Okay, at first: Sorry for the delay in uploading a new chapter! But last week was holiday and now school has started and all, so my updates wont be as regular as they were last week. The next thing is that I corrected my little mistake: I called Ibiki Mizuki! I changed the names in the last chapters. Anyway, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!
Oh, and I dont own Naruto.
Chapter seven: Akatsuki
It was damp and foggy and the man dressed in black had trouble breathing. In his hand he held an orange mask that was cracked and damaged pretty badly, and his black cloak with red clouds was shredded at several places. He stumbled over a rock and fell on the floor, his chin connecting with the ground hard. He groaned and then looked up at the sky where stars were starting to appear.
There was merely one thought keeping him going to his final destination: Saving his master. After the Jinchuuriki hit him in the apartment he had passed out and the next thing he knew was waking up in an unknown forest with Deidara's clay creations all around him, dead and dried up. He had tried to make contact with his master but couldn't find him and had then wandered through the wood for an entire day, screaming and yelling for his master to find him.
And now he was another day further and heading for the nearest Akatsuki hideout, but his body was failing him. His knees trembled with every step and his breath hitched whenever he tried to jump trees. Also his remaining chakra was so low that he couldn't use it to run faster, and because he didn't have any food to eat he was forced to stumble over the forest ground, progressing but slower than ever.
"Tobi needs… to keep… going…" he muttered to himself, getting up. "Deidara-san… is… relying on… Tobi… and… Tobi is… a good boy…"
A shade jumped from the shadows and stood in front of the lying boy.
"Tobi? Tobi is that you?" Tobi looked up and saw another Akatsuki member standing in front of him, carrying an enormous sword on his back and with shark like eyes. He kneeled next to the fallen boy and lifted him on his back. "Lucky for you that I went out for a whiz…" he said while they started tree jumping. "We had already given you and Deidara up after the large explosion of a few days ago. Where is Deidara anyway?"
Tobi groaned. "Tobi doesn't know… Tobi needs to help Deidara-san, because… because Tobi is a good boy…!"
The other sighed. "Calm down a bit, Toby. Save your powers for later – you have a lot to explain." And he accelerated slightly, knowing that the boy on his back had already passed out of exhaustion and food shortage.
Soon they arrived at the hideout. A large rock was placed in the center of a large grass field in the middle of the wood and Kisame made his way towards it. He bowed forwards, careful to not let Tobi slip off his back, and then placed his hand on the rock.
"Kisame Hoshigaki, monster of Kirigakure," he whispered and then he lead some of his chakra into the rock. A faint light shone out of the cracks and then the rock split in two, revealing a stairway that lead down. Kisame got up again and then started to descend the stairs. As soon as he got far enough down, the rock closed itself above him, leaving Kisame behind in pitch black darkness.
"Shame that Itachi-san isn't here to light things up a little," he grumbled to himself. "Never realized how handy that Katon jutsu is." And he stumbled down the stairs, sometimes missing a few steps and nearly falling, until a very faint light could be seen at the end of the stairway. He walked through the corridor that started immediately after the stairs and stopped walking when he reached a large oaken door. The door was huge and reflected the dim light from several torches hanging on the walls. In the middle hung a large doorknob in the shape of a dragon head, and Kisame knocked on the door hard.
The eyes of the dragon started to glow and then the door opened, revealing a large round room with several chairs. A lot of the chairs were empty and Kisame closed his eyes in memoriam of his fellow Akatsuki members that had died in short period.
"Kisame! Finally back I see." Kisame looked up and saw that Zetsu had spoken. Zetsu had a split personality and could be very friendly some times, but he could also be extremely creepy and most members avoided him whenever he was grumpy. He could also retreat into his plant like body and not talk to anyone in days. Now, fortunately, his happy side seemed to be in control and Kisame greeted him.
"Yo. Look what I found on my way back," and he laid Tobi down in the center of the room. The remaining Akatsuki members got up from their chairs as they saw him, except for Itachi who simply looked at him. Tobi lay on the floor with his face down, his orange mask clamped in his right hand. "I was just about to go back when I sensed someone's chakra nearby," Kisame said. "And I went to take a look." He sighed. "The kid kept babbling about saving that pyromaniac…"
Zetsu, Pain, Konan and even Itachi became silent as they heard that. "We all know that Deidara isn't coming back," Pain said after a while to break the awkward silence. Not a real good decision and the air became thick of tension and awkwardness. "We all felt his chakra disappear after a quite large explosion." His Rinnegan eyes looked at every member one by one. "He is dead."
Kisame sighed and sat down. "What a shame. I always thought that Deidara's final big explosion would be a real killer." He looked at the others who nodded in approval.
"Do you al remember when Sasori was still alive?" Zetsu suddenly asked, and everyone looked at him. Zetsu chuckled. "Those two used to argue about that stupid art thing – last forever or not. Anyway, one time, things got really out of hand, and Deidara started yelling at Sasori that he would blow up the entire base. And an area of ten miles radius around him."
Kisame whistled. "You're serious."
Itachi sighed, sounding slightly annoyed. "Why do you care about it anyway," he asked, his voice as dark and melodious as always. "We've got a lot of things to do still, like catching the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki and finish our plan." He lowered his voice. "And I still have some business with my little brother and his eyes." The corners of his mouth tugged upwards in a faint smirk. "My eyes."
A very awkward silence fell on the remaining Akatsuki members after these words. Even though they were all wanted criminals with nothing good done, when Itachi spoke of his little brother his words were drenched in something that couldn't be described better than bloodlust. And although they had all killed several people, perhaps even the ones close to them, speaking in that way of your brother made them feel a bit uneasy.
Then Tobi, still lying on the floor, groaned and moved slightly. Pain cleared his throat and the others focused at him, again except for Itachi who was staring at the floor in front of him. "He should recover soon," Pain said with his dark tone. "Konan, you take care of him."
The only female member of the Akatsuki nodded and then made her way to Tobi, not speaking. She lifted him off the ground like it was nothing and then left the meeting room through a smaller door at the opposite side of the oaken one that Kisame had used to enter.
"Meanwhile," Pain continued, "We need to concentrate on getting the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki." He looked at Itachi. "Itachi. The Kyuubi jinchuuriki was your target originally. Deidara failed twice. I expect better from you." And he stood from his chair, signing that the meeting was over. The others also stood and then left through the same door as Konan had used before. The last one to leave the room was Kisame.
He looked at the floor, to the spot where he had put Tobi down before. There was something about Deidara's disappearance…. Something that wasn't quite right, but Kisame couldn't point it out. He frowned slightly but when he felt a faint headache coming up, he decided not to think about it anymore.
Better yet, he thought cheery while he made his way to his own room. I've got a fridge full of beer. Time to get wasted, hehehe…
Sorry that's so short but this needed to be written. I'm already busy on the next chapter, and as it looks right now it will have more DeiSaku stuff! R&R!