"Wake up." A hand lightly brushed your shoulder.
"Go 'way" you slurred, burying your head deeper in a pillow. You swung an uncoordinated arm at whatever was currently tickling your shoulder. You met nothing but air. You smiled, snuggling back under the blankets. It'd worked after all...
"You have three seconds..."
A frown pulled your mouth downward. The commanding tone in that voice didn't sit well with you. Far too uppity. But then, something else bothered you more.
"Three seconds for wha-AAAAH!" you shrieked, feeling the world turn upside down in a flurry of cold air and sheets. Everything abruptly halted when you smacked your head against the floorboards, partially cushioned by the pillow you still held in a death grip. The spinning sensation and your heart beating furiously made you nauseous.
Then you heard a derisive snicker. Automatically your hands tightened around the sheets. Ripping blankets and cloth off your head, you gasped for oxygen, promising murder as you caught sight of Sasori leaning against the window. He wore a simple travel clothes, a light breeze playing with his hair. You pointed an accusing finger at him as you pushed your own hair out of your eyes, preparing to beat him into verbal pulp.
"You bast-"
"I warned you." came the simple reply. Sasori raised his eyebrows at you, the hint of a smirk tugging on his lips.
You let your hand fall back into your lap as you narrowed your eyes suspiciously at him. You glowered.
"Whose head did you bite off this morning to make you so happy?"
To your disgust, the smirked rolled onto his lips in full. He shrugged, shifting.
"I just thought you'd like to wake up and get dressed. Especially since the Records Hall closes early today."
You puckered your mouth doubtfully to the side. Rubbing at the bandages on your arm, you gave him a questioning look as the bandages loosened. Your wounds were pretty well healed anyway at this point.
In the past few days since that conversation with him, things had been relatively quiet. Sasori had managed to procure yet another room for you and ritualistically pointed this out to you, much to your guilt and annoyance. And just to rub it in, he had an extra copy of the key to your room. If he really felt like making you mad, he'd just lock the door from the outside.
As for clothes, you'd been unlucky. Practically all of your weapons and clothes had been either kept, burned, or sold by Kasumi you'd found out. At the time, you'd been so pissed that Sasori was forced to tie you to a chair until you calmed back down, as indicated by the steadily declining number of curse words with each passing sentence. It wasn't until later that day that you'd found a new pair of clothes in your room after you'd come back from a shower that'd you'd really started to feel guilty about your whole sorry situation.
"Clarify?" you asked, eyes narrowed moodily.
Sasori rolled his eyes with a sigh.
"I thought you were beyond having things spelled out for you." he murmured absently. Your eyes became slits. "What I mean is that you have access to their library, with a decent disguise and my accompaniment of course."
Your eyebrows shot up into your hair as your eyes grew round.
"You're joking..." you said, disbelieving.
Sasori just pursed his lips, tired of even the merest suggestion that he should repeat himself. "Why would I?"
That icy tone brought you back reeeaaaal fast. You hugged your knees, eyeing him, lips pursed.
"Hmmm, you're right...You couldn't handle a practical joke in any form..."
"Like you can handle your missions?" Sasori retorted airily.
"Shut up." you scowled.
"Get up."
You tossed a challenging glare in his direction. "Fine!" you spat, jumping to your feet. "I am up! Now leave!"
"All right. You've got fifteen." Sasori shrugged, slinking over to the door. He paused as he cast an eye over his shoulder. "Don't tell me you plan on wearing the same clothes that you've been wearing these past few days?"
Your cheeks flushed. "What's wrong with my clothes?" Gods! Does he have to start in on my fashion choices now?!
Sasori just sighed, rolling his eyes. He turned back to the door, but not before rummaging around the inside of his coat. He pulled out a bundle and threw it, not bothering to watch as you caught it in mid-air.
"What's this?"
He opened the door with a drawl, "A brain."
"You-" He slammed the door. "-jerk." You finished huffily. After glaring at the door a minute or so longer, you gave a "hmph!" and turned the wrapped package over in your hands. Tugging gently on the little strings of the bow the package came apart to reveal a newer, richer set of clothes. You lifted them up, noting the delicate pattern. You cocked an eyebrow.
"Guess he can't be seen in public with anybody less opulent than him." you remarked offhand. And then your mouth twitched irritated. "Now even I'm insulting myself..."
This...you decided. is not good...
