Ch. 11- Dijira

Tip 11-Long range fighters suck at close combat

Hay-Lin

Pein-sama is overworking me. I just got back from a mission, and now he sends me on another one! Hasn't he ever heard of breaks and rest? Well, my job is to capture Iwa's best shinobi with Kabuto and Szayel. It's only a C-rank, so it's easy some easy work before Christmas, which is a few days away. We already set up the tree and everything. It's actually been quite peaceful without Shonan and Deidara around. I just hope they get back in time. I need my blackmail minion back. Being how we're all medics in some way, shape, or form, we had a lot to talk about. However, I didn't brag nearly as much as the other two. It took us sixteen hours to get to Iwa, being as 3 people is the limit of my teleportation, and I didn't want to tire myself out. However, trudging through 3 feet of snow wasn't helping much. Gah, why did Pein have to send us on this mission? Iwagakure fits its name perfectly. The only two things I saw were rocks and snow. "Everyone, try and find the village." I said. They nodded, and we began searching.

"What's over there? Is that it?" asked Szayel, pointing at some cliffs. At a closer look, I saw buildings carved into the stone.

"yeah, that's it. Let's go!" but before we could get any further, we heard an explosion coming from behind some trees. We quietly made our way there to look. There was a girl, around fifteen years old, with silver and blue streaked hair. She wore a blue dress with a black obi sash and silver gears on the bottom. She also had a choker necklace with a small gear hanging on it and black, fingerless gloves that had glowing blue orbs on them. Her long hair was tied up in tow ponytails that reached down to her upper back. She was swearing rather loudly as she picked up metal parts next to a large, cracked rock that looked like it would break apart at any second. "Is that her?" I whispered to Kabuto. He looked through his data cards. After a moment, he nodded. As if on cue, Szayel stepped out I the clearing, his smug superiority complex basically radiating off of him.

"Who's there?" asked the girl.

"My name's Szayel Aporro Granz. I have come to capture you. Might you tell me your name before I knock you senseless? Where I come from, it's polite to tell your opponent your name before you fight. I expect you to do the same."

"Jeeze, ego much? Well, anyways. M'name's Dijira Gia, though I don't see why I should tell you this, seeing as you will be dead in a few moments." In the blink of an eye, there were…robots?...zipping towards Szayel, being controlled by Dijira. Hmm, kind of like Sasori's puppets…So she's a long range fighter, huh? I teleported behind her and struck her with a kunai as she was turning around. It slashed her check with a metallic sound, and blue sparks flew everywhere. How strange! Normally there would be blood. Now it just looked hollow. Some armor. Before she could react, Kabuto had struck her with his now chakra-laced hand, and she collapsed to the floor, limp and unconscious. Kabuto was gingery massaging his hand.

"What is she made of, steel?"

"Don't be stupid. That's impossible, baka. Here, carry her." I said, throwing the body to the medic.

"why me?"

"Our sacrificial lamb already took a considerable amount of damage, and I need to teleport us." Kabuto glared at me, but obeyed nonetheless. Tip 11- Most long-range fighters suck at close combat. We got to the base in a matter of seconds, where Krystalia greeted us warmly.

"Leader wants to see you. How'd the mission go?"

"Our Espada friend rushed in and became a sacrificial lamb. Other than that, I'd say it went fine."

"Okay then, bye!" she said, running off, probably to her room. Well, I'm actually kind of worried about her. Earlier, when I had just returned from my mission with Juugo, her mind had been in severe turmoil. Now, she seemed at peace with herself, but I could tell that deep inside, she was hurting. That much stress isn't healthy. I'll have to talk to her later. But first, I have to report to Pein-sama.

"Szayel, go to your room, lab, or the sickbay to heal. The sickbay is on the fifth floor. Kabuto, you can come with me or go back to Oro-sama. Decide quickly, because I have to go report to Pein-sama." I said, heading off. "Mist! If Szayel goes to the sickbay, please tend to his wounds." I called out to Mist, who nodded. I stopped at Pein's door and came in, Kabuto at my heels. Konan was blushing, a guilty look on her face as she adjusted her top a bit, while Pein-sama was as expressionless as always. I can only guess what happened. Dismissing my thoughts, I reported to Pein-sama. After I finished, he spoke. "And where is the girl?"
"Right here, Pein-sama." said Kabuto, showing Pein the girl.
"Good. Hay-Lin, take her to the interrogation room. Kabuto, you may go. Where's Szayel
Aporro?"

"He got injured, sir. However, I must express concern. The girl was surprisingly weaker than I expected. She is a long-range fighter, and I suspect she has a secret technique hidden from us. I would take caution when dealing with her." I supplied. The girl groaned, catching our attention, and I proceeded to the torture/interrogation room. While she was unconscious, I tied her to a chair. Pein-sama quickly joined me. The girl slowly woke up and blinked.

"Wha-where am I?" she shot up, or at least tried to. "Who are you people? What do you want?"

"Relax. We only want to know everything you know about Iwagakure." said Pein calmly. I grinned. He was so blunt.

