This is mostly Shylah's Point of View, but there's a little tidbit at the end with Reia's P.O.V. I hope you enjoy it!

I still don't own Naruto...

Shylah's P.O.V.

I sighed irritably and checked the clock Emi had insisted all of us purchase in a rare display of assertiveness. Three fifteen in the morning. Stupid sleep schedule changing… I automatically wake up at either five or six in the morning for the first eight days I'm here, can hardly go to sleep those nights, and now I haven't been able to sleep more than one hour for the past two nights. Typical. Maybe I'll just skip making dango today… It's not like anyone other than Mischa knows or will care… I thought to myself, rolling over and throwing my one thin blanket off the bed.

One would think the nights would be exceptionally cool because of the constant cloud cover. Stupid random summer heat wave. I stood up from my bed and blindly grabbed clothes from my dresser, not caring whether they matched or whatever Tracey or my mom would say. I started getting ready, impatiently running my brush through my unruly hair. I disliked how long it took me to completely brush my hair, but I refused to cut it - vanity, I suppose.

Finally ready, I glared at the open window and its lack of cool air. I couldn't sleep while the weather was this warm, so I instead left for the kitchen. Maybe I could cool down with a nice glass of ice cold water.

After around one minute, I was in the main part of the base. Why the Akatsuki base would be this large, I didn't know. It didn't make sense, considering that Pein only had nine official Akatsuki members, himself included. Then again, it was in a prominent building close to Amegakure, so maybe it would otherwise have been used for visiting dignitaries or something. Either way, I didn't appreciate how far I had to walk just to get from one end of the base to the other.

I perked up out of my sleepless daze minutely when I caught sight of an Akatsuki cloak approaching me. It was stupid, knowing what I did, but I didn't really feel the fear I should have around the dangerous nuke-nin. I supposed I'd let my guard down when they didn't try to kill us. Aside from Hidan and Deidara, no one had really tried, although if they were really being serious they could've easily killed any one of us.

My inner musings came to a halt when I recognized the owner of the cloak. "'Morning, Sasori-san," I muttered, casting my eyes to the shadows for no real reason other than a minute amount of nervousness. I may not fear the Akatsuki as much as I should, but some of them still intimidated me. "Is Hiruko damaged?"

Sasori paused in the middle of moving to walk past me. He looked at me emotionlessly, which made sense considering that he was a puppet. "No." After one second of awkward (in my opinion) silence, he continued. "Why?"

"You're usually in Hiruko on the rare occasions you deign to grace us with your presence." I held back a wince. I might have phrased that incorrectly… And he might not appreciate that I subconsciously just teased him.

"I have no need of Hiruko this late at night - everyone is either asleep or otherwise occupied." 'Except for you' was the unspoken end to that sentence.

He wasn't asking me to elaborate (or even really bringing it up), but I felt sheepish at how suspicious it might look. I was an outsider, taking random walks around the Akatsuki's base at a time when most would only be doing so because they were hiding something. "I can't sleep. It's no big deal, but I was just going to take inventory of the kitchen in case I need to buy something for the meals I'm making later today." And getting a drink of water. "What're you doing?"

"Why do you need to know?" He replied tonelessly.

I shrugged. "Good point. I don't." Sasori moved forward and passed me. "Mind if I tag along?" Okay, why am I actively attempting to hang around one of the more intimidating Akatsuki members? … Because I'm bored and stupid, that's why. Good enough.

He paused again, barely turning to look at me over his shoulder. After one eternal (hehe…) second passed, he resumed walking. I took that as an 'okay', and since he didn't protest when I slipped into his room right behind me, I figured I'd assumed correctly.

His room had changed very little since the last time I'd checked to see if it needed cleaning a few days ago. There were different puppets on his desk, and I realized for the first time that all the Akatsuki members (including Tobi) had larger rooms than we did. Figured. His bed looked as unused as the last time I'd seen it. Everything was clean, verging on the sterile feel of a hospital. The only real mess was the organized chaos of his desk, different puppet parts spread out in no apparent pattern.

