Chapter One: Repairs shop.
"Chikakon, hand over the allan key." The little red fox looked up innocently, then turned and trotted away. "Chikakon! The allan key or this whole place goes kaboom!" The little red fox returned and helpfully dropped the tool beside the girl's hand. "Thank-you." She huffed. Carefully, she secured the wire into place and leant back. "There." The little red fox went for the allan key again. "Ah ah ah~" She snatched the tool before the fox could get a hold of it. "Don't." She tapped his nose with it, "Run off." Another tap. "With it." And another. "Again." The little red fox sniffed and wagged his bushy tail. "Ugh! Why do I bother?" He pulled a silly grin and leapt away. The girl returned to her work desk. Suddenly, the door jingled open, the little silver bell creating a cute little melody. The girl didn't bother to look up, just continued to fiddle with the inside of her metal casing, trying to get the wires together. "Suzuhara Chikako." An emotionless voice spoke. "Wha-at?" The girl dragged, not looking up.
"You repair and deal weapons, correct?" The girl ignored them, flipping down her welding mask instead.
"You'd better step back." She warned. The wires connected and were melted together. A small explosion ensued. Coughing, the girl stood and stumbled away from her desk, wafting at the air. She lifted her mask and shook out her ponytailed hair. "Blegh! That stuff's foul."
"Suzuhara Chikako!" She finally looked up. Two men in black cloaks with red clouds looked at her. One was tall with some sort of giant sword on his back. The other one was shorter, but in the dim light of her shop, all she could see of his face were two red orbs. Her eyes narrowed by the tiniest amount. "Yeah, what do you want? I'm busy." She looked around a little, then trotted off towards the back of the room to rifle through a few papers, then look under the desk holding them and her dinosauric computer. "Chikakon?" She called, "Chikakon?" She stood and huffed, reaching up to her head and pulling the fox from the back of her hair. "Bad Chikakon!" She scolded. The two men looked at her weirdly. Gently, she placed the fox down and picked up a few papery blueprints. She sat back at her work bench and began clearing the smoky, grainy residue. Chikakon leapt up and stood in the dust, leaving paw prints behind. Chikako pushed him aside. The shorter man stepped forwards and she glanced up a little, "Yes?"
"Are you the weapons dealer and repairer going by the name 'Natsuki'?" He asked. She sat back with a frown. "Hmmm... Maybe." She felt his glare, but refused to squirm like Chikakon was.
"Suzuhara Chikako!" The man demanded. She whipped forwards with her own glare,
"That I am and only who I am! How dare you accuse me of such illegal actions!" The little red fox lowered himself in a way that showed how little he liked the situation. The lightbulb flickered and Chikako huffed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Chikakon, can you fix that?" The little red fox leapt up. "Thanks..." The man still stood in an impatient way. "It would be unfortunate for you if we discovered you were lying to us." He threatened. Chikako glared. "Ch. Even if I was this 'Natsuki' person, why would I tell any random person who came in asking for me? If I were 'Natsuki', then I would have a code or a designated time and place for people to connect to me with." Chikakon returned from the back room with a lightbulb in his mouth. He leapt up and unscrewed the old one. He gave out a yelp and the room was plunged into darkness. "Chikakon!" Chikako cried. The room flickered into a dim light and the girl stood there atop her workbench, cradling an electrocuted fox in one arm and holding out an old lightbulb in her other hand. "What have I told you about the electrical system? Turn it off before making adjustments!" He groaned a little, then squirmed back onto his front and leapt down. Chikako sighed and turned to the two men. "Sorry, but I don't know what you two want with 'Natsuki', but I only do electrical system repairs. Y' know, lightbulbs and the like?" The shorter man frowned and the other one dislodged his sword a little. At that slight movement, Chikako drew her katana a little from it's scabbard at the back of her obi. She frowned a little at the taller man's dark chuckle. "Perhaps you haven't heard of us, girlie," He spoke in a rough tone, "But we're the Akatsuki and we don't tolerate lying." Her eyes narrowed a little, but she smirked and let the katana fall back inside it's sheath. "Why didn't you say so?" Chikakon looked up and wagged his tail a little. "The name's Chikako 'Natsuki' Suzuhara. Come with me."
Chikako let down her dark navy hair from it's ponytail and pulled off the coarse material of her work apron. Slinging it over her kitchen chair, she unpinned her wide red sleeves. The two Akatsuki members looked at her warily, but they visibly relaxed when she slung her katana next to her apron and picked up her wooden cane. She looked at them with glittering eyes. "Want some tea? Sake?" They shook their heads to both. "Ummm... Wanna see the weapons? Want any illegal weaponry repaired? What?"
"We want to talk." The shorter man said. Chikako remembered seeing him around the village when she still had parents. His name was Itachi Uchiha and he was a supposed prodigy. Then he killed his entire clan bar one and that kinda all went down the drain. Chikako smiled and nodded though. She prepared a little tea, enough for all of them just in case. Whilst the water boiled, she invited the two men to sit of which they did. Chikako was silently relieved about this. After that, she turned her back to them to continue with the tea, she did ask what they wanted to speak about though.
