Chapter Seventeen: Three months.
"Natsuki,"
"...Yes, Leader-sama?" The man glared.
"I am sending you on a mission with Hidan and Kakuzu. It will take at least two months at best," Something in his voice made Natsuki think that he knew it would take longer. "You will be leaving tomorrow."
"Fine." She did not want to be stuck by herself in the middle of nowhere with one: a religious zealot who not only hated her, but sacrificed people for fun; and two: a miser who would get so pissed off with her and Hidan arguing that he'd probably kill her and lop Hidan into thousands of little pieces for the rest of the mission. Oh the joys...
"..."
"..." Kakuzu watched passively on the side-lines at the two people glaring daggers at each other. Natsuki's fox - Kakuzu didn't care for names of insignificant animals - was growling at Hidan with about the same amount of menace as a mouse. "Get a move on already." He muttered, turning and stalking away from them. Natsuki heard him and pulled herself away from the glaring match, whacking Hidan in the nose before he could gloat his victory. She nuzzled her face further into her scarf and trudged after him, her feet already soaked to the bone thanks to the thick blanket of snow covering the ground. Luckily for her, Sasori had taught her how to store items in scrolls before they had left, so she wasn't lugging any heavy bags around for the trip. "Hurry up mutt-brain!" Natsuki yelled over her shoulder, the sooner they were all moving, the quicker she would warm up and the less time she would have to spend on this mission.
The road wasn't silent as they travelled unfortunately. It would have been, if only Hidan could keep his big trap shut, but no. That was an impossibility. And so, the day dragged on and on and Natsuki's wet feet, frozen as ever, didn't lighten her mood. She wanted to stop and turn back before the first day was even over. Kakuzu was a slave-driver of a teammate; he didn't stop for breaks, he'd yell and snap every half hour or so (though Natsuki couldn't blame him entirely for that) and he was so stingy that he openly told her that they would be sleeping out in the snow that night instead of in a dirt-cheap hotel when she had asked where they would be staying for the night. She wished with all her might that Hidan wasn't immortal aswell. Then not only would she had already have beheaded him once and he would be out of her hair, but he would have already died thirty-seven times during the journey too. There would have been peace and quiet and Natsuki wouldn't constantly feel like committing suicide.
She had to give it to Hidan though, the day passed by quicker with him ranting. Some of the things he said held some entertainment for her and without him there, there would just be an awkward silence between her and Kakuzu. She hated awkward silences; it felt like she had to say something, as if it were her duty or something like that to make conversation. It could become stressful to say the least. It was thanks to Hidan, therefore, that Kakuzu was occupied that night arguing with him about money and religion and that any whiff of an awkward silence was dispelled. Natsuki was able to curl herself up against the cave wall, warmed by the fire, and drift off into a light slumber with few troubles. Chikakon was staying on guard too, reassuring her that any sneak attack launched by Hidan could be easily avoided.
Natsuki grunted when a foot jabbed into her ribs, flipping her onto her back roughly. "Get up." She sighed, cracking her eyes open. Kakuzu glared down at her. "Five more-"
"No."
"You didn't even let me-"
"Get up."
"Stupid stitch-man." She threw a rock at him, but it missed and he walked away. She wished Kisame and Itachi were here. Kisame would carry her and neither of them would try to kill her. She got up before Kakuzu lost his temper with her and checked that she had everything. She did. Chikakon trotted up to her, but she didn't pick him up. After yesterday's full day of walking she was exhausted and she didn't think she'd cope well with another day like that. Carrying a fox on top of that would kill her. "Come on." Kakuzu growled out. Hidan shouted something at him, but Natsuki wasn't paying much attention. Where were they even going anyway? Why? To do what? She traipsed out of the cave, only half-listening to Hidan and Kakuzu winding each-other up. Maybe she'd ask stitch-man once he'd had a chance to calm down...
