I'm extremely sorry for this long wait. Hm, the week has been chaos... in my point of view anyway. The whole week, I felt very sick (mainly in the mornings when I woke up for school) and my friends began to poke fun that I'm pregnant. Anyway, here I am...typing to my readers (I love you guys!) while my hand is missing a chunk because of some unknown reason and won't stop bleeding. Why does it have to be my left hand, too, hmmm?! -is left handed and all of that stuff-
Bad News... Naruto doesn't belong to me... which means I don't own the Akatsuki though I would really love to.
Good News... I have no school and homework tomorrow so I'll try to speed it up with the chapter postings.
Thankies to... EmoLollipop, Panda-chan101 and AlexPwnsJoo.
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The next morning, everyone woke up bright and early to go to the mall as planned. One by one, the Akatsuki made their way into the living room to gather. First was Tobi who sat down on the sofa and played with one of his toys while he waited. Seeing Hidan drag his feet into the room, he got greeted with a cheery, "Morning, Hidan!" Slowly moving his eyes to the other ninja, he growled in a grumpy fashion. "Yeah, yeah, you cheery bastard." Hidan said back as he also sat on the sofa. There was an awkward silence until more people came.
When the whole group was in the living room, Pein announced that they would be leaving to the mall until someone brought up the issue of transportation. "How will we get there?" someone asked and everyone paused. The expression on Pein's face was a blank one before he said, "...We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." It wasn't a response they wanted to hear but they went along with it anyway.
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Now outside, they all huddled up with their eyes on Pein. It was time to cross the bridge and they needed an answer on how they'd be getting to the mall. "We'll take..." he started with a look around, "The bus!" Everyone nodded and then broke up to go to the bus stop. Looking around, the money-lover couldn't help but ask, "The bus is free, right?" but then found out it wasn't. When he got told that the fare for the bus was two dollars, he almost threw a fit and went back home. Remembering what he promised himself about selling the ring, he stood. If I'm going to be paying two dollars per bus ride, I better get some good money from this ring. He thought to himself with a frown.
The bus stop wasn't far but the catch was the wait for it to come. "Which bus are we going to take?" Konan asked while she waited near the bus stop pole. At the top of the pole, there were tags with bus numbers on them that indicated what buses stopped there. Pein looked up and read the numbers out loud, "20... 21... holy shit, there's a 22 bus?" Watching the leader of the group in such shock, the others began to feel under of themselves.
Finally, a bus arrived which turned out to be the 20. The Akatsuki got in but before paying, they asked if the bus stopped at the mall they wanted to go. The driver gave an absent-minded nod, they all paid. Of course, Kakuzu was the last to pay though it took him a while to do it. He could have saved the two dollars for something useful, too... or just locked it away in his bedroom.
Moving to the back of the bus, they all sat down. They got a few weird looks from their cloud-splattered cloaks but no one dared to say a word. Sasori sighed and began to complain to himself. "Damned bus better not take forever to-" he began but got cut off when the bus began to move and tossed him onto the floor. Having his face down on the floor, he trembled before yelling a muffled, "FUCK!" which got the attention of a few people who were sitting near him.
Of course, there was always that one person who had to push the issue though. An old woman frowned at the curse that had been yelled out and carefully made her way to Sasori. "Such language from a child! Are your parents around?" she asked, not even bothering to help him up. Whispering more curses to himself, the small redhead looked up at the elderly woman. "I'm not a child," he replied coldly as he went to sit back in his seat. The response made the woman gasp but then wag a finger, "Don't get fresh with me. I'm sure this isn't the way your parents raised you to behave."
The constant talking from her made Sasori roll his eyes and ignore her. Thankfully, she left him alone and went back to her seat. As she did all of this, Sasori watched her with a smirk. He had a plan for revenge and was now going to put it into play. Making his way to where Kakuzu was, he leaned closer to him. "Hey, think that lady over there has a bunch of change in her pocket." he said with a quick point to her. Of course, he fell for it and snapped his head to see the elderly woman. "Really? No way!" he said quickly but didn't even stick around to hear the response.
Getting beside the woman, he looked at the pocket of her jacket with a smirk. A bunch of change, huh? He thought to himself as he slipped a hand into the pocket. She did nothing but looked out the window, not even noticing Kakuzu's hand in her pocket. Carefully feeling around for any money, he felt what seemed to be paper. It was a joyous discovery as he cheered in his mind. Fuck change, bills are better! As soon as he took hold of the bill, the woman turned and caught him with his hand in her jacket pocket. Not even bothering to say a word, the woman growled and gave him a firm whack on the head.
