Vertigo
Chapter Four: Descent
The body of the hunter-nin hit the ground with a heavy thump, the sound dulled by the thick blanket of snow covering the forest floor.
Straightening from her fighting crouch, Sakura looked around warily, winded breaths puffing before her in the chill air. That was number four – the last of them unless there was another squad somewhere. The other three were still prone and unmoving on the ground where they'd fallen. She didn't know if they were dead or not, but they weren't getting up any time soon and that was all that mattered. They probably were dead anyway; it wasn't like she could afford to pull her punches anymore.
The moderate kunai slash on her shoulder began to sting and throb as the adrenaline wore off. That was the worst of her injuries, and thankfully it wasn't poisoned. Her biggest problem right now was getting out of the cold air before night fell. That, and the nagging feeling that something wasn't right. There were no more hunters, and she couldn't see or hear anything out of place, but her sixth sense warned her to be on guard anyhow. Presently she was in the territory west of River country, and according to her map there was a town a few miles away.
Ignoring the ache in her shoulder, she readjusted her pack before taking to the trees and sprinting away from the too-silent clearing and the bloodstained snow.
Sakura had very recently decided that she hated winter. She hadn't had much of an opinion before, but she most definitely despised it now. Winter was open season for hunter-nins and bounty hunters, because climate hazards forced fugitives like herself to linger close to towns to avoid dying from exposure if they slept outside, and because snow on the ground made it ridiculously easy to track people. That was how they found her today. Her last job had turned ugly and there was a commotion, and the hunters must have heard about it and come to find her. Once they caught her trail it was only a matter of time because she couldn't conceal her movement, even in the trees, due to the disturbance of frost by her passage. Year's end weeded out the strong from the weak in the world of missing-nin. You couldn't hide from the hunters in winter. You could only survive them.
It was late November, over three months since she became a missing-nin. The severance from her home and the life she knew was both crippling and enabling. She was scared half the time, lonely all the time, and the road before her was blind and uncertain. She never cried or bemoaned her situation, but sometimes she wanted to. At the same time she was stronger, more capable, more confident. She could survive on her own with no help from anyone in the most dangerous environments. She wasn't weak, didn't need anyone looking after her. She'd been struggling for years to prove this, and it proved itself with every day she survived out here.
Sakura learned quickly how to avoid run-ins with hunter-nins, though the odds weren't completely unavoidable and today was the second time she'd had to fight down a squad. Bounty hunters were a different story. They were everywhere, and could move inconspicuously through towns and villages, while hunter-nins kept mostly to the open country and waited for their target to come out to them. The good thing about bounty hunters was they usually moved alone, and were almost always civilians without the ability to use chakra, making them fairly easy to take out. They knew this, so they usually only went after low-level shinobi, b-class or below in the Bingo book, though sometimes they would form a posse and go after bigger prey. Sakura had encountered a few of those gangs already, and it hadn't been pretty. Unless you considered massive structural damage to be pretty. Now her reputation was spreading, and the little people didn't mess with her anymore. Attacks were less frequent, but when they did come her enemies were much more dangerous.
How long would she have to live like this before Akatsuki found her? Did they know she was a rogue ninja yet? Did they even care? Maybe they knew, but she was of no interest to them. Maybe this whole thing would be for nothing and she would have to live as a missing-nin indefinitely, until things could be straightened out at home.
No, she couldn't think like that. She had to believe they would contact her, and she just had to wait it out. Until then she would wander aimlessly from town to town, kicking asses and taking names in order to spread the word that Haruno Sakura was a badass kunoichi who deserved respect and fear, and maybe a job in a certain evil organization.
For the most part she hated it, hated the hovels she was forced to stay in with their lumpy beds and cockroaches, hated the odd jobs she was forced to take from shady dealers for money to buy crappy greasy meals, hated the constant paranoia and feeling of uncertainty. But she could admit she liked the kicking asses part, and got a thrill from picking stupid fights in nameless dive bars with men three times her size. It was a good way to relieve some of her frustration. It was a good way to make money too, along with the arm wrestling matches, since she was the only one who ever bet on herself.
It was dark by the time she got to town and found a cheap inn for the night. Once inside her dingy room she dropped her pack and removed her cloak, then entered the bathroom to get a better look at her injured shoulder. She grimaced at what she saw. The gash was deep and uneven, and she cursed as she slowly peeled her long-sleeved shirt over her head and dropped it into the sink. It was black, and the blood could have been washed out without staining, but the large uneven tear in the sleeve rendered it pointless. She turned on the faucet and let it soak as she healed the wound with chakra, and then used the wet shirt to clean the long streaks of crimson from her arm until all evidence of the wound was gone. She rinsed the blood from her shirt, and as she watched the red swirl down the drain she thought about how different her life had become—from a relatively happy, easygoing existence in her charming village where she was privileged and respected, to this…a fugitive cleaning her battle wounds in the filthy bathroom of a roach motel.
Her eyes traveled up to the mirror and noted the small changes in her appearance; jade eyes shadowed from a sporadic sleep pattern, chapped lips, hair dulled by cheap motel shampoo or none at all. She had lost weight; arms and legs thinner and cheeks slightly hollow. She wasn't starving, but she didn't always get a chance to eat every day, and she could stand to gain ten pounds or so. That wasn't likely to happen with all the running and fighting she did, along with the lack of proper nourishment in her cheap diet.
