Chapter 8.

They made it to their new camp site later in the day. While they were traveling Kakuzu eventually forced Hazel to stop pestering him with her questions. She is insatiable for more vocabulary but of course, she isn't going to learn this in a single day. On top of that, if she tries to learn everything at once Hazel will pick up nothing. She needs to learn as soon as possible but their pacing must stay consistent and feasible. He doubted she retained even a quarter of the words they reviewed. The two of them need to drill each word until the vocabulary sticks and only then will any true progress be achieved... His nerves also demanded for her to settle down, but he didn't want to admit his anger caused by a mere child got the best of him. He isn't used to having a travel partner, let alone a child tagging along. It'll take time to grow accustomed to her company. Anyways, the pair settled down for the night in the forests outside of Shukuba. Although they were close, Kakuzu didn't summon the clone quite yet. He had realized on that first day she never heard of chakra or jutsu up until then. Without that knowledge, his clones will be a perfect tool for dispelling any ideas of escape. It is best to leave her in the dark for the moment.

'If her country really went undiscovered for hundreds of years without the civilians having any knowledge of chakra. Then it isn't shocking that their technology is so far beyond our own. Without the distraction of chakra, her people were able to focus their energy and research into other fields of study.' Although one thingKakuzu still couldn't explain is how they never made contact. He is still perturbed by the idea.

'With that level of technology one can guess her land's government must know of our existence at the very least… Are they hiding us from their civilians? Why would they? And most importantly, how? Damn it, this just doesn't add up and its infuriating.' Kakuzu pulled out the girl's phone again to see if he missed something. It's a bit addicting to skim through the pictures as well. He only scrolled through them for about an hour until he was sure that his answer couldn't be found in her photos. When he checked Hazel, he saw that she was already asleep. It was quite early to pack it up for the night, yet Hazel is exhausted and could barely keep her eyes open thanks to their hikes. Thus, she went to bed the moment she could. With her out of the way Kakuzu got up and went ahead with summoning his earth clone. It couldn't process much without his command but simply sitting by her is easy enough. He highly doubted she'd wake up, but it is a necessary precaution. He didn't know if she was the type of person to flee. With that taken care of the missing-nin took his leave.

'Time to get this over with.'

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When Hazel woke up that next day, she found some clothes folded up beside her. She had no clue where they came from and jumped from the ground with a start.

"The Hell?! Kakuzu!?" The man in question rose from his spot across from her. He gestured at the pile of clothes in a way that told her to 'take them'. Her brow furrowed at the man in return.

'Those are for me? But how? When did he get the clothes? He must have left when I was asleep... Does that mean there is a town nearby or did he steal these from another- NOPE. HELL NAH. Don't think about it, dumbass! Just take them! I didn't see it, so it DIDN'T HAPPEN.' Nonetheless, the thought of her being alone last night disturbed her deeply. But since nothing happened, she found herself letting the situation go. Some fresh clothes are going to feel good and she's thrilled to ditch the cursed vest. The redhead scooped up the garments and much to her embarrassment she found that Kakuzu remembered every. last. article. Her whole face felt as though it was on fire as she stole a look at him. He had already turned around to give her privacy yet regardless of the gesture, Hazel still didn't trust him in the slightest. She continued to stare at his mask covered back while slipping off the dirty vest and shorts. The new clothes are a bit big, but they aren't a terrible fit. He got her a simple dark green kimono with sandals. Something any civilian girl her age would wear.

"Kakuzu?" He turned around to inspect her. For the most part she looks normal. He stole some concealer to hide those dots on her skin and her facial structure can be written off as 'unique'. With all of that handled he had one last issue to take care of. Her hair. Hazel's hair is a mane of fiery curls that is easily double the width of her body. It is sure to stand out and bring more attention to them. Kakuzu can't afford to leave it as it is. He already figured out how he'll deal with her hair, but he didn't believe she would cooperate with his idea. Therefore, he didn't say anything. Instead Kakuzu stayed silent as he made his way over to the girl. The bounty hunter twirled a finger to ask her to turn around and while Hazel is puzzled by his request. She went ahead and did as he instructed.

'What is he looking at? Did I miss a tag or something- 'She felt her hair being round up at the base of her neck, the unforeseen sensation sent Hazel straight into a frenzy.

"What are you doing!? Kakuzu!?" She tried jerking her hair out of his hand. Meanwhile, Kakuzu pulled out his kunai. He placed the cold metal of the blade flush against the nape of her neck. Hazel's mind instantly thought of decapitation and nothing else.

"Wait! WAIT! KAKUZU!? KAKUZU!? KAKUZU PLEASE DON'T!" The blade slid clean through her hair in one stroke. After his grip was literally cut off Hazel lunged away from the killer. She clutched the back of her head and gawked at the massive chunk of hair in his hand. He didn't cut her head off but nevertheless she is seething.

"KAKUZU!? DID YOU JUST CUT MY HAIR OFF!? WHY!?" Hazel isn't all that attached to it but it's the principle of the matter. He didn't warn her OR ANYTHING. He just chopped it off without her consent and successfully scarred her in the process. She continued to yell at him while Kakuzu ignored her to throw the mass of hair away into the bushes. Much to her dismay he isn't finished with her yet, there is too much left.

"Girl- "He pointed to the ground in front of him. "-Come here." Hazel is livid but her cheek and hands still have welts from his punishments prior. She is utterly humiliated and degraded yet again. Demoted to nothing more than an animal at his beck and call.

'I…I just… DAMN HIM! Couldn't he try to respect me! It would have been fine! It was getting matted anyways! I would've let him, he just had to ASK!' Once Hazel stood in front of him again, she turned around without his direction. She didn't need to wait for him to ask, she could tell what he wanted.

