When word of war breaks out, Sasori is toiling in the puppet division under Chiyo's supervision. In reality, he has no need to be under the old woman's tutelage, but she guards secrets that he needs. Thus far, he has managed to uncoil her resistance to the point where he knows that she has succeeded where most had failed: living puppets. Even the thought of it riles his spirits up, but like all things in life, his personal mission is once again intruded upon as one of Chiyo's messengers, Komushi, alerts him of the Kazekage's summons. He heeds it without complaint and promptly arrives at the office. He can't say he is too surprised at the company that greets him: Moriko and her teammates - Tetsuya and Natsuki. All three nod at him in recognition while the former, Tetsuya, narrows his eyes at Sasori's lack of equipment.

"Maa, haven't you heard?" The boy asks. "We're going to war, and you arrive here with nothing?" While there is truth in his words, Sasori does not rise to the older boy's prompt. War - frequent border scuffles, he knew it was on the horizon for the village, but he did not see the need to always be prepared for deployment. His eyes narrow at him, he doesn't know what Tetusya wants - an excuse? The truth? Sasori would not rise to feed his anxious anger. Let him stir dying embers and see what fire comes out of in retaliation; he hears the other boy's, Natsuki's grunt of disapproval and Moriko quietly placating Tetsuya in the absence of this reply. The Kazekage enters at this time.

"Team 12." It is not Sasori's unit's number, but Sasori's old genin team has only one surviving member from the previous war. "The war is at our borders, but your mission is beyond that. We have outposts in neighboring villages, especially in Iwagakure. Your mission is simple, torch and burn. I want no evidence of our presence there. The leader will be Sasori. Questions?" the Kazekage opens up.

Natsuki nods, hands folded into the interminable sleeves of his yukata. "Is stealth of importance?"

"If possible, but not necessary. Your priority is to limit the venues of information extortion. While Iwa may not know the locations of our outposts, they know of their existence."

Sasori watches Moriko sluggishly raise a hand. "And what is Suna's role in this war?"

The pause answers the question, but the Kazekage evades it nevertheless: "Survive this mission, Moriko, and I will tell you." Sasori has no doubt that the real reason lay in the fashion of their mission delivery; the Kazekage never dealt orders firsthand unless the cause behind them was sensitive.

Sasori shares a glance with the others before they simultaneously move out and regroup on top of one of the main gates. As the leader of a unit he has not yet worked with, he knows the traditional steps would be to delay the start of the mission, be it a day at minimum. But he knows the priority of their task supersedes the need for briefing on teamwork and expertise and settles for this short reprieve to gather intel on his comrades. He knows Moriko, has worked with her at least a handful of times, but as for how she operates within her team? He knows their names, having been mentioned by the girl in passing, but beyond that? What the trio specializes in? He does not know, has never bothered to ask until now.

"Infiltration and recon," Natsuki answers for the team. The boy, or young man at this point, stares blasély at him. "I'm best at taijutsu and medical ninjutsu." He adds, before elbowing the hothead, Tetsuya, to go next.

"Taijutsu and genjutsu," he supplies succinctly, and Sasori's gaze slides over to Moriko. He has not worked with her since Cha no Kuni, and he has no doubt that she has improved since then.

"I'm best with kenjutsu and evasion. My sensory ability has a perimeter of 5 kilometers," she responds, then looks to the side and catches Natsuki's glance. "And I've improved slightly at medical ninjutsu. If your wounds exceed 5 millimeters though, and are located on visceral organs, you're better off signaling for Natsuki than me."

Sasori nods. "Puppetry," he fills in. "This mission will be extensive," he continues. "But we're also working on a time bomb. Regroup here within an hour for supplies that will last at least a month. If you can, use storage scrolls. Traveling lightly will be an imperative for this mission to be successful. Go." He dismisses, ignoring Tetsuya's petulant glare. However, as the two young men disperse, he has a few chakra strings tethered to Moriko to keep her still. Slightly startled, she merely stares at him in question as he releases his hold.

"How are your supplies?" He knows the girl is always stocked. Being one of the Kazekage's lapdogs, having to answer every call and need instantly, he knows Moriko always keeps a storage scroll packed with what he estimates to be at least a week's worth of supplies. He sees the hesitation in her and nods, confirming his assumptions. "I'll go with you."

