Chapter 30.
Two Years Later
She'd been made. Her perfect cover, hand-designed by one of her masters, had been blown. A month and a half was spent infiltrating the gang's hideout and working her way up the ranks down the drain.
She had to make a quick decision- not her forte- and escape as fast as she could, so she panicked and may have gone overboard on a few of the lackeys.
Should have just come in katana swinging in the first place, she briefly thought, vaulting over an overturned trash can. Her leg barely made clearance, knocking the lid off with a metallic rattle.
"Over there! I see the bitch!" A gruff voice called as the petite woman dashed into the alleyway.
Damn it! It wasn't supposed to go down like this! Surely Itachi-sama would have her head on a pike for botching his perfectly-laid plan this bad.
"Your orders are to join Hanazukas Yakuza and retrieve the red scroll."
"That's it? Just go and get a scroll?" She was admittedly skeptical.
"This is not just any scroll. This is an ancient scroll containing information on forbidden summoning Jutsu. Hanazuka will not simply hand it over. You are to infiltrate their ranks and become one of the guards of the scroll."
"Seems simple enough." She ignored the incredulous look sent her way, "How do I join?"
The boss was right- joining the Yakuza was no easy feat. First, she'd had to get their attention, and once she had it, she had to make sure she kept it. The initiation was a breeze, though she did feel a tinge of remorse for breaking her opponent's ribs during their spar. He'd healed quickly, impressed with her unexpected strength. She had made a name for herself, a reputation as someone not to fuck with.
All of that work- a month-and-a-half of pretending to be Tai Lan, street rat turned fighter, a month-and-a-half of holding back, all of her hard work brought down by a wandering tradesman who recognized her from a run-in almost two years before. How he'd recognized her after all of that time and with dyed hair and colored contacts, she'd never know, but once the name had left his lips, she was done for.
She panicked and may have accidentally killed a few of her attackers. Boss said no bloodshed, and she kept that vow for as long as she could- but it was kill or be killed. She had no other choice.
"This way!"
They were closing in on her. She'd have no choice but to do that thing soon.
She'd managed to work her way as close to the Hanazuka compound as the alley would take her, but she was running out of options, and she was never good with directions anyways.
Sure enough, her luck had run out. A dead end halted any further progress, and before she could backtrack and duck down another alley, she was joined by a swarm of Hanazuka grunts.
"Howdy boys," she smiled, widening her stance. "I bet you're all gonna come at me at once, huh?"
As expected, there was no reply as her attackers circled around her, one stepping forward, clearly revealing himself as the one in charge.
"We honor no agreement with Akatsuki. Turn yourself in or we will take you by force, girl." He spat.
She recognized him as one of the so-called 'generals', one of the men directly commanded by the boss of the Yakuza. He was feared and respected throughout the ranks, but to the kunoichi, he was no threat.
"Try me," she growled, drawing her blade.
They were tougher than she initially assumed. In retrospect, it was her own fault. She should have expected that they'd all rush her. She dodged a punch and dropped low to knock an attacker down. She popped back up just in time to block a blow to the stomach from the leader of the pack. He had drawn his own blade while she was dealing with his lackeys and rushed her again as soon as she had gained some distance.
Annoying. They were strong, sure, but they weren't shinobi. The movements were essentially correct, but they lacked precision and the correct force. Her masters would have a field day with this lot.
They didn't give her much time to analyze as they all came at her again. She slashed through three of them, leaving the leader and two of his minions. She cocked her head as if to say, 'What force?'
The general cried out and swung his sword at her, anger displayed across his face. Losing to a woman was worse than shameful. She parried his blow, swinging her sword wide and beating off his advance. His anger gave him fuel, but he didn't know how to use it. The match was decided as soon as he decided to take her on. She was trained by one of the legendary swordsmen, she'd never lost to someone who didn't even respect their own blade.
