-1Thank you all soooooo much for the reviews! I seriously cannot understand how people are able to continue writing, if they never are reassured that people enjoy their stories. I just wouldn't have the motivation to continue! I'd feel like it was a worthless piece of junk!
Also, unfortunately, due to my grandma, I will not be able to keep Hidan in character as much. I have to stop writing so much 'smut' as she calls it. Whatever, she's retarded, but I just wanted to tell you that, because instead of making him un-Hidan, I as just going to say that he cursed at random intervals of his sentences. So it's like a filter….You'll see.
I love you all for reviewing! All comments, suggestions, or fact enlighteners are cherished!! Also, I am pleased with my 'un' experiment! Considering it doesn't hurt you all to push two little buttons, and so I don't doubt again, because I'm prone to doing that, please continue 'un'ing!
One more thing, I'm gonna change the title. I'm not sure what to, but I recently came up with a better idea than the original, and the title just will not fit. I'm not completely sure as to what it will be for sure, but I'm probably going to go with "Behind the Mask". Parts of that will unfurl in this chap, (gasp spoiler) but only a small bit.
Now, before this insanely long author's note gets any longer…
"Here is your cloak, and uniform. You will wear the cloak whenever you are outside, or on a mission. You will be required to paint your nails either dark purple, dark green, black, or red. You will refer to me as Leader-sama or Leader." Leader handed her the deep black cloak with bold red clouds. He jerked his head in the direction of a shelf with said colors of nail polish, next to the door to the outside world. Across the room, was another door? The room was simple, but surprisingly homey. The walls were white, and the oak floors polished. Three tables meant for four were all pushed together, and ten cushions to sit on around it. Not far from there was a clean kitchen that was only separated from the living/dining room by the counter. A single window allowed for the sunlight to shine into the room. All in all, it was quaint, but nice.
"Any questions?"
"Erm…yes. I realize I should paint my nails, but seeing as I'm always changing forms, nail polish never really has stayed on well…" Leader seemed to think this over; one finger idly tracing his lip piercing in his lower lip. After a minute, his odd, intimidating gray ringed eyes looked at her again.
"Very well, then lets test Deidara's theory." Kumori looked at him, and grinned.
"You and Konan will go out to retrieve the dye after you have settled in. Also, I noticed that many of your scrolls were ruined. Was there anything of significant important in them?" Kumori blinked, and thought it over.
"No, not really, although one did contain a rather large sum of money…" Kakuzu's eyes lit up.
"Give me the scroll." Kumori blinked, and then looked to leader. Said man was scowling.
"Kakuzu, you're not taking her money. – turning to Kumori he added – How much money did you have?" The white haired kunoichi shrugged.
"About 360,000yen, maybe more." Kakuzu's jaw dropped, as did several others. Namely Hidan, Deidara, Kisame, and Konan.
"Holy Jashin!"
"Whoa un!"
"Seriously!?"
Kakuzu looked like he was going to have a heart attack.
"Kumori, you and I are going shopping." It was a statement, and Kumori laughed. Actually not bugged by it…amazingly.
"Sure, if we are able to retrieve it…"She looked at the blood-stained scroll frustrated. Curse her and her love for blood.
"I'll get to work on it immediately." Leader said. With a trust for the man that surprised others, Kumori handed him the scroll. Leader glanced at it, before stowing it away in his cloak.
"Come see me when you've settled in, you will share a room with Konan." Kumori nodded, and the man disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"Come on Kumori." Konan said with a small smile, absent mindedly brushing a few stray pieces of indigo hair from her face. Kumori returned the smile, and began to follow her. The others followed the two to the door that Kumori had not been through yet. The door swung open easily on oiled hinges.
A long hallway with black carpeting and wallpaper met them. It also, even though darkly colored, had a feeling of calm. Several dozen doors on each side, some with a label with a name on it, and some not; on the labels were the partners' names who occupied said room. As they walked along, the other Akatsuki members branched off going into their room. Kumori just followed Konan, until they reached a door with Konan's name on it. The woman held her hand up to the door, and released a small amount of chakra into it. A click resounded from the door. Apparently, Konan's door only opened to her chakra.
