Everyone really seems to be in a fit over this child, don't they? At the moment some of the members were holding a meeting in Konan's office. They weren't talking very quietly, especially Hidan and Deidara with their arguing. Though, Tobi could scarcely hear the conversation, as they had left him to keep an eye on Hanaki in the living room. Or as Zetsu put it, 'keep her entertained and away from the office.' Why it would be such a problem for her to overhear the conversation, he wasn't sure. However, since watching her for as long as he has today, Tobi had an educated guess.
Whenever her name came up in the distant conversation, she paused her activity and angled her head in the direction of the office. She would hold perfectly still, make an expression depending on what she heard –whether it be confused, frustrated, thoughtful, or something else-, then go back to what she was doing without saying a word. She's showing great signs of observation, he noted. Of course, she likely couldn't understand half of what anyone was saying, which would account for her confused and frustrated expressions. But what about the things she could understand? What could be going through that little mind of hers? The prospect was an interesting one, but whether her actions were from intelligence or natural curiosity was difficult to tell. Perhaps that's why Zetsu hadn't said anything. He never did like mentioning something he was unsure about.
Currently Tobi was across from the toddler, lying on his stomach on the floor with his arms propping him up so he could draw on a sheet of paper. She was sitting on her knees, also drawing but with much more focus. Earlier he figured this would be the best option for keeping her quiet and occupied, and she certainly was after seeing all the colorful pencils he set out. It was also good for keeping up his "brain-dead-six-year-old" act.
"Obi! Obi, lookit!" Hanaki nearly shouted for his attention. The masked nin raised his head to see she was holding up the drawing she made. It wasn't a great work of art by any means, but it was colorful and easy to tell the basic likeness of who it was meant to be.
He couldn't help but laugh, grinning behind his mask. "It's Sempai wearing lipstick!"
A bright smile spread over her face and she giggled. "Giiirlyyy~" she chimed. Originally that was her way of getting back at the arsonist for making fun of Kisame, but it had become her personal joke. It was all the funnier because Deidara couldn't do anything about it. No one would let him.
"Oh, let me try!" He picked up a red pencil and grabbed a clean sheet of paper. Then he quickly drew a huge, ridiculous-looking pair of lips, and after coloring it in he held the picture in front of his mask. "Now Tobi looks just like Sempai!"
That earned him a roar of laughter in response. Hanaki clutched her sides as if she just couldn't contain her amusement. Sure, it may not seem as immensely hysterical to some people, but to her it was priceless. Even so she apparently felt the need to disagree. "Obi's not girly!"
I really have to get used to that, Tobi thought. Despite the fact he knew it was because she couldn't process names very well, it made his nerves jump whenever Hanaki said his that way. 'Tobi' was simply an alias he used in the Akatsuki to hide his real identity, so her inadvertently processing it into a part of his real name was somewhat unsettling. Though, she is just a child after all. There isn't much harm she can cause unless I give myself away. Which wouldn't happen until he saw fit, of course. He was so good at pretending he was someone else everyone but Zetsu was clueless as to what he was really like. So being called by something slightly different wasn't a problem. Besides, it was actually fun to have her around and giving her company was something to do other than portray himself as a fool all the time.
After her laughing fit she put the picture of Deidara aside and took more sheets of paper, continuing to draw members of the Akatsuki. Every now and then she would add a flower or two and once she attempted a panda bear head and what could serve as a dragon, but not much else. Just the same people and objects over and over again. Can't she think of anything else to draw? A thought occurred to him. Does she know of anything else?
Perhaps this was proof of memory loss. He thought back to Hanaki's first day in the base, when she confronted him about her teddy bear. She showed an indication of fear that didn't quite make sense. With his Sharingan he could tell from her eyes that her reaction wasn't fully connecting to the source of cause. Hm. This just won't do, he mused. Those memories are the key to finding where she came from and who she really is. If only we could…reawaken them somehow…
When he sensed two particular chakra signatures enter the base there was an idea that crossed his mind, but he immediately decided against it. Having Itachi use a form of genjutsu on her was most definitely a bad idea. Despite the fact it could work, by now everyone knew how much the Uchiha detested being anywhere near her. He might overdo the jutsu on purpose just to be spiteful. Chances of that were slim, yes, but who knows? With his new attitude, anything was possible. Also, using Sharingan on a child of Hanaki's age would be absurd and the opposite of progress. I know she would have reamed me up the wall for even suggesting it, Tobi thought with a smirk.
