A/N: Be warned, more singing!Tobi ahead. Ugh...
"Why didn't I think of this before?" Kira asked herself as she followed Tobi into Swirl, "A cupcake-eating chakra-mark would be incredibly simple! Now," Tobi was taking out some baking pans and ingredients while Kira searched around the kitchen, "Where are those cupcakes? I should get started as soon as possible!" Tobi giggled,
"Tobi doesn't have any cupcakes!" Kira looked more than unhappy before Tobi smiled, "But you look like you'd be good at helping me make some!" A white chef's hat was plopped onto the cat-demon's head, Kira nodding after a moment,
"Well, a baking chakra-mark could be even better! That way I could help Mama cook things for Papa to sell at the shopping center!"
"That's the spirit!" Tobi cried before getting a mixing bowl and, ugh, singing,
"All you've gotta do is take a cup of flour,
Add it to the mix!" He followed his own instructions as he sang, Kira watching as he poured a bunch of candy into the cake batter,
"Then add a cup of something sweet, not sour!
A pinch of salt, just a pinch!
Baking these treats is such a synch,
Add a teaspoon of vanilla!
Add a little more,
Then count to four
And you'll never get your fill-a!"
"I think I understand…" Kira nodded, Tobi singing,
"Cupcakes~!
So sweet and tasty!
Cupcakes~!
Don't be too hasty!
Cupcakes~!
Cupcakes, cupcakes, cupcakes!"
Thirty minutes later, the kitchen was a mess of cake batter and sprinkles. Kira was busy with a mixer that was splashing batter all over the place. A bell dinged, the cat-demon girl gasping and rushing to see if her cupcakes in the over were coming out right. In the process of opening the oven, she ended up knocking over a sack of flour. She made sure to put on a pair of oven-mitts before she pulled her work out of the oven: a dozen, burnt to a crisp cupcakes.
"Ooh!" Tobi blinked, "Those look much better than the last five batches!" When she saw Tobi take a bite out of one, Kira blinked and took a bite of one herself; immediately coughing the burnt mess up.
"I guess…" She coughed, "I'm not meant to be a baker either…" She took her hat off before she whimpered, "I just have to face it, my hands will be blank forever…"
"What about that?" Tobi asked, pointing at the girl's hands. Kira gasped as she looked down and saw a particular smudge on her hand,
"Is that a… Is it a chakra-mark? Oh, what is it, what is it?" She looked at it carefully as she guessed, "A mixing bowl? A measuring cup? Cupcakes?" Tobi walked over before blowing a bit of air over Kira's hands, the flour brushing off and showing her pale hands.
"Flour! Yay, Tobi wins! What do you want to play next?" The joy-demon bounced around, ignoring how Kira sank to the ground in despair, "Please say 'Bingo'! Please say 'Bingo'!"
"What the…" They both turned to see Itachi walk into the kitchen, eyes looking at all the mess, "Why does it look like a battlefield in here?"
"We've been making cupcakes!" Tobi beamed, bringing a plate of Kira's cupcakes to Itachi, "Want to try one?"
"No thanks…" Itachi gulped, "Not that they don't look great." Tobi shrugged before he went to check on something that he had been working on before Kira showed up, but Kira rushed to Itachi and begged,
"Itachi-san, please help me!"
"What is it?" Itachi asked, worried at the girl's distressed state. Kira bit her lip before taking a deep breath and saying,
"Sakon and Ukon's Debutante Party is today and everyone in my class will be there and they all have their chakra-marks and I need to get my chakra-mark but I'm no good at selling food or baking cupcakes or being an athlete but I want to go to the party but how can I if I don't have a chakra-mark? Tobi's acting like you can't make a chakra-mark appear but I need it to appear right now!"
"I'm sorry to hear that," Itachi blinked, "But how am I supposed to help you?" Kira looked at the shimmering, swirling red chakra-mark on Itachi's hand before asking,
"Can you use your magic… To give me a temporary chakra-mark?"
