Chapter Text
Part 1 - The Acquisition of Asset Uchiha Itachi
Chapter 1 - Sasori’s POV
Sasori was Incensed – for lack of a better term.
Two months ago, Uchiha Itachi joined the organization. The boy was only thirteen and had been introduced as Kisame’s new partner. Sasori personally didn't waste any processing power on him. He was powerful – yes but stoic, polite and generally kept to himself.
Six weeks ago, Orochimaru attempted to steal the Uchiha-boy’s eyes and then promptly defected. And again, Sasori was initially indifferent to the whole situation. Even when leader-ship had a meltdown over the whole debacle. Apparently Sharingans were already hard to come by (courtesy of aforementioned boy) and Orochimaru’s attempted theft and subsequent betrayal left them cracking down on the others - hard. First to hunt and kill the snake, then when that was unsuccessful they turned inwards.
That’s when Sasori’s initial indifference turned into annoyance as leadership hounded him with endless scrutiny – since apparently he was the snake’s partner for over a decade now. Endless stream of questions: How did you not know about Orochimaru's plans? How did he not reveal any secrets to you? You are our spy-master are you not, how did you not see this coming? And so on…
Then Sasori’s annoyance turned into immediate absolute rage; processors running on overdrive – Orochimaru had apparently hijacked half of his current spy-network. Years of hard work down the drain just because he let his guard down thinking that over a decade of partnership had built some form of mutual respect between two titans – no matter how begrudging that respect may have been.
And to add a cherry to this shit show of a cake, three weeks ago, the Akatsuki hideout nearest to Iwagakure got over-run by stone-nin. Itachi, Kisame and Sasori were recuperating there at the time and for reasons completely unrelated to their organization Stone was carrying out its own manhunt and had discovered their hideout by accident – apparently. After a hasty escape the trio were immediately given their mission objective: find and recruit the terrorist bomber Deidara – the reason for said manhunt.
The child was even younger than the Uchiha-boy, at only eleven years of age, and possessed the famed explosion release Kekki Genkai. Intel suggests that he stole Iwa’s forbidden Kinjutsu, one said to enhance explosion release – not only did he steal it, but he decided to leave the village a parting gift in the form of a bomb that wiped out approximately fifteen percent of it. This earned the boy an immediate S-ranked bounty on his head and the full attention of the Akatsuki’s Leadership. To pull off something so incredible at an age even younger than the Uchiha prodigy made the boy nothing less than desirable.
“He is incredibly young, impressionable – mouldable” Konan says to Sasori during the mission briefing, “he shows promise. I'm sure the famed puppet master could handle turning him into a loyal and deadly puppet for our organization.”
So to reiterate – Sasori was Incensed.
They had spent three weeks – THREE WEEKS – of his precious time on hunting down the brat. He had to hand it to the boy – not only was he managing to escape droves of Stone-nin but he had also managed to unknowingly slip from the Akatsuki’s hands. Although Sasori’s current group might have something to do with the brat’s luck – considering they had come across and dispatched many of the Stone-nin sent to hunt him down. Still he was in constant motion, he clearly must be starving and sleep deprived – out of rations and supplies from all the constant fighting and running.
Finally they did it, they managed to corner him in a temple deep within the rocky mountain ranges of Earth Country. Their initial suspicions were correct; he is low on food, chakra, sleep and supplies. However, what Sasori did not anticipate was how small Deidara truly was. He looked skinny and frail of course; but that could've been indicative of his current lifestyle for the past three weeks. What caught all of their attention is how noticeably small he is - even for an eleven year old. Indicative of life-long malnutrition; Sasori makes a mental note - probably grew up in extreme poverty.
Despite his small stature and sickly appearance the boy puffs out his chest and stands proud. Droning on and on about his half baked ideals on freedom and art - Hiroku’s tail twitches minutely under the thick Akatsuki cloak. Correction; his wrong half-baked ideals.
But before Sasori’s patience runs out completely it is Itachi who steps forward “Master Sasori allow me handle him.”
“Wait Master Sasori? As in THE Sasori of the Red Sand?” This realization finally has the brat lowering his bravado a bit and actually assessing the company amongst whom he stands. The blond actually looks star-struck for a moment before his eyes snap back to the Uchiha, “Wait handle me? Buzz off yeah - i just fought tooth and nail for my freedom, i’m not going to immediately throw it away for whatever weird little cult you lot are running!”
Itachi genuinely looks like he isn't even present in the room as his eyes completely glaze over the second the brat starts talking and ranting again. Something about freedom and expression and power hungry organizations and artistic slavery….
“Whatever,” Itachi cuts in mid-rant, doesn't even sound annoyed, doesn't even sound like anything really. “We were sent here to recruit you, so how about a duel. I win, you join, you win, you get your freedom. Sound Fair?”
The brat actually puffs out his cheeks and pouts - looking embarrassed as his philosophical speech (probably previously rehearsed) was dismissed and reduced to a playground challenge. Sasori and Kisame make brief eye contact as both adults are once again reminded that these two are still incredibly young.
The fight lasted fifteen seconds - not even, it ended the moment Itachi activated his sharingan. Deidara did not stand a chance. The brat does show potential and promise - Sasori will at least admit that. ‘Mouldable’ was the word Konan used, Sasori was willing to work with that. It’s not like he had a choice, especially since the whole Orochimaru debacle had put him on thin ice with leadership.
Akatsuki essentially wanted a terrorist, bomber puppet raised to be nothing but loyal to the organization and Sasori was the best puppet master on the planet. In his hands scraps turn into masterpieces - and this scrawny, tiny, malnourished artist-wannabe won't be any different.
What could honestly go wrong?
Two Months Later
Sasori may have made a slight miscalculation. He allows himself this one omission as his main body dodges yet another bomb aimed at his core. Apparently absolutely everything can and does go wrong.
The brat had been difficult from the start. Within his first 24 hours alone he had made no less than three escape attempts - all intercepted by either Sasori, Itachi or Kisame. When the group had finally arrived back to the main hideout, Deidara had been formally initiated into the akatsuki and presented to the others as Sasori’s new partner. All the older members immediately dismissed him - and the brat did not take kindly to that as he proceeded to drop a bomb right in the heart of the main base.
Konan simply looks at Sasori and says, “Handle him. Turn him into what we need - if proven impossible for our esteemed puppet master; dispose of him.”
Sasori of course took this as an immediate provocation to both his pride as a master and threat to his own capabilities. To dispose of the boy now would be tantamount to admitting ineptitude. Sasori had tried - tried - to mold the boy into something decent for the Akatsuki to use. That trial period lasted all but three days until Sasori's already limited patience was stretched to its absolute limits and he simply decided that his temper was greater than his reputation and tries (albeit half-heartedly - his pride still matters) to kill the boy.
But as it turns out, the nuisance had indeed earned his S-ranked reputation as he proceeds to survive multiple murder attempts at the hands of his own partner.
What follows are two grueling long months where both artists are at each other's throats. It’s poisons and explosive galore as the runt not only survives the attempts but goes on to retaliate in kind. Somehow despite all this, they managed to maintain a perfect track record for the missions they are assigned. How they managed that is something Sasori’s own processors are failing to comprehend.
