Alright. I've finished this chapter sooner than expected. Well I'll let you get to reading now.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Ch. 14: A Change of Heart

Sasori was very careful over the next few days. He didn't want Pain to hear about his physical change or his emotional one. The puppet master protected them from the other Akatsuki members as best he could without giving away too much. It seemed to work just fine. No one suspected that he actually cared about what happened to them. Deidara did ask his partner about his change in attitude a few time but Sasori was always able to brush him off with a shrug and something along the lines of "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Kaoru was careful about how she did it but she was helping him deal with the new emotions. She knew if he knew what she was doing he would hate it. The man had as much pride as Gaara did which was saying quite a bit. He was also very worried about the others finding out about what had happened to him. She told Temari about it when he wasn't listening. The wind mistress was worried about the puppeteer but anyone who didn't know her wouldn't have seen it. She started to annoy him less but pretended it was because she didn't think he was worth her time rather than because she didn't want him to get hurt.

Sasori walked into the room with the other Akatsuki members. Gaara's month was almost up and they needed to discuss option in that area. They came up with a plan B just in case Gaara didn't give in to their demands. The kage was suppose to be a heartless monster after all. Then the conversation took a turn that Sasori wished it hadn't.

"Sasori, what is wrong with you?" Pain asked him coldly.

The puppet master's voice was just as cold, "Nothing."

"Kakuzu said that you're actually eating on a regular bases."

'Damn, I should have known that mummy would notice that,' Sasori cursed himself mentally. The only thing he said out loud was, "There have been a few...complications."

"With what?" Pain demanded.

Sasori debated with himself for a moment then said, "That girls jutsu did something to me."

"The two tailed cat?" The puppet man nodded and looked like he didn't care at all. Pain nodded, "I thought that would be it. What affect did it have?"

"I think it was meant to kill me but instead it brought me to life so to speak. My body is now flesh and blood instead of wood and wire," Sasori replied in a calm tone. He was careful to keep his mind blank of anything he didn't want Pain to know. It wouldn't do for the Akatsuki leader to find out about his emotional developments, especially since he was coming to accept those emotions reluctantly.

Pain seemed to accept this answer and dismissed them. Deidara walked beside his partner and looked at him out of the corner of his eyes, "No dana, that jutsu didn't do anything else to you did it, un?"

"No, Deidara. It didn't."

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Temari couldn't stand it. She was actually worried about the bastard. The wind mistress was pacing in their room with a scowl on her face. Kaoru was watching her with some amusement. The medic knew what was wrong with her friend of course. Temari was a logical person. Her skills involved the mind and the body but when it came to the heart she was at a loss. The top strategist in Suna couldn't figure out that she was attracted to Sasori. Kaoru closed her eyes and focused on Temari's emotions. Waves of frustration and confusion washed over her. A smile played at her lips when she noticed the small laps of worry buried under the other two emotions. Her red eyes snapped open and she looked at Temari with a smile.

"What the hell is the matter with me, Kaoru?" Temari suddenly demanded.

"I could tell you but you wouldn't like the answer."

"Tell me anyway."

"He's become more of a friend than an enemy. It's no longer possible for either of us to hate him anymore. He's protected us and taken care of us. That is throwing our emotions for a loop."

"It's not doing that to you," Temari pouted.

"Of course not. Emotions are easy for me to deal with. If anything I listen to them a little too much but you on the other had use logic for everything. Logically, Sasori is our enemy. Emotionally, he isn't anymore."

Temari just shook her head, "This gives me a headache. How do you stand all these emotions all the time? You not only have to deal with your own but with everyone else's too. It would drive me insane."

"I don't know. I was born with it remember. Most of the time I don't even think about all the emotions. I mean. I might just think 'oh hey that guy is happy because he's getting married' or something like that but for the most part the emotions aren't even a conscious thought. It's kinda like a dog asking how you can stand only having two legs."

Temari was about to respond when the blonde member of the Akatsuki walked in. He was carrying a tray of food for the two of them, "No dana is busy so I'm bringing you lunch."

"Umm, is it alright if I ask who you are?" Kaoru asked. They had seen only three other members of the Akatsuki but hadn't been told who they were. Sasori was the only one that the girls had any interaction with and they knew he didn't want they dealing with the other members much for their own safety.

The blonde man gave a smile, "Of course. I'm Deidara, no dana's partner."

"Who's no dana?" Temari asked.

"Sasori."

"Right. I'll remember that. No about that food..." Temari stated as she walked over to get the food. The blonde man left without another word. He was more cheerful than Sasori but he didn't seem to care about them anymore than the other Akatsuki. He made Kaoru think of a wolf in sheep's clothing. The minute he shed that sheep's skin he would be as vicious as any of the other Akatsuki.

It was shortly after dinner when two new members came to the lair. One looked more like shark than a person. His skin was a light blue and he had a row of razor sharp teeth. He carried a large sword that had a bandage rapped around it. The other guy had emotionless onyx eyes and blue black hair. Two locks of it framed his face and the rest was kept tied back and under his cloak. Like all Akatsuki members they wore the black cloaks with red clouds on the and a slash through their village headbands.

