Saturday (Dec 25) -Christmas-


The black chortled water was lapping around the tiny hill of an island, rising out of the water like a zombie coming up from its grave on Halloween. Noises of the waves reached May's ears as she stood at the top of the hill, a tall dead tree branching it's tall arms circling around her and the sky that filled with colors that screamed: Storm. Clouds swirled and swirled-with a moan of wind-before blue eyes could no longer tell the difference between black sky and black ocean; the sounds of water swishing down below and rain pelting down across the ground and May's jacket proved that both still existed.

To May, the hill was a puzzle, she couldn't remember ever being to a place like this, however the grave before her was that of her brother.

Rain pelted down soaking through the thin jacket, turning the ground into sloppy mud that caused May's feet to sink a few inches, digging up around the shoes and coating them with a thin layer of wet soggy brown.

"Hey, un, it'll be ok." A hand cupped her shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly.

May turned her head back and stared at the Akatsuki standing behind her, their clothing just as wet as her as their eyes stared first at the grave before her then back to May's eyes.
Deidara moved his hand away from her shoulder and turned to look out over the water as a flash of lightning crossed over the sky in their direction like a hand.

"I suggest we leave this place," Itachi turned towards one of the shores of the island, "it isn't safe." Short soaked hair dripped onto the ground from May's head as she nodded.

Before May could move she noticed something odd happening. The Akatsuki's normal wet clothes seemed to wash away to be replaced with that of the Akatsuki cloak, red clouds blinding from the black backgrounds; when all wore the cloak, the Akatsuki turned away from May.

Pain-orange hair plastered to his head-sent May a puzzled look. "You're not in the Akatsuki, who are you, girl?" Just as May's confusion came on, the Akatsuki were morphing into the reach of black arms till she blinked and they all had vanished from the island.

"Wait!" The mud clung to her boots as May tried to follow, feet sinking further May wretched one out of the ground neither falling as her other leg supported herself. "Don't go!"

Lighting flashed much closer now, the tendrils of it's fingers nearing May in a creepy fashion; it flashed again right above May, this time the white light of the lightning seemed to be surrounding that of an actual black hand that was lunging down on her. This was the perfect time for May's sense of direction to fail as her one foot finally tripped under her allowing for May to fall to the ground just as the hand whisked through the air where the body had just been standing.

"I don't give up that easily." The tree's arms branched out and cut at May's arms as they were wrapped by the wood. Scratching and tearing May fought her way through them.

A hand caught May's left wrist in a death grip.

Blue eyes met fire red and yellow as Black Zetsu glowered down on her. "I always win." The tree branches had successfully wrapped around May's neck and the last thing she remembered was her neck jerking to one side and a loud crack echoed.

"Don't you love when a neck snaps? It's the sound of success."


There was agony as May sat up like someone had pinched her backside, blankets fell from where they'd been tucked around her battered body. Hands came up like a flash as May felt around the base of the neck…

She sighed in relief, her neck was still fully intact, it hurt like it had kinked up in the night, but it wasn't broken.


Eyes of burning fire slowly turned back to a dull green as Black Zetsu morphed his upper body up into the night air, he interlocked his black fingers, placed his chin on them, and stared down at the city. Only a day ago had his plan gone completely awry in this very place; May hadn't been destroyed by her own power which was incredibly irking, more so than the Akatsuki still being alive and well. Black Zetsu was not used to his plans not working, he became almost childish when he didn't get his way since the black being always had everything go his way.

The probability of the Akatsuki going home today or tomorrow was nearly in stone by now, especially with White Zetsu running around in a body from this world. Black Zetsu had a feeling that he might not get a second chance to fix this. The Akatsuki would surely be on edge by now, protecting her with everything they had and White Zetsu probably had some kind of chakra with him.

If he wanted May dead, he'd have to think of another way to do it. Something easy, something that wouldn't annoy him.

He was Black Zetsu after all, and he always got his way.


Blankets pooled around my stomach, white and crisply wrinkled. The skin tensed when I detected the tubes that entered through the arm, up into the veins creating a weird sensation.

Hospital equipment were placed on the left and right side of the bed, one monitored my heartbeat that was higher than supposedly average.

The room in which I found myself in, was empty; I looked around with worry. Chilly feet curled and rubbed up against each other as my gaze circled the room in search for anyone else other than myself.

A window was on the right side of me, its blinds shut tightly as if trying to hide whether it was day or night on the other side of it.

There was a noise to the left, turning I found a man in doctor clothes striding into the room, a clipboard in his hands as the man smiled down on me.

"Miss Lawford, how are you feeling?"

How in the hell had I gotten here? What had happened!?

"Um… I'm fine, I think. But can you tell me what happened… or what is going on? I can't really remember." The doctor had gone to one of the machines and seemed to be checking up on my blood pressure.

"Head trauma can usually lead to memory problems-"

"-Head trauma?" I fought my memory for remembrance, it did not yield, was it really possible for me to be ensnared by my own brain? Panic burned slightly inside me.

