AN: Hey there! I'm back with a new chapter ^^ Just two weeks of exams left, and then I'll have time to update more regularly. Got my English exam back already and I have an A :)

Anyway, this chapter is for DyCin, because she won the contest. So, DyCin, I proudly present to you, Noriko meeting a future Akatsuki member ^^

So, the first real reason for the M-rating: Bad language ahead XD (Now you surely know which member she will meet XD)

Disclaimer: Not mine :( But I own Noriko :)

With a sigh, Sasori opened Hiruko and stepped out. The village they were about to pass was too close to the hidden village for him to run around in his second persona. He was known as nukenin in Hiruko's form after all. He quickly sealed the puppet in a scroll before someone spotted it and formed a few hand signs. Noriko watched in awe as Sasori's hair brightened and his eyes bleed from brown to green and he got taller...

Wait a minute!

Noriko looked up to her master in bewilderment, finding an older male copy of herself. His hair and eyes had the exact same color as her own and even the weird scar on his neck had disappeared. Sasori gave a sigh and glanced at his black cloak once before glancing at his companion. "Let's go, girl."

Noriko nodded mechanically and followed the scorpion into the village. It looked like everyone inside the village was busy and in a hurry because barely a second after passing the gates, someone shoved her aside and she stumbled.

Out of reflex, Sasori caught her by her arm, snorting in distaste. "Watch your step, girl!" Noriko nodded and got up, only to be shoved again, swaying slightly. Sasori sighed and grapped the little girl's hand pulling her closer and shielding her with his back. "Stay close and don't let go.", he ordered.

Noriko quickly dusted herself off with one hand, shook her long red locks out of her face and smiled as if nothing happened. As soon as they were off the main road, there were less people and they could walk alongside each other comfortably, although Sasori kept his hold on her hand.

When Noriko tried to let go of her master's hand, his grip tightened painfully and he sent her a glare. A village as large as this provided more than enough places to hide and he wouldn't risk losing his soon-to-be student because he had no time to search through the whole village...

After Sasori's little reminder of who was in charge here, Noriko was on her best behavior, smiling and waving at every villager they came across. Good for Sasori's cover, bad for the scorpion's mood. Every time Noriko greeted someone, he had to at least acknowledge them as to not raise any suspicion.

True, maybe he was exaggerating things, but he hated that he had to be nice and on top of that, he meant to see Noriko smirk once, nearly as if she did it on purpose. He cursed the fact that they weren't alone or he would have wiped that smirk of her face. And the long hair had to go too… It hid her face from view.

An old woman sitting on a bench on the side of the street motioned for Noriko to come over and, after a nod and a forced smile from Sasori, she freed her hand and ran over. The woman gave her a warm smile and handed something to her that Sasori could not see. When Noriko came back, she had a small paper back in one hand and a piece of candy in the other.

"For being so nice.", she mumbled, obviously already chewing on one of the treats. Sasori held out his hand, but Noriko threw him a pointed look before shoving the second treat into her mouth. Her hand disappeared in the paper bag, rummaging through it and although she kept her blank expression up, her eyes sparkled with amusement. Sasori narrowed his own eyes and huffed before simply walking on, not even waiting for his companion.

Noriko waved goodbye to the old woman and bowed once, but afterwards, when she turned around to follow Sasori, she found him gone. Noriko's eyes widened and she felt like her body was about to freeze.

Damn it...

Every little bit of affection Sasori had ever held for the girl had vanished. Now what should he do? He couldn't go around asking if someone had seen his little 'slave'! "Damn that brat. Once I'll find her I swear I will..."

"Excuse me?" Sasori whirled around and snapped "What?" at whoever dared to speak to him. The man flinched. "I wondered if that little lady I saw belongs to you." Sasori perked up. "What did she look like?", he asked.

"Well, she was about nine to ten years, I'd say. Red hair, green eyes, kind of like you, that's why I thought she might belong to you. She looked a bit lost and scared to death, if you'd ask me.", the man answered truthfully and eyed Sasori critically. Sasori let out a sigh. That had to be Noriko. He was pretty sure there was no other girl running around with red hair, green eyes and the knowledge of being in one heck of a trouble…

Sasori turned his attention back to the man. "Could you tell me where you saw her?", he said, forcing himself to be polite and not kill the man just because he was pissed and he needed something to vent his anger. 'Self-control.', the scorpion reminded himself, 'Self-control.' "Of course. She was wandering around the market district. Right down that street.", he replied and pointed at a broad street. "Thank you.", Sasori said and walked past him.

"Is she your daughter?", the man shouted after him. 'More like my victim…', Sasori thought. His eyes narrowed and he didn't even bother to look back when he answered. "You could say so." Lowering his voice, he added "if you wanted to die…"

Noriko squirmed through the crowd in search of her master. Damn it, she should have kept her eyes on him! She passed by a child, roughly her size and age, accidentally bumping into him.

"Hey, watch where you're going, bitch!", the small silver-haired boy shouted. Noriko whirled around, already on the edge because of losing her master, and growled. "I could say the same, bastard!", she snarled.

Before either of them could open their mouths, a harsh bark made the two children flinch. "Noriko!" Noriko winced and looked up only to see Sasori looming above her. "Don't sink to his level.", the puppet master warned, sending a death glare down to the her, and Noriko huffed. "Yes, master.", she replied sourly and let out a sigh.

"You're a slave? That fucking sucks! Serves you right though, bitch.", the silver-haired boy taunted and Noriko glared at him. "I'm no slave you, bas-" "Noriko!", Sasori snapped and glared at his student over his shoulder. Noriko turned her head away from the other child and cursed.

Sasori had been walking on without her and Noriko hurriedly ran after him. She didn't want to know what would happen if she lost him again… "Bye bye, bitch!", the boy chuckled and Noriko's eyes narrowed, looking back at the boy with pure hatred.

She caught sight of an apple tree from the corner of her eyes and without thinking, in a sudden fit of anger, she attached a chakra string to one of the branches. One short shook and various apples started to rain down on the other child, most of them landing on his head. "What the hell! I will fucking sacrifice you to Jashin, b-" Noriko purposely didn't turn but she smiled in satisfaction. Sasori raised an eyebrow in surprise. He saw her use a chakra string before, but that had obviously been out of fear. She surely wasn't afraid of that little runt and yet… She had created a chakra string.

It seemed that besides fear, anger was the other emotion triggering her special talent. Sasori chuckled and ruffled up her long hair. "Good job, girl.", he praised and Noriko hummed happily, taking her master's hand in her own and skipping along the path. Sasori shook his head and sighed, but a small affectionate smile graced his lips and instead of pushing her away or snarling at her, he squeezed her hand once and they walked through the village peacefully.

Although Noriko was sure she wouldn't get away that easily…

Please review ^^