A/N: Alrighty folks, I am nearing the end of this story! Sad to say, but there are only one or two more chapters of this, and I'll be topping 'The Game' off at nine or ten chapters. I'll miss Satsu, but have no idea how to try and add more to my very well-thought-out plotline. I don't think I'll add anything to this story, besides what I already have in my writing notebook.

What kills me about this chapter is how much I had to skip around scene-wise! My ideas followed a very staccato rhythm, and I decided to go with it this time around. And for the PM regarding Deidara's 'Yeah vs. Un' I prefer Yeah, and didn't feel like mixing them both into the story.

Please take the poll on my profile; it'll help me figure out what I'm going to write next! I think I have a few good ideas up there…

Here's some more Kakuzu for ya!

Chapter Eight: Channeling Princesses

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Something rustled.

I sat up, searching the darkness around my futon for intruders. My unsteady hand was silently grabbing my kunai as I ascertained that there was no visible intruder. I closed my bleary eyes and listened; only hearing Setsuna's level breathing in the next room. I was glad she was safe. Standing up as stealthily as possible, I slid open my screen door and headed towards my friend's room.

"Stop it!" I heard a mumbled exclamation from the dining room. Looking down the hall, I saw a dim light coming from behind the dining room screen, like a flashlight or candle. Adjusting my kunai, I crept towards the door, listening. There was a rustle, and suddenly the door opened. I hid against the wall, next to a line of coat hanger pegs filled with sweaters and jackets.

"No one here." I heard a man's voice whisper as he returned to the dining room, leaving the door open. Stealing forward, I snuck into the room behind him. I put a kunai to his throat, pressing just a little, enough to draw blood on a super-sharpened blade. I got a little hair in my face, but succeeded in pinning the man with my weapon if he wanted to keep his jugular.

"Wait, no need to be violent, yeah!" The long-haired male said slowly, and I released him while dodging a flurry of kunai from the other.

"Deidara! Sasori! What are you guys doing here?" I asked as I ducked behind the blonde to avoid any more hostile-ness from the puppet master. Sasori just grunted and sat at the table as the light switch was flipped behind me. Setsuna eyed the kunai embedded in the doorframe, shrugged, and moved into the kitchen to make some tea.

"We came by to pick you up, since your vacation is over, yeah." Deidara answered as he gave me a half-hug, draping one arm around my shoulders. I shrugged him off. I hate it when guys think I'm an armrest because I'm short!

"Pick me up? Am I in danger or something?" I continued to volley questions at them, sitting down at the table with Sasori. Deidara followed suit, and soon all four sides of the modest square table were filled as Setsuna came back with a pot and four cups.

"That would be one way of putting it." Sasori drawled as he declined the tea. Deidara nodded to Setsuna politely and was poured a cup.

"Has Sasori-Danna always been so vague, yeah?" Deidara queried, laughing a little. Setsuna wore a sardonic smirk as she glanced at the puppet master.

"As a matter of fact, he has been vague his entire life." Setsuna answered as she passed me a cup of tea. Sasori turned to look at the old woman who dared say something that insinuated she was an acquaintance of his.

"Motomoto Setsuna, former Suna medic, and academy stand-in teacher for electives." She introduced, and Deidara smiled politely as he sipped some of her amazing herbal blend tea. Chuckling, I turned and looked at Sasori's scowl and reveled in Setsuna's showing the know-it-all up this once. Serves the ungrateful student and hopefully teaches some manners, I think!

"Ah." He acknowledged, and that was all Sasori said as he remembered, and he stared hard at me, seeming to space out. I shrugged him off, retuning to my questions.

"Enlighten me, why am I in "Danger?" I asked, air-quoting and receiving a baleful glare from Sasori. He must have been under the impression that I was mocking him. I might have been, I couldn't tell you.

"It's him, yeah. He's looking for you. Kakuzu has been a psycho since your last joint mission, yeah." I raised an eyebrow at him, grimacing. I wondered what that was supposed to mean. I didn't want to look worried, though, so I lightened up the suddenly serious atmosphere by adding a sarcastic comment. (You can't fail with sarcasm!)

"When isn't Kakuzu psycho?" I asked, leaning back a little and crossing my arms.

