AN: My first fan fic. I have no excuse for this. The characters are probably OOC, but I tried to do my best, despite what I have them doing. And it doesn't help that I haven't actually read anything from the Time Skip. Wikipedia is my best friend and I'm a sucker for spoilers. Please feel free to leave any and all comments, including flames.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Deidara, Itachi, Kisame, Sasori, or the Akatsuki. I only own the sitting room.

Puppeteer


Deidara stumbled out of the door.

"Whoa," he said inamazement. "I didn't know Sasori no Danna was such a good puppeteer… yeah." Dazed and in awe, the Iwa nukenin blinked in confusion before managing to find the correct hallway and staggering towards his rooms.

Itachi and Kisame, who happened to be in the sitting area outside of Sasori's rooms, looked at each other.

"A good 'puppeteer'?" asked Kisame skeptically.

"…Like a drunk…" said Itachi, face mostly emotionless, but still displaying subtle hints of confusion. The two Akatsuki members looked at each other for a moment before simultaneously turning to stare at the door leading to Sasori's private study. With a quick conformational glance, they stood, made their way to the closed door, and knocked.

"…Come in…" came the faint, emotionless voice of Akatsuki's resident Suna nukenin. Itachi opened the door and he and Kisame stepped inside. Immediately they were assaulted by soft classical music. The two looked around, their eyes adjusting to the darkness within. Finally they spotted Akasuna no Sasori sitting in the only faintly lighted area. Sasori was bent over his desk, pouring over complicated gears, strings, and oddly shaped wooden blocks. After a moment of silence, the redhead looked up. His gaze was blank and conveyed nothing.

"Yes?" he asked, expression unchanging.

"…" Kisame suddenly found himself speechless when confronted by someone who, no matter what he did, would give away nothing. He often felt this way around Sasori, but this time, it was ten times worse.

It was Itachi who finally answered, "…We… were wondering what you did to… get such a reaction from Deidara…"

There was silence as the two waited for Sasori to react. At last, the puppeteer blinked. Then there was a short pause before before he sighed and said, "Would you like me to show you, too?" Itachi and Kisame hesitantly nodded. Sasori turned back to his desk and flicked off the light. Through the murky darkness they could faintly make out his silhouette.

"Very well," came his voice, cold and unfeeling. Unconsciously, Kisame and Itachi shivered. Something about the atmosphere made the former Suna-nin more eerie than before. "Come with me," Sasori finished, already leading them further into the darkness. After a moment, the master puppeteer bade them sit in chairs swathed in shadows before he himself disappeared.

Suddenly, a light came on, temporarily blinding the two curious shinobi, and the classical music, previously forgotten, intensified.


A half hour later, two dazed figures jerkily exited Akasuna no Sasori's rooms. Their mouths were agape in awe and their eyes wide. Kisame collapsed into the nearest chair. Itachi remained standing, but kept his gaze locked on the floor.

"That…" Kisame finally breathed, "that was…" he couldn't continue. Itachi picked up where he left off.

"That," he said firmly, locking eyes with Kisame, "was the best puppet performance of Little Red Riding Hood I've ever seen."

Kisame agreed.


Ending AN: Thank you for reading! My biggest problem is the length of my chapters, so I'll probably revise this sometime in the future. If you have any tips or suggestions, I strongly encourage you to press the little button in the left hand corner. And no, I'm not trying to get reviews. Not at all!