A year of training with Sasori on Shie's part. Though training under a strict, genius man is gonna be tough.

Thank you to Wierdowithagun for your review. I appreciate it!

Updates are probably every Saturday. This is an exception just because it has only one chapter and I would like to add in more as soon as I can.

The disclaimer still applies.

Edit: 7/15/13

chapter 2

aid the lost

Shie did not hate the sun.

(Really, she was too used to its heat and glare for that.)

No, it was the harsh, continuous training under the burning sun with a genius puppeteer teacher that is driving her mad.

Very. mad.

She understood that really, she was the one who requested the training from the man ('or is it a boy?') so she should not be complaining.

But, she had a good reason to dislike and not hate his training. (She often wondered if he even remembered that she is just 6 years old.)

He was ruthless in every way.

First, it was the running around the training grounds. This itself drained her of so much energy as the grounds are enormous. She had also heard him murmur once when she had her brief five minute break, that she would have to wear weights soon.

He would also spar with her and she had a feeling, that even though he lowered his speed drastically, he was not holding back that much with the power of his kicks. Fortunately, it motivated her to dodge more. (Blocking his kicks and punches was painful. It will only be used in emergencies since being hit was not an option.)

Next, would be the katas. He would fix her stances repeatedly and will not tolerate anything but perfection. Then again, applies the same for chakra control. He would never give any compliments to her progression and acknowledgements for it were rare.

She had almost regretted asking this heartless man for help. (No, of course he was not heartless. He accepted her request after all. It's not his sick humor to torture little children, right?)

Almost.

She could feel that she was getting better. Her stamina and speed increased and she could dodge attacks better. Her katas had made her react faster to switching from offense to defense and vice-versa. Chakra control was not hard for her. She liked the exercises even though it was mentally tiring as she had to concentrate, truly putting her mind into it, sometimes for long periods of time. (It was better than being hit in the stomach, really).

How did she know this?

She couldn't evaluate her skills when in front of her teacher as he would just beat her down in the spars they had. The only logical solution is her performance against someone her age.

On days he is off on a mission, she would attend the Academy.

(The Academy was not abandoned by her. She could not do that. Besides, they taught her things Sasori-sama wouldn't bother teaching her.)

At first, the teachers would question her continuous absence. She would say then that she had a teacher. They would look at her with confusion and she knows why. She is an orphan after all, why would she have a private teacher? (Where did the money come from and why would a person even look at the girl let alone train her?)

"I-" She considered announcing it again. The teachers would not tolerate her absences any longer and she knew that. It would be considered defiance and the punishment for it would be harsh. The ninjas like to drill in discipline into little children first before anything else. "I was training with Sasori-sama, sensei."

She felt ashamed of her disobedience and the volume of her reply was soft.

To say that the teacher was shocked was an understatement. She guiltily enjoyed the brief surprise that crossed his face but he gained his composure back quickly.

He had his suspicions but this- would have to be proven by the girl herself.

(He was still going to give her punishment. It was still counted as defiance.)

However, it was indeed verified when she had sparred with a boy (who was labeled 'good enough' by everyone). He was from a quite well-known clan and if she did train under the Sasori then maybe she could handle this. Maybe.

An orphan girl against a clan boy.

She knew the teacher expected her opponent to win. (He was a boy from a clan who received early training too). But he was sloppy, slow and easy to predict. She had been wise to hold back somewhat.

The orphan girl, then, was declared the winner.

That had certainly cleared his doubts and he thought of the interesting turn of events. Who knew Sasori had a soft spot for kids? ('Perhaps he had a purpose? If so, what made him train her of all people?' )

The girl, Shie, was lacking in her studies however. That was why he noticed she had paid more attention to lessons than she usually did since the start of the school. She took down notes and it surprised him again that she was actually dedicated to her studies.

He was pleased. Shie had potential. She craved learning, from what he could see. It was a good attitude for students to have and perhaps, she would be a great kunoichi someday.

Now, he is certain several people would affected by this piece of news.

She went to the Academy for several days and when Sasori-sama came back, she would skip her classes and train under him instead.

The teacher probably wasn't pleased with this behavior of hers but she would deal with the consequences later. (No matter how harsh. She resisted the urge to cringe from the thoughts of what her punishment could be this time).

It was the laps again and while he was away, she made sure to run after school and train so that she would not be out of shape. He would be annoyed by her lack of self-discipline if she had not done what he expected her to do.

