Chapter EIGHT

The days slowly passed and soon, it had been two weeks since their invasion of Orochimaru's Northern Base. Sasori found himself regularly visiting Sakura. He would bring her her meals and he would read or write reports while she ate. Once she finished, she would turn to watch him as he flipped through pages or dipped his brush into ink over and over. It became a rather mundane but fixed routine.

Sasori had been carrying Sakura's dinner towards her room when he bumped into Itachi. He easily regained his balance and noted that not a single drop of soup had spilled.

Itachi dipped his head in silent apology. "For Sakura?"

Sasori nodded and shifted his hold on the tray.

The Uchiha blinked and went still, something he often did when he was considering possibilities and outcomes and chances and luck and everything in between prior to taking action before he lifted the paper bag Sasori hadn't realized he had been carrying. He dug through it, then pulled out a smaller bag. "Anmitsu," he said, holding it out. "I doubt she would have had the pleasure of indulging in sweets."

Sasori took it with a small nod. "Thank you," he said, surprised. The raven had an unexpectedly sweet tooth, and he usually kept a rather tight hold on his snacks.

Itachi nodded. "Perhaps you could ask her if there is anything she would like to eat," he said. "Our meals lack variation, and I doubt it will be much trouble to get her something she would like.

Sasori considered this. Sakura hadn't complained about anything since she had woken up, but perhaps that was due to her upbringing. He supposed it would not be too much extra effort and he nodded. "Okay."

Konan came knocking on his door just as he had been about to take a bath. The woman was a rare guest, but Sasori invited her in without question. Konan hesitated before she entered and took a seat on his bed when he offered it to her. She politely declined tea.

Sasori shrugged and sat back down on his work chair. He noticed the bag she was carrying. "Is there anything you need?" He asked curiously. Now that he had sat down, it was very very difficult to not turn back to his messy desk and continue to work on one of his many unfinished side projects.

Konan fiddled with her fingers, then sighed. She turned to the bag and held it up. "I found some old clothes," she said. "They might be a little big, but they should fit her. We can buy her new clothes when you are put on shopping duty, but I think it might be a little dull and unsettling to be stuck in hospital garb until then."

Sasori blinked, gears in his mind turning. "Is this about Sakura?" He finally asked.

Konan blinked like the answer should have been obvious. "Of course," she said, then stood up. "I'll be going now," she said. "I asked Nagato, and he said we can allow her to use the baths as long as she's watched. I have a break tomorrow from noon, so I can help her then. Relay that to her, will you?"

The woman was gone before Sasori could reply. He stared at the door as it was softly closed. "...Sure...?"

The Akatsuki had a large archive. This was due to the large variety of interest and specialty of the members, the value their organization saw in knowledge and information, their income, and the backing of several other influential groups and organizations.

Sasori flipped over a book on rare plants, remembering how Itachi had acquired it for him when he had voiced his interest; it appeared his clan had a copy in their own library.

While against Itachi joining, once he was actually a member they were more than eager to show their support. Sasori knew it was mainly for public view, to appear united as a proud clan, but he would take it as long as they did not attempt to interfere. If they thought they could control the Akatsuki through their former heir, they were dead wrong. Itachi would not stand for that.

He frowned, then put down the book; he had read it a dozen times over. He reached for a book a little higher up and paused when it was just out of his reach.

Sasori's chakra control was perfect, but he did not want to risk damaging the cover by using it to get the book.

He heard someone chuckle and scowled, refusing to look back. A blue hand appeared above him and he hissed in annoyance when Kisame easily pulled the book from the shelf. His hand automatically came up to block when the man attempted to lightly smack him with it. "I had that," he said.

Kisame chuckled. "Sure," he said agreeably, and that made Sasori want to smack him even more. He did not and, instead, he rolled his eyes, fully intended on turning and leaving.

"Ah, wait!" Kisame called. Sasori paused. The older man crossed his arms and jerked his head towards the book he was holding. "Is that for your girl?"

Sasori frowned and turned around. "For Sakura?" He asked.

Kisame seemed to consider something. "She must be bored out of her mind," he said. "Maybe you could bring her something to do. A book can't be that dangerous, right?"

Sasori glanced down at the one he was holding. Perhaps his friend was not aware of the many ways one could kill using the bookmark string, but he kept that to himself. "You tried to hit me with it," he pointed out drily.

Kisame laughed. "Doubt something like that would kill you," he said. "Think about it, okay?"

Sasori sighed, wondering why everyone deemed it fit to give their two cents about Sakura. "Okay."