She was too caught up in entertaining the 'general' that she'd almost forgotten the subordinates. They both came at her at the same time, trying to take advantage of her momentary distraction to take her down. She couldn't dodge them both as the leader rushed her again, aiming his blade for her abdomen. She kicked the sword from his hand, dropping low to dodge one of the lackeys. The other landed a kick to her back, knocking her flat on her stomach. Her katana clattered across the ground, the blade making a sharp 'ting' as it scraped across the stone walkway. She jumped to her feet and into a handspring, stopping a few feet away, and taking a defensive stance. They'd somehow backed her into a corner, and she begrudgingly reached into her hip pouch and pulled out the specialized smoke bomb, placing a pill from her other hip pouch into her mouth as she popped the cork and tossed it in the direction of the three men. She'd never actually seen the bomb in action, but the strangled cry from her nearest attacker brought a small smile to her lips. Leave it to Sasori-sama to mix up some nasty concoction in his little lab.
The gurgled cries stopped as the smoke cleared, leaving the bodies of the remaining assailants on the ground. They were most definitely dead, but she wasn't phased. Whatever it takes. She winced as she found and removed a small dagger from her back, ripping the metal from her bone with a low growl. Lucky shot, She thought as she tossed the dagger to the side, kicking the general's body as she picked up her discarded sword.
She could salvage the mission, though it was too late to avoid bloodshed.
As expected, the guard around the gated compound had nearly doubled. Once they'd found the bodies of one of their squadrons, they'd gone on high alert- such an attack would be considered all-out war from Akatsuki. On such short notice, most of them were untrained and just meant to be filler.
The petite woman had been identified as a member of the rival criminal organization, so she could no longer quietly infiltrate as the original plan had relied on. Her only option was to do something that she was reluctant to do.
Scaling the wall of the compound was easy compared to some of the dangerous training missions she'd been subjected to by Kisame-sama, so she was up it in seconds, dropping down behind the unsuspecting guard.
"Nothing personal," she said, bringing her kunai up to his throat and slicing through the meaty flesh before he could cry out. She'd climbed in by the garden, hoping to use the low-hanging trees as cover to slip into the main house. Before she could cross the small, open patch between where she stood and the garden, she heard a cry.
"Over there!"
Now or never. She pulled loose her kyoketsu-shoge from her waistband and swung it at the man. The chained kunai hurled toward his face and he dodged out of the way, narrowly avoiding getting stuck in the forehead. Instead, it grazed the side of his neck, blood spilling and trickling down his skin. He lifted a hand to feel the wound while she yanked the blade back to herself, catching the chain and dangling the small blade in the air.
"Well, this is gonna be loads of fun. Though, you could just give me the scroll. No? Alright. Your funeral."
His blood was tangy and coppery, leaving an aftertaste that left a sour feeling on her tongue, but it did what she needed it to. Black spread across her skin, blossoming and spreading like an ink spill across a fresh scroll.
"Oh," Sakana cackled, her teeth flashing in stark contrast against her darkened skin, "This is gonna feel good."
"Sakana!" Suki cheered as the redhead tromped into her bedroom.
"Suki, not now. I need to shower and debrief with Pein."
The bubbly blonde ignored her friend, "You're super grumpy. Did the mission not go well?"
Sakana rifled through her wardrobe, gathering a fresh set of clothing to put on after a shower, "Not now, Suki."
"Is it something with..." Her voice lowered, "Hidan?"
Sakana slammed her closet door shut, "Suki!"
"What? You guys have been fighting a lot, then you just up and left on that mission."
"I was gone for two months, I just got back like fifteen minutes ago, I smell like something that lived in the sewers with the TMNT. Can I please take a shower in peace?"
Suki paused, baby blue eyes wide as she scanned Sakana's green contacts. "...No."
At least she paused to think about it.