He strikes out with his coil - the nuisance has the audacity to dodge. Deidara's eyes are wild, blown wide, he is practically hyperventilating, his emaciated skin glistening, soaked in sweat from the unyielding desert sun.
A perfect track record up until now apparently. The entire mission has gone to hell. The caravan they were supposed to protect is dead, completely slaughtered by their own scuffle. Body parts of both cattle and human alike lay scattered about either blown to pieces or ripped apart.
Deidara isn't yielding and Sasori is at a loss of what to do. The idiot is trembling, bleeding, almost out of chakra and clay. Sasori is not sure what exactly triggered this bout of madness. His engines churn trying to pinpoint the moment that caused the snap. Was it something he said? Was it something the client said or did? Then just as he dodges another explosive aimed straight to his wooden face - Sasori realizes he frankly doesn't care anymore. Pride be damned, members in the akatsuki die all the time, sometimes by the hands of their own partners (mainly courtesy of Kakuza) and Sasori decides it's not the end of the world if he just cuts his losses and reports back to Konan that the asset was defective.
The fight is needlessly long. Hours tick by under the blazing sun and yet despite the starvation, despite the sleep deprivation, despite the trembling limbs and chakra exhaustion the brat seems determined to kamikaze himself and take Sasori with him.
“My whole life - my whole godforsaken life I spent trapped in that shitty village. Forced! Forced to be a weapon for those old farts who would never raise a finger to help me….” With tears of absolute abandon desperation flowing freely from his eyes, the loudmouth just keeps on ranting, screaming at the top of his lungs. Not that Sasori can hear much over the sound of gears churning within his central processing unit.
Then it happens, just as Sasori finally manages to coil his tail around the boy raising him high in the air - poisoned tip aimed directly for the jugular, he freezes. There is a small clay spider bomb sitting directly on top of his core. The world goes still.
A stalemate.
A thousand possible simulations run across Sasori’s mind. The nuisance for his part is heaving even as the tail constructs around him with slow crushing force. He continues to rant, voice now small, breath ragged.
“No one cares brat!” Sasori spits, effectively cutting off the pathetic mewling, “Do you think you're the only Shinobi in the world who's had to suffer?”
“Not a Shinobi” the whimpering words come as barely a whisper.
“What was that?” Sasori’s own voice is cold, mechanically calm. The coil constricts miniscully tighter around the body - despite his own danger sitting directly on his chest, Sasori will not allow himself submission.
“I said” the brat girdles louder this time, some blood drips out of his mouth as he forces himself to speak “An Artist - An Artist dammit. An artist first, shinobi second - the core of who I am.”
Then for the first time since being burdened with the idiot, Sasori looks at him. Truly looks at him. The small scrawny pathetic thing daring to call himself an artist.
“An artist?” Sasori mocks “A pitiful, insolent, little creature - that is what you are. Tell me little creature; what would you know about being an artist?”
“I know-” he struggles, “I know that the world exists and that it is greater than me. And I exist, and so through destruction and metamorphosis I must create - for I am fleeting - and so too must my mark on the world be just that - an ethereal moment of existence.”
“Idiot brat!” Sasori chides “The world is eternal - an existence far older than your little mind can even begin to comprehend. I exist to be a reflection of it and so I too must be eternal. Art must be eternal.”
And so they finally talk, after two months of multiple fights and murder attempts they finally talk. Not as shinobi but as two artists. They talk for hours. The sun dipping low in the sky, until there are stars twinkling above surrounded by a massacre of their own making. At some point the clay spider of Sasori’s core disintegrates, at another the coils around Deidara loosen dropping him onto the soft sand below.
Amidst the prolonged conversation about art and philosophies and the nature of the world Deidara poses one question: “Sasori-Danna, why did you join the akatsuki?”
“I joined because like you I lost to an existing member” comes the mechanical response. A small part of Sasori registers how the boy is willingly adding a respectful suffix to his name.
“I see… in that case; why did you stay?”
The question is honest, filled with childlike curiosity as the boy tilts his head to the side and rests it on his knees, looking up at Sasori with those wide bright eyes.
Sasori for his part is surprised that it's actually taken someone this long to ask him this. His optic lenses zoom in on the boy, studying him. Hell, even Sasori hasn't actually asked himself this question. Or more accurately; he refuses to. “The Akatsuki isn't that easy to escape…” he begins but then trails off - but then again Orochimaru managed it just recently. No nothing can ever be that easy, the snake is now hunted relentlessly - and they will kill him some day, that he is sure of.
“Akatsuki has this plan” Sasori finally begins to elaborate, “Absolute world domination under a permanent Illusion. And those who make it possible are promised dominion over all.”
The boy stares at him. Still wide eyed for a good long minute. Then he doubles over laughing - hard. Tears picking up on the corner of his eyes as heaves yet winces from his injuries. “Sasori-Danna, you don't actually support this plan do you? If everything is an illusion then- how can we as artists create? Within an illusion is that really creation or just predetermination?”
At those words all receptors of Sasori’s processing unit light up. His head swivels 90 degrees, optical receptors narrowing at the audacity. But the ‘audacity’ of what exactly? The boy has simply verbalized fleeting shadowy thoughts that Sasori himself refuses to bring to light. How dare he? And yet Sasori cannot conjure up the programs necessary to emulate anger. Instead the code for something else entirely lights up - Vindication.
This creature. This nuisance. This brat. This boy. This child. And that is what he is - isn't he? A child; ignorant of the world simply asking questions out of his own childish curiosity. No, it's more than that. This artist. A reflection of the future generation of self-proclaimed creators is asking their betters, their masters, their predecessors in the act of creation ‘why?’. For once Sasori has no answer.
Because at the root of it all Sasori too is an artist first.
Why is he still here? Why has chosen to stay caged within this delusional organization? They promise artistic freedom; yet only allow innovation that benefits their agenda, so why is he still loyal to them? Is he even loyal to them? And this child; only alive in this world for a measly eleven years, what does he know? Could he be useful somehow? Useful for what though? An escape attempt? A permanent severing of ties? The destruction of the Akatsuki; his cage?
Sasori's processors make an audible wired sound as his gears churn at high speeds. “Our Ambitions, our creations, our visions… would be nothing but echoes in a world that is not even ours. The greatest act of defiance isn’t suicide—but survival… on our terms. Defiant art. Genuine art… made from fire and loss and rage and hope—not from manufactured order.”
“We aren't enemies then, we don't need to fight each other, let's just leave, let's be free.”
“If only the world was that simple child.”
“It can't be that difficult. We just gotta be creative - we are artists that should be easy right? A pact then?”
“And what exactly would such a pact entail?”
“From this day forth Sasori and Deidara would not be loyal to anything or to anyone except each other. We are artists first. Shinobi second. And everything we do will be for the pursuit of creation, expression, freedom - the core tenants of art itself.”
As he speaks the child pushes himself to stand up. Legs shaky he limps his way to Sasori, right hand extended to shake. He stands there waiting for Sasori with a bright toothy smile - covered in blood, dirt, bruises and cuts. The ultimate juxtaposition between the child that he is and the force of utter devastation that he could one day become. A blank canvas ripe for Sasori to paint over.
