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Chapter 16: Remember the Pain

Sumiko had, to everyone's surprise except for Sasori and Mamoru, filled her plate with rice. Upon doing so, she grabbed chopsticks and sat in the living room couch. Deidara raised his eyebrow at her choice of food. "You can get more you know and different food too, un."

Mamoru laughed as he sat down on another couch. "Sumiko-sama eats lots of rice and not really much of anything else."

Deidara sighed and grabbed an unidentifiable meat with his chopsticks and looked at Sumiko. "Will you at least eat this for me, un?"

Sumiko raised her eyebrow but consented and ate the meat. She swallowed and looked up at Deidara. "That tasted good. What kind of meat was it?"

"Rabbit, un."

Sumiko's eyes grew wide and she dropped her chopsticks. Sasori massaged his temples, knowing full well what would happen. "Look, it is not Katsu, so relax." Her eyes, however, filled with tears that threatened to overflow.

"Shut up Sasori! It is your fault Katsu-kun died!" She ran out of the room and immediately every eyeball in the room glared at Sasori.

The puppeteer raised his head and observing the glares merely raised a stoic eyebrow. "What?"

Mamoru sighed. "I really don't feel like explaining this. I'm going to do a ritual so Sasori-sama," the Sand ninja lazily turned his eyes to the older Jashinist, "good luck." He formed some hand signs and disappeared.

Deidara immediately stood up and strode over to Sasori, visible eyebrow contorted in anger. "What the hell happened regarding Sumiko-chan and this 'Katsu' and why is she crying? Answer quickly Danna; I want to check on Sumiko-chan, un!"

Sasori sighed and lounged on the couch, knowing this would take a long time. "Well… it is a long story, but…"


Flashback

Sumiko ran about happily with the energy that ten year olds possessed. Lounging about lazily on the porch of their small home in the Sand Village was her twin, Sasori. With a twitch of chakra strings, he made their 'parents' bring them cool lemonade.

Sumiko smiled and thanked her mother. She walked around to the area where her bunny rabbit Katsu was kept. "Katsu-kun! Where are you?"

Sasori smiled hearing his sister's attempts at locating her pet. Rabbits were rare in the Sand Village and he still remembered the squeal of joy his sister emitted upon seeing rabbits for the first time while they were on a mission in the Fire Country. Ever since then, all she had done was talk about the lovable mammals until Sasori caved and gave her a rabbit for her ninth birthday. For an ANBU, she still is quite young in her thoughts, the puppeteer thought. His head jerked up when he heard his twin scream.

H e dashed to the side of the house that had the rabbit enclosure and his fingers twitched as they manipulated a puppet to his side. His eyes widened witnessing his sister sitting on the ground, cradling a small rabbit in her arms. "Sasori, something happened to Katsu-kun! His bones are all dissolved and his body is really squishy!" Sasori bent down next to his sister to examine the dead, limp mammal. He noted the vials next to Katsu's water supply and sniffed one of them.

"Sumiko, this is one of your formulas…" Her eyes welled up before going to where the other vial was and picking it up. "So what is in that vial?"

"This was the nutrient supplement you were supposed to give Katsu-kun before we left on that mission we just came back from…" Silence drenched the area as her eyes widened in realization. "You idiot! You basically poisoned my rabbit!"

"You told me it was the vial next to the water and I did not think you would keep poison next to your pet." Her eyes hardened into a glare.

"I told you to put the blue solution into his water, not the green one. The green one is a formula I developed for the Kazekage to slowly torture his prisoners with." Sasori raised his eyebrow in annoyance.

"Get over it already; it is just a rabbit. Grandma Chiyo is coming over so get ready for her visit and quit crying." Sumiko stopped crying and just as Sasori stood up and started to walk to the house, he felt the cold steel of a kunai at his throat. "What?"

Sumiko looked into her twin's eyes and narrowed them. "Cold unfeeling bastard." Sasori regarded his sister with confusion before narrowing his own eyes.

"Watch your language. Ninjas of our position should be mindful of our mannerisms. I thought an ANBU of your standing would understand that surely." Sumiko spat at the ground and used a teleportation jutsu. Sasori looked at the rabbit on the ground still and sighed. With a twitch of his hands, the puppet that had followed him earlier started digging in the ground. Within a moment, there was a hole about a cubic meter around. Sasori heard a poof behind him and turned around to see Sumiko with a shoebox in her hands.

"For Katsu-kun…" Sasori nodded and gently placed the rabbit inside the box. Placing the lid on top, he gently lowered the box into the hole and was about push the dirt box into the hole when Sumiko grabbed his arm. "Sprinkle dirt first and…" Sasori nodded and grabbed a handful of dirt and stood over the rabbit's grave.

"Well… Katsu I can't say that I knew you well or cared much…" Sasori could hear his sister struggle to keep her tears to herself. "But you always could make Sumiko smile… something that I feel now will be a difficult task…" Sasori stopped when he felt himself being hugged from behind.

"Get on with it…" Sasori smiled and gently tossed the dirt onto the shoebox. Sumiko pushed the dirt onto the grave sobbing. "Bye Katsu-kun… 'Sori?" He looked down at his sister in confusion. "When we go into town, can we…?"