"Oh no…" Itachi shook his head, "Chakra-marks only appear when the time is right. It will take time, but when you discover your special skill, you'll have a beautiful example of a chakra-mark." Tobi walked past with a large bowl of candy and went out the door before Kira asked again,
"Please Itachi-san! I just need one to get me through this party!" Itachi wanted to refuse again, but seeing Kira's eyes almost filled with tears made the weasel-demon sigh,
"Let me see what I can do…"
"Yay!" Kira cheered before holding out her hands. Itachi placed his fingers together for a spell, a glow shining on Kira's hands. Abruptly, the glow recoiled and sent Itachi flying into a wall. "Are you okay?" Kira asked, Itachi shaking his head with a groan,
"No… Rokubi-sama already drilled it into my head that you can't force chakra-marks to appear otherwise your chakra will turn on you…"
"I'm sorry…" Kira whispered before turning to leave the bakery. "I just won't go to the party. I can't! Everyone's just going to laugh and tease me; it'll be the worst night of my life!" Itachi tried to give a reassuring smile as he offered,
"Now I'm sure that it won't be as bad as all that." But Kira shook her head,
"There's no way I'm going to that…" Her voice trailed off as she walked through the door and saw that the bakery had been transformed for a Debutante Celebration; parents dropping off their children and presents. Kira's ears drooped as she whispered, "Party…"
With decorations of rose and indigo, the party was already in full swing: all around you could see demons eating some of the sweets Tobi had prepared earlier, Orochimaru, Kabuto, Sakon, and Ukon were having their photos taken (showing off their expensive new clothes), and Kira was desperately hiding behind the chocolate statue of the twins that had been ordered. "How could I have forgotten the time? How could I have forgotten that Tobi was hosting and catering the party? How could I have forgotten that it would take place at Swirl?"
"Don't forget your party hat!" Tobi chimed, sticking a colorful hat onto the albino girl's head. Kira shook the hat off and immediately shifted into cat-form so she could find a way out of the bakery without being seen.
She had a lot of close calls, but she shifted back to normal as she saw the door in sight. "I'm home-free!" She rushed out of the building, just to crash into a warm, familiar body.
"Kira!" Hidan smiled, picking his youngest daughter up, "You decided to come after all! I just wish you had come home first, Sasori tailored your party dress!" Hidan carried Kira, who was struggling to get away, to the nearest restroom so he could help her get dressed, Kakuzu adding on,
"After I saw that the boys got their chakra-marks, I was afraid you weren't going to come. But I'm glad that you realized how silly you were being about this whole 'chakra-mark' issue."
A few minutes later, Kira was being set down on the ground in a pretty, frilly, white and pink dress. Hidan smiled, "Freaking adorable. But me and Papa are going to hang out with the other adults, you say hi to your friends that are coming over here." Kira flinched, looking over to see Sakon and Ukon stalking towards her. She whined, looking around for any type of haven when she saw the ivory table-cloth underneath the punch bowl. She smiled before she rushed over, used her claws to cut some of it, and made herself a pair of fingerless gloves.
"Well, look who's here." Sakon smirked, him and his brother circling the cat-demon. Ukon chuckled,
"Nice outfit. Even nicer gloves."
"Thanks," Kira smiled nervously, "Just something I got at the last minute." Sakon hummed for a bit before he spoke again,
"They really show off your chakra-mark. Oh wait, I forgot! You don't have one!" Kira was in a bind: if she told the truth, she was screwed, if she lied she would be screwed… But at least it would give her time to run. She huffed,
"I… I have a chakra-mark."
"What?" Ukon blinked in disbelief, "Since when?" Kira nodded, trying to keep up a smile,
"Since… Earlier this morning. Yes, that's—"
"Then show it to me." Sakon interrupted, about to reach for the girl's gloves when she protested,
"I shouldn't… This party is all about you two! And me showing off my new chakra-mark would draw attention from you guys and this wonderful party that your parents worked so hard to set up!"
