Sasori stared at the ceiling, not even remotely sleepy due to the strangest circumstance he was in at that moment. On his right was Hatsue's father, Hajime, while on his left was Hatsue (who was sound asleep) and on Hatsue's left side was her mother, Tomi. They were all lying down on a mattress foam in the family's living room.
"You okay there, Sasori?" Hajime asked.
"Are you uncomfortable?" Tomi asked.
"...a little." was Sasori's reply to both.
The man chuckled while the wife reached over Hatsue and ruffled Sasori's head.
"We just didn't want to leave her all alone." Hajime explained, although there was no need to.
The boy couldn't help but felt the world unfair. He should have this kind of support. Is it weird that he wanted this? He couldn't even remember what his parents were like but he was sure, they would have been this close. They would have spoiled him rotten the same way Hajime and Tomi did to Hatsue.
He sighs.
"You should refrain from sighing like an old man Sasori." said Tomi.
"Why?"
"There's that saying 'every time you sigh, a little bit of happiness goes away'." The 40 year old woman explained. He could see where his friend got her... charm from.
"Hatsue will likely want to be alone for awhile." Sasori divulged, worry creased his brows.
"We'll be asking alot from you, Sasori." Hajime says. "And thank you in advance."
There was no need to ask, the boy would have said but the hand patting his head made him too drowsy to stay awake.
Hatsue was taller. And thinner. She had the same dark hair that was a little longer now. The same brown eyes but duller. Sasori knew it. She was too weak to stomach things in a battlefield. He could not pin whether he found his perception of her as an acceptance of her character or an insult.
"Do you want to speak with me?" He asks her, fiddling with the shuriken he was trying to install in a puppet's stomach.
"...about what?" She was focused on the book of handseals.
"Suna's border. Did something happen?"
"Nothing unusual. Shinobis dying left and right. Injecting poison to others. Stitching gaping wounds. Fingers diving inside someone's guts. Terrible food rations." The thirteen year old girl shrugged nonchantly.
"You've been in a daze for two weeks now." The red head pointed out, Hatsue notices how his habit of sporting that half-lidded eyes faded.
"Things on my mind." She replies vaguely.
He stops with his fiddling and faces Hatsue with a serious expression. "What did we talk about keeping things in?"
"That it's unhealthy."
"Your words, not mine." He says and then added, "Try again."
If Hatsue was taken aback at how tolerant Sasori is with her silence, she didn't show it. She had grown up with a boy who was bratty at anyone who made him wait. And now, he looks at her with the most stoical expression on his face but with utmost patience. Things were changing too fast for her that she felt her anxiety shoots up out of nowhere. What an epiphany. Sasori was getting better inside while she was starting to rot.
Her breaths grew short and-
She jerks back from Sasori's touch.
Oh no.
The look on his face was bewildered and a flash of hurt. She seized damage control. "I'm sorry. I- um, still jumpy, you know, war and all. Will you tell me next time when you-"
No.
Sasori had never felt an intense fury more than he ever did in that moment to the point of his vision darkening. He had the talk. With Hatsue's dad. He found the act of reproduction disgusting and to force it on someone was vile.
He felt a squeeze on his hand.
His vision clearing. Chocolate eyes.
"Sasori, I'm gonna hug you." She took a deep breath, closing her eyes. "But don't hug me back."
She closed the distance in three steps and hugged him. The familiarity makes her wanna cry, reminding her of everything she once was. Naive and kind of a moron.
"Did you take care of that person?" He asked in a tone that scares her. Clipped and mechanical. She could almost hear the wooden rattle of his puppets in that tone. It makes the hair on the back of her neck stand.
But his question warmed her.
Because he did not assume that she let the person go. He knew that she had some capability in her, although not on par with his.
"I made him worse, Sasori." She felt a cold shiver run down her spine. Sasori's hands twitched but he restrains himself; there was something... proud in her tone. "I made him unable to see, hear and speak."
He understood why she didn't take away the sense of touch. So that person would still feel pain but what about- "And the sense smell?"
"'Cause scent is a powerful tool to jog someone's memory. I wanted him to remember the smell as he slowly loses the functions that make him useful." She smiled, a little too sharply for anyone else but him. "Heard he died."
"Good."
"He didn't actually get to force me, ya know? I think for a crime that didn't happen I did it-"
"Too much? I'd say not enough." He shook his head.
"I was just so furious because how can they think it was okay- I didn't even do anything! I didn't even do anything to entice or get their attention." She clutched his clothes tightly, stretching it at the seams. "And I could hurt him, Sasori, I knew I could even kill him and then I did hurt him because I hated him and I could make it worse for him."
