Hi everyone! I made a few changes to chapter 2 so i'm uploading that one with this as well. Otherwise I hop you enjoy chapter 3! Thanks to Kik's story of awesomeness for reviewing! It's awesome. Thanks also to a random guest. It means a lot.
I don't own anything or anyone except my character.
The first time I awoke, I was in a room I'd never seen before, but my clothes had been changed and, glancing down I realized the cuffs had been taken off and my arms were bandaged. I wasn't tied down either for the first time in as long as I could remember. Looking around the room, I realized I was alone. I started to sit up when dizziness swept through me and my stomach twisted. I curled over the side of the bed and threw up. Once i started, it was as though I couldn't stop. Over the sounds of my dry heaving and gasping, I heard the door open and a female gasp before I felt a pair of cool, gentle hands brush my hair from my sweaty face, holding it back.
(Konan's view)
I walked back to the infirmary where i'd been going for the past three days. The girl still hadn't woken up, and it was beginning to worry Kakuzu, which worried everyone. I pushed the door open to see said girl in the middle of being violently sick over the side of the bed. I hurried over and quickly pulled her hair out of the way. My hand brushed her forehead briefly and i frowned. She was burning up. Using my ring I contacted Kakuzu.
"Kakuzu, you better get down to the infirmary, she woke up, but is burning up with a fever and vomiting." I said, worry in my tone. He responded instantly saying he was on his way.
A few minutes later he and Hidan entered the room. Kakuzu took one look at the pale girl I was supporting as she repeatedly dry heaved into a bucket i'd gotten, and began an examination. The girl struggled weakly to get away from him, but was so weak she could hardly lift her head.
"I think she's got an infection from the cuffs, and is severely underweight as well as dehydrated." Kakuzu said, straightening and walking to the cupboard to pull out a few things.
"Is she going to be ok?" i asked in concern, gently petting her thick black hair absentmindedly.
"I think so, I know how to heal infections, so if I can get that under control, her fever should go down. She really needs to get some food and water in her. Her body isn't strong enough to fight the sickness, that's probably why she's getting sick. Her body's trying to rid itself of the infection any way it can." he said, coming over with a few small bags of supplies as he set up an IV.
"For now, i'll just get some fluids in her, hopefully that'll help." he continued as he finished setting up the IV, inserting the needle into the girl's small arm.
(no one's view)
Over the next few days her condition improved greatly, her fever finally breaking on the third day. Kakuzu, Konan, and White Zetsu rotated on visiting her the most, but everyone was anxious for her to finally awaken.
Konan rubbed her eyes tiredly, and looked up as Pein entered the room. He walked over and looked at the unknown stranger who was still unconscious. He looked back at Konan, who looked dead on her feet.
"Go get some sleep Konan. She's alright, her fever is completely gone. You being here isn't going to make her wake up any faster." he said gently to his friend.
"What if she gets sick again? I need to be here if that happens." Konan said, shaking her head stubbornly.
"Konan, you're exhausted. Either listen to me as your friend, or I'll order you as your leader. I'm not going to let you push yourself until you become ill." Pein said, tone becoming a bit harder.
Konan sighed, but knew better than to argue, so she got up and started towards the door. She stuck her tongue out at Pein as she passed him and he rolled his eyes. Following the blue haired female out, he glanced back once before gently shutting the door.
(OC's view)
When I awoke again, i was in the same room as last time, but my clothes had been changed once again, and my wrists had been rebandaged. I looked around, realizing that there was no one in the room with me once again. I frowned as blurry memories filled my mind. Gentle, cool hands holding back my hair, a soft, concerned voice comforting me, and a gruff voice as well.
After a few seconds I sat up and carefully swung my legs over the edge of the hospital bed. Standing, I waited for the lightheadedness to pass before slowly making my way to the closed door.
Twisting the knob I opened it and stuck my head out cautiously. Not seeing anyone I exited the room. My ears twitched at the silence, and my tail twisted anxiously. My canine instincts were screaming danger.
"What in the world are you doing up!?" someone asked from behind me.
