Inside the puppet's room, soft ticks, hammering and wrenching were heard. The room was dimmed in red and the only light source came from the puppet's chakra strings that departed from his fingertips, they hummed as they connected to the newly reinforced puppet body that was splayed over the worktable in several pieces, when put together they assembled a human-like body.
"Now to test this one…" mumbled Sasori as he assembled the puppet and led it to a clearing.
The clearing was an experimental space and the newly constructed puppet was placed in the center. By the feet of the experimental puppet were other puppet pieces that seemed to be smashed, pulverized or blown up.
Failed experiments.
Sasori's brows furrowed in frustration, he has been trying to reinforce his puppets to at least withstand a massive blow like Sakura's punch and pose no threat to his core, he tried and tried but still no luck.
Going back and behind to what it seemed to be a decent sized wrecking ball infused with chakra, he studied the angle and graduated the force. He felt a spark by his side but didn't bid his attention to it.
"Get out Hidan."
As soon as Sasori said that, Hidan stepped out of the dimmed red shadows to the side of the puppet.
"Watcha up to huh asshole?" The silver haired Akatsuki folded his arms over his chest in contemplation of whatever was happening upfront him.
"Experiments" Sasori stated coldly.
"Heh, like always… don't you tire huh?" he eyed the puppet with a dark glint in his eyes.
"No" and Sasori pulled the lever that held the wrecking ball in place and it fell forward crushing the experimental puppet.
Both stood in silence as the smoked cleared revealing a pulverized puppet and a returning wrecking ball to its previous place.
Well well, today's my lucky day…heh. Hidan mentally chuckled. You dug your own grave puppet.
"Did it work?"
"Fuck." Sasori breathed clearly angered.
"HoooooooooAHAHAHAHAHA did I just heard that from the cool-headed Sasori?!" Hidan shed tears, he couldn't have thought to ever hear the puppet cursing in his ever long lifetime.
"Get. out." Said Sasori as he walked over the pulverized puppet to clean up the mess it left, he was so into in the failure of his experiment that he didn't notice Hidan moving in a predatory way towards the lever.
"Hell no." Grinned Hidan as he activated the lever sending the ball directly to Sasori. "Fool."
Sasori's eyes widened as he saw the fast incoming of the ball racing towards him.
Damn it! So stupid of me, no time!
CRASH!
"Never trust me, Hidan, I fear nothing puppet, not even your silly threat"
He said as he kicked the puppet's head out of his way that rolled to his feet and headed out triumphantly.
"Now where's that lil bitch? My cock hurts."
He stretched and began to whistle as he vaguely looked for the pink kunoichi.
"Yo pinky~ where are you?"
Ever so wide grin and dark purple eyes.
Sakura stiffened in the middle of Deidara's room. Something was wrong and she sensed it right away.
She couldn't feel Sasori's chakra and the hallways turned lifeless without sound of any kind.
Sasori always made sound, it was his way of luring away Hidan but now there wasn't even a wisp of sound.
"Yo Pinky!"
It was muffled and far away, vague and bored but she heard it and felt like vomiting.
Sakura panicked instantly and found that she couldn't move an inch.
He knows where I am… he knows!
She retraced her steps away from the door, not giving her back to it.
Step.
"Pinky?" it sounded nearer.
Step.
"Pinkyyy" clearer and louder.
Step.
"PINKY!" just behind the door.
It was her last step before her back was pressed to the wall and she then learned she was quivering like a cowered hamster, she felt her lungs constrict and beads of sweat collected at her forehead, she didn't take off her emerald eyes from the door that was closed. The barrier between her and the monster. She was so panicked that she hallucinated the door nearing closer and closer until it was by the tip of her nose, all sound muffled and her heart beat loud in her ears as too the rushing blood.
Run. Run. Run. Run!
MOVE!
DO SOMETHING!
She mentally screamed orders to her frail body.
Her body didn't obey, it just stayed pressed to the wall, she dug her nails over the dark colored wall until they bled.
