Chapter Twenty: Cat Out of the Bag

Author's Note: Okay guys...this may be the last update you'll get for a long while. I just learned that my dad wants to divorce my mom and it's really hard on me. And right now I just wanna not do anything. So, please enjoy this chapter; I tried to make it funny. Also, thank you all for the reviews, views, favorites, and alerts. I really do appreciate them :)

The last base Dariru had been in had been carved from the stone of a cave. There had been barely any forms of décor and furniture unless one went inside the members' rooms or the kitchen. Its lack of heating and air conditioning had made the place either too hot or too cold for anyone to get properly acclimated to. There had even been a lack of artificial lights, but that was something anyone could get used to; however, it had made the place seem more bleak and dreary. When she was told she could take the blindfold off, the girl was half-expecting the same sort of environment and so were the men.

Boy were they wrong...

Pein had invested a lot of money to this base. Instead of uneven stone walls and floors, there were nicely polished wooden floors and even earth-toned painted walls. Compared the outside world, the temperature was very comfortable, and there were even good light bulbs installed in the ceiling. There was more furniture strewn about the room they were standing in and it all looked very comfortable. But just like the old base, there were three hallways at the opposite end of the room. But to their right was another hallway, which Dariru could only assume had something new at the end of it.

The first words that came out of Deidara's mouth were the words that were on everyone's mind. "Kakuzu's gonna be piiiiissed, hm."

Sasori wandered to the far end of the room in order to get out of his giant puppet. Deidara ran down the hallway that was to their right, wanting as much as Dariru to see where it lead. Though she wanted to explore the new base, she also wanted to stay close to Kisame. If the base was new then surely there were more surprises in store other than modernized decorating. It would be best to get lost with someone she trusted and wouldn't mind getting lost with.

Deidara came running back from the hall and skidded to a stop right in front of the two. An excited smile was plastered on his face. "You guys have got to check this out, yeah!" He pointed back down the hall, "We've got a training room!" Without waiting, the blonde man rushed down the illuminated hall, forgetting all about the people he had invited to join him.

Kisame shrugged and said, "Might as well check it out now." He might leave us alone if we do...the man added as he and Dariru followed the excited blonde man. At the end of the hall was an open door, revealing a small preview of what the room contained. So far the couple only saw red mats placed all over the floor and even against the walls like some strange insane asylum. The thought of Pein installing a cushioned room in the Akatsuki base made Dariru wonder if this was really something more for Tobi than the rest of the organization's members.

When they entered, her theory was proven wrong. There were multiple punching bags of varying size and color hanging from the ceiling by their heavy chains. Weights were lined up neatly against the wall and there was even a large portion of the room left empty, giving enough room for anyone who wished to practice their forms or meditate. A large variety of weapons were on a rack against the red cushioned wall, immediately drawing Kisame's attention. He pulled a long sword from its holding and examined it expertly. Dariru watched him as he ran a hand across the blade like one would pet a cat. She noticed the excitement in his eyes dwindle away to disappointment; there must have been something wrong with the blade.

Kisame turned to Deidara, who was to busy picking up the various weights, testing to see how much weight he could pick up without much of a strain. "Hey, Deidara!" The blue man called out to the blonde, who looked up just in time to see the sword flying through the air towards him. With a startled cry, the young man ducked and the sword's blade bent inward from the contact of the cushioned wall before it fell to the floor. Dariru's hands had flown up to her mouth when she had seen the sword fly, but then her brow furrowed in confusion. The sword should have pierced through the cushioning, not bend. It didn't take her long to realize the weapon was fake.

Of course, Deidara was too busy trying to calm his racing heart to notice the blade was harmless. "What the fucking hell, un!?" He hollered at the grinning blue man, "I could have DIED you know, yeah!? If I died, hm, Pein-sama would kick your ass, un!"

"I don't think he would," Kisame replied, unable to stop the growing grin on his face as he showed off his pointed teeth. "Scold me? Yes. Kill me? Not so much." The situation was making Dariru laugh, though she was trying to hold it back. She should have known Kisame would not have thrown a real sword at his teammates.