"We have been ordered to bring you back to the Akatsuki base." Itachi said emotionlessly.
"By force if necessary." The other one inputted. Chikako could feel herself grow cold. She continued to stir and pour the tea though and, relying a little on her cane, carried a tray of cups and the teapot to the table. She could feel the two men eyeing her limp but brushed it off. Chikakon leapt up onto the table and skidded across it. He collided rather messily with the tall shark man. He grinned down at the little red fox, showing his array of sharp teeth. Chikakon whimpered and scuttled off to hide behind his master's sleeve. Chikako rolled her eyes and settled down with her tea. "Why does your organisation want me and who in particular has given out this order?" The shark man blinked at her blunt manner of speaking. In Chikako's head, it was all perfectly polite taking into consideration that her leg was beginning to ache and that they were saying she was going to have to leave her home, shop and two-faced business behind. "Leader-sama has ordered your presence in the Akatsuki. He believes that your skills will be beneficial to the organisation. He also expressed that he would be in need of your other... talents aswell." The shark man chuckled at this. Chikako sent him a glare, then turned to Itachi. "I have no idea what your leader means by 'talents', but I would prefer to stay here. If he is in need of my repair business or of my dealing business, then he can send someone out to place orders or he can do the usual thing and send a messenger bird. I'll gladly send Chikakon here to deliver the order." The two men's eyes darkened.
"I'm afraid we are in need of you personally."
"Sorry, but I have a life for myself here. I won't be leaving. Drink your tea and go." She stood and limped as fast and as haughtily as she could out of the kitchen. A few minutes passed in silence, then: "Kisame, go fetch her." The shark man grinned.
Chikako groaned and lifted the heavy lids of her eyes. A sharp intake of breathe that was her gasp was the only sound in the dark silence. "Chikakon?" She called. The was no reply. "Chikakon?" She tried to push herself from the cold ground, only to find her wrists tied together behind her. Her ankles and thighs were also in the same predicament. The tethers pained her left leg terribly and she let out another groan. A door opened and she looked up at the light. The blue shark man hauled her up silently and her head spun. Her feet slipped and she would have crashed to the ground if the man hadn't been gripping her arm. "Let go." She groaned half heartedly. She only received a chuckle as she was taken from the room and up a set of steps. "Where's Chikakon?" No reply. "My cane?"
"Confiscated."
"But I need it." Another chuckle.
"Leader-sama will determine that." Chikako smirked a little. So she was in the Akatsuki base? She forced her feet to support her weight and tried her best to walk along in her binds. "We going to visit your leader?" She felt the smirk on the shark man's face. "What's your name?" She decided as her next question.
"Kisame Hoshigaki." Chikako nodded. Kisame suddenly stopped outside a wooden door and cut her ropes. She resisted the urge to rub her wrists. "Don't be an idiot." Kisame warned mockingly, then knocked and opened the door. Chikako was pushed into darkness.
Chikako collapsed on her left leg with a yelp. She glared daggers at the door, then hauled herself to her feet, using the wall for support. "Suzuhara-san." Her head whipped up in the direction of the voice.
"Yes?"
"Good. Welcome to the Akatsuki."
"Thanks, but it would've been better if I hadn't been tied up. Even nicer than that would've been if I'd had Chikakon and my cane of which, as a matter of fact, I do actually need." She knew she was being a bit snappy and not all too polite, but her leg was killing her and she didn't appreciate not remembering how she got to the base of a wanted criminal organisation. "I would watch your tongue, Suzuhara-san." She was about to give a smart arse comment when he spoke over her. "I wish for you to join my organisation."
"I know that one already." She could feel annoyance radiating from the direction of the speaker.
"You have three options."
Well that's always nice.
"Join, die or solitary confinement and torture until you join."
Those however, not so nice. Chikako frowned. "Where's my idiotic fox?"
"Join and you'll find out."
"Will I get my cane and my fox back, alive and well, if I do so?"
"So long as you do not attempt to escape, then I find those terms agreeable."
"What about my quarters?"
"You will have your own room, with connecting bathroom. They will be of reasonable size and the same as the other member's."
"Except you."
"Except me."
"I get to keep my fox and my cane and my katana?"
"Yes."
"And I get a separate working area?"
"If you so wish."
"Will my shop be kept. Not destroyed or sold?"
"... If that pleases you..." Chikako could feel his generosity wearing thin. She smirked.
"I suppose so... Where's my fox?"
"Well done, you may refer to me as Leader-sama, Natsuki-san. You will be escorted to your room now."