Soon the toddler heard the footsteps coming down the hallway and, leaving her drawings scattered on the floor, scrambled to her feet to go investigate. The masked nin followed her to the entryway leading out of the kitchen and stopped as she did. They peaked around the corner in the direction of the faint echo. Like always, it's incredibly dark in the seemingly endless halls. Tobi could see perfectly fine for quite a distance with his Sharingan activated, but he figured Hanaki couldn't see any more than the light allowed. "Does Hanaki see anything?" he asked in his childlike voice. No point in keeping her entertained if he couldn't pretend he was on the same level, right?
She shook her head in a "no", but continued to stare into the darkness as if she was trying to make something out. For a split second she turned her head in the direction of the hall leading to the garden, and then back again. Then suddenly… "Paaaandaaaa~!" She chimed loudly, pulling away from the entryway and starting back through the living room and toward the office. "Ki is heeerre!"
He followed after her in surprise. How did she know? Obviously she didn't have the ability to sense chakra signatures and he highly doubted she saw them when he did just then. This was certainly becoming more and more curious. Tobi thought he should maybe mention it.
When he caught up to Hanaki she was standing in front of the closed office door, knocking repetitively and calling for "Panda" and "Miss Blue-hair". Tobi did as well, copying her to simply play along. Only he was much much louder.
In no time the door was flung wide open, Zetsu and Konan standing in front of them with furious glares while Hidan and Deidara were laughing at a safe distance. "You stop yelling; it's rude," the plant nin said lowly to Hanaki. She smiled and nodded in understanding without so much as a flinch. "And you," he growled at Tobi. "Do not have permission to call me that!"
"And Hanaki is the only one who has the right to act like a child," Konan said in a surprisingly level tone. "You, however, are a grown man, so act like it." Tobi did his best to hold back a laugh. You wish, he thought. I'm not about to blow my cover just because you're irritated.
At the sound of close footsteps, he turned to see Kisame rounding the corner with his partner behind him. "See, Itachi, I told you it was nothing important. Just random noise." he said.
The Uchiha halted as Kisame did. "Not to mention pointless," he replied lowly. He glared as his eyes landed on Hanaki, causing her to shrink away and hide behind the others.
Konan didn't hesitate to step in his way to shield the toddler from his red gaze. "You have been gone longer than expected. Did you find any useful information?"
"Well…" The shark nin reached into the satchel he was carrying, pulled out a small folder, and handed it to Konan. "I believe that is up for debate."
Flipping through the papers in the folder, she paused at one of them. Tobi leaned over her shoulder to glance at what she was seeing. Something about a testing facility in bold print and beneath it was a bulleted list of subjects and their descriptions. Fifth from the top… Oh my... Behind his mask, Tobi's eyes widened slightly in surprise. And the co-leader seemed to have the same idea he did. "This sounds a lot like her…"
Kisame nodded. "Our thoughts exactly."
Over two hours were being spent going through the folders Kisame retrieved and the information they held. The matter wasn't that it was all that difficult to understand but…more like grasping the concept. Biological warfare was supposed to be a figment of the past. However, it seemed someone was hell bent on bringing it back for purposes not mentioned in the papers.
There were various types of poisonous combinations mentioned throughout the lengthy synopsis, ones the Akatsuki both did and didn't recognize. Cures too, some posing a more dangerous threat than the toxins themselves if they failed to work. From what Zetsu could gather, over five dozen of the listed subjects succumbed just to that, and many more from other causes detailed in separate records. Causes proving no one from the list was there on their own accord. 'Prisoner' was likely too mild a term. If they weren't present in the facility itself, they were used as guinea pigs without their knowledge.
According to the records, Hanaki was one of those cases.
By no means was Zetsu stupid. He didn't believe in coincidences when the evidence was this solid even if the others did. The co-leader said the description she pointed out 'sounds a lot like her', but he knew it had to be. There was nothing to say otherwise. Everything he read was perfectly accurate. White eyes, light violet hair, 2 feet 11 inches tall, 35.5 pounds… An age was listed too. She was four years old.
Unfortunately, he also noticed there was no name or proof of residence with her listing unlike the other subjects. She was nothing more than a number to these people, and referred to as such.
