***Chapter 3: Yachiru and the Jashinist***

Ahh chapter 3! Shout out to MissMeep, NoTengoUnNombre and Psuedobeast for reviewing, and also the unnamed guests (^_^). So this chapter will mainly be lighthearted and for those Hidan fans... Let's go!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto! (T_T) !

Flashback is written in italics.

'Thoughts in italics and enclosed in quotes'

Normal writing is in normal text.

"Dialogue is in normal text enclosed in open and closed quotations."

'Black Zetsu and Kyuubi speak in bold italics enclosed in quotations.'

Previously on Left to the Elements:

"I already know your name now, Hidan, and you still don't know mine. For an all powerful Akatsuki, you're not getting anywhere, are you?" she taunted. Hidan's eyes widened, narrowed, and then twitched uncontrollably. A vein bulged in his forehead and he spun to face the plant-man.

"Dammit, Zetsu!" Hidan yelled angrily. "I should sacrifice you both to Jashin!" An earthen rumble from the direction of the wall had him spinning his head back round. His eyes widened in surprise before a cuboid shaft of rock surged from the room wall, slamming him squarely in the face.

oooOooo

Yachiru grinned to herself. Her instinct rocked! Who knew slamming her fist into the wall would have such an amusing effect? The shaft of rock retreated into the wall, rumbling as it did so. Hidan was on his back, groaning in... wait, what? Was he groaning in delight? Yachiru sweat-dropped. The one named Zetsu stood over the masochist on the ground.

"You really enjoyed that, didn't you, Hidan?" he asked in the less disturbing of his two voices. Hidan moaned again, his fingertips twitching a bit. A slow grin slid onto his face.

"Fuck yeah. Are you kidding me?" He slowly got to his feet, and the grin disappeared. "I'm gonna make you regret that you nasty..." he started, and his next words were cut off as the door opened, hitting him squarely in the back of the head. There was silence, and then he spun round, pissed off. "Dammit Tobi! What's your problem? I have no issue sacrificing you to the great God Jashin!" he yelled, grabbing the newcomer by the throat. A childishly frightened voice sounded from the direction of the door.

"Itae! Please don't hurt Tobi, Hidan! Tobi didn't mean it! Tobi is sorry!" There were sounds of a scuffle then the door slammed and there were the sounds of running feet as the newcomer fled down the hall. Hidan turned back around, placed his hands on his hips and blew a breath out of his mouth.

"Damn Tobi," he muttered. There was a moment of silence as both Zetsu and Yachiru were staring at Hidan expectantly. He looked up to find both sets of eyes on him. "Da fuck? What the hell are you staring at me for?" The question was riddled with curse-words enough to make Yachiru cringe a little. What were these people? The door opened again, slamming Hidan in the back. He spun around again and began spewing curses at a hulking figure named Kakuzu. In a motion so swift Yachiru barely saw it, Kakuzu attacked, and Hidan's silver-haired head was rolling on the floor. Yachiru's eyes widened in shock as Hidan's severed head continued talking. "Kakuzu, was that really necessary?" it asked, gurgling a little as blood filled its mouth.

"Shut up, Hidan," the tall, muscular man replied in annoyance. "You talk too much." The man, Kakuzu, was wearing the Akatsuki cloak with a grey bodysuit underneath that covered his head, and a black band over his forehead with a slashed hitai-ate. A mask covered his mouth. The newcomer had red eyeballs with bright green pupils, and towered over Hidan and Zetsu. Zetsu calmly walked over to Hidan's head and picked it up. Blood was draining from the neck. Hidan's head looked to Yachiru's shocked face and smirked.

"Yeah, that's right, bitch. I can't fucking die," he said. Yachiru blinked at him in shock, and then couldn't resist taunting him to hide said shock.

"I'll find a way," she said, one white eyebrow raised. Hidan's eyebrow twitched.

"Kakuzu! Put my head back on! This bitch is gonna be sacrificed to Jashin today!" Kakuzu ignored the silver-haired Akatsuki's demands and stalked across the room to peer at Yachiru, tossing coins in his hand with each step.

