Hey, I was trying to get this uploaded asap so I didn't have Neonn beta it this time.
Please forgive me for any grammatical errors or syntax inconsistencies in this chapter.
Oh and leave a review Plz (^____^)
A Morbid Acuteness of the Senses
Chapter 7
Sightseeing is not for the weak.
.
.
Hidan hopped from place to place, appearing and reappearing yards ahead every few seconds. He dragged his scythe on the ground behind him, letting it cut through and snag on whatever came his way. Any idiot would be able to blindly follow Hidan's destructive path. Sakura didn't even need to try figuring out where he was, it was so easy to simply see. He was still beyond her vision, but she could hear the steel of his scythe as it grated against stone here and there.
Sakura was hoping that he'd slow down or stop somewhere so she would be able to catch up to him. This really was not part of the plan. This whole chase wasn't…well actually it was somewhat part of the plan. But she was supposed to follow him while he found his way around the city inconspicuously. Not like the one-man parade from hell. He should have already gotten Pein's attention by stepping into the rain without hiding his chakra.
It was so frustrating. She wished she could just stomp her foot into the ground or throw something at him hard enough to knock him into a building.
She leaned against the wall of the latest building to catch her breath. Looking around, she noticed that it was painted completely black.
Suspicious….
Deciding that this deserved an investigation, and that she needed a change from the monotony of chasing Hidan, she stalked around to the other side of the building in search of an entrance. Seeing no windows whatsoever, she wondered what exactly was going on with this building.
The lack of windows made her want to see inside even more.
OMG! What if I'm on to something here?!
Her pulse started to race from not only the danger, but also the excitement. Heck, maybe she'd even find the entrance to Akatsuki before Hidan got the invitation.
Yes! I'll show him I don't need to stay behind!
Perhaps there was a hidden edge or a barrier keeping the entrance hidden. Maybe it was even genjutsu. She had to find out. Feeling all pumped up and out to prove that she didn't need to be left out of anything, she began to avidly search the walls themselves.
She felt rather self conscious for checking out a building in the middle of the street. It was almost as if she were doing something wrong by inspecting the building in full public display. She kept looking over her shoulder thinking that there might be a civilian watching, but thankfully there was not such thing. In fact, everywhere Hidan had passed through was devoid of human life for a few blocks around.
On the wall facing the back alley, next to rusting pile of junk, Sakura finally found something interesting. In some places, the bricks were slightly raised and the black paint had rubbed off a bit to expose the reddish brown stone. She ran her hands over it, tracing out a rectangular shape.
Her excitement rose and she giggled quietly.
I found it! I found something!
Are you sure that this is Akatsuki? The door was pretty easy to find…
Well, this IS their hometown, they probably don't invest as much in securing the place. The rain is probably enough.
Okay, soooo what if this really is the entrance to Akatsuki's layer? I can't do anything in there by myself!
Relax! We'll just snoop around and be back out before they know it!
Don't underestimate them! You might get caught!
I've beaten them before and besides, I'm going to use all my energy for escaping, I won't try any offense.
Even if you get away, if the fact that you're here in Rain is found out, that'll probably ruin the entire plan!
Maybe we won't need the plan after this!
But Sakura's level-headed self had a point. If she were found, it could mess up the whole plan that she and Hidan had worked out.
And what about him?
They might come together to overpower him and he could get hurt. Or worse, they could overpower her and Hidan would have no idea what happened to her, maybe he'd get caught looking for her and then Akatsuki would have both of them and the mission would fail.
Sakura bit her lip in consternation over the dilemma, but didn't remove her hands from the wall. What to do, what to do? She could really be on to something here, if she left it alone, what would happen? She might never get the chance to see inside until it was too late and she was probably being tossed after being bound and gagged by Akatsuki.
Frowning, she dug her fingers around the raised edges, getting a good grip on them and began wiggling the 'door' from side to side.
