A/N: Reni! how could you start a new story in another Fandom when you still have 3 other ones?!? Uhm... Oops? Dont get me wrong, everything is still active and I plan on writing for them more. The next chapter of TTSJ is already half written and I have the outline of the next chapter of Dappled Ground done so I am working on them. Besides I have had this one written out for yeeears! Years! and I'm just now Publishing it so ha!
Anyway, this is going to get dark. I'm not sure this would classify as a ship but it is... something, it's not really romantic but its..it's... we'll you'll see.
Strap in folks.
Dance Upon My Strings
Chapter 1:
Wood splintered under her fist as Sakura took to dismantling the deranged puppet masters army. The very thought that the once man could control one hundred of them filled the kunoichi with a dread she hadn't felt in a long time. Just like back when she first graduated form the academy she felt fear coursing through her, the antidotes she had just weren't enough and she dearly wished she had brought more. Hidesight however was 20/20, so now all she could do was dodge and attack, blasting apart puppet after puppet just like her companion.
It was eye opening, this fight. To think that this was what high level combat was. The way the puppets of both parties whizzed around in a maddening dance was both enthralling and nightmarish. One wrong move, one tiny cut was all it would take to begin the death throes once more.
At least this battle gave her enough opponents to take her agression out on. For most of the fight previously, while she had dealt plenty of strong blows, she was nothing more than a puppet herself. Though while not being relegated to the sidlines this time it still hurt knowing that she wasn't strong enough to stand on her own. It didn't matter that this man was Kage level, it didn't matter that the fact she was still alive would count for something. Her insecurities ran too deep. Sakura would never tell anyone, not even her mentor but deep down she knew that if Naruto was here the fight would have already been won, if Sasuke or Kakashi had been here they wouldn't be on the razors edge of defeat. Being among such strong people had given her a complex that no amount of trianing could ever counter. So now she took her furstations out on the lifeless wood of Sasori's puppets for that was all she could do. Swallow the shame and the rage and keep going until someone finally put her down.
As if those thoughts summoned an opening Sakura felt the air brush past her as wayward puppet made a dive at her blind side. With a leap that took far more energy that she could afford to expend, she managed to get out of the way as the wooden constructs blades sunk into the ground. Gasping, she looked around the field to notice the red head closing in on Lady Chiyo. Alarm rang through her, knowing full well she wouldn't make it through the gauntlet he had created in time to rescue the old woman. The loose rubble from the cave in shifted under her feet and she got an idea, and not a moment too soon.
With a cry to draw their attention, Sakura charged a large amout of chakra into her fist and arm, more than enough to cause a small earth quake and she dove forward, slamming into the ground. The resulting attack caused a small explosion and the loose debris and iron sand was disrupted causing a small tsunami of rock. It raced forward, burying the puppets that the master couldn't move away in time before nearly falling upon them both. However before it could engulf them, Sakura had darted forward, chakra boosting her legs to the point of bursting and managed to grab the back of the old woman's robe to toss her outside the entrance to the open cavern. The pink haired ninja only had a moment to smirk at her accomplishment before the result of her attack hit her strait in the back. The breath was knocked from her and she went tumbling forward. She curled into a ball to make herself smaller before she hit something hard in the front and was buried.
Sakura wasn't sure if she blacked out or not, for one moment the world was spinning and the next it was still and quiet. There was pain, lots of it and most she was sure came from stones jutting awkwardly into her body. A few bruised if not broken bones were also probable as she shift under the loose rock. With a grunt she hefted a few rocks out of the way only for more to collapse on her. As she moved more of the rubble out of the way she tried to hear for anything. Someone trying to dig her out or call her name but it was silent.
Breathing was difficult as flecks of the iron sand mingled with the dust causing the kunoichi to hack out any air she took in. Briefly she wondered if it would be better to wait until she could move more, but she was low on chakra and it would take a full day of rest at least to restore it. Her team needed her before then, there was still another of the Akatsuki out there.
