A/N okay, I didn't make good on my deadline of updating before sping break ended, but there is a very good reason for that, and this time it's not laziness. Reason: this chapter is a monstrocity. It looks like I'm up to my old tricks of long chapters. Oh well, I hope you guys appreciate it. Now, while there's probably a bunch of things here I need to say, and will probably regret not saying them now, its after midnight here, and I'm simply too tired. So for now

please enjoy.

Ino felt her heart drop like a stone in a lake, so smoothly it barely left a ripple. Time seemed as frozen as she, not daring to twitch as the whisper of a blade grazed her skin. Her breath came in evenly, but shallow, not even appearing as calm. Her heart began to shiver in panic, but the rest of her didn't even do that.

"Now, be so kind as to not move, please," whispered a voice. It was smooth, like warm blood flowing over silk.

"Or I'll cut your little head off," the second was quick to add. Ino felt her throat tighten fearfully. This accent was nothing like the other; it was rough and abrasive, like scraping against the bark of a tree. But underneath the two, there seemed a level of similarity, as though they were different facets of the same voice. As she let out a shuddering breath, in attempt to get more oxygen into her dizzy head, she felt the grip tighten on her arms, and the kunai slice into the first layer of skin.

The hand holding her wrists firmly behind her back was calloused and lean; a typical shinobi's appendage. And the arms contorting her own were obviously strong, but the chest her back was pressed against was not muscular. In fact, it was lumpy, and somewhat soft, thoroughly confusing her. But the cold metal left no room for confusion, and she barely repressed a small noise of fear as a drop of blood slid over her collar bone.

"We can't have you running off to the Hokage, you understand," the soft voice continued. "Now, if you'd be so kind-"

"Shut up." There was a moment of silence as Ino and the other voice tried to understand why the other had been so rudely shushed. She heard an intake of breath as the one was about to retort, but the cruel voice cut him off before he began. "I hear something. Someone's coming." Ino felt the blade leave her throat as the point migrated downwards to dig into her spine.

"Get rid of them quickly," the first voice hissed in her ear, raising goose bumps as curiously cold breath caressed her skin. Now that her jugular was in no immediate danger, Ino dared to nod her affirmative. Then slowly, she turned her head to try to catch a glimpse of the missing nin, but suddenly, the second voice stopped her, snarling in the same ear his friend had hissed in just moments ago.

"And don't you dare turn around."

Ino's head snapped forward like a rubber band. Soon, she felt the tip of the weapon leave her back. She fingered the spot it had assaulted, feeling warmth and drawing back the digits to see red on them. Taking in a deep breath, she turned to see only a battered bonsai tree sitting innocently on the counter, looking lonely and dejected. If it hadn't been for the blood on her fingers and neck, she could almost pretend it had all been a figment of her depressed imagination. But there was blood on her fingers and neck, and right now, she had to worry about someone else.

She hurried to the sink behind the counter and grabbed a paper towel. She wet it and quickly wiped away the crimson liquid that had dripped down her clavicle. She slid a green finger over her small cut, healing it seamlessly. It was easiest to heal yourself more than anything else. She did the same to her back, glad for her midriff baring outfit as it resulted in no stained fabric. No sooner though had she hidden the evidence of her attack than the faint jingle of bells could be heard around the shop and Ino turned to see who her unlucky visitor happened to be.

"Hina-chan," she exclaimed, her voice more panicked than cheery, but luckily, the Hyuuga heiress didn't seem to notice. Ino's first thought had been to tip off whoever the customer was and try to get them to help her. But she had known that it would be fruitless. That was why she had washed away her blood. That Akatsuki was too fast for them to get out; she would only put the other person in danger.

But now it was Hinata, and Hinata knew her almost as well as Shikamaru. She didn't know if she could be able to hide her panic from her; and now the stakes were even higher. If something happened to Hinata because of her own stupidity, she doubted she would be able to forgive herself. She didn't even think she would deserve the forgiveness anyway.

"Hello, Ino-chan," Hinata replied shyly. She was shy yes, but her stutter had gone. Ino had had a hand in that, of course. She had forced the purple haired girl to see how beautiful and wonderful she really was and had been glad to see her finally start to blossom. Hinata made her way over to the counter Ino stood behind. "How was your day?"