Hidan's out there, right now, doing his part to get all the attention. I'm going to find out about this place and I'll prove that I can do something besides keep watch from the sidelines.
Sakura had the dreaded bloated ego for some reason. She had made up her mind to do what she wanted over what was logical. And she still couldn't figure out how to get the darn thing open. She struggled a little more, pulling and pushing as hard as she could. It was so frustrating without chakra. A few more minutes and she finally gave in, kicking the door in anger before stepping back to glare at it.
She couldn't hear Hidan in the distance anymore. He must have moved on. All the effort she put into trying to catch up to him so far had gone to waste just because of this. It was all her fault for not doing the logical thing. In a huff, she kicked the door again and grudgingly began to walk away in Hidan's direction once more.
Before she even got a yard away, the door began to rumble. She nearly jumped out of her skin and moved into a position where she could view the door and escape quickly if necessary. She didn't have to wait long before it painfully slid in on itself and moved aside. She was frozen in place like a deer in headlights. She should have bolted away as soon as she heard the door move. There was a moment of shocked silence as she stared at it in awe.
OMG! What's happening?! It's Akatsuki! They'll find me!
If I get bound and gagged and tortured now, I totally deserve it for being stupid. Stupid Stupid Stupid. This was such a stupid idea!
I know!
She waited for something to happen. For kunai to shoot out. For shuriken to come flying. For wires to whip around her and strangle her.
Slowly a head peeked out and looked about. It wore a cap and she could see glasses affixed underneath the bill. Short, orange hair curled out from under the cap, over the pale ears and neck.
"Huh? Nobody out here? I thought I heard someone…OH!" He finally saw Sakura, still frozen in place. This time because confusion rather then awe or fright. That head did not look like it belonged to anything even slightly akatsuki related. "Did you want to come inside?"
"Uhh…y-yeah." Sakura straightened herself from her defensive position. She must have looked like a fool. The blood that was supposed to rush away from her head now that she was out of Fight-or-Flight mode just pooled in her face because of her embarrassment.
The boy stepped out and laughed at her flush.
"No need to by shy. Come on, it's okay. We're all friends in here." He extended a hand, beckoning her inside.
"Uh….I'm not sure if I-"
"Are you new? I'll explain everything inside. Don't stand out in the rain like that."
He ushered her in. A reprieve from the rain sounded like a good idea, no matter who it was coming from. He stood in the doorway with a cheesy smile on his face. She sensed no chakra from him. He was harmless. As she walked passed him, she noticed that he was stooping to fit in the low ceiling-ed passage.
"This way." He led her down into the dimly lit abyss. She could see colorful posters on all along the passage walls. She had no idea where the guy was taking her, or more importantly, why in the world she was following him.
Maybe it was side effect of being scared shitless a moment earlier that she became as pliable as dough, easily following a random, smiling stranger like a puppy on a leash.
Dammit, what is this place?
It's dry is what it is.
I want to leave. I still have to find that idiot partner of mine.
If I say I don't know what this place is or why I'm here, then he'll probably suspect me for something.
Inner Sakura sighed and followed quietly, observing the ceiling and walls as she went. A moment later, they reached a door and the mysterious kid with glasses knocked on it in a ridiculously fancy rhythm. Not a second too soon, a large man opened the door. He was as tall and wide as the doorframe. He wore a bland look on his face. With a grunt, he stepped aside and let them pass.
As soon as Sakura walked in, she was blasted by music and colorful lights flashing everywhere. She was momentarily knocked both deaf and blind, which didn't help her original dumbstruck look any either.
I. Can't. Believe. It.
This place is just an underground club!
There was an entire string of unkind words running through her head. She felt very foolish.
Hidan sat on the head of a stone gargoyle with his scythe put away. He was perched a few stories above the ground and could easily see cobbled streets. The view was exactly like looking at a map.
He was waiting for Sakura to find him. Didn't she say she'd cover it? He estimated that he'd been in this city for at least six hours and still hadn't seen hair or hide of her. And her hair wasn't hard to miss.
