Amaya sat, looking through the just starting rain that fell in the woods tonight. The moon was slowly rising over the horizon, casting a sliver glow to fall through the tree limbs. Her silver-black tail hung limply over the branch she crouched on. Her matching wolf ears were alert and twitching toward every sound.
The rain had gotten through her mid-riff shirt and skirt/shorts. She looked down at her outfit of choice for traveling and such. The top was a deep crimson and faded to grey. It didn't have any sleeves except for a thin ribbon tied around her neck, chakra enhanced to make the hold stronger. Then the skirt was a dark grey with crimson shorts on underneath going to just mid thigh. Her fishnet gloves ended between her elbow and shoulder, with holes for her fingers and thumb. She could run quickly and easily in this outfit … and the shoes helped, too.
But of course, it was her only outfit she could carry, and she had stolen it.
She looked back up at the silver moon with her platinum eyes.
This night was so much like the one, way back then…
She looked back up to look at her team. Three more children crouched around her, hidden in the shadows of the tree boughs. Akato, Kaya, and Ken. All ready in their positions.
Akato and Kaya were twins at age sixteen. They were not actually related, but they looked so much alike that they would sometimes swap places and no one would know. They were tall and lean, brown hair touching the nape of their necks and both had bright green eyes. Although they were usually sweet, Amaya had met their dark side once long ago.
Ken was the only reason Anaya had a family. Without him, she would be dead right now. He had saved her so many times, and was like a big brother to the girl. Ken was strong and whatever village they passed through, all of the girls would follow him like moths to the brightest in the world. He had long (for a guy) hair that had a white-silver tinge to it, even though he was just eighteen. He was always stood up for the underdog and helped whomever he could. But they had to survive, too.
She had been five at the time, and had just celebrated her sixth birthday with them. Her tail had grown longer, and her ears more acute. Although not as mature as Ken, she was oddly mature for her age.
They were waiting for a stray traveler to come their way. They needed money and they were kicked out of most villages. They could hear a cark creaking it's way down the road.
Ken jumped down from his perch, along with Akato and Kaya getting the rear. The driver looked at the boy in surprise. "What are you three doing here in the middle f the woods? I'll bet your parents are pretty darn worried. You better be getting home now."
As he had begun instructing us, the tree teenagers distracted the man. Amaya quickly ran through the rain and moonlight mix on the ground. She climbed up into the wagon carefully yet quickly and stole two hundred yen.
"Thank you, sir." Ken said as he noticed Amaya quietly climb out of the wagon in the corner of his eye. "I'm sure our parents do wonder where we are. We will be on our way."
"Ah. But why don't you meet some of my friends," chuckled the man. "Thieves."
Just then the man began to transform in a large blue tinted fish man with a mist headband on. He reached back into the wagon and pulled out a large sword wrapped in gauze.
Six more men with swords came out of the woodlands around them. Amaya looked at the men with their swords, strong chakra coming from them.
"Hmm… Seems we've stumbled into the Six Swordsman of Mist." Ken said, hiding any nervousness that might be in his voice. Amaya knew he wouldn't be scared. He would just save them single handedly again and they would go have some dango afterwards.
The blue man chuckled once more. "You seem pretty confident for a 18 year old and family being charged for multiple robberies and stealing. Hmm… you'll be done with soon enough. Zabuza, care to help or should I do it alone?" The fish man knew how Zabuza acted when he didn't get to kill any of their prey. He wasn't a treat, but he could be very annoying.
A tall, thin man stepped out of the ring circling them, carrying a long sword that had several hole in it and seemed to glow in the light. "Heh. Heh. Seems you remember how I get, Kisame."
The children's eyes all widen a small amount, except for Amaya, who needed all of her strength to keep from screaming, when the swordsmen walked toward them. Akato and Kaya stood so they were in a protective stance around Amaya, Ken in front of all of them.
Kisame, Amaya guessed, seemed almost happy to kill them and could have easily done it by himself. Zabuza was just greedy and wanted the kill for himself.
"You may take me, but leave the girls alone." Ken said, knowing they didn't have a chance against men of their chakra level.
"Oh ho ho! Want to act like a savior for the little girlies? We will just take them back to mist and sell them to the top bid-" Kisame was them cut off by Ken's angry screaming.
"Don't you dare touch them! Leave them and I will come peacefully!"
"Kisame, stop playing with the prey before you kill it. Lets just get it on with." Zabuza interrupted Ken's rant, sounding as if the fight, or execution rather, but they all knew he wanted to kill them more than anything right now.
"Very well." Kisame sighed. "Boy, step forward and I will make your death as painless as possible."
Ken looked back at his family. He knew this would hurt them all, but he couldn't bear the look on Amaya face. It was mixed with hurt, anger, mourning, sadness, and worst of all, betrayal. He couldn't bear to for her to think of him as a traitor to her, but he had to do it.