Suddenly remembering the red haired puppeteer, Sakura couldn't help but smirk. She had fought and S-class ninja and won. That final attack, that she was sure did him in, was all her's and done with her own power. Not even some fancy jutsu. That though combined with the stress of the situation caused her to start giggling in slight hysteria. She needed to get out of there.
After shaking herself free of anymore errant thoughts she proceeded to punch and dig her way out of the massive pile that had accumulated on the side of the cavern. Finally after another rock was moved away a shaft of light pierced into the world of darkness she had been stuck in. Judging by how much was filtering in, it couldn't have been more than a half and hour since the fight. That was both good and bad. Good because at least she wasn't out for longer and bad because who knew what kind of trouble Naruto would have gotten himself into during that time.
The sigh of determination was also weighted down with resignation as she moved the final bolder and felt an errant breeze on her face. As she squirmed and lifted her self to look around she took a good look at the battle field. Wooden parts and rock were strewn about carelessly as was to be expected but the major indicators of battle were the deep gashes in the sides of the hole and the massive crater from the finishing attack of the battle.
Sakura could fully admit to herself that she was proud.
Getting a good grip on a more solid rock, Sakura began to pull herself out when something shifted underneith and caught her ankle. With a curse she tried to pry it free when it tightened. It took a moment to realize that what was holding her felt like… a hand.
A sudden scream pierced the dead air as she was sucked back down into the darkness. Sharp edges tore into Sakura's skin as she was hauled down. With a sharp jerk her ankle snapped and before she could get enough energy into her arms to defend herself something tight coiled around her body, squeezing the air from her lungs making her cry of pain more of a gasp. She tried to thrash around but the rocks merely shifted and dug into her. The faint light from above streamed through and it took her eyes a moment to adjust to what she was seeing.
The first thing she noticed were the reflective eyes of the puppet master as they glared at her balefully. The second thing was that most of his limbs were completely crushed under rocks leaving his body practically unusable. She shuddered at the sight, and squirmed in the hold of the thick cable he kept in his stomach. She felt the liquid poison he had coated the long wire with trail down her arms, making them itch and raising the hair on the back of her neck.
"And where do you think you're going?" His lazy voice practically hissed, though his expression didn't change. Sakura shuddered and tried to move but the throbbing of her ankle put a quick stop to that. The hand and arm of his that hadn't been crushed was now free and she eyed it wearily. She was in no condition to fight before and now even less so.
The coil tightened around her, making the girl choke for air. Was this it? Had she come all this way, went through all that training and even the fight before to die now because she hadn't thought for a moment that he had survived like she had? Stupid. And people called her the intelligent one.
"If you're going to kill me just do it." She managed to get out. Sakura really didn't want to die, but she also didn't want to be tortured slowly before the end. "I thought you didn't like to keep people waiting…"
Sasori blinked at her and then his expression did change. He was clearly affronted by the idea and pinned her with a look of pure loathing as he pushed himself to sit up in the tight space.
"Kill you?" His voice was little more than a whisper and his unruly hair covered his eyes for a moment before he moved close. Too close! Their noses were practically touching and his amber eyes flashed in the dim light with dark fury. "How could I bring myself to kill you with all the damage you've caused?"
Sakura had thought of it before during their confrontation but now she could see it clearly this close. Even his puppet body couldn't disguise the pure madness that rested within the man's soul. Sure he had to be mad to attempt what he did to himself but never had that insanity been aimed at her. Even before most of it had been reserved for his grandmother. Sakura was just there as a tool, another puppet, not worthy of notice. Yet now she was. Her actions had caused him to pay attention and some little shriveled up part of her that yearned for recognition couldn't make her regret it.
