Club Akatsuki
Chapter 12
One Finger Is All I Need
Sasori could hear all kinds of commotion happening above him. The Sound must have known he wasn't able to go anywhere, because he was left alone and it would have been a perfect opportunity to try to escape. Missing a leg made it pretty hard to run and there was nothing around to serve as a balance. The only goons he did see stayed far away from him. Probably a smart choice on their part, Sasori was still considered very dangerous even without a weapon. He was strong enough to kill with his bare hands if he had to, and cunning enough to use mere threads as his weapon.
At that thought, a memory flashed into his mind of corpses dangling from pipes at the ceiling with strong flexible wire threads wrapped around their necks and wrists. Blood dripped from their wounds and a teenaged Sasori stood nearby with the wires wrapped around his gloved hands as he panted and used his own body weight as leverage. With a simple rotation on his arms, he released the wires and each of the dead bodies felt to the floor limply, the puddles of their own blood slashed violently, managing to splash an otherwise clean Sasori. It was right then, he heard someone clapping behind him. When he turned around, he saw what appeared to be a very rich man with pale skin, long black hair, and a violet trench coat draped from his shoulders, while a matching fedora sat on his head.
"Damn Orochimaru and his schemes," Sasori muttered at the memory. He combed back his hair with his fingers and closed his eyes as he let out an exasperated sigh. Even though he may not be defenseless, he still felt useless. Fighting back, gathering intelligence, anything would make him feel better about getting captured. Fate did not seem to work in his favor.
"Sasori!" someone shouted and he jumped as he snapped his eyes open to see who was there all of a sudden.
"It's you!" he exclaimed at the Red Raven. She hadn't made a sounds as she came in, and he was sure that the door was fairly loud on its own.
"I'm getting you out here," she said, she was already working on the lock with a small pick that appeared to be a hairpin.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"Your leader hired me… I was actually looking for Orochimaru when I found you, but it's all the same in my mission," she explained.
"I meant above, is the rest of the Akatsuki here?"
She glanced at him for a moment, noting his lack of movement. "Most of them, from what I gathered one is away with your accounting books, and a couple others stayed behind to protect the base," she explained. "Mr. Uchiha came just in time to join the fight you leader headed."
"Orochimaru must be slipping a lot, he used to be a lot more discreet in his planning," Sasori remarked.
"Perhaps he still is, but his right-hand man appears to have a lot of say," she said as she continued to work.
That's when Sasori noticed something rather alarming. "You're bleeding."
She simply nodded. "Don't remind me, it hurts a lot, but can't dodge everything, well, not when it comes to bullets," she said with something akin to humor in her tone.
"You're insane…"
"Nice to know, Mister Perfect," she said.
"I am far from perfect," he countered.
"Then don't pass judgment on me, you don't even know me," she glared.
Sasori opened his mouth to say something, but closed it when he realized she was right. He didn't want to let her win, but he knew that was just his male ego getting the better of him. Now was not the time to let such nonsense control his thinking. She was powerful, and in this world, that was all that mattered. One could be a man, woman, adult, teenager, or even a child and still hold power or be dangerous to others.
"What? No smart retort?" she challenged.
"No," Sasori's eyes cast downward. "This is no time for our games," he added.
Just then, the lock popped open and she smirked at him. "Well, that wasn't so hard," she said and opened the cell door.
"So much good it'll do you, I can't escape in my condition," he explained and gestured his limb.
She closed her eyes as she thought. "At least one of the others should check down here soon, and together we can get you out of here," she said as she kneeled down near him. "Other than that, are there any other problems or injuries?"
"Just minor," he said. "I can't say the same about you," he added as he eyes a dark wet spot on her side.
"…It's just a graze," she said and stood up. As soon as she was back on her feet, she dropped to a kneel again and closed her eyes as she took long deep breaths.
"I think it's more serious than you realize, we should at least get the bleeding to slow down while we can, it could be an hour before someone else gets down here, and that wound can't wait that long," he said.
"It's going to have to wait, there's nothing I can do about it right now," she said as her hand moved to the wound, but stopped before touching it and pulled her hand away again. "Like I said, it's just a graze, it could have been worse…"
Sasori sighed and then looked up at the dark ceiling and listened again. It was quiet. Whatever had been going on up there had moved elsewhere. "Why are you not with them?" he asked suddenly.
