Arc II, part II: i'll follow you into the dark
if heaven and hell decide
that they are both satisfied
illuminate the "no's" on their vacancy signs
if there's no one beside you
when your soul embarks
The aftermath of their first 'spar' is… chaotic.
Kisame immediately bothers her to spar with him in that "awesome" mode, please, but Sakura just shakes her head and explains why that won't work. Next to him, his raven-haired partner listens attentively. Itachi, surprisingly, expresses interest in the detailed workings of the technique, to which Sakura can only respond with a "sure, later" while trying to figure out how to react to that.
Kakuzu absorbs the three remaining hearts back into his body, after which he seems pretty okay again – of which Sakura is enormously jealous. The older shinobi grabs Hidan's legs and moves over to wake him, which fills the whole training field with many colourful expletives.
Konan, meanwhile, is waking Deidara up gently. As the bombardier comes awake with a whole lot of moaning and complaining, Sakura shrugs off Tobi's loud worries and checks the blonde over. Kakuzu made sure they'd not landed on their head, so the broken shoulder and internal bleeding are relatively easy to fix.
If Sakura sways on her feet a bit as she stands up, well, no one says a thing.
As they walk back to the headquarters, Sakura looks back over the battlefield once more and just breathes.
Her first victory.
Something about the sight of the large clearing littered with holes and cracked in two – no, three – parts is nagging at her. Inner is quick to distract her with a victory dance, however, and a hand on her shoulder from Deidara makes her shrug and turn around.
Sleep comes easy that night.
Sakura has only just finished her morning routine when there is a knock on her door.
Zipping up her vest, Sakura pushes a hand through her loose hair and opens the door with a smile.
"Good morning, Sakura-san. I was wondering if you had any plans for the day?" The only other woman in the Akatsuki greets her with a smile, and Sakura dips her head.
"Good morning to you too, Konan-san. I do not, unsurprisingly. And please, just Sakura is okay." Might as well extend a hand back.
"Then it is Konan to you as well, please. And I suspected as much – I was wondering, how would you like to see more of Amegakure today?"
As she says this, Konan extends her hands. A package. For Sakura.
After Konan is gone and Sakura readies herself, she opens the package to discover not one but three thick, high-quality wooden robes. Akatsuki robes.
Each of them fits her perfectly. Each of them decorated with the once so dreaded pattern of red clouds.
Pulling one of them on, Sakura is surprised by how natural it feels. The fabric is soft against her skin, and the fit of the cloak makes her look taller, more imposing. The crimson of her ring on her thumb reflects prettily.
Looking in the mirror, face half-hidden by the high collar, Sakura feels the part for the first time.
It feels good.
There's also a straw hat with a bell on it included, although she doesn't know what to make of that. She decides to leave it off for now.
After gathering her belongings, she meets Konan in the kitchen for a quick breakfast. The Akatsuki only dines together, as some of them (like her partner) liked to sleep in while others preferred to rise early. The two woman chatted a bit as they went. All in all, it felt surprisingly natural.
As the pair walked towards the elevators connecting their floor and quarters to the rest of the building, Konan turned towards her.
"Could you possibly disguise yourself as a civilian for this tour? I'd like for you to see the everyday Amegakure, so to say. If we go out here as we are," her lips quirked into a soft smile, eyes fluttering, "well, the Akatsuki is quite known around here, so to say."
As Konan speaks, paper gathers around her, appearing from nowhere. It covers her completely as she speaks, not hindering her in the least, as if she's making a papier-mâché figurine of herself.
When the paper settles, it does so like a second skin. It is a second skin, as a nondescript black-haired and dark-skinned woman now stands in front of her.
"That's not a genjutsu," Inner notes, and Sakura repeats it aloud with approval in her voice.
Konan simply smiles in response and inclines her head. Sakura huffs fondly – why is she even surprised at this point – and makes a few hand signs, transforming into a brunette herself and biting back the questions that rise up in her throat.
Patience.
Konan presses her now-invisible ring against a pad next to the elevator and the doors open.
As the duo travels downwards, Konan addresses her once more.
"The tower we are currently in is formally called the Divine Gate, though it's commonly known as the Temple," the blue-haired woman says lightly.
"This temple does not only house the quarters you have already seen, but also contains our mission assignment desk, administration offices and our shinobi's library. And, most relevant to our civilians, several shrines and places of reverence."
Sakura simply nods in response as the elevator opens into a simple corridor.
Konan starts walking, Sakura trailing behind her. The first thing that the medic-nin notices is the wall of sound that comes closer and closer, the noise of a large crowd going about their day. It is accompanied by the eternal pitter-patter of rain against glass.
They make a turn left, and the smell of drying hair and clothing fills Sakura's nose. It is not unpleasant.
Two next turn finds them in the back of a spacious atrium. It is full of people, traveling back and forth, in and out of several doors, corridors and stairways near them. It is easy to join the crowd unremarked.
There are more people here than Sakura expected on this Saturday morning. Shinobi and civilians alike scuttle through the large open space that seems to be the ground-floor entrance of the Divine Gate. The large, rectangular space has several staircases on either side, plus several corridors which led into large open spaces which Sakura barely glimpses. The space is mostly coloured in hues of blues and greys, though there is a surprising amount of greenery to be found.
Sakura drinks it all in, cataloguing all the little quirks that catch her eye.
The easiest way to distinguish between shinobi and civilian is their choice of clothing. While most Ame shinobi are dressed practically, dark blues and greys that blend in to their enviornment, Ame's civilians are a brightly coloured bunch. There are greens, yellows and oranges- reds, purples and pinks- long, flowy garments and a whole lot of creative headwear, for some reason. Though most of them are dressed for the eternal drab weather, it seemed the populace of Ame had collectively decided that they would make up for the colourless sky by wearing the colours themselves.
Sakura can't help but smile at it.
A second prominent quirk is the great variety of backgrounds in the crowd, civilians and shinobi alike. As they pass more and more people, Sakura estimates that she sees people hailing from every single one of the Five Great Nations, and some smaller ones besides. It's… refreshing, to be honest.
Peering through one of the corridors they pass, Sakura can only see a glimpse of a chapel of some sort, several kneeling figures in front of dark statutes.
Next to her, Konan lowers her voice but speaks clearly. "Those are the prayer rooms, sanctums for all of Ame to pray to Kami and his Angel, or to meditate if they wish. They are quite popular." A touch of pride tinges her voice.
Sakura's eyes trail further, across the many windows scattered high across the walls, where the dark sky is visible through the raster-like open spaces of the second floor of the city above.
