Path to Freedom

A/N: Ok this is my first Sasori story, but there should definitely be more of them out there. This is actually a side story to another one I've been writing and sorry I haven't gotten it posted on here yet, but I'm working on it. Oh and I don't make any profit from this story

"Baki! Baki-sensei!"
The jounin turned at the sound of his name, to see the bane of his existence...Inuzuka Lera. At the moment though, he couldn't be happier to see her. He waited for her to come to a stop in front of him and catch her breath before greeting her.
"Lera"
"Is...it t-true about...the Kazekage?"
He nodded
"Hai, Deidara of the Akatsuki has taken Gaara, and Kankurou has gone after them."
His eyes narrowed at the sound of her gasp and the look of horror on her face.
"What?"
"He needs backup...now. Deidara's partner will destroy Kankurou."
Baki issued the order for a squad to prepare to after the puppet nin, before turning back to Lera.
"Who is it?"
"Akasuna no Sasori."
Baki cursed, of all the ninja it had to be Sasori.
"Sasori-danna created the puppets for the puppet brigade...he created Kankurou's puppets. He knows all their weak points. I have to go after them."
Baki frowned, but nodded. He didn't want to send the girl into danger, but who would know Sasori better than a former student?
"I want you to be careful,"he told her.
"Retrieve Kankurou and return. Do not engage if it can be avoided."
She looked up at the older ninja in surprise, before nodding.
"Alright. I'll bring him back Baki-sensei"

Kankurou realized that he was in trouble. He knew before the Akatsuki revealed himself to be Akasuna no Sasori. The man knew every secret, every weakness of his puppets. He knew for sure that he was in serious trouble as he felt the burn of poison course through him. He heard Sasori say that he had three days, but he couldn't accept that. She was still in Konoha. She wasn't supposed to be back for another week. He couldn't die without seeing her again.
"Lera."

She found Kankurou unconscious in the desert.
"Over here!" she called to the rescue squad behind her.
She knelt to check his pulse, relieved at the steady beat, but gasped as she found the poison. It was danna's most deadly poison, one he had never shown her the antidote for. She tensed as she sensed Sasori's chakra. As the Suna nin picked Kankurou up, she stepped aside.
"Take Kankurou-san to the medical corp as quick as you can. I'm going to scout the area."
She took a deep breath as they complied and left. He was waiting for her.

She saw his Hiruko puppet on the ground, its chest cavity open. Before it stood Sasori of the Red Sand, his red hair moving with the wind. He turned and looked into her eyes with the same intensity he had twenty years ago.
"Lera"
"Sasori-danna"
He smirked as he closed the space between them.
"My fool of a partner is the only other person to call me that. It makes me think of you."
She scowled
"I doubt that."
His eyes narrowed as he frowned.
"And why is that?"
She crossed her arms and glared.
"If you thought of me, you wouldn't have left me."
"Lera, the Akatsuki is hardly the place for a child. You were what, six when I left."
She growled before yelling,
"Exactly! I was six, and the student of a traitor. They kicked me out of the village."
Sasori's frown deepened as he shook his head.
"That's not right. You were supposed to be left alone."
She sneered,
"What do you care? They came after me as soon as you were gone. They beat me, would have killed me if it hadn't been for Chiyo baa-sama. So, instead they sent a child into the desert alone."
She stalked away before turning and stomping back so that she was directly in front of her teacher.
"Let me ask you one thing. Did you leave me because I was an orphan? Used to having nothing, so I could go back to nothing? Or did you just not care?"
She studied his face as he seemed to be thinking of his answer, before holding up a hand.
"Never mind," she said as she turned away.
"I don't think that I could bare knowing the answer. Just know that you've ensured that I'll still be alone by killing Kankurou. He's my only friend, and now you've taken even that from me."