Kumori stepped inside. The room was simple. Two beds were on the right side of the room in opposite corners, a nightstand with a small clock separating it from the walls. The bedspreads were designed like the cloaks; black with white outlined clouds, the pillows also being black with red and white embroidery. Another door, which was partially cracked, led to the bathroom. The door was directly in the middle of the room, like a divider. On each side, there was a dresser, bookshelf, and desk with a lamp.
The oak was cool against Kumori's bare feet (as she left her sandals on the front porch) as she walked over to the unoccupied side of the room. She set her uniform and cloak neatly on the bed, and inspected Konan's side.
Her dresser had a few pictures of people Kumori didn't recognize, and a few other miscellaneous objects. The desk was littered with stacks of paper that were all decorated beautifully. The other side of the desk was covered in complicated looking origami figures. Her nightstand had a medium sized green book, and another lamp. Kumori looked over to Konan, and smiled slightly.
"Sorry, it's kind of a mess." Konan said grinning. She'd already shut the door, and was leaning against it. Kumori looked taken aback.
"Whatever, it neat! If this is sloppy to you, I'm scared to know what clean is." Kumori laughed. Konan grinned. Kumori couldn't help but notice how beautiful she was. Her blue hair seemed was tied up in a messy bun, but the pieces seemed to fall out perfectly. In an elegant manner that looked as if she had spent hours on it, especially with the origami flower that perched on the side.
From then on, it seemed like whatever wall that was between them crumbled, and they found themselves talking as if they'd known each other forever. It was simple questions, and measly talk. Colors, hobbies, favorite types of food, anything and everything. They chatted like this for what seemed like forever, until they noticed that the sun was starting to get low. Looking at the clocks, they saw it was already close to five thirty.
"Oh! Hurry, go change into your uniform and we'll get the hair dye." Konan said laughing slightly. Kumori grinned, grabbed said uniform, and took off to the bathroom.
The bathroom still had the oak floor, like the rest of the house. The cabinets were a lighter shade of oak, and went well with the rest of the bathroom. The walls were a light shade of blue, and gave the room a comforting feel. She set down the uniform remembering that she was slightly in a hurry.
The uniform was simple. A tight fit fishnet T-Shirt went under a flattering v-neck navy blue tank-top. The pants were black, loose fitting capris designed for mobility. After that came her new ninja sandals. They were black, and had a little bit more of a groove in the middle for the white stocking to wrap through. Kumori then borrowed Konan's brush, and put her hair up into a higher ponytail. Then she took some black eyeliner (also Konan's) and put on a generous amount. Once everything was said and done, she took a look at herself in the full-body mirror.
The uniform fit her wonderfully, and fit at all the right places. It was simple yes, but comfortable and stylish. Kumori vaguely wondered how he knew what her sizes were.
Remembering she had to go get the hair dye, Kumori folded up her old clothes, and left. She put the clothes into an empty drawer, and turned to look at Konan. Noticing Konan was seeing how she looked; she raised her arms and did a little twirl. Konan laughed and nodded approvingly. Kumori smiled ear-to-ear before putting on her cloak. The collar came up to her nose, and down to her feet. The cloak was warm, but not unbearably so. It wasn't baggy, but not tight either…it was really just there.
"Wow, your eyes really pop now." Konan said. The two erupted into laughter again, and didn't quiet for several minutes. Finally, the two got up, and headed to the door. Only then did Kumori remember.
"Um, how do I unlock the door if it only response to your chakra?" Konan looked at her, and then laughed.
"Sorry, I forgot. Here put your hand on the doorknob…no on the inside…like that, and pump some chakra into it." Kumori did as she was told, and the door glowed faintly, before returning back to normal. Konan grinned at Kumori's curious expression, and couldn't help but remember how they had bickered about her not being curious. Yea, not curious at all.
Finally, the only two Kunoichi of the Akatsuki were on their way to get hair dye.
"Hey un. The uniform suits you." Deidara grinned coming out of his room. Kumori laughed, and shifted over some to allow the blond in. Konan gave a small smile.
The three walked in a comfortable silence as they neared the kitchen/living/dining room. Walking in, they were immediately pounced on in a crushing hug. Well, Kumori and Deidara that is.