"Fuck Jashin," he flung at Hidan's head. "Your religion is stupid." He stopped at the edge of Yachiru's bed. "Tell me, little one," he said in a low tone, bending over so his face was closer to hers. "How much are you worth in ..." He allowed his voice to trail off as he perused the shiny coins in his hand. Yachiru grit her teeth in anger at what she thought he was insinuating. Behind Kakuzu, Zetsu was calling his name and trying to get his attention.

"Ano... Kakuzu...don't go so close to the... wall," Zetsu was trying to say over Hidan's yells and curses and Kakuzu's blatant choice to ignore them. Yachiru smiled. Even if he killed her, this was far too good an opportunity to pass up. She slammed her fist into the wall, sending the surging cuboid shaft of rock slamming into Kakuzu's face with such force that it pushed him several meters away from where he once stood. Zetsu eyed him curiously. "I told you not to get so close to the wall," he said, a deadpan expression on his face. The venus-flytraps closed around his face at the sharp look Kakuzu shot his way.

'That's it, fight among yourselves now,' Yachiru thought as she tried to figure out a way to escape. 'These shackles are strong, but if I can somehow get them to break from the bed-posts...' Yachiru waited a moment, trying to ignore how her sweat made her white hair strands cling to her forehead, and willed her instinct to chip in. 'That's it! Ice or fire!' she thought. Now, she only had to get them to take their focus off her. She looked around the room trying to figure out what she could use to distract them.

The floor of the room was a large square of about ten metres per side. Her bed was against the right-most wall, and the door to enter the room was set in the left wall. The walls of the room went up about four meters high and each wall had a torch set into the centre of it. 'If those lights were to go out...' Yachiru thought, her brain scrambling to deduce exactly what she might be capable of. The annoying thing about not having any memory of her past was that she had to learn herself all over again. What she did know, from experimenting in the past two months, was that she could control to some extent the elements. That meant she could manipulate earth, as she had done by using the force of contact on the walls, and she could manipulate water, as she had done while fighting Deidara even though unlike with earth, she did not have to actually touch the water. She also knew she could spit fire, she just didn't know how to regulate it yet, and she also knew she could breathe frost. Her mind took her back a couple weeks.

Yachiru lay under the tree, watching in inexpressible fascination as the leaves floated slowly to the ground. Her eyes followed them on their twirling descent to the ground where they moved back and forward slowly before gently resting on the earth. The movements were so fluid, Yachiru hopped to her feet with the intent to try to copy the fluid movements, taking a quick glance around her to watch for the approach of anyone else. She felt heat rush to her face for a moment, before, satisfied that she was alone, she began to take small, light steps darting from side to side. A small breeze was rustling through the trees at that moment, the gentle sound calming her. Yachiru closed her eyes, moving with the wind as it blew from the trees to the grassy area she was on, over the cliffs and along the coast below. Feeling an intense but peaceful pressure in her chest that built as she moved, Yachiru's dance came to a stop with one knee bent and the other at an angle to the side, her torso pushed forward and her arms outstretched with the middle and index fingers extended and the other fingers bent.

Yachiru's eyes widened as a burst of air streamed from her palms, guided by her extended fingers, with such force that the air itself was visible. The wind gusted from her palms and towards the trees, blowing off a multitude of leaves in the process. Standing, Yachiru held her palms to her eyes in wonder. A short second after, Yachiru felt that same feeling she had felt when she had constructed her home in the rock. She was not as surprised as she might have been. These abilities must then be something she had practiced before she lost her memories. A grin spread through Yachiru; it was time to experiment!

Hours later, Yachiru was lying on her back on the grass near the edge of the cliffs, exhausted from her experimental efforts. Sweat was draining off her brow, the rivulets getting into her eyes. They were so annoying! She put her hand above her head with the intention of wiping the sweat off, when the liquid simply rose off her forehead and hung suspended in a watery ball in the air. Yachiru smiled to herself, getting to her feet and eyeing the ocean below the cliffs with a new interest.

Yachiru smiled inwardly in memory of that day, rather, that week. She had spent day after day experimenting with her abilities, following her instinct. She learned that manipulating the air came easier the more relaxed and peaceful she was, fire manipulation was more powerful when she was not breathing erratically, earth manipulation was best when her body was directly attached to the ground, and water manipulation was more powerful the calmer she was. Earth manipulation and air manipulation depended upon her physical ability and inner peace respectively, fire manipulation was best during the day, and water manipulation was best at night. The full moon was the most powerful moment in water manipulation.

