Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Naruto characters or places. I only own the characters from Earth/our world. Even then, they are based on actual friends of mine.

Author's Note: I'm up and bored, so I'm posting an hour early! Technically, Sunday starts at midnight, and it's 11pm where I am . . . and it's Sunday somewhere at the moment, so it's all good. Plus, I have a pretty full schedule tomorrow, and I don't want to get caught up in studying and writing my JAVA program and forget to put this up. So, tadaa! Yay! Anyway, I got some pretty interesting reactions to the last chapter. I'm GLaD you all enjoyed it, and I hope you like this one as well. GAH! My hair is wet and keeps falling over my shoulder and splattering the screen/keyboard. Grrrr. (ties hair back) There we go. Problem solved. haha randomness. Anyway, here's the shocking conclusion to Kaitlyn's set of chapters! Enjoy . . . or I'll set Hidan and Kakuzu on you next. (evil eye) haha, just kidding. You all are too great for me to do that. I'd more likely force Sasuke to dress up in a frilly pink dress and send him over with a plate of fresh cookies. That would be fun, no? haha, I need to go to bed. Can't you tell? Well, I'll stop spewing nonsense and let you get to the chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter 54: An Epiphany

KAITLYN

Now I'm really going to die. I just know it. This is bad bad bad bad bad! There's no way I'm going to survive this! I mean. This is Akatsuki! Hidan and Kakuzu no less! The zombie twins! Aren't they supposed to be dead or something? This is really really bad! Ahhhhh!

"Will you stop screaming in my fucking ear?!" Kakuzu snaps angrily. "No one can hear you. You're gagged, and help is far too far away. They probably haven't even realized you're gone yet. So, shut up!"

Hidan sniggers from where he runs next to us. "Having trouble there, Kakuzu?"

The stitched-up man simply growls in return and keeps moving through the forest. It's not so hot now, but I don't exactly have the time to enjoy the cool shade of the trees and lack of sand everywhere. I'm kind of busy freaking out at the moment.

"Where are you taking me?" I demand. Of course, thanks to the gag across my mouth, the words don't come out as I had planned. It sounds more like. "Whah ah hoo hayhih hee?"

Again, Hidan grins in amusement. Apparently, he can understand what I'm saying -- or trying to say, since he answers, "You'll see when we get there."

I kick my legs in the air, struggling against Kakuzu's hold. "Put me down! I don't want to go anywhere with you! Gaara!!!" Again, the words are distorted, and 'Gaara' sounds more like 'Gaawa', but you get the idea. I'll save you the gibberish I actually said and tell you what I was trying to say. That'll make things easier, right?

"Stop squirming, bitch," the man carrying me growls, "or I'll drop you on your head."

I pause for a moment before shrugging the threat off and continuing to kick and scream. Snarling in frustration, Kakuzu bounces me in his grasp, his shoulder jamming into my gut and knocking the air out of me for a minute or two. In that silence, I feel more of those threads of his wrapping around my ankles to keep me from kicking more.

As I wheeze, trying to catch my breath, Hidan clicks his tongue. "Careful Kakuzu. We have orders not to harm her."

That's good, at least, I think bitterly. Mean, old man. Then it strikes me. They can't really understand what I'm saying with this gag in my mouth, and things really can't get any worse. Besides, Hidan just said they weren't supposed to hurt me, right?

So, with my newfound (if foolish, idiotic, and just plain stupid) realization that Hidan and Kakuzu won't -- or can't -- hurt me, I throw caution to the wind and start yelling whatever comes to mind. Though muffled and made unintelligible by the gag, my words are still loud and strong. "Put me down, you mean old man! I'm warning you! I know the ancient art of origami! My dad even taught me capoeira too! That's Brazilian martial arts, and I'll kick your butt with it if you don't let me go this instant!"