"What the hell!" Kakuzu cursed in pain, which only made the woman hit him again. "Get away from me, you filthy pick pocket-er!" she shrieked which just got all of the passengers' attention. Quickly releasing the money, he took his hand from her pocket and stood up to get away. Trying to get to the back of the bus with the others, it randomly came to a dead stop and Kakuzu's face hit the floor.
All the way in the front, the driver leaned over to look at what was going on. With a sigh, he stood up and went to get a closer look. "Ma'am, please, no yelling." he told her in a dead voice but then she explained to him about the pick pocketing. The driver looked at Kakuzu who was now trying to get away when he crossed his arms. Taking a step closer to him, he questioned, "Sir, did you try to take her money?" and Kakuzu didn't answer.
Not wanting to put up with any of it, he saw the rest of the Akatsuki in their matching cloaks. Putting two and two together, he frowned, "I'm going to have to ask you guys to get off right now." It caused uproar with them while Kakuzu cursed back, "No fucking way. I just paid two dollars and I'm sure as Hell not leaving!" More words were exchanged, a seat was cut in two thanks to Hidan and voices were raised. It didn't really help much though and only got them kicked out even faster.
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"Well, wasn't that fucking nice?" Hidan whined in a sarcastic tone as he and the others watched the bus continue down the street from the sidewalk. Kisame nodded and then sighed, "Last time we ever take a bus together. Let's take the train home when we're done. We can't get kicked out from there, can we?"
Everyone agreed and then it was time for the game plan. The small group steps forward to be a little closer. "Alright. This is what we do. We'll go to Ikea and split up. Search for things you think we need and met back in the entrance in half an hour." Pein instructed as he looked around to the others. They all agreed and went into the Ikea.
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Once inside, Kakuzu went to one section of the store but to find someone to sell the ring to. He knew his instructions and planned to do it afterwards. It doesn't take half an hour to sell a ring, right? He wondered when he saw a group of people examining some furniture that was set on display. With a clear of the throat, he got most of the people's attention. Taking the ring from his pocket, he showed it to them. "Anyone interested in buying this?" he asked while he held it out for one of the people to see. It was a good start but eventually got him nowhere. This wasn't a start he was looking for and then continued to search for people. By now, he didn't care about Pein's orders. Why waste money on furniture they already had anyway?
Leaving the section, he went to another and did the same. The results were no different and only but him even more annoyed. "Dammit!" Kakuzu scolded out loud, "How can it be so fucking hard to just sell this shit?!" The people that were around gave him an odd look and slowly left. It probably just needs a push... a little lie can't hurt anyone.
The half hour was almost up but he didn't even notice. Putting his sights on his latest victim, he got beside the person. "Hey. Interested in buying this?" he asked, getting straight to the point. So far, this was the most successful person and they picked up the ring to examine it. Looking at Kakuzu, they asked, "What is this?" He didn't answer but looked at the ring. Sticking to the lie he had told yesterday, he said that the ring was silver. Nothing else was said; the person tried on the ring and examined it.
"Ew, it's orange...ew, it's red...ew, it's black!" they said, trying to keep up with the changes in color. Throwing back the ring at Kakuzu they left while he stared on. It was the same reaction and this time, even he saw the ring change color. Looking down at the now gray ring, he seemed very unsure. If it changes color... what the fuck is this? The mental question wasn't a very comforting one but then he lit up at the thought that maybe he could help him sell it. People like color changing rings...right?
With a new view of the ring, he returned it into his pocket and went to find the next person. Wandering into the front of the store, he saw the others as they waved to him. "Kakuzu, get your ass over here. We've been waiting for fucking ever!" Hidan yelled which almost got him kicked out. Oh, crap. That's right. I forgot about that half an hour thing...oops.
"Uh...yeah, I forgot about that. Sorry." he said once he got back with the others. Everyone just shrugged, quickly letting it go. Again, Pein took charge of the conversation, "Did anyone find anything good?" Once that was said, Deidara instantly began to, "Oh, oh, oh!" with a hand in the air. "I found something, hmph!" he said with his hand now waving around in the air. Everyone sighed while Konan asked, "Is it that bird pillow thingy?" which made him gasp. "How'd you know?!" he said in a loud voice but she stood calm. "Because I saw you hugging the stuffing out of it while going, 'Oh my God! So cute, hmph! I want it!'" she explained and the others broke up laughing.
