AN: I want to take a moment and thank every one who's commented on our story so far! Sakura and I love to read what you guys tell us! I'm so glad you all seem to be taking a liking to both Aina and Emi! So, we have another chapter for you! Chapter 13! YAY!
Chapter 13: Captain Kakuzu's Blasted Treasure!
"KAKUZU, KAKUZU!" Hidan yelled throughout the halls of the Akatsuki headquarters as he reached his partner in the family room. "KAKUZU!"
"For crying out loud, what?" the green-eyed man gave the Jashinist a glare.
"Lookie what I found here!" the silver-haired priest grinned, holding out a scroll.
Kakuzu just stared, unamused. "...A scroll. Whoop-dee-frickin'-doo."
"Oh, 'Kuzu," Hidan pouted. "Just look at it!" With another grin, he opened the scroll, revealing some odd marks and hyphened lines.
"A dot-to-dot," Kakuzu's patience started to grow thinner. "Have fun with that. I hope your mental capacity can at least handle something that trivial."
"Ouch!" Hidan's face twisted, a little hurt. "You just love making fun of me, don't you?"
"I like to list it as a past-time."
"You are just hopeless aren't you! Here I am showing you a treasure map, and you want to hurl insults at me? Wow, I thought money was more important to you than me..."
Kakuzu perked up. "Wait, let me see that again..." he tore the map from the priest.
"Hm, figures as much...mention money, and he's your best friend."
"What do you think the odds are that there is gold in this treasure?"
"I dunno...aren't most treasures full of gold?"
"This is true...I say we go treasure hunting!" the miser jumped out of his seat, preparing to depart.
"Gar," Hidan grinned, pretending to sound like a pirate.
"A treasure hunt?" Aina beamed as Hidan explained what was going on to her, Emi, and the two artisans.
"Where did you find a treasure map?" Sasori questioned, studying the scroll.
"In the attic!"
The group paused, just staring at the priest.
"That just sounds a little suspicious... un..." Deidara mumbled, being skeptical.
"There could be all sorts of things in an attic!" Aina chimed.
"Since when did we have an attic...?" Emi wondered, trying to remember ever coming across a door of some kind that she hadn't been through.
"Ah, right, you never did see the rest of HQ, did you?" Sasori chuckled. "Then again, we have many hide-outs, so it's no wonder."
"So, will you guys join Kakuzu and I?" Hidan pleaded, a puppy pout on his face.
"I don't see why not!" Aina grinned, obviously excited to go on a treasure hunt.
Emi nodded. "It sounds like fun!"
"I suppose I could..." Sasori replied.
"Dei-Dei?" the green-haired kunoichi looked over at her boyfriend. "Are you coming too?"
In turn, the blond glanced at his energizer bunny of a girlfriend. Her eyes were shining that chocolate brown again. "It sounds stupid, but I guess I have no choice, un," he sighed.
"Yay!"
"Hmm," Kakuzu studied intently on the map. "This looks like a cliff..."
"Really?" Hidan asked, looking over his shoulder. "It looks like a nose..."
"Any cliff would look like a nose!"
"Do we go there first?" Emi asked.
The zombie brothers looked again.
"Would make sense..." Sasori broke the small silence. "It looks like the second obstacle for us is what looks like a hill."
"That sounds so exiting, un," Deidara mused sarcastically.
"Then are we to the treasure?" Hidan shouted.
"No, looks like there's a third thing...a river," the miser pointed to a line that ran across the paper. "Then I think we are to the treasure."
"Ok, then let's go!" the silver-haired priest headed for the door. "You guys coming?"
"Sure!" Aina followed after him. "Come, Deidara!" she grabbed his wrist, dragging him with her.
"I'm coming, Aina! Un..."
"Shall we be going too, Sasori no Danna?" Emi looked up to him, a small smile on her face.
The scorpion returned the smile. "I believe we shall."