"Oh, is that it? Okay then." Then, she told us everything there was about Iwa, even more than Deidara could. Then, she threw in a bunch of secrets about the other hidden villages. By the time she was finished, Pein-sama and I were gawking at her in shock. What kind of ninja gave up that much intell so willingly?

"Well, I guess we should kill her, but she's been so helpful…why don't we make her an unofficial member of the Akatsuki?" asked Pein-sama.

"Fine by me…welcome, Dijira Gia, to the Akatsuki!" I said, still a bit shocked. "Here, I'll show you to your room. It's on the third floor, along with mine and my sister's. Krystalia and Mist are also on that floor. We have plenty of extra rooms, so you can take your pick. Feel free to wander around and explore. We want you to feel at home, and there's a map in the entrance hall, on the first floor." I said, now over my initial shock. She nodded and headed off. She seemed somewhat shy and tense, but only time will tell her true personality. She still needs time to settle down. For now, I decided to visit Mist. She hasn't gotten much attention lately…I spread out my chakra and managed to locate her leading Kisame, Harribel, and Suigetsu to the lake on the 137th floor. I swear, this house has everything. I mean, an indoor lake? Really? This place is amazing! I decided to follow the fish people for the heck of it. Well, shark people. Mist's secunda etapa is very shark-like, as is her zanpakto spirit, Sereia. However, it is exceedingly rare to see even her regular release form, let alone either of those. Mist is, in a way, a pacifist. She refuses to fight unless she herself gets hurt. Even if any of us were to die, she would just watch grimly. But if she gets so much as a scratch, watch out. The only thing more dangerous than a fighting mist is if all of the tailed bests, hollows, and all the other creatures of the underworld attack at once. Yeah, it's that bad. However, Mist also has a tendency to turn into her release form in water, so she can swim around easier. Even though that's not always the case. Mist, am I allowed in your shark-person convention? She looked startled for a second, then replied, of course you are, even though we're just swimming. You going to reveal your release form? Yup. Hopefully, Kisame will like it. Aha! I knew it! You do like him! No, no! You've got it all wrong! That's not it at all! It's just that…that…uh-huh. Sure. See ya there, fish girl! Hey! Don't call me that! I just grinned and teleported there. "Sure, just glad I could join you guys!" I said, happily taking her sword, but not before she grabbed it. God, I'm turning into Shonan.

"Don't. Just don't." she said dangerously. I nodded. Unlike my rash sister, I'm not immortal and have reason to fear for my life.

"Hey, Hay-Lin, why's it so warm here? Didn't Shonan say the lake froze over before she left?" asked Harribel.

"That's the other lake. Shonan likes lakes, warmth, and ice-skating, so we have two lakes. The one in the basement 5th floor freezes over in the winter, but this one's heated."

"You have a lot of lakes…" said Kisame.

"Not really. Only two. Mist,"

"Already ahead of you. Dive to the deepest depths, Sereia!" cried Mist, diving into the water and resurfacing a few moments later. Her hair was now restyled into a ponytail, and her mask fragment was different.

"Mist! What happened? You look different, and your Zanpakto command was different! How'd you change that?"

"Sereia and I decided to get together and change it. New command, and better appearance. What do you think I do in my free time, daydream? No, I train with Sereia."

"Who's Sereia?" asked Suigetsu.

"My zanpakto spirit, the one who makes this," she jumped out of the water, showing off her blue fish tail, "possible." She dove back in. Harribel nodded in understanding.

"Y-you're a mermaid!" cried Kisame in shock.

"Yup! Why don't you guys join me?"

"Fine by me!" said Kisame, diving into the water and merging with Samehada. So creepy. Suigetsu also got into the water for a swim. I went to the water's edge, and Harribel joined me. I gazed into the water, getting lost in thought. Just another week until Christmas…but it would pass quickly. At New Years, Shonan would probally complain that the new year hates her. I miss her. It's so much quieter without her, it's strange. Tobi's still hyper, and even though he was recently joined by Yammy, it's still really quiet. Suddenly, I got splashed in the face with water.

"wha-hey! What was that for?" I sputtered.

"Come join us!" cried Mist happily.

"Never! Besides, I don't even have a bathing suit with me!" I cried, red in the face.

"So? I certainly wouldn't care, and I'm sure Kisame-senpai wouldn't either!" said Suigetsu, beginning to get out of the water.

"pervert." I muttered, throwing Suigetsu his clothes.

"thanks" he said as I walked over to the now ice-covered ramp. It was one of Shonan's favorite pastimes. It connects the roof to the B50th floor. It spans all 250 floors, and is failt fun to slide down. It has walls of the turns so you don't fall off, and spirals downwards. I was about to step on to get to the 1st floor, when Cow ran into me, followed by Felix and Snowshoe. Cow and Snowshoe are two of Shonan's favorite cats. Snowshoe was a shorthaired cat, a snowshoe as the name implies. She is one of the few cats that can walk on top of snow, along with Felix. I half expected Meip, a Turkish van, to follow them. I picked Cow up and asked her through telepathy, What're you guys doing? Going on the ice slide. When'd Snowshoe get here? An hour ago. Do you think we could send her to fetch Lady Shonan? She'd have to cross an ocean… I can do that, if it's frozen over. Otherwise, Capitan can help. Snowshoe interrupted. Capitan was a grey tabby who constantly traveled on ships that navigate through this region. He could easily slip another cat or two on and ferry them across. Snowshoe's pretty smart, probably smarter than some of our 'guests'. I put Cow down and picked Snowshoe up.