"Forget it!" Sakon huffed, "That's not even the reason I kept pushing you anyway." Kira wanted to ask what he was talking about when he grabbed her hand, Ukon pushing her along. "Since you finally got a chakra-mark, you are officially good enough to be my girlfriend."
"Excuse me?" Kira yelped, trying to get away from the twins.
"Come on, you'll enjoy yourself…" Kisame offered as he dropped Mizuki off in the children's area of the party. The otter-demon frowned at Kisame, the shark sighing, "You should have come with me earlier today then if you're so worried about it. It shouldn't matter all that much though." Mizuki rolled his eyes, adjusting the summer kimono he was wearing. In the course of a few minutes, Zetsu had come to drop off Ongakuhana (dressed in a green jump-suit and matching gloves) Hun had wandered in through an open door, and Sasori and Deidara left Saso in the midst of the party with the most impressive little cloak. It took a moment of the demon children trying to find a way out of there when there was a loud cry of,
"Let go!" Kira had forcibly tugged herself away from Sakon. But the other demon had a firm hand on her gloved hands; when she moved, the gloves slipped off: revealing her bare hands as she crashed into the music system, stopping the music. Everyone gasped at the spectacle, Kira trying to get to her feet before Sakon and Ukon walked over, the older twin laughing,
"Wow, that is a great chakra-mark!" They both laughed and cackled before jeering, "Kira No-talent! Kira Not-special! Kira Not-unique!" Everyone in the room muttered at the embarrassing scene, Kira feeling tears coming on. Suddenly, there was a cry of,
"Where do you two get off?" There was another collective gasp as Ongakuhana walked over and stood in front of Kira in the girl's defense. After a moment, Mizuki and Hun walked over, followed by Saso, and then Kiro and Kire.
"Do you have a problem with demons without chakra-marks?" Kire narrowed his eyes towards the twins, Ukon stating,
"The problem is that she isn't special!" Mizuki shook his head before stating,
"No. It means that she's full of potential."
"She could be good at anything." Kiro added, Hun jumping up and down as he concluded,
"The possibilities are as endless as the moon is round!" Ongakuhana nodded before Saso explained, brushing a bit of his hair to the side,
"She could be a scientist, an amazing artist, or a singer, ano sa."
"She could even grow up to be mayor!" Ongakuhana turned, flashing a cute smile to the cat-girl who blushed as Mizuki stated,
"And he isn't stuck being stuck up like you two." Everyone around laughed a bit before Sakon fumed,
"This is our party! Why are you taking her side?" The children who had gathered around Kira in her time of need were all quiet for a moment. But slowly, Ongakuhana, Mizuki, Saso, and Hun uncovered their own hands, revealing…
"You all don't have chakra-marks either?" Kira gasped before smiling in joy, "I thought I was the only one!"
"That's what we thought too, ano sa!" Saso returned the gesture. Then Itachi walked in from the adult half of the party and stated,
"And I think that you are five very lucky demons."
"Huh?" Ukon looked dumbfounded, Sakon fuming,
"How are they lucky?"
"Because," Slowly Kakuzu, Hidan, Zetsu, Tobi, Sasori, Hidan, and Kisame all made their ways over: the stitch-demon answering, "They still get to experience child-hood, to experience what they really want to do in life."
"And they've got all the time in the world to do it!" Kisame smiled, especially at the fact that his son seemed to find a group of children he could hang out with. Slowly but surely, the other children walked over; speaking in awe and amazement. Kiro patted his sister on the head as Kire hummed,
"Maybe I got my chakra-mark too soon!" As all attention went to the other children, Sakon shouted,
"Hey! Hey, this is our Debutante Party! You're all supposed to be paying attention to us!" When they were still being ignored, the twins went positively red before screaming, "DADDY!"
"What is it now?" Orochimaru hissed, dragging his wife along with him into the main room. Ukon rushed into Kabuto's arms and whined,
"They're ruining our party Mommy! Make Daddy kick them out!"
"What's going on here?" Orochimaru spoke with the other adults for a moment, noticing that the attention of the party had shifted, before he hissed, "Can't you control your kids?"