You sighed and began pulling your nightshirt off. By the time you'd finished dressing, you took a step back, looking at yourself in the mirror as you tucked a lock of hair behind your ear. You had to admit, the guy had taste. You twisted around to get a better look at the black and white obi. It was long enough to just almost meet the tops of your shoes while the edge of the mini-kimono (what else could you call it?) ended just above your knees. You would have preferred some fishnet pants or something to hang down to your knees but you had to settle for what you had. Non-fishnet shorts hidden under the hem of your mini-kimono.
You walked over to a stand and picked up a brush that you'd managed to obtain for a bargain price and fixed your hair. Satisfied, you picked up your bag and sauntered to the door. With a hand on the knob, you scanned the room one last time, sticking a tongue at the mess. You'd clean it later.
Locking the door behind you, you looked up to catch Sasori walking out of his room, looking equally wealthy. Walking up to him, you caught him in the middle of a double-take, blinking. You stared at him with a frown and crossed your arms.
"What?"
"Nothing," he murmured and then coughed. "Disguise yourself and then we can go...Should've already done that in your room..."
"Hmph!" you performed a Henge no Jutsu, looking like the young girl that had arrived at the inn. "And how long do I have to keep this up?" you inquired in a luke-warm tone.
"Until I say," Sasori replied.
"Which is...?"
"When I say."
You heaved an ill-tempered sigh, eyes rolling. "All right then."
"Come on."
Sasori motioned for you to follow him when he began to pad down the hall. As his robes flew out behind him, you were surprised he didn't trip or something. It perturbed you. It was like he couldn't manage an awkward moment even if he tried. He was far too graceful for that. Maybe it's because he's so calm all the time. you wondered, going down the stairs. Or I just haven't caught him at the right moment...
You grinned a little as you offered a cheeky wave to the inn keeper who responded with a shooing motion. You'd make it a project or something to catch Sasori off-guard and making a fool of himself back at Suna. The pair of you walked out the gate and into the street. Sake might help... Even if you were underage you still had your connections. Or more appropriately, connection. Jin knew nearly everyone in Suna. At least, everyone worth knowing. It'd definitely be worth a try to get Sasori drunk. You wondered what kind of drunk he'd make...
"Hey,"
"What?" you babbled, yanked out of your plotting.
Sasori lifted a cool eyebrow at you before speaking, "I asked if you'd brought anything to eat."
You blinked. "What? You hungry or something?"
Sasori muttered darkly under his breath before responding. "We won't be able to stop for lunch or bring food into the Record Halls. And I don't want you to annoy me with whining about getting something to eat later on. I'd actually hoped you'd thought ahead for once."
You glowered as you walked next to him. "I do not whine..."
Sasori gave a mirthless laugh. "You must not hear yourself then."
"I'm not that bad!" you spat, red-faced.
"Says the person indebted to me."
You ground your teeth then, seething. Why did he always have to know what buttons to push?! You folded your arms, furiously trying to think of a witty comeback. Apparently your more clever half was already out to lunch today. Your cheeks flushed red with frustration. Meanwhile, you didn't even notice Sasori roll his eyes and reach into his pack.
"Hey,"
"Starting up on the self-esteem crushing again?" you snapped.
Sasori chuckled before smacking you lightly on the arm. In an instant you had your hand raised, half-pivoted around to smack him before freezing. He raised an eyebrow as if to ask what the hell you were doing while he held out a small triangular shaped package. You colored even more. Hunh?
"Yes?" you squeaked.
The young man rolled his eyes and replied, monotone, "Rice ball. Eat it and I won't have to hear you talk."
You pursed your lips, even as you lowered your hand to accept the offer. You weren't going to ask where hed gotten it or whether he'd been saving it for dinner because, hey, he apparently wanted you to shut your trap. You mumbled a disgruntled 'Thanks' as you unwrapped the treat. At least he's being practical...one side of you whispered. You kicked the dissenting voice into a dusty corner.
Munching grouchily, you fixed your eyes straight ahead for the most part, only sidling an eye over to Sasori every now and again. A few times you'd caught him glancing at you smoothly acting like he really wasn't, but now he appeared as if deep in thought. You continued to eat the rice ball, trying to seem equally thoughtful. A difficult feat given that you kept trying to catch loose grains of rice and kept getting distracted by the passing shops. If you'd had any money to spare, you would've loved to go shopping. You hadn't gone shopping in a long time...Besides, you had your girly side to satisfy.
The pair of you mounted the stairs to the shrine and Records Hall in silence, saving your breath for the long walk upward. The day was still fairly early and not quite warm, but you didn't mind. The cool air felt good on your face. Glancing up at the few wisps of clouds in the morning sky, you could already tell they'd be gone by noon, leaving nothing but an endless stretch of blue sky.
