Chapter 17 Bonding

Six of us, I counted. Sasuke, Mizuko, Hiko, Ekima, Yoshimitsu and myself; six. We all stood in front of the hideout entrance, double checking our bags. This hideout was around the border of Hi no Kuni and Taki no Kuni, so it was hidden in a rather lush forest but unlike the one in Ta no Kuni, the trees didn't grow too close together. It was around early spring, a bit cold but bearable. Every here and there you'd see some flowers beginning to bloom. Again I stared at my companions, decorated with spots of sunlight.

"Does anyone else find it weird that Orochimaru would send all of us?" Yoshimitsu asked.

Now that he was on a mission, Yoshimitsu was dressed in a grey hanten like shirt, worn under a green haori with long sleeves. His sweats were simple, as were his shoes.

"What does it matter, Yoshi-kun!?" Mizuko said as she folded her arms behind her head.

"No, I think it's strange too." I said. "If Orochimaru was in a hurry, it makes sense why he would send Sasuke-sama and myself but he suggested to bring you guys too because we work well together."

"This is just a inspection mission isn't it?" Ekima asked.

"Yeah, that's why it's weird to send so many people."

"Maybe he knows more than he's telling us." Hiko said, adjusting something hidden by her long sleeves.

"Stop being so paranoid." Mizuko complained. "Let's just go, we can worry about that stuff later. I haven't been sent out in a while."

I became distracted when I noticed Sasuke messing around with a hand held touch screen. He noticed my staring.

"Orochimaru already told you not to try and get this from me." He said. "I won't give it to you no matter how you beg."

He tucked the controller for the Rai Ring in his pocket. I made a pout face at him.

"Everybody got everything?" Ekima asked as she pulled her backpack on.

We all nodded and followed her example.

"Were not that far, we should make it there in about two days if we keep at a steady pace." Ekima said looking at the map.

Sasuke nodded. "Let's go then."

We traveled at a quick pace, stopping only to consult the map and compass or for a water break. Taki no Kuni was a beautiful country with lots of water and greenery. We passed several waterfall and lakes, surrounded by healthy trees. We did our best to avoid passing through any greatly populated areas but occasionally we passed through a small village. I had never been here before so both Ekima and I were greatly fascinated by our surroundings. After a while it began to grow dark and Ekima suggested that we should stop. We made camp near a large waterfall, mainly because it would cover up our voices and smell from any passerbys that might prove to be enemies. Hiko gathered sticks for a fire which Sasuke lighted with a Goukakyu. Mizuko proved useful by catching fish in the river. So there we sat, enjoying our fish. No one had anything to say and I could tell Mizuko was uncomfortable with the silence.

"Hey, Karasu." She said.

I looked up at her with a mouthful of fish.

"Tell us about the Akatsuki members."

I nearly choked and pounded on my chest to get the food to got down.

"Are you crazy!?" I said as I gasped for my air. "I can't tell you that kind of information!"

"I didn't say tell us the secrets of the Akatsuki!" She snapped back. "I meant tell us what kind of weird quirks those guys have."

"I...I guess, I can talk about that."

Suddenly I became the main focus and it put me a bit on edge.

"Well," I began. "I'll start off with Hidan-san and Kakuzu-san. Hidan-san the newest member. He about twenty and foul-mouthed. I mean, really foul-mouthed! He really religious too. It's the Jashin religion or somethin'. The teaching is something along the lines of 'Thou shalt massacre thy neighbor.'"

"Sounds horrible!" Ekima said.

"It is, but overall Hidan-san is alright. We get along and he's funny. But Kakuzu-san is an asshole. He's way to obsessed with money and he's an old grouch! He tried to steal my heart once!"

"Steal your heart?" Mizuko said, skeptically.

"Literally or figuratively?" Hiko asked. " because some old dude hitting on you is kind of creepy."

"No, no. He literally tried to take my heart!" I explained. "He got, like, five hearts, that's how he can live so long. By stealing other people's hearts."