He took the seat at his desk and immediately began working on a particularly human-looking arm, most likely getting it ready for whatever hidden weapons he'd use it for. There was no seat other than his, so I simply took my place on the bed. So, Sasori, how does it feel to be alone in your room with a girl willingly on your bed? I thought to myself, the situation bringing out my slightly more perverted nature.

We sat (and he worked) in silence. At first, I felt kind of awkward in the quiet, but after a while the sound of the rain hitting his window calmed me. I suppressed the feeling of nervousness and instead began to feel almost comfortable - which was stupid, since I was alone in a room with a super-powerful criminal.

I inspected the window. Even the window is bigger than mine. It looks well-made, too. Were we put in some kind of servants' quarters area or something? Makes sense, since we kind of are servants, or at least cleaning ladies and cooks. I let my torso fall back onto the bed, the force jarring me just enough to coax a puff of breath from my lungs. I don't like manual labor, especially if it means cleaning.

"Leader-sama wasn't pleased that you involved Deidara and Tobi in your pranks."

I blinked and lifted my head just a little bit at the unexpected comment. I stared at him owlishly, but he hadn't even stopped messing with his puppet, much less turned to address me. "I didn't involve them. Blame Catlin, Tisha, and Tracey." And my sister…

"You were the one who promised they wouldn't get involved. Therefore, the blame goes to you for not controlling them well enough." I snorted at the thought of anyone trying to control Tisha and Caitlin. I probably could've done something about Mischa, though.

I suddenly thought of something, and pressed my elbows into the bed to prop myself up. "How did you know I'm the one who said we wouldn't involve you guys?"

"Leader-sama reprimanded you, and not the others." I suppressed a shudder at the memory.

*Flashback*

I did my best not to flinch at Pein's harsh gaze. The Rinnegan, while normally totally awesome to stare at, was intimidating to the point of terrifying when combined with Pein's glare. He probably wouldn't need to punish or torture me or whatever; he could just lock me in a room and glare at me. I think I know how Sasuke and Sakura felt when they were caught in Orochimaru's stare during the Chunin exams.

"For breaking your word, you will no longer be paid so long as this 'prank war' persists." I can live with that… "Should this 'prank war' incite damages, no one else is to be paid, and you are to see Kakuzu about reimbursements." Of course, Pein knows about our other way to get money. "In the event that one of my members is incapacitated because of any pranks, you will pay their medical bills and provide us with enough money to make up for what that member could have been earning." I felt faint at the possibility of having to come up with several months' worth of S-ranked pay. "If any of our members are incapacitated or otherwise no longer able to maintain their status as an Akatsuki member due to this 'prank war'…" Pein trailed off, but his eyes had gained a dangerous glint.

I nodded mutely, trying not to think about the consequences of my roommates allowing Deidara, Tobi, or anyone else who might join in to do whatever kinds of pranks they wanted. I wasn't sure if he meant he'd simply kill me, or if he'd torture me instead; either one wasn't a very enjoyable prospect. It was a scary situation, but I understood in a way. Good S-ranked missing-ninja were hard to come by. "I'll establish some rules for the prank war."

"Rules?" Pein inquired, his expression maintaining its harsh, reproving stare.

I nodded again. "Back home, we always established rules. Or, we had to, after the first time… They have to follow the rules or they lose the war and have to submit to the victorious party for a set duration of time."

"Do so, and be sure that everyone knows that I will enforce punishments to those who break these rules."

Pein and Konan shared a glance, and Pein dismissed me without a further inquiry into our rules. Konan led me out, impassive as she'd first been in the anime. I hadn't really expected any sympathy from her. She and Pein were far too close for her to suddenly grow soft at the prospect of female company - company she'd almost never had before.

