I am so sorry about the previous doc I had up. I was in a hurry and didn't go over it. But since I caught the flu I had time to go over and redo it, however it was just fixing the grammatical errors and what not. Though out of habit I added a little detail. Enjoy ^^

Chapter Two – Meaning of Life

Akuji awoke with a small moan as the morning light shown through her window and down onto her face. She sat up and blinked a few times to get used to the bright light. She rubbed her eyes, and then proceeded to stretch out her limbs until she heard the satisfying cracks, and pops that came from her bones. With a sigh she stood up and looked around the bland room she stayed in. It was a tanish color from the ceiling to the carpet that covered the floor. She had a simple brown dresser and a twin sized bed in the corner. Accompanying the bed a small, little bed sized table sat next to the bed, and it matched the dresser that sat in the corner. A black lamp with a tan shade sat atop the small table.

She cracked her neck as she moved on to the small bathroom attached to her bedroom. The walls and ceiling of the bathroom were a light, baby blue color. The other objects were white, like the toilet, sink and shower. A very calm and peaceful room, it never allowed her to have any bad thoughts since, to her, it was so playful. With a smile she slipped of her undergarments and slipped into the shower. She didn't get out until her hair smelled like her favorite scent, banana and coconut.

As she dried herself off she gazed at herself in the mirror. Her petite body frame, and pale skin. Her crystal blue eyes, and her platinum hair. Her soft child-like features and her women-like body. It all confused her, why did she have to look so different than anybody else? But not him. Her mind had wandered to the man from last night. He was like her as well, platinum hair, unusual magenta eyes. She shook the crazy thoughts from her head, why was she thinking about him? She would probably never see him again.

As she finished drying herself off, her hand brushed over a large, awkward looking scar. It ran from just above her right thigh to where there the leg meets the abdomen, and it stopped roughly to just about her other leg. As she looked at it she tried to remember how she obtained it but the thought never came to her. It was one of many mysteries about herself that she desperately wanted to solve. Though one thing that she concluded was that she must have gotten it before she met Daren, since anything before that time was fuzzy.

Another question itched at the back of her mind. Why hadn't it healed properly? Akuji had amazing self-healing abilities, her cells divided at almost five times the normal rate. She could also heal others just by applying some of her charka and touching them. However her healing abilities was about all she had in terms of jutsu. Daren has taken the liberty of training the young girl and found out several interesting tid bits about her. She had little to no Taijutsu skills; her body was just not built for it. Ninjutsu and Kenjutsu were also out of her reach because she never had any skills for them, and they always blew back into her face. Though she was perfect for Genjutsu, her strong, developed mind had allowed her to easily master most of the genjutsus thrown at her.

With a sigh Akuji walked out of her small bathroom with the towel wrapped around her small figure. She walked over to her dresser and began rooting through it. She picked out a few of the lucky garments that had managed to avoid being thrown onto the floor, and threw them onto her bed were she plopped down next to them. Reaching down into the small drawer she pulled out a tightly bound roll of medical wrap. She undid the clasp and began to wrap the fabric over her small frame. Starting just above her medium sized breasts she worked it down until it stopped just above her navel, were she then tucked it behind itself. Akuji then pulled out a long fishnet shirt from the small pile she had on her bed, and pulled the tight fitting garment onto her body. She finished off the ensemble with a light blue tank top, that hung right were the medical wrap stopped, and a pair of loose fitting, black pants.

With a smile she trotted out to her small little kitchen. It had the basic supplies, nothing too special. She swung the fridge door open and grabbed out a bright red apple, which she then proceeded to stick in-between her teeth as she walked to her front door. Her boots and winter cloak were lying on the floor were she had stripped them off the night before. Akuji was just too tired to care and she smiled at her own laziness.

Taking a bite out of the apple she reached down and pulled on her boots, tucking her pants leg deep inside the protective footwear. With her free hand she scooped the cloak up and threw it over her shoulders. The black fabric meshed nicely with her current outfit and it also kept her protected from the harsh tundra weather. Tying the cloak's strings together and flipping the hood over her head she grinned.

"I'll show up early and surprise onii-san." Akuji chimed as she munched on her apple. She truly didn't know what she would do without him. He gave her everything she had. The small house, money for her food, and once in awhile when he could spare it he would give her a little extra so she could get something nice for herself, but she regularly refused it. That's probably why her house was so bare, but she didn't think anything of it.