As it turned out, Kakuzu didn't get a chance to calm down for three weeks. Teaching her how to release the seal on her scrolls annoyed him even further and since Hidan rarely left them for more than five minutes, it was impossible for him wind down for even a second. It was like the man never got any sleep either. He'd be awake when she fell asleep and he'd be awake when she woke up. In the few breaks she and Hidan managed to beg and curse out of him, he didn't even take any naps. He was like a machine, only concentrating on money and getting the mission over with. Natsuki couldn't even begin to comprehend how he was still on his feet. She sighed. She really wanted to know what this mission was... It mustn't be too important though, otherwise she would have been filled in on it by now. "Hey old fart!" Hidan, of course. Eloquent as always. Natsuki could hardly bare his company any longer. "Let's stop for the night already! I'm fucking tired!" Kakuzu let out a heavy sigh, turning to his two bedraggled teammates and the fox. They were all so weak. "...Fine." He turned off the road and they fought their way through the trees until they reached a space big enough for them all to camp without being so close as to cause arguements. Natsuki happily flopped on the ground. "Hey bitch! Get off your arse and do something for once!"
"For once? I always do something to help set up camp! You're always the lazy one, you do something for a change!" She threw a stick in Hidan's direction, running a hand through her hair when he grumbled off somewhere. At least all the walking had extracted most of the fight out of him. Releasing the seal on one of her scrolls, she brought out a thick blanket to ward against the frosty ground and wrapped herself up in it tightly. Kakuzu and Hidan returned shortly after with armfuls of sticks and tinder for a fire and set it up, but she had already drifted off into a cozy slumber by the time it was lit.
Kisame exhaled slowly, looking away from the campsite down below. Itachi perched on a branch next to him. "This is getting ridiculous." He murmured. Kisame shut his eyes, a slight frown forming on his face.
"Why are you here Itachi?"
"No, the question is why are you spying on Natsuki?"
"I'm making sure nothing happens to her, why are you following me?"
"I'm your teammate, it's my job to make sure you don't do something stupid."
"Well I'm not, so..."
"Look, we both want Natsuki to stay safe, but you don't see me stalking her, do you?" Kisame growled,
"What are you trying to say?" He didn't want anyone else looking after Natsuki but him. He was being selfish, he knew, but that didn't change the fact that he wanted to be her only protector. "I'm trying to say that I'm very close to Natsuki," Itachi saw how his companion's fist clenched. "We're what most people call friends, but I'm not looking over her shoulder all the time whereas you are. Whenever you have the chance or the spare time, you're off trying to find her. If you like her that much, stop following her around and man-up." He stood, leaping into the darkness. Kisame glared after him and once again, he was reminded of how much Itachi talked when he was annoyed. With a sigh, he turned his attention back to the camp far below. Kakuzu was sat staring into the fire, Hidan's head lopped off and gagged in a tree, his body sat up against the trunk. Natsuki was on the other side of the fire, fast asleep with Chikakon curled up on top of her. He knew the little fox wasn't actually sleeping, but he humoured him; he was just trying to protect his master. It stung that the fox was able to protect Natsuki better than he could.
"So what is this mission exactly?" Natsuki managed through a mouthful of raw chives and other wild herbs. It was a sparse breakfast.
"Taking out more of Orochimaru's men." Kakuzu grumbled, chewing mindlessly. He was finally in a respectable mood, what with Hidan being gagged in a tree and separated from his body. "A town has employed some of that snake's men to protect their mines from bandits. We've no idea why he'd let his men out for such a trivial cause, which is something you'll probably be sent to find out." Natsuki didn't like the sound of that. Kakuzu chuckled and she realised the face she was pulling must have been more exaggerated than she had intended. He flicked an acorn at her over the low fire. It bounced off her nose and she tossed it back. He caught it and sent her a mocking remark just to wind her up. "Let's get going anyway." She grumbled childishly.
"Oh, so I take that as you willingly accepting a day of walking?"
"N-"
"Yes, yes, I understand. No breaks, that can be easily arranged." He smiled to himself as he turned to pick up Hidan's head and body.
"Kakuzu! Where'd that come from! I didn't say I didn't want any breaks, come on! I'm dying here, don't make we walk all day again!"
"Oh but Natsuki, this is what you wanted wasn't it?"
"No, so- Hey! How come he gets to be carried?!"