"Yes, there was a horrible earthquake in Jackson, Wyoming. A young man found you and brought you here: Eastern Idaho Regional Medical center." It took a few seconds for his words to sink in, an earthquake in Jackson? Is that really where I had been? What had happened?

"Eastern Idaho… so this place is in Idaho Falls, correct?" The doctor nodded.

"Your hometown if I'm not mistaken, May Elise Lawford?" The clipboard was up as the man brushed through the pages, each flipping over the top but stayed firmly hooked.

I was back home, my hometown.

"W-what day is it?"

"December 25th, Christmas. You've been out for six hours." Silence remained on my tongue, it was a holiday, I should be home in my house.

"Before I leave you to rest, are you having any pains at all?"

"Pain… do I have a pain," There was something familiar about that word. "Did I know a 'Pain'?" The doctor cocked his head with narrowed eyes, I snapped back to his gaze. "Um, no I'm fine."

Jotting something down as he left, the doctor was silent as I gazed down at my hands just noticing that they were badly scratched as if a tornado of dirt and rocks had been surrounding me in the past couple of hours.

My shoulders were trembling for some reason as I gazed around the room once more, its whiteness seemed almost fake and I could not stare at it too long. Straight across from my bed, on the far wall was a mirror, it's shiny reflection showing my pale body outlined in the body. Everything seemed to be in the right place, the legs bent properly, the arms with tubes running through them shifted-with some discomfort-but they moved. There was something my eyes caught instantly when they reached the neck and chin of my face. There was a thin scar coming up from the middle of my neck and stopping at the very bottom of my chin. Where had that scar come from?

The scar was traced by my index, feeling the slightly raised skin that seemed to tingle.

-A flash of white raced towards my face, claws outstretched with purple eyes glaring angrily.- Cold feet met the icy floor as I stood, the memory was blurred badly inside my distorted brain as I slowly stood up-that was a mistake-legs buckling under me caused my body to crash to the floor.

- "I forgive you, Ice. Don't act like you don't care about the situation." Purple eyes turned to the floor.- Using the corner of the bed I dragged my body, that was suddenly piercing with aches, to a stand. Legs shook dangerously as I pushed myself away from the bed, sending me towards the mirror where I grasped onto the wall, desperate not to fall.

Making sure my legs wouldn't give out, I stared into the mirror, staring back into my eyes, my blue eyes, but the eyes staring back at me weren't mine.

-"No, I'm stronger than you! You're useless! A child, while I'm the superior one! I can't die like this!"-

Hands grasped the edge of the mirror for extra support, tubes still hurtfully attached as I yanked my hands farther for a good hold. The eyes that stared back at me were wide with disbelief, the left eyes was a ringed purple with a black pupil, the other was red with black swirls, the names of what these eyes were instantly came to my brain.

"The Sharingan and Rinnegan." Fingers traced the scar once more on my neck, there was something reaching in my brain, it was like a vapor trying to materialize before me.
- "You're alive." There was a young man standing in front of me, smoke and burning cars littered between and around us; his burgundy hair was whipping around his head as his illuminated reddish brown eyes. Those eyes of his met mine with a powerful jolt.- Stumbling back from the mirror I slipped to the floor and my brain remembered.

"The Akatsuki." Damn my brain trauma, how could I have possibly forgotten them! They were my life! Where were they, Sasori had definitely been alive in the end… had the others been? My brain supplied an image of Sasori and the others looking down on me, they were alive.

I laid down on the floor in complete blissful relief, I hadn't killed them.

There was a pang of pain as I stretched out on the cold floor, not caring that it was uncomfortable, for all I knew I was flying on a cloud.

"You know, you make this too easy." My eyes crammed back open and there, standing above me, was Black Zetsu.


"When the fuck can we go see her?" Hidan was pacing back and forth in the waiting room of the hospital, his silver tail twitching back and forth like a snake as his purple eyes glared at the ground, before snaking up to look down the hall.

"Calm down, the doctor said that she needs her rest, now is not the time to bother her." Nagato said in a rasp as his tiny cat body sat on a chair all by himself, White Zetsu sat next to him, his neck leaned back with green eyes closed in a light sleep.

Hidan stomped back the way he came before going back and forth once more.

"Do you think she's ok, un?" Deidara asked from his own chair, his cat body tense as he ceased his rapid licking of his paw.

"She will be ok." Obito said in a manner of a demand, as if there would be hell if she wasn't ok.

Stacey strode down the hallway, her chain that was attached to her belt and wallet swung around her left hip, she'd recently gone to talk to the doctor for the guy/cats she was with, guys who were cats... this seriously couldn't get any weirder. All cat eyes looked up at her as Stacey stepped around a corner into the waiting room, her brown hair had been taken out of its bun and done up again with a pencil sticking out of it like a beacon. White Zetsu seemed to be asleep-and Stacey wouldn't dare wake him since she knew he had earned it-the only problem with this was that Stacey couldn't interpret what the cats said to her; hey, who could understand cats anyway! "So, I talked to the doctor. May recently woke up but since it isn't visiting hours, we aren't allowed to go see her."

