Chapter 13:
"So, does this count as our first date?" Unmei asked as they entered the village.
"Do you want this to be our first date? Wouldn't you want to have a bit more planning to go into a date?" Kisame asked.
"Why would I care about how much planning is put into a date?" Unmei questioned curiously to which Kisame laughed.
"Yeah I don't know what I was thinking. Of course you wouldn't mind. I can't remember you planning anything in your life before." Kisame grinned.
"My destination is already set out for me from the moment I came into existence, why would I want to plan the journey when I can just go along with it and enjoy the surprises?" Unmei retorted. Sure she used to be impulsive as a child and honestly still is but Kisame didn't have to call her out on it.
"So what's your destination then, O' wise one?" Kisame teased.
"You." Unmei tried to hide her laugh at Kisame's startled expression but failed miserably and let out a giggle. She had won, take that Kisame.
"Let's go to that place, Sa-me, I want to get some Soba for lunch!" Unmei pointed to a stall not far away from them and sped up her pace.
"You really didn't change that much, huh." Kisame said softly as he chuckled at Unmei's antics.
Kisame and Unmei returned to the base with full stomachs and ingredients for future meals. Unmei didn't feel comfortable with going out for every single meal that she wanted to have. Just as Unmei finished storing all the ingredients, Konan entered the kitchen to call Unmei for a meeting with leader-san and they quickly and quietly moved to his location.
"You called for me, leader-san?" Unmei asked when she entered the dark room. Why it had to be so dark she didn't understand, but she didn't ask any questions.
"Yes, Unmei, I believe that it is time for you to be initiated into the organization. You have proved to be useful in your mission based on the reports given to me by Itachi and Kisame so I would like for us to continue into the next phase." Leader-san said matter-of-factly.
"Alright, what's the next phase?" Unmei asked.
"You'll need to face some of the members in an organization and not die, when you are successful you'll be completely initiated and affiliated with the Akatsuki."
"I can do that." Unmei agreed. Even though these were S class criminals, no one really stood a chance if their fate is literally in your hands. Unmei's issue would come with several people attacking her at once, but even then she's sure that she can hold her own, at least for a while.
"Great, then you can follow Konan to the battlegrounds and you can start." Unmei was shocked that they would start without any preparation on her part, but she didn't let it show and calmly followed Konan.
When they got to the battlegrounds, which is located near the clearing where Unmei found Kisame, Unmei discovered that a few members were already there waiting.
"So, who will I be up against?" Unmei asked curiously. She vaguely wondered what would happen if she doesn't survive, but she tried not to let it get to her head.
"The members will be drawing lots, the two members with the longest lots will be going up against you." Konan answered as she pulled the lot bag from one of her pockets.
"I'll be sitting out of this one." Kisame commented.
"That's alright, I don't think it would be a fair fight, to be honest." Unmei responded. If she had to go off of what happened when she touched the string with good intentions it would be pretty easy to get Kisame to simply surrender. Kisame nodded in agreement.
"Leader-san has expected as much." Konan commented.
Konan, Itachi, Sasori, Hidan, Kakuzu, and three other members that Unmei had not met yet all pulled lots. Hidan and one of the other members, a male with long blonde hair, had pulled the longest lots.
"Hidan and Deidara will both take on Unmei at the same time. Killing is allowed but not preferred. The battle shall only take place on the battleground. No other members are allowed to partake. You may start." Konan said, and as soon as she did, Unmei had disappeared into the trees.
"Where the fuck did the bitch go?" Hidan shouted as Deidara fed some clay to his hands. It didn't look like they would be working together. The other members took a few steps back and stood, watching the events unfold.
Unmei was observing from the trees by locating the two members' strings. Hidan's string was a dull red, indicating that he has a soulmate but he has yet to meet the person, so the soulmate's information would be of no use to Unmei. Deidara's string was glowing red, meaning that his soulmate was pretty close, but Unmei knew that already. This information would also not help to manipulate him, so she chose to focus on working with the strings completely. Unmei vaguely wondered if any of these people knew that she only had Academy level ninja training and that all her experience comes from a ghost and assassinating criminals ranked from D-A, but she didn't let this information psyche her out.
Unmei saw Deidara going to the sky and almost laughed out loud.
Before anyone knew what was happening, Deidara plummeted to the ground, completely unconscious. Sasori had retrieved his body and took him to get fixed along with another member. Itachi looked over at Kisame and saw a wide grin on his face.
Hidan snarled but stayed where he was. There was no way that he would go looking for Unmei. He was going to force her to come to him, so he started shouting insults in the air.
But Unmei didn't come to Hidan like he wanted.
Instead, in what was possibly the most ludicrous fight the Akatsuki had ever been a part of, Hidan simply fell to the ground with all of his limbs and head severed from his torso with Unmei speeding towards him and kicking his head with all her might to the other side of the battleground.
