Wow, it's been a while, hasn't it? Sorry for not updating in a while, I've been busy preparing for a few things. I'm going to be away for most of the summer so I've been packing and before that, there were finals and... Yeah, you get the point.
Disclaimer: I own Autumn, that's it.
"Mmm…" Autumn moaned gently, finding herself engrossed in the warmth and comfort she was experiencing. She could feel the gentle caress of someone's hand as they brushed her hair from her face and continuously stroked her cheek. Whomever it was that was causing these sensations chuckled, causing Autumn in turn, to stir.
"What the…?" She murmured, opening her eyes.
"Morning, Aki-chan."
"…"
"…"
"HOLYHELLWHATTHEFUCKAREYOUDOING!?!" Autumn burst out, suddenly jumping off the bed, away from Kabuto's touch. He blinked at her surprised reaction but smiled, amusement dancing in his eyes.
"Why, you seemed to enjoy it for a minute."
"Yes, but that was before I figured out that it was you who was touching me."
"I'm hurt." Autumn scoffed,
"You should be. What do you want?" Kabuto rose from his perch at the head of the bed and walked toward the girl. Autumn reached behind her to grab a kunai but mentally cursed herself when she realized that her holster wasn't there. Why would it be? She had forgotten to put it on before her battle with Sasori and the rest of the Akatsuki.
"Calm down, will you? It's not like I'm going to hurt you or anything."
"I don't know that, and I don't trust you. So stop where you are before I call Itachi in here." He smirked,
"I'm afraid he's not home." Autumn gulped. She had fallen asleep again.
"Then who is here?"
"Why don't you open that door behind you and find out?" She didn't move.
'Akiko, what do I do now?' There was silence in her mind, 'Akiko? Akiko!' No answer.
"Your alter ego isn't going to help you right now. I made sure she went into a deep sleep." Was that a relief or another reason to hate him? At this point, she wasn't sure. Though it was nice not to have Akiko constantly nagging her, the child in her mind was the essence of evil that lived and thrived on not only torturing her 'host' but others as well. Without her, Autumn wouldn't have gone as far as she had… At least she didn't have the Akatsuki to deal with now, but Kabuto… He was Akiko's area of expertise. Taking a deep breath, Autumn put on a calm façade and looked Kabuto in the eye,
"What do you want?"
"Nothing really, just a talk. I heard that Sasuke-kun stopped by." He said, nonchalantly,
"Go away." Kabuto took few more steps toward her and she spit a few poisoned senbon at his throat. With great speed, he took out a kunai a deflected the senbon and retaliated by pinning her against the door.
"Autumn," she looked down at the floor. "Look at me." Ignoring him, she kept her eyes on her shoes until she heard him utter a few long forgotten words,
"My Akai-hime…" Her head shot up as he whispered this into her ear. Her hand followed in suit, striking him across the face.
"Don't you dare say that, ever!" She cried, flustered and frustrated that he had found her weakness. Tears welled in her eyes as she bit into her lower lip, trying to hold back the forthcoming urge to cling to him and cry to her heart's content, just as she had done with her brother years before.
Flashback…
A seven-year-old Autumn stood alone in an open field. Tears formed streams down her cheeks, as she trembled while choked sobs escaped her throat. She had just had an argument with her parents… They always treated her like such a child! But… She was one, wasn't she? All she wanted was a little respect and independence. She was a growing girl, she just wanted a bit of space…
"Don't cry." A boy, around the age of 16 spoke, walking toward the small girl. His footsteps made no sound as he closed the gap between them.
"Why not?" She asked, turning around to look up at the boy who had never done her any wrong. "Why shouldn't I cry, Tokuba? I've been given every reason to cry!" The boy, Tokuba, average in height, with brown hair and eyes to match those of this sister, kneeled to her level,
"Don't let anyone see you cry. Crying is a sign of weakness."
"I know that, it's exactly why I was out here, ALONE." The boy shook his head,
"I know how you feel, but just cheer up, will you? You should be happy."
"Happy? Outside of my training, everyone treats me like I'm some kind of toy! As if I'm going to fall apart if I get hurt." Tokuba wrapped his arms around his little sister,
"Iie, Aki-chan. Everyone treats you like a princess, because that's what you deserve. The world is your castle and we are but your humble servants."