"Are you fucking saying that we have to wait?! That's bull shit!" Stacey stared down on the silver cat that had ceased his pacing. Maybe it wasn't a bad thing, not to understand the cats...

"Anyway, I'm sorry but I have to leave." If none of the cats had been staring at her, they all were now. The pure dark red cat that Stacey knew was Sasori, glared at her with a small growl of his teeth baring as if asking angrily: Why? "The wonderful 9.5 earthquake May started last night was right above my Dad's base, I know you hate him-and you have good reason to-but I have to make sure he's ok." Stacey backed away from the group, her sweaty hands cupping each other. "I'm sorry. I hope that you are reunited with May soon I can tell that you all really like her...And tell him," Stacey gestured towards White Zetsu, "thanks for taking care of me." With those final words, Stacey walked out of the room and down the hall, disappearing from their eyesight.

Stacey did in fact want to stay, she had liked May when they'd first met but she knew that May would be fine; her family on the other hand... it was a high possibility that they were dead, the earthquake had been beyond massive and it's destruction had been horrific. As Stacey walked away she had a weird feeling that this was going to be the last time she'd see the cats, those weird little fur balls that were actually human. Stacey shivered as the cold met her when she slid outside into the snowy morning of Christmas day.

Back in the hospital Hidan had slammed down his paw, "Fuck this, I'm going!" Hidan growled and stalked down the hallway.


You would think that standing in front of Black Zetsu, that May would be shaking or scared, but she stood there with a small glare when her shock had washed away. Of course she was scared but why would she show him that? Black Zetsu would thrive off her fear and get the upper hand in some way so May wasn't going to go down that path. One way to show that May didn't fear him was that she still lay on the floor, her arms propped up behind her head like a pillow and legs straight out in front.

"You're a bit early, I wasn't really expecting you for another hour." There was a part of May that wanted to jump up and choke this guy for everything she was worth, this being in front of her was a monster that was threatening both her and the Akatsuki.

Black Zetsu sneered at her sarcasm. "Indeed, young one."

May gave him a broad look, realizing that Black Zetsu looked incredibly tall from down here. "You seem to be in more control than you were yesterday, if I remember you were freaking out a little when it seemed we would both die." There was a twitch on Black Zetsu but unlike last time, he did not lunge at May with fury, he stilled himself and grinned.

"Trying to test my patience is never a good move in this game." Should May be scared right now, because as they continued this talk the fear was running away. It was almost like she could sense that Black Zetsu wasn't here to kill her. "You're right, I'm not here to kill you. You no longer worry me, no longer my problem." Black Zetsu shut his mouth for a second, the jagged teeth glinting. "This is goodbye, May. I hope, for your sake, that we never meet again." With that the black being began morphing into the floor.

"That's it? You're giving up so easily?" Good, all she had to do was hit his pride, maybe Black Zetsu would somehow tell her his plans.

Black Zetsu stopped the morph process and turned his eyes back towards her, they had reverted back to green. "Don't expect me to tell you anything. This is a truce for now, but if we ever cross each other again I swear I will kill you."

May didn't say anything as Black Zetsu disappeared, there was a part of her that was worried because from what she had learned from Black Zetsu that he always had a plan even when it seemed like he didn't. However when May tried to search for the chakra signature, she caught it deep under the building before it vanished, May blinked... had he just crossed back over to his world? Could he do that that easily?!

But at the same time May felt a weird sense of peace, as if the battle with Black Zetsu was finally over. If Black Zetsu would leave them alone, then nothing was going to stop them when the Akatsuki were sent back, that was reassuring, sad, but good at the same time.

From her spot on the floor, May gazed up at the ceiling with confusion; the noise of the door opening met May's ears. Turning she found Jackson standing in the hallway and all the Akatsuki kittens surrounding his feet, one silver cat in particular rushed in just as the door was fully opened.

There was a smile on May's lips that drifted up her cheeks as she wrapped the silver cat in her arms and hugged him. The others soon joined her, May and the Akatsuki were united once more.

"I missed you guys." May muttered into Swirl's fur as she picked him up for a hug. She dug her face into the fur, breathing in happily, everything was right in the world.


Author: I must thank you all for your reviews that have been coming in for the past chapters! They've all been wonderful and encouraging!

So I've been thinking hard about this story and really debating on if I want to do a reading of it on my Youtube channel, a part of me really wants to do it but the other isn't sure and is coming up with possible difficulties such as: what will actually be on the screen while we listen? Pictures, the words? etc. Since I am cut half way between on both sides, what do you, the readers, think about this idea? Do you think I should or shouldn't? And if I do then what should be playing on the screen while I'm reading the story?

Anyway! That poll is still going for the most popular character.

Review your answers to my Youtube question, or just review in general!

Thank you all so much for your support of the story and your constant love for the characters (but seriously, who could'n't love the Akatsuki?... I would hope you all love them since this story is kinda theirs! :)

Love ya, see ya all later!

-Jinx of the desert