Kaoru kept staring at one of them. He looked so much like Sasuke it wasn't funny. She eventually decided that this one had to be Itachi Uchiha. Sakura had mentioned that he was a part of the Akatsuki once. There was one difference between the brothers though. Sasuke actually cared about people. Even when he had been about to leave to join Orochimaru he had cared about Sakura and Naruto. Itachi however didn't care about anyone. She wondered how he became that way. Then those onyx eyes turned to her. She quickly looked away.

"Is something bothering you?" he asked calmly.

"No. It's just that...you look like someone I know," she replied as calmly as possible.

Kisame grinned, "Don't be rude, Itachi. You're suppose to introduce yourself then interrogate her."

Itachi's gaze flick to Kisame then back to Kaoru. Temari stepped up next to her friend. She didn't like the look of these men. Kisame looked at the two girls and quickly judged which one was stronger all around. The one that had spoken to Itachi was obviously just a shy little thing. The blonde was another story however. She had backbone. Itachi's eyes didn't leave Kaoru however. Unfortunately for the medic she had been the one to attract his attention, not Temari.

"I'm Itachi Uchiha. Who are you?" he demanded. Had he been anyone else it would have come across as just calmly asking a question but for Itachi that was as close to demanding as he got.

"Umm...my name is...Kaoru," she managed. Itachi really made her nervous. It was times like this she wished she could be more like Temari or Sakura and hide the fact that she was afraid.

"Now, who do I remind you of?"

"A friend from Konoha."

That really caught his interest, "Would this friend be Sasuke Uchiha?"

"Yes."

He smirked, "I'm not surprised. So how is my little brother doing?"

"Just fine..." Kaoru felt a spark of temper and added, "especially without you around." After she had said that last bit she clapped her hands over her mouth in shock. That wasn't like her. Her crimson eyes looked right at Itachi in fear. He had started to walk forward but someone interrupted them.

"What are you doing here, un?" Deidara demanded. He really hated Itachi. If it wasn't for the Uchiha he wouldn't have had to join the Akatsuki at all. So every time he saw the older Uchiha they would end up arguing and someone would have to break it up.

Itachi smirked at him. He took great enjoyment out of Deidara's annoyance, "In case you've forgotten, I'm a member of the Akatsuki too."

"Of course I didn't forget you bastard, un," Deidara almost growled out in frustration. What he wouldn't give to strangle Itachi with his bare hands.

Kaoru was looking between the two of the as the argument when on in worry. She could tell by Deidara's temper what was going to happen soon. She was right. It didn't take long for Deidara to have enough and throw the first punch. Now Kaoru was really nervous. They had started throwing sharp objects. Temari and Kaoru were forced to dodge the things that missed their intended target and headed for them. Teamri had just dodged a kunai when she felt something grab her then pull her to the left. When she looked back a windmill shuriken was embedded in the ground where she had been standing. Then something gabbed hold of Deidara and yanked him back. Itachi landed back on the ground and didn't move again. Deidara looked back to see who had interrupted his fight and looked right into the red eyes of Sasori.

"You interrupted my work," Sasori stated.

"Sorry, no dana, but he started it," Deidara said. He sounded more like a kid then a grown man. Kaoru felt her mouth twitch at the mental comparison.

"You also almost killed one of the hostages," the puppet master stated again. "Pain said not to touch them."

Kisame walked up beside Itachi, "So those are the girls that will get us the one tailed Shukaku."

"Yes," Sasori replied calmly.

Kaoru was the only one that knew he wasn't calm. His emotions were boiling over with anger and confusion. He had been afraid when thought that the weapon was about to hit Temari. When she was safe anger had swept through him because someone had almost hurt her. Then confusion because he couldn't figure out why he cared at all. Then his ruby eyes turned to her. Crimson clashed as she gave him a look of understanding and he kept his eyes emotionless.

Sasori turned and began to walk back to the room. Kaoru and Temari followed after him. Kaoru gave one last look over her shoulder. She saw Deidara glaring at Itachi who was ignoring him. The shark man was chuckling at the two of them. Then his eyes looked up into hers. She felt it then. The wave of understanding. He could tell that Sasori's emotional state wasn't the same as it had been. What she couldn't tell was if he was going to tell the Akatsuki leader or not. This couldn't be good considering Sasori had gone out of his way to make sure that Pain didn't find out.

Was that really bad? If the Akatsuki were distracted by Sasori's predicament then Temari and her could escape. That was the goal wasn't it. They wanted to get out before they could get Gaara-kun. Kaoru couldn't let them kill him. Gaara had suffered enough in his life. She wouldn't let the Akatsuki add to it. Then again, Sasori had protected them the whole time they were here. She could also tell that he felt compassion now even if he was always ruthlessly pushing it aside. He had even saved Temari a few minutes ago.

When they reached the room Kaoru reached out and grabbed Sasori's cloak to get his attention. He looked at her over his shoulder to let her know he was listening. Kaoru drew in a deep breath and prayed she wasn't making a huge mistake because if she was. Gaara would be the one to suffer for it. Her crimson eyes looked into his with what she hoped was confidence and she asked, "Sasori, please...will you...come back to Suna with us?"

That's it for now. I'm working on the next chapter right now. I might not be updating as fast as I use to from now on. I have at least three stories to work on and school has started to the spring semester. I'll try to update as fast as possible but I can't make any promises. anyways please review and tell me what you think of this chapter