“Moldable” Konan's word rings through his receptors. Yes. Sasori decides. He will take this canvas and paint a masterpiece. He would build a loyal puppet. Yes. Not for the akatsuki - but for himself. A living, breathing, thinking, expressing puppet capable of absolute beauty and utter devastation in equal measure.
A large perfectly carved wooden hand engulfed the small clay covered bleeding one. The pact is sealed.
Year 1 - Deidara Age 11
Sasori decides to make a mental file within his program labeled ‘Project: Abdication’ (name still pending confirmation) with a sub file labeled ‘Primary Asset: Deidara’. Sasori assesses that to properly escape the Akatsuki- not as fugitives or survivors - but as a thriving free artist, a plan years in the making must be put in place one small innovation at a time. The first of those innovations being to start a secret sub layer to his spy network; designed to work within the akatsuki as counter-operatives to the organization's agenda. This would require both Sasori and Deidara to act as both spy and spymasters themselves at the heart of the entity. Like foreign parasites within a body, self-sufficient yet feeding off the resources of the host.
This directly leads to the second innovation i.e. an investment in resources, time and effort into crafting Asset: Deidara into a shinobi and artist worthy of being recognized as a partner and fellow counter-operative to the Red Sand.
In the weeks following the pact, Sasori realizes that this second directive is a far more gargantuan task than he had initially considered. The child - Oh gods the child ….. is indeed a child. An albeit powerful s-ranked shinobi but still a child.
Iwagakure may have created a walking talking bomb but beyond that they contributed nothing to his education. It was nothing short of a miracle (and the child's own curiosity) that he even developed his own complex philosophy on art and life - even if it was the wrong philosophy in Sasori’s opinion.
Sasori had taken to observing Deidara, for the sake of learning and categorizing his habits, skills, knowledge and basic survival. This is necessary to do (Sasori reasons with himself) so that he knows what kind of canvas he is actually working with - and what he discovers is horrendous.
The first thing that becomes painfully obvious is the child’s eating habits. Now Sasori himself is far removed from all that ‘food as nutrition’ nonsense considering he doesn't have a stomach any more, just batteries and a fuel tank. Sasori’s initial assessment from when he first met the child was correct; Deidara has been suffering from extreme malnutrition his whole life. The boy barely eats and when he does it's out of extreme necessity and that too a humble meal of ninja issued ration bars - and sometimes clay.
And sometimes CLAY!
Sasori's tail twitches minutely when a few days into their pact the child runs out of rations bars, pulls out a blob of clay and just takes a big bite of it.
“Just a little snack” Deidara says grinning his toothy grin, teeth covered in clay.
“Its nutritional value is nonexistent.”
“Yes but in soil it helps plants grow right? So it must have some minerals and nutrients.”
“You are not a plant.”
Internally Sasori updates the file ‘Primary Asset: Deidara’ point number one: Teach him basic survival skills. Sub point a. Cooking.
So the first thing Sasori ever teaches Deidara is not how to fight better, or utilize his chakra more efficiently, or how to spy. No, the first thing Sasori teaches the child is how to cook and how to acquire food and nutrition properly.
The child of course is resistant to the idea from the get go.
“Sasori-Danna you don't even eat, what would you know about cooking?” The exasperation in his voice is just as clear as the pout on his face as Sasori had forcefully dragged him from his sculpting into the kitchen to make lunch at a decent meal time. Against his will, Sasori’s internal storage retrieves long inaccessible memories of the time he learned to cook with the old hag.
“I had a biological form for a good portion of my life. I understand that human anatomy requires both sleep and a balanced diet for healthy growth. I will not have my primary asset at anything less than peak performance capabilities for when I execute Project: Abdication.”
“Are - are you calling me short?” Apparently the irony of squaring up to his full height and standing on his tippy toes but still only coming up the height of a bit below Sasori’s chest while saying this is completely lost on the child.
“Im calling you malnourished, underweight and sickly. But yes good nutrition will help you grow both stronger and taller.” - hopefully. He leaves the last word out, statically speaking adults who experience severe starvation in early life grow up to be shorter than average. Deidara will discover this eventually on his own anyways.
Thus begins their new daily ritual. Deidara is stubborn, unsure and hesitant at first but he is a brilliant mind primed for absorption. So two times a day whenever they are at the hideout, safe within the secrecy of their own wing, Sasori starts teaching him the recipes he was taught by the old hag. The woman does not have any living relatives barring Sasori and it's unlikely that her ‘family recipes’ would be passed down to anyone else anyways. Sasori already knows them - now he doesn't have to waste resources hunting down actual recipes to teach the child.
Eventually active reluctance turns into begrudging acceptance that finally morphs into eager participation - especially after Deidara discovers how delicious the food is. The child looks like he's actually enjoying this time spent cooking with Sasori. Sasori for his part is indifferent, just another task on an ever increasing to-do list.
Point one sub point b: fix the child’s sleeping habits. Luckily Sasori found an efficient way to indirectly fix that by focusing primarily on point two: Proper formal training.
The child was powerful, yes, incredibly talented to the point of almost prodigious. But he lacked refinement, direction, technique, forethought - and most glaringly taijutsu beyond just the academy basics.
“But I'm a long distance fighter, being fast enough to get the enemy with my art before they get me is all the taijutsu I need.”
Sasori does not dignify that stupid comment with a response and simply implements a strict training regiment. Starting with taijutsu he trains him relentlessly everyday when they are in the hideout. Using his puppets he has him run drills and using the child’s new found enthusiasm for food he constructs a diet plan aimed to supplement the training and maximize its effects on his body. An added passive benefit to this of course is that the boy is now sleeping a full eight hours daily due to exhaustion - without Sasori’s direct interference on the matter.
Between missions and private instruction Sasori and Deidara effectively isolate themselves from the rest of the akatsuki pairs. This works just fine for them as Sasori is a natural recluse and Deidara isn't randomly blowing things up every time he runs across Itachi in the hallways. The only person who visits them is Zetsu (to deliver missions) and Sasori hides chakra sensors across their personal wing to warn him about Zetsu's arrival. This, he reasons, is an imperative ingredient for ‘Project: Abdication’, being aware of the movements of the only person who would likely discover secrets hidden within the base. He logs data on Zetsu's movement patterns meticulously and Zetsu is none the wiser since most Shinobi's living spaces are naturally teeming with their own chakra anyways.
A few weeks into their new lifestyle, Deidara who has been complaining about how slow they are traveling for the last two hours finally says “Man, you know what would be so cool Sasori-Danna?”
“No, enlighten me”
“Imagine if I could fly” the child says dreamily as he stares up at a lone cloud floating across the sky.
Sasori can imagine it. The tactical advantages of flight. Especially for long range fighters such as themselves. Sasori himself never bothered with flight despite being technically possible to create a flying puppet, the endeavor would prove to be too resource heavy and expensive. But clay is an abundant resource that costs practically nothing.
Sasori promptly takes Deidara to the Amekage public library as soon as they make it back. Thus point number three: providing a formal education, begins to take root. Deidara is a curious child and is eager to absorb any lesson when it is framed through the lenses of improving his art.
