“Forgive me,” Mai purred, her tones overcast. “But I hardly to see how this could be a conflict of interests,” She crossed her arms, letting her bangs tilt into her deep-sea eyes. “You say one word, one simple word to join and gain a whole network of benefits. There are very few disadvantages to this sort of set up. Especially with how the balance of power is shifting in our fav-“
“Clearly,” Sasori interrupted. “The advantages outweigh the disadvantages; if you calculate by numbers alone... However, in terms of value and the trouble of my time, I find that such an organization, old and secure as it might be, has far more skeletons in its closet than you care to let on.”
He slid a fist out of his pocket, paying no heed as the entire circle of shinobi tensed and flexed around him. The sound of creaking leather and hissing metal carried all around. His fingers splayed outward, capturing the attention of all as he grew preoccupied with a rather familiar looking puppet. The thing began to dance and whirl, given a vivid life to which it was never before entitled. You squinted hard at it before your brows arched upward in recognition.
From the inn… you thought. You craned your head around, curious to see Mai’s reaction. She targeted the toy with a flat stare, hardly amused.
“Mind elaborating?”
“Not particularly,” Sasori commented, eyes trailing over to a rather swarthy gang member to the left. He blinked, focusing once more on the twirling puppet, non-chalant.
The black-haired girl before him cleared her throat, demanding attention. Even at this distance, you could catch the color blossoming in her cheeks. When Sasori gave no indication of noticing, an edgy grumble rippled through the group, unsettling a number of the shinobi present. Mai cleared her throat again.
“If you’re choking, your kinsmen and allies seem to be quite content to leave you as you are,” Sasori commented as he lifted an eyebrow at Mai. He returned to his puppet, fingers twitching and flexing with measured control. “I wouldn’t blame them, really...”
The young woman just gawked, saucer-eyed before making a quick recovery in the form of a tight smile and vicious glare. Her face glowed rosily.
“What is your answer? Akasuna no Sasori!” Mai snapped. A brief frown flit across her face before her lips formed a slight moue as she recomposed herself. She shut her eyes, breathing calmly. After a few short moments, the bottom of her lip inched outward even as her mouth curved gracefully upward.
In turn, you felt the hairs on your neck stand involuntarily on end. You knew she was up to something. Even an idiot could tell, a status of which you were very concerned with not falling into…
Mai Kanzaki, you thought, disdain creeping onto your mouth. You are fooling no one. Least of all the guy in front of you. I would know… You might have been hot-headed and thick at times, but you no one could call you completely blind.
Except Sasori, probably, you grimaced.
“Come on,” Mai took a step towards him, a picture of persuasion. You felt your mouth curdle, a sour taste on your palate. “It’s not like you’ve got anything to lose.”
Sasori lifted his head upward, one of his eyes partially obscured by a lock of red hair. “Nor have I a thing to really gain.”
“Well, you just haven’t looked at the issue proper-“
“Don’t insult me.” Sasori cut her off, biting the words off as he simultaneously jerked up on the puppet strings. Arms and legs protruded at pathetic angles from between his fingers as he clutched the little toy. His eyes now turned to slits. His lips were pressed paper thin as his gaze bore into her.
Mai blanched, falling back a step at the intensity. That’s right. Back the hell off, part of you thought, viciously.
Glancing back at Sasori, you could recognize the now well defined frown in his mouth. A chill ran through you as you remembered how it was to be on the receiving end of such a deadly stare. Blinking, you returned your attention to Mai.
The girl licked her lips, eyes darting nervously as she twirled a black braid slowly with a finger. She cleared her throat quietly, watching him from the corner of her vision. You furrowed your brows, watching as her fingers twitched. Trying to get back in good graces, hunh?
Distractedly, you groped around for some smoke and explosive notes tucked away in the tops of your shoes, pockets, and anywhere else that had appeared reasonably secure when your left your apartment.
“My apologies, Sasori... I had no intention of causing offense. But…” She paused, hesitant. “I just mean to say…your talents would be greatly appreciated among us.” She gave a one-shouldered shrug, almost careless. “I mean, who else has such skill in poison and puppetry as yourself? There’s no doubt you could find a great deal of money in an alliance with us. Few if any of the others have such substantial financial networks as my family. ”
Sasori snickered as he gently returned the puppet somewhere inside his sleeve. “Tempting. I must say, tempting. However, I have my own means of procuring trustworthy funds.”