I shrieked in surprise and jumped. Whirling around, I saw a very beautiful lady. Now that I was calm, i could actually notice what she looked like. I studied her for a moment before recognizing the blue hair and amber eyes. It was the lady from before! She was watching me, waiting patiently for a response.
"U-uh, don no, whe mi," I said, stumbling over the words.
"You should be resting, you have very little chakra, your body heals much slower than ours does." she answered gently.
"No! don wan ta!" I snapped in irritation.
Just then my stomach growled, loudly. I blushed and looked down in embarrassment.
She laughed, "Are you hungry?" she asked, smiling kindly at me. I shook my head, "Nooo, nah hunray." I said, struggling to remember what to say, yet the words still not coming out right.
"I'll tell you what, let's get some food in you, a shower, and some new clothes. Then we'll go talk to Leader-sama. Maybe he'll know who you are little one, or where you're from." the pretty lady said kindly, smiling gently at me.
I thought about it, a shower would be awesome. My stomach growled again at that moment, making up my mind.
"O-key," I said, looking up at her shyly.
She smiled and held out a hand, i stared at it for a moment before looking up at her questioningly.
"Wha?' I asked.
"Take my hand," she answered.
" Whey?" I asked, feeling confused.
"I don't know, I guess I just did it without thinking. i was going to take you to my room so you could shower." she said, seeming a bit puzzled herself.
I thought about that for a moment then smiled at her shyly. I reached up and took her hand. It closed around my smaller one gently. Walking close together she pointed out different rooms.
"So, what's your name chibi?" the blue haired lady, who I now knew was named Konan, asked me.
" Memry." i told her, then "wha's chibi?" I asked after a moment.
"Technically it means baby, or little one." she answered.
"I not baby," I pouted a little, thinking she was making fun of me.
"I know, it's an endearment." she said, amused.
I looked up at her, "Wha's dearmet?" I wondered.
" Endearment,it's something you call someone instead of their name, like a nickname, but affectionate." she explained. She asked, "How old are you anyways?"
"Umm, seven think?" I said, stopping and thinking about it hard.
"You don't know for sure?" she asked, sounding surprised.
"momma and dadday die, alone now." i told her. I looked down, feeling sad. I knew that, because that was the last day my parents had been alive.
Konan noticed the sadness fill the eyes of the child by her side and decided to drop the topic for now. She'd have to warn the guys to not bring it up as well.
"Ok, here's my room." Konan said, opening the door.
Once inside she went straight to the closet. Pulling an old chest out she opened it and began digging through it. "It's a good thing i kept some of my clothes from when I was a child. I think they might fit you." she said, pulling out a faded and worn shirt, black capris and sandals. Getting up she grabbed a towel and ushered the girl into the bathroom.
"There's shampoo and body wash inside, you'll have to wear your same undergarments for the moment until we can get you some new clothes." she said.
I nodded, 'O-kay" I said. She smiled and left the room.
Quickly stripping I stepped into the shower. Sighing happily at the warm water I started cleaning myself until I saw the water was nearly black. I must have been filthy. I ended up lathering and washing my hair four times and it was still dirty. Konan knocked on the door.
"Everything ok?" she called.
"Nooo! Haiye dirty!" i wailed, tears prickling the corners of my eyes.
"May i come in?" she asked.
"uh-huh," I sniffled.
The door opened and she stepped in. Looking at my hair her eyes widened a bit before she smiled.
"Come on, I know why your hair seems so dirty. But you need a bath to clean it, and i need to go get a few supplies." She said before turning the water off.
I shivered at the cold air and she handed me the towel. Wrapping myself in it I followed her into the bedroom. She grabbed a strange looking shampoo, several towels, and a bathrobe, which she handed to me. She then grabbed a bag, dumped everything in, and put it on. By then I'd managed to put the robe on, but it was way too big. She laughed at my disgruntled expression before kneeling and tying it tightly then picking me up. I yelped in surprise and clung to her neck.
"Wha ya do?" I asked.
"I'll carry you, we'll get there faster, and I don't want you tripping." she explained, opening the door.