She still saw the door just by her nose and she was about to lose it until she felt an uncomfortable pain by her ankle and she forced herself to look down at the source and there she found Sigva.
He bit her in attempt to snap her out and she did, she remembered the reason why Sigva was given to her and it was to protect her, she even out her breathing and took a shaky step towards Deidara's bed.
Eyes fixed on door.
"Pinky" Hidan shivered her nickname behind the door like he was on the verge of climax "I missed you" he cooed behind the door and rasped his manicured nails over the door leaving trails etched behind.
"Open up will ya?" he sounded pleadingly like a just fought married couple.
Still no response from the girl.
"OPEN UP DAMN YOU!" He banged at the door and shouted impatiently. He could easily blast away the door but for his sadistic nature he wanted it to make it more dramatic.
The door leaked his sickening chakra and it made her stomach churn in disgust, she could even make out the color of his chakra for how strong he let it out. Violet, like his eyes. She was out of breath and she blended her chakra in Deidara's room before leaping out of the window and disappearing through the woods unnoticeable.
"Oi baby, I know you're there I can smell you, you're all over the place…I like that." he punched his fist through the door, just by the side of the handle and grabbed it. He tired of playing and now he wanted it all.
Just a lil bit more bitch…
Hidan turned the handle ever so slowly as if savoring the moment and once the door retracted he slid his arm out and pushed it whole, giving him access to the room.
Empty.
"What."
Then his eyes caught the opened window and he immediately glared supernova at the opening.
"Bitch left me throbbing….heh doesn't matter, it makes it more interesting." He licked his lips as he crouched over the window frame ready to jump out and in that exact moment Hidan's face was tackled by a clay lynx, throwing him back at the room bouncing on Deidara's bed and hitting the floor.
"WHAT THE FUCK?!" He laser beamed at the source of his attack and found the small lynx.
"Clay huh? Jeez Deidara I'm offended." He eyed the growling lynx and when it leaped again for his face he dodged the animal and crushed it in midair with his scythe.
The lynx pulverized and turned into dust with a soft mewl. The dust collected at the wooden floor and Hidan stood up and stepped over the dust quite annoyed.
"Fucking cat"
BOOM!
The lynx was still made of explosive clay, it didn't blew up due to a special jutsu Deidara had manifested but now that the lynx was destroyed, it returned to the raw explosive material it used to be by being released of the jutsu and once Hidan stepped over it with quite the force, it was easily a landmine being set off.
"I swear by lord Jashin, Deidara's next on my curse list, prick!" he grumbled under his breath fixing his messy hair. He dusted his shredded Akatsuki robe while he sat and glanced around the room.
"Now… where's my leg?"
Sakura dashed as fast as her wakened legs could take her through the thick branches, she was at it for quite a while and found herself tiring already.
She glanced back at the peaking base up the tree tops and she saw smoke and frowned confused.
Deidara hasn't come back yet…why is there smoke?
Sakura studied around her surroundings and felt like something was missing.
Where's Sigva?
Her shoulders dropped in realization and felt a weight over her chest.
No… not my Sigva! It couldn't!
Sakura lowered her head and bit her tongue as she sobbed softly, though she didn't had much time with the lynx it was still her only friend when she was alone and it was given to her by someone who cared about her. In truth she loved the lil fella, it had his own personality for any given situation and it was lazy as hell making him adorable in away.
"S-sigva" she sniffled and her jade eyes never left the rising smoke.
She stood frowning at the same spot for quite some time until she tired and hopped down the tree. She was again at the lake, it was the border of the genjutsu so she was at her leash's limit.
Sakura walked over the water with the chakra allowing her to do it and she poked at the invisible barrier in which rippled invisibly, she was frustrated and later she sighed.
I hope Sasori is alright….. It had to be Hidan.
Maybe I should check up on him? But what if Hidan….