They start with basic physics text books and move up from there to the fundamentals of flight. Under Sasori’s tutelage, Deidara develops a working blueprint for clay carrier birds and within a month they are actively running tests. Leadership doesn't ask questions but does give their approval when they witness a working model. From then on Konan and Zetsu simply ignore Sasori tutoring the child - letting him do his perceived task of crafting a loyal puppet for the Akatsuki.
But they don't stop at just physics. Deidara starts asking questions about different types of clay and materials. Sasori responds by teaching him chemistry. Tutoring comes easy as Sasori simply lets the child's natural curiosity guide the lesson plans.
Physics transitions into chemistry which transitions to lessons on chakra natures, to theory and philosophies (outside of the topic of art), to literature, history and so on and so on. Sasori prides himself as an intellect and reasons that educating the boy not only improves his conversational skills but also helps in crafting an intelligent shinobi with an arsenal that consists of more than just tools for hitting harder. Sasori is an artist not a brute and to properly execute ‘Project: Abdication’ he will need his partner to be nothing less.
One day while the duo are on a mission in a civilian town, Sasori finds Deidara standing outside a tailor store, both hands on the glass staring in wide eyed wonder at a designer kimono displayed on a manikin.
“Come along child we don't have the funds for such frivolousness.”
“I know Danna, it's so pretty to look at though” Deidara follows obediently, but Sasori does not miss the last parting wistful glance the child makes.
The next morning, just as Deidara is packing his supplies, a loud squeal of delight leaves him as he opens the top drawer to find the Kimono sitting there neatly folded and in his size.
“Danna you said we don't have the funds for this!”
“Being able to afford something and being able to acquire something are two very different skills”
Deidara lets out another squeal of joy as he hugs the material close and hops around the room in excited glee, “Thank you, thank you, thank you Sasori-Danna.”
Sasori’s sensors categorize the reaction and make notes on how noticeably cheerful the child is in the following days. Sasori updates the file. Point four: supply ample positive reinforcement to ensure compliance and elevated state of mind. This was a necessary inconvenience, Sasori reasons, the next few years were going to be long, difficult and stressful. For those with biological minds prone to heightened emotional processing some form of a reward system was necessary to keep dopamine levels balanced. Preventing mistakes caused by trauma responses was imperative.
In the years to come, he would use this reasoning to ‘acquire’ anything and everything the boy wanted. From designer clothes, to high quality art supplies, to highly obscure and difficult to access scrolls on niche subjects. As long as he wasn't spending mission funds no one really questioned it - they were all criminals here. And no he was definitely not ‘indulging’ the child, and this was something he had definitely not grown ‘fond’ of doing.
Year 2 - Deidara Age 12
Over the course of the child's first year in the akatsuki the file ‘Primary Asset: Deidara’ had been modified and expanded from a simple to-do list to an expansive document complete with charts and projections on anything and everything concerning him. Tracking progress is necessary as Sasori makes adjustments to the main project based on changes and new developments.
Over the course of the last year, it is not just Deidara's fighting style that has changed, but so has almost everything about him really. He's still the loudmouth, boisterous, egoistic mischief maker he's always been. But apparently only around Sasori. On the rare occasion they find themselves in the presence of the other members; Deidara becomes shy, quite opting to stick close to Sasori - sometimes practically hiding behind his older partner letting him take the lead in interactions.
“It's kind of cute” Konan observes once with a gentle smile.
“Yeah, kinda like your own little duckling, with the way he just follows you around all the time.” Kisame grins.
“The boy is just being cautious,” Sasori says dismissing the whole thing “He's aware there are bigger predators around.”
Sasori isn't sure if he's trying to convince them or himself at this point. It's not just in the presence of others; Deidara has taken to following Sasori around everywhere, all the time. This is perfectly reasonable of course; when they're not out on missions, the majority of his day revolves around the boy. Sasori spends hours of his day cooking with him, training him, tutoring him - this constant proximity is only natural.
Except the boy does it even when it's not necessary. Like at the end of the day when all the training and tutoring is done and Sasori has time to focus on his own craft, Deidara has made himself a small pottery studio in an unused corner of his workshop. Amidst all the puppets, wood, metal and wires there exists a splash of color, clay, unfinished sketches and sculptors. It's mostly quiet during these hours; the child knows better than to interrupt the master while he is at work. The silence is only punctuated by a small tune the child hums while he plays with his clay.
Sasori only speaks when it's late into the night “Time for bed child.”
Deidara simply nods and goes to his bedroom.
Only to walk back in a few minutes later with a pillow and blanket, dressed in a fresh set of pajamas. He finds a comfortable spot in the workshop, making sure to keep Sasori in his direct line of sight before he curls up and falls asleep.
Sasori’s own processors fail to comprehend this - the child has a perfectly functioning bed in his room. But at this point he refuses to question it. His room is nothing but a glorified walk-in closet now with all the clothes the child has acquired (Sasori contributed a significant portion).
Around the start of his second year in the Akatsuki, Sasori notes that Deidara picks up yet another weird habit. He starts mimicking Sasori. No he does not mean he starts parroting everything Sasori says nor does he do the thing where people copy other’s body language in exaggerated gestures as a form of mockery.
No he mimics him.
From the way he walks, to the way his fingers twitch, to the way his joints bend in their mechanical way, to the way his wooden face remains blank and stoic while swiveling instead of turning his head. Sasori would have registered it as mockery if it wasn't for the fact that the child was trying so hard to get it perfect. His eyes zeroed in on Sasori for hours at a time as he constantly tries to mimic his motions, subtly correcting his movements every time.
Sasori wants to ask Deidara what this is all about - but then again, the child is obsessed with him and he does not want to deal with a conversation that involves some form of disgusting heartfelt emotion. He just chalks it up to yet another layer of the child's obsession with him and tries his best to ignore it. Also no, he does not find it creepy - Sasori, the man who turns humans into puppets is the last person to judge other people's weird obsessions - even if he is the subject of said obsession.
Then one day they are assigned to go on a mission undercover in a civilian town. The target is a retired sensory type shinobi and thus any form of genjutsu would be immediately identified. Sometimes the simplest solution is the best and Sasori opts to use his main body.
He extends the height slightly of his main puppet while detaching the wooden face he almost always wears (the one that makes him look fifteen) and reattaches a more mature face, one that makes him look closer to his actual age of twenty-seven. He forgoes his akatsuki cloak for a stylish pair of chocolate brown slacks, a plain white shirt and a matching chocolate brown jacket that he places over his shoulders without putting his arms through the sleeves. He finishes the look by gelling his hair back making himself look like a slightly wealthy civilian.
Deidara for his part decides to add temporary dye to his hair (the exact same shade of red as Sasori). His shoulder length hair is also littered with small butterfly clips and he has opted to wear contacts (the exact same shade of brown as Sasori’s eyes). It's a simple yet practical disguise as now they look like father and son taking a leisurely stroll around town.
Deidara skips along beside Sasori as they casually trail a few meters behind the target seamlessly blending into the crowd. The child even takes it a step further by grabbing Sasori’s empty jacket sleeve like a kid latching on to their parent and makes it a point to hide shyly behind Sasori when other kids wave at him.
Soon they manage to corner the target in a side alley. The man has been expecting them. Few words are exchanged as Sasori quickly engages him. The mission parameters require this to be a quick, clean kill - hence they had initially decided against explosives. However the retired shinobi is a lot stronger than Sasori anticipated as he begins taking down puppets one by one.
