A much needed filler chapter after the fight last time.
Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto
I think I'm back to no Beta :/
Konoha, Hiruzen POV
He had thought he'd known a lot of things. Considered himself wise
It was very hard to surprise him.
He was the Sandaime Hokage after all. A man known for peace and intelligence.
But having five S-class nuke-nin slip into Konoha, murder Danzō, and get out all before ANBU had gotten there had caught him off his guard.
ANBU had chased after them, but they had vanished.
They only knew that Itachi Uchiha had been present, his chakra signature recognized by a sensor.
There were already rumors of a dangerous group called Akatsuki. But this... had not been them.
This new group, he didn't know.
But he intended to find them out.
Especially because of the ROOT chaos that had erupted not long after ANBU had started chasing after them.
It was a scandal of major proportion.
Danzō had been forming this... this twisted thing. Right under his nose.
T&I operatives were still going through questioning the ROOT ANBU members.
Hiruzen's instincts told him the group which had killed Danzō knew.
It was totally preposterous that they'd known about this.
But he knew to trust his instincts.
He would call most of the ANBU off their tail. Konoha owed this unknown group.
The rest of the ANBU would simply be tasked with finding out what this group of nuke-nins called themselves, what their goal was. And keeping up appearances since the scandal needed to be kept secret.
Hiruzen hoped the ANBU at least succeeded in the first part.
He needed to know who to thank.
Kiri, Ao POV
"Yūgure" he informed the Mizukage as she took in the news from Konoha.
Ao was skilled in getting information.
He had everything.
Even the knowledge of the ROOT scandal Danzō's death had brought to light.
"What is that?" Mei asked.
"What they're calling themselves now. Yūgure, Mizukage-sama".
"Hmm. That must have something to do with these rumors of the Akatsuki".
"That was my thought as well". The names were too related for it not to.
"How could they have known Ao? They broke their nuke-nin only rule for the War Hawk of the Leaf. They must have known what he was doing. That's the only explanation. After all, he's the only exception they've made" Mei tapped a finger on her desk.
"I do not know, Mizukage-sama. And it's too dangerous to approach them again to ask. It was risky enough getting their new name" he answered.
"Your three students are all risk takers, Ao. I would've thought you to teach them to be more cautious" Mei sighed "Two nuke-nins forming an organization. Then one here throwing himself recklessly into dangerous missions. They'll get themselves killed".
"At least I didn't teach them to gamble, Mizukage-sama" he reassured. "Especially since Sudachi has horrid luck".
Kisame POV
He had outright refused to allow Koneko to travel.
Yes, he agreed that now that Itachi had both Shisui's eyes they needed to get to Tanzaku.
So, despite her hissing at him for doing so, he was carrying her bridal-style.
He couldn't help his chuckle at the slight sulking pout she was still in at having to be carried.
Yes, she was a nuke-nin.
Yes, she was S-rank.
But she remained his Koneko.
And she'd been hurt badly.
Samehada's chakra transfer seemed to have healed her.
Still... it was best not to put the strain of travel on her just yet.
He'd be satisfied after they got to Tanzaku.
Maybe throw in a check up in the gambling with Tsunade.
Make sure his Koneko was okay.
Normal POV
Kisame only set me down once we'd reached our destination.
I gave him a half-hearted glare. I didn't like being carried, he knew that.
It made me feel useless.
And hell no was I going to be PTS Sakura useless.
"You realize that's you pouting only makes me want to cheer you up?" Kisame asked.
I gave him a mock scowl.
"Alright. You asked for it" the Shark leaned in and kissed me deeply.
I sensed that he'd been scared... no terrified would be a better word.
This kiss was his way of expressing how he'd felt without saying the words.
I returned it, ignoring the others' reactions. They really should be used to this by now.
"Better?" he pulled back with a smirk.
"Maybe" I grinned.
"Maybe, hm? Might have to fix that" the smirk grew wider.
"Yo! Fucking lovebirds! Enough already! Jashin damned motherfuckers making me nauseous" Hidan complained. "Sushi, we got to this shitty town where the healer's supposed to fucking be. What now, bastard?"
Kisame glared, but knew that any retort just encouraged the immortal to continue. He took a moment to sigh. "Time to search the place until we find her. We know she's here, gambling somewhere. Someone with her luck should not be hard to find. But be discrete. No need to attract attention by asking too direct questions".
"As if your fucking PDA doesn't attract enough damn attention" Hidan grumbled.
The Shark gave a sharp-toothed smirk. "You're just jealous cause she's mine".
"With a fucking piece of Sushi. Bitch, I do not understand your damn taste in men" the immortal muttered.
"Let's just split this town up into fifths" I suggested, attempting to change the subject. I drew a crude map of the town with dividing lines. "Miser-san here. Tachi here. Kisame here. Hidan here. And myself here" I pointed at the areas.
"Yes ma'am" Kisame chuckled.
"Fine, bitch. Whatever" Hidan sulked.