Makes no difference here to there since I'm practically in a cage…
I could escape…yeah…
But she turned around and began to head towards base ignoring her last thought. Something kept her tied to this place willingly and she knew very well.
Sasori took care of her while she was a disaster, it's time to pay the debt.
Up at the tree tops stood a half-naked Hidan eyeing the pink kunoichi, he held Zetsu by the throat vaguely like it was a sword since the plant had the ability to blend in nature unnoticeably.
"Heh, this bitch."
"Can you let go of us now?" "Yeah let go of us man"
"Heh whatever"
"I yearn the day you finally die so we can eat you" "yeah eat you, fucker"
"The day you spawn children will be the day I die"
"We can spawn" "yeah spawn"
"Then I'm already dead, too bad, you can't kill a dead man"
"We'll see" "yeah we'll see"
The creepy plant melted onto his surroundings ever so slowly, both halves stared hungrily at Hidan and they synced a murderous grin towards him, promising.
"Che."
Hidan disappeared
"Damnit! What do you mean you're out of noodles grandma, un?!" Deidara fisted his hair in total frustration.
"I told you sonny for the millionth time I'm out of flour!" the old lady at the ramen shop smacked Deidara with a paper fan over the head.
"Ite! Heeeyyyy don't you know who I am?!" Deidara grumbled at the old lady while he rubbed his head and she replied with a combo of hits with the paper fan.
"Aa. Don't care! You can't just come over my shop and 'Akatsuki' me you silly boy! I own the daaaaaaaamn place and I make the rules here! I'm still your elder too and you should learn how to respect! AND CUT YOUR HAIR!" she grabbed hold of his pony tail and Deidara squirmed under the lady's hold.
"Oi! Oi! I get it! I get it!" he broke free and stepped away from the tiny lady whom was up for another fan combo.
"That's right silly boy, now get out!" She said as she threw a series of different cooking utensils at him.
"Listen baa-baa I need the ramen! I can't leave without it!" he dodged every single item thrown at him, sighing without even looking.
"Then go buy the flour stupid boy! Here!" she threw him a small coin purse. "Make yourself useful and buy fifty pounds of flour with that and I'll make you ramen, now scram! My customers depend on you girly-boy."
"WHAT DID YOU-"
"-SCRAM!" she towered darkly with a bloodthirsty aura over him, paper fan in hand and flaming.
"Yes ma'am"
And he was off for the flour.
"I'll show you granny, un" he mumbled under his breath while pouting.
"SHOW ME WHAT?!" The tiny old lady beamed laser glares at the Akatsuki and she tapped the paper fan over the palm of her free hand in a threatening way.
"Urk!" he tensed and sweat dropped, he didn't notice that he hasn't left her side yet.
"N-nothing baa-baa!" and he summoned a clay bird once he got a decent distance away from the ramen shop and flew off towards the nearest street market.
Jeez…with that attitude that lady steps over out leader…
He chuckled silly and fixed his hair that was in the way and looked forward.
"Flour, ramen, base, Sakura-san"
He let his mouth curve to a small smile.
Just wait a bit more Sakura-san…
In a dimmed red room with scattered broken puppet pieces laid the now broken body of Sasori over the piles of the previous pulverized experimental puppets. His puppet body was shattered in an irreparable way but luckily the blow had missed his core greatly but a shattered piece had pierced it and black liquid oozed out from the core drop by single drop, pooling as it collected on the floor.
A drone puppet that had some of Sasori's chakra sealed inside it, began to assemble a new body for him, it worked flawlessly and with little effort and in matter of minutes the puppet had made Sasori a good quality body. The drone picked up the core and inserted it in the gap over the chest.
Chakra power-flowed rapidly in the new body ready to be controlled. Sasori's eyes rolled to position and in an instant he touched his oozing core.
This is bad…
His stoic face bored to his puppet fingers that were now dirtied with the black liquid of his essence. He needed to fix his core fast or else he won't work properly and it will eventually lead to his death.
