Chapter 10.
A few months later.
Hazel has become quite use to their routine. Hike, eat, lesson, sleep, repeat. Hike, eat, lesson, sleep, repeat. Hike, eat, lesson, sleep, repeat. Her vocabulary certainly grew but nothing too impressive has stuck. She can remember words of objects they pass by regularly but outside of that is hit or miss. Still, this was great progress and to top it off the pair managed to keep out of trouble thanks to Kakuzu. They should arrive at the Land of Hot Water in just a few short days but naturally it can't be that easy. While they were hiking through the forest Kakuzu's senses picked up on several chakra signatures approaching the two of them at high speed. Such high speeds that he instantly realized they were about to be intercepted by shinobi. Seeing, or really feeling, that they are running straight towards them also warned Kakuzu that the shinobi already knew where the two are.
'Damn it, not again. We aren't going to get lucky this time. Are they missing-nin or village shinobi?' He already figured it's too late for them to run and besides, it'd be a pointless waste of energy if the intruders already spotted them. So, he'll have to take them head on.
"Hazel." She caught a glance at Kakuzu as he grabbed her shoulder with a firm grasp. The bounty hunter guided her behind him before lowering himself into a protective stance. With a gasp, Hazel put two and two together and hastily searched for the source.
'No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, noooooo! Please be friendly!' She didn't want to see another person killed. She would do anything to avoid it but Kakuzu doesn't hold this same sentiment. He already has killing intent pooling off him and even the girl can sense he is preparing for a bloodbath.
"K-Kakuzu!" Her eyes barely caught the sight of people landing around them. One second, they were completely alone on a path through the forest. The next and they are totally surrounded by men and woman wearing that vest. The same. Exact. Vest. Hazel yelped at the sight of those accursed garbs.
'Is that thing a uniform?! Just who are they?! OH NO IS HE GOING TO KILL THEM TOO!?' Hazel started crying while Kakuzu cursed under his breath.
'A squad of 5 Leaf shinobi, of course… Why is it I never have this luck when I'm trying to hunt.' The mercenary waited for them to make the first move. Instead of attacking the pair one of the shinobi spoke up. Kakuzu assumed the man must be the squad's leader.
"So, I'm sure you already know why we're here?" Kakuzu stayed silent so the leader continued without missing a beat.
"-One of my comrades here spotted quite the chakra 'signatures' coming from you. I thought we would be meeting with several shinobi and yet here you are. Care to explain how you have five chakra signatures? You could also explain what you're doing with that girl while you're at it." The leader sent Hazel a genuine smile though the girl didn't reciprocate it. Her eyes darted between Kakuzu and the man before she gave up trying to read their faces to stare at her shivering feet instead. Her tears dotted the dirt beneath as she continued to cry in silence. The captain clearly noticed the blatant signs of fear and scowled back at Kakuzu.
"Did you take her?"
"She's none of your concern." Kakuzu remarked.
"*Shrug* Tsk tsk… Well, if you did kidnap her then I'm afraid to tell ya buuuut I need to take you into custody. Excuse me~ Hey you! -" He snapped his fingers at Hazel. The redhead met his eyes with her own.
"-You! Yea you! Did this man take you?" He jutted his thumb towards Kakuzu, but all Hazel can tell is he's asking her something about her captor and that's about it. She stared at him and he stared back at her. All of the leaf shinobi were thrown off by the child's silence.
"-Didn't you hear me? Did he take you or not? Helloooo! This is an easy question! Yes or no?" Kakuzu interjected before the man could continue his questioning any further.
"Take a hint. She doesn't want to speak with you. Mind your own business." The Captain placed his hands on his hips and rolled his eyes at Kakuzu.
"Yea, yea I'm sure you'd love to get rid of us. You scared her real good didn't ya mister…?" Kakuzu didn't respond and the captain blew out a sigh full of frustration. He didn't wish to fight but with a kidnapped child involved there is no way he can let this fly. The Hokage would wring his neck if he found out and his conscience can't take much more guilt.