"Kumori-chan! Deidara-senpei!" The orange spiraled masked ninja squealed. Konan laughed as the two gasped for precious air. Tobi, unaware just kept on hugging.
"Tobi you might want to let them go." Tobi looked up and saw the blue faces and jumped off. They both simultaneously took in deep breaths of oxygen, before coughing from inhaling too much air. The others in the room, consisting of Konan, Kakuzu, Hidan, and Kisame all roared with laughter.
"You look good." Kisame complimented smiling and showing off his sharp teeth.
"Damn right." Hidan nodded, Kakuzu dipped his head in silent approval. Kumori smiled at them all.
"Come on, let's get that hair dye." Konan grinned at Kumori. Kumori smirked deviously, and suddenly took off full force. Konan let out a shriek and was suddenly flying out the door, desperately trying to keep her footing as the white haired kunoichi pulled her along. Eventually, Kumori stopped she would have fallen from laughing to hard if not. The two smiled at each other, and instantly knew that they were going to get along really well.
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"Hmm…should I get red, black, green, or purple?" Kumori mumbled, shifting through the dyes. Konan was looking for some more eyeliner, and a brush that way Kumori wouldn't use hers all the time.
"I'll go with red; it matches my eyes, and would stand out against my cloak." The white-haired kunoichi mumble to herself…again.
"Hey, you ready?" Konan called coming around the corner and into her aisle. Kumori grabbed the box, and jogged over. They shared a small smile, before heading to the counter. Since they were in the Rain, Leader and Konan were like gods here. Infact, Leader was called 'God' and Konan was 'God's Angel".
The cashier looked like she was going to faint when 'God's Angel" walked up to her to buy something.
After everything was paid for, which took longer than usual, since the cashier kept on looking up in disbelief, the two were heading back to the house…base…whatever. They walked in a comfortable silence, enjoying the night life.
"Hey! It's about you got back un!" The blond smirked. He was sitting on the porch, legs dangling.
"It hasn't been that long, sheesh." Kumori rolled her eyes smirking as well. Konan, still silent nodded her head in greeting. From the corner of her eye, Kumori noticed that Konan seemed to be more uptight. And that the smile didn't reach her eyes.
"Kumori, I don't mean to be rude, but I need to see Pein-sama for something." Pein? That must be the Leader…Kumori thought. But why did Konan call him that? Weren't they all supposed to call him Leader-sama? Kumori tucked that thought away for later as they walked up the porch and met the ever-smirking blond.
Realizing she hadn't replied yet, Kumori hastily nodded her head. Maybe a little too hastily, since an audible crack came from her neck. She ignored the shooting pain that shot through her neck and head. She saw lights for a second, before returning to normal. Deidara and Konan looked at her in worry, but Kumori waved her hand in a dismissal motion.
Konan blinked, before heading to Leader's room. Kumori grinned at Deidara.
"Think you could help me with this?" She held up the dye, and Deidara smirked.
"Sure un."
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Kumori sat in her bathroom, on the toilet. Her legs were crossed in front of her, and Deidara was rubbing the dye into the last five or six inches of her hair. When this was over, she should have blood red tipped hair, and hopefully, blood red tips in animal forms.
Kumori suspected that Deidara would be good with hair, but didn't expect what she got. Apparently, he used to help his own mother before joining. So he more experience than she gave him credit for. He seemed to know how to hold her hair in a way so that she didn't feel anything when he went through the horrible tangles that had developed.
Kumori closed her eyes, and relaxed into the rhythm of the brush sliding through her hair. She thought over the last few days events.
Let's see…I finally got away from the Facility after his death, murdered that irritating toy of Oro-teme's, and joined the Akatsuki. A band of S-Ranked Criminals who are all out to kill Oro-teme, and do something else; now I'm having my hair dyed by a pyromaniac. Wow.
Deidara smirked; she seemed to be so out of it, she hadn't realized that it was taking much longer than it should have. He finished brushing her hair a long time ago, but was enjoying himself. He didn't often get to do someone's hair, and them not care. Not to mention how soft, thick, and long her hair was. Although, he realized he should probably stop soon, before she noticed.
"Kumori un." Deidara said, breaking said Kunoichi out of her trance.