With a glare, Deidara turned his attention towards the giggling girl before turning back to the blue man. A mischievous grin appeared on the young man's face, "Oh, I see what you're doin', un. You're trying to impress the girl, yeah!"

Kisame was making his way out of the room when he replied, "How do you know I haven't already?" Dariru grinned on the inside, knowing exactly what he had meant, while Deidara just flipped the older man the bird when his back was turned. The girl followed her lover out of the training room, only to be greeted by an aggravated looking Kakuzu.

The first thing Kisame said was, "Don't go in there Kakuzu-san. You'll just get madder."

An angry grumble came from the tan man's throat, his giant hands clenching into fists as he began to mumble something about "going over budget" before turning to Dariru. "Pein-sama wants to talk to you." Everything in her body stopped for a split second, including her surroundings. Why did the leader want to see her? Had she done something wrong?

With a shaky nod, she said, "Okay."

Kakuzu turned his back and began to lead her away from the training room. When Kisame tried to follow them, a stitched hand pushed him back and the man snarled, "Pein-sama wants to see her alone." The blue man gritted his teeth but he backed down. He knew Dariru had done nothing wrong, so surely Pein was not asking for her just to kill her.

Right?

Her every step was nervous and shaky; her heart pounded relentlessly against her chest as it pumped adrenaline through her blood-filled veins. What did the leader want from her? She had not done anything wrong! Unless having sex with one of the organization's members is a crime against the criminal's code...then she may as well drop dead now.

Kakuzu stopped in front of a nicely polished door and knocked gently. There had been a silent answer, for the man opened the door and stepped out of the way. With a deep breath, Dariru entered the leader's room before her escort closed the door behind her.

The layout was very similar to the room in the old base. The only difference was the floor and furniture. Gray linoleum tiles had been installed and there was only one rug to cover the bare floor. The bed looked brand new and it did not have as many heavy blankets on it anymore. Pein's desk was a red color, the wood looking smooth and polished. The man sitting at the desk definitely looked more at home than he had in his previous living quarters.

Dariru stood perfectly still, her eyes staring at the man's forehead instead of the gray ringed eyes; figuring that she may lose her soul if she looked at him in the eye. Pein stared at the girl like she were a problem that needed to be solved. The first problem he noticed was her lack of a blindfold.

"Why aren't you wearing the blindfold?" He asked as calmly as he could.

"B-because...I thought I was allowed t-to take it off when I got to the, uh, base. Sir." She added quickly, now realizing what her mistake might have been.

Hands slammed on the red desk as the man shot up from his chair, "DID I TELL YOU IT COULD BE REMOVED WHEN YOU GOT TO THE BASE!?" Her recoil was an amusing sight to the orange-haired man; it made him feel like he was in control of the situation.

"N-no...sir," She managed to say, her eyes looking everywhere else but him.

"Then what made you THINK you could take it off when you got here!?" Again, she seemed to shrink away from him, as if being on the other side of the room weren't far enough away. There was no answer from her for a long time, making the man chuckle to himself. He had scared the words out of her mouth.

With a shaky breath, the girl finally responded, "I...I don't know, Sir."

Though he really wanted to teach this girl a lesson with a fist, he didn't. Unlike the other members in the organization, Pein had to control himself when it came to physical violence. Before the moving process had even begun he had wanted to just kill off the new girl. She would have been nothing more than extra baggage, and that was the last thing the organization needed. However, his woman, Konan, was a little attached to this girl; and if he harmed her in any way that made Konan unhappy, he would never hear the end of it. Not to mention the fact that he wouldn't get laid for months. Sure he could just go to a whorehouse like most sexually frustrated men do, but he did not like wearing condoms. It made his extra piercings feel uncomfortable, and the last thing he needed on his agenda was on how to deal with a STD.

With a sigh, he tried to release all of his anger, sitting back down in the comfortable chair. "Did you ever take the blindfold off during the travel?"

She shook her head confidently, "No, Sir."

He raised a suspicious eyebrow, "Did Kisame ever remove your blindfold during the travel?" At the mention of the shark-man's name, Pein saw a small blush appear on the girl's cheeks. It didn't surprise him; in fact, he knew about the relationship between Kisame and Dariru. Konan had told him everything the moment she had found out the girl had lost her virginity to the blue guy.