The young man stepped forward. "As I requested, do not touch the girls. This is all my doing, and shall be all my punishment.
"Hmm… I think we'll take them." Zabuza said. Then he spun around and sliced through Ken like a hot knife through butter. Ken collapsed on the ground, unmoving.
Amaya started to scream, but a soon as she opened her mouth, Kaya had placed a hand over it. "Do not make a noise. We have no choice but to go with them, but you can run away. Use the jutsu K-… he taught you yesterday to go into the woods. Then run as fast as you can, do not stop. Try not to use much chakra right now. Only if you have to do you need to use it. Your mind should be set on defense not offense right now. Now go!"
Akato and Kaya both turned around to stare at the men. Amaya quickly hugged their legs, then disappeared into the woods, as soon as she did, see burst into a full sprint, running away from her tormenters.
"The little one just escaped. Should we go after her, Kisame?" Said another of the swordsman. Akato and Kaya stared daggers at the man who spoke, but he was unaffected.
"No. She is weak and of no use to us, but maybe we'll fine her when she gets a bit older…" Another replied.
Kisame turned to glare at the man who just spoke. "Do not touch the girl who just ran. There is something else I want her for, and our orders were just to kill the boy and capture the teenagers. You all didn't even need to come but you just had to tag along. Girls, come here. We will not hurt you unless you force our hand. Come with us to Mist and we will marry you off and you can finally have a home. Trust me, the little one will remain untouched as long as you come."
"Fine. I would never marry one of Mist, but if Amaya will remain safe, I will come." Akato replied.
Kaya nodded her head and walked next to her sister to the blue man standing about 2 yards away.
That was the last Amaya had ever seen them. Ken had died that rainy night and Akato and Kaya had disappeared with the Mist. Now she was thirteen. Seven years of loneliness and stealing.
Amaya jumped down from her branch when she felt the Leaf's team chakra began to dissipate with distance. They had caught her in their village stealing some meat but she out ran them in their own woods.
Her tail moved side to side slowly in content and her ears were perked up. "Well. Leaf Village isn't the place. I guess it's Sand next." The girl said out loud.
She began to run threw the trees toward the Sand Village along the riverside, when a shadowed figure jumped in front of her.
"Oh, crap. Uchiha, isn't it?" She said, putting her hands on her hips. This "Itachi" figure had tried to get her to join an organization a few years back but she evaded him, but not without a little bit of trouble between him and his partner, Kisame. "What do you want now, Uchiha?"
The teenage boy just stood there for a moment, watching her as she did the same. Although the only source of light was the moon, Amaya could see as his shiringan blazed under that oversized kasa of his. The rain was sliding off the sides of that hat and fell to the ground.
For a sixteen year old, he was oddly small. He was shorter than her even, but of course, she was really tall for her age. But she knew he could probably beat the Hokage if he tried. And if she kept resisting him, he might be forced to attack.
After a moment or two of silence, he finally spoke. "The Akatsuki is beginning to grow impatient of your constant resisting." He spoke calmly, but Amaya knew he was really getting annoyed.
But so was she. Her wolf-like tail was now quickly twitching back and forth behind her and her matching ears lay flat on her head. He could easily tell her emotions if he knew anything about animals, and he seemed to. But then, Mr. Chuckle came.
"Well. Well. Well. You grew up to look pretty cute, Kitten. Even better than your friends did." Kisame had walked onto the shore of the river and was now standing even closer to her than Itachi. Amaya just turned to glare at him. This was the man that had taken her family from her. She had come up with several names she could use against him if she ever saw him again. She hadn't seen him for years, ever since her family was taken. The only reason she knew he was Itachi's partner was because he had threatened her with bringing him if she kept refusing the Akatsuki's invitation, or rather, demand.
Looks like the day had come.
"I see you've brought Guppy this time, Uchiha. Seems you don't like to wait patiently, now do you?" Her words practically dripped with hatred toward the fish man. She was still glaring daggers at the man while he just stared at her with a goofy, tooth-filled smile. However, this wasn't his evil smile. This was something else.
"Looks like this little kitten has a bite for fish." He chuckled, still not breaking eye contact.
"Kisame, don't play with the girl. We are only supposed to take her back to the base. You are not allowed to place a finger on her unless I allow so." Itachi said calmly, removing his kasa. His hair was tied back in a loose ponytail that left a few strands of his black ice hair hanging in his face. The rain accented the lines that ran down the sides of his face and made his hair look even darker. Guppy, on the other hand, looked just like he would on a clear night. They were almost the exact opposite of each other.
"I'm not going to come with you, Uchiha. Now why don't you and your Akatsuki go back to your little hole and stay there." Amaya said, finally looking away from the shark. She knew that would give him a sense of dominance for holding her eyes so long and her breaking it, but if he tried that "dominance"… oh, he would pay!