I keep going, yelling threats and oaths until my throat is sore. Still, though, I keep making as much noise as I can. I'm obviously starting to get at them, and it's only a matter of time before one of them snaps. The only question is: Which one? I guess I should wonder what will happen when they snap as well, but I'm not all that worried. Granted, I should be, but I'm oddly calm.

Kakuzu's noticeably shaking with irritation. Nearby, Hidan's muttering under his breath, shooting harsh glances in my direction as he fingers the pendant around his neck. I definitely make out "Jashin-sama" several times in his muttering, so I assume he's praying. Still, that's not exactly a good thing, considering that he prays like that before a kill. He wouldn't really kill me, right? He said they weren't supposed to hurt me.

"I hope you know that Gaara's going to kill you when he catches you! If you're lucky, he'll smush you in his sand quickly so there's no pain. He probably won't, though, 'cause he'll be so angry with you for kidnapping me like this."

They continue running, doing their very best to ignore me. Hmm. I'll have to think of something better. Smirking inwardly, I draw in a deep breath through my nose and start making a high-pitched screeching sound from deep in my throat. The gag doesn't do much to muffle that, and I feel Kakuzu flinch. Got him.

A heartbeat later, Hidan gives a frustrated cry. "For the love of Jashin-sama, shut her up! She's driving me crazy!"

Wow. I wasn't expecting Hidan to snap first. All my bets were on Kakuzu. That startles me so much that I actually stop screaming. To my increasing surprise, the man carrying me chuckles under his breath. "Well, that's a feat."

Hidan snarls. "Here. Put her down. I'll tear her voice box out. That'll make her shut up."

I squeak in fear, expecting Kakuzu -- the violent one -- to agree. He shakes his head. "You said it yourself. We can't hurt her. Leader would get angry."

"What does he care? We can pull what we want to know straight from her head. We sure as hell don't need her to talk."

"I don't know," Kakuzu admits, seeming slightly relieved for my sudden bout of silence. "Our orders were just to capture her and bring her to the Rain Village unharmed for questioning. That's all he told us. You know that as well as I do."

What they want to know? Questioning? I give a mental gasp. They must know that I'm from the real world! They want me for my knowledge of the future! No! I can't let them have that! I struggle harder against Kakuzu's hold on me.

Hidan heaves a sigh. "Just let me knock the little bitch out. That'll save some trouble right?" Did he just call me what I think he did? Little? Ohhhhh, he's gonna get it when I get free. I struggle harder.

Kakuzu grunts against the effort to hold me still. He's actually had to stop running in order to do so. Ha. Score for me. "That would count as hurting her."

"Aw, c'mon, Kakuzu. We could just say that she fought back -- which is true at the moment -- and we had to use necessary force to secure her capture. It's not like we're killing her, though that'd be nice."

"You'd better not!" I start yelling again through the gag. "Gaara'll be pissed! And you're going to fail your mission anyway, 'cause he's coming to rescue me! There's no way Gaara's gonna let you get away with this! He's going to come and save me and you two are going to be in big trouble when he gets here. He's going to tear you two apart and --"

"Argh!" Hidan roars. "I can't take this anymore!" He takes a couple steps back from us and crosses his arms over his chest. "Kakuzu, put her down. We're leaving her here. I quit this stupid assignment. We can just tell Leader we couldn't get a hold of her. He won't know any better."

Kakuzu snorts. "For once, I agree with you. This isn't worth it." He unceremoniously dumps me on the ground.

I give a sharp cry as my butt smacks into the hard forest floor, sending jarring pain up my spine. "Ow! Hey that hurt!" I object, falling over onto my side with my hands and legs bound and thus unable to balance me.

The stitched-up shinobi eyes me coldly. "Should we kill her?"

Hidan sighs, looking rather disappointed as he answers. "As much as I'd love to, no. Like you and I both said, we're not supposed to hurt her. We can at least complete that part of this Jashin-damned assignment," he grumbles angrily as he turns and vanishes into the dark woods.

"You're just going to leave me here?" I try to ask around the gag.

