Chapter 9: Kakuzu
Konan spotted Kakuzu in the basement with a pickax in his hands, preparing to strike the wall in front of him. "What are you doing?" she snapped at him.
He stopped mid-strike and turned around. "Oh, hey. I think I found a hollow spot right here. It might be a safe of some sort. A secret door."
"For crying out loud, would you stop it?" Konan reached up and grabbed the handle of the pickax with one hand, holding him back. "No more putting holes in walls. Do you want this whole place to come crashing down and bury us all?"
"I'd rather be dead and rich than just dead." He shrugged her off and moved in to try it again.
"Could I just have a few minutes of your time? I want to talk to you."
"It can wait. I'm busy."
"Now."
"You're not my boss, woman."
Konan pulled something out of her coat. "I'll give you 500 yen."
He turned around and snatched the coin away. "You've got five minutes."
Sighing in relief, Konan took him into a room where they could have some privacy. Kakuzu rested his pickax against the side of a couch in the middle of the room and sat down. Konan sat across from him in a wooden chair. There was a dusty coffee table between them. This should do nicely.
"So," said Kakuzu. "What do you want?"
Konan leaned forward in her chair. "I just wanted to talk."
He scoffed, sitting back in his seat, unwilling to listen. "Let's get this over with. I told you I'd give you five minutes."
Konan reached into her pocket and took out another coin. Kakuzu leaned forward, suddenly very interested. "I'll give you this when I'm finished speaking with you, alright?"
Kakuzu stared hungrily at the coin in her fingers. Moaning, he sat there and gestured for her to speak. He wanted that coin. Money was money.
"You are so obsessed with money. You're even wiling to demolish walls just to get it."
"It all spends the same," he explained. "The world can't function without money."
"Perhaps…" She started to roll the coin between her fingers, making sure he saw her do so. His eyes never left the coin. This was the perfect tool to keep his attention. He always noticed money, no matter how small it may be. He wouldn't take his eyes off it. "Hidan informed us that you two were late because you were after some money."
"No one was using it and it was no good to anyone sitting there between the roots. I might as well take it."
"A coin?"
"I'm ricer than I was with it in my pocket. Now I have more money. Surely you can understand that…" He watched the coin rotate slowly between her fingers. He was starting to feel strange. He couldn't figure out what it was. It just felt strange. She kept talking, but he wasn't paying much attention to her anymore. He was too busy watching the coin.
"Right, Kakuzu?"
"Huh?" He looked up at her but only for a split second. In no time at all, he was right back watching the coin.
"I asked if you understood."
"Oh. Yeah, yeah. I get it. Uh-huh." He hadn't heard the question or statement she had asked, nor did he care. He just stared at the coin. It continued to roll between her fingers, back and forth. Minutes ticked by and he did not take his eyes off the coin. That strange feeling was getting stronger now. His body was starting to feel warm and started to tingle. He watched her lower the coin to the table and set it down on its side. She spun it with her fingers and Kakuzu watched it spin around on the table, leaving afterimages as it twirled.
"It's nice, isn't it? Money."
He nodded. "Yeah…"
"Shiny coins… paper bills… that weight must feel good in your wallet, am I right?"
He nodded again, his mind beginning to fog. "Uh-huh…"
"It must be weighing you down right now. Isn't it? All that money pulling you down… lower and lower…"
Kakuzu's body started to grow heavier, weighted down. He started to slump.
"But it feels good, doesn't it?"
It did feel good now that she mentioned it. Like having a heavy blanket on his body on a cold winter's night. It felt nice. Her voice sounded nice. He had no idea Konan's voice could sound like that. Almost lyrical.
"You… have a beautiful voice… Konan…"
"Thank you." She spun the coin again. He watched it spin, then wobble and fall to the table. Then she would pick it up and spin it again. And again. And again. She watched his eyes closely. They started to get cloudy and droop. He was starting to go under. Now was her chance. "Heavier and heavier… and your eyes… they're weighing you down, too. They're getting heavier and heavier…"
His eyes drooped. His head began to bob.
"You're getting sleepier… and sleepier…"
Kakuzu's eyes looked different from normal. He was indeed falling into a trance. His head was nodding up and down, still watching the coin spin on the table. She reached over and picked up the coin. He blinked, his focus suddenly broken. Before he could come back to his senses, she performed a little sleight-of-hand and held the coin suspended in the air between her eyes. Kakuzu looked at the coin held up by what looked like chakra strings. She started to spin the coin in front of his face, string held in her fingertips. It functioned like a pendulum and captivated him instantly. He leaned forward, staring intently at the coin.
"You're eyes are getting heavier… you're getting sleepier and sleepier… you're falling into a deep sleep… a very deep sleep…"
He looked like a zombie, staring at the coin, his eyes foggy and far, far away.
"When I count down to zero, you will fall into a deep trance and be completely willing to do as I say." All he did was stare. She kept her voice low and gentle. "Five… four… three… two… one… zero."
Kakuzu's head suddenly fell forward and he slumped forward. He was out like a light.
Konan lowered the coin and put it back in her pocket. "Relax deeper… go deeper… and deeper. You are feeling deeply relaxed… Sleep… sleep… sleep…"
He remained where he was, making no movement or sound. It was impossible for her to know if he was really under or not. She had to test it and see if he was possibly faking or if this trance wasn't strong enough.
"Kakuzu… that 500 yen coin I gave you… give it back to me… now."
He didn't move at first. Then he suddenly reached into his pocket, took out the coin and held it out for her to take. It worked. There was no way he would ever willingly give money back to anyone. He was all hers. He was completely under her full control.
She took the coin back and tucked it away. "Alright. Whenever I say and only I say 'rainy day' you will become completely willing to do everything I tell you to. You will want to do anything I tell you. It will make you feel happy to please me. And whenever I say the phrase 'baton pass' you will fall back into this trance. Whenever I say 'sunny days' you will awaken from this trance, and remember nothing of being hypnotized. Understand?"
He nodded his head slowly. She smiled. This was going very well.
"Now… about you're little money obsession."
Someone had to do it. Money leads to nothing good... save for an annoyed nin-chick finally doing something about it by messing with your head.
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