I'm afraid it's either come with us by choice, or I'm gunna have to get you, Kitten." Amaya's tail fluffed out and her ears laid even farther back on her head. She struggled to keep a low growl from erupting from her chest. Oh, so apparently fish boy had a name for her, too?
"I must agree that if you do not come with us, I will be forced to let Kisame have his way with you, fighting of course, in order to get you to come. And I do not believe either of us would like that to happen." Itachi commented, still sounding bored and like he just wanted this mission to end already so he could go home. Not Konoha, of course.
"Oh please, pretty boy. Why do you even need to threaten me? You aren't very good at it."
Itachi just continued to stare at her with the same indifferent expression on his face, although that comment seemed to make Itachi lose a little more patience. "Kisame," he said, "You may take her now."
The fish man chuckled darkly before pulling a large sword wrapped in fabric off of his back. Amaya was expecting this, but didn't expect Itachi to buckle that quickly. She crouched down low in a fighting stance and heard as a low growl escaped her chest. The man chuckled once more before some of the wrappings feel off of the sword, revealing a blue-grey, scale-like covering, only fit for the fish.
"Still think you can beat me? I'm a swordsman, remember?" Crap! How could she forget he was a swordsman! Wow, she was smart…
The rain was beginning to stop as the sun hit the horizon, casting long shadows. Itachi stood behind Kisame several feet, watching the two brace themselves for battle.
Amaya slunk even further toward the ground, a hiss still erupting from deep inside her. She tightened her muscles and lunged at the fish man, disappearing right before she was within reach of his sword.
Kisame was surprised at first but then his smile spread even larger. His sword had picked up her chakra in a nearby tree. He continued to stare straight forward and said, "Well, Kitty, seems you DO got little bite in you." He just couldn't get over her spunk. She, a little wolf girl, thought she could take on him, an ex-Seven Swordsmen and an S-ranked ninja. But at least the girl knew a few jutsus.
Itachi watched as another momentary pause came. He expected more of a fight than this. But just as he thought that, the girl sprang out of the tree on the other side of the clearing. She smiled slyly at him while Kisame was still staring at her with that idiotic smile on his face. Itachi didn't even want to know what was going through the twenty-eight year olds mind.
Now it was Kisame's turn to attack. While she was looking at Itachi, he lunged his sword straight at her and was just able to graze her shoulder before she did a duck-and-roll maneuver and landed back in a crouch. Kisame jumped to where he had just been and stood tall, towering over her crouched body.
Amaya looked up at the fish man. His yellow eyes were beginning to get on her last nerve, as they were the only eyes she could look at while around this pair. She was always careful to stare at the center of his forehead when he came around, for she had heard of the Uchiha Clan's power.
Just then, Kisame fell to the ground and swung his sword toward her. Amaya realized that the object was coming and jumped out of the way, but she felt the sword swipe her left foot and cut it… badly. She did a quick transportation jutsu to appear in a tree a short distance away. She caught her breath and, without even a glance at her bleeding foot, jumped back to the ground. As soon as she touched the ground, a spike of pain ran up from her foot to her spine, sending electric currents running throughout her body. The painful currents came round her rib cage and up her neck. They also shot down the other leg.
She couldn't move.
Kisame watched as his prey huffed and went into a half crouched, half kneeling position and glared at him. He couldn't help but feel disappointed, for he had expected much more of a fight from a girl who could be ranked as an S-rank nin just like him.
Itachi was also disappointed. He tilted his head slightly and looked at the crumbled teenager. Her tail was lying limp on the ground and her ears had come up only to bend forward slightly. She was just three years younger than him, and she lost this easily. But, of course, he probably couldn't beat Kisame back then. He probably wouldn't have even tried.
"Ready to give up, Kitten?" Kisame said, closing in on the fallen wolf-girl.
Amaya just continued to stare up at him, panting. Kisame now stood about a yard away, his sword dragging on the ground.
This was her last chance. She had developed this jutsu just a little while ago but if she didn't use it now, she would be forced to go with them. Amaya glance quickly at Itachi and saw that his shiringan was off. Humph… He thought this was over already.
Amaya quickly did a few hands signs before ducking her head behind her shoulder and holding her hands, palm out, toward Guppy.
Kisame stumbled back and actually fell on the ground by the kitten's attack. Itachi's face actually showed shock a he watched the flames fade. Fire had come out of the girl's palms and almost toasted Kisame. Now he saw why leader wanted her.
This jutsu of hers was amazing. It was probably even more powerful than his fireball jutsus, and Itachi wished he had his shiringan activated during the fire. But he could tell that all of the girl's chakra was gone.
