Pein stood in the meeting room, arms crossed as he stared at the child sitting on the table in his underwear. Sasori was swinging his legs and looking curiously at the orange-haired shinobi.

"I'm not too familiar with Sasori's original form to begin with, but it doesn't seem like the jutsu has changed him at all physically, besides turning him into a normal human child," Pein mumbled quietly to Konan, who stood close. "I was hoping there would at least be an indication of the jutsu, like a mark or something on his body. It could've helped with finding a-"

"Can I touch those things on your face?" Sasori interrupted, cocking his head to the side as if he were a puppy.

"Come again?" Pein asked, perplexed at the request. Konan chuckled behind him.

"He means your chakra rods, Pein."

"When did you get them? Did they hurt? How do you sleep? Do you take them out when you go night-night?"

"Oh, don't worry about them. We're here to talk about you." Pein dropped his arms to his side, taking a step closer to the boy. "Tell me what you remember before you…came here?"

Sasori huffed, growing increasingly bored. He'd been in this room for too long now, just sitting there while this strange man looked him over. "I was with my granny and then…I think I fell asleep, and then I woke up here. Granny Chiyo didn't even tell me nothing about coming to stay here! And she won't answer my letters that Deidara sent for me."

"Lady Chiyo? I see," Pein nodded. He turned to Konan and spoke quietly so the red head couldn't hear him. "Will you have one of Sasori's subordinates meet with me later to give me information on Chiyo? She's the one who sealed the One-tail into its current jinchuriki, but that's all I know about her, besides her being an expert on posions as well as a master puppeteer. Maybe there's a something we can learn from studying her, especially with what Itachi's already told us about the jutsu."

"Yes, Pein."

He turned back to Sasori, immediately leaning back as a tiny hand was thrust in his direction. "Pleeease, let me touch them?"

"Oh, alright, fine." He kneeled down and sighed as Sasori gingerly ran his hands over the rods.

"Do they hurt when I touch them?"

"No, they don't hurt at all. Now, tell me more about your parents."

Sasori smiled at the mention of his parents. "Oh, they're away on a mission right now, which is why I was staying with Granny Chiyo. But then she had to leave, so that's why I'm here with Uncle Deidara."

"Uncle…?" Pein shook his head. "How long have your parents been gone?"

"A few months, I think. I really hate waiting for them to come home..." Sasori dropped his hands down in his lap, suddenly bursting into tears. Pein, once over the initial shock, put an arm around the crying child in an attempt to comfort him. Konan also stepped forward, hopping to sit on the table next to the boy.

"Hey, now, it's alright," she cooed. "They'll be back before you know it and you'll be able to go home. You just have to be a little patient."

Sasori continued to cry, burying his face in her cloak. Pein eased his way out of the awkward hug, standing up and crossing the room. "I'll go find Deidara," he mouthed. Konan nodded, hugging Sasori close.

The carrot top didn't have to go very far; Deidara was already outside the door, looking as if he were trying to hide the fact that he was eavesdropping. Rather than waste time scolding Deidara about it, Pein invited the artist into the room. Deidara immediately went to Sasori, kneeling down in front of him and offering a smile. "Hey, now, what's with all the waterworks?"

Upon hearing his caretaker's voice, Sasori pulled away from Konan and held his arms out in front of him so Deidara could pick him up.

"Missing your family again, hm?" Deidara sighed. "You have to be more patient. They won't be too long. Just think of this as a vacation, hm."

"Well, it's not a very fun one," Sasori muttered. "I'm not even allowed to play outside."

"That's just a precaution to keep you safe," Pein interjected. "You're a very valuable member…uhm, guest in this house. Your grandmother trusted us to watch you and to make sure no harm comes to you."

"And besides, who needs to go outside to have fun?" Deidara forced himself to sound enthusiastic. To be honest, he was going absolutely stir-crazy. He'd do anything to go outside – hell, if we were assigned to do a mission with Hidan, he'd have no complaints. The air inside the house was becoming too stuffy for him.

Sasori wasn't faring much better. The kid looked paler than his puppet form did. He definitely needed a little sun.

"Hey," he whispered into Sasori's ear, making it appear that he was merely cooing something comforting to him. "I have an idea of how we can still blow shit up while staying inside, hm."

Sasori instantly perked up, pulling away from the terrorist to look him in the eyes. "R-really?"

"Of course," Deidara answered, pulling him back to whisper in his ear again. "Don't tell Pein or Konan, though. It's a secret, hm."

"Oh, okay," Sasori whispered back, and Deidara set him down before dragging himself up off the floor. He gave a nod at the Akatsuki leader, who raised an eyebrow in question until he realized he didn't care what the blond had said to calm Sasori down – as long as the kid wasn't crying anymore.

"Konan will be back in two days to get more intel from Itachi and to relay what we've found out about Lady Chiyo. From the way things are looking, we should be able to reverse it within four days."

