Warnings and Disclaimer: Language, supernatural, horror, hints at shounen-ai. I do not own Naruto and Co.

Sasori, Deidara, Kakashi, Kisame, Luka (OC), Hidan.

Strings Attached Part 2

Sasori gritted his teeth harshly as his eyes slowly pulled open until they were slits. His breathing was constricted harshly, short pants of air all he was able to take in and let out. With a pained hiss of breath, he tilted his head enough to try and see exactly why his body felt the way it did.

With a jerk, he realized he was hanging high up in the air from the ceiling. A quick jerk of his limbs proved that he had been strung up, just like the night guard. The thin wires were slicing into his skin, droplets of blood running down them and dripping into the darkness below. He tried to breathe again, but a wire around his chest, wrapped so tightly it cut into his skin through his clothes was keeping him from taking a large breath to replenish his lacking oxygen supplies.

He was too nervous to move. The wires were thin. If they snapped, and he fell from this height, his chances of survival were next to none. He may be light, but he was still human...unfortunately.

'Okay, okay think...relax and just think...' he thought, closing his eyes and concentrating on what he could feel, hear and smell.

His nose caught the scent of the substance he'd found on the floor earlier. Blood and grease.

'Obviously, it's already set up the doll my soul is supposed to go into,' he thought, his brows furrowing in annoyance. 'But in order for my soul to go into the doll, I need to be dead, and it needs to have the right symbols written out in blood...' he shifted his body again, feeling the cuts all over his body. 'I haven't bled out enough for it to finish all the symbols yet.'

He trained his ears for any sounds, and somewhere far below he caught the sound of material shifting. It sounded like a suit jacket. The doll attacking him was wearing a suit?

'It cannot sound any more pathetic than that...' he thought glumly. Slowly, he began to jerk his legs slightly, hoping to determine how far he was from the wall. If only he had some light, he could just-

As if summoned by his wishes, a flame erupted somewhere in the darkness before it hurtled towards the area right below him. Sasori looked down and saw something small scurrying away from the flames, and guessed it was the demonic doll. The light revealed a doll with short red hair lying in the middle of a half formed symbolic circle. The doll caught fire and began to burn, creating even more light.

Footsteps sounded, and Sasori once again looked towards the sound until the person was illuminated by the flickering light.

"D-Deidara!" he said, shocked. "I thought you got outside!"

"No, the doors closed. Besides..." Deidara looked up at him, eyes glowing in the dim light. "I couldn't leave you behind, un."

Sasori turned away, hoping the flames would hide the slight discolouration on his face. "Stupid..." he mumbled, glaring at nothing. "Just get me down!"

Deidara nodded and rushed to the small metal beam that led up to the roof. Carefully, he began to climb, grunting every now and then when a hold seemed difficult to find. Sasori watched his progress carefully, sometimes calling out when the blonds' foothold was about to slip.

Finally, Deidara reached the same level as him and careful started to inspect the wires. After a moment, he sighed.

"Sasori, the only way to do this is to cut the second string. Chances are most of the others will break, and they will cut you a bit. But the main string will remain intact and swing you towards me, un." Deidara looked over at him, worry in his eyes. "...Will you trust me enough to do that, un?"

Sasori bit his cheek, examining the blond before him carefully. Could he put that much trust into someone? He'd never put his life in another's hands. Not since that time...

He remembered all the times in high school, where Deidara was constantly annoying him and calling him his best friend. He'd always found the guy to be annoying, blunt, often too brash in his actions.

Slowly, Sasori found himself nodding. "...I trust you."

Deidara smiled, and Sasori felt that what he'd just said did, in fact, hold some truth.

Carefully, Deidara began to cut through the wire with a small knife he'd acquired from somewhere in his many pockets. Sasori braced himself for the pain as well as the free fall. After a few more seconds, the tell-tale 'twang' of the wire snapping met his ears, followed by an echoed chorus of similar sounds as most of the thinner wires snapped. His wrists, elbows, ankles...hell, all of his limbs stung as wires sliced across them, blood splattering out in several directions before suddenly, he was falling.

Had he been anyone else, he may have screamed in fear at the free fall. Instead, he bit his lip so hard it bled, droplets raining through the air from the various cuts on his body. Just as he plummeted lower, he reached down to grab a hold of the thickest wire still wrapped around his stomach so as to stop it from cutting him clean in half when it recoiled. Sure enough, he felt it tighten, and his hands took some abuse, blood running out. He felt himself begin to fly back up as the wire fully recoiled.