'Not like he cares about my opinions anyways.' She grouched to herself. Kakuzu went back to trimming her hair down. He has a bandana to cover what is left of it. When this is out of the way they can finally move on with collecting his bounty and deciphering this mystery.

'We'll need to evacuate the Land of Fire immediately after I receive my money. Where should we head towards next…?' The man pondered. After he finished cutting her hair, Kakuzu handed her the cloth. He demonstrated to her where he wanted the bandana to go and Hazel was more than willing to cover the mere inch of hair left accordingly. Her head feels so…naked. The wind's caress grazing her scalp is wrong. For as far back as she could remember Hazel's hair has never been this short. She despises him for this, she hates him for everything else too. It is yet another bullet on the list of reasons to hate Kakuzu. An increasingly long, LONG list of reasons. When they got on speaking terms she began to relax. Her mistake-

'-And one I will NEVER make again.' The redhead concluded he was done with her, so she stomped off to her spot at the campsite to sulk. Kakuzu simply shook his head.

'We can spare a couple hours to rest and eat. After that, we must leave before we're discovered.'

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Hazel continued to sulk as they left the camp. As if that whole incident wasn't invasive enough, he forced her to smear on this thick layer of makeup before they left. She barely resembled herself after he was finished. As an act of rebellion Hazel had been scowling at him since this morning. She hoped that her glare could make him regret what he did. What she doesn't know is Kakuzu will ignore her until she calms down. He refuses to play these childish games. All he wants to do is hurry up and get this over with so he can get his cash. They had been on the path for only a few hours but Kakuzu can see the drop-off ahead. To those on the outside, it appeared to be a simple roadside tea shop. Yet if you know the password you would know its true purpose. Hazel noticed the building too, but she couldn't even tell that it is supposed to be a tea shop. They're not that common back home. Her curiosity got the best of her and she momentarily forgot to be mad.

"Kakuzu? Name?" He answered her since they were out of hearing range.

"Tea shop." He figured he'd keep it simple. Afterall, it is just a tea shop to her.

"Teeyaa shuuppu." Kakuzu rolled his eyes.

"No. Tea…Shop…" She tried again.

"Teeyah shop?"

'Close enough.' Before the two got too close Kakuzu wanted to explain to Hazel how she is expected to act around others. He stopped before they reached the shop and Hazel stopped in turn.

"Huh?"

"Hazel, you must be 'quiet.'" Kakuzu responded. He placed a single finger against his masked mouth to show her what the word meant. Hazel made sure to confirm with Kakuzu that she understood him right.

"Hazel, quiet." She held her own finger to her mouth. "-shhhhhhhh" She looked at her captor to see if she was on the same page as him.

"Yes- *nod* -quiet." The two continued walking until they reached the stairs in front of the building's entrance. Kakuzu thought about bringing her inside but decided against it. If he brought her in, she would surely lose her composure after he summoned the body from his scroll. She should be safe enough on the stairs and it will only take a minute for him to cash in the bounty. Kakuzu jutted his arm in front of her before she could follow him any further.

"Sit down here and wait." He guided her into a sitting position on the stairs before holding his hand in her face. Exactly like he was teaching a puppy how to sit. Hazel pouted back at the mercenary.

'He's leaving me and going inside? What does he have to do in there? You know what? Don't care! After this morning I can REALLY use a break from him.' Kakuzu left her on the steps knowing there is very well a chance she may run. He is confident in his tracking abilities. She wouldn't get far even if she tried. He is giving her the benefit of the doubt and assuming she isn't dumb enough to attempt an escape. With that in mind, he went inside to do his business while Hazel quietly thought to herself.

'I still haven't recognized anything around us. Of course, my brain just had to screw up.' She tried to think back to her last memory. She remembered Mom driving her home, then cuddling with Bork, after words she fell asleep and that's where it all ended. Or well, that's the last thing she remembered while she was conscious.

'Although I had that weird dream too. If you could call it a dream. Was more of a nightmare now that I'm thinking back on it.' In her dream she was soaring through the skies at speeds beyond compare. She had been near level with the stars while flying further and further upwards before dissipating into nothing. Even though it was a nightmare, it hadn't been a pain free experience. Her body felt like it was electrocuted and sliced into bits all at the same time. It was an excruciating sensation that she assumed was caused by her earlier flu. Fever dreams are always the worse, especially nightmares.

'But after that there's nothing. I woke up in the forest, Kakuzu kidnapped me, and here we are now.' Will her memories start vanishing from then on? Or was that a onetime thing? Hazel figured only time can tell at this point. The girl has enough on her plate and couldn't afford to scrutinize her amnesia too much. If Kakuzu stops pissing her off they should be able to solve this conundrum with relative ease.

'But damn that man needs to learn about communication. God, I don't understand him. I suppose I won't for quite a long time. But when I can talk to him, he's in for a long interrogation. Mark my words.' She laid herself across the stairs so she could do some cloud watching. Without her phone Hazel is bored out of her mind.

'Hmmmm pretty day out at least.' The warmth on her cheeks is comforting. It reminded her of all the days she would sunbathe with her mother. They would talk for hours outside in the sun about random things. Like what she was doing in school, how work was going for her mom, the latest scandal circulating around town. Her dad would many times join them to rant about a horrid customer he'd been forced to deal with. Although the memories are about as pleasant as they come, they left her feeling hollow.

'What am I going to do if I can't find them?' Hazel hoped and prayed she'll never have to find out.

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To the guest who reviewed- I'll try to stay consistent! Thank you so much for reading!

Vijamoon- YAY! Thank you so much! I wanted to write something incorporating characters that don't typically get stories! Kakuzu and Kisame are my favorites too and I'm always looking for long stories about them!