"There better be a very, VERY good treasure at the end of this..." Kakuzu muttered as he followed the group.
It had been a few minutes or so of walking and venturing the area, on the look out for said cliffs that they were meant to find. It wasn't until Deidara realized something.
"Hey... this area seems familiar... un..."
"Familiar?" Sasori questioned before taking a good look around. "Hm.. I suppose so..."
"Wait, isn't this where you two had your artistic battle?" Emi asked.
"Heh heh, and Sasori totally kicked your-"
"Aina! Un!" Deidara grumbled, earning a giggle from said girl.
"Goodness, did you really think I was going to say something else?"
"No, just didn't want you to mention it, un!"
"Alright then!"
"So is there a clue of some form?" Sasori asked aloud, looking at his surroundings.
Kakuzu hummed thoughtfully. "I would guess there is. Does it really matter though?"
"Of course it does!" Hidan grinned, hanging an arm around Kakuzu's shoulders. "It's a map after all! They're not gonna let us get the dang treasure that easily!"
"Hands off."
"Hm? Say what now, buddy?"
The zombie's eye suddenly twitched, irritated by his partner. "I said, 'hands off,'" he growled, taking the priest by the wrist and throwing him over his shoulder into the side of the cliff.
"AGH! Man, why did you freaking do that?" Hidan shouted, rubbing the side of his head after having landing in said spot. "'Kuzu, you're so-" Abruptly, the silver-haired man cut his sentence short, purple eyes staring at the cliff-side. "Hey...! Take a look at this!"
"What is it?" Sasori walked over to see what he was looking at. In the rock and dirt was what looked like carving. "Are those words?" he asked.
"Looks like it!" Aina grinned, having joined the two, followed by Emi and Deidara.
"'I am one who loves to tempt, I am one who has never slept, I am everywhere but nowhere in sight, I constantly work to win a fight. I am your brother. Who am I?'" Deidara read. "What kind of silly question is that, un?"
"It's a riddle, baka," the red-head replied.
"I know that, Danna! Un!"
"So, then, what's the answer?" Aina pondered.
"That's what we have to find out." Kakuzu looked over the words, thinking on them. He had to admit, as stupid as it sounded, it really was one to stump the solver.
"Hmmm..." Hidan tapped a finger on his lip. He stood there a few minutes, thinking, though, his face started to show just how hard his train of thought was running. "AH HA! I GOT IT!" he suddenly shouted, making everyone jump. "I SAY IT'S JASHIN!"
Everyone just stared.
Deidara was first to speak up. "How does that even make sense, un?"
"Because he's exactly like that!" he cried proudly.
"But is he your brother?" Sasori emphasized, causing Hidan to pause on his almost started rant on how Jashin fits perfectly to the riddle.
"...No...?"
"It's obviously not Jashin," the stitched man sighed. "It's someone else."
"But who...?" Aina asked, still wondering.
"Um, guys?" Emi finally spoke after a good time of thinking.
"Hm? Yes, Emi?"
"I think Hidan is actually on the right train of thought for this riddle," she stated.
"You really think so?" Hidan's face brightened, suddenly bringing her into a bear hug. "Emi, you're the best! You're the only one who believes me!"
"Eh, er.. Hi-Hidan..." Emi struggled to get out of his bear hug no jutsu. "I-I only said you were on the right track..."
"Then would you mind telling us, Emi?" Sasori glared at the Jashinist, forcing his arms away from the girl. "If you think you have the solution, that is."
"Well..." she looked up at him and the others, then glanced at the riddle. "I think it may be the devil."
"The devil?" Deidara's brow raised slightly. "What makes you think that, un?"
"Well, the devil is similar to Jashin, is he not?" she started, making a point. "The only thing that didn't fit Jashin was the last part of the riddle. But I remember hearing from some people that the devil is also a son of God, as we are children of God; therefore, that would make him our brother, right?"
