Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, really, I'm completely broke.

You're nothing but a puppet

Chapter 1

Sasori walked through the streets of Konoha. One would think, just by looking at the strange man, that he was a tourist; lost and wandering around aimlessly. He didn't want to be there, but it was necessary for their mission. People would normally scatter at the sight of him, but he was in disguise after all. People just saw him as a regular civilian.

He was really annoyed now. Deidara was late. What could he be doing? He knew that Sasori hated waiting.

"No, Naruto!" he heard someone hiss. "You can't go pranking people whenever you want!"

"Aw, but Sakura-chan," a boy whined. "Just look at him, he's practically begging to be pranked."

Were these children talking about him? Did they not know who he was? Well of course they didn't. He had forgotten that he was in disguise.

"Baka, can't you tell he's not from here!" the girl he assumed was Sakura hissed again. "Do you want to give Konoha a bad name?"

These brats were talking about him. Who did they think they were? These Konoha kids really had no manners. It was a pity he couldn't kill them. He didn't need any unwanted attention. With that in mind he turned around to face the brats. One had black hair and eyes and stood to the side as if pretending not to know the other two. He resembled Itachi, so Sasori assumed it was the younger Uchiha. The other two were quite comical indeed. A blonde, blue-eyed boy who was still reaching out in the hopes of dragging Sasori's pants down and a pink-haired girl pulling the back of the boy's collar, preventing him from moving any closer. Both grinned sheepishly at him.

"Go and play with someone else, you brats," he said; his face void of any emotion. He looked them up and down. They were ninja, probably just graduated from the academy. It wouldn't even be worth it to dispose of them.

"I'm back, un," came the voice of his partner, Deidara. "Who are these brats?"

"Who you calling a brat, you bastard!" yelled Naruto, jumping at Deidara. He was held back once again by the girl, Sakura, who bonked his head and dragged him in the opposite direction after apologising to them.

"Dobe," could be heard from the young Uchiha as he followed his friends. Sasori just couldn't believe they were ninja, the Uchiha maybe, but those two? How did they manage to accomplish that? The girl looked rather pathetic and weak; the blonde just looked plain stupid.

"Did you get the scroll?" Sasori asked impatiently.

"Um no, un," his partner replied nervously. "This is the hardest mission ever. If I was allowed to kill those old bags then I'd have it by now, but no, I have to blend in, talk them into handing it over. It takes time."

"Well, just hurry up," Sasori said and started to walk in the direction of the inn they had been living at for the past week. The plan was that he, Sasori, would do all the negotiating, but they had just found him untrustworthy, so they had waited a week and then sent Deidara in. Sasori had tried a number of disguises, but his personality was the problem here so he had to step aside.

Sasori set with his back against a tree. Bored wasn't the word to describe how he felt and his patience was really wearing thin.

The three brats from before entered the field. Their sensei was nowhere to be seen so they couldn't be here to train. They hadn't seen him yet so they couldn't be there to 'prank' him. He jumped into the tree and watched them fooling around like little kids. So carefree, or so he thought. Their sensei arrived an hour later.

"YOU'RE LATE," the pink and blonde both yelled in unison pointing at their sensei. They were so loud. He'd never seen anything quite like those two before. They were actually ninja? He sat there undetected, as he watched them begin their training. The Uchiha wasn't that bad he had to admit, but the other two... the Naruto boy didn't think before acting which just told Sasori that he really was an idiot. Sakura, the girl, was what he called pathetic. Her only concern was the Uchiha and she just kept fainting. Shinobi did not faint. Overall, their teamwork was terrible and he couldn't bear to watch anymore, so he left. Deidara would probably be done for the day anyway.

He was right; Deidara was done for the day and had a surprise for his partner. He had finally managed to get the scroll and that meant they could finally leave Konoha. He was so relieved, but that didn't show on his impassive face. They both left in the same manner they had entered the village, undetected. They were Akatsuki after all.

Sakura and Naruto were trying to get the bells from their sensei once again. Both had been training with different people to improve their skills for almost three years. Their other teammate, Sasuke Uchiha, had left the village. He had become a traitor. They were determined to bring him back no matter what.

Both, Kakashi and Naruto, were shocked to see Sakura's inhuman strength. It wasn't something they'd expect from their little cherry blossom. They were impressed though, she had come a long way.

