True Lightning
Chapter 2
"Who are you?" Evening chirps echoed around the thick forest, filling the tense silence.
"We come on behalf of the akatsuki," the puppet spoke mechanically. "The organisation exclusively recruits S-rank nin." Maiko processed the information, realising the implications she raised her eyebrow as she recalled the unprofessional behaviour of the blond shinobi. The puppet caught her skeptical gaze -
"Though some are employed for possessing special talents," coating his words with irritation as he glared at the oblivious bomber.
"And you want to employ me? What would be expected of me?" Maiko inquired, hoping for less calculated answers now the puppet was distracted. 'An organisation of S-rank nin is the kind of security that could extremely useful. Though, it is a waste if it contradicts my plan for Kiri.'
"Basic missions, assassinations, mercenary work. Consider us a league of wanted mercenaries." The blond shinobi shifted, uncomfortable with the vastly different description than he had received.
"Hm," this piqued Maiko's interest, but she was skeptical as she noted the blond's discomfort. "There's something else." It wasn't a question. The puppet glared at the bomber who ignored his partner's intense gaze. He let out a soft growl, his patience of the situation dissipating with every passing moment.
"We are occasionally called upon to complete missions of a larger scale." The puppet assessed her reaction carefully, deciding whether it was wise to continue.
"Such as…?" He paused for a second, a gesture Maiko interpreted as him considering his options.
"The 'organisation's' goal however...is the extraction of the tailed beasts. To wield their combined power." Maiko frowned, but was ultimately surprised, she had expected something more grotesque from an organisation of traitors and murderers.
"The combined power? How?" She questioned, a curious glint in her eye.
"A sealing ritual which allows us to collect the tailed beasts from their hosts," Sasori finished boredly, much more calm now that the tense crisis had passed.
Maiko however, was in deep contemplation. 'I have heard this before…' she frowned in frustration for not realising sooner.
The village was motionless, shrouded in a dark atmosphere. But no tears were shed. No flowers placed upon his grave. Perhaps some would grieve. But to most, it was purely a relief.
Yagura, the Fourth Mizukage, was dead. It was rumoured a secretive organisation had assassinated him due to his status as a jinchuriki. That's all anyone knew, just rumours. Even Maiko herself was unsure of the situation. There was a small amount of gossip accusing Maiko of the murder. A jealous subordinate ready to take his place? A scandalous story is always favoured over the truth.
'Perhaps some of the rumours weren't entirely wrong' Maiko thought.
"Were you responsible for the death of Mizukage Yagura?" Silence greeted her as the puppet considered the answer. The blond only looked between the two in confusion.
"Yes. Our leader wanted to end the...horrors in the Mist," the puppet lied flawlessly.
"Oh?" Maiko's eyes widened in surprise. 'Well this is unexpected'. The murder of Yagura didn't trouble her, she would be lying to say she wasn't slightly scared of his tyranny. The death and pain endured during his leadership was something truly terrifying, especially that placed upon the youngest of the village. Especially that she was ordered to enforce herself. The fact that the Akatsuki had eliminated him for his actions was only another reason to help them.
'It's the logical path to take. Security.' She wasn't naive enough to believe she had heard the whole truth. Using the combined power of the tailed beasts was unheard of, and sounded an awful amount like world domination, no doubt led by a tyrant, something that could hinder her own plans considerably.
"You wish to protect your village, correct?" Sasori strategically inquired, sensing her hesitation. The accusation caused the Maiko to cast a suspicious glare at the puppet. "You wish to free the Mist from its political corruption." Maiko processed each word carefully, this was all very well planned apparently. She was impressed by the amount of information they had acquired, to know the inner workings of a person is an incredibly powerful advantage.
"The Akatsuki works to better the shinobi world. With the Akatsuki you can achieve your goal," Sasori spoke, breaking free of his indifferent nature in order to persuade the kunoichi. Deidara almost winced as he watched Maiko take the puppet's lies to heart and realised just how manipulative Sasori could be. "Yagura was just the beginning. The Akatsuki will cleanse the 'Bloody Mist'."
The puppet was using her good intentions against her. Maiko had realised this, but they seemed to share her goals, killing Yagura proved that. She sighed tiredly.
"Very well," Maiko declared, glancing between the two Akatsuki shinobi. Beneath the wooden carcass, Sasori smirked in victory. Deidara watched with mixed emotions. 'Why would anyone join this organisation by choice,' he thought bitterly, not to mention the girl seemed as uptight as Sasori himself, hardly a fun addition to the organisation. 'At least she's something to look at, hm.'
"The name's Deidara, hm," the blonde introduced with smirk.
"Maiko," she replied. Maiko turned towards to short puppet. After several seconds of staring, a rough 'hmph' emitted from the wooden carcass before the puppet began walking past the brunette.