Overall she was doing alright, considering. She was surviving without much trouble, and she was better off than most in her situation. She wondered what it said about her, that she could adapt so easily to this harsh survivalist lifestyle. 'You're more capable of this than you even realize,' Tsunade had said to her. Perhaps her mentor had been right, though she didn't know if that was a good thing, or a sign of something darker inside her.
The shower was too dirty to bathe in—who knew what she might pick up from it—so that would just have to wait. It wasn't like she was trying to make an impression on anyone. She threw the ruined shirt in the trash by the sink and exited the bathroom, pulled another shirt from her pack and slipped it on, then dropped her pack on the floor and crawled into bed. She was still too close to the site of her fight with the hunter-nins for her liking, so she intended to get up early and head further south toward the Wind border.
But as she lay there in the horribly uncomfortable bed, she still got the feeling that something wasn't quite right. She didn't feel threatened or she wouldn't be lying there trying to fall asleep, and she couldn't sense anything around her at all, but it almost felt as if she was being watched.
The feeling was still there the next morning as Sakura headed into the open countryside. This wasn't a bout of irrational paranoia brought on by her lifestyle, she could tell there was indeed something, but she just couldn't place it and the fact that it was following her and she couldn't see, hear, or smell it was pissing her off.
Twenty miles outside of town she'd had enough, and dropped from the trees. The forest here was too thick for snow to reach the ground, but everything was covered in a crunchy layer of frost. She stood still, feeling out with her senses and chakra for the source of the unseen presence. Whatever it was, it was damn good at keeping itself hidden.
"I know you're there. Come out already and tell me what the hell you want," she irritably told the empty air. If there was nothing there, then no one would hear her talking to herself and it wouldn't matter. But she knew she wasn't wrong about this.
Suddenly the intangible presence became very real and came fast from beneath her. The ground vibrated with the movement, and Sakura instinctively leapt upward. She was a fraction too slow, or it just moved far too fast, and several thick tendrils shot from the ground and coiled around her legs, pulling her back down. She hit the ground roughly and fell on one knee, and then more coils wound themselves around her arms, locking her down.
Vines? What the—
The ground shifted several feet in front of her and something began to rise from below the earth. It emerged not as if digging out, but as if it was molding from the earth itself. At first glance it appeared to be a large spiny plant, but then she saw a head and shoulders inside the carapace and realized it was a man. He was enormous. The man himself was tall, but from the bottom of his feet to the top of the plant's spiny tips he was easily over eight feet. Stranger still was the fact that his skin was two-toned, split down the middle of his body like he'd been painted, one half pitch black, the other stark white. But what caught her attention most was his clothing; a large black cloak adorned with red clouds.
She had finally been found.
"You are Haruno Sakura, yes?" the plant man addressed in a low, raspy voice.
It dawned on her that she had seen this man before. He was the one who had grabbed Itachi during his fight with Sasuke and vanished with him. "That's right. What do you want?"
"To talk."
"You sure have a nice way of greeting people," she scoffed, frowning at her live restraints. She couldn't see how they were attached to him, but she knew he was doing it. "And if you think these things are going to hold me you're sorely mistaken. You've got about five seconds to let go before I rip your tentacles off."
He showed no reaction to her threat, but a moment later the restraining vines uncoiled from her limbs and slowly disappeared back underground. Sakura still maintained a wary stance, alert for any sudden movement.
"It was only to keep you from attacking. You are not an enemy." "Not yet, anyway."
Sakura blinked. Did he just speak with two different voices? That gravelly, animalistic voice had come from his direction, and had immediately echoed his words. This was by far the weirdest person she had ever met. "Who are you?"
"I am Zetsu. I was beginning to wonder when you would finally notice me."
"I've known you were watching me since I fought those hunters yesterday," she retorted, scowling.
He nodded. "Yes. I disposed of them for you."
"What do you mean disposed?"
The plant man grinned, or at least she thought it was a grin, as his lips drew back to reveal a row of sharpened teeth. "Carrion flesh is my prime source of nourishment." "They were delicious."
Sakura became increasingly disturbed as she studied him. His plant casing resembled a flytrap…a carnivorous plant. Ugh. How creepy. From puppets to sharks to zombies, and now cannibalistic plant men…Akatsuki sure liked to collect freaks, didn't they? "Okaaay…thanks, I guess." She fixed him with another glare. "So again, Zetsu, what do you want?"
"I told you; to talk. As you can see by the cloak I wear, I am a member of Akatsuki. Our organization has heard much about you, Haruno Sakura, and we've been watching you for some time. Our leader wishes to meet you."
"What for?" she asked suspiciously, though inwardly she was nervously excited. This was what she had been waiting for.
Zetsu shrugged, as much as he could inside his plant casing. "I guess you'll find out when you talk to him."
Jade eyes narrowed. "I assume this is not a request."
He flashed that disturbing grin again. "You assume correctly." "You could refuse, but you won't like the outcome."
Sakura appeared to think over the mandatory invitation, though of course she already knew her answer. Finally, she gave an indifferent shrug. "I have nothing better to do. Lead the way."
They entered the boundary of Hidden Rain just before nightfall. It was a large village, more like a city, much larger than Konoha and far more industrialized. Towering buildings of steel and concrete rose up like gray giants, imposing against the dreary skyline. There were no walls or gates that Sakura could see. If she hadn't already known, she wouldn't have thought it to be a hidden village at all.
