This chapter is for my beloved nejixwubbsxtenten!
"So," Tenten said to Hidan as they were walking down the hallway towards the dining room. "When did you come back bed?" She asked, keeping her eyes looking straight ahead of her.
"About five minutes after I'd sat in the fucking hallway." He answered as simply as she had asked the question. In her own mind, Tenten did a high-five with herself, not quite knowing why. But she didn't have time to reflect any more over that as they stepped into the dining area, where Deidara, Kisame and Tobi were messing about with plates and cutlery.
"Tobi, could you please get the French toast?" Deidara asked. Tenten giggled slightly. Akatsuki ate French toast? But nobody noticed her, and Hidan was already halfway across the room, walking towards the kitchen after Tobi. She raised an eyebrow at Deidara.
"Deidara-san, can I help with anything?" He thought for a moment, then smiled and nodded at her.
"Sure, un. Put some tea-water on, yeah." Tenten nodded and walked into the kitchen, meeting Hidan and Tobi on their way out. As she passed them in the doorway, she felt Hidans shoulder press lightly against her own and shivered. The memories of the night before washed over her like a cold shower. To think of it, perhaps more like a hot one. She shook her head slightly before she filled the teapot with water.
Speaking of showers...
"Hidan?" She asked distantly, as she put the now hot kettle on the table.
"Yeah?" He answered, stifling a tiered yawn. After all, he hadn't slept at all last night. Tenten smirked to herself before she dropped her next comment.
"Do you have showers around here?" She wanted to giggle, but didn't. He just quirked a brow at her. She heard the door to the room open, and saw Itachi walk in with Zetsu.
"Yeah, why? Feeling dirty?" He returned her smirk mischievously. She heard how everything around them froze and went quiet.
"Mmm... I do..." She answered distantly.
"I bet you do..." Hidan said in a low voice. But considering the fact that they were all ninjas in the room, everyone heard every word of the conversation.
"So..." Tenten continued, winking flirtingly at Hidan, smirk still in place. "Wanna' grab a shower later then?" The sound of a plate hitting the floor filled the room.
"TOBI! COVER YOUR EARS UN!" Deidara shouted, but Tenten just shrugged at him.
"What?! What's wrong with a fucking shower?!" Hidan questioned fairly loudly. The others just stared at him. Hidan looked around. "What?!" Then something even stranger happened. Tenten put a hand on Hidans shoulder, making him turn to her immediately.
"Calm down Hidan." She said carefully, causing Hidan to calm down. Calm? Hidan? Kisame stared at Itachi who just stared back. Tenten smiled a wicked smile towards Hidan. "So, is that a yes then?" She asked as if they were the only ones in the room. Hidan smirked at her, giving her bottom a pinch, causing Tenten to jump slightly, before he answered. The other Akatsuki-members eyes were about to pop out of their sockets.
"Fuck yeah." Then he returned into the kitchen to fetch some more plates. Deidara finally judged the moment safe to let Tobi get his hearing back. Tenten threw the blonde an innocent smile.
"Anything else I can help you with, Deidara-san?" The blonde looked at the floor where he'd dropped the plate, sighing. Then he remembered why he'd dropped it and stared at her.
"You could help me clean this up, un." Tenten just nodded happily, one line repeating itself in her mind over and over again. Shower with Hidaan, shower with Hidaan, shower with Hidaan, lalala...
"Oh my... who is supposed to pay for this?" Kakuzo asked in a very annoyed voice as he entered the room, just in time to miss the spectacle. Hidan came walking out of the kitchen with another huge plate of French toast.
"Ah, finally back then." He said, putting the plate down. Itachi and Kisame sat down at the table. Kakuzo sat down next to Kisame, sensing the odd atmosphere of the room, not inquiring any further about the broken plate. Deidara and Tenten left the room with the broken shards, followed by Tobi.
"Hidan? What's wrong with you? No curses? No talk about converting me? Are you sick?" Kakuzo asked, more curious then worried, and almost hopefully at the last statement.
"What? I'm no damn different than usual. Ask Kisame or something." He stated, letting another yawn escape. Kakuzo glanced at the shark-man beside him.
"What is wrong with Hidan?" He asked simply. Kisame chuckled a little.