We were in a different room a few minutes later. Setting me down, she locked the door and I looked around in awe. It was an underground hot springs that had been made into a series of pools for bathing. Konan nudged me gently towards a small pool on the edge. Once i was in, she pulled out the weird shampoo and squeezed a large amount into her hand. She then began scrubbing my hair gently. i closed my eyes tightly and scrunched my nose at the smell.
"It stinky" I complained. She laughed.
"I know, bear with it a little longer." she said.
"cleanny now?" I asked, a few minutes later.
"Yep, the dye is coming out, just a few more times." she responded.
"Dye? Wha dat?" I asked, confused.
"You know, your hair was dyed?" konan said, sounding surprised.
"Uh,uh." I said stubbornly, shaking my head.
"Well, your hair was black when you came here and now it looks closer to grey." konan said.
She stopped scrubbing. "Ok, dunk your head underwater for a bit, until the suds are gone. Then I'll do it again."
I silently obeyed. Thirty minutes later and another bottle of shampoo and my hair was finally clean. It was also silver. My ears were silver with flecks of gold and grey. I was currently dressed and staring at myself in Konan's mirror in awe and shock, while she brushed my long, mid back length hair. My tail, also silver and speckled, curled around my waist and i played with it absentmindedly.
"Alright chibi, I'm finished. We need to go see Leader, ok?" Konan said as she put my hair into a loose ponytail.
I gulped and shook my head. I looked up when she put a hand on my head.
"What's wrong sweetie?" she asked.
"scared, don wanna be lone more" i said, whimpering a little in fear at the last part.
She pulled me into a hug, "That won't happen. i'll make sure you get to stay, besides the other members want to meet you too. They'll be mad if Leader sends you away without getting to meet you now that you're not hurt so bad." she said comfortingly.
I took a deep breath and nodded. She smiled and stood up, taking my hand again. As we exited the room i clung to it tightly, shaking from fear and apprehension. All too soon we stopped in front of a large wooden door and Konan knocked.
"You may come in," A male called from inside.
She opened the door and gently tugged me forward, I stumbled a little, having frozen once the door started to open. We went through and the door closed behind us. I let go of Konan's hand in favor of clinging to the back of her shirt, hiding from whoever was in the room. I was so scared I was nearly in tears.
"konan, I didn't expect you already. i thought you were watching the child?" the unseen man asked, sounding surprised.
"She's awake, I bathed and fed her and came here." Konan responded.
"Where is she?" he asked, looking around. I pressed further into Konan's back.
"She's hiding behind me," Konan said, sounding a little amused.
"Come on little one, it's alright." she said to me, gently tugging on my hands to pull me from behind her.
I stood beside her, looking down, stiff and shaking. I started when someone knelt down in front of me and instinctively tried to back away, running into Konan.
"Why's she so scared of me?" Pein asked, looking up at Konan in confusion.
"I don't know, she wasn't like this around me." konan replied, looking down at the little girl sadly.
Pein reached out and gently grasped the girl's chin, making her look at him. She looked at him with wide, frightened eyes. He sighed, feeling guilty for some reason.
"What's your name?" he asked gently.
"M-memry" she stuttered. He frowned a bit at her unusual way of talking. He glanced up at konan with an eyebrow raised.
"she can't talk well." Konan mouthed back to him and his eyes widened a little in surprise.
He blinked, even more surprised when a pair of small hands suddenly ran through his hair. He looked down to see the girl studying his hair with fascinated eyes. Her ears were pricked, and her tail waved in excitement.
"Oange!" she said excitedly, still studying it. She glanced down to meet his eyes and her eyes widened further, and her tail began to wag in utter excitement.
"Konah! Look, puple eye!" she said, looking thrilled as she pointed at Pein's eyes, which had widened considerably. She was so excited she clasped her hands on his cheeks and tugged him closer, bending down so she could look at his eyes more closely.
Pein looked up at Konan helplessly, hoping for some help. But she was too busy laughing at his predicament to be any use so he gently grasped the child's hands and tugged them from his face.
"Who you?" she asked him, peering at him innocently.
"I am the leader of this organization, you may call me Pein, or leader." he answered, standing and trying to salvage a bit of his tattered dignity.
"O-key, Pei!" she said, smiling up at him happily.