"That... actually makes more sense, un," the blond blinked. He didn't believe in such things, but from a religious perspective, it did make sense.
"Ok, so we have the riddle solved," Aina began, "but what does the devil have to do with our treasure hunt?"
"Good question!" Hidan shouted. "Guess we'll just have to go to the next place and get the next clue!" He began marching off.
Kakuzu looked at the map, then to the Jashinist. "Um...you know you're going the wrong way, right?"
The silver haired man paused, then quickly turned around, walking right in the middle of the group. "Of course I did! Some one's gotta keep you on your toes!"
"Let's head to the next place!" Aina ran after him.
"Un!" the blond bomber quickly followed.
Sasori let out a sigh. "Guess we'd better go too."
"Yeah," Emi smiled to him, walking beside him. "This is kind of amusing, though."
"Tis true."
A while later, the group finally found their next destination. A hill. It was actually quite the striking scene for a simple hill. A bed of flowers blanketed the whole of the hill, over the lush green grass. Butterflies and other such insects fluttered and crawled their way around the area.
"Wow," Deidara said blandly. "What a scene, un."
"Well, I think it's beautiful!" Aina retorted. "You don't see views like this every day!"
"You're right!" Emi smiled. "It looks very peaceful here!"
"NEXT CLUE!" Hidan yelled, running around in the field of flowers in attempt to look for said hint. "NEXT CLUE, NEXT CLUE!"
"You're just as bad as Tobi, Hidan!" Kakuzu scowled.
"So where do you think it is then?" the red-head puchinello questioned, staring at the flowers.
"Not sure. We should take a look around, I suppose, un," Deidara suggested and started to look around with everyone.
"Maybe you should look from above, Deidara," the green-haired ninja suggested.
"I can do that, un!" the blond quickly reached into his clay pouches, creating a clay bird. "Wanna come?" he extended a hand to her.
She smiled to him. "Sure,"
The two ninja began for the skies, leaving the others on the ground.
"Think they'll actually find anything?" Kakuzu asked, looking at the map yet again.
"Pfft! There's probably another riddle written somewhere," Hidan began to walk around. "Where are you, you blasted clue?"
"Whoa! Everything's so small!" Aina grinned, looking over the edge of the bird.
"Pretty cool, isn't it, un?"
"Yeah." She began to scan for anything that would be helpful.
"~I can show you the world..." the blond began to sing, "shining, shimmering, splendid...tell me, Princess, now when did you last let your heart decide~?"
The green-haired girl began to giggle. "I didn't know you sang!"
"Heh heh...I don't sing very much, un..."
"You should sing more, you sound very nice."
Deidara felt his cheeks burn at the compliment. "Arigatou, un,"
Her eyes found themselves looking at the field of flowers along the hill-side. After a moment, she came to a realization. "Deidara...?"
"Un?"
"Look," she pointed to the field.
"What of it, un?"
"Doesn't it look like...a duck?"
"Huh?" he looked harder. "Well, I suppose it does look like a yellow duck, un."
"We should tell the others!"
"Un!"
As the two landed, the others gathered to them.
"Find anything?" Hidan asked.
"Well, I think we found a duck, un."
"Huh?" the Jashinist looked puzzled.
"Are you guys feeling ok?" Sasori questioned.
Emi reached a hand onto Deidara's forehead, pushing his forehead protector out of the way. "He seems ok..."
"No, we mean the flowers look like a duck from the sky." Aina added. "It's a yellow duck."
"That's...not bizzare or anything..." Kakuzu sighed.
"So, we have the devil and a duck for clues..." the silver-haired man began to think.
"Both start with 'D!'" the green-haired girl chimed in.
"This is true...but what will this have to do with the treasure, un?"
"I don't, maybe we need the third clue...we're heading to one more location before the treasure, right?" Emi offered.
"Sure!" Hidan began to march again. "Off to the next place!"