I sagged out of my stiff posture the second Konan had closed the doors after me and sighed with relief. Even if he had essentially threatened to kill me, I felt almost like I'd gotten let off easy. I straightened and made my way down the halls to the living room, where most of the Akatsuki and my roommates tended to congregate. If it seems like it'll get out of hand, I'll tell them what they're risking; until then, I'll just set up some rules that will hopefully prevent any further punishment.

*End Flashback*

My mind scrambled for a way to change the subject. "I followed you because I thought you would ignore me. Not that I like being ignored - I just didn't think you'd talk to me or anything."

"I was wondering if that was why you haven't been getting any sleep. Judging by your reaction, that is the most likely reason."

I raised my eyebrows. "How did you know I haven't been able to sleep?" My stalker senses are tingling. "And why does it matter?"

"Your reaction time doubles when you don't get enough sleep. Kisame mentioned having to catch a knife thrown by Hidan for you because you didn't react in time. As for why it matters, when you don't get enough sleep, your cooking starts to get worse, and that gives Hidan another thing to whine about while we train. It's irritating; Kakuzu beating him up isn't even amusing anymore."

Well, that must've gotten old fast for them if Hidan's only had two days to complain about the poor food quality. He must whine a lot. Huh. It's kind of interesting that the ninjas I've barely known for two weeks can tell when I'm not at 100% better than the roommates I've known for over a year. I guess it's because they're ninjas, and trained to know these things.

I thought through the past two days, trying to figure out if my fear of torture and/or death at Pein's hand was a contributing factor to my lack of sleep. "I think it has more to do with time dilation. You're on the other side of the world from us, and I just went from waking up at seven, to waking up at noon, to waking up at five or six in a different time zone, in a little under two weeks. My sleep schedule has been faulty at best, and this back-and-forth is really messing with me." Not to mention there were random nights when I didn't sleep at all before this, too… "Sorry if it's been causing you guys trouble."

Using a material that was probably sturdier than what would normally not be used on something as delicate as a marionette from my world, Sasori placed a retractable blade into the hollow of the puppet arm he'd been inspecting. I felt kind of stupid for blaming my sudden insomnia on shifting sleeping patterns. As a ninja, his sleeping patterns would have been almost constantly shifting on missions - when he was human, anyway. It was like complaining about being hungry to a starving kid in Africa, or whining about stress to a war veteran who'd seen the front lines.

I slowly relaxed my arms so that they weren't holding me up and eased myself back onto his bed. "Your bed's softer than mine, too…"

"What?"

Even though he probably wasn't looking to see the movement, I shrugged. "Your room is bigger than mine, your window is nicer, you have more (and better) furniture, and your bed is softer. I think we got the short end of the stick as far as room arrangements are concerned." I patted the bed again and spread my arms out the way I would make a snow angel in the winter. "Not that I'm complaining - I'm grateful for the place to stay."

"You could always get a real job and rent a place more to your liking in Amegakure." I didn't have to look up to know that he was still working on fixing the blade in the puppet arm.

"And pay outrageous rent to Kakuzu while simultaneously trying to save up enough money for said place? I'll take my chances with you people." I'm voluntarily staying with a group of criminals because I don't want to pay rent to Kakuzu… "My room's not that bad."

We lapsed into silence once again. The small noises coming from Sasori's work desk as he worked on his puppet were the only indication that at least one of us was still alive - if you call that 'living'. Actually, the sounds of him working were kind of calming, like a droning white noise…

I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep, my body no longer able to work up the energy it took to stay awake.

I awoke with a start when something tapped my forehead. I glared up at the finger that still hovered over my face. "What?" I asked, not able to suppress the growling undertone of irritation that had crept into my voice. I was having such a nice dream, too.

Sasori's voice came from the edge of the bed. "Are you going to sleep in here all day?"

"Maybe I am." Okay, Sleepy-Shylah, maybe it's not such a good idea to sound so disrespectful to a nuke-nin.

"I don't want anyone to come in here complaining about you not making lunch."