Beside him, konan nearly collapsed from laughter. He shot her a nasty look before addressing the girl.
"No, my name is Pein." he corrected gently.
The little girl nodded, "Uh- huh, Pei!" she chirped happily.
Pein just sighed, giving up. "Where are you from, Memory?" he asked, trying to get the little girl to focus on him.
She stopped swaying and looked at him with sad eyes. "Don know. No place no more, all gone, no one lef." she said softly, looking like she was about to cry.
"It's okay, don't cry, ok? You can stay here, if you want too?" He said hurriedly, trying to prevent a waterworks display.
"Can? Promise?" the little girl asked, looking up at him hopefully. He nodded, and she beamed up at him.
He was caught off guard when she suddenly leapt at him. He caught her instinctively and she wrapped her arms around his neck, cuddling into him. He looked at the back of her head, before looking at Konan, silently begging for help. She just smirked at him. He glowered at her murderously before awkwardly patting the child on the back.
Just then the door flew open without warning, and White Zetsu rushed in, looking worried.
"Leader! She isn't in the room anymore, she's lost! We need to…" He cried, before trailing off, taking in the sight of their great and feared leader being snuggled to death by a small child.
"S-sorry Zetsu. She woke up, and Pein said he wanted to see her first thing." Konan choked out, laughing once again at his expression.
"But what is she doing?" he asked, sounding completely bewildered.
"Pein told her she could stay. She's busy showing her affection." konan replied, still looking utterly amused.
"Oh," he managed.
Chapter 3
"Pei, down! Please?" the little girl asked suddenly, tugging on the man's orange hair. He glanced down at her then set her down gently. She ran over to stand in front of White Zetsu, studying him intently. He stared back at her, nervous at how she would respond to him.
She suddenly grinned up at him, "Know you! You nice! Help me!" she exclaimed excitedly, pointing at him.
"That's right, I carried you out of the base and brought you here." he answered, smiling back at her hesitantly. She stepped closer and raised her arms to him. He looked at her, bewildered, before looking at Konan.
"Up! Up, up,up, UP!" she chanted, stamping her foot impatiently. Startled, Zetsu obeyed, picking her up and holding her awkwardly. She didn't seem to mind as she leaned forward a little to wrap her arms around his neck in a hug.
"Tank you," she mumbled, voice muffled by his cloak. Zetsu smiled a little before hugging her back.
"You're welcome little one." he said.
She giggled and started playing with his hair. "You haf geen haiya, know dat?" she asked, patting it down over his eyes. He chuckled, "I know," he answered, amused.
Pein sighed, "I don't know what it is with her and hair. She was fascinated by mine as well." he stated, watching the two interact with exasperated amusement.
Everyone in the room was startled when a loud growl sudden sounded. They looked at Memory who looked distressed and embarrassed.
"Konah! I hungwy!" she whined, struggling to get down.
Not wanting to drop her, he set her down gently and she ran to stand in front of Konan, looking up at her pleadingly.
Konan giggled at the little girl's cute pout before ruffling her hair. "Ok Chibi, let's go get some food for you." she said, smiling at her.
"Kay!" she said happily, grabbing Konan's hand and tugging her towards the door eagerly. She stopped, however, before she reached the door and turned back to Zetsu and Pein.
"You come too?" she asked, her head cocking to the side. Konan resisted the urge to squeal, with her ears and tail, she was just way too adorable.
Both males shook their heads, so she turned around and grabbed Konan's hand again.
"Come on, go,go,go!" she cried impatiently.
Stifling her urge to laugh, Konan allowed herself to be pulled through the door and into the hall, making sure to shut the door behind her.
"Chibi! Slow down honey! Do you even know where the kitchen is?" konan asked a few minutes later, laughing. Memory instantly stopped.
"Umm, no?" she said, looking sheepish.
"Well, we're going the wrong way. The kitchen was a few halls back." Konan said.
"Oops?" she said, looking up at Konan.
"It's ok, let's go." she said, taking the lead this time.
