As White as Blood

Chapter Twenty-One

The Operation

Sasori and Orochimaru stood in the small room, staring intently at the other. The red head was in a fighting stance, prepared for any move that the snake could possibly make, while the raven haired man simply smirked at him. He now bore clothes of Konohagakure, including a flak jacket and a forehead protector, rather than the odd cloak that he had worn when he had first seen him.

Sasori was cautious and he did not move from his current stance, keeping his eyes set on the snake. Orochimaru gave a musical chuckle, smirking wider - much to the red head's chagrin. "My, you haven't changed one bit since we last met, Sasori~ I had heard rumours that you had shed yourself clean of that forsaken village of yours, but I had not heard anything definite." The man gave a hum, and his smirk fell to a thoughtful countenance. "I guess this means that they are true…But what are you doing all the way in little ol' Konoha?"

"I came here…" Sasori frowned at the older male, giving a gentle grunt. "I came here to retrieve scrolls on the Uzumaki Clan and their fuinjutsu. They were well known for their sealing techniques, and I'm here to take information on some of these. I'm in need of a special sealing technique which I was hoping to find here." Sasori continued to leave his eyes staring at the snake, making sure to not lower his guard in the slightest.

Orochimaru gave a chuckle, "Oh, isn't that so like you, Sasori? It is exactly the type of thing that I would do. Let me guess; you have an idea on how you can gain immortality?" The red head was still for a second before he slowly shook his head. "You haven't?"

"I won't be able to gain immortality; but I will be able to achieve Eternity." Sasori continued to stand true and strong for his beliefs. Art, after all, was beauty which never fell or was destroyed by the likes of this snake which stood before him.

Orochimaru frowned at him, and gave a sneer. "Immortality? Eternity? There is no difference, and you know that."

"There is a difference. Immortality leaves out the ability of death occurring." Sasori gave the man his own smirk, looking at Orochimaru with both boldness and bluntness. "To live for an Eternity means that you can simply avoid death forever, but it still leaves the chance of you being taken. I will live for an Eternity," Sasori continued to give his almost cruel smirk, "but I won't be immortal. No one can be immortal."

Orochimaru gave a hum of thought, and then he - once again - smirked at the red head. "So I see…My, you really are erudite, aren't you? Or maybe you're just a bit too philosophical for your age…" Sasori gave a proud nod. "Very well; but the offer I presented to you a year ago still stands."

"You're still looking for a partner?" The red head's smirk fell and he raised an eyebrow at the man, "It has taken you a long time, hasn't it?"

Orochimaru gave a shrug, "Well, I did locate a new partner, but he was unfortunately killed during an experiment of mine." He gave a sigh, as if he was actually saddened by the loss, "I should have realised that he definitely wouldn't have survived being digested by one of my snakes."

Sasori was slightly sickened by it all, but none the less, he did what he did next. "Give me two months." He straightened up, falling out of his defensive stance at last. "After that, I will be more than happy to join your organisation…Akatsuki, was it?"

Orochimaru gave a smirk, and a chuckle, "Very well then. But I'm going to be in Konoha for a while; just until I become the Hokage of his forsaken village. And then, after I reach that," he ran a hand through his hair and he didn't even bother to blink his snake like eyes. "I'll contact you…and then we'll burn this place to the ground."

Sasori gave a simple nod, "So we will meet again in two months time."

"Believe me…" Orochimaru gave him a cunning smirk. "We shall…Until then, I'll be looking forward to it." The red head simply gave a nod. "Well, Sasori of the Red Sand, continue with what you were doing. Retrieving Uzumaki scrolls, was it? Goodbye for now~" With that said and the agreement made, the snake disappeared in a puff of smoke.

The red head was still for a few seconds, before he walked over to the light switch of the room. He flicked it off and the place once again went dark. Sasori felt his way back over to the centre of the room, slumping down and attaching strings to his Rats once more, bringing them back to life.

He was shaking slightly.

-x-

Sasori was running. All of the scrolls he had obtained were in his back pack, and he was making a hasty get away. The sun had yet to rise and the entire village was as silent as death. Konohagakure's residents were currently asleep, and Sasori was moving extremely fast. He ran out of the front gates of the village, both guards too busy talking about the festival of the previous night to notice the blur of a person fleeing. Sasori was headed in the direction of the Tea Country, deciding to reside there for the rest of the two months.

He had a big operation he would have to perform. He needed to be far away from the Shinobi World for a while.

-x-

The red head sat within his Inn room, reading over the scrolls he had stolen. He had travelled all the way back to the hotel run by Ms Jiyuu. Sasori was positive of his privacy and the lack of Shinobi in the area, so it would be perfect for what he was about to do. He had read through three scrolls already, his highly intelligent mind being able to work out the codes quickly. They were actually almost identical to the writing they used in Sunagakure for the secret scrolls…The villages weren't too different, actually, and yet they were at war…Oh well.