Amaya turned back over her shoulder to look at the pair, Itachi actually looked shocked and Kisame was just now getting up from the ground. Crap. It hadn't worked. But then, her entire body went numb. She fell to the ground from her fighting stance and the last thing she saw was Itachi walk up next to the now standing Kisame.
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Itachi walked over to where the unconscious girl lay. He knelt down so he was at her level and picked up her hand. He saw nothing resembling a burn or anything of the sort. The girl's ears were now relaxed and standing up on her head. Her tail was on the ground lying lifelessly. The sun was just over the horizon and now he could clearly see here. Her hair was the same color as both here tail and ears and was tied back into a loose braid that went from the nape of her neck to her lower back. Sasori and Deidara would have trouble deciding what type of art she was. He stood back up and turned around to face his partner, who, of course, had a big smile on his face.
"What?" Itachi asked, even though he tried not to care, this grin made him really wonder.
"Oh, nothing…" Kisame replied, turning away to look at the treetops.
"Well, then, dress her wound and then pick her up. We need to leave." Kisame continued to look at the treetops, until Itachi added a diffident "Now."
Kisame seemed to pretend to be upset by this request, but Itachi knew he was ecstatic to. The shark man bent down dressed the wound in some of the bandages in his bag and picked up the limp girl in his arms. Her tail hung between his arms and her head fell over his arm. He could carry her like this back to the head quarters, but it would be troublesome.
Itachi looked at the oversized shark man carrying the wolf girl, nodded at Kisame, and then leaped into the air to run in the trees. Kisame followed soon after with the girl. They ran like this all day not even stopping to eat. Around midnight that night, they stopped in a forest on the edge of Fire Country. Itachi gathered some wood and then used a small fireball jutsu to light the wood. Kisame laid the still unconscious girl on a blanket he had put on the ground only moments before near the fire. Then, Kisame walked to a river near their camp to catch dinner. No words were exchanged between the pair during this time.
Itachi sat down on the other side of the fire and looked at the girl. He was beginning to worry about her. Not that he was worried about her wellbeing, but more what leader would do if she died.
A few minutes later, Kisame arrived with about seven fish and began to roast them over the fire. He sat down nest to Amaya and gently put a hand on her throat.
"Her pulse is moving up to about normal pace and she doesn't have that fever anymore." He commented, looking at the girl's peaceful looking face, and then to Itachi's emotionless face, only to turn to a shiringan activated Uchiha.
The larger man quickly turned away and grabbed two fish spears and handed one to the boy. Kisame devoured his down and claimed another fish for himself, while the boy had just nibbled on the side of his. The smell of fish wafted through the night air, filling it with scents.
"Kisame, " Itachi said, after Kisame had finished off the fish. "I'll take the first shift."
"If you're sure, kid." Kisame said, yawned then feel asleep almost instantly against a tree. Itachi finished his fish and looked at the two sleeping, but his attention was more focused on the wolf girl.
After a few hours of watching, the girl moved. She shuddered and rolled over to face Itachi. She moaned slightly and then slowly opened her eyes, revealing that pair of silver slits. Her eyes were slightly hazed over and seemed like she was still a little dizzy.
"Ken, are we getting dango, tomorrow?" Yep, delirious. Itachi just stared at her. 'Who is "Ken"' he thought. But he figured it was best just to go along with it.
"Yes, Amaya, tomorrow, we will get all the dango you want."
She mumbled something and her eyes closed once more. Itachi looked at her, trying to figure out what that was about. When, suddenly, he heard a soft chuckle. Kisame was awake.
"Well, Ken, where are we going to get dango?" he laughed.
"She won't remember she said anything when she really wakes up." He paused and then looked up at the older man. "Who is Ken?"
Kisame sighed, looking back down at the fire. "Ken was her brother."
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Anaya woke to the sound of wind rushing past her ears. She felt hurt all over, especially her left foot and head. Then, it all came back to her at once, the Konoha team chasing her, Itachi threatening her, Kisame slicing her ankle, and her fire jutsu.
She opened her eyes, only to see the fish man above her, looking straight ahead. He was cradling her like a baby! She tried to get up and out of Guppy's arms, but she couldn't move. Not even her tail would budge an inch.
Kisame seemed to notice that she was awake and looked down at her, smiling that grimace of a smile. "Has the kitten woken up?" He laughed.
She growled low in response and he laughed even harder. Itachi seemed to notice and landed on the ground. Kisame did the same when he noticed Itachi's even more than usual serious face.
"Amaya," said Itachi, once they had landed. She was still in the arms of Kisame but Itachi had walked over to look at her. In Kisame's arms, her body was about eye level with him. "We are taking you to the Akatsuki base where you will be made a member of said organization. You ran out of chakra during your battle with Kisame and, therefore, are unable to. I am telling you this because, if my memory is correct, you have never before run out of chakra and, due to your lone personality, never seen anyone who has. Kisame must now carry you in order to get you anywhere."
