Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto or any of the characters, why the devil would I be writing this solely as fanfiction?? It'd be canon!!

Authoress' Note: Firstly, a big thank you to my readers, my reviewers ( cute0anime0addict, anzkitty180, SpeedDemon315, Dria-Chan and WingedRegent ) and all those who favourite and alert this story! It's you guys that make me smile each day . Secondly, I'd like to apologise for the time between chapters, but I had some work in college to catch up with and my end of year exams are coming up in a couple of weeks time. So I wrote an extra long chapter to make up for the wait that I know is killing someone somewhere! This chapter might have some errors in it, but I did write it at about 1am to nearly 3am in the morning, so it's not my fault entirely. Also, the small fight scene sucks so much because I just can't write them at all...which brings up a very good question about why I even chose to write a Naruto fanfic at all... Last note: some of my reviewers, and possibly readers too, were concerned that I might have Sakura raped. I'd like to clarify that this story will not go higher than a rating of 'T', nor would I ever write a scene of rape or even a lemon. I just don't like them and I wouldn't know how to write such a thing even if I ever, god forbid, wanted to write one. So...yeah there's me note for the start...now enjoy!!

Chapter 6 (all Sasori's POV)

Sasori quickly flicked his eyes to the pink-haired girl's headband and noticed that she was a ninja from the Leaf village. It was proof that the Leaf ninja had come, but their mission had clearly been a failure. The girl looked to be the only one of her team left as well and she didn't even appear to be very useful. Sasori's chances for freedom were looking grimmer by the minute. As things stood, he had no hope of escaping the village and having each of the Darkness ninja systematically tortured.

The Akatsuki member unfocused his eyes once more and waited to see what his captors would do, or say, next. He'd now named each one of the three ninja as: big idiot one, big idiot two and big idiot three. He didn't care that he had learnt at least one of their names either; as far as he was concerned these people were barely above bacteria.

Big idiot one, otherwise known as Shinji, grinned wickedly and opened his overly large mouth, "Just dump the dolls somewhere and let's go ask the boss what he thinks." The others nodded and did just that – tossing the useless puppets on the floor near the cell and leaving Sasori in front of the cell bars.

They all marched back down the corridor they had come from and slammed the door shut once everyone was through it. Once the echoes of their voices had vanished, Sasori flicked his eyes once more to the girl in the cell, trying to work out how to make her take the net off him.

However, before he had a moment of silence to debate his options, the girl started to punch at the walls of her cell. His reddish eyes widened when he saw that her fists were bleeding, yet she still continued to hit at the stone walls. When it was clear that she could not make a dent in the stone, she lowered her hands to her sides, blood still seeping from the wounds.

"Damn it, what's wrong with my chakra?"

Sasori, not knowing what on earth she was talking about, merely remained silent and waited for her to do something else. When she pivoted around on her feet and lifted her battered hands to the bars, the puppet master forced his eyes to return to their unfocused state.

The girl seemed to be trying to bend the bars with her weak looking hands and arms and Sasori was beginning to wonder whether she was even sane at all.

"Come on, bend already!" she hissed between her clenched teeth. When nothing still happened to the metal bars, she gave up and sighed in defeat, "I guess I'm stuck in here after all. Those bastards must have put a barrier around this cell so I can't use my chakra." It was then that she noticed the puppets they had left, and in particular her eyes rested on Sasori's face, "Oh man, they left their creepy puppets in here too. I'll probably have nightmares for life."

The way her face revealed all of her emotions – fear, disgust, annoyance and despair – both amused and angered Sasori. For a ninja she was a fairly poor one. All ninja must be blank-faced and keep all emotions hidden from their enemies. Yet this girl from the Leaf village did the exact opposite. The Akatsuki member liked that he could interpret everything that she was thinking and feeling, just from her face. He rarely met anyone who did that anymore and the idea that this girl was soon to be made into an emotionless, soulless doll bothered Sasori quite a bit. He didn't care about the girl at all, but it would be a shame for one so full of feeling to suddenly…stop feeling altogether.

All that aside though, the puppet master still had to work out how he would convince the girl to take off the chakra sealing net. First things first though…

"Girl, take this net off me now."

Okay, so he would admit that that probably wasn't the best way of persuading the pink-haired girl to release him, but it's not like he wanted to be polite or kind to her. He just wanted to use her for his own gain, which involved her removing the blasted net.

The girl from the Leaf village blinked rapidly, as though she had only imagined Sasori actually talking to her, and then his words sunk in more clearly. Her eyes narrowed and she frowned. So she was angry with him now.

"Why should I do that? You're one of their puppets, so you'll probably just attack me once I get too close to you."

An audible and irritated sigh left the Akatsuki member's lips before he could contain it, and he closed his eyes for a brief moment to gather some of his remaining politeness. When he re-opened his eyes, the girl was still glaring suspiciously at him.

"Listen girl, if I were one of their puppets, why would they have a net over me, but none of the others? I am not a stupid doll. I am a prisoner, like yourself, and if you take this net off me now I'll free you in return. Understand now?"

Even though he had held back his anger, some still managed to seep through towards the end of his speech. It couldn't be helped anyway; it was an old habit that had stuck with him for years.

"Right, like I'll believe anything you tell me. If you are a prisoner like me, then why would they just leave you with the other puppets?"

"Simple…they're all morons."

She chuckled a little bit, a small smile on her lips.

"True, but still…"

"Do I honestly look like a puppet to you?"