"Why would Hidan or Tisha think to come in here? It's not like we regularly interact or anything." I reluctantly began the slow process of sitting up on the bed.

"I have no doubt that they won't rest until they find you, even if they have to scour Leader-sama's private quarters. Besides, Deidara will come in here to complain to me about their complaining."

I groaned and resisted the urge to simply crawl under the covers and continue sleeping. Woken up from my precious sleep to do something like cooking! Why do you do this to me?! "What's the time?"

"Eleven thirty." Sasori didn't react as I threw my hands into the air in exasperation. "I suggest you hurry."

I made my way to the door and threw it open more forcefully than was necessary. "I'll be back," I called to him. Sweet, sweet dream-land. I won't be gone long, I promise.

Stalking down the corridors, I growled lowly to myself as I passed by the living room and overheard Tisha whining to Tiamat about wanting food. There was a resounding smack, and Tiamat exited the living room, her normal composure cracked. She caught sight of me and frowned, following me into the kitchen even as Tisha began yelling about Tiamat hitting her with the book she'd apparently been reading. "I hope you have a good explanation for taking so long to start cooking."

"Yeah, I have one. I'm not your freaking scullery maid!"

"Medieval terminology. Is that even an accurate description of your duties here?"

I glared at Tiamat over my shoulder. "Don't test me."

Tiamat raised her hands in a supplicating manner before turning and exiting the kitchen. "I'm going to go see if Kakuzu has any other books to read…"

I rolled my eyes and chose to continue cooking instead of acknowledging Reia, Emi, and Kisame entering the room. Emi looked distinctly frazzled, Reia looked concerned, and Kisame was just being his shark-y self. Emi wisely chose to leave me alone, and Kisame followed her back into the corridors. I think he liked seeing his effect on her.

Reia frowned at me as I dragged something from the pantry. She didn't know that it was human flesh stored in the basement, which I planned on cooking for Zetsu. I'd mentioned it to him, and while he didn't normally bother cooking it, he was willing to try it out. I tossed the bag of meat (not that kind of meat, if you know what I mean) to Reia. "If you want to help me, make that into a nice dish for Zetsu."

Reia looked down at the flesh, brows furrowing as she tried to identify it. "Is this…"

"It's not poached animal meat, if that's what you're wondering," I replied, narrowing down the options considerably. I had to suppress a smirk as Reia finally came to the conclusion, her face showing denial, horror, anger (probably at me for being so okay with it), and finally… acceptance?

"Okay," Reia finally said, her voice coming out as nothing more than a whisper. "Okay," she repeated more firmly. She set the human flesh-filled bag down on the other side of the counter and began setting up the area to prepare it. "I don't know how it tastes, so I don't really know the best way to cook it or season it. I can still try, though."

I stared for a few seconds before consciously closing my jaw with an audible clack. "Who are you and what have you done with our Reia?"

Reia glanced back at me, the smallest frown marring her otherwise calm expression. "I've been all over the world, Shylah. I've been exposed to cannibalism on multiple occasions, so excuse me if I'm desensitized to the idea."

Oh.

"And how have you had the opportunity to become so used to the idea of a human eating another human? I refuse to believe that this doesn't bother you in the slightest."

Because I expected it. "I've been here longer than you - I've cooked for them for the past ten days. If that doesn't acquaint someone with another's eating habits, I don't know what does."

Reia nodded, accepting that as an acceptable answer.

Determined to make up for lost time, I hurriedly returned to my cooking, somehow managing to work even faster than when I'd first started. After a few minutes, Mischa entered the kitchen and offered to lend me a hand. With our combined efforts, we managed to finish lunch for seventeen people in the half-hour of time I'd had left. I set the table while Mischa dished the plates and Reia handed me what I needed, all of us working quickly before the hordes arrived.

