melody of the widow's heart {sasori x reader}

in the eye of his hurricane

"Like this..." He guided my hands to the puppet.

He sat behind me as he observed me getting used to his puppet. Sasori had a way of expressing his passion for the art of puppetry. Since I wasn't around much to sit down and learn from him, I carried heavy baggages of guilt with me. As Sasori's closest friend, I felt ashamed for not knowing anything about his art. To solve such an issue, I asked him to teach me his ways, just out of curiosity. Placing my hands on the wooden figure, I channeled my chakra to the fingertips that connected with it.

"Hey!" I shouted. Before I knew it, Sasori had yanked my hand back, revealing strings of chakra that connected my fingertips with the marionette.

"Sorry," he smiled, "I know it's a beginner concept, but it's the best learning method."

For someone with advanced finger dexterity, I paled in comparison to Sasori's. His puppet had moved with such grace and mobility that looked down on my own. After a half an hour of being discouraged by the concepts of strings and movement, I gave up.

"Urgh!" I grunted, throwing my hands up as I disrupted the flow of chakra stemming from my hands. The puppet fell to the ground as I sheepishly glanced at him. "I can't do this," I mumbled. "You make it look so easy!"

Sasori chuckled and pulled me back into an embrace. His arms snaked around my waist as I leaned back. A light blush dusted our cheeks as we locked eyes. Snapping out of it, I pulled forward and turned to face him.

"You know what?" I seized his hands, "It's your turn to learn about my art!" He groaned as I got up and dragged him by his hands. I struggled to pull his body against the worn wood floor.

We set off for many villages. The months of constant plundering and sadism had desensitized us more than what we had already contained. I had come to feel no sympathy for anyone but Sasori. I had found peace in his violence; he had found warmth in my coldness. We had found each other amid our chaos.

So who was I to decline the highest offer of his affection? Sure, we weren't in an established relationship quite yet, but rejecting his proposal would devastate him. We both knew that our love for each other was eternal. To match such an everlasting love, we made our bodies eternal. Of course, I had requested to keep my lungs intact for the sake of my Jutsu. Gone were the days of being held down by a mortal body. A new chapter of life with eternal virtue would soon develop.

It had been an awful day. Just a few mornings prior, Sasori had come home beaten and battered. I quickly tended to his wounds and allowed him to rest. After purposefully annoying him with questions, I forced him to confess about his whereabouts. It made sense, of course. We were just a few miles away from the outskirts of Suna, so Sasori took the opportunity to pay a visit to the Kazekage. Infuriated with him for his imprudence, I shrugged it off and scolded him for his recklessness. Deep down, I was relieved that he had taken the victory.

Deep down, I knew that I would have torn Suna apart if Sasori had fallen to a man like the Kazekage.

The disappointing village did more harm than good. Sasori sat at the edge of a bench with his head buried in his hands. His hand shook, tangled in his hair.

"Sasori?..." I asked as I tenderly placed my hand on his shoulder. I could feel the dissatisfaction in his behavior. I sensed his mind was breaking.

Knowing that the disappointment in himself was overwhelming him, I offered Sasori a moment to be vulnerable with me. I let him shift his weight onto mine. I felt the guilt, the sorrow.

Only I could comfort the lonely, cold child that resided deep within the heart that he had barricaded so well.