She was there, but still wasn't. It was as if she was sprung from outside of time and space. Her timeline was nothing like anyone else's. She was young, 15 years, but still ancient. That was her heritage. Born and bred in the cold, dark lands of eternal snow. She could see things that were hidden from almost everyone else. She strode through the hideout, as regal as a feudal lord, accompanied by her humongous dire wolf Sora. They didn't fear her, she was on their side, but they had respect for her. Everyone, but one immortal idiot who could afford being the target of her rage. She had the cursed mark of her tribe, a monster living inside her mind and in the white lines in her skin. Lines that made a dragon, winding itself from her feet to her neck. It didn't matter who Leader paired her with, she automatically found the weakness in that 2man cell and filled it. She had no forehead protector, but was still trained to be a ninja. A sell-sword, really. Anyway she turned rogue, both from her own tribe, but also from Konoha which she was contracted to fight for. She was a priestess in their cult of blood, with prayers cutting like blades, with chants making blood boil and curses freezing it. Her hair was a blue Mohawk, her eyes the color of birch leaves in the spring, with a tall and slender body with armor of hard leather and metal plates and trims of soft fur. In her scalp, the mark of blood cut deep, creating a stark white scarification. She was often quiet and calm, hard to rouse, but could as well play and goof around with Tobi, but when you got her angry she could kill you without flinching. They had still to figure out her reason to forfeit and ask to join Akatsuki, the only one knowing her answer was Leader. And she was not afraid of anyone of them in return.
Deidara-kun?
Hm?
I'm done with your hair. Were you wool-gathering, love?
I suppose I was, un.
She had come with the Konoha ninja sent to fetch the Kazekage, and left them there; just disappeared into the shadows of the foliage of the nearby forest. She had sat close to where Deidara had popped up from underground. He had no strength to refuse her; her mind could be overwhelming if she wanted to. To him, it felt like ages ago. Ages since he had lost his best partner. She had seen that, just by looking at him had she seen how deep that cut went.
When she had sat first foot in the mansion in the City of Rain, it was as if it had always been her home. The boards breathed relief.
Are you the one Deidara brought?
Ookami no Ran. And you are?
Just call me Leader, that is all you need to know.
Fair enough. This is my home now and that is all you need to know.
Careful there now.
No need.
Why this confidence?
I'm equivalent of a jounin ninja and an arch-priestess.
Are you now? I think that can be useful to Akatsuki.
I concur.
Her room was a dream to enter. It always smelled fresh, like bed linen which had been hanged to dry in the wind. She was neat, always kept her own room tidy. She liked to hunt and kept and cured the pelts and furs and used them for clothing or as decorations. It took a while for anyone of them to see her without full armor on.
What the hell has happened to you, you freak!?
Well, Hidan, my dear fuck-face. Sometimes you need your own blood for a prayer, I assume you are familiar with the concept? Well, my skin actually scars, unlike your which just merge like some kind of disgusting amoeba.
What did you call me?
Wow, it only took you 1 minute to catch my drift. Must be a new record in speed thinking for you.
Those 2 always bickered, fought, insulted each other, but she had only killed him once and the rage she had shown then was not her own. The white mark had started to glow and so brightly it shone right through her armor. Kakuzu had been able to piece Hidan together again, but it had taken some time.
Your hair is so soft, Dei-kun. I really like running my fingers through it.
Do it as much as you like then, un.
As previously stated, she had been the one to see and to comfort behind barred doors. He had cried. A soft kind of crying, silent, with tears streaming. She had held him close to her chest and slowly rocked him until the worst had passed.
What do you know of loss!?
No need to be offended, dear. I just said I know how you feel. I did not mean to belittle your sorrow.
She liked the blonde bomber, he was soft to handle and to care for. He was not like prey, but almost and her tending was meticulous and finely tuned to the monsters he was fighting. She often sat outside on top of one of the large statues placed in the city, defying the heavy downpour. She said it carried scents of events happening everywhere and they found it odd. As sovereign as she was, she was not immune to herself. She had hoped not to connect with anyone more than the absolutely necessary, but here she was finding herself drawn to not one, but two of the Akatsuki. She tread lightly, careful not to let it show.
Ran, you're going with Itachi and Kisame on this mission. I need you to scout for them.
