For the first time in twenty years
“Go to the Tenchi bridge in the Kusagakure… Ten days from now at noon. One of Orochimaru’s henchmen is my spy. I was su…pposed… to… meet… him… there…….”
Sasori’s eyes fluttered open. He was on his back in a grassy clearing, and the moon and stars hung high above him… He felt nauseated. No… that wasn’t it… it was a feeling he hadn’t felt in 20 years…. Feeling!
He was still wrapped in his maroon cloak, his silver-handled Katana still in his hand… the night-air against his skin, and the prickling of the grass against his back…
Nauseated was the right word afterall… He was back in his human body. Shakily, he brought his left hand up in front of his eyes… his ring was still there, but the crystal… it was gone.
“This is not good” he thought as he sat up. “Not only am I alive but… I’m flesh again. Moreover, I’ve lost my means of communicating with the rest of the Akatsuki.”
He checked himself, and every fold of his cloak… his cloak was the only piece of clothing he had with him. He gritted his teeth. He HATED the feeling of being exposed. Moreover, he had none of his scrolls with him. Of the 298 human-puppets, and ten non-human puppets he had possessed, he had access to none of them now.
Only the sword he had nearly killed his grandmother with.
“Oh yeah…” he remembered. “I was fighting those two… I did something pointless. I threw myself into Granny’s trap instead of killing her…”
He sighed deeply. “I failed to become a complete puppet, and then I failed to die… now it seems I am back to square one. But what to do now?” Sasori looked at the sword in his hand, and frowned. Despite his lack of desire to live, the thought of suicide seems so undignified. He wrapped his cloak around his body and got to his feet, as the wind of the night air rustled through his hair. Of all the puppets he had lost, among them was the jewel in his crown. His magnum opus, the third Kazekage.
Had he still had even a piece of it with him, restoring it would have been a simple matter, but now…. Now there was no point in dwelling on the past. What was left to do now was rebuild, and he had time to do that. He still retained his formally discarded human body. It had not aged, even with his youth, he still had nearly 40 years of experience, and had been on the battlefield for nearly 30 years. Making a new puppet body for himself, one that did not feel pain, did not age or decay, and would be invulnerable; was a simple matter, but for now, old habits shifted his focus to rebuilding his collection. As if by sheer luck, his ears perked up to the sounds of a battle deeper into the woods.
He followed.
***
“Why won’t you die!!?” Shinobu cried in desperation. No matter how many times she stabbed that demon, it broke down her poison. She had evaded it thanks to her superior agility up until now, but she was becoming tired.
The hulking demon swaggered into the moonlight, six hairy arms from its shoulder’s hung at it’s side, and it cocked it’s head arrogantly to the side, it’s eight eyes filling the young Kanoto with fear. In one of the eyes, the Kanji for “Waning moon six” was crossed out. Even if this monster was no longer apart of the twelve Kizuki, it was strong enough, and its unique make-up made it a much worse match for the Flower-pillar's Tsuguko. It’s gaping mouth opened, and venomous saliva dripped from its fanged teeth.
“I am already more poisonous than you are little butterfly” it taunted. “Breaking your poison down is such a simple matter.” He began to cackle derisively. “Your so weak! Hahaha! What a tiny body! You look like a butterfly with wet wings struggling on the ground! Poison was your only way to kill demons, and now when you find one who's immune, you're helpless! It's so pathetic it makes me mad!”
As Shinobu stood there with her sword at the ready, tears welled up in her eyes. “You should have run when you had the chance! Haha!” the demon bellowed. “You won’t be much of a meal, but I’m going to enjoy injecting you with my own venom! Do you think your body will be able to resist it as easily as I can resist yours?”
Shinobu hung her head as she braced herself for the worse. She had been fighting this demon for hours, and done nothing but exhausted herself “Nee-san… please hurry.” she prayed aloud. “Nee-san I need you!!”
The demon growled with glee as he prepared to charge, and Shinobu did not know how well she could defend at this point, when a third voice echoed from the shadows.
“Fascinating! Your not human are you!?”
“Who's there!?” The monster demanded as he whirled around in the direction of the voice. Sasori now stepped out of the shadows, a malevolent curious smile stretched across his face.