So apparently we didn't have the proper supplies for me to make dango. Naturally, I was elected to go shopping, because I'm apparently the errand girl as well as the cook. Mischa had run off with Tobi immediately after she finished lunch (if I didn't know Obito, I'd probably be concerned that she was corrupting him; as I do know Obito, I'm slightly more worried about him finding a way to corrupt her), so she wasn't there to volunteer to go with me. Reia wasn't there, either, so she couldn't force anyone to accompany me and fulfill her 'buddy system' she'd adopted since the second murder.

Against my better judgment, I went alone rather than try to force someone to come with. I probably would've actually enjoyed Tiamat's company, and we would've been able to score some nice deals with our combined efforts. Alas, she seemed unusually somber during lunch, and I didn't want to bother her. The others, while not all unbearable, weren't my idea of ideal shopping company.

Thus why I found myself walking the streets of Amegakure alone. I wasn't totally suicidal, so I made sure to stay in areas with plenty of witnesses should some deranged psycho leap from the alley and try to slit my throat. Not that that would necessarily happen…

I paused at a papaya stand, eyeing the fruit, before moving along. That vendor had no right to look at me so suspiciously when I'd never seen him before in my life.

Instead of buying the tasty-looking fruit, I turned down another road that seemed to have all kinds of food supplies. While I was only looking for the materials to make the dumplings (since that was all that I lacked), I slowed down to peer into a few shops that caught my eye. Some seemed to be fairly well-off, with a wide selection of various goods. Others, while not as impressive-looking, made up for it with charming customer service and appealing foodstuffs arranged in a variety of eye-catching ways.

I bypassed all of them, not eager to waste the funds I'd been secretly pick pocketing from passersby, and entered a place that looked like it would have some dumpling-making… stuff. I glanced back down at the list of ingredients I'd made, slightly startled by how used I'd gotten to seeing Japanese writing compared to the Roman characters I had written the list in. If I stay here long enough, will I end up forgetting how to write in English altogether?

Shaking myself out of my musings, I instead read the ingredients on the list. Shiratamako… kinugoshi-dofu… I already have sugar… soy sauce… katakuriko… tsubu-an. I read each word carefully, picturing the item in my mind to better memorize what I needed. I slowly made my way down the aisles, picking up one ingredient, then the other, until I didn't need anything else.

Taking my time, I casually made my way back to the base. No one would miss me if I wandered around for a little bit. My interest in going back waned further when I heard the sound of loud wails coming from the street to my left. Curious, I walked over to the gathering of another crowd and made my way to the center.

A couple - not quite elderly, but too old to be middle aged - stood close to the center, the source of the wails being the woman. On any other day, she most likely would have looked younger; grief, however, seemed to sap any signs of youth from her pale face. She had a combination of pale skin, purple hair, and bright blue eyes. Her husband had an arm around her, and I noted the familiar tanned skin and black hair; although his eyes - a dull green - weren't the same as the ones the rest of him made me picture.

Finally, my gaze made its way to the prone figure at the center, the one from whom the man shielded his wife's eyes. My own widened fractionally as I recognized the man as the one who'd last found the body of his girlfriend. Taking in his skin, hair, and eye color, I decided he was most likely the older couple's son. From what I could see, he looked like he'd died of blood loss from multiple deep lacerations along his arms and legs.

"Do you know anyone who might've wanted to harm your son?" Ame's version of a policeman questioned the couple.

The thought of someone wanting to harm her son made the mother let out another wail of sorrow. Her husband patted her shoulder consolingly - not that it seemed to do any good - before answering the shinobi cop. "His girlfriend, rest her soul, had… many suitors before she died. It's possible that one of the more serious and violent ones…" He trailed off, closing his eyes and looking down for a moment to avoid bursting into tears. "I'm sorry, it's just… the thought of any of them wanting to harm him-"

"Take your time," the man questioning him replied. "I can wait."

I turned and proceeded to walk back to headquarters, no longer interested in staying out to enjoy the rain. What a way to kill the mood. I guess it's not their fault, so I shouldn't be so bothered by it. Ah, well, at least I have dango to look forward to. I smiled at the thought of making dango and picked up the pace.