"Konah! I wanna has a panake, and, and, hotdog, maccheezer, and juice, and, and, umm.." the little girl rattled on happily, nearly drooling. "Icecweam! Please?" she begged, looking up at Konan pleadingly. Konan laughed, "We'll see what we have. We need to go shopping, maybe you can go with Kakuzu, he won't be able to tell you no." she said.
Memory slowed a little. "Um, Konah? Who Kazu?" she asked, looking confused.
Konan slapped her forehead, "Shoot! I forgot to tell you, didn't I? There are quite a few other people living here too." she explained.
"Don't worry, they'll like you, and you already met a few, well sort of at least." she rushed to reassure the girl, seeing her begin to look nervous.
"When?" she asked, sounding curious.
"When you were sick, they helped make you better." Konan explained. They were now outside the kitchen, and konan could faintly hear voices coming from inside. Judging from the stiffness in her shoulders, so could Memory.
"Come on honey, let's go in, it'll be ok." konan said softly. The little girl nodded and took a deep breath before grabbing Konan's hand tightly.
Konan slowly pushed the door open, feeling slightly nervous in spite of herself. She hoped the boys behaved themselves. Hidan,Deidara, and Tobi were seated at the table eating cereal and bickering with each other while Kakuzu and Sasori were leaning against the counter, ignoring their partners. Sasori was reading the paper and Kakuzu was working in the bank logs, a cup of coffee on the counter next to him. The room quickly grew quiet as they entered, all eyes on the small child trying to hide behind her.
"Hey! The brat finally woke up?" Hidan exclaimed loudly, standing up quickly. He started around the table, magenta eyes excited.
Memory whimpered a little and scooted further behind Konan, causing Hidan to stop. "What the hell?" he asked, seeming confused and a little hurt.
Konan sighed, "Don't take offense, she's shy." she explained, then looked over her shoulder to address the girl. "It's ok honey. That's Hidan, he's noisy, but harmless." she reassured.
Memory peeked out from behind Konan and offered a timid smile to the white haired male. "H-hewo, I memwy." she said quietly.
Konan saw a change come over everyone in the room at the sound of her voice. Sasori put his paper down, looking at the half hidden child with interest, Kakuzu straightened from the slouch he'd been in and closed his folder. Deidara grinned, before grabbing Tobi who'd been about to jump up. Hidan, though spoke again, this time in a much softer tone.
"Hey Memory, I'm Hidan. Glad you're ok kiddo, you gave us all a big scare." he said, approaching them once again.
"I didn't know Hidan knew how to not swear?!" Tobi exclaimed loudly, breaking the moment and startling Memory, who jumped a little.
"Shut the F*** up, Tobi!" Hidan yelled.
Konan glared at him and a horde of paper flew over to completely cover the albino's face. Muffled yelling commenced and Konan scowled.
"Watch your language!" she snapped, hands on her hips.
"Umm, Konan? He can't breathe, you know that, right?" Deidara asked after a few minutes when the white haired male suddenly stopped thrashing.
Konan blinked, "Oops, that's right." she said, and called the paper back. Hidan lay on the ground gasping.
"Y-you're crazy, you know that?" he wheezed.
Konan was about to retort when she realized Memory was no longer behind her. Looking around, she realized the little girl was approaching Hidan, tail wagging slowly.
Stopping near his head she crouched and studied him for a moment. The room was silent except for Hidan's gasping, as every eye was on the child.
She giggled once, then reached out and poked his cheek. "Hida, you kay?" she asked, poking him repeatedly.
Startled magenta eyes flew open and he reared up. "What the he…" he cut off, seeing Konan glare at him again. "Er, what are you doing?" he corrected with a grimace.
She just giggled again and stood up. Small hands clamped down on his cheeks as she tugged him closer so she could see his eyes better.
"You gil?" she asked innocently. He sputtered, "Wha? Of course not! Why would you say that?" he asked, horrified and offended.
"You eyes pink, pink gil colow" she responded. Kakuzu choked on his coffee as Hidan starred, too amazed by her logic to say anything. In front of him, Konan burst out laughing.
"You brat," he uttered, unable to say anything else.
Instantly her eyes filled with tears and she began to sniffle, letting go of his cheeks she turned away as she began to cry.