As much as she wanted too and as much as she bugged him, they didn't live together. Every time she would ask him why they couldn't he would always tell her that there were complications, and he didn't want to get her involved.

Akuji huffed at the thought but she didn't usually push the question. She hated bothering him, and did anything she had too in order to help him. Though today she felt like being a bother. She was absolutely determined to get him before he woke up, (he usually fell asleep at the shop instead of at his house) and this time she would succeed. Last time he was slouched over the counter pretending to be asleep as she approached him. He had jumped up and screamed out when she was close enough causing her to jump out of her skin. She grinned and ran through the door, throwing the apple core into a small trashcan that was sitting next to the door. She sprinted out, running as fast as she could.

Thoughts of how perfect this day was going to be kept flowing through her head as she blundered through the pure, white snow.

~~~~~~~~Earlier that night~~~~~~~~~

Kakuzu sat perched on a giant boulder, his multi-colored eyes narrowed as he scanned the tree line for any movement in the winter night. Hidan's footsteps could be seen walking into the dark forest, disappearing into the trees that surrounded the small clearing. Kakuzu had made the albino priest search for his weapon by himself, since it wasn't his, and it was his own fault for losing it. He was already tired of looking for the damn thing and personally he didn't give a flying fuck what happened to the weapon. But because of Hidan's constant nagging and bitching they were forced to stop.

As Kakuzu waited he contemplated on leaving the dumb ass several times, and make him head for the base on his own. However something in the back of his mind clicked and he felt a nagging suspicion that is he left the Jashinist would be even louder and more annoying than before. So with great resentment he decided it was better to wait for Hidan.

Eventually, a few minutes later, he pulled out a small (at least to him) wad of bills and began flipping through the green slips of paper. Racking through the money had made him concentrate on the numbers rather than his short and getting shorter temper, and the man who had made it boil at almost deadly levels. In a way it was his therapy, his own way of calming himself down. Though he could only do it when Hidan wasn't around, which was rare, since the man tempted his nerves in a way so obnoxious that nothing could calm him down. However, now that the miser was alone it helped a considerable amount.

With a sigh he counted through the pile a fifth time, and after he was certain the amount remained the same each time he shoved it back into his cloak. Another sigh escaped his lips as he tried to get comfortable leaning back on the rock he was perched upon. His eyes opened as his glare pierced through the night and onto the woods. The calm feeling he had obtained already began to vanish as his thoughts shifted to how long the man was taking.

'If he doesn't arrive soon I'll-' His violent thought was cut off by a fuzzy feeling he got in the back of his head. The slightly overwhelming feeling was followed closely by a single word that radiated off the walls of his mind. "Report."

The miser sighed as his leader's voice sounded through his head. Reporting to the man was not the first thing he wanted to do; however he had no choice. "Hai Leader-sama." His deep voice resonated. "We had to take a small detour because Hidan misplaced his scythe and he refuses to leave without the damn thing."

"Detour?" Was all Pein said.

"Yes detour. We are now deep within the Tundra's of the Land of Snow." Kakuzu spat back. His temper had reached its peak and it wasn't long before it would burst forth.

"Hmm…well you're not going to like this. I have heard from the man I hired a while ago that my package is ready. It can be picked up in the Land of Snow, and he said in the northern tundra's. Isn't that close to where you and Hidan are?" Kakuzu gritted his teeth and Pein sighed. He could almost feel the miser's temperament. "We are suppose to meet one of his subordinates to pick it up. Find this woman, my package. Get her by any means necessary. I wouldn't be surprised if they aren't as willing to hand her over as much as they say they are." Pein sent a mental image of the target to Kakuzu.

"Let me guess. The only reason you are sending us on this wild goose chase is because Hidan and me are the closest?" Kakuzu could almost feel the bastard grin. "You should know better than to send us on a retrieval mission." Kakuzu hated to admit it but his temper was not a good trait for retrieval missions, and Hidan's brutal, bloody fighting techniques didn't help the mix.

"Yes, I realize this. I would prefer to send Itachi and Kisame, however they are in the Land of Fire. They have their own mission to attend to. You know that the retrieval of the Jinchuriki are top priority."

Growling Kakuzu asked. "What are the conditions and limitations of the capture?"

"Alive. She needs to be kept alive and intact." Pein's voice grew stern. "Do not kill her Kakuzu. She is very valuable, and I think out of all of us you'll be the one to appreciate her abilities the most."

Kakuzu questioned what he meant but let it pass. Knowing Pein he'd find out what he meant in time. "Yes, we will complete the mission."

"I will pass the information onto Hidan." Pein stated firmly. "Dismissed."

Kakuzu stood and cracked his neck as the link between the two men was severed. Why now? He growled as he thought, and each thought in turn made him fume even more. He didn't want this; there was a bounty he had to complete, and other important business to attend too. Kakuzu didn't have the time to be wasting being Pein's mail boy, or searching for Hidan's fucking scythe. After all, time was money. His eyes narrowed as he disappeared into the darkness.