He looked up at the sky somewhat worried about her. It was dull, gray, and the clouds perpetually morphing into new cloud-like shapes. There was no way to see the sun and maybe get a sense of the time of day, but he guessed that there were only a few more hours before dark. If Sakura didn't contact him before then, then he'd have to start looking for her. And if there was one thing he was positive of, he was sure that once he started looking for her, it would catch Pein's attention a lot more then necessary.
He wondered if Sakura had heard him ring the proverbial doorbell. He tried to make as much of a ruckus as possible without tiring himself out too much, so by now, word should have gotten around that there was a demonic psychotic jashinist on the loose in the city. Sakura ought to be able to trace him through the grapevine, which was, ironically, the only thing Pein wouldn't be able to trace.
He was actually quite worried about her. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to do his part of the mission if he couldn't rest assured that she was alright and where she wanted to be.
Jashin damn it!
He hated that about himself. About his profound attachment to another human being. It only served to make him weaker now, and that was the one thing he couldn't afford.
Focus, Hidan. You're on a mission. A really fucking important mission. They send more then one person on missions like this just to make sure that they get done. Seriously, if one of you dies, the other will still have to complete it. So quit worrying about her and do your part in this.
Hidan's self pep-talk wasn't working very well. He could lie to himself all he wanted in his head, but his heart would still stay concerned for someone other then himself. It was obvious that he wouldn't be able to drive her from his thoughts completely, but maybe, just maybe, he could pretend that she must be somewhere safer if she was away from him. Then at least, that way he would be able to do his mission with some peace of mind.
He grasped his rosary and brought it to his lips. He prayed for Sakura's protection. Abruptly a thought struck him and he looked down at his pendant.
Dammit! I should have given this to her! I'm such a moron!
Squeezing the pendent in his palm, he realized that if he had done such a thing, it might ruin his act later.
Gritting his teeth, he slowly stood up atop the gargoyle. He winced slightly at the stiffness of his muscles.
Great. Just great. He thought. His problems simply kept growing and growing.
Sakura emerged from the underground club in a daze. After talking to the party-ers in the midst of music, smoke, and unearthly flashing lights; the dull, rainy afternoon seemed a relief. She found that she didn't mind the rain as much anymore either. Especially since she'd stolen some mad raver's raincoat.
Heaving a sigh of blissful relief at her dry state of being, she looked around to get her bearings.
Noooooo! I still have to find Hidan!
And I'm not any closer to him than before! In fact, it might just be the opposite!
I can't even hear him anymore! Nor do I hear the frantic screams of the citizens of Rain!
Crap!
She squinted at her original destination. It was harder to see long distance through the rain because it was slowly getting darker. The cluster of high rises still looked to be a good two hours' walk away. She felt like ripping her legs off.
Why was it that I have to look for him again?
Because he can't be caught searching for someone else.
But can't he just randomly look for someone he may just feel like harassing? Maybe Pein'll think Hidan's in the mood to look for a sacrifice and looking for some poor idiotic soul.
Hmm....you have a point there......
HIDAN YOU JERK YOU BETTER GET OUT HERE AND START LOOKING FOR ME!
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I need to find a poor idiotic soul, dammit. Jashin-sama's calling is becoming harder to bear.
Hidan languidly made his way down from the second story gargoyle. Something in his back popped.
Fuck.
He tightened his hands into fists. And leapt off the building quickly. He knew he was going to be possibly hated by Sakura, but he figured he had a better chance of being anything to Sakura if he was still alive. This meant that he would do what she would despise the most. He had to be on top of his game just in case something with his first meeting with Akatsuki went wrong. He needed to find a sacrifice soon, and what better place to look, he thought morbidly. A few blocks away began the rusted, dirty slums of Rain.
There were a lot more sewers here and many of them were open to the sky, functioning as gutters as they wound their way between tiny houses, apartment complexes, and questionable-looking stores that advertised questionable-looking wares to some very questionable-looking citizens of Rain.
