Chapter 4

Not here… not here either…

Papers rustled as Shizuka scoured through scroll after scroll. There were some on medical techniques, some with seals that could possibly hold weapons or something else… She'd even found her blood donation log in the midst of all the paper, but that wasn't what she was looking for. She knew Kabuto had files on various shinobi from all over the world, so maybe he had information on her intruder, however she didn't want to ask him directly. He would have too many questions for her if she did.

Right now, Kabuto was out on an errand so she figured now would be as good a time as any to search around. As she moved around the room, she approached another bookshelf full of scrolls and reading materials. With a small sigh, she got to work and picked apart the scrolls. In the meantime, she arranged the materials in alphabetical order in case he came back and questioned what she was doing. Another technique scroll, experiment log, cards?

Shizuka put down the scroll in her hand and picked up a stack of cards that had an orange back with the word shinobi etched on the back. Flipping them over in her hands, she frowned as they were all blank. Her old sensei had these cards and she vaguely remembered what she said about them.

"What is the ultimate weapon?" Fumiko asked, her hands on her hips as she waited for a reply from the two genin standing in front of her. Shizuka furrowed her brows in thought as she didn't know the answer to the question.

"A sword." Her teammate, Midori, answered immediately, crossing his arms. "The bigger, the better."

Fumiko sighed and hit Midori overtop his head with a scroll, causing the male to whine out in pain and clutch his head. "Wrong. The ultimate weapon is your mind. Someone can take away your sword, but they can never take away the knowledge that up here." She pointed to her brain for emphasis.

Shizuka nodded. "Ah, I understand." Midori, on the other hand, couldn't refrain from rolling his eyes which earned him another hit.

Fumiko unraveled the scroll and nicked her thumb, wiping the blood across a seal and holding up a hand sign. There was a small puff of smoke before a stack of cards appeared. She picked them up and held them out for the kids to see. "These are ninja info cards. They look blank now, but if you put chakra into them…" She did as she said and information appeared on the cards to the genin's surprise. "Anything you put on the cards is burned on with your chakra, so only the person who made the cards can reveal the information."

Shizuka groaned and put the cards back on the shelf. She couldn't find a thing! She'd been in this room for hours now, but she wanted to find out about that boy. He wasn't someone who was just passing by; there was something more interesting about him. Also, she had never seen someone with red hair before, although that was just a bonus. It was just his looks, but his aura, from what she could sense through the earth, was something else. There was something peculiar about it, but she couldn't place her finger on it.

Finally, she found a book that had some kind of information for her. It was an all black book with no writing on the outside. When she opened it, she exposed to all kinds of information. The front page stated 'Wanted Persons' and afterwards, the pages were divided based on locations. As she flipped through, she saw pictures, names, ranks, crimes, and prices. She'd found Kabuto-senpai's profile and Lord Orochimaru's profile in the Konohagakure section. Treason, illegal experimentation, theft… Thinking back to when she'd first met Lord Orochimaru, she couldn't understand why someone would hurt him like that, however now she realized why. On the other hand, they didn't realize how these experiments were going to help people. Lord Orochimaru told her at the cost of some lives, thousands of others would be saved. After all, shinobi should know more than anyone that death is inevitable.

As she flipped through the Sunagakure section, she noticed the jackets some of the shinobi had on. The boy had on the same flak jacket when she saw him last, so she used that as confirmation that he was a Suna shinobi. Studying the pictures as she flipped through, she tried to find any kind of resemblance she could. Finally, there was a page with a photo that was a little dark, but she could make it out.

Akasuna no Sasori, B-rank, capture on sight/bring back alive.

So, this was her intruder. He was a wanted shinobi, so she guessed it made sense that he was here versus somewhere closer to Suna. As she wondered why he left Sunagakure, her mind traveled elsewhere and she didn't realize someone was coming up behind her.

"What are you doing, Shizuka-onee-chan?"

Immediately, the female closed the book in her hands and shoved it into an open space on the bookshelf. She turned to where the sound came from with a smile, hoping it would mask the obvious shock she received from being snuck up on. "Researching, Kimimaro-chan." She began cleaning up the other discarded scrolls and putting them away as well.

"What were you researching?" The young boy asked, his green eyes showing nothing but indifference, however she could swear he was searching her for guilt.

"Just some medical ninjutsu." She answered easily. Once she finished cleaning up, she stood up and smiled down at the boy. "Since you're out and about, do you want to help me pick some flowers?"

After a couple minutes of thought, Kimimaro nodded.