“Your eight limbs, eight eyes, and naturally produced venom! I’ve never seen anything like you, even among Orochimaru’s subjects, I think I’ll take your body!”
“My body!?” roared the demon, “I don’t even care about the butterfly anymore! I’ll kill you, you little creep!!” He charged at Sasori, and Sasori held out his hand, and twitched his fingers. The demon stopped in its tracks.
Shinobu’s jaw fell, as she watched the scene unfold. This strange red-headed man, who appeared to be maybe a few years older than she herself was, had stopped the demon as if by magic.
“I… I can’t move, what are you!?” The demon cried in a panic.
“You're much weaker than you look.” Sasori said. “But it doesn’t matter, whatever abilities you have, I will use them to the fullest after I add you to my collection.”
He twitched his fingers again, and the demon’s six arms contorted! He cried in pain as they all folded behind his back, and he fell to his knees! Shinobu gasped, and Sasori began to calmly walk into the small clearing.
“P- please, have mercy!” The demon begged. Sasori was silent. “Please!” The demon’s voice was full of fear, but Sasori only crept closer. But then he stopped. He heard it coming through the trees, and instinctively took a step back.
Flower Breathing, sixth form: Whirling Peach.
In a display of graceful and beautiful deadliness, Kocho Kanae who had just arrived on scene, slashed the demon’s head off. It’s eyes still trembled with fear, as to Sasori’s astonishment, it, along with his body, began to disintegrate.
“Nee-san!!!” Shinobu cried, as she ran to her sister, relief gushing from her words. Meanwhile, Sasori’s surprise and curiosity over what that thing was, or why it disintegrated the way it did once it was beheaded; did not betray him. He showed no emotion, other than deadly annoyance.
“What are you doing?” he demanded of the girl icily, “who told you to interfere!?”
Shinobu recoiled with more anger than fear. “H-how dare you talk to Nee-...!”
Kanae gently silenced her by holding up her hand, and giving her younger sister a smile. “Please forgive me sir,” Kanae said with perfect calmness. “I acted out of fear for my little sister here. I did not mean to offend you in any way.”
“I don’t know what’s going on, or what these things are, but these two girls… especially the older sister. She shows no fear. Should I kill these two?”
He sighed… he hadn’t done that in more than 20 years. “No… there's no need to kill them. That monster was pathetically weak, so not being able to add it to my collection isn’t much of a loss, however…” “It seems this place I now find myself in is ill-suited to me,” Sasori admitted, as he calmed his expression.
Kanae softened her gaze as well upon hearing this. “Are you a foreigner perhaps? Your Japanese is very good. My name is Kocho Kanae. This here is my little sister Shinobu. Thank you so much for saving her by the way, I was late getting here, and we are truly in your debt.”
Kanae bowed as low as one could without prostrating. Shinobu did the same, mimicking her sister. Sasori’s mind meanwhile, calmly deduced these confusing circumstances. “Obviously I'm a foreigner here. Nothing about this place or these people are the least bit familiar, yet I can understand them perfectly, and they have the same mannerisms… And then there is that style of fighting, and those monsters…”
“May I please have your name sir?” Kanae now asked.
He paused for a moment, taking in the air around him… it seemed so different from how he had remembered, but then again, it had also been twenty years since he had felt the air on his skin.
Shinobu who was becoming irritated by this lack of an answer was on the verge of saying something herself, when he said; “I am Sasori.”
“Sasori?” Shinobu inquired. “Is that really your name?”
“Shinobu, don’t be rude.” Kanae reprimanded her gently.
“I was called Sasori of the red sand.” Sasori gauged the reaction of the two girls, and arrived at his conclusion. “This is definitely an alternate world that I’m in. The fact that I am obviously a foreigner to these girls, yet can understand them perfectly, and the fact that they did not react to my epithet… They’ve never heard of me. But they are obviously not civilians, the older one is polite, but she’s maintaining a safe distance, and I can tell that they are ready to jump if I were to make a sudden move.” Sasori pondered what kind of combat training and experience this girl had, but only for a moment. His quick mind did not stray long from the topic at hand. “I have two questions for you,” he said evenly. “What was that thing that attacked your sister earlier? And why did it disintegrate like that?”