"Hmm?" Well, somewhat, her eyes were still closed, and she seemed half asleep.
"You just want the tips dyed, right un"
"Hmhmm." Kumori mumbled.
"Would you mind if I did it my way un? I think you'll like it un." Kumori cracked an eye at this.
"Don't dye my entire head red." Deidara laughed.
"Don't worry un, I won't." Kumori looked at him apprehensively, but was too tired to argue.
"…Mmm…. sure." Who knew she was this tired?
A few minutes later, Deidara set the brush down, and grabbed the dye. His one azure orb glanced over the directions, and then he squeezed the tube in his hand. Kumori was almost asleep from the rubbing when Deidara, smirking, got right in her face, poked her forehead, and said.
"Wake up Kumori, un time to shower." Of course, the once relaxed kunoichi jerked up, slamming their foreheads together. Deidara jerked back, and his back caught the corner of the counter, causing him to fall into the trashcan. Kumori had also jerked back, and fell onto the bathroom floor, and hitting her head on the wall, which then led to the shelf on the wall do fall, and crush her, all of its contents spilling on the floor.
The two stunned ninja looked at each other's awkward position. They stared at each other wide eyed before bursting out laughing. Deidara, had his butt stuck in the trash can opening, his hair was askew, and had a shocked and stupid look on his face. Like he couldn't believe that had happened.
Of course, Kumori didn't look much better. Her hair was goopy with red hair dye, and her eyes were wide. She was tangled in the cabinet, and Q-Tips were sticking out of odd places in her hair. She also had a stupid look on her face, only her forehead was visible, and the red mark was sticking out in plain view.
"What in the- never mind, I don't want to know." Konan said, poking her head in. This only caused them to laugh harder.
Thump
Thump
Thump
"Oh no, don't tell them I'm in here, if they knew I was doing Kumori's hair, I'd never hear the end of it un!" The blonde's visible eye was wide open, and his disheveled position only made it more convincing.
The blue haired kunoichi went over to the door, after shutting the bathroom door. She cracked open the other door, and looked to see a curious Hidan.
"What the hell is going on?"
"Nothing." Konan's voice, suddenly cold answered. Hidan looked mildly surprised, but didn't press further. Konan wasn't someone to mess with. She was the Leader's partner. Even if he didn't show it…at all…the Jashinest respected the Leader. So, Hidan just shrugged, and walked off. Konan walked back over into the bathroom.
"You two are cleaning this." Deidara and Kumori nodded, thankful for her help. Konan looked at the two, and sighed.
"I'm going to get something to eat." Once again, the two nodded at her, as she left to eat.
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After Deidara and Kumori had untangled themselves, the quickly cleaned up the bathroom. After that the kunoichi shooed the blond out, and took a shower. Once she got out, she put on her PJ's, which consisted of a red tank top, and baggy black pants. She dried her hair, which she still had not looked at, and brushed it. Then, taking a deep breath, she looked into the mirror, and gasped. Apparently, instead of doing just the ends, Deidara had done all of the ends on her layered hair. The red tips were got longer as the hair reached its end. Her bangs were streaked from the root to tip, and it was wonderful.
Deidara was shocked when a red and white blur entered his limited field of vision, and he flew off of the bed. The next thing her knew, Kumori had attacked him with a hug.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Deidara laughed, and then coughed. Kumori, who had finally realized she was choking him, let go, and sat up on the bed. (her bed)
"Glad you like it, un!" Deidara was still laughing really hard, but was holding his side. Kumori noticed.
"What happened to your side?" She said, pointing.
"Hmm? Oh, I just hit my side on the corner when I fell in the trash un." Kumori's medic kicked in, even though she chuckled a bit at the memory, and she walked over to him with a more demanding, yet gentle air about her.
"Lift you shirt, and let me see." The boys' outfits were similar to the women's. They also wore a fishnet T-shirt, only it was underneath a T-shirt form of her navy blue tank top. The boys' also wore the baggy capris.
Obediently, Deidara lifted a corner of his shirt. An ugly, black, purple, and green bruise that had only just begun to form revealed. In the middle area of it, it had begun to swell, and turn yellow. In the middle of the yellow, was a puffy cut with hair dye in it.