"Demo…" Tokuba smiled, of course he wasn't her brother by birth, he had been adopted a few years ago after spending a year in a orphanage in Japan. Since he had come to America, he had begun to teach the small girl his native tongue. She understood very little, and though she insisted that she'd never need it in life and she'd just forget it in a year, he was pleased with her progress.
"Look here," he said, pointing at a small oak tree. The leaves of the tree were changing colors to match those most commonly associated with fall. Reds and gold, brown and a little green from the pine trees in the background.
"It's a tree, what about it?"
"All of this is what your name represents. When red becomes more than just another color, but one recognized in nature as immediate beauty." She bit her lip, it was pretty…
"So?" He chuckled,
"So, my little princess, this is your kingdom. When the wind blows, the leaves dance for you and only you. The colors change in recognition of you! You are my red princess, my Akai-hime."
End Flashback…
"You have no right to call me that!" Autumn cried once more as Kabuto regained his composure. She looked up at him, her vision blurred, expecting him to be angry. She was expecting him to hit her, stab her, or hurt her in some way, she wanted him to! She wanted him to strike or lash out at her. Anything to bring her out of this painful memory, anything to bring her back to reality… Instead of granting her silent wish, he looked her straight in the eye and began to perform a jutsu, in no time, his appearance had changed to look just like he had on that day… Letting Autumn wipe away her own tears, he stood perfectly still as she stopped to look up at him.
"…"
"…"
"… BASTARD!!!" Instead of the other way around, it was Autumn who lashed out at Kabuto, who skillfully dodged.
"…"
"I knew you were a sadist, but this is just sick! My brother, really?"
"Aki…"
"It's AUTUMN! What is wrong with you? Why don't you henge into the rest of my family as well, hm?" Kabuto stared at her, long and hard…
"Autumn…"
"WHAT!?!" She snapped, glaring at him,
"Autumn, I am your brother." He removed his glasses and moved his hair around for a second, "Can't you see it?" She raised an eyebrow,
"You have GOT to be kidding me."
"Think about it for a second, will you? It's not all that hard to figure out. Tokuba, Kabuto. Just rearrange the letters, they're the same." She stared at him, shocked. Why hadn't she seen it earlier? Confused beyond all reason, Autumn turned and flung the door open before running out into the hall. Kabuto took a step back and looked at the place where the girl once stood before reverting his appearance back to normal.
"This…. Is going to take a while."
Autumn ran into the main hall, slipped, and tumbled down the stairs. Landing on the ground floor, she blinked, pushing all of the confusion into the back of her mind and looked up when she felt the lighting suddenly change.
"So you've finally decided to join us." Due to the fact that she was already confused about Kabuto and everything that was going on, nothing really surprised Autumn anymore. Especially finding herself face to face with Orochimaru. Yeah, actually that was expected.
"Making yourselves at home, I see." She murmured, peaking around the man before her to see a few sound nin sitting on the couch.
"It was our home first, Aki-chan." Kabuto said, appearing at the top of the stairs. Autumn looked back at him from her position on the ground. She was lying with her back on the wooden floor while her legs were sprawled on the red carpeting that went up the stairs. For the first time since the fight, Autumn examined herself. She was wearing a red tank top, which, Autumn could've sworn used to be a T-shirt with several slashes all over it as well as holes, and her jeans were practically torn to shreds. All in all, she looked as if she had been thrown into a blender.
"I'm sorry, but you seem to be under the misconception that I actually care." She said, not bother to get up as Kabuto walked the stairs to join the little party. Orochimaru chuckled, causing the girl to shiver. The blinds were drawn and most of the windows were closed. The lights were off and the only sources of illumination were the lit candles scattered about the area. Noticing the amusement flickering in Orochimaru's eyes in the light of the flame of a nearby candle, Autumn turned herself around so she could look at him properly. Sitting on the last few steps, she looked up at the two before her, a bored expression on her face.
"What do you want?"
"Just your cooperation," Orochimaru answered. "I assume by the way you're constantly looking at Kabuto, he told you his 'secret' did he not?"
"He did." The snake man grinned,
"Well then, what do you say? Will you side with your brother, the only family you seem to have left?" Autumn rested her head on her hand and pretended to think about if for a second,
"Maybe… Question?" He nodded, encouraging her to ask, "Why aren't you dead by now?"