"Yes, Leader, hm." Deidara nodded once more and after Pein dismissed him, he turned and left with Sasori in tow. He led the doe-eyed boy back to their room, closing and locking the door behind him before moving to the window and forcing it open. Curious, Sasori joined him at the window pane, standing on his toes to peek out. Instantly he figured out what Deidara was meaning to do and grinned widely.

"You're gonna throw your clay outside?"

"Yep! Hm." Deidara flashed a smile before reaching into his clay pouches and using both hands to make two small birds. He held out one to Sasori, who took it eagerly and went to throw it out the window. "Ah, ah, ah!" Deidara stopped him, giving the kid a smirk. "Before you throw it, repeat after me: Art is an explosion, hm!"

Sasori grimaced, but his desire to throw the bird was bigger than his rebelliousness, so he finally nodded and smiled back toward the window before shouting, "Art is an explosion, hm!" and tossing the bird as far as he could. Deidara made a face at the last word but sent his bird flying out the window to join Sasori's. A second later he made a hand sign and watched in awe as artwork appeared in the sky before him, grinning as pieces of broken clay hit the side of the base. He heard Itachi sigh loudly from somewhere in the house.

"That was awesome! Do it again!" Sasori pleaded, jumping up and down.

"How could I say no to that?" Deidara chuckled, already forming more clay pieces in his palms' mouths. They continued for another half hour, deciding to call it quits when they heard Itachi's footsteps pacing down the hallway. Not wanting the Uchiha to break down his door (Itachi had a freakishly strong kick), Deidara declared loudly that it was time to make something to eat. Sasori didn't complain.

Deidara waited until heard the raven retreat back to his room before daring to unlock the door and step outside. He made the only thing they had in the house – ramen – and two sat in the living room to eat it, Sasori chattering nonstop about the explosions as if Deidara hadn't been right there with him. The redhead ended up getting to carried away and spilt his broth all over his lap. The bomber shrugged it off; the kid needed a bath anyway, and he hadn't gotten any of the soup on the couch, so Kakuzu wouldn't tear his head off when he returned.

"Alright, let's get you in the bath, brat. Your hair's starting to look like a wildfire, and you've had that same smudge on your shoulder for the last two days." Sasori smiled sheepishly before taking his bowl to the kitchen and following Deidara to the bathroom. The blond ran a warm bath, deciding to let Sasori use his hair products. He couldn't remember ever brushing the child's hair, and it already looked like a rat nest, so combing through it was going to be a nightmare.

It only took ten minutes to clean the child, but the bath lasted an hour and a half simply because Sasori refused to get out until he'd had adequate time to play. No skin off Deidara's back, it only gave him time to think about how he'd actually gotten Sasori, Mr. Eternal, to say that art was indeed an explosion. It didn't exactly count because his partner wasn't in his right state of mind (or body), but it was enough for Deidara.

Brushing Sasori's hair was nothing less than hell. He squirmed and yelped the entire time, getting angry with Deidara as if it was his fault the brat hadn't took a comb to his hair in the last five days. "Stop struggling, hm! I'm surprised you don't have lice, your hair's so knotty."

Sasori paused, giggling. "Hair can't be naughty, silly. It's just hair." Deidara rolled his eyes, dragging the brush through the crimson locks once more.

"Maybe the hair can't, but the person who owns it sure can be, hm," he muttered, ignoring Sasori's protests. Finally, finally, Deidara was able to run a comb through the kid's hair without the teeth breaking, so he released Sasori, who acted like he'd been imprisoned. "Alright, let's get some sleep. Maybe we can make more explosive art tomorrow, if Itachi decides not to be an ass again."

Sasori laughed behind his hands, nodding and skipping behind Deidara to their room. Having had a busy day, he was out like a light less than ten minutes later.

Meanwhile, Itachi had just finished his third cup of tea, setting the cup down and rubbing his hands on his thighs to bring feeling back into them. He'd been sitting for too long, but he couldn't stop now, not when he was so close. Everything was starting to click together, Orochimaru's cryptic writing was becoming as easy to read as a children's book.

He stretched his arms above him, leaning backward over the chair in an attempt to crack his back. After a few good pops he sat forward again, resting his arms on the desk and mulling over the new information he'd gathered. Without Kisame around to nag him about taking it easy, he'd been able to study the scroll all day. He was sure he'd have the answer to this mess by tomorrow night. He was eager for this mission to be over so he could return back to the field, where he didn't have to strain his eyes nearly as much as he'd been having to the last couple days.

However, he found that he was starting to actually enjoy having this child version of Sasori around. While Itachi and Sasori were usually civil toward each other, being comrades in the Akatsuki and all, interacting with this younger, more open Sasori was a breath of fresh air. It also gave Itachi a warm feeling whenever the child spoke to him, looking up to him as if he were his older brother or something. It brought back fond memories of Sasuke.