Unmei beat both members in under 15 minutes, with Hidan using 13 of those minutes to try and provoke Unmei into getting closer to him.
"Does... this count?" Unmei asked nervously. Kisame burst out laughing.
"I mean, I don't see why it doesn't, you defeated them?" Konan answered.
"Hidan could have easily defeated me if he'd only came after me. Doesn't this count as letting me off easy? There's no way I win." Unmei argued. The members didn't even fight her!
"While he could have won, he chose to take another route in the battle and lost, so you are officially a member of the Akatsuki now. Welcome Unmei." Konan smiled at Unmei and the other members let out a chorus of congratulations.
"How did you defeat them?" One of the other members asked.
"I just tugged Deidara's string to the ground once he was high enough and I made my own string sharp enough to cut through Hidan." Unmei replied nonchalantly.
"Who are you, by the way? We haven't met before."
"Call me Tobi! Thanks for the information." And with that Tobi left. Kakuzu moved to reattach Hidan.
"How come I didn't feel anything when you used the string?" Kisame asked quietly. He didn't want anyone besides the people in their immediate location hearing him.
"I think it's because I didn't use emotion. I simply used the string as a weapon, so my intent was different. I was actually wondering if it would affect you in any way or not." Unmei replied in the same tone that Kisame used.
"I was wondering if anyone would train me how to fight like a ninja?" Unmei asked suddenly, in a louder voice.
"What do you mean?" Itachi asked. Konan also looked intrigued.
"Ah, well, I was sent away with the clan elders when I graduated from the Ninja Academy, and the only person who received training after that was Kisame. I was only taught defence. So I essentially have no ninja training." Unmei responded sheepishly.
"You mean to tell me that your Kekkei Genkai is strong enough that you've been a bounty hunter for four years and you just took out two Akatsuki members and yet you haven't learned any offensive Genjutsu or Ninjutsu?" Konan asked incredulously.
"Essentially, yes." Unmei responded. Kisame had never been so proud and scared of Unmei in his life.
"How?" was all Itachi asked.
"Nothing beats destiny." Unmei answered simply.
Unmei scratched her newly cloaked arm as she stood on the finger of a statue. The new material was still itchy and Unmei couldn't wait to wash it a few more times so it become a bit more comfy.
"I have called this meeting to announce our collective mission." Leader-san announced. Unmei perked up and listened intently.
"We will be capturing all the tailed beasts that we don't have as of yet and using their powers to create a paradise of our own. We will break everyone off into groups to capture one of these beasts. Our plan is finally entering a phase that we have been waiting for, and thanks to the addition of two new members, Tobi and Unmei, we can finally go ahead and strike." Leader-san said. Unmei didn't agree with this plan, like she had told Konan before, but she's not sure that she could have convinced Konan otherwise, not yet, at least.
"How many beasts are there?" Unmei asked.
"As of now we have captured one beast, the nine tailed beast. We have eight other beasts to capture." Leader-san confirmed.
"I will give each group the needed information in due time. Meeting adjourned." Leader-san said and then disappeared along with Konan. Unmei felt very uncomfortable but didn't feel like she could voice any of her concerns.
"Come on, let's start training." Kisame told Unmei. He had accepted to train Unmei in chakra control, meanwhile Itachi had agreed to genjutsu. Unmei didn't want to focus on ninjutsu until she had great control, so she put off on that for now. She also didn't need any help with taijutsu, as the elders of the Shiryoku clan had no problem with teaching her that, but she would be practising against all members from time to time.
After an exhausting training session where Unmei felt like she didn't particularly accomplish anything, Unmei went to her room to freshen up and call it a night, but when she entered her room, all thoughts of relaxing vanished when she saw Ghost sitting on her bed, waiting for her.
"What is it now? I'm tired!" Unmei complained.
"Tonight is my last night in this world." Ghost deadpanned and Unmei felt like her heart stopped.
"Why? Why tonight? What's stopping you from coming back?" Unmei questioned frantically.
"Because you are where you're meant to be and you're finally ready. It took ya long enough." Ghost said grumpily. Unmei stared at her in confusion.
"What do you mean?" Unmei asked.
"We need to have a talk, my dear, I haven't told you anything that you need to know, and for that I apologize." Ghost gave a slight bow to show her apology.
"So tell me what I need to know now." Unmei said desperately. After 8 long years she was finally getting something out of Ghost besides the excuse of being there to help and protect Unmei.
"Unmei, you are where you are right now because you were chosen by destiny, just like I once was before I became who I am. I have trained you, cared for you and taught you because you will accomplish something greater than you ever thought you could. You are here, Unmei, because I chose you. I chose you, someone who hardly if at all qualifies as a shinobi, to stop the 4th great shinobi war."