Kakuzu fought back a groan. "Do you even know where you're going?"
"Nope! But that's what we have you for, right? So, where am I going?"
"That way," He pointed to his right.
"Ok, here we go!"
As the priest marched off, Kakuzu began the other direction.
"Um, Kakuzu," Sasori started, "didn't you say it was that way?"
"It's what I said, but I can lie..."
Emi blinked a couple times, her purple-blue eyes looking back and forth between the 'Zombie Brothers.' "Shouldn't we tell Hidan...?"
"No, I think it'll be better without him." Sasori gently grabbed her wrist bringing her to follow Kakuzu.
Aina let out a small laugh. "Poor Hidan..."
"Serves him right, annoying Kakuzu all the time, un.."
"So this is the river, eh?" Kakuzu mumbled as he looked to the body of water and back at the map. "Alright. Where's the next clue...?"
"I guess we'll have to look around again," Aina replied.
Emi was next to question. "But where to look...?"
"Everywhere, I suppose, un," the blond said.
"Well, let's get looking, then," the red-head said as he started to look around.
After a good while, the treasure hunters decided to take a short rest.
"Goodness, this is hard!" Emi found a spot on a rock and sat herself down on it.
"With every adventure comes challenges, I say!" Aina grinned in attempt to lighten up the mood.
The miser sighed. "Very annoying challenges. Juvenile."
"They're not juvenile!" the green-haired kunoichi argued. "I think they're fun!"
"Then you're juvenile too."
"I'm eighteen!"
"And I'm your great grandpa," he replied sarcastically.
Deidara blinked thoughtfully. "He could be... un..."
"I'm not."
"But you're, what, ninety-frickin'-one years old?" Hidan pointed out.
"Shut up." Kakuzu's green eyes then blinked. "Wait, where did you come from?"
"Everywhere, but nowhere," he grinned.
"Ugh, you're just like Tobi!"
"I'm worse though. He may be the plague, but I hurt people!"
"Hey..." Sasori suddenly spoke up. "What's this?"
"Hm? What is it, Danna?" Emi asked, getting up to see what he was staring at.
"This," he pointed to the water. Oddly enough, the foam on the side of the river next to a few water-submerged trees, seemed to make shapes. And not just any...
"Numbers? And a word?" Emi's eyebrow raised, trying to make the shapes out.
"Looks like it..."
Deidara and Aina were next to join them, leaving the other two to bicker.
"'Upside-down, 6-3-1?'" He blinked. "What kind of hint is that, un?"
"Who knows?"
"Looks like we'll just have to find out!" Aina chimed.
"But what could it be?"
"Maybe it's a code, un?"
"But how would it fit with the other two clues?"
"Good question!" Hidan yelled, now having joined the group.
"Maybe the numbers and word stand for something?" the money-loving zombie suggested.
Emi tapped her chin lightly with a finger. "Let's see... The clues we have are 'Devil,' 'Duck,' and 'Upside-down, 6-3-1'..."
Aina pondered on these hints and stared ahead of her. "Hmm... There are three trees here..."
"So what?" Kakuzu raised an eyebrow. "What has that got to do with anything?"
"I dunno," she shrugged with a smile.
Emi then blinked. "Wait a minute... You said three trees?"
"Yes, I did!"
"Hmmm..."
"Are you on to something, Emi?" Sasori questioned the purple-haired girl.
"...Hey, isn't the Devil's number six?" she suddenly asked.
Deidara blinked. "I suppose so, un."
"...What if the treasure was right around here?"
Everyone stared.
"What do you mean?" Hidan asked.
"Well... There's a six in the hint. And the Devil's number is six. There's three trees here," she pointed to said trees, "and there's one treasure."
"Ok," Kakuzu trailed off, a bit baffled. "What's that got to do with anything? And what about the other hints?"
"Well, the Devil's number is six, there's three trees, and one treasure. So, that leaves 'Duck' and 'Upside-down,' correct?"
