My Pain is Yours
Author's Note: That last chapter was long…but the more important characters have been introduced and Shinsei has to keep her promise to Itachi to join the Akatsuki…scary…
Chapter IV: Left Without a Choice
What did she just say?
Aiko stared, startled at Shinsei. Her jaw tightened. "What are you…what do you mean?"
"Aiko I'm sorry!" Shinsei cried, burying her face in her hands. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I am so sorry! Please…don't hate me…" Her body trembled from both the chill of the wind and her already soaked body. Aiko stepped away and knelt down beside her.
The harsh rain was hardly a comfort.
The brunette couldn't believe what she was hearing. Shinsei had just said that they had to join the Akatsuki? How could she? Aiko didn't understand whether to be angry or disappointed in Shinsei, but assumed that there was probably a greater reason for why Shinsei was saying this. Aiko made an educated guess that it had something to do with Uchiha Itachi's genjutsu.
Of course…the genjutsu must have something to do with it.
Clenching her fists tightly, Aiko asked as calmly as she could manage, "Are you still trapped in Uchiha Itachi's genjutsu?" Shinsei shook her head. Aiko nodded and closed her eyes. "I see." She stood back up and faced the four Akatsuki members before her without any sign of fear.
"Aiko?" Shinsei whispered. Aiko didn't answer. Shinsei choked back a sob. "Please don't be mad with me!" Aiko reacted to this, turned her head, and smiled sadly. Shinsei felt her bowels twist uncomfortably. The entire situation was making her nauseas. She sniffled.
"Shinsei," Aiko murmured, "what did you promise him?"
Shinsei swallowed hard. "Us."
Aiko's eyes flashed. "'Us'?" she repeated tentatively. Her eyes bored into Shinsei's. "Shinsei… Shinsei do you know who these people are?" She averted her eyes at length to look into the puddle below her to see her own foggy reflection staring back at her. "I'm sorry, Shinsei…"
The rain had stopped.
"All right!" Kisame bellowed. "You, the seer, you're coming with us!"
Shinsei snapped her head up, fearful, as Kisame approached her. She jerked her eyes over to Aiko. Wasn't she going to do anything? Aiko stood still and rigid, peering into her mirror image, ripples running through the glossy reflection.
"Aiko?" Shinsei whimpered.
Placing the tip of her sandal in the puddle to disrupt the picture, Aiko replied, "If you promised them our allegiance then there is nothing that I can or will do." She turned her sorrowful orbs upon Shinsei, sighing. "I never told you, did I? About my connection with the Akatsuki?"
The redhead's blood ran cold. "You…have a connection with the Akatsuki?"
"Yeah," Aiko admitted. "I do. It isn't something that I particularly like to acknowledge, but it's true." She sighed heavily again. "I didn't tell you for a reason."
Not knowing what to say, Shinsei was at a complete loss for words. Why didn't Aiko tell her that she had a connection with the Akatsuki? She couldn't say that Aiko was a bad person for doing it though; lest she opted to call herself a hypocrite.
The tears were spilling over again. Shinsei squeezed her eyes shut. This was so horrible!
What am I supposed to do?! Shinsei sobbed in silence. Aiko closed her eyes.
The overbearing shark nin, Kisame, reached Shinsei and folded his arms, looming over her. Kisame sneered evilly at her, "Well, are you walking or are we dragging you the entire way to Amegakure?" Shinsei doubtfully got up. What other choice did she have? Aiko warily watched Kisame out of the corner of her eye. She fingered the kunai at her thigh.
A promise you make is a promise you must keep, my dear Shinsei; but, a flash passed through Aiko's eyes, I won't tolerate them laying a finger on you. Her eyes floated to the ground. What am I thinking? Do I have a death wish or something?
"Well, well, it looks like you're coming with us, eh?"
Aiko gasped and looked up. There was Hidan. She narrowed her eyes.
"Yeah," she replied, looking back at Shinsei.
"I wouldn't worry about her," Hidan snorted, "I would worry about yourself if I was you."
