Hey, everyone. Kris here with chapter nine of CCM. Not much to put here so just enjoy, hm. I also don't own Naruto...or a mood ring.

Thankies To: FooFooCudlyPoops and big thankies to Addi-Cheeze and Bobby-Toast!

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The hammer and nails had been returned to Sasori and Itachi was now in the kitchen. He opened the freezer and began to take out the tray of ice. Setting it on the counter, he closed the freezer and went to get a sheet of Bounty. As he did this, he heard someone come into the kitchen but he didn't bother to see who it was. Wrapping two ice cubes in the Bounty, Itachi pressed it against his swollen finger and let out a sigh.

"What the hell happened to you?" the person asked with a small snicker at the end.

Hearing the voice, he looked and saw Zetsu who was in the kitchen with him. "Nothing. Just hit my finger with a hammer." he said and then quickly rushed out, not liking to admit such a thing.

As Itachi dashed out the room, he just stared and then let it go. Everyone in the Akatsuki was weird in his or her own way and that was that. Turning towards the sink, Zetsu lifted a watering pot and filled it with water. Twisting the 'cold' knob of the sink off, he left the kitchen and back to his garden.

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The moment he went back into his garden, he smiled, happy to see his plants in top health. "Hello!" Zetsu greeted the plants as he began to water them. Coming to one, he stopped and put down the pot to check the flowers on it. There was one that he was especially interested in: a small red bud. Pouring some water into the soil, he cooed, "Good luck, little one." and continued.

Once again, he stopped at another plant and studied it. "It's going to need a bigger pot." he concluded and set the watering pot next to it. Walking away from it, Zetsu went and got another pot that was bigger than the one the plant was currently in. Getting back to it, he set it on the floor. "It's okay. You'll like your new pot. The one you're in now might be a bit snug for you." he explained to the plant and went to get some supplies.

Returning with a mini shovel, he began to take some of the soil and put it in the pot. He started around the edges until there was so more soil left. Digging his hands into the gaps, he grabbed the root-entangled soil and lifted it up. Quickly, Zetsu turned and put it into the bigger pot. Finishing with a sigh, he smiled at his beloved plant.

Fetching the watering pot, he tilted it down so water fell onto the soil like rain. As he did this, he quietly hummed but then stopped when he saw something shining in the soil. It was small, very shiny and it looked wet from being watered on.

"What's this?" he questioned himself in his mind as he put the pot aside and ran a finger over the shiny object in the soil. It felt cold and wet but what got him curious the most was the metallic feel to the unknown object. Carefully brushing soil that was around it away, Zetsu discovered it was slightly bigger than he thought and most of it was buried in the soil. Slowly, he brushed the soil away from the metal item and then took it from the dirt to have a better look at it. Seconds later, a loud cheer could be heard from miles away. "RUKIA HAD A BABY!!!!!!!!!!!"

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Meanwhile, in the common room, everyone else heard Zetsu's cheer. "I would have never guessed..." Hidan sighed and continued to read a magazine.

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Back in Zetsu's garden, he eventually and sadly learned what he found was actually a ring. He studied it some more, being very curious about where it came from. Rings don't grow in the soil of your plants, you know. All he could do now was wash it and decide what to do with it. Putting it to the side, he went to water the rest of the plants.

When he was finished, he picked up the ring and stared at it. Still not sure where it came from, he took what water was left in the watering pot and poured it on the ring. Slowly, the dirt on it began to slide off it and it became clean. What to do with this... He wondered as he rolled the ring around in his hand. It was then that a curious thought came to his mind and he slid the ring onto one of his fingers on his darker side. Brightening from it's gray; it turned orange and then rolled into a blue color. A smile spread on Zetsu's face, It fits!

Maybe the ring was some type of gift from his plants and it was meant for him to have or something. That's what Zetsu thought at he stared at the now orange ring. "Why does it keep changing colors?" he growled, becoming annoyed which only made it turn reddish-orange. Sighing, he gave up on the topic and took his eyes from the ring to his garden. Moving his hand down to his side, he continued to work on his garden.