Zetsu's flytrap had opened again, and he was looking at Hidan and Kakuzu with an unreadable expression on his face. Kakuzu was not even nearly as pleased as Hidan had been by Yachiru's attack. Uh oh. As Kakuzu stormed back towards the bed, Yachiru had to act fast. She inhaled, feeling the pressure of the air in her lungs build, then blew a concentrated stream of air towards the torches on the wall. Before Kakuzu had reached halfway across the room, it was plunged in darkness. Realizing that she wouldn't be able to 'see' since her feet weren't grounded, Yachiru quickly sent a stream of frigid breath to the shackles that bound her wrists. In seconds they were cold and brittle, and, clenching her fists, Yachiru yanked forcefully on them to free her arms. The same treatment was given to the shackles binding her ankles, and she was free. All she had to do now was escape the Akatsuki.

Hidan heard the sounds of straining metal and the distinct sound when the white-haired prisoner broke free. Not good.

"Kakuzu! Put my damn head back on!" he screamed. By Jashin, he wanted in on this fight! Jashin had been days without a sacrifice and the loyal devotee that he was, he needed to appease his god. He couldn't control his body with his head severed. "Kakuzu!"

"I can't see, damn it, Hidan," Kakuzu snarled.

The moment Yachiru's bare feet hit the ground, she knew where everything was. In movements reminiscent of her Leaf Dance, she slipped past Kakuzu, dodged Zetsu and Hidan's head, side-stepped Hidan's crumpled body and planted a solid kick on the room door, splintering the centre and sending the door flying into the hall. Because of the sudden light, Yachiru knew she had to move fast. She took off down the hallway, knowing that the Akatsuki was going to be hot on her heels.

Zetsu started to sink into the wall, with Hidan's head still in his hands.

"Dammit, Zetsu! Leave my fucking head behind will you, you dumb plant! Kakuzu needs to sew my head back on!" Zetsu, obviously annoyed at Hidan's foul mouth, unceremoniously dropped the head onto the ground where it bounced and rolled. Then he shrunk into the wall in pursuit of the runaway captive. Kakuzu stared at Hidan's head on the ground, seriously debating leaving his partner's head there, but knew he would never hear the end of it so he quickly sewed Hidan's head back to his neck.

Hidan flexed his arms, glad to be back in control of his body, and took off down the hallway in the direction the white-haired woman had gone. He grinned as he ran. The bitch sure knew how to make things interesting. He just hoped Itachi would be a while coming back. The silent Uchiha would not be interested in playing with the female as he would and he would be damned if he let the Uchiha steal his sacrifice.

Yachiru's steps slowed as she 'saw' the approach of another. He was coming towards her from the direction she was running with slow, easy steps that betrayed confidence. Behind her, she could 'see' the other two – Hidan and Kakuzu – running towards her. Indecision slowed her to a standstill. A shift beside her startled her, and she watched as two venus-flytraps emerged from the wall. Hands reached out and grasped her, holding her still. Yachiru clenched her jaw in annoyance. 'Shit,' she thought.

Itachi stared at the sight before him. A bare-footed, white-haired woman dressed in rags was standing in the hallway, held close by Zetsu who was halfway out of the wall. Behind her, Kakuzu and Hidan were running towards the scene, odd glints in both their eyes. What was going on?

"Hn," was all Itachi said. It was all he needed to say.

"Dumb old bitch nearly killed Deidara," Hidan said in explanation as he slowed to a stop. "She has some weird Kekkei-Genkai that we haven't figured out yet."

"Hn," Itachi replied. The woman, who, at a closer look turned out to be more of a girl, was standing in baleful silence. For the first in a long time, Itachi's eyes widened in shock as the girl stomped her foot, seemingly in a tantrum, and in response, a wall shot up between herself and Hidan. She folded her arms and glared at Itachi before repeating the motion and sending a shaft of earth up from the ground, knocking Zetsu directly in the chin and causing him to loosen his hold on her. She broke free of his grip and squared off with Itachi, seemingly sizing him up. Itachi sighed in frustration. This was not the best place to have a fight, and his chakra was low from the last mission.