"Blunt, aren't you?" Kabuto asked, obviously unhappy with her tone.
"Oh shut it, Point-dexter. I don't care if you're my brother or not, I still hate you for who you really are." Before he could respond, Orochimaru motioned to one of the sound nin sitting on the couch who was coughing violently. He nodded and went to tend to him,
"It's simple," he began, "the very same reason why Sasori is alive as well."
"Which is?"
"The same way you bring people into your world, you bring people back to the world of the living."
"Joy. I suppose that's why they're alive as well?" She muttered, referring to the sound five, whom she realized were the ninja sitting in her living room. He nodded in confirmation and held his hand out to her,
"Well then?" She rolled her eyes and was just about to decline when she felt a little pull in the back of her mind.
'You work for whomever's possession you're in, remember?' Akiko.
'Oh, so you're awake.
'You don't sound very happy to hear me!' Akiko pouted,
'I'm not.'
'Meanie!'
'Deal with it.' She took his hand reluctantly. it sucks when your annoying alter ego can be right sometimes. If her new resolution included working with Orochimaru, well then, although she hated it, she'd have to accept it. Orochimaru grinned and helped the girl up. Putting his hand on her shoulder, he guided her over to the circle of sound nin that had formed during their conversation. Autumn kept her face emotionless as she found herself confronted with more 'enemy' ninja.
"You all owe your lives to this girl, so I don't need to say that I expect you to act respectful, now do I?" A small murmur went though the few nin. "Good."
"Do I get to keep my room?" Autumn interrupted before he could begin speaking again. He looked down at her,
"If you're good, I'll think about it." He responded, going back to what he was saying previously.
'What am I, a puppy?' Orochimaru walked away before she could say it out loud, leaving her alone with Kabuto and the Sound Five, all of whom were staring at her.
'Crap.'
"Uh… Hi?" She could feel them all looking her over,
"She doesn't look like she holds any kind of power, what's so special about her?" A very… large man said, not seeming to care. Jirobo. Autumn twitched,
"He's right, she looks like every other little piece of shit on this planet," Kidomaru this time, crossing his arms. Autumn twitched again,
"She brought you all and Orochimaru-sama back from the dead. She deserves a little credit." Kabuto lectured, walking away. With their last superior out of the way, the original Sound Four made their way around the girl, examining her carefully. They had learned not to underestimate people after last time. Autumn twitched once again, though, she was somewhat relieved that Tayuya was keeping her mouth shut, though she would've preferred Tayuya's mouth to what happened next. Autumn felt an arm snake around her neck, the kunai in its hand barely grazing her skin, then she felt another hand reach downward and squeeze her butt. Her eyes widened in surprise before she burst. Sakon and Ukon, who had been culprit, swiftly moved backward as Autumn released a large amount of chakra, hoping to burn him. She turned to face him, fire in her eyes.
"Don't. Ever. Do. That. Again." She said, dangerously. She ran at him and he jumped out of the way. Raising her hands, the candlelight revealed chakra strings that had formed a net above him. She had been weaving that the whole time Orochimaru had been talking, she just now found a good way to use it. Bringing the net down on the twins, she trapped them and used her chakra to electrify the net, giving them quite a "shocking" surprise. Her eyes turned to slits as she could feel the urge for revenge well up inside of her. A sadistic smile found its way on her face as she took a step toward the fused twins, but she froze, feeling a kunai to her throat.
"Aki-chan, stop it."
'Damn it Kabuto-kun! Just when this was getting good!
'Shut up.'
"I'm not going to kill him. Just hurt him… a lot." She heard him sigh as he lowered the kunai and turned her to face him,
"Orochimaru-sama wishes to have a word with you."
'He can keep wishing then.'
"Fine." The net disappeared and she turned to take another look at the twins, "This isn't over." She stated, letting Kabuto push her in the direction of the stairs to the library. As long as Orochi-baka didn't punish her like Pein did, she was okay. Seriously, maybe this wasn't going to be all that bad. Who could say? As soon as she left, Kabuto turned to the, now toasted, twins,
"You just had to go and make her angry." He said, reluctantly following his "sister" up the stairs. This wasn't going to end well.
I hope you liked it! It's longer than usual, to try and make up for the time, once again, sorry!
Review please!
