Me: Whoo! Chapter three and only two reviews! Whats the deal people?? I know you're reading the story. I see how many hits I'm getting. I know you're reading this story.... but more on that later. Enjoy.
Chapter 3
Three bells rang.
Three chiming bells rang throughout the village. Its light notes ringing pure and light like the first snowfall. Shows of ecstasy and mirth collided with the clear, deep ringing. Men howled or threw their straw hats high into the air. Woman embraced each other in excitement, gossiping amongst each other like a cluster of song birds.
Within the walls of village, the walls that separated the outer branches from the main clan. In the hospital reserved for the pure families, a wailing is heard. Outside the village celebrates but within that inner wall there was deathly silence.
The chiming bells stopped, a new, somber bell filling the air.
Four rings.
The village stilled, frolicking children where hushed by their parents. Whispers were passed, worries shared.
"I'm sorry Hayato-dono." A doctor hung his head in shame. "The child is healthy but your wife..." The man paused, trying to find the right words. There were no right words. For no word could capture what happened in that room. The new life gained, the one lost. "Your wife has passed."
Hayato paled, he fingers digging deep into his sandy blond hair. He ran into the room, shoving the stunned doctor aside. He saw the nurse, a young babe wailing in her arms. He turned to the bed, the face he most dearly wanted to see covered by a pale white sheet. His hand hovered over her face. He wanted to throw aside the sheet. Tosee his wife smiling up at him again. Smiling and alive.
"Hayato-dono." The nurse stood by him, shifting the babe in her arms. " You're child..."
Hayato stared wordlessly at the child before him. The baby cried and cried, unknowing the tragedy that has occurred. Hayato hated that child. He hated her because she cried for all the wrong reasons. He took the baby from the nurse's arms.
The bells were ringing again, three for new life, four for death. The sounds merged together, it's haunting tune carried all throughout the still city. Light, hearty tones challenged by dark, low ones. Hope converging with despair.
"Suzukanene." Hayato said quietly. The nurse stared at him
"What was that lord?"
Hayato walked to the window, holding his child out for the world to see. "Suzukanene. That is what I will name her."
The nurse nodded and wrote the name down on her sheet. Hayato starred down at his child, sleeping peacefully in his arms. He wished his child would start crying again. That his child would cry for the loss of her mother, and his wife.
Hayato couldn't cry, but his child would.
***
Suzu woke up with a weird feeling in the back of her mouth. She turned around in the soft bed, a paper rose resting right near her face. A feeling surged up within her, dying away before she could grasp it. She laid there, her mind not able to understand what had happened.
Suzu picked up the rose, holding the fragile bloom close to her. A lingering feeling, the metallic taste of blood was in her mouth. She furrowed her brows together. What was this?
"I need new clothes." Suzu said absentmindedly, forgetting about the feeling. She walked over to the dresser and pulled open the bottom drawer. Pein told her that all the clothes in it were for her use. She pulled out a pair of black pants and black tank top with thin straps. The gray short kimono she wore was bloodstained and tattered from her run through the forest.
She shed away the dingy thing and stood in her undergarments. There were a few pairs of underwear and bras in the drawer as well. She pulled some out but the underwear was too small, as with the bras. Suzu frowned; she hoped the clothes weren't too small for her as well.
The pants reached down just below her knees and fitted her rather comfortably except the waist was a tad bit wide. Making the pants sit lopsided on her waist. The tank top was way to big for her, her breasts almost entirely exposed. She quickly searched through the drawer once more and found a large black T-shirt. She pulled it over the tank and studied herself in the mirror on the back of the door. The T-shirt was almost like a dress on her and hid the sliding pants well. She moved on to her next problem, studying herself in the mirror.
Her hair was an utter mess. Dirt lined her sandy tanned face; dark lines were forming under her eyes. At least she had decent clothes.
Frumpy. That would definitely be the thing her aunt would say if she saw her now. Suzu smiled to her reflection. She missed her aunt but the woman would be better off without her hindering the poor woman.
