Chapter Two: The Collector
For the first four months of Mitsukai's life, her dad ordered Akina to keep her away from him. Whenever Mitsukai started to cry, he would get up and leave the room. Akina was forced to care for their daughter all on her own. Kisho sat in the living room and watched it rain while Akina changed Mitsukai's diaper. There was a heavy knock at the door and Kisho went to see who it was. A man in a brown business suit stood in the door. He was slightly taller than Kisho's 5'9" frame, wore glasses and his hair was neatly cut to frame his face.
"Good afternoon, sir." The man said politely. Kisho stood aside and let him pass. In the living room, Akina had just sat down with Mitsukai who was peacefully sleeping in her arms.
"How can we help you?" Kisho asked curiously.
"I am a representative from Boshoku. [It literally means dusk: hint, hint I'm here to collect the deed for your house." From his smile one would have thought he'd just asked to borrow a cup of sugar. It seemed forced, as if he had no choice but to smile and his eyes held no personality despite the brightness of his smile.
"What?" Kisho stared at the man in disbelief. The bet had been real and the old woman told the truth. Kisho swallowed in order to speak. "You can't be serious. You people really want my house? But why?"
"That's what we do. We find foolish people who are willing to bet their lives away and take all they have. I'm sorry this happened to you," he looked over at Akina and Mitsukai, "You have such a beautiful family."
"Surely, you would be more willing to take money instead of a deed. Is it possible for me to pay?" Kisho stood between the man and Akina, possessively.The man paused and thought about it.
"Well, from my knowledge, you come from the Kurama clan, yes?"
'These people seem to know a lot about me...' Kisho thought then nodded slowly.
"Well," The man tilted his head to the side, "I happen to work in the science department of Boshoku. We need a test subject for an experiment. You are aware of the Kekkei Genkai trait that is in your clan, yes?"
Again, Kisho nodded.
"The other child who lives in Konoha is too old for our experiment, however..." He looked at Mitsukai, "Your daughter is young enough. I am willing to pay off your debt for you in exchange for your daughter."
"No!" Akina stood sharply, scaring Mitsukai, causing her to cry. "How could you even believe that we would trade our daughter as if she were an item? She is not a bargaining chip, or money, or wha--"
"Akina, enough!" Kisho cut his eyes at her. This was a window of opportunity for him. A science experiment on a four month old? It was the perfect way to get rid of the child. "When do you want her?"
"Well, I could take her now if you'd--"
"I said 'no'!" Akina screamed, voice shrill. Both men looked at her. "Kisho, you may not care for your own flesh and blood but I will kill you before I let you use her to clean up your mess!" Her dark blue eyes flashed dangerously, like those of a lioness protecting her cubs. She held Mitsukai tightly and looked at them as if she were ready to die fighting for her daughter.
Kisho closed his eyes and smiled. "Let me talk to her. Can you come back tomorrow at the same time?" Kisho's eyes held no emotion. He was determined to start his own branch of the clan to redeem his name.
The man nodded, "Sure. Should I bring something to carry the child in?"
"Yes." Kisho looked back at Akina, attempting to apologize with his eyes but she turned away and stormed out of the room.
"Well, then I will see you tomorrow." The man bowed slightly, and then left as quickly as he had come. Kisho took a deep breath then went to find Akina. He found her in their bedroom tossing clothes into a suitcase.
"Akina--"
"You have nothing to say that I want to hear, Kisho. Just because you don't love your own daughter doesn't mean that I can't and that I don't! Ever since I first got pregnant all you could talk about was how much you wanted a son to restore your name. Yes, she is a girl but that doesn't mean that she could never fix it for you! You haven't even given her a chance. As soon as we brought her home, you've been treating her as if she's the reason you're here. As if she's the reason you are where you are in life now. Don't blame her for your stupid mistakes. Blame yourself."
Kisho gritted his teeth and back handed Akina, knocking her back a few steps. "I understand that you're upset, but do not speak to me that way. I am not a child. I am your husband and the head of this household. I make all of the decisions and you go with them. If you ever act like that in front of another guest, I will make your life a living hell, Akina." He noticed Mitsukai lying quietly on their bed, seemingly watching the whole scene. "We can have other children. Besides, it's either this or we'll all be homeless. Can you stand the thought of exposing her to the cold? It's just starting to warm up but here in the Hidden Rain Village it will be a while before its warm enough to keep her outside for long periods of time."
Akina held her face, tears running down her cheeks. "I have an aunt that Mitsukai and I can stay with."