Sure, but I've never been out with those 2. Do they really need me?
They can maybe see, but you can smell.
Hai, hai. Let me just get the necessary thingies and I'll be ready.
She went to her room, put on the rest of her armor and snow-goggles, packed her bags of shurikens and kunais, scrolls with prayers, iron supplements, and syringes filled with adrenaline. She put on Sora's battle gear; head protector, iron claws and bridle. As she stood battle ready just outside the mansion, waiting for the other 2, she was a fierce sight. Intimidation was one of her strong points. The others wondered how big a part of her was wolf.
I'm built of wolf, snow, frost, trees and Goddess. I'm the best and the worst of the litter. I could have been mother superior had I stayed.
She only spoke of herself in short, informative sentences, not really revealing any details or weaknesses. Her talk about the Goddess sent Hidan into frantic tantrums, while she saw the likeness of the 2 gods with blood as the connection, but not him, oh no.
Isn't Samehada heavy to carry everywhere? Imagine how strong you could be without it eating your chakra.
That's none of your business.
Woah, sorry I asked. Just trying to make conversations. You 2 are boring to travel with, never talking.
There's no need for such things.
So you are the boring one, Itachi. That's not what I've gathered. Or may it be you are too stuck up to stoop down to talk to someone like me?
Stop instigating, Ran. Not the time, place or person.
Sorry, Kisame. I get carried away when I have nothing else to do. Running is a reflex and my brain gets restless.
They settled down for the night, resting a few hours before continuing their search for the four-tails. This was the first mission she had with them and she had yet to see the gaps between them. They were a very strong 2man cell and so very alike. They didn't know it, but she saw through them, into the core of their hearts, a core grieving for the deceit and the lie they had lived. This was the work of her dragon, it could make her see things. Things without shape and colour. She didn't care much for Itachi. She tolerated him and acted as to not come in his way. But that could not be said for Kisame. She was intrigued, drawn towards him in a fashion she rarely was. She was awake, slowly creeping towards Samehada, she wanted to feel it, see if the scales were sharp and feel how it drained chakra from the one touching it. That curiosity was an expensive experience. Her hand got shredded as soon as she laid it on the sword. Kisame laughed at her and she lounged. She hated being ridiculed. Her claws dug into his coat, lightly grazing his skin. Her intensely green eyes stared into his white and to him it felt as if she almost burned him. She bared her teeth in a snarl and he reflected on the shape of them. His was pointed, sharp, as a shark's and hers was normal except for the fangs which was long and needle sharp. Teeth created to tear into raw flesh, created to sink into throats and sever the jugular. But as fast as she had attacked, she withdrew.
I apologize for that. I'll go to bed now.
She slept in the embrace of Sora, not bothered by anything but her own dreams. Dreams built on memories of old. How her face felt after a long day in the forest, herding the deer they bred. Her eyelashes had frozen because she had been careless not to use her goggles. Her own grayish white dire wolf and her sisters jet black. 2 pups from the same litter, so unlike and still alike. Just as her sister. Her sister was 2 years younger, but had still gotten very far in her studies. She was not to become a priestess, but a sell sword ninja. A girl with amber eyes and wheat colored hair. Such a gentle girl compared to Ran and had gotten a very different upbringing. Ran was cursed and was taken by the priestesses when she was 1 year old. The curse demanded a very strict upbringing and awareness about its powers. Her hair had been pulled out by the roots to create the traditional mohawk and the marks had been cut into her scalp all the way down to the bone. She had not cried, not flinched, not even shown anything that told she even felt what they were doing.
Hey, wake up! It's time to get going.
I thought we'd never get going.
Shut it, you were sleeping all the time.
As they walked through the woods, she understood what Leader had meant. This forest was full of scents, some pleasant, some foul and some curious. She always went and checked the curious ones. Kisame and Itachi had not the faintest of ideas of all the things she could tell about the forest. They saw, but most things were hidden here. She felt one familiar smell and it was the one of dire wolf. She knew whose it was and was prepared to meet him, but they never ran into each other.
I've missed you.
Why, Deidara-kun? It was just a short mission. The 4 four tails was easy to get. Kisame can be very determinate when he wants to.
Samehada that shredded your hand?
Yeah. I had no idea it was so possessive.