Getting to the top, you followed Sasori to the front of the Records Hall, growing increasingly uneasy. You started to fidget. They wouldn't be able to see through the illusion, would they? Your heart started to speed up. Would they hear?
"Quit that," Sasori murmured. "It'll only cause them to suspect..."
You glanced at Sasori before briefly dropping your gaze to your feet. Nothing like guilt to correct your behavior. You stared blankly ahead, keeping a calm expression; a basic attempt of mirroring Sasori at his most indecipherable. You hoped it would work.
While the pair of you passed by, Sasori nodded at the two on guard and continued on his way. You could feel a trickle of sweat run down your back as you also passed, nodding quickly. You didn't dare look them in the eyes, opting to stare straight ahead. Passing the front desk-ish area, the two of you slid in between the stacks of books, scrolls, and papers, walking briskly.
You could feel your breath escape in a quiet rush as you followed Sasori to the back of the Records Hall. Your heart rate seemed to be going back to normal. The air smelt incredibly stale, filled with old scrolls and books. It was so odd being back here. Especially after you'd screwed up so royally the first time around. A thought occurred to you.
"Sasori..." you whispered tentatively.
In response, the young man halted and cast an inquiring look at you.
"How exactly are you getting access to-"
"You'll see." He started off once more.
You frowned, chagrined at being cut off. Jerk. You clenched and unclenched your fists a bit, trying to keep a leash on your temper. Getting talked down to was bad enough, but now he was cutting you off from asking or saying anything at all? Gods!
Bored and wishing your palms weren't so damp, you began to run them lightly along the shelves. It was amusing you at least. You wished he'd at least tell you something of a plan. That way you wouldn't feel like you were walking in a dark room trying to find a black cat that wasn't there all the time.
Finally, you and Sasori reached the doors marked as forbidden. This time there were guards. You almost blanched when you caught sight of one of them. The younger one stepped forward, looking the pair of you over.
"Business." Yasuo growled, giving you an intimidating stare. Even if he had a huge, comical bandage over his nose, he still made you nervous. In the corner of your mind, you wondered if he would figure it out. Sasori coughed. You could feel the color drain out of your face as he turned his full attention to Sasori.
"As you know, Lord Suzuki has fallen ill. I've been sent to investigate what could possibly be the cause of his illness, considering that I am currently one of his most trusted confidants and I am the only one that could be spared to research such a strange disease. I've already exhausted the resources in the regular sections, and as you can most likely guess, I need access to these forbidden stacks to further my investigation. I also have with me the letter from Lord Suzuki asking such assistance as well. You will find it has been outfitted with all the proper seals and signatures. Now, would you be so kind?" Sasori said diplomatically, flourishing a scroll.
Yasuo wrinkled his nose and immediately regretted it. A part of you snickered. Yasuo took the scroll, unrolled it, and examined the contents. You watched as his face changed subtly, curdling as he read. With a sigh, he rolled the scroll and prodded Sasori's arm with it. Sasori coolly reclaimed the document.
"You seem to be set to go in, but the girl isn't. Care to explain?" Yasuo asked, barely concealing his suspicion.
"She is an associate of mine. Completely trustworthy and able to help me complete my work all the quicker so that we may return to Lord Suzuki." Sasori answered without hesitation. His face was blank, his tone devoid of anything other than business. You lightly held you breath for the response.
Yasuo's lips pressed into a thin line. He stepped aside, not bothering to conceal the hard glare he gave them both. Then he turned and knocked twice on the wall. To your surprise a small compartment swung open and Yasuo began pushing and pulling on a number of buttons, knobs, and devices. The only thing that could really be heard was the click of the buttons and whir of gears.
"All right. Everything inside should be disabled. Give the Lord my regards and best wishes."
"Of course," Sasori murmured with a nod, sweeping past.
You followed close after, keeping your head down and hoping that he would simply mistake your avoidance as embarrassment or shyness. It wasn't an unlikely possibility. As the other guard pulled the door open, the two of you entered. Sasori didn't pay the slightest attention. You trailed after him into the stacks even as the door closed.
You gazed in silence at the behemoth bookshelves. Now that the lights were fully on and you weren't sprinting for your life, you actually had the time to take in how huge this place truly was. There must have been thousands upon thousands of secrets stored here. Perhaps I could sneak a look at a new technique or two... a voice murmured in your mind as your eyes flicked from shelf to shelf.
"Ooof!" You blurted as you stumbled back a step. You looked at Sasori who only had halted.
"You should really be paying attention, you know that?" he commented.
Your brows drew down ill-temperedly. "Well, I wasn't exactly expecting you to just morph into a wall."