As they entered the city Zetsu finally slowed their pace. She wondered how someone so seemingly ungainly could move so fast. They had traveled at top speed the entire day as they crossed the forests and snow-covered fields of River country. Maybe he just wanted to reach their destination without having to stop for the night, but Sakura suspected he had been testing her, gauging her speed and stamina. Though she was tired and hungry, she hadn't fallen behind once, and was confident she'd passed whatever assessment he had given her. Anxiety began to creep over her as they made their way along the rooftops toward the center of the city. She was in Akatsuki territory now, and if things didn't go well there was no getting out.
A light snow had fallen continuously ever since they crossed the border into River country. With a name like Hidden Rain, Sakura guessed there was precipitation nearly year-round here.
They rounded a corner and suddenly a tall building loomed ahead of them, dark and ominous in the fading light. Like every other building she'd seen it was concrete and steel with many strange metal tubes and turrets winding up the sides, possibly having something to do with lightning control or a drainage system. However what made this building stand out from the rest was the enormous stone statue worked into the façade, reaching from street level nearly to the top over a hundred feet up. It was a man, posed in a dominating stance with one hand gripping a sheathed katana, the other holding a long pipe before his mouth, from which steam rose as if he were truly smoking. The face was sinister and the mouth gaped open where the tongue protruded, long and curved. The whole thing was decidedly wicked looking. Sakura knew they had reached their destination.
She didn't question why she was being allowed to walk into Akatsuki's base of operations without a blindfold or some other method of disorientation. It didn't matter that she knew exactly where to find them, because if they decided she wasn't to be trusted she would never come out of this building again.
The legs of the statue framed the entrance; a giant stone foot on either side of a recessed alcove. They passed into this opening and stopped before a set of reinforced steel doors twice as tall as a man. There were no handles or buttons to make them open. If she wasn't able to see the seams she might have thought it part of the wall. Then Zetsu held his right arm out in front of him, the sleeve pushing back to reveal a silver ring on the little finger of his black-skinned hand. Sakura's eyes widened as the flat surface of the ring began to glow brightly. A moment later a seal carved into the face of the massive doors glowed in response, and then the doors swung inward with a heavy metallic groan.
Sakura stared into the dark entrance for a moment, and then looked up at Zetsu. The plant man stared back, and the look in his strange gold eyes gave her the feeling he was thinking something rather unpleasant. He was probably thinking that if things didn't go so well in there, he would be the one "disposing" of her corpse. Then without a word, he turned and passed over the threshold. Sakura took a deep breath and followed, and as soon as she passed through, the giant doors swung shut behind her.
Inside was nothing more than a small dark lobby with the same stone walls as the exterior, but at the far end was an elevator. It was hard to tell from the outside how many floors this building had, and there were only a few blank buttons on the panel, so she didn't know how far up they went before it stopped.
When the doors opened it was as if they had stepped into another world. They were in a low-lit hallway, the floor a dark polished stone and the walls paneled in rich mahogany. There was only one door, and she followed Zetsu as he moved toward it. He opened it and motioned for her to go inside. When she did she found herself in a reception room of sorts; the same dark floor and paneled walls, a carved stone fireplace, and a few leather chairs arranged in a loose arc in the center.
"Wait here. I will inform Leader you've arrived," Zetsu said, then backed away and closed the door.
Sakura had a feeling their leader already knew, and what the plant man said was only a formality. She did not sit, but continued to look around the room. Then she noticed another door off to the side; a section of the paneling that would slide open. She must be in the place where outside business was conducted, and that door led to an off-limits area. Several minutes passed, and Sakura made sure to carefully control any outward signs of anxiety as she studied the ornate pattern of the large floor rug.
Then she felt the presence of another person, the panel on the back wall slid open quietly, and Sakura came face to face with the leader of Akatsuki.
There was no doubt in her mind it was him, because even though this man didn't make her feel threatened, the power she could feel just below the surface of his calm exterior was colossal. He was tall, around six-foot, with a shock of spiky auburn hair and the strangest, most mesmerizing eyes she'd ever seen. They were ringed, as if there were more than one iris, beginning as a dark smoky gray around the pupil and growing lighter toward the outside until they faded into the white of the sclera. His face was very handsome, though he had piercings just about everywhere they would fit; seven in each ear, two fang-like studs below his lips, and a set of three more through the bridge of his nose. It was strange and disconcerting, but it was also very striking and somehow not unattractive. But what surprised her most was how young he was. This man was quite possibly the most powerful shinobi in the world, and it baffled her that he appeared to be in his early thirties at most.
In those few seconds of silence Sakura knew he had been assessing her as well, though she was pretty sure she made a far less impressive impact, dirty and travel-worn and underfed as she was.
"I am Pein." His voice was quiet, but deep, and held a penetrating quality no matter how softly he chose to speak.
Obviously he knew who she was, but Sakura introduced herself anyway for lack of something better to say. "I'm Haruno Sakura."
He moved around her with a soft rustle of his cloak and sat in one of the leather armchairs. Sakura figured this was an indication for her to sit as well, and she did so in the chair opposite him. The fire cracked almost too loudly in the silence, and a long minute passed before he spoke again. "Do you know why you're here, Haruno Sakura?"
"Zetsu said that you knew about me, that you had been…keeping track, and that you wanted to meet me. He didn't say why, but I have somewhat of an idea."