I smacked Mischa's hand away from the platter of my special dango. "You're not the only one who gets to eat what I make - save some for the others." I ignored Mischa's pout. "You're on temporary probation for getting Deidara and Tobi involved in your childish prank wars." Not that I did anything to stop you…

"But sis~!" Mischa whined, doing her best puppy-dog face. Beside her, Tobi adopted her pleading posture, although I couldn't tell if he was mimicking her expression. "Tobi and I are hungry! And you said you'd help us prank!"

I rolled my eyes, holding the platter above my head, where my shorter sister wouldn't be able to reach. "When I say no, I'm not just speaking to fill the silence." Mischa opened her mouth to retort, but I cut her off. "No. There, I said it."

Mischa whined, and Tobi seemed to take this as his cue to try convincing me. He followed right on my heels as I proceeded down the hall, holding my platter aloft. "Shylah-chan, please! We really, really, really want some dango, and we'll give you hugs if you give us some!"

I shuddered openly (and maybe a little exaggeratedly) at the thought of having to endure physical contact with two people at the same time. "Don't make me repeat myself, or you aren't getting any," I told him as I entered the living room, where (surprisingly) all the Akatsuki except for Zetsu, Pein, and Konan were located. From our group, only Reia was missing, although Emi looked ready to bolt if one more person stepped into the room.

Most of the room's occupants looked up at my comment, and Deidara grinned from his place beside Caitlin. "Not that Tobi gets any, anyway, un." Caitlin giggled, rolling up a piece of paper that no doubt had plans for all the pranks they were going to pull together.

I declined to respond to the comment, instead setting the dango platter down on the coffee table - coincidentally, where Tisha and Tracey were going over their own plans. Tisha narrowed her eyes at me while Tracey squeaked in surprise. "Get your crap off my papers, bitch!"

"Hey!" Mischa snapped from behind - now beside - me, eyes narrowed dangerously at Tisha. "Don't call my sister that!"

Tisha straightened her back and puffed out her chest, a bloodthirsty smirk growing on her face. "What'cha gonna do about it?"

Hidan grinned like the homicidal maniac he was. "Bitch fight! Fuck yeah!"

I stepped between Mischa and Tisha, effectively blocking them off and preventing a fight over the dango. "Both of you quit it. I made some treats for all of you." I caught Kakuzu eyeing the large pile of dango. "No, I didn't use any of your money. I have my own ways of getting funds for my endeavors."

Kakuzu nodded, satisfied, and immediately went back to his book. He was probably too old for sweets, anyway - it might make his teeth fall out faster or something.

Tisha, Tracey, Caitlin, and Deidara were all inspecting the dango skeptically. "Exactly what would I use to mimic the appearance of little rice flour dumplings that wouldn't give off an unholy stench?" Hidan frowned at my use of a religious word without the context being about heathens.

Tracey delicately lifted a single stick of dango and sniffed it suspiciously. She looked between me and my sister - my sister was previously thought to be more trustworthy than me, so this was probably a huge dilemma for a slightly naïve girl who had a habit of trusting everyone. From behind her, Itachi reached out and grabbed his own dango stick, apparently willing to risk a prank if the possible reward was sweet, sweet dango. Tracey squeaked in alarm before quickly taking a bite of her own. She chewed slowly, swallowed, and then turned to smile back at Itachi. "Don't worry, it's safe!" She chirped before scarfing down the rest, having done her good deed for the day.

Itachi just watched her for a second before starting on his own dango. Satisfied that the dango were safe, everyone else surged forward to grab some dango - with the exception of Kakuzu and Sasori, neither of whom seemed to want any. Sasori probably couldn't have any, anyway.

I shrugged and noncommittally snatched a few sticks of dango for myself, making my way back to Sasori's room to catch up on my sleep. That should keep them off my back until I make dinner. The little twits better be grateful. And now I know what I'm making on June ninth, too.

Reia's P.O.V.

