Chapter 1

Outside the smudgy window, the wind gently swayed the branches of the cherry tree in the yard. I listened to the faint plunk-plunk of ripe cherries dropping neglected to the path below. The cold rain that had fallen all morning had passed off, leaving a damp chill in the air; it made my back ache, and I got up stiffly and stretched.

Zangei, busy with his account book, glanced up as he heard me move. "Tired of sitting still? Well, I expect to see him any minute now. He's never late – unless something happens." He picked up the bottle of sake at his elbow and splashed some into a glass.

"Here, young lady, this might help you relax." He handed me the sake and watched as I sipped it. "It's important that you make a good impression, Hayashi-san. I don't know a great deal about the organization you'll be working for, but I know they don't tolerate incompetence – even for a job that's, shall we say, low-level. Not to mention that if you screw up, they'll be on my case for giving a false recommendation."

"Don't worry, Zangei-san. I won't screw up." I finished my sake and set down the glass. "Thanks for the drink."

For the sixth time, I peered out the window toward the road. Someone was coming up the walk at last. Two someones, actually – a pale, white-haired young man with a scythe across his shoulder, and a hulking ninja in a mask. Both were wrapped in long dark cloaks.

I patted my sash and twitched my kimono straight. The latch rattled, and the masked ninja stepped into the house. "Stay outside, Hidan, will you?" he called over his shoulder to his companion. "This will not take up too much time."

I bowed, and the stranger nodded stiffly in return. "I am Kakuzu. And your name?"

"Hayashi Takeko."

At a nod from Zangei, Kakuzu sat down on one of the mats and motioned me to be seated as well. His green eyes, lit by a feral glow, studied me for a few moments. "There are a few questions I wish to ask you," he said at last. " I will expect you to handle all the household chores – cooking, cleaning, laundry – for ten people. "

He looked doubtfully down at me, and I smiled. I knew that to him I must look impossibly small and delicate; he was a head taller than I was and outweighed me by at least a hundred pounds. "Oh, I'm used to hard work, Kakuzu-san."

"Zangei-san tells me you grew up in Konohagakure. Why did you leave your village? Are you a missing-nin?"

"I'm not a ninja at all. Not any more." I hesitated. How much did Kakuzu know about me? If I lie, he probably has ways of finding out the truth. Zangei had told me very little about Kakuzu's mysterious organization, but I knew enough about it to realize that it was dangerous to cross them. Still, I thought I might risk warping the facts a little. "I failed my chuunin exam," I admitted. "I'm washed up and looking for a way to make money. I left my village because I couldn't get a decent job there."

"Well, you need not worry. We are prepared to pay you well." He mentioned a number, and I had to restrain my gasp – it was at least five times what I would have made back home. "For that price, though," he went on, "we have certain expectations. The organization you will be working for is made up of ninja who handle highly classified missions. It is vital that our objectives, even our location, be kept absolutely secret. If you accept the position we're offering you, and we later find out that you have leaked any information about us whatsoever, to anyone –" he stared intently at me – " we will have no choice but to put you out of the way. Is that understood?"

I bowed again. "Not a word about your missions, objectives, location, or members to anyone."

"Excellent. Now, I want to make one more thing very clear. You are free to accept or turn down this job, but if you accept, you will hold this position until we choose to let you go. As I said, we cannot risk any compromise to our objectives. Think it over carefully."

I stood up. "Excuse me, please. I'll be back in a little while after I've thought it over."

Kakuzu nodded, and I stepped outside into the muddy yard. Kakuzu's partner sat crosslegged on the walk, tossing pebbles at the birds that flew down after the fallen cherries. He looked up at me with an insolent grin, but I was in no mood to talk to a stranger. I went around to the back yard, where I could be alone, and leaned against the wall of the house.

Was this a job I wanted to take?

It was dangerous, certainly. But the money!

Once I had dreamed of becoming a jonin and helping to protect the village. My family, proud ninja famed for their unique bloodline trait, had trained me carefully. My disastrous chuunin exam had ended all that.

I was a failure, I knew it. I would never fight again. I had left Konoha because I couldn't face the pitying glances from those who had known me when I was one of the most promising young ninja in the village. But I still had to make a living, and I wanted a new dream to replace the one that had collapsed so suddenly.

I had always had a turn for ink painting and calligraphy. If I could only manage to put away enough money, I could support myself for a year or two while I honed my craft. Maybe I could even save enough to go to art school. Kakuzu's offer might make that dream happen.

I went back inside and found Kakuzu still sitting on the mat. He glanced up as I entered. "I'll take the job," I told him.

"I'm pleased to hear it." He stood up and moved toward the door.

I strapped on the backpack that held my belongings, said good-bye to Zangei, and followed Kakuzu out.

His partner, Hidan, joined us as we came through the door. The two ninja walked together along the road, while I followed. None of us spoke, although Hidan whistled noiselessly through his teeth. The thin blades of his scythe gleamed.

It was a long trudge to my new employer's base, and my back was aching sharply by the time we arrived. Kakuzu pushed open a heavy door and let us all inside. I found myself in a damp, windowless building that smelled of mildew. Although the sparse furniture was arranged neatly, dust lay in rolls in the corners. It was plain that nobody who lived here knew how to keep a house clean.

Kakuzu led me down one of the hallways, lit by a bare bulb in the ceiling, and opened the door to the kitchen. "The laundry room is just off the kitchen, and your bedroom is the next door down from this one. You will be paid weekly, and when you need money for groceries, come and find me. Oh, by the way, we like breakfast served promptly at six AM." He gave me a stiff little bow. "Welcome to the Akatsuki."