Alrighty, thank-you to everybody who is reading this, but special thanks goes to…
Vivid and Brave Little Lion for reviewing! Brave Little Lion, I'm sorry but all things have to come to an end, but I promise that it won't be any time soon!
-Sorry for any OOCness and I don't own Naruto!-
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The above link goes to pictures of Natsuki, in case any of you wanted to know what she looks like and couldn't find her from searching DA.
Chapter Four: Good times.
Natsuki trotted down the halls in an exponentially good mood. It had been two days since she and Kisame had settled their arguement and she was finally feeling better about staying with the Akatsuki. She wasn't through the woods yet though. In fact, she was headed down to the arena for her next fight that very moment. Sasori had kindly marked it down on the map the day before, so she was able to get there herself. She vowed not to get angry or upset with her opponent this time, even if it was Sasori. He was definitely up there with Kisame when it came to friends in this place. She bounded down the dark steps without fear and walked out to face her opponent. I'm dead. Itachi's jet black orbs assessed her stoically.
If Natsuki had any sort of plan, it immediately evaporated from her mind the second her eyes connected with his. He was Uchiha. He was supremely intelligent, she couldn't even take the risk of daring to look at his face. She was fighting blind in a battle she couldn't possibly win. But hell! She'd give it her best shot! Leader-sama's hands coming together resonated through the great arena. They leapt forwards. It seemed Itachi didn't want to drag this battle on for too long. Natsuki kept her eyes glued to his feet. She tracked his movements, only allowing her eyes to wander up to his hands to watch for any attacks. They clashed, katana against kunai. They sparred for a mere second or so before leaping apart, then diving back in to try and disarm the other yet again. Natsuki freed one hand and used it to sweep up a handful of dirt as she ducked another attack. She threw it at his face with her next attack. He coughed and recoiled slightly, but he was a ninja. A prodigy. He had ears. Her forward strike, a thrust to the gut, was deflected and in her shock, she forgot. Everything slipped from her mind as her eyes connected with the twisting black tomoes of the sharingan. Damn it. Natsuki collapsed to the ground.
"Ngh..." Natsuki twisted and writhed a little. Her eyes cracked open, fell shut, then emerged once more. The room was blurry. She couldn't tell who's room it was, but it wasn't light enough to be the clinic, nor dark and red enough to be Sasori's room. With a few blinks, one eye cleared a little. Another blink and she could see a little better through both eyes. Good. It was her room. She sat up slowly and slipped out from under the sheets. She felt awful; groggy and heavy like she needed to get out and do something. Feel the breeze, anything. To solve that problem, she first went to take a shower.
As the hot water ran down her back and pummelled her head, she wondered where Chikakon was. I hope he's not pestering Sasori again... He must be getting sick of that fox by now. She supposed so long as he wasn't stealing food and getting into trouble though, it was the better of two evils. She glanced down her body to inspect the insurmountable amount of bruises she had mottling her body. There were still plenty from her fight with Hidan, but they were more the sore-skin, no-colour kind of bruises. She guessed she wasn't conscious to see the blues and greens and purples she was sure they had been. Her fight with Kisame. Now that gave her a few corkers. There was a huge greenish, bulging bruise extending across her shin that was pained by even the lightest touch of the hot water. There were a few across one side of her ribs and another on her arm, just above her wrist. It too was sensitive to even a gentle touch. She sighed and rubbed her forehead. At least Itachi had been polite. She only received a few scratches from that battle and mainly around the cheeks or shoulders. She had lost so easily though! The feeling of disappointment and utter weakness and idiocy mocked her and forced her into an almost paranoid state. I bet they're all laughing at me for being such a fool. Her downcast eyes suddenly snapped up, had they retrieved her katana for her? She had let it fly from her hand- "I'm such an idiot." She resolved, turning the water off. "But next time, I won't loose. I'll get some practice in like I should have done from the start."
The arena was peaceful and bright. There was no ceiling or roof to guard out the light and the cool winds breezed by in a refreshing manner. Natsuki had found her katana leant against her bedside table and it was thankfully unscathed. She stared up at the clear blue sky, wisps of cloud drifting by in their relaxed manner. Her white summer dress was tousled by the wind and as if in some lucid dream, she mounted the steps up the arena. Further and further up she climbed, eyes still latched to the sky above. With every step, the air grew fresher and the wind ever more refreshing. Natsuki could feel her heart lightening. The grogginess and sluggish feeling of a mere hour ago deteriorated with each footfall and finally, she reached the top. Feeling on top of the world, Natsuki pulled herself up and out of the base to look over the world she belonged to. Her hair and the skirt of her dress dragged behind her in the wind, the sun gently caressed her face and shoulders and she closed her eyes, listening to all the sounds around her. It was truly magnificent. She looked down and around her. The top of this domed cliff was unscalable from the outside, it would be an impossible affair to get down or up from this place. The tiny thought of escape at the back of her mind was immediately crushed. With a soft sigh, she lay back on the cool rock and let life pass her by for the time being.
"Natsuki! Natsuki?" Natsuki's eyes shot open and her heart pounded for a second. Then calmed own when she heard the voice again. Propping herself up on on elbow, she looked over the ledge of the long-crumbled ceiling. Itachi was far, far down below, a little black speck in fact, turning around in circles and calling out her name. Her hand fumbled about for a little pebble and she threw it down. It only reached about half way down the steps. Itachi heard it though. His head whipped around to find the source of the noise. Another pebble landed near it's predecessor and Itachi finally looked up. Natsuki waved at him lazily. A minute later, the Uchiha had leapt his way up the steps to stand next to her still-lying body. His figure shaded her eyes from the sun and she was able to see his face. "You are not to disappear like that. Leader-sama would have you killed if he thought you were attempting an escape. And as of now, we need you for repairing our weaponry and creating new things of that nature." Natsuki blinked slowly in response.