Sasori scowled as he watched Lera leave. It wasn't supposed to be this way. She wasn't supposed to be punished for his actions. When he left Suna twenty years ago to join the Akatsuki, he had been promised that Lera would be taken care of, protected. She had been anything but though. He could feel his fury mounting as he once again hid his body away within Hiruko, and continued towards the jinchuuriki extraction point. The only reason he'd left Suna to join the Akatsuki, and he meant the only reason, was to protect the girl he had found. Lera had just appeared one night twenty-four years ago. She'd been found wandering along the rock wall that bordered the village. Sasori had actually been the one to find her, and normally he would have just left her. He might have taken her to the medical corp and done just that, but as he walked up to her, she'd smiled abd reached out to his Karasu puppet. He'd been amazed when chakra strings sprung from her fingertips to attach to the crow. He'd taken in the girl, surprising everyone by training the girl in puppetry. He'd found an emblem in the child's pack, on which he'd found the symbol of the Inuzuka clan. He knew that there was an Inuzuka tribe in Konoha, but at the time Suna and Konoha had been enemies. So, he didn't volunteer any information about her to anyone except her first name. Over the next couple years though, the little girl abandoned in the desert became his own. He was an antisocial, malicious, selfish man...but Lera held his heart, as black as it may be. He loved her, and when Pein came to him with his proposition Sasori accepted. If Pein was successful, there would be no war, no danger for Lera. He'd wanted to protect his little girl, and had believed that by leaving he was doing so. Now though...he was pissed. Pein had apparently not kept his part of their agreement. Lera had been beaten and cast out of the village.
'Just one more offense for the useless shinobi of Suna to pay for.' he thought to himself as he caught up with Deidara.
"What took you so long yeah?" the blonde questioned
"Sorry to keep you waiting," he growled, not in the mood for his partner's questions.
Deidara grinned before lifting the hair in his face to reveal his scope.
"Does it have anything to do with the pretty girl you were talking to yeah?"
Sasori glared at the younger man.
"She is no concern of yours Deidara. Keep your focus on the Uchiha girl."
Deidara's face flushed as he frowned. His only reaction to tighten his bird's grip on the Kazekage.

Lera went straight to the hospital when she got back to the village. She found Baki standing outside of Kankurou's room. Still shaken from her encounter with Sasori, she came to stand next to the older shinobi.
"H-how is he?"
He glanced down at her, noticing that she was trembling.
"Not good, they can't find an antidote."
She nodded
"Sasori-danna didn't even show me the antidote for this particular poison."
"It's alright. Elder Chiyo is on her way, and we've sent a request to Konoha for assistance."
"How long?"
He sighed.
"Three days."
Lera closed her eyes, and covered her face with her hands, mortified to feel tears streaming down her cheeks.
"It's all my fault."
Baki scowled as he turned to face her.
"What are you talking about?"
"If I'd been a better student all those years ago, Sasori wouldn't have left."
She lifted her head to watch the medics fighting for Kankurou's life.
"And if I'd been faster, stronger, today he wouldn't be dying."
Baki sneered, but placed a comforting hand on Lera's shoulder.
"Don't be stupid. Sasori left the village for his own selfish reasons. And Kankurou, he is in there as a result of hs own foolishness. You are not to blame, nor are you weak. I've always been proud of your strength."
Her eyes widened in surprise, but quickly filled with tears once again.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
"For what Lera?"
"For all...t-the trouble I've...caused you. W-when Sasori-danna l-left, I-I was so...defensive about him. I-I t-took it out on you...and I'm sorry."
"Lera I-"
"It's alright. I-I think tthat I'm going to leave...after the K-Kazekage is returned."
Baki frowned, glancing at Kankurou's unconscious form before looking back to the girl next to him.
"Leave? What are you talking about?"
She took a step towards the puppet nin's room before stopping and turning back towards the scarred warrior. She seemed to have calmed and collected herself.
"I need to. I need to prove to myself that I'm not weak. I won't go until Gaara is recovered...and Kankurou is stabalized."
She walked pst Baki, stopping at the door.
"I'll go find the Konoha ninjas, I'll make sure they get here in time."
Before he could respond, she was gone, leaving him speaking quietly into the empty hall:
"I know."