The few shinobi in the crowd move briskly and efficiently, often heading to the staircases or, more rarely, one of the sanctums. None of them spare them a second glance.
"The floor above this is the mission desk," Konan informs her, "which also has an entrance on the upper level." Sakura makes a noise of interest, and Konan shoots her a patient look. "We'll visit those later," when we're not in disguise.
Sakura's mouth quirks, and then her roaming eyes still as the two women near the centre of the room and a grey blur she'd yet not focused on becomes clear.
There is an enormous statue square in the middle of the atrium. It depicts a figure with enormous wings spread wide, spanning the whole width of the hall. The wings are curved slightly, giving the illusion of protection to those that walk underneath it.
They are also made completely out of little paper pieces.
Sakura feels her eyebrow quirk upwards as they near the statue. She doesn't need to see the front of it to predict the person whom the wings belong to.
She stops herself from turning a baffled look towards Konan, aware enough after her time 'on the run,' so to say, to suppress these kinds of actions.
As they come closer, it becomes clear that the statue is actually a few feet up in the air. Enough for people to pass easily underneath the feet, if that space weren't blocked off by heaps of colourful flowers. At first, Sakura thinks they belong there, but as they come closer she realizes they are put there by countless different hands.
Offerings.
When the two Akatsuki members silently pass underneath the wings of Konan's statue, the stone face depicted with uttermost accuracy and – a fact which surprises Sakura just a little bit – an expression of benevolent kindness that she has not seen on Konan's face before, Sakura can't help herself.
"'Quite known around here,' you mentioned?" she says almost soundlessly as her eyes trail on the row of figures on their knees next to the pile of offerings at the feet of the statue, eyes closed and lips moving soundlessly.
Konan just smiles at her as if they're sharing an inside joke.
Sakura barks out a short laugh, and inclines her head in respect towards the statue, mouth curved ironically. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees a single Ame shinobi who'd been watching the two of them for a few long seconds relax slightly and move further towards one of the staircases.
The feeling in the back of her neck indicates that Konan had been aware of him as well. Sakura cocks her head, simply turning her head towards her companion.
The temporary black-haired woman meets her eyes and says nothing for a moment, simply holding her gaze as they walk.
"See it as an exercise," she eventually mentions casually as they exit the atrium.
Sakura just shakes her head slightly.
Passing through one of three sets of double doors at the entrance of the Divine Gate, Sakura and Konan step into the heart of Ame.
A large square unfolds in front of them, the rain doing nothing to hinder the civilians walking to and fro. There is a surprising number of shops littering the sides of the square, all of them with their own lean-to. The square itself does not have much in the way of benches or grass, but there is a beautiful fountain-like structure in the middle of it.
Fountain-like, because there is no water coming out of the structure itself. Instead, it guides the ever-present rain in stylish and elegant swirls to the ground, a steady stream of water that makes quite an artful centrepiece. Some of the slides actually have coloured stone pieces inside of them, which brightens up the whole area.
As Konan crosses the centre-square, Sakura's eyes trail upwards.
The Divine Gate towers above them, and Sakura understands why the civilians prefer to call it the Temple. Standing in front of it like this, even Sakura herself feels small. It is easy to imagine some God actually living in that place that stretches so far into the heavens.
In their eyes, He does actually live there, she realizes next.
"And we do too, now," Inner adds gently.
After staring at the building they'd just exited for another moment, comfortable in the feeling of the genjutsu around her, Sakura turns to follow Konan. As she does, her eyes catch movement above them.
From this point of view, the upper levels of Ame are actually barely visible. The metal walkways fade into the grey of the sky above them, and the buildings around them curve just so to carefully distract from the moving figures above them.
Sakura still sees them constantly moving in her peripheral vision, of course.
"Do you like it?" Konan asks suddenly, pulling Sakura out of her musings.
"I do, yeah," she answers slowly. "It's… different, very different than I'm used to. Not just the," she gestures with her hands to indicate the different levels of the city and Konan hums, "but also the style of the buildings, the variety of people around us…"
Her eyes catch on a gaggle of children, pushing their way through the crowd. They do not seem to care for the rain, following some seemingly random trail.
It is only then the medic notices there are a variety of lines and images depicted in the stone walkways underneath them, small grooves constantly being filled by slowly moving water. They trail along and across the road, curving in different figures and images, giving life to the otherwise heartless streets.
"It should be bleak and cold," she muses aloud, "but it is not."
Konan's tone is tinged with approval as she replies. "It is not," she agrees, "because our people make it so. See?"
She inclines her head to an ally on their left, where two figures are bent over the sidewalk, carving something into the stone. A lone passer-by watches with interest, but does not seem surprised.
"Oh," Sakura replies, mind whirring. Turning back, she sees that Konan has stepped towards the two figures.
Eyebrows raised, Sakura follows her, wondering how this will play out.
"Hi! Sorry, misters, do you have a moment?" Konan pitches her voice a little higher, talks a little faster, angles her body just so. Suddenly, there is a naïve girl standing in front of her.
Sakura feels a little overcome by the change, unsettled in a way she cannot explain. Konan would have managed just fine to stay hidden on the run, she suddenly realizes and does not know what to think about that.
The two men, meanwhile, are looking up. They have similar eyes and chins.
"Ah, hello miss!" says the older one. "Of course, of course, how can I help you?"
Konan claps her hands together and rises a little on her toes as she answers. Sakura forces her expression to stay neutral. "Well, I'm showing my friend Ari here around town," and she gestures animatedly at Sakura, "she's just visiting, you know. And she was wondering were all our pretty art comes from, and I thought, well I could tell her myself, but I've already told her so much, you know! So maybe would you explain it, if you don't mind, I mean you're adding to our Hymn right now, so…"
The younger man laughs a little as the older man stands and holds his hands up in the air. "Of course, of course, miss! Always happy to help settle a new stray, so to say. No offence," he quickly adds, nodding to Sakura who tries to portray a shy nervousness, blinking quickly and looking away.
"Ame is simply a city of the lost, at least for those that are new here," the man continues, brushing his hands on his pants. "We get a lot of fresh faces around here who are looking for a better life, you know. Civilian and shinobi alike. But don't worry, Kami-sama accepts all."
"Ahw, thank you sirs, you're too kind!" Konan replies, clapping her hands together childishly.
The younger man has seated himself on the ground now, looking up at the older man as he starts to talk. "You see, miss, here in Ame you may have noticed that it rains quite often." There is humour in his voice, and Sakura can't help but take a liking to him. He seems innocent, not unburdened, exactly, but… good of heart.