Sasori is aiming to keep this fight as quiet as possible, so he only deploys one or two puppets at a time. Then just as his third puppet is about to be taken down Deidara detaches from his side. All that practice with his mimicry on full display as moves exactly like one of his puppets. Movements disjointed yet fluid - chakra suppressed completely.
Sasori catches on and immediately attaches chakra strings to Deidara's body; enhancing the illusion of him being yet another one of Sasori’s puppets. The sensory-nin is none the wiser as he turns his full focus on Sasori's strings aiming to calculate the trajectory of the ‘puppet’. But just as Sasori twitches his fingers to indicate movement in one direction Deidara moves in the other completely side stepping the target. Then with one swift motion slices the man's throat with a kunai, killing him immediately.
The kill is quite, clean - just as specified in the mission’s parameter. Deidara once more latches on to Sasori’s sleeve as the two make their way out of the alley. The perfectly normal image of a parent and child blending into the crowd once more. Only once they are miles out of town does the child finally let go of Sasori’s sleeve.
“Your mimicry still needs perfecting, your joints need to be a degree more stiff.” Sasori finally says.
Deidara beams up at him, taking the criticism in stride.
Year 3 - Deidara Age 13
Three years into the planning phase of ‘Project: Abdication’ (name still pending), Sasori finally decides to start laying the groundwork for what would essentially be the two of them acting as counter-operatives from within the heart of the organization. Sasori has spent a better part of the last two years charting every entry and exit point Zetsu makes into and out of their wing via his sensory puppets that litter every corner of their private sanctum.
At first Zetsu's entry and exit points seem random but with over two years of marked data - Sasori's programming detects a pattern. Zetsu trends to make it a point to avoid areas with a heavy presence of synthetic chemicals and toxins. It is subtle, it is not like he is weak to them - but it seems that he has a strong preference to avoiding certain chemicals, especially ones with pungent smells. This makes sense, Zetsu is practically more plant than man; of course he is going to avoid the cleaning closet at all costs.
It can't be that simple can it?
But apparently it is, and over the course of six months Sasori meticulously and carefully carves out a whole hidden room behind the bleach shelf of the closet's back wall. Having a whole wall spanning shelf for bleach and strong cleaning agents is not out of the ordinary for Shinobi who have settled into a location for the long term. Considering the amount of blood, gore and other disgusting substances they have to clean on a regular basis.
Sasori sets up the back shelf like a secret entrance that is only triggered when you arrange the cleaning products in a certain way. No seals, no genjutsu, no chakra involved whatsoever; just good old grease and gears. No chakra means Zetsu's sensors do not get alerted, and from what Sasori knows of Akatsuki’s leadership; they are simply far too prideful and self assured to notice a whole secret bunker being built into the rock of their mountain hideout.
Pein and Konan would never think that anybody would have the audacity to defy ‘God’. Well it's a good thing Sasori is an absolute devil.
Within the secret back room, Sasori begins to create what he would later call the digital-analogue database and interface hub (name still pending - he is terrible at naming things that are not puppets). The room becomes littered with cables and monitors and servers and batteries all serving to build a central processing hub that connects via cable directly to Sasori's own mind. Akatsuki’s Leadership is quite advanced with their tech, so any satellite transmission would and could be traced by them - so Sasori veers in the opposite direction, opting to use good old radio waves and analogue nodes instead.
He makes it a point to teach the child morse code. And while he doesn't have the time to teach Deidara programming, the child, being the curious, obsessive genius that he is, picks it up all on his own from hours spent observing Sasori work. Thus, Sasori delegates some easier tasks to the boy as well, allowing him to figure it out on his own and using those tasks as benchmarks for the child’s own ever improving programming skills.
One day a few weeks after their secret lair is fully functional Sasori begins his digital/analogue counter operations against leadership, and he makes a wood chilling discovery.
Everywhere he looks, in every file, in every document there seems to be a hidden presence lurking. Most official Akatsuki missions and movements are mainly approved by either Pein or Konan. Yet the language indicated that they seem to be taking orders from something or someone far sinister and greater than themselves.
Sasori falls into a rabbit hole as each document reveals more questions than answers. How deep does this conspiracy go? Down to the very foundations of this organizations perhaps? Whom does Akatsuki’s ‘leadership’ answer to? Who or what is this hidden specter within the machine? What is their purpose? Their motivation? How powerful is this entity that even the ‘God of the new world’ the ‘Sage of six paths’ bows at their feet?
Throughout his speculations one thing becomes exceedingly clear. It hurts his pride to admit it - but; Sasori and Deidara are no match for this creature lurking in the shadows. No matter how many simulations his processors run, one conclusion is inescapable.
When the time comes for the eventual, inevitable escape or confrontation; the puppet master and his protege will not be enough on their own. They're going to need allies - powerful allies, people they can bind to themselves and trust implicidly.
Sasori’s mind runs the calculations, it's not like there are many avenues they can turn to. They need someone powerful - powerful enough to go toe to toe with gods. And someone fiercely loyal by nature.
But who? A pair of S-ranked missing-nin, one a terrorist and the other a serial killer, both of whom are wanted by the world at large; who would pledge undying loyalty to them?
Just as Sasori finds himself drowning in speculation a blast echoes from the other end of the base, followed by the undeniable voice of the child; angrily ranting and screaming.
Ahh, the Uchiha brat must've returned from his own mission.
Hours later Sasori finds himself observing a pouting Deidara move about the small kitchen in their wing making himself dinner. His current mood is likely sour due to losing yet another fight against the Uchiha and then getting a scolding by Konan for blowing yet another hole through the wall.
“We need allies,” Sasori says suddenly, always one to get directly to the point. Deidara's face morphs from a pout to one of surprise. There has never been talks of allies before. The child has always just assumed it would be the two of them alone in this crusade. And Sasori had thought that too; until a few hours ago.
“Danna how would we even get allies? We're not exactly people others would trust easily.” The child doesn't even ask why, simply taking Sasori’s directive as enough on their own.
“No we are not. Hence why we will have to play the long game. We will have to manufacture trust. Manipulate whoever we need to, tell them whatever it is they need or want to hear. Make them blindly and fiercely dependent, devoted to us and only us.”
“Just like your puppets Danna,” the boy looks up smiling shyly, “Just like me?”
There is no warmth in Sasori’s words, yet his volume drops a bit as he responds “Yes, just like you.”
“Okay then who and how?”
“We will most likely have to start with the members of the Akatsuki first, then expand our reach outwards.” Sasori considers his words for a moment before speaking, “Child there are more ways to express power than simple domination through force. Clearly we are the weaker force here, our enemies will crush us with overwhelming strength alone. And so much deploy a softer, more subtle means. We must use intellect, creativity, charm, cunning, whatever else necessary to secure an ally powerful enough to kill gods.”
Year 4 - Deidara Age 14.
In his fourteenth year, Deidara finally goes through puberty. A little delayed compared to the average boy; but considering how he had spent his childhood wrecked with malnutrition and starvation, Sasori had already accounted for this possibility.