She tracked the chakra signatures of the Konoha ninja to a cave in the desert, surpriised to sense a fourth signature as well. She stopped at the entrance, her breath catching.
"L-lady Temari? I didn't know that you were accompanying the Konoha nin."
The Suna kunoichi nodded
"They met up with me on their way. Tell me what's happening."
"On the way, we need to hurry. The Kazekage has been taken...and Kankurou-san..."
Temari's eyes widened
"Kankurou? What happened to him?"
"He went after Gaara-sama, and was poisoned by the Akatsuki."
"Who was it?"
Lera turned to see the copy ninja: Hatake Kakashi.
"It is not your leaf nin, the Uchiha. It was Akasuna no Sasori."
Temari gasped, quickly gathering the rest of her gear. Kakashi's visible eye narrowed.
"Former puppet brigade master?"
She nodded and motioned for them to follow her.
"Hai, and the poison must be a more recent creation, because we don't have an antidote."
"Kakashi-sensei, let's hurry." the pink haired girl with them urged. The copy nin nodded, and they were on their way.

He was alright. The pink haired girl, Haruno Sakura, had saved Kankurou. Lera had almost fainted with relief when she'd heard that the medic had created an antidote. Now, she sat by Kankurou's bed as everyone rested for Gaara's retrieval. She sighed as she watched him. She'd almost lost him. It was unacceptable, his foolishness.
"You're an idiot," she whispered to his sleeping form.
"How could you go out there alone? I understand that you want to save Gaara, but how can you do that if you're dead?"
Her fist clenched as she grew angry all over again.
"What would you have done if Temari had done what you had? How do you think she feels, knowing that she might have lost both her brothers?"
She lowered her head, ashamed to feel tears filling her eyes.
"How do you think I feel? You're all I have left Kurou. What am I supposed to do without you?"
She stood, moving toward the door, before looking back.
"I need to know...what it is about me that makes people leave."

Sabaku no Kankurou laid there, frowning, after she left. What did she mean about people leaving her? He knew that she'd been upset over his injury, breaking his heart with her tears, but who else was she talking about? He wouldn't ever intentionally leave the woman he loved. He sighed when he realized that she didn't actually know that he loved her, but he did nonetheless. She'd appeared in Suna ten years ago, apparently returning from a banishment placed on her when Akasuna...Sasori! He bolted up in his bed, clutching his chest as the wound ached. She was going after Sasori, he needed to stop her. The puppet master had trained Lera sure, but that was twenty years ago. He didn't even know if she had kept up with her puppetry. Would Sasori have mercy on the girl, and kill her quickly? Or would he torture her with the agony of his poison as he'd tried to do to him?

Temari walked into Kankurou's hospital room, only to see her brother in his battle gear. She rushed over, chatising
"What do you think you're doing?"
He grunted as he finished strapping on several puppets.
"Going after that idiot woman."
Temari frowned.
"Who, what-do you mean Lera? What has she done?"
Kankkurou turned to face his sister, face bare of paint yet steeled in determination.
"She's gone after Sasori herself. She said she needs to know why he left her."
Temari gasped and shook her head
"She is an idiot."
Kankurou shrugged
"Yeah but she's my idiot, and I have to find her. After all, she came to find me."
Temari watched as Kankurou rushed out, trying to figure out the best way to help both of her brothers.

Naruto snapped awake at the fast approaching chakra. By the sounds around him, Sakura and Kakashi were up as well. He frowned when Temari appeared in front of them. What had happened?
"We're leaving ahead of schedule. It's up to you whether to follow now or later."
"What happened Temari?" Sakura demanded of the Suna kunoichi
"Lera has gone after Sasori alone...and Kankurou followed."
Kakashi frowned
"Why would she do that? She saw what happened to Kankurou."
Temari's eyes widened
"I guess you guys don't know about Lera. She was found outside of the village about twenty years ago. Sasori-sama sort of adopted her. When he defected from the village, he left Lera behind."
She saw Naruto and Sakura exchange a look, undestanding that particular sensation of abandonement.
"What happened to her?" Kakashi inquired quietly
Temari sighed
"Apparently when she was confronted about Sasori-sama's defection, she defended him. The villagers overreacted and beat her."
She shook her head as her fists clenched.
"She was just a child, being held responsible for the actions of someone who was essentially her father. If Chiyo baa-sama hadn't interferred...they might have killed her. As it was they still threw her out of the village. They sent a six year old child into the desert to die."
Sakura gasped as the horror of Lera's past was revealed. How the other girl must have suffered!
Kakashi frowned
"But she was able to return?"
Temari nodded
"Hai, about ten years ago my father tracked her down. He wanted her back in Suna, most likely as a way to lure Sasori. However, she came to live with the three of us, and we've been together ever since...so she's family."
The Suna nin's expression hardened
"I won't lose any of my family. So, will you help me save all of them?"
All three nodded and moved quickly towards the desert.

