When she first met him, she had been six. It was the day after Ino had met Sakura, and as she ran towards where she promised she would meet her, pack full of assorted hair products for the girl, her eye caught the red-haired man leaning up against a tree along the outskirts of town.

Now, Ino was a curious girl to begin with, and friendly to boot, so when she saw this man, his face twisting and contorting, and his breath coming out in delayed and ragged gasps, she couldn't help but go to him, just as she would if he were a whimpering puppy, or a young bird out of its nest.

Of course, Ino wasn't stupid, and could tell just by looking at the man that he was a ninja, and a foreign one, so she didn't even need the small voice in her head screaming at her, "Don't get too close" She frowned when his head flopped down onto his chest, and crouched a meter or so from him, leaning forward a bit to get a better look at this face.

He was very handsome, she decided, with messy red hair and smooth, pronounced features. His clothing was very plain; simple, high-collared shirt, plain black pants bound at the ankle, and sandals. Upon closer inspection, Ino saw that his left hand was tightly clamped onto his right arm, just above the elbow, and she saw a steady red drip on the grass below.

Finally, when his head raised and rested on the trunk of the tree, she spoke up. "Hey mister, you don't look so great."

Slowly, very slowly, his eyelids raised, and amber-colored eyes focused, albeit hazily, onto the small girl. His lips twisted, a vague smile, as he stared at her for a moment, taking in his surroundings, struggling to remember what he was doing there. The grip on his arm tightened, and he winced. "No," he finally responded. "I suppose I don't."

She flashed him a dazzling smile, tentatively returned, before jabbing herself in the chest with her thumb. "My name's Ino. Yamanaka Ino. What's yours?"

He regarded her quietly before closing his eyes again. "Sasori." His name came out in just above a whisper, and his eyebrows furrowed, expression once more contorting as his grip tightened again, knuckles close to white. What was left of the arm had, for the most part, gone numb, but every so often, the small grains of iron lodged into the stump would say their peace.

"Hey mister, you're not hurt too bad, are you?" Ino crawled forward slightly, peeking at the small portion of his arm that was showing. She reached a hand out to move a small piece of beige sleeve in the way, immediately jerking her arm back at his hiss, realizing in horror that the jagged piece of fabric was skin. She jumped to her feet, calling behind her as she ran, "I'm gonna get you some help!"

By the time she had returned, with three medics and her parents at her side, there was no sign of anyone having been there, except for Ino's backpack, small red stains dotting the straps.

--

The next time Sasori saw the blonde girl was six years later, when he had finally perfected Hiruko, and had gotten used to--if not mastered--one-armed puppetry. He had been in Akatsuki for several years by this point, having been one of few that actually killed his predecessor. That man had been the one-hundred milestone, and Sasori was ecstatic over the accomplishment. So ecstatic, even, that he dared to leave Kawa no Kuni.

He had heard that Konoha was holding the Chuunin exam at this time, and knew well enough that the town would be excited for the final test, and wouldn't bother to check when weary travellers came to their gates.

It was his original plan to visit Konoha anyway; he'd heard a rumor that tomoshirisou was in abundance here, thanks to the strong Suna-Konoha alliance, and Sasori had longed to continue experimenting with poisons for his marionettes.

The bell above the doorway jingled merrily when he entered the flower shop, and Sasori narrowed his eyes slightly at the thing.

"Welcome, sir!" called a cheery voice. The puppet-master couldn't help but let the corners of his lips lift at the sight of the blonde girl behind the counter, despite the strange look she was giving him. He had received the same looks from the village-folk he had passed on his way to the shop, and it was unsurprising--he was in Hiruko, after all, and he must have looked closer to an hunched old man than himself.

He stepped forward, Hiruko's tail swinging absently. "Hello. Are you in charge of this shop?"

Not taking her eyes from the strange, waving appendage, Ino nodded, trying to give off her best smile. "Yes, sir. What can I get you?"

"I'd like as much tomoshirisou as this shop carries."

Ino snapped her eyes to his sharply. "Well..." She paused when the strange looking man tilted his head. It was in her nature to make sure customers spend as much money in the shop as she could get them to, but buying all the tomoshirisou they had? That was just insane. "Unfortunately, sir, we don't have very much, and even then, it would be very expensive."

Sasori couldn't help but laugh at this. He nodded. "And I'll take all you have."

The blonde hesitated before turning on her heel, grabbing a paper bag from a cabinet and slipping into the greenhouse. It didn't take long for her to place the three, small, potted plants into the bag. She only felt a small bit sorry for the man, but only because the small white flower was so rare. "I'll give him a small discount," she said to herself, instantly deciding it would make her a good person.

Sasori grinned slightly when the price came up. He knew better than that, but payed at discount anyway. Just as he turned, sheltering the rolled-up bag in the black-and-red cloak, he spotted a small jar next to the register, the sign next to it declaring, 'Please donate to our shop!' in flowery text.