"I suppose so," Aina answered, trying to figure out the medic's logic.
"Don't ducks turn upside-down to get their food?" she implied.
Sasori frowned in confusion. "I guess, but we're not quite following..."
Emi suddenly smiled, hitting a confident epiphany. "Then the answer is in the clues! I think the treasure is upside-down!"
"Ok, now you've really lost me," Hidan complained.
"Oh, gomen! I mean... I think the treasure is underwater!"
"Underwater?" Deidara repeated. "How does this make sense, un?"
"The devil lives "down-under" and his number is six, ducks turn upside-down in the water to get their food, there are three trees practically underwater, and overall, the numbers probably are a code to the treasure! I would think that the treasure is underwater, near these trees!" she explained.
"I.. I think I understand where you're coming from," Aina smiled, still trying to hit that brick wall of understanding.
"Then who's going to retrieve it, if it's even there, un?"
"I say Hidan goes!" Kakuzu abruptly spouted.
"Huh? Why me?" Hidan turned to his partner in disbelief.
"Because idiots can't drown," he replied.
"Don't you mean 'catch a cold?'"
"Same diff."
Hidan groaned, knowing he wasn't going to win this fight even if he tried. "Fine. I'll go get the blasted treasure." He took his cloak and shoes off as he said this, tossing them aside and headed towards the river. "If I get pulled into the current, I'm going to blame you, 'Kuzu."
"That's perfectly fine with me," he replied. "You would be stuck in there anyways, so no one would hear your spouting."
The silver-haired man sighed, muttering something about how mean the old zombie man was being and finally dived into the river. The others stood there quietly, waiting.
"So, what made you come up with such an answer?" Sasori looked down at the purple-blue-eyed girl.
"I tend to stay fascinated with the mystery genre," she replied with a smile.
"Hm. I see..."
A minute passed, and then two...and still there was no sign of the Jashinist.
"You think he's ok...?" Aina puzzled.
"He'll be fine, he probably managed to get lost," the miser reassured.
"Maybe we should check on him, un." Deidara reached into his pouch, producing another bird. "At the very least we can get the treasure up here, un."
"Feel free to leave him down there," Kakuzu suggested as Deidara flew down.
"I'll think about it, un!"
As the blond flew down to the river, the silver haired man popped his head above the surface. "I found it!" He shouted.
"Good, I'm coming, un!" As Deidara swooped down, the claws of the bird grabbed Hidan with the treasure chest, bringing them back to the others.
"You just had to bring him back..." the stitched man sighed.
"Well, it was easier if I got both of them. Anyways, here's the treasure, un!"
"Let's open it up, then!" Aina ran over to the treasure chest. "Aw...it has a lock on it."
"It looks like a tree..." Sasori pondered the lock.
"Try three." Emi peered over the green-haired girl's shoulder.
"Ok." She turned a little dial on the side till the number three showed up, then a small click was heard. "How did you know that would work?"
"There are three trees down there, so I figured the number was probably three."
"Makes sense."
"Well, let's get this opened!" Hidan, now free of the bird's claws opened the top of the treasure chest.
All stood around, watching the lid open. Everyone stared at the contents, different facial expressions on all of them.
"Are...are those..." Deidara started.
"Rubber ducks?" Kakuzu finished for him. "What...sort of treasure is THAT?"
Sasori burst out into laughter, leaving everyone to stare at him confused. "I can't believe we went through all of that for a box of rubber ducks...that look like devils!"
Emi looked to the red rubber ducks, then back to the scorpion. She too began to laugh. "This is quite the interesting find!"
"What am I going to do with this?" Kakuzu began to reach his boiling point. "Hidan..." the miser growled, walking closer to the Jashinist.
"Wait...what are you doing, 'Kuzu?" he slowly stepped back out of fear.
"You lead us on this stupid chase! I'll bet you knew the whole time, didn't you?"