Now you caught his fingers poised beneath the fringes of his coat. Licking your lips, you knew this wasn’t going to end well or even remotely peacefully. When Mai Kanzaki didn’t get what she wanted, who knew what might happen? Tantrum, probably. you pondered as you began sliding a couple of explosive or smoke notes around the window frame. You held a couple notes between your lips as you pulled out string and kunai. Sweat began to form in beads, tickling as it rolled down your back.
For a second, the young woman closed her eyes, hands flexing into fists as she took soft but deep breaths. She opened her eyes. Mai started once more, this time, rather than a smile or sneer, she simply looked at him imploringly. She held her hands open; eyes alight with frustration and slight resignation to his stubbornness.
“I don’t know what I can do to convince you if you’re not willing to believe me. I can only do so much. If this is about trust, you can guarantee my word is as good as gold, Sasori. Protection, money, status… When Sunagakure breaks up, you’ll be there at the top with us. Don’t you see what we, what I am trying to do for you?”
You felt your breath catch. “Sungakure? Break up?” you whispered, bewildered. Does she want Suna to fall? You started tying the notes quicker, setting them down as soundlessly as possible.
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that your family has a stake in all this chaos.” Sasori answered thoughtfully. He pursed his lips momentarily before continuing. “Perhaps, even associated with… less than wholesome company in a power bid?”
“What?!” Mai barked tersely. “How dare you say-”
“Enough, Mai.”
You sucked in a gasp, taken aback as a flowing shadow swept down in front of the girl, hushing her mouth with a silk hand.
The hell did he come from? You wondered, slightly gape-mouthed. Even Sasori’s eyes had widened a fraction in surprise.
You bit off the last piece of string, fumbling with a note and kunai as you clumsily tied the two together. You squinted, nose pressed up against the dusty boards as a young man, most likely a few years older than Mai cast a passing glance at the puppeteer. Not even a flicker of amusement passed over his face as he shifted his gaze down to the angry young woman prying at his hand over her mouth. He shook his head, sighing deeply.
“It’s quite clear what course of action must be taken, Mai,” The voice was controlled yet melodic, reminding you of a severely tuned viola. “You mustn’t let your trivial crushes get in the way of business, sister dear…”
You felt your stomach lurch and tie itself into a cold knot. Mai had a thing for Sasori?! You felt your cheeks burn as you threw a deadly glance toward your newly declared rival, who stood red-faced, eyes cast to her feet. Course, with what had just happened, it did make some sense now that you paused to mull it over…
You shook your head. There’s gotta be some story behind this… They can’t have only met a few times, could they? You paused before cringing at your stream of thought. Don’t tell me I’m getting jealous over him?! Damn it, why?! you seethed.
With the ease of a panther, Sasori shifted his stance, taking the distraction as an opportunity to set up. He didn’t even bother to take note of this new information, his expression keen as the edge of a knife.
Meanwhile, you gathered the collective smoke notes in your fingers. Grounding your teeth in fresh irritation, you waited, poised to spring back and activate the explosives. You watched the scene below intently, eyes flitting back and forth between Sasori and the dark haired guy. You found yourself including Mai in your visual rounds as well. She wouldn’t even look at Sasori now.
“Fortunately,” the glacial man carefully swiveled his head toward the puppeteer. “I don’t believe I would ever let my sister associate with such lowly level shin-“
The girl in braids gasped, shoving the newcomer’s hand away red-faced. “Shut up, Toshirou! You have no right to decide who-“
“As your brother and one of the heirs, I believe I do, Mai.” He gave her a light push on the shoulder, forcing her back even further, voice turned to steel. “Now, as much as I know you are enamored of this Akasuna no Sasori, I’m afraid you’ll have to find a different face to shamelessly idolize… Besides, there are a few debts better paid in blood than service....”
The sound of metal slithering out of its sheath set your heart rate double, causing you to straighten. You could feel the sweat down your back, making your shirt stick as you watched Sasori merely smirk.
“I’m glad to see your memory is fully intact, Kanzaki.” Sasori drawled, casting a glance around the rough circle. “I was hoping that concussion had worked in my favor.”
