I do not own any Naruto Characters, only Aka and Tanto.

Chapter 21

Kakuzu woke to the sound of twittering birds and the raspy snores of his bounty. He sat up and stretched. In the back of the cave Aka lay with her back to him. Kakuzu rubbed his eyes and stood. He felt his joints pop, releasing some of the tension from the previous night. Tanto was sleeping face down in the dirt. A cloud of dirt rose up in his face with an extra heavy exhale. He jumped awake coughing as he inhaled, choking on some of the dust. Kakuzu shook his head and went over the his partner. As he leaned down to shake her shoulder, he noticed how shallow and raspy her breathing was.

'She must be getting sick.' He thought. He shook her roughly, breaking her sleep. She stirred easily and glanced at him. Her purple eyes were bloodshot.

"K-Kakuzu-san?"

"Come on. We need to get to the drop off station today. Leader-sama requires our presence back at base." Kakuzu took a few steps away to collect Tanto.

"Okay." Aka sat up. Half of her face was covered in dirt. She dusted herself off and rubbed her eyes. She watched as Kakuzu double checked Tanto's bindings. From her kunai pouch, she took the second vial Sasori had sent her. She uncorked it and downed the clear liquid. Again it burned on its way down. Aka coughed quietly, attempting to stifle the involuntary reaction. Kakuzu glanced at her from the cave entrance before heading outside dragging a disgruntled Tanto behind him. She followed shortly trailing behind.

The trio travelled in silence. Tanto was gagged after an hour of non stop complaints, insults, and tauntings. Aka had frozen his lips shut as he was insulting Kakuzu's appearance and less than inviting personality. Now he sat glaring at Aka. She however kept her eyes on her feet. As the day was reaching high noon, Kakuzu stopped in front of another cave.

"Stay close. It's easy to get lost in these tunnels. I don't want to have to come back looking for you because you fell behind." Aka nodded and took her place beside him. He huffed and entered the dark cavern. They seemed to walk for miles underground, taking twists and turns. All the walls looked the same to Aka as she followed Kakuzu. Eventually a couple of voices could be heard up the tunnel. Kakuzu put a hand out to signal Aka to stop.

"Stay behind me. Do not say anything to anyone." Aka nodded. She adjusted her stride to where she remained by Tanto. He looked up at her. A hint of worry had actually crept into his face now. He was in the den of the beast. Aka never spared him a glance. They approached a steel door embedded into the rock wall. Three men stood in front of it. Their conversation halted as they noticed the newcomers. They watched as Kakuzu flashed a piece of paper at the pair of eyes staring through the opening in the door. A series of locks echoed through the tunnel and the door swung open on well greased hinges. On the other side was an enormous cavern. One side was lined with cages and lockers. On the other were a row of doors, each with a name emblazoned on it. Aka followed Kakuzu to the last door in the row. The name on the door read: Zangei. Kakuzu knocked three times before entering. A bald man, with a stitch like scar across his right eye and cheek looked up from a stack of papers.

"Ah, Kakuzu. It's been a while." Kakuzu nodded in greeting.

"And who have you brought me this time?" Zangei pulled a large binder from a drawer and began leafing through the current high bounties. Aka stood just inside the door, Tanto sitting on the floor beside her. His gag had been replaced with a piece of cloth, changed from Aka's icy wrapping. Zangei glanced at the pair accompanying his client before glancing up at the man himself.

"You've got a new partner I see. What happened to the last oaf you were paired with? Jori or something?"

"I killed him. And the one after that. They were both lacking in skills and intelligence."

Zangei chuckled as he stopped on a the page with Tanto's picture. His thick black eyebrows rose as he scanned the page.

"Ah, you've got the Bounty Hunter Killer. Says he's worth 50 million alive. Not usually your style."

"He's worth the money." Kakuzu shrugged. He retracted his threads, dragging Tanto across the floor. Zangei came from around the desk and examined the bound boy.

"He's scrawnier than I imagined." Tanto growled through the gag and bashed his head into Zangei's. The man fell back, his forehead bleeding.