Sasori enjoyed a wide range of pastimes, but his most favorite was probably working on his wooden puppets. It was something he had been doing since he was a kid, and it was also something he was really good at. He did not like selling his works, but he knew that even then people knew of them. Since he had joined the Akatsuki, he had tampered with one or two of his creations to conceal weapons. It was still largely an untested idea, but it was something he had already tested on the field against insignificant opponents and knew could be rather effective once properly polished.

Once the whole thing with Orochimaru was over, he told himself.

He had been messing around with a joint that had been bothering him for a while when there was a knock. Deidara threw open the door without even waiting for a reply and let himself in like he owned the place. Sasori scowled and turned around to face the intruding blond. "What?"

Deidara grinned and plopped himself down on Sasori's bed. "How are you, Danna?" He asked. "How's Sakura-chan, un?"

Sasori pointedly turned back to his desk. He could feel Deidara rolling his eyes before his partner skipped over to his side and leaned obnoxiously over his shoulder. "Danna~"

Sasori sighed. "What?" He asked. "I am busy, and I'll appreciate it if you could leave me alone while I work."

This time, he got to see the blond roll his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever un," he sang. "Anyways, Danna, the reason I came here today is not to simply allow you the pleasure of my company." He dug into his pocket and pulled out something that easily fit into the palm of his hand. "Look!"

Sasori gave in to his curiosity and leaned in. He realized that the small object was made of clay, and shaped to be a cherry blossom.

"You've got some of that fancy paint here, right?" Deidara asked, looking around. "The paint I keep is meant to be used on works that go bang, so they won't last very long. I thought you could paint it or something. Don't worry, there are no explosives hidden inside." He held out the flower. Sasori took it and carefully turned it around, noting that it was actually a hair clip.

He frowned. "For Sakura?"

Deidara nodded. "Yeah, unless you want it, un." He snickered. "I can make you matching ones if you want."

Sasori rolled his eyes and turned back towards his desk again. Deidara gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder before heading towards the door. "Make sure you give it to her, un!" He called.

Sasori did not grace him with a response and the door closed moments later, signaling his departure. Once the blond's footsteps had faded away, Sasori looked down at the hairclip sitting in his hand. It actually did look really nice.

He sighed, then opened one of his drawers and inspected the first brush he came across. He had just the shade of pink that would suit Sakura.

A reason Sasori often spent his free time in Sakura's room was not something he liked to admit to out loud but sounded just fine in his head.

He enjoyed Sakura's silent companionship.

Deidara was annoying, Kisame treated him like a kid, and Itachi had the 'I know everything you don't air around him all the time. Others, he did not spend nearly as much time with. Sakura was simply there and he found that, sometimes, that was what he was looking for.

He wondered what she enjoyed, and that led to him seeking out Nagato later that day.

The man paused in his own report writing. "I'm sorry?"

"Isn't there something we can allow Sakura to do?" He repeated. "She sits, she eats, she sleeps. It must be boring."

Nagato frowned thoughtfully and put down his brush. "She is a prisoner here," he reminded him gently. "We cannot risk letting her run around without absolute certainty that she is not a threat."

Sasori did not refute the reasonable response and instead nodded. "I know," he said. "But perhaps I could bring her around the base?" As the words left his mouth he wondered why he hadn't thought of it before. He grew poisonous plants to use on his weapons and that area was highly secure, mainly to stop his immature friends from taking out their frustration with him, after facing defeat of some kind by his hand, on his innocent plants. He doubted Sakura would cause much harm if he asked. He said so.

Nagato blinked. "Why, Sasori, that is a wonderful idea," he said, and Sasori though he heard the sarcasm dripping from the man's tone. "Whatever made you think you need my permission to do such a thing?"

Sasori found it was his turn to blink. He frowned In confusion. "Do I not?" He asked. "As you said, she is a prisoner here."

Nagato sighed. "Right," he said. "But truly, that sounds like a good idea, and will hopefully put her at ease. A change of environment may be good for her."

Sasori nodded. "Thank you," he said.

Nagato stopped him before he could leave. "What brought this up suddenly?" He asked.

Sasori paused for a moment. He could clearly remember how many of his friends had approached him about Sakura. Even Kakuzu had asked about her. Perhaps it was the constant reminders of her existence?

However, he simply shrugged. "Who knows?"

Update~

Darque: It's just Sasori sorting out things for now.

Raven: Soon, though, things will happen. Soon. SOOOOOOOOOOOON

Darque: Uhhh, yes, indeed. Soon.

Raven: I wonder what things will happen.

Darque: I wonder as well.

Raven: You're writing it. You know.

Darque: And you're looking over it. You know too.

Raven:...

Darque: =.= What.

Read and Review~