Chapter NINE

Sasori was used to waking up to pain. His soulmate's broken ribs and shattered fingers had long become alarm clocks, and continuous days of simply waking up to someone's footsteps outside or to Hidan's loud cursing after Kakuzu had kicked him out of bed or to the cries of a bird perched right outside his window were dreams for as long as he could remember.

That was no longer the case, though, and Sasori often found his peaceful awakenings paired with the relief that his soulmate wasn't hurting either. It was different, knowing she was out there and having her right there. He had known this, of course, but there was something inexplainable within him whenever he saw her.

They were one of the few people in the world to have come across one another. When that wasn't the cause for stabbing pain every other hour, Sasori found the thought to be surprisingly comforting. She was the one person out there who could understand him to a level others could not, no matter how close they were, and a sick part of him molded by years of working in a profession where death was a constant threat was delighted by the fact that even if he did die somewhere, unnoticed and never to be found, there would be someone who would know how exactly it had happened. Someone who knew what had killed him and how much it had hurt.

Of course, that was if Sakura did not die before him. Sasori looked up from the papers in front of him. Sakura met his gaze like she had been watching him the entire time, and he forced himself to not turn away. "It will just be a few questions," he told her. "If you're uncomfortable answering them, you can say so."

He left out the part where she may be forced to tell him anyways. He knew the Akatsuki were being lenient on her because she was his Soul mate and because she had yet to show signs of hiding anything, but he did not know how long that would last.

If everything were a tad bit more simple, he would be the cop to her criminal. It wasn't, though, and he was a member of an elite force tasked with jobs out of the police's league, while she was an unwilling subordinate to one of the worst criminals of the generation.

Sakura nodded, and Sasori turned back to his papers.

Both of them could die at any moment, both in and out their line of work. He had made a lot of enemies over the years, and he was sure that Sakura could match, perhaps surpass, his own list of people who might want him dead.

"You are a chakra user." It was not a question, but it was the protocol to make sure.

Sakura nodded easily. "Yes."

"From what we've observed, we have come to the conclusion that your abilities are heavily based on using your chakra to enhance yourself," Sasori said. He could remember the black markings on her skin as she healed herself while unconscious, and the chunks of concrete she had gauged out of walls and the craters she had made on the floor when she had attempted an escape after breaking his wrist.

Sakura nodded again.

"Were any of your abilities results of Orochimaru's experiments?"

Sakura shook her head. "Tests ran on me were usually the effectiveness of drugs. My powers were unique; Orochimaru didn't mess with things he considered good enough."

Sasori noted this down. "Your healing abilities allowed you to heal off the effects of the drugs?" He guessed.

Sakura nodded again and Sasori wrote more things down, but his mind felt worryingly blank. "Just a few more questions," he told her.

Sakura nodded once again and sat patiently as Sasori noted down everything she had said. He had no idea why he couldn't have gotten someone to write down what the girl said while he asked the questions. Rr, even better, someone else could have done the whole thing.

Nagato had said the pinkette's cooperation would earn her freedom throughout the base, though, and while Sakura had not been told this, Sasori knew that she would probably open up to him the most regardless.

"Are your abilities based on chakra control?" He asked. "Or is it a mutation?" He suspected the latter, having never seen markings like hers before, but he would make sure.

"A mutation," Sakura confirmed. "Or that was what I was told."

The experiments found in the Northern Base had been dangerous, but that was mainly because they could not be reasoned with anymore. Sasori did not doubt for a second that Orochimaru kept monsters much more powerful closer to himself. He found himself subconsciously looking at Sakura again as this thought crossed his mind. No one knew the full extent of Sakura's abilities just yet, but she had survived in the snake pit. Her strengths may have played a part in keeping her alive, but Orochimaru's investment in her was probably was a large part of it. She'd have to be special for Orochimaru to take an interest, and there was nothing reassuring them that she was the only one. The girl herself had claimed others like her existed, and knowing more about her could help them prepare for coming fights.

After all, there was a high chance not all of them were like the girl sitting before him.

That thought still ringing in his mind, Sasori frowned at the last question. Nagato had said he didn't have to force the girl, and he knew how there was a large chance Sakura would clam up again if he made her too uncomfortable. The others like her had probably been the closest thing to kin, perhaps even friends, that Sakura had under Orochimaru. He remembered how she had shown concern when he had first brought it up weeks ago, and he did not think demanding information about them in what was sugarcoated but was clearly an interrogation would be the best way to go about it.

"That'll be it for now," he said. Then, like an afterthought, added, "Nagato said I can take you around parts of the base," he said. "Do you want to start at the archives? Or the greenhouse?"

Sakura blinked, as though she hadn't expected something like that, but Sasori didn't think it would take her very long to link the two together. He waited while she glanced between his eyes and the floor before she finally opened her mouth again.

"The greenhouse, please," she said. "I remember you telling me about it."

Sasori nodded, remembering as well. "Don't worry," he said reassuringly. "I can take you to the library afterward."

Someone would come to collect his notes later. He held out his hand without a second thought and the pinkette took it without question. He helped her up and led her towards the door.

Sakura appeared the happiest since he had first met her when he had led the girl through the corridors. The collar had remained for security measures but it hadn't appeared to bother her at all as she took quick steps to keep up with his slightly larger stride.

Sasori had known the girl was smart. Her situation may have limited her general understanding of society and deprived her of common sense, but that did not mean she was not knowledgeable. She was able to recognize his collection of plants and displayed a vast understanding of each of their properties. In the archives, she had been quick to recognize the pattern in which their books were stored, and had made a beeline for texts on medicine.

He found it a little ironic that her interest lay in the area of healing when she worked under a man known for his kill count and had probably aided him with it.