"Most people here do their best to brighten up this place as best as they can, something which Kami-sama only encourages. Anyone is free to make this city their home, as long as they pour their heart into it."
The last sentence is said like a common piece of wisdom, an often-repeated phase.
Sakura nods at him in encouragement, smiling slightly. "One of the ways this has taken form is in the creation of our Hymn," the man continues as he gestures at the lines in the stone beneath them. "All of us here in Ame decorate our streets with our own prayers, wishes and dreams, chiselling them into the stone underneath our feet. We do it not in words, but in imagery. And as the water flows through them, Kami-sama himself reads our Hymn every day, so that our dreams may be heard and our love for Him be known." The conviction in his voice is absolute.
The man falls silent, smiling fondly to the lines in the stone beneath them. Sakura swallows once. "What are you carving right now, if I may ask?"
The younger man speaks up for the first time, shyly looking up at them. "That our father may be safe whenever he is, and that we-" he swallows, once, "we are thankful to Tenshi-sama and Kami-sama for saving our mother."
Leaning forward, Sakura can see that the duo are carving an angel-like figure standing over two empty spaces, one in which the outline of a face is slowly being sketched out.
She does not know what to say.
"That sounds like a wonderful thing to wish for," Konan answers for her, standing just al little taller. "I am sure that Kami-sama will hear your prayers and guide your heart, so that you may never be truly alone, and your love may live on through the rain forever." Her voice hits just the right balance of empathetic and kind without being pitying.
The younger man falls silent, and the older man lets out a breath before smiling sadly. "Thank you, miss. I am sure, too."
Konan shrugs shyly, and then bows slightly towards the two man. "Thank you for helping me, misters. I'll leave you to your Hymn. Blessed be the rain that falls upon your shoulders!" she adds somewhat formally as they turn to leave.
"And may your dreams be carried high into the heavens, miss." the men echo back.
The two Akatsuki are silent for while, simply regarding the people around them as they walk through the streets. Sakura's fingers drum against her thigh. They turn and pass a small recreational area. Nothing more than a cluster of trees, a bench and a patch of grass – it's very unnatural. Still, it is pleasant.
Sakura scrapes her throat and sits down the empty bench, Konan joining her a moment later.
The usually pink-haired woman leans forward, seeing the wet strands of brown hair cover the side of her face.
A minute passes in silence. As they sit down, the rain seems to weigh a little heavier on them, and Konan turns her head to the sky, smiling indulgently.
"They truly see Pein-sama as a god, don't they?"
Konan chuckles. "Tell me, Sakura, to a civilian, how is he not?"
When Sakura stays silent, Konan continues softly, the sound of the rain covering their words.
"You must not forget, it was Pein-sama that has slain Hanzõ, a true tyrant who has terrorized this country for countless years. It was Pein-sama that improved their infrastructure, turned the military from a rogue bunch of murders to the controlled shinobi force that it is today." Konan's fingers tighten momentarily before relaxing once more, folding them in her lap.
"Brought the Akatsuki into this city, as the ultimate protectors." As she says this, Sakura can't help but chuckle darkly, thinking what Konoha would have to say about that.
"Never mind the fact that the Akatsuki as a whole are some of the most powerful shinobi alive. Pein-sama literally controls the weather. There are religions who thrive on far less than that."
Sakura hums contemplatively. If she's honest, with what she has seen of Pein-sama's powers and abilities… who knows. Maybe he is a God.
Maybe the line between shinobi and human has just blurred that much further.
Breathing out slowly, Sakura rises from the bench, the rain against her skin almost pleasant, welcoming. She half-turns towards Konan, who is watching her expectantly.
"Let's continue exploring, shall we?"
Konan simply nods.
The next hour is spent just wandering through Amegakure, chatting casually. The rain never stops, never lessens, and it seems most citizens have just elected to… accept it. Ignore it. Yes, most are wearing some kind of poncho to protect them or their belongings from the worst of the rain, but most don't even bother with that.
Conversation with Konan is pleasant. Her love for her city is clear.
"We've been in power here for years now," Konan answers with a nod, eyes trailing the moving figures above them. "It's felt like home even since before that. Something we decided to fight for, even though it has costs us much." There is something complicated in her voice, then, and Sakura decides not to poke.
So she simply hums. "You know that, as far as I'm aware, Konoha still thinks Hanzõ runs this place? They think this is all just a place of scum and criminals who fight among themselves, and are happy to leave it alone."
Konan looks at her for a moment, mouth a thin line. "Good. And it used to be. One thing we did keep the same, so to say, is our… reputation."
Sometimes, Konan lets Sakura take the lead, other times, she guides them. For example, she leads them towards the hospital, a simple though large building called Tenshi's Blessing.
"It's not as advanced as what you're used to," Konan mentions quietly after Sakura's taken a long look at the place, "but it's something. We get all kinds of refugees here, so there is a lot of demand for healthcare. We're designed more for quality than quantity, really."
Sakura tears herself away from the building and her conflicting feelings on it. "Something for me to look into, later," she answers but the moment the words leave her lips she does not know if she believes them.
Konan's gaze is piercing as she meets her own, even through the disguises. The other woman cocks her head. "Maybe," she agrees, "though that is not your most important duty, now."
Sakura looks away first, and tells herself the feeling in her chest is not relief.
Their tour takes them through the shinobi district, cold and business-like blocks of concrete stacked upon each other, reaching high into the sky. The smell of sweat seems to have seeped into the walls.
Surprisingly, there is a lot more of these carvings the citizens call their Hymn here than any other housing district they've been in yet.
Eyes trailing on a particularly detailed Hymn of two figures moving in a deadly dance, Sakura turns to Konan and asks, "Do you work with a partner?"
"Not really," Konan answers slowly. "I prefer to work alone, especially because I specialize as both an infiltrator and an assassin. Though officially, I'm paired with Tobi right now, it's not the most practical team we've had to form."
Sakura's head jerks up slightly. "Do you mean that we're looking for a tenth member?"
Konan looks at her with narrowed eyes for a moment, then huffs. "Careless," she mutters. Then, "The answer to that question is yes, technically, but not as of yet."
Sakura simply raises an eyebrow, and Konan smiles. "I'll tell you later. For now, let's get some food, ne?"
They've arrived at the edge of the third shopping district they've passed through. As Sakura sees more and more of Ame's people, it strikes her that they are just like the civilians back home. Happy, mostly, with their jobs and families and lives. These civilians worry about stock prices, if their child could find a job, if their friend is happy in their relationship. They don't worry about a teammate's deadly betrayal, a potential assassination during a mission, whether they are capable enough murderers to keep themselves alive through the next month.