"You can drop your disguise now if you like. Conserve chakra while you can."
You paused. That would be a good idea. Now you would make it seem like it'd been your good idea the whole time.
"I know that." you replied tartly.
Sasori shook his head before continuing. "Get going on your mission. I'll be over by the tables doing some of my own personal research."
"For Suzuki?"
At this Sasori just smirked and began turning. "Why ever would I do that?"
"You mean-"
He waved a hand over his shoulder. "I'll tell you later if you're so keen to know."
You huffed angrily, sliding your bag over your shoulder. You began to pull out some pens and writing scrolls, muttering darkly under your breath. "Asshole. Thinks the world revolves around him, doesn't he? Just like Ishori..."
You paused, feeling a sudden wave of sadness. How long has it been since I've left Suna? A month and a half-ish? You didn't remember... You hung your head. Guilt settled in as you realized that this was probably the first time in weeks you'd really remembered them. So long... You wondered what Saya, Jin, and Ishori were up to right then.
Smiling a little, you pictured the trio at your favorite tea shop. Jin would either be ogling his latest crush or bemoaning his hapless luck at being unable to get her attention. Saya, of course, would be gently teasing, giggling away as she patted him on the shoulder and sympathized. Ishori...Well, he'd be listening with a dour face as usual, rolling his eyes as Jin rambled over the same things multiple times. He'd probably be scratching some memento into one of the benches or tables with a kunai as he listened. They'd all be munching on takoyaki and tea, getting on with life while you were gone...
You sighed, feeling a huge lead weight tie itself to your heart. If you took the chance to lay down, it just might drag your heart all the way to your spine, brushing up against the vertebrae...Gods, you missed them. You sighed. As if exhaling would remove the heaviness from your chest. Lifting your head up, you peered through the stacks at a flash of red hair, farther back. Your cheeks burned an involuntary shade pink and your heart skip a beat. It caught you off-guard.
You felt ashamed. Totally forgetting your friends in lieu of a sarcastic, smug, insulting bastard. He'd even tried to kill one of your friends; how could you ever forgive that? How had you ever let that memory slip through your fingers? There was nothing about Sasori that made him good. And yet you'd offered a hand in trying to understand him.
You cursed yourself for giving in to some tragic, violin-accompanied story about an isolated childhood. But what would that have made me if I hadn't given in? you wondered. Worse than him?
Running a hand through your hair, you shook your head. You needed to think practically, not emotionally. So what if he's helping me out. He's only doing it because it's convenient for him...Nothing else...
Continuing to shake your head, trying to clear it of such thoughts, you slung the bag over your shoulder, pens and scrolls cradled in your arms as you searched for some sort of index to go off of. Tears were brimming in your eyes as you started to sniffle. Since when had you gotten so sappy? You used to never cry...especially over little things like this... You took care keep your sleeve over your nose, muffling the noise. Why did you feel so torn all of a sudden?
Meanwhile, not terribly far away, Sasori paused, listening to the faint sounds. His hand hovered over a scroll that could quite possibly contain a wealth of knowledge on poisons. The crying was barely inaudible at this distance, but he still caught it. He sighed.
Hours later...
You stared blearily at yet another scroll, watching amusedly as the characters started to wiggle over the page. You tittered with exhaustion. It's like they're swimming on paper...Hee... You grinned stupidly before letting the scroll roll itself up again. Setting the thing aside, you leaned back and groaned.
Your neck hurt. Your back hurt. And your eyes hurt. All that hunching over and squinting at messy, barely legible writing didn't sit well with you. Besides, this was bookwork. You hated bookwork. Back in the Academy, you'd done terribly on exams. You never had the patience to study any of the explanations for the techniques, you usually just went straight for the techniques. Cut to the chase and be done with it.
At least over the years you'd gotten better about it. You'd actually made a habit of skimming the less important parts and actually reading the important ones. The only problem was that you usually had to go through it two or three times to figure out which parts counted as important and which ones didn't.
Your head lolled to the side as you caught sight of the one crinkled scroll that you'd managed to take a few possible notes on. It was sad really. You flicked it with a finger. It wobbled. Closing your eyes you took a deep breath of stale air and let it go, tilting your head back against the shelves. Not comfortable, you decided. Who knew that researching crap could be so tiring? That was certainly a new lesson you'd learned. No wonder people make jobs of it and get paid. Nobody else wants to do it...
You sat there, drifting in that strange world of not being quite asleep and yet not really being awake. You felt like you were floating. It was nice. No worries, no missions, just the promise of deep sleep to come. Dimly, you became aware of a light breeze on your ear. You frowned, groaning in protest. It tickled. When did I end up outside? the thought was the first thing you grasped in the sleepy stew of your mind.