"What would that be?"
His penetrating ringed gaze was quite unsettling, though he still didn't make her feel threatened. Sakura knew that was only because he wasn't trying to. If he decided to turn on the intimidation she was sure her heart would be racing within seconds. "If you know about me then you know I used to be the apprentice of the Sannin Tsunade, and that next to her I'm the best medic there is. Whenever someone has business with me it's usually for that reason."
Pein leaned back in his chair, almost a slouch. "That's part of it. But you also have other skills that have caught Akatsuki's interest. Your ability to use chakra to both save and destroy is very impressive, and it's true we've been observing your movements for some time. Before you left Konoha, even."
That certainly surprised her, and she was sure it showed, though she tried to keep her calm demeanor. "So then…I suppose you wanted me to come here because you need my skills for something."
"For several things, possibly. I think you would be a special asset to obtain…and I want to offer you a place within our organization."
Sakura's eyes widened, her pulse quickening with nervous excitement. "You want me to join Akatsuki?"
"Correct. Though my mind won't be made up until we're finished talking. I had you brought here so we could discuss it in person, something I've only done a couple times before."
Was that supposed to make her feel special? Well…she supposed it did, actually. She couldn't help but feel mildly amused. "So this is a job interview?"
Pein's lips twisted just slightly at one corner. "Something like that. What do you know of Akatsuki's purpose?"
"I know that you intend to capture the nine bijuu, but I don't know what you plan to do with them once you have them. Theories range from resealing them into yourselves or chosen vessels to create a superhuman fighting force, to the possibility that you can somehow control them and use them to wipe out all the shinobi nations and maybe the entire world." She tried not to show her disdain and horror at either conjecture.
Pein nodded once. "Both of those theories are wrong, though the second is closer to the truth than the first. Akatsuki has three goals, all centered around a single purpose. Do you know the reason shinobi ultimately exist?"
She thought about it a moment. "For war, I suppose."
"Right. Humans are a violent species; they have always fought each other, and if the nature of the species doesn't change, they always will. The reason for war doesn't matter. Religion, ideals, wealth, land, grudge, love, or just because…no matter how ridiculous the reason, it can become a reason for war. It has become a business for the powerful. For those countries that have control of hidden villages, the lifeblood of their economy is based on this 'business,' providing shinobi services within and outside their borders. For those countries to remain economically stable, they need war. But as you know, today most shinobi services are small skirmishes or petty dealings, and large-scale, destructive wars have all but disappeared."
"Isn't that a good thing, for those who want a peaceful existence?" Sakura questioned.
"Yes and no. The larger villages attached to the greater nations are in no danger, but for the last few decades the smaller villages have been in crisis. Without war, the shinobi business falters. Many of the smaller hidden villages have been deemed unnecessary by their countries, because the amount of income they are able to generate has diminished. This has led to many villages being downsized or disbanded, their shinobi cast out to roam the world as rogue ninja, which in turn has led to a rise in mercenary groups. Having no real purpose of existence, these groups focus only on personal gain and have taken to raiding and pillaging and slaving to increase their power and influence. One of the more successful of these groups was the upstart Hidden Sound, led by Orochimaru, and as you know, once they became a problem the larger villages couldn't ignore, they were wiped out. But others will rise, and the cycle will continue."
Sakura nodded slowly. "The renegade shinobi may try to seize control of weak civilian nations, or the greater nations will try to expand their territory and resources by taking over the now-defenseless smaller countries. Eventually there will be a full-scale war, and everyone will want in on it for some reason or other. I would venture a guess that Akatsuki intends to capitalize on this outcome in some way, perhaps even enable it."
Pein nodded. "An intelligent and accurate assumption. But what you speak of is only the beginning of our true purpose. As I said, Akatsuki has three objectives. The first is the basest; to accumulate a large amount of money. We do this in many various ways. That objective is nearly complete and we've already begun the second, which is to use that money to gather those renegade shinobi to us and create the largest mercenary force the world has ever seen."
"A shinobi village without allegiance to any nation, unbound by laws," Sakura said, eyes widening slightly at the implications.
"Exactly. What we do will change everything. Aside from being the leader of Akatsuki, I am also the leader of Hidden Rain. The people of this small nation are devoted to me as their savior. They will be the core of this revolution, and here is where we will gather shinobi to our cause. This new force will undercut the competition and gain a monopoly on the shinobi industry, eventually causing even the larger villages to 'go out of business.' With their economies crumbling and their hidden villages all but crippled, the greater nations will be unable to defend themselves against a major threat. That major threat will come from us, Akatsuki, by using the power of the nine bijuu to create a forbidden jutsu so powerful it can destroy an entire nation instantly. We will use the threat of utter annihilation to force these nations to comply with our third and final goal, our true purpose…a world without war."
Sakura stared incredulously. Akatsuki's ultimate goal…was world peace? It was so outrageous she almost laughed. "You…Akatsuki…wants to create a peaceful world by means of warfare?"
Pein nodded solemnly, his ringed eyes glinting. "Our destructive power will act as a deterrent, and mankind will no longer raise arms against each other for fear of repercussions, for fear of divine retribution. We will be gods of the new world order."
Gods? Sakura had figured they were all insane, but this type of megalomania was astounding. "But, is peace through fear really peace at all? Controlling the world with an iron fist is not going to eliminate the violent nature of humans, as you talked about. It only supresses it through fear. Fear breeds hatred, and hatred only leads to more violence in the end. Is that really the way to obtain world peace?"
