Author's Note:

Hey guys! I was really impatient to upload this chapter, so you guys get it a day early! Yay! I will be trying to update weekly on Tuesdays. Please understand if I end up being late however. Also sorry if this is moving to slowly for you, I'm really trying to make it a good story.

Well I'll leave you to your reading. Enter the Akatsuki!

Another Author's Note:

Y'all are supposed to tell me when there are typos! This chapter was a mess and no one said anything.

Chapter 2: The Worst Day

Chrysanthemum woke up in a good mood. That should have been her first sign that something was wrong.

The young woman hummed tunelessly to herself as she made her way to the bathroom. She brushed her teeth, combed her hair, and even put on some light makeup, which she hadn't touched in months. After dressing in her favorite sweater that fell off her shoulders and some comfortable skinny jeans, she looked herself in the mirror with a satisfied smile.

'Good job, Chrissy,' she told herself.

Chrysanthemum then left the room and walked into the chaos of the living room. Chip bags, pizza boxes, and beer cans were strewn everywhere. David was snoring on the couch in a position that couldn't be comfortable and the TV was still on, a newscaster blandly informing them that it was going to rain later. Chrysanthemum's first thought was annoyance at the mess, but her second was a worried prayer that all of David's friend had got home safely and that they had called a taxi rather than drive home buzzed. Just as she was debating whether or not to wake David up so he could check on his friends, her phone rang. Not expecting any calls, the girl pulled out her phone, dreading the thought of being called in to work on her one day off. But the number was unknown. Hesitantly, she answered.

"Hello?"

"Chrissy?" came a soft voice on the other end.

Chrysanthemum was stunned. "Matthew? Hi!"

"Hi!" came the reply. "Wow it's been a long time! You'd think I would see you around more."

"I know, I'm sorry," Chrysanthemum said, warmth filling her heart. "I'm usually at work when you and David hang out."

Matthew was David's best friend. The quiet, thoughtful young man had stuck to David's side like glue for all of middle and high school. He was actually how she and David had met, begging her to be their tutor since they were both useless at math.

"Well we should go out for lunch sometime," Matthew said pleasantly. "I want to see what the greatest artist of all time is up to!"

Chrysanthemum laughed right along with him, but the warmth in her heart began to turn into a dull ache. Talking to Matthew was nostalgic. Everything was different now, and those simpler times seemed like so long ago.

"Lunch, huh?" she said, starting to clean up the mess in her living room. "I'd like that. I'd like that a lot, Matthew."

"Then I'll make the time to see you," Matthew promised. "Anyways, I called because I had a question for you."

"Shoot." Chrysanthemum went to the kitchen and dragged the trashcan over so she could toss in the empty cans and rubbish.

"I was wondering if you'd seen Rose around lately?"

Chrysanthemum stopped at that. She switched the cellphone to her other ear.

"I haven't seen Rose in almost a year," she said shortly. Whatever good mood she had been in this morning had evaporated.

"Oh…" Matthew said, seeming to hear the tension in her voice. "Well I swung by her place yesterday and it looks like she hasn't been home in a while."

"She might be on vacation." But Chrysanthemum knew it was a long shot. Just like Matthew was David's best friend, once upon a time Rose had been hers. And she knew it was more probable that Rose was dead in a ditch, rather than tanning on a beach somewhere.

"I'm just worried, Chrissy," Matthew said, the anxiety in his voice clear.

Chrysanthemum sighed, seeing that her day was officially ruined. "I'll go look for her," she promised.

"Thank you," came Matthew's relieved voice. "You know her better than anyone."

"Don't worry, Matthew. I'll find her."

. . .

Once she was done cleaning, Chrysanthemum scribbled a note to David that they would have to make their lunch date a dinner date. Then she grabbed her coat and keys, and went on a hunt for Rose. She did her best not to curse the woman, but she couldn't help imagining how she was going to beat the crap out of her when she found her.

Her search took her all over the place.

She swung by Matthew and Rose's parents house and they were delighted to see her. They thought Rose was attending pre-med school in the city, studying to become the greatest doctor the world had ever seen. Chrysanthemum didn't see any reason to change that belief, so she made up an excuse as to why she couldn't stay for a late breakfast and left.

The brown haired girl then found herself in the sketchy part of downtown and looking for Rose's dealer. When she finally found the shady man, he informed her that Rose and bought some new product from him a week ago and he hadn't seen her since. He didn't try to sell Chrysanthemum anything, since they had had encounters in the past and knew she would sooner turn him in than buy.

The situation was becoming desperate now. Chrysanthemum tried to fight the pessimistic thoughts barraging her mind. Rose was an idiot for sure. But she wasn't stupid. She knew her limits. Chrysanthemum went to all of Rose's old haunts. The old skate park. The trashed man made lake. Even the forest behind their old high school. Nothing. Raking her brain for ideas, the young woman felt herself begin to panic. Where could she have gone?

Then a thought hit her. A terrible, terrible thought. Chrysanthemum hit the gas on her poor overworked car and began speeding to the one place she could think of. She hoped she was wrong. But in her heart, she knew she wasn't.

Chrysanthemum parked outside an old brick building. The place was falling apart. It was an old antique shop with a studio loft, owned by an ancient Chinese woman that could barely see and was basically deaf. Chrysanthemum had no idea how the senile old woman had kept her place from being condemned, as all the buildings around were closed and abandoned. When Chrysanthemum was still in school, she worked here in her free time. Instead of paying her, Ms. Ching had given her the studio loft so she could practice her art. More often than not, Chrissy could be found there, rather than at her house.

Chrysanthemum entered the store, the tinkling bell signaling her arrival.

"Ms. Ching?" she called, weaving her way through racks of junk. "Ms. Ching, are you here?"