"Oh… well." Ino felt herself stumbling and at a loss for words. Her original plan of just getting the customer out as quickly as possible had suddenly just been flung down the drain. Hinata was here just to chat, and Ino had no way to brush her off. Normally, she would be glad to see her friend, and if she suddenly started acting cold and indifferent, Hinata would know something was wrong. "It hasn't been too bad, I suppose. But not great."

"Aw, I'm sorry to hear that," Hinata said, putting a few grocery bags down. Her tone was sincere, like always and Ino knew she meant it. Hinata meant everything she said.

"Oh, don't worry about it," Ino assured her, waving it off like she usually would. "Tell me about your day. You run into Naruto at all, hm," she asked, wiggling her eye brows suggestively, and electing an embarrassed blush. But her face hadn't turned the deep tomato red Ino had been expecting, and that sent the devious wheels turning in her mind.

"No! I didn't see anybody I knew," she defended herself quickly. Ino just gave her an indulgent smirk and nodded knowingly. Hinata pouted, and decided the drop the subject. "But my day's been good so far, I guess." Abruptly, Hinata changed topics as she spotted the little bonsai on her left and the patch of salve that still remained on the trunk. "Oh, you used my medicine! Has it worked so far?"

"Um," Ino gasped, and groped around for an answer in her icy mind. She had to resist the urge to yank Hinata away from the falsely innocuous plant. As she cast around for an answer, she finally settled on the truth. "N-no, not really, but I just put it on today."

"Hm, you should see some sort of improvement by now though," Hinata insisted. She leaned her face so close that some of the longer branches brushed her forehead, pushing back long locks of beautiful deep lavender. In all honesty, Hinata's looks made Ino feel plain in comparison. But that wasn't on the blondes mind right then. Ino jumped and made to grab the girl's shoulder to pull her back as far as possible, but she had to restrain herself. The Akatsuki wouldn't do anything surely. He was almost just as much a prisoner in this situation as she was. And as long as Hinata didn't get too close, or activate her Byakugan, everything should be alright, she told herself. "Ah, yes. See, look." Hinata was pointing at the gash, partially healed by Ino's medical chakra. "It's worked a little bit."

"Huh," Ino exclaimed, peering at the tree as though she hadn't noticed before. Meanwhile, she struggled to think of a topic to distract the heiress from the little tree. There had to be something. Naruto was out of the question since Hinata would just feign even more interest to get away from the subject. Suddenly, Hinata did something that made Ino's stomach drop to her toes.

"It's such an adorable thing. So small," she said, letting out a giggle. She lifted the tray it sat in and played with the leaves with one of her fingers. "Are you going to sell it? I'll buy it if you are."

"N-no! It's not for sale," Ino burst out. She stared at the bonsai as though expecting it to spontaneously combust in her friend's hands. A small part of her brain couldn't help but wryly comment on how she was so terrified of something that seemed so simple and harmless. "Please, can you put it down? It's our first bonsai and I worry that it may be fragile."

"Oh course, I'm sorry," Hinata apologized quickly, setting the plant down and retreating to what Ino deemed a safe distance. The blonde couldn't stop the sigh of relief; though she still wanted to steer the conversation into safer waters. As Ino thought of this, Hinata had perched herself on a stool and was fiddling with her fingers in a way normally only associated with Naruto. But she didn't seem to be thinking of Naruto, her face was the wrong color for that. Seeing her opportunity, Ino sprang on it.

"Now," she began mischievously. Hinata looked up at her suspiciously. "I know you didn't come down here just to talk about our days. What's on your mind Hina-chan?" When the Hyuuga bit her lip and looked down at the ground, not yet ready to answer, Ino began to worry that maybe she had touched on something more dramatic and deeper than she cared to delve into at the moment. Particularly when there was a dangerous missing nin sitting peacefully at her elbow.

"It's Neji," she finally murmured, looking up at Ino with a guilty sort of look in her eyes. If it was what the blonde suspected it to be, than she had definitely jumped into something too deep for her right now. Ino swallowed and opened her mouth in a last ditch effort to defy the signs.

"Did he hurt you?" For the first time ever, Ino prayed the answer was yes.

"No," Hinata replied, making Ino's heart tie itself into a knot. The heiress chewed on her lip for a moment, before actually smiling up at her. A small smile, but a smile none the less. "I think I… care for him." Ino bit back her sharp retort of 'of course you care for him, he's your cousin.' She knew she wasn't talking about that sort of caring. "I think about him so much more than Naruto now. He's always on my mind…" Ino sighed.