Gaara, the fifth Kazekage, had been kidnapped by two Akatsuki members. Their mission – to get him back. Team Kakashi and old lady Chiyo headed out. They weren't to engage in any sort of battle until back-up arrived. That was understandable. One jounin, one chuunin, one genin and an old lady were hardly a match for two S-Class criminals. Well, maybe Kakashi was, but there were two of them. The team split up eventually, Kakashi and Naruto going after the Akatsuki who had Gaara's body. He was dead... that couldn't be right could it?

Sakura and Chiyo faced the other Akatsuki. He used puppets in battle, just like Chiyo. Sakura was afraid. She had never faced such a dangerous opponent before, but she had vowed a long time ago that she would become strong. She wouldn't allow anyone to fight for her again. This was her chance to prove herself.

Sasori couldn't help the surprise that spread across his face when he saw who his opponents were. He was glad that he was inside Hiruko. His grandmother; She was the one who thought him about puppetry, but he was certain that he could beat her easily. Beside her was a girl. He recognised her immediately even though he had seen her only twice before and that was three years ago. Sakura, the girl who he deemed unworthy to be a ninja. She was standing next to his grandmother, the childishness replaced with some maturity. He could tell she was nervous. Was this her first battle? That would be very unfortunate if it were true. Why would they send her after the Akatsuki anyway? She was hardly what one would call a ninja.

That was Sasori's biggest mistake, underestimating Sakura's skill as a ninja combined with his grandmother's efforts. She was good, he had to admit that. She destroyed most of his puppets. She created an antidote for his poison. No one could ever do that. She was an amazing kunoichi.

"You're nothing but a puppet," she deadpanned as his blade went through her chest. "Excuse the pun."

That was all she said directly to him. To anyone else it would've sounded stupid, but he understood her. He was a puppet, controlled by the Akatsuki. He had no free will. They controlled everything he did. He didn't even completely know what the Akatsuki was about. He really was their puppet. He felt disgusted with himself. HE was the true puppet master, but he let them pull his strings. That was when he suddenly felt his life slipping away. His grandmother had used the puppets of his parents to stab his heart while he was distracted. He was glad; he'd die in his parents' arms. The girl healed herself with Chiyo's help. She really was amazing. They had defeated the undefeated puppet master. He gave them valuable information as a reward for defeating him and slipped into darkness.

Sasori stood with his back facing the edge of the cliff. He faced darkness, slowly creeping toward him. There was a voice in his head. 'You can go back' it said. He didn't want to go back; there was nothing for him back there. He was a puppet, so why was he even in this place? He thought that he'd just dissolve into nothingness. He was no longer natural; perhaps he'd just switch off like a machine. That's what he'd always thought. He could feel the faint beating of his damaged heart. He was still alive. He could return, maybe ask someone to heal his heart... that girl, she was a medic... she was his enemy though. She put him in this predicament in the first place; she would just make sure she actually killed him this time around. But he didn't really want to go back. He could be with his parents again. He smiled at the thought, yes, he'd be with his parents; but the darkness... it was getting closer. He didn't want to be consumed by it. Was that what would happen to him if he chose to stay? It didn't look very welcoming; his parents couldn't be in there.

The darkness crept closer and closer; it would consume him, he didn't want that. He was afraid; for the first time in over twenty years he was scared. He wanted his parents. Death was supposed to bring him to them. Why weren't they there? 'You were a terrible person; you don't deserve to be with them'. There was that voice again, cold and uncaring; the way he spent his life – cold and uncaring. He was petrified. His ninja abilities would not help in this situation, he was helpless. The darkness was now creeping up his body, up his legs, his chest; it was suffocating him. He couldn't breathe... wait he never needed to breathe, why did he need air so desperately now? He stumbled backwards, almost fully consumed. This wasn't right; it wasn't supposed to happen this way. He jumped from the cliff, the darkness already fading away.

Sasori's eyes opened. He was still in the cave. The sky was darkening outside. He was alive? Why was his body aching? Why did he feel all fleshy? Why was his ring missing? He was sure the girl didn't take it. Did the Akatsuki retrieve the ring while he was 'dead'? That meant he was no longer a member of that organization. He looked around; the ground was littered with the remains of his puppets. This caused him to curse inwardly; he had no weapons, he was human again somehow and that made him vulnerable. He did not like it at all.