My Cherry Blossom, My Little Doll

This is my old story, I've had to resubmit it. I had to delete it for... personal reasons, but its back up. Sadly, I've lost all of your wonderful reviews. ;;

This is just an idea I had this morning, which I had to write down when I felt like writing this afternoon. I'm sorry if it makes no sense, I hope you enjoy reading it. If it gets some sort of response, then I'll write a second chapter.

Sakura remembered the first and the last time she had met Akasuna no Sasori.

Sasori of the Red Sand…

It was mostly vague, like a waking dream.

It had all been a blur, a rush of adrenalin and anger, and fear.

She remembered her sense of awe as he brought out a hundred puppets, her sense of fear as she fought with them, the sense of accomplishment as they defeated them all, and sealed off the puppet master's chakra.

And then she didn't remember anything but acting on pure instinct to protect the old woman, intercepting the attack for her.

She remembered intense pain, the worst she'd ever felt in her life as the poisoned sword was thrust through her stomach.

She remembered her desperation as Chiyo jabbed the antidote into her leg, and her growing anger at Sasori.

She remembered triumph as Chiyo used her puppets to stab him through the heart.

Then everything went black.

But after she woke, her memories were clear as day.

Sakura clutched at her stomach, trying her hardest to ignore the twinges from the just healed wound. She smirked as she watched Sasori, stabbed through the only living part of him, on the verge of death. He made some smug comment, so blasé about the thought of his own grandmother dieing. The rage built up in Sakura's head, and the chakra in her fists, and she punched him.

"Give it up." Even about to die he was so calm and condescending. "This body feels no pain. If all you do is hit me, your fist is all that will hurt. Women like to do useless things, don't they? Even connected by blood ties as we are, I won't feel a thing if Grandma here dies." He continued.

"But you will."

Sakura saw his fingers give the slightest twitch, and spun around.

"Chiyo!"

It was too late. One of Sasori's decapitated puppets had her in its lifeless grip, a blade at her throat.

"I know what you're like… Sakura. I know you couldn't watch my dear Grandmother die knowing you could have done something to stop it." A smirk spread across his face. Sakura knew he was right, and so did he.

"Sakura." Chiyo said to her. "Whatever he wants, don't do it. It's my time to die anyway."

"G-gomen nasai, Chiyo-sama. He's right. I can't let him kill you." She turned back to face him. "What do you want?" She glared at him, wishing her glare could burn through his already shrivelled heart.

"Heal me. I know you can. But remember, I can kill my dearest grandma quicker than you could ever kill me, so don't try anything." That smirk was still on his face, smug and self-satisfied.

Without saying a word, she stepped towards him and did what she knew she had to do. She removed the two blades that had pierced his heart, wishing she could thrust them back in again. She worked quickly; wary about what would happen when she was done. She felt his eyes constantly on her, unnerving her. It felt so wrong, using her chakra to save the person she should have killed.

She finished and backed away quickly, and Sasori released Chiyo from the puppets hold. She was glad he had been faithful to his word. Sakura felt so disappointed though, she knew the battled was over. None of the three had strength left to fight, all wounded, all low on chakra. He disappeared before Sakura could do anything anyway, parting with a sentence that lingered forever in Sakura's mind.

"Arigatou, Kohana." Thank you, little flower

Kohana? The affectionate nickname stuck in her head. What did he mean by calling her that? She dismissed it. It was nothing.

Now, almost a year later, she still relieved the events of that fateful day when she was by herself, wondering if she had done the right thing. She believed she did- if Chiyo had died, who would have saved Gaara? But perhaps she was just releasing an even greater evil on the world. Who knew, no one might ever get the opportunity to kill him ever again.

Sakura's mind was in turmoil this particular night as it was, yet again, brought to the front of her mind. It was as if his voice was in her head, one whispered word circling in her mind.

Kohana.

She knew what she had to do, to make up for her mistake.

She had to kill him.

It was revenge.

That word that formed in her mouth was sweet to taste, and she understood something of what Sasuke must feel. Utter hatred and the need, the desire for revenge. Next time she saw him, she would kill him before he had a chance to even get that smug, calm smirk on his face.

Eventually, despite her misgivings, her eyes eventually shut and she drifted off to sleep. She woke up once during the night, shivering from a cold breeze that blew in from the open window. She crossed the room to shut it. She was sure she had closed it before she went to sleep.

That morning as Sakura got up and got dressed, she wished she had a mission that day. But all she had to do were some small tasks for Tsunade. She used most of the day to look through the records in the Konoha archives. She concentrated on the records concerning Akatsuki, though she had read them through many times before.

Each time she hoped for something more, some small detail that she had missed before, something that might give them away. The Akatsuki were secretive and stealthy, always covering their tracks. It was hopeless; she got no closer to anything in a whole frustrating day.