He glanced at the drone whom was beginning to twitch in malfunction, since it was infused with his chakra, it depended on it to work properly but as Sasori's core leaked the bond of the chakra became weaker and weaker and thus making it not work properly.
I need a new deposit…
And a trustworthy hand…
Deposits, he had millions but a hand he could trust he had none at the moment.
Deidara was away and he didn't trust Konan for she could find out his function and use it against him in the future, plus it lead to telling to their leader so it was a big NO. Itachi could be of use but they were sour at the moment and the shark was his lapdog, it made no difference. Kakuzu….'I don't have money.' Zetsu was probably watching him at the very moment since he was everywhere but the idiot doesn't do shit unless ordered. And it left to;
Sakura….
Will she help me?
His puppet face frowned.
Maybe she won't, after all, I'm still an Akatsuki…
He sighed, even though he had no need for it, and tried to move but it was useless since he began to shake without control over his puppet body.
"…."
He glanced at his core once the puppet drone dropped to the floor free of his chakra.
Placing a puppet hand over the leak he stayed still in place until his legs gave out on him and fell backwards with his hand still in place.
"…."
Is this it?
"…."
Sasori stared at the red ceiling and his brows furrowed as his mind began to disorient, showing past doings in his life time. Some were blurred and some were vivid. They came in series of shots, like lightning.
And the first one played.
"Yo Sas!" came Deidara all excited with what it seemed to be a new concept of clay molding, it looked like a small lynx.
"No" he replied coldly.
"W-what?! But you haven't seen it yet! You'll like this one, yeah" He said proudly.
"No matter what you show me it will not catch my eye, Deidara-san" Sasori replied as he began to assemble his favorite puppet, The Third Kazekage.
"Oh yeah? We'll see about that, un…hiyah!" Deidara threw the small clay lynx at Sasori like he was a professional baseball player, making Sasori react to the attack and launching a fast summoned puppet at the income.
"Hehe" Deidara smirked as he performed the seal "behold!" the seal activated and the clay lynx tripled in size in a cloud of smoke.
Sasori's face froze and his brow twitched as the lynx tackled the puppet and just stared at him.
"Heh now that's what I call eye-catching meoooowwww" Deidara celebrated.
"…. Deidara"
"Yeah?!" he asked triumphantly.
"You suck"
"WHAT?!" he gloomed then grumbled walking away from the puppet and flipped him off.
The giant lynx poofed out.
"Stupid clay head"
The puppet's vision dimmed slightly and Sasori still held his stoic face at the ceiling. He forced a smile, then his eyes shut for he could no longer control his lids and another vision of the past projected.
She lied there in the floor all broken and dirtied, naked and abused. Her legs shook as they pulled together weakly, she was a masterpiece, perfectly shaped. An exotic blends of colors; pink, jade, ivory, rose and peach. Like spring.
Long graceful hands with manicured green nails. His favorite feature of her.
Her soft broken whimpers, tired from screaming, chimed ever so musical though it was her broken distress.
She squirmed and wailed in Deidara's hold but stilled with a mere eye contact. Intelligent.
She trusted my hands when I could've killed her. Innocent.
She only ate from my hand when I could've poisoned her. So innocent.
She shut herself to protect herself. Wise.
A flower blooming in a pool of blood. Akatsuki's flower.
My flower. My friend I must protect.
"….."
Sasori stayed silent and just counted the seconds as time passed. He felt nothing, it was just his time but before his last drop came a last vision. So clear he thought he was re-living it.
'Come on Haruno eat up.'
Sasori said as he raised a goo-like mystery food over her pressed lips.
She narrowed her brows and pressed her lips harder as he tried to open up her mouth with the spoon filled with evil food.
[No.]
'You need to eat'
And he insisted once more.
[Yes but not this crap]
She pulled away her face and folded her arms across her chest and huffed.
'How about you cook and...-'
[No.] she cut him off with a glare.
'Then eat this' Spoon up again.
She twisted her face in disgust.
