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Konan walked into the cave in which she and Pain were camping for the night.
He was at that moment reading some important documents and did not speak and Konan knew better than to interrupt him.
Finally after thirty minutes he put his papers down and asked her, "Well how did the meeting go?"
"Not too well" replied Konan drinking some water.
"Why so? Did she refuse?" asked Pain.
"No, she didn't do anything, she just stood there, she hardly spoke even once, I've told her I'll come back tomorrow to find her answer" said Konan.
"Hmm, this is indeed exhilarating, are you sure you got the right girl?" asked Pain.
" She gave me a vague reply when I asked her if she was Akane Takigawa, but she didn't deny it and it seemed that it was her name, somehow or other the name seemed to fit her so well, I just can't describe it" said Konan.
"And did you note any of her skills or any spectacular feature about her?" asked Pain.
"She didn't fight at all, but I did notice that her chakra seemed to be strange" said Konan.
"Strange in what sense?" asked Pain.
" It seemed to be pulsating, it seemed very alive somehow, apart from that her chakra levels are not very good, I don't see how Kakuzu thinks this girl can be an asset to us" said Konan.
"I will evaluate her myself, maybe she is hiding her true powers, we do not know for sure, did you note where she was going?" asked Pain.
"She was heading towards the Sand Village but I doubt she'll remain there for long, and we mustn't interrupt while Sasori and Deidara attempt to capture the Ichibi" said Konan.
"Very well then Konan, do a wide spread scout tomorrow and fin her location, I find this girl to be pretty intriguing even though I've never set eyes on her in my life" said Pain.
Konan nodded in return to that.
" Hey watch it, you nearly fell over" said Tomoya as he clutched Akane's hand to prevent her from tripping over a piece of wood fallen on the ground.
"Sorry, I can't see too well without my glasses" said Akane steadying herself.
Tomoya laughed a little.
"May I know the joke?" asked Akane dryly.
"Oh sorry, it's nothing but I never imagined that a ninja would ever need glasses" said Tomoya.
"Well most don't but ever since a little incident that happened in my past I need to wear glasses," said Akane then she realized she was speaking too much and clammed up again.
"Where are we going?" asked Tomoya.
"Village Hidden in Tornadoes" said Akane.
"Is it very windy?"
"Very"
"Who do you know lives there?"
"My friend"
"Will they accept me?"
"Yes"
"Can we rest a little later?"
"Yes"
"Do you have some food?"
"No, we'll stop at a Ramen stand in five minutes, you can eat then"
Tomoya realized that asking further questions would be foolish so he quieted down.
True to her word a ramen stand did appear in the horizon in a matter of five minutes.
"What'll it be miss?" asked the man cheerfully from the back.
"Order any thing you like, I'm going to get some berries for restoration of chakra" said Akane.
"Aren't you going to eat?" asked Tomoya.
"I'm not hungry said Akane disappearing behind some bushes.
After half an hour she came back and found Tomoya chatting with the ramen stand owner.
"That'll be 150 yen miss" said the man.
"150? That's daylight robbery" said Akane frowning.
"But my ramen is worth it miss, ask the child if you don't believe me" said the man.
"It's true, it was an amazing dish" said Tomoya.
"I'll give you 100yen" said Akane.
"How about 140yen" asked the shopkeeper.
"120 yen is my last offer" said Akane.
"Now look here young lady do you really think you can boss me around?" asked the man getting red.
Akane simply moved her hand and a sword appeared behind the man.
"Willing to change your mind now?" she asked.
"P-please, t-take I-it away I-I beg you" stammered the man eyeing the glittering blade.
"What the price then?" asked Akane.
"Free, for the child it's completely free" said the man shaking and shivering.
The sword disappeared, "Thanks, just what I was hoping to hear" said Akane.
The man collapsed on the floor sweating.
"Come Tomoya we're leaving" said Akane walking off as Tomoya followed after her after sending an apologetically glance at the man.
"You shouldn't have done that you know" he said as the air around them became more aggressive.
" That was his retribution for asking too much, the fool should have accepted when I said 120, a man who doesn't recognize a good offer when he sees one is a man who does not deserve to live, still I speared him because he wasn't worth dirtying my blade" said Akane.
"Oh" said Tomoya silently as they approached a small village.
"Here it is" said Akane walking up to a small door in the first house.
"Aren't there any guards here? Any body at all?" asked Tomoya.
"No, this is a forgotten village, very few people remember its existence" said Akane hammering at the door.
Soon the door opened to reveal a woman about ten years older than Akane.
She saw the cloaked girl and gave a whoop of delight.
"Akane how nice of you to drop in, it's been almost a year since I last saw you, why didn't you let us know you were coming? Daisuke is inside, he'll be delighted and as for me I'm ecstatic" screamed the woman.