She left early, seeing no need to keep looking at the same thing over and over again. Sakura strolled slowly down the street, looking out for somewhere to eat. Maybe she could meet up with someone she knew for dinner. She hadn't seen many of her friends lately; it would be nice to catch up with someone.

She soon found a small sushi bar and sat down to eat, and still saw no one that she knew. It was starting to unsettle her, combined with the overall sense that someone was watching her. Maybe it was just paranoia, but she couldn't shake that ominous feeling.

It was quickly getting dark, so she headed home swiftly, every sound making her jump in the unnatural silence. But she got home fine.

See? You're just paranoid. Nothing is going to happen. She told herself, taking a deep breath to calm her madly racing heart.

Sakura stayed up for a while; to finish some paperwork Tsunade had left her. She hardly registered the words and statistics she was writing down on the page.

The window shutters banged against the frame with a sudden gust of wind. Sakura jumped halfway out of her chair, and her heart seemed determined to beat its way out of her chest.

"God…" She breathed, moving over to shut the window again. "It must be broken or something… Keeps coming open…" She muttered to herself, leaning out to check the hinges and the frame.

She was just about to close them again when a sudden flash of crimson caught her attention in the darkness. It was fleeting, and when she looked for it again, she couldn't see anything. With a shrug that feebly attempted to drive away her misgivings, she closed the window and moved back to her desk, putting the papers away for the night.

She heard something behind her, but by the time she registered that something was wrong, she was unable to move. It was like she was in one of her nightmares. She knew instantly who it was, from the electric blue chakra strings that rendered her immobile.

"Sasori." She breathed. "What do you want?" She asked, the same as she had when he held Chiyo at knife-point. She was still facing her desk, away from the window, but now he turned her around to face him. It was infuriating how he controlled her like a puppet; with his chakra strings that were attached to her body.

"I lied." He told her, his voice soft as he advanced on her.

"So you came all the way to Konoha to tell me this?" Sakura hoped that the sarcasm in her voice could hide her fear. If she wasn't bound by his chakra strings, she would have been trembling.

"I told you my heart felt nothing. I told you I had feelings for no one. Not even my own grandmother. In that way, I lied." That smirk again. Sakura wished she could wipe it off his smug face.

"What are you trying to tell me?" She didn't like where this was leading. She wished she had stayed more alert when she just knew something was going to happen.

"When you fought, you had such spirit, that strength and beauty combined that I have never seen in anyone else. I had to have you. I became obsessed. But I watched you." At this point, his smirk got wider. "I watched you, and you were also obsessed with me. Don't deny it. Because I saw it."

"You disgust me." Sakura replied, scowling at him. "You'd better leave. You'd better leave or else I'll scream so loud the entire village will wake up. Could you imagine that? An entire village of ninjas after you? Even you couldn't stand against that."

"Oh but you won't." He cut her off with his dulcet voice. "I could silence you. Easily. But if you are a good little girl, I won't have to, will I? My kohana… My little flower…"

His voice sent chills up her spine, and her glare intensified. "Just leave me alone." She whispered. She struggled against the chakra bonds, but to no avail. It just seemed to add to Sasori's amusement.

"Not yet, little one." He chuckled softly. "I've waited for this." To Sakura's horror, he moved further towards her with a lascivious grin on his face.

And he undressed her.

Sakura had no idea what he wanted, but she noticed the way he openly admired her body. He left her in her underwear, half shivering from the cold, half trembling with rage.

"What are you doing?" She hissed as stepped back. She was still restrained, tightly, securely.

"You are my little doll. My beautiful little doll." He reached out and stroked her hair, as if she was his pet cat or dog.

And then he dressed her up, just like a little child playing with a doll. He dressed her in a beautiful green and blue, traditional-style kimono. She was afraid of what he would do next, but he sat her down, in her regalia fit for a queen, and talked to her. She couldn't believe the sort of things he confided in her. Such personal things.

Eventually, he lay down on her bed and moved her next to him- still controlling her like a puppet. He put his arms around her, and she shivered. His arms were lifeless and icy cold.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked him again, turning her head to try and look him in the face.

"You are my doll. My one and only living puppet. I could talk all I want to my puppets, but they can't reply, can they? I'm just… lonely." He ran his fingers through her soft, silky hair. "Now this is our little secret, right? Or else…" He let the threat hang in the air, and Sakura grasped his meaning all too well.

"Fine." She growled, the last word spoken in the night. To her annoyance, his cold fingers on her scalp, running through her hair, were making her feel sleepy. In a matter of minutes, she fell asleep in the puppet-master's embrace.

The next morning she woke, alone in her bed, with her normal clothes on. All she had was a memory of a nightmarish night with her least favourite person on the earth, and a vivid recollection of his menacing threat.

"I couldn't kill him…"

That's it. Like it? Please review!

s2- Envy