Sasori walked downstairs to join his teammates in the living room where they had gathered for socializing. Tobi was in the dining room eating cereal, which Sasori always found amazing that he could eat anything with that mask on. Tobi noticed him walk by.
"Hello Sasori!" Tobi greeted, waving at him enthusiastically. Sasori waved back, albeit with less energy.
"Tobi would like to know if Ayame would like to play with Tobi." he said, turning in his chair to face Sasori.
"Maybe. you can ask her once she gets out of the shower." Sasori replied, walking into the living room. Deidara, Kakuzu, and Kisame were sitting on the couch nearest to Sasori's rocker, which he sat down in. Itachi, Konan, and Hidansat on the other couch; Zetsu got the recliner to himself, and Pein was nowhere to be seen.
"Hey, Sasori-no-danna, where's Ayame, un?" Deidara's voice asked.
"Upstairs in the shower." he replied, closing his eyes. He heard Deidara groan.
"Oh God. Everyone knows how long it takes women o take a shower." he complained, earning a glare from Konan.
Suddenly, a scream traveled from Sasori's room to the downstairs, meeting his, and efveryone else's ears. Sasori's eyes snapped open instantly. He jumped from his rocker rushing past everyone and scrambling upstairs to his room.
"Guess I was wrong un." Deidara muttered.
****************
Ayame stared horrified into the mirror,
completely in shock. How could this have happened? She heard hurried
footsteps outside the door.
"Sasori!" screamed inside her head, "I can't let him see me like this! I have to hide them!"
Quickly she wrapped all the towels around her body, leaving no skin uncovered except her head, neck, and lower legs. Sasori wrenched the door open, his eyes searching the whole room for any signs of mishap. They instantly landed on Ayame.
"What happened?! I heard a scream, are you alright, Ayame?" Sasori spilled out hurriedly, worry present in his voice. Ayame managed a fake laugh.
"No, everything's, fine. I tripped getting out of the shower and freaked out a little, I'm alright."
Sasori took a step towards her.
"Are you sure? Because that scream sounded a little more urgent than a clumsy step out of a shower." Sasori replied, looking thoroughly unconvinced.
Ayame nodded her head vigorously, hoping to convince him.
Bad move.
One of the towels concealing her chest became loose, revealing her cleavage. She instantly realized it was showing what she was so desperately was trying to hide, and hastily made to cover it up. But Sasori saw it, but briefly. Ayame was hiding something...
He crossed over to her in two long strides and grabbed her by the wrists.
"What are you hiding?" he asked softly. Ayame tried to escape Sasori's, grasp, but that only made him hold on tighter. He backed her against the wall, moving his arms so that his and hers were both eaglespread against the wall.
"Sasori, let go of me!" she shouted at him.
"Tell me." he commanded. He placed his fangs very close to her exposed neck, "or else."
"You wouldn't." Sasori pressed his body against her toweled one, showing her that he was ready and willing to if necessary.
"Please, Sasori, don't make me." Ayame begged, tears almost in her eyes.
"Show me what you are hiding; we can do this the easy way or the hard way." he whispered threateningly in her ear. The tears were coming now, running down Ayame's face, dripping onto her towel. Sasori looked at her with a mixture of guilt and pity. He hated himself right now because he was forcing Ayame with two crappy choices, but this was the only way...
"Please, Ayame? I'm trying to help you." he said more gently, loosening his grip on her. Ayame knew he would never let up, and she sighed, signaling her surrender. He let go of her, and she immediately turned around, took a deep breath, closing her eyes, and shrugged off the first towel that lay across her back.
What Sasori saw shocked, saddened, and angered him all at one time:
Ayame's back was completely covered in scars, some deep, some light. There was a particularly long, deep one running down her spine from the base of her skull all the way to her lower back. Sasori could also see scars on her shoulders that ran down the backs of her upper arms, just stopping above the elbows. Ayame turned around to face him with emotionless eyes, and Sasori let out a groan.
She had more scars; she had a thin white scar running across her chest just above her cleavage, the one he saw earlier. She had red lines going up and down her stomach and hips, and Sasori felt his undead heart ache in pain.
"Oh my God, Ayame." Sasori groaned, pulling her into a passionate, comforting hug.
"I am so sorry this happened to you. I never would've thought they..." he trailed off, for he now had tears in his eyes. He felt Ayame's tears flowing freely onto his shirt.
"It hurts, Sasori, it still hurts." she sobbed into his shoulder.
"I know child, " he replied, the tears now falling, "I know."