Two weeks gradually slipped past with the group of three with added fox journeying from town to town over miles and miles. Natsuki and Chikakon saw many new things, but they didn't get to look in awe and wonderment for long before they were dragged back to the road. It was hard, she knew that after her first day on this mission, but she was slowly building her strength and stamina up. She didn't feel like collapsing every night now and her muscles stopped screaming in pain every morning. She would even go as far as to say that her leg was getting stronger. She didn't need her cane as often as before and she could run around and bounce on her heels without receiving shooting pains that raced through her nerves. But with every passing day, they got closer and closer to their destination. Kakuzu and Hidan talked about it more and more around the fire at night. Kakuzu said that they'd probably meet all-out war if Orochimaru had talked to the townsfolk. Hidan seemed to revel in that, a sadistic grin coming to his face and a mad glint in his eye each time he described just how he'd kill some of the people. It made Natsuki feel sick. There must be a reason behind the townsfolk employing men of Orochimaru, mustn't there? They must be innocent, there was no reason to kill them. Sure, sacrifice the snake's men to Jashin or turn them in to the Collection Offices, do whatever to them, it was the consequences of their actions. Their evil deeds. But the townsfolk... they probably hadn't even heard of Orochimaru before. Natsuki didn't like the idea of killing innocents. It was too much like... like what happened years ago. Even though it happened over a decade ago, it was still so clear and vivid in her memory. Sometimes, when it came to her in her nightmares, she would be fooled into thinking she was there again, seeing it all, feeling it all once more.
Her thoughts and feelings where of no use to the Akatsuki though and she kept them to herself, even when they arrived at their destination.
The town was much smaller than Konohagakure, but at the same time, it wasn't some piddly village. From up on small hill where she, Hidan, Kakuzu and Chikakon were looking down on it from between the trees, Natsuki could see the dusty, sandy ground it was built on, a gaping hole in the rock face protecting the town's back. That must be the mine... She thought to herself, shielding her eyes from the blazing sun and feeling a bead of sweat trickle down her temple. Winter definitely hadn't reached here and she wondered if they were in the Land of Wind, where Sunagakure was. "What's the plan of action then?" She asked, taking a quick glance at Kakuzu and Hidan. Hidan didn't seem to bothered about anything, he just tested his grip on his scythe, a maniacal shine in his eyes. Kakuzu, crouched in the shade of a tree with his forearms resting on his thighs, didn't turn away from analyzing the settlement below them. It took him a moment to answer. "You go in and scout it out for us. Orochimaru doesn't know of your joining the Akatsuki yet." Natsuki knew he wasn't one-hundred percent certain of that though. "Find out everything you can about that snake's men and what they're doing here, report back within three days and whatever you do, remain inconspicuous. Leave the fox here." That last 'request' made a frown form on Natsuki's face, but she complied begrudgingly and checked for the spanner hidden in the folds of her top. Still there. "See you in three days then." She said, making her way down the hill. The thought of her lodgings for the next two nights almost made her stop and ask Kakuzu for money, but she thought better of it and hastened her pace. She didn't want to incur his wrath.
Where to start, where to start... Natsuki wondered, looking about herself as she traipsed through the town. The mines perhaps? Or maybe the market? She'd have to steal food, she realised unhappily, wishing that somebody had taught how to perform a transformation jutsu. Deidara, Itachi and Kisame could do it, that she was certain of. She understood Deidara not teaching her, but Itachi was her sensei of a sorts and Kisame was her closest companion, so why not? A transformation jutsu would have allowed her to steal food that much easier right? Especially if she could turn into something like a... hawk! Yeah, a hawk. Was that even possible? She shook her head, trying to focus on her mission. Gathering information. She reminded herself, finally deciding to just wander around and see if anything out of the ordinary was going on, something that she could ask about like an innocent passerby, not as a spy. Inconspicuous.
"That bitch had better not fuck up." Hidan spat out, shuffling in his spot and pulling his cloak tighter around himself; Kakuzu hadn't let him build a fire even after it went dark. "She won't fail." The masked nin said. By the looks of it, he was meditating. Hidan huffed, itching to do something, to break the silence, anything. His thoughts went to Natsuki's little rat and he grinned, looking around for it. Nowhere. "Where the fuck did that little rat go?!" He yelled, kicking a tree and sending splinters of it flying through the other side. Kakuzu opened an eye begrudgingly,
"What crawled up your arse this time?"
