'The door… actually closed. It really closed.'
In the barren landscape of gray hills and yellow soil, a single winding dirt path stretched into the distance. The town far away still carried the whisper of a thin breeze, but by the time it reached this desolate place, it had already faded into nothingness.
Logan hesitated for a moment, then reached out again and knocked.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Hey, Sasori." In the silent air, the polite smile on Logan's face could not be maintained under the circumstances, "I'm still out here. It's me, Raiden Hattori..."
Sasori had rejected him without hesitation, so cleanly, so effortlessly, it was like a butcher chopping off a pig's head, a motion perfected through countless repetitions.
Standing outside, Logan insisted, reminding him that they were both men of status, "Sasori of the Red Sand, open up. Jade Maiden, Jade Maiden! Puppet freak? Deranged lunatic..."
Logan's mental state started to crack, and naturally, his words grew more and more 'friendly'.
He grabbed the door handle and found it was locked, so Logan shamelessly continued his harassment.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Hey, what's your deal? Come out, you hunchback!"
Knock, knock, knock.
He knocked and slapped at the door, shifting between threats and coaxing, trying every trick in the book.
But after a few minutes of indignant ranting, the wooden door remained tightly shut.
With a sigh, Logan lowered his hand. He had already dusted off most of the grime on the door.
In the end, he refrained from using brute force to break in, after all, a gentleman uses words, not fists.
He glanced toward the road and decided to head into town for now, rest up, and plan his next move regarding Sasori.
Of course, he wasn't giving up.
…
Meanwhile, inside the house, dim light filtered through the cracks between the walls, casting faint shadows across the floor and furniture. The interior was filled with old, uninspired furnishings, perhaps because the owner had never bothered to put effort into decorating.
The candles remained unlit, and the only illumination came from the faint glows leaking through the gaps.
A hunched, oddly proportioned figure stood silently in the middle of the room. As the noise outside finally faded, he let out a quiet scoff.
Sasori withdrew his gaze from the door and turned away. With that motion came the faint clanking of mechanisms shifting, several puppets lurking in the shadows were pulled back, their guard mode deactivated.
The problem had been resolved far too easily. Unexpected, but ultimately predictable. As long as Logan wasn't a complete idiot, he would naturally understand that leaving was the smartest choice.
'You've made enemies with the organization… so don't you come back.'
'Know when to quit… unless you want to die by my hands.' Sasori dragged Hiruko deeper into the house.
…
The next morning.
In the quiet morning, the knocking sound rang out once again.
Knock, knock, knock…
The noise echoed in the empty house. Lying on his crude wooden bed, Sasori opened his eyes. He had been woken up.
'What's going on?'
Still groggy, Sasori instinctively frowned. The rhythmic knocking downstairs continued as soft sunlight seeped in through the cracks in the wooden walls.
Metal parts were scattered across the table, and everything was as mundane as any other morning.
But the knocking. The knocking didn't belong here.
That ordinary, human sound was so out of place in the dead silence of this house.
Knock, knock, knock.
It disrupted the monotony, bringing an unexpected energy that made the entire morning feel strangely off.
Knock, knock, knock.
Sasori rubbed his bloodshot eyes. He had stayed up late last night experimenting with a new projectile mechanism, and now, at this ungodly hour, there was already noise?
Knock, knock, knock.
'Fine.' Sasori sighed heavily and descended the stairs.
'No one should be here.'
Reaching the living room, he approached the wooden door. With a slight movement of his hand, he coldly activated the weapon mechanism inside Hiruko.
Knock, knock...
Before the next round of knocking could finish, Sasori abruptly swung the door open, his gaze piercing like a blade.
'Whoever had intruded… would regret it. My custom poison-tipped needles were...'
Logan's face appeared. "Yo! Good morning, Sasori."
"..."
'Something vile had wormed its way in.' Sasori slammed the door shut again, just as decisively as yesterday.
Behind the closed door, Sasori took a deep breath. The haze of short sleep gradually cleared from his mind, his thoughts sharpening.
'Did I see that right? Why is he still here?' Sasori hesitated for a moment before opening the door again.
Outside, Logan stood tall. Seeing the door reopen, he blinked in surprise but quickly flashed a completely unpretentious smile, "Hey, why'd you close the door? It's morning, Sasori, you..."
Logan's expression remained unchanged as the rigid face of Hiruko showed no reaction. He felt no inclination to respond, merely raising his left hand and aiming at Logan's smiling face.
The mechanism clicked open, metal parts sliding smoothly into their prearranged positions, gleaming with dangerous light.
Whoosh!