"Well no wonder your holding your side! That thing looks painful, not to mention the dye, which has got to sting. If we don't get that out soon, it will infect." Kumori said once her inspection was complete.
"Why didn't you take this stuff out earlier?" Kumori glared at him, but her ever curious glint twinkled in her eyes. Deidara just smirked, in a rather evil way too.
"Well, I needed to get to the bathroom to wash it out un. But you were in there…unless you wanted me to come in to clean a small cut while you were showering un…?" At this, Kumori blushed deeply at this. Of course, it didn't help that she was in close proximity with him, since she had been glaring up at him from his abused side.
In an effort to save herself, Kumori went to get a glass of water, when she came back; Deidara was still smirking, although this time it was in amusement.
"You did that on purpose, didn't you?"
"Yep un!" Once Kumori had wet the rag, she rubbed it against the cut, with a little more pressure than needed.
"Ouch un!" Deidara said flinching.
"Aww…is the small widdle cut hurting you Deidei-kun? Kumori said in a cooing tone. Said blond glared at her for the nickname, and just doing that. So, being the completely mature missing rock-nin he was, he stuck his tongue out at her. Kumori happily returned the gesture. Then the two began to glare.
After a few minutes of glaring, their eyes were beginning to water painfully. Konan, who had returned a few minutes ago, was watching them in amusement. She wanted to comment on Kumori's hair, but was enjoying the show. Finally, they blinked…at the same time.
"Ha! I beat you un!"
"No you didn't! I blinked after you!"
"No you didn't un!"
Deciding to prevent another fight, Konan made her presence known.
"Your hair looks great Kumori." Kumori, startled by not noticing her before, grinned.
"I know!" Kumori had her lopsided grin on her face. Although, it vanished when she remembered what she was doing. Cleaning away the rest of the dye, Kumori placed a mint green chakra covered hand. The bruise cut vanished, and the bruise began to fade. In just of few more seconds, the bruise would be no more.
"Thanks un." Deidara said nodding to Kumori. Said kunoichi nodded.
An awkward silence that seemed to cover everything took hold.
"Err…so have you found out if the dye stays when morphing into an animal yet un?" Kumori shook her head.
"Nope, but I will now!" Thankful for the silence to be dispelled, Kumori stood up, and thought of an animal, willing for her body to take its form, a second later, a crack, and a searing pain up her spine told her the transformation had begun. After a few painful seconds, a red eyed, white wolf with red tips looked up at the others. Around her muzzle, the red streaks went past her ears, before fading away at the base of her neck at the shoulders. The tips, like her hair, became longer and longer until it almost looked like she had a red tail. Although some white was visible.
"Woohoo! It stays un!" Deidara cheered in a relieved way. Kumori realized that doing her hair like this, had taken up a lot of time (it was 1:00 am) and didn't blame the blond for wanting it to work. Konan just smiled, but once again, her smile seemed a little more forced than it had when she had been talking to Kumori one-on-one. But shrugged it off, she'd ask about it later. It seemed, now that she thought about it. Konan had seemed a little more reserved when she had been around anyone but herself. She'd defiantly have to ask why.
"Come on, let's go tell leader." Kumori said, still in her wolf form.
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"I'm pleased with the results; just dye your hair as the substitute. I'll stock up on dye later, the rest of you however, still have to paint your nails." Leader said, noticing Hidan was about to ask. Hidan cursed, but was quiet again anyway.
Kumori nodded, and returned back to human form.
"Jashin-damn, Konan did your hair good!" Hidan said, eyeing Kumori's new look. Kisame agreed, as did Tobi and White Zetsu. Black Zetsu, Kakuzu, and Itachi were all silent. Kumori just smiled, before she held back a yawn, and announced she was going to bed. They looked at the clock, and all agreed they should anyway. So the eleven Akatsukians went into the hallway, and into their respective rooms, bidding one another good night.
Kumori pumped a little chakra into the door, with Konan following this time. They separated, and went to each of their own beds. Kumori relished the black silk sheets, and loved the thick clouded comforter. Almost as soon as her head hit the also silk pillow, she was asleep.
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"Shut up you stupid bastard!" A yell echoed throughout the house, the owner of the voice was given.
