My Strength All Along (Sasori Story)

Chapter 8

With that fact in mind, as Chikara began to fit into her place in the Akatsuki and her new life over the next few days, it was as if no time had passed between Chikara and Sasori. It had been over ten years since they had last seen each other, with so much happening during those years, and yet now that they were spending time with one another once more, it didn't feel as if much time had passed at all. It was easy to return to conversation, however, considering their personal lives weren't a topic that ever came up. Sasori had his own explanations to give to Chikara, true—though he never mentioned his difficulties in making the decision to kill her or his inability to carry the whole process out. He merely brushed over the situation, mentioning it hadn't been in his interests to kill her and nothing more, therefore leaving him with other options for human puppets before he defected and left the village. It wasn't an explanation that entirely satisfied Chikara, however. She knew right away there was more to the situation than what Sasori was telling her; after waking up and discovering what had happened, she had been utterly confused with it all—it hadn't made sense. So, for Sasori to come out with such a simple explanation...it wasn't right. Chikara couldn't deny that it remained in the back of her mind, surfacing in her thoughts just before she fell asleep, wanting to know the truth. Nonetheless, Chikara never pressed for details, understanding getting answers from Sasori to be a lost cause and not being about to force him to reveal anything.

Instead it was his abilities Chikara and Sasori talked about. The number of puppets he had collected over the years and how he had developed the technique. Still, surprisingly, it took Sasori more time than he would have originally thought to show Chikara what he had done to himself, though with his bewilderment at Chikara generally turning up in general, there had been other things on Sasori's mind. But once he did, it was with a mixture of uncertainty and pride with which he did so, keeping his eyes trained on Chikara's face to see how she would react. At first, even he couldn't figure out the expression on her face or emotion in her eyes, everything seemingly hidden from him. But as she stepped forward and brushed her fingertips across the core that held his heart, Sasori knew it wasn't a negative reaction. This was only confirmed as she asserted simply,

"This was the real aim of your research, wasn't it?"

"Yes," Sasori answered honestly, not seeing any point in clarifying his motives when Chikara comprehended it completely. Flexing his fingers has he recalled the transformation, he added as an afterthought,

"The human puppets were a goal, true, and they are an integral part of how I fight now, but they were, in essence, a by-product of what I was truly aiming for."

"It certainly is impressive," Chikara murmured quietly, never taking her eyes off of his body; slightly in awe in what he had done and not willing to meet his gaze and let him know that.

Chikara had always known Sasori wasn't about to settle for second best; the fact that he was making human puppets when most steered clear of the idea entirely automatically marked him as different. Seeing his abilities as art made a distinctness, of course. Even so, this was more than Chikara had expected, but definitely in a good way. Finally stepping back and looking up at Sasori's face, Chikara smirked and admitted, her ego a little bruised,

"I've improved my abilities—I know I have, but nonetheless, I'll confess yours has the edge. Then again, you've been working on yours for so long now."

"Your abilities are powerful, Chikara. I wouldn't have agreed to the idea of turning you into a puppet otherwise," Sasori instantly shot back matter-of-factly. Though many found Sasori rude for how blunt he was, Chikara had always liked it. He told the truth, whether bad or good and it was evident it was a trait that hadn't changed over the time they'd been apart.

It was with realisations like that that meant Chikara and Sasori found it so easy to return to how things had always been. Right from when they had first met, they had invariably felt comfortable around one another, though it had never quite made sense to either of them. Talking with each other, just spending time in their presence, regardless of whether they spoke or not, it put them at ease. Yet even with the years of separation and a lot of things happening in that time, seeing there were so many traits and characteristics that remained the same as when Chikara and Sasori had been in Sunagakure together, just as before they settled into a complacent atmosphere. This time there was no need for them to be in the same place. Sasori wasn't 'teaching' her puppetry anymore, and Chikara was no longer going to be a human puppet, with her parents putting pressure on Sasori to get him to carry it out. But even so, they continued to spend time with one another, enjoying it like they had in Sunagakure and yet with something else they couldn't quite grasp. It didn't cause either of them problems, however, so neither made a move to do anything about it.

During the time Chikara had been in the hideout, she had been on missions with several partnerships, including Deidara and Sasori, but so far had returned to the hideout every time, as a base camp of sorts until her situation was fully sorted out. Most of the others had left, with only Deidara and Sasori still remaining in the area and ultimately, the hideout, allowing Chikara and Sasori to take advantage of the circumstances while they were still going on. Of course, how complacent they were with each other had not gone unnoticed. Deidara had been partnered with Sasori for quite a while now, and although there was no way he would say they were friends, per se, Deidara was firm in the knowledge that he knew him. Not only that, but he knew Sasori well enough to understand Chikara and Sasori's relationship more than most. It meant he had been curious about how they knew each other from the moment Chikara turned up, and after seeing them start talking in a way Deidara had never known him to, it merely brought him constant enjoyment. Whenever he spotted them hanging out together, he couldn't help but smile at the difference in temperament Sasori showed when talking with Chikara. Ultimately, it built up enough that Sasori couldn't take it any longer, taking note of the expression on his face that he so often showed and needing to do something about it, finally snapping one day,

"What? What's so entertaining you insist on having that idiotic look on your face?"

Deidara's smile transforming into a frown for a moment, Sasori's mood evidently not having changed towards him, he shot back teasingly,

"Nothing, un. It's just nice to see you getting along with someone for once, danna. Although I'm not sure that's quite the right way to describe it, un."

"Excuse me?" Sasori growled, glaring at the blonde and more than willing to attack him if he crossed the line. Sasori just hadn't quite expected Deidara to respond playfully,

"What? I'm just saying—all you've been doing lately is hanging out with Chikara, un. You never get into conversation with anyone, and yet you don't seem to have a problem talking to her. I didn't know you were that close, un."

What it was about that comment, Sasori didn't know, but he found he wasn't able to come up with a reply. He felt as if he'd been snapped out of some kind of trance, but now that the real world had caught up with him, Sasori didn't know what to do. As such, it left Sasori standing there in silence, before mumbling,

"Whatever," Then instantly leaving the room to go into his own, shutting the door behind him.

With the isolation and utter silence that was now apparent, abruptly several thoughts hit Sasori at once. The main one questioning as to what the hell he was doing. It had been a coincidence that Sasori and Chikara had met and a deal between Sasori and her parents that meant they had spent all that time together. Being around each other like that had made it easy for them to see they had a lot in common and become friends. But it had built up in a way Sasori had not enjoyed. It had caused more problems than it was worth—left him feeling useless and not in control of himself. It was the reason why he had stepped back from the whole situation and left Sunagakure. But just like it had been before, Sasori was talking and hanging out with Chikara and developing that friendship as if nothing had ever happened. He had enjoyed spending time with Chikara in Sunagakure, he'd admit it. But things were different now and he couldn't do it. Sasori had made his choice in Sunagakure.

That wasn't going to change now.