“It did not.” Kanzaki replied stiffly, blue eyes flashing. “If you think you can make it out of here without being over powered, you are deathly wrong.”
“So it seems…” Sasori closed his eyes in brief recognition of the fact. He opened them once more, this time lit by a morbid glint.
The silence stretched taut between the two opponents, killing intent seeping out in waves between the pair. You held your breath, spellbound. Mai’s eyes darted back and forth between her sibling and the puppeteer, mouth twitching angrily even as her brows were knit with concern. Toshirou shifted his balance, raising the katana.
“Die.”
“After you,” Sasori nodded with a sneer. Toshirou’s eyes flashed as he ground his boot more firmly into the street. Mai’s eyes grew wide, flickering wildly between the two. Even your own throat felt paper dry. Not even a murmur from the surrounding group could be heard. Only the quiet rustle of cloth as a strangely chill breeze wound its way through the road. The sand settled once more.
Toshirou sprang.
“Quit it!” Mai shrieked, throwing her arms around her brother.
“Shit!” you hissed, leaping backward hand in seal formation as you set off the explosives. You scolded yourself. You’d let yourself get caught up!
Snapping your eyes shut against the backlash of heat and debris, you held your collar up over your mouth and nose as you stumbled toward the newly constructed entrance, whipping the kunai in angled arcs, activating the smoke screens as soon as you could. You wheezed, tears beginning to stream you’re your face in response to the acrid air. You tripped, catching the edge of the wall before you sailed out into the alley. Coughing hard, you could feel the confusion as voices mingled against the background of clanging blades and the frighteningly familiar whirr of a chattering puppet.
You gagged on smoke as you sucked in a breath, aware of something narrowly shooting up just past your nose. You skittered back into the ruins of the building and pivoting sharply as you set off to make a bid for the rooftops. A scowl crossed your face as a pair of hazy silhouettes leapt into the entrance. You cursed under your breath making hand seals for a katon. There was no going back now. In all likelihood you’d be killed. Or even worse, under Mai’s control.
Like hell am I gonna be her anger management therapy!
Sprinting full speed, you inhaled, ignoring the tickle of dust and the acid taste of smoke as you blew a stream of flames toward your two opponents. Bursting past the angry yowls, you squinted through the clouds of grey and ash, catching the edge of the building and leaping upward to the rooftops. Even if you couldn’t help Sasori fight directly, you knew you gave him the cover he needed to slink out of sight.
Sailing through the air, you finally gasped, breaking through the swathes of smoke as you landed on the cusp of the nearest roof ledge. For a second you felt something pinch the back of your leg before the point of irritation seemed to fade. Smothering a loud cough, you took off in a flash, eyes watering as you leapt and skipped over obstacles. Throwing a glance over your shoulder, you almost staggered in shock. They’re already thinning the clouds! You stepped up your pace, mind racing.
Pretty freakin’ quick! you thought in horror. As you came up to the next gap in the roof tops, you decided it was a choice time to disappear. Dropping down in the space between, you managed to snatch an empty laundry line, cutting through the rope in time to prevent your shoulder from being ripped out of its socket. Hitting the wall on the balls of your feet, the tremor ran painfully through your knees and thighs as you threw a glance upward, grimacing. After this you were going to invest in a pair of heavily padded shoes…
You locked on the roof to see if anyone was in pursuit.
Still got time.
Releasing your grip, you dropped a further ten feet into a rolling crouch, gritting your teeth against the pain shooting through your limbs. In a powerful leap, you sprang toward a street corner, jaw clenched as you skidded to get away.Need to find a place to hide…Runaway and hide… you thought feverishly.
Out of sheer (and rather well placed) paranoia you decided to create a distraction. Better safe than sorry if it gave you time to get away. Shifting through hand seals like water, you let a clone peel off in the opposite direction. Grabbing the corner and vaulting around its edge, you found you wanted to scream from the wrench in your arm muscles and the intense burn through your thighs.
Must’ve torn something from being inactive. you thought, trying to keep any sort of sound from escaping. You didn’t know if anyone was on the roofs yet, or if they would hear you. You didn’t want to take any chances.
Panting, your eyes bounced around for some place to fade into. You shuddered violently.