Together, they hit the streets, and as Sasori has never visited her in her new home, he has to keep an eye on the girl as she maneuvers them through the tense walkways of Sunagakure. "How is your team?" he asks, as she guides them through a narrow alleyway. Before entering it, he spots the telltale sign of a main entrance in the front but strangely, Moriko has let them in through a side door. She kicks off her sandals by the door with Sasori mimicking her actions. Beyond a precursor scan of her living quarters, it is barren enough for Sasori to understand that a thorough observation would make no difference in revealing secret compartments and untold stories. The place looks as lived in as his own house. He follows Moriko down a hall and stands back at the entrance of her room as she unfurls two scrolls on her bed and begins to pick things out of her closet.

"Tetsuya is loud and sometimes doesn't think," she confirms his observations. "He easily agitates but he won't compromise the mission if you don't rile him up too much. Natsuki is calm, he holds grudges but you just met him," the lilt in her voice is answered by Sasori's resonating 'no.' "They're both skilled. On the field, we opt to let Tetsuya act first with a field genjutsu. On lesser foes it makes for a quick mission, but on skilled ones it gives us enough time to engage first."

"Does Natsuki hold back as the medic nin?" he asks.

Moriko shakes her head. "We try to mitigate the suspicion of him being a vital person in our unit. He engages like us, but he does tend to partner off with one of us depending on our opponents." She is quick, Sasori observes, and has already sealed her necessities in one scroll. Dismissing the other one, she reaches into one of her drawers and reveals tinier parchments which she shoves into an extra holster strapped to her upper thigh. Like her other teammate, she has opted to don a yukata in place of the traditional flak jacket and dark pants which Sasori currently sports.

"And if we were to be separated?" He does not want to think of the repercussions that could lead to that scenario, but he is expecting it. It is not a question or if, but a matter of when in missions like these.

Moriko pauses as she holds his gaze. "I - I'm not sure."

Sasori shrugs as he pushes off the door frame and they lead themselves back out. Moriko doesn't turn to lock her door, and he doesn't push her to. In times like this, in a village like this - privacy is often just a pretense. This time, he is leading them towards his apartment. Remaining silent, he too wonders which of them would be best off together if separated. While he and Moriko had worked together, their skillset isn't that complimentary to the other and their missions never forced them to a tag fight or otherwise. In reality, their personalities and history is what guaranteed them easy teamwork. He has no doubt that her kenjutsu would suffice in short battles, but he suspects that is exactly what Moriko is better suited for: short fights. His skills in puppetry, while superior than most, usually took time to end a bout if the opponent proved to be on a higher level than the normal shinobi. But if he were to be paired with her other teammates?

Sasori is a brilliant shinobi, that he knows, but he is not perfect and certainly not the best. His loner tendencies both on and off the field would not suit him as Natsuki's partner. As a medic ninja and a close-range fighter, Sasori's skill set would be extremely incompatible with the older boy. And to even consider Tetsuya? He could not argue at the line of reasonings his thoughts have brought him to. Tetsuya's skills are very compatible with his and Moriko doubtlessly would be best paired off with Natsuki. She could protect him and lead him away from danger.

He does not like the combination but the logistics behind each one out favor his opinions and he notions for the girl beside him to wait outside his building. Like her, his apartment is not locked and the only things he needs are carefully stored in a cabinet adjacent to the entryway. Unlocking the cabinet with a pulse of his chakra, he takes out the scrolls containing his supplies and extra puppets before meeting up with Moriko again.

"We've got some time left still," she notes after a quick glance at the sun. He finishes her thought and leads them towards their tea house.

When night sets on them that day, they are halfway through the desert. Setting camp in Suna's land is arduous, Sasori would have preferred them to push through the night - but he recognizes fatigue as an infamous killer of shinobi and allows them this rest. Unsealing his own tent, he turns to find that the trio rely on Tetsuya's scroll to summon only one. "We share," Moriko answers his unasked question. "It's easier." To defend and to pack up, Sasori's head fills in. As the main combatant of the unit, Tetsuya most likely also has the least amount of supplies to pack into his scrolls and could afford carrying the bigger supplies.