Nameless and homeless… Zetsu's grip tightened around the papers, horribly crumpling the edges and distorting the words. Before he knew it he was beyond angry, and not just because only one of his dozens of questions was answered. He had trouble believing this was the truth. It was as if he was being lied to. His instincts were telling him so.
Whenever he watched the toddler, she didn't carry the demeanor of someone who was born an orphan. Even in memory loss it would be as obvious as rain. Not to mention she had the stuffed bear, and periodically showed signs of abuse from how she acted when someone said or did something in just the wrong way. The memory was there even if she didn't realize it herself, and Zetsu knew for a fact those kinds of scars don't just come out of thin air. At some point, she did have a family. But they went far out of their way to show they didn't want her. No one so much as cares about her, he thought grimly.
That's not…entirely true, his darker half responded slowly. It was a form of admittance, and was somewhat shocking. Nonetheless…both sides found themselves agreeing with each other.
"The leader isn't going to be happy about this…" Konan's voice snapped the plant nin out of his thoughts.
"No fucking kidding," Hidan groaned as he searched through his own stack of papers from the folder. "We have enough competition as it is without someone else butting in with their own vendetta. Jashin help us if we get caught in the middle of it."
Konan raised an eyebrow at him. "Why? What does your section say?" she asked.
"See for yourself." He handed the papers to her and she began looking through them as he spoke. "Whoever these people are, they have some kind of godforsaken beef against someone, that's for damn sure. It doesn't say what, but I'm guessing they're ready to come up with any concoction to put their enemies six feet under. After torturing them first," he added. This was one of the few times Zetsu ever heard Hidan sound halfway serious. Whatever was going through his mind concerning what was on the file, he was a tad nervous for a change.
"Who are their enemies though, hm?" Deidara was sitting at a small table in a corner of the room, sifting through a list of known toxins, venoms, and poisons. He and the Uchiha were sorting through them and the cures, attempting to match one with the other for all combinations. There was a stack of pages in the center for items they couldn't make heads or tails of.
"Everyone it seems," Kakuzu answered. He had the other half of the guinea pig pages. "There are descriptions of people from all over the continent, from multiple nations, all ages, all sizes, all skin types, etcetera. I don't see a single stone left unturned."
"So what -in the exact hell- are we discussing?"
Kakuzu glowered at him. "Do you seriously expect me to know that?"
"Quit bickering." The co-leader narrowed her eyes in thought. "I'm not sure what to make of this either. But remember our priority is Hanaki." That earned her a scowl from Itachi and a duo of groans from Deidara and Hidan, which she ignored. "It wasn't much, but a hint was certainly better than nothing." She paused. "Itachi, where did you and Kisame find these?"
"A guarded location on the north-eastern border between the Hidden Grass and the Fire Nation," he said simply, shooting her a loathing glance for a moment before going back to his task.
Speaking of Hoshigaki, where did he go? Zetsu thought after a moment. He left the satchel on the desk and left the room not ten minutes after reporting.He has a shorter attention span than the runt, his dark half snickered inwardly. He was joking of course, but in all seriousness it was unusual for the shark nin to just wander off without notice. Perhaps there was something on his mind he didn't want to share with the others? That seemed to be the most plausible explanation.
Curiosity in mind, Zetsu focused his senses and found him stationary just outside of the base's walls. Hidan was blocking the door. Of course… Well, there were other ways of getting around that irritant. "I will return shortly," he said to Konan before taking a step back and phasing into the wall.
It hardly took a minute to travel the distance between the office and the small cave. When Zetsu emerged from the floor he felt the cool night air flow into the cavern from outside, which directed his gaze toward the shark nin. He was sitting on the ledge with his back turned, and the shark skin sword was lying on the ground behind him. He appeared to have a couple pages in his hand, and Zetsu didn't need to ask what they were.
When Kisame sensed his presence, he started to explain on his own after a moment passed. "These were the only two handwritten pages in all the files," he stated as the plant nin stepped closer. "I would have left them with the rest…" He paused and lifted the papers toward Zetsu. "…if they didn't sound so fake."
He took the papers from him and looked over the first paragraph. "These were connected to Hanaki's record." Kisame nodded but said nothing, and Zetsu took that as a signal to keep reading.