Sasori dismissed the scroll and picked up a new one. His eyebrow rose and he gave a confused noise. It was oddly different to the others; the colouration on it was not red like the others. Instead, the sides of the scroll were a mystic blue. Sasori opened it, and found that not only were the colours different, but so was the writing. It was an entirely different code all together. Sasori stared at it for a few minutes, but he was unable to even work out the first word. He shook his head and put it aside; it had probably been put amongst the Uzumaki section accidentally.

Whatever it was didn't seem to be any kind of fuinjutsu, so it was of no use to the red head. Sasori continued to read through the scrolls on the Uzumaki Clan Jutsu, searching for one which would fit his needs.

-x-

Finally. Sasori has located a fuinjutsu which was perfect.

He had already finished the preparation and he was all set to begin his operation. The red head had already painted the seals required on the floor, and in the centre of it sat his future self. A small cylinder which had vein-like appendages that hung low and lifeless. The top of the container was snow white, and printed on it in the red head's own blood was the kanji for Sasori's name - reading as 'Scorpion'.

Everything was set up. His tools were set out in the area he would be working in just a few metres away, Hiruko stood waiting for his own part of the operation, and Sasori was all alone. The red head stood just outside the markings he had set up.

He didn't know why he had suddenly grown so nervous.

This operation could so easily turn wrong. He was going to die…But as he had once said long ago… In order to live forever, one has to die first.

The cost of this would be his life. But the prize would be Eternity.

Sasori swallowed the emotions which he was intending to kill and stepped into the seals. Immediately, the ink began to glow white around him. The red head ignored it and walked to the very centre of the markings, to the canister. Sasori ingested the last of his worries and began the procedure.

He made at least fifty required handsigns, his fingers moving in a blur of fast motions. Eventually, he completed half of the first step, and then he finished it. Sasori slammed his hand down on the kanji which the canister bore. "Sealing Technique: Living Coffin." The markings on the floor rapidly glowed brighter until Sasori was surrounded by a never-ending wall of white. Sudden pain coursed through his body, and it felt like he was having his limbs agonisingly ripped apart far too slowly. The red head managed to resist the scream that was clawing sharply at his throat-

When suddenly it all just disappeared. The pain. The light. The world.

Everything.

He was dead.

It had been a failure.

Sasori had wanted to live for Eternity, but he had only been granted a short life as punishment for his selfishness. There was a loud beating which was drumming away rapidly and incessantly, but eventually it slowed to a steady pace.

Wait…That was…A heartbeat…His heartbeat…He was still alive!

It had been a success!

Sasori was so happy…But then frustrated. Oh dammit; he still had these stupid emotions! Sasori should have guessed that this would be the case since emotions originated in the mind rather than the body. He tried to sigh, but found that he didn't have a mouth…Or lungs…So Sasori settled for a mental sigh. Oh well, he would have enough time to kill his emotions.

Step one was a success.

He began to concentrate on his surroundings. He didn't have sight, or any other senses; just numbness and thought, but Sasori was still able to feel his own chakra. Hiruko still retained his chakra from when the man had been alive, and Sasori was able to easily pick up his signature. He tested sending chakra strings through the vein-like extensions of his new self and he found that they were perfect replacements for fingers.

Sasori sent chakra threads through them, successfully attaching them to the five lines of tough hair that Hiruko had and he pulled his canister self through the air. He successfully landed on the puppet's head, and he made the hairs supportively wrap around him. Sasori tangled his vein-like limbs into the hairs, and then concentrated desperately on Hiruko. The world suddenly lit up again.

He was now Hiruko's consciousness, and it was extremely weird. There was still the never-ending numbness, but he now regained some senses. Sasori looked around the room as perfectly as if the eyes he was peering through had always been his own. He flexed the puppet's limbs as if they were actually his, and he tried to speak. Sasori only succeeded in making an odd unintelligent growl, but that was to be expected considering the fact that Hiruko had no tongue or vocal cords. Oh, but since he had heard that then he also able to hear. Sight and hearing.

Taste, scent and touch… Sasori wasn't sure about taste, but he figured he probably wouldn't need food…Scent…He didn't need to breathe, so he guessed he couldn't smell. Touch…

Oh enough of this! He needed to set to work!

Sasori made Hiruko walk over to his own dead body which lay facedown within the seals.

As he walked across the markings, the ink did not light up. It was as if the scribbles knew that there was no life imminent within its premises. Sasori picked up his corpse, his old self lifelessly limp in the arms of his favourite puppet. The sixteen year old's red hair gently waved as Hiruko carried him over to the floor area he had set up for the operation.

He placed the body on the ground, turning his old self onto his back. Sasori's body was completely lifeless; his once innocent muddy brown eyes were wide open, foggy and sightless. Sasori simply stared at himself through Hiruko's vision, slightly stupefied. It was so weird to see himself lying dead.

It was as if he was having an out-of-body experience; but with a more macabre twist.