Kanae’s expression now became a bit more serious. “Those are demons…”
"She answers quickly… good.”
“...They plague our land, and feed on human flesh. Our organization is dedicated to fighting them, and protecting the people of this land from their attacks. So far, they only have three known weaknesses. They are in order of known effectiveness, exposure to sunlight, being beheaded with a blade made from Nichirin metal, and wisteria based poisons. They disintegrate after they are killed.”
“And yet poison doesn’t always work against them,” Sasori said, referring to what he had just witnessed. Shinobu’s face turned red, and she looked away. “And let's say I wanted to have one for myself, without it disintegrating… How would I do that?” Kanae was taken aback.
For a moment, she appeared to not even know how to respond.
“Forget that I asked.” Sasori said with a deep sigh. He turned and prepared to find his way out of the forest, he was beginning to feel hungry again (for the first time in twenty years), but before he took his steps away, he said addressing Shinobu; “Is the effect of wisteria-toxins on these demons similar to that of an allergic reaction? Or a weaker defense against the wisteria’s natural toxins?”
Shinobu gulped, nervous about now being addressed directly by this stranger.
“Well?” He demanded, a hint of impatience on the end of his word.
“The chemical wisterin has a much greater effect on demons than humans,” She answered. “They are also sensitive to Lectin, which is why they need human flesh in order to live. Those are the two main extracts I use in my p-”
“If their anatomy is similar enough to humans, you should mix sarafotoxins, alpha-neurotoxins, or anything that targets the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors.” Sasori interrupted. “Its convenient that such mild-to-humans and easily accessible toxins work so well on these demons, but if you mix in enzymes that target the nerves or lungs, it should speed up the effect of the wisterin’s cytotoxic effects, or at least make it harder for them to keep dealing you damage.” And with that, he took a light step, and vanished.
Shinobu and Kanae stared wide-eyed at the spot where he had stood… that kind of casual speed, was hashira-level. Who was this man?
***
“So my hair color stands out here,” Sasori thought as he put his hood over his head. Hunger was something that Sasori had been trained from childhood to ignore. It was not the aromas of soba and sweetmeats that attracted him to this city, but the need for information. He could take a lot in by simply listening to people’s conversations, though his ragged maroon cloak, and his red hair, certainly did cause him to stand out.
It was in one of these quiet alleyways that he found his solution. “Are you lost Gaijin?” demanded a man wearing a black shirt, black haori, and silver hakama pants… he was about Sasori’s size as well. He was also flanked by two much larger men.
Sasori turned around. In the dark, claustrophobic and hidden corner of the main street, these three strangers seemed at home. “'Gaijin'?" Sasori repeated back. "Are you suggesting I’m not welcome here?” Sasori demanded without turning around.
“Keh, you're as stupid as you look” spat the man contemptuously. “Since I'm feeling generous, I’ll clue you in before I throw you out. I’m the Yakuza boss who runs these streets, and don’t take kindly to your type here, no doubt to interfere with my business.”
“Yakuza huh? We had those in my world too.”
The mob boss twitched, the lack of fear and lack of respect he was being shown was not something he was used to.
“Boys,” he said to his two bodyguards, “Bring me that bastard’s finger! Gah!” It was then that he was grabbed by one of his own men, roughly around the neck!
“Ryu! What the hell do you think your doing to our boss!?”
“I swear! Its not me! My body is moving on it’s own!!!!” That same moment, the other body guard was possessed by Sasori’s invisible chakra strings, and all three of their mouths were clamped shut.
“Don’t worry” Sasori said without an iota of sympathy, “I’ll make this quick.”...
A few moments later, Sasori exited the alley alone. He stepped back onto the city street, wearing a new silver hakama and black Haori. He was also equipped with three new pocket books. He had no idea how much any of these bank notes were worth, so he observed the exchanges at a nearby ramen stand before he sat down and ordered himself a bowl. He didn’t have any particular biases towards ramen, or any type of food. It just happened to be the closest to him.
As he sat down at the counter, he looked down and noticed that just a small drop of blood from one of the henchmen he had slaughtered and stained his Tabi. “Tch… I’ve gotten a bit sloppy now that I’m back to being flesh and blood.”
