Counting the Stars [SasoDei Fanfic]

The Puppet Master's Past

Sasori POV

We strolled into the hideout and headed towards Pein's office. "Why does the blond walk so close to me?" I seethed under my breath.

"What was that, Danna, un?"

"Nothing," I growled in reply.

Entering the office, I noticed that Leader-Sama's usual seat was taken by another person. "Konan, where's Pein?"

"He went on a mission, so he asked me to take over," she said with a kind smile. I don't even know how a soft woman like her is in the Akatsuki, let alone as the leader's righthand.

I grunted as an approval and handed her the scroll which included all the mission details. "The man is dead, and everything in his house has been burned down."

"Artistically, un," Deidara finished.

"Arson is not considered art, Deidara."

He gawked at me for a moment until his stupid facial expression was replaced with a wide grin. "Danna~ You called me by my name~"

I brushed it off, a slight pink burning on my cheeks. "Whatever, brat."

Konan smiled at us again, "Good job. You two are dismissed."

I gladly left and headed straight for my room. I needed some solitary confinement to retain my sanity after spending three days with the idiotic blondie.

Slamming the door shut, I sat down on the edge of my bed. The mattress creaked underneath me. Reaching under my pillow, I pulled out an old and tattered journal. I haven't used it since my days in Sunagakure, over twenty years ago. Flipping it open to the first page, I began to read my italicized writing, which remains the same to this day.

"It's my first day in the academy. Wish me luck, Mom and Dad, wherever you are. I hope you come back soon. Grandmother said you'll be back, and I have a bunch of new jutsu I want to show you! I learned how to use puppets, and I have to say, I love it."

I flipped past a few pages and scoffed at my childish rants. But reading these pages makes me feel a bit nostalgic.

"Mom? Dad? Are you really gone? But Grandmother said you'll come back... I guess she was wrong..."

"I became a genin today. They say I'm a genius, but am I really? I just spend all my time with puppets, not bothering anyone. I think grandmother is worried about me. She just looks at me at the doorway all the time. I wish you were here."

"Today, I finished my two newest puppets. They're puppets of you two. I hope they keep me company and don't leave me like you did."

Shaking my head, I flipped to a page near the middle of the book.

"Chunin exams were rather simple and easy to pass. I guess I'm just another kid who grew up too fast."

I remember writing that when I was eight years old. Has it really been twenty seven years since then? Flipping through the book to the last few pages, I stopped at an entry which caught my attention.

"I'm leaving Suna. Maybe next week, I'm not sure. My only friend, Komushi, is gone. Sometimes I wish I didn't have feelings - like a puppet. I wonder what life would be like..."

I flipped to the last entry and just stared at the page.

"I left Sunagakure behind me. I'm going to find a new life, one where I'm a puppet with no feelings. A life where nobody can hurt me anymore. Mother, Father, I don't blame you, but I must say, I believed that you would come back, but you never did."

A single tear rolled down my cheek. "Feelings?..."

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