Tensing, Aiko wrapped her fingers around her kunai as Hidan began closing the gap between them. Her heart began to pound. If she really wanted to, she could make a run for it and return for Shinsei later. But these guys were S-class criminals. They wouldn't give a second thought about torturing Shinsei just to get Aiko back. But still…
…she was really beginning to just not care about life anymore.
"I'd keep that thing where it is," Hidan noted, glancing over at Aiko's hand. Aiko flinched and Hidan chuckled. "I'm not stupid."
Clamping a firm hand on Hidan's shoulder, Kakuzu muttered, "We've got to get going. Now." Aiko turned back to look at Shinsei. Itachi and Kisame were already leading her into a pathway through the forest to go to Amegakure. She gritted her teeth.
Are they separating us?
"Hey, girl," Kakuzu's eyes flashed as he glared at Aiko, "don't you dare try anything stupid; I won't hesitate to rip your intestines out of your body and leave you to die. Remember that." His steely glare met Aiko's defiant eyes. She twitched, holding back her anger.
"Try that and I won't hesitate to rip your intestines out either," Aiko growled.
"What did you just say to me?" Kakuzu challenged.
Suddenly, Kakuzu stopped and his eyes went blank. Aiko blinked and looked over at Hidan. He had the same empty gaze. Her gaze hardened. What now?
Kakuzu was the first to speak. "Yes sir, we'll only be another minute." Aiko screwed up her eyes; who the heck was he talking to? Then, Kakuzu narrowed his glinting jade slits. "No sir," Kakuzu murmured darkly. There were a few moments of silence.
"But sir," Hidan cut in as if he were interrupting a conversation, "do we have to do it now?"
"Hidan, just shut up," Kakuzu snapped. There were a few more moments of silence. The look of what seemed to be pure aggravation filled Kakuzu's eyes. He stiffly added, "Very well then."
Turning to Aiko, both Hidan and Kakuzu looked at her. Aiko felt very out of place. What was up with those two? Why were they…talking to themselves? She barely registered that Kakuzu was talking to her until she heard him shout, "Hey, Aiko, pay attention!"
Affronted by the way Kakuzu spoke to her, Aiko demanded, "What is it now?"
"We need to go back into that place where you came from and kill anyone who saw you and your friend leave," Kakuzu grumbled. "Now get moving!" Aiko bit her lip.
"But it's in the middle of the night!" Aiko argued.
"I said get moving!" Kakuzu shouted.
Not knowing what else to do, Aiko obliged. Hidan circled behind her and bound her wrists. Ninjutsu was off limits to her now. She felt him push her along through the dark night, kicking at her heels to make her walk faster. She winced with each kick.
"Come on," Hidan grumbled, "I'd like to get this done before the nights out." Kakuzu growled.
"Stop your complaining," Kakuzu hissed. "It's driving me up the wall!"
Aiko winced again as Hidan kicked her harder as a result of being annoyed by Kakuzu. "Do you mind?" she managed through barred teeth.
Her only response was a harder kick. Aiko's heels were raw now. And so was her temper.
"Will you stop it already?!" Aiko demanded, whirling around. This caused Hidan to walk straight into her. They both collided and fell to the ground, Hidan on top of Aiko. The flustered kunoichi tried to scramble out from under him.
Kakuzu heaved out a sigh and shook his head. What a couple of morons!
"What the hell did you do that for?!" Hidan yelled, red in the face as he leapt to his feet. He reached down and seized Aiko's elbow, yanking her up. Aiko wobbled for a moment before staggering into Hidan. He released an annoyed huff. "Damn it! Do we have to carry you the entire way or something? Dear Jashin you are one problematic woman!"
Aiko took a cautious step away from Hidan before voicing her argument.
Flushing, Aiko retorted, "You're the one who's been kicking my heels the entire way! Why do you think I'm having problems walking?!"
