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Sasori

The Valley of the Lost was a fitting ambush location for Kakashi to walk into. He would become lost in there searching for his beloved student, and when his hope had dwindled down to nothing, Sasori would strike and kill him there.

And he knew Hatake was coming. He had seen the bond of student and teacher all to many times, and Kakashi had already lost two students. He would not sacrifice a third, it would be the human impulse to rush and protect, even if it defied mission orders.

His riding puppet, an elaborate hazy brown chameleon that blended in with the yellow sand, finally brought him within reach of the twin peaks of the valley, the only real entrance into it. The valley was said to have been forged in a titanic battle between two warlords during the Warring Period, a time before the Shinobi Villages and chaos had been the supreme leader. It was just an empty wasteland with a small, lone oasis standing defiant against the sandstone ridge-line. Now, bandits and marauders used it for ransom exchange locations, and Sasori was counting on the Leaf shinobi to learn about this and follow instinct.

He continued going, leaving behind a scroll-summoned sentry puppet slightly hidden behind a pile of rocks. It would sound a silent alarm to him when something large came into proximity of the entrance, and he would be able to pounce.

Pounce on his weak prey. He was the master, the one in control. Kakashi would seem join his collection of human puppets, he had a feeling.

Walking along with nothing but the scrolls he had grabbed from his cave and the jinchuuriki, he finally brought his puppet to a halt after three r of trudging through the valley. The oasis was meters from him, and he was counting on Kakashi tracking the chameleon's footsteps to the oasis. He dumped the boy off on the grass poking out of the ground, stepped down himself. His Akatsuki cloak rustled around him in a cold breeze that he couldn't feel, and his eyes gazed directly at the sun high in the sky.

It's all to familiar, from when they exiled him...

..."No, wait, it's not my fault! They couldn't have been stopped, not even the Kazekage-"

"That's enough, Rojo. You were found cowering in your tower, and for the sake of the conflict at hand, it was a single man. One man took three lives, that of your fellow guardsmen, and the two of Sunagakure's best puppeteers."

"But it was the White Fang, one of their elite saboteurs! What chance did we have to fight him, a shinobi of his rank, it's NOT FAIR-"

His voice was drowned out by the outraged cries of the crowd. Sasori looked down at his hands in surprise, and was shocked to see smooth, youthful skin that were slightly wet with his own tears. Still, his body did not tremble as a result of his inner turmoil, instead his shoulders shook as a sob rocked him. It occurred to him that he was in some sort of dreamlike state, and he fought to draw himself out of it, but could not.

The booing continued, as did the man's frantic cries. Finally, a man with a shock of pale red hair stepped forward, whom Sasori immediately recognized as a much younger Fourth Hokage Raza. However, he was not dressed in his garb, and behind him, Sasori saw instead the Third Kazekage gazing impotently at the guard who's failure to raise the alarm had killed Sasori's parents.

"You know the law, Roji. Go into the Valley. I'm sorry, but you must."

"R-Raza! No, you wouldn't be the one-"

"Don't make it worse for yourself. You've cost us dearly... and made one poor child an orphan. I can think of no way to salvage your position. Go into the Valley, find the oasis if you can. If not, be doomed to wander and die. This is your fate-"

"RAZA-"

"As decreed by the Council of Elder and the Lord Kazekage. You have your sentence."

Rojo fell to his knees and tried to grab Raza's leg for support, but the future Fourth's face was stone cold, and he kicked the man in the face and sent him sprawling on his back towards the mouth of the twin peaks.

"Burn brightly."

"NO-!"

The crowd surged menacingly, and Rojo cowered to the entrance, the shouts seemingly physically pushing him away.

Young Sasori hung back, watching the man responsible being steered to his end. He felt a hand drape over his shoulder, and looked up his still weathered grandmother. "There, there, Sasori," she said, her voice cracking only slightly. "Justice has been done, there is nothing more to do. Let's head back to the village-"

"What about the man who actually killed Mama and Papa? Did they catch him?"

Granny Chiyo breathed through clenched teeth. "No, they didn't. He got away. Think nothing of him anymore, dear child."

"But the village law is one life for another-"

"He is not of our village," Chiyo said aggressively. "As much as we would like to see justice taken to that extent, it cannot be done, Sasori. Release that revenge from your mind, you will not go chasing after that man." Her voice softened as she looked down at his undoubtedly furious and confused face. "Sasori?"

"Yes, grandma?"

"How would you like to learn puppetry? What your parents did best. You can carry their memories and their work, and clear these dark thoughts from your head."

He brightened immediately. "Really? You'd teach me?" He wiped the tears from his face, hook them to the sand. "I... I would love to grandma."

"Let's go back to the village, dear boy. I can start teaching you today."

A thought struck his young mind. "Granny?"

"Yes?"

"Can I ask you just one thing?"

"Of course."

"What was the name of the man who killed them. Please, I want to know."

"I told you to forget about-"

"I have a right to know!"

His glee was not of being able to carry his parent's work. He was being presented with a way to avenge them entirely, so their spirits could be at peace instead. Whether Granny Chiyo could see this or not, young Sasori didn't care. His eyes were gleaming unnaturally as he looked up to her, hungry for the answer.

"His name is... Sakumo. Sakumo Hatake. Now wipe his name from your mind, dear boy. I'll teach you your puppetry and you think about building your parent's legacy with you own, okay?"

"Of course, Granny Chiyo. Let's start as soon as we're back home."

There won't be any need to cry then-

He gasped, his wooden mouth coming apart as the dream was interrupted by a final scream from the exiled Guardsman Rojo-

No, that wasn't it.

His breast was quivering as the sentry puppet reported movement. And lots of it.

He didn't come alone... did he convince whatever squad he was with to come with him? Or is it someone else...