It's not possessive, it's in love, un.
Heh, so it's Kisame's spouse? How wonderfully weird.
Can I ask you something?
Sure, I guess.
Why are you here, un?
I can tell you, but you can't tell anyone. If you do I'll kill you.
Hai.
I could have been whatever I wanted in my tribe. My curse was my blessing, because the monster is very, very powerful. But it's a mean son of a bitch. He loves the bloodshed of a battle and the fading light in dying eyes. He craves and covets it. And so do I. Had I stayed put, I would have been suppressed, unhappy. I want to kill and Akatsuki are known to do that occasionally.
I don't understand, un.
You don't have to, dear. But now you know.
It's the beast in Kisame you are after, right, un?
She was out in the rain, walking aimlessly around with Sora by her side. People shied away from them, no one wanted to come to close to the wolf. But she was oblivious of it. She went to get some dangos for a snack and Sora followed and got his share too. Thankfully he did not get the idea to shake all the water from his fur until they got back to the mansion. The hallway got a good washing before he was done and so did the cloaks hanging there. She got out of her wet armor and into dry warm clothes, fixed her drooping mohawk, got a cup of tea and went out to Zetsu's greenhouses.
Tobi, why do you always hang around here? You know how nervous Zetsu gets.
It's green and I like green. Like your eyes, they are nicely green too.
I've always liked blue better than green. Green is a heavy, wet colour while blue is light and free.
So what about the blue skin?
She looked at him and he looked back. His voice had changed and she knew who hid behind it. He knew she saw it and he knew she knew he saw the same in her. That hidden persona who bided its time. Hers was old and wise, almost eternal. Dragons often were just that. The white dragon; the harbinger of death. It hid behind a beautiful face and a soft, enticing body, waiting for the right time to attack.
I'm sorry Tobi, but I'm tired. No games today.
Awh, you're boring!
Yeah, yeah, go play with Kakuzu instead, he seems bored.
They were almost used to her now, and she certainly acted comfortably. She lay in the bathtub trying to get clean from the blood and dirt from the last mission. She had used a blood prayer with her own blood, a cut she later stitched shut. The water turned a wretched reddish brown and she had to refill the tub from the bottom again to get clean. Sure, she could have used the shower, which had been more nifty, but she liked to soak and so she did. The frost in her veins slowly died under the force of rain, the scent of snow almost forgotten to her. She had to go north soon, otherwise she would lose an important piece of herself. She would bring him, show him a beauty he'd never seen. Art always changing, renewing itself in different way.
It's damn cold, un.
I know. Snow kinda requires it to be.
And this is what you were born into?
No, no. I was born farther north where it is much, much colder, but this is as far as we go. I don't want to run into someone I know. That would be rather awkward. My tribe's got a cabin here used when herding deer, but it's not the season for that, so I'm sure there won't be anyone there.
He stood close to her, feeding of her warmth, or stealing it rather. Her back was pressed against his chest and his hands flowed down her hips. Her skin was bumpy from all the scars, but still very soft and absolutely wonderful to touch. She felt his breath on her nape, hot and dry. His warmth was a treasure to her, especially when there was a blizzard raging outside in the dark night.
Do you love me, Dei-kun? Please don't.
No, I don't. I couldn't ever, un.
That's fine. Nothing good could spawn from it. I suppose you still love him, though? Ah, never mind.
And suddenly he saw the beauty of her nature. All those ice crystals, no two alike, the soft powdery snow, the intensely clear sun on those days when the air was clear and cold. The union of the vapor from two peoples' mouths mingling together. The skill it took to walk soundlessly over thin ice and avoiding cracking the fragile hoarfrost.
How well did you know Zabuza?
Almost not at all.
But you were both of the 7 swordsmen of the Mist.
Doesn't mean we knew each other.
Valid point. Do you all have sharpened teeth?
What's it to you?
Plain curiosity.
Curiosity killed the cat.
Good that I'm a wolf then.
She fixed her eyes on his and started circling him. It wasn't threatening, but more of an inspection. She had never been this close to him alone. He was wary of her, his memory of her first attack still somewhat fresh. She had the thick armor plates off and wore only the soft, well used leather clothes. He had the smell of fresh crystal clear water on his skin and she had thought him scaly, but it didn´t seem like he was. She gently took his hand and ran her fingers along the lines of his bones and found his skin as smooth as her own.