"What crawled up your arse you mean, bloody miser. That little orange rat's gone!" 'It's a fox'. Kakuzu wanted to correct, but right now, they had to figure out where it went. It probably ran off to find Natsuki, which was bad. People would notice a girl with a fox by her side. But if the fox had run off and didn't return before Natsuki got back... Kakuzu kneaded his forehead with his knuckles. This was just what he wanted to avoid. "Hidan, it was your turn to watch the fox, therefore its disappearance is your fault. Go find it."
"What?! Bastard, no way in hell!"
"Do it Hidan or I won't let you sacrifice anybody!" The Jashinist sneered, but stalked into the trees.
Natsuki's head whipped up at the sound of soft pitter-patter footsteps coming towards her from the roof next to the one she was sat on. She heard the rush of air and more pitter-patter footsteps. She squinted into the dark, feeling the chakra swirl in the pit of her stomach. She raised her hands, ready to perform a jutsu. A quiet bark, familiar to her ears, made her lower her hands. "Chikakon?" The little orange fox bounded up to her, pushing his face into her side, front paws on her knee. She held in a giggle and picked him up. She hushed him before he could bark again, pointing to the roof they were sat on. He cocked his head. "They're are people inside, we don't want to wake them." She whispered and pressed a finger to her lips to make sure he got what she was saying. His ears perked and a distinctly fox-like grin pulled at his face. She shook her head fondly and pulled out one of the scrolls from in the folds of her top. She undid the seal, flinching at the 'poofing' sound, loud in the night. A blanket fell from the scroll along with her scarf. She stroked it fondly before deftly wrapping it around her neck and covering Chikakon and herself with the blanket. Despite the heat of the day, it was incredibly cold at night. She almost chuckled to herself, Kakuzu probably hadn't let hidan build a fire. Closing her eyes, she thought back on what she had managed to discover.
Orochimaru's men were definitely protecting the mines. She had seen several sound-nin milling around at the mines' mouth and had even managed to see a few inside it aswell. It didn't stop there though. When she went to the market to inquire about them, she had found more dotted around the place. It had put her on edge. She had thought there weren't any, but it was like when you got a toy boat from somebody, suddenly you were seeing boats all of the time and everybody seemed to have a toy boat too. In this case, Orochimaru's men were the toy boats. Natsuki frowned to herself, suddenly wary of dropping her guard by sleeping. Even though her eyes remained lightly closed, her body lax as if in the depths of the dream world, she didn't sleep a wink.
~:~
Natsuki frowned and pursed her lips, dipping back behind the corner of the tent. Chikakon crouched behind her ankles, his nose twitching. He had led her here, to the large tent erected outside the mines. Usually, rubble and dirt would have been inside it she guessed, but when she peeked through the back folds, what she saw were explosives. Now, that wasn't too surprising, considering they had to make a mine somehow, right? What horrified her though, was the amount of weaponry piled up next to it. No pickaxes or shovels, actual weapons. Swords and kunai, maces and bludgeons. Even axes. The thought at what Orochimaru's men needed with them made a lump stick in her throat. She gulped hard, trying to swallow it. She tried to formulate some sort of plan, tried to figure out what exactly was going on. Orochimaru had let out his men to guard this town's mines from bandits, that she already knew. His men had weapons and explosives. Were they for them to use, or for the townspeople and miners? Did the people here know bout them? Were they in this too? Was Orochimaru trying to kill everybody here? No, he would have done it already otherwise. Maybe this town served some sort of purpose, maybe it was useful in his plans - whatever they were. Natsuki just didn't know, she couldn't think straight. There were too many possibilities leading to too many solutions. But then she calmed down, tried to slow her thundering heart. She opened and closed her clammy fists and let out a long, slow breath. All she had to remember was that she was just the scout, the spy. She didn't have to figure these things out, that was Kakuzu's job. All she had to do was count up the snake's men, where they were and what they did. What they carried, their strengths and weaknesses. Hidan and Kakuzu were going to launch an attack either way, she knew that was a certainty. Retreating back from the tent, she and Chikakon ran away. She tried to keep a clear head, what she had to do was quite simple now. All she had to do was find out the number they were up against, calculate an average strength from that and note where the bulk of the forces were, where the rest were and then that was it, they'd have the information needed to launch an attack. Her stomach lurched as they ran, she knew a lot of innocents were to die.