"Control our kids?" Sasori repeated in disbelief, Hidan yowling,
"You two are the ones who have raised a couple of brats!"
"Enough!" Orochimaru shouted, "Just take your kids and go home! Your invitations to this celebration have been revoked!" The main group of children immediately became sadder after they heard that they had to leave, but Tobi smiled and said,
"If that's the case, then Tobi's going to have to ask you to leave!"
"I beg your pardon?" Kabuto asked, Tobi nodding,
"You told us to leave your party and go home, right? Well, this bakery is my home, so you would need to take down everything that you've painstakingly set up. Not to mention all the money that would go to waste…"
Orochimaru looked like he was about to blow a gasket. But rather than ruin his theater-quality good looks, he stated to his children, "Quit whining and suck it up!" Sakon and Ukon gasped, the latter twin whining,
"But Daddy—"
"Shut up, Ukon!"
"Oh my gosh, I love this song!" Kire cheered as the music was turned back on. Our favorite group of adult demons had decided to sit and relax in the main party room rather than go back to the adult-section of the party and be glared at for three hours. Kire danced past Sakon and Ukon, the twins glaring at him, before he sat down at the table where his new friends and his siblings were sitting.
Kira blushed a bit as Ongakuhana had decided to sit next to her, but then she spoke up, "I was thinking… Now that we're friends…" She trailed off before asking, "We are friends, right?"
"How could we not be?" Hun smiled, Kira nodding,
"Now that we're friends and since most of us don't have our chakra-marks, why don't we work together and help each other find our true callings?"
"Ooh!" Ongakuhana smiled, "We could have our own secret society!"
"With matching uniforms and everything, ano sa!" Saso added, Kira's eyes sparkling at the thought.
"But we'll need a name…" Kiro stated, all of them thinking hard for a moment before Mizuki stopped drinking his soda for a moment and stated,
"The Chakra-Mark Musketeers."
"Oh, you mean like the Three Musketeers?" Saso asked, Mizuki nodding.
"This is going to be awesome!" Ongakuhana cheered before taking Kira's hand and asking, "You want to go dance to celebrate?" Kira's blush went up two-fold before she smiled,
"Yes."
"As I see the next generation of your loyal citizens," Itachi read to himself as he wrote a report to Rokubi early so he could just have Sasuke mail it when he got home. He watched the children all have fun dancing and enjoying the sweets before he added, "I know that they will grow up to be as honorable and civil as their parents before them. It also reminds me to ask something I wanted to ask you when you first took me on as a student…"
"'How and when did you get your chakra-mark?'" Rokubi read as he relaxed in the large baths of the palace where he and the other celestials dwelled. He was just about to begin a response when there was a loud laugh followed by a splash of water: Sanbi had jumped in, splashing the weasel-deity with water.
"Hey!" Sanbi called as he swam over, "Is that from Itachi?" Without so much as a question, the shark-deity took the paper and read it before smiling, "Are you going to tell him?" Rokubi looked at his hand, the calligraphy-brush mark on it bringing back embarrassing moment of the past, before he blushed and shook his head, "Maybe, maybe not…"
"Hm…" Sanbi hummed, cleaning his hands that held a chakra-mark of a drum. He then sat himself closer to Rokubi, the brunette deity sighing,
"I don't know what I see in you."
"You love me." Sanbi chuckled, kissing Rokubi's neck and relishing the shivers that the weasel-deity emitted. Rokubi glared at his husband for a bit before shaking his head,
"Though I don't know why.", then he brought him down for a kiss.
A/N: Yayz, The Chakra-Mark Musketeers have been united! So that's all I have to say for this week, because I did do a lot of updating.
Monday I put up a new saga in my Hetalia fic 'Maman'...
Today I updated this story...
Oh, just a note: From the next chapter on the story will be getting a bit... darker. What does that mean? Well, you'll just have to keep reading and find out! Thanks for reading, please review!
-Tyranno's girl.