Sasori could remember that night in perfect detail.
So much about it had been special in some way. What had generally gone on had changed a lot of things, and certain circumstances in his life had already been at turning points. All in all, it meant it had been an overall occurrence that wasn’t hard for him to recall, even as time passed. Whether it was one year or one decade, the memory didn’t fade in the slightest bit for Sasori. All he needed to do was think about it; send his mind back to that place and time and everything simply came back to him. He never forgot anything about it, but of course…he didn’t want to.
He’d been fourteen and a half to the day, still living in Sunagakure with his grandmother. He was a member of the puppet corps, and he had a lot planned for himself. The death of his parents had always marred his life, and that fact hadn’t changed in the present time. He’d been working on a lot of things—he just had to carry them all out, and that included turning himself into a puppet and killing the Third Kazekage. Once that was all completed, he would be leaving Sunagakure without a regret; without a glance behind him to think about what—or who—he was leaving behind. That would be in the past. He would have other things to think about, and Sasori had never been one to live in the past. Overall…he just didn’t like to think about it. As such, he’d concentrate on the present and what he was doing now. After all, he was impatient and didn’t like to wait; so to have to do so before carrying out his plans…it wasn’t something Sasori liked doing.
Still; it wasn’t like he had much of a choice. He needed to be ready.
He’d been going for a walk late at night. No one was around, the lights of every building dead and gone, silence having taken over the village like a mist, wrapping around the very atmosphere. It hadn’t bothered Sasori, however, and as such he continued on as normal, casually ambling along through the streets. If anything, he enjoyed the quiet of the night and the emptiness of the village. He didn’t have to deal with anyone else, alone in his thoughts—the way he liked it. There hadn’t been a particular reason for the walk, he had just decided on it. Most of the time he spent his free time working on his puppets; on himself, or making sure he would be ready for his fight with the Third Kazekage. But like it had meant to be, tonight he had chosen to head out to think.
And that’s when he’d seen the girl.
Having reached the area near the gates of the village, Sasori had noted they were open. Narrowing his eyes, he had shaken it off; evidently someone was coming back from a mission—though why it would be this late, he didn’t know. But still, there had to be a reason, so he let it be, going on with his walk as if nothing was wrong. His curiosity wouldn’t allow him to completely turn away, however; instead he found himself going closer, fully heading towards the gates in order to get a glimpse of what was going on. He kept to the shadows, not about to reveal himself, but this way he might find out why this had happened. Sasori tried to remain rational in his thoughts, and for the most part, succeeded; yet he pushed on, keeping his eyes peeled for the answer to his questioning mind.
Then a moment later he found what he was looking for—though it wasn’t quite what he was expecting. Then again, what it was he had been expecting, Sasori wasn’t sure. But still, this was unlike anything that might have been running through his head, and he slowed to a halt, simply observing for the moment, unsure what to do. He hadn’t prepared himself for this result. In his mind, Sasori had anticipated it to be a Sunagakure ninja coming back from a mission. An ANBU member even, on a high ranked and secret mission that no one but the Kazekage would know about. As such Sasori would have watched them go through the village and up to the Kage’s building, and that would be it, simple as. But now…he didn’t know.
The girl was walking towards the village having entered through the gates as casually as anything. Narrowing his eyes at her image, Sasori was certain he’d never seen her before in Sunagakure, and definitely knew she wasn’t a ninja from the village. Obviously she was a stranger, but she wasn’t normal. All her circumstances were unusual. She arrived in the dead of night, alone and unmarked, seemingly without anyone knowing of her approach or arrival? And even the way she was; the way she acted and behaved…something just wasn’t right. Sasori noted as she went on walking towards the village that she walked slowly; almost dragging her feet as she went. What she was doing here, Sasori didn’t have a clue—but he was going to do something about it. Having had the gates open for her instead of having snuck in, things were surely amiss.
Finally beginning to move once more, Sasori headed over to her, though felt his pace slow as he got closer. She was beautiful, he couldn’t deny it; with big brown eyes, full lips and a small, delicate nose, all strangely perfectly symmetrical—like she had been made artificially instead of naturally. Her ash brown hair was shoulder length with a full fringe, braided into a plait that hung over her right shoulder. But she clearly wasn’t at full health; her eyes were glassy and her pupils dilated; her plait was barely hanging together, her hair generally mussed up. She was pale and thin, with rings under her eyes, her clothes torn and dirty. How she had ended up like she had, Sasori didn’t know—but a part of him felt sorry for her. He couldn’t help but dislike the idea of her looking like this; but he forced himself to dismiss it, coming to a halt in front of her to bar her way, stopping her from going any further as he growled,
“Where the hell are you from? How the hell did you get in?”
“I…I don’t know where I’m from…I just opened the gates, turned invisible…and walked in…” she responded softly, slowly lifting her gaze to meet his, Sasori caught in the strange innocence in her voice and eyes.
Yet at the same time, she wasn’t innocent at all—she couldn’t be, not with those incredible abilities she’d just described. Not to mention she’d done all of it while in the state she was in. Sasori couldn’t help but feel that she’d walked through the whole desert without food or water—and yet somehow she was still alive. And no one was with her, so she had to have done it alone. All in all, her abilities drew Sasori in, interesting and impressing him. He was making human puppets; about to leave Sunagakure after all his plans were completed…suddenly other ideas began to form in his mind, prompting him to soften slightly, stating gently,
“Why don’t you come with me? I can help you.”
And he could. By turning her into a puppet, he could take away the pain she must be feeling; the weaknesses that the human body possessed. Not to mention he could truly make use of her amazing abilities, preserving not only them, but she herself in the process. It would be good to add another puppet to his collection—and she’d certainly make a beautiful looking puppet. From the way she had appeared in the village, it was clear she didn’t have anyone in terms of family or general ties to this world; no one would miss her. And with how she had appeared this late at night, no one would know. If they saw him use her in battle, he would just say she was from a mission he’d gone on.
So he had to hold back a smirk as she eventually nodded slowly in agreement at his offer.
