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Hitomi lifted her face from the ground, one eye closed in grimace. Her legs were tangled with Daisuke and Masaru had fallen on both of them. She propped her elbow up, resting her cheek in her hand as she waited for them to get up. 'Seriously, he moves the ground?' She muttered, irritated.
'Well, Konan did say he was moving the base.' Daisuke said, untangling their legs with a smirk.
'I thought she meant we were all going to travel somewhere. On foot.' Masaru said, extending his hands to each of them.
'Same here. I had an escape plan thought out for that possibility but I guess it won't work now, with the timing and distance from Konoha.' Hitomi spoke, brushing herself off once she got to her feet.
'You looked so… not upset. Talking with Deidara, spying…' Daisuke pointed out suspiciously, picking up his flute.
'If I have to stay here, I'm damn well going to be comfortable.' She claimed offhandedly, snatching her mask from the bed and walking off to the bathroom to wash it.
'Did you hear that?' Masaru asked quietly, a smile on his face.
Daisuke grinned. 'The damn? Yeah, she got that from Inoichi-sensei.' He snickered, lifting the instrument to his lips as he crossed his legs, seating himself on Hitomi's bed.
'As usual.' Masaru muttered, taking up a similar position beside him to enjoy his brother's music.
Hitomi came out of the bathroom soon after holding a damp mask in her hands. She too sat beside Daisuke, taking up her meditation stance. Team Prodigy looked peaceful, almost unperturbed that they were in the Akatsuki. But underneath it all, true motives hid. Hitomi dug deep in her subconscious, thinking up strategies and plan to get to safety. Daisuke was working on a new melody, one that might just turn out to be powerful enough to hold off any member of the Akatsuki. Masaru unraveled his bandages, thinking of matches between his team and the Akatsuki, seeing the best possible pair.
Inside, they were still ninjas of the Leaf and only Konoha held their allegiance. And they were going to go back to it, no matter what.
By the time the next morning arrived, the base had stopped moving. Hitomi blinked her eyes open. Her teammates were still asleep snuggled up in their beds. She felt like it was morning but the cave was so dark, she could hardly know. She washed up quickly and pulled on her mask, getting dressed before stumbling out the door sleepily in search of the sun.
Kisame looked up from his seat at the breakfast table, pancakes in his mouth. 'Where are you going?'
'Sunlight.' She mumbled back, stifling a yawn as she continued on her way.
Kisame smiled and turned back to his food. 'Good luck with that.' He chuckled to himself, poking Itachi in the ribs and telling him to eat more.
When Hitomi finally walked out and stared out into the sky, the first thing she saw was dark clouds and pale skies. She blinked in surprise. Then she blinked again. It was blazing just yesterday… Pein turned from his work, arms raised upwards to look at her. She turned to look at him then, her one eye wide open, sleepy look gone.
'Why are you out here?' He asked stoically, pierced face just inches away from the pitter patter of the rain.
'I was looking for… sunlight. But I see I won't find that here.' Hitomi said, looking up again at the falling rain. It was so peaceful.
'You're in Amegakure, the Hidden Rain Village. I make it rain here.' Pein explained, studying the young girl looking up at his work. Looks certainly were deceiving.
'Well, I didn't think you were holding your arms up for nothing.' Hitomi giggled, covering her masked mouth discreetly. Pein raised a brow. Did she just give him a smartass reply? 'So where's your wife, Pein-sama?' She continued.
Pein noticed two things, causing his other brow to raise in surprise. One, no one had corrected her about Konan being his wife. Two, she had just called him Pein-sama instead of Leader-sama. What the hell? He decided to ignore the second one. 'She's still asleep. And Konan isn't my wife, she's my partner.' He corrected.
'Oh.' She mumbled absentmindedly, staring up into the skies. 'You act like her husband. See you later.' She said going back to the cave, leaving a stunned, wide-eyed man in her wake.
She skipped back and noticed that her hair had caught droplets of the rain, making damp. She plopped down in a seat in between Kisame and Itachi who were the only ones there. Itachi was sitting at the table staring into space whereas Kisame was stuffing his face, a large stack of pancakes on his plate. Both stopped to nod at her. She greeted both with a cheery good morning.
Itachi got up and returned quickly with a plate of pancakes with syrup and butter on the top. Her eyes shined as he set the plate before her. 'Thank you, Itachi-nii. She said, holding back a laugh.
She said it really only to get a reaction out of him, she didn't even call Sasuke that. It worked though. Itachi stared at her, brows raised high. Kisame chuckled. 'What did you just call me?' He asked in disbelief.
'Itachi-nii.' Kisame said in a squeaky imitation of Hitomi. She grinned and elbowed him hard.
'I do not talk like that.' She said with a happy smile though she was irritated. She cut up the pancakes and ate them slowly, loving the sweetness.
A huge yawn was heard as Masaru and Daisuke walked into the dining area, both stealing a pancake piece from her plate. She tapped their hands reprimanding them playfully. They popped it into their mouths and then their eyes widened, staring at her. Unknown to the young lady, the rain looked like crystals in her silver hair, temporarily stunning her teammates. They blushed and went off quickly looking for the rest of the stache of pancakes.
She sighed at their odd ways and picked up her empty plate, washing up before going off to explore. A tall man stepped in her way, looking down at her with turquoise-like eyes and a mask similar to hers on his face. They stared at each other for a while before Hitomi finally acknowledged him. 'Kakuzu.'
'Hitomi. Hidan told me about you yesterday.' He stated.
Her eyes narrowed, thinking of the silver-haired Jashinist. 'Idiot.' She said decidedly.
Kakuzu nodded. 'Yes, he is. Hmm… you can't show off that forehead protector, you know. Either hide it or slash it.' He said, gesturing to his own slashed hitai-ate.
Hitomi touched hers and tried to imagine cutting through her beloved leaf symbol. She untied it from her head and tied it around her thigh instead. Kakuzu nodded in approval. 'Yes, you won't be able to see it with the cloak on.'
She stiffened noticeably. He sighed and patted her head, walking past her. 'You have to wear it on missions. Sorry but you're Akatsuki now.'
She continued to wander, thinking about what Kakuzu had said. She was only Akatsuki by forced recruitment. She bumped into something hard then, stumbling back a step. 'Ooh, breakfast.' A voice said sinisterly.
Acting fast, she yanked her mask down and slid into her Gentle Fist stance. The plant man looked at her, one eye kind, the other dark. 'No, she's Akatsuki too. New arrival, remember.' The white side said.
'I'm hungry.' The black side growled impatiently.
'Now you've scared her.' The white scolded. Zetsu held out his hand to her which she prepared to break. The finger tips seemed to grow and twisted and forming a bud, she watched a perfect peach blossom bloom. She took it, blinking her eyes.
'Your teammates told me they're your favourite.' The white said said.
'Not that I care.' The black side put in.
Hitomi ignored the final remarked and smiled behind her mask, thanking him as he walked away. She tucked the flower into her hair and wondered if all the dangerous criminals turned into mush when they saw a child. She laughed and went back in her room to meditate while waiting for her teammates.