"Oh, Hinata-"

"Is it wrong," Hinata unexpectedly cried out, putting her elbows on the table and burying her face in her palms. "Is it wrong that I think about him like this? I mean, he's my cousin, but still…"

"No, Hinata," Ino found herself crooning, putting a hand on the distraught girl's shoulder. "I don't think it's wrong. I think it's good you've gotten over Naruto, that bone head. And it's time that you turn your attentions to someone who may really deserve it." Even if he is your cousin, she continued in her mind. But of course, she didn't dare utter it out loud. After all, Neji was a good man, and if he could make Hinata happy, who was she to judge?

"Thank you, Ino," Hinata said, smiling up at her, her pearly eyes more watery than usual. "You're a good friend." Ino could practically feel her heart melt and she enveloped the smaller girl in a hug. Normally, Ino would continue their conversation; talking about Neji and why she liked him, analyzing her exact feelings so that Hinata could walk away with a plan. But this was not a normal circumstance.

"You know what I think you should do right now, though," Ino asked letting the girl go and retreating back to her side of the counter.

"What?"

"I think you should go home and think on this," she replied. "Just for a little bit longer, and then come back another day for lunch and we'll really talk about it. How's that sound?"

"Good," Hinata agreed, standing up. She scrubbed at her face, getting rid of any remaining tear streaks or discoloration. "Thanks again, Ino. I hope your day goes better than it has so far. I'll see you later." Ino smiled and nodded.

"Bye Hina-chan, see you tomorrow." Ino watched her friend wave good bye and disappear out the door, as though she were watching a life raft float away, leaving her alone in a stormy sea. She didn't turn around. She just waited for the feel of cold metal against her now clammy skin. She wondered briefly why she didn't run when Hinata had reached the door. She may have been able to push to the Hyuuga and herself out and into the open before the Akatsuki could get them. It was a risk, but one that may have been well worth taking.

But she hadn't, and even now, she wondered: why?

"That took longer than I wanted," whispered the voice from behind her, the tell tale bite of metal accompanying it. Ino just nodded and fixed her eyes on the floor, watched a spider make its way into a dark corner.

"I'm sorry," she muttered, not feeling very sorry at all, but the fact that she had said it, spoke volumes. Subdued, she was subdued. There was a small part of her, locked away in a cage somewhere dark with the key missing, that was screaming at her and rattling the bars. It was screaming for her to struggle, disobey, argue. It screamed at her to fucking fight back. Where was her spark?

"Close the shop. I don't want any more visitors," he ordered. Ino nodded again. The press of the kunai to her skin reminded her of exactly where her spark was; it was wisely biding its time, or so she told herself. In any event, struggling, disobeying, or arguing were all out of the question. Though to use her head and start trying to figure a way out of this was not. But Ino did as she was told and started making her way to the door. As she took a step forward, she felt the presence of the kunai leave her back, not following her. She knew though, that if she were to do anything he hadn't asked for, it would be sent flying through the air and impale her where she stood.

As she arrived at the front of the shop, she stole a moment to gaze out the windows. She silently begged and pleaded with everyone who passed to please turn around and just glance in the window and see the trouble she was in. But of course, no one did; no one ever did. Slowly, she flipped back the little wooden sign for the fourth time that day. Again, the shop was closed. She drew what drapes there were then retreated back into the shop, away from prying eyes and would be rescuers. Again the little voice screamed at her. 'You don't need a rescuer, you're a kunoichi damn it, start acting like one.' But it was fading long before it made an impression.

"The back room, there are still too many windows around here," the first voice said. Ino obeyed without question, taking one last look at the windows. Her heart was beating fast now, fearful for itself rather than for Hinata. She swallowed her excess saliva, feeling her mouth go dry and shuffled into the back room, watching her feet, too afraid to see the missing-nin. She didn't want to see him really, not with Kiba's description still clear in her mind.

"I like this better," the second voice said as he followed her into the spacious and secluded room. She was confused, so confused. There were two voices, but everything else pointed to one person. One set of limping footsteps, sounding as though one of the legs was being favored; one mouth whispering in her ear. Finally, frustrated, she turned around to face him. She leaned her lower back against a table, and planted her palms on the surface, on either side of her hips. Then she tilted her head up and glared at him challengingly. Whatever he was going to do to her was already made up in his mind and letting out her fire now would put her in no worse a situation.