Content with her ragged and 'frumpy' appearance Suzu stood awkwardly at the door. Pein told her she wasn't allowed to go anywhere without an Akatsuki member to escort her but when would they come for her?
She looked shyly about the room. She just woke up and couldn't go back to asleep again, and she didn't want to mess with the things in the room. She never met the woman who owned this room and she did not want to be impolite.
But that door... was it locked? The question burned with in her. She stared long and hard at the door, the mirror reflecting her intent gaze. It wouldn't hurt to test and see, maybe the Akatsuki were waiting outside the door for her, waiting for her to come out.
Her fingers curled around the polished knob. The door opened with ease. Her head jerked out into the hallway, looking down both ends. No one in sight.
'Maybe they're waiting down the hall?' She thought hurriedly, excitement building up within her. Pein wouldn't be too mad if she went off for a bit on her own. What harm would it do anyways? She'll be back before anyone came to get her anyways.
She stepped out into the hall, forgetting to close the door in her excitement. This was a chance to explore. She ventured down the hall, Deidara's little tricks for getting around buzzing in her head. She hasn't been in this part of the base before and wasn't sure if his tricks still applied.
She learned that she could tell the fake, illusion hallways and doors by smelling them. If she could smell the scent of humans then it was real, but if she only smelled paint then it was fake.
The wild and crazy events of the past days were coming to a quiet halt and Suzu found she could think more clearly. The fear that made her heart stop was gone and the uncertainty of leaving the village had all but left. She was free now.
Suzu sniffed a hallway; paint, the hall was fake. She kept going straight, a new smell turning in the air. A sweet pungent smell, the smell of flowers.
A chill ran down her spine. Her mind flickered, like an old light bulb was working to turn on but only flickered meekly in the back of her mind. Strange flashes of pictures and words bubbled to the top of her conscious.
The feeling from this morning came back to her. She stepped hesitantly down the hall, coming closer to the smell. A small voice in her head told her to run, told her that something scary awaited her. Another voice, louder, more confident told her to walk forward. It told her it must be known. It told her she must find her anger.
Suzu stopped before a plain wall. The smell was coming from it. Her hands patted up and down the flat surface until she felt it, a small unseen indent in the wall. She tugged and the door slid neatly to the side, a new world of green opened to her.
***
"Father" Suzukanene, age five, stared up at the man, anyone could tell she clearly took after him. The same sandy brown hair, the same bright gray eyes. "Why must I do this?"
"Because I said so." Her father roughly replied, forcing her forward into the hair shop. When they came out again Suzu had long black small fingers played with the tips. She didn't like the change. She wanted her old hair back.
The small girl started crying but her father didn't notice. He was whispering quietly to himself. Lost in his own world. Suzu cried louder, trying to get the attention of her father. When her consistent wailing started drawing attention for others her father bent down and smacked her across the face.
"Shut up" He growled, the purple lines under his eyes giving him a haunted look. "Be quiet and follow me. We're going to go see mommy."
The girl sniffed back her tears. She didn't like it when they went to see mommy. Mommy scared her. Daddy took her to see mommy once a week. She would always dread the day. Father acted... different on those days. He would say scary things, whisper dark words whose meaning was lost to her. He forced her down the familiar path that lead her to the familiar place.
The flower field.
***
Bright light came down upon her like a sheet of ethereal rain. The ceiling was entirely glass, level with the ground above. Creeping vines crisscrossed along the glass, the light filtering through its leaves sending out streaks of green. Plants were everywhere, all of them in pots or tanks. Small trees and bushes were laid out before her like an unruly jungle. She walked forward carefully, Thick roots and vines wrapped around the floor, concrete peeking through their gaps.
"Wow." Suzu admired the green jungle around her. All the plants were new to her; most had large leaves, larger than her head and torso. Some had vibrant flowers or colorful streaks on their foilage. The air was extremely moist and she could feel drops of water falling on her.
She ventured forward, touching the new plants around her. She pushed aside a bulb plant crossing the path. It had a huge green head on the end of its thick stem. The plant fell back behind her as she kept walking down a winding path set between the flowers.
