Chapter 10: 'I am Death'

A day or two had passed. The six Akatsuki returning from the Waterfall Village were now settled in the Hidden Rain headquarters. A hard rain fell outside. It was late in the night. Most slept, but Roku, who didn't seem to require such a need, and Izune, who meditated into the early morning, carried about almost silently, exchanging snippets of conversation from time to time.

"Are you sure about what you said earlier?" Roku's question came as he flipped through one of his files. He stared down at a page listing the rings the Akatsuki bored, specifically, 'Void' and 'Three.'

"Of course I'm sure!" she replied some what defiantly, shaking her green hair back. She rose a moment to change her sitting position, "They're both in the Hidden Sound Village."

Roku nodded, pulling the last ring, 'North,' from his pocket, rolling it around between his fingers, "Then I will leave this in the hands of Takachi and Kosshi. Hopefully, they can come across the rings without any aid…

-

"Hey, shithead! I'm friggen hungry over here."

Kabuto Yakushi shook his long gray bangs back as he looked to the one addressing him. His eyes glared darkly from behind his glasses, free of the purple markings that used to surround them. "Just chew your tongue. This is an intricate procedure," he answered.

"I don't give a shit about you wanting to separate Orochimaru's remains from your body. You abducted me from where I laid. Stop wasting time on yourself and figure out a way to fix me already!"

Kabuto sighed. He's getting irritated… and completely in control of 90 of my body again… I suppose I can start researching a way to recreate his body… "Alright, I'll get you something to eat, then I'll start research…"

"Good… This dinky lair is pissing me off. I'm tired of staring at Orochimaru's dead hand over there… The sooner I get out of here, the sooner I can kill those leaf bastards… especially… Shikamaru Nara"

Kabuto walked out of the research room. On his table lay a scalpel and a pile of dead tissue, extracted from Kabuto's body, the remains of Orochimaru he infused himself with 25 years earlier and had been battling with ever since. Various experiments lay in jars all around the room. In one of these jars, a bubbling green liquid holding a few fingers, one with a ring on it. In another, a white-haired head, belonging to the man who had cursed at Kabuto.

Kabuto returned with a plate carrying a sandwich. He slid the sandwich into the top of the jar, where it fell on the head.

"Ack! Can't you just friggen feed me? It's kind of hard to eat this way!"

"You'll adapt, Hidan," came Kabuto's answer as he pushed up his glasses, "You always do."

A crash came from the room Kabuto had just left. He jumped, since he and Hidan's head were the only living people in the lair these days. Carefully, he stepped back into the room, summoning his chakra to his hand for his scalpel jutsu. The perpetrator, though, did not even try to hide, though he was hard to see.

He stood in a corner, wearing pitch-black cloak and hood. The only visible feature on him was an ANBU mask, an owl's face. A low, deep laugh broke from behind the hood. Kabuto called to him, "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"All of that you will know before you die. But first, I ask you kindly to hand over all the Forbidden Jutsu research you have, and this facility, quietly. You and whoever else in here can leave peacefully after…"

Kabuto had stopped listening, running up on the cloaked figure and plunging his scalpel-jutsu powered hand into the cloak. The man inside had moved, though, avoiding the stab… but inside his cloak, Kabuto noticed, was a skeleton, wrapped around the man's body. And… The skeleton is moving on it's own!

"Who the hell are you?!" Kabuto called in panic, but the hand of the skeleton had plunged forward, impaling Kabuto.

The cloaked man answered, "I… I am Death!!"

-

"God damn it, Kabuto. What the hell's taking you so long? Kill the damn intruder and…"

Hidan stopped as he saw the cloaked man enter the room. "Well shit… He's dead, isn't he?"

"He is. I'll be taking over this facility now. And… wait a minute… You're a head in a jar?"

Hidan faked an amazed look, "Oh my Jashin! Really? Am I? Nice eyes, dumbass."

"You're Hidan? From the old Akatsuki?"

"Old? The hell does that mean?" Hidan growled, trying to move his head in his jar, closer to the cloaked one.

"I've heard rumors from the Hidden Leaf Village that a new Akatsuki is forming. That Pein is alive, and that this new Akatsuki has a member of the Uchiha and the Hyuga families, thus, they have all three of the great eye jutsus," he answered. The man moved from jar to jar, examining the contents.

"Sounds interesting… I bet they'd welcome you with open arms if you brought them me. I'm a VIP!" Hidan gleamed.

"I'm not really concerned about you, but these rings…" a gloved hand reached out and pulled the 'Void' ring off of Orochimaru's dead hand, "would definitely interest them… Joining…"

"It really is a good idea. Easiest way to get away with Forbidden Jutsu."

"And now you don't have a choice…" came a third voice. The cloaked man spun around to see three shinobi standing at the exit. The man in the middle stared coldly at him, and the cloaked one noticed the Sharingan in the other.

"Come with us, if you will. And bring the talking head with you."

"I'm more than a talking head, you piece of shit!" Hidan growled, trying to jump in his jar, but made no real movement as the cloaked one picked up the jar.

"Your names?" came the question from the girl, looking up at the head interestedly.

"Yami, and this is Hidan," came the cloaked ones answer. He fell into silence, but the white haired man poked Yami in the back.

"Don't get comfortable. We have more questions for you."

Next Chapter: Runaway