"A world without pain is a world without pain. It doesn't matter how or why the wars stop, the fact remains that they will stop. Eventually, with the passage of time, people will be strangers to the idea of war. You could say that the nature of humans will evolve, that the world will mature, become a place where bloodshed seems unnatural and fighting is looked upon with revulsion, a world where no one will know the pain that so many in this world know every day of their lives. A world without pain and suffering is worth any cost," he finished, eyes hard and full of conviction.
"So you're saying the end justifies the means."
He gave the faintest shrug. "If you want to view it so bluntly, then yes."
Sakura wondered if he was aware of how much insight he gave into himself with his passionate words. Pein was clearly an egomaniac, thinking himself a god and the savior of all mankind. But even so, he lacked a certain aristocratic narcissism that most powerful leaders possess. His demeanor and speech were very informal, and didn't seem to mind that she questioned him. She got the feeling his origins were quite humble, that once he had been an average or lowly man who had suffered a great deal of pain and loss, and had pulled himself to the top with his fervent drive to rid the world of the suffering he had known. Thinking over his words, she felt a tiny twinge of something she couldn't define, an unsettling voice in the back of her mind that whispered that much of what Pein said made sense. His methods were clearly insane, but in the end his intentions were noble. It was confusing, but she couldn't ponder it right now. It didn't matter what maniacal ideals he spouted, she had to go along with it and do what she came here to do.
"I understand what you're trying to do, and I believe many of your points to be valid," she said quietly.
Pein seemed pleased, or at least she thought he did, it was hard to tell. "Good. Though it doesn't matter if you share my beliefs or not. There are members of Akatsuki who have their own ambitions, and they are welcome to follow them as long as they aren't counterproductive to our goal. Your unique abilities can aid us in achieving that goal, and that is why I am speaking to you now. However, there is one other thing I want to know about you, Sakura. Konoha doesn't produce many missing-nin. How did you end up as one?"
Sakura regarded him cautiously. "Don't you already know that?"
"Only what's on record. I want to hear the details from your point of view."
Sakura gazed at the flickering flames in the fireplace and sighed. "Well, as you probably know I was arrested for a supposed act of treason. I was interrogated, and it didn't go well." She frowned angrily for effect. "I was the apprentice of the Hokage, one of the village's top medics and an elite jounin…I thought I was a person of respect, I thought I would at least get the benefit of the doubt before I was locked in a room with a bunch of sadists and strapped to a chair with a blinding light in my face. But no…they turned on me at the drop of a hat. I knew I was going to be convicted and most likely executed, and I decided I wasn't going to give my life to them willingly or forcibly. My chakra had been mostly drained, but I don't need very much to be easily stronger than any normal human, so I broke free and took out my guards and fled the village in the middle of the night. Since then I've been out here on my own."
"So what exactly did you do to betray your village in the first place?"
"Does it matter?"
"Yes."
"Compassion was my betrayal. I was arrested because somehow they found out that five years ago, I helped someone I shouldn't have, even though I knew he was a wanted criminal, and I let him go and never told anyone about the incident. Konoha considered it an act of treason to save a dying man's life because that particular man…was Deidara, an Akatsuki," she finished wryly.
Pein studied her with interest, but showed no real surprise, and Sakura wondered if he may have already known, or at least suspected. "Why would you do such a thing, knowing what the consequences would be. Kindness of that level is a dangerous thing to have in this world, as you found out."
"Because I believe I was given a gift to help people, and that to only help my friends or others like me is hypocrisy," she answered calmly. "Because I don't see the world in black and white."
Pein's lips twisted in a faint smirk. "Indeed. How ironic, that your act of unbiased compassion ended you up here, talking to me. It almost seems…fated. Don't you agree…Deidara?"
Sakura stiffened as she heard someone, who had concealed their presence until now (though not from Pein, apparently,) enter from the open passageway behind her. She turned in her chair and her heart gave a small nervous thump as she found herself staring into all-too-familiar blue eyes.
In her memory he had been filthy and covered in burns and wounds, so she wasn't quite ready for the full picture, of a man – no longer a boy – with the dark cloak and the long blond hair that wasn't burnt off. He looked quite different from her time-fragmented memories and oh had he grown up well. Then she realized that at the moment she probably looked like utter shit, since she hadn't slept or bathed or eaten properly in two days, and suddenly felt rather uncomfortable.
Deidara leaned against the frame of the open panel with his arms crossed, looking back at her with extreme interest. He shifted his weight a little and answered Pein's question. "It certainly does. Hello again…Sakura," he greeted, playfully rolling her name on his tongue.
"Hello, Deidara. I see you lived after all. I wasn't sure."
"Well now you know. This is certainly the last place I ever expected to see you again."
"Likewise. But life can throw a curveball now and then."
An ironic smirk curled his lips. "That it can, yeah."
Pein watched their interaction closely, and then his eyes fixed on the explosives expert. "Why were you lurking, Deidara? You didn't know who I was meeting with."
Deidara shrugged. "I knew you were meeting somebody about potential entrance into Akatsuki. Obviously I took interest since any new member will probably be partnered with me."
Sakura fought down her surprise at that piece of information.
