Chapter 1: Undying Hyoton
Author Notes; Rated M for (What soon will be) Hidan's colorful use of swearing into any sentence on any topic imaginable. And I'll probably be a tad descriptive on the romance scenes... If I can ever write them up half decently... And I would like no flaming please, but I would like comments on how to make Pein seem more IC. Since I don't feel I can do him very well. Or Konan for that matter.
Chapter 1: Undying Hyoton
"He's deathly loyal, and incredibly strong, he'd follow me to hell if that's what I asked… Why shouldn't we use him?"
-Pein, to Akatsuki member Tobi
It'd been a long night for the orange haired man with the black cloak and red clouds. The rain had been pelting him for hours, ever since the successful completion of his mission to Takigakure. A simple assassination, but one that yielded a large amount of cash to his organizations coffers, as the tall man rounded a corner in the road; he paused to hear several sounds. It almost sounded like, a battle. After a few more seconds of intense listening, Pein quickly realized that this battle seemed to soon be reaching the climax. An as luck would have it, he managed to find a good view of said battle from a tree that was maybe twenty meters away. The battle being on the very edge of the forest that hugged against the road.
It was a rather curious, there appeared to be four Hunter-nin from Kirigakure, who appeared to be having a hard time taking a young man, or possibly a woman, Pein's vantage point wasn't all that good. But he could make out snippets of conversation from the clearly annoyed Hunter-nin, and the offending shinobi.
"...There's no where for you to run now boy! You'll be seeing the Demon in hell once we're through with you!"
"Yeah, we aren't letting you get away this time. And if you think we'll let ourselves lose to you, like our previous comrades, you're wrong!"
There followed a brief period of silence, which Pein realized was because he couldn't hear anything. It seemed as if a giant bank of mist had appeared out of nowhere.
That didn't stop the screaming though. And Pein hadn't heard a man scream that loud for quite some time. After later thinking about that day, Pein would realize that it'd been an hour until he saw the finale of the show. The mist seemed to part away, revealing three of the four Hunter-nin foot long needles of ice embedded in their bodies through various points. But the fourth one was by far the most interesting sight. The fourth Hunter-nin had four senbon through each of his hands, rendering them useless, his legs had received the same treatment. However, the lone shinobi whom they seemed to be after had anything but senbon; he instead carried a massive sword, almost as tall as he was.
"…P-Please, don't do this! I don't want to die! I'll never come back, I'll even report you as dead, I swear! Just please don't kill me, I have a family!" The Mist Hunter-nin managed to say between the sobs, and probably would've had both of his hands clasped were it not for the senbon in them. The shinobi thought for a few seconds, the massive sword in a killing blow. "Tell me, did you spare the ones you killed who had families? Did you listen to their screams as you ended their lives? No, no you never did. So, I will not listen to you as I end your life." The Hunter-nin was trying to say something, but the sword swung down. The man was almost completely bisected; the shinboi tugged it out of the ground. "A terrible waste, if only they had stayed away, this need not have happened. Now I have to lay low for another few months."
Pein had a stroke in brilliance as he watched the shinobi put the sword on his back. One person had just killed a squad of Hunter-nin from Kirigakure with barely any effort and he did need dedicated mercenaries. An off of employment would most likely be welcomed. Pein hopped down from the tree, "Hold on a minute. That was very impressive what you just did. Not many could do what you did in such a short amount of time." The shinobi stopped and turned around, enabling Pein to get a better look at a mask. It was a Mist Hunter-nin mask.
Why would they attack one of their own, unless this Missing-nin was part of the Hunter-nin when he abandoned his villages cause? "I suppose it is. Still, the battle was unnecessary. Such violence is not needed. It would be best if only good people did not throw themselves into battles they can not win." Pein seemed to almost smile as he approached the young man, for he could clearly see that it was actually a male, not a female. "You want to avoid future conflicts; you wish to make this world a better place, do you not?"
The male nodded his head once, and Pein continued, "I too dream of such a time. Where humanity shall live in harmony with itself, where war is regarded as foolish, and is never started. I dream that people will live in peace. I dream where no matter whom you are you will be regarded by the calibre of your person, not by which village you're from. Tell me, would you be willing to help with such a change? Would you be willing to pledge yourself to my cause?" The male almost seemed to waver, to hesitate as an inner conflict raged.
"I'd be honoured to bring such a peace to this world. I've always served as a tool to one person; an organization is only made up of many people." Pein smiled as he reached one arm across the male's shoulders as he led him away. Back to the Akatsuki base in Amegakure, "Tell me, what is your name? I can not tell the other members that yours name 'Mist-nin' seems rather rude." Though he could not see the boy's face, Pein could sense that he was smiling up at him as the mask tilted towards him. "Haku, my name is Haku. What was your name again…?"
Pein smile only grew wider as he ruffled the boy's hair playfully. "My name is Leader-sama to you. Only Konan calls me differently." The boy named Haku stared at Pein oddly before his obedience kicked in. "Hai, Leader-sama. Who is Konan though, is she a member of your organization?" Pein nodded his head, already impressed by how quickly the boy showed deference to authority. A useful trait to have and the boy knew what he'd be treated like. Perhaps he might just be able to replace an Akatsuki member when the time came. Though he'd have to wait for such an event to occur, and the boy had to prove himself. Overhead, the clouds seemed to pull apart by themselves, and a stray beam of moonlight fell upon the duo. One, a child whose innocence and devotion was the reason he was in the position he was. The second the leader to an evil organization that would soon achieve it's goals. And who would use everything at his disposal to protect his interests.
