Chapter 6
Standing in front of the Hokage's door I take a step back feeling my heart hammering in my chest. I don't know if I can do this! Very nearly running away Kakashi catches my right hand making me look up to him and meet his gaze. His mask wrinkles around his mouth as he smiles down at me. "Take a deep breath." He says as he knocks on the door.
"Enter." A woman's voice comes from the other side sounding tired and stressed. Kakashi opens the door without letting go of my hand as if he is afraid I'll run. "But.. Kakashi, I sent you.." The blond woman stands as she speaks but is cut short when her eyes land on me. -I'm scared.- A voice inside me cries as my body begins to shake. Kakashi pulls me inside gently and my feet follow on their own accord.
"I was leaving when I found someone just outside the village." He says softly looking down at me. Tsunade's eyes soften a moment as if she was pitying me making me wonder if my fear was that evident on my features. I went to open my mouth but no words left me, leaving me silently cursing as I froze in front of her. Kakashi then lets go of my hand to grasp lightly onto my shoulder. "Go on, tell her." He coaxes making me swallow hard.
" .Th. Thirty-sixth escape attempt complete." I frown at my own quivering voice. Closing my eyes I take a steadying breath. "I... I got them to trust me enough they let their guards down. They actually left me alone…" I mumble and her eyes harden on me the rock in my chest growing threatening to make me hyperventilate. "After they seen me escape the... You guys, twice they decided I was finally loyal to them…" I started speaking quickly and Kakashi taps my shoulder lightly to help me calm down.
"In the past, she's tried to escape thirty-five other times. They had her constantly being watched to make sure she didn't take off on them. It wasn't until she gave up running and even slipped out of our grasps twice did they figured she had finally given in. She says the two watching her went to the Akatsuki's monthly meeting and finally left her thinking she was asleep." Kakashi explains for me drawing the eyes of the huge breast blond-haired woman to him. "Every time we confronted her Itachi and Kisame were always nearby. She wanted to come back but she feared that we would be hurt. So even though she wanted to return with us she avoided causing everyone trouble and waited for the right time to escape their grasps." He then looks down at me and smiles. "Right?" I nod to him in answer trying to get my heart to stop pounding as the woman Hokage sets down.
"I see." She says though by the look in her eyes I don't think she believes me. Biting my bottom lip and slowly reaching into the pouch at my hip making her glare at me, as everyone else including a short black-haired woman holding a little pig tense up. Pulling out a scroll I walk up to her and hand it over silently. Causing them to relax and sounds of confusion to be uttered. The blond Hokage opens the scroll and looks at the content within her eyes widen. "This is!"
I give her a nod. "Locations of every Akatsuki hideout Itachi and Kisame ever took me to and a list of targets they've been contracted to assassinate." I tell her finally trying to calm myself down. She hands the scroll over to the black-haired woman and watches me. "Since I couldn't get away I figured I would at least try to get some information for the off chance I was able to finally get out of there."
I put my hands back into my pockets so I wouldn't fidget and step back next to Kakashi. Of course, I didn't put in the main sealing location or the actual domain of the Akatsuki on there along with a few other key places. I figured the five locations we rarely ever use would be enough to satisfy her, now the next part. "After you're attack to retrieve the Kazekage there are now Eight members of the Akatsuki remaining, including the nonmain members." I tell her causing her eyes to widen. "There were only four I was able to meet personally and that was Itachi, Kisame, Sasori, and Deidara. But from listening in when they would hold their meetings I do know they each have different jobs within the Akatsuki. Their groups of two each have two jinjuriki targets as well. According to Deidara one of the members is in control of the Akatsuki funds and he partners with an immortal."
I pull my hands from my pockets and fold them behind me trying desperately not to look away from the woman who was watching me so closely. "The leader of the Akatsuki is rarely ever seen by the members themselves. He delegates from a distance by using a mind link Jutsu to talk to each member in their minds." I release my hands and point at my temple to try and better explain it. "It doesn't matter where the member or members are he can communicate with them as long as they have something on their person. I never quite figured it out but I could only guess it has to do with the cloaks that are given to each member. Their monthly meetings consist of an astral projection jutsu done by the main members of the organization. Usually, they would do it a couple of feet from me so they can keep track of me during the meetings."
"Do you know which one is the immortal?" She asks me when I pause to try and get the information straight in my mind. Sighing I shake my head.
"No, I can tell you from the four I was around, they don't like him. He's loud, annoying, doesn't use his brain, and is a religious nut. Deidara says he once blew him into pieces to get him to shut up only to have to deal with him continuing to shout profanity at him. Apparently, he didn't stop until he was put back together, and even then they still yell at each other during the meetings. I was told it was that reason the leader decided to keep the teams away from each other."
"Deidara is dead." The blond glares at me. "He blew himself up trying to take Naruto and Kakashi out with him."
I shake my head at her words. "That was his self-exploding clone. He doesn't like to use it very much but it does get him out of a pinch when necessary. So no, he is very much alive. Still currently only one-armed but he was able to have his other reattached." She glances away from me as she makes a sound of irritation. Before she sets her elbows on her desk and folds her hands in front of her face. "They also currently have taken four jinjuriki already. It takes all of the main members three days to seal each one and it takes a lot of their chakra to do it. I do know they used Itachi and Kisame's chakra to slow you down because they are the only ones with enough energy they could spare some while sealing. I also know that they don't all have to be in one place to do it. The main members will astral to the secretly designated location to do it."