I inspected the flower nearest to me, a smile making its way onto my face. Who knew there was actually a garden in here? I didn't think anything could grow in all this rain. I sighed contentedly as I glanced around the well-kept greenhouse. I'm glad I got to see this…

*Flashback to Lunch*

Suppressing an exasperated sigh at the antics of Tisha, Hidan, Deidara, and Caitlin, I slowly ate my food. We were all gathered around the unusually large table, with the exception of Pein, Konan, Sasori (not that I'd seen him more than once), and Tobi. Zetsu was joining us this once in order to test out the human flesh he'd agreed to try. He didn't know that Shylah had been too busy to make it for him and had given it to me to make instead, but it didn't really matter all that much who made it as long as it tasted good.

I ate in silence for most of the meal, only speaking up twice to back Tiamat up when she ordered Tish, Hidan, and Deidara to stop throwing food. Hidan and Deidara didn't listen to me, but I like to think I helped subdue Tish's rebellious behavior.

Hidan whined at us for ordering us around, to which Tiamat replied, "Maybe if you wouldn't act like such an irresponsible child, I wouldn't feel the need to put you in your place." For once, I decided not to chide Tiamat for her superior tone, as it would most likely ruin the image of an authority figure she was currently projecting.

From beside me, Emi squeaked as Deidara accidentally hit her face with some rice. It was probably a bad idea to sit by Mischa when Deidara was throwing food around… At least Kisame was there to pick Deidara's plate up and bring its contents back down on Deidara's head.

…Was I just thankful that someone acted like an immature child? This place must be getting to me if I don't feel the need to reprimand someone for such behavior. I glanced over at where Emi was staring down at her own plate, face red as a tomato from embarrassment. Maybe, just this once, it's okay that Kisame dumped food on Deidara. He did kind of deserve it.

Mischa, for her part, knew that Deidara had been aiming for her, and seemed to feel appropriately remorseful for Emi's misfortune. She quickly began making all kinds of ridiculous jokes, ranging from funny faces to the most random sounds. Again, I decided to let the immature behavior pass - after all, it had Emi giggling, her mind off of the rice that had been flung in her face.

Deidara had leapt to our side of the table and started hurling food at Kisame - food that came from Caitlin's plate. "Hey, leave my stuff alone, Deidara! I'm still eating that!"

While they began bickering like toddlers fighting over a toy, Shylah sighed from across the table. "They flirt like grade-schoolers."

Emi's eyes widened and she blushed. Mischa giggled, while I simply frowned at Shylah. "Implying things that aren't true is going to turn their attention on you."

Shylah rolled her eyes and returned her attention to Deidara, Caitlin, Kisame, and Hidan's four-way food fight. Mischa promised to get revenge for Emi, and proceeded to throw bits of food at Deidara despite Emi's protests. Thus lunch went on, until nearly everyone was done and had left.

Shylah turned to Zetsu, a conspiratorial grin tugging on her lips. "So how'd you like the food, Zetsu?"

"It was good. I'd rather eat it raw. Don't listen to him - he's just being difficult. Hey, you little-" Shylah and I shared an amused look when he began to argue with themselves. It was fascinating to watch an individual so at odds with himself.

Shylah circled the table and elbowed me. "How does it feel to have cooked human flesh and just gotten a basic compliment? Your food is just 'good'."

I frowned and opened my mouth to retort, but was interrupted. "She cooked for us? Thank you; we appreciate it."

Shylah smirked and elbowed me again. "Yeah, I barely had time to make lunch because I slept in, so I just handed it over to Reia and told her to make something. She was surprisingly accepting of the fact that she had to handle human flesh - something about having been around cannibals before."

I tried not to squirm under Zetsu's piercing gaze. It was intimidating to have a pair of bright yellow eyes studying me so closely. "Would you like to see our garden?"

"Ooh~" Shylah sang, smirking mischievously at us. "Zetsu's gonna show Reia his 'garden'. That's a sexual innuendo if I've ever heard one."

