First fanfic I publish here. ; u; Pls don't be too harsh on me. Don't forget to review, cause I need opinions about my writing style. 3
Natsumi was waiting anxiously in front of Leader's office for her new mission's details. She was told it had something to do with her new partner.
"God, I hope it's a girl" she muttered under her breath. Just the thought of another mission with the puppeteer and his partner sent shivers down her spine. Deidara wasn't that bad. She'd always enjoyed watching him doing his "art" and he was happy that someone was finally appreciating him. With Sasori, on the other hand, things were a bit different. He was always hidden in his shell, grunting angrily from behind his mask. She knew he didn't like her and frankly, the feeling was mutual.
"Come" sounded Pain-sama's deep voice from inside.
She opened carefully the door and slipped inside, without making any sound.
"Sit" he said, pointing to an empty chair in front of his desk.
Without any form of protest, she followed the one worded order he gave her. Messing with Pain was not a wise thing to do, especially now that he didn't seem in the mood for one of their usual conversations.
"You might know that after this mission you will be paired with another person" he said as he kept shuffling through the papers on his desk.
Natsumi nodded. She wished he'd get straight to the point.
"You'll find him here."
Him? Why must it be a him? Without any other words, she glanced over the map Pain-sama pointed at, her eyes widening in disbelief.
"But this is my clan's forest…" she murmured. "What if they catch me there?"
Pain sighed.
"You're the only one who can go there without getting hurt" he said calmly. "Plus, I trust you enough to know that you will not fail this mission."
"Alright. I'll be on my way then."
Before she could push open the door, Pain got up and walked slowly towards her, carrying what seemed to be a sack.
"You'll bring him in this" he demanded.
The second he said it, she couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"So I'm supposed to bring my new partner to the base in a sack?" she said, barely catching her breath. "What is he? Some kind of animal?"
Pain smirked.
"Yeah, you can say that."
"Am I supposed to share my place with him after?" she frowned.
"It's the rule. Those bases weren't built for one person."
"Oh" she sighed in disappointment. "Well, I should go. "
Much to her surprise, Pain-sama chuckled softly and laid his hand on the top of her head in what looked like a gesture only a parent would show his child.
"You'll be fine, kiddo."
A couple of hours later, Natsumi was riding quietly on the back of Nobu-san, the big black cat she summoned. She was playing absent-mindedly with the sack Pain-sama gave her, wondering at the same time what kind of freak she had to bring. A slight shudder crossed her spine at the thought she might meet another guy like Zetsu. That plant dude and his hungry glares thrown at her were enough to make the young kunoichi cringe in fear.
"Oi, Natsu-chan! I don't like this place at all" said Nobu in his usual soft whisper.
She nodded in approval. After all, it was a bad idea Pain-sama had. Natsumi wasn't welcome in the forest Nara clan owned since she left to join Akatsuki. Hopefully, the animals weren't awar of the news.
"Stop here, Nobu-san" she ordered. "I don't think the clan's animals will be too fond of a giant scary cat walking through their woods."
Seeing the disappointed look on Nobu-san's face made her giggle. Damn, this cat loved to get in trouble.
"I need you here" she smiled, petting his muzzle before straightening up and forming a seal with her hands. In a split of second, a kage bunshin appeared next to her, and walked to Nobu-san.
"I'll leave my Kage Bunshin with you. In case something happens, she'll disappear and you'll know I'm in trouble. Until then, wait here."
Her tone was harsh, letting Nobu-sna know that there was no form of protest allowed. At that time, all she wanted was to get done with this mission quickly, then return to the base. This forest scared her more than she would've liked to admit.
Alright, this is it, she thought as she entered the forest. She walked at a slow pace, keeping a close eye on the surroundings and anything that may have seemed threatening. Suddenly, a slight rumble through the leaves allerted her that she was being followed. Fast as lightning, she pulled out a kunai and gripped it tightly in her hand.
"Show yourself" she demanded.
No answer.
"You wanna play, huh?" she spoke again in a threatening manner.
Again, no answer came from her follower until...
In a split of second, a deer came from behind a tree, its eyes fixing the redheaded kunoichi curiously. It didn't seem to mean no harm, so Natsumi threw the kunai to the ground. With a slight thump, it plunged into the soft layer of grass as the deer came closer and closer to her. Much to Natsumi's surprise, the animal bowed docilely its head for Natsu to pet it.
"Who's a good deer?" she asked softly as she ran her fingers across the animal's head.
Thank goodness they don't know, she thought, relief flooding through her. The last thing she wanted was to fight an animal. She may have been a cruel member of the Akatsuki, but animals were her weak spot and killing one wasn't an option, be it friend or enemy.
"Ok, now shoo, shoo," Natsu said. "I'm busy."
For a couple of seconds it seemed that the deer wouldn't budge, but eventually, with a slow blink of its eyes, the animal turned back and went on its way.
Sighing in relief, Natsumi pulled a map from an inner pocket of her robe and looked at it for a minute. If the map was correct, the place where she'd find the new Akatsuki member would be at just a few metres away from the place she was sitting in. Oh well, she'd better hurry if she wanted to get back to the base.
"Where the hell is that guy?" she wondered in annoyance when she reached the place. Another glance at the map confirmed that this was the exact spot her new partner would be in, but, much to her exasperation, he was nowhere to be seen.
"Ugh" she groaned. "If Pain-sama tricked me, I'll show him some..."
Her sentence was left unfinished. Being so angry as she was, she hit the stack of rocks in front of her, exposing a poorly hidden grave.
"I'm supposed to bring a dead body, huh? I don't see how he'll be able to help me, but well, orders are orders." She shrugged.
In a quick hand movement, she rolled up her sleeves and summoned two shadow clones. She didn't feel like getting her hands dirty of anything that wasn't enemy blood. Or chocolate, for that matter. The seconds passed, turning into minutes and halfway through the grave, the clones stopped.
"Ne, ne, Natsu-chan?" the first clone began, interrupting Natsumi's nap, "Come hear this."
Annoyed, the redheaded kunoichi could only groan as she got up and headed to her clones but as soon as she hopped into the hole, she gasped in awe. A muffled voice could be heard from under the heavy chunks of stone and ground. So the new Akatsuki member was alive! With her hands trembling in impatience, she started digging, furiously clawing at the ground beneath herself.
As the layer of dirt became thinner, the man's voice became clearer and clearer and in the second Natsu heard him, she felt an immense urge to leave him there.
"Oi, Kakuzu, you fucking prick! Why the hell did you leave me waiting for so long?"
One last scratch and the dirt was gone. What she found, had her staring, her eyes as wide as they could stretch, at a man, not older than 22. What had her gazing in wonder, was the fact that he wasn't exactly whole– his body was separated and torn, looking like some kind of sadistic person had cut him piece by piece and threw him at random in a pit.
She caught herself staring at the man and had to admit that he looked quite handsome. His long, silvery hair was ruffled in all directions and his lavender eyes were gazing up at her with just about the same interest.
"I didn't know Kakuzu was turned into a hot bitch," he smirked, flashing his white teeth.
Natsumi groaned. This guy was a total jerk.
"You're coming to the hideout with me. Pain-sama's orders," she spoke, seemingly uninterested.
"Huh? What the fuck makes he think– Oi!"
His following curses and protests have been muffled by Natsumi's sack. Hastily, she shoved his head and his body parts in the fabric bag, looking around one more time just to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything. Finally, with one last nod that made the clones disappear, Natsumi vanished into the forest.
On the trip back, the man's voice didn't stop for a second.
Natsumi already hated her new partner.