However, during that moment, he let out a yell. Going down had been nerve wracking enough, but going up? It was like gravity vanished and it felt so strange. Sasori hated it, that weightless feeling as he floated higher. He was beginning to feel sick from the sensation. Before he could fully surrender to the feeling, a solid arm was wrapping around his torso and dragging him back to a source of land. Reaching out, he grabbed onto the beam and got himself seated onto it, panting for breath through the pain and the lingering feeling of weightlessness.

"Are you alright, un?" Deidara asked, genuine concern in his voice. Sasori took a deep breath and nodded slowly.

"...Yeah..."

Deidara looked very relieved and slowly, carefully bent down slightly to start cutting at the remaining wire. While the blond cautiously worked, keeping one hand on a hold so he wouldn't fall, Sasori kept his eyes peeled. The fire below was still burning, but not as bright since most of the doll was nothing more than melted plastic by now. Luckily, there wasn't anything very flammable nearby, so the chances of a large-scale fire were minimal. But even so, he'd feel better knowing the fire was out and the only light was something he could have absolute control over.

Finally, Deidara let out a triumphant sound as the wire fell away and Sasori could breathe again. Slowly, carefully, they climbed their way down until the ground met their feet with a smile. Sasori took a moment to lean against the wall. His body ached, and some of the cuts were deeper than he'd first anticipated, blood continuously leaking out.

"Shit!" he hissed, sliding down to his backside. One of the deeper cuts was behind his knee, and it hurt like hell. He wasn't sure how to stop the blood flow, but he knew he'd better come up with something soon. He was beginning to feel a bit lightheaded.

"Sasori!" Deidara knelt down beside him, checking over the wounds with what little light he could get. "Hang on, I can help, un!" he said, reaching around. Sasori almost yelped when Deidara suddenly tore his pant leg apart from the bottom to mid thigh. He knew his face was red as the other man started to form a bandage from the now torn piece of material. He could feel Deidara's fingers near his inner thigh and it was making him very uncomfortable. Luckily, soon the man withdrew.

"There. It should feel better now, un."

Sasori shifted his leg, glad to find that it did indeed feel much better. With a nod of appreciation, the two stood up.

"So, how are we going to deal with this problem, un?" Deidara asked slowly. Sasori hummed.

"Communication with the outside will have been cut off. We're basically trapped in here until sunrise. This thing won't just sit around though. It's going to keep coming at us. And just because it's in the body of a doll doesn't mean it'll be easy to fend off. It's got massive spiritual energy, and can control things with it. Not to mention, there's probably a few souls trapped into some dolls from the Kobayashi Carnage that are here...those will be like minions to that son of a bitch," he said, already taking a few shaky steps down the darkened hall. The fire had finally died down, leaving them in darkness but for the faint silver light of the moon shining through the large windows.

Deidara stayed close, overshadowing Sasori as they crept down the hall. Sasori kept whispering, almost seeming to debate with himself on the best ways to proceed. Deidara only listened attentively, never interrupting but letting the smaller male do his work.

"To destroy this...it'll take a powerful chant. The type that includes holy water and a ritual circle. But we don't have any of that...nor do we have any way to get it," Sasori turned, Deidara making sure to keep an eye out as they walked, "What other ways are there to destroy such a powerful spirit?...Cleansing...Psychic Eyes...Voodoo..." Suddenly he came to a stop, tapping his fist against his palm. "Disassembling! That's how we can stop it, at least until we get some proper tools."

They were in one of the storage areas, and Sasori quickly reached back, grabbing Deidara's hand and pulling him to the side. He swung the blond around until they were facing each other and began to speak in low tones.

"Okay listen, what we need to do is set a type of trap for it, get it still long enough for me to disassemble it. If we can manage that, the spirit will take a long time to reconnect the whole body, and by then the sun will rise and it'll be locked away until sunset. We can do the real ritual during the day."

Deidara nodded in agreement. "How do we set a trap, un?"

Sasori smirked, looking quite sinister in the dark. "I have an idea. Listen well, Kouhai."

Deidara smiled at the old term from when they were back in high-school together. "Yes, Danna."

The moon hung high in the inky black sky littered with small, bright stars that glittered against the night like diamonds on a sheet of black velvet. A whisper of wind caused the trees to shiver, blossoms becoming dislodged from their holds and floating to the ground like small vessels of colour.