At this the girl took on a thoughtful expression, her eyes focussing on his face and eyes to determine whether he was human or a mere soulless doll. Apparently, she had seen something that revealed he was human, or at least he looked it, and she smiled brightly with this revelation. Perhaps the very idea that she would be free was making her happy, but Sasori couldn't quite tell.

"I guess you're not a puppet after all. I still don't know if I should believe what you say, but I guess nothing else can go wrong if I give you the benefit of the doubt."

With her bright smile still in place, the pink-haired girl reached her bloody right hand forwards and pulled the chakra net off of Sasori's body. When it was fully off, the puppet master stood up from the stone floor and dusted off his torn and tattered cloak.

"Okay I helped you, so I guess now you can open this cell…up…" The girl's voice hit deaf ears, Sasori already walking away from her and towards the only door in the prison. "Hey! I thought we had a deal!"

The puppet master didn't even bother to look back at her or respond, he just raised his right hand to open the door instead. He was intent to escape from this village and the forest before anyone even noticed that he had gone, but he didn't know if he would be able to manage it all on his own. He couldn't really use his puppets in combat either, because these ninja knew a thing or two about them.

The door opened, but he didn't do that himself. Sasori was far too caught up in his thoughts to have noticed the faint chakra signatures arriving back at the prison door. It swung open and he jumped back towards the girl's cell. He recognised the people instantly as the big idiots from before. They, of course, took at least a minute to notice that Sasori was walking about and the net was on the floor. When they did though, shock was clear on their faces.

Shinji was the first to recover and take on a battle stance, with his feet set apart for balance, his left hand behind his back ready for using ninja tools and his right one in front of his chest with a kunai drawn. He gave a sidelong look to big idiot two, who quickly took out another capture net. Big idiot three stood next to number two, prepared to give him support if needed.

The Akatsuki member knew that if any of them caught him in the net he'd be finished, but without that net his odds would be in his favour completely. He needed some assistance. One quick glance to the pink-haired girl and he knew that his only chance for survival rested on her small shoulders. He needed her help.

Sasori silently slipped his Kazekage puppet scroll from within his cloak and released the puppet with a practiced speed that caught his enemies temporarily off guard, giving him an edge. He used the puppets secret ability and sent iron sand flying at the ninja to distract them, while he used another piece to snap the bars of the Leaf girl's cell door. When he was certain she was free, he concentrated fully on his opponents before him.

Shinji had disappeared from his sight, but big idiot two and three were still within range of the Kazekage's iron sand and therefore easier to dispatch of. With a skill that nobody else could boast about, Sasori performed a quick hand sign that allowed his puppet to create large spikes from the sand, and directed the puppet to fire the spikes at the pair of Darkness ninja who had been trying to feebly dodge the small shards of iron sand. They were impaled multiple times by the spikes, blood splattered all over the walls and floor of the prison, and the Akatsuki member took great satisfaction in knowing that the two had died in a very painful way.

He used the puppet to call back the iron sand, and then looked for the final big idiot – Shinji.

His ears picked up the sound of flesh being pounded, and he searched through the now dust-filled room for the location of the noise. He spun around to face behind himself and took in the sight of the pink-haired girl beating Shinji with her gloved fists, which he noted no longer bled.

When the girl had had her fill, in other words when Shinji had passed out entirely, she let go of the ninja's collar and watched with a small level of fascination as he crumpled to the floor. She dusted off her hands and smiled with a sickly sweetness at Sasori, who was now nearly apprehensive about freeing her. Her sudden strength against that Darkness ninja explained why she had tried to punch through her cell walls.

The Leaf girl walked up to the puppet master, still with that spooky smile on her face, and slapped him hard across his face. Luckily for Sasori, she didn't make any marks on his otherwise flawless cheek, because if she had done, she might have noticed that he was no longer just a normal human being after all.

Her smile vanished when he looked at her again, "That was for trying to leave without letting me out, you jerk! If those ninja hadn't come back, I don't know what would have happened to me! I don't think you understand the meaning of a bargain. I helped you get free, so you were supposed to return the favour!"

Sasori stood at his full height in front of the fuming pink-haired ninja, which wasn't a great deal taller than she was, and glared openly, "Shut up you little brat! I got you out of that stupid cell didn't I? So stop complaining."

"You're right you did free me in the end. Even if it was only because you looked like you needed my help, you still got me out of there. So…" the girl extended her left hand, "…thank you."

By the way her face was now shining with gratitude, and also with the very gesture of a handshake, Sasori could tell that she was way to forgiving and trusting to be a true ninja. If she was a ninja from the Sand village, they would have ironed out all of her stupid faults when she was still a little child. Still, Sasori was grateful that she was not from his old home; he couldn't afford to be recognised and have his only chance for freedom to be ruined.

"I don't want nor do I need your gratitude, little girl. I just require your abilities to aid me in escaping this irritating place. Once I'm far away from this pathetic village, I won't have to look at your stupid face again."

The girl frowned slightly and slowly pulled her dainty hand away from the puppet master. Honestly he didn't know what she expected from him, but he was never going to sink to that level of weakness by actually accepting her thanks for a completely selfish deed.

"I suppose I can accept those terms…even if you did just insult me."

Sasori didn't say anything to that, he merely sealed his Kazekage puppet back inside it's scroll and tucked the scroll up his sleeve once more.

The pink-haired ninja brushed past Sasori and headed towards the still open door, "Oh and by the way, my name's Sakura, not girl."

Sasori's only reply as he walked a little ways behind the Leaf ninja and out the door of the prison block was, "I don't care."

He just knew that this would be a bothersome mistake, but he also knew that he needed this girl…Sakura.