It occurred to him that it might not even be Kakashi Hatake at all, and he felt panic fight against his calm exterior. He ran a hand across his face in exasperation, then realized how weak and confused he probably looked and thrust his hand down. He closed his eyes and tried to feel outward with his chakra. He was no tracker or sensory ninja, but his control often allowed him to get a scent of his prey.

But whether the distance was to great or his panic was still unraveled, he could not detect anything. In frustration, he turned on the unconscious boy lying by the oasis and kicked him ferociously. The boy was still under an induced serum Sasori had injected into his shoulder, so he instead flew like a ragdoll into the oasis, face-down. Sasori considered rescuing him, but decided not to as the body stayed oddly limp...

There's no air bubbles.

He ran onto the water, his sandals skimming across the surface. He held up the boy by his throat and squeezed, but instead of hearing the snapping of his neck, there was a plume of smoke. His unblinking eyes stared through it in disbelief.

The log fell onto the water with a splash and rested there innocently. He continued to stare at it, still not believing he had been deceived by a child.

How did I not notice it? A simple substitution, and I didn't realize it, how? His core was whirring around inside him like a hurricane, analyzing anyway his sophisticated and enhanced mind could have miscalculated, could have made such a crucial error...

There's just no way, there's no logical way. It's just IMPOSSIBLE! Someone must have switched the bodies before, but who, and WHEN! He kicked the water in fury, looked around for something to vent his anger, something he had never had to do. He was acting very Deidara-ish and some part of him was recoiling at this locked up segment of his body. The human side of him was emerging, but it was the worst part of it, not pleasant at all. There was no one out here in the desert who could understand or listen to him, no one he could even kill.

He looked over at the chameleon puppet, looking for some sort of recognition, but its blank gaze greeted him instead. There was no life in the puppets he had tried to substitute for life.

For the first time, he was acutely aware of being alone.

Sasori lumbered over to the chameleon puppet and leaned on it heavily, taking in quick, shallow breaths even though they had no function in his form. However, it no longer mattered; he was caving in to the human instinct of fear.

Deidara... where's Deidara? Left behind at the base installation, with no way of finding him. Now, there was a group of people on their way to attack him, their only objective to kill him. He had been misled by a boy and Konoha was closing in on him. No backup. Just him and his puppets. Ordinarily, he would have not been so concerned, but his invincibility as the lifeless machine was a distant thing now. The shock of loneliness had shook it out of him, and now the shock of defeat was going to seal it away for good.

Around him, the landscape seemed to shiver. The sand seemed to shake lightly, and he focused on it intently.

Something was coming.

"Show yourself, Konoha shinobi," he called stiffly, holding his head up high and proud. He held his fingers splayed in front of him, his eyes darting around for sudden movement. He was shaken, but that did not mean he would kneel over and die for his attackers. He would take as many as he could with him.

"Come on, come on!"

Dead silence. The sun shone directly above his head beating down in anticipation.

He put a hand down onto the sand, trying to sense their location through chakra network. Where are they...

There... but there's only one chakra signature, the rest...what is that?

His answer arrived as the sand erupted around behind him a semi-circle. He whirled around and caught the first attacker by its furry throat-

Fur? The sand was thrown into the air but he still saw clearly through it. It's dogs-

A massive boarhound drew down on his arm that was holding the little rottweiler, and it clenched his arm firmly in its shapr draws. Countless other dogs were bearing down on him now, dragging him down to the ground with their weight. Some he threw off, one he managed to stab with a dagger peering out of his wrist socket, but there were perhaps two dozen. They grabbed all his limbs and held them tight, effectively immobilizing him. He shrugged furiously, trying to loosen their teeth. Summonings... they're all wearing Konoha hand-bands...

"Alright, Akatsuki, where's Naruto?"

He stared blankly. There was no way-

"Talk, Akatsuki," Kakashi Hatake demanded again, his kunai shining sharply in the sunlight. "You won't leave the desert alive, but you sure as hell will tell me where my student is before your body hits the ground."

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Other

"How much further, Tobi? What are we even looking for?"

"Just keep going in this direction!" he called joyfully over the roaring wind. "Look for two big sandstone peaks that open up into a sandstone chasm thing! That's where he'll be!"

"Alright. Tell me about this large group of shinobi closing in on him, any names?"

He racked his memories, pulling for names of the real past for the fake invention he had used to draw in Deidara. "Uhhhh... Asuma Sarutobi... Might Guy... Shikaku Nara... Hayate Gekko... yeah lots and lots and lots of them!"

Deidara nodded, then turned his head towards him. "Wait, I heard that last one Hayate was killed a while ago."

Is that right? "Well , I'm only going off from what Zetsu told me!" he said sheepishly. "Blame him!"

"So were walking into a potential trap and Sasori doesn't know shit. How come you haven't sent Zetsu ahead to warn him! Dammit Tobi, you're practically useless, you know that?"

"Oh, silly me, it slipped my mind! To late to bring Zetsu over anyways. Besides, three full fledged hardened shinobi should wipe the floor with whoever they send!"

He had no doubt Sasori and Kakashi Hatake would fight and wear themselves out. He would kill whoever was still standing and then, based off of Deidara's reaction, would decide who returned to Zetsu's fabricated story that he was spinning for Nagato.

The tragic loss of some Akatsuki members under unfortuante circumstances. We did what we could, but Sasori could not be saved. And as for Deidara... he looked over at the flowing blonde hair and the determined look on the young man's face. It was an unshakable desire to help, no matter what might have caused him grief in the past. It was a sense of duty he himself had been victim of in the past...

And that only gave him the final resolution.

And Deidara was killed trying to protect his partner. A sad but valiant show of criminals finally having a bond in the end.

"I see the twin sandstone mounds, we're closing in."

"Yay!"