"Can I hug you now?" He asks her.
No, I'm scared. "Go ahead." She felt herself tense when his arms embraced her and then she relaxed, once they settled.
"Keep talking." He says, giving her soothing rubs on her back.
"I'm not the same in my head anymore. I resented hurting anyone and now, if anyone tried to hurt me, I would feel justified to make it worse for them." She didn't cry, maybe her tears had all dried up. "Will you keep being my friend if I changed too much or if I change too slow?"
"You're stupid." He snorts. "You once told me even if I was different from you, you'd keep being friends with me. As long as the core remains the same."
"What core?"
"That you're stupidly kind-"
"Hey!" The little painter pinches his side and the puppeteer only hummed, not even feeling an ounce of pain.
"Gentle, skillful in medical ninjutsu-"
"I knew you trusted my skills." She raised her arms, pinching his cheeks; trouble, Hatsue. In the future. Sasori's jaw was becoming well-defined; she filed the unnecessary observation at the back of her mind.
"Annoyingly persistent to be friends with me." He rolls his eyes at her.
"You're being annoying." She says but he could hear the smile in her voice.
"Oh and you love talking to old people. That's your core. The penchant of conversing to old people." At this, he holds her gaze, serious and contemplative. He notes her cheeks losing its roundness; he plans to make her regain her appetite.
"I talk to you alot. That means you're old."
"Do you want to paint? I'm going to poke your cheeks."
"No." She declines his offer to paint but she nods to the affectionate gesture.
"Okay." Yep. She needs to eat more. His poking didn't make her cheeks bounce as much as it used to. Still. The urge to bite them never went away. Weird.
"..maybe a little, can I paint on the puppets you've been working on?" It was now a contest of her pinching his cheeks and him poking hers.
Sigh. "No bright colors."
"Fine, can I help you carve wood?"
"No."
"Oh." She sounded like a kicked puppy; she lets go of him.
"You'll hurt yourself." He explained.
"Medical-nin here." Cheerfulness starting to seep into her tone.
He steps away from her and then hands her a sheet of sand paper, pointing to the wooden joints he had finished carving. "Smoothen them out. Don't be half-hearted with it, you wanted this so I better not find one rough spot on any of them."
Komushi stared at the pair infront of him, hanging out in his mom's kitchen. Specifically, they were helping out Hatsue with her research something about the healing jutsu and they were circling back to the 12 handseals while he becomes the cheerleader. He felt weirdly out of place which is nonsense because this is his home.
Sasori whispers something to Hatsue's ear in which she nods.
"We know that there are handseals for each nature. Rat for Shadow. Tiger for Fire and Earth. Snake for Earth, Lightning and Wood. Dog for Water and Ice." The red head says and Komushi perks up, interested in their progress.
"I want to understand why the handseals for healing jutsu is Rat, Ram, Dog." Hatsue explains to him; their eyes met and Komushi gives her a sheepish smile.
"Ne for Shadow which-" Sasori starts.
"points out to the unseen. We can't see through someone's anatomy. Inu for Water-" Hatsue supplies.
"because blood is made up of 90% water. What we can't figure out is why use Hitsuji." Sasori finished.
Freaky. They finish each other's sentences. Komushi noted how they sat next to each other and when he pretended to drop a teaspoon, he confirms their legs touching under the table. He feels like a chaperone now.
"Does healing jutsu have nature?" Komushi asked.
The pair looked at him blankly.
"You know how the Third Kazekage's Iron Sand technique has the nature of magnet and it exists outside of the five nature..." Komushi elaborated.
The pair exchanged looks, Hatsue's eyes practically shining.
"Hitsuji for Yin release!" They simultaneously exclaimed, then they laughed out loud.
"This makes sense. Ne and Inu are also Yang release!" Hatsue couldn't help but feel giddy. "Healing jutsu is the combination of Yin-Yang release."
"Alright! What happens next?" Komushi hyped them up. Gotta keep momentums like this going.
"I'm gonna develop my own medical ninjutsu." Hatsue says determinedly.
That's...
"Awesome! You're awesome, kango-hei." Komushi complimented.
"Nahh, our Sasori's awesome. He already developed his own technique."
"He did? Wow and he didn't tell me, I see how it is."
"It's okay."
"Okay? You made Grandma Chiyo's White Secret Technique: The Chikamatsu Collection of 10 puppets shabby compared to your Red Secret Technique: A Hundred Puppets."