~:~
"Little rat!" Hidan screeched, jabbing a finger at Chikakon as the little fox and Natsuki emerged through the trees. Kakuzu grabbed the Jashinist's shoulder and held him back. A few choice words silenced him. "What did you find out?" Kakuzu asked Natsuki. She blew air through her nostrils, looking to the side.
"There are fifty of Orochimaru's men in the town. Twenty guarding the mines outside, ten inside. The other twenty are dotted around the town. Most are in the market though." She gave her two teammates a moment to digest the information, though they probably didn't need the time. "Also, outside the mines is a tent. There are tons of explosives and a variety of weapons hidden inside. I don't know what they're for though." Her lack of knowledge brought a frown to Kakuzu's face and she grimaced, hoping he wouldn't lash out. "We'll just have to keep one of them alive then." He finally growled out in that same deep, rough tone he always used. Hidan huffed, "So long as I get to sacrifice the rest of them to Jashin."
"We already talked about this, half of them go to the collection office."
"No fucking way! They always go to the collection office! Why the fuck do you always get your way, huh?!"
"Your rituals take to long and time is money." Kakuzu gritted out, "Let's just get this over and done with." Hidan looked about to yell out a couple of insults, but then decided against it and kept his trap shut for once.
"Hidan, you and I will take out the snake's men at the mines. Natsuki, you will take care of the rest of the men. Kill them all, is that clear? If a citizen sees you, kill them too. Nobody is to know that you are in the Akatsuki, Leader-sama's orders." Natsuki bit her lip, wincing as she drew blood. Killing innocents... that made her just like those people, the ones who came to her in nightmares. She didn't want to give that horror to anybody else, but what if she said no? What if she refused to kill any of the citizens? She cringed outwardly at the memory of what Leader-sama did to her the last time she 'ran away'. The ordeal had left faint scars tracing across her once immaculate skin. She didn't want to go through such pain and humiliation again, but at the same time... Was that really a good enough reason to kill? She had never... actually killed someone before. Let alone an innocent. "Come on Natsuki!" Kakuzu growled out and she suddenly realised that he and Hidan were already making their way down the hill. She gulped, about to protest, but the words stuck in her dry throat and she followed sullenly after. Chikakon whined and followed at her heels. I know Chikakon, I know.
Screams laced the air, erupting all around the town. Explosions abused Natsuki's sensitive ears and she lashed her tail about agitatedly. Hidan and Kakuzu had already started. Biting her lip, reopening the wound from only moments before, Natsuki realised now that it was too late to protest and back out. With all of her muscles quaking and twitching, she looked about her. The market was in a frenzy. Panicked parents, children, children's children. They all ran screaming whilst in their midst the predators lurked. Her, Natsuki Suzuhara, and Orochimaru's lackeys. She spotted a few dashing off in the direction of the mines. A thick, guttural growl tore from deep in her throat and she kicked off after them, sending chakra to her feet. In her confused state, she left gaping wounds in the ground. "Phoenix flower jutsu!" She yelled out, catching the snake's men in bouts of fire. They cried out and some fell, writhing to the ground. Others dodged, some turned to face her. In the corner of her eye, she could see an old craftsman screaming on the floor, his haori alight with flames. She wanted to run and save him, help him, and having to tear herself away from him and face her opponents forced bile to the back of her mouth. I'm sorry.