"Ok mister 'no-name'… Squad- "As the captain raised his hand to draw their attention, his squad armed themselves. The sound of kunai cutting the air hummed throughout the forest as well as within Hazel's eardrums.
'-No, don't! Run! Just RUN!'
"-Take him down and retrieve the kid." Hazel could only see them pounce before she was knocked into the ground.
'NO! NOT AGAIN!'
"KAKUZU, PLEASE!" She made the mistake of rolling onto her back to seek out the masked man. Instead of Kakuzu, she was met with the sight of something dangling right above her head. The sunlight is partially blinding the girl so all she can make out is the dark outline of a large mass floating in the air. Holding it there are these black tendrils that had impaled themselves into the-
Into the body.
After Hazel figured out what she was seeing the girl gaped. Warm 'rain' splattered her face until a few drops landed into her eyes. The liquid burned so she viciously rubbed her eyes trying to rid herself of the pain. When she pulled her hand back Hazel caught the sight of blood smeared across her near-translucent skin. She is paler than normal, and the dark red liquid only accentuated her deathly tone.
"N-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n." Her feet dug into the dirt as Hazel haphazardly kicked at the ground in an attempt to put some distance between her and the fresh corpse. She continued to push backwards until the black threads threw the body away into the forest. The sudden movement caught her attention, and she couldn't stop herself from watching as the body flew above. No matter how much her heart urged her to stop- Hazel followed its trajectory until she overheard the sound of flesh smacking against a tree with a bone-chilling crack. The slam was somehow incredibly distinct through the sound of shouting and clanging of metal against metal.
'Oh God, OH GOD.' She got onto her hands and knees to flee but Kakuzu's voice forced Hazel to halt dead in her tracks.
"Stop!" He couldn't let the girl out of his sight or else the Leaf shinobi may escape with her. He also had to make sure she didn't get caught up in any of his jutsus.
"Kakuzu!? KAKUZU!?" Hazel searched for Kakuzu, but the child still couldn't sort him out from the flurry. She eventually heard his voice shout again but this time it isn't projected towards her.
"Fire style- searing migraine!" A MASSIVE spew of fire enveloped the land. Hazel can barely look at it due to the blistering heat and brightness. The warmth from the flames burned against her skin and sucked the moisture right out of her mouth. The girl tried to protect herself with her forearms, yet it turned out to be unnecessary. The child soon realized she wasn't the target, but Hazel's ears caught the sound of those who were less fortunate through the roar of the fire. The chorus of pained howls were swiftly extinguished as the flames disintegrated all that had stood before it. When the inferno began to die down, she could finally spot Kakuzu from the carnage. His back is towards her and at first, she didn't recognize him. Something is sticking out from Kakuzu's body, something huge.
'What-what is on his back? Oh MY GOD WHAT IS THAT THING!?' One of his masks had partially exited his body in the form of a demonic ghoul perched on his shoulder. The tendrils that inhabit her captor's muscles are now making up this…thing's body with the mask forming its face. She watched as the mask's mouth closed. She witnessed a MASK close its MOUTH.
'THAT MASK MOVED I-' Hazel wailed as that thing slithered back into Kakuzu's body.
"-I-I touched those things!? I touched THAT. WAIT, WHAT- JUST WHAT IS THAT!?" Her brain is swimming within her skull while her vision became blurry. The girl is hyperventilating but there is no oxygen to be had. Finally, Hazel succumbed to panic and Kakuzu watched as she collapsed. He ignored the unconscious brat since she isn't on the top of his list of priorities. Now that so many of the Leaf's shinobi are missing the Village will be sure to send the Anbu to investigate. He must erase their trail and hide until the Land of Fire loses interest. He has been forced to forgo his original plan all together and bunker down completely. No side missions whatsoever. So much for not halting his income.
"Damn it all, I'll savor the moment I cash in these bounties."