The night was beautiful, and many people would cherish a night like this for its calming effects and peaceful reprieve.

Kakashi was not one of this people.

He was standing at the front door to the Kiku&Miku Doll Factory, a crowbar in hand. Behind him, Officer Luka was holding up his flashlight to the door and standing a bit aways, next to the large white van parked nearby, Kisame watched with tense shoulders.

Kakashi grunted as he tried to pry the door open with the crowbar, but the bloody thing wouldn't budge. He'd been doing this since the door had slammed shut, but he wouldn't give up.

Two of his boys were locked in that place with a psychotic spirit after their blood. Kakashi would slice his own leg off if it meant his friends would get out of there in one, unharmed, piece.

"Dammit..." Kisame muttered angrily, his eyes looking at the monitors. The screens were dark, since there was no light in the actual factory and the night vision hadn't been activated. They had no idea what was happening in that building. "You dipshits had better be alright..."

Kakashi grunted, his muscles going slack after having strained for so long. He collapsed against the door, panting heavily. Luka was beside him in a moment, keeping a strong hand on his shoulder. The fluttering wind caused his shaggy hair to sway into his face, and he brushed it aside with an irritated sniff.

"They'll be fine!" he said, his voice filled with certainty. "I know Deidara. No matter how childish he acts, he's not one to be messed with. And from what I can tell just by looking, that Sasori character won't go down without taking everything within a hundred meter radius with him."

Kakashi gave a weak smile behind his mask. "I know...but even so, they're my employees and my friends. I'm not giving up until they're standing beside me, drowning in the sexual tension between them." And with that, Kakashi resumed his attempts to pry the door open while Luka stood nearby, holding up his flashlight and smirking at the man's last sentence.

Sasori, sat on the small stool in the middle of the room, the small light from a candle lighting up his face. His eyes were blank as he stared at the flickering light, his hands clasped around it. The darkness was pressing around him and he took a breath, the flame leaning towards his mouth.

"Claw of the dark, reach for my heart, shatter the spines of lies," he began to sing, the melody soft and flowing. His eyes closed in concentration and in remembrance as he recalled the song he had tried to forget, as it reminded him too much of a time he so wished he could reverse.

"Raindrops of fear, embrace my tears, bring forth the shadow that lies over mine.

As darkness descends, as the sunlit rays end, bring back the one that stole my life.

Claw of the dark, take hold of my soul, tear away the sorrow inside,

Rivers of blood, in the meadows of pain,

He who has sinned cannot hide.

Bring forth the monster that lives in the lies,

Keep hold of my body, hold open my eyes,

So that I may know with my fragile soul,

He who has sinned cannot hide."

A soft tapping met his ears, yet his eyes remained closed, the candle flame cradled in his hands flickering as the air around him grew colder. Out of the darkness surrounding him, a new voice sang out, this one sounding like a young child, yet taunting, mocking...evil.

"Lost little lamb, in the pack of the wolves,

Why do you cry?

Innocent lamb, so young and so tender,

Tell me, why do you cry?

Have you lost your dear mother? Was she eaten away?

Has your father been slaughtered by the light of the day?

Are your brothers, and sisters, nowhere to be seen?

Tell me, my lamb, why do you scream?"

Slowly, Sasori's eyes slipped open, revealing the burning fire of hatred within. The flame in his hands seemed to grow bigger, burning brighter.

"Just as I thought...it really was you..." he whispered, and the tapping came to a stop, somewhere close behind him.

"It is impressive that you are able to withstand being in my presence without trembling in fear, child."

Sasori slowly turned around on the stool and looked at the one that had spoken.

A doll, no bigger than his leg from the calf down, stood a little ways away. Vivid green eyes shone demonically in the light, and the raven hair of the doll was continuously fluttering as if it was caught in a gentle breeze. It was wearing a nice suit, but stains of blood could be seen on the dark material even in this dim light.

Sasori noticed strings trailing from the dolls back, and glared at the doll...at the puppet. For that's what it truly was, not only in design, but in existence. The spirit had not taken the form of a doll, but rather, had simply locked itself inside the puppet and used it for its deeds.

"The reason I am not afraid of you...is because I have already trembled in your presence once...and I vowed never to do it again," Sasori breathed, hidden venom lacing the words.

The puppet cocked its head to the side, eyes never blinking and painted smile never leaving its porcelain-like face.

