Chapter Forty-four◊

Dreaming

I kept my eyes closed, not wanting to see the horror around me. All of this wasn't real, it couldn't be, just more torture, just a nightmare. It staggered into my head, sleeping as I dreamed, dreaming while I slept, never wanting to leave me be.

Laughter made my eyelids quiver and I just say the flash. Damn this, damn this! I thought something that made no sense. In a dream I usually couldn't think, just in a fiction made real. This all lead to the fact I wasn't dreaming, my torturer was coming back, but possibly not to let me live.

"Let's play a rather fun game," No, it wasn't my torture, the voice was darker yet lighter, an oxymoron in itself. "I'll give you the rules of the game and you can decide whether you want to play them or not, understand?" The long pause meant I was supposed to answer.

"Yeah, of course I understand, because you'll probably explain it even if I don't understand it…" Each moment with this torture annoyed me, and I didn't care when a sword tapped against my neck.

"You got even more annoying since our last time meeting." Another shift in the air more laughter, before a cool hand touched my chin. "Open your eyes bitch, so I can see that fear Madara was speaking of."

My eyes shot open against my own will, just because of that phrase. A person completely engulfed in shadows stood in front of me, a smirk revealing perfectly white teeth. This person somehow had been there at that moment, watching me, yet I hadn't noticed. Only one thing could ever do that and I knew I couldn't stop that from stalking me, so I'd have to put up with shadows keeping an eye on me.

"Now let me explain the game. It isn't like any of the other games we've played before, no; it's one I'll enjoy quite well. Next Friday I'll wish to meet you. The place will be told then, but allow me to continue. This is a game of lose or lose for you. I'll be taking you from this world to what you know as the shinobi world, and I'll murder you there." A chuckle was overwhelming the words that the shadow spoke. "If you don't come then…well allow me to keep speaking of the rules. First off, you cannot tell any of the Akatsuki of our little game, no matter if they ask about why you're acting so strange. Second, you are not to leave this house's area until you receive the location, but area meaning the backyard and front yard are okay to stay in." The voice was completely casual about it.

"Third, your friends are not allowed to come in contact with you, until that Friday, but I will give you two hours after our little meeting here to telling them not to contact you. I know you'll be able to come up with some foolish excuse, since you cannot tell them of this either. Next I would wish you to continue training with Deidara in jutsu." It leaned forward, chin resting in its knuckle. "It's kind of funny how blind you are to certain things." A soft laugh made me wonder what it was talking about. "So, next Friday you'll receive a message to where the location is and I want you to take two things with you. The binder with all of those stories held in its binding and that book passed down through your generation, you know the one."

"Explain what will happen if I decide not to show and tell my friends?"

"I'll murder your friend. The one who stumbles upon me first will bleed so lovely. And then I'll place their body in your room and have it beside you, eyes staring at you for letting them get killed in such a beautiful, brutal way." The smirk grew and its head fell backwards, laughing. "Now I know you don't want that, being the 'oh so' good friend you are, so I'll take this as your agreement."

My breath caught, feeling shadows drip over my burning skin, relishing each moment it licked my skin. Needles buried into my stomach, blood being kissed by the darkness, creating the deepest maroon that no other could see. Then I held dark over my eyes, not because I had closed them, no, because darkness had finally engulfed me and wanted me dead, or at least wanted me to stay with it.

"You'll know who I am and why I want to make you suffer and why I killed your ancestors, grandparents, and, of course, your senseless parents."

(Lines do work I just don't want to put them in…)

Kakuzu's eyes shot open, against his own will, of course. He looked to his side to find Hidan mumbling in his sleep, an annoyance of being partnered up with Hidan, well, one of the annoyances, and sat up, trying to remember what had just happened.

All he'd seen where shadows swirling around piles of blood stained bodies, mouths and eyes open. Then a devil's face had appeared, mouth open into a devious grin, before sending shadow coated wires into his hearts, pulling out and pushing in over and over again. "Time to play a game," It had wickedly murmured. "You'll find the first clue with one who screams, I'll leave you at that, little Kakuzu." And then it had cut off.

The one who screams…He already knew the answer, where to find it, and who it was. Pushing back the dark sheets he stepped silently to the floor and was to the door in only a moment. Sound evaporated as he stepped into the softly lit hallway, knowing where to go.

(Lines do work I just don't want to put them in…)

My eyes finally opened up in my sanctuary, hand going directly to my stomach to find it bleeding, again, right through the bandages. Two hours. It didn't matter to me if I died, just as long as my friends were safe. Yet that wasn't what I had been thinking an hour before I'd fallen asleep. Before I'd gone to sleep I'd thought that I would be traveling to the shinobi world with the Akatsuki. However now I remembered another promise, this one I'd made to my friends. No matter what came I'd save them first, no matter if the world was coming to its final breath I'd die before them.

