but the acid also takes away the purple color."
"Oh, interesting..." He took his alembic by the neck, swirling the mixture slowly until it deepened in color, turning a reddish purple. "My mixture has crushed limestone and nightshade in it."
"Ah, so the limestone is for quicker absorption! Then the nightshade must be additional poison."
"Right, the poison created by the red flower is meant to work along with the nightshade. Even if someone created an antidote for one part of the poison, the other would have to be negated as well."
She nodded silently as she continued her work, still somewhat amazed that she had found someone so intriguing along the way. Whoever he was, he was very intelligent and gave her his full attention, truly listening and responding honestly. As she stole glances at his creation, she finished her own, bottling several doses into small vials. That would be more than enough to study and reproduce back in Konoha. Just as she finished, he did as well, but held out an extra vial to her. "What's this for?"
He only smirked with an unreadable expression. "I'm curious about how good you are at this. Can you create an antidote to this?"
She took the vial cautiously, looking it over before glancing back at him. "I suppose, given enough time. Do you want me to do it now?"
"Well, that depends, how long did you intend to be in this village?"
"I was given a whole month off to do this assignment." She paused, wondering how to best word this. "My employer probably knew that I would get all of the doses done in a matter of a few days, expecting me to take the rest of the time for rest. I've been working too hard lately, so I suppose I'll need the break."
He nodded, glancing out at the slowly setting sun. "I'll be out here for a while as well, so maybe tonight wouldn't be the best. The sun is already starting to go down."
She looked up as well, noticing the slowly burning oranges and reds in the sky, subtle pinks and violets speckling the clouds above them. "It's beautiful, isn't it? It may be a temporary thing, but the memory of each sunset lasts forever."
"It would be nice if they lasted longer." He leaned back against a rock, not too worried about staying here after dark. Out here, there wouldn't be anyone nearby for miles, the only thing resembling civilization being that old-fashioned town. For once he wanted to sit back and just enjoy the conversation, as short as it may be. Strange... normally he wouldn't entertain things that he knew wouldn't last, but something about her really piqued his interest.
"That would be boring, though. One sunset has to end for another beautiful sunset to occur, see? And once it's over, the sparkling stars come out, just as impressive as the sunset before it. Beauty is a never-ending cycle, changing from one kind to another, never lasting forever. That's what makes it so priceless."
"That may be, but the sky itself has been there forever, making it an ever-lasting creation."
"We don't know that for sure. This planet we're on may have started off as nothing more than a collection of debris and gases for all we know. Some of the star-watchers in my village have had theories like that, so if that's true, then nothing lasts forever. If the debris had only stayed that way, then it would have never formed this planet we're on, and life itself wouldn't exist. We wouldn't exist, the plants wouldn't exist, nothing. That's why inevitable change is is art, just as much as the eye that beholds it."
He paused, laying his head back on his arms, looking up as the stars came into the sky. She too laid back in the same fashion, the two side by side as they conversed. "But that would mean that eventually life might end. That would be depressing."
"Yes, life might end, but then it would be replaced by something else, maybe even more life eventually. No matter what, having too much of the same thing is boring."
He thought back to the arguments he had had with his partner, grimacing briefly. Well, too much of Deidara was certainly a bad thing. Maybe she had a point, he mused. "I suppose we can all use a change of pace once in a while."
She sat up slightly, looking at him sideways. "It's just like how we ended up meeting today. We both needed a change of pace, and somehow we met by chance, changing an otherwise routine mission."
His eyebrows raised slightly. "Mission, huh? What, are you a shinobi?"
With a small sigh, she returned to lay back and stared at the sky. "Yeah. I didn't want to scare anyone in town, so... I had to dress like a civilian and mask my chakra all day. These stupid clothes are driving me nuts! Sorry I didn't tell you..."
He chuckled lightly, sitting up and nodding. "That makes us even more oddly similar. I'm on a mission as well, and I do agree... these clothes drive me nuts..." A small smile graced his lips as he looked over at her, watching her smile back. Neither seemed to be too surprised about the other being a shinobi, but maybe they had both suspected it all along. Who was she, really? Where was she from? Would he eventually have to fight her or members of her village for the sake of Akatsuki? Maybe he didn't care, as lost in the moment as he was. All he could focus on was the fruitful conversation and that look of complete understanding on her face.
"That is quite a coincidence, but it makes some sense. We both needed the same thing... So... which village are you from?"