Now then, this was a surprise.
What is?
I was certain you would be scaly as a fish. But it seems the hybrid didn't turn out like that.
Hybrid? What the hell are you talking about?
Well, you are a hybrid of man and shark and the mix could have turned out in numerous ways.
Her fingers ran up along his neck and to his cheek where they stopped, gently stroking him. He was a bit stumped. No one had ever done this to him, at least not what he could recall. It felt odd to him, but she seemed oblivious to it all, too engulfed in her discovery. No one knew about her yearning to learn and discover, collecting data and memories.
And you are not cold either.
But you are.
Figures.
It does?
I'm born of snow and my dragon is of ice.
So you are always cold?
Oh no. I can be very warm.
Then she backed away, content with the knowledge she had gained. But he wasn't. He grabbed hold of her arm and pulled her towards him.
What now?
What is it you are planning? Why being so friendly towards me and Deidara?
Because you intrigue me. The others I see straight through. They are simple people. Now let me go or get on what's on your mind.
She could take a lot of pain, it didn't bother her. Sure she felt it, but it didn't affect her negatively. She could pull through a lot of injuries just because of that fact and the dragon helped her with regeneration. She was mild mannered most of the time, even when she was arguing with anyone of them her voice was low and almost cheerful. Her threshold was very high, but now she was irritated.
Hidan. Get your fucking spear out of my shoulder. It's annoying.
You deserve it, you damn cunt.
Mayhap. But you get it out now or you'll never get it again.
Frost started slowly creeping out from her wound and along the spear, travelling towards Hidan's hand quickly. With a jerk he withdrew his weapon, making blood gush out of the hole it had pierced through her shoulder. Before his eyes she started to mend. It was the dragon's work. It wanted to live and thusly it had to help its vessel.
What are you doing up, Ran?
The full moon, Leader-san.
So it's no urban myth about wolves and the full moon.
Well, it kinda is. I just happen to like the moon.
Are you ready?
Anytime, you know that. Dispatch me whenever and to wherever.
Your shoulder?
Mended and fully functional.
Does it bother you to be the only girl?
I'm not. Your mate…But I guess you mean around all these men. You 2 don't count really. You are never present, it seems like. No, it does not bother me.
Your behavior…
Is under control. I won't do anything to mess up the dynamics. I tread carefully. I play when and with whom I can. Is that a problem?
No. But keep on keeping it businesslike.
Soft footsteps on the wooden floor of the upstairs hallway. Passing door after door, leading in to private spheres. Hidden things kept under watch. Personal things not for viewing. Lies and truths mixed together in a swirling vortex. What we show and what we are, rarely line up. It's night and all the sounds are muffled and vague, even the mansion seems to sleep. One door leading into a den of fur and honeysuckle. The tools of the trade in stark comparison to the softness of the heritage. The resident is not there, but out in the greenhouses. The footsteps turn around towards their new destination.
What are you doing, Ran?
Breathing. I find it hard to do in the rain. Almost like drowning sometimes. That should suit you.
Don't be cheeky.
I wasn't. I only stated the obvious. So, why are you here?
Looking for you.
Oh? What can I do for you then?
He had weighed the pros and cons of this for a long time. Trying to find the hidden scheme if there was any. But the simplicity of her invites spoke of no deceit. Her robe of black sky and red clouds were on the paved walkway winding through rows of lush trees and exotic flowers. The canopy swallowed most of the moonlight and deep shadows crossed her figure, but the green of her eyes gleamed, almost phosphorescent. Her fingers were deft and quick, zippers and buttons not posing any kind of obstacle for them. Skin against skin, so suddenly he almost jerked back. She was bold and he realized she was hunting now, him being the prey. An unknown feeling for him to say the least. But they were on ground now, not his element at all, but still he wouldn't just lay down and bare his throat to her. Poor Zetsu would find his domains in utter disarray in the morning, partly drowned, partly frozen. But that was a long way from now. He could unleash a wave of water, only to find her rising up from it on a pillar of ice. She could freeze him only to find water melting the bonds. She wanted to feel his skin, still amazed how smooth it was and she took every chance she could get. In the end it was marvelous.