Eyes widening, Hidan scrambled forward and awkwardly wrapped the little girl in a hug.
"Don't cry,I didn't mean it. You're really very nice." he said frantically, trying to stop her tears.
"Hidan made her cry! You're so mean Hidan!" Tobi exclaimed, finally pulling away from Deidara and bounding over to where he was kneeling. He reached out to pull her away from Hidan, but she growled at him and pressed closer to Hidan.
"Chibi? What's wrong?" Konan asked, alarmed at the child's reaction to Tobi.
She burrowed closer to Hidan, shaking a little and Hidan stood up, holding her protectively. "Don like, smell funny." she mumbled, watching the masked boy suspiciously.
Konan saw him stiffen slightly before he cried loudly, "Wha? Does Tobi smell? Tobi will take a bath then!" he exclaimed, before running from the room.
Seeing Memory relax, Konan felt a glimmer of unease. Was it possible that she somehow knew of Tobi's real identity?
"Konah!" Memory's voice broke through her thoughts and she looked up, startled.
"What is it Chibi?" she asked.
"Konah, I hungwy! You say I eat!" she demanded impatiently.
Konan smiled. "You're right, I got distracted. Sorry chibi. Let's get you something to eat." she said.
Memory squirmed in Hidan's arms. "Hida! Down! Please?" she begged, nearly quivering in excitement.
"Yeah, yeah." he said, smirking faintly in amusement as he set her down. The minute her feet hit the ground she took off towards the kitchen where Konan had already disappeared into. She stumbled as she passed Sasori and nearly fell. Instinctively Sasori caught her and set her upright once again.
"Tank you!" she said, smiling up at him warmly before running into the kitchen.
"Kakuzu! Do we have anything that a little kid can eat that's not expired?" Konan yelled.
Kakuzu sighed and walked into the kitchen as well, the others trailing after him.
"I think we have some noodles in the top cupboard and some cheese in the fridge that might be ok." he said.
Konan nodded and pulled out the items. Sasori grabbed a large pot and filled it with water before setting it on the stove.
"Macheezer, macheezer!" the little girl chanted happily, dancing around in excitement. She spun and bumped into Sasori once again. "Oopsie?" she said, looking sheepish. Sasori just rolled his eyes and ruffled her hair. She grinned up at him, "Uh, who you?" she asked sweetly.
"Sasori," he said simply. "sowy Sasoi!" she said happily before turning to Kakuzu.
"Who you?"she asked again. "Kakuzu," he answered gruffly. "Kay!" she said, turning away. Suddenly she turned around again. "Kuzu?" she asked. He raised an eyebrow at the name but answered. "What?" he said. "Know you? Make me feel betta?" she asked him.
Surprised, he nodded. "Yes, you were pretty sick when you got here, Zetsu brought you to me to help you." he answered. He started when she wrapped her arms around his legs. "Tank you." she said, looking up at him, smiling. He grunted and shooed her away, embarrassed.
Turning to the last person in the room, "Who you?" she asked once again.
"Deidara, hm." he answered, smiling down at her. She grinned up at him and jumped at him.
"Woah!" he cried, quickly reaching out and catching her.
She giggled and began running her fingers through his hair. "Yeyyo! Sun, pwetty!" she rambled, as she played with his ponytail.
"Let go, kid!" he said, trying to pull away gently.
"Uh-uh!" she said, shaking her head.
"Chibi, the food's ready honey." Konan said, saving the blonde, who sighed in relief as he set the cheering child down.
"How old did you say she was?" he asked Konan.
"Well, she said she thought she was maybe seven, but she acts younger than that." Konan said, shrugging as she scooped out the cheesy noodles into a few bowls.
"Judging from what I saw when I examined her, her body structure is younger than that, maybe 6, but most likely 4 ½ or 5." Kakuzu said quietly, as they all sat down at the table, Memory on her knees as she hungrily devoured her meal.
"Well, regardless of her age, she sure is sweet. That's for sure." Deidara said, watching her in amusement.
Everyone nodded. "So, is she staying?" Hidan asked.
Konan grinned, "Yep, Pein couldn't resist her either." she said in satisfaction.
