A/N: I know nobody ever reads this shit, 'cause the author really just WRITES fanfics. I'm not gonna rant so, here we go, chapter one. : P I tried, and I LOVE this pairing, so I put my all into writing it, hope y'all enjoy. I'm trying not to make them OOC or queer. It's kind of difficult keeping Deidara not-too-happy and Sasori-stoic-as-ever-but-has-emotion. It's not easy, hehe. THIS IS THE FIRST FIC I'VE EVER WRITTEN. O0o I'm dead serious…

-SPOILER: written in memory of Sasori and Deidara

LISTENING TO: Scars - by Papa Roach

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters concerning. I own only Asuna, Uo, and Riku, and they don't qualify as OC's.

Marionette Phase: Awakening

" Open your eyes, my puppet: no longer are you bound to the wooden abyss of the dusted shelf. Awaken yourself from your restless sleep, and join me in our serenade of strings. "

Deidara smothered an airy yawn with the backside of his hand. Sitting up on his wrinkled bedcovers, he shoved his shivering feet into the comfort of his indigo Akatsuki footwear. His fingers fumbled with the purple material as he adjusted his feet to the sandal's padding, wincing as his fingernails accidentally dug into the sensitive spot of his foot. Hissing in frustration, he forced his back against the wall, feet splayed into the air, fingers arched in its heel as he struggled to fit his feet in the disagreeable material. Sighing with satisfaction as both feet finally slid into both, he slid off the side of the mattress and settled himself onto the floor. His fingers drew abstract patterns on the dusted surface of the redwood boards, reflecting his current bored state. Deidara arched his brow in frustration. When was his Danna coming back? Sasori had said something about training with Itachi, but Deidara knew better to believe that; the puppet master most likely piped up an impromptu lie to make Deidara leave him alone. Lately, the marionette had taken great interest in sparring with the stoic Uchiha. This bothered Deidara slightly.

"I'm just as good as that damned weasel, un," he muttered, straining his voice to be as convincing as possible. He rested his face in the bend of his splayed arm, staring at the puppets that littered the room. Most were ninjas that his partner had changed, usually the ones with higher fighting potential or were extremely beautiful. The latter was rare. "Stupid puppets. Not like there's anything else to look at." he mumbled, azure eye flickering at numerous dull lifeless ones. Sasori's puppets had always been the boy's passion. His art. His life. His body, literally. Although Deidara would never bring himself to admit, he actually liked the redhead's puppets. He loved how the puppet master was able to transform a once-living human into a wooden combat machine, each with special abilities and strengths. Allowing a small grin to grace his lips, he forced his body off the floor as he made his way to a set of puppets.

"This one's pretty, un."

Deidara stared in awe at his Danna's work. A small puppet, he doubted Sasori even used it in battle. The puppet's design was fairly simple. A small wooden bird, a cardinal by the looks of it. He ran a slender finger over the crook of its wooden jointed wing, allowing the ripples of the feathers to massage the pad of his hand. If only Sasori had painted it, it's beauty would have been further enhanced. His gaze adverted to that of a geisha-looking puppet, propped against a niche of a wall on Sasori's side of the room. Her raven hair rippled down her slender shoulders, rose-painted lips taunting. Deidara chuckled. Sasori even kept her crimson crane-adorned kimono in perfect preservation after killing--transforming her. This...was most likely one of the Suna nin's "better works". His baby-blue eyes widened as he realized Sasori had added upgrades to this beautiful puppet. Hanging from her snow-colored obi was a tiny scroll. About three inches, nonetheless.

He reached out to touch it, curiosity getting the better of him. His fingers were on the bridge of contact, the tip of his nails kissing the fabric of the scroll's exterior--

"What are you doing, brat?" an icy voice demanded, slicing into his train of thought.

Deidara jumped at the sound, startled. "Oh…Sasori-Danna. It's just you." He let out a sigh of relief, a crooked smile gracing his lips.

Sasori threw him a disgusted glare. Immedietely striding over to his beloved creation to do a quick 'damage check'. "Of course it's me. Who else would bother to enter a room with your smell lingering all over it? Or even your existence."

"Danna, that was mean, un."

"I don't care. What did you do to my puppet while I was absent?"

"Nothing, un."

"Don't lie to me."

"I'm serious, un!"

"Why am I believing you, brat?"

". . . You are?" Deidara grinned, tucking a strand of silky golden hair behind his ear. Sasori was being strangely nice. The last time Hidan so much touched the Suna nin's lesser puppets, he had his limbs missing and hidden for a week. Sasori was a genius when it came to hiding places.