Lera ran through the desert, focused only on catching up to Sasori.
'I need to know danna. I need to know why you left me behind.'
She needed affirmation that he had actually cared for her, that he had loved her. She had loved the man who'd taken her in, taught her how to take care of herself. Why would he have done all that if he didn't care? She growled, speeding up as she caught sight of a cave where she sensed Sasori's chakra. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as she felt the massive justsu building in that cave. Something big was about to happen and Sasori was right in the middle of it. She pulled up into a quick stop as two figures came to block her path. Her eyes widened as she recognized the smaller of the two.
"Uchiha Itachi?"
The former Konoha shinobi tilted his head
"You know me? Who might you be little one?"
The giant of a shark-man next to him smirked.
"That's Sasori's little brat."
The Uchiha gave an uncharacteristic smirk
"Then I must thank you."
She frowned, hand on her puppet scrolls.
"For what?"
Itachi opened the top of his cloak, so that his entire face was visible.
"For ensuring Sasori's joining."
His head tilted in mock surprise at her expression.
"Did you not know? Allow me to enlighten you. Akasuna no Sasori only joined the Akatsuki to protect you Inuzuka Lera."
She shook her head as she glared at the nukenin.
"You're wrong. If Sasori-danna wanted to protect me, he should have taken me with him."
Kisame snorted
"Yeah cause a weak, little brat is exactly what the Akatsuki needed."
She glared at the shark
"You don't get it do you? Well let me spell it out for you. Danna trained me from the time he found me. I had mastered puppetry by age five. Poisons by four. I havenever been weak."
Kisame grinned
"We'll see brat."

Sasori felt a shudder rip down his spine as he prepared to leave the extraction point. Something was wrong, besides the group of leaf shinobi waiting outside the cave's entrance that is. No, it could only be Lera. His girl was in danger, and he was stuck here with these damn pests. He scowled as he prepared for the fight to come. He wouldn't keep her waiting.

Chiyo could tell that something was distracting her grandson. He wasn't putting all of his effort into the fight with her and Sakura. It was almost as if he was worried over...something must be going on with Lera. That girl was the only thing that could ever distract her artistic grandson. Sasori loved Lera, had trained the girl. So, after he left, Chiyo made sure that Lera wasn't killed by the other villagers. She's still felt relentless guilt over the child's banishment. That guilt had not abated even when Lera returned and was given a position with the Sabaku siblings. Chiyo had tried to watch over Lera for the following decade, continuing her training in puppetry and poisons. Though it made the old lady sick to her stomach to do so, she knew she's found the perfect way to weaken Sasori. So, she smirked
"You know they beat her don't you Sasori?"
She saw Sakura glance at her with wide eyes as she continued to call out towards her startled grandson.
"They almost killed that little girl, because she wouldn't go against you."
Sasori frowned, his normally placid features drawn tight.
"What are you talking about Granny? She said it was just because I left."
She was surprised that he's already sought the girl out, but hid the emotion.
"Well she was protecting you from the truth...again."
Her eyes widened and she considered the possibility that her plan to weaken the former Suna nin might have backfired. He fought with more ferocity than ever before, and she could taste the vengeance in the air as he did his best to destroy her, and the harsh words she spoken.

