You're Falling – Chapter 5: Master
A/N: I'm back! Again! And I'm once again dying. Because that' just how I roll, baby. Partly because I had a rather trying day, being lab partner to a wannabe Casanova, fending off his retarded and ridiculous advances, while trying to do a rather complex experiment. I didn't have my dumb-as-a-rock normal partner because she was off doing something lame, so I got paired with the bastard because he dislocated his shoulder and needed a fucking genius to do all the work for him…if I wasn't pissed off, I might actually be flattered. Rant rant rant. Anyway, my stupid personal rant over, we're back to delicious SasoDei! Last chapter we had some actually rather adorable Kakuzu x Hidan moments, and enough swearing to tide me over until the next time Hidan appears…yay, I have to think of more ways to swear. Oh good. I'm afraid I couldn't update last night on account of physically collapsing shortly after finishing the latest chapter to my other fic while I was making tea. My parents took away my laptop, so I couldn't write. The next day, I was just tired. Did I mention this is my second-priority fic? FYI, I have no obligation to update, I don't owe you anything, yadda yadda yadda, but I do try. I really do try very hard. Better than one update a week/month, no? But anyway, my lame excuses over, here's your chapter! Song of the chapter is 'Master of Puppets'. Dude, it's a chapter about Sasori, how could I have anything less?
This is thinking/dreaming.
This is regular story.
This is author's note.
This is title
Warnings: Hidan's gone this chapter, so the language suddenly becomes comparatively very tame. Generic warning for British English spellings because I'm British English, so don't nag me for saying 'colour' instead of 'color' or whatever. 'Color' looks too much like 'colon' to me, for some reason :S But it's all good. No yaoi yet!
Disclaimer: I don't make a profit from writing this fanfic, since the product Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me. This means I am not fabulously wealthy; if I was, I wouldn't have to nag my parents for cash so much, I would be able to go on lovely holidays abroad and I would buy my brother a new brain. Because he's a moron. Oh, and I'd buy myself some fabulous jewels :D I never wear cubic zircona ;) accept only the finest, ladies!
oO..Oo..oO..Oo
Master of Puppets I'm pulling your strings
Twisting your mind, smashing your dreams
Blinded by me, you can't see a thing
Just call my name, 'cause I'll hear you scream
Master
Master
Just call my name, 'cause I'll hear you scream
Master
Master
oO..Oo..oO..Oo
The rest of the Akatsuki was fairly basic; one communal living room, one meeting room, and various bedrooms for partners. There were a set of indoor sparring rooms, complete with target dummies and sound-proofing. A small medical bay rested close to the sparring rooms, just in case. One whole wing was devoted to the mysterious Leader-sama's quarters. I was more than a little anxious to meet this guy – if he was the big boss of the organisation, he had to be ridiculously powerful.
Instead, Sasori lead me down a different corridor. I memorised the twists and turns, the warren-like structure of the base screwing with my mind. It was definitely too big for about ten people.
Sasori was still a mystery to me. He didn't say much, and didn't reveal much about himself when he did speak. From what I had seen, he was passively good at acting; I hadn't realised that puppet wasn't his true form until he had told me, and proved it. To control a puppet so finely was a very impressive skill. Every motion was lifelike, every move fine and smooth. It was certainly an art form in itself. This immense level of control would make him a formidable opponent on the battle field.
"Do all partners share rooms, or is it just us, un?" I asked. I was hoping sharing wasn't going to be so bad. Sasori didn't seem like a bad person to have to live with. He wasn't particularly loud, or annoying, just kind of snarky. I could probably live with that.
"Kakuzu and Hidan share, mostly because Hidan can't live without Kakuzu fucking him into a wall at regular intervals. Itachi gets his own room for some reason, which means Kisame gets his own room. Leader-sama obviously gets his own room." He considered something for a moment, a small smirk twisting his lips. "Konan gets her own room because she's a woman, although I wouldn't be surprised if she spent the night in Leader-sama's rooms more often than not,"
"So Leader-sama and Konan are…?" I grinned. Gossip was such a guilty pleasure, apparently even among international criminals. Besides, the more I knew about these people before I met them, the better. They obviously knew all about me, so I was at a severe disadvantage.
"You'll understand when you see it. The air is so full of sexual tension you could cut it with a knife," The smirk faded a little, and the temperature dropped. I rubbed my arms, trying to generate a bit of heat.
"Is that a good thing or a bad thing or a kind of okay thing, un?"
"Generally a good thing. It keeps them both occupied," He stopped outside a door and paused to look at me. "Just a word of warning; if you touch any of my puppetry equipment, I will not hesitate to kill you. Understand?"
"Uh, yeah," Okay, maybe this wasn't going to be so great.