"Shut up Hidan." A scratchy voice commanded.
"No! You just had to-" Hidan's voice was got off short, and a loud thump was heard.
...
A girl with long white, red tipped hair shot up in bed. Wait...red? The confused kunoichi looked around. She was in a black bed with bold red clouds. Across the room, a blue haired kunoichi began to stir. Of course, it was only after Kumori had had a heart attack that she remembered. She joined the Akatsuki, and this was her room.
"K-Konan?" Kumori mumbled to the blue haired kunoichi. Konan also reacted like Kumori, and shot up in bed. She visibly relaxed when she also remembered.
"SHUR UP!!" Hidan's voice reached the two. Kumori looked surprised, while Konan looked annoyed.
"Do they always do that in the morning?"
"Unfortuanatly, yes. They're basically the alarm clock. Kakuzu always gets up at six; somehow pisses Hidan off, and then the rest of us are woken.
"Aahh..."
A few more loud thumps were heard, before it was quiet again. Realizing she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, Kumori got out of bed, stretched in a catlike manner, joints popping audibly, before finding a clean uniform to change into. Kumori looked over to Konan, who was only just now stretching, and decided to go to the bathroom first.
Once in the bathroom, Kumori ran a brush through her insanely long hair, before peeling off her PJ's, releasing the genus, and getting in the shower. Letting the scorching water run over her, she wondered what the average day would be like in the Akatsuki. Probably a lot better than the first twenty years of her life. She would be able to eat actual food, not dried nutrients compressed into tiny bitter pellets. Or live off of soldier pills. She'd be able to talk to someone, not to a cold, rock wall in a room without a window, bed, or anything to make it somewhat comfortable. Her room had been nothing but damp rock walls, a hole for a toilet, and a door that didn't have a window or crack to let any light in. That's how she learned echolocation, so she could at least see. Yes her new room was much better.
Besides, she wouldn't constantly have needles and who knows what drugs injected in her. Seals wouldn't be getting placed on her every other week. They wouldn't monitor her like a lab rat, and then make her train in cruel conditions. No, this life was much better.
Deciding to save some hot water for Konan, Kumori grabbed her (yes hers, she got her own special shampoo for dyed hair) and quickly rubbed it through her locks. Not even bothering to rinse out the shampoo, she rubbed conditioner in.
After rinsing everything out, Kumori turned off the water, and dried off. She dressed into a clean uniform, and hobbled out. Konan looked at her, and seemed a little startled. Kumori looked at herself, before realizing she hadn't put up the genjutsu again. She glanced at Konan in apology, before holding her brush between her knees. Performing the required seals, Kumori reinstalled it. Then she took her brush, and began to run it through her long, multicolored locks.
"You didn't have to put the genjutsu on; it just caught me off guard." Konan said in an apologetic tone.
"No no, it's fine. I always have it on anyway. I don't enjoy reaching out to grab something, and seeing all of my…disfigurations all day. It's really for me, besides, it avoids questions." Konan seemed to look a little better, but was still unsure.
Kumori, finally finished untangling her hair, styled it. Once again, it was in a low ponytail, with her bangs covering one eye. Konan, realizing she still hadn't seen her other eye, wondered if she was hiding something. But shrugged it off, Deidara never showed his other eye. But then again…he was hiding his scope…
But, she's a kunoichi, and everyone has secrets. Just some more than others, and someone who was an experiment for the snake, is going to have secrets.
So, Konan just shrugged it off, and headed for the bathroom.
Kumori, who was done putting up her hair, did an once-over, making sure she was done, before heading out.
"Kumori-chan!! Good morning Kumori-chan!!" A spastic Tobi cried, barreling into said kunoichi. She stumbled, and barely caught herself.
"Tobi?"
"What Kumori-chan!?"
"How are you this hyper, this early?"
"Umm…..I don't know!?" He said cheerily. He began to bounce his head side-to side, which only caused Kumori's eyes to screw up from the twisting spiral. She looked past Tobi, eyes still unfocused, when she heard a deep chuckling.
"Morning Kumori. I see Tobi chose you to be his unfortunate victim today." Finally, vision back in focus, Kumori noticed Kisame.