"That is Sasori," the Deidara filled in as the he fell into step with kunoichi. The trio walked in silence, weaving in and out of the thick forestry. Maiko gazed up through the lacework of green above her, allowing a peaceful moment to admire the beauty of the fading orange sunset between the leaves. Despite her blissful state admiring the aesthetic qualities of her surroundings, a paranoid hand rested upon her kunai pocket, her guard remaining high at all times.
Barely a week had passed since the death of the Mizukage. His absence paved way for the insidious events that had left Maiko headed towards the organisation responsible for his death. The irony was not lost on her.
"As sad a moment this is, we must move quickly to find a fifth," Denka hurriedly commented as she shifted in her new seat at the head of the table. Denka had filled the role of a temporary elder due to the recent passing of the previous. As her granddaughter, Denka claimed it was only natural she filled the role in the meantime.
Chatter of who would be suitable for the kage position began to fill the room.
"I believe Mei Terumi is showing promise-"
"Ah yes, lava release is quite valuable."
"I agree, she is a devoted shinobi, Mizukage material indeed."
"We must consider others as well, what of Maiko? She was groomed for this position." Maiko perked a little at hearing this, for as long as she could remember it had been her dream to fulfill the position of Mizukage. The role was the highest honour and the greatest sacrifice someone could make for their village.
"Maiko? She is but a child, a mere 15, far too young. Not experienced enough to lead a country."
"She is a valuable jounin with her... er...kekkei genkai, and she was part of Yagura's ANBU team-"
"Is that something to be proud of?" Someone added quietly.
The chatter died quickly as people threw awkward glances in Maiko's direction. The whole situation was unsurprising, her kekkei genkai alone was bound to fetch her a recommendation but that's where the people's affection wore off. People had little to like Maiko for; she wasn't particularly a person of the people and no one had much love for anyone remotely connected to Yagura. She had originally thought that being chosen as part of his ANBU team would precede becoming Mizukage. But she was young and naive then, and had since then learned that people don't trust things they don't like or anything remotely related to it. Conversation had once again picked up around her as she wallowed in her thoughts. Several candidates were discussed with Mei eventually being chosen as the new Mizukage.
"So Maiko," Deidara started.
"Hm?" She questioned turning to look at the blonde through the growing darkness.
"You have a kekkei genkai right? That's part of the reason you're here."
"Yes," she answered shortly, slightly uncomfortable with the idea of sharing personal matters with such an untrustworthy person.
"What is it? Hm."
Maiko merely answered him with an annoyed stare.
"Deidara, leave the girl alone, she obviously doesn't want to talk to the likes of you," Sasori intervened.
"Well she definitely wouldn't want to talk to you, hm," Deidara snapped back.
"Good."
Maiko sighed as the two broke out into petty bickering, leaving her to wonder just where they were going.
'Cold,' she thought bitterly, as she pulled at the thin material of her jounin clothing. From what she had gathered, they were in a cavern somewhere between the Land of Fire and Amegakure. It seemed to be a hideout for the Akatsuki as the entrance was sealed and could only be opened using the rings that both Deidara and Sasori had. Aside from the elaborately sealed door, the large cave was almost completely bare save but a small supply chest. The door was resealed once they entered to stop any travellers from wandering into the hide-out, so no fire could be lit to warm the unexpectedly cold, Amegakure, mid-day air.
"Sasori-danna, they didn't stock the supply chest we have no food, hm" Deidara complained loudly.
"Not my problem," Sasori replied bluntly not sparing a glance.
"I know you don't care but some of us need to eat!" Sasori huffed at his partner's short temper.
"Fine, take the girl with you."
Maiko looked towards the pair. The fact that she was to be escorted by the reckless blond suggested that the puppet held Deidara's abilities in high esteem. Though from what she had gathered from their arguments it was more likely that Sasori has grossly underestimated her.
"Maiko, we're going to get food from a town about 2 klicks from here," Deidara called to her. She nodded and made her way to the entrance of the cave.
"As innocent as that girl seems don't underestimate her," Sasori grumbled in a harsh whisper. "She was obviously chosen by Pein for a reason."
"Don't underestimate me, Sasori-danna. My art and I can handle it, hm"
"As I recall, your art," Sasori spat with distaste. "- Couldn't handle Itachi Uchiha."
Deidara sent frustrated glare in Sasori's direction, muttering under his breath how the Uchiha and puppet were just as bad as eachother. Glancing over towards the young kunoichi he came to the conclusion that she definitely wasn't another Itachi.
"Are you two done with your gossiping?" Maiko sighed, tossing an impatient scowl over her shoulder.
'Though maybe another Sasori,' Deidara thought with a tired sigh.
Akira tensed beside him, her eyes narrowing as she glanced around the forest.
