A/N: My entry for the 'Zetsu' challenge at Naruto100
What The Akatsuki Is All About:
None of the other members knew where their Leader had found him. He just kind of, showed up one day. The only thing they'd figured out about him was that he had a plant on his head. The man, if he could be called that, didn't wear his hitai-ate, so they had no idea of his origin, though Itachi was firmly convinced that he hailed from Kusagakure. No one knew anything, though not for lack of trying. Even Leader professed no knowledge of the man. But, wasn't Akatsuki all about mystery? Yes, yes they were.
So Zetsu incorporated himself into their organization. He was a scout, a tracker, and wasn't around much. When he did, he never ate. Kisame assumed the plant-man worked on photosynthesis. After all, he always got wilt-y when it rained. Kisame, on the other hand, loved rain. The two naturally didn't agree on weather. Zetsu had arrived on a stormy night, however cliché that was. Leader had brought him in during the middle of a meeting and introduced the plant-man as their newest member. The group had stared at the naked man, (he had been unclothed, disregarding the green plant anchored to his shoulders and growing across his body), taken in the sight of his two-toned skin, and shrugged. After all, wasn't the Akatsuki all about weird? Yes, of course they were.
The first problem had arisen when Sasori had found the man attempting to devour one of his cat puppets. That had not gone over well. The puppeteer had been pissed off for days, muttering to himself as his skilled hands set to work removing the teeth marks from the cat's wooden shell. Why the Scorpion of the Red Sand kept a cat puppet was beyond the grasps of the other's minds. They all just didn't ask. Zetsu had sulked around for a while, avoiding the puppeteer, and would show up randomly later with human body parts, his face soaked in blood. However, wasn't the Akatsuki all about cannibalism? Well, sort of.
Possibly the only member Zetsu got along with was Deidara. But everyone knew Deidara was weird like that anyway. The plant man would sit in the sun for hours, watching the Iwa-nin sculpt his clay, only to blow it up upon completion. Most of the other members always thought Deidara was wasting his time, making masterpieces only to blow them up later, but apparently Zetsu did not share this philosophy. The two would sit for hours, Zetsu's mismatched eyes staring intently as Deidara's hands worked the clay, the hands in his palms assisting. And then, at the end, the clay exploded. Deidara would chuckle, and after a while, Zetsu would make a little happy hum as well, the fly trap on his head snapping open and shut. And wasn't the Akatsuki all about making friends? Absolutely not… but perhaps they could have exceptions.