Three hours later…
Everyone except for Konan had gone to sleep had fallen asleep hours ago. Or, rather in Hidan's case who followed Kakuzu to his room, "For some fucking payback!" In the Jashinist's own words. Even Tobi had eventually staggered off to his room, though who knew what that looked like. Konan stifled a yawn as she picked up a piece of paper and began folding it into yet another piece of origami. She'd been at it the entire afternoon and all through the evening, and her labor showed. The entire front of the living rooms table was covered in origami, all of which was stacked five high. "And that makes… Five thousand three hundred and seventy eight origami birds, beating my previous best by… I have no clue." The blue haired kunoichi muttered as she threw the bird on the table and flopped back onto the couch. The midnight black tank top mixed with the equally black pants quite well. Then the entrance to the base creaked open, and the leader of the Akatsuki stepped through, accompanied by a, woman it looked like, with a sword easily as tell as herself.
"…Now Haku, your missions will start in the morning. While I would make you a member, we only have ten rings, and thus only ten primary members. However, I believe that I'll make you a member's subordinate, as they typically work in pairs of two. There are a few members who operate on their own until a suitable replacement is found. Think of this as on the job training. Now, come, I'll show you to your room." The pair of sandals trailed off into the distance, leaving a very confused Konan. Who padded off after them, in search of answers.
"…And over there is the storeroom. Just ask Kisame any questions you have, and avoid Hidan, Kakuzu, and Sasori at all times. Understood?" Haku nodded slowly as the two men paused outside of a rather plain looking door. "Pein-sama, what are you doing showing a random stranger around the entire base?" Konan breathlessly asked as Pein blinked once, and Haku had the mask to hide any emotion. Looking from the blue haired woman to the young man, Pein muttered something to Haku and led Konan away. "What the hell are you doing? I'm trying to get people in place so that when we lose a member, we don't wait forever to find a partner for them." Pein hissed at both of them looked at Haku, who was simply standing next to the door, conversation apparently unheeded. "See, he won't do anything we don't want him to. He is now fully dedicated to the Akatsuki, and hopefully, you'll soon see that. But if you're so paranoid, how about I make him your subordinate?" Konan to his surprise shot a look at the masked boy and nodded her head slowly. "But we have no idea of his abilities against one of us. Before I'll accept him as my subordinate, have him fight one of us. Excluding your or me of course, that would be overkill. Maybe Kisame would like a crack at it, as he's always telling us about how he doesn't get 'fair' opponents." Pein smirked as he nodded his head, "Haku, come over here! I'd like you to meet my partner, this is Konan." Pein explained as Haku nodded his head in respect to Konan's authority. Pein continued with his explanation, "Now, in order to see how strong you actually are. We'll have you spar against an Akatsuki member; he's a former Mist-nin. So I expect to see you survive this encounter. I want you to see me in the morning after you've gotten some rest, and we'll see how you fare against real shinobi." With that, Pein stalked away to wherever he slept during his nights at the base. Haku turned around and opened the door that led to his room. Or as he was soon to learn, his superior's room.
"It's a nice name." Haku turned his head to see Konan was leaning against the wall of the hallway. At his (What was assumed) look of curiosity, Konan began making another piece of origami. "Haku, it's a nice name. I wonder what you did to attract Pein's attention." Haku shrugged as he tried to walk into his room, but Konan appeared in front of him. "Konan-san, can you move out of the way?" The blue haired kunoichi flipped out a kunai and brought it against Haku's throat. "No, now, why were you brought here? And do your allegiances actually lie with the Akatsuki. Or are you merely another spy sent from one of the shinobi villages? We have ways to make you talk if you want us to do this the hard way." Behind the mask, Konan heard a sound, it sounded almost like sobbing. Sobbing or laughter, she put it down to a combination of both. "Why should I spy for the people who are attempting to kill me, what do I gain from the death of the Akatsuki? Why would I betray people for no reason? Can I just walk through this door and get some sleep? I'm dead tomorrows anyways. The only reason I'm being made your partner is because they know I can't succeed. They know that my death is tomorrow morning, and they want me to die in a place they have for me. It'd probably make them more money off my continued living anyways." Haku said as Konan took the kunai away. So she was a little bit paranoid, but they were the Akatsuki, they weren't the most well liked people in the world. Still, she had to admit, she had been a bit harsh, still, Pein had clearly neglected to mention a detail about this room. "Alright, fine, still, this is my room. You can sleep in it if you want, but the bed is mine." Haku shrugged as he walked in, "I don't care, the floor suits me fine. Don't worry; you'll barely notice I'm here." After an hour Haku had managed to fall asleep, but Konan hadn't. Instead she had watched Haku fall asleep by degrees, the eyes gradually closing more and more as his body forced itself into a slumber. It was interesting to her, how could a person who looked so innocent, have fallen into step with Pein? Had Pein actually made an argument that convincing, or was he being paid to be here? Konan shook the thoughts out of her head as she tried to get some sleep.
Haku… It's a good name. Was all she thought as Konan managed to finally fall asleep. Still, tomorrow would reveal to her how complicated a person could be.