She passes a couple right around her age, maybe even a little younger, walking around hand-in-hand, blushing slightly.
If only that was the most of her troubles.
Her attention is snagged by Konan stepping into the lean-to of a nearby shop. The smell of freshly baked bread and sweet pastries fills her nose. It leaves a pleasant tingle across her skin. Above the lean-in is a colourful sign proclaiming the shop to be called "Pie in the Sky".
The border of the lean-to is decorated in tiny paper angel-like figures. Sakura has noticed them in other places as well, scattered around most, if not all, shops.
Tenshi-sama, she remembers. It's not hard to make the connection.
"Good afternoon," a plump and friendly woman greets the two of them as they enter the shop. "How can I help you?"
Konan takes the lead once more. "Two divine treats, please. My friend here is new to Ame, and I'm showing her around. So of course I've brought them here to taste our local delicacies."
"Oh, that's lovely!" the woman answers with a wide smile as she moves towards the side of the counter. On the corner is a selection of angel-like figures made of rice, simple triangles with a head and wings. "Our divine treats are amongst the best of Ame, I assure you. My wife and I prepare them fresh every morning!"
Sakura cannot help a genuine smile at the woman's enthusiasm.
"You see, these divine treats work just like onigiri. There is no rule on what exactly is hidden inside of the treat, only that is should taste like a blessing of Tenshi-sama herself! We do make three broad sorts here; sweet, vegetarian and meat-based. Or you can say surprise me, of course." The woman points to several of the angel-like figures as she speaks. Sakura, leaning closer, sees that they are decorated as well. They look cute, actually.
"Well, surprise me, then," she answers with enthusiasm. She's actually quite hungry, now that she thinks of it. "I'll take two," shooting a look at Konan, "wait, let's make that four."
The woman behind the counter nods and starts selecting their treats carefully. Sakura takes the opportunity to chat further.
"The paper angels outside, they depict your Tenshi-sama as well, am I right?" Sakura covers up the slight awkwardness she feels at Konan's – for her – obvious amusement in the corner of her eye.
The woman nods. "That is correct, miss! Almost every household or shop in Amegakure has them. They are meant to call upon Tenshi-sama, to bless our homes and businesses and guide our prayers up into the sky so they may reach Kami-sama himself."
Sakura stops her eyebrows from raising. She supposes that for a civilian, lacking the inbred or sometimes inborn utter loyalty for their village, religion would play a larger role in their life.
Ha. Maybe she should be looking to convert.
"Have you lived in Ame your whole life, miss?" she asks instead of dwelling on that thought.
"I actually was born outside of this city, a small village not too far from here. But when I met my sweet Hina I could not stop myself from following her to Ame. Can't say I regret it, really. Life in the city is different than on the farms, but it's actually very pleasant. Though I miss the space, sometimes."
Sakura nods. "The weather must be a change as well."
The woman laughs while gathering up their purchases. "You get used to it, you do. Mind you, it sure took me months to do so, but after a while you simply adjust. It helps that Hina always sees the rain as a blessing, a sign that Kami-sama is watching over us." She pauses for a second, her eyes fond.
"For me, as a child, the rain meant either a good harvest or time to play in the puddles. It wasn't hard to see it as a blessing once more. Besides, here in Ame, you never feel quite like you're alone when you're out in the rain. I don't know why, but it's soothing." Sighing once, she wraps up their purchases and smiles.
"Besides, the fact that it turns off like clockwork every Sunday afternoon and on our holy days actually proves it must be Kami-sama's work!"
Sakura exchanges some money and accepts the purchases with a polite smile. "It must be," she agrees blandly.
Konan gives a short bow to the woman as well as the two undercover Akatsuki turned to leave. "Blessed be the rain upon your shoulders," she calls out politely as they leave. The reply, "May your dreams be carried into the heavens," is faint behind them.
They walk out of the shop in silence.
Sakura munches on her divine treat in silence, processing all that she has just seen and heard. The treat is surprisingly sweet, but with a pleasant structure to it that tickles her mouth. It's good. It really is.
Amegakure… It's so very different than she'd expected. To be honest, she hadn't really be sure what to expect. Remembering her childhood in Konoha, all Leaf shinobi had seemed like heroes, the Hokage like the kindest grandpa to ever live. And look how that turned out. The tree she'd grown up under turned out to cast some very long shadows, and they were all dark.
Was it the same for Ame? Were civilians living here in ignorant bliss, worshipping Pein-sama while he and the Akatsuki committed atrocities behind their backs? Then again, were the atrocities the Akatsuki committed any different than those carried out under the banner of Konoha, or the Konoha ANBU?
Sakura really didn't know. She supposed it was a good thing, that the Akatsuki didn't rule Ame like a warzone, though it seemed to be a dictatorship nonetheless. She was stuck here, now, so whatever was going on here, she had to make peace with it.
It was just so… normal.
"Penny for your thoughts?" came the soft voice from her companion as the two of them wandered once more through one of the housing districts of Ame, the broader though still tall buildings around them decorated with all kinds of colourful lights.
"Just processing what I've seen," Sakura answered honestly, swallowing the last of her divine treats. "Trying to match my experiences here with my experiences with the… in Ame until now."
Konan smiled. "There is no one around right now. You can speak plainly, though softly."
Sakura slowed to a halt and turned to the other woman, leaning against a nearby wall. "All this… worship," she asks while gesturing broadly. "Was this something you and Pein-sama planned?"
Konan chuckled. "Not necessarily, no. But it was not unexpected. After we… came into power, we were determined to not let it fall into the wrong hands again. We started making changes, enforcing them so to say, and eventually the shinobi and thus the rest of the city fell in line. For most civilians, life changed drastically. Most of them had given up the hope of ever being free again from Hanzõ and his corrupt regime; for them it seemed like divine intervention."
She pauses, looking off into the distance for a moment before re-focusing on Sakura. "Of course, we never made any secret of Pein-sama's powers or… divinity. It wasn't until long that the civilians of Ame wanted ways to thank him, us, for everything we did and continued to do. They do not know a lot about the Akatsuki, and though it is not a secret between Ame shinobi, it is also not widely known the organization is based in Amegakure. Even though-"
Konan paused, eyes flickering upwards for a moment before her mouth curved up into a slow smile that disappeared the moment Sakura registered it.
"I'm glad you like Ame, Ari!" The change was immediate, and Sakura swallowed before playing along.
