When Darkness Turns to Light

Whisper of the Heart

In the long run, it would definitely require attention, but it was not mortal. "They're shallow . . . the blood cover's kinda wide, and the gashes are sort of shorter than their width; they're just a couple inches long. An elixir should work for a temporary solution, then Donald can try a few spells later. How do you feel?"

He lifted himself onto one knee. "I'm fine," he replied. To his chagrin, he admitted, "Just a lot of pain . . . but I can work through it." Into his left pocket he reached for an elixir. He was not able to completely comprehend the severity of his wounds for he could not necessarily feel them. He felt a considerable amount of pain centering in the area where he had been struck and felt liquid-that he assumed to be blood-stuck there. When he downed the elixir-Yuck!-in a single swig, the pain subsided for the most part, feeling more like a pin prick or paper cut.

With that minor yet certainly welcome relief, he stood and faced Sasori. He was minutely shaken; minuscule lines were apparent around his eyes. Squarely he stared at the puppetless puppeteer. "Let's finish this." As if to reassure himself of his dexterity, he twirled his Keyblade before taking the proper stance.

Hikari examined him for a moment but nodded and took her own stance, pointing the fingers of her right hand toward Sasori.

Characteristic of a doll, Sasori's expression had once again not changed much from lack thereof; yet currently there was no mistaking an alteration to a frown as he scowled at the pair before him. The changes were nearly small enough to be microscopic. In comparison perhaps to the chaotic rage of a thundering maelstrom at sea, he looked to be disturbed as far as a single pebble being dropped into a small pool.

Fine. I'll admit it; they're more impressive than I thought. Especially that brat with the Key. He reached up to the large collar of his robe and pried apart the first button down the line of red in the middle. With a still expression, he continued to unbutton. I never thought I'd see the Third Kazekage destroyed, and it's probably a waste to use other human puppets.

"I haven't had to solve a problem like this since I joined the Akastuki. I wonder how long it's been?" he began. His teal nails unfastened one last button that allowed him to disrobe. The cloth gracefully settled on the sand near his teal-polished toes. Where his stomach should have been, a steel-laced cable was unwinding. The stinger end passed light blue-violet pants (which tucked into knee-high zori) and planted into the ground. His feet left the ground and stepped onto the cable, which appeared to support his weight and lift him up.

"Yes, it's been awhile indeed since I last used . . . myself."

Sora and Hikari gawked at the sight before them. Aside from the cable replacing his stomach, there were multiple other inhuman components about his body. In place of pectoral muscles, there was a compartment for either side of his chest. The left compartment had veins centering around the border of a raised keyhole. Like his puppets, there were lines defining his joints-all except for his face. Attached to the back of his hips were two poles equipped with five large blades.

"Hold on . . . ," the brunette uttered, ". . . is he a puppet?"

Slowly the kunoichi nodded. Now that I think about it, there's no way he could be the age he looks like and have been partnered with Orochimaru . . . he doesn't look older than me! He would've been too young. But, a puppet body wouldn't age. . . . Because it isn't human, I wonder if it gets tired . . . it could easily outlast us, I bet. . . . She looked at Sora. Sora looks like he's got a good amount of energy left, but if he's hit like that again. . . .

Her gaze returned to Sasori. In contrast with the calm, half-closed eyes he had presented earlier, his sclera was completely visible around his brown irises, providing a greater, more eerie edge to his demeanor. He seemed almost maniacal.