Curiosity killed the cat; so if it can kill a cat it could probably kill a human too. That includes me- hell that is almost specific to me. Death by curiosity; if I die by that I hope I at least learned the answer to my question first. If I was lucky Sasori or more likely Deidara would answer my question. But since I have no luck with this type of thing my question was left unanswered. Oh and it left my imagination free to dream up all sorts of contorted delusions of what a 'Zetsu' was. It's fun to be delinquent.
Eventually the reasonable side of my mind kicked in and I seriously started to try to answer my question. The way Sasori had said it made me think it was a capitol 'Z' instead of lowercase 'z'. So a Zetsu is a proper noun. It couldn't be a place because you wouldn't say a location arrives soon. So a Zetsu is an important person or object.
While I was brainstorming I had tuned out what Sasori and Deidara were conversing about. What a good little prisoner I was being…wait that's bad, counterproductive to all my efforts. I snapped back to reality.
Immediately I became keenly aware of Deidara gripping my left arm, he never held onto the right arm which was in the process of healing. My heart fluttered; he liked me! Then a negative part of me chimed in that I would squeal and be a lot harder to control if he restrained me by me right shoulder. I really loath that reasonable voice sometimes.
I was inwardly pouting at myself and I missed Deidara's next words, but I didn't miss his actions. He nudged me forward. Time to put up a fight; I dug my heels into the ground. I would not voluntarily move from this spot. Deidara tried to push me forward to no avail.
Sasori glanced over and sighed. "Just get her there soon; I despise having to wait." He left Deidara to deal with me. Good! I can deal with Deidara easily- just not Sasori, he's different. I don't like him.
Puzzling over where 'there' could be I almost lost my footing. Deidara shoved me forward with both hands on my back; I leant backwards with as much weight as I could without falling backwards. A moment passed, I slid forward an inch, damn… and most girls are delighted to be light weight.
Deidara grunted with effort as he tried –hopefully in vain- to move me out of the kitchen. I gritted my teeth and pushed back. For at least a minute an awkward silence fell over us as we tried to overpower the other.
Without thinking of the consequences I became dead weight on Deidara's hands. He struggled to support my full weight on his wrists for a moment and then lost. Well he more of backed out than lost. Deidara let go of me and jumped out of the way. I was the one who really lost, I fell backwards.
A primitive force took hold of my body. My hands flew to the back of my skull; I started to curl up in a fetal position, all in preparation for collision with the stone floor. Again my efforts were futile; Deidara hadn't dropped me for me to fall, but instead Deidara had made me loose my rigid stance. I was now moveable- I lost…again. For the second time in less then ten minutes, maybe even five, Deidara saved me from a concussion or other serious brain damage.
His arms caught me in midair. I blinked still expecting to receive trauma to the head in a few more milliseconds. "Come on now Clary, hm." Deidara was about to lift me up to transport me away when I snapped out of it. I rolled out of his arms. Sinuously landing on my feet I bolted out of the door.
I whizzed down the hallway with Deidara in pursuit. Outrunning him wasn't my plan or even one of my deluded fantasies- let alone an option. My goal was to waste as much time as possible until some better plan of action could be decided upon.
Sprinting down the passageway I did trip over the cloak a few more times. When I did I scampered to my feet and I would bound away again. The door to the outside loomed ahead of me as I sprinted towards it. If I got there and it was unlocked, then what? I'd be on a mountain in the middle of nowhere.
Veering left, I had to catch a door's handle to stop myself from falling. I stole a quick glance at Deidara, I thought he would be skidding to a halt in surprise; he had his sardonic smirk on again and was further back than I expected. Flustered and unnerved I decided to barricade myself into this room. I yanked open the door and threw myself inside. After a quick survey of my new surroundings I had to re-analyze my situation. I hadn't gone into a new room at all; I had entered another corridor.
I had always felt rather uneasy about being in the realm of the underground. I will always be a person of the open skies. I'm in love with the wind blowing my hair about. I could happily spend my life basking in the warmth of the suns rays. Humans were designed to live above the ground, listening to the birds chirp excitedly. Down there, beneath the surface where I'm just an unwelcome guest, there is none of that.
The air there will never be churned by the wind, it lays motionless for centuries collecting the musty smells of the earth. It will only ever be stirred by the motion of an invading alien. The only thing that wards off total darkness from enveloping you is man-made lights that cast an eerie, flickering shadow on the walls carved from stone.