Lera knew that she was in trouble as she fought Itachi. He'd sent Kisame ahead, and Lera almost wished that it had been the shark who had remained. At least with him she didn't have to worry about not looking into his eyes.
"Why are you fighting me Uchiha-san? There is no reason to do so."
She risked a glance at his face, only to be shocked by the sight of obsisian eyes.
"Just let me go to him," she whispered
"I wouldn't stop you from going to Naori-san, so please..."
"You know my sister?"he interrupted
She nodded
"Hai, she is friends with the Sabakus. She's spoken of you before, she misses you."
Lera gasped as blazing crimson swirled. It seemed that she'd only steeled his resolve to detain her. Her eyes widened as she realized that he'd moveed directly in front of her. Her breath caught and held as he leaned forward to whisper to her
"Forgive me. He will not let you die."
The next thing Lera felt was the searing pain of Itachi's kitana impaling her chest. Eyes wide, she fell to the ground, wishing that she could at least see his face one more time.
"Sasori"

Akasuna no Sasori gasped as he felt his heart shatter. Lera...she was dying. Ignoring the trap Chiyo and the Konoha brat had laid for him, he sent most of his remaining chakra to his girl. It didn't matter if he died, as long as she lived. He'd created a link between their chakras not long before he left Suna, even then not trusting Pein to keep his word. The link would let the other know if one of them died or was in danger. He should have gone back right away all those years ago when he'd felt pain from Lera...but it had faded. So, he'd assumed that she was fine. He wouldn't make the same mistake again. This time he'd save hisgorl.

Lera gasped and choked on blood as she jerked upright, only to see the Uchiha watching her with his black eyes. She jumped to her feet, kunai in hand as she eyed the bloody cloth in his hand, surprised to be alive. The former Konoha shinobi smiled, shocking Lera with its sincerity.
"I told you that he wouldn't let you die."
Her eyes widened as she realized that Sasori's chakra was running through her body. He had saved her...and Itachi had somehow known. She lowered her weapon, stance still defensive as she regarded the man.
"You're one crazy bastard Uchiha-san."
Before he could respond, a blinding pain ripped through Lera's chest, similar to when Itachi had stabbed her. Only this time she knew the injury wasn't hers. She felt tears fill her eyes as Itachi knelt next to her. She managed to gasp out "Sasori" and Itachi nodded as he helped her to her feet.
"Now it's your turn to save him."
She nodded, forming the handsigns to transport herself to Sasori. She wouldn't lose him again.

She arrived to find signs of a massive battle. Puppets were strewn everywhere, and she could see baa-sama and Sakura standing over Sasori's puppet. She gasped as she saw the blades sticking out of his heart and moved quickly, masking her chakra. She came up behin Sakura, and with a whispered apology, had the girl unconscious. She looked to Chiyo and bowed.
"I'm sorry baa-sama, but I'm going to revive him. He taught me the creation jutsu...before he left."
The elder woman frowned
"Creation justsu?"
Lera nodded and moved over to Sakura's prone form.
"Hai, it combines elements in order to create an entirely new, human, body."
She smiled as she placed a hand on the younger girl.
"The only thing is, I need a large amount of chakra, which I don't have after my fight with Uchiha-san."
Chiyo's eyes widened
"You fought him as well?"
Lera looked up quickly see Chiyo's surprise.
"You fought him?"
Chiyo nodded
"He was trying to delay us from getting to Gaara. I'm sure the Uzumaki boy has found the Kazekage by now though."
Lera turned to look at Sasori with a sad expression.
"I know that he took part in the Kazekage's abduction...but I can't lose him again."
She drained as much chakra from Sakura as she could without leaving the girl defenseless before forming the handsigns needed to revive her danna. The jutsu was almost complete when she realized that even with what she'd taken from Sakura, it wouldn't be enough. She turned pleaeding eyes toward Chiyo.
"Please baa-sama. I-I still need more chakra. We'll disappear, I promise. We won't come back to Suna, but please...I need him. Please help me save him."
She heard the old woman sigh as she reached out to place a hand on Lera's shoulder, flooding her with chakra. Lera gasped as she felt his body begin to flare with life.
"Creation jutsu!" she sxclaimed as it was completed
She fell forward, head resting on Sasori's chest, trying to catch her breath. The jutsu had taken so much out of her, she could hear her heart thumping as...wait. She barely dared to breathe as she listened to the newly awakened heartbeat beneath her. Tears filled her eyes and she cried out when he took his first breath. She braced herself to lean over him and studied his, still passive, face. When his eyes fluttered open, and he smiled up at her, she openly wept. It had worked! Sasori was alive, human, and with her again. He reached a hand up to her face, fingers cupping her cheek.
"Lera. I'm so glad you're alive."
She snorted and leaned down to press her nose under his chin. She wrapped her arms around him, not wanting to let go.
"Me? You're the one that died. I had to look after you again"
His arms went around her shoulders, one hand tangling in her hair, as he sighed.
"And I'mso very grateful that you do. But...don't ever do it again."
She lifted her head to glare at him
"Why not?"
His hand tightened on her hair as his fists clenched.
"Because I could have lost you, that jutsu usually requires life transfer. You're lucky that you had two extra sources."
She frowned and poked his chest
"You hypocrite! What I did was dangerous, but so was you sending all your chakra to me."
His brow furrowed at her words
"That was different."
Lera scowled
"Would you care to explain how danna? I almost lost you too...again!"
Sasori's eyes widened at the tears that fell down Lera's cheeks. She was right. In sacrificing his chakra to save her, he'd almsot left her all alone once more. But really...what was he supposed to have done?