The challenging fire died in her eyes at the sight of him.

Vaguely human, only vaguely. Never had Ino laid eyes on something so abnormal. Not disfigured, not deformed, just abnormal. In fact, from what she could see of his face, collar bone and shoulders, he had formed just fine. But his coloring was nothing short of off.

A line, straighter than Ino had thought nature was capable of ran directly down the center of him, dividing him in half. One side was as white as freshly cooked rice, the other darker than even Sasuke's eyes. His own eyes were pupil-less, reminding her of a Hyuuga, but they glowed with an amber light. Ino felt herself almost captivated by them. They lacked the intense cruelty she had expected to see. However, that in itself frightened her. His hair was green and tousled but short in a very practical way. Though of course, Ino was no stranger to foreign hair colors, what with a former best friend with pink and a former long time crush with blue black.

But though all of these strange attributes were more than enough to draw the eye, they weren't what had killed her challenging expression. An image of Shikamaru bringing his hands together like jaws flashed through her mind. "He has a plant on his head that looks, and I quote, like this." A Venus flytrap. Ino had been fascinated by them when she was younger, and all the botanist information stored in her brain poured out unbidden before her mind's eye. Kingdom-plantae; order-caryophyllales; family-droseraceae; genus-dionaea. Height-12 cm; weight-2.2 kg; preferred lighting- partial shade. Carnivorous.

Ino could only stare, wide eyed and slack jawed at this vaguely human creature before her.

"They all react that way," he muttered, and Ino got the distinct impression that it was his white half that had muttered the complaint. She wondered, was it two men with one body, or one man with two sides? To Ino, it seemed like an important distinction to make clear.

"Shut your mouth," he growled. She did so with a snap, feeling a little ashamed of staring actually. Still feeling in shock, she pressed her lips together and closed her eyes briefly. She had to calm down and look at this objectively.

"Who-" Ino cut off as her voice caught in her dry throat. She licked her lips and tried again, trying not to show her fear. "Who are you?"

Zetsu debated over how to answer this question. It wasn't really as straight forward as it sounded. He could give her his name, and that might suffice. But by asking who he was she was also asking of his intentions, where he was from, who he worked her. She already knew the answer to who he worked for, and surely that was all she needed to know. So what was the point of her question?

"That is irrelevant," he replied. He watched the girl's lips pull down in a frown. She seemed to be thinking hard, and his being coy hadn't helped her. Trying to think of some way to outsmart him, he figured, seeing as she obviously couldn't over power him. Well, he highly doubted she could trick him either.

"You're going to get caught you know," the girl suddenly burst out, making Zetsu's eyes widen imperceptivity. Mouthy now, wasn't she? "Konoha ninja will come bursting through that door any moment now. 'Closed' or not!" Zetsu's eyes relaxed once more. He was all too familiar with this ploy, designed to make him doubt his own security. The bluff was easy to detect in the set of her jaw and the wateriness of her eyes. Had she herself believed what she had said, she would look much more relaxed. He allowed himself a slight smirk, and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Are you threatening us," he purred softly, in a dangerous tone. He saw her bravado façade falter and he found it amusing. How dumb did people think all criminals were? He had had that scare tactic used on him many times, and he was one who usually avoided such face to face confrontations. He was intelligent enough to know whether or not he had been found out.

" Maybe," she replied guardedly. She swallowed and lifted her chin. The action displayed her open neck, a challenge that dated back to when humans were no more than animals. It was an instinctual move that was not lost on him. "I tipped off Hinata." The girl that had interrupted them before, he recalled. "By now she will have already made it to Tsunade, and the ANBU are on their way." She emphasized her point with a curt nod of confirmation. Zetsu just watched her. Her fists clenched. "What? You don't believe me?"

"No," he replied simply, after a pause in which he had allowed her over active and detrimental thoughts to undermine her own confidence. He watched her face fall, seeing her false hope finally become nonexistent. Her eyes darted around quickly, looking for some sort of weapon, but she didn't find any, just as he knew she wouldn't.

"You tried too hard to make it plausible," he explained. "No one would try that hard on the truth."

"It was pretty dumb actually," he muttered. The slight movement of her fingers clenching and unclenching caught his eye, stopping him from saying more. If he continued to back her into a corner, she would strike out like a wounded animal. He was confident he could take her, but he didn't want a crazed kunoichi on his hands. It was a balancing act, scared enough that she was obedient, not so scared that she was desperate.