Also sound there is different; it's morphed and takes on new qualities. The everyday sounds of my breathing or my clothes rustling, soft subdued noises, ring out clear and loud, echoing through ancient caverns. I did not belong there; standing in the entrance of an artery that twists and winds to the heart of a mountain.
I remained frozen in the door way- mesmerized by my sudden fear of this place. I couldn't shake off the profound feeling that I shouldn't be here. I felt the door knob turning under my hand; it took me a second to register that Deidara was about to appear right next to me. I stumbled out of the way as the door opened. Deidara
"Are you ok, hm?" He asked with concern in his voice. "You look like you saw a ghost, Clary!"
I managed a weak nod in reply.
Thankfully Deidara seemed to realize that I was no longer going to be difficult and that I was rather…err… scared. He didn't seem phased by the atmosphere of this corridor as he escorted me down it. I didn't try to make a fuss at all, just the opposite I clung to Deidara arm as we walked through less lit areas. I was waiting for a horrific monster to emerge from the darkness and ambush us. Every time I thought I saw movement from the fringes of my vision my heart beat went erratic. Deidara was worriedly looking at me wondering if I had completely become a lunatic.
It took forever, but we safely reached our destination without being mauled by the hideous monstrosities living beneath our unsuspecting feet. I was deliberating new plans as Deidara opened a plain wooden door and mockingly bowed. I sniffed and held my head up high as I enter the brightly lit room.
I surmised that because the lights in here were so much better than the ones in side that this room was more important the others. The room had two exits I noted. In the center was a table with a few chairs messily surrounding it. Long padded stretched around the perimeter and much too my amusement there was a pintsized tree in a generic. I couldn't help but smile; it was someone's job to care for plants in this Akatsuki safe houses.
"This isn't time to be smirking." I recognized Sasori's grim voice; I twirled around to see him and another…person?
It was a human sheltering inside a….a giant plant. This person definitely took the cake for being the freakiest person I've met to date. Not only was it….he… living in what looked to be the trap of a venus flytrap, one half of his exposed body was black and the other a bleachy white. I couldn't help but to stare. His green hair was odd, but not totally unheard of. Two years ago I tried to dye my hair neon green, it turned my brunette locks a black color that appeared greenish in light for two weeks- I didn't leave my house for the duration of those weeks. Using my logic reasoning I concluded that this was a 'Zetsu'. He was also robed in the Akatsuki uniform; I became rather uncomfortable about being in Deidara's heavy coat.
I watched the three Akatsuki members move about the room; all three were strikingly different from each other. Deidara casually moved and slouched down on a bench seat. Sasori continued to look at me with an utterly bored with life expression and didn't move an inch. Zetsu took a seat at the table. I glared at them all suspiciously.
"You can sit at the table you know, hm."
"I'll stand." I can live with having ache feet better then sitting with these guys. I'll be willing to bet that they never had many friends growing up.
"I'll get started then. You," Sasori gestured to me, "just answer the questions. Your name is Clary Rusher correct?"
"Yep." He never said I had to answer truthfully.
"And you are from Sunagakure?"
"Yeah." The Zetsu thing was looking at me. It was scaring me until my irrational side kicked in. That side demanded that I remember that I was above these…these criminals!
I tossed my hair out of face and held my head high.
"What do you do for a living?"
"Sell stuff."
I expected them to ask what, but apparently Akatsuki doesn't care if I'm selling teddy bears or explosives. "Is anyone in your family a shinobi?"
My elder brother was, but I decided that Akatsuki didn't need to know that. "Do stuffed animals count or my uncle's second cousins kid count?" I had no idea if that person even existed; it wasn't a definite 'no' so it was a possibility that I really had an uncle's second cousins kid.
Believing that Sasori would continue interrogating me I started to create a life story for 'Clary'. Of course the one of the few times I plan ahead the planning was unneeded. I should never plan in the first place; it makes life more interesting. Also interestingly the Akatsuki members were having different reactions. Deidara looked upset, Sasori seemed as happy as he ever would be, and the plant seemed disappointed. Talk about double… err triple standards. While I was trying to guess what made them act that way, from a silent signal all three of them left out the other door leaving me alone.