Chiyo watched her grandson with the young woman who held hs heart. She hadn't thought it possible, but Sasori actually loved Lera, had been willing to die for her. The old woman smiled. That was all she had ever wanted for the boy, for him to know love. Sasori had never known a parent's love for a child, his own dying early in his life...but he was able to experience that emotion through Lera. Now, he'd found the girl once again, and this time Chiyo hoped that she could show Sasori a new kind of love: the one a woman has for a man. She was now content, with her life as well as her grandson's. All that was left was to save Gaara.

He couldn't find her. He'd been searching for Lera for hours, with no sign at all. He'd told Temari, Chiyo, and the Konoha team to go ahead, but he hadn't even sensed their chakras for a while. What was going on? It wasn't until he noticed that he was passing the same stretch of trees for the third time, that he realized that he was caught in a genjutsu.
"Dispel!"
He heard a quiet laugh as a shinobi stepped into view. He was an Akatsuki by the look of it-with the dark cloak and red clouds. The headband, marking the man as a former Konoha ninja, told him exactly who the man was.
"Uchiha, what are you doing here?"
Itachi smirked and tilted his head as he studied Kankurou.
"Can you really not sense her? Not smell her blood?"
Kankurou's eyes widened as he growled out,
"What the hell are you talking about? Who-" he trailed off as Itachi's Sharingan began to spin.
He knew that he was trapped in another genjutsu, but the Uchiha's voice resonated through the air telling him of the events that had taken place.
"She came here looking for him. Of course I had to detain her, we were not quite finished with the Kazekage."
Kankurou snarled in rage, but froze as he watched Lera confront the former Konoha ninja.
"Lera? Get away from him!"
He heard the Uchiha's quiet laughter echo around him.
"She cannot hear you boy. This is merely a display of what has already occurred."
The Suna nin was forced to watch as Lera begged Itachi to let her go to Sasori, even mentioning Naori. At that he knew for sure that this "vision" wasn't just some creation of Itachi's. No one knew that Naori was close to the Sabaku sibings, and Lera. So, his heart was in his throat as he watched Itachi move up directly in front of Lera. The Uchiha whispered something into the girl's ear that he couldn't make out, and Kankurou saw the resignation on her face. He saw Itachi's arm move,
"No!" he yelled, helpless as he watched the katana thrusted through Lera's chest. He fell to his knees as she fell, and his heart broke at her last, soft, whisper:
"Sasori"

Itachi hated to break the Suna ninja as he was, but it was necessary. He couldn't have the boy searching for Lera, not when she would be with Sasori and the Akatsuki. He smiled to himself as he walked away from the sobbing boy. Sasori would not be with the Akatsuki for much longer, not with Lera's safety at risk. He was happy for the puppeteer, glad the somber man had found his redemption in Lera. He only hoped to find that peace for himself one day.