"Well now how shall I tell Madara my decision if I won't even be here?" I mumbled to myself, sighing and pushing back the covers ready to go into the kitchen to get some more bandages. Then I would have to make a quick call to my friends and make up some weird story about why. And then, there was the difficultly of school, though I wasn't giving it much thought. Just couldn't let anyone know I was awake yet, because some truant officer would come and have to drag me back to that place. I can't believe I'm thinking about school! Smirking I touched the door and opened up to a supposedly dark hallway.

Yet I found Kakuzu standing at the steps, looking just above my door. "Hello Kakuzu-san," I simply smiled, his green and red eyes landing at me. "What brings you here?"

"Nothing," He answered rather quickly, making me wonder if he'd had a nightmare that had caused him to come here. Or if I'd screamed again, though I was sure I hadn't. The pain was so usual that it was becoming numb. Then he took a glance at my hand, which held to my bloodying stomach. "And you've been hurt once again." There was annoyance in his voice, not as much as to Hidan, but possibly just a bit less.

"Well if I had a choice this wouldn't have happened, but, of course, I wouldn't have a choice in anything I do." I just noticed that Kakuzu wasn't wearing his mask, which meant he hadn't taken to grab it. "You probably don't want me to tell you this, but you look very…handsome without your mask." My face was burning and this time I knew the exact reason.

He didn't seem to react, or give much of a care to my opinion, but I just shrugged it off and began up the stairs. However threads I knew well enough to be his pulled me back. "Do you think I give a damn to what you say of me, that it will help in some way? If you hadn't noticed I couldn't care less what you have to say…"

"I know you could care less, all of you could care less." It was a déjà vu moment for me, just revealing the Madara conversation but a few short hours ago.

The threads tightened on my flesh, digging in, yet not drawing blood in the least measure. "Watch what you say. I am an S-ranked shinobi and I can kill you." Déjà vu once more.

"Don't you think I know you can kill me? All of you can kill me, yet you keep me because I'm supposedly useful in capturing the Nine-Tails, but I don't see any way that is possible." The threads constricted with every word that poured from my thoughts, not my mouth. I would have known not to make Kakuzu angry in any way, shape, or form.

"You truly are as blind as your friends have spoken you to be." His eyes set to look at mine. "At first it seemed that was all you would be, useful in capturing the Nine-Tails, yet now things have changed that we can't leave without you."

"What things have changed?" The confusion set over me, especially about my friends saying I was blind. I saw things they couldn't see and they always imagined.

"Ask Sasori," And with that he threw me to the ground and head up the steps, making me wonder why he had come down here in the first place. Yet I was also wondering how I had found myself on the ground with thread marks all over me.

Oh yeah, I gave him a compliment. A smirk burst onto my face as I tried my best not to laugh at how I'd ended up like this. Standing I climbed the steps remembering what time limit I had.

** Yes, I finally got Adiera to interact with Kakuzu! It took a bit of planning but it worked out well enough. Okay so many of you may be excited now, you know why? Because it is Tuesday now, next Friday will roll around soon, and you'll finally, finally, finally be able to see who the evil person is! Get hype I know you want to! The mystery will soon come to a close…but if you remember 40-44, this one, has been one day, meaning five chapters to one day. So five times…nine equals…45? So 45 + 44 = 89. Ha, chapter 89! You'll have to wait 'til chapter 89? You'll go crazy by then! That's close to 90! That will take forever! Maybe I should combine some chapters so you guys don't have to wait so long to see who the evil person is…or I could keep torturing you, hehe. I'll think about it, okay? Or you could put in your reviews if you want to wait until 93 or so to figure out who the evil person is! It's your choice, another reason to review!

Okay, so questions for this chapter…

Are there two tortures now or was that really the so called Death? How many nightmares will she have before the next Friday? Why does she have to bring the two books? What was with Kakuzu's nightmare? Who were all those corpses? Why does Hidan mumble in his sleep? What is watching over her? How long has it been watching her? Why did Kakuzu overreact with Adiera's simple compliment? Why was he not wearing his mask in the first place? What is Kakuzu talking about "we can't leave without you"? And what does Sasori know of this?

And our story questions…

Why do any of the Akatsuki care or are they as careless as she believes? Does it truly have something to do with her chakra voice? Or is it something else? Why is this shadow after her family? What did they do in the past that had been so wrong to have someone kill them all and flee to another world? How did they find out of this other world? Are they the only ones who know of this world, besides the Akatsuki, now? Will the history of Adiera's family be revealed within the pages of that book? What is written within the hidden pages that had to have someone else open up the key? Why was Sasori the only one able to open the locket? Does it have anything to do with him being a puppet? When will you find out who was her torturer? How will they get back to their world? When will the answers of the riddle and first line given to Deidara and Itachi be revealed? Will these questions be answered any time soon?

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Akatsuki's a bang

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For favoriting this story I'd like to thank –

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For alerting this story I'd like to thank –

xxyangxx2006

yapook

AkatsukiMemberShadow

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Eyes Wide in the Dark

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dark angel vs light angel

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For giving me ideas for this story I'd like to thank –

xxyangxx2006

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AkatsukiMemberShadow (this was your title idea from 2/25/11, suggested in chapter 34)

For reading and enjoying this story so far I'd like to thank –

YOU! **