"I didn't, I swear!"
It was too late for him to argue back. Kakuzu swung his arm forward, striking the silver-haired man under his chin. Hidan flew into the sky, disappearing in the clouds.
"I'm going home!" the miser stomped off.
Silence fell onto the group as they watched the stitched-man leave.
"I don't ever want to be on his bad side, un..." the blond stated.
Aina blinked her eyes. "Me either..."
Suddenly, a cry was heard. Everyone looked up to see a black dot in the sky begin to grow, slowly taking form. Hidan crashed into the ground, creating a massive crater.
"Ow..." he groaned.
"Hidan!" Emi ran to the crater, looking down on the Jashinist.
"I think he needs help." Aina stood next to Emi, before jumping into the crater.
"That...kinda hurt...bad!" Hidan managed.
"Don't worry, Emi and I will help you."
As the two medic ninja cared for Hidan, Sasori and Deidara looked at the treasure chest.
"So, what are we gonna do with this?" Sasori asked the blond.
The bomber shrugged his shoulders. "Tobi might like them. It'd distract him for a while, un."
"So we'll take it back?"
"Why not? Worst case, Kakuzu can sell them on Ebay."
"Sounds good to me."
Finally getting home, the group found themselves plopping onto the couch, Hidan setting the treasure box down. It was quite a long day.
"Oh! Sempai, Sempai!" a certain irritatingly bubbly voice called from the side of the room. "What did you find?"
"Hey, Tobi," Deidara replied with a tired sigh. "We got you something, un."
"A present for me?" his eye seemed to gleam from behind his mask quite brightly. "You got me a present, Sempai?"
"Not really, more like we just found it and thought you'd like it, un."
"YAAAY! A present for Tobiiii!" the masked man chimed as he ran over to the treasure chest, opening it easily. "Happy Tobi is happy!"
Everyone blinked, perking up in confusion.
"Tobi?" Aina blinked in question. "How did you get that open so easily?"
Said man opened the chest, revealing the many rubber devil duckies, picking one up and squeezing it as it made a squeak. "Ah! It was easy!"
"How?" Sasori was next to question the man.
He giggled to himself in amusement. "You are all silly. This is my treasure chest!"
"WHAT?" The group seemed to gasp.
"Yeah! I lost the map to my treasure quite a while ago. I've been looking for it for months! Where did you find it?"
"The... the attic..." Hidan managed to say.
"Oh! I should have known I put it up there! Silly me~!" Tobi giggled again.
"That... was... your treasure...?" a voice sounded from behind the orange-masked Tobi.
He turned to meet the ferocious face of the miser, Kakuzu. "Oh! 'Kuzu-sempai! Yes, it is my treasure!"
"What... kind of treasure..." his voice was low, head lowered so one couldn't see his eyes, "is that?"
"My collection of rubber, squeaky devil duckies!" Tobi seemed to smile.
"You..." Suddenly, the miser's head shot up, green eyes gleaming with pure demonic evil as he grabbed at Tobi's garb. "YOU'RE THE ONE TO BLAME!"
"EEEK! Gomen nasai! Gomen nasai, Sempai! Sempai!" Tobi writhed and wriggled as he hung a good foot off the floor. He glanced at Deidara then as he continued to wiggle. "Sempai! Sempai, help me!"
"Eh, I don't know," Deidara mused, relaxing against the couch, his arm around his green-haired girlfriend. "I kind of like watching you squirm, un."
"SEMPAI!"
"This doesn't seem like it's going to end well," Sasori stated thoughtfully, picking up the remote. "I think I'll watch some T.V..."
AN: Who would have thought Tobi to have the mental capacity to create such a treasure hunt? I sure didn't...well, anyways, let us know what you thought of this chapter! Or chapters before, we don't care! Look forward to more from us soon! We're only on chapter 13 anyways...so much more to write! Leave us a note! ~Nino and Sakura!