Suddenly, a sword slashed at her neck. She stumbled back with barely a millimetre to spare. Chikakon snarled and leapt at the man, instantly growing in size to tear him apart. Natsuki couldn't bear to watch. She turned to see a second and third attacker converge on her. But she soon realised that was nothing. Her hours and days, weeks and months spent training and sparring with Itachi weren't for nothing. Combinations of punches, kicks, elbows and knees, jutsu and the slashing of fervent blades were all so easily dodged, even when she was outnumbered. Slipping between a blow to the head and slash to the gut, she got behind the two men, killing one instantly with a hard elbow to the neck, hearing the bone crack and break. The other she set alight with a close-range fireball jutsu. She heard more than just the one scream. By the time she had dealt with those two though, Chikakon and leapt through the crowds of people, seeking out more of Orochimaru's men. Each one he saw, he tore apart mercilessly. Natsuki leapt up onto the roof of a building, her eyes clouding over as she stared at all the people crashing around in terror. They didn't know what was happening, what to do, nothing. Yet they unintentionally shielded Orochimaru's men. "Chikakon!" Natsuki yelled over the din of more explosions and yells. He leapt over the people, crushing the tiles of the roof as he landed. "GREAT FIREBALL JUTSU!" Even as she said those words, performed the last of the hand signs, felt the chakra stir in her gut, she regretted them. She wanted to haul it all back. But she couldn't. In an instant, fire raged through the streets, across the entire market. It had been her mission, right? What Kakuzu had meant by keep her joining the Akatsuki a secret, was to incinerate every single person in this town. Somehow she had known that subconsciously and that, coupled with her need to eradicate every single one of the snake's men, had made her do... this. And as the last of the smoke drifted away with the wind, Natsuki realised just what 'this' was.
'This' was complete and utter destruction. It wrenched at her gut and the bile rose to the back of her mouth again, yet she swallowed it down. Chikakon pressed his large muzzle to her side and she flung her arms around his neck, fingers curling and entangling themselves in the thick fur. She grit her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut as tears threatened to spill over. "W- what ha- have I jus-st done?!" She cried, pressing her head into him and screaming. She screamed and screamed and screamed until her breaths came labored and she couldn't keep herself from shaking. But still she kept the tears from showing. Chikakon slowly returned to his normal size and she picked him up. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry...
~:~
Natsuki, Hidan, Kakuzu and Chikakon all trudged down the path, their feet crunching in the light frost coating the ground. One of Orochimaru's men was slung over Kakuzu's shoulder, a bitter reminder of what had gone on that day. Once they had all met up afterwards, Hidan covered in blood, Kakuzu had told Natsuki that she should be glad the battle only lasted part of the day. If their adversary had been stronger or more in number, they could have been battling for weeks. At the time though, Natsuki couldn't appreciate that. Her heart was too heavy and full of guilt. Now though, after week upon week of walking, the stabbing pain she felt with every glance over at the half-dead body had turned to a dull pang. The deed was done, even though deep down, Natsuki knew that her cowardice, her inability to protest and say no, had lead to the deaths of so many people.
All of that left her mind though when they neared the Akatsuki base.
Stood in front of the lake, she recognised a familiar shock of navy hair, the light blue skin and strong, wide shoulders. A grin rode across her face. Separating from Hidan and Kakuzu, who were too busy arguing to notice, she sprinted towards the person, feeling the excitement rising in her chest. "Kisame!" He turned around, eyes widening as she flung herself into his chest, arms wrapping around his muscled neck. He stumbled back, arms only just catching her. "N- Natsuki?" A violet blush crossed his cheeks and she pulled away, her heart pounding and eyes glittering with elation. "What was that for-"
"Because I missed you of course!" She laughed, poking him in the gills. He jerked back rubbing his cheek. It only made her laugh more. "That and three months of Hidan and Kakuzu can really do a number on someone." He chuckled, a cocky grin tugging at his lips,
"You can say that again."
Louise: I'm glad you thought CH15 was fun!
ForASunsetsRise, you were the only one to enter the competition in CH16, so you win... Nothing. There was no prize, sorry ^^;
I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm so damned sorry! I'm writing CH18 now!
Please tell me is Kisame is too non-Kisame/sounds STUPID.
COMPETITION TIME!
I like holding competitions a lot, so here it is:
Every chapter, give me the name of a song that you think suited that chapter best, either PM it to me or write it in a review.
If I think your entry suited the best, you win that round. I will contact you (either through PM or in the A/N of the next chapter) if you have won.
If you have won, then here's your prize: You can request a one-shot related to Weapons Dealer that I will write for you. After I have written up five winner's one-shots, I will post them as an 'extra chapter'.
The best part is you could go completely against the plot! Like have... NatsukixHidan or yaoi or whatever, I don't know!
I won't write hentai/explicit/lemons though. That's a no-no. Weapons Dealer is rated T after all.
The competition will run until Weapons Dealer ends and you can only enter one song per chapter per person.
Over and Out ./_\.