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Shizuka squatted down next to Kimimaro in a small field near the entrance to the base. The young boy was only eight years old and the youngest she had seen with Lord Orochimaru. She could be wrong as there were other people in the base, however she never saw those other people. The only thing that reminded her that they still existed were the screams and constant calls for help whenever the sealed door opened to that side of the base. She had to admit, hearing them was a little unsettling but she had to keep reminding herself that Lord Orochimaru was doing this to help mankind.

"Shizuka-onee-chan?" Kimimaro asked as he picked up a daffodil and examined it. "How did Lord Orochimaru find you? What made you want to stay?"

Shizuka blinked, not expecting these questions. Placing her basket on the ground next to her, she settled down beside him on her knees. "I don't remember what happened or how he found me, honestly. I do know that I came here with Kabuto-senpai and Lord Orochimaru was badly hurt, so I gave him my blood." She picked a couple of yellow tulips, placing them in the basket. "My blood is special and can be used to help a lot of people, so I stayed to help." She smiled warmly at Kimimaro.

"So essentially, you're a walking blood bag."

"A-Ah…no..." The female didn't expect the boy's bluntness. She tried to laugh it off, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly. "I'm more than just my blood, Kimimaro-chan." When the boy didn't seem too impressed by her statement, she pursed her lips and motioned for him to come closer. "I'm going to tell you a secret." Once Kimimaro leaned over, she grinned.

"You snore when you sleep."

Kimimaro immediately pulled back from her, his face twisted into a small frown as he watched Shizuka laugh. Finally, she had gotten a small reaction out of him. As she tried to recover, Kimimaro stood up, putting some daffodils in the basket before heading back to the base.

"Don't leave your big sister behind!" Shizuka jumped up, grabbing the basket and going after him. Another giggle escaped her lips which only caused the boy to quicken his pace. She took bigger steps as well and soon fell in step next to him. He didn't look at her and she smiled, enjoying the sweet silence until all of a sudden the trees around them started closing in on her. Her eyes widened and she rubbed at them before looking around again. The trees were back in their regular condition and for a moment, she wondered if it was a genjutsu. A few steps later and the world went dark.

When Shizuka woke up, she was sitting in a stone chair similar to the usual one she sat in when she was getting her blood withdrawn. Her head was throbbing slightly as she opened her eyes, but she couldn't move her arms. When she looked over to see what was wrong, she noticed a red tube flowing out of her right arm and into a bag. Her left arm also had a tube, but it was clear and attached to a bag hanging from a pole.

"You're finally awake."

Shizuka picked her head up and looked at Lord Orochimaru sitting in a chair in front of her with Kabuto standing at his side. She nodded her head in acknowledgement, but not too much. "What happened?"

"That's what you should be telling us." Kabuto rolled his eyes. "Kimimaro said you dropped to the ground outside the base and was unresponsive, however I don't see anything wrong with you."

The female frowned as she glanced between her arms once more before looking back at Kabuto. "I haven't eaten much today, so that's probably why. I'm sorry; I'll take better care of myself."

"You will. How will you be able to help me if you're sick?" Orochimaru asked her calmly, a smile spreading across his face. "But don't worry. I have something prepared for you." His neck stretched out towards her and his mouth opened up, fangs protruding. Shizuka visibly paled as he came closer and tried to shrink back into the chair as best as she could since she couldn't move. As his fangs sank into her right wrist, she let out an ear-piercing shriek. There was something cold being injected into her vein and her body felt as if it was freezing over.

Once his head retreated, she flinched as his fangs were pulled out. When she looked at her arm again, there was a wavy mark that circled her wrist like a bracelet. The mark was similar to pairs of eyes in her mind. Seeing the mark only partly distracted her from the fact that she was visibly shivering. "W-What did you do to me?"

"Don't worry child, it's not a curse mark." Orochimaru nearly laughed at the female's shocked face. "This mark will help you help me. If anything happens to you, your blood will still be viable." He stood up from the chair and proceeded to make his exit. "The IV is almost done. Rest up, my child. You are still of use to me."

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Sasori stepped back and examined his work. He'd just finished gutting out the Third Kazekage's body and making sure his chakra system was still intact. Of course, it helped that he was still alive, barely, and unconscious. Making human puppets took an ample amount of time, however the end results were worth it. He was able to make eternally-sound art; not too many people could say that.

As he started the embalming process, a few thoughts traveled through his head. He'd made a couple human puppets and perfected his craft, however it wasn't enough. There was still something missing. This process lasted about an hour, then he began weaponizing. He'd already envisioned the finished product, knowing where he wanted the hidden weapons to be and what they would consist of. That process took a couple of days. Once he finished, he sealed the new puppet away and sat down on a stool by the table.