"That's getting a bit ahead of things," Pein said. "First, Sakura has to give her answer." His penetrating gaze focused intently on the kunoichi. "Haruno Sakura, do you accept the invitation to become a member of Akatsuki?"
Sakura took a moment to answer, fighting down her nerves and willing herself to hold Pein's intense gaze. She inhaled deeply, and then gave a single nod. "I accept."
The Akatsuki leader inclined his head in assent. "Excellent." He stood, his cloak rustling as it straightened. Sakura rose as well. She heard Deidara move away from the doorframe and into the room, but she remained focused on Pein as he spoke again. "Now there is the matter of your partner. Akatsuki always works and travel in pairs, with the exception of Zetsu, whose duties require him to work alone."
"Funny coincidence that your new partner is me, hm?" Deidara smirked.
"You don't know that. I could always partner her with Hidan," Pein said evenly.
Deidara snorted. "Not if you want her to stick around. Or live. You know as well as I do that one of them would end up dead in no time. Most likely her, since Hidan's a zombie cult freak, yeah."
Pein shot him a reproving look. "Don't talk about your comrade that way. You survived being partnered with him, and I'm sure Sakura is much easier to get along with."
Deidara rolled his eyes.
Meanwhile, Sakura was taken aback. "Hidan?"
Both men looked at her. "Ah, that's right…Hidan was taken out by your former comrades of the Leaf," Pein recalled.
"Yeah…I was there. He got blown into bits and buried throughout the forest…but you're saying he's alive?"
There was a muttered 'unfortunately' from Deidara, but Pein and Sakura ignored him.
"Hidan practices a religion that has given him a type of immortality. He can't be killed by injury, and his remains didn't decompose when Konoha neutralized him. It took Zetsu several years to collect all of him, but now he's revived and mostly recovered," Pein explained. "At any rate, it's true that Hidan can be…difficult, and you would be mismatched since he has no need of a medic. It's convenient that you two are already acquainted, and will probably work better together anyway, so you will be partnered with Deidara."
Sakura stole a glance at Deidara to see his reaction, but she couldn't read much in his expression. She was glad she didn't have to partner with the revived zombie cult freak – as Deidara so eloquently put it – who killed Asuma, but at the same time she wasn't sure what to think about this arrangement either.
"As you know, Akatsuki isn't a welcome presence in many parts of the world, though that is slowly changing as we make arrangements for our revolution," Pein continued. "But this village is loyal only to me. Akatsuki is accepted here and can move freely within River's borders."
He stopped speaking suddenly and looked to the open panel as another presence entered the room. Sakura followed his gaze and was surprised to see a woman, another Akatsuki, who entered without preamble and stopped next to Pein, as if she'd been expected all along. She was tall for a woman, and her hair was a strange shade of deep indigo, pinned up in a chignon and adorned with a white flower that appeared to be made of paper. Her eyes were a startling yellow-green, lidded in heavy dark shadow, and there was a metal stud under her bottom lip. Her appearance was atypical, but Sakura thought her beautiful.
"Sakura, this is Konan. She is my partner," Pein introduced.
"Hello, Sakura," Konan said, her voice low and even.
"Nice to meet you," Sakura replied politely, out of habit.
Konan held an object between her fingers, which she gave to Pein. The Akatsuki leader fixed Sakura with his penetrating gaze and held the object out to her. It was a ring, heavy and silver with a flat face bearing the kanji for "sky" against a purple background. "Wear this on your left little finger. This ring grants you access to our bases and forms a telepathic link that allows us to communicate when physically gathering isn't possible. It has other purposes too, which you will learn in time. Never take it off. Never lose it."
Sakura stared at the ring in her palm, fascinated. She knew all Akatsuki wore rings, but had never known why until now. It didn't look like it would fit, especially not her pinky, but she didn't question it as she slipped the ring onto her finger.
Immediately the symbol flared brightly, and worries of size disappeared as it shrank on its own to fit as if it had been made for her. Then she gasped as a sharp flood of sensation coursed rapidly through her body. It was like being burned and dunked in icewater at the same time. It hurt, but she forced herself to stoically endure whatever was being done to her, refusing to lose face in front of people who had obviously endured the same thing before. Then every inch of her body began to tingle, and she stared at her trembling hand in shock as her fingernails began to burn, then darkened and turned black before her eyes. Well. That answered that question.
It was over in less than a minute, leaving Sakura perspiring and slightly winded from maintaining control of herself through the pain. Slowly, she lowered her hand to her side and looked up at Pein.
Leader's ringed gaze bored into her. "Welcome to Akatsuki."
Not knowing what to say in return, Sakura simply nodded, suddenly feeling exhausted.
She was in. Her mission had finally begun.
Konan turned to her. "Come, I'll get you what you need and show you around." She waited for Sakura's nod of assent and then moved toward the door that led to the hallway.
Sakura shot a final glance to Pein and then to Deidara, her new partner. She still had a lot of questions, but she had to assume she would be informed or could ask later. She moved through the door after the taller woman, missing the way Deidara's eyes followed her on the way out.
Konan led her back to the elevator, and once inside she explained the functions of the unmarked panel as they ascended. At the top, the hallway they stepped into was the same as the one below. Again there was only one place to go, but here there were large double doors carved with the same seals as the building entrance. When they stopped before them Sakura felt a warmth on her hand and glanced down to find that both of their rings were glowing, and she watched as the doors flared and swung open silently.