There was no reply. Chrysanthemum stumbled through the store, making her way to the front desk. Ms. Ching sat in a plush arm chair behind the counter, fast asleep. The elderly woman snored loudly as Chrissy passed. The young woman didn't want to disturb her, so she slipped past and made her way to the back of the store where the stairs were. She struggled with the rusty door, the metal grinding and creaking in a way that set her teeth on edge. Finally, she managed to pry it open just enough for her to squeeze through.

The air was thick and smelled of mold. Ms. Ching probably didn't come up here to clean it. It was more likely that she forgot there was an upstairs to her building.

"Rose?" Chrysanthemum called. She made it to the top of the stairs. For a moment, all she could do was stand there be overwhelmed. Her paintings from high school hung on the walls, most ruined due to water damage. A bookshelf filled with old sketchbooks sat in a corner and there was a large table that was littered with brushes and dried up paints. She could recall every stain on the uneven floor and remember what she was doing when it happened.

A groan yanked Chrysanthemum from her thoughts. Her head snapped to a pile of dirty tarps she had used for drop cloths years ago. The pile shifted and she knew instantly what it was.

"Rose!"

Chrysanthemum ran to her old friend and pulled the grimy tarps off of her. Rose lay in a fetal position, looking like she'd been hit by a car. Her once brilliant auburn hair was greasy and matted. Her freckly skin was translucent and look paper thin. The bags under her eyes were massive and the corners of them were crusty and gross.

"God, Rose," Chrissy said, not knowing where to start. "What happened?"

"Took a bad tab," the girl croaked. "Stuff doesn't usually get to me, so I took a couple."

The drug addict made a retching noise and began dry heaving. Chrysanthemum grimaced and rolled her friend onto her side. After a few minutes, Rose stopped and took several shuddering breaths.

"I'm gonna kick JJ's ass," she grumbled, referring to her dealer.

Chrysanthemum cracked a smile at the familiar gung-ho attitude. She'd missed it.

"How long have you been here?"

"I dunno. Few days? Crashed my car nearby, couldn't think of anywhere to go. Thought you might be here."

"Oh."

For a moment, the two girls didn't say anything. Guilt was eating away at Chrysanthemum. Whenever Rose had a bad drug experience, she always managed to crawl her way to the studio. A year ago, she would have been there. Ready to patch her up and make excuses for her. But this time she hadn't been there for her.

"You would have liked this trip," Rose said, a lopsided grin on her face. "There were anime nerds like you."

"Were there?" Chrysanthemum shook herself. She had to help Rose. She managed to hoist the limp woman up in her arms. It wasn't that difficult as she had lost a lot of weight.

"Yeah spiky hair, stupid costumes and everything," Rose continued. "They got here last night I think."

"Uh huh," Chrysanthemum said absently, dragging her friend to the hall with the bathroom. It was hard work.

"They're still in the back room I think."

"I'll have to check it out."

She laid Rose on the bathroom floor and moved to the tub. It was disgusting, but it would have to do. She turned the faucet a few times, until it gushed dirty brown water. After a few moments running, it turned clear. After plugging the tub, she turned to Rose who had fallen asleep on the floor behind her. Chrysanthemum sighed, wondering what it would be like to have a normal life.

Somewhere in the apartment, there was a crash.

Chrysanthemum froze.

"Ms. Ching?" she called. There was no answer.

The young woman hesitantly stepped over the body of her friend and entered the hallway. The only other space was the tiny back room use for storage. It had always been locked whenever Chrysanthemum had been here. But now as she peered down the hall, the door to the room that had always been shut was cracked open. Someone was in here with them.

Fear rose within her and her first instinct was to scream for help. She never got the chance. A shadow appeared from nowhere right in front of Chrysanthemum. Before she could even stumble backwards, a hand was brought to her neck and everything went black.

Her last thought was that someone must have slipped her one of Rose's bad tabs. Because she could have sworn her attacker was an anime character.

. . .

"What are we going to do, un? How long are we going to be here in this dump?"

"Be quiet, brat. Leader-sama will tell us when we need to know."

"This is fucking stupid! When are we going to kill these dumb bitches?"

Chrysanthemum blearily shifted awake. She tried to stretch, but found she couldn't more her body.

"Idiot, we're not going to kill them yet. We need them to tell us where we are."

"Fuck off, old man!"

"Shut up, yeah! I think one's waking up!"

"Get Leader-sama!"

Chrysanthemum slowly opened her eyes. She found herself bound to a chair, which explained why she couldn't move. A groan next to her informed her that Rose was there too, probably in the same predicament.

"Can you hear me?"

Chrysanthemum turned to face whoever was addressing her. Everything was blurry.

"Can you hear me?" the voice repeated.

Things were coming into focus. They was still in the studio. But this time, there were a lot of people there with them. Slowly Chrysanthemum nodded.

"Good," the voice said. "Tell me where we are."

The voice was familiar, Chrysanthemum realized. Like an old friend.

"Where…?" she repeated fuzzily. Her vision was clearing. The people in the room were starting to take distinct shapes. When she finally saw who was here, it didn't make any sense than before.

"What—?" Chrysanthemum started, her heart rate picking up and her head pounding. They couldn't be here. It was impossible.

She turned to stare in horror at the man who had been talking to her before.

"What is happening!?" she demanded, her voice frantic.

Pein, one of her favorite characters from her childhood anime, blinked slowly.

"I was hoping you could tell us that," he said coldly, the Akatsuki standing behind him.

Chrysanthemum knew at that point she was either going insane or was in deep, deep trouble. Either way, this was turning into the worst day of her life.

What do you think? Please please review!

It's very encouraging and I'd really appreciate it.

Well, until next time! Bye~!