Kisho's eyes widened with surprise. "You'd leave me, Akina? You'd willingly leave after you promised me forever?" He stepped closer to her and she cringed.
"Kisho, it's for our daughter." Her voice shook as she spoke, trying to hold her ground.
"For all we know, they are able to give her more at this point than we can. There's no point in trying to find other solutions. You can't leave me but we can't be homeless. She has to go."
"Why her? Why not you?!" Akina screamed and he grabbed her by her throat and pinned her to the wall behind her; her feet dangled a few inches from the floor.
"You are testing my patience, Akina. I've made my decision and it's final." He stared at her waiting for a response. She stared at him until she began to feel light-headed.
"Okay." She rasped, needing air. He let her go and walked out of the room, leaving her alone with Mitsukai.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The next day the man returned as scheduled. Kisho invited him in to wait since Akina was in the nursery with Mitsukai. Akina took her time dressing the infant in a yellow dress and brushed her hair up into a small ponytail.
"Please, don't hate me, Mitsukai. If it were my choice, I would have taken you and left a long time ago. Your father isn't the same man I fell in love with. He's changed...Yet, I still love him. And I love you as well...I just..." Akina stopped to stifle a sob that caught in her throat. It was unfair. Yet, she felt so hopeless.
"Akina, hurry up! Let's not keep the man waiting." Kisho shouted back to her. She jumped at the sound of his voice. Taking a deep breath, she picked up Mitsukai.
"Ah, there she is." The man smiled. He showed her the carrier he had brought [the one where the baby is strapped to the person's chest or back and she helped him get Mitsukai in.
"What will you do to her?" Akina asked, biting her lip to keep her tears at bay.
"That is confidential." He didn't even pause to look at her. He kept adjusting the straps to make sure Mitsukai was secured.
"Will we see her again?" Akina took a step forward but Kisho gently pushed her back."That is uncertain. It depends on if she survives the experiment."
Both Kisho and Akina paled upon hearing his words. Akina looked at Kisho accusingly. Kisho stared at Mitsukai. 'If she survives...? I never imagined them doing something that could kill her...But even then, it would be better than I imagined...' Kisho fought the smile that threatened to appear on his face. He would have to celebrate later.
"Well, I must be going. You don't have to worry about the debt, sir. It's already taken care of. Good day to you." The man turned and left. Akina looked at Kisho.
"For your sake, you had better pray he brings my baby back. Or I will make your life a living hell, Kisho. Mark my words." With that, she spun on her heel and marched back to Mitsukai's room. Kisho only smirked. The burden was gone.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The building seemed ordinary enough, with the appearance of an abandoned warehouse. The villagers took little notice of the activity that had been going on for the last two years. The man carrying Mitsukai approached a side door and knocked twice. The door promptly opened and a tall, blue skinned man who resembled a shark wearing a black cloak with red clouds looked down at him.
"Hopefully you didn't run your mouth like the other agent did. You're just in time to see Sasori punish her." Kisame stepped aside to allow the man to enter. The two walked down the corridor silently until the pleas of an elderly woman could be heard distinctly. Kisame entered a door on the left and the man followed absently behind him. "Sasori, he's back and he has the child."
Another man turned around and looked at them. This one was a whole head shorter than Kisame with red hair yet wore the same cloak as he did. The collar of the cloak covered his mouth, almost reaching his nose. "Good. I was beginning to get impatient. The people in this village are a little harder to control with my Genjutsu than people from other villages. I'll deal with the old woman first and then we can go find Deidara and Orochimaru."
"Just hurry up. I don't want to watch you torture her for hours like you did the last one. I got bored after the first fifteen minutes." Kisame sighed then leaned against the door.
Sasori sighed, "You're lucky. You'll have to suffer a quick yet painful death."
"P-please...n-no..." The aged woman pleaded, shaking horribly with fear. Dried tears from previous days coated her face as new ones wet her cheeks. Her brownish dress now appeared black since she had been locked in the basement that had a dirt floor and a water leak. Months after her meeting with Kisho, Sasori had kept her locked in the basement after realizing that she had tried to warn Kisho. Now it was time to end her suffering...
Sasori raised his hand out towards her and she screamed in fright. A puppet in the corner with six arms twitched then rose into the air.
"Nooo!!!" The woman tried to get up the puppet zoomed across the room and hovered in the air in front of her.
