Chapter Eight: Dead Boys Talking
Yahiko was, essentially, dead before Deidara's jutsu. The five boys known as the Paths of Pain, that is Kota Agami, Yoshi Nahari, Isamu Yama, Toji Fukazawa and Daiki Ogino, also have no memory from the time of their deaths to that night. They are believed to have had no connections with the Akatsuki before their deaths. Their most recent memories are of waking up in the Akatsuki headquarters the morning after the explosion. Yahiko is currently in a more stable mental state than the other five boys due to his past history and relationships with Nagato and Konan. He believes he was somehow saved from the self-inflicted wounds that took his life, despite the fact that approximately fifteen years took place between his current age and his age at his death.
After five minutes of suspicious glares, the boy sat down at the table, his arms crossed defensively. Sakura and Ino gave him their friendliest smiles which caused him to frown at them.
"We just have some questions for you." Sakura began. "What's your name?"
The boy glanced between them, as if weighing his options. Then he shook his head.
"You aren't going to answer?" Sakura asked.
He shook his head again. Ino decided to use a different tactic.
"You know, Konan told us about you, Yahiko."
Anger flared and he slammed his hands down on the table. "Where's Konan? What have you done with her? Did you torture her? You can't use her against me."
"Clearly we can." Ino muttered, while writing in her notebook. Sakura elbowed her and Ino sat up and looked over at the boy. "We didn't torture her. She told us your name willingly."
His eyes narrowed. "Well, if you knew my name, why did you ask me to tell you it?"
"We wanted to know if you knew it." Sakura said gently, "Konan's fine…"
"If she's fine, why didn't you bring her back?" He shot an accusatory look at them.
"She was nervous. She's having some time with the nurses." Sakura answered calmly.
"Why?"
"Because she's a girl and she needs to be apart from all you boys sometimes." Ino replied.
"No, not that." Yahiko sneered, "Why was she nervous?"
"Because you told her not to say anything!" Ino burst out, "This would be over a lot quicker if you just cooperated."
"Ino, please."
"Fine." Ino sat back, her arms folded as she stared at the boy.
Sakura turned back to Yahiko, "We won't hurt you. We just need you to answer these questions. Then you can join Konan."
Yahiko still regarded them suspiciously but he gave a curt nod.
"So, do you know your name?"
"It's Yahiko."
"No last name?" Yahiko shook his head and Ino snorted. He glared at her. Ino glared back. Then Sakura cleared her throat.
"Where are you from, Yahiko?"
"Amegakure."
"And how old are you?
He shrugged, not willing to admit that he wasn't sure.
"Do you know any of the other children?"
"Only Konan and Nagato. The others were just there when I woke up."
"Do you remember anything from before that?"
Yahiko looked down at the table, deep in thought. "I remember Jiraiya-sensei. He trained us. Then he said we were ready and he left. But we weren't ready. I thought I was going to die. I was meant to die!"
"Why?"
"He had Konan," he replied softly, reliving his memories, "The bad man had Konan and he told Nagato to kill me. But he couldn't do it. So I did it. I thought I was going to die." He looked up at them, his arrogant tone back. "But then I woke up."
A stunned silence filled the room. Yahiko glanced between them, breaking them out of their shock. Ino scribbled on the pad before turning to Sakura. "I don't think we need to ask the rest of the questions." Sakura silently nodded.
Yahiko looked between them, "So can I see Konan now?"
They both nodded, then Sakura blurted out, "Wait, the last question. One last question."
He crossed his arms again, sitting back, waiting.
"What do you want to be when you grow up?"
"I want to be better than Nagato!" he grinned.
Sasori was also dead before that night. We believe, due to his answers, that Sasori remembers everything from before his death. This could be a result of his isolations within his puppet body. As a result of his synthetic body, very few of his memories of himself reflect the passage of time. However his mind currently cannot process the majority of his memories, particularly those that feature an event or scene related to a particular time. This selective memory confusion spans his life from approximately eight years of age to his death at thirty five. He was able to recall various facts about the other children and the Akatsuki and vaguely remembers the battle that ended his life; however the details confuse him when he attempts to reiterate them.
"Alright now, we're going to ask you some questions, ok?" Sakura began. The boy glanced at each girl before focusing on the wall behind them.