The food satisfied his hunger, but had no real taste. He had lost his enjoyment of food decades ago. He never missed it.
***
It was the next morning that Kocho Kanae sat thoughtfully on the engawa of the butterfly mansion. Kanao had just passed by, running laps. Kanae smiled, thinking that that girl would surpass her in no time. From behind her, Shinobu’s soft footsteps could just faintly be heard. “Good morning Nee-san.”
“Good morning Shinobu,” Kanae said as she turned around to greet her. “Come sit by your big sis.”
Shinobu smiled, and walked into the sunlight. She sat down and snuggled against Kanae.
“I slept late this morning Nee-san. I’m sorry.”
“That’s alright,” Kanae said understandingly. “You had a scary night, but your handling them better and better.”
Shinobu smiled as she closed her eyes. “I was reading about those chemicals that man told me about.”
“And?” Kanae asked.
“Nee-san. Who was he? The poisons he told me about… why would someone like him know so much about them, and moreover…” Shinobu looked down. She hadn’t told Kanae yet for fear that she would not be believed, yet she had never been able to keep any secrets from her sister. She had always told Kanae everything… for a moment, she was ashamed of her hesitancy. “Nee-san I… before you came to save me, I saw something strange. That man… He held out his hand, and I could just faintly see blue strings materializing between his fingertips and the demon, and then as if by magic, the demon couldn’t move anymore. Its like this human had a blood demon art. Nee-san am I… am I going crazy?”
Kanae laughed, and pulled Shinobu close. “Of course your not crazy,” she said. “I didn’t see what happened, but I knew he wasn’t an ordinary man.” She paused.
That sword he was carrying… I don’t think the metal was Nichirin, and he didn’t have a sheath or a belt for it. He was also barefoot.
“Rally Nee-san? I hadn’t noticed that.” Shinobu admitted.
“Come to think of it,” Kanae said. “It does seem like an unusual situation. The things he said, and the manner in which he spoke… Its almost as if.”... Kanae trailed off.
“Almost as if?...”
“Haha! Nevermind me,” Kanae laughed. “My mind has just wandered off to some silly conclusions. Ara, here comes Kanao-chan. Good work Kanao-chan!” She called as Kanao came into view, her running coming to a gradual halt. She turned to the sisters, and gave them a vague smile
“Good work Kanao-chan!” Shinobu called encouragingly. “I’ll come and join you soon!”
Kanao remained standing there, with her vague smile, that both sisters were already used to.
“Shinobu” Kanae said, as the younger stood up, and now turned to her older sister; “Whatever happened it the past, and whatever happens in the future, I don’t want you to be too hard on yourself. You have a tendency to push yourself, but I want you to know, that its okay for you to quit. You don’t have to go on any more missions, Oyakata-sama understands too.”
Shinobu now looked hurt. “How can you say that Nee-san!” she cried, her voice on the edge of anger. “I push myself and I train as hard as I possibly can, because I could never be strong enough to support you otherwise!”
“Your right,” Kanae said, burying her true feelings for Shinobu’s sake. “Forget I asked. Why don’t you go train with Kanao? And when you come inside, I’ll have your favorite Kelp and Ginger Tsukudani prepared for you.”
She turned, entered her house, and closed the sliding door behind her, and only when she was sure of her privacy, did her smile drop.
She put a trembling hand over her heart. “What a terrible premonition this is… If I am summoned for a mission tonight, I won’t tell Shinobu. She’ll surely find out and follow me eventually, but if these feelings are correct, I’ll never forgive myself for ignoring them…”
***
On his second night in this world, Sasori once again followed the trail that led to a battle. The small, isolated village was all but abandoned. He had seen many of the fleeing residents along the road that he had followed. Now, perched on a rooftop, his keen eyes followed the movements of the two combatants. “That’s the girl from last night. She doesn’t seem to be a Shinobi, but she doesn’t seem to be a Samurai either. Her technique is unusual…”
Her Haori fluttered like a butterfly’s wings as she weaved in and out of the demon’s ice-based attacks, impressing Sasori even more. “Hahaha! Your skills are amazing young girl!” the demon cried with delight as he put his fan to his fanged mouth. His injuries from her blade healed almost instantly! Sasori hadn’t seen anything like it since his partnership with Orochimaru.