"A hundred?!" Komushi screeched.
"It is only quantity over quality. Grandma Chiyo's puppets are sturdier than mine. I don't know which of our technique is stronger." Sasori shrugged.
Komushi felt like he was getting left behind. Sasori and Hatsue were running so far now that he fears he'll sit on too much dust. It kinda sucks having awesome friends.
"I'm getting deployed to Suna's border soon." He informs them, a bit hesitant.
"It's not as glorified like everyone says you know." Hatsue says, aware of Komushi's perception of shinobi lifestyle. "Real talk, it's horrible."
"Real talk, I didn't ask." Komushi's retort. Somehow it ticked him off. Hatsue's holier than thou attitude. It was weird because he liked her just fine moments ago. He gets it. She has always been soft. Genteel. Pacifist.
"Sorry." Hatsue apologises, easily placating him.
"Nahh, it's just... I wanna contribute to the village too." Komushi awkwardly rubs the back of his neck. "Will you two see me off?"
Attacks on a village's border always starts with an ambush. Pick the least defended part of the border to attack, wait for the enemies' reinforcements to arrive, split another force to sneak through the newly exposed part of the border. Also, it happens at night time. Imagine being a genin, eager to prove your worth to the village because all shinobis were heroes. They were strong and cool and had powerful jutsus.
Maybe Hatsue was right.
Maybe it was all glorified. Being a shinobi was glorified.
He'd always thought when he finally gets here, gets to be in action, it would be the most exhilarating feeling in the world.
Wrong.
He was so stupidly wrong.
Komushi didn't want to admit it but he's scared all the time now that he's stationed here. He could barely sleep or eat or even pee properly. He keeps imagining something's gonna happen when he least expects it. What if in the middle of the night Iwa-nins bombed the border and he didn't feel it? What if he died in his sleep? What if in the middle of peeing, he gets attacked as soon as he got his pants down? He had bags under his eyes for all that worry.
It wasn't just being scared like how he used to be about sleeping all alone in his bed when he was three.
It was being terrified for his life.
The scouts were returning late and when they see their silhouettes. He hears it; the familiar sound of a jutsu activating and the sound of a blade cutting through the air. He was so familiar with the sound that it took him moments, late to react. Adding to that, the first second you hear that loud explosion, you just never knew how you'd react. He's ashamed to admit this but he cowered. Komushi always thought that when an attack happens he'd charge in like a damn hero, and start throwing explosion tags here and there, looking like a badass shinobi and then have his name in an enemy's bingo book by the next day.
Instead, he freezes, drops to his feet and curled into a ball. Praying in his head.
Praying.
Praying.
The thought of an enemy trying his best to kill him doesn't really sound that scary.
Until he hears the senbon buzz by.
Until a kunai stabs his shoulder.
And then it happens, that feeling of unmitigated fury, of wanting to get back at the enemy. Komushi slashes away from the Iwa-nin, almost the same height as him, a kid like him. But he doesn't register that. He steps back, putting distance between the enemy as he throws multiple shurikens, not even caring if he was accurate so long as he's attacking. The enemy blocks the shuriken that might hit their body.
"Earth Release: Rock Throw Technique!"
A small rock the size of an adult's head is thrown at him. He dodges easily expecting the jutsu upon reading the handseals on time. He counters by throwing another set of shurikens. The enemy easily blocks them again.
"Kaze Bunshin!" (Wind Clone) Komushi performs the handseal: boar/ I. Partial fist and stick palms together while keeping forearms parallel to the ground.
His clone flickers behind the enemy and engages in a taijutsu. He positions himself. Rationality comes back now. Wise decision would be to conserve chakra and weapons. Enemy seems to have something more to their sleeves. The wind clone popped.
"Earth Release: Stone Shuriken Skill!"
Enemy picks up dirt and it forms into earth shurikens. The justu reveals the possibility of enemy running out of projectiles or conserving them. Most probably the former, why waste chakra on projectiles?
"Smoke Dome jutsu!" Komushi exhales a thick cloud of smoke that forms itself into a defensive dome encasing him. The dome itself is thick and hard, a challenge to breakthrough especially now that he's genin level. Genin level smoke dome upgrades to weak iron which is impressive compared to academy level which is wood. The earth shurikens weren't able to penetrate the dome.
If he thought he was winning this easy, he had another one coming.
"Earth Release: Inner Decapitation Skill!"
As soon as Komushi heard the jutsu, he knew he messed up. Big time. Why exhaust chakra in destroying a shield when they can get you inside?