"Oh, I'd say today, hardly anything." Kakuzo stared confusedly at him.
"What is that supposed to mean?" He asked, glaring slightly at Hidans now smiling expression. "What is he on? I hope it's not expensive?" He asked suspiciously. Kisame just shrugged, chuckling a little more.
"I'd say he was on Tenten last night. Just look at him. That's the smile of a man who's been properly fucked the night before." At this last statement, Hidans face went bright red, partly because of anger, and partly because of embarrassment. And with a quite unexpected and well aimed punch, Kisame was on the floor and Hidan was smiling once again in his chair. Itachi cocked an eyebrow at him. Kisame just laughed.
"Told you so Kakuzo. Just look at the bastard." Then the door to the kitchen opened again and Tenten, Tobi and Deidara walked out with a new plate and a pot of jam.
"Hidan..." Tenten started, and then she saw the masked man. She gave a small bow towards him in a greeting manner, which he returned because of pure shock for someone doing such a normal thing towards him. "Tenten, pleased to meet you." She stated with a smile before going over to sit between Hidan and Deidara. "Anyways, Hidan..." She purred softly, causing him to blush slightly. The people around the table dropped their jaws. There was something terribly wrong in their heads about Hidan blushing. It didn't fit. And there was a girl purring in the room, sending shivers down their spines.
"Mm..." He answered, starting to fiddle with his necklace. Fiddling. Hidan was FIDDLING. "What...?" He answered shyly.
"Hidan! What the hell is wrong with you?!" Kakuzo asked, interrupting the moment and making everybody's jaws snap close.
"What do you mean what the hell is wrong with me?! I'm FINE! What the fuck is your problem?!" Hidan shouted back.
"There is nothing wrong with me! You're acting like a shy fucking pussy!" Kakuzo countered. Hidan blushed ferociously as he heard Tenten answer in her normal, calm voice, though a small smirk on her face.
"I promise you, he's not." Once again, they all stared at her.
"Tenten, don't-" Hidan started, but was interrupted.
"Oh my Hidan, Kisame was right then." Kakuzo stated with a chuckle of his own. "Just checking." Hidan didn't say anything, just started to serve himself some food, and soon, everyone was stuffing themselves.
Pein, Konan and Sasori didn't join them for the meal. Though, as Tenten noted, nobody seemed to care. It was obviously nothing out of the ordinary. Also, she noted, the Akatsuki were very quiet when they ate. Naturally, it could be because Deidara was a very good cook. Or perhaps it was that she was there. She shook the last thought from her mind. They would hardly let their minds be shaken by some girl. She sighed almost inaudibly. Some girl. That was all she ever was to anyone. Never Tenten, never a someone with a face. Not really. She was some girl who was a teammate, a rather loose friend, a Kunoichi. Never just Tenten. To the Akatsuki she was some girl who was a great Kunoichi. Well, it was much better than to stand in someone's shadow again.
She looked around at the people sitting quietly at the table, munching away. They were all considered some of the top people in their areas of skill. And they had chosen her. How come that gave her a bigger ego-boost than one thousand youthful praises from Gai-Sensei? She shook her head absentmindedly. It wasn't supposed to be this way.
The thought of the Akatsuki being brought back from the dead puzzled her. She could not think of any legend or jutsu or anything else for that matter that meant that you could bring people back from the dead. And yet, here they were. Deidara, Itachi, and the rest as well. Well, beside Orochimaru, but he had ran away from them, or so she had been told at least. They would hardly want to bring a traitor back. And still, if they could do it...
The first words that popped up in her head were Asuma-Sensei. After all, it had been a terrible loss, to say the least. Perhaps she could somehow exchange his resurrection for her service in the mission? It would be fair, she thought. She hoped it would work. But then, if he did come
back, how would Konoha react? Perhaps they'd just kill him, thinking he was a badly informed infiltrator. The only way it would work would be if the hokage was there when it happened. But how would she manage to fix that?
"Tenten, are you still here, un?" Deidara asked, breaking the silence around them and her trail of thoughts all at once.
