Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto…

Author's Note: That must suck for Kiki. She goes for weeks without eating and yet she doesn't even notice anymore. She must have had a very rough childhood. Boy isn't that an understatement. Oh my, did I say that out loud.


Kiki-The Healer

Chapter Eight: Light in the Shadow

Pain. Internal and outer. Self inflicted or an injury from an enemy. Zetsu had seen much of this in his days as a shinobi. Endless seas of it in the bloody wars and the countless battles that ravished the lands and souls of all those living. Pain was simply part of the life of a shinobi, but this woman was in more pain then Zetsu would have thought possible. Even by the standards of a ninja. Far past. Somehow, when he looked into her eyes, Zetsu could relate this woman's pain to all the burdens of the world being forced upon her fragile shoulders. If only he knew how true his assessment was. She. A woman. Still a young child at heart, possibly even a child in mind, was suffering the life of violence and torment.

Zetsu let his bright yellow eyes soften unknowingly as he watched a single tear of warm liquid glide softly down the woman's face and land on the table soundlessly. Unseen by all others but him. Not even the young woman herself could feel it rolling down her face, shining in the gentle star light above. A single traitor that had given her very existence, possibly her whole past away in that single act of rebellion. Rebellion of being hidden away and forgotten day after day. She was far too busy devouring her third bowl of stir-fry to notice. Zetsu felt his lips pull into a painful line. This woman before him. This incredibly beautiful woman. Suffered the trials of the most brutal of lives. Yet. She was not even shinobi in title. The Healer of Mercy. How ironic that such a name be given to a woman, Zetsu felt his lips become even more stained, to whom the world, life itself, has apparently done no favors.

Kiki suddenly felt it. Waves of concern and anger gently rolling off the bi-colored man sitting in front of her. He was deep in thought again, but still watching her with thoughtful eyes. She felt a wave of regret wash over her. Had she eaten his food by accident? She felt a shameful blush spread across her lightly tanned cheeks. Why did she have to be born such a selfish person, she quietly sulked to herself in disgust. Sometimes she truly disliked herself. With her eyes down cast, she put down her chopsticks to the side of the bowl slowly, effectively catching Zetsu's attention. First she was putting his life and all the other Akatsuki's lives in danger and now she was eating his food like a selfish little baby who demanded more without taking others into consideration. She bit her lip, suddenly holding her bowl out to the man with her head bowed in apology.

Zetsu, for one, was completely and utterly stunned by this sudden change in behavior. He could only stare at the woman before him in puzzlement. She was bowing to him with her eyes downcast, an obvious gesture of apology, and he didn't even know what she suddenly felt obliged to seek forgiveness for. He felt a feeling of confusion ting at him as he noticed that the woman had a shameful expression painted across her face, hidden just out of sight. He could sense it though. Then, as if feeling this sudden change in Zetsu, the woman righted herself again, an equally confused look on her face. Such a confusing woman, Zetsu thought to himself. Then a thought hit Zetsu. A thought that made his shoulders tense involuntarily. Could this woman tell what he was feeling?

Zetsu looked the woman over with searching yellow orbs, taking in and remembering every detail of her recent responses towards his own internal emotional changes. Even if he had kept a straight face in place the whole time. Was it really possible that this woman felt what he felt? Impossible. Zetsu had never heard of anyone with a gift like that before, but then he had to reason with himself, nothing was truly impossible in the shinobi world. He felt his shoulders tense farther. What was this woman truly capable of? He knew much about her, yet nothing at all. He knew that she was capable of rapid recovery without the use of chakra or jutsus and that she can perform near flawless genjutsu without hand signs, even the incredible fact that she is immortal, but could she also be able to sense what others are feeling and then decipher it? It was so unreal. But it also made perfect sense.