"Don't worry too much," he assured her, his voice as close to soothing as it could get. "Our business here is simple. Your cooperation is all we need." He saw something change in her face then. It hadn't been what he had intended, but he wasn't sure exactly what it was either. She looked at him more easily all of a sudden, not as afraid. The hostile way she stood, the distance of between her feet and the set of her shoulders all eased away. Something akin to hope seemed to have taken root in her eyes. But not the hope of survival like he had meant to put there, a hope of something else that he wasn't entirely comfortable with, something like fulfillment.

"Are you going to hurt the people of Konoha," she demanded. He was somewhat taken aback by the confidence in her voice. Not the fake and forced kind of before, but the quiet self assured sort. The kind only used when someone is in a place they are comfortable in. There was no more tremble in her voice. Her tone was almost as if she were striking a bargain with him, but he didn't remember proposing any deals.

"I don't plan on it, yet," he answered honestly, bewildered. This seemed to satisfy her somewhat and she nodded, looking down at the ground thoughtfully, as though pondering whether or not she would agree to these terms. "It's not a choice thing. You don't cause any problems or you die." She looked back up at him with a sardonic smile on her lips. He only frowned inwardly.

"That sounds like a choice to me," she replied. He sighed. Dying had never seemed like a real choice to him. "But as long as no harm comes to Konoha, its inhabitants, or to me, I'll cooperate."

As long as you still need me to, she continued, though almost subconsciously in her mind. It was that word, that word that had gotten her in her most vulnerable spot. Almost all it had taken was that simple word, and she had agreed to be of almost no trouble. Need. He needed her to cooperate. She glanced down and to the side as she took a steadying breath. There was that small angry part of her, horrified that she wasn't fighting this village traitor to the death, all for her own selfish reasons. Most of her though, was silent.

"Well then, I suppose, Yamanaka Ino-" Ino had jerked her head back up to watch the missing-nin when she had heard his voice. He took a step towards her, but that was when his sentence was cut off. He lurched forward, a small gasp of pain issuing from his lips. He curved over, as though clutching his side, though the sleeves of his large cloak hung loose. If he hadn't been restraining her with them minutes ago, she would have though he didn't even have any arms.

Without thinking, the medic in Ino stepped forward, grabbing his shoulders and helping to support his weight. It wasn't until the blow was already well on its way that she realized her mistake. All the air was driven out of Ino's lungs as a kick buried itself in her stomach, and a stinging backhand sent her crashing into the cabinets on the other side of the room. Dazed, Ino could only crumple into a heap at the base of the wall, trying to remember how she had gotten there.

It had happened so fast. She hadn't even seen it coming. No blurred fists or feet, just pain and the sensation of flying. As her brain struggled to rewire itself after the impact, her first coherent thought, was that she was an idiot. Her instant reaction had been to help the injured man. The knowledge of who he was just hadn't managed to catch up. She groaned, pushing and dragging herself to her feet and leaning heavily against the wall. "I'm sorry," she muttered. Despite the fact that it was her that had been struck across the room, she couldn't shake the feeling that it was she that had done wrong.

"Don't touch us," he snarled at her, his amber eyes fierce. Ino swallowed the blood in her mouth, and nodded. Her breath had returned to her and she clutched her face, already feeling the heat of a bruise forming there. He was leaning, subtly now, on a table, letting it bear some of his weight. Ino bit her lip, watching him warily now, fearful of another outburst.

"Are you a medic," asked the soft voice thoughtfully. He had cocked his head now, regarding her as though assessing her value. It was strange how he could be both furious and curious at the same time. Ino nodded once, he must know that she was, having spent most of the day beside her. "Then you can heal us?"

"Yes, I can," she replied, and without being sure of exactly why, she felt the need to tack on, "easily." He nodded, pondering. She could practically see his brain at work. It was like a watching Shikamaru play shogi, mapping out his next fifty moves in a matter of seconds. But there was something different, something that unsettled her and made her wonder exactly what was going on within the mind of the man before her.

When Shikamaru was thinking hard, he looked serene, almost asleep. But emotions were flitting and jerking across this man's face as though he were having a mini seizure. Frustration, anger, exasperation, confusion, it all showed on his features though briefly and haphazardly. It made her press up against the wall on an instinctual effort to get away from the unnaturalness of it. Finally, his neck suddenly jerked and he was staring at her once again, giving her his full attention.