Now that she'd been tipped off, she felt it as well.
"Thank you, Kushiro," she answered with a shy smile, letting her hair fall in front of her face. "It's very different than I'd expected, but- oh, look!"
An Ame shinobi appeared from behind a corner, walking far too casually towards the pair of them. His head was wrapped in dark cloth, but his face was visible, and his tanned skin was scarred slightly. He had a lopsided smile on his face that did not reach his eyes.
"Good afternoon, ladies," he greeted the pair of them. Sakura pushed herself off the wall, purposefully placing herself next to Konan in such a way that she would hinder rather than enable Konan to defend herself.
She counted several chakra signatures near them, though not yet close enough to be a threat.
"I've notice you are showing a new stray around town, miss… what was you name again?" The smile did not change, but his eyes were sharp as he studied Konan's henge.
"Ah, it's Kushiro, Namake Kushiro. Nice to meet you, shinobi-san," Konan answered with a short and nervous bow. "I have, and it was a lot of fun, right Ari?"
The shinobi in front of them cut Sakura's reply off with a patient tone. "That is good to hear. Would you please show me your ID, just to be sure?"
Footsteps, soft but clear, from the layer above them. Two pairs to her right, one pair on the lower level from her left, between a pair of buildings near them.
It seemed like the Ame shinobi had finally noticed something was up. As Konan pulled out a set of papers from her pocket that had not been there before, Sakura took a moment to prepare herself for a possible dispelling.
"Would you like to see the guest registration papers for Ari as well, shinobi-san?" Konan asked as if butter wouldn't melt in her mouth.
You could almost call it… angelic.
The shinobi's eyes narrowed for a second before he nodded, and Konan pulled out another piece of paper.
The shinobi took both of them just as he flared his chakra in a quick burst. Short-long-short, and Sakura did her best not to react.
A moment later, silent footsteps moved behind them, followed by the casual gait of a pair of people walking towards them.
The shinobi in front of them, meanwhile, studied their papers casually. "This all seems to be in order," he told them, though the scepticism in his voice was noticeable. "Tell me again, Ari-san, what exactly is your birth date? And Kushiro-san, where did you say your father went to school?"
As he asked these questions, the shinobi behind them neared. Sakura took a measured step back the same moment one of the new shinobi flared her chakra strongly, purposefully. Kai.
The push against Sakura's genjutsu was strong, but she was prepared. Tethered as it was to herself, for a long second she gritted her teeth and felt Inner tense up as the foreign chakra tried to tear at her control, shake the genjutsu from where it was anchored to her own chakra system.
Her genjutsu held.
She did not, however, manage to act completely unaffected. Her body had tensed involuntarily, and though Konan was answering the shinobi's question with ease, she herself had no idea what to say.
Sakura could now see the two shinobi behind them were actually two kunoichi, one with hair tied in a long ponytail while the other glared suspiciously at them from underneath her hitai-ate. They'd come to a standstill behind them, and though they were not actually attacking, their hands were on their weapons with clear intent.
"Would you two please follow me?" the shinobi in front of them commanded, all trace of kindness gone. The sternness in his eyes was now visible in the set of his jaw, and Sakura turned her head slightly to look at Konan. Were they even pretending to be civilians anymore?
What do you want me to do?
Konan, next to her, breathed out slowly, her posture changing into her own as her face slowly became perfectly neutral. "We have been walking through Amegakure for almost three hours, now," she informed her subordinates blandly.
Above them, two more shinobi stepped out of the shadows, kunai in hand. Behind them, weapons were drawn, and the shinobi in front of them eased into a taijutsu stance. "Surrender," the leading shinobi demanded harshly.
In response, Konan's paper started to peel off her body, gathering around her in a whirlwind of movement.
Sakura dropped her genjutsu.
As the two woman moved, the surrounding shinobi sprang into action. The clangs of several pieces of metal resounded through the alleyway and Konan did not move.
When the paper settled, Sakura was standing in front of her fellow Akatsuki, cloak billowing, kunai drawn and eyes sharp.
Behind her, Konan's mighty wings beat once, a dark shadow falling over the ally.
The rain around them thickened, the usual steady downfall now an ominous pouring of water from the heavens.
"Tenshi-sama," the surrounding shinobi breathed half in awe, half in fear. One by one, they all fell to their knees, bowing their heads in reverence.
All except the kunoichi with the long ponytail. She, once again, brought her fingers together and with a force of chakra behind it that was even stronger than the first one, "Kai!"
Nothing happened, except the narrowing of Sakura's eyes. She estimated she wouldn't have been able to hold her genjutsu this time, and resolved to work on it later.
The kunoichi, in contrast, paled slightly and joined the others kneeling on the ground. "Tenshi-sama," she breathed, voice wavering, "forgive my imprudence."
Konan's voice was firm. "There is no forgiveness needed, Fujita-san." The kunoichi startled slightly. "Your actions were prudent. For all of you, your performance as a whole was…"
A pause. Sakura could see each and every Ame shinobi tense as they waited for, as they saw it, their divine judgement.
"Satisfactory."
The bodies around them sagged in relief. A few of them murmured something about gratefulness, but Konan paid them no mind. She was holding a hand out to Sakura, who looked at her blankly for a moment before accepting it.
The next thing she knows they are high up in the air, massive paper wings unfolding to their left and right as Konan simply holds Sakura in her arms like she's giving her a hug.
It's kind of awkward, actually, but Konan doesn't seem to mind.
"Huh," Sakura remarks, seeing countless tiny figures beneath them pointing towards the sky. Towards them.
It feels very odd.
"I though they would fear you more," Sakura blurts out.
Out of the corner of her eye, she can see Konan cock her head. There was a prickling feeling in the back of her neck.
"We prefer to catch our flies with honey, so to say."
The rest of the flight is silent.
"Interesting."
"I agree. On the whole, she is far more receptive than we first estimated. She is… not what we expected her to be."
"No. Konoha has no idea of her true potential, or she would never have managed to leave. Never mind the Hokage's weakness."
"Does this change anything?"
"Potentially. First, let us make sure our new stray will never want to leave her new home."
Before dinner that night, it is time for another spar. Sakura is actually exited. Deidara is full of nervous energy as they enter the now familiar training field, the other Akatsuki seated in the viewing alcove.
Hidan brought snacks.
Sakura has just finished her warm-up stretches when Konan and Tobi enter the field. Tobi is jumping up and down in excitement, clapping his hands and literally tripping over his feet as they approach the middle.
Konan is smiling indulgently at them, but the steel in her eyes is clear. This is not the friendly woman who showed her their city this morning; this is a dangerous enemy.