"Slacking, are we?"
Oh...
You cracked an eye open, glimpsing Sasori crouched to your right, watching you. And then you realized how close he was. You jerked away with a squawk, startled awake. Blinking, you scrubbed at your eyes with one hand while you propped yourself on the other.
"Don't do that!" you exclaimed in a rush. "That's creepy! How long have you been there staring at me?!"
Sasori's shoulders slumped a little as he rolled his eyes, turning his face away. "I just got here." he murmured noncommittally. "And you were sleeping which obviously meant you were ignoring your work which obviously means more time of my being stuck in the same enemy village as you even longer."
"Well, it'd be faster if I had help," you retorted, sitting upright again. Your hand scrabbled backwards, feeling around for a pen you were sure hadn't rolled too far away.
Sasori shook his head, smoothly straightening and swiping up a scroll as he did. He held it to his face, reading as you took the time to turn your full attention to your missing pen.
"Hmmm...not much luck?"
"Not really." You mumbled, blinking and trying to clear your muzzy head. You hated that drowsy feeling that probably wouldn't go away for a good half hour. It was too close to feeling drunk. Turning around on your knees, you started to shove things into your pack when a scroll entered your vision. You stared at it momentarily before the gears clicked.
Taking it you shoved it in the bag as well. You knelt and brushed hair out of your eyes, one last pen clenched between your teeth; paused as an outstretched hand entered your field of vision. Your eyes turned up to Sasori curiously. You took the pen out of your mouth.
"Yes?"
Sasori cocked an eyebrow. "Did you suffer brain damage while I was only half a room away?"
"Well, what do you expect me to do when you're holding your hand out like that?! You want money or something?" you said indignantly.
"Put two and two together and you might get four."
You paused resisting the strong urge to smack the hand out of your way. But then you tipped precariously to one side. The picture of you jumping up only to go crashing headlong into a shelf didn't appeal to you much...A sigh escaped. You grasped the offered hand with resignation. It was cold, you'd noticed.
"Thanks." you mumbled as you were pulled to your feet.
Sasori didn't answer as you steadied yourself.
"You're sure you haven't mistakenly hit your head or something?" the deadpan tone didn't really carry what you would call 'concern'.
"Yes!"
Sasori shrugged, dropping your hand. "Then let's go. They'll be in here any second to kick us out. And I would prefer it that they didn't remember you."
"Oh...Right..."
You blinked, trying to remember what you looked like.
"Henge no jutsu!" And in a puff of smoke, you had your disguise. Sasori's eyes roved up and over your appearance. You felt an odd twinge in your stomach.
"The hair was longer." he commented, turning and shouldering his own bag. He stepped in the direction of the door.
You pouted before changing again and chasing after him. How the hell would the guards have been able to tell the difference? You wanted to ask but didn't.
"Hey, wait up," you said, stumbling along.
He didn't pause as he headed for the door. Although, his pace did slow down a fraction. You watched as the door opened and a different man peered in to inform them that their time was up. As you followed Sasori out, you didn't even bother to notice the guards. What did you care? You were tired and that vaguely confused feeling wouldn't fully go away.
"I'm afraid we'll be returning tomorrow, gentlemen." Sasori commented, walking past. "Thank you."
"We'll be sure to tell the shift then." The remaining guard reported, before turning back to his companion.
It was a struggle to choose between falling asleep in mid-step or being even more awake.
By the time the pair of you reached the outside, you were only walking briskly after Sasori, delighting in how the cold air seemed to instantly clear your head. It felt nice against your face and skin. Left you rather contented actually. Rounding a corner, you caught up to him. To your annoyance he didn't bother to look at you. When it came to being ignored, you liked it when you were on stealth missions, but in other circumstances...no way in hell.
"So what where you doing the whole time I was researching my stuff?" you asked, attempting conversation. Civil conversation.
You watched as a brown eye slid over to you. "My own research."
You sulked. "Like that really answers my question."
"You asked a question, I gave a response. There's not much more to it than that."
You sighed in aggravation, refusing to offer a retort or explanation. A pout tugged on your lips as the pair of you walked in silence. You didn't really pay attention to the path or anything on it until massive twinkling and glowing lights caught your eyes. Flicking your head in the direction of the shrine, you stopped.
"Tch." Sasori paused, glancing back at you. He raised an eyebrow. "Now what is it?"
You rolled your eyes at him, gesturing toward the shrine. "I'm only admiring the lights. Something wrong with that?"