"Fine, we'll stay here," he spat, as though they had been arguing about it for some time and she had just won. He managed to look miffed and triumphant at the same time, puzzling her. But she could only nod her acceptance.

"Oh…kay. Where will you be exactly," she asked, not really understanding what he was getting at. Here in this room, this shop, this village? What did he want of her?

"Here!"

"We'd like to stay in the bonsai," he explained, smoothing over his previous rude answer. "On the counter, where we can see all the customers." He pinned her with a stare, as though daring her to object. She didn't, but for some reason she felt her mouth open anyway.

"You're injured," she began. The little voice started up again. She shouldn't go through with what she was about to suggest. Had the bruises on her cheek and stomach taught her nothing? She shouldn't, but she did. "My apartment is above this store. It would be better for you if you stayed there. You can still stay in the bonsai when I open up the shop," she added quickly, hoping now that he wouldn't find her offer suspicious.

"I guess I can live with that. Even if it's still a bad idea," he muttered in grudging agreement.

"You're too kind," was the slithering reply that really got to her. She nodded, and it was now that the rationality of her decision hit her. By having him close at all times, she would be able to stick an eye on him. She could keep tabs on him and watch to make sure that he made good on his agreement of not hurting anyone from Konoha. She may also be able to find a way to tell Tsunade, or anyone really, about what was happening.

"I have to close up the shop properly now," she said, lifting off the wall and turning towards the door. He made no move to stop her as she stepped into the main part of the shop. He had no reason to. They had discussed what needed to be discussed, and he had gotten what he wanted. And she had gotten herself into a very deep hole.

And for very selfish reasons.

She pushed them away. She had done what she had done and in her heart she knew why she had done it. But that wasn't relevant, not anymore. She filled up a watering can, and began hydrating all her beloved plants. The plants that needed her. She could feel bright yellow eyes drilling into her; watching her every move. She could sense the kunai targeting her spine, just waiting for her to make a break for it. But she ignored it all. She watered and trimmed, being sure that every one of them had been taken care of. Then she counted the money in the cash register, disappointed by it. It appeared that her family would have to make yet another cut back.

"Are you done yet," he suddenly snapped as she bent down to lock the measly earnings in the safe behind the counter. She looked up and scowled at him, already irritated by her family's rapidly plunging budget.

"Almost! Hold your horses," she snapped back with equal ferocity. The plant man didn't reply. With a spin of the combination lock, she secured the money and stood up, brushing herself off. "Okay, now I'm done." She jerked her head towards a flight of stairs. "I live right up there."

"Lead the way," he demanded, twirling a kunai around a snow white thumb. So he did have hands. Ino's eyes darted from the knife up the man's face. Then she shook her head.

"Tell me what your name is first," she said, cautious but determined at the same time. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Why?" Blunt.

"Because I've just invited you into my home, and I'd like to know what to call you," she replied in the sassiest tone she dared to use. She saw the corner of his mouth turn up in a smirk that made her heart beat just a bit faster. She put her hands on her hips, trying to look just that much more confident.

"Zetsu, should suffice," he said, something in his voice that Ino chose to interpret as sadistic amusement. She nodded slowly, as though deciding that for now, she would accept that and let him off the hook. She simply didn't want to push her luck.

"Okay," she said, and brushed past him to reach the stairs. She knew now why the chest she had been pressed against was so lumpy and soft. She shivered at the thought of the ominous plant and the dark shadow it cast down on her as it towered at her back. The creepy feeling seemed only enhanced by the sound of his uneven gait. When they finally reached her door, she found herself fumbling with her keys. She kept trying to jam it in the key hope, but her trembling hands seemed to have lost the ability to aim.

Suddenly, a black hand impatiently plucked the keys from her fingers. She froze, her eyes widening in shock. He was still behind her, but remarkably closer now. An arm was slipped around her side, and she subconsciously shifted nearer to it. She watched dexterous fingers flip the keys on her key ring until they came to the right one. They slid it in silently, turning it until there was an audible click. Then they turned the knob and pushed the door open. Ino felt him nudge her from behind and she hurried inside, hearing him shut the door behind them.

She glanced around her apartment feeling slightly ashamed as it was very much on the small side. She turned around to watch Zetsu as he took in his surroundings. His arms had disappeared within his fly trap once more, along with her keys she noted with some annoyance.