"True, yeah. But, he's going to try and drag you to the Sound and get Orochimaru's ring without Leader-Sama's permission! That's suicide, yeah!" I nodded in agreement, downing the rest of my tea like I would have alcohol at this point. How was I supposed to handle an s-ranked stalker?

"Alright, we'll get outta here in the morning. Setsuna-chan, I'll cover their room and board for the night. How much is that going to be?" I asked, pulling out my money pouch. Deidara looked at me incredulously, like he couldn't believe I slept with my money.

"What? It's safer if I keep it close!" I defended, and Deidara gave me an indifferent shrug.

"525 ryo sounds acceptable…" Setsuna said, smiling. I gave her a grateful look as I handed the relatively small amount of money to her.

"You two are sleeping in the hallway, though." Setsuna added as she went back to bed, leaving a suitably steamed Deidara and unconcerned Sasori behind with me in the dining room.

"Alright, thanks Satsu-senpai. I guess the hall isn't that bad, yeah."

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"Hey, Setsuna-chan. Before I leave, I have one question: When I saw that picture, did you put it up after I left the first time, or was it always there and I just didn't notice it?" I asked my friend as we broke our embrace. I was going to miss her a lot, having grown close to her once again during my month-long vacation at her house.

"Oh, that's for me to know, and you to be in the dark." Setsuna replied cryptically, and I wondered why she suddenly developed a sadistic side. She smiled, handing me a pouch.

"Open it when you're gone. It's a present." Setsuna said as I started to walk into the woods with Deidara and Sasori. We jumped into the trees, heading for the current Akatsuki base at a speed only ninja can accomplish.

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"Wow, this really is a nice present!" I exclaimed lamely, not coming up with a better way to voice my surprise and appreciation. I thought I saw Deidara roll his eyes, and heard a noncommittal grunt from the other side of our campfire, courtesy of Sasori.

Opening my present, I had spilled all 525 ryo for my rent, as well as a tin of tea leaves, and a copy of the picture off the wall with a mustache penned onto my face. I had to admit, no matter how old Setsuna became, her sense of humor was far from decaying. Not that mine was dead…. Just a little bitter and faded with antiquity.

"Wow, just wow, yeah." Deidara said as he slid into his sleeping bag a few feet away. Sasori was watching all night (I guess he doesn't need to sleep?) and I decided to go for a little walk in the woods, not too far away. I told Sasori not to kill me on accident, which amused Deidara, and headed off.

The woods were dark and beautifully overflowing with nighttime wildlife. Crickets chirped merrily, cicadas sang, and assorted mammals sifted through the undergrowth. The moon was strained through the tall trees, and beautiful nighttime flowers let off a pungent perfume. I decided to just sit, and leaned against a large, smooth-barked tree.

Before I knew it, I was almost asleep when a particularly loud rustle startled me. I sat up and went to ask for Sasori, when a hand clamped around my mouth. I looked at the gloved hand that reached around my waist as a brawny arm lifted me up. Whoever was holding me picked me up like a rag doll.

I felt an all too familiar syringe shoot a tranquilizing drug into my thigh, and I was out like a light bulb.

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"Ugh…" I moaned as I woke to the sensation of movement. I opened my eyes and closed them again, feeling needles of pain when I saw the light. I slowly opened them a little at a time, adjusting to the sunny day. I looked forward, which happened to be down, as I was once again thrown over somebody's shoulder as they ran through the trees. I recognized the Akatsuki cloak, and knew (figuratively) where I was.

"Kakuzu-san put me the hell down!" I groaned grumpily, and Kakuzu slowed to a halt in a clearing a few meters later. I suppose pounding on his back with my wimpy, sleep-lamed arms got him to stop. I was unceremoniously dropped onto a rather soft grassy forest floor.

"You're down. Now come on." Kakuzu ordered, readying to head back onto whatever path he was taking. I tried to stand up, and did with a lot of difficulty. He had really knocked me out with that crap! I made a mental note to find out what it was and repay the favor.

"Uh, I don't think I'm going anywhere for a little while." Kakuzu went to grab me like a little kid and assumedly carry me, but I was having none of that crap.