"I don't want all the details, dude. As your closest- and therefore best- friend, I am entitled to at least a small shred of the tea." She sat down on Sakana's bed. "Just a little nibble. Anything. Shit with Sasori and Kira is dryer than the Sahara desert, Zena and Zetsu are so cute but too stupid to see what could be, and Kisame is my world but I've been off-duty for a few days and I gotta admit, it is so friggin' boring here."
Sakana cracked a smile. "Not now, Suki."
Her shower was short but sufficient. She just wanted to wash the blood and smoke residue from herself. A bottle of some specially-made shampoo, courtesy of Kira's brilliant mind paired with Sasori's experienced advice, and her dyed-black hair was back to its natural state. She was on her way to the debriefing room when she ran into Zena, who was presumably on her way to the kitchen. It was nearly dinnertime, so no doubt she'd have something piping hot and deliciously ready for Sakana to shovel down her throat.
"Oh, you're back!" The brunette chirped. "Good to know, I probably wouldn't have made enough food."
Sakana resisted the urge to roll her eyes or scoff. Zena never failed to provide enough food to satiate the ravenous mouths of the Akatsuki, as if she somehow knew exactly how hungry everyone would be at every meal.
"Hello, Zena-chan. I just got in about ten minutes ago. Are some of the others away?"
Zena nodded, "Kakuzu and Hidan, Itachi and Kisame, and Zetsu-san are all away on missions. I don't expect anyone to return for at least another week, then again I didn't expect you for a month..."
Sakana changed the subject at the mention of the other Jashinist, instead asking about what the soft-spoken woman had planned for dinner.
Apparently, she'd be preparing one of her favorite recipes from home- Adobo pork, adapted to work with the ingredients she had access to. Sakana was intrigued regardless, as something from the other world sounded like the perfect kind of comfort to de-stress from that hellish mission.
Sakana parted ways with the brunette at the main hall, taking the corridor to the left towards Pein's office. Once she'd arrived at the heavy door, she rapped on it twice before entering.
"Sakana. You're back earlier than expected. I trust the mission was successful."
She gave a quick nod, producing the small scroll from her hip pouch and placing it on the desk in front of him. "Things got hairy. But... We won't have any issues with Hanazuka anymore."
"I expected no less. I trust that they won't be poaching any more of our prospective clients." Pein said, placing his hands under his chin.
"You… expected me to slip up and blow the mission?" She scoffed. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, bro. You could at least be disappointed that I kinda failed."
"I merely counted on your lack of grace to eradicate a thorn in my side. The scroll is a bonus, now we have access to more information pertaining to the reason you were brought here."
Sakana resisted the urge to roll her eyes. He knew she was immortal, so he knew he could beat the ever-living shit out of her and suffer no consequences- something she'd learned from pissing him off one too many times. Her punishment came in the form of some very brutal sparring sessions with Kisame and Hidan, and she could swear that the maniacal bastard was intentionally going for her vital organs. Sure, it may have been under Pein's orders (he'd never actually raise his own hand to her, but he could damn well make his subordinates do the dirty work) but Hidan had definitely been enjoying the mutual pain he'd inflicted on her. It was hard not to furrow her brow.
"Alright, Leader-sama, if that's everything..." She stared dead ahead, not breaking eye contact with her elder brother.
Pein gave her a long look. "Hidan-" he couldn't miss the dark look that flitted across her face before she immediately corrected it with a stoic glower, "Reported that he had a run-in with you. You had already infiltrated the gang, ahead of schedule. He said you went a little hard on him."
She smirked, recalling the fight that she'd had with him on the streets of the small village.
She'd lived on the streets for three weeks, picking random fights with some of the grunts. It wasn't long before they'd tracked her down and cornered her- intent on punishing her for fighting back against the authority of the crew. She'd taken on two of them hand-to-hand, knocking them unconscious and breaking one of their noses before the leader of the small faction stepped forward and recruited her. She had skill. She was agile yet incredibly strong for her size, and could very well be a nuisance in their dear village.
