Yay, next chapter. Sorry it's so short, I wanted it to end at a certin point, and I didn't realize how little I had typed by the time I got to that specific point...sigh...Ah well, onto part 3.
Naruto: The 10th Jinchuuriki
Chapter 2: Sad Past
The sun was just passing its highest point, when I suddenly became frustrated. Hidan and I had been sitting around waiting for Kakuzu to return for a little over a half-hour now, and I was becoming quite hungry. The wound on my shoulder stung, but it was already just about fully healed; I had been lucky it was so shallow. Hidan was amusing himself by cleaning his scythe, while chanting something in a voice too low for me to hear. I boredly watched him, wondering if Kakuzu had somehow been defeated by the leaf ninja, as crazy as this sounded. He was a member of the legendary Akatsuki organization afterall, though I had yet to see him in action. Feeling a bit thirsty, I climbed to my feet and walked over to the stream for a drink. Hidan looked up as I walked past him, and I could feel his eyes studying me.
"Say, uh, Akane, what Bijuu is sealed inside of you anyway?" He asked suddenly, and I stiffened, not daring to turn around and face him. Not quite knowing why, I was reluctent to tell him the truth, and I tried to desperetly find something to say.
"You see, each member in Akatsuki is assigned a certin Bijuu, and im just wondering who's target we're stealing." Hidan said in such a nonchalant way, as if it didn't really matter at all which tailed-beast I harbored. I was about to say something then, when I was suddenly hit from behind and sent flying. Landing hard on my right side, I cried out as my half-healed wound split open again, and blood seeped down my arm. My hands were forcefully jerked back behind me, and I felt some kind of rope slipped around my wrists, binding them together tightly till it hurt. Raising my head as far as I could, I looked up and found Kakuzu standing beside me.
"Hidan you dumbass. I leave you alone for a few minutes, and I come back to find the Jinchuuriki running loose." The man practically snarled, lifting me up by the ropes that bound me and hurling me back against a tree. I thought I felt something snap when I collided with the sturdy oak, sliding down to the ground in a helpless heap, blood from my wound staining my shirt. "Oh well, it's already got dried blood on it." I thought crazily, my brains obviously scrambled from receiving such a blow. As I slowly gathered my wits about me, I glared up at the robed figure of Kakuzu as he walked over and retrieved a suitcase that had been dropped.
"A few minutes? More like an hour! Where the hell have you been, making me wait like that!" Hidan yelled back furiously, his temper long gone, and I realized then that as a member of Akatsuki, you didn't neccisarily get along with your allies.
"Those Konoha ninja's made a nuisance of themselves, and when I finally dispatched of them, reinforcements arrived. Then I still had to find you, so don't you go yelling at me about time. You could have let the Jinchuuriki get away." Kakuzu awnsered a tad bit more calmly, returning to his more or less emotionless self.
"Well, you sure took your sweet time. And theres no need to tie up the Jinchuuriki, she's agreed to come obidiently." Hidan shot back, distaste for his partner coloring his voice. I didn't see any shock show on Kakuzu's face, then again it was totally covered up, but he did remain uneasily quiet after hearing this.
"You better be right, cause if she runs away, your going to be the one to fetch her." Puzzled by what he ment, I was shocked when I felt the cord around my wrists untie themselves and float over to Kakuzu, disappering up into his sleeve. Curious at this ability of his, it took me a moment to register the fact that he was going to allow me to go unhindered.
"Let's get going." Hidan glanced back at me without a word, then followed after the departing Kakuzu. Rubbing my sore wrists, I ignored my shoulder and quietly went with them. We were heading deeper into the Fire Country, taking the quickest route west, away from the eastern coast that wasn't too far from our current position. The three of us walked in silence, Kakuzu and Hidan matching each others pace, with me tagging along behind.