Without saying anything, the brunette woman raised her pistol to the ceiling and pulled the trigger twice. It was empty. "I am normally just a sniper, I don't carry much ammunition in general," she explained.
Sasori nodded and leaned forward as he reached into his jacket. "Good, they didn't take it…" he said as he removed a roll of fabric. "Use this as gauze, you're dripping blood now," he insisted.
She stared at the item. Then wordlessly, she began removing her black top. Sasori looked away instantly as she did so, but when he glanced back, he found she was wearing another top underneath, which she simply lifted up enough to reveal her wound and inspect it. It was an ugly gash in her side. They didn't need to say anything, after she moved closer to him, they both got the fabric wrapped tightly around her. The makeshift bandage turned red with blood quickly, but they both noticed the stain grew at a slower and slower rate.
"Thanks," she said and he only nodded in response as he watch her fully dress again. It only took a second and then she sat near him as she also leaned against the wall. "What is this for?" she asked as she pointed to her side, meaning the bandage.
Sasori stared blankly ahead of him instead of looking at her. "In case a strap breaks on my leg."
"…How did that happen? Losing your leg, I mean," she asked.
"Stepped on a landmine during the last great war, I was basically still a kid when it happened… I almost didn't make it until someone found me," he explained.
"Who?"
Sasori glared into the darkness. "I'm sure you can guess…" he muttered.
"I see," she said. "You know… I once had a friend that got caught in a landmine, they weren't as lucky."
"Sometimes I question if it was lucky." His gaze dropped. "I don't even know what I was thinking back then, not just about joining the war, but I should have seen the landmine, it's wasn't like me to miss something like that. It was a screw up that I've paid for the rest of my life…"
She put a hand on his shoulder and he finally looked at her again. It was meant to be a comforting gesture, but he still felt tense whenever he looked into those icy eyes. Even when they were warm, they were still cold. He looked away again.
"So what should I call you anyway? Surely the Red Raven isn't your real name, is it just Raven?" he asked, changing the subject to her.
She shook her head. "I actually have a few names, depending on the situation. Most people know me as Raven, at the diner I work at I am Risa… The Red Raven is just a working title that others came up with and starting calling me by when I started working up a reputation around here," she explained.
He thought about what she said and realized something about how she said it. "So what's your real name?" he asked.
"It doesn't matter, I am dead under that name," she said.
He quirked an eyebrow. "Then it doesn't matter if I know it, not like I can use it against you at that rate," he said. "What is it?"
She sighed, knowing he wasn't going to let up. He had a point too. She hated that. "It's just Rei," she said.
"'Rei', huh?" he said as he leaned back against the wall and looked up at the ceiling. "Your secret is safe with me," he smirked. "So… Rei, how did a young lady like you get into such a business?"
"It's a long story," she said.
"I'm not going anywhere," he smirked again.
"How about a trade? My story for yours."
"Deal, I promise I won't back out either," he said.
She looked up at the dark ceiling and thought about where to begin. "I guess it started several years ago. I was young and didn't know what to do. Then I joined an… organization for specialized training to become guards to towns, royalty, or for hire. I was there for a couple years and became one of the senior members that would start training the new recruits. That's when I found out the truth, we were never going to be guards. We were going to do the opposite. Instead of preventing anymore wars, we were going to start one… they were training us to be terrorists in our own land."
"I don't remember hearing of any new terrorist groups?" Sasori interjected.
She shook her head. "I remember soon after I found out, I decided to get out of there and go into hiding. I tore off my tags and left them on my bunk at the training camp. I was only a mile away when the entire camp was destroyed. I didn't know who caused it, but I didn't want anyone to think it was me, so I went into hiding for some time. I eventually found out that everyone was killed, and I was presumed dead as well. With no name, a shady background, and the possibly that someone might still be looking for me, I wound up here with the only trade I have," she said and shifted her unloaded gun.
"Did you ever find out who destroyed that place?" Sasori asked.
"Yes, they were destroyed by Sunagakure."
"…Oh," Sasori sweated.
"I already know you are from there originally, do not worry yourself about it," she said. "Now tell me, what is your story?"
"Mm, I don't feel like saying anymore…" he smirked.
"You know I can hurt you," she glared. "One finger is all I need to end your life here and now after hearing that story."
