I'm so sorry it took me so long to update! But school was getting so intense and now it's over! Grr...This chapter was soooo good! Then my internet connection decided to be a bitch and I ended up having to rewrite this chapter like 5 or 6 different times! I'm so frustrated at it because it isn't as good as it first was!
Thanks for all the favorite author/story and story/author alert. Thank you CatDevilAsian and Inner Jashinist for the reviews.
lemmony snikket-I read and re-read your review it made me so happy! Thank you, I thought it would be funny to see Hidan get beaten. And just for you I promise no more strip poker. I agree whole-heartedly with your shudder at the thought of Zetsu.
Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto...do I need to say it anymore?
A loud banging roused Tawny from her sleep. She grumbled and stumbled from the bed, her spaghetti-strapped shirt and her shorts still rumpled from her sleep. Tawny tripped twice on her way to the door before finally grasping the knob and opening it. Kisame towered above her small figure, her 5'3 stature being dwarfed by his large 6'5 body.
"Get dressed in your training clothes kouhai." Tawny could only grumble a response, shutting her door to get dressed in the baggy black cargo pants. They hugged her hips to keep from falling off and the many pockets were ready to be filled with junk. The black long sleeved spandex shirt was breathable and comfy as it hugged her form as well. Over the spandex shirt she wore a black shirt that stopped at her stomach and had no sleeves. This article of clothing was completely baggy. Tawny pulled on the black ninja shoes that Sasori had given her and pulled her hair back into a ponytail before stepping out of the room.
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Kisame walked briskly down the hall watching amused as Tawny walked next to him, practically asleep on her feet. She rubbed her eyes tiredly and almost walked into a wall. In fact she would have had he not steered her out of the way.
Kisame used the hand signs necessary to open the door and led Tawny outside. He quickly stepped out of the way as Deidara threw a bucket of water on the poor girl. The sunlight had blinded her momentarily, so she hadn't even seen it coming. The freezing water jolted her awake, and she glared at the retreated from of the bomber.
"What the hell?" Kisame only chuckled at her.
"You were asleep. You can get him back when he returns from his mission."
"Mission?"
"Sasori and Deidara have to go get a scroll from the Cloud village. Pein isn't here either, he went to Amegakure to check on things there."
"What about Hidan? I haven't heard him all day."
"Kakuzu took him to find a bounty."
"Ah...hey Kisame?"
"Yeah?"
"Why are we outside?"
"To start your training. We're going to start with weapons first. Chakra training will take a lot longer, and just in case theirs a scuffle I want you to be able to defend yourself." Tawny only nodded in response, most likely thinking his logic was sound. She had no idea what she was in store for.
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Tawny groaned and fell onto her back. The grass was surprisingly soft here.
"I didn't even know I could ache in these places." Kisame chuckled from his seat near the base.
"At least you know you're working them." Tawny scowled. Deep down she knew he was right, but the stubborn part of her believed it wasn't worth it. A small breeze blew through the clearing, cooling the sweat on her face. Kisame was a merciless sensei. He had worked Tawny with kuni, shuriken, senbon, and a katana until she collapsed. Now she lay in the grass, enjoying the breeze and the break she was getting. Kisame chuckled again at her sprawled form.
"You're not very good at this." Tawny scowled again while moving to sit up and tell him off, but thought better of it as her muscles protested and she fell back down.
"At least i'm not a giant." Weak comeback, but it was all she had.
"I'd rather be a giant then be a midget."
"Hey! It's not my fault you're upset because gravity loves me more." There was a small silence before Kisame started laughing.
"That doesn't even make any sense Tawny."
"It so does! You're just not insane enough to get it." This only caused Kisame to laugh harder. To be quite honest it was getting on Tawny's nerves. She never really did like people laughing at her craziness. Maybe because they didn't have craziness for her to laugh at.
"Kisame we have a mission." Itachi's voice effectively stopped Kisame's laughing. Tawny made a mental note to give him a fruit basket or something later.
"Alright Itachi. Go back inside Tawny."
"Nah, i'll just lay here till ya get back."
"That'll be a few days."
"I don't think i'll be able to move for a few days anyway."
"Wimp."
"Hey! Come over here and say that again shark man!" Kisame walked over and stood next to Tawny.
"You, my hopeless student, are a wimp." With great effort Tawny lifted her arm and dropped in onto Kisame's foot.
"That'll teach you to call me a wimp."
"Oh yeah, you sure showed me." Itachi's impatient shuffle, seeing as how the man never really expressed his impatience, caused Kisame to walk over to him.
"Go back inside Tawny. Somebody has to watch over Tobi while we're gone." The two ninja didn't even give her time to agree before they disappeared with a small puff of smoke. Tawny lay still for a few moments before realizing for the first time in forever she was alone. She could run away and find some people to help get her home, if it weren't for three things. The first was that she was so sore she couldn't move, she doubted she could make it into the base let alone make it to a town. The second was that she had no idea what was in the forest, and probably wouldn't even last the day. The last, and probably the most important reason, was Zetsu. He was still at the base and could catch her before she even took three steps away from the base.
Tawny rolled over onto her stomach with a groan, using her hands to push herself onto her knees. Once she was on her feet Tawny trudged back into the base. Thankfully Itachi left the entrance open for her, otherwise she never would have gotten in. With a tired sigh she collapsed onto the beaten couch. It wasn't long before an orange swirly mask peeked over the edge of the couch.