"Very well" Itachi nodded.
Kakuzu held out a hand. I sighed and produced ryo. He took it. "I'm off then" and the miser left to search his assigned area.
Some searching later
"Found her" Itachi informed, nodding to a casino.
"Fucking finally" Hidan gave an annoyed sigh. "Bitch was damn hard to locate".
"Now comes the fun part" Kisame grinned widely. "Let's see how good our miser is at gambling".
Kakuzu had a dark sulking look. I distinctly felt irritation coming off him, but having already been bribed to do this, plus given some extra ryo to gamble with, he made his way inside.
"This I have to fucking see. It might just kill the damn old man to go fucking gamble" Hidan snickered, cheering up at the prospect of Kakuzu's misery before heading inside as well.
"Tachi... be ready to genjutsu this whole place if things get crazy. I don't trust the zealot" I shook my head.
"Drastic" Itachi answered, glancing at me.
"Have you not seen the chaos they cause?" I countered.
"... Fair point" the Uchiha admitted.
"Come on, this is going to be fun" Kisame tugged us both into the casino.
Kakuzu POV
It went against every fiber of his being to go gambling.
The word may as well have been a cardinal sin to him.
Asking him to gamble was like asking Hidan to pray to Kami.
His only comfort was that it was not his money he was risking.
But it was still money.
Still. He did know how these games were played.
He could read body language and tells like a book.
Of the entire group, he truly was the best choice to do this.
Even before Yūgure he'd heard rumors of the healer's legendary bad luck
This did not bring him much comfort however as he made his way to the table where the blond was drinking and gambling.
He almost let out an amused huff.
She really was losing terribly.
He felt his irritation settle somewhat.
Perhaps he should not look at this as gambling...
Yes that was the trick.
His irritation vanished, replaced by his unmatchable business sense.
No, this was no gamble.
This... was an investment.
Normal POV
"Wanna take bets on how long it lasts?" Kisame offered as the rest of us seated ourselves at a non-gambling table a good distance away. Our hitai-ate were removed, since we didn't want recognition as rogues.
"I say five to ten fucking minutes. The damn old man will wipe the floor with the healer bitch and have her begging to heal the Uchiha bastard's shitty eyes" Hidan put a small amount of ryo on the table.
"I say eleven to fifteen then. Kakuzu will enjoy raking her cash off of her too much to be so quick about it" Kisame produced a matching amount.
"I'm not betting" I shook my head, shamelessly leaning against Kisame who in turn had arm around my shoulders.
"I will refrain as well" Itachi just shifted back into his seat to wait on our miser to finish with Tsunade.
A few moments later
"I think miser-san managed to drive off everyone else" I blinked. The table now just consisted of himself and Tsunade.
"He probably scared the shit out of any other bastard that attempted to take his damn prey. He did that when were were fucking hunting pussy rogues too if some other shit was targeting our target" Hidan informed.
"Somehow I would not be surprised" Kisame mused.
Kakuzu POV
Hidan was correct in that he'd been scaring off the competition to gamble with the blond healer.
He'd also been every ounce of his shinobi skill to use his threads to rob the other competitors when he got the chance.
The amount of ryo he'd had to gamble with had steadily increased.
The drunken blond was scowling at him now.
"I'm feeling lucky this time" her scowl morphed into a smirk.
"Tsunade-sama please! You've lost enough already!" a girl protested from beside her.
"Quiet Shizune" Tsunade ordered.
"You have lost much" he pointed out dryly. "What more could you have to offer?"
"This" she pulled the necklace from around her neck.
He recognized that jewel. It had been worn by the first Hokage.
His assassination target that he'd failed to kill, causing his troubles with his former Village.
Toki had informed him she might bet this.
"Actually, I have something else I wish from you. How about a different bet?" he countered.
If she was willing to bet that priceless jewel, now was the time to strike.
"I have an... acquaintance that is in need of healing. He has a severe illness and is also in need of an eye transplant. We have the eyes needed, but no healer to do either. I know of your skill Tsunade-hime" he gave her a calm stare, knowing his eyes were often found intimidating. "You lose this round, you can keep your jewel. I want healing. Immediate healing, since his need is dire. On your word as both a Senju and as a healer that you will do so as well".
Tsunade stared at him.
He knew of her fear of blood. But she would not dare break such a vow as he'd proposed.
"I accept your bet" she replaced her jewel on her neck. "Who are you? And who is your friend?"
"I will answer those questions should you lose. You win and I will leave" he stated picking up the cards once more.
Awhile later
"Kuso!" Tsunade had, unsurprisingly, lost again.
"Your word was given, Tsunade-hime" he reminded her simply.
"She can't do it!" the girl, Shizune protested.
"Oh?" he questioned.
"Tsunade-sama's afraid of blood!" the girl continued.
"What's it going to be then? Your pride and honor as a medical shinobi? Or your fear?" he asked, knowing he had her cornered.