He scratched the top of his head and then rubbed his thighs. "Not much to tell I guess," he started. "I was too young to join the war, but as you might know Sunagakure started harsher more rigorous training for a while. I went through some of that until they decided I was old enough to start fighting because we were short on men. I was pretty good at all my assigned tasks, and then the landmine incident happened… no one came to help, I was left for dead. Somehow, I managed to live for a couple days because I tied off my own wound and sewed it closed with a wire. I tried to get back, but I couldn't make it. That's when Orochimaru found me and he took me to someplace disguised as a warehouse where I was taken care of. I didn't see Orochimaru after that for a long time. He had learned of my skills and had me put to work, saying I had to if I wanted to live. That's where I got even better. Since I was missing a leg and was stationary, it wasn't like I could escape, so first I made a new leg, a better one."
"Better how?"
"Weaponized," he answered. "Let's see… After working for the rest of my teen years, apparently I made quite the impression on him with my work and he decided to have me tested. I was forced into a situation where I had to kill multiple people all at the same time… since I passed, I met him again… and well… I didn't like him."
The Red Raven huffed a small laugh at that.
"Nonetheless, I worked for him for a while longer, doing a lot of dirty work, even for me, until I got moved to the main branch here. Though I didn't stay long before I joined the Akatsuki and disappeared. Since then he's been pretty pissed at me and has wanted me dead."
"When did you learn to play the piano?" she asked suddenly.
He looked at her. That was not a question he expected. "When I was very young, my parents taught me… that's why I don't mind playing back at the club, I feel like I'm close to them again when I'm playing."
"What did you want to do with your life before?"
He had to think about that one for a moment. It was hard to remember what he saw himself doing when he became an adult as a kid. "I think I wanted to be a carpenter."
"That's nice," she smiled. "I could see you doing that."
"What about you, Rei?" he put emphasis on her real name.
"Well… I didn't have anything in mind for myself when I was young, but somewhat recently, I decided that when I get the money put together, I was going to buy a small lot of land out someplace quiet and raise and train some animals, probably just dogs to start."
Sasori chuckled and she glared at him. "I'm sorry, I just didn't expect that… it sounds… nice," he repeated what she told him.
When he looked at her again, he found her eyes already on him and he stared into them once again. He didn't know why he kept doing that when he should know what she did to him by now, but every time, before he could stop himself, he found himself seeking out her gaze.
Sasori knew he wasn't thinking clearly. He was sleep deprived and this woman turned his usually sharp mind to mush. Without thinking clearly, he began to lean towards her, intent on taking her lips once again without her consent. As he drew closer, he swore he saw her begin to lean towards him as well, but he didn't get to find out what would happen because there a loud clank from the doorway and they both looked up.
The Red Raven gripped her gun in case it was not an ally. Luckily, it was just Deidara. He had a one last bomb to set in his hand, and that meant it was almost over.
With only a couple minutes left on the timer of the bombs, Deidara helped get Sasori outside and to the cars where everyone rejoined and drove off just before the bombs began to destroy the building a little bit at a time.
"No one found Orochimaru," was the last thing anyone said, before turning away from the crime scene.
As they got closer to the Club Akatsuki, they noticed a strange gloom of smoke coming from the area. It wasn't until they were almost there, that they found it was the club on fire. There were fire trucks parked outside as firemen were already soaking the place and putting out the fire.
Pain practically jumped out of the car and began to run towards the building when Konan yelled out to him, causing him to stop dead in his tracks as everyone besides Sasori got out of the cars and stared up at the smoking building.
Konan ran to Pain as she carried a heavy suitcase. It appeared to be what she was able to save from the building before escaping. Together they went back to the cars with everyone else.
"What in the world happened here?" Itachi asked.
Konan shook her head. "I don't know, but I have a guess who is responsible," she said.
"We weren't able to find Orochimaru," Pain said. "He probably did this personally as pay back, knowing that we were destroying his club after his right-hand, Kabuto, got too cocky and provoked us," he explained.
"Tobi doesn't like this!" Tobi popped up and sobbed.
"There, there," Deidara sighed. "At least you didn't live here…"
"Deidara can stay with Tobi!" Tobi hugged him and Deidara sweated.