What he does not account for is the way Deidara's voice cracks in front of everyone while he is in the middle of delivering his mission report to Pein during one of their long drawn out Akatsuki meetings. Deidara clears his throat and tries to speak again - only for his voice to crack, again.
Snickers of amusement can be heard from some of the other senior and less serious members. That prompts the child to pout before his face goes red with embarrassment and he leans over to partially hide behind Sasori. Sasori for his part simply continues the mission report on his behalf without missing a beat.
Deidara of course knows what puberty is, Sasori made sure to educate him on the subject when the child had expressed curiosity about basic biology a while back and had come across the topic in one of the text books. He visibly perks up once they are back in the privacy of their wing.
“Danna this is amazing” he says, his voice cracking again "I'm finally going to get taller - maybe I'll get even taller than that stupid Uchiha, that'll show him.”
Uchiha Itachi at age 16 is now five-foot-eleven. Deidara who is currently four-foot-eleven, and spent his early years in extreme poverty will be lucky if he even makes it past five-foot-four. Suffice to say he will not be growing taller than the Uchiha. Sasori decides not to tell him that since there is a non-zero chance his bad mood could affect their mission outcome tomorrow. Besides, he'll find out on his own in a few months anyways.
Instead Sasori says “This is the perfect opportunity to enact the next step of our plans. Puberty is known to cause major changes in personalities, no one will bat an eye if you suddenly decide to emerge from my shadows and start getting friendlier with the other members. We can start vetting potential allies properly now.”
Deidara practically vibrates with excitement “Hell yeah Danna! I have a few ideas on what kind of personality I want to present. I'm thinking for the most part loud but easy-going, boisterous but good-natured blond idiot. Ya know, people tend to let their guard down in front of the intellectually inferior - a perfect way to observe them in real time.”
Sasori feels an emotion that is completely new and definitely not something he programmed into his software; pride in someone other than himself.
Deidara waits a few weeks before he finally begins to venture out and seek the company of other members (previously he only ever left the safety of Sasori’s proximity to go throw bombs at Itachi). He starts with some of the easier going and approachable members like Kisame and Zetsu for now. And as predicted no one is surprised by this switch in personality as in their eyes the shy angry boy is finally breaking out of his shell and growing up.
Of course outside of his fake persona, Deidara's actual personality is also changing. Sasori observes and catalogues it with increasing exasperation as teenage hormones begin to drive the boy to test Sasori’s patience in the strangest of ways.
There is no teenage rebellion or rage in the traditional sense; they are both counter-operatives in an s-rank criminal organization with only each other as allies. Besides, Deidara is too obsessed with and loyal to Sasori to be anything but polite and obedient, even during the times he fundamentally disagrees with his Danna.
But there are other weird changes to observe instead. Deidara gets sassier, his wit gets sharper and his mannerisms more theatrical. His sarcasm is at the tip of his tongue and his ego surrounding his physical appearance is through the roof.
Puberty does nothing to curb his more feminine features but enhances it instead. No matter how much the boy laments about this fact, Sasori can tell he takes pride in his looks and secretly ecstatic about growing more beautiful. He even decides to grow out his hair now for the sole purpose of extenuating these features.
“I am an Artist Danna, i must look like my art, nothing less than stunning” Deidara says one day as he has no less than fifteen outfits laid out, trying to choose his wardrobe for the week “Besides, soft power is all about sending subtle messages. People will observe how I look and judge me way before I even have a chance to speak.”
Sasori nods in approval “And so you must control what they see.”
One day the duo find themselves trudging through the open air markets of a small desert town in Wind country, well on their way to a mission. Deidara stops at one of the stalls selling an assortment of make-up and face paints.
“Danna, a lot of your people put this around their eyes right? Why?” Deidara asks, holding up a bottle of Kohl.
“It's called Kohl and it's mainly for cultural reasons, but it is also said to protect the eyes from all this sand flying in the air,” Sasori explains as he is suddenly assaulted by countless unwanted memories of the old hag applying Kohl to his eyes when he was a kid.
Turning to the child he takes the bottle from him. Then with one hand he raises his head by the chin, making Deidara look up at him. With the other he gently applies the Kohl using his bare fingers just as the old hag used to do. When he is done he drops a few coins on the stall table and hands him the Kohl bottle.
“I highly recommend applying it when we are traversing sandy environments” he says as he turns around and continues walking.
The child just giggles and quickly checks his reflection in one of the stall mirrors before following “I will Danna. Besides, I think it adds to my appeal.”
Year 5 - Deidara Age 15
Akatsuki is currently in the middle of a war.
A small, independent, island nation that controls key maritime routes for the five great nations. The nation’s leaders had been strategically sending pirate ships to intercept ships bound to other smaller nations - Amekage included and Akatsuki’s leadership did not take kindly to that. The response after multiple warnings to seize hostilities was dire and decisive. All akatsuki units along with Ame-nin were ordered into a full scale invasion with the objective to wipe out the island's inhabitants completely.
Of course the island was host to an active volcano and its small military consisted mainly of both fire and water experts who knew how to manipulate both volcanic and tidal activity to their advantage. All akatsuki pairs were assigned key strong-holds to take down.
The war has been dragging on for four months now and the artist duo find themselves stationed in an abandoned town at the foot of the volcano. Their position is critical, they are the last line of defense, their main task is to prevent enemy fire experts from scaling up the mountain and triggering a full blown eruption.
Initially things were going great. They were holding strong as Deidara took to the skies to conduct aerial bombings; destabilizing larger groups and taking out the majority of the fodder. Those who did manage to escape the explosive raids were then faced with puppet armies that would dispose of them quickly. Things were going really great.
Until Deidara runs out of food. Most of the town surrounding area is practically a waste land, flattened into broken uneven terrain thanks to the duo and there are no sources of food to be found. Despite the precarious situation the child puts on a brave face as Sasori grounds him for the remainder of the invasion to conserve chakra.
In the first couple of days after he runs out of food he manages just fine by staying hydrated. But Deidara is no adult, he is a fifteen year old child and by Sasori’s calculations his body will be forced to run through his caloric reserves quickly, especially considering how they are almost constantly in combat. Sasori tries his best to keep Deidara away from unnecessary chakra expenditure, but those efforts become futile when larger groups of enemies make it to the mountain steps since there are no aerial raids taking out the fodder.
Sasori tries - tries - to focus on holding the line. Managing over a hundred puppets requires a significant proportion of processing power. Yet he finds his own programming starting to betray him. He wants to focus on holding the line. But as the days without food crawl on, his mind is constantly shifting focus to Deidara instead.
He cuts through a battalion of twenty fire experts - the child is starving.
His main body dodges a barrage of earth jutsus aiming to bury him - his protege is starving.
The third kazekage buries another group in iron sand and crushes them - his best puppet is starving.
Hiroku’s massive scorpion tail swings around cleaving enemies in half - his SON is STARVING.
Sasori freezes for a second at that though. A thousand memories flash across his electrical synapses. His mother, his father, his grandmother - his family. For a moment he allows the gravity of his realization to consume him completely. And then the second passes, he shoves the traitorous though down deep, never again. NEVER AGAIN.
Sasori returns focus back to holding the line. He simply refuses to think now, forcing his programming to direct all resources to the task at hand.