The walls weren't much fun to look at and there were no freaks to stare at so I decided to risk being caught and listen in on their little talk. I had a good idea of their plans by now, but more information is always nice. Unless it raises new question; then that just plain annoying. Pressing my ear to the door I eavesdropped on their private conversation.
"No, we can't do that, hm." Deidara contradicted someone else.
Sasori spoke next, "So this was a waste of time?"
Zetsu spoke next, "Not entirely; we now know what to look for in future candidates." I started to catch the jest of their talk. Someone had failed to meet the standards, but had shown what future people would need. Maybe someone had failed to become an Akatsuki! How did you go about joining Akatsuki anyway?
"It was a preliminary trial."
"What was wrong, hm?"
"She had too much chakra buildup." I didn't realize girls were allowed in Akatsuki! Hey, maybe I could apply. For a wistful moment I pictured myself in full Akatsuki getup.
"Hm, how'd that happen? She's a civilian, we know that for sure." Civilian? Chakra buildup? It started to sink in that they might be talking about me.
"I am not sure how, but it's clear that Clary isn't suitable for the experiment." Zetsu answered, clearing up any doubts about this conversation. "Actually the entire experiment is a flop, because-" I tuned Zetsu's babble to process what was happening.
I was some sort of human guinea pig that had too much chakra for their sinister experiment- good I'm foiling their plans! Chakra exists in all people, but is much more evident in people that have are shinobi and almost invisible in an innocent civilian. What they didn't know is that I wasn't your average bystander; I at one point had aspired to be a shinobi. Thus my chakra was more defined then a normal person's, but not as fully developed as a ninja's should be. Instead my chakra was frozen in the transitory stage-what luck.
"What happens to Clary now, hm?" I suddenly became aware that my status had changed. Before I was needed alive and healthy, now I could be discarded without a second thought. Shit!
"She has no further use to us- we kill her." My heart nearly stopped; even though this conclusion had been looming overhead for a long time, I had been hoping and praying that it wouldn't happen- that I would have a happily ever after. But now it was clear and defined; I was going to die.
"Kakuzu needs an arm; we can take one of her arms." A jolt went through my body- I was going to be used as spare parts! Don't get me wrong; I'm all for organ donations and I wouldn't mind giving a heart or liver once I've died naturally but….the thought of these guys dismembering my body was just…sickening…
Unfortunately they weren't done yet, "And I'll have anything remaining; I haven't eaten in awhile." The churning in my stomach lurched upward; I tasted the fiery, acidic liquid of my esophagus in my mouth.
I clamped a firm hand over my mouth to keep myself from throwing up my last meal. Not only was I going to be dismembered I was going to be eaten! The plant…thing… was a cannibal.
"Hey, hey don't be gross Zetsu, hm!" I nearly smiled when Deidara spoke; he was standing up for me! Sort of…
"You haven't grown attached to her have you Deidara?" Sasori grumbled accusingly.
"No, hm" My heart plummeted.
Not wanting to hear anymore I weakly wandered away from the door and managed to seat myself in chair before I collapsed. I felt as if I had just finished running a marathon; my legs were weak to support me, my heart was beating unhealthily fast.
Behind me the door creaked open. I reacted like I had been electrocuted; I leaped out of my chair spinning around to face who ever were entering the room. Deidara looked at me with a bewildered expression as he closed the door behind him. I clutched my heart, trying to see if it would slow down. As he took a seat Deidara had a grim look in his eyes. I fell back down into my chair. I rubbed my temples with my thumbs, keeping my eyes closed. I took a deep breath then let it out. Relax, relax…
"This isn't the best time to take a nap, hm."
"I'm not sleeping… or even trying to." I said; impressing myself with how calm and collected I sounded.
"Then what are you trying to do, hm?" Deidara asked.
"Wake up."
"What?" He asked again- I had managed to confuse yet another person.
"I'm trying to wake up," Not that I expected him to understand from my scanty statement. "So I can find myself safe in my bed." Even if it is now at an asylum.
"So you're trying to believe this is a nightmare then, hm?"
"Something like that."
Deidara paused and considered what I had said, not getting the hints that I wasn't in the mood to talk. "Most people would consider it lucky to have an adventure, hm."
I raised an eye brow. He thinks I should consider myself lucky of all things! "Obviously the people who say that are the ones that are bored with their lives." The corners of my mouth twitched; I supposed that Deidara fit into that category of people.
"Are you accusing me of something, hm?"
"Not necessarily."