"What do you mean?" The shark-man only chuckled (again) before heading off.
Kumori just watched his back as he drew further away. Instantly, painful memories that needed to be forgotten flashed through Kumori's eyes.
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"Take her; we don't want a freak like that anywhere near us, let alone in our house."
"D-D-Daddy!? W-Why? I-I don't w-want to go w-with him! P-Please! A small white haired girl sobbed.
"Shut up freak, you are not my daughter." He said in a cold voice. His face was hidden behind a veil of shadows, only his eyes, ships of ice were visible. The toddler's eyes were wide, and she felt her heart being ripped in two. Unlike what other's believed, she understood what was going on. To an extent.
"W-why do you say that?"
"You are nothing. Nothing but a freak who isn't even fully human. And yet this man is willing to take you, and buy you. I don't understand why, but if he wants you that bad, he can have you. Just think of the money as a way for you to repay the money that you took. I can't believe that you were under my care. You're nothing but a monster, a freak, a demon.
So it was true, her 'father' didn't care at all. She had began to suspect it when he avoided, beat, and gave her looks of untamed hatred.
With that, the man she once called father, turned to the pale man with slitted golden eyes. He Silently accepted the money, and turned. The child watched with a growing pain in her heart as he walked away, never to return. His final words echoing in her mind in a torturing the child from within her own mind.
A monster, a freak, a demon.
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"Kumori-chan! Are you ok?" The kunoichi looked up to see Tobi's swirly mask, and noticed how she was hyperventilating. Her heart fluttered like a startled rabbit's.
"I-I'm fine." Her voice said something completely different.
"Are you sure…?" Tobi was no longer on her back, and was instead in front of her, and holding her by her shoulders.
"Yes, its ok Tobi, I probably just need to eat something." Kumori smiled at the boy. The smile didn't reach her eyes, but if Tobi noticed, he didn't show it.
"Well then come on! Let's get you something to eat!" Tobi grabbed Kumori's hand, and pulled her to the kitchen. Kumori, who had pushed the memory into a dark corner of her mind she swore to never visit again, laughed.
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"Whatcha guys want for breakfast?" Kumori said, sitting on a cushion she'd just retrieved from the closet.
"I don't really care." Kisame said shrugging his shoulders indifferently. Kakuzu nodded in agreement, and Itachi, and Deidara, and Leader, and Konan, and.
"I don't eat." Sasori said. Today he was inside a smaller, but still comfortable puppet. It didn't take up as much room, and was a little more maneuverable. Kumori nodded.
"Tobi wants waffles!"
Several people looked at him strangely, before shrugging.
"Sure, its been a while since I had waffles." Kisame said.
"Why not." Kakuzu stated. Several more agreements came from around the circle.
"Yay! Waffles!" Tobi cheered.
"So, now we have one more thing to decide." Kumori said. Everyone turned to look at her.
"Who's cooking?" That earned an awkward silence from them all.
"….I thought you were cooking since you were asking everyone what they wanted un…" Deidara said apprehensively.
"I've been stuck in rock room surviving off of soldier pills and pure vitamins and crap since I was three. Do you really think I know how to cook?"
"You've been living off of solider pills that long?!" Kisame said shocked.
"Well, that explains why you looked so malnourished." Konan tossed in.
"I'll cook, come on, I'll teach you." Kumori nodded at Konan, a big grin plastered on her face. She didn't show it, but she was really feeling awkward underneath all the attention.
"Sure." Kumori hopped up and followed the Blue haired Kunoichi.
"I have a bad feeling in the pit of my wallet." Kakuzu mumbled.
………………………………...
"Ok, waffles are really easy." Konan walked to the refrigerator, pulled open the freezer, grabbed two boxes of waffles. Taking out the graphed delicacies, she tossed four into each of their three toasters. Kumori raised an eyebrow.
"Lots of mouths to feed." Kumori nodded.
"I've memorized a couple hundred recipes, I'm just not sure how to work the appliances." Seeing Konan's confused look, she explained.
"I've read up on food a lot, wanting to enjoy it to the best I could if I ever got out." Kumori smiled.