Sasori just blinked. "I'm exhausted and have business early tomorrow before coming back here."
You crossed your arms, tilting your head to the side. You made a shooing motion to him with one hand. "Go then. I'll stay here and enjoy the rest of the evening. It's not like I've gotten out much by myself anyway, so I'm gonna enjoy it while it lasts."
You watched smugly as a variety of emotions barely flickered across Sasori's eyes. Before he could respond, you emphasized your point by walking over to a bench and sitting on it cross-legged. He glowered at you.
"You really don't have any consideration for others do you?"
"For you? Of course not." you drawled sweetly. "I'm only getting even for all the insults I've gotten in the past week or so."
Sasori pursed his lips, narrowing his eyes. "Well, they weren't unwarranted..." he muttered.
"Unwarranted?!" you exclaimed, leaning forward. "You insult my skill, intelligence, looks, and everything about me, every chance you get! What did I do to warrant all that?! Hmm?"
Silence. You fixed him with an accusing stare until he looked away. He continued to stare at the ground as he ran a hand through his hair. His lips remained pressed into a thin line. You leaned back, smirking.
"Point proven."
Sasori looked up then, eyes fixed on you. He folded his arms. "I suppose you want me to leave now, then?" he asked coolly.
Did you? When you didn't say anything immediately, he shrugged and turned away, heading toward the steps. You stood up hands on your hips.
"You idiot," you said. You're too quick to jump to conclusions. Don't you have any patience or something? Hey are you listening?"
Sasori paused, speaking over a shoulder. "Is this as close as I'm getting to an apology?"
"A-apology?!" you sputtered, outraged. Sasori smirked. Bastard! If he wants evens then I'll show him evens!
"Why the outburst? It really doesn't suit you...Course, nothing ever does..." Sasori remarked sarcastic.
Last straw! Jumping onto your feet, you felt your hands ache from how tightly you clenched them.
"Godsdamnit all!" you snapped. "Aren't you good for anything else other than sniping at me? Maybe this is why nobody ever decided to be around you! You drove them all away with your arrogant, holier-than-thou bullshit! You might as well just wallow in your own grave alone! You dug it pretty damn good if you ask me!"
As the words gushed out of your mouth, Sasori went rigid. Something seemed to deaden behind his eyes. Even you surprised yourself with the venom in your voice. The silence seemed to yawn for miles between you and the red-haired boy before you. Finally, he blinked, shifting his gaze away from you. The blood pounded hotly in your temples, unfeeling.
"Something wrong?" the tone seemed vaguely disconnected. Like one of his vocal chords had been strung too tight. And yet, he acted like nothing had just happened. His eyes flicked to you, the expression becoming oddly blank.
"Why," You began, wishing he wouldn't look at you. "are you so bent on having the last word?"
"The same reason you are." Sasori answered tonelessly.
Even I don't know what that is... you thought, bitterly, staring at your feet. I didn't even know I did that until you pointed that out... The silence was awkward as the pair of you stood there, waiting for something to happen. You could see familiar dead-pan appearance of his face. His eyes are so much warmer when they're not empty... you thought distractedly. It hit you right then. He's wearing a mask...He always wears it with that exact expression. Hiding... As you listened to his controlled breathing, trying to figure out how things had just spiraled down, why they always seemed to spiral down, your rage melted into self-loathing. How could you do that to him?
Abruptly, the whoosh and flutter of silk caught your ears as you whipped your head up just in time to see Sasori begin down the steps alone. When you tried to call out, trying to sputter an apology, he didn't so much as respond, simply continuing his descent. As your voice finally died out, you blinked at his retreating figure, feeling deeply guilty. He wouldn't even let you say 'sorry'...
You wanted to bang your head against something really hard right now. Maybe then you'd get enough common sense to keep a handle on your temper. After pacing at the top of the steps anxiously, tearing yourself apart, you decided it be best just to go back to the inn. You bounced downed the stairs, hoping to jar the depressed feeling straight out of your bones. All the way home, you kept your eyes firmly fixed on the ground, occasionally looking up to get your bearings.
Upon reaching the Iris Inn, you slipped past a night clerk and up the stairs, fidgeting with the strap of your bag. As you glided closer and closer to Sasori's room, your insides started to squirm uncomfortably. Passing the door, you held your breath, hoping he wouldn't hear. With only a step past the room, you hesitated. You stared at the door and thought about knocking on it to apologize. Yeah...That'd probably be the best thing to do...