That was the most she had ever heard Itachi say, and it surprised her, although she wouldn't let them know. Amaya just continued to glare at him before turning her eyes up to the now serious fish man.
Itachi nodded and Kisame looked down at her. "Your left ankle got torn in the battle by my sword but I didn't injure it enough to permanently damage it. I dressed the wound and it should heal in about five to eight week, depending on how your body reacts."
Amaya expression changed to almost thankfulness before she quickly changed back to hate, and the older man couldn't help but smile. She could be very cute.
Itachi then began running again with Kisame at his tail.
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Early the next morning, the trio arrived at the base. They had not stopped to rest that night since they were only about fifty miles away.
As soon as they arrived, Itachi left to go to leader, Amaya presumed, and report the mission details, while Kisame took her down a hallway with doors on all sides. He opened the last door and tucked the wolf girl into one of the twin-sized beds. She watched as he did this, smiled down at her with that grimace of his.
"Call if you need anything, Kitty. Kakazu should be here in a little while to help with that ankle of yours." The fish man turned and opened the door. Just then, his name was yelled down the hall by such dominant sounding voice, even he flinched.
"Coming, sir!" he yelled back, then turned back to wink at her before closing the door.
"Ugh…" she moaned. What could be worse than this? She was practically tied to a bed in the Akatsuki hideout by the same man that had taken her family from her. Well, this would be fun. Sometime while she was ranting in her head, she dosed off into a dreamless sleep.
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Amaya woke to the sound of her door opening and then slamming shut. She opened her eyes to see a stitched-up man leaning over her bed, examining her foot. Her eye then shifted to the other blue-haired woman just walking through the door and was staring at Amaya.
Amaya stared right back at her with almost the same look in her eyes. Even though the girl herself could not move, her ears could. They bent back down on her head and Amaya felt her sharp canine teeth begin to hurt her lip.
"I see that you are awake, Amaya." Said the blue-haired. Just by this comment, the person who Amaya guess was Kakazu look up to hr own face to the blue lady. "Pein wishes to know the status of her foot. Itachi told him that it was injured in the fight to bring her here. He also mentioned something about a fire hand jutsu…" my eyes widened a bit when she said that, and it looked like she noticed.
"Hello Konan. The outside of her left ankle was torn pretty badly and some of the muscle was shredded. Dang, Kisame… Didn't you and Pein say to be careful with her?" Kakazu said, sounding as though he was not trying to hide his annoyed emotion out of his voice. "I gave her some pain pills and some chakra pills I found. She should probably heal fully in the next few weeks.
"I have found nothing resembling a burn or scar on either of her hands. I truly have no idea how she did it. We will need to learn what type of chakra she has and put that information into perspective." Kakazu continued. He had stood up and was standing at the end of Amaya's bed. She had her eyes looking in his direction, but not meanly. She was just looking at the two, trying to memorize their names and faces.
"Well, then. Pein also wanted to meet with you and chat about her. I would recommend that you come with me." Konan said. The blue haired turned around on her heel and walked toward the door with Kakazu soon after, but not without one last glance at Amaya.
"The chakra pills should take effect in a short time, along with the sleeping pills. So do not get up, Kitten." He said, and then left the room. Seems like Kisame had spread his little pet name for her throughout this organization. That evil fish man…
Amaya stared at the ceiling for an unknown amount of time, not realizing she had fallen asleep until she felt someone shake her gently.
Her eyes snapped open and she struggled to sit up, but was pushed down by an invisible force. Oh, right… no chakra. But at least now she could move her tail and pick up her head a small amount
Much to her disappointment, she looked up into the face of the stitched up man. He had a hand on her neck and was putting a bag on the bed next to her. Another man, looking annoyed, stood by the door. He had white, slicked back hair and a large, 3-bladed scythe on his back. His cloak was open to about where his belt would be if he was wearing one and had a pendent hanging to mid-chest. His arms were crossed and he was putting all of his weight on one foot. He was looking at Kakazu, but when Amaya opened her eyes, it caught his attention and he turned on her.
"Hey, Kakazu. Girlie woke up. She's not dying, so lets get out of here." He said. Gee was everyone annoyed all of the time?
"Not now, Hidan. Leader told me to make sure that she doesn't die." Kakazu said as he sat back up to shine a light in Amaya's eyes. She squinted against the harsh light and turned her head while her ears stood straight up and tail bristled out. She didn't like running out of chakra. It made her feel helpless, like her life was in another person's hands.
"Hmm… that's notable. We may leave now, Hidan." The white haired man sighed with what Amaya guessed was relief and stormed out of the room. "I gave you a solder pill since the chakra pill didn't work as well, even though your foot healed remarkably fast. It is almost completely healed now. You should probably be able to run around again late tonight." Kakazu said, then he, too, walked out of the room.