Was this really one of the great hidden ninja villages of the world? When he thought of a hidden village, he usually thought of Konoha or Suna. At least they looked like they were being governed by some higher power and could possibly house some very fine assassins, but this place looked like crap.
This says a lot about fucking Mr. I-Am-God. Nothing here speaks of divinity as far as I can see. More like the devil came and took a dump.
Hidan was positive that he would find someone that deserved to be punished here. Asking to get a hold of someone who's in the slammer for first degree murder might be pushing it, but if Hidan broadened his search to manslaughter or just rape, he was bound to find someone soon.
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Sakura reached the first of the skyscrapers and braced herself on her knees as she took in deep breaths. She shut her eyes and her thoughts to the rain and pulled the hood of her raincoat back to let the cool water trickle down her face and neck.
Oh god! This stupid thing is so frickin' hot!
It's rubber. Did you expect to be able to cool down while wearing this?
Well I did expect to stay dry! Now my clothes are soaked with sweat instead of rain! Gah!
Raincoats aren't meant to be worn during rigorous exercise.
She huffed and stood straight to have a look at the building. It was made of stone, but here and there sheets of serrated metal covered the walls and tiny windows were cut into them. It was a couple stories high with crude gargoyles marking each corner of every floor. Unlike most stone watchmen of the night, these gargoyles had jaws wide open towards the sky. It almost looked like they were drinking the rain.
Sakura shuddered.
What a creepy-ass building. Even by Rain's standards.
It doesn't even look like anyone lives here.
Then there's no need to hang around.
Sakura was about to leave and go check out the next building when she noticed something even more strange. On the other side of the building, one of the gargoyle's heads had been lobbed off and was now lying on the street in pieces. Looking up, she saw that it must have belonged to the one on the second floor. She could somewhat make out the headless form of a stone body on the corner facing the eastern part of the city.
Looking in that direction, Sakura grimaced. She couldn't make out anything that lay in that direction beyond the immediate houses and storefronts.
She fisted and unfisted her hands loosely. She wanted to see what was over there. She looked up at the building and suppressed another shudder. She didn't want to climb that building.
She bit her lip in consternation and after a few minutes of silent debate, her curiosity won over the icky feeling she got when she approached the building and she found herself eyeing for a way to climb up. There weren't any trash bins or crates lying around this time, but there was still a good foot or maybe more of an overhang that channeled water away and into the drains in the ground. This was good. At least the water wasn't going to drown her for trying to climb the edifice. That is if she could ever find a place to start climbing from.
The water not rushing at her made the process of looking for raised bricks and ledges in the wall a lot easier though, so it wasn't that difficult to find a way up past the first floor. One foot here, one hand there, and a bit of hefting herself over a slippery ledge, she made it to the top of the first overhang in one piece.
This wasn't so hard.
Sakura stared at her hands. Her hands looked like they did back in her childhood when she used to search for rocks in the river on lazy summer afternoons. –Wait a minute, did I ever search for rocks in the river?
No, I don't think so. But if I did, that's what my hands would look like.
I can't believe I actually did this. I climbed a building without chakra.
Hell yeah! I'm a kunoichi! I can do anything, I don't need my chakra!
Of course Sakura was only lying to herself. She hated not being able to use her chakra and she hated having to run in the rain and having to scale a frickin' building and even getting her hands and feet all nasty, pruny, and dirty because of her not using her chakra. This was just one of those ways she mentally pepped herself up.
She heaved a sigh and made her way to the next ledge.
Is that a cliffhanger? I'm sorry, I didn't know. XD
But did i not say that I would be uploading chapters sooner? I'm rather proud of myself. It's two weeks sooner then normal.
REVIEW PLEASE :D
they make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside hahaha.
QUESTION: Do you want me to draw Rain as I see it in this story? I know it's kind of hard to picture, i'm trying my best with the architectural descriptions. I could draw it and post a link .