Deidara sighs, and Sakura bumps her shoulder against theirs. "C'mon, partner, cheer up. We'll kick their ass!" "Cha!"
They do not.
They, in fact, get their own asses kicked so hard Sakura barely knows what has happened.
Tobi – well, whatever Tobi is or does is not exactly clear. He does not really do anything the whole fight except for being in precisely the wrong place at the wrong time the entire spar, if it could even be called that.
Whenever Sakura or Deidara – who eventually lets their temper get the better of them – tries to hit Tobi, he simply… becomes intangible. Like a phantom, or a genjutsu, though Sakura is completely sure it is not.
He makes dramatic noises and exclamations the whole time, which really start to get on Sakura's nerves. She sympathises with Deidara. Having that as a partner, Kami save her.
Meanwhile, Konan goes fucking savage.
Her paper is everywhere, it is sharp, and it is quick. She supplements it with genjutsu at first, though quickly stops wasting her chakra when both Deidara and Sakura prove adept at breaking them.
She also somehow dissolves into paper constantly, teleporting around just as Tobi does, which then also cuts them as they try to attack, or wraps them in it and tries to choke them.
So, to summarize:
Deidara and Sakura throw jutsu and punches around like headless chicken. Sakura is a little better at dodging, but it does not help her a lot. Meanwhile, Tobi teleports around like an idiot and Konan teleports around like a boss until she eventually catches and suffocates both of them in her paper cocoons.
There is one bright point in the whole embarrassment.
Konan suffocates her in the paper cocoon for four minutes, a full two minutes after most shinobi lose consciousness. Even with their chakra supplementing their bodies, this is the point after which even experienced shinobi start suffering permanent brain damage.
Sakura's record is twelve minutes. Tsunade can last fifteen.
As the paper falls away, Sakura starts speeding up her bodily functions again. When the paper releases Sakura, she explodes into motion and takes advantage of the flicker of pleased surprise on Konan's face to deliver one good uppercut across her chin.
A prick in her neck and the world goes black.
Dinner that night is… actually kind of nice.
Kisame's vegetarian dish is actually very tasteful, if a bit spicy. She feels more at ease, already, with the people around her. It seems like 'kicking each other's asses' does work well as a bonding exercise.
Deidara asks about her day, and Sakura tells about her trip through Ame, including their eventual reveal. Konan smiles throughout the whole thing and Pein-sama watches her with interest.
Sakura does not dare to meet his eyes, though she can't quite put her finger on why.
Her fellow Akatsuki make some comments about their own experience of Amegakure, which seems mostly to align with hers. Apparently, she gathers from the conversation, Akatsuki is not really involved in the day-to-day business of running Ame, not even Pein-sama himself. Oh, he makes all important decisions, but for most things there are clear policies.
About which the Akatsuki can deliver input if they so choose. Sakura wonders which of them actually bother.
Hidan eventually goes on a tangent about the importance of religion, which is quickly cut off by a swat on the head from Kakuzu. Conversation moves on, about some Kiri-nin sighted at their border.
Sakura is, surprisingly, drawn into a different conversation.
"Amegakure is quite different from Konohagakure, is it not?" said the only other former Konoha shinobi at the table.
Startled, Sakura turns her head to meet swirling crimson eyes. She blinks, once, suppressing her indoctrinated shiver of fear, and forces herself to pay actual attention to Itachi.
The Uchiha is turned towards her with a small smile, expectant. Sakura hesitantly smiles back.
"It is," she confirms, and only as she says it do the differences really sink in. "The whole city is like another world. Steel instead of wood, the people so much more diverse, so religious, the weather…"
Itachi dips is head in agreement. "The weather," he simply states and Sakura huffs in amusement.
"What did you first think when you saw the city, Itachi-san?"
To her surprise, Itachi considers her question seriously, silent for a moment as he picks at his food. The gesture is so normal, so human, that Sakura feels her world tilt just a little more sideways.
"What surprised me the most were the similarities," Itachi eventually answers. Sakura raises an eyebrow, and the Uchiha elaborates. "Loyal shinobi, treating their leader with reverence. Civilians everywhere, outnumbering the shinobi in numbers, if not in power. People thinking their city is the centre of the world, their leaders the paragons of virtue. Heroes."
"I take it you are, ah, sceptical?" Sakura deduces.
Itachi lowers his head, long eyelashes framing his cheekbones. Sakura tries not to stare. The man is unfairly beautiful.
"Personally, I am of the opinion that it is very debatable whether such a thing as a 'hero' or 'virtue' in the world that we live in," he states simply.
Sakura leans forward, eyebrow raised, actually interested. "Because of our profession?"
Itachi dips his head. "A shinobi is, by definition of their trade and upbringing, immoral. You might save a group of civilians from those who would wish them harm, but in the process of doing so, you still commit unspeakable acts. You still murder other human beings, something that is immoral in and of itself, not matter your intentions."
Sakura hums. "I don't fully agree to that, I think. Intentions do matter. A rich man giving a beggar an apple because he didn't think it sweet enough is a whole different matter from a poor man giving the apple because he wants to help the beggar. Even if the end result is the same, the meaning of the gesture differs, and so does it's moral significance. Killing someone in defence of someone else may not be a truly good deed, no, but I don't think it is as immoral as killing someone just for the fun of it."
Itachi is watching her with rapt attention. Something in the back of her mind crawls with unease at it, screaming predator, even though Itachi makes no move beyond putting another spoonful in his mouth. Even though Sakura is more than capable of defending herself.
"In the end," Itachi responds after another thoughtful pause, "the intention of mankind is always to please himself, is it not? To only act if it's to his or her own benefit? Even the poor man giving his apple to the beggar does so because he himself will then feel good about it. His motivation, his ultimate intention, is still centred on himself."
Sakura is shaking her head as he speaks, and Itachi falls silent, gesturing her to speak with a twitch of his fingers. "The first question here, Itachi-san, is if that truly matters. In the end, the result, the effect such an action has on the world, is the same. If a king does all he can to bring wealth and happiness to his people, even is his only motivation is to be loved and valued in return, does that lessen the objective goodness of his actions?" She holds up a finger as she speaks.
"Secondly, is it not human to yearn for positive emotions about or directed at oneself? Be it love or appreciation, coming from another or from yourself, all people look for that. I don't think it's immoral to have that as a motivation for your actions, nor does it lessen the – moral – significance of them.