Amaya sighed and turned her head to face the cloak on her bedside table. 6:45 a.m. She had been her all night, trapped.
The day went on with her lying in bed. Around one or two that afternoon, she stood up and walked to the chair and looked around her bare room. It contained two twin beds with matching bedside tables, three chairs, a desk, and a wardrobe. Amaya sighed and looked t the wall for a few hours, thinking.
When she turned her head to the clock, she realized it was already 6:30 p.m. Time almost flew by when she was in here. Maybe the clock was wrong.
Just then, the teenager heard a knock on the door. That was the first time anyone here had respected her privacy. She slowly stood up and walked to the door. Her foot throbbed a little, but it wasn't intolerable.
She opened the door to see a tall figure standing in front of her. "Amaya, where is your cloak, un? Put it on, and we will escort you to dinner." She figured it was a man by the sound of his voice, but that long, blond hair could fool anyone. She looked behind Deidara to see another figure, but this one had red hair and was slouched against the wall, not seeming to want to talk to anyone or even introduce himself.
She looked back up at the blond man. "You know my name. What is yours?"
The man seemed a little surprised. He must have known that she hadn't said a word to anyone all day. "Oh. I am Deidara, un, and this," he motioned to the man behind him." Is Sasori. We are one of the teams here at Akatsuki, un. Now if you will please get dressed. Leader will not be happy if we are late." Deidara smiled at him and his blue eyes shined at Amaya. She knew that Deidara and her were going to be friends.
"Alright. I'll be right out. I'm assuming it was in that bag Kakazu brought in this morning?"
This time, Sasori spoke. "There and in the wardrobe. Please hurry. Leader can be very harsh." He didn't sound like he hated her, but as though he was in a rush. Amaya figured that he had been late before, and indeed he had.
Amaya shut the door and walked back over to her bedside table and opened the bag. Inside, was the signature black cloak with red clouds out-lined in white on it. She placed it on her bed and opened the small wardrobe near the door. She picked up a black shirt with fishnet coming down from the shoulders to hook around her thumbs and around her neck. Next, she pulled on a pair of dull blue pants and toeless sandals. She also tied her shirkiden holder onto her right leg just encase. She slipped on her new cloak (which for some reason smelled faintly of vanilla, her favorite scent) and brushed her hair, tying it back into her braid.
Amaya felt her ears stand straight up, almost happily and her tail sway back and forth under the cloak as she walked to the door. When she opened it, she almost burst out laughing when both Sasori's and Deidara's eyes widen.
"Well…" she urged them. "Dinner?"
Deidara shook his head while Sasori slowly raised his. "Yeah, follow us, un." The blond said.
He began to head done the hall and Sasori motioned for her to go ahead of him. She bowed her head a slight amount before walking after Deidara.
They walked like this down the hallway and took a left after about four doorways and down a shorter hall that lead to the kitchen. There was a long table on one side of the room and a cooking area to the left. She recognized Konan and Kisame in the kitchen along with Sasori who had just walked over.
Deidara walked her to the table and showed Amaya her mat near the center of the table and , after Amaya was seated, sat down to the left of her. Itachi sat across from her and was looking at his place setting. Kakazu and Hidan sat don the table next to each other. Hidan looked as though he was praying and Kakazu just glared at him.
A large black and white man walked through the door, having to duck to get in, practically made her jump out of her skin. He had what looked like a large Venus flytrap around his head. Her ears lain back on her head slightly and her tail stopped swinging. She almost leaned back on Deidara, but quickly controlled herself and turned back around. She heard chuckling coming from where the plant man had just been.
Sasori came and sat down on the other side of her, along with Kisame next to Itachi and Konan going to sit on the right-hand side of the head of the table. She felt a strong chakra come near her but Amaya expected it's owner to go to the last open chair, but then she suddenly felt a hand come down and touch her ears.
Amaya quickly stood up, upsetting the chair and spun around to face who ever touched her. Her ears were laid completely back on her head and her tail had fluffed out angrily. Her lips drew back over her teeth, exposing her sharp canines, and she felt a loud snarl erupt from her chest.
Her mind registered everything at once. The low gasp of a few Akatsuki members, Kisame's sly smile, Sasori's huge eyes, and the orange-haired man before her's surprised look. He quickly composed his face and looked at the wolf girl with an amused face. This angered her even more. The snarl turned into a low growl as she continued to glare at the man. She was in a fighting stance where she was half crouched and got lost in his ringed eyes, searching for possible weaknesses.
The man laughed. He LAUGHED. Amaya just continued to glare at him, her tail now flicking back and forth in anger and frustration. "Oh, Amaya. You could never beat me, Kitten." Amaya heard as Konan practically growled with her at that comment. "I am Pein, otherwise known as Leader." The man had multiple piercings over his face and ears and it did not suit him to laugh.