The Demon waved his fans and created a summoning of ice-fairies that flew forward attacking Kanae with deadly ferocity!
The air was so cold that even Sasori felt it from where he sat. “It’s a shame” he thought with a chuckle. “ That girl is going to die. That demon’s technique is different from Ninjutsu, I’d love a chance to dissect one… with my full strength it would have been easy, but with my current strength, I wouldn’t be able to subdue this one yet.” His teeth now bared with anticipation at the prospects ahead of him. “Before I go back to my world, I’ll have to learn more about these demons. I’ll start by experimenting with weaker ones, and then, I’ll find this strong one, and I’ll make his abilities my own!”
Kanae defended against the attacks with swift precision, but she was still taking damage. Sasori observed the intricate designs of Doma’s attacks, the lethal beauty of his ice formations! And then, Kanae began to cough violently, her grace and dignity tarnished as blood spewed from her mouth and nostrils. Sasori’s smile broadened even further as he realized the sheer power of Doma’s attacks… Kanae’s lungs were infected with microscopic ice particles in the air, a truly beautiful and deadly technique! And even still, Sasori could see that this demon has so much more to offer. His anticipation now became excitement! “Excellent! Excellent! I cannot wait to add this one to my collection! I wonder if there are even stronger demons out there!!” His mind was already strategizing potential methods to kill this demon and make him into a new puppet! He had almost forgotten his frustration over losing the third!
“Please stop struggling,” the demon said with feigned pain. “It hurts me so to see you suffer!” Kanae just growled, her voice gargled with blood. “The sun will be up soon” the demon said. “I have to leave very soon, so please miss Hashira-”
Kanae did not let him finish. Final Form: Equinoctial Vermilion Eye!!!
Her attack was so quick, and so beautiful, that even Sasori felt admiration… but he also knew already that it was in vane. She did not make it past the ice golem’s and the demon’s fan slashed her torso open.
No sooner had that happened, than the first rays of morning light shined on her body, and now exposed lungs. The ice golems disintegrated, as the Demon lept away. “Oh no,” he cried. “Such a shame. If you had only just waited a little longer before you made that attack, such a terrible shame!” Tears streamed down his face, as he fled the sunlight, and disappeared into the shade.
Sasori chuckled as he rose to his feet. “You were well outclassed tonight, Miss Kanae, but your skills have impressed me. You will live on as one of my puppets.” He left from the rooftop, and began walking down the street, only for another to reach the body before he did.
Sasori stopped. It was the younger sister, she hadn't yet noticed him… no, he didn't even have to hide. She would have been incapable of sensing his presence.
She was crying…
Kanae brought up a pale hand in an attempt to wipe away her tears, as she spoke in a soft, weak voice, that Sasori could scarcely hear.
“Shinobu, leave the corps. I know you're working hard, and you really really are, but maybe you’re better off…
I just want you to find happiness like any normal girl would. And live until you turn really old. That’s… enough… for me…”
“No! I won’t ever quit!" Shinobu cried, "And I will avenge you for sure! Tell me!! What was this demon!! who beat you just now…!! Just tell me Kanae Nee-san!! Please!! I can’t live a normal life after someone did this to you!!...”
Sasori was unmoved by this. He simply walked forward along the broken path.
“Nee-san…
Nee-san!
Nee-san!!! ”
Sasori’s expression remained cold as ever, as came to a stop a few paces behind Shinobu.
She heard his feet scrape the ground, whirled around and looked up, her eyes widening as they met his.
“Y… you!?” she cried. And prepared to run to him, but he put out a hand to stop her.
“That’s close enough girl.”
Shinobu fell to her knees, and continued to sob. “Can you… please save her?”
“I was just going to ask you to give her to me so I could do just that. I will turn her into a puppet.”
"A puppet?” Shinobu’s crying had momentarily ceased… a thought of revulsion entered her mind. “You're saying…. you can turn my sister into some kind of... doll?"
"She will retain her power and beauty, and she will never suffer again," Sasori continued. “In a way… I will be saving her.”