"Yeah..." She answered, biting her bottom lip. "Still here." Deidara smiled at her, throwing her a curious look before returning to his meal. Somehow, he reminded Tenten a lot of her mother. When she had still been around. She pushed the thought aside. No time to grow mushy, she was in the middle of an Akatsuki-drama here. Or, well, whatever one would call it. She gulped down the rest of her glass of milk and dared a glance at Hidan who was already finished. He caught her eyes and smirked a little.
"Finished yet, Tenten?" He purred, slipping a hand over her thigh.
"Mhm..." She replied much in the same manner. "Thank you for the food Deidara-san, it was delicious." She turned to give the man a wide smile, and then turned back to Hidan. "So, you lead the way then..."
And with that, Hidan and Tenten headed for the showers, leaving a stunned Akatsuki behind.
--
Outside of the window, the leaves were swirling around in small tornados across the street. His eyes scanned the apartment, looking for any note that she might have left, any sign or message there might be to find. Then he found it. On the pillow of her bedroom was a small, black and red-edged scroll. Akatsuki.
He quickly retrieved the rather small piece of paper, scanning it thoroughly with his eyes, not quite knowing what to expect. The scroll read:
"Dear Konoha,
We, the Akatsuki, have taken Tenten from You, as You
Might understand. There is a possibility that She may
Return soon, but also that She might not for quite
Some time. It is all up to her. However, we intend to do no harm to Her or
Force Her to do anything in any way. We are merely giving Her a
Choice to do great things in a way that You never could. If
She decides to stay with Us for good, we shall notify You
As soon as We know. If You try to come for Her, it shall be
Your very own loss.
Do not take Us lightly.
-AKATSUKI-
Neji felt a cold shiver run down his spine before his mind exploded in anger. His Tenten. They had taken his Tenten! The bastards...
Neji rolled the scroll up in one swift movement and ran towards the Hokages office. Well there, he flung the door open, forgetting all about his upbringing and manners, screaming out in anger.
"TSUNADE-SAMA! TSUNADE-SAMA! WE HAVE A PROBLEM! THE AKATSUKI HAVE TENTEN!" After shouting that, Neji fell down to his knees, gasping for air as he had forgotten to breathe for quite some time. Tsunade, Jiraiya and Naruto stared at him, shock painted on their faces and breaths held in. Then Neji reached the scroll over to Tsunade, who read it carefully before handing it to the Sennin and his apprentice. She stared at the usually ever-calm Hyuuga.
"SHIZUNE!" She shouted, and her clerk came running in to the office with a puzzled look on her face, now also staring at the Hyuuga. "Oh thank Kami you're here. Please get Lee, Gai, Shikamaru if he's home yet, Hinata, Ino, Sasuke and Kakashi, oh hell just get all of the red squad here! Hurry!" Shizune simply nodded and left, slamming the door unconsciously behind her. Neji stood up again and sat down on a hair next to Naruto. With the red squad Tsunade had meant all of the old teams: Kakashis, Kurenais, Asumas and Gais. They were called that because of all the blood that had covered them after they had come back after killing some of the last of the Akatsuki-members. Officially, Sasuke didn't belong there, because it had taken him nearly a year after that to come home again, but he had helped none the less.
"I'm sorry I screamed Tsunade-Sama, I lost my self control. But it truly worries me." Neji stated quietly, not looking at anyone. Naruto finished reading the letter and handed it back to Tsunade.
"I wonder if it is a trap." He said absentmindedly, not giving any reflection on Tenten at first. "But why would they ever take Tenten? It makes no sense at all. It must be a trap or something. Or does she have any special 'powers' that we don't know of?" Naruto continued, looking at Neji. But he just shrugged.
"I don't think so. I'd have thought she would have told me. And it's really strange they're not requesting any ransom. What could Pein want to do with her?" The scroll made no sense. Narutos face fell into the one of deep thought.
"And what's with the 'choice' they're talking about? What can they give her that we can't?"
And though nobody saw it, for she made no motion of it, there was a small sting in Tsunades chest. She knew the answer to that question far too well. 'They can give her proper recognition.'