"I CAN'T FIND MY FUCKING LEG!" he remembered a decapitated Hidan head shrieking. "THAT ASSWIPE HID TOOK BOTH OF EM AND RAN. WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON HIM, NOT EVEN THE GREAT JASHIN WILL BE ABLE TO PRESERVE HIS DAMNED WOODEN PENIS."

Sasori sighed, striding over to his beloved puppet, checking its joints and hair to ensure no damage. His fingers ran over the kimono's collar as they straightened out the wrinkles behind the puppet's neck. He nodded in approval, as he scanned the puppet up and down. "Please do not touch Asuna," he said quietly, locking his ash-rose orbs with those of the Iwa nin's azure ones, his stoic features morphing into a dead serious one.

Deidara blinked. The puppet had a name. Leave it to Sasori.

"Touchy, touchy now, are we?" he sang, momentarily forgetting to tack an "Un" at the end of his statement.

Sasori's eyes narrowed, his lips curling into a sinister frown. His calm features darkened into a fearful one, "Shut the hell up, brat." Deidara whimpered. Sasori's pretty face was now a replica of hell.

Deidara shrunk away from his partner, flipping the block of sun-kissed blonde hair that covered his left eye like that of a self-centered teenage girl. "Okay, okay, un. Whatever you say, Danna."

Deidara dragged himself out of the room he shared with his partner, jamming his hands into his clay-pockets, humming a pleasant impromptu tune. He tilted his head and forced an exaggerated grin at the red-haired ninja, blonde ponytail-captive hair flowing behind him like a golden banner as he disappeared from the room's confined view.

Sasori watched as his partner graced himself out of the room, limping slightly. He stifled a laugh at the sight of Deidara's right foot. The boy's foot was slightly sticking out from the Akatsuki footwear, the heel of his foot crushing that of the indigo-tinted sandal. "Clumsy brat," he said, forcing a slight scowl. How the boy managed to get into the S-ranked criminal organization was far beyond him. Deidara was a special one, that much he recognized. Sasori knew that all the members of the Akatsuki were queers, but Deidara…was a bit more than that. Would that make him. . . super-queer?

"G'morning, 'Tochi-kun, un." Deidara yawned, waving a hand-mouth in the slightly-disturbed sharingan user's face.

"Hn." Itachi backed away from the dangling hand-mouth that was jabbed in his face forcefully by its sheepish-looking owner. His blood-red eyes fluttered slightly at the sudden contact of wet tongues sliding over his nose. The feeling was utmost uncomfortable.

"How was your mission, un?"

"…Bloody."

"Mmm, really? How so, un?"

"Kisame did most of the work. If you are so curious, go ask him." Itachi snapped, looking as impassive as ever. The Uchiha began to walk at a quicker pace, hastening to escape a twenty-questions session with the Iwa S-ranked nin.

Deidara studied the raven-haired man for a second. "Don't you ever smile?"

Itachi stopped in his tracks. "Pardon?"

"Nevermind, un. I'll go look for shark-man."

"Hn." Itachi grunted in agreement, picking up his pace once again, eager to reach his destination.

Back in the comfort of his Deidara-ridden room, Sasori grinned at his new completed set of marionettes. He placed the twin brunette twin puppets on either side of the geisha-puppet. "Uo, Asuna, Riku." He whispered, touching each of the puppets at the corresponding names. He smiled down at his three most beautiful puppets, admiring their beauty for a lingering glance. He only needed a moment, for he knew he could always return to gaze at them whenever he wished it so. His art was eternal. The Suna nin frowned. He would need one more puppet to complete his new jutsu: one more beautiful puppet. He scratched his head, an action he rarely performed before the other organization members. "The new one will be male." He decided, a male would complete his new set. He needed a beautiful male, one that would melt right in with his geisha and doll-faced twins, one that would not prove useless.

Deidara re-entered his room he shared with his Danna, not bothering to close the door as he swept into the room's presence. Sighing inaudibly, he slipped off his hair tie and stretched it around his wrist. Golden hair streamed down his shoulders, a brightening contrast to the collar of his black Akatsuki cloak. Using his ringed finger, Deidara parted his hair to cover the left half of his face, frowning as he did so. He found the puppet-master scrutinizing his puppets, ash-rose eyes intensely scanning them as if priceless artifacts at a must-see display convention. Deidara blinked. There were two more puppets added beside the geisha one, he definitely did not remember those being there before. Both were strikingly adorable in an eerie sort of way. They looked identical, twins most likely, with cropped brunette hair that was combed to cover an eye on opposite sides of the gothic cherubim-like faces. Like the geisha, they both were clothed with plain crimson kimonos, adorned with white cranes embroidered near its hem.

