Disclaimer: It's a bummer, but I don't own Naruto.

A/N: New character! Sasori is a bad guy from the second major arc of Naruto. He's one of the Akatsuki (the organization that Itachi Uchiha belongs to). He's pretty nifty, actually...I really like him, he's my favorite villain. Anyway, I needed a bad guy and I was just like "HEY! Sasori!" Plus, when Orochimaru was one of the Akatsuki he and Sasori were partners.


"Sasori of the Red Sand?"

If Orochimaru felt any shock at seeing the young criminal on his doorstep, he didn't show it.

"You are Orochimaru?" the young man drawled.

"Yes," He stepped aside, allowing his visitor to enter. "Please, come in."

On better inspection, he didn't look like much of a criminal. He appeared, in fact, to be incredibly young for someone so infamously talented, maybe seventeen or eighteen, with the pale skin and reddish-brown hair typical of those from Suna. His heavily-lidded eyes gave him a look of perpetual sleepiness, while his black robes, decorated with red clouds, gave him a ghostly appearance.

"You called me here," Sasori said in his soft, gentle voice. "You made contact with the Akatsuki and requested to speak with me. So I am here."

"Obviously." Orochimaru smiled wickedly. "I wish to discuss matters of the soul with you."

Sasori raised an eyebrow. "Indeed." He took great care in sitting down, a fact which made Orochimaru's grin grow wider still.

"I have heard through my sources that you managed to turn yourself into a living puppet." Orochimaru began. "Is this true?"

Sasori inclined his head in acknowledgment.

"How did you manage to do such a thing without dying…without losing your soul?"

Sasori smiled slightly. "That is my secret."

"I see." Orochimaru sighed.

"What about yourself?" Sasori retorted. "I've heard of you, too- the man who wants to master every jutsu in the world. An ambitious feat, but how do you intend to accomplish it? Such a thing would take more than one lifetime."

"Another secret. One I don't intend to share with you."

"This would go easier if you would just ask your question outright instead of dancing around the issue. What did you really bring me here to ask?" Sasori leaned forward conspiritorily. "Don't you trust me?"

"Of course not." replied Orochimaru.

Sasori laughed, a young child's sound of delight. Orochimaru tensed, angry at his amusement. He hadn't said anything funny, had he? What was this brat laughing about?

"Well, if that's all…" chuckled Sasori, getting up to go.

"No, it damn well isn't all!" He seized Sasori's arm and yanked him back down; inwardly he shuddered at the inhuman woodenness of the other man's flesh.

"You seem to know a great deal about souls," Orochimaru said harshly. "So I need to know: Is it possible to transfer one's soul to another body?"

Sasori froze halfway out of his seat.

"Wh…what?" Shock was painted on his face like a carnival mask. Orochimaru waited patiently for him to recover his composure.

"I…I suppose it's possible…" he whispered finally. "No, I'm certain its possible. But…to develop such a jutsu…"

"…Is more possible than you think." Orochimaru finished for him. "Indeed, I have already done so."

Sasori gaped.

"I just need an expert's opinion on it." He smiled, looking more snake than man.

"I see." There was a slight tremor in Sasori's soft, monotonous voice. "I think, then, that this concludes our conversation."

Orochimaru took a strange, perverted pleasure in seeing the young man's shaky progress to the door. Provoking reactions was one of his favorite pastimes; breaking the composure of someone as cool and aloof as Sasori was a special thrill.

"You're welcome to come back and see the finished result." said Orochimaru, following him to the door.

Sasori nodded. "Maybe I will." Then he stepped out into the night and was swallowed up by the darkness. Smiling to himself, Orochimaru turned to the small snake that had slithered into the house.

"What news of our young friend?" he asked the snake politely.

"Hatake Kakashi is currently at the memorial stone," the snake hissed. "With those damned Ninken."

"Ah, yes, the Ninja Dogs!" Orochimaru laughed. "Well, shall we pay them a visit? The sooner we can win him over, the better, wouldn't you agree?"

Laughing to himself, he wandered out into the night, the snake following in his wake.