Leaves shuffled behind her and she snapped back around, peering down the path she just walked. The damp air made it harder for her to smell but she couldn't small anyone. Only the airy smell of the flowers. Suzu turned back and around continued walking.
The jungle of plants thinned out and she was standing before a field of flowers. A raised platform, three feet tall and expanding the length of the remaining room sat before her. Flowers, the whole platform filled with flowers sat there, beckoning her.
A strong voice urged her one, a quiet voice in the back of her head told her to stay away. The stronger voice barked and the quiet voice hid, scared.
In a daze Suzu pulled herself up onto the platform, her body no longer her own. Her mind was fixated on a smell that lingered in the air, a smell more clear and sweet then the others. She took another step forward when she tripped.
She yelped and forced her hands out in front of her, her palms hitting the ground roughly. She stared at the flowers crushed beneath her. Shaking she stood up when a thick, slimy rope circled around her ankle. She screeched when the rope tugged and dragged her forcefully backwards. Fingers clawed the ground and pulled up flowers, seeking any thing she could get a grasp onto. Her feet collided with the side of the platform and yanked over it. Pain erupted in her stomach in head as she was dragged over the wood.
She twisted around on to her back and gasped. It was a vine; a vine had tangled itself around her ankle and was dragging her back into the jungle of plants. More vines clamped onto her, their slick bindings twisting around her.
The angry voice in her head barked, the brown dog snarled.
Suzu buried her head in her arms; pots came dangerously close to colliding with her as she slid across the bumpy floor.
Her hand reached out and grabbed a still vine. The vines jerked her hard and she almost let go. She twisted her hand around the vine, her knuckles squeezing tight around the plant. The vines tightened and a sick game of tug-a-war started. Joints came out of their sockets and her body stretched the limit. Her grip slipped.
She was flung forward and landed at the base of the bulb plant. Its plant like head hanging suspended a foot above her. She yanked on her vine bindings; the plants strangely lose. Struggling with a twisted vine around her wrist she stiffened. The air was turning wildly about her. She sniffed the air and the smell of rotting flesh overcame her.
Her stomach turned and vile rose up in her throat. A strong force slammed into her head, sending her forward across the ground. She crawled up onto her back looking above wildly for her attacker. She turned and saw the giant plant head, wriggling.
The plant quivered, its green head rising up. Slowly its tip split apart into four different sections. Each section peeling back, reviling a straight line of sharp teeth. The toothed plant faced down towards her, like an efflorescent predator.
She screamed and bolted, vines wrapped around her again, dragging her to the waiting plant. The plant lashed out, its teeth driving deep into her shoulder. She cried out in pain, violet ooze leaked from the white teeth and into her shoulder. Her body clenched in pain.
Vines enclosed around her, warping around her body like a spiders' web. She screamed frantically, trying to get to anyone's attention. She wished she wasn't so stupid as to explore on her own. She wished-
Vines wrapped around her face. The plant bit deeper into her skin, pulling out a chuck of her flesh.
'Bite, back!' The brown dog growled at her. 'Fight, everything depends on you. You die and our race dies.'
"I know." She whispered. "I know."
The strangling vines started to loosen, giving up their hold on her. She wriggled free from them, her breaths in ragged pants. Wet, sticky blood flowed freely down her arm, she knew she had to stop it but her body was growing numb. She started to feel disoriented, confused. What was she doing?
"Who's in here?" A dark voice called. Suzu's head lifted shyly into the air. She sniffed, the smell slowly registering to her. It smelled earthy and human. Fear sized her when the voice called out again. Some one else was in the room and they knew she was there too.
She staggered to her feet, swaying dangerously like a drunken man. In a tottering gait she ran back to the platform, she could find sanctuary amongst the painted flowers. The voice called out again, a new voice arguing with it. She kept going, her fear driving her.
She vaguely remembered Deidara talking about other members. He called them the odd cookies in the box. She wondered just how odd the Akatsuki really was. She wondered if Deidara's vague analogy really did any justice.