"You were warned that if you tried to cross us, you would die. You chose death when you tried to warn him, Aoiko." Sasori moved his fingers as the puppet's chest opened and rope shot out, wrapped around the woman and pulled her inside. She screamed and hit the inside of the puppet's chest, begging for another chance. Sasori chuckled, "There is no mercy in this world. You know that." The puppets arms unlocked and pointed toward its body, the ends now equipped with ten inch blades that had poison dripping from the edges. "Goodnight, Aoiko." The blades inserted themselves into various holes in the puppet's body. Aoiko screamed out and suddenly stopped. Sasori and Kisame watched as blood dripped from the puppet's body and made a crimson pool on the floor.
"Okay, now let's go. We can't keep the others waiting." Kisame turned and walked out the door. The man holding Mitsukai followed and Sasori trailed behind him; the puppet hovered along behind them, still dripping blood.
In another room, a blonde little boy with sea green eyes, sat at a table, sculpting baby birds that fit precisely in the palm of his hands. Leaned against the wall was a pale man with long black hair who resembled a snake, complete with the eyes and all.
"Deidara, let's go." Sasori didn't bother to look at him as they continued to cross the room to the other door. Deidara stood and put the birds into his clay pouch that rested on his hip.
"You know, would it be too much to ask for some entertainment around here, yeah? If I absolutely have to be here then the least you people could do is entertain me." Deidara trudged along behind the procession of people. Orochimaru moved silently with them.
Kisame chuckled, "Well, I apologize but you are a valuable addition to the Akatsuki. Before you just blew up things for fun, now you can do it for fun while serving a purpose for us. Everyone wins."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. So is that the child that Leader-sama was talking about? The one with the Kekkei Genkai trait?" Deidara jogged to catch up with the unknown man, whose face was still expressionless, to get a glimpse of Mitsukai. Her head rested on the man's chest as she looked around with curious eyes. "Aw, she's cute--"
"Don't get attached. The odds of her dying from the sealing are nearly ninety-five percent. Until you're able to effectively detach yourself from your emotions, you're not allowed to be near her." Sasori pulled Deidara back behind him. Deidara stood there for a moment. Even though he was only eight years old, Deidara was wise beyond his years, having an acute understanding of death and pain.
"Well, fine. I didn't really want to see her that bad anyway, yeah." He folded his arms across his chest and followed silently.
Finally they came to a dark room that had a stone table and a big brown urn next to it. In front of the table stood two figures; one of them spoke, "Do you have the child?"
"Yes." Sasori motioned to Mitsukai.
"Place her on the table and get to your positions. The sealing must take place as soon as possible." The man said. They told Deidara to take Mitsukai out of her holder and put her on the table. They then took their places around her to form a six point star, each making the goat hand sign. Their rings glowed as the concentrated their chakra into the ring. The urn beside Mitsukai shook cautiously then the lid shot off and a gold beam of chakra rose into the air. A sudden wind gusted through, causing each person to nearly lose their balance, and actually knocking little Deidara over.
"Get up! You can't break the chain now!" Sasori commanded and Deidara did as he was told. The chakra began to swirl in the form of a tornado over Mitsukai. There was a slight burning sensation on the skin of her stomach and she began to cry. The chakra seemed to be absorbed by Mitsukai and as a result was slowly sucked inside of her. After nearly five hours, the sealing was finally complete. The leader approached Mitsukai and placed his hand on her stomach then removed it, revealing a seal that resembled a snowflake.
"It is done." They waited for her to show any sign of life. After a long minute, she turned her head to the side and began to wail. They all shared a triumphant smirk of accomplishment. "It worked. Take her home."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
It was a little after midnight yet someone was knocking insistently at the door. Kisho stumbled to the door. "What do you want?" He muttered rudely.
"Here's your child back. Our experiment is done." The man held her out at arm's length. Kisho stood there for a minute to process what he had just been told.
"I'm sorry...What?" He shook his head to wake himself up some more. Akina's barefooted footfalls padded softly as she came to his side.
"Who is it, Kisho?" She peered over his shoulder and her eyes settled on Mitsukai. "Is it...?"
She stepped around Kisho and looked closely at the sleeping infant. Her eyes widened and her heart skipped a beat as she took Mitsukai from him and looked at her daughter's face. "B-but why?"
"The experiment went well. She survived and now all we have to do is wait." The man looked at them.
Kisho tried to keep a straight face. It would have been an understatement to say he was disappointed that the brat hadn't died like he planned... "Wait for what?"
"In five years, we will come back for her. We will train her to be a kunoichi." The man started to turn away but Kisho stopped him.
"A kunoichi? But why? There's nothing special about her."
The man smirked, "To you she may not be, sir, but to us...she's priceless."
This time Kisho let him walk away, disappearing into the night.