"No he did not, Sir." Dariru answered. There were no traces of falsity in her tone or in her expression. It was the truth.

That much seemed to have calmed him down. Pein closed his eyes and began to fiddle with one of his eyebrow piercings. "I suppose you've noticed how nice this new base is?"

She nodded, "Yes Sir. It looks very nice."

He smirked inwardly at the subtle brown-nosing. "Good. Now, Konan has been complaining to me about how filthy most of the men are around here. They also tend to skip meals because they don't have the time to make it themselves, or they're just too damn lazy. I can't really force them to do either since it may hinder their ability to do their real jobs properly. So that's why you're going to do their laundry and cook for them, starting tomorrow."

It felt like someone had just punched Dariru square in the face. First Tobi and now this!? Were she in any position to complain, she would; however, it was because of this insane man's generosity that she was still alive. If she wanted to stay that way, she would just grit her teeth and bear it. And if any of the men started giving her trouble, she would make sure to think of something to get back at them.

With a slight bow of the head, she said, "Yes Sir. But...what about Tobi, Sir?" She wasn't sure if she could watch over the energetic boy and do chores at the same time. Tobi was the kind of case that required undivided attention if one were to keep him under control.

Pein seemed to have frozen for a split second before saying, "Tobi will not always be in the base. But when he is, he will be your top priority. Understand?" A wave of relief went over her, glad that the leader understood how much trouble the masked boy could be. But why wouldn't the boy be at the base? She thought for sure that the organization as a whole would want to keep a close eye on him.

"But if he's not in the base," She started, her curious brain taking over her speech, "then where else could he be?"

"That is none of your business woman!" Pein snapped, immediately shutting down the rest of the girl's curiosity. "You're dismissed." The girl did not hesitate and left the moment the words came out of his mouth.

Now that she was out of that frightening man's office, the girl's mind began to buzz around with questions. How exactly would she go about collecting laundry from the men? No doubt it would trigger a prank or relentless teasing from them, except maybe Kisame; but even her blue lover might pull a joke or two at her new position. She wouldn't mind the joking coming from him, just so long as he didn't make it too much of a habit. In fact, some of the guys may not even believe her when she will tell them of her new job. Perhaps one word about Pein assigning it to her would make them believe?

There was also Tobi...Pein had said that the boy would not always be in the base. Where else could the boy be? Visiting his parents? Of course, that was assuming he had any. Then again, he is a part of the Akatsuki organization, which was still hard for the young girl to believe; so, perhaps he would be on missions? But what for? He had never been sent on any missions back at the old base. Why now all of a sudden?

As she made her way back to the entry room, something wrapped itself around her shoulders before squeezing tightly. Had it not been for the excited shriek of the masked boy, Dariru would have thought she was being attacked. "DARIRU-KUN!" Surprisingly, he lifted her up from the ground, still keeping a firm hold on her arms. Since when was he capable of such strength? "Tobi missed Dariru-kun lots and lots!"

She tried to smile nicely, but it came out more as a pained grin as he kept squeezing her tighter. "T-Tobi?" She managed out.

The boy's grip loosened a little, "Hm?"

"Could you put me down, please?" At her request, he put her down and released the hold he had on her little arms. She took a relieved breath and pulled at the bottom of her tank-top, noticing that some of it had risen up when the boy had ambushed her. "Thank you."

Even though he was wearing a mask, she could tell he was smiling like an idiot. "Do you like the new base Dariru-kun? Tobi does!" She nodded in agreement. This new base was nicer than the last one; it actually seemed like a dangerous gang lived in it rather than a couple of lowly thieves. Gloved hands grasped her wrist and began to shake her arm up and down in time with his excited jumping. "Dariru-kun and Tobi should go look at the kitchen! Pein-san says its really nice and clean!"

As he began to pull her in the direction of the kitchen, Dariru gave him a nervous smile. The boy had not referred to Pein as 'sama'. Maybe it was just a little slip up? "Uh, Tobi?" She questioned, but he did not falter in his steps. "Don't you mean 'Pein-sama' instead of 'Pein-san'?"