Amaya was still growling and glaring, but she stood out of her crouch to get a better look at the man. She felt as her tail brushed someone, she thought Deidara's face, and tried to get it to stop swinging. Amaya heard as Kisame chuckled behind her and she sent a dark chakra behind him. He seemed to stop, but she knew he was grinning widely at her little performance.
Still smiling, he said "You may sit now." then walked over to his seat at the head of the table.
The meal passed in a blur of people talking or eating in silence, like Amaya was. The only thing she was a where of was her tail swinging back and forth angrily, her ears flat on her head, and Kisame smiling widely at her. She didn't even remember what she was eating, and was soon escorted back to her room by Deidara and Sasori.
She walked into the room and slammed the door, only for it to be caught on someone's foot.
"Sasori, I'll be back to the room in a little while. I should probably talk to Amaya for a second."
Sasori shrugged and continued to walk to the apartment next door and went inside, closing the door.
When Deidara entered the room, he saw Amaya's cloak thrown on the ground and Amaya herself face down on the bed. He saw that some of the foot wrappings had come off around her ankle revealing long, scratched scars. He walked over and sat in the chair next to the girl's bed. She didn't seem to notice he had entered or was so close to her. The wolf girl's tail was limp on the bed and her ears motionless.
Deidara pulled out some of the cloth he kept in his bag and wrapped this hand mouths securely. He hesitantly reached over to rub the girl's back, when she shot up and jumped across the room. Man, that girl was fast she was almost invisible to him when she moved.
Amaya saw that it was Deidara and calmed down. She began to stand back up when she felt that not so familiar pain shot up through her spine and neck. She fell to the floor in a cry of pain and saw Deidara run over to her with hazy eyes.
"Are you okay, Amaya, un? Danna!" He called out, grabbing the girl's shoulder with one and the side of her face with the other.
Sasori burst through the door and reappeared next to Deidara. He looked into Amaya's half closed, hazy eyes and realized she might be going into shock over something. Or intense pain… The puppet-master pushed Deidara over and lifted the girl back onto her bed, head propped up. Deidara decided his friend had it under control and tried to calm himself down by pacing.
"Deidara, go get some pepper from the Kitchen. The strong smelling kind." Sasori said seriously. He placed to fingers at the girl's wrist, noticing her pulse was slowing to a normal beat, but her eyes were still hazed over.
Deidara had disappeared and reappeared in a matter of seconds, pepper in hand. He handed it to Sasori, who ran some under the girl's nose. She didn't react at first, but after a few wafts of it, she sneezed and sat up, only to be pushed back down by Sasori.
Deidara ran over to the other side of the bed and looked her straight in the face, just like Sasori was doing.
"Amaya, what happened?" Sasori asked, sounding strained for words.
She just looked at the man standing above her. She didn't really know what happened. The last thing she felt was an intense pain in her foot again and then Sasori and Deidara looking down at her. "I don't know. First my spine hurt again and then you too were here."
Deidara's eyes widened and he looked up to Sasori. "Danna, un, Kisame tore threw some nerves in her ankle when he attacked."
Sasori cursed under his breath so low that even Amaya's wolf ears strained to hear him. "Do not inform Leader of this." He continued. "Maybe you should stay with us tonight, Kitten."
For some reason, it didn't bother her when Sasori called her that. Amaya guessed it was because he was a friend. "Alright, but there's only two beds."
They looked at each other and laughed. "Oh, Amaya, un! This is the isolation room! Do you really think we could live in this "room", un? We have a lot more space in our rooms… and windows, un!"
"We have room for seven beds if you want them!" Sasori laughed. "We can move in another queen bed if you want. Just as long as you swear not to run from the Akatsuki."
Amaya laughed softly with them and sat up on her elbows and smiled at the two. Her ears had pricked up and when she swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up carefully, her tail swung back and forth happily. "I promise." It was a lot better here with two friends than just some creepy stalker shark. "But are you sure this isn't a pain? You don't have to be nice to me just because I'm new."
"Trust me," Sasori said. "I wasn't even nice to Deidara when he first got here. But, the little twerp grew on me. That was only two years ago. Hey, Deidara, how old are you now?"
"Fourteen, almost fifteen now, un." The boy replied after thinking for just a moment.
"The reason I asked is because you seem to look about the same age as Amaya. How old are you, Kitten?"
Amaya instantly had a flashback to her family being taken and stumbled back a step. The two boys grabbed her elbows to steady her. "Sorry, I'm thirteen and going to turn fourteen in August."
"We are about the same age, un. That's cool. But I think it's time you went to bed, un. Danna, if you move the bed, I'll help move her stuff next door. Deal, un?" Deidara put his arm over Amaya's shoulders to help steady her as Sasori left to move a bed.