Kiki looked to the man with bewilderment written all over her deep brown eyes. She did not know why his emotions were changing so rapidly. Sure he had two different sets going about at once, but the vibes she was getting from him wasn't lining up with her earlier selfishness. Was he not angry with her? But she had been so rude and inconsiderate. Her eyebrows pulled together in confusion. Why was he suddenly cautious and curious? Had she not eaten his food by accident? Did he just not care? All these thoughts made Kiki's mind numb and then spike back up as she tried to put two and two together. Unfortunately, his straight faced expression wasn't helping any. Frustration. Kiki felt so frustrated. It nearly made her want to vomit from the nausea of the sheer effort of trying to keep up with what he was feeling, dealing with the flooding emotions of the crowds around her, and trying to settle her own. Now she had a headache to top it off.

Zetsu looked at the woman with intent and examining eyes and knew that the only way he was going to get answers from this woman would be by asking her directly since he was unable to read her, and that is exactly what he did. "We have a question for you, and we wish for you to answer truthfully." Zetsu looked into Kiki's eyes for any signs of deceit and managed to keep an impassive face even as the young woman gave him a deep childish smile and nodded her head before raising her eyebrows into an expectant expression. "Are you capable of feeling other's emotions?" Zetsu was blunt about it for he was pretty sure that beating around the bush would get him nowhere with this young woman.

Zetsu nearly fell over in shock at the woman's reaction. Suddenly, and without warning, she had taken hold of his hand in a tight but tender embrace and brought the tips of his fingers up to her face. Her striking brown eyes were wide with what Zetsu could clearly see as happiness and something close to hope, but not quite, and her lips were set into a gorgeous smile. One which Zetsu had never seen. On anyone. It was pure and untainted by anything other than innocence. Her face was seemingly glowing in a radiance that alarmed Zetsu, but at the same time he noticed something in her eyes. It was not hope or happiness as he saw at the surface of her brown orbs, but fear. Fear for what, he did not know. Was it because he knew?

Kiki could feel it in her heart. Fear. A fear that seemed to be swallowing her up in its icy grasp. She feared that he knew. That he had found out about her power, but at the same time she was overcome with joy. An uncontained and wild hearted joy. A deep sense of bliss that for the first time. For the first time since she had been four. Someone had seen her. Seen through her. Seen that she was alive. How could she not feel truly happy, for the first time in many, many years? He knew that she felt the emotions of those around her. He was the first person to ever learn of her receiving state. Well. Something close to it anyway, but he still knew that she was picking up on what he was feeling and was reacting accordingly. Perhaps there would be less confusion between them now, Kiki thought to herself with a light smile.

"That is a very unique and special gift you have, as is your healing abilities." Zetsu began with his usual monotone demeanor, but he felt a sigh of defeat heave out of him tiredly as he watched the young woman smile childishly up at him before holding up two fingers and pointing towards herself with a triumphant grin. "We see you caught that." The woman just smiled sweetly and nodded before her attention seemed to suddenly become distracted.

Zetsu raised a slick green eyebrow. The woman was looking at his hand with such interest that he could feel a light tensing strain in his arm under her gaze. What was she looking for? Zetsu didn't understand why the woman was behaving so strangely so suddenly. When he thought about it though, nothing seemed normal about this woman other than her appearance. She was an odd one. Like she had no concept of what was expected by those around her. Then, she did something that nearly made his heart skip a beat. Slowly, like a young child learning something foreign, almost forbidden, she placed her hand in his own and laced her fingers with his. She never once looked up at him, only began to explore his hand as if it were a piece of art which she felt the need to remember every detail to. She traced the lines of his hands with her finger tips and his palm with her thumbs.

Her hands were so much smaller than his he noticed. Thin from fatigue and her nails were seemingly worn from lack of care over the years. Her hands were soft in his own though, while his were rough from his years of fighting. He may not fight much, but on occasion he fought nonetheless. It was simply part of life as a shinobi. Her fingers were long and delicate, and the skin, though pleasantly soft, was seemingly hardened with collapses slightly from her years as a wanderer. She had the hands of a loner. Yes. Zetsu could tell that this woman had been on her own for some time. It aggravated him to no end. That he knew nothing about her. Not as a ninja, but as a person. She was a mystery to him. He did not even know her name he realized. It was so frustrating that she was an open book, his gaze on her flicked as his yellow eyes traced her curious form examining his palm, but she was written in a language he did not understand.