"Shylah," I ground out. "You've got to be joking me."

Shylah giggled. "Are you going to 'fertilize' her, Zetsu?"

Zetsu glared at Shylah, his white half blushing and his black half frowning at her perverted jokes. It was kind of scary. "Maybe we will. No, that's not what we meant! Thanks for the idea."

I gave both of them my best disapproving stare. "Shylah, quit acting so perverted. I'm sure Zetsu is going to show me an actual garden, not 'fertilize me', as you put it."

*End Flashback*

Zetsu did not, in fact, 'fertilize me'. Instead, he showed me to a greenhouse, which was located behind the building. There was a large variety of plants, all of them either man-eating, poisonous, toxic to touch, or a combination of all three. I wasn't afraid of the man-eating plants, considering that they actually had a grasp of a ninja technique known as 'genjutsu', which didn't apply to me because I didn't have chakra for the plant to manipulate. I just had to be wary not to touch any - no matter what kind of plant it was, if it was in this greenhouse it was dangerous.

I turned to Zetsu, my smile still in place. "It's beautiful."

"Thank you. Of course it is." Zetsu's white half frowned disapprovingly at his black half - or tried to, anyway. "We were wondering where you've encountered other cannibals."

I nodded. "My parents' line of work takes them to all sorts of places. When I was born, rather than leave me with family, they took me with them. Mom took her recovery time to care for me, and when she returned to her job, Dad took care of me because his job wasn't as dangerous as Mom's."

"What did your parents do?" I was slowly becoming more and more accustomed to Zetsu's odd way of speaking - it was almost like the way Shylah and Mischa would occasionally finish each other's sentences.

"My dad is a linguist, specializing in ancient languages. My mom is an archaeologist, but more like a tomb explorer. In our homeland, there's this movie character who's a tomb raider, and I always thought my mom was like a real-life version of her." My smile faltered for a second as I remembered that I was stuck here, with no way to contact either of them.

"You miss them." It was a statement, not a question, but I nodded anyway. "Would staying in the garden make you feel better?"

I nodded again, looking out over the greenhouse. "I've always enjoyed gardening, but I can leave if you'd prefer me not to be here."

"You can stay. We won't eat you. Promise."

A smile crept back onto my face - just as much a reaction to his assurances about not eating me as to the fact that he was letting me stay. "Thank you."

So, there you have it! I hope you enjoyed the ninth chapter.

I put two P.O.V.s in here because I wanted to show what they're doing and how the relationships are progressing. Kisame has a better reason to follow Emi around than simply enjoying how intimidating he is.

Does anyone have a problem with multiple P.O.V.s per chapter? I'm doing this because eight romances/love stories/whatever you'd call these are difficult to write realistically without having several hundred chapters, and also because it (maybe) makes it feel like the story has actually progressed through the day I'm focusing on, as well as the past. If you feel you have a sound argument for why I should make a chapter for each character (which means more + short chapters), please let me know.

Fun Fact: Even though Shylah was stuck with the duty of cooking, she isn't the best cook. Mischa, Reia, and Emi are better at cooking than she is.

Again, I'm kind of drawing out the length of time it takes for them all to be romantically involved - Tobi, Kakuzu, and Sasori especially are going to take a long time to set up. I'm not including Itachi in that list because I can actually make that one a little faster thanks to Tracey's way with people - a way... we haven't seen yet... I'll get on that! ^.^' Zetsu's not on that list, either, because of Reia's personality. In the cases of those four, they blend. They blend well.

On the bright side, Deidara and Caitlin's romance won't take long at all, and Hidan and Tisha's is going to be pretty soon, too - if a little weird due to certain aspects of Hidan's religion that I may or may not use my poetic license for. For Kisame and Emi, it'll probably take as long as Itachi and Tracey's because of Emi's shyness and extreme introversion - which is why I have them around each other so much.

I have a new movie to watch~! :3