A/N: Yay, another chapter! I got some really nice reviews, so I decided to update early. Sorry if this chapter is short, but it's all I have at the moment. I have a few ideas for how Tsume is gonna interact with Tobi and Deidara. I know that Tsume likes fireworks, and that'll give her something to talk (sorta) about with Deidara. But I don't know all that much about Tobi. If anyone has ideas, please tell me. I haven't really written an Akatsuki fic before, so I'm a tad lost. And again, I need ideas for the story. Interactions, chapters, fluff moments () anything.
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Tsume awoke slowly, her senses gradually returning. She yawned, and snuggled closer to the warmth that surrounded her. A faint smile curved Tsume's lips when the warmth remained, still wrapped comfortingly around her. But her peaceful state of gradual wakefulness ended when Kisame's voice broke in on her.
"Warming up to me already, are you, onna?" he said, a smirk in his voice.
Tsume jumped, eyes snapping open to find herself looking up into Kisame's grinning face. Face flushing, Tsume wiggled in Kisame's arms and effectively tumbled onto the ground. She hissed in pain when she fell, biting her bottom lip. After she had pulled herself into a sitting position, she lifted her eyes to Kisame, and gave him a look of mild reproach. Then she blinked in slight surprise at herself. It was true that she had a mostly passive nature, but she wasn't completely docile either. She had some pride, at least. But this was hardly the time for personal pride.
"Ah, so you do have a spine after all," Kisame laughed, smiling toothily.
Tsume had to throttle the urge to stick her tongue out at Kisame. She found herself mentally kicking herself for acting so impudent. Survival was the goal here, not acting like a child! She shouldn't do anything that would annoy either Kisame or Itachi. And speaking of Itachi . . . where was he?
"Itachi left early," Kisame said, seeming to read Tsume's thoughts. "We'll have to go quickly to catch up with him."
Tsume nodded, rising to her feet. She watched as Kisame walked over to the massive sword that she had seen earlier, and attached it to the wide belt that he wore diagonally across his back and chest. Then he turned back to Tsume. He looked at her for a moment before striding past her towards the mouth of the cave. Tsume followed him outside, eyes turning to the east as the sun began to rise.
"Dawn," she thought. "It's just like it was back then." Tsume's mind began to drift, lapsing back into days long past and better left forgotten. She felt tears sting her eyes, and she quickly shook her head to rid her mind of the thoughts before they could take root.
"Onna," Kisame said, "come."
Tsume jumped slightly, and nodded, walking over towards Kisame. She stopped when she came before him, and looked up at him questioningly. Kisame tilted his head to the side, regarding her with an unreadable expression. Then he stepped forward, and caught Tsume up in his arms, earning a startled gasp and a sharpish look.
Kisame grinned again. "Got some spunk in you after all, huh?" he remarked, making Tsume blush. Then Kisame had left the ground, carrying Tsume against his chest as he leaped through the branches in a southerly direction. At first, Tsume clung to Kisame in fear, keeping her eyes tightly shut against the rising and falling motion of Kisame's movements. But soon, Tsume's body became accustomed to the movement, and dared to open her eyes.
The green foliage flew past at an alarming rate, and Tsume felt a slight thrill of exhilaration in the pit of her stomach every time Kisame rose. Again, despite her fear, Tsume found herself smiling. It was odd, she realized, that she was smiling at the time when her life was in the most danger. Tsume's smile became sad. Even before her life had been torn to shreds, Tsume hadn't smiled like she was.
"Even if I die now," Tsume thought, "at least I'll have smiled."
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Kisame came upon Itachi not long after, landing silently beside him at the edge of the forest. As Tsume's feet touched the ground she looked ahead, and saw the outskirts of a small town. She looked to Itachi, and started slightly when she found him looking at her. Tsume had been too scared to notice before, but now she realized that Itachi's eyes were red, with an odd black pattern circling in the crimson circle.
"Sharingan?" Tsume wondered, thinking back to some of the pictures from books that she had read when she was younger. "That would make this man an Uchiha." But even as Tsume looked on, the red faded away, only to be replaced by an equally piercing gaze of sharp onyx. Tsume bowed her head respectfully and looked away. Then she looked up at Kisame, asking what was going to happen next with her eyes, and hoping that the shark-nin would understand.
But before Kisame could answer, a shrill cry rang out above the three. Tsume looked up, recognizing the call of a hawk. Sure enough, a brown hawk was circling overhead, calling out again. Kisame and Itachi raised their gazes as well and, as they watched, the hawk came lower. Tsume picked out a small scroll fixed to its back. Itachi held out one arm for the bird to land on. It veered towards him for a moment, but then swerved at the last second to land on Tsume's shoulder.
Tsume winced at the feel of the bird's sharp claws on her skin, but she let the bird remain. She turned her head to look at the bird, and found it looking into her face with inquisitive yellow eyes. It trilled softly in her ear, easing its grip on her shoulder. Tsume relaxed her shoulders and tilted her head to the side, watching the bird.
"Would ya look at that?" Kisame said. "Seems the old bird likes you, onna."
Itachi looked at the bird with slight impatience. He made a small sound, holding out his arm. Trilling again, the bird left Tsume's shoulder to alight on Itachi's outstretched arm. Using his free hand, Itachi relived the bird of the scroll. Once free of its burden, the hawk returned to Tsume's shoulder, clicking its beak and preening her hair.
Itachi unrolled the scroll, his black eyes scanning the neat script. His brows furrowed ever so slightly, and Tsume guessed that it was his way of showing annoyance. Now that Tsume had a chance to think about it, she realized that both Kisame and Itachi were unique individuals. Not only were they ninja; that was beside the point. They both wore the same odd cloaks, and Tsume had noticed that they each wore similar rings. Both their forehead protectors—Kisame's from Kirigakure and Itachi's from Konohagakure—had deep gashes across the respective symbols. Itachi was seemed to be an epitome of deadly elegance, and it intrigued Tsume. Kisame's sword was another matter entirely, and he looked like shark, for Kami's sake! And he was blue!
Then Itachi spoke. "We're to meet up with Deidara and Tobi at the local inn," he said simply, rolling up the scroll and stowing it inside his cloak. "There's a mission that requires all four of us."
Kisame's face turned to an expression of annoyance. "Great, working with a mad bomber artist and a, a . . . a Tobi. Just wonderful," he sighed.
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A/N: There's chapter two of Unspoken. Kinda a filler chapter, but I hope you like it. As of now, I have nothing else written for this story . . . cries Ideas are welcome, but flames are not. Thank you! R & R!