"I give you permission to go fetch Shonan and Deidara. Just try not to interrupt anything, okay?" she meowed. I sighed. The only way I can understand these cats is telepathically. Only Hirashi and some of the other summons actually talk. Shonan understands all of the cats, one of the perks of being half-cat. "Wait two days, when some of the snow's melted to leave. Your safety comes first, and we don't need you falling into some pit because of the snow, okay? Shonan would kill me if that happened. She meowed, then jumped back on the 'ice slide'. Well, now I know I have a few Shonan-free days. I get to relax! Then, I heard a loud crash coming from the kitchen. Wait, no, scratch that. Several loud crashes. Well, there goes my relaxation. I looked behind me, about to warn Mist that I was leaving, when I saw Mist and Kisame, their faces mere centimeters apart, both gasping for breath and red in the face. I wonder how that happened? I smiled to myself and turned around, heading for the kitchen. When I got there, a strange sight met my eyes. Sakon was on the floor, the table broken overtop his head, Kakuzu was fuming, yelling his head off at Sakon, and Dijira stood next to the open fridge in shock.

"What do you think you're doing? That's my money, and you stole it!" yelled Kakuzu, black threads streaming around his wrists.

"What's your problem, teme? All I did was grab the cabbage!"

"That cabbage is full of money!"

"Why? That's retarded!"

"Because no one ever eats it!"

"That's stupid! We eat it!" just about then, Kakuzu nearly had a heart attack.

"My money! Give it back, you theif!" he yelled, lunging for Sakon. Dijira was in a state of shock, and headed for her room. Poor girl, she should get used to this.

"Here. Don't worry, you get used to it." I said, handing her an orange. She nodded her thanks, and left.

"What are you doing, you psyco! Get off!" yelled Sakon, turning my attention back to them.

"getting my money back!" yelled Kakuzu, his black threads rushing towards Sakon to retrieve what may – or may not have been – money.

"I guess eating cabbage is now out of question, huh?" I almost jumped ten feet in the air.

"Orochimaru! When'd you get here?"

"A few moments ago. Kabuto and I need your help."

"Why?"

"Kimimaro's sickness is worsening. If it keeps up like this, he'll die."

"Okay, I'll be right there. Just give me a minute."

"Okay, but hurry. Even if he's not my newest vessel, he's still one of my best fighters." I frowned. Pedo-snake has to stop using vessels. It'll get him killed someday.

"I can heal you to give you another fifty years of healthy life, but you have to stop using vessels, okay?" he thought this over.

"Deal." I smirked, then went to the library. I needed to see some of Shonan's fanfictions. Before I could reach what I needed, I saw Sasuke , rapidly getting irritated, sitting on the couch trying to read, while Karin sat next to him, trying to flirt with him. The poor soul. No one deserves that.

"Karin, that's just a clone. The real Sasuke is waiting for you in your room." The effect was immediate. Karin dashed away to get to her room in the fastest way possible. Sasuke shot me a look of thanks. "That should buy you some time. Go to the fiction section and take out a book named Eragon. Read the first word on the inside front cover, and a passage will open up, leading to a room where you can read in peace. If you need another book, just say it's title. Good luck."

"Thank you." I stared at him in shock. Not only did he speak, but he said thank you! Good thing this place has hidden cameras, or I would've missed that incredible piece of blackmail!

"I would also set up a clone there, but be prepared for the worst. You can't fully control clones, you know. It's impossible." He nodded, and set up the jutsu. Then, he left. I made my way to the KimiSaku section of the 216th floor, the top floor of the library. After picking up some fanfictions with detailed accounts of healing Kimimaro's illness, like Marrow, I went to get some books on forbidden jutsus. I don't want to screw this up, both Shonan and Orochimaru would kill me if I did. A few minutes later, I reached Orochimaru/Kabuto's lab. It was creepy, cold, and snakelike, just like Orochimaru's base in Sound. I shuddered. "I'm here" I announced.

"Good, come with me. Orochimaru-sama and Kimimaro-kun are waiting." Said Kabuto, leading me to them. It took Kabuto and I until dawn the next day to finish our task. As soon as I got to my room, I threw myself upon my bed. The moment my head hit the pillow, I was asleep.

A/N: Heyeveryone! Sorry for the long wit, I kinda got banned from the computer for a week after it got that nasty virus. Please don't kill me! I got work done on the hard copy, though! Al I have left to write is the Epilogue! There are 15 chapters, not counting the pro/epilogue. I made tons of progress! The last two chapters are very short, but very important, so i hope you enjoy this chapter untill I get the next chapter up! It's only a matter of time, and motivation to type. There is no idea shortage, no writer's block, so i have no excuse. Review! or Kakuzu will come after you!