Hello everyone, sorry this chapter took so long to come out, I've had major writers block and no motivation (Those reviews really make me write faster, please review) so this chapter is not terribly good anyway here you go!
When Ari had finished her bath she stood next to Konan dressed in her new Akatsuki cloak and ring, which had the symbol for 'flight' on it. Underneath her cloak she wore some of Konan's old clothing which was too small for Konan, but too big for Ari's tiny body.
"This way Ari," announced Konan, walking through the door.
Ari followed, shutting it carefully behind her. The two walked down the empty halls of the Akatsuki, Ari's new home. Surprisingly, no one else was there.
"Konan-San, where is everyone?" Ari asked, peering around.
"Pein is de-briefing them about you, well everyone that is here anyway," Konan replied.
"Oh, what do you mean everyone that's here?" Ari asked.
"It's been five years since everyone has gathered together in the flesh, they've all been on missions," Konan answered.
Ari nodded, understanding remotely. The two walked down the dark twisting halls of the Akatsuki. Finally they reached a dead end
"Wha..." Ari exclaimed confusedly.
Konan smiled at her and proceeded to go through a series of complex hand seals, the same ones Sasori had used to open the entrance. Then it clicked in Ari's brain. This was a common trick used by jailers to confuse their occupants, making a simple dead end in a maze of corridors the entrance or exit, which could only be opened if the right hand seals were used.
The two walked out into the harsh light of the day, the soft lush green grass tickled Ari's almost bare feet.
"Ari-san, we're going to go into Amegure to get you some proper attire, and some weapons," Konan smiled.
"How are we going to get there, Konan-sama?" Ari asked, staring up at the sky.
"We'll fly of course," Was Konan's reply as two wings began to unfurl themselves out from her back.
Ari gazed at them in awe. They were made of paper and were twice the size of Konan, and much bigger than Ari herself. With a flap of her magnificent wings Konan took off into the sky, soon followed by Ari.
Soon after the duo had taken off into the sky Ari had passed Konan. Tiny Ari was much faster than Konan, more like a falcon rather than an eagle. Konan was much larger than Ari, and as a result was much slower but had more power.
"Hurry up Konan-sama!" Ari called.
She was so far ahead of Konan, and didn't want to lose her new found friend and teacher. Far behind Ari, Konan sighed and picked up her speed in an effort to catch up.
Meanwhile, in the Akatsuki base havoc was being wreaked within the sealing chambers.
"What the fuck do you mean, new female member!?" A loud voice shouted across the hall.
"Shut up Hidan," A gruff voice scolded.
"As I was saying, we have a new member, Ari, formerly from Kohana," At that Pein glanced at Itachi, who was standing up, his face stoic as ever.
"She is of a demonic clan, and because of that she has eagle wings. Kakuzu, Hidan, she is to partnered with you. Itachi, you are to train her. You have been given one month to do so," Pein finished.
The silver haired man, now identified as Hidan, went to open his mouth, but had a gloved hand slapped across it.
"Hai leader-sama," Kakuzu responded, glaring at the now maniacal Hidan.
As Ari and Konan reached Amegure, the two began to descend into the city below. Amegure was a city filled with tall, mechanical looking buildings; some brown with rust. Heavy storm clouds shrouded the city with a dark haze. Down below on the streets people looked up and Ari could hear cries of:
"Lady angel," and "God's beloved angel."
"Konan-sama, what do they mean by 'lady angel'?" Ari asked.
"Soon after Pein took over Amegure, they began calling me God's beloved angel. They refer to Pein as god, because of the power that he wields," Konan explained, a distant look clouding her eyes.
Without warning Konan swooped downwards towards one of the tall buildings, landing with a soft thump. Ari followed suit, pulling her wings in and free falling. She landed next to Konan, bending her knees as she hit the surface of the roof.
"How did you do that?" Konan asked, astounded.
Ari smiled.
"When I land I bend my knees, so less of the shock goes through my body," she explained.
Konan nodded and began to walk towards a flight of stairs that protruded from the top of the building. Ari stayed behind for a moment, lost in thought. She looked over the edge of the skyscraper. The city seemed to stretch on for miles, buildings so tall that they became lost in the storm clouds. Down below the streets were filled with bustling life, street vendors trying to sell their wares, children running through the streets playing games that only children could understand. Local ninjas walked about, the weight of the safety of the city on their shoulders, no matter how young.
Ari was snapped from her thoughts by a voice.
"Ari, are you coming?"
Ari turned and saw Konan halfway down the stairs, a light smile dancing on her lips.
"Coming Konan-Sama! Sorry, I was just thinking about something!" Ari laughed as she strode towards Konan.
Finally, after an eternity of walking Ari and Konan made it to the streets. As Ari had predicted, they were bustling with life and colour. The moment Konan stepped out onto the pavement the crowd stopped and parted, many people gasping in wonder. Konan walked down the street without so much as a second glance at the people. As Ari walked out, there were whispers of "look it's the Archangel" and many other things that Ari's ears failed to pick up. Young children reached out to touch her wings; others stared up at her in awe.
Konan walked down the streets confidently with Ari in tow. After a short time Konan had reached a weapons shop.
"Ari! Here we are!" she called.
Ari was five blocks down, children running around her feet. They had deemed her 'nice'. After a small struggle Ari reached the entrance and stood out front of it. In the windows were many weapons, ranging from Katanas to the simple Kunai and Shuriken.
"Ari, come look at this," Konan called.
Ari snapped out of her thoughts and walked in. The door jingled as it opened. Inside the store Konan could be seen holding a giant fan, it was orange at the bottom and faded into black. It reminded Ari of fire at night.
"It's so pretty isn't it?" Konan asked handing Ari the fan.
"It is," Ari replied, looking at the price tag.
Her eyes widened in disbelief. She then hurriedly put the fan back on the shelf.
"What are you doing Ari?" Konan asked.
"Errrm, did you see the price of that thing?"Ari asked, still gobsmacked.
Konan smiled.
"Don't worry about the price, we have lots of money," she laughed.
"Now we need to get you some clothes," Konan mused, walking over to the other side of the shop.
Ari sighed. It was going to be a long day.