No matter how much he berated that fool Deidara about casting such an inconvenient jutsu, Itachi couldn't help that he secretly enjoyed it. It gave him a chance to escape his cursed life, if only for a little while, and let him sort of relive the days where all he was was simply an older brother, whose biggest concerns were making his father proud and setting a good example for his younger sibling.

He sighed. Those days were long gone. How naïve and childish he'd been, thinking his life was going to have any shroud of normalcy. And now ironically, he was going to have to watch the free-spirit that was Sasori, turn once again into a hurt and distrusting soul. Forced to watch this kind-hearted child's empathy dissolve into apathy.

Itachi wondered if Sasori would remember this week. The probability was low, but even if subconsciously these memories stayed in the depths of his mind, what if it changed the puppet? Even just slightly?

Itachi pushed himself away from the desk, shaking his head. What did he care, anyway? He hadn't joined the Akatsuki to psychoanalyze its members. What difference would it make if Sasori changed? It would have impact to Itachi whatsoever, except if for whatever reason, the jutsu had changed Sasori enough to want to leave the Akatsuki, and Itachi was tasked with the job of killing him.

Which be upsetting if only because, other than his impatience and weird obsession with turning corpses into works of art, Sasori was one of the few members Itachi could actually have a decent conversation with, or at least sit together in comfortable silence. If Sasori were to ever be replaced, the new member would probably not have the same reserved nature. Itachi shuddered at the possibility of having a new member join who was even more annoying than Hidan.

Itachi stood, deciding to go to the kitchen to make himself a fourth cup of tea, and then to take a short rest in the living room, maybe read a book. Something to clear his mind and to make him relax for a bit before he had to start over again.

This plan was quickly ruined, however. He realized that when he heard the unmistakable complaining voice of Hidan approaching the base, and then the deeper, gruffer voice of Kakuzu. The two never came back silently, even removing the Jashinist's voicebox (as Kakuzu had done once) didn't seem to stop the zealot from making noise.

Itachi took a sip of his tea and watched the front door slam open, and irritated but now silent Kakuzu storming inside, suitcase in hand. From the looks of it, he'd gotten a hefty sum from some bounty, so Itachi came to the conclusion that Hidan was just being an ass again.

And he was right. Hidan strutted into the living room, a proud look on his face from thoroughly irritating his partner. Kakuzu disappeared into his room, most likely to count his money and calm himself down. The silver-haired man flopped down onto one of the couches, scythe dropping with a dull thud next to him. Still lying down, he unzipped his worn cloak, exposing his chest, which showed that he had recently sent a sacrifice to Jashin. "Did you turn Sasori back into a doll yet?"

Itachi took a long sip of his tea before shaking his head, not caring that Hidan couldn't see him from his position on the couch. "No," he grunted when he heard Hidan start to repeat the question. "He'll be back to his old self in two days, at the latest."

"Man, I sure hope he remembers everything. It'd be pretty fucking funny to see him kill Deidara for this." Hidan chuckled to himself and Itachi frowned at the thought. He'd shown Sasori his soft side; if the puppet knew that he wasn't all cold and emotionless, it could hurt his reputation in the Akatsuki, if Sasori told anyone, that is. Itachi relaxed, knowing that Sasori wouldn't have any reason or want to share that he had played a card game with the Uchiha.

As Hidan had pointed out, he would most likely be completely infuriated with Deidara, and he wondered if even Pein would be able to stop Sasori's wrath. While Pein didn't approve of violence between comrades, he also wasn't pleased with the fact that Deidara had performed an incapacitating jutsu on the shortest member.

Pein would most likely pretend to look the other way while Sasori got his revenge, as long as Deidara wasn't killed, of course.

"You gotta let me be there when you reverse the jutsu. I wanna see the look on the puppetfucker's face when he wakes up and realizes what happened."

"No," Itachi deadpanned. "We're going to give him his privacy. I don't even want to be there when he turns back; as it is he already dislikes being seen outside Hiruko, so the fewer people in the room-"

"Fuck, that's no fun. You can't let a guy live a little?" Hidan drawled. "A little humiliation would probably do the marionette some good. Kick him down a few pegs, you know? Get him off that golden pedestal he sits on."

"If you don't mind being turned into a human-puppet, then you can be my guest, Hidan."

That got the zealot to shut up, probably because if Hidan were controlled by Sasori, he couldn't sacrifice to Jashin, and Itachi smirked a little, hiding it behind his cup. He took another sip.

It naturally would be chaotic around the base when Sasori was reverted back to normal, but if they could limit how much more embarrassment the red head felt when he came back, it wouldn't be too crazy. Maybe he'd ask Pein to send Hidan out on some errand that day, at least until they were done reversing the jutsu. Then if Hidan wanted to be a blockhead and mock Sasori, he could take the consequences that came along with it without anyone else feeling like they had to do something about it.

There was no stopping an idiot, after all.

This was an early birthday present to myself (it's tomorrow, I'll be 22) and to all of you who continue to read and support this little fic. Thanks!