Sasori ran a hand down his mortal human skin. Sure enough, he could not feel it as he had once been able to, but Sasori could still sense that Hiruko's hand was touching skin. So he sort of had touch…

Enough. Sasori began to strip his old useless body of its clothing. Once done, he picked up the scalpel he had been using since he'd first started making puppets. Sasori placed the blade against the throat of his old self and he made a neat cut down to his lower stomach. The art was becoming second nature to him, and he could perform the operation easily enough even though he was in Hiruko's self rather than his own. He placed the scalpel to the side and began to pull back the skin of his old body. It was odd at first, but then he just told himself that it was just another dead body and another future puppet.

Sasori revealed his old insides, organs which had once kept him alive. He looked at them for a few seconds before he began to pluck innards from his dead body. One by one he pulled them out. Sasori finished drawing out the organs, noticing with little interest that the body no longer had a heart. Of course it didn't; his heart was now in the capsule which was his new self.

He made Hiruko pick up the cleaver, and he swiftly cut off Sasori's neck. He placed the butcher's knife back down and picked up the red head's old head. It stared back at Hiruko creepily through its dead eyes and its mouth was slightly open. Sasori looked at it for a while, before he once again set to work.

-x-

Sasori was currently healing up the scars he had created on his future body. He was delighted to find that he was still capable of using his ninjutsu. Sasori's Tender Touch Technique was curing the scars just as effectively as if he had been performing the technique through his old hands. As he continued to get rid of the marks, Sasori looked over his work so far. It was by far the most realistic puppet he had made to date.

Sasori was proud as he looked over the masterpiece which had once been his own human body through the use of Hiruko's eyes. It was so beautiful and complete.

-x-

He was almost finished. The scars were all healed, his new body was fully assembled, and it was time to test it out. Sasori made Hiruko take hold of the canister and he pulled it off of the puppet's head. He was still able to control his favourite marionette - despite his current state - and he made Hiruko insert him inside of the cylindrical hollow which he had made on the left side of his old chest. His canister was a perfect fit inside of the chest cavity. Sasori tangled the vein-like extensions into various holes he had drilled into the wooden lining of the hollow gap, holding on tightly and effortlessly.

Sasori concentrated all of his consciousness towards the puppet he had carved out of his own flesh. He lost all sense of the canister which contained his true self as Sasori invaded the marionette. A few seconds went by, and then the red head opened his old brown eyes. He looked up at the ceiling for a few seconds, before he made himself sit up. Sasori looked around the room, testing out his new body. He flexed both arms, and then both legs, finding that they moved just as smoothly as when he had been alive. So far so good.

Sasori tried to get up off of the floor, but miscalculated his movements and fell back down with a thud. He mentally frowned - since he needed work on how to actually make his physical face frown. The red head once again tried to stand, but again he fell back down. At least this proved that in this form he couldn't feel pain…Sasori was still for a few seconds, before he persistently attempted again to get to his feet. At last, he succeeded in his small conquest, standing up off of the ground at long last.

Walking was a lot easier, and he easily became a natural at it after just three steps. Sasori traipsed over to the mirror which sat on one of the four walls of the room, looking at himself. He looked just as he always had countenance-wise, except for a line which ran around his neck, signifying the joint. It was faint, though, and was mostly unnoticeable.

He began to try and make facial expressions. Firstly was a frown. It took at least a minute in order to achieve the goal, but after a few practises he could make the facial expression quite easily. Blinking was far simpler. Even though he didn't need to blink, it would be a good idea for him to learn and to do it naturally so that people would not realise he wasn't a human. He blinked at himself in the mirror, and the image repeated the action back at him. Sasori gave a smirk, easily managing to pull off the expression he was used to performing.

He then looked down at his bare body. It was so perfect. For flexibility purposes, his torso was made up of two sections which were replacements of his stomach area and upper chest. It was smooth with the only quirks being the edge where the two sections met and his heart container which read 'Sasori' boldly. He looked at his hands to find that they were exactly the same in appearance as when he had been human, but did they act the same? Sasori turned and sent chakra strings out of his fingertips, attaching them to Hiruko. He was able to just as easily control the puppet than when he had been mortal. Good.

Next up was speaking. Sasori opened his mouth and tried. All he could do was hum in the same tone as the sentence he had been trying to speak. He took in oxygen - even though he didn't need to breathe - but he needed air in order to give the frustrated sigh he had been keeping in. This rehabilitation process was going to take longer than he had hoped…But then again, he now had all the time in the world.

-o-

So that is the story of how I became a puppet…The End…Okay, that was a lie. My own self becoming my twenty-sixth Human Puppet is not the conclusion of my story. But do not worry, this tale - much to my chagrin - does not go for an Eternity either. But all shall be revealed in due time. The story will still go on, so do not believe that it is over just yet.

When I was sixteen years old, I turned myself into a Human Puppet; a work of True Art. And that was the first time in my life that I died. I lost my body.

I lost it, and gained a better one.