And as far as it went with the singing chests, she was not the only one whom it happened to. Neji had a sudden epiphany, as he saw his treatment of Tenten in a completely different perspective. There were a lot of things that could be given to her. Many things beside the 'great' ones mentioned in the Akatsuki-letter. Neji closed his eyes at the thought and frowned, inwardly beating himself up for being so cold towards her. But there was no time for that now. He had to find her and show her how sorry he was for never showing his true emotions, how afraid he was of letting anyone to close mentally for fear of being hurt. And he needed to tell her how much he really loved her. How it was his world to see her smile.
A sudden thought hit him, and he remembered the appearance of the apartment. Her closet had been open. And empty. Did that mean she...? No, there had been no message from the Akatsuki yet, so she hadn't joined. But she was gone then? She wasn't coming back for a while?
"No..." He whispered to himself, feeling his gut clench together. "No... Tenten..." He shut his eyes tight, hoping it would prevent unwanted tears. But it failed, and he fell apart in the chair, folding double over his knees, painful tears pressing themselves out of his still shut eyes. "I'm sorry..." He said, forgetting there was anyone else in the room. And everything was quiet, so you couldn't quite lame him.
"Neji?" came a female voice from somewhere above him. A hand place itself softly on his shoulder, shaking his mind out of thought. He slowly lifted himself from his knees and opened his eyes, seeing Yamanaka Ino looking down at him worriedly, thankfully blocking the others view of him. The room around him was slowly filling up with people, everyone equally confused. "I'm here mate, don't give up." She said calmly, much to calmly for him to fully appreciate.
"You don't understand... She's left. Her closet is empty!" He all but shouted to no one in particular.
"So she's left then?" Tsunade thought out loud. That only meant one thing. Tenten was to go on the village's wanted-list, but she felt a great resentment towards putting her there. However, being involved with the Akatsuki left the inwardly guilty-feeling hokage little of a choice. "This is terrible." She stated out loud.
"Wait, there can't be too many of the Akatsuki-members left now right? I mean, we killed of so many of them. Shouldn't they be afraid of us?" Sai asked, face pulled somewhere between a frown and confused look. "How come they're so cocky all of a sudden?" This got everyone in the room thinking. "I mean, as much as we hate them, this Pein isn't stupid. So do we presume they have new members then?" He asked, more to himself than to anybody else. Tsunade shook her head.
"We don't know anything yet. And for all we know, they might just be bluffing. But it seems Tenten has made her choice. She is with the Akatsuki, and no matter how much I don't want to, I ha-"
"NO!" Neji screamed, knowing what came next. "YOU CAN'T! THEY JUST MIGHT HAVE TAKEN HER STUFF AND-"
"NEJI! DO YOU THINK I WANT TO DO THIS?! WE HAVE TO DO THIS, BUT ONLY OFFICIALLY! YOU DON'T ACTUALLY THINK I'LL SEND YOU OUT TO KILL TENTEN DO YOU?!" She screamed, letting her own frustration out. Neji froze, staring at her.
"Of course not, Hokage-Sama..." He seemingly shrunk to a pile of sobbing limbs again, letting his head fall to his knees. "But why did she go..." He asked no one in particular, and silently knowing the answer himself.
--
Tenten decided that the Akatsuki had good taste. For being 'bad guys', and some of them clearly quite out of their own minds, they had an exceptionally good sense of what was, well, nice. She hadn't really reflected upon it until now, but someone seemed to have put a lot of work into the head quarters of the officially evil organisation. Probably Deidara, she figured. He probably wouldn't have survived otherwise.
"Ey." Tenten said, glancing at Hidan. "I like this place. It's nice." Nicer than my apartment even. She thought, but didn't say out loud.
"Yeah, Deidara takes care of it. Kind of obsessively, seriously." Hidan answered absentmindedly. Then he smirked. "You'll love the bathroom. I always thought it was too big. Until now I guess."
"You know." Tenten started, not quite knowing how to phrase it. "You are very different in the dark." He shrugged, looking away.
"Aren't everyone."
--
Yeah, hope you don't hate me too much for cutting it off there. I'll probably update soon again, but plz review anyways. I already have some iideas for the next chapter... Mohaha... Yeah, thanks for all the reviews again!
xxx/Me!
Oh my! Thank you for all of you'r reviews! I love you all, you make it really worthwhile to write...
Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter. And once again, thank you for all the reviews!