Chapter 12: Pairing

The group lead by Takachi had taken four days to retrace their steps, moving from the Valley of the End to the Hidden Rain Village instead of the Sand. Raikudo and Takachi had said nothing more for the entire walk. In silence, they entered the Hidden Rain Village. They were not there for long before coming across a small, green haired woman, whose Grass Village headband sat over her eyes, and a man with sandy blonde hair who crouched beside her.

The woman jumped in front of the group, and with a cheerful smile, she addressed them, "Hello! My name's Izune! I was sent by Roku to retrieve you!"

Before anyone could ask any questions, the man rose up and added, "She's psychic… She already knows you're the rest of the new Akatsuki."

Izune giggled a little, "Yep. And I know you brought me a ring, which was so very considerate of you!" She turned to the man, adding, "It's in his back pocket" To Yami's unpleasant surprise, the ring pulled itself out from the pocket and zipped into Izune's open hand.

"Three! Thank you! Roku offered me the 'North' ring, but I wanted to be different. I guess 'North' will be yours then," she continued, turning slightly towards Raikudo as she spoke. Izune spun around and with a giggle and started skipping along.

"Roku wanted us to tell you that he's moved the meeting place to the top of a tower near the original base of operations," the man spoke, as he turned to follow. "I'm Momoro, by the way. You all can introduce yourselves once we get to it."

Takachi stared at this pair, letting a small laugh pass his cool exterior. Roku, you've picked some interesting shinobi out for us…

-

"Welcome, one and all. I am Roku, the heir to all that was Akatsuki, and, soon, the leader of a new world. You all have been selected by your willingness and usefulness to aid our cause. This is the first meeting of the new Akatsuki. Neo-Akatsuki. The revolutionaries who will create this new world," he opened up. Roku stood upon a curved pipe that stuck up from the tower's top. Before him, the 10 members stood, listening intently.

"The first order of business is to introduce yourselves, as we have an understanding of who we are. I, of course, have already done that much…"

"Takachi Uchiha. Heir to Itachi Uchiha's legacy," came the first, coolly stating only the basics.

"Kuro Hyuga. I've the Byakugan and near-mastery of the Gentle Fist Style. I like ramen and long walks in the forest," came the sarcastic second.

"Kosshi Kaguya… That's all you need to know," snarled the third.

"Akayuri Yamagata. Puppet mistress," came the fourth with a small bow.

"Momoro Matsumoto. The Hidden Stone Village's leading craftsman," the fifth spoke, adding with a nod to his large friend, "And this is Stonewall, my partner in the business."

"Izune Kimura! Herbalist, gardener, florist, and occasional psychic," cheered the seventh with a spin.

"Mizu Namikawa. The Shark of the Water Countries. The Blue Moccasin. Tsunami! Assassin of the Mizukage, owner of 5 of the 8 Swords of the Seven Mist Shinobi! Wanted in every country!" exclaimed the eighth, tapping each of his headbands, the Waterfall on his head, the Mist around his neck, and the Rain around his waist.

"Yami. New owner of the lair of Orochimaru," the ninth spoked, muffled slightly by his mask.

"Raikudo. In need of a ring…" finished the tenth, looking up to Roku.

Roku reached into his pocket and tossed the final ring to Raikudo, who reached out to catch it. For the first time, his forearms, normally hidden in his cloak, were revealed to be in gauntlets with attachments that hid blades. He slipped the ring on the appropriate finger.

"Very nice. Now that we have some basic understanding, we'll need to partner up… however, there is an odd number of us…" Roku began again.

"Roku, if I may, I wish to operate alone, mostly since I will be researching a way to resurrect an old member," Yami spoke up.

"Which one?"

"Hidan. His head is in the lair, and I have already theorized a way to do it."

"Very interesting… his immortality was an asset to the old Akatsuki… Very well, you may work alone. As for the rest of you, begin to pair," Roku continued, looking to Momoro and Stonewall and quickly adding, "So that each pair has a greater knowledge of the terrain, I don't want any two people from the same village pairing up."

Damn! Momoro thought, but quickly, Izune grabbed him by the wrist again and tugged, "I'll be your partner, Momo."

"It's Momoro…"

With a smile, she answered, "I know."

Kuro and Takachi exchanged looks, "Doesn't look like we'll be able to work together on this one…"

Takachi shrugged, "Roku's right though…"

"Hey kid!"

The two looked over at Tsunami, who called at them. "With the Byakugan. Looking at the rest of these people, I'm not sure I like what I'm seeing. I've heard stories of the power of the Byakugan though, and even more about the advantages of Gentle Fist. Come with me."

Kuro raised an eyebrow, but nodded, "Very well…"

Takachi looked at the remaining people he knew. Jinzu's a reliable friend, and he said Akayuri was a freak… So she's out… Then there's Yami, but he's working alone… Raikudo is definitely out… So… My choice is obvious.

At the same time:

"Takachi."

"Roku."

The two exchanged looks and nodded.

Akayuri watched Takachi and let out a little sigh. Figures… he's just like the rest of them, I bet… She clutched her left arm in her right, pulling the single right sleeve over her glove-hidden hand more.

She jumped as a hand rested on her shoulder. She looked back and saw the gauntleted hand of Raikudo, a small smile on his lips, "Will you be my partner?"

She looked up at him and returned a smile, nodding quietly.

Kosshi looked over to Stonewall, who had made no movement yet. The former called, "You're pretty quiet aren't you?" to which Stonewall gave no response but a nod. Kosshi let out a small laugh; "We'll get along well then."

Roku cleared his throat as the last two moved together. He announced, "There are only two more orders of business to attend to. The first is the collection of the Bijuu, the most dangerous part of the Akatsuki's role. So far, we only know that the One Tail's Jinchuuriki is the Kazekage, and the Nine Tail's is the Hokage. It is also apparent that the Bijuu becomes more dangerous as you get closer to the Nine Tails, in numeric order. Yami and I will not claim a Bijuu, as we will be running other orders of business. So the decision is amongst yourselves. Takachi has already expressed his interest in the Nine Tails."

I must make myself useful… I must prove that I'm not a freak… Akayuri piped up, "I wish to capture the Eight Tails."

Takachi looked her way and laughed a small, light laugh. Akayuri bit at the inside of her lip, but Roku nodded, "Very well then. Who else?"

"The greatest part of being a Rogue Ninja is the thrill… Leave the Seven Tailed Beast to me!" called out Tsunami as he lit a cigarette.

"Hmmm… I'd like the Three Tailed Beast!" Izune chirped.

"I've met the Kazekage once or twice before… I know the layout of Sand Village fairly well… I can go after the One Tail," Momoro pondered.

Everyone else stayed silent. Roku crossed his legs and started calling at random, "Kuro, the Two Tails, Stonewall, the Four Tails, Raikudo, the Five Tails, Kosshi, the Six Tails. Any arguments?" Silence.

"Then our last order of business is to coordinate our attacks. As most of you have just met, you will now be dismissed on the expectation that you and your partner will go to a remote area and train together in such a way that forms a powerful team combination, and strong individual strategies. In two days, Momoro and Stonewall, I will show you where to begin construction of the sealing statue, the King of Hell. That is all. Go about your business now."

With that, ten blurs scattered in pairs. Yami, the remaining shinobi, looked around quietly.

He threw his head back and laughed a dark, maniacal laugh. All according to plan.

Next Chapter: The Big 5