"Umm." I tap my finger to my chin thinking of what else I can tell her before I snap my fingers. "Oh yeah, basically every member is their own boss. They listen to the leader when he gives orders, yes but they otherwise work independently. It's how I was able to come up with the medicine I injected, umm… Captain Yamato I think is his name. Sasori actually helped me refine it." I reach into my pouch again but this time none of them seen a reason to react as if I was going to attack. Pulling out one of my vials I step forward so the blond lady could look at it. The liquid itself is red inside the vial and her brows furrow as she studies it. "I found a way to imitate my healing with others. Sasori tried it on a number of people to test each version of it. This one, as long as you're still alive, it will heal any injury in a matter of seconds, however, the more damage you take it does make the time vary… Without the side effects of the other versions." Sue me, I lied again. They were my subjects but I don't think they would take kindly to knowing that. "I had thought that once I made it back of giving each medical ninja in the village one vial to be used in emergencies."
This however made her glare at me as she fumbles with the vial in her fingers. "Why just one?" She asks and I sigh.
"It's... Difficult to make and I cannot make many of them at a time, also the more you are injected with increases the chances of developing side effects." I inform her then the black-haired woman turns to me.
"You could show us how to make this drug and that could potentially save a lot of lives." I frown and look at Kakashi. He leans down to my ear before he speaks gently in a low tone.
"You can trust her, Kira. She won't hurt you… well unless you make her angry." Huh? She won't hurt me? Looking ahead I take in the two women in front of me now smiling in my direction.
"To further explain, My healing ability, is in that vial." The black-haired woman's eyes widen as I point at the vial in the blond's hand. "That is a concentrated dose of my own blood, manipulated to have all of my poisonous properties taken out of it."
"Poisonous?" The blond asks looking away from me and back down to the small tube in her hand.
"Yes... The most difficult thing to this is removing my energy and key enzymes without completely destroying the dose. One small mistake in the composition and.." I pause as she looks back up at me. "The one it's used on goes mad. They will take on monstrous changes to their body and they will lose everything that makes them who they are. Some turned into ravenous mindless beasts. So mass production will intensify the probability for something to go wrong. Plus, each batch needs to be tested before it can be used on someone. The best thing about this, which is what makes it all worthwhile." I finally smile at her proud of my own creation. "Be it an illness that has no cure, or an injury that medical ninjutsu simply cannot heal, this can and does."
"This sure is something then." The blond smiles and closes her eyes, her fingers curling around the vial in her hand. I smile and look up at Kakashi. This Hokage... Seems different than the last. The other one would have known right away how much of what I said was false or a half-truth. She sure is, naive. She then opens her eyes catching herself when she had begun to sigh and looks at me. "You said Sasori helped you develop this correct?"
"Yes." I nod to her putting my hands back into my pockets. "He was simply curious about my blood. The Leader himself, however, said that the outcome of this little experiment could be very profitable for the Akatsuki… If he had shown the capabilities of this drug to the nations they would have been more than willing to pay anything just to have it." I drop my tone and tighten it to show them I did not like the idea at all. "Just wait until they figure out that I took absolutely everything with me."
Apparently the blond liked this because she smirks in my direction. Keeping this facade up is getting tiring. Even now I just want to glare at the woman and cross my arms. Well, either way, it's about time I wrapped this up. The longer this takes, I'm more apt to screw up. Yawning, I raise my right hand to cover my mouth in order to block my fangs from view. I should have at least napped when I had the chance. "Miss Lake." The blond speaks causing me to tilt my head.
"Please, Kira. Just, Kira." I tell her as nicely as I could making her smirk fade. I frown and look down. "Sorry, I just prefer to be called my first name."
"Kira, how long has it been since you've last slept?" She asks drawing my gaze back up to her. How long? I silently ask myself. How long has it really been? Apparently, I took so long the blond sighs and leans back in her chair. "It's been that long has it?"
Biting my bottom lip a moment I very nearly sigh. "Itachi, Kisame, and I move around a lot. When we have deadlines we do not sleep exactly. Periodically we will sit down to rest for a couple of hours but mostly we are constantly on the move. Going from one mission to another. The Akatsuki being as small of an organization as it is, it means that each individual is expected to work that much harder."
"I see, when is the last time you remember getting a full night's rest?" She then questions, confusing me deeply causing my brows to furrow. A full night?
"The closest I have come would have to of been… the night before the main Akatsuki started the sealing jutsu of the one tail. Even that was an early morning rest until dawn." I frown before raising my right hand and resting my thumb and pointer finger on my temples. "As for the last complete night sleep I had… It has been a little over three years… before…" My bottom lip quivers and I see her green eyes soften with emotions I just couldn't understand. Looking away from the three of them I drop my hand to my side as my fingers threaten to curl into fists. "Before the final exam when I was thirteen."
Moments of silence pass until I feel someone moving in the room just before arms wrap around me pressing me against a woman's overly large chest. This action made me stiffen. For once, I have no idea what to do, or how to react. Warmth started pooling up inside of me and my body began to shake. This… warmth... It's nothing like I've ever felt before... It was then images of my life before now begin to flash through my mind. All of the loneliness and pain I have ever felt, it was like this one action was forcing them to the surface all at once. It was different than when Light's dad hugged me. It was like all of the emotions his tender clutch held was only… A father's warmth.
This woman was holding me with all the warmth her heart possesses. And it was breaking me. Tears began to roll down my cheeks before I could stop them. "I know it has been hard." She spoke gently to me. "You're safe now." Safe… Biting my bottom lip I try to get the tears to stop but they were stubborn. This woman's hold is… evil...
When she pulls away she smiles down at me. Taking a step back from her I try to dry my left cheek but my face was still wet. Bringing my fingers up I gently touch my right cheek. My eyes widen and I gasp as I feel the liquid there. "My right eye…." I breathe to myself in disbelief. "In all my years… it has never.. cried." I frown and look down at the tears still moistening my fingers. I thought my eye couldn't cry. I had even put it down to my tear ducts not working correctly. As if it were a birth defect or something. So why?