His free hand reached up and gripped her hair hard forcing her to meet his madness head on. Sakura was at once intimidated and excited, a combination of feelings that set her on edge and had her twitching at his slightest movements. It didn't help that unless he was moving he was as still as a statue, no warmth radiated form him nor did he need to breath. It was creepy enough to send another shudder racing down the teens spine.
"Do you have any idea how much of my work you destroyed today?" He asked, his voice low and seething with repressed fury.
Sakura felt that question wasn't one she was meant to answer and she silently feared what she would say might set him off. As casually as she could she wormed one of her arms out of the cable enough to get a hand free. Opening and closing it a few times to get circulation moving, she began to estimate her chances of escape if she got a really good punch on him.
"No, of course you don't." Sasori sneered, eyes blazing. "How could an ignorant little girl like you possibly know the years of artwork you just laid to waste."
"Artwork?" That caught her attention and also fueled her disgust and ire. "You call turning corpses into your own personal army art?!"
"Like you would understand." The reply came and the grip on her hair loosened even as the cord around her tightened further. Any more and Sakura was sure her ribs were going to start shattering in her chest. As it was there were going to be large bruises across her body. Then there were the burns from the poison that was also trailing it's way down her legs.
The puppet master was silent for a while, long enough for Sakura to being wondering if he had managed to die somehow. As she began shifting to find a way to sever the offending appendage that bound her to the madman he finally looked up at her, his face blank and his eyes hauntingly dead.
"Death wouldn't be enough of a punishment for what you've done today." He spoke softly and his hand reached up and brush a stray lock of hair out of her face. The action set her teeth on edge and she felt every muscle tense as she went ridged. His body creaked and clacked as he shifted, and his free hand began making seals in a pattern she didn't recognize.
"You've caused too much damage to get off that easily, not even turning your corpse into a puppet would satisfy me any longer. No, for you I will have to use something special."
The small space was suddenly alive with chakra as it sizzled through the air. Sakura had no idea what on earth he could be performing but she didn't want to be around for it. Yet even as she struggled to break free or get a grip on something that could help her escape her captor held firm with a manic resolve that promise nothing good.
"Now just hold still." He hummed as two fingers gently touched her forehead. Suddenly the the energy in the air condensed and wrapped around her like a second skin before solidifying and dancing along her body like tiny strings. With a gasp she realized that was exactly what they were. Hundreds of small threads of his chakra enveloped her body in a tight suffocating web.
The kunoichi couldn't hold her panic as she gazed up into the glassy eyes of her opponent. Desperately she tried to find her voice but it was stolen from her as easily as the air from her lungs. Fear wracked her mind and caused her to shiver, the intimate feeling of his chakra causing what was left of her coherencey to slip away.
"This is a special jutsu I've been working on." Sasori spoke, his smooth tennor at complete odds with his dominating energy. "I never thought I'd have to use it in a situation like this, but then again I never imagined a day like this would come. Congratulations, you will be the first of my new army."
New army? Sakura wondered briefly as she made a futile attempt to struggle out of Sasori's hold.
"I bet you're wondering what it does." The red head mused as he continued to build his power, for what, she didn't want to know anymore. A part of her was morbidly curious but she stuffed it down far into herself to focus on the situation at hand.
"This technique will make you a puppet of mine unlike any other." His voice held nothing short of absolute malice and a dark promise that nearly sent the pink haired girl into a mindless panic. "Your mind and body will be under my full command. You will watch as I make you replenish my army, starting with your team and working your way through your friends and family. You will help me turn each of them into my puppets before you submit yourself to me."
She tried to turn away from him but found that the threads circulating her body bound her just as tight as the physical cable. Everything was too much and she was beginning to feel sick. Sakura's body trembled in distress and she could only listen to the mad puppet masters wicked tirade of revenge.