"Do you know your name?" Ino asked. He blinked.
"Yes."
"What is it?"
"Sasori."
"What's your last name?"
He shook his head, "No last name. I have a title."
"And?"
Sasori looked at them blankly.
"What is it?" asked Ino, brusquely.
"Sasori of the Red Sand."
"And where are you from?"
"The Wind country, the Village Hidden in the Sand."
"How old are you?"
"My age is no longer relevant."
Both girls ground their teeth in frustration.
"Do you know those other boys?"
"Yes."
"How?"
"They are the Akatsuki." He replied matter-of-factly.
They looked at him in surprise. "Do you know what the Akatsuki is?"
"Yes."
"Can you tell us?" Sakura asked, a little annoyed with him.
"Yes."
"Then tell us!" Ino growled.
Sasori sighed; "The Akatsuki is a mer, merk, mernerary ..." He looked down in concentration, "Mercenary group." Ino bit her lip to stop her giggle but couldn't hide her grin. Sasori glared at her.
"What else do you know?" Sakura cut in.
"Their hideout is a mess and Kakuzu said it was Deidara's fault and then the other boys beat him up."
"Anything else?" Sakura asked quickly, while Ino silently fumed.
"They had a lot of mirrors."
"Mirrors?"
Sasori gave them a look that said, "Must I repeat myself?" before looking at the wall again. Sakura tried a different approach.
"Do you remember your parents?"
His eyes darted to her face then quickly away. He bit his lip and sniffed. Then he swallowed and stayed silent.
"Sasori, do you remember Chiyo?"
His lip trembled and a tear ran down his face.
"What's wrong?" Ino asked.
"Nothing!" he replied stiffly, wiping his face with his shirt sleeve.
"Do you remember anything from before two weeks ago?" Ino asked, changing the topic back to the interview. His eyes went a little out of focus and he started rambling.
"In the dark, it was dark, it was always dark, but there was pink, no red sand! And my parents but they're gone! Two swords through the mirrors and an orange mask or was it orange hair? A snake? Red eyes and blue skin and puppets… there were puppets!" he snapped back to reality and looked at Sakura.
"Do you have my puppets?"
"What puppets?" Ino asked uncertainly.
"It had dark hair." He replied vaguely, staring at the wall again.
We have found similar reactions in the other children. It appears that the older members of the Akatsuki have a greater recollection of facts but struggle more to understand and process those memories in view of their current situation. Pressing for coherency caused great emotional stress.
The boy sat at the table. He glanced at the two girls and a sneering, proud look appeared on his face.
"We need to ask you some questions." Sakura began. Ino glared at him.
"And we won't be taking any attitude. Do you understand me?"
"Do you usually begin sentences with a conjunction?"
"That is irrelevant."
"It is also poor grammar." He crossed his arms and looked away from her.
"Your attitude needs adjusting."
He shrugged. Ino glared at him again. Sakura kicked her under the table.
"Could you please tell us your name?"
"No."
"Why not?" Sakura asked in surprise.
"You do not deserve to know it."
"You little brat! What makes you think you're better than us?" Ino snapped.
He shrugged again, as if saying "isn't it obvious".
"Please, could you cooperate?"
"Pleading will not work. I have no interest or inclination in aiding you in your petty information gathering." His eyes crinkled in amusement at Ino's reaction.
First her eyes widened and her mouth fell open. Then her face went bright red, she closed her mouth and her eyes narrowed. She was about to start yelling when Sakura held up a hand.
"What is it you want?" Sakura asked calmly, though her inner was yelling and screaming. The boy's eyebrows shot up and he looked at her in shock.
"Bribery already! What kind of interrogators are you?" Then his lip curled into a self-satisfied smirk, "Don't answer that, I already know. You're pathetic."
Ino crossed her arms, her mouth a thin angry line. Sakura was shocked and sorely tempted to release her inner self on this precocious child. Then she took a deep breath and turned to Ino.
"Can I talk to you outside for a moment?" Without another word, both girls stood up and left the room. They closed the door and walked down the hallway, and began pacing backwards and forwards as they thought about their problem.
"Clearly he isn't going to cooperate. Maybe we should write him off and continue with the rest of them." Ino grumbled.
