Sasori of the Red Sand

...

Tenten had understood that this town acted as a mere stop-by for travellers and it wasn't exactly a place made for tourists. She didn't have high hopes of hustle and bustle, a hubbub, or even the slightest fuss…but there was not even a tumbleweed to scold for blowing too carelessly in the wind. It was annoyingly peaceful.

Her silent companion was not helping the situation in the slightest. Neji hadn't said a word since the stables and she had all but ran out of excuses for his odd behaviour. She had hoped that he was just embarrassed after finally extending an ounce of kindness to her, or perhaps was looking for an excuse to talk further. However, as he sat on his own horse a few feet away, looking at anything but her, he had made it quite clear that he had no desire of conversing further.

The brunette itched angrily at her wrists, her borrowed clothing feeling all the more foreign to her with each passing second. She tried to take her mind off of the annoyance as she instead bore holes into the back of his head, willing him to somehow sense her and react in any way to cut this sedated atmosphere. Nothing. A scoff escaped her lips. It seemed as though he only had the capacity for one kind gesture a day.

Neji, on the other hand, had been keeping his eyes peeled as he searched desperately for any signs of The Famous 10. He couldn't afford any distractions - not that he would say she was a distraction, more like a nuisance. Word had travelled about the group but had only alluded to a vague description of 6 of them, the other 4 remained a complete mystery. Judging by their reputation, they were as sly as they were dangerous. They could be hiding among anyone, waiting to strike…

A realisation struck him like thunder, and the lightning reaction to his thought came in a split second. Was it such a coincidence that she had arrived just as The Famous 10 reappeared? It seemed too oddly perfect and certainly something that he wouldn't put past the infamous group of bandits. Buy the time of a lone woman, gather intel on the town, and strike in the dead of night. Or even worse, perhaps she was even a member herself and this was all part of her delicious plan?

For the first time since they had left on their patrol he stopped his horse and spun round to acknowledge her presence in a deep scowl. Tenten was taken aback at the rapid change of events, pulling at the reins of her new stead as he came to a grumpy holt. At first she scowled back as the two locked eyes, raging chocolate clashing with bitter lavender for a few tense seconds. Then, Tenten surrendered, shifting her sights on a new emotion - curiosity.

"Hey," She began as her body released the tension she had been holding and sank back into her saddle. "I wanted to thank you for before. You didn't have to do that, yet you did." Embarrassment washed over her and she darted her gaze to anything but him. "So, you know, thank you."

Neji's mind paused, his accusation now questionable - but still plausible. Her act of kindness could simply be that - an act. A simple yet effective tactic to win him over into letting his guard down so she and her crew could strike…or a mere extension of gratitude? His mind in a whirlwind, he drew back his plan of attack for now, and turned to face forward once again. "It was the simplest solution." Neji began to dismount his horse as he continued. "Besides," He shot her a look as he dropped down to the ground and began tying up his horse to a wooden stand next to him. "The sooner you pay what is owed, the sooner you can leave. I think that works out best for everyone."

Though his words stung harder than she had expected, it was the first time she had agreed with him one hundred percent. It didn't stop her from glowering at the back of his head. "Are you going to tell me where you're going at least?"

In response he merely pointed at the sign of the store he was heading into. Before she had the chance to protest he had already disappeared behind swinging batwing doors. Was that his signature move, disappearing behind doors and leaving her completely at her wits end? Tenten's body dropped against her horse's neck, burying her head into its coarse mane and moaning childishly to herself. "Can it get any worse?"

…

The thick smell of sulphur mixed with metal clogged Neji's nostrils as he entered the gun store, gunpowder smoke practically fogging his senses. It was a smell he would never wish to get used to but it was unfortunately part of the job. He put a hand under his nose as he tried to catch his breath, heading further into the store as he went in search of the ammo he needed.

To an outsider it may have seemed as though the counter had been left unattended, but a veteran visitor knew better than to assume what you saw was the truth. Neji didn't bother to tap the bell to ask for assistance, opting instead to lean over and flash a couple of copper coins in the face of the hidden occupant. "Two boxes of the usual, Kakashi."