Ino had put her chin on her hand when the purchase had been made, and by the time the customer had turned to leave, she had retrieved her magazine from under the counter. At the small jingling of coins, she looked up, eyes widening in surprise when the door front door opened, the bell above it ringing happily.

Sasori turned back from the doorway, regarding Ino once more, before giving a small smile underneath the Hiruko mask. "Thank you, and goodbye Ino."

--

Ino never understood that the hunchbacked man was the same redhead she'd dreamt about meeting again since she was young, and she kept thinking that he would remain just a wonderful memory. It had been a full nine years before she recognized him again, and when she saw him, leaning against that same tree, she felt her heart falter and her breath hitch.

She took a step forward, reaching an arm out. "Sa-sasori-san..."

His head turned slowly to the voice, his lips almost instantly twisting into a strange looking smile. Ino found herself recoiling from it slightly, but inched forward to sit next to him when he patted the ground beside him in invitation. Sasori turned to face her, that same dreamlike smile on his face, eyes half-lidded, as though he were half-awake. "It's good to see you again, Ino." It was half mumbled--more slurred than spoken, Ino thought.

She shifted, becoming more and more uncomfortable. Was this truly the same man? There was something strange, something wrong about him. Perhaps it was the way his eyes were glazed over, and never truly focussed, or maybe it was that his sentences were less pronounced even than when he seemed to be dying, or even that he looked exactly the same as he had almost ten years ago. Or maybe... Sasori turned away from her. "How...um, how have you been, Sasori-san?" A small breeze fluttered through the leaves above them, and Ino shivered slightly, scooting somewaht closer to the redhead.

Or maybe it was that he gave off no body heat.

"Have been well..." His response was as cryptic as everything else he gave off. He didn't look at her, eyes reflecting the moon in an unatural way. "And yourself?"

Ino squirmed again, still uncomfortable. Was this really the man she had met, possibly fallen in love with so long ago? If it wasn't, how would she be able to tell? If he could cut off his body heat from being felt, it was very likely he could cut off his chakra from being sensed. No, not sensing any chakra from him. Is it really him? How would I know? But...I love him, right? I should be able to tell right off the bat... "Well...I passed the Chuunin exam not long ago..."Why did I tell him that? That could've signed my death warrant right there...

"Oh really? That's great."

Ino was at a loss. She was unsure, and that was not her, and she was especially unsure of how tobe sure. She truly wanted it to be him--really--but she simply couldn't think of way to tell--

"I remember when I became--" Sasori's sentence was cut off quickly, the blonde girl throwing herself on him, forcing their lips to connect. His eyes widened only slightly, not returning the advances that had been so suddenly given. He couldn't even bring himself to push her off, not even when the skin of his face--still intact, through years of chemical treatment--was dotted with tears.

Ino pulled herself back roughly, tears streaming down her face. "What's the matter with you!" She demanded, slamming the side of a fist against the ground. "I give you heaven in a kiss, and I get nothing! What's wrong with you!"

Calm, if surprised, gold eyes blinked once, and that was all the motivation Ino needed to fall forward onto him, beating into his chest. He blinked again, sighed, grasping her shoulders and prying her up, snatching her chin to force her to face him.

"You don't love me, Ino."

The girl squeezed her eyes shut tightly. "What if I do? Huh? What would you be able to do about that?"

He shook her lightly, repeating himself. "You don't love me, Ino." The fingers of his left hand dug into her skin.

She flinched only slightly, leaning forward again. Their lips made contact for only a moment before Ino gasped, wincing, and withdrew, hands going to her abdomen.

Sasori barely felt their hands make contact as he withdrew what had once been a flesh hand from Ino's stomach. He could already see the flesh turning green from where he sat.

Ino couldn't bring herself to speak, mouth opening and closing, as a fish out of water. Her breathing started to hitch, and her eyes were becoming unfocussed as they caught the glossy eyes of the expressionless face in front of her, above her as she fell backwards.

With a sigh, Sasori placed his flesh-covered wooden hand over the crimson dripping blade, placed the hand on his knee, and stood, walked over to the prostrate girl on the ground. He simply watched her from there for a few moments, then reaching down to take her into his arms.

--

Ino never saw that man again, and she wasn't sure if she'd ever want to, even when she awoke, bedridden in Konoha General. The nurses only told her that she had been found on a windowsill, the bottom of her shrit torn off to reveal the gangreous skin, and that a small, white flower was found on her stomach, fluttering in the breeze.

--

Sasori saw the girl again only twice after that, but in disguise of Hiruko, and with Deidara accompanying him. The blonde would always snigger at him when the two passed the Yamanaka flower shop, and could not be silenced with a glare.

"Heehee...you never say that it wasn't a good thing, danna. It seems you only enjoy her, then...un." He constantly teased.

Walking ahead, Hiruko's tail shot out, slashing at the small opening on Deidara's hand. "Shut up, Deidara."