"You little shit," he growled as he held his head, "There's some people that would love to get their hands on you, you little brat." He turned to Kakuzu.

"Now, Kakuzu. Shall we haggle?" Kakuzu nodded before turning to Aka.

"Wait outside. I'll be out soon." Aka nodded and left closing the door behind her.

It was quiet out in the cavern. There was a light murmur of voices as men and a few women conversed, recollecting past battles and hunts. Aka slid down the rocky wall and sat on the floor beside Zangei's door. The occasional passerby would glance at her but continued on their own business. She sat there for about five minutes listening to the deep muffled murmurs as Kakuzu and Zangei as they haggled over the price on Tanto's head.

Her head was starting to hurt. There was pressure building up behind her eyes and she was starting to get dizzy. She rubbed them and felt something wet on her hand. She looked down. The back of her hand was red and her sight started to blur. She inhaled sharply.

"Finally." She whispered to herself in relief. Suddenly a pained shout came from the office. Aka jumped up and burst through the door.

"You're cheating your best client, Zangei." Kakuzu growled. He towered over the bald man who looked up at him calmly.

"The book clearly states 50 million, old friend. Besides, any more and I'll be losing money."

"You haven't seen this boy in action. He's easily worth 60 million."

"Not according to the ones who want his head." Zangei retorted. Kakuzu growled. Tanto sat silently in the corner unconscious. Kakuzu had knocked him out again after he kicked Zangei in the shin. Kakuzu fixed the exchange master with his signature glare.

"Alright, fine. I can go to 53 million."

"57." Zangei looked at him in disbelief then sighed.

"You're one greedy bastard. 55." Kakuzu nodded and they shook hands. Zangei went to his safe to retrieve the agreed sum while Kakuzu stood at the desk waiting. Suddenly, Kakuzu felt a sharp pain through his chest. He shouted in pain and looked down. The point of a blade stuck through his chest. The steel was red. It had pierced his heart. The door to the room burst open slamming into the wall. He heard Aka gasp at the sight. The blade in his chest twisted before withdrawing. Kakuzu fell to his knees as he coughed up blood. His breathing grew heavy as his body reacted on its own to the wound. He turned his head glaring sidelong at his attacker. The man behind wore a Takigakure headband. The symbol was scratched through but Kakuzu recognized the man. He had once been a missing nin hunter that had tracked Kakuzu to Wind country. Kakuzu had easily dispatched the group leaving one member alive to return to the village with a message. That remaining member now stood behind him with a sword stained with his blood.

"Remember me?" the man growled his breath billowing out in a misty cloud. Kakuzu narrowed his eyes at the man and nodded.

"Good," the man growled, raising his sword, "Now die." The sword plummeted towards his neck. Kakuzu activated his earth spear jutsu, turning his skin black and impenetrable. A dull clink sounded. Kakuzu looked up to see Aka standing between him and his attacker, her arms encased in ice. One arm braced against the assassin's blade. She glared up at her partner's attacker. A cold aura radiated from her chilling everything nearby.

"How dare you harm my partner." Aka spun on the ball of her foot and tore through the man's torso with her free arm. His severed body fell in two pieces. Kakuzu pulled himself to his feet clutching his chest, blood leaking from between his fingers. His breathing was pained. Aka turned to him and gazed at him with bloody purple eyes full of concern. Kakuzu stared at her in surprise as he took in her condition. A streak of blood leaked from him left eye. The veins in both eyes were prominent. He could almost see them pulsing in time with her heartbeat.

"What-" he was cut off as three more men dropped into the room from the ceiling's air shafts. They all brandished swords of varying size and length. They all bore the symbol of Takigakure. Aka recognized them as the group from earlier standing outside the iron door.

"Kakuzu-san?" Aka turned her back to him, facing one of the new shinobi, brandishing her own make shift blades.

"I'm fine." Kakuzu stood to his full height, the hole in his chest stitched closed. One of the men looked down at their fallen comrade.

"Tokishi… You'll pay with your life you little bitch." Aka smirked and prepared for the imminent attack.