The Secrets We Keep *COMPLETE* (Sasori x OC? / Itachi x OC?)

Gone

 Maeme stares up at the full moon hanging over Sunagakure. Her patrol shift had been uneventful so far, the village still and silent from her perch on a rooftop. A small gust of wind blows the hood off her head, setting her long golden locks free. She stretches languidly as she gets to her feet to change shifts with the ANBU ninja that appeared in front of her. Maeme walks to the edge of the rooftop then jumps down to the street with ease. Her steel grey eyes pass over the darkened home fronts as she heads to her apartment. Before entering her apartment, she looks over at the apartment across the road from her own to find the lights still on in the window. She shakes her head and goes inside to wash away the dirt and sweat from the day.

Maeme wakes up just before dawn to a knock on her door. She grumbles her complaints as she quickly tosses on random clothing while tripping over her sandals and races to the door. One of the village elders, Lady Chiyo, offers her a thin smile as the young woman greets her and invites her inside. While Chiyo gets situated at the small wooden table in the kitchen, Maeme busies herself preparing tea.

"So what do you wish to talk about?" She asks over her shoulder.

"Do you remember the agreement we had four years ago?"

"Of course I do, why do you ask?"

Maeme brings the tea pot over to the table before sitting down across from the older woman. As her fingertips rub the side of the teacup, her eyes pass over the chipping grey paint and dingy cabinets.

"Are you still willing to uphold your side of it?"

"I swore to you that day that I would do whatever it takes even if I die in the process. What is going on?"

"I fear he might leave the village soon. If he leaves, your life in the village would cease to exist."

"That is something I am willing to contend with. I will not go back on my word. Are you okay with potentially betraying the village by knowing that I left and why? You are one of the Elders."

Lady Chiyo purses her lips before nodding. "I won't know when or how you left but I will not stop you. Just take care of him, bring him back if you can."

"I'm sorry. I will protect him until my dying breath but I will not affect his free will. I'm willing to accept anything that comes along with his decisions."

"I suppose that is all I can ask of you. Thank you Maeme."

Lady Chiyo left shortly after that, leaving Maeme alone to clean up and get ready for the day. After washing the dishes Maeme enters her bedroom to survey the damage from her wake up call. Her bed is a tangled mess with the sheets stretched toward the door. She sighs and straightens it up while putting away the pile of clean clothes on the top of her dresser. Her thoughts drift back to Lady Chiyo's words and the apartment across the street. After running a brush through her hair, Maeme grabs two oranges from her kitchen counter then steps outside. She crosses the street and swiftly climbs up the side of the apartment building. Her eyes fall on a redheaded man settled at a desk near the window as she takes a seat on the windowsill. She watches as he leans over the wooden desktop, a long puppet arm covering the surface.

"Did you get any sleep?" She asks.

"I've been busy." He answers without looking up.

"Food?"

She sighs when he doesn't answer and lightly tosses an orange at him. His hand reaches up to catch it before setting it beside him.

"You need to eat Sasori. It's good for you."

She begins to peel and eat her orange, dropping the peels out the window behind her while looking around his room. It has always been sparsely furnished and impeccably neat, but something seemed different. A frown tugs at her lips as she notices a bag near the door. Lady Chiyo was right. Maeme gets to her feet and walks over to the bag, kneeling down to poke at it.

"Please stop rifling through my belongings." He huffs in annoyance.

"I'm investigating." She smirks, feigning innocence. "So, when are you leaving?"

Through her peripherals she notices him tense slightly.

"What do you mean?"

"Now Sasori, you know I am a woman who knows everything."

"If you know everything, why do you ask questions?"

Her expression deadpans at his retort as she straightens to face him, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Fine, don't tell me then. You'll see."

"You're such a nuisance."

"That's my job."

Maeme makes a mental note to watch him more closely over the next few days before settling back down in the window.

"Why don't you go be more productive somewhere else instead of wasting my time?"

Sasori looks up when the blonde doesn't answer and finds the window empty, the curtains moving softly in her wake.

The rest of the week passes slowly for Maeme as no new assignments came down and Sasori didn't leave his apartment. She spent her free time making preparations to leave at a moment's notice between her patrol shifts and watching Sasori. Maeme yawns before gracefully sprawling out across the tattered white arm chair in her living room, a worn leather novel in her hand. As much as she doesn't want Sasori to defect from Suna, she wishes that he would hurry up so she wouldn't have to wait around.

"What did I do in my past life to have to deal with this now?" She mutters softly.

The door crashes open, Maeme rolling off the chair into a defensive stance, only to find Chiyo in the doorway breathing heavily.

"He's gone."