Hidan made some smart remark, which angered her all the more. Who does he think he is?! Unrestrained, Aiko couldn't resist the urge to kick Hidan in the shins. This she did. Twice. Hidan cussed openly.
Crying out in pain, Hidan yelped, "What the hell was that for?! Damn you! That freaken' hurt!"
"Good!" Aiko asserted herself; if her hands hadn't been tied back she would have, no doubt in her mind, lashed out and clawed him with her dagger-like nails. Hidan continued complaining about the throbbing pain. Aiko couldn't deny the triumphant grin tugging at the edges of her mouth as she listened to Hidan swear in agony.
However, her smirk soon faded as Kakuzu wheeled her around to face him.
"Look here," Kakuzu placed an angry finger in her face, "we need to get this done now. So stop fooling around!" He turned crossly to Hidan. "The same goes for you!" Aiko looked back down at the ground as they started moving again. Kakuzu seized her tied hands and pushed them against her back to keep her moving. Aiko rolled her eyes.
Better than getting my heels slaughtered I suppose…
Aiko shot Hidan a glare. He rolled his eyes and ignored her. Kakuzu shoved her hands harder into her back and growled something along the lines of 'Keep moving', but Aiko was so exhausted that she didn't care anymore.
After was seemed like an eternity of wandering through the pathways leading back to the unnamed village in which she and Shinsei spent the night, Aiko felt like she was on the verge of collapsing. She held back a sigh of relief when Kakuzu stopped them.
"Hey! What are we stopping for?!" Hidan demanded, nearly crashing into Kakuzu.
"Hidan, you wait here with the girl, I'm going to take care of the village," Kakuzu ordered, shoving Aiko against Hidan. Aiko went to step away, but Hidan grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her back. She was still a captive.
"Yeah, yeah, I'll keep her here, just hurry up!" Hidan complained with a yawn.
Had he not been euphoric about the chance to leave Hidan for a while, Kakuzu would have begun yelling. However, his joy was far too great.
Nodding, almost happily, to Aiko and Hidan, Kakuzu disappeared into the forest, leaving them alone. Aiko sucked in a deep breath. Terrific…now I'm stuck with him. She glanced up at Hidan, and could feel his stare shifting down to fall upon her. She looked away. Hidan snorted.
"Hey, you're the one who kicked me," Hidan growled, "so don't make this my fault."
"I wouldn't have kicked you if you hadn't torn my heels to pieces," Aiko heatedly replied.
It became quiet. The sound of rustling leaves was consoling in the lonely silence. Though, Aiko shivered upon feeling the breeze; her hair and clothes were still wet from the earlier rain. She reluctantly edged closer to Hidan. He scratched the back of his head.
"Damn it! What's taking him so long?" Hidan griped, spitting onto the ground. Aiko didn't say anything. She didn't want to cause anymore trouble. Aiko sighed inwardly. She just wanted to be in bed, curled up with a cup of hot tea. She fidgeted, shuffling her feet together.
Dry clothes would be nice too…
Minutes later, Kakuzu arrived.
"Mission accomplished," Kakuzu said, pushing past Hidan and snatching Aiko. "Let's go."
Hidan frowned, looking at the village. It appeared to be untouched. "Kakuzu what did you-?"
Before Hidan's question could fully leave his lips, the village behind them burst into flames.
Aiko stopped dead in her tracks; her jaw hung open.
Kakuzu started pushing her away from the scene.
Did he just set the entire village on fire?! He couldn't have!
The unbelieving kunoichi fought back for a moment, trying to look back at burning village.
"Get moving!" Kakuzu roared. He glared at Hidan. "You too!"
Given no choice, Aiko forged forward, the smell of arson heavy in the air as a sharp gust blew through. Aiko bit her lip, clenching her bound fists behind her back. How could these people do such horrible things?! Her nose crinkled in disgust.
These people…aren't even human…
Author's Note: And that concludes chapter four! Thank you very much for the support! Let's see…coming up in the next chapter, Aiko and Shinsei return! Or something like that…
-Aiko of the Akatsuki