"Danna? Are those new, un?" Deidara questioned, stepping beside the redhead, azure eye blinking at the new additions.

Sasori blinked. His eyes flickered to adjust to Deidara's features. His eyes widened a fraction at the sight. The boy was…beautiful…why had he not realized it before? Deidara's hair was out of its usual ponytail, it streamed down his shoulders like flawless golden-colored silk drapery. His high cheekbones and baby-blue eye enhanced his beauty, and his lips…'What are you thinking, Sasori? Snap out of it.' He reprimanded himself mentally. No, it was just because Deidara was up close. Up close, everyone was pretty. Well, maybe not Pein, but in Deidara's case, yes.

Sasori's eyes traveled down the Iwa nin's face. His lips were so… perfect… he was tempted strongly to taste them, he wanted to grasp the flavor of those thin perfect lips so bad, even for a second--

"Ummmm, Danna?" Deidara said loudly, baby-blue eye locked with eden-colored ones.

Sasori blinked, eyes meeting the concerned ones of the blonde.

"You were spacing out, un." Deidara said, nodding slightly in confusion and backing away slowly. The puppet master had an expression on his face that did not match his character at all. Something bridging lust…Deidara shivered. Sasori isn't like that! He repeated in his head over and over again: Danna was just thinking of unicorns, Danna was just thinking of unicorns, Danna was just thinking of--

"Brat, what are you mumbling about?" Sasori snapped, ash-rose eyes glued to Deidara as his hands subconsciously flew to adjusting his puppets at random joints.

"Er, Tobi was drinking conker thorns!" Deidara cried, forcing out an impromptu excuse, hoping that the puppet-master had heard zero of his out-loud thoughts. He doubted the Suna nin even knew what a unicorn was, let alone think about one.

"Whatever, brat." An odd thought entered Sasori's head. A Deidara puppet. He disguised a laugh with a series of odd-sounding coughs, a cloud-patterned sleeve hiding his upward-curved mouth. The thought of his partner as a puppet was hilarious. A mental image of floppy hand-mouths hanging out from the palm of wooden hands made Sasori cough-laugh harder. The brat was just so damn freaky it was so damn funny…Oh damn. Sasori was not supposed to laugh… it was extremely out of character. No, beyond his character. He was supposed to be the red-haired wooden version of the ever-so-impassive Uchiha Itachi.

"Danna, are you okay, un?" Deidara demanded, slapping Sasori's back with his hand repeatedly, "Are you choking? Are you hurt, un?"

Sasori calmed down a notch, eye still twitching slightly at the bemusing thought. He allowed the thought to flee from his mind, as he cast a sideways glance to his partner. "Come, brat. I need to test my puppets in order to confirm their strengths." He knocked Deidara's hand off his back with a shove of his elbow. For a moment or so, he thought the blonde actually had a look of concern on his flawless face.

Deidara blinked and grinned. "Oh. Good luck with that, Danna, un!" The blonde was as oblivious as ever, rubbing the back of his neck with a hand-mouthed palm.

Sasori scowled. "Are you slow, brat? You're testing them for me." The redhead gathered his puppet trio into separate scrolls, pocketing each of them in the compartments of his organization cloak, careful not to make contact with the fragile poison vials hidden also. He gave a flickering stare at the blonde before smoothening out his Akatsuki cloak. "Come, brat. We're sparring."

"Since when?" Deidara folded his arms across his chest childishly, his lips curved downwards into a frown that did not suit his features. His eyes were narrowed slightly, not of anger but of amusement. '

'He's toying with me', Sasori realized.

"Just now, brat," the redhead snapped, casting his partner the most intimidating glare he could muster.

Deidara grinned, as he trudged after his partner out of the room happy to be sparring with his Danna for the first…second time, surprised at the sight of Sasori sealing the door behind them. "Why seal it, un?"

Sasori cast him a sideways glance, he replied tonelessly, "Hidan."

Deidara shrugged, walking ahead of his partner in the direction of the makeshift training arena that had been created in a Kisame/Hidan/Zetsu brawl. He gave himself a mental note not to be alone in a room with the trio.