As she finished her laps and took her well-deserved break, something unusual happened.

An old woman stepped into the training grounds. She noticed that her teacher had narrowed his eyes at the sight of her. Meanwhile, she simply lay there and stared blankly at her while trying her best to regain her lost breaths.

"My, my. What do we have here?" The woman appeared to be amused. The tone of her question and the slight smile on her face says it all.

"Chiyo-obaa-san." He had acknowledged her presence with a clipped tone. Is she Sasori-sama's grandmother?

She silently observed the woman who seemed unaffected by the irritated air around him.

"Who is this little girl, Sasori?" The woman faced her with a smile and it seemed forced somewhat. She gave a tentative one back.

"Shie is my apprentice."

"Isn't she supposed to be in the Academy now? It isn't dismissal time yet."

"She is training with me." With that, he turned back to her. She could see his annoyance from his small gestures and his slightly furrowed eyebrows. "Katas. Go."

"Yes, Sasori-sama." At that point of time, she knew it meant that they were going to discuss about something she was not allowed to hear.

(She tried calling him Sasori-sensei once and he did not like it. She will never be brave enough to call him anything else than Sasori-sama).

She went some distance away from the two and practiced. She even made sure she couldn't hear both of them out of respect. There was a bubble of pride for being obedient but she quickly pushed it away.

Her curiosity was hard to suppress but it was her teacher's orders. His orders will always come first.

Resisting the temptation to turn and look at the conversing pair, she diligently went through her katas.

"Sasori, who is she?" The air around the elderly woman turned much more serious. Is she considering the girl as a spy?

"She is my apprentice. I thought I told you that already." He grunted. This question was boring him. He hated her for not getting straight to the point. He was not a patient person. "She is just an orphan who asked me to train her."

Chiyo raised an eyebrow in a way that said 'are you sure?'.

"Yes." He carefully thought of what he will be saying next. He would always be extra cautious around her. "Why are you here?"

"The girl- Shie is it?- has been skipping classes. She clearly stated that she was training with you." She chuckled. "It seems that it is not a lie."

Oh, so that was why there was several strange glances directed at him. Now he knew why.

"People often jump to conclusions."

"Is it because she is so similar to you?" Her voice softened slightly.

He halted. No, that wasn't it.

"She speaks of a purpose and she wanted to be strong because of it." He convinced himself again. Yes, it was just to pass the time. "I just want to see if she could survive my training schedule for her."

"So, it's the fun for you then?" There was a sharp tone from her question. She didn't like his answer.

"No. Just-" Just what? "curiosity." He answered her with a tone of finality. He wanted to end this conversation. It was wasting his time.

With that, he headed towards the girl who was still practicing her katas, like what he had told her to do. No obvious attempts on eavesdropping either.

Good. He liked her that behaviour of hers.

"Sasori."

He paused on his advance, a signal that he was listening.

She sighed. He was a distant boy now and it was all her fault. Continuous lies upon lies had hurt him deeply when the truth was revealed. She should've known better.

"Train her well." She would not put too much hope on the little girl. But maybe, maybe Shie could help him somewhat, just to make him feel again. Even though he would only show small, barely traceable emotions, it would signal improvement on his apathetic state.

He continued his walk then, completely ignoring her. But she was used to this treatment.

Sasori had tried to abandon his emotions thinking they were weak but humans are humans and they could not dispose of their emotions completely no matter what. It could be pushed into the depths of their souls but no, it will always be there.

(She thinks she knew this from experience from people around her and herself.)

Surely, with the proof of him agreeing to train her, it was there. He had not given up on it completely.

Chiyo could not forgive herself for turning him into what he is now and she doubt she herself could fix him. She could not do this alone. Then maybe, putting some faith on the little girl would not be so wrong after all.

No matter how small.

Please.

Chiyo is old and she has this delusion (maybe) that Shie could truly help Sasori. She just wanted someone to share the burden with her but Sasori is not close to anyone and Shie is not close just enough. Alright, I'm not following the anime okay.

Shie is not emotionless. She is just mature for her age and understands a lot of things. But some of her childish persona is still there. What drives her to train is just the thought of getting stronger meant that she had something to do in her life. But of course, she expected the easy. Of course not, little Shie, life is not easy for anyone.

More of her background on next chappie.