"You have seen me before?...Ah," the sound was one of recognition, "Now I remember you, little red-haired human. Yes, indeed I remember you well."

Sasori was barely suppressing a snarl, glaring at the doll as it let out a mocking laugh, sounding more like the devil child it resembled. Suddenly, those bright green eyes flashed.

"Tell me, little boy...How are mommy and daddy doing?"

Sasori visibly had to stop himself from moving off the stool. His muscles strained, his lips pulled back to show how hard he was gritting his teeth and his eyes blazed. The doll let out a long, taunting laugh.

"Oh wait, that's right...they're already dead." And the doll let out an even more delighted laugh, the sound high pitched and psychotic.

"You damn demon..." Sasori growled, body twitching with the desire to burn the doll in front of him and watch it scream in pain, but he knew he couldn't. He couldn't do it yet. Not yet.

"Oh what's the matter child? Do you miss mommy? Do you want daddy to give you a hug? Oh well, too bad they're not here to do that then. After all, it would've been hard for them after I strung up their bodies and sealed their pathetic souls into the dolls."

Sasori moved an inch on the chair, only just having restrained himself.

"Shut up, you wretched demon. You won't be hurting anyone ever again after tonight."

The doll seemed to find this even more amusing, if the new bout of laughter was anything to go by. Suddenly the doll stopped, taking a step forward.

"You certainly have changed since I last saw you, little boy. I remember that time well now, oh yes, yes indeed. Mommy and Daddy were working, just like everyone else. They'd brought you along that night, and you were sitting quietly in the corner, playing with your toys like a good little soldier.

Then, I struck just when the night truly fell. Everyone was screaming, so confused and scared, but not your daddy. No, no, he knew exactly what was happening the moment he saw me. The foolish man thought he could save everyone, so I strung him up first. Then I did everyone else, saving your mommy for last. She was holding you tightly, trying to shield you from me..."

"Stop."

"But she couldn't shield you for long. It was so easy to drag her body away from you, kicking and screaming all the way until she was hanging upside down and bleeding all over the floor...all over you."

The grip on the candle in his hand was starting to sting, and his eyes were burning darker and darker. "I said stop, you fucking whore of hell."

"And then there was you...the last little human left on the ground. I was looking forward to stringing you up, right beside your parents. But when I tried, I couldn't. Seems like mommy wasn't just holding you after all. She put that blasted protection doll around your neck to stop me from touching you. Then daylight came, and I had to leave you alone. But I have to say...it was most pleasing to watch you cry your eyes out while your parents bled to death and covered you in their own blood."

It was the sudden sound of a sigh to his right that stopped Sasori from jumping onto the wretched doll and trying to gut it. After all, as mocking and tiny as the thing was, if he moved, the spirit energy he was focusing around his body would dissipate and the spirit would be able to fling him about the room like a rag doll with its own energy which was far greater than his own. As soon as Sasori heard the sigh, he forced himself to calm down and went blank faced.

"I have something to tell you, spirit," he said softly. The doll cocked its head.

"What could a child like you have to tell me?"

"It's something you don't know about what happened that night."

The doll took a step forward. "And what would that be?"

Sasori smirked, eyes gleaming evilly. "That night, you created your worst enemy."

Sasori let the candle fall from his hand just as a loud 'twang' echoed in the room. The flame landed on the floor, and suddenly trails of fire were spreading across the floor, creating a ring of low flames that lit the room even more. In the firelight, gleams of light reflected off of metal wires that were whizzing through the air, snapping tightly against the doll and swinging it up off the ground. The spirit let out a roar, and the surrounding area rattled under the immense wave of spiritual energy. However, the flaming circle wasn't yet completed, with more trails crossing until a strange symbol was formed in the burning trails.

Sasori pushed the stool away even as the doll struggled against the restraints in mid air, the gleaming wires cutting against the suit. The red head's face was calm, even delighted as he sauntered towards the doll, being weary of the flaming circle.

"Good job, Deidara. It worked perfectly," Sasori called out, and from the right, Deidara slowly emerged from the darkness. His face was tight as he glared at the doll, and the blond stood next to the smaller male, crossing his arms.

"Danna..." he said softly, and Sasori looked at him out of the corner of his eyes. Deidara's eyes were cold and steely as he stared at the struggling puppet, and a cruel smirk tilted the corners of his lips.

"Start from the bottom, un."