"That's creepy." Ekima said.

"Oh, believe me, the other members are just as bad! There's Sasori-san and Deidara-san. Sasori is from Sunagakure, like me, but he's always hiding in his puppets. I've seen his real face a couple times, though. He around forty but he has the appearance of a teenager because he turned himself into a humanoid puppet. He doesn't age or feel pain. He hates making people wait or to be kept waiting, he can be mean sometimes but he mostly keeps to himself.

Let's see, Deidara-san is like a brother to me, we get along really well. He pretty young compared to the other members, only nineteen. He's a sculpture artist but he always blows up his stuff, he into explosives. I think he used to be a terrorist bomber for higher before he joined Akatsuki. He's also got these weird mouths on his hands. He may seem kind of like a jerk at first, he kind of proud but he's really great, one of the nicest members."

"Aw, sounds like a crush to me Karasu." Mizuko teased.

"It's not like that!" I protested, my face burning a bit. " There's Zetsu-san. I don't know him all that well except for the fact that he's half plant and has two personalities. Oh, and he's a cannibal."

"Okay, now that's just creepy." Mizuko said.

"You lived with these guys?" Hiko asked.

I shrugged. "Yeah, pretty much. Uh, Kisame-san."

"Ooh, ooh!" Mizuko said. "Yeah, how's he?"

"Well, he's pretty sadistic but like Deidara-san he's pretty laid back. You stay out of his hair, you keep you head, simple as that. He's really tall but he respects his partner, even though his a bit younger that him."

"His partner?" Yoshimitsu asked.

I looked over at Sasuke who nodded.

"Itachi-san is his partner."

"Oh yeah, tell us about him!" Mizuko said. "Sasuke's pretty cute, his brother's gotta be freakin sexy!"

Everyone turned to look at Mizuko.

"What?" She said, innocently.

"Yeah, well Itachi-san is rather attractive but, like with Deidara-san, he like a brother to me. In the Akatsuki Itachi-san practically raised me, he even trained me. He's probably the one member I spent the most time with. But he has weird hobbies. He like to go through sweet places, a lot of times he would get me something and now I'm not to big on sweet things. And I was shocked to learn he was a vegetarian! I love meat but he won't touch it! It's kind of funny."

"He sounds kind of the opposite of a guy who would commit genocide." Ekima said.

"I don't know why he did it, he won't tell me but I think he's a really great guy. He always avoids fighting when he can."

As I looked down, fondly remembering when I noticed Sasuke's hands, clenched tightly in his lap.

"Hey, you okay?" I asked, touching his shoulder lightly. "I'll stop if you want."

"No, I'm fine."

"No you're not!" I insisted. "You're kind of pale. If I'm making you uncomfortable let me know."

"Karasu, I'm fine!" He said sternly.

I flinched back a bit. Sasuke rarely raised his tone. An awkward silence fell over the circle.

"I'm setting up for bed." Mizuko announced and stood. "You guys can all sit an stare but I'm tired."

"I'm going too." I said and stood as well.

The rest of the circle soon followed. As I rolled out my bed role, I looked up in the bushes to see a pair of eyes watching me. I looked closer and a fox ran out from the leaves.

"What was that?" Yoshimitsu asked.

"Nothing." I called back.

We set up in a circle, like with the fire, with the exception of Yoshimitsu who was on watch in a tree. He would retire in a couple hours and Hiko would take his place, then Ekima. Mizuko, Sasuke and I were the watch for tomorrow night. Mizuko rolled out her bunk next to mine and removed her vest, revealing the black belly shirt she wore underneath. We all shed any layers beyond the first to make sleep more comfortable.

"See ya tomorrow, Karasu." Mizuko mumbled as she closed her eyes.

"Yeah."

Hiko put out the fire and darkness swept in with the silence.

I woke up in the middle of the night, during Hiko's watch. The curse mark was burning and trying to ignore it didn't work. I stood and made my way over to the river. I waded out into the water until I stood in front of the waterfall, where I wet my hands and rubbed my shoulder with the soothing liquid. I watched my reflection in moving mirror, it writhed steadily. I turned my attention downward, to the foaming area where the waterfall meet the river.