As they laughed, Deidara frowned. "Well, did any of you find anything better, hmph?" he asked, which they nodded to. Turns out, Pein found a sofa, Sasori and Zetsu discovered a T.V., Hidan found a coffee table, Kisame and Konan saw a nice bundle of chairs, Tobi managed to come across a nice rug and Itachi believed he saw...yes, believed, not found or anything because who knows with his eyesight, a nice bookcase. Kakuzu kept quiet since he hadn't even bothered to look. No one said anything about it but probably because they expected something like this from him.
"Alright. Let's vote on the priority of the items. Who thinks what should be the first thing we check out?" Pein asked and got mixed responses but the main one was the television. Even he agreed with this one so he just nodded. Having Sasori and Zetsu lead him and the rest of the group to where they saw the T.V., Kakuzu felt the suspense of it all. That T.V. better not cost a lot! He yelled to himself in his mind but only let out a mumble.
Finally stopping in front of the television, they all smiled at the sight of it. This was defiantly one that they wanted to buy. "How much is it?" Kakuzu asked with slightly suspicion. It was a nice one, he had to admit, but that just meant the cost would be even higher. Looking at the little sticker that was just below it, Zetsu said out loud, "Five hundred." It just wanted to make him cry but he managed to keep himself calm.
"Crap, 500?" Pein asked with a hand on his head, "We only made like...what? 480?" This brought a mixed batch of emotions to them. They wanted it so bad but they were just twenty dollars short. Everyone was quiet until Tobi spoke up. "Tobi has some money!" he declared with a hand down his pocket. It sparked and went to the others as they also said they have some money to pitch in. When everything was said and done, they had enough to pay for the television. If it didn't make him cry then, what Sasori brought up might have. "Hey, does anyone know how much they charge for tax? I almost forgot about that." he said but then turned to see Kakuzu shouting, "TAX?!"
No one bothered to tell him anything since it was Kakuzu just being... Kakuzu. Tossing in what seemed like enough to cover the rent, Kisame cheered, "Alright! Now we can get the T.V.!" Dammit. Why the fuck do they want to waste money on another television?! He continued to shout in his mind. "I'll get a worker to come and help us with it." Sasori told the group before leaving to find a worker. Watching him leave, Kakuzu began to see this what he final good chance at selling the ring. "I...I'll be right back." he suddenly said and rushed not even bothering to hear any of the replies.
Running from group to group of random people, no one bothered to even think twice about purchasing it. Now, he was starting to get desperate since in a matter of minutes, 500 dollars would be flushed down the toilet and the sooner the ring was sold, the better. Coming into a brand new group of people, he paused and began to breathe hard. "Hello. Are you interested in buying this fine ring?" Kakuzu asked one of the people, trying not to sound too direct though he was in a rush to have it sold to someone.
He just blankly looked at Kakuzu and then down to the ring. Taking it up, he began to examine it. "Who is it from? Any top quality maker?" he asked as he turned the ring over to see more of it. Oh fucking Lord, not another one! He screamed, seeing how this male was just like the woman from the yard sale the day before. He didn't even care much though and blurted out a random designer's name. "Oh, really?" he said back with a grin and looked at the ring even closer now. Kakuzu just watched as he bite his bottom lip. So far so good.
The man eventually came to a complete stop when his expression darkened. "This is a fake!" he shouted which made Kakuzu gasp. Dammit! He found out! Having the ring thrown back at him, he started to run away but the male followed. "Faker!" the man yelled after him. All of this really got everyone's attention and even the Akatsuki who were waiting for him in the front of the Ikea store. Seeing their friend running to them with a total stranger behind them, they all had their questions. "LET'S GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!" Kakuzu yelled to them and without a word or a not, they was outside.
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Now in the safety of the train, they all were sitting down. It was then Kakuzu noticed that the television wasn't with them. "Where's the T.V.?" he asked them and Itachi replied, "They're going to deliver it to us." The answer made him nod but then gasp. "Fuck! What could shipping and handling?!" he cried out and Itachi just rolled his eyes, much like the others. Mumbling to himself about it, he looked down at the ring that had been in his fit the entire time. Fucking piece of shit. I can't get rid of this damned thing! He cursed as he stared down at it. Quietly sighing, he put it back into his pocket.
The rest of the train ride was silent and eventually their stop came. Getting off the train, the Akatsuki went up the stairs. Coming outside, the fresh air hit Kakuzu but what also hit him was a thought.
"Hey, did you guys get any change back?"
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Okay, that's all for this chapter. Wishing you guys enjoyed it, hm. As I was typing, I had another "Holy Fuck This Story Is Turning Out To Be Longer Than I Thought" moments. I tend to get them alot, hm. Hugs to all!