Tobi had stopped so abruptly that she almost ran into him. The grip on her wrist tightened, not with the fear of possibly losing her, but with anger. What was going on between the leader and Tobi? However, the grip loosened the moment it had tightened. The boy turned to face her and replied happily, "Of course! Tobi is sorry. Sometimes Tobi forgets about the little things." Had his face been showing, he would have been smiling. But even Dariru would notice that the smile was forced and fake.

Now she was positive that something was going on between Pein and Tobi. Whatever it was, Dariru did not want to get caught in the middle of it. She hadn't even seen Pein completely angry, and it was a sight she never wanted to see. Not to mention the fact that Tobi might have some weird hidden power; why else would a child-brained man be allowed in such a dangerous group? Unless he was related to one of the members, but there was no way that could grant him immunity. Then again, the only reason she was alive was because Kisame had taken an interest in her and all she had to do was keep the masked boy in line and do a couple of household chores.

For an organization of S-ranked criminals, it was pretty easy-going when it came to letting people stay in their group. Not that she didn't mind, but it was still a bit surprising.

When they reached the kitchen, most of the other members were already in the freshly cleaned and polished eating room. Kakuzu was sitting at the long rectangular table, going through some papers of what Dariru assumed were possible bounties. Itachi was trying to figure out how to work the new coffee machine with Deidara hovering over his shoulder, barking out suggestions on how to work the device properly. Hidan was looking through all of the cupboards, pantries, and refrigerator; obviously trying to find something edible for him to munch on.

The silver-haired Jashinist slammed the stainless-steel door of the freezer close before shouting out. "Where the fuck is my cereal!?"

Even Zetsu was in the room, for his lighter side spoke up, "All of the food has been restocked. Maybe it was pushed into the back of the pantry?" "Stop raising his hopes." The angry, deep voice of the plant man's darker side snarled, "Pein-sama only restocked the necessary food items. If you want your cereal, go out and buy it yourself, prick."

"Jashin fucking damn it!" Hidan screamed, pounding a fist on the brand new counter. "He did it on purpose! That pierced bastard threw my cereal out on purpose! Mother fucking, son of a bitch!"

Dariru had no idea what it was that possessed her to speak up, "I could uh...cook something for you?"

Hidan shot her a suspicious glare while Deidara perked up. "Oi! What about the rest of us, hm? If you're gonna feed one, you gotta feed the rest, un!" Hidan seemed to grin happily at her distressed look as the men in the room stared at her expectantly. Children. All of them were children. Except Tobi...he was more of a toddler. The rest? Children. Spoiled, little, hungry children.

"I'll see what there is to cook with," She sighed, walking towards the pantry as the others resumed in their previous activities. Tobi followed her and stood back as she rummaged through the various cans and bags. "Let's see..." she mumbled, pulling out a can of black olives. "No," she put the can back before pulling out another one, "No...no...definitely not...hmmm..." she stared at a can of re-fried beans as if it held a memory. "Tobi?" The boy immediately stood at attention. "Could you see if there's another can of this in there?" She handed him the can and he nodded.

While he began to search for a matching can, Dariru went to the freezer and opened it. After pulling out a bag of frozen spinach, she found a tube-shaped meat wrapped in a thin layer of plastic labeling. It was frozen ground turkey meat, which she took out of the freezer. The tube was so wide that she could barely touch her middle finger to her thumb when her hand wrapped around it. The girl pulled out a plate and knife before she began to cut off the plastic wrapper.

Tobi came back with two cans of re-fried beans, "Tobi found the other!" He exclaimed, pleased that he was able to fulfill his job and placed the cans on the counter. "Now what?"

Dariru gave him one glance before tossing the semi-wet wrapper into the trash. "See if there's a can of salsa. In fact, bring out all of the salsa cans you can find in there and I'll see which one we can use. Okay?" The boy nodded excitedly before running the short distance it was to the pantry.

Though the girl didn't know it, Kisame was watching her from the kitchen doorway. He had heard what Deidara had complained about and was going to step in until he saw her pull out that wide tube of meat. The sight just set his imagination in over-drive, and he couldn't help but watch her as she continued to work. She had a look of determination on her face once she had pulled out a decent sized pot and pan. Though he wasn't too sure what she was concocting, and neither did the rest of the men, but nothing was burning yet. So that must have counted for something.