I had once lived by the sea with my parents, but that was a long time ago, or so it seemed. When I was just a baby, a band of strangers arrived at our small fishing village. They claimed to be ninjas from a far off country, here on a grand mission. Their leader lectured the villagefolk on the importance of their reason for having traveled so far. He told of how his people had discovered a string of ancient texts carved on the wall of a crumbling temple, telling the tale of nine demons called Bijuu's. The strength of these beasts varied depending on how many tails they had, and the Kyuubi Fox Demon was the strongest of the nine. However, this was already known to all, but what he said next amazed and frightened everyone. Apparently, the ancient texts went on to describe how every 500 years a 10th Bijuu would be reborn into our world, stronger then the rest. The ninja's claimed that this Bijuu was alive now, and they said how they knew it would on the eastern coasts. None of the villagers had dared to question how they knew it to be true, they just cooperated with the foreign ninja.
Weeks were spent searching for this beast, and when it was finally descovered, all hell broke loose. The demon, enraged at having been discovered, wreaked havoc on my village and the surrounding area. Everything was destroyed, and the survivors, my parents and I among them, were left with nothing. The ninja had all died except for one, the leader, and he was greatly sorrowed by what he had done. Trying to undo what terror had been unleashed, he pleaded with the villagers to sacrifice one of their babys for the sake of them all. Me being the only child at the right age left alive, my parents were forced into giving me up. This ninja then took me to where the Bijuu slumbered, and there preformed a sealing ritual so that the beast was confined inside me. All of this I learned years later after my parents died, from one of the village elders, he of the few people who didn't despise me completely.
When I was twelve, I left the village and decided to go east, away from the coast where all my past sorrows lay. Traveling from town to town, I tried to keep the secret of my curse hidden, but one way or the other people found out. I was first captured by a group of rouge ninjas, but I escaped from them soon after. I found that once I had to, I could access the demon chakra within me at will, and using it I could heal others wounds just as quickly as I healed myself. Besides tapping into the chakra to heal, I never dared delve further into it, least the Bijuu consume me body and soul.
When I suddenly stumbled, I was dragged from my thoughts and forced to focus on the present. Picking myself up from the ground, I rubbed my bruised elbow and silently cursed myself. Looking up, I realized Hidan and Kakuzu had stopped walking and were stairing at me. Strangely embarassed, I cast my eyes earthward, for the first time noticing how grimy I looked. The dirt didnt really show up on my dark red shorts, but it was a different story for my shirt. It was a lighter shade of red, (I have always had a likeing for the color red) and the dirt made it look very grimmy. The large tear on my shoulder certintly worsened its appearence, and I hadn't even bothered to clean off the blood that had dripped down my right side, and was now dry. All together, I definetly didn't look my best then, and I felt even worse. Hungry, thirsty, and quite tired, I wasn't sure how long I would be able to travel before collapsing. We had been walking for hours, and the sun was due to set soon.
"Maybe we should stop and rest." I heard Hidan suddenly propose, and I was instantly grateful, though im sure Kakuzu grumbled a bit. Dropping to my knees where I stood, I gladly sat there like that while the other two just stood waiting. It was then I felt the presence of others, approaching from the west at a fast pace. I knew the others could sense them coming, for they became tense and expectant. Sure enough, four ninjas came running down the path, coming a halt some distance from us. There was a girl and three guys, two of which were dressed oddly in green spandex that were very comical to look at. The oldest of the group, obviously the leader, stepped foreward with a grin on his face.
"Alright you, hand over the girl and you don't have to get hurt!" He called out, still grinning while striking a pose, and I myself just couldn't take this ninja seriously, he was just too comical. Hidan took a few steps towards the Leaf ninja, swinging his scythe excitedly.
"Kakuzu, let me handle these guys. It's been awhile since ive made a sacrifice to Jashin, and these guys will do perfectly." Kakuzu didn't awnser, so Hidan took it as a yes, holding his scythe before him as he prepared to fight.
"Lee, you back me up. Neji, Tenten, you retrieve the girl." The strange-ninja announced, slipping into a fighting stance as he too readied himself. Sitting where I was, I just absently watched, dimmly realizing that these ninja where here to rescue me. Curiously I thought about how they knew about us, but then again Konoha most likely has ninja spread all around, so it's not impossible that word of Akatsuki members in the Country of Fire got back to the village. I felt some sympathy for these strangers, they most likely didn't stand a chance against Hidan. Still too weak to do much, I watched as Hidan suddenly launched himself at the leaf ninja, scythe at the ready to kill...
Blek, fighting scenes. Im almost as bad at them as I am at romantic scenes...but...better get started on it anyway...