Memories. Kiki felt her mind swimming in them. But not the unpleasant ones she had grown so accustom to. The ones in which her whole life seemed to be drowning in. These were different, and though she couldn't remember what the memories were about, they made her feel…safe. It puzzled her, made her crave more. It was like a sort of drug. Like the festival around her, she wanted more of it, because it made her forget about her pains, and made her forget that she was in all sense of the word, screwed. They were warm and comforting. Filled with things she had long forgotten. Had been trying to forget. So that she could survive the world around her. Live with the truth of her life. Live with her demon. As she let her hands roam over Zetsu's battle roughened hands, they brought up so many feelings. Feelings she'd only ever felt in others. Was it…love?

Love for whom. Kiki felt her heart constrict. So painfully tight. She could feel a numbness run through her. Who did she love? Zetsu. She let her eyes gaze up into the liquid yellow eyes of the man before her. He wore an impassive mask on his face, as he always seemed to while in thought, but she could feel clearly that he was confused and yet amused, but at the same time frustrated. Kiki knew she could be a very frustrating person. She was different. Undeniably so. She had accepted this long ago, but she still saw herself as a person, as she did everyone else. Just as human as the person next to them. Could she love this man because he was different from her, from the others around them? Humans were meant to be different. This is the way of life. Variety and diversity created the basis of life. Individuality.

Kiki felt her eyes brighten suddenly as the answer came to her. She loved him as her first friend she realized. Because, though he himself was different, he accepted her for also being different. She let a smile cross her face as she suddenly took hold of Zetsu's hand in between her own and brought it close to her heart. He had immediately snapped out of his trance like state and was now looking at her with thoughtful eyes as she continued to look up at him with soft eyes. Her sudden change in emotion startled him. Then it hit him. Zetsu felt a warm sensation strike him to the core. He realized what he was seeing in her eyes. Something so beautiful to him. As a living person. Yet so terrifying to him. As a ninja. A shinobi. As a rouge. Affection. Brimming in her eyes was affection. Untainted by fear or hatred. Without greed or envy. Not even the smallest glimmer of deceit was hidden within her eyes. Just pure innocent affection. In truth. It scared Zetsu, but at the same time, it drew him in even further.

Zetsu felt his body suddenly plunge into a bottomless cold and dark obis. A darkness that seemed to eat away at him slowly, so painfully slowly. He was reacting to her he realized. In ways he had long forgotten. In ways he had let no other. He was allowing himself to become attached to her, to allow her to touch him in such a way, to allow her to feel such things towards him. He was allowing her to come in. Into his own world, and she didn't even know it. Or did she? He couldn't read her. It was terrifying to him. More terrifying then the most powerful of ninja. She was a mystery to him and yet in these acts of her affections she was telling him everything. She was telling him so much and yet she had told him nothing. She, a young woman, showed him affection for simply accepting her as a fellow human. He knew this, but at the same time he did not know this. It was all assumption on his part, but she knew for a fact what he was feeling. If he was deceiving her. She would know. She was dangerous, because she could see past the barriers, see past the lies, she saw people for who they truly were.

A ting. Low and steady. The ting was going off in Zetsu's head, unheard by the young woman in front of him. Small, but the very basis of his life. Their leader was calling for him. For his report on this woman he had now come to respect as a person, fear as a shinobi, and yet dare he say feel affections for as a young woman. Zetsu felt a wave of relief wash over him, but also in the deepest reaches of his mind, an overpowering sense of dread. Their leader was powerful, but even so their leader could see this woman as a threat. What then? What would happen to this woman then? Would she be locked away and forgotten? Would she be accepted into the Akatsuki if the leader knew of her capabilities? No. The realization hit Zetsu. She would be too much of a danger. But then again. She could be accepted. Zetsu's mind was beginning to numb. Why did he even care about what happened to her?

There was a light tug on his sleeve, and when he looked down into the young woman's eyes, he knew immediately why. Because she was the first person to ever show him an ounce of affection. Because she had accepted him for being who he was. Because she had simply become…his first friend. The awareness startled him. Rocked his whole existence to the core of his being. For the first time in his life. He had someone in whom he trusted. And he didn't even understand why he trusted her so. Was it because she had trusted him first. Because she had never once lied to him. But he was a spy. He wasn't suppose to exist. Then, like a bolt of lightning. It came to him. Because to her, he did exist. He was there. There had been no hiding from her. It was because she was somehow above him, and yet only wished to be beside him. Because she had seen him for what shinobi always rejected. Human.