"Yeah…" They were almost thankful when Grandma Chiyo sent a messenger to them telling them she was unable to visit. Having this free time on their hands, they traveled to the memorial store. When Sumiko told the owner what she wanted, he laughed so hard that she began crying. Sasori lunged at the man and threatened him with a slow death involving a poison that could kill him in three days if he did not have a gravestone for them.

End Flashback


Deidara was silent the whole time during Sasori's story. He stood up and looked the puppeteer in the eyes. "Danna, you are an asshole… un…" He walked towards Sumiko's room with a brisk pace, almost daring someone to reprimand him.

Sasori sighed. "I thought this could not get any worse…"

The other members looked at him with curiosity. "Well…"


Flashback

Sumiko was overjoyed. She hated being separated from her brother for long, but being unable to see each other on their fifteenth birthday was almost inexcusable and she had carefully and diplomatically given the Kazekage a piece of her mind. She dashed to their house and wretched open the door. The house was unusually clean, something that deeply shocked the young kunoichi. The house was always organized, but for it to be this clean and articulate… it was frightening. "'Sori? You here?"

She heard a thump further in the house and ran inside, hand going to her kunai. Bursting into a defensive position, she zoomed into Sasori's room. Her eyes widened noticing the cleanliness of the space, but that was nothing compared to her reactions to the luggage on Sasori's bed. The male puppeteer smirked seeing her. "Glad you finally decided to come home."

She snorted. "Stupid S Rank ANBU mission; it is not like I can just get out of it idiot." Sasori raised his eyebrow at the insult. "So, you have a mission or something? I do not remember you getting a vacation or you willingly taking one for that instance…"

"Sumiko… promise me that whatever you hear… you won't be terribly angry…" Sumiko's eyes widened as she observed Sasori's completely serious face.

"Sasori… what the hell are you talking about? What are you doing?" Sasori embraced his sister in a deep hug. The kunoichi gasped as Sasori had never been the overly affectionate family member in the slightest and rarely displayed emotions to anyone, even his own twin.

"I'm leaving the Sand Village." Sumiko's eyes grew wide and she tried to struggle against the hug that doubled to disable her arms.

"Sasori, what the hell? Is it because of what Grandma said because I never took you as one to take that shit to heart?" Sasori chuckled.

"Sorry sis. Forgive me." She was about to protest when he hit a pressure point which instantly knocked her out. He carried her gently to her room and deposited her on her bed. He kissed her forehead and surveyed the sister that he had always been near and dear to. "Maybe we will meet again." He ran out of the room and scooped out his luggage. Casting one last doleful gaze at his former residence, he departed.


Five Years Later…

Sasori walked past the humble abode that he had once lived in. He noticed that it was not occupied, so he had no qualms about breaking into the home. He coughed, a sensation that as a puppet, he was unfamiliar with. The hell? Dust is everywhere… He ran his fingers along the table and frowned seeing the unkempt manner of the home. Walking throughout the house brought back memories, but something was up. Everything is exactly like it was when I left… except the pictures are gone…

Walking out of the house, he saw the old woman who had been their neighbor and he walked up to her. "Excuse me, could you tell me where Sumiko is?"

The old woman squinted a bit at Sasori's face. "Sasori, that you? I'm certain that out of everybody, you would know the whereabouts of your own sister." Sasori scowled.

"Since I left, we haven't been… on the friendliest terms…" The old woman chuckled which made Sasori narrow his eyes.

"Here is her address. She still owns this house, but hates staying here. She always talks about the memories and the pain they bring, but she comes every year on a certain day to put flowers on that grave over there." Sasori nodded and thanked her. Walking to grave, he looked at the kunoichi holding flowers. Her eyes were sharp and cold, a certainly unfamiliar look upon them.

"Sasori-san, it has been a while…" She placed some Asphodel upon the site, tracing out the words on the grave with a finger.

"The flower of regret? Surely you could think of a better choice of flowers for Katsu." He placed purple Hyacinths upon the site.

"Yours are the flowers of sorrow… essentially the same." Sasori snorted in response.

"I have stuff to actually be sorry for compared to you…" Sumiko looked at him, the ghost of a smile upon her face.

"What are you doing here? There is always another reason to you Sasori-san…"

"You have become so formal Sumiko. I am personally glad you stopped cursing; that was unbecoming of a lady." Sumiko sighed.

"I became an ANBU captain. I had to be more serious…" She stopped talking when a silver haired man walked behind them. There was an angry chakra flare and Sasori's eyes narrowed.

"Mamoru-san, it has been a while." The man nodded in agreement.

"Five years to be exact Sasori-san." Sasori looked between the two, noticing the Jashinist's overprotective stance around Sumiko.

"Still hanging around Sumiko, eh? I thought that love is off limits to Jashinists." Sumiko had the dusting of pink around her cheeks while Mamoru's brow furrowed. Before he could retort, Sasori turned his attentions to his twin. "I am here to offer you a job. If you wish it so, you can still maintain your loyalties to a certain extent with the Sand Village. The details are in the scroll and I trust you to not show Mamoru-san." Sumiko merely nodded at her brother who turned away. "Here's to the future." He disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Mamoru looked at the scroll in Sumiko's hands. "So… What are you going to do Sumiko-chan?"

She looked down at the scroll. "I do not know…" Damn you Sasori…

End Flashback