Chapter 8

A quiet whisper of voices awakened Noriko.

'Why do I keep waking up in strange places?' was her first thought. Then it rushed back to her. The present Haru gave her. Shikamaru. The strange people in the red-and-black robes. And…. someone who claimed to be her real father? It was a haze to Noriko. She looked around her. She was in a simple room, with only a wooden bed, a mirror, and some moldy tatami mats covering the floor. She swung her legs off the bed and examined them. They seemed fine. No scars, no pain, no seal.

'I could have swore….' She searched her memory, hard. Nothing came to her. The more she thought about all that happened, the hazier it became. 'When did it all happen? Did it all happen?' Noriko looked down at her hands. They looked the same to her, but bigger. Even the scar she got from falling out of a tree when she was 4 seemed bigger. She flexed her fingers. They seemed to work fine too.

'Might as well see what I look like.' She got up and fixed the sheets on the bed as if she'd done it a thousand times. She made her way over to the mirror and gasped. "What? Wh- who... " Noriko did not recognize herself. She had grown taller; she was almost 5'1". Her cheekbones were sharper, as were her eyes. Her silvery hair reached down to her ankles, streaked with red and black dye. She had a scar over her left eye. She gazed blankly at her herself. The door opened and Noriko spun around, frightened. Hidan walked in, flanked by Itachi and Deidara.

They stopped a few feet from her. "Don't recognize yourself?" Hidan said to her, smirking.

"Hidan, shut up." Itachi glared at him.

"Yeah Hidan, you try being in a coma for 6 years." Deidara said.

"Where am I?" said Noriko, interrupting them. "And who are you people?"

"Well, you're my wife, and you're going to have my baby!" said Deidara, enjoying the look of horror on Noriko's face.

"Will you shut up?" Hidan snapped.

Itachi stepped closer to Noriko. "Don't listen to them. You're not pregnant or anything."

Noriko was starting to get a little scared at this point. "I want to know what's going on." she said.

'Dang, I don't have a weapon.' Her plan was to find a weapon and try to fight her way out. She glanced around the room. There! Under the tatami mat was the hilt of a kunai. But how to get past them?

"Listen," said Itachi, "It will just be easier if you come with us quietly." She nodded, desperate to get to the dagger. Itachi took a step towards her, and she moved. She side stepped Itachi and tried grab the dagger but Itachi simply struck the back of her head and she went down, a rising tide of blackness was the last thing she remembered.

"She's a fucking nuisance. At this point I really don't care if she has the 13 tails. We should just kill her."

"Really? Your own daughter?" Pein spoke from behind his desk, hidden in shadows.

"She's no daughter to me." Hidan growled. Pein nodded.

"Good. Your attitude towards her will make your next task easier."

"Next task?" Hidan asked. "I thought I was on break!" Pein sighed. "You were. Go to Itachi, he has already started it. He will work with you."

"But-"

"No. Hidan, just fucking shut up and do it." Hidan nodded and left, pissed. As he walked down the main hallway of the base he thought, 'Why should I have to work with anyone!? It's a pain in the ass.' He stopped once outside. "He didn't tell me where to go…." Hidan mentally kicked himself.

"Maybe if you weren't so hot-headed and didn't just storm off, you would get the information you need." Hidan spotted Itachi leaning against a tree just outside of the base. "Shut up Itachi….." he mumbled. Itachi smirked. "I have completed my part already, because you're slow as hell." Hidan just rolled his eyes.

"What was your part?" He asked. Itachi snapped his fingers and Noriko stepped out from the behind the tree, dressed in simple, all black ninja gear. Her eyes were glazed over, and her movements seemed…. Robot-like. She stopped besides Itachi.

"What did you do to her?" Hidan asked, moving closer for a better look.

"It's none of your business what I did exactly. All you need to know is that she will obey us, without question or emotion. We are heading back to Konoha, and she will act as our spy."

Hidan nodded. "Then what are waiting for?"

WOW How long has it been people? OK so, um, I am going to change my username in a bit, cause I am not sharing this account anymore. Hope you all enjoy this chapter, even if it's on the short side XD