"Watches?" Natsuki questions him as said teammate crawls into the confines of the tent without a word. Sasori gives him no attention as he nods. Be that they may be in Suna's territories, there is no assurance that they would be safe. He watches the lithe boy cast a look around. "I'll take the first watch then."

"Second!" a voice from the tent shouts afterward.

Sasori quickly takes the third slot and leaves Moriko the last one. "I'll wake everyone up," she merely agrees before retreating into her team's tent.

But Sasori does not resume sleep when she comes to wake him in the morning. Having been awake since his own watch, he meets Moriko's quiet greeting with hazy eyes and a promise to be out soon. Her head pops out of his tent in reply. When Sasori has adequately rolled up his bed, he steps out and finds Team 12 ready to depart. He quickly seals everything away and tells them of their first site. They would hit it tonight.

"Fellow Suna shinobi?!" Tetsuya's loud hiss goes noticed by nearby wildlife as stray deer flitter away from them. Residing in the branches overlooking the first outpost, Sasori had just told them of the extra parameter in their mission. He casts a look around the other members - Natsuki looks put off by the command, but otherwise shows no outward argument against it, and Moriko - she had stained her hands with the blood of more Suna shinobi than others he suspects. She will have qualms, but she is well-adjusted to the task.

"You can return to Suna on your own or assist us," Sasori concludes for the older boy. He can hear his teeth grit against each other but a hard nod lets him know that he will stay, and with a cut of his hand, the quartet assail the unexpecting shinobi.

Like a routine act, Sasori feels Tetsuya's customary genjutsu wash over him like cold water; he is unaffected by it, but the five shinobi sharing stories in the small outpost are. They rise, one dispels it but Natsuki is quicker and has incapitated him with carefully thrown kunai. Another from his periphery, moves to escape - but Moriko is there at the door and forces him back with a sweeping arc of her sword; Sasori takes this unguarded moment to swallow the man in one of his puppets and eliminate him.

"Duck!" The puppet user heeds the order without question as a barrage of shuriken sail through the area where he once was. He turns as he detaches himself from his puppet to meet his attacker; his kunai meets his opponent's as he spots Natsuki engaging a new foe with Tetsuya exchanging blows with his first one. Three. They had three more to go through.

"You're Suna ninja," his attacker seethes. Sasori disengages from the stalemate, knowing his smaller size would not win him any favor and reappears behind the man. "Why?!" He parries a few more thrown weapons and returns his own hail of silver. They are deflected as well, but Sasori has attached strings to them: no matter the trajectory, his opponent falls, severed in pieces and in a pool of his own blood. Sauntering towards his abandoned puppet, he forces the body inside to be ejected just as he can hear the fading sounds of fighting. When he turns, he sees Moriko's blade retreating from the back of one shinobi as the other two boys fight off distinctive frowns on their faces. His work had admittedly been messy, but it completed the task. He would not be bothered by their reproachful frowns.

"Check their logs and any letters concerning the other outposts and Iwa's movements," he orders, to break up the silence. The trio nod at him and disperse, but perceptive as he is, he takes care to remember Tetsuya's lingering gaze on his opponent's scattered limbs.

Attuned to everyone's chakra, he narrows his sights on Moriko's and confronts her in the upper level. She does not stop rummaging through the desks, but she inclines her head to the side to acknowledge his presence. "The next outpost is 25 kilometers from this one," he says. It is still on the perimeter of Suna's borders, but after that, they would be heading deeper into enemy territory. "Can we proceed?" he questions.

Coming fruitless with her search, she faces him, an ear no doubt carefully tuned to the movements of her teammates. "We can, but after…" she trails off.

"Will he be an inconvenience?" That is all Sasori needs to know.

"No," Moriko decides as she motions to him that the other two are also done. "Not yet," and with that, they meet the rest of the unit outside.

"I've set bombs on the foundations," Natsuki reports as he catches sight of them emerging from the building.

"And no one is around so Tetsuya can bury the aftermath," Moriko adds after feeling the perimeter. Sasori nods.

"Can you do it?" he targets Tetsuya exclusively with the question. While he knows the older boy is not low on chakra, he needs to know how deep the resentment runs. Hesitation from him would be as good as disobedience for Sasori.