He hesitated visibly, not meeting her gaze as she sat up to look at him fully. "...Sunagakure."
Now it made sense! "Ah, yeah, I should have guessed with that red hair. I've only been there a couple times, but it was beautiful in its own way."
"It used to be, anyway. I haven't been there in... a very long time."
She looked at him warily, knowing the double meaning of that statement. It meant that he was probably a missing nin, then. "So you left your village?"
He still refused to meet her gaze. "Yes... I did. What about you?"
"I'm from Konoha."
For a long moment, he stared at her, curious about her origins. After the long stare, he finally chuckled in spite of himself. "And here I am consorting with the enemy. Life sure has a way of being strange."
Oddly enough, she found herself laughing as well. "And I'm out here talking about philosophy with a missing nin! You know, though..." She stopped laughing, looking up with a smile. "Even if you are my enemy... let's not fight. I've really enjoyed talking to you..." Her face flushed slightly and she turned away. "Besides, it's not like anybody will ever know about this."
He gazed up at the sky with a content expression, nodding once. "No, I don't intend to share this with anyone. While we are here, I suppose... I suppose we can let go of our differences and... enjoy the temporary things." His smile widened when he turned to look at her, really feeling the strong rapport between them. Maybe this was what she meant about change being just as important as permanence. Yes, he would have been content with the way his life was before, but it wouldn't have included her in it, and now that she was here- even for a short time- he wouldn't have had it any other way.
She nodded, reaching up to touch his face cautiously. "Just because it's temporary doesn't mean it shouldn't be done. Most of the time it's the small, short things that change us the most." Her hand hardly hesitated as she pulled herself up slightly, grasping his neck as she leaned up. He leaned down with her gentle pull, his breath catching as her lips met his, the sudden warmth shocking him. The shock quickly wore off when they separated, her icy blue eyes meeting brown. Though they may have been enemies, she held no look of regret or remorse in her gaze, a determined look of resolute acceptance clouding her features.
He suddenly found himself entranced by her stare, that open, honest look on her face. His hand braced himself as he allowed her to pull him down further, laying on top of her carefully as her hands ran through his hair, pulling him down into another, longer kiss. Though one of his hands was already cold and wooden, his heart was yet unchanged, still retaining his emotions and craving human interaction. He was still prone to the needs of his heart, mind and body, still needing true connection just like anyone else. One of his hands went to entangle with one of hers, feeling the texture of her skin with his unaltered limb. She was so tempting, that unscathed, soft skin beckoning to him mercilessly. His lips ran from her mouth to her neck, lingering over every new patch of skin, his heated breath tickling her sensitive flesh. Her head tilted slightly when his tongue ran up the length of her neck, getting a taste of her curiously.
She wasn't new to spontaneous romance. Yes, she had made several mistakes in her lifetime but she regretted none of them. At the age of twenty, she now understood well how things like this worked. As fleeting as all those times may have been, there was nothing about them she hadn't liked. This time was the same, no regrets, no burdens, only a moment shared that both knew couldn't last forever. Her arms went around his neck but he paused, taking a moment to look at her. She looked back, wondering what was keeping him from going on. "What's wrong?"
With a small smile, he shook his head slowly. "No, nothing, I was just thinking. It... isn't like me to do something so..."
"Spontaneous?" She smirked, drawing him down to rest on her chest. "I know, I haven't... done something this spontaneous in a long time. It was a while ago now, though. Even though I don't regret the things I've done, I suppose it made me a bit too cautious." Her finger traced down his slender nose thoughtfully. "But when you started to say that permanent, ever-lasting things were the most precious, I realized that that was exactly what I had begun to think after being hurt so badly. I started to fall into a routine, doing things that I knew worked without even changing it around a little. You made me think again, you made me remember why I loved change so much."
He watched her closely, taking his time in responding. "And why is that? Why do you love it so much?"
"Because even if it hurts, even if it's just a once in a lifetime opportunity, never doing it is even worse than not trying."
He glanced at her for a long moment, watching as the stars above reflected in her deep gaze. Maybe she had a point. So many things had been temporary but life-changing for him, he supposed that there may be some substance to her theory. His small smile reflected hers slowly, realizing that yes, there was some truth to what she said. Maybe there were small, temporary things that would last, if only through the memory of those that lived it.
A/N: Done for now. I'll get the next chapter up... whenever. Put it on alert if you want to keep up with it.