[I'd rather eat raw fish]
'I can get you Kisame if you want' he grinned and so did she.
'How do you want him? Sashimi? Rolled up in a sushi? Or in salad?...soup maybe?'
[Sashimi sounds good, with extra soy sauce, he'd probably taste bad alone.]
Both laughed quietly between them and he dropped the spoon away and stood up reaching down to her.
She looked up confused,
'Let's go fishing'
Her jade eyes widen and her lips parted, she then smiled and nodded before reaching out to him. To the hand that could kill her.
[Yeah]
She trusts me….she trusts me….trusts me…trus…t…e…
SLAM!
The door swung violently as Sakura broke into the puppet's room, she squinted her eyes adjusting her vision to the red dimmed room. Her jade eyes took in the room's condition and rapidly found the body of Sasori.
"Sasori!" Sakura skipped over the broken puppet pieces until she reached the downed Akatsuki.
"Hey are you alright? Did Hidan do something. to . you…" her voice died down once she took in.
His eyes are closed and he's irresponsive. No chakra flow.
"h-hey…don't joke like this Sasori" She felt her heart race under her throat and she glanced down at the puppet body and flowed her chakra to his body. It didn't work.
"I-I don't know how to help you…y-you're not human" she felt her eyes stinging and her lips quivered.
"S-Sasori please!" She shook his irresponsive body. "No…"
Nononononononono!
Sakura ghosted her hands over the remains of Sasori, the poor lightning of the room caused her to miss the puppets core, she lifted the body and wrapped her arms around him, cradling him as she sobbed while rocking back and forth.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
"Huh?" Sakura placed the puppet gently to the wooden floor and she studied the substance that had collected in her chest with her fingers. It looked like blood but only that it was too gooey and black to be it.
"What is this?"
She looked down at his chest and finally saw his core and her eyes widen.
The substance began to hum in her fingertips, signaling her to spark her chakra and she did. As soon as she sparked her chakra her pupils constricted then dilated until all her eyes were as black as night.
White. Everything was white around her.
Sakura gasped as she appeared naked in the vast white.
"Where am I?"
[Am I? am I?]
The only reply she got was her echo.
"Hello?"
[Lo. Lo. Lo]
Echo.
"You're inside my soul, Haruno-san" a very familiar lulling voice echoed behind her and she turned around gasping.
"Saso…ri?" she quiet down as she saw Sasori.
It's him alright…but as a child?
"Surprised?" the child Sasori grinned.
Sakura nodded and let her eyes take detail of the child, naked child, and she blushed in embarrassment.
"It's alright" he said as he noted her apologetic gesture.
"Y-yeah"
"You're probably wondering why you're here and how you got here." Child Sasori walked up to her and took her hand while he looked at her.
"Yes"
"First of all we are connected by chakra, when my essence came in contact with you I could feel you. I channeled my chakra hoping you would do the same so we could connect and luckily you did"
Sakura nodded once as tears began to moisten her jade orbs.
"Hidan did this to me" he felt her tense in his tiny hand and saw how her breath collected on her throat.
"…" Sakura lowered her head and curled her lips to chew on them while tears threatened to fall over the corners of her eyes.
"I'm surprised you came back for me Haruno-san…you don't need to explain" he squeezed his tiny hand on hers as she looked at him with teary eyes.
"g-guh-huh" Sakura bit back her cries as hard as she could but still some soft sobs escaped. She couldn't hold much longer.
"Don't cry I'm not dead yet but that's when I need you….can you help me?"
He actually frowned as he asked her, he was 'nervous' she would reject him and he waited never letting his eyes away from her.
Sakura nodded quietly as streams of tears rode down her pale scarred cheeks and Sasori's eyes widen in awe. He lifted his free tiny hand and reached out to her, wanting to cup her face but she was too tall.
"Thank you." He said sincerely and downed his arm back to his side, never letting go of her hand with his other.