"Is it bothering you again?"

I looked up and saw a silhouette in the reflection. I turned.

"Just a bit."

"We need to work on that a bit more." Sasuke said. "When you learn to control it, it wont bother you as much."

I turned my face down to the water again.

"It gives me nightmares."

"It's a side affect." Sasuke said. "Sometimes they don't go away."

"How did you get the hang of your's so fast?" I asked.

"It was a bit easier after I awakened the second state." He explained. "But the Sound Four isn't around to help you like they did me. You'll just have to learn it the old fashioned way."

"I see."

There was silence.

"Sasuke-sa- !" I began as I looked up but he was gone.

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"How much longer?" Complained Mizuko.

"Five minutes closer than the last time you asked." Hiko said.

"Actually, were here!" Ekima announced.

"Really?" Mizuko asked and ran forward with a burst of energy. "Where?"

"That cave." Ekima pointed.

Indeed a cave sat before us. It was surrounded by overgrown bushes and vines, nearly masking the entrance. With a bit of difficulty, we pushed our way through. The cave was dark and Sasuke lit a flare. The cave was bathed in green light, pushing away the shadows. The walls were moist and vines hung from the stone ceiling. Moss had grown on the floor along with some mushrooms. We headed forward it just kept going.

"How far back is this freakin' cave!" Mizuko said, her voice bouncing off the walls.

Sasuke walked ahead a bit.

"Found it." He said.

As we drew closer we saw his hand rested on a steal door. Sasuke pulled a key from his shirt was about to insert it but…

"It's already open." I said softly as I gave the door a push.

The door swung open with a loud creak. Everyone tensed and Mizuko drew a kunai. We entered cautiously, treading lightly. The further we got into the cave, the more wreaked stuff we found. Broken glass, turned over tables, shattered pillars. Eventually, we began to encounter bodies.

"Everyone's dead." Ekima said in a frightened whisper.

"So this is why Orochimaru hasn't received any recent reports." Yoshimitsu said.

"What do you think happened?" Mizuko asked.

"Who knows?" Hiko answered.

"What do we do now, Sasuke-sama?" I asked.

Sasuke opened his mouth but suddenly stopped and singled for the others to be quite. Everyone stopped moving and held their tongues, listening. A soft rustling sound came from one of the nearby rooms. Sasuke pointed at it with two fingers and we slowly made our way forward. Sasuke pushed the door slightly and it swung open a bit with out a sound. Inside a person in a shinobifuku was flipping through books, only to toss them aside.

What was he looking for?

A rat scurried into the room between my legs. The sound alerted the shinobi who looked straight into my eyes. He jumped up and ran out a door on the other side of the room.

"Dammit!" Sasuke cursed. "Mizuko! Ekima! Yoshimitsu! You go back the way we came and try to catch at the entrance. Karasu, Hiko and myself with follow him."

The three nodded and I ran after Sasuke along with Hiko. We followed the sound of the shinobi's footsteps, turning corners cleanly. Hiko tossed the kunai she was holding but only managed to cut his arm. We began to gain on the black figure but he jumped through a hole in the wall. We continued to pursue him until he launched himself off a cliff. We ran to the edge and found ourselves starring down into a large, but beautiful, canyon. Trees and green grass descended down towards a river that ran through the middle. Some trees were already blooming.

Mizuko, Ekima and Hiko burst out from the trees.

"Did he get away?!" Mizuko asked.

"Yeah." Sasuke mumbled.

"Didn't Orochimaru-sama tell us to catch any trespassers?" Ekima asked. "And bring them in for interrogation?"

"It's too late now." I said.

"We can still track him." Hiko said.

"How?" I asked.

She pointed to the ground at a trail of blood stains.

"I don't miss like that." She said.

Author notes: Uh, not much to say actually. Just a little Akatsuki info for you. XD