What was weird was that he sensed absolutely no chakra from this girl. This needed to be investigated further, so it would be best if he didn't kill her. Not knowing what she was capable of made it harder to fight her, and the complication was that he saw no evidence of hand seals. He activated his Sharingan.

Yachiru watched as the newcomer's irises turned red with three tadpole shaped markings in each iris. What was this? Focusing on his eyes was the wrong move. She was immediately transported to a barren field and angry birds attacked her from the skies. She put up her hands to ward off their sharp beaks.

Itachi watched as her eyes dulled under the effect of his genjutsu. She was raising her arms to defend herself. He easily knocked her out and tossed her over his shoulder. Itachi blinked at the wall that now blocked off the hallway. He could hear Hidan's muffled voice from the other side of the earthen wall.

"Stand back!" Itachi took several steps backwards. After a couple seconds, there was an explosion that shook the passageway and the wall collapsed in a heap of rubble.

"Never thought I'd ever have to use fucking explosive tags," Hidan muttered with derision in his tone.

"Hn." Itachi continued down the hallway with the girl over his shoulder. Hidan followed him.

"Where are you going with my sacrifice?" He yelled, interspersing expletives wherever they would fit. Itachi ignored him, continuing at his normal slow pace until he got to the Akatsuki meeting room. He dropped the girl on the couch and signalled for a meeting with Pein using his ring. Itachi waited for Pein's holographic image to appear, growing increasingly annoyed with Hidan's ramblings.

"Itachi, you bastard!" Hidan was saying. "I bet you're holding the girl so you can nasty bang her when I'm gone! Damn you for holding your stupid Sharingan over me as if I don't already know what it can do!" This was in response to Itachi glaring at him. "She won't be attracted to you anyway, baka Uchiha. With your wrinkled face and ugly eyes there's no way..." His voice trailed off as Pein's holographic image appeared in the room. Hidan immediately switched targets. It wasn't as if he was normally talkative, he just really wanted to play with this girl! "Pein! Tell Itachi to hand the girl over to me!"

Pein's pierced brow rose and he said, "Is this the reason behind the meeting Itachi? You and Hidan fighting over a woman?"

"Hn," Itachi replied, meaning 'Hell no, it's way more important than that.'

"I see, well what did you summon me here for?" Itachi shot a glance to the unconscious girl.

"She needs looking into."

"She nearly fucking killed Deidara! Not that the twat is that hard to take out, but still," Hidan interrupted, fingering his chain. "It's absolute blasphemy unto the great god Jashin, her utter disregard for the intricacies of pain." He began to mutter a prayer unto Jashin. Pein turned his attention back to Itachi who had tightened a grip on his fleeting patience.

"Her skills can be utilized by us. She has no chakra signature at all but uses what I assume is a Kekkei-Genkai to fight. Either she has extreme chakra control or..." Itachi's voice trailed off as he looked back to the girl. Pein's eyes narrowed in concentration.

"Fine, see what you can find out, and then report to me. Use any means possible." Pein's image disappeared, leaving Itachi with Hidan.

"Don't kill her Hidan. When she wakes, feed her and take her to spar. Since you want to play so badly, you get to keep her, and you get to face Pein if and when you mess up," Itachi bit out, and stalked from the room. He didn't miss the tyrannical glitter in Hidan's eyes.

Hours later, Yachiru awakened to find herself in a room with no shackles or bindings. She sat up on the pallet and scratched her head.

"Awake again, I see," came a now familiar voice. Hidan. Yachiru ground her teeth together in annoyance.

"Let me go, Hidan. I only defended myself against Deidara, so leave me be." Hidan smirked at her command.

"Let you go back to where? Your little cave by the beach? How boring. How blasphemous! Why would you want to go back there, when you could stay here with us and have fun?" His eyes narrowed as he advanced, coming closer to her. Her eyes narrowed and she got to her knees, edging away from him as he came closer. Seeing that she was somewhat interested, Hidan continued. "We can spar, and check out all the cool things you can do. Maybe you will even convert to Jashinism! What d'yu think, Whitey? Sound like fun? Let's chit chat about it over some grub, ne?" Yachiru eyed him suspiciously. What was he playing at?