Shinobu’s head spun to where Kanae lay, and then back to Sasori. "Please, there must be another way!" She pleaded. "You have powers, don't you? Can't you save her without turning her into a puppet?”
“Last night,” Sasori began curtly, “I found myself in a very inconvenient state. I had hoped to rebuild my collection, beginning with the strong demon I saved you from. Your sister destroyed him before I could add him to my collection. I’m not of the humor to simply walk away, now that opportunity offers me her as recompense.”
“Your… collection?” Shinobu clasped her hand to her mouth, as bile threatened to escape.
“I only take the strong,” Sasori said as he walked forward. “I will preserve her form, and her abilities. That is my art.”
“You evil monster!!” She cried as she sprung towards him, her sword drawn. “STAY AWAY FROM NEE-SAN!”
Sasori side-stepped, and chopped her neck.
Shinobu fell to the ground, unconscious.
“She's lucky I didn’t draw my sword. It would have been the same amount of effort just to kill her, not that it makes a difference…”
Presently, he stood over Kanae’s body. Her eyes were closed as if she were in a peaceful sleep, but there were tears staining her cheeks.
“Please…. Save her…” He turned to the unconscious Shinobu. Even in her unconscious state, she was still speaking.
An old memory flashed involuntarily in his mind’s eyes. He was eleven years old then.
“Please heal him! Please heal him!” She had said it over and over and over again as if he hadn’t heard her the first dozen times. “They say you're a genius! That you can heal him! Heal him please!! Please!!!”
"Why am I remembering this now?"
“You can even heal his soul! Please!!”
Sasori sighed deeply as he knelt down by Kanae’s lifeless body.
Even if he tried to save her life, with the damage she sustained, the chances of success were low.
He gathered the Chakra in his fingers the way his grandmother had once taught him, and began to use medical Ninjutsu to heal her lungs and heart. It began to beat at a more regular pace, slowly but surely. What came next was a much simpler matter. He mixed her blood with his chakra strings to create a biothread, and then began to repair the damaged flesh.
He chuckled to himself, proud of his own skills. The last person he did this for had been Deidara, that reckless kid.
He was almost finished, when more footsteps came running towards him.
“Kocho-Dono!!!” cried a man’s voice
“Here they are! They need help!” Cried another.
“Kocho-Dono!!”
"Tch, so annoying."
“Guy’s I found them!” cried one, causing the rest to immediately begin to gather.
“Shit! They’re both unconscious! Ummm… who is this guy?”
“Techi, do you know him?”
“I don’t know.”
“They’re so noisy. But I’m almost finished here…”
“Hey! The younger Kocho is coming to!”
“I thought she’d be out for longer. I really have gotten sloppy.” His left hand reached up and caught Shinobu’s kick which was aimed for his neck!
“A hidden blade under your Tabi,” he said, “Impressive.”
“You monster!” She cried. “Leave Nee-san alone!!”
“Relax.” he said, as he released her, and stood up. “I haven’t turned her into a puppet. I underestimated your sister’s will to cling to life at first. She wasn’t beyond saving afterall.”
Shinobu’s expression froze…”Wh… what did you say?”
“I told you earlier, I don’t like having to repeat myself”
Trembling, Shinobu dared herself to look down… Kanae was unconscious, but breathing… the color had returned to her cheeks.
Shinobu clasped her hands to her mouth, and fell to her knees, sobbing with relief. “Nee-san! Nee-san!” she cried.
“Wh-who are you?” asked one of the demon slayers who was witnessing this.
Sasori ignored him, and knelt down next to Shinobu. “Instead of turning your sister into a puppet, I’ve saved her life.” he whispered. “ I don’t think anyone in your corps would have been able to do it either.” Shinobu’s mind was racing with a flood of different emotions, but even amid this, she knew he was right about that.
“Soon… I would like you to do something for me.”
Shinobu brought her unconscious sister’s hand to her chest… It was cold, but the warmth was returning to it, and she could feel the pulse underneath Kanae’s delicate skin. “Of course! I’ll do anything!” she cried.
The morning sun now shone brightly in the sky. The shadows were casted across Sasori’s unflinching face, but all that Shinobu saw through her tearful eyes was Kanae.