The man in question was sitting under the desk with his head deep in a book. His eyes focused on the coins as he tipped his head backwards to look his customer in the eye. "Ah, Neji." His nose and mouth remained covered behind a handkerchief and his left eye hidden with unkempt hair, but his right eye shut tightly in a polite greeting. "Sure."

Putting his head back in his book he reached to a draw behind him and took out the two boxes of ammo that were requested and skillfully placed them on the counter, holding his palm out for the reward. Neji dropped the coins as promised and Kakashi disappeared from sight once more. "Heard you had quite a night."

"Well, the night apparently hasn't ended."

"Oh?" Kakashi's voice gave way to his curiosity. The infamous silver hair came into view as he tucked away his prized possession and rose from his seat, leaning an elbow lazily on the counter. His singular eye focused on the woman that had been left outside like a misbehaving dog. She sat slumped in the saddle, braiding her horse's hair out of sheer boredom. The normality of her appearance was disappointing but how she had quickly become talk of the town despite that piqued his interest. "Seems harmless."

"She's no good." Neji spat as he opened one of the ammo boxes. "If it were up to me, she would have been gone before dawn broke."

"Weren't you the one who brought her here in the first place?"

"She was wounded and in need of help. I didn't know she was going to be this…" With a swift flick of his wrist he clapped the chamber shut. "inconvenient."

Kakashi rose off of his elbow and put his hands flat on the counter as he took in the scene. Never before had he seen his most valued customer so irked. Not to say it wasn't amusing, but whatever she had done clearly had left an impression that would be difficult to correct. Not wanting to let on his investment in how the story progressed Kakashi shrugged leisurely. "We've had a few stragglers in our time. Some of them end up staying," His voice pitched a little too high for Neji's liking, clearly acknowledging how Neji's own arrival wasn't best welcomed at first. He bit the inner of his lip as Kakashi continued. "Others are simply passing. Either way, you're best not linger on the negative. Life's too short for that."

Before Neji could retort, the familiar sound of the door swinging on its hinges could be heard. Neji gave no heed to the new customer, better set on fiddling with his gun as he thought on Kakashi's words more thoroughly. Only when he saw Kakashi slowly bend his hand towards the sheath of his pistol did Neji take notice of what was happening.

A man with fiery red hair hidden mostly under a wide brimmed hat stood in front of the still swinging batwing doors. He held in his right hand a crossboard of wood which connected to a rather hideous looking puppet that swung near to the ground and resembled an elderly man. Without so much as a smile, the man twisted the wood which made the puppet slowly shake its head giving the eerie sound of wood clashing together. Another twitch and the puppets head drooped to the left and back up again as though eyeing his targets up and down. One more twitch and the puppet's hand revealed the miniature toy gun it held, the master cocking his own pistol in the same way. As both men stared down the barrel of the guns, the two felt like this was not a show that they wanted to wait to see what happened next.

"Gun down." He motioned toward Neji, who placed his revolver on the ground carefully and kicking it softly out of his reach. "Don't move." The man warned, eyeing Kakashi's wandering hand. The puppet then turned to face in Neji's direction with the same creepy expressionless face. "You too." He started forward. His boots clicked and his puppet rattled alongside him as he neared the counter before stopping a few feet away. "I'm gonna need ammo." His thumb clipped the safety. "And lots of it."

'Sasori of the Red Sand.' Neji knew exactly who the director of this bizarre charade was. No formal introduction was needed, Sasori had the chilling reputation of putting his victims through strange theatrics before swiftly ending their lives and using their flesh and possessions to fashion new puppets. There seemed to be no real reason to his obsession which made him all the more dangerous. Neji knew better than to test his limits under this aloof character so he remained still, racking his brain for a way to escape with him and Kakashi intact.

"Sir," Kakashi started, talking in a low tone in an attempt to cool the situation. "If you put the gun down, I'll gladly help you find what you need."