The enemy dives into the ground and move around in it as if it was water. The enemy gets near him without notice and when below him, pulls him down to ground, his chin slamming to the ground, burying his body and leaving only the head above the ground. His chin bleeds.
He was done for. Think, Komushi! Think! Think! This was a good time to curse. Damn it. Damnit. Dammit!
He released his jutsu and the dome faded. The enemy releases a surge of chakra causing the ground to shake. Earth Release: Groundshaking Technique. Enemy is capable of doing jutsus without handseals. The jutsu isn't particularly damaging but with his body underground... He howled in pain as he felt his body slowly getting crushed. His mind zeroed in at the thought of without handseals!
His mind screamed: OKURIDASHI KAZE! (PROPELLING WINDS)
Loosing a short blast of air from his hands, Komushi propels himself in the opposite upwards from the ground, might have broken his shoulders when he heard something crack as he breaks through the grounds surface. He was high up in the air. This was really a good time to curse. This was really a good time to curse.
"Earth Release: Pebble Barrage!"
The Iwa-nin sent chakra to the ground once again, lifting small stones and pebbles off the ground and sending them flying towards him. Small stones up to the size of a grape are sent flying. Something glinted in Komushi's eyes, as if his brain just clicked, that moment he becomes one with his training. He never had a thought clearer than that instant. It's like thinking in the future. His brain working out problems and solutions for things that haven't even happened yet. Everything seemed super slow and smooth and he knows exactly what to do. It was that one moment that seemed to last forever that he knew his enemy was done for.
Performing without handseals in a snap: Yadama Henshin Bakuha. (Projectile Deflection Blast)
Komushi builds up a great amount of air in his chest, he distils chakra to expel a great gust of wind directly from his mouth. The wind deflects the pebble barrage back to the enemy as they leaped to attack him with a kunai in hand. With that distraction, he follows up a retaliation: Retrieving Wind Technique.
The moonlight shining down on the shurikens he threw and was deflected towards the ground, glinted. Almost divine. The small gust pushes his projectiles back to him stabbing his enemy multiple times. And if ever Hatsue told him how this feeling was wrong, he'd go back to this moment. He felt nothing as the light in his enemy's eyes leaves. As gravity pulls him back to the ground he lands on top of the Iwa-nin, the shuriken at their back, delving even deeper at his weight and impact.
No, that was wrong. He didn't feel nothing. He felt great. Hatsue was wrong. His first kill was something he worked so hard surviving through. He'd never felt more focused than what just happened. That focus was addicting. No one could ever tarnish his moment.
Until.
A sound of a shinobi flickering beside him; a swing of a sword; he rolls his body but not fast enough; his scream echoes, joining many of his fellow shinobis that night; white hot blinding pain that made him bawl like a baby; hysterically connecting his severed arm to the bleeding stump.
A's note:
I CAN EXPLAIN. I SWEAR I CAN EXPLAIN. I-
I'm sorry. I was gonna finish writing this but I got sidetracked writing the future chapters instead. If you noticed, Sasori is 3 years older than Kakashi. The Kannabi bridge is destroyed earlier than it did in canon thanks to Chiyo, Ebizo and the Third Kazekage's tip to Konoha as effort to be allies. Do you know what that means? Obito doesn't get crushed because Minato didn't have his genin team yet. Also, yes, we're finally here around Sasori's human puppet backstory. If you were curious about Sasori's reaction with Komushi and Hatsue's little exchange at that last bit, yeah our little puppeteer is sitting there dumbly. He is not equipped to react to that. Leave a review and I'll update. You have me free writing for 2 months.
Additional: fight scene was uploaded as chapter 16, moved it here.
To Guest of 06/05/21
It's okay! I don't mind if you can't follow this story. I'm sorry although I said I would upload within 24 hrs. It's vacation now for me so I could... keep writing now. Thank you for the review. Lots of love.
To garneauyoann
Don't worry, I don't think I'll drop this story now. I've already written the ending for this and some future chapters. The problem is how to bridge the current chapter towards the end. I'm really excited when we make it to the future chapters, I swear I'm so tempted to spoil- Thanks for leaving a review!
To OneWhoReadsTooMuch
You know how like Jiraiya shirked his godfather responsibility to infant Naruto? I think it's because shinobi kids are too mature for their own good that they didn't mentally grow up. Shinobi lifestyle for the win yea! Kinda worried that Hatsue is still far too soft but I didn't want her to be like gung ho about being a shinobi.