"Excuse me, those were mine," she said, placing a hand on her hip and reaching out her other one, palm up. She beckoned with her fingers pointedly. "Give 'em back."

"No."

"I need them," Ino insisted, not quite sure what to make of this. He couldn't just take her keys. What was she supposed to do without them? And as far as she was concerned, that was just giving him way too much freedom, not that he probably couldn't pick any lock he came across anyway. But she couldn't. She motioned for them again. "Please give them back."

"No." This one he emphasized with a shake of his head. Ino bit her lip, tapping her foot nervously. A mere inconvenience, she told herself. Easily overcome, just a mere inconvenience.

"Once you heal us, you'll get them back," he finally reasoned. Stifling a sigh of relief, Ino nodded. Then abruptly, he turned and began making his way to the kitchen. Frowning, she trailed after him. Without any invitation at all, a black hand grabbed the handle of the refrigerator and pulled it open. Ino raised an eyebrow at his manners, though really, she hadn't expected much.

"It's polite to ask at least first, you know," she heard him mutter to himself. To himself. She hovered behind him, watching with sick fascination the mentally unstable man before her.

"I don't care. I'm hungry," he snapped back. He dug around one handedly a bit more. He obviously wasn't pleased with the contents of her fridge. "And you said we couldn't eat her." Ino took a step backwards as he jerked his head in her direction. The word carnivorous floated through her mind once more, but not cannibalistic. "Where do you keep the meat?"

It took Zetsu turning around and pinning her with another one of those stares with his enthralling eyes for her to realize the question was directed at her. She beckoned to the box above the fridge. "In the freezer. I only put it in the fridge if I'm going to eat it soon."

Zetsu straightened up from his bent position and closed the door. Opening the freezer, it took him only moments to pull out the frosted plastic bag with the hunk of raw beef in it that Chouji had given to her as a present. He had told her she was thin and beautiful enough already and that she should eat more. She watched as he opened it up and took a whiff. A wide smile spread across his face.

Then though, he did the dual action thing he had done before. He remained obsessed with the meat he held, but simultaneously swept his eyes over her appraisingly. Ino felt herself faltering under his gaze, and she couldn't stop herself from stuttering.

"D-do you want me to cook that," she asked uncertainly. It wouldn't be an easy task, as it was still frozen solid, but for the insane Akatsuki in her kitchen, she could probably find a way to manage it. But he just smirked and took it out of the bag, massaging and softening the raw meat with his bare hands.

"That won't be necessary," he replied, a hint of an exasperated sigh in his voice, though she didn't think it was directed at her so much as his other side. She felt her mouth pull down in a frown at the enigmatic response. She wasn't entirely sure whether she wanted to understand what he meant by that. "Go clean yourself up," he ordered suddenly, jolting her out of the dark turn her thoughts had been taking. "When you're done, you can heal us." A white hand gestured towards the side he had been favoring.

Ino could only nod and obediently retreat out of the kitchen. She wasn't comfortable just leaving him to roam, unchecked and unsupervised, but she saw no other option. And besides, even if she were there when he did something out of line, how would she stop him? There was nothing she could do now, but comply with him and try to appear to hold some upper hand.

Zetsu watched her go carefully seeing the obedience in her eyes. He had her under control, she recognized him as the alpha male, but for how long he wasn't sure. His hands were tied just as much as her own, and the key to success lie in not letting her know it. All he had to do was keep he scared and uncertain. But she was already uncertain, insecure in her own worth. He could use that to his advantage.

"Would you quit thinking so hard for four seconds," he suddenly snapped, scowling. He was still working hard on the frozen meant, determined to put some squelching flesh in his stomach. He hadn't eaten in some time, and the pain in his rumbling middle was beginning to make itself known. "You're making my head hurt. And you got us into this, so quit complaining."

With a small sigh, he allowed his thoughts to finally fall silent. He shoved a corner of the meat into his mouth and tore at it viciously. It was cold, hard, and tasteless, but it was flesh, and he gladly allowed the bloody saliva to dribble down his chin. The most enjoyable part of all though, was the temporary unity of his dual personality. For once, they were both silent, and he could almost pretend that he had only one mind.

He heard the tell tale sounds of a shower and glanced to where he now knew the bathroom to be. She would be awhile he supposed. Plenty of time to work on filling his stomach. He proceeded to ignore the many sounds she was making as she clumsily bathed and sank back into the bliss of not thinking so hard.