~~~~~Back to Akuji~~~~~

As the young girl ran, fun and happy thoughts came flying through her head. One was when tiny Akuji and little Daren were playing a game of kick ball. Then skip ahead a few years, to when they were sitting together at the ramen stand, giggling and poking each other. Move on to a small, tearing Akuji sitting on the ground holding a scuffed knee. She gave Daren such a pathetic look but he just looked down at her and smiled, offering his hand. He had told her to always get up no matter how much it hurt, and she had listened. That phrase kept her going when she was hurt and sad. Back to teenager Akuji, she was now beginning to tear but she caught herself and shook her head to get rid of the sentimental feelings that were about to swallow her.

When she got her wits back, she noticed that she was over half way there. She was making good time. The sun was barely up, and that was an almost guarantee that Daren was past out over the counter snoring loudly. She giggled at the thought. Oh, how she couldn't wait to put a big handful of snow down his shirt. He hated when she did that. Daren hated the snow and the cold, which made her wonder why he had set up his shop in the middle of the tundra in the first place. But as most of the questions that poked at her mind she shrugged it off and blew it out of her mind.

She began to hum a cheery little tune to help accompany her chipper attitude. Akuji hopped along to her destination with an upbeat pattern, and everything was amusing the young woman at the moment. She was just in one of those moods. But as cheery as her humming was it was no match for the patch of ice that was hiding under the fluffy layer of snow, causing her foot to slide out from underneath her body. She growled playfully, and began to laugh at herself. She was such a klutz, and she wondered whether she was always one. She tried so hard to remember but she just couldn't.

Suddenly a sharp pain shot through her head. She let out a small scream and held her head. Akuji's body automatically curled into a ball, and she lay there, shaking. But not from the cold. No, from the pain. It hurt so much, and she could barely take it. Just as she thought her head was going to rip apart from the seems, she blacked out.

-Later-

Blinking her eyes open slowly, Akuji shivered. Her body was cold and stiff from lying in the snow for so long. With unsteady movements she stood and began to brush the snow off of her body. The wind's cold chill blew by her, causing her to shiver harder. Her clothes were damp from the snow, and the wind was even harsher. Rubbing her arms, her teeth began to chatter. Gazing up at the sky she gasped. It was no longer it's safe, playful, baby blue color, but a deadly and unforgiving gray. The clouds were now merged with the sky, and there was no telling them apart.

Her perfect day seemed so bleak and dark now that the sky was no longer willing to show the puffy, white clouds that she made different, random shapes from. She darted forward; her balance was now off because her arms were still wrapped around herself. However after she almost fell over several times she began to pump her arms, matching the rhythm of her legs. Her eyes were focused on the path and her lungs began to burn with every cold breath of air she inhaled.

Daren was probably sitting at the counter, tapping his fingers on the wood, and staring intently on the door. Akuji remembered the last time she was late and shuddered. He had made her clean off everything in the store. She was never late again.

As she ran her body forgot the feeling of being cold. It warmed with the friction of her arms and legs, making her propel even faster through the snow. As she moved the winds began to pound against her with more force, and they appeared more periodically. With a small huff, a smile touched her lips. She was just upon the hill that the little shop sat upon. Akuji could also see the small outcropping of trees that rested behind the shop. As she gazed forward her concentration was hindered and she fell with a plop into the snow. Quickly getting up she propelled foreword, shivering again. An extremely strong gust of wind almost knocked her off her feet but she covered her face and dug her feet into the ground. When the gust was done she shook her head as she shivered again.

When she lowered her arms she gasped at the sight she saw.

Yay! Chapter two is done and onto chapter three. Please review, it makes me feel all warm inside.