"You alright to move, un?"
"Yeah… just a… a memory." Amaya blushed slightly at the boy's touch and stood back up carefully and grabbed the outfit she had worn when she was kidnapped along with the new clothes. She turned around to face Deidara, only to find him standing right behind her. Amaya blushed slightly once more as he took the clothes.
"Hey, teenagers! Why don't you two stop flirting and come in here!" Sasori yelled. Somehow, a door had appeared between the two apartments so they didn't need to walk through the hallway to get there.
Deidara blushed slightly at this comment before yelling "Danna! We are not flirting, un! You're the one that flirts with every girl we pass when we're on missions, remember, un?"
At this, Deidara put an arm around Amaya and pushed her down to the ground. And just in time, too. A lamb smashed on the wall behind them and she heard both Sasori and Deidara chuckle at this. She lifted her head, ears pricked, to see them looking at her. Oh great. She felt that her tail was fluffed. She didn't…
"Did you just growl? We heard you growl at dinner, but this was an almost… excited growl." Sasori said, smiling.
Amaya stood slowly and rubbed her tail so it might not be so bush-like. "I'm part wolf, so I have some of their instincts along with my human ones." The girl fiddled with the fishnet around her thumbs and hands while explaining. "Like, tonight at dinner, my territorial instincts activated when Leader petted me, and it made me feel like I was supposed to be a house cat or something." She knew she was part dog, but she was referred to more as cat-like, so it kind of stuck.
"Aw… poor kitten, un. But you don't seem to mind Danna and me touching you." Deidara said standing up also and looking down at her.
She blushed. She really didn't want to tell them that the reason she didn't mind was because she thought of them as friends, but they were looking at her so hard, waiting for the answer…
But then, she sneezed. And not the human loud sneeze, but a cat-like quick sneeze that sends jolts throughout your body. The two men laughed at her small smile and watched as her ears slid forward a tiny bit and her tail swayed back and forth slowly.
"Well, then, un. Perhaps we should get you settled in, kitten." Deidara said still smiling. He guided her into a huge room. They were right, it could hold seven beds. Heck, it could hold seven of her old room!
There were three queen-sized beds lined up around the room in separate corners. One had what appeared to be a bunch of scrolls and… were those puppets? There was a large desk with tools on it.
In the other corner, a desk was covered in clay boxes and fireworks. The wall had selves for what appeared to be small clay figurines.
The corner across from the clay room held what appeared to be a sitting area with a few windows overlooking a river, some chairs, tables, and a sofa.
Then, there was an empty-ish corner. It held just a bed, some selves, and a desk. But it practically screamed home to the girl. Her ears pricked straight up and her tail made figure-8s in the air expressing her excitement as Deidara walked over and put Amaya's clothing in the closet nearest the empty area. She looked up at Sasori, ho nodded and then smiled at her enthusiastic face, realizing this must be the first time in a long time that she ever had a room of her own.
The girl looked from the puppet man to the empty room, not sure what to do, until…
She hugged him, tail swinging so fast it was hard to see. She stayed like this for a moment, and then jumped down to do the same to an unsuspecting Deidara.
Sasori laughed when she jumped on his back and he stood rim-rod straight, then looked back at the madly grinning girl. Deidara gave her a piggyback ride to the bed and she jumped down and climbed to sit on the side of the bed in a small ball.
Sasori walked back to his desk and sat down, but, picking up his tools, decided he just wanted to go to bed. Time flew by since dinner, and it was now 12:30, and he had work to do for tomorrow.
He turned around to see Deidara talking to Amaya, whose tail was still waving around happily, and climbed into his bed. "Go to sleep soon, kids. We have work tomorrow."
Deidara and Amaya turned to look at the man turn out his lamp. Deidara sighed and removed his arm bandages, forgetting that the girl had never seen his hands before.
"What are those?" She asked, reaching down to pick up one of his hands, exclaiming it carefully and watching it open and close.
"These are the hands that make one of the best arts in the world, un." He tilted his head toward the walls of clay and looked back at Amaya. The girl was still looking at the hands, curiously pawing over them, literally, but not that she was grossed out, but almost like she liked them. He also noticed the clock then.
"Kitten, you've had a long day. Time for bed now." He said, standing up and taking his hand back. Deidara smiled when he saw that the girl looked up at him with big, silver eyes, her ears bending forward sadly and tail falling to the bed. "I'll show some of my art tomorrow, un. But, tonight, you need rest."
"How am I supposed to get to sleep with all of this excitement?" she asked, thinking she could trick the man into staying up with her.
"Hmm… I guess I'll need to do this, then, un." He repeated a few hand signs and placed his hand on Amaya's forehead, she instantly grew drowsy and heard Deidara say "Good night, Kitten, un." Before she slipped into another dreamless sleep, but this one was happier.