"Since the club was already cleaned up, the cops shouldn't find anything incriminating, right?" Sasori asked from his place still sitting in the car with the door opened.
Pain nodded. "I'll have a talk with the police and find out what they think happened," he said as he walked away.
"So how did it go?" Konan asked Itachi.
"Kabuto is dead, so is most of the rest of them, and their club should be on fire now too," he answered.
"Well, that is one problem we do not have to worry about anymore," Konan said and the rest nodded.
The Red Raven stepped over to Suki and pulled her away from the cars to talk in private. "What happened to you?" she asked.
"I was going to be used against Itachi," Suki blushed. "You don't have to worry though, I'm never going to be in a situation like this again," she added.
"You mean…?"
Suki nodded. "Yeah, I'm giving up grifting, all my crimes are catching up with me, and I barely recognize myself half the time, it's time to quit," she explained.
The brunette woman sighed. "Good," she smiled. "Does this mean you're going back to your home town?"
Suki looked back at Itachi. "Yeah… it does."
"You fell for him for real, didn't you?"
Suki blushed as she pushed her blonde hair behind her ears. "I tried not to… and now I think he hates me…" she teared up but nothing spilled over.
"It'll turn out okay," she whispered as she place her hands on her friends shoulders. "Just in case, you should talk to him again soon, at least get closure for yourself, before you leave this town," she said.
"I will," the blonde nodded.
"Wait here, I need to check on something," Raven said as she stepped away and approached the car Sasori was sitting in.
"Hello, Rei," he smirked.
"You can just call me Raven like everyone else," she sighed.
"Nah, so what do you need?" he asked.
"Don't you live here?" she asked.
"Yeah, well, not at the moment I guess," he smirked.
"Where are you going to go?" she asked. There was next to no chance she was going to offer her place, but she was concerned.
"Once everyone leaves, I can get my spare leg from the warehouse and then Deidara and I will bunk at Tobi's place for awhile until we figure out what to do," he said. "Everything's already been planned out for this situation, there's no need to worry."
"I'm not worried," she tired. Sasori gave her a skeptical look and she simply looked away from him with a small blush. Suki was able to see this and giggled at them.
"Alright, you might not be worried, but I am, for one I'm going to be stuck with the two most annoying people on the planet and two, you really need to get that wound taken care of," he said as he reached over and poked her side, causing her yelp softly, but still just loud enough for everyone to look at her.
"So you weren't able to dodge everything," Itachi said in amazement. "It's a miracle this isn't a lot worse," he said as he looked at the tear in her clothes.
"Oh no! Tobi doesn't have the med kit!" Tobi sobbed. "Tobi left it inside!"
"It's fine, it's fine," Raven tired. "I'll just find a medic or go to a clinic," she said.
"There is no need for that," Konan said. "I am more than qualified to take care of that, please come with me," she said and ushered the assassin into a building across the street while still carrying the suitcase. It was a shop clearly labeled as a tobacco store, but they sure had a working sink and maybe a med kit.
Everyone watched as the flames died down until the firemen decided they were done. By then both the Red Raven and Konan had returned and waited until they heard from Pain.
"They think it was arson," Pain told them. "Luckily, most the damage is on the main floor and up the entire back wall. I will get an estimate on what it will cost to repair and rebuild tomorrow, but it seems we will be out of business for at least a few months, so until then, you are all on leave, use your time off wisely," Pain finished, and cast a direct knowing look at Itachi.
In the darkened streets, an elderly man with a violet trench coat and fedora walked with a cane that had a wooden snake's head. He wheezed occasionally as his aching body struggled to keep going.
"Curse that Kabuto, the fool…" he said angrily. "Too ambitious for his own good… if I want something done right, I have to do it myself it seems."
Finally, he reached his destination and looked up at the building. The same one that housed the Uchiha brothers. He knew the elder brother was away, but that was not the one he cared to see.
"Soon, Sasuke will me mine…" he hissed as he went inside.
Author's Note:
And then boom, everyone dead. The end.
Kidding. I would never rely on a lazy plot twist like that. You guys should like the ending that's coming up. The suspense will be over with shortly. Was this plot suspenseful at all? Well, we've just got Orochimaru to deal with before things can be wrapped up. What will happen to Sasuke? Read and find out next time.
(Notes about spelling/grammar errors should be through PM only, thank you.)