Before Logan could finish his sentence, a barrage of senbon was already flying straight toward his face.
At such a close distance, it seemed impossible for Logan to react in time. The extremely fast senbon struck their target, freezing the expression on his face.
Bang!
A cloud of smoke exploded, and a broken tree branch clattered onto the wooden floor, "Aiya, I knew it. Maybe I came too early? Sasori, you sure have a bad temper when you wake up..."
The annoying face disappeared for only two seconds before casually reappearing to the side.
Hidden beneath Hiruko, the corners of Sasori's mouth couldn't help but twitch.
"Have you eaten? I already had breakfast. You don't look too good, Sasori."
'You obviously know the reason, don't you?' Sasori suppressed his irritation.
The senbon had already flown off to some unknown distance. The puppet mechanism retracted. Neither of them panicked. Neither of them even acknowledged what had just happened. It was as if nothing had occurred, as if only a fleeting gust of wind had passed through before settling back into silence.
Sasori stared coldly at the perfectly unharmed Logan. An ominous feeling crept into his mind. The way Logan spoke, his shamelessly thick-skinned attitude, and his deliberate ignorance of social cues… it all reminded him of an unpleasant experience from the past.
"What do you want?"
"What do I want?" Logan repeated, then said, "I told you yesterday. I need a favor… just a small thing, really. Just a question. Yesterday, you were too impatient..."
Sasori's face remained impassive as he slammed the door shut.
With the scenery and the irritating person outside now blocked, the house grew darker. The world was quiet again.
"Hey, wait a second."
But before the door could fully close, a hand reached in, stopping it.
The same trick wouldn't work twice. Logan was quick, placing his hand on the doorframe just in time, " Come on, Sasori, don't be so cold. You won't even let me in? I remember you used to have better manners…"
As he spoke, he wedged his foot between the door and the frame.
Sasori's gaze dropped, staring at the foot now blocking the doorway. From his wide sleeve, a blade slipped out.
Clang!
Blades clashed. Logan had drawn a kunai in time to block Sasori's strike, using it to pry open the door a little further. His head peeked inside, but instead of looking at Sasori's increasingly grim expression, his attention wandered to the interior.
"Your place has a pretty old-fashioned setup."
Logan casually commented as he skillfully wedged his way inside, his movements natural, as if he belonged there.
Bang!
The door finally closed, but an extra person had entered.
"Raiden Hattori, do you really think I won't kill you?" Sasori said flatly.
After hearing this, Logan calmly walked into the living room, looked at the sparse furnishings, and said, "Come on, do I really need to die just for asking a question? That seems a bit excessive."
From the brief exchanges this morning, it seemed dangerous. But in reality, neither had truly intended to go all out. For them, these little moments of action weren't anything serious… just minor exchanges and not real fights.
For Sasori, restraining himself this much against a deserter from Akatsuki was already a considerable display of patience.
Whether Logan had vanished or not, what the Akatsuki's leader thought about it… Sasori didn't care. In fact, he didn't care about much at all. Only the secrets of puppetry could truly captivate him. But still, even if he was indifferent, he was a proper Akatsuki's member.
Logan's casual attitude, his self-inviting behavior… he was the one out of line here.
And Logan understood that perfectly. He knew seeking out Sasori carried risks. Even if Sasori didn't actively despise him, he wasn't in a position to expect a warm welcome. This understanding existed between them from the start.
But Logan had no choice. He was shamelessly pushing his luck at the edge of danger.
Sasori had not expected to encounter someone this persistent in seeking their own trouble.
"Fine. Ask your question, then get lost." Sasori let out a long breath,
Starting a fight? If it escalated, he'd have to release his puppets, deal with Lightning Release flying everywhere… His blueprints in the basement weren't properly stored away either.
It's too much trouble.
Annoyed and exhausted, Sasori dismissed the idea of a fight.
Logan secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said soothingly: "Now that's more like it. Violence isn't the answer. There's nothing that can't be solved through proper communication. And besides, I might not even be asking for free, I could give you some information in return. Like, maybe I could tell you where I've been these past..."
"What do you want to ask?" Sasori was too lazy to engage in small talk with him and said directly.
Logan was stuck for a moment, feeling a little embarrassed.
He wanted to ease the tense atmosphere, but the other party quickly dismissed him. He sat on a chair, looked straight at Sasori and said, "Actually, it's nothing much. I just want to ask, do you know where Itachi is?"
There was no pause. Not even enough time for Logan to feel the slightest bit of hope.
"I don't know." Sasori replied.
Then, without hesitation, "Now get lost."