Silk

VII

It had been risky to perform such a feat on the cusp of death, but somehow, he had done it. Deft fingers pulled shortened red strands away from brown eyes, pushing the strands back under the bandanna he wore. Sasori shifted, turning the doll in his hands to finish carving out the face. The village he lived in now was barely that, just a few huts strung together and lived in by people who didn’t want to be found. Sasori glanced up from his doll to look inside his own small home at the multitude of clay figurines he’d collected since arriving here. Perhaps it was a reminder, something to ease the pain in his heart, at deceiving Deidara, in abandoning him so callously.

It wasn’t like he could return to Akatsuki now, anyway.

The doll-maker turned back to his project, tools scraping gently over wood. It was peaceful here and Sasori had grown to like the quiet, but a part of him longed for the rough-and-tumble days of Akatsuki. So now he worked on dolls the few children of this shantytown brought him and sold a few dolls to travelers that came through but didn’t stay. He longed for news, but he never asked, not wanting an assassin to finish the job his grandmother tried to do. He almost wished Deidara would find him. Then he could die without regrets.

The wood of the dolls face broke in his hands and Sasori stared for quite a while at the splinters of wood on and in his fingertips. His pain receptors weren’t working again. Sasori tilted his head. He would have to fix that.

He rose from his tatami mat and entered his home to pull the splinters from his synthetic flesh, managing a few winces here and there when the wood shard was particularly deep. He set the splinters down on a small table, attention on those still left in his hand.

“I don’t remember inviting you in here,” Sasori whispered softly, turning to his unannounced guest. An eyebrow rose when he saw familiar Sharingan eyes in an unfamiliar face. A half-smile then and Sasori pulled the last splinter from his hand.

“You must be Uchiha Sasuke.”

The boy smiled a bit and yet that only put Sasori a little more on edge. The doll-maker shifted, facing the boy fully to better defend himself. He needn’t have bothered, Sasori realized after a moment, when Sasuke held out a scroll to him, tied and sealed in village colours Sasori had never seen before. The redhead took the scroll from Sasuke and opened it slowly, eyes flicking over the flowing script. The former Akatsuki looked up at Sasuke after a moment of silence and tilted his head.

“Village Hidden in Silk? Sounds interesting,”

“More interesting than this place.”

“How old are you now?”

Sasuke blinked, head tilting at the odd question. Sasori waited patiently, watching those Sharingan eyes without fear. Sasuke was silent for a long while, watching Sasori with a guarded gaze. The former Akatsuki in turn studied Sasuke, waiting, watching.

“I’m eighteen,” Sasuke said finally, watching the older nin, curious as to the question. Sasori only hummed and nodded absently, almost to himself.

“I’ll go with you. Who else do you have to retrieve?”

Sasuke’s head canted, watching Sasori pick through his belongings the redhead studying each object he picked up, tossing a few away and keeping others.

“Just a body. If it’s too decomposed, I’ll return with nothing.”

Sasori hummed again and stood up again and stood up to fetch a bag, dropping his chosen objects into the cloth sack. The redhead chose a few small dolls then, three dropped into the bag and the last tossed toward Sasuke, who caught it deftly with both hands. Sasuke’s eyebrow rose at the little geisha doll, his fingers sliding over her painted face as he looked at Sasori. The former Akatsuki said nothing and only led the way from the little hovel and away from the little village that was barely large enough to be called such.

Sasori and Sasuke did not talk as they leapt through the trees, careful not to disturb leaves if they could help it, moving into Hi no Kuni, keeping out of sight, out of range, watching and waiting. Sasori learned more about Silk when they did stop and one initiated conversation. Silk, Kinugakure, had grown considerably in two and a half years. The outer wall now encompassed several acres of land, though all of Silk in its entirety could fit inside Konoha with at least an acre left over. Inside the village, near the front gate, there was a merchant district with housing for the travelers and two distinct restaurants, the middle reserved for market and other businesses for the common people. To the west and east walls were the homes of the villagers, both commoner and ninja, though most of the older shinobi resided in the tree houses that were hidden in the leaves above the village. After those homes, on the west side, was a school building for shinobi and non-shinobi and an orphanage; on the east side, the hospital and a tower. The Yunkage’s tower, Sasuke said, doubled as Orochimaru’s office and a training center for shinobi of all ranks, as well as the missions’ office. Yunkage was Orochimaru’s chosen title, a mixture of languages and words that presented the meaning of luck.