"Why do you want me to stay?" she asked, peering at him with blatant distrust.

"Well, Whitey, so that if you are awesome, you can serve a purpose instead of rotting away in a cave, and if you suck, you will be a lovely sacrifice to Jashin." His eyes glittered maniacally as he replied. He leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially, "Plus, Zetsu has taken a liking to you, so if you leave, I can't promise that he won't come and find a way to eat you. He does that, you know, cuz he's a fricking cannibal." Yachiru felt her eyebrows knit at the implications.

"And if I stay here?"

"Whitey, if you stay here, you'll have food, eventually get to go outside, do missions, get money, kill stuff, be a badass Akatsuki girl..." Hidan eyed her from head to toe. "Clean and in kunoichi clothes..." he muttered, shivering in masculine appreciation as he leered at her. Yachiru punched him in his gut. He groaned and smiled through the pain. "You already know what I like. Do it again," he commanded. Yachiru folded her arms and stared him down.

"I'll only hit you if you don't try to kill you." Hidan's face fell.

"Please, pretty fucking please?" Yachiru's stance alone clearly screamed the negative. "Just once more?" he begged after a second, grinning at her, his chain flashing from where it lay on his chest which was bare under his Akatsuki cloak. Yachiru caved, smiling a bit inwardly because Hidan was a bit funny.

"Fine," she bit out, sending a solid punch to his solar plexus. He bent over, gasping and wheezing.

"Jashin, woman!" Yachiru snickered. 'I think I like this guy,' she thought, following him as he staggered out of the room.

The next day had the Jashinist poking Yachiru in the chest. She still hadn't told any of them her name, so at the moment, Hidan was calling her 'Whitey', 'White-bitch', among other names. She cracked open one eye to see the Hidan peering into her face. Forgetting he was a masochist, she gave him a sturdy punch to the face for invading her privacy, and stepped over the delighted lump of Jashinist who was on the floor covering his bloody nose.

"Direct me to the showers, Hidan," she said, grinning at him.

"You're gonna have to stay dirty until you tell me your name, bitch," Hidan shot back.

"You're gonna stick me with some stupid nickname anyway, Jashin, so why do you need to know my name?" There was a moment of complete silence in the room, and Hidan's pleasure was palpable.

"You just called me Jashin," he said softly, his eyes twinkling. "You equated me to my most high god," he continued, deeply affected by her slip of the tongue.

"E-eto, it was a mistake..." she muttered, sweat-dropping. Hidan's head jerked and he met her eyes.

"Exactly my point! I'm not smart, but if you said it intentionally it would most likely have been in jest, would it not?" Yachiru had to admit she saw his point. 'I guess it would be a little heartless to let him know I have no idea who or what Jashin is supposed to be other than someone he worships, right?' Yachiru thought. Instead she shrugged.

"It's Yachiru, buy the way," she said over her shoulder as she walked out of the room.

"Third door on the left," Hidan answered. "Stuff to cover your butt with is in the closet in the room!"

oooOooo

Deidara's eyes strained to open. He was aching everywhere! Where was he? His eyes moved in their sockets as he looked about the room. A white curtain was hanging from a metal pole next to his bed, and he was covered in a white sheet. He was in the medical ward at the Akatsuki base. That meant Sasori must have defeated the white-haired female. Deidara slowly sat up, grimacing at the pain in his chest, stomach and side. Slowly he stood, swaying a bit, and holding onto the bed to steady himself. His hair still smelt singed. Deidara opened the mecial ward door and was dizzied by a flash of white hair as someone dashed past the door. Feminine laughter sounded as Hidan followed right behind, almost bowling Deidara over. What was going on?

Deidara almost fell on his face but was stopped by a strong arm. He looked up and was met with Itachi's deadpan black gaze. Itachi simply blinked at him and helped him to his feet.

"Hn."

"Who is that, and what is she doing here, un?" Deidara managed to gasp.

"Kurokka Yachiru. She's a person of interest," Itachi replied. Deidara scowled. Trust Itachi to use only the most cryptic of statements. Person of interest? What the hell was that supposed to mean? Knowing it would be exhausting to try and get it out of Itachi, Deidara decided he would find out on his own. Then, maybe he could get an opportunity to repay her for the pain she had caused him. She would make for a great piece of art!