"What kind of training is it gonna be, un?" he asked curiously, gazing at what used to be the empty space between Konan and Pein's room and Kisame and Itachi's room, now known as "Sparring Arena". The words were craved onto the floor crudely, making the purpose of the area obvious. Deidara figured it was Hidan's deed.

The redhead remained silent, fidgeting with the sleeve of his cloak every now and then.

"Mmmm, Danna, why are you asking me to help? It's not like you ever asked me of all people, un." Deidara finally said, grinning widely like a teen that just saw panties.

"Brat, I don't have the time to ask Kakuzu or Hidan. Zetsu will probably eat my creations rather sparring with them (that I do not want), I would be distracted with killing Tobi instead of testing my puppets on him. Kisame and Itachi just returned from a mission that most likely left them both fatigued. As a comrade, I have no intention of troubling them." Sasori paused for air. "And that leaves you."

"Um…Danna? There's Konan, un."

Sasori turned a brilliant shade of crimson. "I've already walked in on her and leader-sama once, and I do not intend on doing it again."

Deidara nodded slowly understandingly, trying to block out sudden images that intruded his head. "Un…"

The puppet master skillfully set his puppet-scrolls on the cracked arena floor, as he licked his lips at the thought of strategy for his new puppets. His emerald-painted fingers gripped the waists of the scroll clutched in his hand. The scroll was labeled "婦" in neat brush calligraphy by his own hand. This crimson-shaded scroll was for Asuna, he took care not to rip or bend the edges of the fragile scroll.

"She's the only one I am using for today, do your best Deidara." Sasori announced, staring proudly at the coiled mahogany scroll.

Deidara's eyes widened in surprise. Sasori did not call him 'brat' for once. He called him by his name… "Danna, are you feeling alright, un?"

"Yes, Deidara," the puppeteer scowled. A cloud of white smoke erupted as Sasori summoned Asuna, silhouetting his figure and that of his geisha puppet.

As the smoke slowly cleared, Deidara could make out a stoic-looking Sasori and a kimono-clad puppet at his side, blue chakra strings barely visible clinging to its joints. Asuna's eyes were shut, her sleeves however, raised in a crucifixion-like position.

"Deidara, meet Asuna." Sasori slurred, introducing his partner formally to his new creation.

The clay artist however, heard none of what his partner just said, what the redhead just said was not important. He tried to take in that other thought…the sound of his Danna's voice, his voice pronouncing Deidara's name. 'Deidara, Deidara, Deidara', he ran Sasori's voice through his head numerous times on loop. It was soothing, Sasori's ever-calm voice slurring out the vowels and consonants of the Iwa nin's name. He smiled slightly, he wanted to hear it more…

"Danna?"

"What is it, Deidara?"

"Nothing, un."

Sasori scowled. Stupid brat. He never knew what was going on in the blonde's head. He always figured it was "ART IS A BANG, UN" permanently etched into the boy's skull. That or, "ART IS FLEETING, SASORI-DANNA. FLEETING". He sighed. He relented training with the pyromaniac. He found himself unable to meet the boy's gaze, the last time he looked the boy in the face, he was captivated and unable to turn away. He was training, for Kami's sake. Training meant no distractions, focus on your enemy, and sparing them no quarter.

"Danna, are you ready yet, un?" The clay artist crossed his arms across his chest once more, azure eye radiating impatience. In his right hand, Sasori could make out the form of a miniature clay bird, and in his left, a number of tiny clay spiders. Impatient brat.

"Yes brat, I'm ready."

Frowning slightly, Sasori jerked his index finger in an uppercut motion, Asuna obliging. The tall kimono-wrapped puppet's eyes flew open, springing into action. Twin crimson fans matching the color of her summoning scroll were produced from her draping, embroidered sleeves. With a second flick from an emerald-painted finger, Sasori ordered his new toy into a sparring position. Asuna's small fans flicked open, chakra strings gluing their metallic skeletons to the geisha puppet's slender wooden fingers: one fan prepared to sting and attack, another protectively above her ubi-choked chest.

"Asuna is basically a chakra-bank puppet," Sasori explained, answering Deidara's curious stare. "I stored about 45 percent of my chakra in her base. As long as I stick to using taijutsu with her, the chakra amount molded in her container will increase. Though she looks nimble, the chakra investing process is somewhat slow." He smirked reassuringly, "I'm still working on that."

