Chapter Three
Meeting Sasori
I Walk over to him, when I am a few paces away, I wonder if I should say hi and sit down or stand near him until he notices me…
He seems to decide for me, as he hears me coming and looks up. Whoa… For a boy, he's beautiful. I know that's not what you call boys, but that's what he is nonetheless. He has a soft rounded face with pale skin, and wide brown eyes that make me feel like he could see right through me. He raises his eyebrows and gives me a look as if to say, 'What do you want?'. I try out a smile, it feels a little strange but I think it looks ok.
I wonder what to say, but then I find the words coming out by themselves,
"Are you Sasori?" His eyes widen a little, as if he is surprised. Then, after a little hesitation,
"It's rude to ask someone's name without giving your own."
Damn! I scream inside, I made a mistake already.
I force a small laugh, and say "Sorry. My name is Suji Irebun." He smirks a little, "You're named Number Eleven? What's that about." I pause, I can't tell him the real reason…
"My parents wanted a baby girl, it took ten boys before me for them to get their wish." I came up with that on the spot, not the most believable lie, but not unbelievable either.
"Ah" He nods, "Well, yes. My name is Sasori."
I mirror the smirk he gave me a moment ago, "You're named Scorpion? What's that about?"
His smirk drops, "I don't know. My parents called me it. And I like it actually."
Something in his voice sounds strange… I sit down across from him.
I look across at him, there… His voice, it sounds sad. I look into his eyes, they have a depth of sadness too. I decide not to ask though. He catches me looking, and for a long few seconds we stare at eachother. I don't feel uncomfortable, I can't feel anything, But Sasori looks a little uneasy and looks away. "Did you want something?" I hesitate,
What should I say?
I look down at the paper in front of him, "What are you drawing?"
His hand automatically moves to cover the page, then it sweeps back and shows me. He picks up the paper and rotates it, Puppet designs.
"So you're into puppets?" I ask.
He shrugs, "I find them interesting, I like to make them, a clever design of a puppet is a lot better than a human ninja."
I tilt my head to the side a little, displaying interest, "Why are they?"
He seems surprised I care, then says "A puppet doesn't get tired or hurt, and they are easily repaired and made." He seems like there is more he could say, but not to me. Not yet. I smile, "I'm interested in them too."
That's not a lie
"I'm curious to learn more, and maybe even make my own in the future. And I heard you were good with puppets, so could you explain more? Please."
He seems to be battling with himself, there is a silence before he sighs and says,
"No."
I make my mouth drop a little, making myself look disappointed, I look back at Sasori. He winks, the movement seems alien on his face, and it doesn't hide the sadness in his eyes. He then grins, "I can do better than that, I can show you."
I've got it. Keep this up and I'll be his friend in no time.
I smile again, "That's great!" He stands up, folding up the paper and placing it inside a pocket. "Come on then." Then he starts walking off, towards the main gate, the village's exit.
"Huh? Where are we going?" He turns and looks at me, then smirks again,
"My Workshop." Then he's off again. I follow him, staying a step behind all the way as we go through the long passage, with huge towering cliffs on either side. We come to the end, he turns right and walks along the edge of the cliff there. I can't see anything, but I follow him anyway. A little way along, he pushes on the rock and it swings in, he walks in without looking back. I stare at the rock and see, there is a door cleverly disguised to look like part of the rock face, the room in there is dark, but a pale light flickers after a moment. And Sasori's voice drifts out, in a calm lull,
"Are you coming in or not?"
I smile, "Yeah, sure I am, Sasori."
And I step in.