Two more days pass - and then it happens. Across the ruined town one of Sasori’s puppets captures the moment Deidara’s body just stops functioning. The body falls to the dirt trembling as he tries to fight his own failing anatomy.
Eight days, Sasori’s mind calculates. It's been eight whole days since he’s eaten anything.
From there the puppet master is a blur of motion. All processors zeroed in on one directive: Feed him.
Sasori does not remember the hours that follow. He doesn't remember killing droves of enemies to make it to the child. He doesn't remember reaching the child and forcefully shoving his own chakra into the trembling emaciated body trying to provide it with some energy. He doesn't remember placing his child gently into Hiroku’s shell for protection. He doesn't recall scouring the ruins of the town to find something, anything he could feed his boy.
But then he remembers finding it, shoved into the small corner of an empty ruined house; a small bag of flour and a pouch of yeast. Quickly he gathers some fire wood from the debris and summoning some water with his chakra he kneads it into dough using his own two wooden hands. Then he starts a fire and bakes some form of barely edible rudimentary bread.
Pulling his barely conscious child out of Hiroku and onto his lap. He tears the bread into pieces and mashes it between his fingers before forcing it into his child’s mouth. “Swallow” he commands, his words somehow pushing through Deidara’s semi-conscious haze. His child obeys, swallowing with some difficulty. Outside the shambles of the ruined house the fighting continues, Sasori barely registers it as he subconsciously commands his puppets to continue their slaughter.
When Deidara has made it through half the loaf, unable to swallow anymore, Sasori shifts him so that his head is resting directly over Sasori’s core. His child’s body trembles as he lets out a low pained sound. Sasori shushes him and holds him in place as both his hands and core force life preserving chakra directly into his body.
A day later no more enemy-nin make it past the parameter, even as Sasori’s puppets stand sentinel. This huddled position is how Zetsu finds them to report the end of the war and deliver the coordinates to the main bunker for recovery.
“I don't understand why you didn't just let the boy die - now we have to waste our valuable resources to heal him.” Kakuza’s newest partner grumbles days later once Deidara is safe within the medical wing of the bunker well on his way to recovery.
Sasori hasn't bothered to learn the man's name, it's a futile endeavor, Kakuza goes through partners like some wealthy women go through clothes. Sasori simply levels him with an annoyed glare, “I am an Artist, why in the hell would I just abandon my magnum opus?”
It is at some point after this whole debacle that only within the privacy of their wing Deidara sometimes unknowingly (or knowingly - he isn't quite sure) starts calling Sasori ‘Creator’ instead of ‘Danna’.
Year 6 - Deidara Age 16
Sasori designs and creates two things simultaneously.
The first is an analog node designed to transmit Morse-code from anywhere on the planet. This is a direct two way link that travels through radio waves and is capable of both sending Morse code pings and receiving them. It is a small metal node purposely designed to look like a piercing implanted directly into the skull. All the user would have to do is pulse a minute level of chakra into the metal and it sends out a radio wave which is then received by the opposing node. The receiving user experiences a small tap as the side of their skull.
Deidara doesn't even hesitate when Sasori presents him with the node. He just grins up at Sasori, “Creator this means I will know where you are all the time. Neither of us will be alone!”
He chooses to implant it right in front of his ear so that it looks like a piercing and then promptly changes his hairstyle to draw less attention to it.
What specifically prompted this invention you may ask?
Other than Deidara almost dying during the war, there is another event that takes place a few months prior to the node's creation.
The child's first ever solo mission.
“The client was not able to afford two members,” Zetsu explains as he debriefs them, “So the brat will have to do it. Consider this a test run to see how well he performs independently.”
Deidara takes it in stride. Sasori on the other hand is internally surprised at how upset he is about this. Logically, he should not be. Shinobi, both criminal or otherwise, go on solo missions all the time. Heck, Deidara himself has been on solo missions back when he was still an Iwa-nin. Sasori has trained him well. He is an S-ranked missing-nin. His child is probably strong enough to face down kages and biju by this point. He has his bird, worst case he can escape via flight at any time. Why is he trying so hard to convince himself of this?
Externally Sasori remains just as stoic and indifferent as he always presents himself to be. Diedara chatters cheerfully as he prepares for the mission. Sasori tries his best to seem completely unfazed as he tinkers with a puppet while the child flits about getting ready. Yet mentally he is making a list of everything Deidara has packed. Food? Check. Water? Check. Emergency rations? Check. Extra clay? Check……..
When Deidara finally leaves for his mission, Sasori realizes that this is a good thing. Most of his day revolves around the boy anyways, now he finally has two whole weeks to get to his own projects that had previously been put on hold.
He runs through his whole to-do list in less than three days.
…… perhaps he should just turn the child into a puppet, then Deidara would truly and unequivocally be his. Just like mother and father. But perhaps not. What makes Deidara well Deidara is his mind. That curious, rebellious, free thinking mind. No turning him into a regular old puppet simply won't do.
A human puppet then? Just like Sasori himself. It would preserve his mind. They would truly be father and son. But, Sasori had never turned a person with Deidara's Kekki Genkai and kinjutsu combination into a puppet before. Some bloodlines and forbidden techniques don't translate over well and it's always a gamble.
But - Deidara wouldn't really need to fight. He had Sasori to protect him. The boy would have everything he needs. The boy's chakra has been shown to be too volatile for chakra strings - he won't even have to move Sasori will do it for him. All those pretty clothes he likes - Sasori will provide for him. He doesn't even have to sculpt with his clay - Sasori will learn to sculpt for him. The boy will hate it, hate him for a long time - but he will have an eternity, he will learn to accept it.
But turning him now would be risky. The counter operations already require no less than three minds - Sasori alone will not be enough. So he had to wait, and be patient. Perhaps sometime after they are done with this whole Akatsuki business.
Finally the boy returns, in just a week no less. “I couldn't stand being away for so long Creator!” Of course he couldn't, his child is obsessed with him. Immediately upon his arrival, Sasori makes sure to check every inch of the boy. Thankfully he had come back with nothing more than a few bruises and cuts.
In the days following, Deidara proceeds to glue himself to Sasori. “Life is so fleeting Danna, that's what makes it so beautiful. I want to have as many fleeting moments as I can with you.”
The motivations may be flawed but Sasori finds himself agreeing with the sentiment wholeheartedly.
And so as a compromise he creates the Analog node.
Following the success of Deidara's solo mission, the two of them are separated more frequently. But Sasori finds that he doesn't mind so much now as the sound of Deidara's constant chatter simply changes into an insistent near constant ‘dot-dot-dash’ straight into his temple. This suits Sasori just fine - for now.
The second major creation from Sasori in that year would be the digital interface.
It took extensive research into forbidden Yamanaka Jutsus along with an intrinsic understanding of consciousness and computing - but, Sasori is nothing short of a genius inventor. This invention allows Sasori to travel directly into the digital landscape and enact his will directly, hacking into any server in the world or defending his own.
The digital landscape is vast and Sasori finds himself overwhelmed by the sheer volume of counter hackers, malware, viruses, detection systems. He is still only one man, one mind. Should there come an occasion where he needs to hack a source belonging to one of the five great nations - he is quite sure he will be met with an overwhelming force of countermeasures.
