Stumble [Rewrite]

5;20

Sasori cracked open his eyes and looked around. The room he was in was cluttered with wooden body parts and blueprints. He turned his gaze down at his hands that he opened and closed a few times. No puppet joints. He eased out of his bed and observed the room a little longer. A glass container sat on his desk and a wooden husk of himself was strung up in the corner of the room. Nostalgia overflowed in his veins as he reached up to the sanded cheek of the puppet. That life had passed.

He picked up a discarded storage scroll on his desk and sealed his puppet form inside.

He wasn't about to dive into it a second time. He left the confines of his quarters and walked throughout the base, identifying all the members. No Itachi. No Deidara. No Hidan. Sasori paused mid-step when he realized the predicament he was in.

'I'm in the past like the poem said... Far in the past. But if the world is as follows, how has the road changed?' he thought. Orochimaru spotted him from down the hallway and raised a hand in greeting.

"What are you dawdling for? We have to get information on Kisame-kun's possible new partner," he said.

"Uchiha Itachi?" Sasori asked. It was true that they'd gather information on new members far in advance, but wasn't it kind of early?

Orochimaru blinked and raised an eyebrow. "Those toxic fumes haven't gotten to your head, have they? Leader-sama just briefed us ten minutes ago. We're looking for Iwa no Deidara, a growing expert in explosives," he explained. Sasori's brow furrowed in confusion. No, that wasn't right. Deidara was his partner after Orochimaru defected. Hell, it was Itachi who fought and decided the brat's fate.

"What about Uchiha Itachi? Wasn't he discussed?"

"We discussed about him two weeks ago, don't you remember? But there's absolutely no way he could go rogue. He's pacifistic and the Uchiha Clan is nothing but good to the village. Honestly," sighed Orochimaru. "where has your mind gone? Maybe you should go out for some fresh air more often."

He turned and waved his hand forward.

"Now come on, we're about to leave."

That's when Sasori realized another thing. Orochimaru was different—a little more talkative, laid back, and a little less creepy if it were even possible.

"Get over here, dollboy!" Kisame called. "I thought you hate to keep people waiting!"

He snapped out of his thoughts and walked down the hallway, meeting with Kisame and Orochimaru in the forest.

"How much longer until we bring Deidara into the organization?" he questioned. Orochimaru gave him a slightly exasperated glance.

"Wow, you really didn't listen in the meeting, did you? We're waiting six years for him."

"Six...? Why so long?"

"Well," Kisame added, "it's because the kid's only eight years old."

Sasori's eyes widened. 'If Deidara is only eight... Hold on. How old does that make Sakura?!'

::

She looked at herself in the mirror at the ungodly hour of four in the morning. The skies outside were still dark and the rest of the village had yet to stir. Sakura's hair was short and messy and everything about her just seemed... small. Her room was pink and fluffy with stuffed animals on her bed and strewn across the floor.

"I'm five years old," she whispered to herself. "It worked, but I'm far too young..."

Her initial instinct would've been to run around her room giddily, tears in her eyes as she thanked the gods for the opportunity to fix the future and to be alive again. She should've been so overfilled with joy and so happy with her current situation that it was all unreal. But she wasn't. She felt... neutral. Not happy, not sad. Just there.