He knew he had to leave before the leader became suspicious, but now he just had to tell her that without hurting her for in truth, he didn't want to see her in anymore pain. "We are sorry, but we have to leave." The young woman looked up at him, hurt and confusion written within her deep brown eyes, and Zetsu felt his heart tighten painfully, but be knew it had to be done. "Leader-sama has called us back. For our report on you." The woman's eyes widened as her lips tightened into a line and Zetsu felt a cold chill run down his spine, but he knew that for her sake this had to be done. "No not threat. We have not forgotten our promise on the terms of the game." Indeed he had not, but her eyes still remained pained and Zetsu didn't know why since he was not going to give the other Akatsuki her location. "Are you not pleased by your victory?" The question seemed so natural to Zetsu, but it seemed to somehow strike the woman down and Zetsu couldn't understand why.

Kiki felt her heart constrict. She was in pain, not physical, but internal. As she always was, but this was different. She was in pain because her friend was leaving her, and she would once again be alone in the world. Even if they did not talk much, and she didn't talk at all. She still considered him a friend. Was it simply because she did not know what the basics of a friendship relationship needed? Still, she saw him as her friend. What was the true definition of a friend anyway? Truly. Can friendship be classified by the words spoken? By the color of one's skin? Or something as simple as what one eats? Kiki did not believe so. She believed that their friendship was fabricated by the simple acknowledgment of the other's existence. Because they had accepted the existence of the other. Accepted each other as another living person. Perhaps that was friendship. She would probably never know though, such things were a mystery to her.

The sound of the ground splitting reached Kiki's ears and she immediately snapped out of her thoughts. He was leaving. She panicked. Oh how she panicked. He was leaving her, and she might never see him again. She couldn't even say good bye. Her breath lengthened. She wouldn't let this happen. He was her friend. She had to tell him good bye. Somehow she just had to. To show him that she truly cared, even if he did not feel the same, she had to tell him. Without thinking, almost out of instinct, Kiki launched herself at him. He had not been ready to react. He was shocked beyond belief. Shocked…did not even begin to describe the feeling. He was far beyond it, to where it felt like his whole body had been thrown into frigid waters. Yet he did not move. Couldn't react. Her arms were around him in a tight embrace and her face was buried deeply into his chest. She was hugging him. The notion of this unthinkable act stunned him temporarily senseless. She was, hugging him. Good bye.

He had not reacted and Kiki felt her heart begin to swell in pain. He was just standing there with his feet immerged in the ground, looking down at her with a surprised expression stained across his face. The most emotion he had probably ever shown to another living person. In fact, this was true. His whole body had stiffened at the contact. He still was not moving, nor was he pushing her away. She didn't know what to do, how to perceive this act. She herself didn't even know much on the significance of a hug, she had been too young to understand why hugs were considered signs of affections, but she had always associated them with good things. Perhaps…

Warmth. A feeling of indescribable warmth spread over her entire body as she felt two slender arms wrap around her timidly. Slowly and hesitantly. Seemingly unsure of what they themselves were doing. The arms applied pressure lightly, seemingly afraid that if they applied too much she would break, and when Kiki looked up she saw that Zetsu was looking down at her with soft eyes. Confusion was running rampant throughout his body, flooding every corner of his being, but she could feel it. Something even stronger than his confusion. He was returning her affections with his own. She could feel it pulsing off of him like steady ocean waves. He was showing her that he also cared. That he was also her friend. A light blush spread across her face as she rested her head back onto Zetsu's chest. Her first friend. She swore she would always remember him, and little did Kiki know that Zetsu had already made a sacred vow. A vow to never forget her and to always strive…for her happiness.


Author's Note

So now Kiki and Zetsu are forever bonded together. Well, I think that Zetsu and Kiki make great friends. Possibly even more than that. We'll see what happens though. A story, like life, should be unpredictable. Please review…