But Sasori is respected across the world as a Master. Artist, Innovator, Craftsman, Inventor. And so he does what artists do - he creates. In the end the solution is simple. Two minds connected into the digital mainframe acting as one unit. Sasori’s mind is mechanical, so he can bear most of the psychic load on his own - and his Child? Well, he has proven to be a genius in terms of technology under Sasori’s guidance.
Deidara does not even hesitate at the idea. ‘A melding of minds’ ‘A dual interface’ ‘Becoming one with source’ are all terms he's used at one point or another during its developmental phase. And then finally the day has come for them to test it.
The mission is simple: Stay within the neural interface for as long as possible, explore the environment and test the limits.
When the time comes Sasori’s main body is hooked up to countless thick black cables that connect directly to his main processors through nodes lining his upper back. Deidara is connected through one singular cable attached to the node on his temple.
“Ready?” Sasori asks as Deidara makes himself comfortable on a chair “Three…. Two… One.”
Deidara’s body completely goes slack as his eyes roll back. Within the digital space, for a few seconds Sasori registers no activity.
And then it just happens. Every thought, every emotion, every memory - every hope, every dream, every fear, every idea, every secret - everything that is the source code ‘Deidara’ from the first breath until the current is all slammed - no Uploaded directly into a sub-folder within the master file named ‘Sasori’.
There is another silence that follows the ‘mind meld’. And as the silence grows Sasori begins to panic. Where is Deidara? Has he been consumed? Was it too much for his mind?
Father - It's less of a voice and more of a thought that echoes through Sasori’s processors. I'm right here.
Sasori once again freezes. Not Danna, not master, not creator - Father.
Child. Location? Sasori prompts. And the response he gets is some akin to a digital location pin being dropped into his mind.
Your thoughts were too loud father. Everywhere.
I see. ‘Thoughts’ the boy said. So the mental data bank got transferred both ways. There is a free flow of mental activity that transfers between the two. There is no privacy in the digital interface. Deidara refers to Sasori as his father in the privacy of his own mind, and within the interface there is no avoiding it.
You're like the eternal sky. Deidara describes it from his perspective in his more metaphorical language. And I'm like a small fleeting bird flying through it. The digital landscape is the earth below. We can both see it - i think but from two different perspectives. Your’s is grander, mine more focused. This is exactly what we need - we can work with this.
Your assessment may be correct.
They manage to explore the digital space for five more minutes before Deidara is less booted out and more spat out by the interface. His child’s physical body seizes up immediately before he jolts off the chair and onto the floor vomiting violently. Sasori is by his side immediately, holding him upright so he doesn't vomit all over himself and transfer healing chakra directly into his skull.
“Headache,” the child whines as he collapses into Sasori, “dizzy so dizzy.”
It takes ten whole minutes before the boy finally calms down and the trembling in his body stops. Sasori charts all the side-effects mentally and delivers his verdict “We may have to take side-effects into account, especially if they are the compounding sort. The digital interface must be used sparingly and only under dire circumstances, when all other avenues have been proven moot.”
“Ah hah no privacy,” the boy mumbles into Sasori’s embrace. Sasori commands a puppet to retrieve anti-nausea medication and proceed to inject it into the boy’s arm.
“That is correct, no privacy. Another aspect to consider, you will want your secrets the older you get, there are certain aspects of your life I should not be privy too.” - and vice versa. Oh gods what if the boy now knows of his plans to turn him into a puppet?
“Keep private thoughts private as much as we can, but Creator, if privacy is the price for our survival - our escape, I will gladly trade - I don't mind.”
Sasori once again finds that he agrees.
Sasori isn't the only one who has been busy making strides towards ‘Project: Abdication’ this last year. Deidara has been carrying out his own operations. While Sasori quietly handled the tech and foundation, Deidara has been diligently running a secret recruitment operation from within the Akatsuki.
Leadership is actively making moves now towards the biju collection phase of their plans and Sasori and Deidara both get a sense that they are running out of time - fast.
Deidara has run countless assessments on members of the entire organization and has deemed none of them a good fit - with the exception of one member; Uchiha Itachi.
“Like how do I even approach the guy? I hate him” the child pouts one day. As he ruins every attempt at having a conversation on his own accord. He’s not actively chucking bombs at the Uchiha anymore - he stopped that a few years ago in order to maintain his ‘cool-but-friendly-little-guy’ persona. But still any interaction between the two ends with Deidara screaming “He’s so tall and broody and has no right being that good looking - smug bastard.”
Sasori just raises an eyebrow and chooses not to comment. The one sided screaming match continues to escalate. Deidara is constantly challenging Itachi to formal duels - and proceeds to lose every single one. At this point even Sasori isn't even sure why Itachi seems to humor him.
Something finally changes. A few days after the initial test run with the interface, Deidara challenges Itachi to yet another duel.
Except what follows is not the screaming and tantruming that is predictable after these encounters. No, what follows is quite the opposite.
Complete Silence.
Sasori is only made aware of this because the constant pinging from his node stops completely.
Deidara walks into their wing a few minutes later. His mouth agape and eyes empty. He stares at Sasori's mouth open looking like a fish for a good thirty seconds.
Then the shift happens, his jaw slams shut - locked in grim determination, his eyes sharpen their focus as he marches straight to his corner of the workshop. Sasori knows better than to speak or interrupt his child now. This is the look of a genius that has been handed an impossible puzzle to solve - and by gods he’s going to solve it.
For the rest of the day and well into the night Deidara becomes a flurry of activity as he writes down notes, equations, memories - cataloging everything and anything that comes to his mind all regarding one subject ‘Uchiha Itachi’.
Finally, well past midnight, looking completely exhausted, Deidara stops. Looking up at Sasori he speaks in barely a whisper, “I asked him ‘What does a cold-hearted Bastard like you know about pain?’ ….. And he said ‘I know more about pain than you could possibly ever imagine’.... Something doesn't add up. Creator, it doesn't make sense.”
Sasori has always known that his child was the obsessive sort. Sasori himself has been the subject of that obsession for a long time. But now watching the boy in the months that follow - watches that obsession turn into an all consuming well.
The boy now makes an active effort to seek out Itachi and engage, constantly drawing the Uchiha in conversation after conversation. Debate after debate. No punches are thrown, no bombs are launched - just words, always only words. And when the conversation is done, Deidara heads straight back to the privacy of their wing to catalog everything. Every word, how it's spoken, every pause, every movement of muscle, every twitch of a finger - everything.
Then when Deidara hits a roadblock he takes it a step further, going out into the public library and retrieving books on a variety of subjects from human psychology, to Kekki Genkai, to genjutsus. And when he finds no textbooks on the history and political landscape of Konoha specifically. He resorts to asking Sasori, who in turn reaches through his spy networks and digital interface to provide them.
Finally after months of obsession, he approaches Sasori with both a conclusion and proposition.
“Uchiha Itachi is not loyal to the Akatsuki.” He states it as a simple fact. Sasori is inclined to agree. He’s been following Deidara’s though process and puzzle solving in real time and has independently come to the same conclusion. Then Deidara straightens up and says “Creator, I have a proposition.”
“Speak”
“Mission: Asset Acquisition - Target: Uchiha Itachi”