They entered into a large common room, and as Sakura took in the sight her eyes widened slightly in wonder. Twin sofas of oxblood leather faced a large ornately carved fireplace, and a few armchairs of the same crimson color were placed about the room, all of which sat over large, intricately patterned floor rugs. She noted the open panel on the wall that must lead down to where she'd just been. Several bookshelves and scroll cases lined the walls, and to Sakura's slight surprise, a billiards table stood in the center of the room. It was sophisticated and elegant without being overly opulent. Certainly different from the way most other missing-nin lived, though it made sense that Akatsuki wouldn't live in squalor.
Konan talked as she led Sakura through the room. "This is our main base of operations, though we have others that you will see in time. All Akatsuki reside here when not on assignment, but it's rare for everyone to be here at the same time. Usually it's rather quiet and empty."
"How many members are there?" Sakura asked as they entered a spacious kitchen and eating area that resembled a cafeteria more than a dining room, with several small tables rather than one large one. Perhaps the members didn't like sitting together like one big happy family at meals.
"Eight, including you," Konan answered. "We didn't always reside in one place. In fact for a long time we almost never interacted in person, but things are different now. Things are starting to turn in our favor and it's not as dangerous to gather together in one place anymore. Coincidentally, Itachi, Kisame and Hidan should all be returning tomorrow for a day or two, so you will get to meet them sooner than you usually would."
Sakura's mouth tightened. "I've already met Itachi and Hidan."
Konan paused, giving her a wry look. "Well now you will meet them as comrades."
Sakura nodded faintly, playing along. It probably wouldn't matter if she wasn't buddy-buddy with her "comrades," but she didn't want to cause any problems right from the start either.
As they left the kitchen and walked down a long hallway Konan continued to give her other small details. Sakura absorbed it mostly in silence. The blue-haired kunoichi was very thorough at filling her in, preemptively answering more questions than Sakura had even thought of yet. She was also providing some very useful information for Sakura to relay to Konoha when the time came.
They paused as Konan opened the first door on the right, but didn't go in, merely gestured for Sakura to take a look. "This is the library. You can find information about many things, including nearly every regular and forbidden jutsu there is. Some of these scrolls are the jutsu themselves. You're welcome to use whatever you are able to."
Sakura gazed around the room in awe. Dozens of shelves containing books and scrolls lined the walls, with desks and research tables in the center. This room was a jackpot for studious people like her. "There's so many!" she remarked with quiet excitement.
Konan nodded. "It's taken many years to collect them. Several were stolen by Orochimaru when he defected, but they were recovered – as well as several he acquired on his own – with his death and the fall of Hidden Sound, along with the ring you wear."
She started in surprise, and stared at the ring on her finger. "Orochimaru's…"
Konans lips curled in a faint smile. "It's not contaminated or anything, though I understand your sentiment."
Sakura met her gaze, and a small smile formed on her own lips. Though she had only just met her, she had the feeling she would like Konan. The idea that she might come to like or respect any of them was unsettling, but this woman didn't seem sinister or evil. She was intelligent, and there was a poise and sophistication in the way she spoke and carried herself that made Sakura feel rather awkward and childish.
"So how long have you been in Akatsuki?" she asked, to make conversation as they continued down the long passage.
"Pein and I were the first. It's been…nearly fifteen years now."
That surprised her, for just like Pein, Konan didn't look past her early thirties. "That's a long time. You must have been pretty young," Sakura remarked.
Konan cast a sidelong glance at her. "Yes…though in our hearts we were already old."
Sakura pondered the cryptic comment, wondering if it had anything to do with Pein's allusion to a hard past. She found herself wanting to know more about both of them, but didn't think it a good idea to ask so soon. Instead she nodded understandingly. "That's true about all of us who are raised to be shinobi, on some level."
"Yes, it is. Many children of the world have been forced to endure more darkness and pain than they should have at a young age. What we do will change that," she said with quiet conviction.
Sakura nodded absently, her thoughts troubled and confused again. They stopped before a door that was different from the rest. It had a window, more like an office door than one found in a residence. She soon discovered why when Konan opened the door and revealed a spacious infirmary.
"This is the medical room. It isn't used often, but when it is the guys usually make a mess out of it trying to patch themselves up," Konan explained wryly. "I'm sure it will see more frequent—and sanitary—use, now that you're here."
Konan shut the door and they continued down the corridor. Sakura made a mental note to come back and explore every inch of that room along with the library as soon as she got the chance.
They stopped at the next door down, and this time they went inside. To put it simply, they were in a giant closet. Along one wall was a hanging rack of several Akatsuki cloaks, organized in different sizes. Another wall held a row of straw kasa, attached with white cloth streamers long enough to reach past the shoulders. Sakura estimated that when worn with the high-collared cloaks, they would almost completely obscure the identity of the wearer.
"You'll get a set of your own cloaks tailored for you, but until then you can use one of these," Konan said, moving to the far end of the cloak rack where the shorter ones were. "These are spares in case ours get ruined somehow."
Sakura pulled one of the smallest cloaks from its hanger and slipped it on for trial. It was a little too big, broader in the shoulders and probably an inch or two too long, but it would do. The fabric was of high quality and expertly tailored, and though it was rather heavy, it wasn't cumbersome. Quite nice, actually. It occurred to her suddenly that every other member including Konan, from what she recalled or was able to judge, was at least four or five inches taller than her. Meaning the cloak she was currently wearing had most likely been a spare once belonging to Sasori, whose puppet body had been a young teenage boy. Well. How ironic was that?