Tsunade grit her teeth, paling at the idea of seeing blood.
"I... I'll do it. I gave my word" she glared at him "Some shinobi honor that".
"Good" he felt himself smirk under his mask "Now, if you'll follow me, I'll be introducing you to your patient".
Normal POV
"Miser-san, two o' clock. Headed this way" I said nodding to him.
"Looks like I win the bet" the Shark smirked, collecting the money.
"Jashin damn it!" Hidan cursed, shooting a dark glare at the miser who'd arrived at our table. "You could've fucking done that faster!"
Whack! Kakuzu hit Hidan's head since he couldn't kill him for being an annoyance in such a public place.
"Tsunade-hime, this is Yūgure" he spoke as the familiar woman approached. "And that" a nod to the Weasel "Is your patient: Itachi Uchiha".
Tsunade froze at the sight of us, pushing Shizune behind her. "You... you're all S-class criminals" she fell into a fighting stance.
"Relax, hime" Kisame cast her a flat look "Does it look like we want violence?"
She didn't ease out of her stance, obviously expecting a hit. But she didn't strike either, since none of us had moved to fight.
"Tsunade-sama" I spoke softly "You're attracting unwanted attention. Please. Sit. Allow us to explain and perhaps you'll change your mind on healing Itachi".
The blond considered before yanking a chair over, cracking the back in her hand, before sitting on it to glare at us. Shizune hesitantly moved to stand beside this.
"Start talking" she ordered, making herself sound like the Gondaime Hokage she'd become.
"Fucking bossy bitch" Hidan glared at her.
"Quiet" Kakuzu struck his head again before taking his own seat.
"Tachi... may we?" he'd know what I was asking.
We couldn't tell Tsunade the whole truth.
But hopefully some of it would help change her mind.
Itachi considered his options before slowly producing the mission scroll and handed it over.
I offered it to Tsunade, knowing she would have no reason to destroy it.
The blond snatched it angrily before opening it. And then stared at it in blank disbelief.
"Kakuzu" I produced ryo.
Black threads whipped to snatch the scroll back in an eye blink and return it to Itachi, who hid it once more.
I nudged the bribe over to the miser before returning my attention to the future Gondaime "Our stories have more to them than more people know, Tsunade-sama. Yūgure is rogues who hunt other rogues. We seek to bring down an evil man. Will you help?"
"That... that changes things" Tsunade had lost the malice in her tone, still slightly in shock.
"But Tsunade-sama! Your fear!" Shizune protested.
"I gave my word as a Senju and as a healer" Tsunade growled, slightly talking to herself. "And I cannot call myself a healer if I continue to be afraid of blood". She stared at Itachi, who calmly stared back. "I'll help you".
"Thank you, Tsunade-sama" he politely dipped his head to her.
"Let's... go borrow the local clinic then. I know the people there. A casino is not the place to heal an illness or transplant eyes" Tsunade rose shakily, obviously dreading this but also intent on it. Her pride was forcing her to face her fear. For Itachi's sake, she had to get past it. "F-follow me".
Omake – Fangirl, Kakuzu POV
"You know, miser-san you never answered my question".
He had just joined this strange duo on their quest, seeking a puppet master in Suna.
What question could she have posed that he had not answered?
"What?" he glared at her. But she was unintimidated.
Strange kunoichi.
"Can I touch your threads?" she asked.
Oh right, she had requested that. When they had first encountered each other.
"Why?" he didn't stop his glaring.
"Like I said, they're epic" she responded.
Perhaps it was curiosity that made him do it. Perhaps it was the knowledge he could kill her in an instant.
Either way, threads produced themselves from his skin winding over to her, stopping a small distance away.
Once again, he found himself more surprised than he'd been in a very long time.
The kunoichi raised her hand and lightly touched the strings, as if she would hurt him if she applied more pressure.
The thought of her causing him pain was laughable.
But... this careful concern... with honest wonder on her face as she examined the threads...
How very odd.
"Koneko, you sure you should be doing that?" the Shark questioned, unhappy about sharing her attention.
"Oh shush. I already told you that I fangirl over you all the time" a grin on her face as she continued her overly gentle examination "What do you think asking to play with your hair was?"
She had dared to touch the Shark-nin's hair at some point?
Interesting.
Though, since she was currently examining his threads, he wasn't quite sure he should be surprised.
"That's why you started that?" the Shark arched an eyebrow.
"And why I still do it when I get the chance. Besides your hair is wicked soft" she retracted her hand "Thank you, Kakuzu".
He withdrew the stings back into himself. "You... are welcome" odd words to say.
But then, she was a very odd kunoichi.
Yay for healing Itachi! This chapter did not come out as funny as I would've liked. I blame school.
There is also a lot of the miser in this chapter. No, I wasn't bribed... maybe...
Next time – "So you're the one they fucking call Snowy, bastard? Nice to fucking meet ya I guess".
"You owe us".
"Always about fucking money with you isn't it damn old man?"