Blinking, you realized your bunshin had been disarmed. Fast. You ripped down another alleyway, nearly swallowing your tongue in relief at the sight of an entranceway, situated deep inside an arch. Ducking inside, you tried to still your breathing and calm yourself as you hunkered down next to a criss-cross of fallen beams obscuring an inner room. Pressed up against the wall, you held a dusty sleeve to your mouth, hacking as you tried to get your respiratory system back into working order.
Crouching down amid the shadows, almost attempting to shrink yourself away. You squeezed your eyes shut, leaning a shoulder against the archway as you kneeled in the dirt. Calm down, calm down. They won’t find you as long as you keep this up... There’s nothing that can make them think you’re here.
Perspiration inched down your neck, tickling and itching all at once as it dribbled down. You were mildly surprised by how out of breath you felt, a notion which disturbed you. Been cooped up inside way too long. you decided.
Although it was a rather stupid thing to think, you had to admit, you much preferred the thrill and danger of being in places you were never meant to be. The adrenaline pumping in your veins was a testament to that fact. It was the sort of thing that gave other people license to slice your throat with a smile.
Besides, you grinned, satisfactorily. At least I was the one able to help him out of a tough spot this time. I’m catching up Sasori.
In the back of your mind, a discontented voice commented that it wasn’t nearly as obvious as Mai’s aid had been...
At this, you didn’t merely push the thought away; you strangled it and buried it deep in the recesses of your mind. Very deep. You were determined to see to it that Mai wouldn’t ruin something even as small as that. You’d done what you could without being a burden in the process. Working behind the scenes would suit you perfectly as long as he was alive. Plus he can’t knock me for being a nuisance for once… You grinned wryly, closing your eyes as you savored the odd mixture of pride and embarrassment in your chest. You felt like the kid who’d just stolen from the cookie jar and got away scot-free.
After a few seconds, you let your eyes ease open once more. Wandering down from the wall directly opposite of you, your gaze fell to the sand, drifting over a battered and chipped pot toward the entrance. Your breath hitched as your eyes widened. You narrowed them again, scrutinizing the blackish spots in the dust. Following the trail around the corner of the arch you felt glacial chills begin to freeze your veins.
Blood… you realized too late.
The faint sigh of footsteps making their way toward your door startled you into a nervous flurry. You sucked in a breath, eyes flicking back and forth between the blood spots and the arch way. Worrying your lip, you felt as though your heart were going to pop out of your throat even as you refrained from the urge to be mildly ill. You painfully, slowly eased yourself up from the ground.
You twitched as your calf voiced a protest. Glancing down you caught sight of a shallow slice drawn up the backside of your leg. When the hell did this happen? Why the hell did I not notice it? What am I doing? Shitshitshit! You stooped, willing your knees to stop creaking so loudly as you tried to straighten.
The footsteps stopped.
You clenched your jaw tight, eyes glued to the corner as you swore in an even more lurid torrent in your head. In a moment of deathly silence you didn’t think you could feel let alone hear your own heart.
They know I’m here.
It all happened so fast…
Just as you shifted your feet and sprang, a short wakizashi screamed around the corner, showering you with sparks and dust as it clanged against the wall. In mid-air you felt your legs jerk back, cracking you down against a broken door beam as you twisted to see a piece of steel narrowly whistle past.
A curse ripped out of your throat just as your tongue numbed in time to the awkward tweak of your neck, triggering a nerve. Black spots bloomed in front of your eyes; forcing your lids to screw shut while you ground your teeth together.
You spent a good couple of seconds cursing in a slurred fashion, your tongue heavy and tingling as the rushed back with a vengeance. When you opened your eyes again, you became slightly cross-eyed, curious at the sight of a rather pointy looking object tickling the tip of your nose.
You gave it a well-meaning glare before following the blade up to its stony-faced owner.
Toshirou Kanzaki contemplated you in strict silence. You went back to your efforts at attempting to stare the sword down. Unlike Toushirou, the sword might actually budge. Maybe you could melt it if you tried hard enough… Or prayed hard enough.
Thoughts such as I’m screwed! and What the hell happened?! and Hey, he’s not too bad on the eyes… cut a whirl through your bemused brain. Then you returned to experimenting with the idea of laser vision. Your cheeks were flushed in a mixture of mild embarrassment and anger, mostly at yourself for being so off-guard.
Eventually, you heard a low “Hmmm…” that drew your attention upward.