Sakura couldn't hold it and she crouched down and hugged the small Sasori and began to cry out.
"It was my fault!" she began hysterically.
"No…it wasn't" Sasori hesitated to place his hand at the back of her shoulder in attempt to calm her down.
"Of course it was! I saw the wrecking ball!" I saw it all! You were trying to withstand a blow similar to mine…if I hadn't done that, this would've never happened!
"…." Keen.
"I'm not stupid!" she said between sobs and slimy sniffles.
I know, Haruno-san…
"I was trying to reinforce my puppets….. And I got lost in thought with the experiment and that's when Hidan showed up, he saw me pulverizing a puppet"
"I'm so sorry!" she almost power-hugged him and he squeaked a little.
"Aish, Haruno-san, you're really going to kill me like this" he patted her head.
"Sorry…" she half chuckled and let him go and sat Indian-style to be at the same height as him.
It's not your fault, flower….
"What can I do to help you?" she asked as she rested both her hands over his tiny shoulders.
"take a container from the 'Deposit' labeled box under the surgical table and write the sigil of 'soul' inside the container with my essence or the black liquid then do a small cut in your thumb and deposit three drops of blood over the sigil to activate the jutsu"
She nodded with wise eyes and she squeezed his shoulders.
"Then place the container near the essence and it should be drawn back inside, creating a new core and once it's fully done just insert it in the gap of the body, understand?"
"Hai" she nodded determined with sharp jade eyes.
"Good" he smiled and clapped his hands once and performed a seal.
"I'll release you….take care of me Haruno-san"
Sasori blurred in her view and all danced around her until it began to clear up to a red dimmed room.
Her jades were back to normal as she blinked several times. She stood up determined to his instructions and froze.
The room chilled and her hairs rose, she felt him, so strong. The devil. Hidan.
"Pinky" he rasped darkly from the waiting shadows and stepped forward revealing his grinning face.
Sakura didn't turn around, her skeletal body froze in the spot and she fisted her hands. He noted she took in a deep breath, then actually stiffened when he heard sudden chimes.
"H-how dare y-you…" she spoke shaky, afraid to look at him.
"Heh what? The puppet?" he slid his hands through his silken silver hair as he began to step closer to her.
"How could you?! What did you do to him?! You monster!" she glared the big bang at him, causing him to stop his tracks.
"Heh oi… you don't get to look at me like that bitch and as for the puppet…I…did this…" he pulled the lever.
Sakura stood at the same spot where Sasori was destroyed, allowing Hidan to knock her back to the wall, it cracked around her and she coughed up blood and groaned trying to catch her breath. Hidan was in front of her in a flash before she dropped to the floor and lowered down to meet her gaze with a serious face as he held her pressed to the cracked wall with just a finger.
"That's the problem you all have with me. You take me too lightly" he grabbed her neck with the same hand that held her in place and squeezed hard causing her to gasp painfully for air. Her eyes widen and her pupils shook in fear, a shaky feminine hand grasped over the masculine one that choked her in attempt to loosen it.
"I'll tell you something little bitch-" he loosen his grip willingly and lowered his tongue to lick the blood on her lips before he continued "You're. Mine. And this time I'll curse you for talking back to me."
"Itachi." The shark called out to him but the Uchiha busied himself with his hot tea.
"…" The Uchiha didn't bother to raise attention as his partner called him out.
"Itachi…" Kisame scratched his head, he didn't want to piss off the Uchiha but something had to be done or else the best cook in the house will be taken away. "…the girl, Hidan, no Sasori or Deidara…"
"…." Teacup in his lips.
"We can get the puppet out of our necks if we stop him…just saying, because he knows…" he mumbled in defeat and sat at the window frame of the Uchiha's room.
The shark noted when Itachi flinched at his comment. He considered it.
"Hn"
Teacup shattered in his fist and he stood up, not bothering to wear the trademark robe as he walked out of the room towards disaster.
A grinning Kisame behind with an excited Samehada wiggling at his back.