Red Strings of Fate

Chapter EIGHT

Chapter EIGHT

On the day of the confrontation, Sasori, Gaara and Sakura headed out just after dawn. Zabuza had, rather reluctantly, agreed to let the Akasuna no Miki have their share of fun. Nuke nin or not, he did have a sense of honor and pride and Sasori played with this, stating that he had had his share two weeks prior.

They arrived at the bridge before any of the attackers and stayed concealed until they began to arrive. Sasori sent out Gaara and Sakura with a wordless flick of the hand. The two of them wasted no time in killing off the workers.

Sasori then took his time inspecting the bodies, selecting a few to turn into puppets. None of them had any remarkable traits or carried a Kekkei Genkai, so he would probably take a limb or two to repair a few of his own puppets.

Gaara, who had been keeping an eye on the Konoha team, alerted them of their approach. "They're coming." He said. "Their client is there, though the blond one isn't."

"Oh?" Sasori looked up from the man he had kicked over.

"Where is he?" Sakura asked.

Gaara's lips curled and he bared his teeth. "Sleeping."

Sasori snorted. He quickly joined his companions one side of the bridge.

"The air's more damp than usual." Sakura said.

Sasori nodded. "Would it be too much of a problem?" He asked.

"No." Sakura rolled her neck and it cracked, the sound echoing over the silent bridge.

"It wouldn't matter." Gaara sneered. "Our opponents are mere Genin."

"You don't even have a rank." Sasori commented drily.

Gaara opened his mouth, probably to insult the Puppet Master, but he paused, eyes narrowing. "They're here."

"I know." Sasori placed a hand casually on his puppet scroll and turned to face the opposite end of the bridge. Sakura and Gaara took their places on either side of him.

The natural mist covered them enough that they wouldn't be identifiable to the Konoha team. Sasori had made sure to measure the distance.

"It is a honor to meet you, Hatake Kakashi." Sasori called out. Nuke nin or not, Sasori could be polite when he wanted to be. Also, he was simply speaking the truth. He lazily eyed the two genin with him, the 'Sasuke-kun' and the girl. "Where's the blond?" He asked.

"And who might you be?" Kakashi asked. "Truth be told, I thought Zabuza and his little sidekick would be confronting us."

"Well, you thought wrong." Sasori replied easily. "Unfortunately for you, it might have been better if he was your opponent."

He stepped forward, revealing himself.

Instantly, Kakashi stiffened, which in turn seemed to make the two Genin and the bridge builder nervous. "Akasuna no Sasori."

"Sharingan no Kakashi." Sasori replied, a mocking tone in his voice. He ran a finger casually over the scrolls containing his puppets. Kakashi tensed just a little, his own hand lingering on his weapons pouch. He made a subtle gesture his his hand.

"Can we start the fighting now?"

Both 'Sasuke-kun' and 'Whiny girl' tensed at the new voice.

Sakura and Gaara released the suppression on their chakra and stepped up to join the Puppet Master.

"You can do the talking later." Gaara crossed his arms and lifted his head, glaring down at the Konoha team.

"That's not possible." Sakura said. "For they would be dead, and you can't talk to dead people, can you?" She turned her dismissive gave towards the Konoha team.

"The 'Akasuna no Miki'." Kakashi said. "You've been untrackable. To think we'll meet you in Wave."

"Who's that, Kakashi-sensei?" 'Whiny girl' asked. "Do you know them, or something?"

"Akasuna no Sasori, accused murder of the Third Kazekage, the strongest in Suna history." He began. "Sabaku no Gaara, son of the fourth and current Kazekage, and Kokusha no Sakura, daughter of the Third." Kakashi listed. "Demons of the Red Sand. Those who dye the earth crimson with the blood of their enemies." He narrowed his eyes a little.

"I'm honored that someone like you know of us." Sasori said.

"Why wouldn't I?" Kakashi asked. He narrowed his eyes. "News travel fast, and this particular one is still often brought up. The Smoke country vanished without a trace."

'Sasuke-kun's eyes widened, as though he remembered the source of the infamous name he had obviously heard before.

"Didn't you say the Third Kazekage was killed by Sasori?" The bridge builder asked quietly. "And you said that 'Sakura' is his daughter."

"The three of them vanished on the day the Third Kazekage went missing." Kakashi said, not once turning his back on their enemy. "For the longest time, the shinobi of Suna suspected a kidnapping of sorts."

"Until the destruction of the Smoke country." Sasuke said.

The Jounin nodded. "There was one survivor who lived to tell the tale, and he was left alive on purpose." Kakashi drew a weapon. "So where is Zabuza and his little sidekick?" He asked.

"Waiting." Sasori said, seeing no reason to hide it. "You see, it's our turn to wreck havoc." He smirked. "My dogs are waiting to sink their teeth into something."

"We're not dogs." Gaara said, more out of habit than the need to defend himself.

"You keep telling yourself that." Sasori retorted just as smoothly. He straightened himself and turned back to the Konoha team. "While I'd love to stay and talk-" Gaara snorted in disbelief. "We have a job."

That must have been a signal of sorts.

Gaara's gourd popped open and his sand slowly slithered out. It pooled at his feet and snaked around to surround the three of them.

Sakura revealed her spheres of iron sand from the shadows of her cloak and they floated around her.

Emerald and sea foam green eyes began to glow brighter. Sakura's eyes narrowed, a snarl making its way onto her face. Gaara sneered, lips drawn back to reveal sharp teeth.

"I'll give you one more chance." Sasori said. "Hand over the bridge builder."

"We'll even give you the pleasure of watching him die!" Gaara called out.

"Unfortunately, we'll have to decline." Kakashi said. At his words, the two Genin on his team drew a weapon, though both of them didn't look too good.

"Good." Sasori drew a scroll from its holder on his back. "Either way, we wouldn't have let you live."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

It was obvious to Kakashi that the coming fight wouldn't turn out so good.

If it was a one on one fight against Sasori, maybe it would be okay. However, his two companions were known to be just as, or maybe even more, dangerous than the red haired Puppet Master. His Genin would stand no chance and Kakashi couldn't fight Sasori while worrying about Sasuke, Ami and Tazuna.

He turned to inspect Gaara and Sakura. They were both younger than his Genin team, and yet, their total kill count was probably higher than his. He was sure that the two could simply sweep the battlefield and kill them all without even moving.

Kakashi planted himself in front of his team, a feeling of dread pooling in his stomach as he watched the three on the opposite end of the bridge, who were clearly in no hurry to get their mission over with.

While Kakashi knew that overconfidence was something that got a lot of Shinobi killed, the 'Akasuna no Miki' clearly had the skills to back it up.