The blue man decided to sit down when the girl had browned the meat, which was no longer a tube but a mass of broken-up chunks, and had added the required spices to it. It was actually starting to smell nice, and the others seemed to have noticed the new scent too. Dariru poured the meat into the pot before sending in the salsa and re-fried beans. While the items in the pot began to heat up enough for her to stir, she turned to Tobi and said, "Get the bags of chips please."

The boy complied and came back with three bags of chips; one was full of tortilla chips, while the other two were potato chips. But it did not seem to matter to the girl what kind they were. She turned to Deidara and gave him a victorious smile, "Done."

Hidan was the first to look into the pot and sneered, "What the fuck is this?"

"Dip," She answered as she pulled out same-sized bowls. "You can eat it plain if you want, but it tastes good with chips too."

Just as the silver-haired man tried to stick a curious finger into the pot, Kakuzu grabbed his side and squeezed the spot where the kidneys would be. "Don't do that. That's disgusting." The tan man warned before letting go. Hidan just gave the man the middle finger once his partner's back was turned. Kisame chuckled at the silver-haired man's pain, who shot him a glare and decided to take his rising anger out on the larger man. "Shut it, fish sticks! I hope you're allergic to whatever the hell is in there!"

Dariru paused and turned to face Kisame. She had never considered allergies when she had been cooking; what if he was allergic? Good lord, she could quite possibly kill him because of her negligence! "Are you allergic to anything?" She asked the blue man, moving out of the way so the others could scoop large servings of dip to their bowls.

Kisame was about to answer "no", but Hidan had to cut him off. "That's so fucking adorable!" It was obvious the man was just mocking the two, "Little girlie here trying to act concerned for fish-face!" she shot the man a glare, but he didn't seem to notice. "So what's the smelly-ass chum bucket to you? Probably nothing more than your ticket to escape death. What a fucking self-centered bitch."

"Hidan..." Kisame growled dangerously, baring his teeth. It took all of his self-control to not choke the man; he had promised himself to not let his anger get the best of him ever since the last time Hidan's teasing had got on his nerves.

Dariru, however, seemed unable to control hers. The girl glared down at the Jashinist with anger swimming all over her face, but something strange shimmered in her eyes...to Kisame, it appeared to be mischief or cunning. The girl had something up her sleeve and Hidan was going to be the punching bag.

She put a hand on the table and leaned towards Hidan, her glare never faltering. A small flare of jealousy flickered inside of Kisame, but he pushed it aside when he heard the girl speak. "You wanna know what I think of him?"

A smirk came across Hidan's face, "Sure. Enlighten me." She pulled her face away with the most smug smile on her face anyone had ever seen. Very slowly, she walked over to Kisame, who stared up at her with confusion. He had no idea what she had planned, but he hoped it was something that would be a slap to Hidan's attitude. Which, in a way, it was.

Without warning, the girl sat on Kisame's lap, straddling his hips with her own. He stared at her wide-eyed, wondering if she knew over half of the organization was watching her every move; but his baffled expression eased into relaxation when her lips began to move over his his. Kisame forgot about the other men watching them as the girl's tongue darted over his teeth, making him shove his own muscle into her mouth. A little moan came from her throat, making him want to pull her closer into him had she not pulled away and got off his lap, exposing the slight bulge in his pants.

At first he was going to try to hide his sign of excitement, but he decided not to bother when he heard say, "I'll be in your room. You have five minutes to meet me there before I start reading or go to sleep." With those final words, Dariru turned on her heels and walked quickly out of the kitchen. Kisame sat there for a long time, knowing very well that all other activity had stopped in the kitchen. Without looking at anyone else, the blue man got up from his seat and went after the girl. He was going to force her to finish what she had started whether the five minutes were up or not.

All of the men kept staring at the seat Kisame had once been in, their jaws either dropped or eyes so wide they threatened to pop out of their sockets. They had just witnessed Kisame, one of the least handsome looking men they had ever known, tongue wrestling with a cute girl who was probably half his age. No one knew whether to be disgusted or amazed that the shark-man was able to land a nice-looking woman.

Tobi was the only one who spoke what was on everyone's minds. "What just happened?"