Thirdly," Sakura continues as she holds up a third finger, "with reasoning like that, you can go on forever. You never truly know another's motivations, or arguably even your own. Is an action about sympathy, empathy, selflessness or selfishness? Is loving someone about the other, or about wanting love in return? When you lose yourself in constantly second-guessing and triple-guessing other people's motivations, in this sense at least, you'll only drive yourself mad." Sometimes, people just want to do something good. Not everyone is a bad person at heart. Most people aren't. Sakura honestly believes that.
"I do agree with you, Sakura-san, that the most important part of an action is the action itself, the result it has upon the world. However, this only further argues my point in case of the shinobi lifestyle. Having morally pure intentions for an action does not make that action itself moral or good. A shinobi may be completely loyal to his Kage, may slaughter a whole village with the pure belief that it will keep his own safe – that does not make him any less of a murder. Does not make him any less of a monster."
One of Itachi's hands clenches momentarily around his fork before relaxing. Sakura stores the observation in the back of her mind, swallowing another bite, before responding.
"Would you then argue that a moral action with immoral motivations, let us say, saving a man because you know that man will later slaughter your own enemies, is also objectively good? You did save a man, after all. The intention does not matter."
Itachi hums, contemplative. "In the end, the man's actions are still his own. The fact that he will later remove your enemies for you is his decision, not yours. So the decision to save that man would, in my opinion, not condemn you."
Sakura puts her cutlery down, folding her hands underneath her chin. "And what about immoral actions committed with a greater goal in mind? Murdering a killer to save his future victims?"
A complicated expression flickers over Itachi's face, uncharacteristically expressive, though still impossible for the kunoichi to decipher.
"The end always justify the means," Itachi says firmly. Something in his voice is made of steel. He pauses, just a moment, before adding "though that does not make the tools use to reach that end any less tainted."
"Hm," Sakura simply responds, deep in thought. Something about the way Itachi has tensed up throughout their conversation, spine ramrod straight and eyes burning, makes the pink-haired kunoichi think this was enough for now.
"I still think most people try to do good in this world in their own way. It's just that," her mind flickers over Konoha, it's endless well of missions and broken bodies arriving in the hospital only to be back the week after, "being a shinobi kind of skewers with your sense of right and wrong." Two people her age, walking hand-in-hand shyly. "Of what is normal."
Itachi's expression is pleasantly neutral once more. "That," he answers shortly, "I can agree with."
Sakura looks at her conversational partner, the ruthless killer that has slaughtered dozens of his kin in a single night.
There is something far more complex going on here than the tale she's been fed since childhood. It doesn't take a genius to figure that out.
Opposite her, Itachi falls silent, the chatter from the other Akatsuki reaching her ears once more.
The only question is what.
After dinner is finished the Akatsuki scatter. Sakura feels very tired; it has been a long day, a lot of new information and a resounding defeat.
Still, she makes an effort to be social as Deidara tugs her along to the living room, manoeuvring her on the couch.
"Saturday night is movie night," they explain with a weight to their words akin to Pein-sama was talking about his ideology, and Sakura couldn't help but smile at their seriousness. "Only if you're up to it, some of us also like to go out into Ame these nights, or do whatever, un." They gestured with their hand, and the mouth on it shoots Sakura a grin.
"But," they continue seriously, "Sunday nights are game nights, un. And they are mandatory!"
Their gaze was fierce and Sakura could only nod in acquiescence. Next to her, another weight dipped into the couch, showing Hidan in his full glory – with that she meant he still had no shirt on.
"Except for whomever is away on a mission, of course," Hidan commented, sipping his beer with one hand and throwing one to Deidara with the other. He raised a silver eyebrow at her. "You want one, pinky?"
"Not if you call me that," Sakura said faux-sweetly, though she didn't have the impression Hidan cared much. "But sure."
As Hidan went off to get her another one Deidara grabbed her hand and dragged her over towards the DVD-shelf. "Cable is all good and well," they commented with confidence, "but nothing beats a good old DVD. You any preference?"
Sakura scanned the shelf, thinking about which movie would let her stay awake. "Something that's simple, but," shooting a look at her partner, "with a lot of explosions."
"Aha! I knew there was a reason I liked you," Deidara grinned in response and bent down to pick one out immediately.
Sakura sat back on the couch, Hidan in the middle and Deidara next to him. There was plenty of room still and even two other couches, but it did not seem like the others were joining them.
"Leader-sama and Konan only turn up at Sundays," Hidan commented as he saw Sakura gaze around the room, "and both Kakuzu and Itachi aren't very sociable people. I mean, they can kick some serious fucking ass, I know, but have you ever seen either of them try to hold a conversation?"
Deidara, putting the DVD into the TV, snorted. "It's actually kind of funny, un. Kakuzu communicates mostly in grunts. Itachi, on the other hand, either goes way off topic about some philosophical bullshit or just shunshins away. It's hilarious."
Sakura smiles at their teasing, privately thinking back on her conversation at dinnertime.
"Anyway," she said as she turned back to Hidan, trying to make conversation. "What is your religion, eh, Jashinism was it? What is actually about?"
Behind Hidan, Deidara freezes.
In front of her, an unholy grin spreads across Hidan's face.
Sakura gulps.
"So the lines on the symbol stand for pain, life and death, the three most important elements of our existence. The middle triangle stands for self. Before you can think of inflecting those on others, you first have to experience them yourself. And you'll go through these three elements in every ritual." Hidan then gestured to the three outer spaces of his symbol. "These stand for the worldly reflections of the concepts; pain is linked to your mind, life is linked to your soul, death is linked to your body."
At this point, Sakura just stared at Hidan, willing herself to pay attention.
"But no self-respecting Jashinist would ever write these teachings down like some heathen. If you can't remember it, you don't deserve His favour."
The Jashinist looked at Sakura expectedly, his whole face lit up with fervour.
Behind him, Deidara let out another loud snore.
At some point in Hidan's hour-long rant about Jashinism, Kisame had walked in, took one look at what was happening, and walked back out.
"Okay," Sakura said dazedly, trying to force her tired mind to work. She'd tried to pay attention, she really did, but this had been a lot of information.
"So let me check if I got this right. Jashinism is based around the shared experience of suffering and the belief that suffering is the highest sort of, eh, experience that exists."
At Hidan's nod, she continued. "It's not an institutionalized religion, more of a one-on-one relationship with Jashin… Jashin-sama. The details of sacrificing to Him vary for everyone, as do the rewards. So how exactly it gets practiced varies."