After finishing his meal and feeling somewhat sated, Zetsu tossed the bloody bag into the trashcan he had found and dragged his wrist across his mouth. He licked away any remnants, then wandered back into the small living room. A couch, a chair, both very soft and squishy, a book shelf full of botany information and a sprinkling of trashy romance novels, an unused looking television with a dusty remote; that was it. It was almost sparse.

But the couch he found himself sinking into was soft and comfortable, and it made his weary muscles realize their ache. He would not spy tonight, he decided thoughtlessly. He deserved a night of actually sleeping. In fact, he could feel his eyes falling closed now…

"Excuse me." He forced his eyes back open, unsure of when they had actually closed. He looked up to see the girl hovering beside his couch, a medical kit in her hand. "I can tend to those now." He nodded, a white hand beginning to undo the buttons of his cloak slowly. Simultaneously though, he was surveying the mediocre kunoichi in front of him.

She had left the bruise that had blossomed across her left cheek. He had put that there. Not intentionally, but she had startled him. He wondered why she had kept it, when as a medic she could so easily make it disappear. Her clothes were less revealing now, just baggy pajamas, but he assumed she had left the one he had no doubt kicked into her stomach as well.

Having undone most of the buttons of his cloak, he let it fall down low around his hips. He watched Ino carefully as she stared at his fly trap, which was still semi-closed around his body. Her eyes were filled with horror, curiosity, and fascination. Of course, if she were any botanist worth her weight in seeds, she would be interested in his appearance. Slowly, he opened it up, revealing inch by inch his bare chest and the half infected gashes decorating it. The plant opened wide around him, as though they were jaws unhinged.

He stood up and took a step towards the medic, who was busy staring wide eyes at his little collection of injuries. He had been found by a group of ANBU a week or so back while scouting the parameters of the village. He probably would not have sustained as many if he had simply fought them instead of trying to run away and avoid them. He hadn't wanted an all out fight, but eventually it was inevitable. In the end, it had been worth it with three bodies to feast on, but the result was one cracked rib and three slices of varying depth that he had never bothered to clean. Not to mention the cut he had received while running from the Inuzukas.

"Those are disgusting," the blonde suddenly blurted out, staring at him with a curled lip. "It wouldn't have taken too long to just put a few bandages on those, you know. Then you wouldn't have these maggot-infested, gross… things." Once again, Zetsu was taken aback by her forceful tone of voice and blatant speaking of her mind. He glanced down at his chest.

"I see no maggots," he replied blankly. Some pus, perhaps. Maybe a lot of pus, and the edges looked particularly ragged and dead, but he saw no grubs. She had a tendency to exaggerate then, he supposed.

"Just suck it up and fix them would you," he demanded. "I have a broken rib, too." The girl glanced up at his face again, and he saw the proper amount of fear in her eyes. He had to keep it there. He had to stay in control. He stifled a smirk as she began inspecting his chest meekly. A shiver rippled across her skin as she brushed a tip on his flytrap, and she flinched away.

"I'm gonna have to clean these before I can do anything else," she said finally, opening her little kit. She pulled out some antiseptic liquid and a strange metal tool he didn't like the look of. He eyed it warily as she twirled it around in her fingers. She grabbed up a little tray, too. "Alright, this is probably going to hurt, but I'm sure it's nothing you can't handle." He detected the bit of sarcasm there and frowned; those were threatening words.

Painfully, and obviously not trying to be gentle, she began scratching and scraping the infected sores with her little metal object. The pus and dead skin sloughing off into a stinking pile on the tray. The girl herself looked like she was fighting the gag reflex, and it wasn't even coming off of her. Every time she dragged the cold metal against his raw flesh he winced. It hurt more than actually getting the wounds, and the stench was unbearable. Stuck in the middle of the leaf village, this girl's hands all over him, a painful healing process, and the inability to breathe through his nose, he gritted his teeth. Nothing he couldn't handle, he forcefully reminded himself. All of this…

Nothing he couldn't handle.

A/N I really hope you guys like it. I worked really hard on this chapter, and I've gone over it so much, I really don't have a feel for if its any good anymore... If that makes any sense. I hope you guys enjoyed it, and so please please please review. Yes ALL of you. I'm talking to you, that's right, you, the one on the computer. Wow... it's late. Okay, just leave a review, you know the drill.

But I really hope you guys like, I live to serve. Hope to see you all next time. Bye bye.

~Yuki