Meeting
The forest was quiet. Not a sound, not even a chirp of a bird interrupted the silence of the forest. Two ominous ninja crossed this path, heading towards home after completing their atrocious mission.
"Threatening them was easy, hmm. Couldn't he give us more to work with? I would rather go out hunting for some Jinchuuriki."
"Enough of your complaining! You're lucky to have even received a mission so soon after your initiation."
"It wasn't as if I asked to join, hmm!" The blonde retorted.
Bah, it was tedious to argue with this brat. Why did he get paired with him, of all the Akatsuki? Despite his grudge, the puppeteer slightly missed his former partner, Orochimaru.
Interrupting his thoughts, something caught his eye. There was something, or someone on the ground. What was it exactly? He had to find out.
Stopping dead in his tracks, Sasori headed towards the direction of the object.
"Just where are you going, hmm?" Deidara called out.
"Hush! Wait for a moment!"
"I thought you hated waiting." His partner mumbled, following the other.
No doubt about it, it was a person. A girl to be exact. She was sprawled on the ground, her body barely covered with rags.
"Poor thing, she must be near-death. It's best to put her out of her misery… and artistically too, hmm." The blonde said. His lips curled up slightly as his hand reached inside one of his pouches.
"Stop, I'll be the one to do it. You've had most of the fun today." He of course was referring about today's mission.
Deidara huffed a breath, "Fine, my man."
Ignoring his last statement, he turned to the girl. "Get up! Or are you too weak to even render a word I'm saying?"
In response, the girl shifted and tried supporting her body with her arms and legs. She was pathetically in all fours as if begging to be spared.
The puppeteer brought out Hiruko's tail, laced in poison. "I am about to kill you now, any last words, brat?"
"Heh…" The girl coughed out. "I have no purpose in this world. I spent my whole life running…living in fear. I am alone, I wouldn't mind if I were to die. I want to see my parents again. And besides, even if I begged you not to, I bet you wouldn't give my pleas a second thought, would you?"
"Why you..!" His stinger was prepared was about to strike with every inch of malice.
It wasn't until her head turned to meet his eyes that the tail came to an abrupt halt.
"What's the matter, my man, hmm?"
The puppeteer's face wasn't visible from the outside, which was something he was grateful about.
The reason? He would never be able to explain the surprise surging deep within his chest container, the only humane thing left in him.
A flash of a memory… a memory of a certain picture frame he left behind when he abandoned his hometown pounded on his head.
His mother… This girl, she looks just like a younger version of his mother!
The only difference was the girl's eyes. Emptiness was the only thing that reflected from them, translucent and grey. She intrigued the redhead, and with that he withdrew his puppet's stinger.
"… You said have no purpose in your life, correct?"
The girl simply nodded.
"Then I'll give you one. Come with me and I will take you on as my subordinate."
"Whoa! You're sparing her, hmm? I never knew you were such a softie, my man. Hehe."
"Shut up, Deidara!" The puppeteer snarled. He switched his attention back to the other.
"What do you say? Can you still walk?"
Why is he doing this? Sasori asked himself. This has never happened before. For some stupid reason he just had to keep this girl alive.
With another small nod of the head, the girl rose up and quietly trailed behind the two Akatsuki members to their hideout.
No more than a couple hours later, the trio arrived at the Akatsuki's most recent hideout, which resided in the forest of one of the country's most insignificant villages.
The blonde let a short yawn escape his lips, "Well my man, I guess I'll be taking my leave, hmm." And with that, the trio became a two.
"Come, girl. My room is this way." The puppeteer directed.
Without any guide, the girl would surely be lost amongst the twist and turns of the hallways. Especially since the surroundings around her had almost the same tint of beige, plastered oh so boringly onto the walls.
"Quit gawking and get over here, girl!"
This creepy fellow was getting on her nerves, talking in such a rude tone. "My name's Ayame, I'd appreciate it if you'd stop referring me as "girl"."
"I didn't ask for your name. Now come before I change my mind about keeping you alive!" The strange man snapped. The two were in front of what seemed to be the man's room.
Ayame sighed, is it too late to go back? She pondered.
When she entered the room however, her mind held nothing but the sight of the interior of his sanctum.
The room wasn't anything special, except for the size. However, it was highly organized, one side held stacks of shelves with an impressive collection of books and scrolls (along with a door next to it leading to the bathroom, she presumed). The other side consisted of tools and a working table with the bed right by its side. Puppets were sprawled about, but in a neat way. Some were actually hanged on the back wall. For a nice personal touch, she guessed.
It's a pretty decent place to live, something Ayame has always yearned for.
"As you see, you'll be staying in my room. Don't worry, I won't do anything to you as long as you keep to yourself, you understand? That means, don't you dare touch anything without my permission, girl!"
With the sudden statement, she was shocked and blabbed out a lame reply, "Y-yes mister!"
"You'll be referring to me as "Master Sasori" now."
"O-oh alright then... But Master Sasori, where will I be sleeping?" Ayame dreaded the thought of sharing the bed with…with him.
She noticed the puppeteer let out a barely audible chuckle, "Let's just say that I barely use the bed, you may use it. Now… about your clothes, that just won't do."
Ayame looked down, he was right. Her appearance practically screamed that she had been homeless and abandoned. "Well…I never exactly settled in one place. Haha…"
"Tsk, I'll have to buy new clothes for you tomorrow while I restock my supplies." Sasori said while shaking his head.
"You'd do that for me?" Ayame asked, astonished from his sudden "kindness."
"Think nothing of it. I will ask that brat to watch over you while I'm gone. How old are you anyway?" He asked eyeing her cautiously.
"Brat?" She said questioningly, slightly tilting her head.
"Deidara, the other guy you saw earlier. Now, you're age?"
"I am 15 and a half years old."
Sasori let out a deep sigh, "You're almost the same age as him too, what a pain. Nonetheless, I'll have him show you around the hideout as well."
"…Oh I see."
The puppeteer glanced at the girl again. No doubt she looked exhausted. She kept staring at the bed with such drowsy eyes.
"Go to sleep. When you awake I won't be here, but I'll be back at around 10a.m. I'll have Deidara come get you around 9. You are forbidden to leave the room until then."
"Ok…ok." Ayame muttered weakly as she flopped on the bed and settled herself inside the sheets.
"Heh…You really are hopeless, aren't you girl?"
Whether or not the man had some sort of change in his voice the girl had no clue. However, the last thing her grey eyes captured before falling into a deep slumber was a blur of red.
A/N: Phew! First chap done, I hope you all liked it! :) I'll most likely write longer chapters in the future.
I kept debating whether or not I should continue my other Sasori story. I just didn't know how to pursue it, it's been so long. But I came up with a new idea and really wanted to write it. I might finish the other someday, but who knows?
Don't worry, I've created a different method on how I write stories by jotting down my ideas (I've already decided on the ending but it could change) so I'll most likely be finishing this story. It will be multiple chapters but as for how many, I don't know. I split the parts earlier or later depending on what I feel is right for a chapter.
Anyway, enough babbling and on with some other info you may be confused about:
Ayame's personality will be revealed gradually. Sasori is around 32 and Deidara is around 16 in this chapter.
Ayame's likeliness to Sasori's mother may actually be insignificant. I just had to have a reason why Sasori chose to spare her. Her appearance was struck very hard on my mind. I love drawing more than writing, so I may draw a picture of her and put a link to it.
This is a typical "CharacterXOC story, if you do not like these, than this story may not be for you.
Please ignore the huge age difference of Sasori and Ayame. Haha.
Reviews are not required but appreciated! :)