Hidan nodded once more, huffing condescendingly. "There is actually a group to the west that takes the idea literally, taking on a single apprentice and teaching them before letting the apprentice offer themselves to Jashin-sama in some elaborate ritual. Fucking idiots," he added under his breath.
"I've also met someone who interpreted the definition of suffering in a whole different way, ha. That chick sought out sexual partners, tied them up – with their consent – and then literally leaves them on the brink of orgasm. But Jashin-sama gave her His blessings, so I guess whatever works, works."
Sakura held back a snigger at his words, eyebrows raised high. "And this woman just told you that, or…?"
Hidan rolled his eyes. "She told me, yeah. Other Jashinists respect me, or whatever. I don't really care. But is that all?" he added with an impatient gesture.
Sakura smiled, letting it go. "Okay, okay. Well, being sacrificed to Jashin-sama is seen as a great honour, and not everyone is as suitable for it, though Jashin-sama accepts all. Right?"
Hidan grins at her. "You've been actually been paying some fucking attention, pinky. Yeah, and it's also a sin to leave someone halfway through a ritual, as it is a act of dishonour against their own suffering and against Jashin-sama himself."
Sakura nodded. It made sense, in that kind of logic. "How many Jashinists are there, anyway?"
Hidan shrugged, leaning back into the couch, the leather creaking softly. "Not sure. Maybe a few dozen? Not a whole lot."
Sakura frowned. Hidan's powers certainly implied that Jashin was actually a real deity or power, so the whole thing being a fluke was unlikely. "Why?" she asked. "I mean, powers like yours, I imagine there are a lot of shinobi who would do anything for that."
Hidan barks in derisive laughter. "I am sure there fucking are. But Jashin-sama does not just accept any random heathen. You have to be truly devoted to Him to even start building a connection. And after that you have to stay dedicated. And," he added with a grin of bloodlust, "there are very little people as dedicated as I am."
She could believe that.
Next to them, Deidara gave another loud snore, snuffling slightly in their sleep. Their hair fell down over their eyes, pushed back every now and then by a long exhale of air.
"Why did you decide to follow you God, anyway?" Sakura asked with curiosity, biting back a smile at her partner's antics.
Hidan's face darkened for just a split second before settling in a neutral expression. "Just happened."
There was something in the way Hidan's fingers clenched, the flatness of his mouth, that made Sakura decide to leave that subject alone.
She was trying desperately to think of something else, playing with the cool zipper of her vest, forcing her tired mind to find a new subject, when Hidan sighed. Ran a hand through his hair, taking a long swig of his beer.
"No, wait." He sounded defeated, though resolute.
"I guess I sort of owe you an answer, even though you're an heathen. You did just make an honest effort at understanding my religion, even if you sucked at it. And I sort of killed you yesterday, which you know, sorry and all," the last part was barely noticeable, waved away by a moving hand, "though it was actually an honour and shit."
Sakura snapped her mouth shut and waited.
Hidan closed his eyes for a moment, head held in one hand, before straightening, still not looking at her.
"You know," he began casually, "I grew up in a church, as an orphan. Never knew my parents. Only knew the priests, and some other orphaned boys, all of us too fucking," he breathed in deeply, "too fucking young. These priests, they- we were not treated well. In any way. At all."
Something in Sakura broke a little bit at the undercurrent of his voice, the way his nails were leaving indents on his pale skin.
"It sucked," Hidan continued far too cheerfully. "So when I was six, they- something happened. So I killed them all." a vicious sort of satisfaction lurked underneath his voice. "Praying to whomever would listen to me. No one did, of course – no one but Jashin-sama. That day, as I slaughtered them all in Jashin-sama's name, he granted me my first blessing."
A feverish light was visible in purple eyes, burning with something unholy, soaked in bloodlust and revenge. "I've been devoted to Jashin-sama ever since."
Sakura regarded him silently, mind running over his words.
"I'm happy that Jashin-sama was there for you," she eventually responded.
Hidan smiled. It was not a nice smile. His eyes were still hazy, staring off in the distance.
Trying to think of something to get Hidan out of wherever he was stuck in his own head, Sakura blurted out a question that had been festering in the back of her mind for a while. "I'm confused, though," she said quickly.
"What does Jashin-sama think of you, eh, working for Pein-sama? Especially with all Pein-sama's… Yeah," she gestured uselessly.
Hidan's eyes sharpened, his body relaxing fractionally as he turned his attention to her. Good.
The Jashinist regarded her with amusement. "It's actually the other way around, dumbass. I didn't ask Jashin-sama for permission or whatever to work with Pein-sama. Jashin-sama wanted me to become a part of the Akatsuki."
Sakura's eyes widened. "What?"
Hidan shrugged. "I don't know, pinky. I'm not in the habit of questioning Jashin-sama. He commanded me to join the Akatsuki, follow Pein-sama, told me it would help me bring suffering upon this world, find worthy sacrifices. That was good enough for me."
Sakura splayed her fingers across her thighs and leaned forward. "Are you telling me… Do you actually converse with your God directly, Hidan?"
Hidan stared at her strangely. "Of course I do, idiot. How else would I know what Jashin-sama wanted of me? Ignorant heathen," he added with a shake of his head.
Sakura couldn't help but laugh at Hidan's offence. "Sure, sure, yeah. I mean, if Gods and whatever actually exist, why not just… talk to them? Right?!" If her voice was a little high-strung, well.
Hidan kept staring at her. "But you've conversed with Pein-sama several times already. Even tried to kick his ass, not that you actually succeeded in that, ha."
The kunoichi took a breath. "Yeah, but he's not a literal deity." Her voice climbed a little higher. "Is he?"
Hidan shrugged, throwing his head back to look at the ceiling. "Who cares. He's not an ordinary human, that's for sure, but he's not Jashin-sama himself personified or whatever. I don't really care."
"I guess," Sakura said quietly, staring at the empty TV-screen. What was the distinction between a man, a shinobi and a God? Did it even really matter, in the end?
Kill one man, and you are a murderer. Kill millions of men, and you are a conqueror. Kill them all, and you are a God.
The two of them were silent for a moment, lost in their own thoughts.
A particularly loud snore from Deidara broke the silence, the gurgling sound dragging itself across the room.
Hidan and Sakura both sat up, threw each other an amused look, and grinned.
"I'll take them to their room," Hidan said and he practically seemed fond.
Sakura nodded. "Yeah. Good night, Hidan."
"Sure, heathen," the Jashinist mumbled in response.
Later, as Sakura laid herself down on the bed gingerly, freshly showered, she closed her eyes and let her thoughts race.
better read on archiveofourown! there I can easily reply to your reviews!
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