"And I'm sure as hell not letting you drag me around!" I exclaimed, slapping his hands away, albeit weakly. I looked Kakuzu in the eyes and stared at him defiantly. He sighed, and went to go sit on a log near the edge of the clearing. I plopped down, staring at him as he sat facing away from me.

My head tilted to the side as a blush crept up the back of my neck, which I forced down. He was a very… uhm… was handsome the word I wanted to use? Probably not, but he cut a very nice figure once you looked past his grumpiness and obvious odd-ball looks. I mean come on, stitches and red corneas? You don't see stuff like that very often. So why was I fascinated by him? It made no sense.

What was I going to do? It was obvious that he was dragging me to the Sound village, in hopes of finding me a ring. I weighed my options.

Option A: Go along with his "Steal a Sannin's ring" plan, if that really was his plan.

Option B: Try and talk him out of it.

I chose option B, and sighed. I didn't have what it takes to be a full-fledged Akatsuki member, and I was far from s-ranked in strength. I was, after all, just bordering the A-rank at the bottom of the danger list.

"Kakuzu-san, why am I here?" I asked, crossing my arms. He shifted on the log, turning to face my little spot on the grass. His stare was hard to read, especially because of that stupid mask. A fleeting thought passed, wondering what he looked like beneath it.

"We are going to retrieve Orochimaru's ring." He answered bluntly, and I said a mental 'no duh.'

"Why, Kakuzu-san?" I asked, the few words seeming to pierce something deep in Kakuzu's mind. His eyebrows knitted together, as if weighing his own set of choices.

"Kakuzu, just Kakuzu." He mumbled as he thought, and I had a feeling that he didn't mean to say it out loud. I looked at him quizzically, and it seemed that my face had snapped him to a conclusion.

"Because you shouldn't be a subordinate." He answered, the statement seeming heavy, as if bogged down by an unidentifiable emotion. I watched him turn his eyes to the ground, as if he didn't want me to see him. I smiled softly as I stood. I walked over to him quietly, stopping to stand in front of him.

"Kakuzu, you know I can't come with you." I said, putting my hand on his broad shoulder. He didn't look up, or even seem to react.

"I'll do whatever I can to become your subordinate, if you'll tell me why. Please." I said, watching him carefully. Surprise overwhelmed me as Kakuzu reached around me and pulled me to him in a warm embrace. His head rested on my shoulder, and I froze.

What was I supposed to do? The hug (I didn't want to call it a hug) was far from dangerous, I realized as he held me gently. My throat remembered the last time we had argued, and I surmised that fighting against him could cause some anger.

Again, what should I do? I stood stock still for a few moments, before I decided to go with it for once. I wrapped my arms as best I could around him, and allowed him to rest his head on my shoulder (which couldn't be terribly comfortable for him).

The embrace was almost completely innocent, but the undertone of over-possessiveness belittled the purity. I wondered, why? Was that the only question word I knew that day?

"Is that your answer?" I asked, mumbling into his warm shoulder. The side of my face was pressed into it, forcing me to mumble a little bit when I spoke. Strong arms tightened almost imperceptibly, as if keeping me from any escape.

"Yes." He said, the vibrations of his throat tickling against my shoulder were his throat rested. I smiled, and pulled my head back to look at him. He really was an enigma, and although I knew now what he felt for me, his first impressions flashed intrusively through my mind. And although I still feared that rage he could muster, I wasn't afraid of him anymore.

Maybe, this hug was a truce, an agreement.

"Let's go back to the base, we can walk together. I still don't feel well." I said, sliding my arm from its spot pinned between his arm and his chest. I settled it on his covered neck, and the wonder of what his mask concealed flashed briefly through my mind again.

Kakuzu stood, and we began to walk in what I assumed was the right direction. Not that my schoolgirl giggles (barely concealed) cared how long it took to get back.

After all, I had just scored a guy to be my own 'Beast' as a pseudo boyfriend. Who wouldn't be a giggler? Not that I was a beauty, but… no one can tell me to stop imagining, can they? I smirked, pretending to be a beautiful princess, walking through mystical woodlands with her cursed prince.

And eventually, the Beauty and the Beast made it back to the base.

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-Gin