Next she was given a kasa, to wear in bad weather or when travelling through places where her identity would cause problems. Then Konan pulled several pairs of white leg-guards from a shelf and handed them to her.
"The guys all wear them, but like me you may find they don't really match. I like your boots, by the way," she said with a small smile.
Sakura looked down and noticed that she and Konan did have similar taste in footwear. Konan's black boots also had thick, raised heels, though white rather than black, and rose to an unknown length under her cloak. "Thanks." She returned her smile. "I like yours too."
Konan continued the tour. "I forgot to mention, the door in the kitchen leads to the rooftop where there's a training area, and Zetsu's greenhouse is also up there. Being a medic you may find it useful, but Zetsu keeps a lot of hazardous things in there so it probably wouldn't be a good idea to enter it without him."
"Thanks for the warning," Sakura replied amusedly.
The corridor was L-shaped, and they turned as they reached the bend. "The rest of the rooms are all private quarters, and each door is chakra sealed by the occupant. We respect each other's privacy, but it's in the nature of shinobi to be paranoid, I suppose." She named the owners with a gesture as they passed each closed door, and Sakura memorized the order for future reference. "This is Kisame's room…then Zetsu…Hidan…Itachi …Deidara…this one is yours," she said as they stopped, "and the one at the end of the corridor is mine and Pein's."
Sakura looked up at that, studying the other woman while keeping her expression neutral. Konan had said it almost blandly, and with no hesitation. Apparently this little fact was simply accepted among members without ado. It just was.
"There isn't really anything else," Konan continued without missing a beat. "Do you have any other questions?"
Sakura shook her head. "Not that I can think of right now. Thanks for showing me around."
Konan nodded. "I'm sure you're tired from travelling all day. I'll leave you to settle in."
The other woman disappeared down the long hallway, and Sakura entered her quarters. It was bigger and nicer than any room she'd ever stayed in, and the ongoing theme of black and crimson was here, too. There were heavy drapes on the windows, a large floor rug, a mahogany writing desk and bureau, and an empty bookshelf with a comfy looking armchair. The bed was big enough to sleep three, with scarlet sheets and a comforter of black velvet. It looked sinfully comfortable, and she was tempted to crash then and there. But first things first: to bathe.
She had her own bathroom, which was a blessing with so many men living here. Not only was there a shower, but a full-sized bathtub, too. If Sakura had to live with a group of dangerous criminals, at least she would be living in style. She took a long shower, relaxing and letting some of her stress and weariness wash away. The hot water never cooled or ran out, which she thought was completely fantastic. Afterward she dressed in her last set of clean and untorn clothes, and then slipped on the black cloak with red clouds. She inspected herself in the full-length mirror, eyeing her Akatsuki cloak and scratched out hitai-ate, and barely recognized herself. But she wasn't simply playing dress up. No, this game was much more serious, with much higher stakes. She was a missing-nin. She was Akatsuki. And she was also a spy.
Moving to the bed where her pack lay, she pulled out a small, rolled slip of paper secured in a rubber band. She unrolled it as she crossed to the writing desk, revealing a transformation seal. She made the seals, and with a soft pop the specialized message scroll sat on the desk before her. She hadn't made contact with Konoha since leaving three months ago. There had been no reason to until now. She didn't feel comfortable doing this inside the base, and couldn't afford to take much time, but she needed to send word that her mission had finally begun. She pulled a regular ballpoint pen from the case on the desk and wrote a short, concise message:
I'm in. Base is Amegakure. 7 other members. Partner is Deidara. Details will follow when prudent.
At the bottom she added the date, and then quickly made the special seals she'd learned and placed the fingertips of each hand on the corresponding marks. She watched as her writing moved in squiggled lines until it formed a tiny line of ants, which then rose from the paper and hurried off the edge of the desk and down the leg before disappearing under a tiny crack at the base of the wall. Satisfied they would get away unnoticed, she quickly re-rolled the scroll and transformed it back into an inconspicuous slip of paper, and then slipped it into the inner pocket of her cloak.
A moment later there was a knock at her door, and Sakura's heart nearly stopped. She knew she wasn't caught or they wouldn't be knocking, but that had been too close for her liking. She wouldn't send a message from inside the base again. Composing herself, she crossed to the door and pulled it open, and her carefully neutral expression changed to one of mild surprise when she found herself face to face with Deidara.
"Yo."
"Hey," she said evenly, willing her pulse to slow, silently thanking whoever decided to put high collars on these cloaks. "What's up?"
He didn't reply immediately, unabashedly taking in her new appearance. Then he smirked. "You look a hell of a lot better than before. A shower and a change of clothes helped a lot, yeah."
Sakura glared at him. "Did anyone ever tell you you make a really bad first impression? And I suppose you're always fresh and rosy when you travel for twelve hours straight."
He grinned. "But we've already met. If you're counting impressions, this would be the third, yeah."
She gave him an exasperated look. "Whatever. Did you need something?"
"I came to get you. So let's go."
"Where?"
"Mission," he answered casually, already moving down the hall.
Sakura stared after him a moment. A mission already? Unexpected, but she had to go along with it. After quickly placing a chakra seal on the door, she shut it behind her and followed after him.