She heaved up onto the platform, her shoulder sending waves of pain down her body. She didn't feel it; her mind was boggy. Her body was stiff and unyielding. The only thing pushing her was the brown dogs' mad barking. The dog urged her forward. She kept going forward.
She was in the center of the platform and she could go no farther. She lost all sense of smell, all sense of time. The afternoon light fluttered across her skin. She turned her head and saw a flower. It was white with two distinct pedals. One larger pedal standing taller than the other before curling back. The other curling in the other way.
Moon wisp.
The name came to her, along with the searing memory. Inside her head the brown dog grinned. The searing memory exploded in her head.
The black hair, the laughter, the knife, the blood, the ritual.
Pain, she felt immeasurable pain, she howled in anger, the madness of the pain driving her insane.
Suzu registered something wrapped around her arm; she twisted and bit what was holding her. A howl of pain came from the earthy man. Sweet blood oozed into her mouth, she relished in the taste of it. And wanted more. The madness was consuming her, she wanted to rip apart the man locked in her jaws. She wanted to kill.
The man hit her across the head, her jaws clenched harder. He kept hitting her, screaming for her to let go. Her instincts were taking over her, wild instincts deep within her raging forth, crashing throughout her like a flood of power.
The man groped her injured shoulder, scratching around the teething wound. She cried out, her jaws releasing its prey. The man slapped her across her face. Shock brought her scenes back and the haze clouding her mind.
Her anger, the memory, everything started to slip away. She collapsed on the ground, her mind flickering out into nothingness. The brown dog was angry, angry because she wasn't angry. He was angry too, her mind trickled away, who was he? He was important but now he was gone. He did something to her, something unforgivable.
***
"Zetsu!" Deidara walked into the plant mans greenhouse. Zetsu looked over at the blond, his black side furious.
"Why weren't you watching her like Leader told you." He scowled.
"I had to use the bathroom, un!" Deidara cried exasperated, pulling on his hair. "Sasori-danna scolding me is enough thank you! Yeah it was my fault she wondered off on her own but you should have looked to door to your room!"
"A genjutsu was hiding it." Zetsu's white side added. "There's no way she could have seen through it."
Deidara was at a loss, it was bad enough EVERYONE was blaming him for Suzu's disappearance but the also expected him to know EVERY little thing about the girl as well. "How was I supposed to know she can see through genjutsu.... just yesterday she didn't know what a genjutsu was! How was I supposed.... she never could have." Deidara shook his head, pacing in tight circles. "I only taught her little tricks to the genjutsu in the halls." He added quietly to his self.
"You taught her what?" Black and white Zetsu said together. One was angry, the other taken back. "Are you and idiot?" Black resorted scathingly. "What were you thinking?!"
Deidara shrugged, what else could he do? Lie? Zetsu could see through lies, the grass nin always could. "Just in case, yeah. If she ever got separated from one of us, so she wouldn't get really lost."
"You're a freaking S-rank criminal ninja! Wanted in seven countries and is on the kill-on-sight list in five of those! I think you are capable of keeping track of one simple girl!"
"What if-"
"There are no what ifs Deidara." Pein walked into the room, eyes burning with rage. Deidara shrank back from their leader. He hung his head, staring at his feet. Pein glared at him then turned to Zetsu. "Did anything happen to her?"
"She was bitten by a poisonous, carnivorous plant." Zetsu explained. "Its poison contains a mild sedative."
"It wears off right?" Pein questioned. Zetsu nodded.
"After a few hours yeah but it's the after affect that kicks in after it wears off that could be troublesome."
"Troublesome?"
"It gives the victim temporary amnesia."
Pein swore. "Great, just freaking great. We need the information she has on her village. The Haze ninja have been acting up, they know something we don't and Suzukanene is our key to finding out what!" Pein took several hasty steps away from them, turning his back to them. "Deidara if your skills weren't useful to me I would have killed you just now."