"Yes, thank you Ayako but could we come inside?" asked Akane.
"Oh I'm so sorry, please do come in" said Ayako moving away from the door.
Inside it was warm and pleasant and a nice pale yellow light was emitting from a large lamp on the living room.
On the sofa sat a man of about 35 staring at a magazine he was reading.
"Daisuke-kun, look who's here again" said Ayako launching herself upon her husband.
Daisuke turned and smiled, "Akane this is such a pleasant surprise, I'm so happy you could stop by, please sit down, and who's this young man?" he asked.
"Is he the one? He looks kind of young to be your type doesn't he Akane?"Asked Ayako.
Akane and Daisuke shared a knowing glance while Tomoya blushed red.
"This is Tomoya, he asked to come along with me because he recently lost his parents and has no other relatives to turn to" said Akane.
Tomoya seemed surprised at this lie but did not comment at the look from Akane.
"Oh, I'm so sorry sweetie, is there anything I can do for help/'asked Ayako.
" Actually there is, you know that I have to be around doing dangerous things, so I want you to keep him with you, Daisuke, you're a jounin level ninja, I request you to please train him so that one day he can go out there alone" said Akane.
Daisuke glanced at her and opened his mouth to speak but his wife beat him to it.
"Of course, it's much to dangerous for a child to accompany Akane, and since the poor thing has no other relative to turn to I was just going to suggest that, isn't it wonderful Daisuke, he'll be like our son" said Ayako.
Tomoya seemed extremely overwhelmed by the things that were going on so quickly.
"Now hold on Ayako, are you sure about this Akane?"Asked Daisuke.
"Yes, there's no need to worry, he's a good kid, and I'll be paying you of course" said Akane.
"Absolutely not" chorused both Ayako and Daisuke.
Akane seemed a little taken back at their combined refusal.
"But it hardly seems fair that I impose like this and don't pay you" said Akane.
"Rubbish, you're doing such a good deed, you're saving a life from being ruined, that's more than enough payment for us" said Daisuke.
"True, looking after Tomoya will be payment, "said Ayako.
"But I can't take a favor and not pay back" said Akane.
"You'll do as I tell you Akane; remember the promise you made to me?" asked Ayako sternly.
Akane looked as if she would like to protest a little more but then closed her mouth.
"Very well, thank you very much for all your help, I'll be leaving now then" she said getting up.
"You're leaving?" asked Daisuke.
"Aww stay a little while more, I'll get some food" said Ayako.
"You must be feeling tired" said Daisuke.
Akane waved away their protestations.
" No thanks, it's very kind of you but I must leave now, I'll be back in possibly a week or two to check up on you Tomoya, meanwhile my offer for payment still remains open, please do let me pay at some point" said Akane bowing to them.
Ayako went forwards and hugged her; Tomoya did the same after Ayako moved away.
"Be safe, and don't get into unnecessary fights" said Daisuke patting her head.
"I won't" said Akane.
"Don't let those perverts at inn's get even a kilometer near you ok?"Asked Ayako.
"Sure," said Akane.
"Please come back soon, you will come right?"Asked Tomoya.
"I will, look after yourself and o whatever Daisuke tells you to, train well, and I'll be back in a week or two" said Akane.
Finally after all the goodbyes were over Akane stepped away from the village and in half an hour she was standing in a dense forest.
"Come out now, that's enough hiding and scouting" said Akane.
A whirlwind of paper formed between her and Konan's image formed as she landed on the leave infested ground.
"I've come for your answer" said Konan.
"I refuse" said Akane.
"Why so?" asked Konan unperturbed.
"It interferes with my plans" replied Akane.
"You're pretty talkative today" said Konan.
"And you're being very gullible, why? Is it because of the backup hidden behind the tree at a sixty degree angle to you?" asked Akane.
Konan's eyes widened a bit.
"So not only has she sensed Nagato but also can sense exactly where he is"
Aloud she asked, "Are you a sensory ninja?"
Akane did not reply.
"Why do you remain silent so often?" asked Konan.
"I remain silent because I feel it is not my business to speak, now if you will excuse me I need to be going" said Akane walking past Konan.
The moment she walked a little distance away she heard a crack behind her.
Turning to look she came face to face with an orange headed Akatsuki with piercings all over his face. He had spiky hair and his eyes were violet with rings in them.
"The Legendary Rinnegan? But how? That eye technique was supposed to have been wiped out a millennium ago" said Akane staring in shock at the cold ringed eyes.
"Akane Takigawa, you have been requested to join Akatsuki twice already, why do you refuse?" asked the man.
"I believe that is no concern of yours" said Akane glaring.
"You do know that I will not allow you to simply walk away from here after seeing me?" said Pain.
"Are you threatening me?" asked Akane, her eyes narrowing.