Sasori tightened his grip on the trigger as his face fell to the right - the puppet mirroring him as neither blinked. "This isn't the time to play the diplomat." His tone humourless. "Don't play with me. There'll be plenty of time to do that…later." Empty eyes pulsed as he drew out the last word in hunger. That just confirmed Neji's fears and he couldn't help but gulp slowly. If talking wasn't going to work, then only one thing would.

Before Neji had the chance to react, a whip-like crack sounded from behind Sasori, followed by a strained grunt of pain from the puppeteer. His body collapsed in itself as the hand that held his puppet came to cup his now bleeding ear. For a moment, Sasori dropped the gun to his side, and Neji took the chance to spring into action. He dipped down and reached for his own gun that he had kicked away from himself, making it just in time as the bleeding Sasori came back to the present. He grabbed his gun as he skidded on his side across the wooden floor, taking a pause to eye who had been the bearer of the shot, thinking it had to be an accomplice who happened to have a weak shot.

To his shock Tenten stood holding a smoking gun. Her darkened eyes staring down the assailant with such fixation Neji wondered if she had even noticed him and Kakashi. Sasori had also turned to face her, his face distorted in rage.

"You bitch!" Sasori growled through gritted teeth, the pain searing across his tightened features. Tenten didn't budge.

"I've been called way worse." Her finger graced the trigger again. "You're going to have to do better than that."

At that, his last fuse seemed to blow. As he kept his hand gripping his still bleeding ear, his other hand raised and pointed his gun square at her. Just as he was about to go trigger crazy, he spied the man who just a moment ago was under his will aiming his own weapon at him. It took a moment, but he regained clarity. He scoffed and put down his weapon. "Seems like I'm not welcome." and with that he shook his puppet vigorously. It dropped a couple of balls which exploded upon impact, clouding the room in a cloud of smog. The trio jumped back in surprise and coughed as they inhaled the heavy smoke. Tenten felt a figure pass next to her and she tried to elbow it without success. It escaped right under her nose. Once the smoke cleared, the red haired man and his wicked puppet had indeed vanished.

Tenten legged it out of the store hoping to see the man and go after him. She ran into the middle of the street, but it was just as peaceful as she had left it. She kicked the air and groaned. "I had him!" She exclaimed. Neji not too far behind her, looked in dismay at the deserted street. He sighed, gripping his temple with his thumb and forefinger as he relayed what had just happened.

"What was that?" He started. Confused, Tenten turned to meet him.

"What was what?"

"What were you trying to do? You could have gotten yourself, all of us, killed! You have no business weilding a gun - where did you even get that?"

The myongenistic words that he spewed were not surprising to the brunette. In their world, women were child bearers, home makers, or at best midwives or raising livestock. For one to shoot a gun, especially without the excuse of self defence, was near unheard of. She was getting tired of always having to explain herself and she folded her arms across her chest as she sighed. "What makes you think I couldn't handle it? Does me having breasts somehow pull me off balance that I can't aim straight and pull the trigger? Does me having parts different from yours somehow make me any less of a person than you are, capable of killing a man?"

Her audacious comments made his chest swell as his lungs fueled his words with an impatient breath. "It's not about you being a woman, it's about you not being educated in handling a weapon and missing your target. You were not equipped to handle that shot, clearly because you missed, so you put us all in danger."

She acknowledged that he at least didn't view her any less because of her gender - something that she didn't hear a man admit to all too often. Though a smile crept on her lips as she nodded back towards the store. "Who says I missed? Isn't it only fair to give a guy a warning shot first?" She turned on her heels back towards her horse, hopping on with ease. "Take it we're finished for today then?" Before he could bark any more commands at her, she kicked her heels into her horse - gently but with purpose. She sped off back towards the stables and Neji could all but scoff as the dust kicked up in her shadow.

He let go of his disdain in one long defeated breath. Surely once Naruto heard of what she had done, he would see reason and find something less deadly for her to screw up on. He paused as he thought about what she said. There was no way that she actually made her shot… she had to be bluffing.

As he headed back inside to assess the damage and make a formal report, he wondered what he had done to be the recipient of this mess, and simply what more could she throw at him?

…