The Tea Incident
Kakuzu was seething. It was not Hidan's fault either, surprisingly enough. The moron flew the second they made camp, mumbling something about the utmost urgency of making a sacrifice.
What was worse, the self-proclaimed Akatsuki treasurer knew that the immortal wasn't even trying to find an excuse; he most surely than not did even realize his impending rage. And now, he was left without his favorite way of relieving the tension: nothing as therapeutic as dismembering Hidan.
To top it all, the source of his anger vanished as well, but not before merrily asking him to add the herbs for tea when the water boiled. The nerve of some people; that fucking tea was the reason he found himself in this predicament.
The day began positively bland. The Zombie Combo was tasked with a relatively easy mission of infiltrating a rogue ninja gang, retrieving a scroll and taking down the group in the process. Sore was asked to tag along, which came as no surprise to anyone. The masked shinobi did not have a definitive partner and instead joined the already existing pairings, filled in for when someone was injured or did solo missions.
Everything went smoothly. Hidan kept his offensive remarks to a minimum, as he usually did when Sore was around (why this happened was beyond Kakuzu's prowess to understand), the enemies barely proved to be a challenge and no arguments ensued. It was all too beautiful to last.
The incident occurred later in the afternoon after the mission had successfully been finished. They stopped in a quaint little village in the mountain ranges of the Lightning country to buy some resources and Kakuzu was haggling with the merchants as per norm.
From the corner of his eyes, he saw his traveling companions scurrying off to somewhere, but he paid them no mind. Hidan knew him better than to spend heedingly and Sore should have been well-aware of his miser reputation by now. There was absolutely nothing to worry about. Oh, how foolish he had been.
They reunited at the front gates. Kakuzu had been waiting for longer than he would have liked and he was growing impatient. Thus, the box tucked behind Sore's arm didn't faze him at first. Only later, whilst walking through a narrow passage behind the masked ninja, did he notice the intricately-designed label.
His stomach lurched furiously. He had only seen it in the Frost Daimyō's castle but the tag had been imprinted in his memory. After all, there weren't many things that cost more than an A-rank bounty. Coincidentally enough, Sore had found it a sane idea to buy one of them: yellow gold tea buds are native to the highest crests of the Lightning country and can be harvested only once every year. They were rumored to have an intoxicating soft and flowery fragrance and that the taste remained with you long after the actual drinking. He had never had the curiosity to test it. The mere thought of it was enough to spark his irritation.
The memory of a particular incident involving an unfortunate Kumogakure shinobi and the white-haired Akatsuki stopped Kakuzu from going on a rampage. Directly starting a fight was not an optimal solution. He would wait and confront them after they camped. This would be the only time when such foolishness was to be accepted – no, that was too soft of a word; tolerated fit better.
Which brought him back to the present moment: left by himself to tend to the tea. Kakuzu scoffed. This was getting ludicrous. How dares Sore disappear after everything their unfathomable actions? This could not continue any longer.
He rose, intent on going to find them. The masked shinobi couldn't have gone off too far. They were sensible enough to announce if that were the case, albeit their earlier behavior. Thus, he followed the path they took minutes ago.
A feminine giggle stopped him in his tracks. The gods must be having a riot somewhere in the overworld. He was going to kill Sore if they had abandoned him to fool around. He quickened his pace only to trip into a pile of clothing. A well-known white robe laid discarded between pieces of scattered clothing.
'Oh.' It was all his brain could muster. He would confront Sore after they finished bathing. Yes, that seemed rational enough.
Kakuzu was waiting by the fire when the white-haired Akatsuki returned. Sitting on the ground, his eyes trailed after Sore's figure as they joined him.
"You've prepared the tea!" They exclaimed in delight. "Thank you."
He nodded curtly before speaking. "Is it worth it?"
Sore tilted their head in confusion. "Whatever do you mean?" They wondered.
"Pretending to be another gender, for one." The treasurer specified, leaning back to look at the starry sky.
"Huh, so you found out." She mused, crossing her arms over her chest. "I never pretended to be a man, though. You all assumed it to be true."
Kakuzu arched an eyebrow at her statement. "You're not even using your real voice."
The kunoichi placed a hand on her mask and hoisted it slightly. Porcelain skin reminded him of a blanket of snow at dawn, perfectly unblemished and untouched by human hand. "You wouldn't believe how many ninjas are able to identify somebody by the sound of their voice." She shrugged.
His gaze followed the way the words molded on her mouth. The tune was foreign, vastly different from what he was accustomed to, yet it was the same person he had met months ago who stood in front of him.
"Why did you not clarify the situation, then?"
Sore eyed him amusedly. "That's simple. For entertainment." She smirked. "I decided to turn it into a game. See how long it took each of you to add things up."
Kakuzu pursed his lips in disbelief. Of course, she would seek amusement in such trivial matters. "Should I take it I am the winner, then?"
She threw her head back as peals of laughter escaped full, dusty pink lips. "Of course not. Sasori has known for a long time now. I am quite certain that so did Kisame."
Any response he would have had was cut off by the brusque appearance of Hidan, dripping with blood and adorning a satisfied grin. It was as if a spell was dispelled at the moment of his arrival. Sore's mask was pulled back to its place and Kakuzu glanced at the Jashinist blankly.
"Missed me, bitches?"
A.N. Oh my God, I have finally finished with the pre-story shorts. I was going to do one with Konan as well, but heck to that. They'll have plenty of time to interact during the actual storyline. Stay tuned for the first chapter next weekend (hopefully).
On another note, thank you ,everyone who bothered to read, review, favorite and follow. You guys make my day. As always, do not hesitate to tell me if you notice a mistake. I am beta'ing my stories so mistakes might still occur.
See you guys next time. xo