It happened a week later. She was on patrol with her faction when a report came in of someone from a rival organization attacking a shop on the outskirts of the village. When they'd arrived at the scene, Kakuzu and Hidan of the Akatsuki were standing over the bodies of their comrades.
"Awe look, they've got a girl with them!" Hidan snickered.
Sakana glared, drawing her sword. She'd received it from the head of the guards after a particularly brutal display of violence with merely a wooden sword. "Don't underestimate me, scumbag." Her heart panged, so it did bother him.
She managed to hold her own against him for three minutes, breaking a few of his ribs in the process. After those three minutes, Kakuzu stepped in.
"Hidan, the bounty is not worth the trouble. Let us leave."
"Awe, but I wanted to sacrifice this bitch."
Sakana growled, raising her sword and charging the duo, but they had disappeared before she'd reached them. "Bastards."
"It furthered my advancement among the ranks, having taken on an Akatsuki and survived. As much as it annoys me, their appearance helped me. Though I suspect you'd known that." Pein ignored the look she gave him and waved his hand, shooing her out of his office.
"Dismissed."
Sakana stormed out, muttering under her breath about conniving arseholes, and made way for the sleeping quarters. At Kira's bedroom, she stopped and knocked on the door.
"What?" Came the woman's voice. "Tobi, if it's you again, I swear-" The door swung open and Kira peered out. "Oh. It's you."
"Don't sound so disappointed. I used your smoke bomb. Thought you'd want a report but if it's a bad time-"
"No, it's alright," Kira replied, "I was just reading. Tell me." She opened the door and walked to her desk, picking up a piece of paper and a pen.
"Three down, thirty seconds maybe? I took the blocker before I set it off, so no side effects. It's definitely a lot better than the earlier versions."
"Any adjustments needed?" She quickly scribbled down what Sakana had said.
"Well, I was thinking about practical use. I only had one prototype, and I had to use it in a bind. It's handy but bulky, and it is a bit strong for its intended use. You could definitely downsize and make them easier to activate. Pulling the cork out was a little tougher than it should be."
Kira nodded, "Anything else?"
"Nope."
"Then fuck off."
"My pleasure," Sakana smiled and let herself out, leaving the redhead to her musings.
Suki was still in her bedroom when she trudged in. "I'm not getting away from this, am I?"
"Would you believe me if I said I've spent almost the last two days in here?"
Sakana gave the blonde a dry look and joined her on the mattress. "Kisame and Itachi gone?"
"Yeah, it's so boring in this stupid base," Suki sighed, "How was the mission, really?"
There was silence for a minute as the Uzumaki woman buried her face into her pillow. Once she'd come up for air, she propped her hand under her head and smiled at the blonde. "I kicked so much Hanazuka ass. Of course, that was because I fucked up the whole thing in the first place. I ended up using your sister's newest creation, which was actually pretty fucking terrifying that that damn thing was in my pocket and could have lost the cork at any minute. I'm surprised it stayed intact with as much as it got jostled around."
Suki looked bored. "Okay, any cute guys you met?"
Sakana cut a death glare in her friend's direction.
"Well?"
"Suki, I-"
"What?! Hidan whole ass cheated on you with some whore in Sunagakure-"
"Suki," Sakana tried again.
"I mean, did the dumbass think that you wouldn't know? Aren't you like… bonded for life or something?"
"God damn it, Suki! I don't want to talk about that right now! Can't you just… fucking be supportive of me right now, instead of like… throwing all that shit in my face? Jesus fucking Christ." Sakana had jumped off the bed and was pacing now, animatedly throwing her hands in the air with every curse that left her lips. "I'm still trying to breathe and function and process what happened and- and-"
"Sak-" Suki cried, springing up and wrapping her slender arms around the typically fiery redhead. "I'm sorry, don't cry-"
Cry? "Holy shit," Sakana sniffled, "That bastard actually made me cry."