A forge was in the process of being built for the village’s personal use, but several hitai-ates had been created, with Sasuke being one to wear such a thing. They symbol of Silk was unique, Sasori thought, fingers brushing over the metal of the hitai-ate, admiring the craftsmanship. Sasuke had left him with the telltale marker when the younger man had vanished into a dense copse of threes precariously close to the Konoha border, disguised as a mourner. Sasori traced the symbol, smiling. A large circle began the etching with three smaller circles east, west, and north around the large one. Below the east and west circles were two crescents, back to back with one another. A beautiful interpretation of the sun rising over the moon with the three elements that brought life to earth, air, and water.

Sasori looked up when Sasuke returned, carrying a shrouded form. The puppet master only tilted his head and accepted the burden as Sasuke took back his hitai-ate, tying it around his forehead. Sasori only nodded an approval when Sharingan eyes caught him staring. Sasuke took the shrouded body back from Sasori and the pair began the trek back to Silk. It seemed to take longer than the pair would have liked, carrying their shrouded burden and exposed to the elements, hiding from any near-by ninja. It wasn’t that they were afraid of being caught; it was that they merely wanted to keep a low profile, as any person did.

It was that secrecy that allowed the pair to come upon a campfire, gingerly tended by two shadowed forms, one slightly smaller than the other, arms wrapped around his middle. Sasuke’s eyes went wide in recognition and he dropped silently beside the Demon Brothers, Sasori following suit. It was Meizu who drew his kunai on the approaching pair, stepping in front of his elder brother to protect him. Sasuke’s Sharingan picked up why, Gozu’s arms covering an abdominal wound, one that needed attention far beyond field healing if the elder Onikyoudai was to survive. Meizu’s hand was trembling, his fear showing plainly in his stance if not his eyes, though he was determined to protect his elder brother. Sasori stayed back, holding the shrouded body, watching Sasuke move forward, hands away from his weapons, watching the elder pair. The redhead couldn’t hear what Sasuke was saying, but it seemed to be working, watching Meizu relax and move to his brother, helping him stand. Sasori moved closer then, now able to hear the soft words Sasuke spoke to the Onikyoudai.

Sasuke spoke to them about Silk, about the nin who already lived there, about Haku and Zabuza, even Kimimaru and Orochimaru. The pair’s eyes lit up at the mention of Zabuza and Haku being alive and for that and for Gozu’s life, the duo became a quartet. Sasori tirelessly carried the shrouded burden, as Sasuke and Meizu supported Gozu. The return home seemed to be even longer, but it was all the sweeter when the four were greeted at the gate by their fellow ninja, Zabuza’s eyes going just a little wide at the sight of his former subordinates. It was he who carried Gozu to the hospital, as Haku and Meizu watched on in pure amusement. Orochimaru came to join the gathering outside Gozu’s room, gesturing to Sasuke and Sasori. The two followed the Yunkage into another room, away from the hustle and bustle of the emergency room and the halls of the hospital. Orochimaru’s fingers delicately peeled away the black fabric from Zaku’s face, revealing the graying flesh of one of his former subordinates. The damage wasn’t so horrible that he couldn’t reverse it, but it would take time. Time enough then, for the task he wanted to give Sasori.

The former Akatsuki member, his former partner, watched him with a disinterested gaze, Sasuke moving from his side to Orochimaru’s, watching Sasori yet again. Sasori finally tilted his head in deference, folding his hands before him.

“Sasori-san, if I get the materials you will require, will you build something for me?”

Sasori’s lips twitched. “Sasuke has told me what you wish for. One would think you wanted me to know before we arrived.”

“Perhaps.” Orochimaru replied, already moving to work on Zaku’s broken body, studying the stump of the right arm and the mangled left, Sasuke watching the entire time. Sasori watched as well, head tilting to the side.

“I will create for you. I will try to make them as normal as possible for the tasks you wish. I’ll need photos for the faces, if you can procure them.”

Orochimaru’s yellow eyes flicked up to Sasuke, the brunette nodding and moving to leave the elder pair alone. Sasori moved then, closer to the Yunkage, watching him and the body of the unlucky boy formerly of Otogakure. They said nothing as Orochimaru assessed the damage done to his former subordinate, by his hands and others. Finally, Orochimaru drew back, looking to Sasori.

“Find Haku and have him fetch you the materials you need. He’ll take you to a workshop where you can have peace to work.”

“At my own pace. Things like this can’t be rushed.”

“I’m in no hurry.” Orochimaru replied.

“Two males and one female? I suppose, if I have the time, a prosthetic for this child?”

“As human as you are capable of making them, if you please.”

Sasori gave a wan smile and bowed out of the room, leaving Orochimaru alone with the body of Zaku. Sasori had his task and now Orochimaru had his. He concentrated on Zaku, working as slowly as he could to avoid damaging the tissue more than it already was. It seemed tedious, but at the end of the day, when Kimimaru came to check on him and offer him dinner, his progress made him smile. A few more days and Silk would have a new ninja joining the ranks.