Red Strings of Fate

Chapter FOUR

Chapter FOUR

Sasori wondered if he was fast and skilled enough to outrun a rampaging Shukaku.

Gaara had spent the whole morning attempting to trip him. Tendrils of sand popped out of nowhere, lashing out at his ankles.

Sasori had just been about to be driven completely insane when god finally decided to pity him. Paper suddenly floated down from the sky, swirling around unnaturally in the wind.

Instantly Gaara stepped forward, hand outstretched and ready to crush whoever appeared.

Sakura stepped back so that her back was directly against Sasori, hands stretched out.

A woman in a black cloak appeared in front of them. She had blue hair and grey orange eyes, and a paper flower decorated her hair. She had paper wings sprouting from her back, and she hovered over the ground.

Gaara threateningly tensed his fingers, but even he paused.

This woman was no mere bandit.

"So the destruction of the Smoke village was your fault..."

"And who might you be?" Sasori asked.

"I've come to invite you into the Akatsuki, Akasuna no Sasori."

"Akatsuki?" Sasori asked. "Never heard of it."

"We need your power for our future actions." The woman continued. "So come and lend us your power."

"Awfully presumptuous, aren't you?"

"Just think of Akatsuki as a place that will protect you, a Nuke-nin." The woman floated down, and the moment her feet hit the ground, her wigs dissolved into paper. "As long as you complete the assigned jobs, how you spend the rest of your time is up to you."

"That might not be a bad offer." Sasori finally said. "However..." The former Suna-nini pulled out his scroll and spread it out on the ground.

"What are you planning to do?" The woman asked.

"I can protect myself well enough." The Third Kazekage appeared in front of him, beside Sakura. He really liked Sakura's blank expression as she looked at her father. "And I happen to have two more than capable brats following me around."

The Third Kazekage shot forward, and before anyone could blink, had cut right through the woman. Her form burst into paper, then shot forward.

Sasori narrowed his eyes, then slowly turned around.

The paper came back together, and the woman stood there, unharmed.

The woman narrowed her eyes, then finally shifted her gaze to Sakura, then Gaara.

"Then...I have no choice but to take you by force."

Sasori sighed. "Hear that, little brats?" He asked.

Gaara stepped around Sasori, roughly brushing his shoulder. Sakura joined him by his side.

"Unfortunately, we can't have you taking Puppet Bastard here." Gaara said, his voice void of any emotions. "As annoying as he is, he is mine to kill." He slowly raised his arm, and sand burst out like waves on either side of them.

Sakura didn't say anything, but her iron sand spheres began to move more rapidly around her.

"It seems luck is on our side." Sasori said. "You two get to kill someone, and I get to add someone into my third level collection."

"Screw you and your puppets." Gaara snapped.

"Watch your mouth, brat. Your parents will be disappointed." Sasori replied without skipping a beat, knowing very well what their reactions would be to his meaner-than-necessary comment.

Gaara scoffed. "That's sweet, coming from you."

Sasori almost missed the shy Gaara from when they had first left the village. Back then, he listened to orders, afraid that if he didn't he would be left behind.

The only thing that hadn't changed was the attachment Gaara held towards Sakura. Then again, the boy's drastic change in personality had been due to a certain event involving Sakura as well.

"You killed my father." Sakura pointed out. She gestured to the Third Kazekage.

Sasori shot her a blank look.

"Are you done?" The woman called. She paused for a second, then added. "Your two children can come with you."

Sasori coughed. "Children?" He asked. "They're more like...dogs."

Gaara glared at him, then promptly turned to face the woman from Akatsuki. "I'll deal with you first." He said. "Then I'll kill him."

Sakura hummed in agreement, though Sasori wasn't sure to what extent of Gaara's words she had agreed to.

When the woman flew at them, Gaara flicked his hand. His sand exploded, spreading out in the area in front and tearing through the paper. The woman quickly backtracked and the sand followed. She threw a handful of paper shuriken which actually turned out to be more like ordinary shuriken than paper. They became undone upon contact with the sand and created a shield. Though the sand tore through it, it gave the woman more than enough time to create space between them.

The woman jumped, her paper wings appearing and forming in a flash. A split second later, the sand under her feet formed a huge demon like hand swiping at her. She tossed a handful of paper bombs below, blowing the structure apart.

"This is going to take forever." Gaara complained. "Can I just crush her?"

Sasori glared at him. "I am going to turn her into a puppet."

"I'll crush her." Gaara raised both his hands and the sand shot upwards. More paper bombs rained down on the sand as she streaked towards them.

Gaara's sand snaked around the three of them threateningly and Sasori could see the hint of annoyance in the woman's eyes. She produced a handful of paper and threw them forward. Gaara's shield popped up and the paper bombs exploded, the force enough to create a small dust cloud.

When it cleared, Sasori could see Sakura's iron sand reinforcing Gaara's defence.

The woman landed neatly a few meters away, looking displeased. "I guess I'll just have to take out your...dogs first."

Gara bared his teeth and Sakura flicked her hands.

The two types of sand separated. The rest of Sakura's iron sand, which flew around her in black spheres, exploded and turned into strings, weaving a thin weblike structure around them.

"I'll crush her." Gaara said. "You do the defence."

Sakura nodded.

"You two are barbaric." Sasori commented.

    -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-      

In the end, while they succeeded in making the woman retreat, everyone was left in a bad mood.

Gaara was annoyed because he wasn't able to kill the woman and Sasori was annoyed because good puppet material had managed to escape.

Of course, if your only companions were in a bad mood, it was likely that you picked it up, and Sakura just lingered behind as Sasori and Gaara argued.

No longer actually caring, they stormed out of the Wind country.