Pivoting halfway around, you stopped, seized by doubt. Would you only make it worse? Would he even bother to listen? Would he forgive you? Would he- I don't deserve to get this guilt off my chest, you realized. I'm only thinking of myself. Again... You hung your head, greatly aware of the aching in your heart. You rotated and went straight to your room without a second thought.
After turning around and tossing the bag on a night stand, you didn't even bother to listen to the thing as it oozed to the floor. In the meantime, you threw yourself onto the bed, trying to curl up in the sheets. You closed your eyes, straining to catch any noise from next door.
Nothing. Your heart sank even further as you brought a sheet over your head.
"Why do I always have to fuck things up..." And you closed your eyes, wishing the last hour away.
The next two days passed with few words between you and Sasori. At best, there were uneasy silences. At worst, the two of you couldn't be within thirty feet of each other.
At the Records Hall, things went slowly. The pair of you usually separated, off to carry out your own respective tasks. Only a few times did Sasori talk to you; and that was simply to ask for an extra scroll or two. Apparently, hed found some things of great interest and had been copying everything he could down.
On the third day back in the Record Halls forbidden stacks, you were walking down one of the aisles, a scroll in one hand and pen drifting in the air to find another title or something. You sighed. You'd never felt so saturated with the smell of dust and old paper before now. It left you restless and feeling eternally dirty. Besides, not much interesting went on in the Records Hall. You'd had very little progress since the first day, finding little to no information on jutsus of disguise, illusionary, or genjutsu nature that matched what you were looking for.
In short, the whole thing was reaching maximum levels of boring.
In your wanderings, you found the window that you'd broken through on your first round of being in the Record Halls. How was it now? Well, the shinobi of Kusagakure had patched that right up with a set of iron bars. If this library ever burned, boy, were they screwed for getting anything out. Served them right in your opinion. You tapped the pen against your lip, eyes straying.
Shifting the pack from on arm to the next, you paused as you glanced through the shelves at the tables. Sasori sat at one of them, surrounded by piles of scrolls and books. Squinting, you were immediately surprised to find his head was low, eyes presumably closed. He breathed slowly and rhythmically...The guilty weight returned as you felt sorry for him, being that tired. You started to turn away.
But was he really asleep? The sudden urge to just poke him nibbled at your childish side. Should you? No...You chewed on the pen momentarily, eyes arcing over to Sasori again. Oh hell, why not? You let the pack slip from your shoulder, dropping the scroll and pen on top of it.
You performed a jutsu you'd just recently picked up, one that hid sound, sight, or scent of you. If Sasori decided to throw something in your direction and you couldnt dodge then you'd definitely be found out. But for now, he'd probably be too oblivious. If he was so tired as to fall asleep here of all places, he sure as anything wouldn't notice you with that jutsu activated. Even if he did, it would just prove to you he couldn't really be human after all.
Besides, you were the only person in the room. Just the other day you'd learned that he had been stringing sets of chakra strings over every possible entrance as an alarm system.
You tip-toed over to the sleeping red-head even though you didn't need to. Crouching next to the table, you brought your face level with his as it was lain against the pages of an open book. You covered your mouth with a hand. The possibility that he might wake up with ink marks on his face amused you as a giggle escaped from between your fingers. You listened to his light breaths, signifying a dozing sort of sleep rather than deep sleep. So he is awake...somewhat...He's just feigning...or dozing...
As you squinted a bit closer, you could see the faint but visibly dark circles under his eyes. Contrary to popular belief, or at least, contrary to most guys, Sasori looked anything but peaceful in his sleep. There was a pinched edged to the corner of his eyes and his mouth was drawn down in a light frown. Your eyes softened a little. What's he been doing these past few days to make him so exhausted? You tilted your head to the side, fingers grasping the table edge.
And then the perfect idea came to you. Remembering how he'd greeted you at the end of that first day, you knew exactly what to do. A little revenge was in order. You grinned, releasing the jutsu.
When Sasori only tensed before settling into uninterrupted sleep once more, you cocked an eyebrow. This was rather unexpected. You repressed a snigger. Filling your lungs, you blew gently on his face watching his bangs flutter. Instantly, his eyes snapped opened as he bolted upright, hand halfway up his sleeve. When he caught sight of you, smiling smugly, he dropped his sleeve and ran the hand through his hair.
"Guess who's slacking now," you snickered, rather pleased with yourself.
Sasori just took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair, moodily. To your satisfaction his cheeks were slightly flushed with pink. He tilted his head back as he glanced at you from the corner of his eye. You tensed, expecting a volley of verbal barbs to be rained down.
"You didn't do that by yourself, did you?" It wasn't really a question. More like a declaration.