It should have killed the subject. The injection was meant to be one of the strongest, having been combined with the poison samples from Devil's Ravine in Division 5. Subject tests 1234-1330 all proved to be successful, yet this one appears to be unaffected. 1331 was ill for a time but recovered shortly. There is no significant difference between 1331 and the others, other than a minor stunted growth rate, so no reason comes to mind why the injection shouldn't have founded the same results as the other 96 tests. Subjects 1332, 1333, and 1334 also bore unsuccessful results.
After examining DNA from strands of hair from each subject, we have discovered 1331-1334 seem to have undergone some sort of slight mutation. It is unknown yet what it is exactly. According to 1331's keeper, "the flora in the surrounding area responds to 1331's presence and seems to be speaking with them." However, an undercover operative who was sent to the settlement has concluded the subject has simply entered a 'mental' state due to a side effect from the toxin. Though, 1331 does seem more emotionally attached to the flora than the keeper, which is odd considering the relation between the two.
The keeper of 1331 was quite adamant to investigate the matters of the mutation and test failure, insisting something must have interfered with the research. The other four keepers have not reported since the test was performed, so there has not yet been further insight on whether there is a real cause for concern. The head of the community, the Shinigami, sees no need and has immediately ordered the dismissal of the last four subjects.
Then there was the next page, dated almost a month later. It only took up half the page.
1332 and 1334 have since been reported exposed of. There has been no report on 1333 by the subject's keeper, and they have gone missing after the community head gave his orders. It seems a few workers know where they have gone and have defended the idea that the keeper is indeed following orders. However, there has been no trace of them for three and a half weeks, and no date of investigation has been set.
The Shinigami sees no reason to pursue them despite the fact this particular keeper holds information of the facility and our nation that is strictly secret. And though the keeper has yet to return, records are to be treated as if matters are dealt with.
As for 1331, the subject was reported 'kidnapped by a rogue', and the keeper readily went after them to retrieve and expose of both. Afterwards, research must go on.
· Subject 1331. Status: Unknown. Dismissed.
Keeper 9. Status: Unknown. Awaiting Reassignment.
· Subject 1332. Status: Dismissed.
Keeper 25. Status: Reassigned.
· Subject 1333. Status: MIA. Dismissed.
Keeper 7. Status: KIA/MIA
· Subject 1334. Status: Dismissed.
Keeper 86. Status: Reassigned.
Zetsu scarcely understood what he read. There was quite a bit of valid information that was somewhat horrific. First killing most of the test subjects with the experiment, and then getting rid of the last four when it showed failure. It didn't take a genius to know that meant killing them as well. He had also seen the names of the other three, so he knew there was more to them in the program than simply numbers. But this entry didn't make it appear that way. What was more important though, is these two papers explained several things, putting odd pieces of the puzzle they've been attempting to solve into some kind of context.
They also proved how dire Hanaki's situation was. It was far more complex than just being dropped in the middle of nowhere to freeze to death. And Zetsu had a feeling the 'keeper' assigned to her wasn't against whatever project this was, so was likely ready to get rid of any and all evidence.
Hanaki included.
The thought sent a chill up his spine. "What is the matter with you?" he asked the shark nin, anger seeping through his voice. "You should have left this with the rest of the files. The information is obviously not counterfeit, and it's likely the most important part of solving our problem."
Kisame turned his head and glanced at him. "Well, I didn't know that at first and I wasn't about to lead us in the wrong direction if it was." He turned away. "But then I got to thinking and I realized it makes sense. The kid acts like the second passage says. And if she was seen as nothing more than means to an end, then I'd expect she definitely wasn't treated well." He scoffed bitterly. "Kid basically had her life stolen from her." Arguing would have been a null point there. Zetsu knew what he meant. In the beginning he wouldn't have given it any thought, but now it was almost too hard to fathom.
Before he rescued the toddler she was only kept alive, meaning any reason for her to be her cheery self was based on nothing but a charade. Only her fears were real. Other than that, she lived in a world of lies.
As he mulled over the new information and thoughts in his head Zetsu gazed out of the cave, over the dark, moonlit landscape. For a moment his mind drifted to Hanaki and he wondered how many more clues of her past, however striking, there were, and if the most important one was searching somewhere nearby.
Whoever was looking for her…didn't deserve to find her.
