He works on your arm with practiced ease,

Every movement of his fingers carrying distinct meaning and purpose

You can’t draw your eyes away

Even though you can’t bear to look

You’d lost your dominant arm from the elbow down during your last mission 

In a violent battle you narrowly escaped from

The stub left behind was a reminder of your failure to uphold the honour of Sunagakure

A reminder of how you paid for your blunders with half of your ability to be a Shinobi

But still

Sasori took interest in you

The two of you remain silent

As he continues making various adjustments to the prosthetic

The process of the attachment burns through the rest of your arm

Sending searing pains to your shoulder and causing your breathing to grow short

But you try your best to mask your reactions from him

Even though your sweating already gives you away

Every so often, his attention flickers from his work to the look in your eyes

He knew

After what seems like hours

Sasori withdraws his glowing threads from you

“There,” he says shortly

“You’ll need to practice sending chakra through your arm to control the movement of your fingers but the mechanics are as dexterous as the real thing.”

You catch your breath as the pain begins to subside.

You raise your new arm in front of you

And at first

It doesn’t feel like it’s yours–but then

You send chakra through it as he instructed

And the fingers move at your command

Ever so slightly

Somehow

You feel better

“What do you think?” he asks

Somehow

You feel stronger knowing his work is now a part of you

“It’s beautiful,” you say, still breathless

A bead of sweat dripping from your temple

“Thank you, Sasori-san.”

He smiles at you,

And you feel like a masterpiece