Sasori's lips twisted wickedly as he held up his right hand. The tips of his fingers began to glow as he concentrated, and slowly, the glow turned to an electric blue. Threads made of the same colour began to extend from the glow, stretching and weaving towards the trapped puppet. The doll screamed as each spirit-energy thread connected with different parts of its body.

"How can this be?"

"This circle is a nifty little charm I learned from my old friend Hidan. It's an easy to make and effective circle for trapping and compressing spiritual energy. Even a creature like you will fall under its effects. Sadly, they do not last long, only until the flames die out. But it gives me enough time to do this."

Sasori twitched one finger, and the left leg of the puppet tore slightly, the spirit screaming out again.

Slowly, cruelly, Sasori moved each finger on his hand in different directions, painfully tearing off the limbs of the doll and revelling in the spirits screaming. Deidara stayed beside him the entire time, arms folded and eyes watching with fascination and triumph as the doll was disassembled.

Finally, the head was all that was left attached to the torso. Sasori let his hand curl inwards, the thread tips coming together to form one thick thread leading to the doll head. The spirit was spitting out profanities, roaring out ancient curses that had no effect in the circle.

The head of the doll began to tilt as Sasori slowly drew his hand towards his chest, watching as the spirit screamed more and more. Suddenly, he yanked harshly, teeth bared and eyes glaring and the doll's head was ripped clean off, the glowing thread expanding and brightening briefly. An echoing scream rang out into the darkness of the warehouse while a grey, smoky substance leaked out of the doll's body, dissipating into the air.

Deidara sucked in a breath as he watched the smoke vanish. "...Wow...That demon had a lot of energy if it was visible to the naked eye, un," he commented, almost bemusedly.

Sasori nodded, the glowing threads fading slowly as he uncurled his fingers and let his hand fall to his side.

A deep sigh escaped him as he bent down and picked up the head, looking blankly into the now dulled green eyes.

"It's not over yet. We'll get Hidan to come by tomorrow, and he'll be able to send this cock-sucker to a place he can't ever return from," he said tiredly. The night was taking its toll on him.

Deidara nodded, blinking when he felt something lean against his side. Looking down, he gaped at seeing Sasori practically hanging off his arm, the red head's eyes glazed and bags easily visible. A yawn sounded and Deidara quickly wrapped his arms around the smaller male as Sasori literally passed out from exhaustion.

The blond blinked down at him before a smile wormed onto his face.

"You over exerted yourself with that last pull. Danna...you really haven't changed at all, un."

Sasori sighed as he looked down at the small puppet in his hand. It was a day since his night at the doll factory, and he still hadn't found a replacement joint. He was starting to think that he'd never finish this project.

As promised, Hidan had come to the factory the morning after once Deidara and Sasori had gotten out of the building, much to the other's relief.

Hidan had effectively and ruthlessly dealt with the spirit –"DIE MOTHERFUCKER DIE!"- before saluting and making his way home after receiving some payment from Kakashi, of course.

The door to the office opened and Deidara walked in, running a hand through his hair as he talked on his cell phone. He sent a smile to Sasori, who just gave a half-hearted wave in return.

"Un...Un...No, it was really no problem. Yeah...It was great seeing you too. Bye Luka! See you again soon, un!"

Sasori stiffened slightly before forcing himself to relax. He kept his eyes trained on the puppet, not wanting to see the sappy grin undoubtedly on the blonds' face. Although, why that would bother him, he still wasn't sure.

Suddenly, a shadow loomed over him, and he glanced up. Sure enough, Deidara stood over him, a large grin on his face.

"Hey, Sasori no Danna...I got you something, un," the blond said in a sing song voice. Sasori sighed, rubbing his face with his hand.

"Deidara, if it's anything pink, shaped like a star, or made of fluffy shit, I'm not interes—" he was cut off as a box was placed into his hands, the lid open. He stared down at the contents...it was the joint he needed for his project.

He turned wide eyes to Deidara, who just laughed at his expression. "I asked an old friend to get it for me, since she works at the factory that makes them. I hope it fits alright, un."

Sasori slowly took the joint out, and picked up his unfinished puppet. Slowly, he moved the joint towards its designated area, Deidara watching him carefully.

The joint slid into place with a satisfying click, and the puppet was finished.

Sasori stared at it before a small smile curved his face. "Well...maybe you're not so useless after all."

Deidara only laughed.

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