"No, we just need a new strategy. You remember what Lady Tsunade said. "All the answers from all the…"
"All the children". I know, but he isn't showing any weaknesses. I don't think we can bribe him and he's so cocky, threats would just be a waste of time." Ino stopped, "Unless…"
"Unless what Ino?" Asked Sakura as she glanced over at her friend. One look at her face and Sakura was shaking her head, "Oh no, we can't! We couldn't!"
"But why not? It's an acceptable technique! We use it all the time."
"But he's a child!"
"Don't be squeamish. Do you want them holed up down here forever? The sooner these interviews are over, the sooner they get out into the sunshine."
"But that's just … I couldn't … its barbaric!"
"We can try talking again if you want, but I think we need to keep that option open."
"Or we could ask for help." Sakura suggested weakly.
"From who? This is our mission."
"Lady Tsunade." Sakura replied quietly. Ino looked at her. "Ibiki? Anko even."
"Do you want to tell your teacher you can't handle an interrogation?"
"It's an interview! And she already helped us with Konan."
"Who was asking for Jiraiya. This kid isn't even doing that."
"I don't want to go there, Ino."
"But Sakura…"
"What's the problem, ladies?" A third voice piped up. They turned to find Anko standing behind them.
"Do you know about the children?" Sakura asked weakly.
"Those Akatsuki brats?" She asked. They nodded. "Yeah, I was called in to watch them for a few hours two nights ago. Why?"
"We're interviewing them." Sakura replied.
"We're trying to find out if they're really kids or if they're lying." Ino stated hotly.
"So, what's the problem?"
"There's one in there," Ino pointed at the door down the hall. "He won't even give us his name. All he does is smirk and insult us. Now I'm for beating it out of him but Sakura's feeling squeamish."
Anko looked between them and nodded, "She's right."
"Huh?"
"Who's right?"
"You both are. But I'll sort this out for you. Give me five minutes." Anko let herself in and shut the door.
Less than five minutes later Anko left the room, winked at them and wandered off up the corridor, whistling.
Sakura rushed over to the room and opened the door. She stopped before she reached the table. Ino walked in around her and sat down. Then she looked over at the boy and her mouth fell open.
He sat there, frozen and deathly pale. His eyes were wide open and his mouth was shut tight. His hands were splayed out on the table. Sakura lightly touched his shoulder and he jumped. Ino cleared her throat and indicated that Sakura should sit.
"So, your name is?"
"Nagato." He answered, in a monotone voice. It sounded almost like he'd been hypnotized.
"And where are you from?"
"Amegakure."
"How old are you?"
"I don't know."
"How do you know the other children?"
"Konan and Yahiko are with me. I don't know the others except for the past two weeks."
"What do you know from before you woke up two weeks ago?"
"The dark. Discomfort. Seven views. Konan made me food. I took orders. I gave orders. There was orange hair and metal. Everyone wore black coats with red clouds. There's a name: Akatsuki."
"Anything else?"
"It's confusing, it doesn't make sense." His face screwed up as he struggled with his memories. "Yahiko said peace was important. Jiraiya said peace was important. Konan, Konan is my angel, but they trust her and not me. I hurt; there was so much pain…"
"Nagato, do you remember your last birthday?"
"That's not important."
"Your parents?"
"They're dead. Ninja killed them. I killed the ninja."
"Training?"
"Jiraiya-sensei said he'd train us until we were ready. But he left too soon. We weren't ready."
"Do you want to see Jiraiya?" Asked Sakura gently.
A maniacal gleam entered Nagato's eyes as he replied, "Yes."
"Wait, Sakura." Ino interrupted, watching Nagato intensely, "Why do you want to see Jiraiya?"
"So I can beat him. So I can make him sorry for leaving us!"
"Nagato. Nagato, look at me." He looked up over at Sakura, his eyes focusing for the first time since Anko had left.
"If he said you weren't ready, what would you have done?"
His lip trembled and he angrily wiped his face. "That isn't the point! He left us and Konan was captured. Yahiko died!"
"But Yahiko's in the other room." Ino said softly. "He's alive."
Nagato swung round with a look of desperation on his face, "Then why does it feel like he died? Why do I have these memories that don't make sense?" He dropped his head into his hands as tears of frustration and anger welled up and overflowed. "Why doesn't it make sense?"