Itachi stood close to the open land that surrounded the Akatsuki base, overseeing the match between Hidan and Yachiru. Pein had given special permission for the sparring to take place outside, considering Yachiru was a person of interest. When Itachi had questioned her earlier, she had responded to all questions about her alliances with 'I don't remember,' and he hadn't been able to sense any traces of her bluffing or lying. Itachi absently wondered what his partner Kisame would think of the white-haired woman.

"Give me your best shot, Yachi-chan. I promise I won't kill you," Hidan was saying.

"Not that you could," Yachiru replied, smirking. Without warning, Hidan swung his blade at her. The scythe swerved towards her, and Itachi's eyebrow rose at the thought that she would be dead already, when the girl simply held both hands out with palms facing each other, flipped her wrists so that the palms were facing up and curled her fingers. An earthen wall shot up from the ground, catching the Jashinist's blade. At the same time, she flitted around the earthen wall, ran toward Hidan who was still holding the cable that was connected to his three bladed scythe. As she ran, Yachiru held out a palm, raising a hulk of earth from the ground, and sent it flying towards Hidan with a punch-like motion.

Hidan slipped out of the way just in time, but was met head on with a burst of flame that shot from her palms as she continued the punch-like motions. Itachi observed with his Sharingan. He saw the style of her movements change rapidly, but was not so captivated by the beauty of her movements that he forgot to watch for seals. There were none. Instead, she moved with a lithe grace at the start with quick, easy, graceful movements, before slipping into a more grounded, purposeful style, followed by her current harsh but strong movements. Each punch and kick sent a burst of flame shooting from the respective limb. Swiping kicks sent arcs of flame shooting at a surprised Hidan. He stepped out of the way, but that was expected, and Yachiru's style switched into her grounded mode. A swift punch sent a ridge of earth shooting up under Hidan's feet, throwing him off balance, and a heel slammed into the earth sent a fissure directly into where Hidan was currently stepping.

Hidan's eyes widened as Yachiru's glowing fist stopped scant millimetres from his face. A burst of flame now would not be pretty! He had been yanking on his scythe but the damn wall had it locked up tight. Yachiru relaxed her pose and smiled.

"How was that for our first spar? I took it easy on you this time," she smirked. Hidan glowered.

"I was taking it easy on you as well!" He sent a string of curses at her, but she walked off and left him, grinning all the way.

Itachi's eyes narrowed as he watched her. What was this woman? How could she manipulate the elements without using any seals? If this was a Kekkei-Genkai, it would be in very high demand should it be found out. He needed to report to Pein. This woman was not one they wanted to have to oppose any time soon. As she approached the base, Itachi perused her features for the first time.

Standing at around five feet four inches, Kurokka Yachiru was short. She was, however, slim with well toned muscles and a flat stomach. Her waist was small, flaring out into her hips and rounded derriere and she had strong legs and well shaped calves. She seemed to always walk around without shoes. Her face was almond shaped, and she had full pouty lips and a straight nose that turned up ever so slightly at the tip. Rounded cheeks were on either side of her nose, and underneath large, expressive eyes that had purplish irises. Her eyes were framed by long white lashes which were thick and lush, and she tended to blink slowly. It was quite endearing. Wait, endearing? Itachi pushed the thought from his mind, instead inspecting how her hair streamed behind her as she walked. Her hair.

Stopping at the small of her back, Yachiru's hair was pure white, long silky-looking straight strands that seemed to dance once there was the presence of wind. It was cut in shorter bangs which framed her face, and currently was clinging to her forehead because of her perspiration.

Yes, Kurokka Yachiru was someone to watch out for, alright, and Itachi wasn't only thinking of her abilities. He was about to turn and head back to the base as well, when he heard a distinct voice.

"Who are you?" Kisame had arrived.

A/N: AAaaaaahhh! I can't squash anything else in this chapter! I am reserving more stuffs for the next one! As you can see, there is the beginning of what seems to be some ItaYachi and some HidaYachi... I just could not resist! Don't judge me... hihihihi. As usual, review please oh please! Reviews make me type faster!