"I'll take you back to base and make you watch as I take your body apart piece by piece and remake it to my liking." Sasori's eyes were wide and manic just as they were in battle as he talked, the idea provoking a reaction out of him before his features smoothed out and a smile she could only consider lazy graced his face. "Don't think death will find you then. As a part of this jutsu your soul will be never be able to leave. Forever trapped, never to escape. Even if I replace every bit of you, your soul will remain and be forced to watch, unable to move or even talk as I use your body for whatever purpose I desire."
Unshed tears sprung into her eyes and silently she prayed that Naruto would come and find her before this insane man used her to hurt him.
"Perhaps I'll go to war with the leaf just to make you watch as you destroy your home and the very place you swore to protect. I never had much of a quarrel with them but for this? I wouldn't mind stopping by to have you murder a few of you're precious people, and only once your bathed in the blood of the innocent and my army is back in full force might I believe that you've made up for the collection you so selfishly destroyed."
The final words were hissed in a way that made her think that nothing she could do, even enslaved to this madman, would ever be enough in his mind to make up for the wrong he believed she committed.
The corners of his lips tugged upwards at he leaned forward. If the situation was any different it could have been conisdered a reassuring gesture, but the close proximity set off every warning in her mind that existed. "Now, be a good little girl and keep still."
That was all the warning she got before the chakra strings dove into her skin and wormed their way around her veins and chakra coils. The pain was immense and she let out a shiek that was cut off by the crushing force bearing down on her lungs.
Sakura let out a burst if chakra and for a moment the threads backed off before diving back into her once more. The violating feeling of strings winding their way around her organs and slithering under her nails and skin was something she knew she would never forget. Then she felt something push against her mind. A vicious headache formed as she fought back the invasion. Fear of a mental attack made her nearly rabid as she attempted to thrash around.
It was ultimately useless as the internal dam broke and suddenly she wasn't in a rocky cave anymore, she was floating in pitch blackness. Looking around, Sakura could only guess this was her mind. There was a knocking sound somewhere followed by a bang. She turned, terrified to see an intricate door that held massive cracks on it. There was another knock and she backed away just as it splintered and a foriegn power entered, crushing her to the nonexistant ground.
"Your mind was more protected than I anticipated, but no matter. Your secrets are now mine." She heard Sasori's voice echo around her and she gasped as the energy holding her down began to form cables around her limbs.
Flashes of memories flooded her and the girl realized the puppetier was rooting through her life like files in a cabinet.
Before she could try to push him out she was hoisted up and held in place by the thick blue charka cables. In front of her what she could only describe as a screen popped up, only it was looking through her body's eyes. She could see the rocky pocket her body had been dragged into and she could see Sasori, eyes closed as he preformed this hellish jutsu.
Something occurred to her then, this was her chance! He was distracted with sorting through her memories she could land a strike. But where? She only had one chance at this with her free arm and she couldn't waste it. Frantically she looked through her eyes for a weak point before spotting that odd section where his heart should be. The canister was clearly important and if she had to hazard a guess that would be the spot to hit.
Gingerly she felt for her chakra and mercifully found it responding to her mental call. Though even as she felt it, she could also tell it was sluggish and bogged down with a secondary chakra was was trying to bend it to another's will. Closing her eyes, Sakura began pooling her energy into her arm, ignoring the pain that it caused.
One chance, she chanted to herself.
Sasori seemed to notice something was wrong but just as he made to draw back she let out a long scream, punching forward quickly and ruthlessly. The mental cables tore under the pressure and suddenly she was snapped back to herself.
Everything was frozen. Her, her opponent, everything. Sakura's hand had gone through his heart container and blood was splattered up her arm. Sasoris eyes were blown wide but lifeless. Slowly the cable holding her fell off in ringlets making a soft clanging noise as it fell. The chakra threads around her began to disperse, peeling off of her painfully. The foriegn chakra soon blended with her own and was washed away in the tide of her own energy. With shudder, the girl realized she could still feel a secondary presence in her mind before it finally recceeded, leaving her alone.
Gingerly she pulled out her fist and took a shuddering breath, it was over.
It was finally over.