"Now, I'm out." Konan smiled at Kumori who just stared at a tile in the wall. She seemed to be deep in thought, although her expression was slightly pained. Konan found herself double-checking to see if it was event there in the first place. For her face had become as exuberant, and bright as it had been on all other accounts.
Kumori was interesting all right. Happy, bouncy, hyper; depressed, insane, feral. Shinobi were always different, but this one brought that to a hole new level.
Konan came to the decision that she would show this unfortunate nin as much as she could. Everyone here had a none to pretty past, but Kumori had been robbed. Robbed of friends, freedom, happiness, food, and so much more.
She didn't want Kumori to end up like the rest of them.
Simple steps always led to bigger things. For now, she would teach Kumori to cook.
………………………………...
In the end, the kunoichi had blown up two toasters, broke the fridge, set the kitchen on fire…three times, and morphed seventeen pans. The best part.
Kumori had smiled. A true smile, the Akatsuki realized. They found that all the other smiles had been forced. That they were years of practice being used. They were never real. Everyone was shocked at how well the Kunoichi hid her emotions. Not even Itachi had managed to fake smiles that were believable. That's why he just hid it with indifference. Much easier than figuring out how you should react, to what extent, make it fit with what's going on, and make it believable.
Could…it be to late…to not make her like them?
Everyone hid their emotions and thoughts from Kumori, so they didn't ruin this. But the glances they gave to each other proved that they had seen, and it wasn't just one of their imaginations.
Please don't let it be too late.
"Hey Kakuzu, what do I owe you?" Kumori grinned sheepishly. Kakuzu found himself wondering if this was real or not.
"Hmm…just get better. Once your up to full speed I'll ask Leader if you can help me round up bounties. Kumori nodded, smile back in place. Kumori wouldn't show it, but she knew that she'd slipped up, her mask had fallen, and now everyone knew she had been faking up till now.
She couldn't mess up again. If she slipped up on one of those occurrences, she would never be able to forgive herself for what would follow.
………………………………...
"Ok Kumori, you'll fight Hidan. Use anything you want. Hidan, no matter what she uses, no killing, severely injuring, or using your curse." Hidan nodded, but Kumori looked apprehensive.
"Leader, if I go full out on Hidan…What if I accidentally kill him?"
"Don't worry, Hidan cannot die, he's immortal." Kumori looked at Leader annoyed. Nobody was immortal. However Leader was perfectly serious, and Hidan was snickering at her. Was he really immortal?
"Err…ok then. Whatever, but if your so sure, I won't hold back."
Leader had taken Hidan and Kumori outside to spare, so that he got a better understanding of her capabilities. And, being the brilliant person he was, he would have her spare against an immortal. He'd chosen Hidan, since Kakuzu could die…if you killed him four times over. But since he uses a lot of ninjutsu, and Hidan had better taijutstu, it all worked out.
"Alright, when I say dedashi, fight. Taijutstu only." Leader commanded. His voice was full of power, signifying to get ready.
Silence engulfed the clearing. In the distance, a bird sang a soft song, but was quickly silenced. Probably a dinner for some hunter. A breeze rustled the leaves which danced in a loud rustle. Kumori's hair swirled around her, and stretched out to Hidan in a taunting, yet strangely deadly way.
"Dedashi!"
It's the end of chapter four, my longest chapter! Reviews are welcome, and don't forget the un. Let me know if you think this story is going to fast, or if I need to speed it up, or what! I'm kind of insecure with my stories, and really want to get good, so please let me know. However, no flamers, constructive criticism, yes, otherwise I'm just not going to read it. It's nothing but bullying.
I'm going by the assumption on how 360 yen is equivalent to one American dollar. Well that's what Wikipedia told me, but correct me if I'm wrong. So she had 1,000-ish. Not to mention, I'm not sure how old they all are, but I'm guessing most are in their early twenties.
Deidara 20 un XD
Hidan too old he's immortal
Sasori Puppet
Kakuzu Yet again, who knows?
Leader (Pein) 25
Konan 24
Itachi 22
Kisame 27
Tobi 26 (He was behind the Kyuubi thing)
Zetsu I have no fricken idea, you can't really come up with an age for the guy, so he's... 22 too.
Kumori It was in the story, but just incase 20.