A/N: A belated birthday present for my buddy Mask of Mirage. Happy 15th!!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto though I think the idea does belong to me…it's such a novel one.
Emerge from the AshesIt was quiet. Uncomfortably quiet. The gentle patter of the rain falling on the rocks before the cave was the only noise save for the almost soundless breaths that sprung from one of the two inhabitants of the shelter.
This cave, temporary refuge from the rain, was, for now, the headquarters of the Akatsuki. The two formidable members of the deadly organization sat awkwardly close in the annoyingly miniscule cavern.
The Leader sighed, shifting slightly away from his wooden partner that, as of now, was the only other member of the Akatsuki.
His partner, Sasori of the Red Sands, slowly turned his head from where he'd been staring with mute intensity at where he'd stashed his beloved puppets before he'd come sprinting into the cave to keep from swelling up in the rain.
"Leader, is something bothering you?" Leader almost automatically turned to Sasori when he called him 'leader'. It was not that he wasn't used to being called Leader; in fact, he was too used to it, having once been leader of his own village.
Leader grinned and ruffled his orange hair. Mentally he grimaced: his hair had once been a pure, shining yellow the color of the sun. After his encounter with the Kyuubi, his hair, among other things, had changed, and the man who'd been Hokage of a village had been overshadowed by this orange-haired demon-ninja.
"Leader?" He could hear the impatience in the Sand ninja's voice. He knew Sasori didn't like to be kept waiting.
"Sorry, Sasori. No, nothing's bothering me." Even though Sasori was not a lot older than him, though his appearance was deceiving with him looking to be no older than 24, Leader was inclined to treat the puppet master with respect. And it was not because he was freaked out by the fact that Sasori had turned himself into a puppet, though he found it a little disturbing, instead it was because he respected Sasori's wisdom and knowledge of the other villages and the ninja arts.
Sasori's stare had intensified at his answer. The Leader had to force himself not to lean away from Sasori. He really scared him sometimes.
After a while, the Leader felt all his instincts as the proud Yondaime of a village rise up and rebel against such a searching scrutiny. He hadn't been stared/glared at this fiercely since he'd once told his sensei to stop including him in his pervy novels.
"What?" He couldn't take being looked at like that anymore. Sasori, face as expressionless as ever, merely raised an eyebrow and said, in that slow drawling manner of his that completely contradicted his own inpatient personality, "I was wondering when you'd stop lying to me. I am more than curious as to what has my usually talkative leader quiet and brooding today."
It amazed the leader how Sasori could express concern for him while simultaneously insulting him. He wondered how he did it, especially with that deadpan voice of his.
He sighed. Already he could tell that he wouldn't be able to hide much of anything from Sasori. To save himself future trouble he decided it'd just be best to always be honest with the puppet; that way he could avoid more of those uncomfortable stares.
"Fine, fine. I was thinking of this organization of ours…"
"Ours?" the Leader mentally grinned at the utter confusion in Sasori's voice. He was keeping tally of how many times he could say something that would make Sasori break out of his emotional distance and react like a normal human: the tally was now 3.
The Leader nodded.
"Sure. Even though I was Hokage of a village, that doesn't mean I know how to be leader to a group of S-class ninjas…especially since I spent a good part of my time hunting them down." He grinned rather sheepishly at Sasori. His grin faded ad he again spoke.
"I'm young, I'll admit that, and, to be honest, I didn't want to leave my village behind at all, but I had to…to protect them. I'm unsure of myself, and I need someone wiser than I to help me as the organization grows, someone to support my decisions until, and after, my position as leader is fully secured. This is why I came to you first, Sasori. I believe you to be that person." The Leader stared Sasori in the eyes as he said this. He knew that, since agreeing to join him, Sasori had not gained any respect for him. By telling him these things, he wished to gain both his respect and he himself as an ally.
Sasori cocked his head, extremely curious.
"You have never told me what our purpose was." Sasori said this, knowing that, if the orange haired man next to him answered in a way he found displeasing, he would leave come morning.
Sasori watched the man sigh, but he didn't look away; if anything, he saw resolve and determination appear in the man's pale blue eyes.
"I want to correct a horrible mistake of mine. I recognize that I am no longer the man I was, but I feel as though I must do this." He paused and looked hard at Sasori as though gauging how his next words would make him react.
"I sealed your pet, the Kyuubi, into my newborn son. In addition to him, I want to find all the demons endangering the villages, extract them from their carriers and destroy them."
Sasori's eyes widened. About 3 years ago, the seal on his pet fox's cage had broken. At the time, he'd been living in the middle of the desert and had assumed the heat had killed the demon. Knowing what he did now, he was surprised the young Hokage hadn't tried to kill him. Instead he wanted him to help build an organization that would free his son of the demon…
"I had thought my pet had died. I was not aware that he had survived and attacked your village." Sasori looked away and out into the rain to the place he'd put his adored puppets.
The Leader waited patiently for Sasori to speak again. In the 5 months they had been traveling together, he'd come to learn that Sasori would say whatever was on his mind if you gave him the time.
"I was wrong about you, Leader. You are not just some boy wanting to play ruler of the world. Your cause seems noble enough, so I shall stand by you, and it, loyally."
Leader nodded mutely. Sasori, watching out of the corner of his eye, nodded as well. An important event had transpired here in this dank cave. The Leader knew now that his only hope of redemption had just been assured when he gained the respect of Sasori. And Sasori's opinion was the only one that would ever really matter to him.
The silence that now fell over them was not uncomfortable. No, it was the silence of two people who understood each other. The silence of a blossoming friendship that would stand the tests of time.
They had both been quietly been regarding the rain when the Leader suddenly grinned and nudged Sasori.
"Hey! I know what I'll do! I'm gonna grow a cool beard and get 4 really awesome nose piercings! That way no one'll know who I am!" Sasori rolled his eyes and smiled slightly as his leader went on to ramble about this 'cool' idea he had for cloaks.
His leader still had some growing up to do before he would emerge the fierce of an 'evil' organization, and, Sasori realized with an inward groan, he'd be there for it all.
-End-