"It is a warning, join the organization or face your demise" said Pain.
Akane seemed at a loss for words but then smiled, "I have no intention of joining your half baked organization, kill me if you will, but you won't get to kill me without a fight"
Pain raised his eyebrow slightly and then spoke, "Very well then, I will fight you, if you can touch me even once then I'll let you walk away from here unharmed, if you can't touch me once then you will join Akatsuki, the time limit is half an hour"
"That seems reasonable enough" said Akane.
"Very well then, prepare yourself" said Pain.
Akane did nothing but stare at him. Then she smirked and ran towards him carrying two blades in her hands.
She swung those blades at Pain but before she could hit him a force of gravity threw her back.
She got up again and ran towards him once more, this time Pain attacked her as well.
"Water Release: Piercing Missiles Jutsu" he said as five sharp water spears formed and shot themselves towards Akane.
A barrier formed between her and the missiles but when she looked around she saw that Pain had disappeared.
Not wasting anytime she moved away from her current spot because at that moment the earth below her blasted off with great force and a large earth dragon glided out.
Spotting Pain on a tree branch Akane slashed at the tree but he jumped to another tree and then said, "Shinra Tensei".
Akane found herself being pulled towards Pain as a sharp blade appeared in his hand.
He pulled her closer and finally stabbed her through the chest.
"Pathetic as usual, Kakuzu seems to have been mistaken" said Pain as Konan looked up.
"Maybe but I feel something isn't right, she just didn't seem like the type to die so easily" said Konan.
Just then the body of Akane deteriorated and a fluid shot out of it and up Pain's arm.
"What on earth is this?" asked Pain trying to get the slimy, jelly like thing off him.
Just then he moved aside as Akane narrowingly missed touching him.
"Nice try" said Pain as his Rinnegan shone dangerously and the fluid was roughly grasped away from his shoulder, but the moment it came in contact with his fingers it began sinking in again.
On top of that Akane ran towards him.
Pain used shinra tensei again to deflect her away and grabbed the fluid again.
He then felt something below him and saw a hand emerging from the tree trunk grasping his ankle tightly.
Konan's eyes widened as she saw that her partner had been defeated in his bet.
He sighed and moved away as Akane emerged out of the tree.
On cue the tree dissolved into more jelly like substance, joined with the bit that was stuck to Pain and sank into Akane's skin.
"Well I won" said Akane.
"Yes, I will keep my word, you may go on your way but if we find you repeating things then you will have to be silenced and that won't be undertaken by some bet" said Pain.
"I have a question, does destroying Konoha match in with any of your plans?" asked Akane.
"Destroying Konoha? Well, we will have to go there to obtain something at one point of time; if it is not given then I will most certainly resort to destructive means" said Pain.
Akane considered this for a moment.
"Very well, with your permission I would like to change my mind and accept the previous offer" she said.
Konan looked surprised, "Why the change of mind?"
"Let's just say, I had a change of heart" said Akane simply.
"Very well, we will escort you back to the Grass Base where you will meet some of your fellow members, you will be given your cloak, hat, ring and other information there" said Pain.
Akane nodded in reply.
The three of them then charged off towards the opposite direction.
"Well that wasn't so tough after all eh Sasori Danna, un?"Asked Deidara as he flew slowly on his bird with an unconscious Gaara wrapped up in its tail.
"Yes and like always you kept me waiting for an eternity" growled Sasori in Hiruko's voice.
"Sorry but taking on a jinhuriki alone isn't creating art you know, it has to be planned, also we can't kill them, that makes it all the more difficult, I'll have to do something about my arm, un" said Deidara.
"If you had kept to the plan and not tried performing your flying antics then that would not have occurred" said Sasori.
Just then both their rings began to glow and a projection from Pain formed before them.
"We have found our tenth member, return to the Grass Base as fast as possible, and do not fight anyone else on the way if possible" it ordered.
Sasori and Deidara nodded as the projection disappeared.
"Seems a little grumpy doesn't he, un?"Asked Deidara.
"Probably has something to do with the new member, I wonder if it's the one that Kakuzu recommended" said Sasori.
"Must be, there hasn't been time for anyone else to suggest an entry, un" said Deidara.
"Well seeing his present mood we shouldn't keep him waiting too long, as I've said hundreds of time's before I don't like waiting and making other people wait" said Sasori.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever, un" said Deidara looking bored.
" A new member, well we've not had anyone new since Hidan joined last year, I wonder what this new girl will be like, if Kakuzu recommends her so heavily there must be some skill in her" thought Sasori as the two cloaked figures moved on between the sand and the wind.
Well that's it for this chapter. Finally my exams have been terminated till August so I can finally write a little more frequently. Anyways, thanks for reading, I appreciate it. Please keep reading and reviewing. Bye~nee.