"Wait, where the hell is my stupid-ass fox and my cane and my katana?" She felt his smirk, but was led away by someone before she could retort with an insult much along the lines of: 'you lying bastard, I want my fox at least'. Itachi looked down at her when she snatched her arm back from his grip. Limping still, she stormed along by his side in one of her foulest moods. He smirked, something which annoyed her further. "Shut it." She growled, then stopped to lean against the wall. "Where the hell is my cane?" She demanded. Itachi looked at her blandly. "Oh sod it." Chikako muttered. She thrust herself away from the wall and stalked away in as dignified a manner as she could with her limp. She knew Itachi was trailing her, but couldn't care less. She followed her ears to an archway. On the other side of it was a rather busy kitchen. Half a dozen men were all yelling and a few seemed to be brawling with each other. In their boisterous midst were a few who were trying to sit and eat quietly at the long wooden table. "Hey!" Chikako yelled. All of them stopped and stared. "Has anyone seen my stupid fox and my cane?" There was silence for a moment, then some silver haired, bare-chested man yelled: "Who the fuck are you?" Chikako glared,
"I'm Ch-"
"Her name is Natsuki." Chikako turned to glare at Itachi, who's blade-like voice had cut through her like ice. "Hey! That's my-"
"That's your new name." He said slowly.
"Who the hell decided that?"
"Leader-sama."
"That little swine! I'm gonna-" Someone strong lifted her up by the scruff of her kimono top. She hissed and tried to turn around to see who it was. Kisame grinned at her. "What did I say about being an idiot?"
"Why you-" He held out her cane and her eyes lit up. "Hey, were'd you get that?" She asked, taking it from him. He grinned and set her down. "Not gonna give me an answer again, huh?" She stated, leaning on her cane with relief. She felt people eyeing her and eyed them back. "Hey teammates." The silver haired man glared at her. "What?" She challenged. He growled then charged at her, roaring out swear words and swinging his scythe. She ducked the attack lightning fast and jabbed him under the ribs with the tip of her cane. He fell back a little and she stood up, stumbling a little on her leg. "Why you little bitch!" He charged again. Again, Natsuki landed a hit. This time on his wrists. He laughed manically and went to slice at her stomach. She pushed away on her right leg, but landed on her left and crumpled to the ground. The silver haired man's hysterics rang in her ears and her brought the triple-bladed scythe down at her. Kisame thrust Samehada in front of Natsuki, effectively blocking the onslaught. Natsuki pushed herself up with a glare towards Kisame. He grinned at her. "What did I say about being an idiot?"
"Don't be." Natsuki rolled her eyes and used her cane to pull herself up. "What's your name?" She asked the silver haired man. He seethed at her and the blue-skinned Kisame. "Hidan." He growled, then stalked out of the kitchen. "Well he's a little peach isn't he?" Natsuki stated. Kisame chuckled and placed Samehada back across his back. "Don't be an idiot."
"Like you keep telling me, however I must take my stupid fox's place and be stupid for him in his absence."
"Is this your stupid fox?" A bored-looking redhead asked from behind them. Natsuki turned awkwardly with her cane and grinned. "Chikakon! Where have you been?" The little red fox leapt out of the grip of the red haired male and scampered up onto Natsuki's head. She smiled and looked at the... boy? "Hey, I'm Natsuki. Thanks for giving the fox back."
"You are welcome, I suppose..." The redhead walked off then, not even deigning to give Natsuki his name. She brushed it off lightly and turned to Itachi. "Can you show me my room now?" The Uchiha gave a 'finally' look and strode off away from the kitchen. The others watched them leave. "Hey Kisame, un!"
"What?"
"What's the girl doing here, yeah?"
"Leader-sama wanted her. She owned the repairs shop and also dealt illegal weapons aswell as repairing them."
"Why'd we need her?" Kisame huffed at the blonde's question.
"To repair illegal weapons obviously."
"Thanks Itachi-san." Itachi didn't reply, but he did dip his head a little before leaving. The door closed and Natsuki flicked the light on. The room was sparse. That certainly was the word for it if ever there was one. In one corner was a single bed made of solid wood and with a duvet on it that looked surprisingly warm. Next to it was a bedside table and further along that wall was a tall wardrobe with drawers at the bottom. On the right hand wall was a door which Natsuki presumed to lead to a bathroom. Natsuki sighed and dumped her cane next to the bed. To her pleasure, she found her katana lying on the pillow. She smiled, then went to explore the wardrobe and drawers. Nothing. She sighed. She shouldn't have expected much. Sitting on her bed, she reminisced of home. Her room had been busy and a complete mess with washing lines about the ceiling holding up her sheets and quilts. Clothes had littered the floor for Chikakon to sleep on if he so wished and her bed had been comfortable and piled high with duvets and pillows. Her window was small, but over-looked the rest of the village. She could see most everything from it because her shop stood on high ground, up a very steep hill with only a few other shops, most of which were run-down like her own. She had old green shutters on those windows and she loved to open them in the morning and feel the sun bless her face. Chikakon liked it too. Sighing, Natsuki fell back on the duvet and curled up. She didn't know what to do. She had managed to keep a cool head in Leader-sama's office, but now, she felt she had made the wrong decision. It was her only decision really, but she still felt homesick. Her job was repairing things and to keep her life alive, she dealt weapons and repaired them. Now she was stuck in a criminal organisation for her occupation. It just didn't seem fair. Surely someone else was better than her at what she did? Chikakon pushed his nose under her arm and she smiled at him gently. "Hey Chikakon." She wrapped her arm around his curled up form in a motherly way and they slowly fell asleep.