Kakuzu follows him without a word. That's it? It's over? That was easier than expected. Wait. Now, I'm alone in the middle of the forest, tied up and helpless. "Hey! Wait! You can't just leave me here tied up like this! Hey! Aw, maaaan."

This is perfect. Just peachy. What am I supposed to do now? Just lay here until someone finds me? What if it's not my friends? What then? What if Gaara and them are tracking Hidan and Kakuzu's chakra? They'll have changed direction as soon as the zombie twins did and they'll miss me completely.

I whimper softly, fear and worry building even more in my chest than it was before. What's going to happen to me? Am I going to die out here? Starve to death tied up like this? Then another thought occurs to me. Are there wild animals in these woods? There are bound to be. I mean, there were gigantic centipedes in the Forest of Death. Who knows what's lurking out here.

I fight the urge to start hyperventilating. Come on, Kaitlyn. This is not time to panic. I can't seem to convince myself, though, as tears well up into my eyes and utter despair sweeps over me.

The brush nearby rustles as something moves through it. I freeze, heart hammering in my chest. Oh no. What's that? Is it some wolf coming to eat me? I start shaking, staring in the direction of the sound. I can see it – the dark shape rushing toward me through the brush. Here it comes. This is it. This is the end. Goodbye cruel world. I squeeze my eyes shut, waiting for the killing blow.

Limbs snap close by and a voice calls out, "Let her go, you --!" The voice falls suddenly silent, as if confused.

I crack one eye open to peek up at the person. "Kankuro?"

The young puppeteer blinks down at me several times before rushing to my side. "Kaitlyn! Oh, thank goodness. Are you alright? Gaara! Over here!" He sits me up, putting away one of his kunai. "Hold still." Carefully, he cuts the thick chord of black strings gagging me.

As the gag falls away, I give him a weird look. "Okay, who are you and what have you done with the real Kankuro?"

He chuckles, cutting the bindings on my wrists and ankles. "Don't get used to it, kid."

A red-headed blur drops from the trees into a crouch. Gaara half-rises, looking at me with slightly wide eyes. Those blue orbs almost seem near panic. "Kaitlyn!" He's at my side in the blink of an eye, kneeling beside me. "Are you hurt at all? Are you alright? The Akatsuki --" His voice cuts off as he lifts his eyes from looking me over for wounds to meet my startled gaze. A heartbeat passes like an eternity before he suddenly reaches out and grabs me, pulling me into a tight embrace. "I thought I had lost you."

I can't move. Heck, I can't breathe, but that's not because he's squeezing me tightly, but because he's actually hugging me! I can hardly believe this is happening! I mean – one second my life is a nightmare and the next . . . wow. Just -- wow.

Finally, I manage to speak. "I'm fine, Gaara. No worries." I giggle lightly, hugging him back. "They left me here 'cause I was driving them nuts. Apparently, I talked way too much, even with that gag on."

Kankuro chuckles. "For once, that came in handy, eh?"

I grin at him over Gaara's shoulder. "Yeah, I guess it did. Golly gee, ain't I lucky?"

Gaara pulls back slightly to lean his forehead against mine. My breath catches in my chest as I stare into his sky-eyes. "Don't you ever leave my side again," he says, voice low and serious. "I won't let anyone take you away from me."

His tone startles me. "Gaara? Are you feeling alright?" He says nothing, and, feeling awkward in the silence, I continue on. "It's not like you to be this open, especially to me of all people. I mean, I'm Miss Annoying Butthead That Never --"

Gaara interrupts my rampage swiftly and simply. He kisses me. Oh. My. Dear. Sweet. God. He's kissing me!!! My heart flutters in my chest, my eyes widening slightly before slipping closed as I lean into the kiss. I. Am. In. Heaven!!!

Someone gives a low whistle nearby, followed by Temari's voice. "Well, there's something you don't see every day."

Kankuro chuckles softly. "Yeah. There goes the neighborhood." He pauses before adding, "Make that the village."