Deidara paled, uncomfortable at how close he had come to an early death. Pein growled under his breath.
"How is she right now?" He questioned quietly, taking deep, slow breaths.
"Missing a good chunk of her shoulder but Konan is tending to her right now. She should be able to fix her right up." Zetsu's white side said cheerfully. "Though the injured shoulder saved me some trouble."
"Explain." Pein's interest was stirred.
"When I came in I could see the vines wriggling around and I new some unfortunate soul had wondered in here. So I got closer and found her in my flowers. She looked pretty banged up so I grabbed her but all of a sudden she went raving mad and bit me."
"She did what?" Deidara asked, shocked.
"She bit me!" Zetsu repeated. "The little bitch." His black side added. "Every time I hit her to knock her off she bit harder! So I grabbed onto her shoulder and I guess it stunned her for she let go. She had this crazed, feral look in her eyes. I wasn't sure what to do so I slapped her. That seemed to knock some sense in her and she passed out."
Pein quietly regarded everything for a moment. Finally he said, "Deidara, you are no longer in charge of Suzukanene. Sasori will watch her until Itachi and Kisame get back from their mission and they'll take over from there. Lock your door next time Zetsu." Pein waved them off and left.
The two Akatsuki stood awkwardly in the room. Deidara mumbled some half-baked excuse about a sculpture he was working on and left. Out side in the hall he ran into Sasori.
"Deidara." Sasori greeted coldly. Pein had told him his new job.
"I'm in no mood for your scolding." Deidara stepped around his partner. Sasori gladly ignored him, if Deidara wanted to be pissy then the blond was pissy. Truthfully he hated Deidara even more when he was mad. He had this annoying habit of mumbling furiously while mindlessly blowing things up.
Sasori walked through the base to the medical ward where Konan was inside watching over Suzu dutifully. The woman nodded to him and stared down at Suzu sleeping peacefully beside her. Sasori asked her about the girl and Konan closed her eyes before answering.
"Her shoulder will be fine, through I healed the muscles, the bones and tissue I couldn't fully heal the skin. Its such a shame for one so young as her to get a scar like that." The woman's fingers ghosted over the bandaged shoulder. Sasori stared at Konan intently.
"You seem happier." He commented dryly. A smiled tugged on Konan's lips.
"I wont be the only female anymore." She said quietly. "I was just thinking it would be nice, to have someone to do girl things with."
Sasori stayed quiet. It was no secret Konan wished for female company, living with nine other filthy men for years was taking its toll on her. An idea came to him and he quickly shared it with Konan.
"Me?" She said, shocked. "Be in charge of Suzu? But I can't. I have to help Pein.
"At least until Itachi and Kisame come back." Sasori said. "I would rather not be in charge of her, I have enough troubles dealing with Deidara. What do I need with some teenage girl? She could bond with you."
"I don't know..." Konan admitted doubtfully. "But I guess...." She added, sounding more hopeful. " I can ask Pein. He might agree to it. I could tell him it might increase our chances of her choosing to join us."
"I can ask for you." Sasori offered but Konan shook her head.
"I'll do it." She stood up. "I'll go do it now. Suzu is stable but if you could watch her just to be sure..."
"I'll do it." Sasori closed his eyes; it wasn't like he had anything better to do. Konan smiled and thanked the puppet master. She left silently, making as little noise as possible.
Sasori took Konan's seat and watched the second hand move around the clock. He started thinking on a new design for a puppet when Suzu stirred in the bed beside him. He watched her as she sat up, looking around in confusion. She looked at him with big innocent eyes.
"Who..." The words left her mouth.
"Sasori." He reminded her.
"... Sasori..." The girl repeated. "Is that... my name?"
Something was wrong; Sasori examined her more closely. "No," he corrected. "It is my name."
She stared. "Then what is my name? Who am I?"
Sasori knew something was wrong indeed.
Me: Hehe, the story is getting interesting is it not? I hated this chapter at first but when I did my look through it I was actually really okay with it.
Review! Review! Please, oh please review! No review no new chapter!!!