"I can," Tetsuya gruffly replies, and as Natsuki sets off the bombs, Sasori watches as the other boy flashes through the hand signs and presses his palms on the ground. Almost instantly, the ground beyond them cracks and the leftover cement and evidence of the outpost falls into the gap in the earth.

Satisfied, Sasori leads them towards the next site and they assault the shinobi as they did the previous. However this time, he makes sure to keep part of his attention on his other teammates. He knows he is pushing them tonight, it is no easy feat to encompass this much distance in such a short amount of time. And to engage and dispatch another set of opponents afterwards? He expects them to be flagging, but if they are, then they were good at hiding it.

"Moriko, he's escaping!" he hears Natsuki shout. Sasori has to force himself to focus on his own foe, barring his attacks with his puppet's steel arms and can only trust that the girl is fast; he hears her blades deliver on his hope but he curses as he notices the change in their opponent's tactics.

"They're retreating!" he shouts. Sasori disengages from his puppet once again to give chase to his target. He spots Moriko's and Natsuki's figures dart out of the building with him, but the bubbling plan in his head dies quickly as he notices that they both jump off towards different directions. Again, he curses and throws his kunai at the shinobi's back. They travel faster than both he and his opponent and lodge onto an incoming tree. Holding tight onto his strings, Sasori tugs and flies the distance to knock his foe into the ground. He wastes no time and dispatches him, leaving the body a paper bomb to detonate in his wake.

His next target is Natsuki's prey. The other Suna shinobi is faster than the medic, but Sasori makes up for the difference as he cuts off the man's escape. Catching Natsuki's eye, the older boy nods in thanks as they corner the man. "You're just children," he bites out, namely targeting Sasori and his smaller build. Both of them ignore the comment.

Natsuki dives in first, and in the man's retaliating retreat, Sasori cuts him off again and detaches his head from his body. "Dispose of it," he tells the other boy as he retraces his steps back to the outpost. There, he finds Tetsuya leaving the building.

"I'm bringing it down," he lets Sasori know, but the younger boy dismisses him and enters the abandoned post. He finds only two bodies before he lets Tetsuya take it down. In the process of burying it, Natsuki rejoins them. But the boy doesn't stay long as Sasori orders him to catch up with Moriko.

Two bodies, he recalls as he and Tetsuya stand in the clearing, waiting. He had killed two more outside and Moriko is in pursuit of another. She had also killed the first one to try and escape so that brought the number up to six shinobi. For one outpost so close to the border, it seems excessive, but Sasori is only concerned with the fact that they had annihilated all of them.

Beside him, Tetsuya kicks a wayward stone. "Maa, I don't like this," he finally admits.

You made that clear, Sasori thinks drily to himself. "You don't have to," he says instead. "We're at war. We're going to have to do things we don't like." And that in itself, is the truth of the matter. As shinobi, they would not be able to choose what they could not and could do based on their morals.

Moriko and Natsuki join them a moment later. "It's done," she confirms, and with that, Sasori guides them further into enemy land to make camp.

Passing rations out, he finds himself sandwiched between Moriko and Tetsuya who takes his portion with a grunt. In that silence, Sasori relays to them their next course of action for the following day: Suna had three more outposts, each deeper than the one before it. They would take care of only one tomorrow and operate it for further word from the Kazekage. It would be their last missive before they cut off their connection with the village and dispatch the remaining stations. Depending on any order received from that site, it would decide where they would go at the end of their mission: to the battlefront or deeper into Iwagakure territory?

"I still don't like this," Sasori hears Tetsuya mutter.

He supposes, with this admission, he should not be surprised to find the older boy's blood staining his own puppets in the future.


Author's note: mmmm, did a little character analysis on Sasori and the results dictate that all he needs is hugs.

In response to a PM I received (and for those curious), the answer is no - this is not a Sasori x OC story. Not necessarily. I've written enough to be able to tell you that Sasori is a very complex character and his interactions with Moriko thus far don't seem enough to save him from his descent into the Akatsuki and complete transformation into a puppet. Most canon things will occur as they have. There will be a butterfly effect with her addition to the storyline - but what kind of writer would I be if I said anything more about that, right?

Anyway, that's all for now. I apologize if anyone suscribed to this story have gotten a few alerts; I've been trying to salvage the first few chapters of this story.