"Anything?" he asked, dreading the obvious answer.
With a final twitch Akira returned his gaze, her eyes wide like a beaten puppy.
"Nothing," Akira answered, her voice coated in disappointment. "Sorry sir."
"It's fine. But we better work fast to pick up the trail again, we only have about a week before hunter-nin are dispatched."
"Right, well I researched all possible locations that they could have travelled to in the amount of time we lost them, and judging by the last direction we saw them heading; the logical area they would go to is this valley between the Land of Fire and Amegakure," the trainee hunter-nin reported, pulling a map out from her pack. Akira began to circle around the border with her finger before pointing to a barely visible black dot that indicated the location of a town. "It seems to be the only town for miles in any direction, and assuming that they had travelled through the night, that would be their most likely position.
I just find it strange sir, from what I've gathered, it seems that Maiko had been following the cloaked shinobi rather than being pursued as we assumed."
"It is quite strange," Saito sighed, clearly uncomfortable with the new information. "We should leave now, if we can catch her we can find out what's going on ourselves.
Besides, I think we've overstayed our visit at that hotel, that receptionist was quite unsettled, Akira." Leaping into the treetops he heard Akira chuckle as she caught up easily.
"I don't know what her problem was, all I asked was if she could identify the two murderers who entered the room, then all of a sudden she was in tears."
"Akira, civilians; outside of kirigakure in particular, are a lot more mentally fragile than shinobi. That girl had probably never experienced something as dramatic as death in her life," Saito explained calmly, remembering a similar conversation with Maiko many years ago.
"Well, no one was actually murdered."
"Yet you still used the term 'murderers'," he said pointedly, looking upon the younger girl with a condescending frown.
"Sir with all due respect you're only 3 years my elder, I request that you stop speaking with such a patronizing tone. Besides, I thought it would get her to talk faster," she finished with a pout. Akira was indeed an incredibly talented kunoichi, but prodigies often lacked other skills.
"I asked for a bowl of ramen, not a sob story," the frustrated brunette interrupted, her thin patience depleted. Deidara stared in amusement at the scene unfolding.
"I'm sorry, I'm just…emotional right now."
"Clearly."
The waitress wiped her tear-stained cheeks with her sleeve.
"Sorry, Miss. Two miso ramen." The girl fled to the counter, a series of sobs following her. Maiko sighed, relieved that the situation was over.
"How did you make her cry? hm," Deidara asked with a yawn.
"I refuse to believe this was entirely my fault. Look, there is an abundance of tissues stuffed into her pocket suggesting that she was prepared for crying-" Deidara followed Maiko's gaze to waitress. "This isn't a chronic emotional state as she was once stable enough to be hired as a waitress, so it was a recent event. She is a civilian so it is likely to be the death of someone close or a breakup." Maiko turned to pour herself a cup of tea, frowning as she attempted to weigh the two options.
"You didn't have many friends in your village, did you? Hm."
Maiko sat up a little straighter, surprised by Deidara's observation.
"How did you dedu-" realisation dawned upon her and she shot glares at the blond. Deidara's laughing only annoyed her further. "No. They called me pretentious and judgemental," She answered with a slight pout. Deidara's laughter only escalated.
"Yeah no kidding, you're too harsh," Deidara stated between chuckles. Maiko rolled her eyes.
"I don't see the issue, I'd rather be pretentious and judgemental over the emotional mess that she is," she gave a pointed look towards the waitress who was now being approached by an elderly man. The waitress offered him a sad smile as she engaged the man in a conversation regarding his granddaughter. Deidara gave a skeptical nod in response, but Maiko barely registered his action as she watched the waitress and the man converse.
"Ah, dear Yoko, I'm sorry for your loss. Your mother was an incredible woman-" the man gently patted the girl on the shoulder. Wiping away her tears with the back of her sleeve, the waitress gave a slight bow and gave her thanks.
"You were right, death of a loved one. Hm," Deidara sipped at his tea, losing interest in the mundane life of the civilian. Maiko continued to watch as an elderly woman joined the pair and offered the grief stricken waitress a hug. 'This emotional trainwreck receives a lot of pity,' she thought spitefully. Following Deidara's lead she took a sip from her tea, masking her surprise at her bitter thoughts. Blankly, she stared at the waitress, reflecting on this sudden spite. '...envy?'
Maiko blinked. '...what.' She observed the concerned faces of local customers, offering condolences to the girl. She vaguely registered Deidara speaking to her.
"What's gotten you all dead inside?" Maiko sighed as she turned back to face Deidara.
"Hm...Just curious as to how many more breakdowns she is going to have before our food arrives," she added an eyeroll for dramatic effect. Deidara gave short laugh.
"You are just as impatient as Sasori-danna."
Published: 1/17
Revised: -
MissLightningStrike