You hesitated and then jerked a thumb back at the stacks. "Scrolls. New jutsu. Quite handy."
"Ah. That explains it..." he murmured, staring up at the ceiling. He tilted back on the back legs of his chair smoothly. His balance remained flawless as he tucked his arms into his sleeves, nonchalant. "Have you made any progress?" he asked tiredly.
"Maybe...No...Not really..." You sighed, pushing off your knees and standing up. Sasori followed your movements discretely with his eyes. He closed his eyes as you walked around him and pulled a chair out and sat down. You crossed your arms, putting your feet up on an empty space on the table, leaning back a little.
You craned your neck toward the young man, as he lifted an eyebrow at you.
"So what have you been studying up for, hunh?" you asked, restless. "World takeover or something?"
"As if I would need to study for that." Sasori replied, coolly. You snickered. "I'm looking up more extensive poisons, handy jutsu techniques. There's always something I can sell."
"Sell?" you inquired, examining your nails as you began to rock back and forth on the chair legs. "You're a black market dealer or something?"
Sasori just smirked. "Not really, but I guess that's applicable too." Almost absently he began to imitate you, rocking back and forth. "I do need supplies for my craft. After all, things get lost, gears get destroyed, stopped up or just rusted...That's the thing with puppet-based jutsu; you're always replacing things and adding things..."
"And that requires money..." you murmured, staring at one of the far walls. You wondered what time it was.
"Exactly," Sasori said. He tilted his head to the side, staring in the same direction that you were. "So while you complete your mission, I'll use the extra time to find new sources of income for me..."
You rolled your eyes. "Lovely. Good luck with that." you commented sarcastically.
Sasori snickered. "You don't believe me? Then just think about information in general. Some people die for it, you know."
"I know." You rolled your shoulders, stretching them a bit. "I've heard of a few people who have. I'm not that stupid."
"I never said you were." Sasori remarked off-hand, covering a yawn with a sleeve. For a second, you froze. Sasori looked at you, mouth twisted to the side. "What's the matter?"
"I'm in shock," you said, slightly teasing. "That was practically a compliment, coming from you."
He shrugged. "I'm not completely awake."
You turned to him, snickering. "Yeah, right. You know you meant it." You finished, smacking him lightly on the arm.
He sighed. "Think what you like. You're just deluding yourself."
You turned back, smiling lazily. "I'll do that." You brought the chair back on all fours and stood up, stretching. "Well, I'm off."
"Later."
You walked off toward where you'd dropped your stuff, listening as Sasori's chair clomped onto all fours again. You gave a wave of your hand to indicate you'd heard him and turned down an aisle. A warm smile crossed your features; the first in a long time. You sighed, feeling a pleasant warmth swirl in your lungs. Picking up your fallen materials, you sauntered down the narrow pathway, deciding it was time to change up the scenery. Or try to...
Walking to the back of the stacks, you turned and headed toward one of the far walls that you hadn't investigated yet. Holding the pen out, you tapped on each massive bookshelf as you walked by, listening to the faint tap, tap, tap of the pen as it hit the wood.
Coming to the end of the rows, you rounded the corner and drug your pen against the wall, staring at the bookshelves to you right. You sighed, as you passed from title to title, subject to subject without catching anything interesting. You really wished the index was better organized. Things would be so much easier to find if they were.
You weren't really paying attention to anything until you felt your pen fall into thin air. Glancing over at your left hand you blanched at how more than half of your hand had sunken into the wall. You wrenched your arm back to your chest, unnerved. Taking a step toward the wall again, you reached tentatively through the wall. Your hand disappeared again. Wide-eyed, you continued forward until you'd fully passed through the wall.
Looking on both sides of the walls next to you, you found that there were four small seal-looking papers, two on each wall, surrounding the entrance of this newly discovered passage. You peered behind you and saw that you could see the stacks perfectly. Turning down this new path, you saw that it was dark, dimly lit.
You knew you should probably say something, but curiosity was getting the better of you. Padding down the hall, you squinted into the gloom, one hand on the wall. You jumped as the lamps on the wall brightened as you passed. Your heart was pounding as you walked. Coming out the other side, there was a quick intake of breath as you stared. Turning around you looked at a large sign hanging just before the first of a number of crumbling bookcases.
"Those fuckers..." you swore under your breath, reading the sign.
It read:
FORBIDDEN SCROLLS
You turned and ran back the way you'd come.
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Once again Thank you all so much for sticking with me these few months. I really hope you enjoyed the latest installment :) And thank you so much for being such wonderful and dedicated readers!
And forgive my lateness on responding to messages >.< I'm just now getting around to it.