"Come to think about it your one of the luckiest people I know, hm!" He said cheerfully. Oh yes, I'm going to be cut up into spare body parts and become plant feed; how lucky of me. It didn't occur to me that he was trying to be kind and reassuring.
"You must not know a lot of people then. Or you are interpreting what 'luck' is differently than I am."
"I won't get you started on interpretations, but I have met many more people than you have! You're one of those people who always come out ahead, hm."
I was about to argue further, but Deidara cut in. "Can't you just graciously take a compliment, hm?"
"Not if I don't consider it a compliment." I unfolded my legs and stood up, my mood was reaching rock bottom.
"Hm?"
"Luck won't last a life time unless you die young." I mumbled darkly as I left the room.
I wasn't too sure what I was doing; I just needed time to think by myself. Once I emerged into the corridor fear crept back into the corners of my mind. I was probably just freaking myself out with my overactive imagination; I guess I was expecting a demon to emerge from the shadows. I pressed my back against the cool stone wall so nothing could creep up on me from behind. I'm so paranoid.
Fear isn't an emotion that I like; some people may enjoy getting scared, and I'm not one of them. I was already depressed and now I was scared. Maybe I should have stayed inside the room and dealt with Deidara. No, I shouldn't push my problems on other people. Deidara had been being very kind, in his own way, and I snapped at him. I sank to my knees; now I felt guilty too.
I curled up, hugging my knees to my chest, and rocked back-and-forth. This was a rotten time to feel miserable about life. My overgrown bangs hid my eyes. I concentrated on trying to feel better, it was hard. Remembering happy times only made me feel more forlorn and it was uncomfortable to try to smile. I sat wallowing in despair.
Death was no longer a maybe- it was a certainty. Hopefully it would be a humane death; not some long torturous experience. Not likely, it was a cannibal and a person who didn't like me and had a sardonic reputation. Maybe I should commit suicide….just to be sure I had a quick death…
A steady arm wrapped around my shoulders. I didn't bother to look up; maybe Deidara had come to fetch me for execution. I saw through peripheral vision Deidara sitting along the wall next to me. I tried to smile but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. To my surprise he didn't try to break the silence with mindless chatter. Deidara just sat there in the gloom next to me, comforting and protecting me through a very dark hour in my life.
---A little while later ---
I blinked and woke up. Not waking up in the sense that I had been sleeping; I had finished thinking. Deidara's presence had stabilized my mind, stopping myself from panicking and considering outlandish things like suicide.
I had promised myself multiple times that I would go down fighting, and that I would return home to my friends. It's not my nature to ensure that I keep promises no matter what, but this was a time that I needed too. There was an agenda of things I planned to do in the next few years and death wasn't on the list.
I still had a good seventy years ahead of my let to live! I wanted to be an old lady one day and give cookies out to all the little children and to spend decades with the love of my life. I had a master scheme in life and the last thing on the list was to die an old lady- I adamantly refuse to be called an old lady at nineteen! Death is not an option!
Actually I had narrowed down the field of options to just one. Escape. Not just a minor run around the caves, but escape the underground altogether. I really loath being here; why couldn't they make a base in a tree instead of a cave? The Akatsuki Tree house- that would have made my stay with them much more enjoyable.
As I gave myself a mental pep rally Deidara was still calmly seated next to me. Too calmly. I waved a hand in front of his face- no reaction. I smiled lightly; he looked cute when he was asleep. Another wave of guilt washed over me, at some points he had been very nice too me. Carefully I slid out from under his arm. I tried to explain to myself that Deidara wasn't a good person- it didn't work very well. Sighing I admitted to myself that fine…I liked Deidara too much than was good for my health. Deidara stirred restlessly in his sleep, I froze. Unfortunately I froze facing him; the delinquent side of me bounced up and down, squealing.
I became torn between escaping and staying by Deidara for a little longer. Compromise was my solution. The lights continued to flicker casting their light in irregular patterns. To appease the lunatic in my mind I bent over and placed a quick kiss on Deidara's cheek before embarking on the most deranged self-assigned mission yet- escaping Akatsuki.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed it and that it made sense. Anyways please review for me; I'm pretty nervous about this chapter I didn't like the way it turned out, but I needed to get it off my shoulders. Thank you for all the lovely reviews I'm getting- I smile as I read and each and every one.
A nervous,
Terrier