“You were the culprit?” Toshirou demanded. It wasn’t so much a question as a formality.
“Culprit?” You echoed, rather distracted by the two and a half feet of cold metal absorbing all coherent thought.
Toshirou’s gaze bore down on you from just above the straight, angular nose. The distinct feeling of being related to all those nasty little bits and pieces of gooey street debris crossed your mind as you watched him gaze at you in obvious distaste. You didn’t appreciate it.
As Toshirou waited in expectant silence, you pursed your lips briefly.
“Don’t keep me waiting,” Toshirou murmured through acid-laced tones.
“I’ll make you wait as long as I damn well please!” you hissed.
“Hnn.” Your breath snagged somewhere inside your chest as the razor tip darted forward to trace a feathery path along your scars. A sadistic sneer flashed across your mind’s eye, stirring black-blooded anger. A muscle ticked in your jaw. You were caught between swallowing and trying to find enough saliva to make the feat possible.
You hung your head to the side, smoothly catching the point of the blade in your hand before he could move it back into place. The edge bit into your palm as you gave Toshirou a flat stare.
“I’m none of your business.”
The corner of his mouth twitched irritably.
“None of my business?”
“You heard me.”
“Then, you don’t hear me.”
“What’s there to hear?” you snickered.
“The beat of his blood along the sand if you’re not careful.”
You blinked. Play dumb. you thought cautiously. Play dumb
“Whose?”
“You know exactly the person I am referring to.” There was flint in his voice, no doubt seeking to burn the lies you were desperately trying to wheedle out of the air. You felt your mind starting to turn a panicked blank as you blurted,
“I know a lot people in Suna. True story.”
You yelped as he wrenched the sword out of your hand, leaving it to bleed freely across your sleeve and pants as you instinctively wrapped it up, gritting your teeth.
“You were saying?” he said.
You bit your lower lip to keep from letting loose with another flood of obscenities. You cradled your palm, pressing tightly on the slice to stem the flow. You drew a shaky breath, aware of his eyes on the back of your head. The sword hovered gently by your neck, quiet yet threatening. You were so sick of always being at the mercy of others...
Your lips curled into a grin. I’m always making things difficult, aren’t I? You lifted your head again, the smile slipping from your lips. It’s a hobby.
“Let me join.”
The dark-haired man lifted a finely arched brow, taken aback. “What?”
“I said, ‘let me join’. What, are you deaf or somethin’?”
“Hardly.” The words slithered over to your ears, keen and steely. “What makes you think I would even consider such a…plea.”
You grinned, a manic look entering your gaze as you began to crush your hand in desperation. You wanted so badly for this to work. For once, just once, you’d be ahead of the game and on par with Sasori... And ahead of everyone else.
“Because you need me.” You whispered. “We both have scores to settle with that bastard and you know it. I watched you back there. You want him? I can help you, I can-“
“If you are so focused on the same goals as me, then why did you provide an escape for him? A very thorough escape?” Toshirou probed, pin-pointing a weakness in your motive. He chiseled at it. “He would be dead now if not for your actions. There was a much higher chance that we could have dispatched him without your antics.”
Antics… you thought grimly. You flexed your hand, aware of the sticky crust beginning to crackle, inaudible at normal hearing levels. Always known for my antics…
You barked a laugh, letting your head hang in shame. “Statistics has never been my strong point. Anyone could tell you that.”
“Nevertheless…”
“I’m not a patient person, either.” You replied, turning away. This, at least, was very true. “Accurate guess-timating happens to other people. As I said, I’m not one much for stats or for waiting either.” You cocked an eyebrow. “But judging from first impressions, you’ve got people who’d help remedy that for me…”
Toshirou wasn’t giving an inch. You were well aware of the blade as it rested against your jugular, however, you didn’t find you cared as much about that compared to this crazy scheme that you were in the midst of concocting. You could only pray it would work. Somehow… Or at least, you hoped you would live long enough to find him before it all ended….
The silence seemed to tune itself into an entirely new spectrum of quiet, ranging from rumbling misgivings to thinly stretched belief.
You decided to cleave it in two, as was your custom.
“So why not make me a Firefly?”
That sounds so incredibly lame… part of you thought despairingly. You snickered, keeping up with your brittle front.