Finally, when he was finished, he wiped his forehead or what he could with the flytrap in the way. Taking a peek at the ring that was still on his finger, which was a beautiful blue. It went well with his black hand, that's for sure but it wasn't very visible if you didn't know what you was looking at. That didn't matter though since Zetsu knew it was there and that's all that mattered.

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By now, days have gone by and Zetsu's life went on free of any unusual or traumatizing events like what Itachi and Kisame went through. Really...no one even noticed the ring to begin with. Who looked at his hands, anyway? In the beginning, he noticed Itachi was behaving weird but then it could have been the eye drops or from walking into so many walls and doors. It wasn't until the fourth day that it all came crashing down on him.

"OH, MY GOD! MY FINGER! I'M DYING!" he screamed.

Rushing into the common room, Zetsu found the others who stared at him in return. "What's wrong with you?" Kisame asked curiously but rudely at the same time. Not even paying mind to the rudeness, he showed them his finger that once carried the mood ring, which was now in his room. "I'm shriveling up and it's the weather's fault! Damn you, clouds! Stop fucking hiding the sun from me!" he yelled. Everyone took a bored look at it before gasping at the sight. On his black hand was a pale ring around one of the fingers. The skin of it looked squishy and it was starting to peel.

"Ew, that's fucking gross!" Kakuzu frowned and turned his head as if not wanting to see anymore than he already did. Tobi was one of the few that actually leaned in closer to look at it. Tilting back his head, Tobi looked up at Zetsu, "What happened?" he asked with his innocent curiosity.

It took a moment to get the words as Zetsu looked at the pale ring around his black hand. How did this happen? Could it have been from the ring? He sadly thought to himself. Zetsu loved that ring but if this is what it did to him, he might have to stop wearing it. "I'm not sure," he said as he turned his eyes to the others, "I found a ring and began to wear it a lot. I hope it's not some type of weird reaction."

After saying this, the other's stared as they stood quiet. This, in return, made Zetsu silent and wonder if he did good about being honest with the finding and wearing of that color changing ring. Before anyone could laugh or poke fun at Zetsu, Itachi's voice was heard. "You...you found a ring?!" Itachi asked with his voice shaky. Nodding, he replied, "Yes, why?" but no response came.

"Then stop wearing the ring and see what happens." Sasori explained as he pointed to the abnormally pale finger, "If it stays like that, you should see a doctor. If you stop wearing it, then your finger should get back to normal though. I don't think you should peel it since you'll probably take too much. Just let it peel on it's own for now."

Everyone gasped at Sasori's words as if they'd never expect that from him. "Ooooh, Danna's been reading smart books!" Deidara poked at his shoulder. Sighing, he said back, "They aren't smart books, they're just...books. Unlike you, I read, all right. I might work on puppets but I also work on human bodies."

Zetsu nodded as he took it all in. Maybe that's the issue. Hopefully it isn't. Sighing, he reached a decision, "Alright. I won't wear it then. I'll probably give it to one of my plants. If I can't have it, then they can." With that simple choice, he left the room to his garden.

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Going back into his garden, he found the plant where he discovered the ring. Standing near the plant, he began to speak to it. "Rukia, I'm sorry about taking your ring. If what happened to my finger is your way of revenge, then I understand. Here. You can have it back." Zetsu said with a frown, not wanting to give it up. Taking a moment to sigh, he put the ring back under the soil like he first found it.

"There. It's yours again." he whispered to Rukia and took a step back to admire the vibrant green plant. With a final smile, he left the garden.

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Next chapter, Zetsu'll take one more hit and then he's done. I'm not too happy with just having his finger get icky like it's not enough. I'll try to update as fast as I can but I can't promise anything. This entire week is supposed to be chaos.