One pale hand pushed open the door, and he disappeared through it. I walked around to look through the open door, taking in the room. Two beds, pushed to the extreme back of the room with nothing but a tiny bedside table separating them, one chest of drawers, and a series of benches occupied most of the room. On top of the benches were saws, knives, scalpels, needles and other sharp-looking implements. A pile of wood stood in a corner, stood up straight with a small note placed on top. A black cloak rested on top of one of the beds, presumably mine. Discarded clothes and wood chips and even dried puddles of blood covered the floor.
"How the hell am I supposed to live in this room, un?" I said loudly. My eyes were drawn to a rather sinister blood spatter across the wall above my bed. I really hoped that was an old blood stain.
"Like my last partner did. At least, before I killed him for being utterly useless," His tone seemed to imply something, and I was all too sure what. I really didn't have any plans in the near future that involved my death, but if I was going to die then I was going out with a proper bang. There was no way this guy was going to have the opportunity to use my corpse. Hell, I'd take him and half the base with me.
"Just how many partners do you get through, un?"
"Since Orochimaru, four," Even though I didn't know exactly how long ago that was, that wasn't too sinister. I walked into the room, carefully avoiding the bloodstains, stepping on clothes instead. I really didn't want blood on my shoes.
"Well, that's not so bad, I guess…" I said, flopping down on my bed. I pulled the cloak into my lap, weighing the heavy material in my hands. I'd really need some new clothes, too.
"None of them really made satisfactory puppets," He gestured vaguely towards the benches, and the tools set out on them. Suddenly, I understood his art.
"You made them into puppets, un?" Instead of being horrified, I was fascinated. This guy was all about eternal art, so preserving talents in the form of puppets that he controlled was genius. I wondered how far his abilities would stretch, considering the complexity of the human body, and what was replicable. It really was-
"What else would I do with the bodies? I wouldn't bother killing them if I didn't want their abilities to add to my collection, I'd just hand them over to Hidan or Zetsu,"
"Who is Zetsu?"
"Some kind of cannibalistic plant man. I don't really know much about him," Sasori pulled open a drawer, and removed a set of scrolls, placing them almost reverently on the desk. He performed a short set of hand seals, and a semi-preserved human arm appeared in place. My eyes widened a little. That wasn't a maggot I spotted, was it?
"Cannibalistic, un?" I asked, not quite sure I wanted to understand. Even among criminals there had to be a line somewhere, and I wasn't sure where cannibalism sat on it.
"He's useful for disposing bodies,"
"Ah," That made sense. Cold, calculating, and pragmatic. Three good ninja traits. "Show me your art," I said spontaneously, surprising myself. I wanted to see more of it. Naturally, my art was superior, pure, true art, but that didn't mean I couldn't appreciate someone else's work. Mine was just better.
Rolling his lidded eyes, Sasori performed another set of hand seals and suddenly, I was pinned to the bed by a dozen hard wooden hands. I froze up, one hand grasping for my clay pouch, but a hand reached out and grabbed my arm and held it still. The puppets all smelled like oil and blood, their cold, blank faces looking at me from within the soulless shells they were. Instead of struggling, I lay still and let them hold me down.
Behind them, Sasori stared down at me, one eyebrow raised as if he was expecting me to scream or something. Well, I wasn't giving him the satisfaction. I grinned.
"Is that the best you can do, Sasori no Danna?" I called mockingly.
"Not even close, brat," Another scroll, another set of hand seals, and more hands pressed down on me, puppets piling up all against the walls.
Then, as suddenly as they appeared, they vanished, banished back into their scrolls and tucked away neatly in a drawer. I felt very stupid, lying tensed on the bed with a grin on my face.
"And that, brat," He smirked. "Is why my art is far superior to yours. If you were in my place, you would have blown me up and wasted a perfectly good partner,"
"So you admit I'm good, un?" I let my smile widen more naturally, rolling over onto my front to face him properly. There was a twinkle of amusement in his droopy eyes, a series of chakra strings hanging loosely from raised fingertips.
"I never denied it," His smirk grew. My eyes widened, following the lines of the chakra strings to the corners of-
"Danna, you bastard!" I squeaked as I was tipped roughly onto the floor as my bed was upended. "I'm gonna get you back for that, un!" I surged forward, reaching out playfully as chakra strings attached themselves to my clothes and held me back.
"In your dreams, brat."
oO..Oo..oO..Oo
A/N: And that is how the whole 'Sasori no Danna' thing came about. A little shorter than I would have liked, but I didn't want to drag it out too much. Besides, I have two exams tomorrow :O and I need to study. I'm sorry for not updating…yes, I'm a horrible bitch and everything, but I'm a very busy horrible bitch. Right here I'm going to remind you that on Sunday the 23rd of October to Thursday the 27th of October, I am going to be on a trip to Iceland, so I won't be able to update because I won't have internet. So I'm sorry in advance :P I'll try to update more regularly after as well, since I've been a bit useless these last couple of days. Oh well, review! Makes me happy! Gives me incentive to write! Do it!