Making puppets took a lot out of him. If he was a puppet, he wouldn't have to feel this tiredness; he could carry on for hours on end. He could make himself into a weapon and use himself as he pleased. His eyes widened slightly as the ideas began to pour into his head. He was quickly formulating how he could make himself into a puppet. Prosthetics were still a new idea, however he believed he could make it work. He could start piece by piece, moving from the outside in. This way… he could finally achieve being art, in every sense of the word.

Pulling out an old puppet he didn't use anymore, he began separating into pieces - two arms, two legs, a torso, and everything else. This was going to work. He could control himself and pull his own strings. As he was working, one of his traps was set off and he frowned. It was in the outer layer and his hideout was hidden well enough that the intruder wouldn't be able to come across it.

Once everything was set up, Sasori took out a tourniquet and tied off the upper part of his left leg. He'd taken enough morphine that he was starting to feel numb, which was good. Disinfecting the area, he took out a small hand sword and positioned it.

Three…

Two…

There was blood everywhere. Red liquid oozed all over the wooden table, staining the already dark brown wood. Knowing some medical ninjutsu, Sasori went to work repairing the damaged nerves in his leg and trying to stop the bleeding. Maybe he had taken too much morphine because his mind was starting to become a little hazy, however he still had decent enough control to take care of himself. He would need to work fast if he wanted to preserve the leg for reattachment.

As he was dealing with the wound at hand, he barely noticed that his second and third layers of defense had been breached. Someone was approaching and here he was bleeding out on a table. Grabbing a few poison-doused senbon, his eyes narrowed as he sensed a presence on the other side of the door. Once the door opened, a flurry of senbon immediately attacked the trespasser.

A body fell to the ground and Sasori tilted his head, looking at it as he continued to heal himself. The body looked oddly familiar. White hair, tan robe, purple belt… Ah, the girl he'd seen in the meadow a couple days ago. The poison on the senbon wouldn't kill her instantly, but it would immobilize her until her untimely death. It wasn't until the body melted into a puddle of mud that his eyebrows raised. Mud?

A shadow appeared next to him and Sasori cursed inwardly to himself as the morphine had delayed his senses a lot more than he realized. A pair of hands joined his, a green glow acquiring them and he looked at the user with wide eyes. The female he had just "killed" was now standing next to him and helping him.

"Are you mad?" The female spoke as she worked a lot faster than what he was mustering. "Why did you cut off a perfectly capable leg? Are you trying to kill yourself?"

Sasori grew agitated at the sheer sound of the girl's voice. "You're loud. Shut up."

She ignored him and instead murmured to herself about his condition. "This won't do.." She performed four hand seals before placing her hands over his open leg wound. The tips of her hands melted off into mud until it covered the entire wound before she let go. "My mud is chakra infused. It will repair the wound and preserve it until we can reattach the leg. Also, it's safe so it won't get infected or anything."

"Mud jutsu. That's new." Sasori mumbled to himself. He swung his working leg off the table and pulled one of the legs he took off of an old puppet, attaching it as his temporary fix until he finished his work.

"How about a 'thank you, Shizuka'?" The girl crossed her arms. She watched as he immediately stood up and pulled his detached leg to him. "W-Wait! You shouldn't be standing this quickly. You just lost so much blood!"

Sasori ignored her and began removing the unnecessary muscles and tissue from inside his leg. Shizuka watched in horror and nearly gagged as he began preserving his leg like one would prepare a body for a funeral. When she turned to look at him, she noticed he was sweating and his face was flushed. Regardless of her methods, he was starting to get an infection.

"I'll be right back!" Shizuka announced before running out of the small home. She immediately went out into the meadows and searched around until she found the couple of herbs she was looking for. It was a lot harder to see since it was dark outside, but the earth had guided her to the right plants. Returning to Sasori, she opened a scroll she had hidden in her robe and released the seal. At her disposable were a couple of tools to grind the herbs, a thermos of water, and an empty bag and tube.

Inserting the tube into her arm, she began drawing her blood as she prepared some medicine for the male. By the time he was finished embalming his leg, she had finished the medicine and the blood bag was nearly full. Taking the needle out of her arm, she replaced it with a fresh one and walked over to the male. "Give me your arm."

"I'm working. Leave me alone."

Shizuka frowned and placed the bag and medicine on the table. She grabbed a hold of his wrist, refusing to let go. "You can do whatever you want after you let me see your arm."

"Didn't I give you a warning the last time I saw you?" Sasori didn't bother glancing in her direction although he let her continue to hold his wrist.

The female rolled her eyes. "As a medic, I can't turn a blind eye when someone needs help. Even if that someone is a stranger, Akasuna no Sasori."