Sakura seemed to notice his gaze, or rather, had finally decided to acknowledge it, and she looked up. Sasori shook his head and jerked his head in the direction of her book. The girl continued to look at him for a while longer before she cautiously turned back to the words before her.

The silence continued, interrupted only by the soft sound of pages being turned, and Sasori had finally managed to turn his focus onto the text he was reading when Sakura's voice once again cut through his forced concentration.

"Am I the only one here?"

Sasori paused, thinking he knew what she was asking, but wanting to make sure lest he gave her the wrong information. "What?"

Sakura closed her book and placed her hands on the cover. "I wasn't the only one of Orochimaru's pets in the base," she said. "And yet, it feels like I'm the only one here."

Frankly, Sasori was surprised she hadn't asked all this time. "That's because you are," he told her easily. "The others are being held and treated in hospitals created for this, and manned by people specially trained in the area. The better ones seemed to understand simple words, but they all are too dangerous to allow them to roam free."

"Orochimaru-sama called them the failed experiments," Sakura told him. "They were often left to fend for themselves. Most died and rotted in their cells. The better ones were sometimes sent out as cannon fodder." She frowned. "Is that the reason?"

Sasori hesitated, recalling what many of his friends had told him about her lack of knowledge on Soulmates. Despite what some might give as reasons, he knew this was mostly for him. After all, they could have easily handed her over to someone they trusted, like Jiraiya, and the man could have taken care of her while also protecting her from the likes of Danzo, he was sure.

Fortunately, Sakura seemed to take his silence for confusion. "There was-there should have been another one like me," she said. "A boy, who wasn't like the failed experiments."

At this, Sasori sat up. "Like you?" He asked.

Sakura nodded. "I guess you could call us successful experiments. Masterpieces? I'm usually not stationed at the Northern Hideout; that's the boy's domain."

Sasori did not question the sudden barrage of new information. "What does this boy look like?" He asked; he had read through the reports on the recovered experiments several times and knew he would remember if anything stood out.

"He's tall," Sakura said, standing up and raising her hand to show him. "He has orange hair."

Sasori frowned. Most of the experiments had looked half dead if he were being honest. Even Sakura, in her bloody state, had appeared more alive. After all, one needed to be alive, or at least have been alive until moments ago, in order to bleed. If this boy looked half as alive as the pinkette before him did, he was sure his photo would have caught his eye.

"I don't think he was in the list of victims we recovered," he told her.

Sakura observed him for a moment before she slowly nodded. "I thought so," she said. "If he'd been there, you probably wouldn't have made it out alive."

"I thought you said he was like you," Sasori retorted. "Doesn't that mean not an insane monster?"

"He is like me," Sakura insisted. "He is not a monster, he doesn't want to hurt anyone." Her eyes flashed. "He will, though, if he has to."

Sasori put his book aside altogether. "Why are you telling me all this?" He asked curiously. "You were always willing, I suppose, but you've never really volunteered information."

Sakura copied his action and placed her book on top of his on the table. "Because you can help us," she said. "I feel you can help us."

Sasori met Sakura's green eyes. In fiction novels he sometimes indulged in, characters often saw emotion and resolve in the eyes of others. Sasori didn't really understand that, but he supposed the way she did not flinch away from his gaze or look down at the floor like she usually did conveyed how important this was to her. He stood up and could feel Sakura's gaze on him even when he momentarily looked away to push his chair back.

"You're going to need to tell me more in detail," he said. "And I think Nagato would appreciate the information."

Sakura appeared to sink deeper into her chair, eyebrows drawing in a fraction.

"The Akatsuki aim to shut down Orochimaru completely," Sasori told her. "The Snake will be taken in, and he will face judgment for all the crimes he has committed and all the people he has hurt." He held out his hand. "All his victims will be properly mourned for and all the survivors will be given the best possible care so that they can take back even an ounce of their former lives."

"The Northern Hideout was the first step," Sakura said slowly. "There is more?"

Sasori nodded. "In fact, there is a meeting to discuss our next major move in two days. All the data we've had before, as well as all the information we newly gained after the takedown of the Northern Hideout, will be accounted for. Anything you could tell us will aid us."

Sakura bit her lip and continued to frown for a while longer before her hand shot out to take his with a determination that surprised Sasori. "You must help us," she said. "We-none of us wanted this. We don't want to hurt anyone. We-"

Sasori tugged Sakura to her feet, cutting her off. "I know," he said softly. "I promise to do everything I can. I meant it when I told you no one will hurt you here, and I promise none of us want to hurt your friends."

Sakura's hand felt small in his grasp. The girl stood almost a head shorter than him, and with how close they were she had to look up to meet his gaze. He held it until she nodded. "Okay."

Sasori let go and took a step back. "I don't think Nagato will mind an interruption if it's something like this," he said. When he turned towards the door, Sakura immediately followed.

IT'S KINDA LATE SO CHECKING WILL BE DONE LATER SORRY IGNORE MISTAKES FOR NOW TYTY

Darque: While I enjoy Sasori doing all the tiptoeing around Sakura cause he doesn't know what the hell he's doing, I NEED SOME ACTION SO SOME ACTIONS I WILL GET.

Raven:...Right...

Darque: FLUFFY DAYS ARE MEANT TO BE BROKEN. ONLY THEN DO THE DAYS LOST BECOME ALL THE MORE PRECIOUS AND THE DAYS TO COME ALL THE MORE ANTICIPATED.

Raven:...Uh...Right...

Darque: But yeah, Sakura did have a life, as sucky it must have been, before coming to the Akatsuki, and it'll come shit on them all CAUSE THAT'S THE STORY HERE MWAHAHAHA.

Raven:...

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