Deidara's visible eye narrowed at the new puppet in his presence. He had a gut feeling that Asuna would not be like Hiruko or any of Sasori's other puppets, he'd best take mind to defense. "If your puppet needs taijutsu to increase chakra, then I won't let it un!" Deidara cried, chucking a number of pale explosive spiders at the fan-armed marionette.

Sasori smirked, ash-rose eyes flashing with an unreadable expression. With skilled weaving-like motions from his ringed hand, he maneuvered Asuna away from the rain of clay miniatures before they had even a slightest chance of making contact. Deidara scrunched a golden brow in frustration. This was only the first phase of battle, and already his opponent was getting the better of him. He chuckled to himself, 'At least he's calling me by my name, un.' He thought, satisfaction planted over his features.

"Exploding spiders won't work, I should have known, un." Deidara muttered to himself. "Sasori isn't an easy shinobi opponent." Learning from his mistake, the blonde tossed a clay bird in his other hand, performing a quick ninjutsu to enlarge the miniature clay fowl. Leaping onto the smooth back of his jutsu-enlarged bird, he commanded it into flight. The clay bird swooped upwards, flying overcast its master's opponents down on ground. Deidara frowned at the sight of the Suna nin staring unimpressed-ly back at him. Something wasn't right.

He couldn't quite put his finger on what, until he saw Sasori's chakra-guiding fingers weave patters directed at the arena's ceiling—which happened to be where the Iwa nin was flying. "What is he doing?" Deidara growled. His eyes widened, however when he felt a hard slap on the side of his leg, and another that stung him on the arm. Crying out, he fell backwards onto the surface of the bird. Asuna stood before him, fans glinting maliciously.

"Asuna's chakra storage has probably gone up to at least 50 percent," Sasori called from the ground. "Her chakra investment is going quicker than I expected, since you aren't putting up much of a fight."

"Shut up, un!" Deidara retorted back, sending a sharp kick at the puppet's chest. The kimono-clad marionette faltered for a second, the blonde nin took the opportunity to give a harsher kick to knock her off his bird. He grinned triumphantly as Asuna's wooden figure slipped off the clay fowl, chakra strings slightly a darker shade of blue than before attached to her wrists.

"Who's not putting up a good fight, un?" Deidara snickered, only to receive a stricken look from his partner. Even with a higher amount of chakra, the puppet still lost to him on this one. Or fell and didn't pick itself up. Asuna clattered with a sickening thud onto the arena's cracked surface, her puppeteer smiling. Deidara faltered—wait, why was Sasori-Danna smiling? Didn't he just get his puppet knocked to the floor…?

"We're stopping for today," Sasori announced, collecting his fallen puppet in his arms and checking her joints and clothing for any minor damage. His ash-rose eyes scanned the wooden figure, fingers brushing over the marionette's cheek in soft strokes. Deidara watched the Suna-nin in captivation. Sasori's face was out of its usual stoic expression, and he seemed slightly more relaxed. Secretly, the Iwa nin liked his partner this way more. It made Sasori seem more… human. The puppet master's unkempt red hair seemed to assist with the softening look of his features, his glaring ash-rose eyes seemed more tranquil.

"Enjoying the view?"

Deidara blinked. He began to turn a shade of brilliant crimson, as his azure eye concentrated on an invisible pebble lying nearby on the ground.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Danna, un."

"Oh please. I saw. You were gaping at me like a love-struck Hidan. Wait, bad simile."

"Haha, Danna, was that a joke, un?"

"NO! It was a mistake, you ass."

"…Wow, so now I'm degraded from 'brat' to 'ass', un?"

"Un."

"Danna are you mocking me?"

"No, you're just seriously rubbing off on me, ass, now shut up, un."

Sasori mentally kicked himself at the last statement, while Deidara let out an airy laugh. He love Sasori like this, flustered and confused. It was rather cute. Sasori glared at his partner with a look that resembled a child who got his candies stolen.

"We're quitting for today. I think I know what to improve on Asuna's joints."

"Whatever you say, Sasori-Danna, un."

A/N: Woahhh, that took a while, haha! I think I will submit my second chapter today too,… I'm putting this on DA most likely so I can find it easier, lol. I made up Asuna on the spot, I was thinking: SUNA! And then "A-SUNA". I'm not going to use Uo or Riku—yet. I'm more focused on writing SasoDei then puppet stunt spectacular. My DA's the same as my FF, if anyone's interested. The next chapter will have the entire Akatsuki, lol. Plot will develop, I promise.