He didn't want to move...ever. He was wrapped around the woman he loved, and she was safe. For now that is. He knew that they needed to go, so that none of their pursuers knew that he was actually alive. He ran his fingers through Lera's hair, loving the fact that he could actually feel the cool texture. That was what amazed him the most about Lera, she made him feel. He'd been dead the twenty years of their separation. It was only during times when he would think of her, wondering what she was like as she grew older, that any emotion at all was sparked within him. He'd had to stop himself from going back to Suna many times over the years, not wanting the others to know of his one weakness. He wouldn't allow them to use Lera against him.
"Sasori-danna?"
Startled out of his thoughts, he looked down at the girl in his arms.
"What do we do now?"
He knew what she was asking. She didn't mean what were they going to do right then...but later. Would he go back to the Akatsuki? Or...would he take Lera and disappear? Dear Kami he knew what he wanted to do, but what about her?
"What do you want to do?" he asked as he lookedn down at her face.
Her eyes searched his face before smiling.
"Sasori I love you. I will go anywhere as long as I'm with you."
His breath caught, and his long frozen heart thumped painfully in his chest. She loved him. She loved him. SHE loved HIM. He wrapped his arms even tighter around her, holding her close.
"Lera, I..." he trailed off and his eyes widened as she leaned up and pressed her lips against his.
Sasori had the urge to pinch himself to ensure that he was really alive and not dreaming. Then a blush came to his face for the first time as he realized that it was in fact reality that Inuzuka Lera was lying next to him, holding him, and kissing him. His eyes slid closed as he kissed her back, now he knew for sure what to do next. He wouldn't lose her. But how to get past...
"I see that you were in time," a cool voice stated from behind them.
Sasori pulled Lera to her feet, pushing her behind his body. Before him was the obstacle he'd feared, Uchiha Itachi. Now the other man knew he lived. How would he be able to go now? Lera stepped out from behind him.
"Hai I was, arigatou Uchiha-san. Ano, did you really have to stab me to get his attention though?"
Sasori couldn't believe his ears, or his eyes as he saw a small smile on the Uchiha's face. What was going on?
"My apologies Lera, but it worked did it not?"
Sasori frowned, what was going on? Why had Itachi stabbed...Sasori growled at the younger man.
"You stabbed Lera? Give me one good reason not to kill you where you stand."
The Konoha shinobi smirked
"You need me."
The boy's arrogance was pissing him off, but as he moved towards Itachi, Lera surprised him by grabbing his arm. Sasori glanced down at his girl, trying futilely to supress the blush that her smile evoked.
"L-Lera?"
His face was beginning to match his hair as Lera moved her hand down to entwine her fingers with his own. When her lips pressed against his cheek, the skin felt positively on fire. She had just kissed him in front of Itachi. When the flustered ex Suna nin glanced at Itachi though, his eyes widened in surprise as he saw the expression on the boy's face. There was such sorrow and longing on Itachi's face, that Sasori's newly awakened heart ached. Lera released his hand, and walked over to the Uchiha.
"Uchiha-san?"
Sasori barely restained himself from pulling Lera back as those deadly eyes focused on her, but felt his jaw drop as Itachi's eyes changed to their natural obsidian.
"Lera, I have had your blood on my hands, I believe that would allow less formality."
Lera smiled
"Itachi then."
She reached her hand out to cup the man's cheek, smiling softly as he turned into her touch.
"You will see her again Itachi," Lera whispered
Sasori's eyes narrowed, who would Itachi see again? The way Itachi's eyes softened as he brushed Lera's hair out of her face, told Sasori what he needed to know. The Uchiha missed his sister. Naori gave the clan's murderer peace. Sasori himself had only seen her once, when Itachi had brought her to the base that one time.

Itachi stepped back from Lera, reactivating his Sharingan.
"You need to go now, before Pein sends Zetsu for any bodies."
Sasori nodded and went to motion Lera to go, but gasped as the girl lunged forward to wrap her arms around the Uchiha.
"Arigatou Itachi"
Itachi hugged Lera back
"I should be thankiing you Lera. Now go"
He disappeared, leaving Sasori and Lera alone once more. They looked into each other's eyes, hearts beating fast, and smiled. They were free.

Ok and that's it. I haven't decided whether or not to continue and show what happens after Sasori and Lera disappear...and maybe even write a chapter about when Sasori first found her outside of Suna when she was little. We shall see.