"What's wrong Tawny-chan? Are you sick?"
"I'm just tired..."
"Because you're sick!"
"No-"
"Oh no! Tobi will go make Tawny-chan some soup so she'll get better!" Before Tawny could protest further Tobi ran off into the kitchen. A dark chuckle came from the door to the hallway that led outside.
"I see Tobi's going to make you soup. I wouldn't eat it if I were you. The last person who did ended up getting sick for real." Tawny suppressed a shudder at the thought of soup bad enough to make you sick.
"Do you think you could help me out?"
"No. Just don't eat it. Tell him to piss off if you really don't want it."
"I can't do that to him."
"If it was anyone else you would have. If it was anyone else she would either faint from the shock that they would make her soup, or eat it because she was scared they would kill her if she didn't. That's true... Well, it's not our problem anyway." Zetsu sank into the ground right as Tobi walked into the room, a steaming bowl of soup in his hands. Tawny stared at the spot he had been standing, wondering how he did that. Then she remembered he was a ninja. Stupid ninjas.
"Tobi made Tawny-chan some soup! Tobi hopes Tawny-chan will like it, Deidara-senpai says its nasty. But Deidara-senpai's just a big meany."
"Um, I don't think I really need soup..."
"But it will make Tawny-chan all better!" Tobi drew out the all in a sing-song voice and skipped over to the couch.
"Really i'm feeling much better..."
"Tawny-chan doesn't want any of Tobi's soup?" He sounded a bit let down.
"No no! I, uh, i'd love some of your soup!" Tawny took the bowl with shaking hands, managing to not spill any of the soup on her.
"Tawny-chan looks really sick. Ah, Tobi will feed Tawny-chan!"
"No that's not nec-" Tobi took that moment to shove a spoonful of the sludge into her mouth. Time stood still for a second before Tawny's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and she rushed off to the bathroom, the spoon falling to the ground on the way. Tobi stood outside the door as the retching subsided.
"Tawny-chan didn't like Tobi's soup either." Tobi's shoulders drooped and his voice took on a mournful tone. Tawny rinsed out her mouth and stepped out of the bathroom.
"That's, uh, not it. I just...didn't get enough of it that's all!" Tawny couldn't stand it when Tobi was sad like that. He reminded her of a puppy with a broken leg that was abandoned on the side of the street. You just wanted to pick it up and love it and hug it and heal it so that it would wag its tail again.
"Really?" Tobi seemed to brighten up. Tawny could only nod.
"Then eat!" Tobi shoved the bowl into Tawny's hands. She stared at the bubbling sludge before giving Tobi a distressed look. He had his hands clasped together and was bouncing excitedly. Tawny gulped and brought the bowl to her lips, downing the concoction swiftly. Tobi leaned in anxiously for her reaction. She clapped a hand to her mouth and swallowed the bile that was rising in her throat.
"Did Tawny-chan like Tobi's soup?"
"Uh, yeah! It was great...could you go make me some tea? It would make me feel a lot better."
"Sure!" Tawny waited until Tobi skipped around the corner before diving into the bathroom and empting her stomach of the poison that Tobi had made.
"You ate it. I'm surprised you kept it down that long." Tawny rinsed her mouth again.
"I wasn't going to hurt his feelings. What else was I supposed to do?"
"Tell him to piss off. Or at least send him to get the tea and then dump the soup in the toilet." Tawny stared at Zetsu before slapping her palm against her forehead.
"Why didn't I think of that?"
"Because you're stupid. I think it's because you didn't want to hurt Tobi's feelings, and he was watching you. Or she's just stupid. There's that too..." Tawny was used to Zetsu arguing with himself, and mostly just ignored him.
"I'm grateful for the soup."
"What? Why?"
"Because it was so bad I completely forgot about my muscle ache. And now it's gone."
"You're one weird kid. Although it was kind of funny when you practically crawled back into the base."
"Honestly I think you enjoy my pain Zetsu."
"Only a little. Actaully we enjoy it a lot."
"Can I ask why?"
"We don't know really. Probably the same reason you're so nice to Tobi."
"I remind you of a puppy?"
"...What? The hell are you rambling on about now?"
"Uh, nevermind." Zetsu gave Tawny a look that let her know he thought she was crazy.
"Well, Tobi's coming. You better hope his tea tastes better than his soup." Zetsu left through the wall this time as Tobi rounded the corner.
"Tawny-chan! Tobi made you some tea!"
"Thank you Tobi." Tawny took the tea from him and sipped gratefully at it, pleased that it tasted good and got rid of the soup's taste.
"Does Tawny-chan want to play a game with Tobi?"
"Uh, sure Tobi. What game?"
"Hide and Seek!" Tawny smiled slightly.
"Sure Tobi, i'll play hide and seek with you."
"Okay! Tawny-chan will go hide, and Tobi will seek!" Tobi turned to the wall and covered his eye hole, starting to count to one hundred. Tawny slipped away, going into the kitchen and hiding into the pantry.
"Ready or not, here comes Tobi!" Tawny sighed, twisted into an uncomfortable shape underneath the bottom shelf and hiding behind various cans of food and cleaning supplies.
"It's going to be a long day."
Next chapter will sort of pick up the story line. I know what I want to happen, it's just taking a little bit to get there...