“We can both get what we want, eventually. And, as the old saying goes, two dozen heads are better than one, right?” You grinned crookedly into the dirt. “I- ooomph!“
The sudden shift in altitude took you by surprise as Toshirou roughly hauled you up by the collar of your shirt. You spluttered a little as your airway constricted, aided by the exceptionally tightened shirt and knuckles braced against your throat.
You squirmed around in mid-air until you finally caught his eye. It took a moment to keep from shivering, but you held his gaze as best you could. Dangling and all. A small smile turned up around the corners of his mouth as he gave a near imperceptible nod.
“Very well,” he said. “I truly could use you...”
Abrupt silence followed as he seemed to be waiting for something. Finally,
“Cool!” You gasped. “Now could you let me-Guh!“
The ground never really felt that hard until you crashed into it in a veritable heap. Coughing, you squinted up as Toushiro sheathed his katana, eyes never leaving you as he looked down his nose. He tilted his head up just a bit higher. Probably for effect. you thought treacherously, spitting out sand and grit.
“You’ll follow me to a place where we’ve recently decided to conduct initiation. It’s a rather outdated and useless practice in my opinion, but it keeps the less mindful amused and the old satisfied. You won’t be permitted anywhere near our base quarters before you’ve proven how dedicated just the extent of your words.” He swept around in a graceful flutter of clothe. You could almost taste the humiliation as a tangible flavor. “Keep up.”
Immature as ever, you mouthed the word ‘Keep up’ mockingly behind his back as you straightened. You didn’t have much time to dust off since you had to hop off after him before he disappeared around the corner. Inside, you felt a strange mix of giddy, nervous relief coupled with an anxious sickness begin to brew in your belly.
Even so, there was the horrible but simple knowledge that Toushirou had seen through everything. Now he was just playing along, for his own amusement or to simply humor you. Either way, he had your cooperation. That was all that mattered.
You kept the feeling in check as Toushiro began to pick up speed, forcing you to focus all your efforts to keep from skidding into a wall as you rounded a multitude of corners back and forth. Even as you panted for breath, a small part of you, a very small and rational part of you, managed to be surprisingly thoughtful despite all this effort.
He’s using you to get to Sasori, you know. the little voice pointed out. That’s probably the only reason you’re still alive or even being given this chance. You sure you wanna do this?
S’not like I’ve got a choice now. you replied half-heartedly. You allowed yourself a grim smile as you grabbed a pillar and swung around. You couldn’t even recognize where you were in Suna, passing under stretched out clotheslines, broken passages, and crumbling arches. Besides, I need a good kick in the ass every now and then to bring up my game. If I don’t stay in this gamble, I’m as good as dead.
The small voice seemed to take this in stride. And Sasori?
You swallowed, nervously.
Up ahead Toushiro came to a stop. So abrupt was his pause, you scrabbled to keep from sliding into him. You panted; trying to refrain from any sort of noise to indicate how winded you felt. Yeah, you really had been inactive a little too long for your own good.
Glancing around you found that you were in a roughly shaped street arena. All around, the buildings formed the perimeter while most of the alleys and alcoves appeared to be blocked off. With the number of barrels and crates scattered around, it was easy to see that these served as seating arrangements. They looked to be used quite often as well.
“Here,” Toushiro said quietly. “Is where we will conduct part of your test.”
“So I have to fight someone?”
Toushirou nodded.
“Why?”
“Although we don’t put much stock in how much loyalty a person retains depending on who you can beat in a fight, but this portion of the test is simply a measure of skill. While I may consider you useful to our organization, you need to convince the leaders of Firefly that you would be an asset. Hence, you need to prove your skill as part of this…initiation.”
“And the loyalty bit? I think you skipped that entirely.” You commented in a pointed manner.
“That remains to be seen. If you can defeat whoever we pit you against, then you’ll find out. If not, then that would be unfortunate.”
His tones were too loose and easy for this to be a simple matter of winning or losing. You narrowed your eyes, suspicious. “What happens if I lose?”
“You forfeit much more than a match.”
The words hung unspoken in the air. Your life. You felt the corner of your mouth twitch. The warm sweat on your bag turned chill as a breeze flowed past.
“And if I back out?”
“Then you really are helping that Akasuna no Sasori. If you don’t comply with the examination, I’ll destroy you myself.”
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