"So you were the search party?"
"Hn." He nodded. She nodded back lazily.
"Okay, I'll come down now-" She yawned, revealing sharp canines. "I got a little sidetracked I suppose." There was no response, but Itachi waited for her to get up before making his descent. Natsuki followed lazily behind, still in her sleepy, dream-filled demeanor. When they got to the bottom, Itachi took her to the kitchen to eat (her stomach had been complaining boisterously on the way down), before leading her over to Leader-sama's office. Apparently he wanted to see her about her disappearing.
Itachi knocked on the door and waited until he was told to enter. Natsuki slipped in after him and they stood before the head of the organisation. "Natsuki-san, you played a little vanishing trick on us just now." He stated blandly. She shrugged back, "Not particularly. I was in a quite easy to find place and I wasn't trying to escape, just get some air and enjoy the weather. It's very beautiful today." Her casual response seemed to irk Leader-sama a little bit. "Must I stress how little control you have over whether you live or die? By my hand, by my orders, I can have you killed immediately. I warn you now, treachery will not end in your favour." Natsuki bit her tongue, something she had been doing quite a lot recently. She didn't like it, it felt like she was being trained, but it kept her and most likely, Chikakon, alive, so she would put up with it and bear it with her head held high. "On other matters..." Leader-sama continued, "You and Itachi will be training regularly from now on. He has already been informed of the details, you are dismissed." With that final word said, the two were shooed out of the office by the finality in his tone and that was the end of that. Natsuki didn't feel all too pleased.
"No, you have to summon the chakra in your body-" Natsuki cut off the Uchiha with a glare. "And then manipulate the chakra like so," He performed a few slow hand signs (excruciatingly so for Itachi), fire streamed forth in a great raging ball, tearing it's way across the arena. "And there you have it. Performing a jutsu."
"I can't do it!" Natsuki yelled again, for the forty-fifth time that day. Itachi pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Yes, you can. You have performed a fire-style jutsu at least twice in your life. Once against Hidan, and another against Kisame."
"But that wasn't willingly! It just happened!"
"And that is why we are here." He almost snapped. His patience was wearing thin. "You can perform a basic jutsu, but you cannot yet control when or how you use that jutsu. We are training here so that you can learn how to control this. So try again!" Natsuki grumbled a little at the speech. He seemed to become awfully talkative when peeved. She focused yet again on gathering her chakra together. Her eyes closed and brows met in a frown. She remembered the hand signs taught to her by Itachi. With all her might, she forced the chakra together into the center of her being. Her hands thrust together in a clumsy fashion and she brought a hand to her mouth. Nothing. She tried again to spit out a searing torrent of flame. Instead, she stood there like an idiot. With a noise to greatly show her frustration, she pulled at her hair and threw herself on the ground to sit and protest moodily. Itachi resisted the undeniable urge to rub his forehead. She was far too violent in her chakra manipulation. "We will continue this another time." He said, exasperated. "But think on what I tell you: you are too violent when you try and bring forth your chakra. Bring it gently, even if it takes a long time, you have far more chance of succeeding than you would if you try and force it against it's will. Chakra comes into being by bringing together mental and physical energy and harmonising it." With that, he straightenned and walked away. What a day... she was a hassle for sure.
I'll show him. Natsuki thought, still sulking in the middle if the arena at midnight. She stood and focused on her chakra again. Gently, combine mental and physical strength... Easy does it... She threw her hands together and tried again to summon forth a stream of fire. Nothing. Again. I won't give up.
She continued on until early morning as the sun began to lighten the sky. Not once had she managed even a spark and the disappointment was crushing. She sighed and let it go. She had time, she was only there to repair weapons, right? So it wasn't like she had to go into any serious fights. It was another warm day, but she didn't feel like relaxing in the sun again, so she went back to her room instead to shower and change into her normal clothes. Chikakon was still nowhere to be seen even after her shower, so she went out to look for him. She checked the kitchen first, mainly because she was starving. Kakuzu and Itachi were sat at the table, each with a steaming mug in their hands. Itachi looked like he had tea, whilst Kakuzu seemed to have coffee. Natsuki didn't like coffee much. Tea was far, far better. She made do with the meager fridge rations yet again before heading out to find Sasori's room.
"Sasori?" Natsuki called, knocking on the redhead's door. "May I come in?" There was a sharp clatter and a fumbling sound before he cracked the door open. "I presume you're here for Chikakon-san?" He asked, speaking of the fox fondly. "Yes, I thought this was as good a place as any to start-" Sasori's eyes were troubled. "Sasori? Sasori, what's the matter? Is Chikakon-"
"He's not here, he was last night, but he seems to have disappeared." The world seemed to dim a little.
"Oh... well, I'm sure he just got lost, the silly little fox! I'll go look for him, thanks Sasori-san!" Natsuki waved as she headed back up the steps to the corridor. She set off at a dead run the minute she heard the door shut. Chikakon you stupid fox!
Natsuki searched for the rest of the day, missing her training session with Itachi, but no matter where she looked, she couldn't find her little red fox anywhere. For the first time in her life, she felt truly, truly lost. Chikakon was in her earliest memories. Every memory she could recollect, Chikakon was with her. He'll turn up. She kept telling herself. At least she knew Hidan didn't have him. She had gone straight to him first, then Kisame, and then Leader-sama to make sure he hadn't decided to punish her for something or decided to gain extra control. He had said didn't care about Chikakon and she therefore deduced that he didn't know where her stupid fox was. She trudged back to her room in a dull mood. He wasn't anywhere in the base it seemed. She could only hope that he would turn up soon.