Close Call
Onyx and Ivory
"So what really happened between you two on that mission?" Kisame questioned his partner as they sat on opposite sides of the campfire. They had been travelling most of the day and had just sat down to rest. They were going to reach a village tomorrow where they would be able to sleep in a hotel for a change.
Itachi's eyes remained on the crackling fire. "I told you already that it is none of your concern."
"Oh, come on." Kisame teased, his teeth flashing. "We're away from everyone else now. You can tell me, I won't tell a soul."
"There is nothing to tell, Kisame." Itachi replied.
Kisame crossed his arms behind his head as he leaned back against the tree. "Well, you're saying that it's none of my concern is telling me that something happened and that you just don't want to share."
Itachi sent him a dark look from across the fire. Kisame chuckled at his expression; he shut his eyes, pretending that he had dropped the subject. That was until he cracked one eye open into a narrow slit. "Hidan will be jealous."
Itachi's eyes suddenly came to life in a swirling red as he glared at the blue man with murderous intent. Kisame laughed loudly and slapped his leg. "Maa, Itachi-san, you've never been this easy to read. If I were you I'd keep that woman on a short leash…she's seems to be the type that just attracts trouble."
Don't I know it, Itachi thought with a frustrated sigh. He ignored Kisame's statement, and turned his head away. He was going to play no part in Kisame's teasing schemes. He was going to ignore him from now on.
Hoshiko was busying herself in her room in the hideout. It had been almost a week since she and Itachi had arrived and six days since he and Kisame had left on their new mission. She had spent most of her days training, talking with Tobi when he came and sought her out for a chat, and then reading in her room. On this day, she was fixing up her shirt that she had ripped during training. She was sitting in her shorts and bindings on the floor as she sewed the material back together. It was tedious work, and she wasn't exactly the best tailor but there weren't any shops nearby for her to purchase new clothes so this was going to have to do.
Just as she tied a knot at the end of the cotton there was a knock on her door. "Oi!" Deidara's voice shouted on the other side. "Open up, woman. I've got something to tell you, un."
Hoshiko rolled her eyes at Deidara's impatient-ness as she quickly chucked on her repaired shirt and shuffled over to her door and opened it up. Deidara was leaning against the doorframe, a charming half smile on his face as he picked at dirt that was under his nails. "What is it?" Hoshiko questioned wearily.
"We're going on a mission, un."
"We?" Hoshiko repeated, trying to make sure she heard the blonde correctly.
"Uh-huh." Deidara smirked at her. "Assassination of some Kusa-nin. Apparently he's been causing a lot of fuss for some Ame-nin, it's gonna be pretty quick and simple, un."
"I thought you already had a partner for missions?" Hoshiko asked.
"Sasori-dono's gone to do some solo reconnaissance." Deidara waved his hand in the air dismissively. "And I had to pick either you or Tobi so you should be lucky that I'm even considering you, un."
Hoshiko snorted at the blonde man. "I'm flattered that you chose me." She said with a deadpan tone.
Deidara's eye twitched. "It really wasn't a hard decision…"
Hoshiko chuckled at Deidara's reaction as she turned and began to gather her things up. "I'll be ready soon."
"Hurry up, I wanna get out of here and away from that little menace as soon as possible, un!" Deidara called as he began to walk away from her room.
"Tobi's—hick—really gonna—hick—miss you, Hoshiko—hick—chan!"
Hoshiko stood in line with Deidara as the two stared at the weeping man. Hoshiko had the most unimpressed look on her face while Deidara was grimacing at Tobi. The masked man in question was holding a tissue up to his masked face and blew loudly.
Does he realize the mask is covering his nose still? Hoshiko thought with a sigh.
"Tobi will never forget you!" He continued.
Deidara leered at the orange masked man. "I'm here too, you bastard!"
"Deidara-senpai!" Tobi sobbed as he launched himself at the blonde. Tobi's arms went around Deidara's neck as he clung onto the rogue nin desperately as Deidara pushed at his head to try and get him off.
"Get the fuck off me, Tobi!" Deidara roared. Tobi's head was bending at a very concerning angle but he continued to hold on.
"Tobi's gonna miss you too, Deidara-senpai!"
The two continued to battle with one another. Tobi holding on to give Deidara his well deserved hug and the blonde trying with all his might to loosen the masked mans grip so that he could escape.
Hoshiko spun on her heel. "I'm leaving. See you later, Deidara." She began walking to the exit of the base.
"Bye byeee, Hoshiko-chan!" Tobi called sweetly at her retreating back.
"TOBI!" Deidara bellowed. Tobi waving at Hoshiko threw off Deidara's balance, as they both toppled over and hit the ground. "I'M GONNA KILL YOU, UN!"
There was scuffling between them. "Deidara-senpai? What are you—uh hey hey! Wait! Deidara-senpai!"
"KATSU!"
BOOM!
X
"Don't you think you went a little overboard back there?" Hoshiko questioned her blonde companion. Deidara was walking very smug like alongside her.
"You've only had to deal with Tobi for a week, un. Try being around him for years." Deidara stated with a heavy roll of his eye in Hoshiko's direction.
Hoshiko snorted at his child-like behavior and then turned to face the road that they were walking along. She was still getting used to the feeling of the new cloak that covered her whole body. It was strange, when she looked down at herself to see her wearing the black and red-clouded cloak like everyone else. She had to keep reminding herself that she was apart of Akatsuki now, just like Deidara. And just like Itachi.
"How long will it take us to get to Kusa?" Hoshiko asked Deidara a few minutes later.
"From here? Hmm…" He trailed off for a moment, glancing up like he was deep in thought. "About two weeks, if we make good time, un."
That evening, they stopped in a village that had a small inn ran by an elderly lady and her son. Deidara and Hoshiko entered together and approached the desk. The little old lady, with long white hair and a gap toothed smile, beamed at them both.
"And are you lovely ladies after one bedroom or two?"
"Two, thanks." Hoshiko spoke.
"Ladies?" Deidara roared. He was appalled at how he had been addressed. Hoshiko bit down on her lip to stop herself from bursting out into laughter. She held it in, because of what she had witnessed with how he had dealt with Tobi that morning. She didn't fancy getting blown up tonight.
The elderly lady looked sheepish as she bowed her head in apology. "Forgive me, young man! It's just with your long hair I mistook you for a woman."
Deidara pouted, crossed his arms and turned away from the old woman as Hoshiko dealt with their payments. All the while she suppressed the urge to grin at the situation. As they headed up the nearby stairs, Deidara was making a point to stomp loudly as he did so; Hoshiko glanced over her shoulder at him. "Do you get mistaken for a woman often, Deidara-chan?" Hoshiko couldn't resist teasing him.
"Shut the hell up, yariman!" He hissed at her hatefully with a glare. Hoshiko finally let out the laughter that she had been holding in for that whole time. Deidara stormed passed her on the stairs, knocking her into the wall as he raced up them and then disappeared into his room.
Hoshiko realized a little while later, that tonight had been the first time she had laughed in a long, long time.
Hoshiko rolled up her used scroll and tucked it back into her weapons pouch. Her chakra stores were fully replenished and the cuts and bruises that she had from the Kusa-nin were healing rapidly. The man had been unexpectedly strong; Deidara had ended up needed some help when it appeared that the nin had a lightning affinity, something that stopped Deidara's explosives in their tracks. The blonde man in question was currently hovering over the dead mans body, laughing and taunting him. Hoshiko watched on with mild apprehension—she was all for killing people who needed to be killed, but once they were dead it was a given that you had to respect their fallen body. It seems that was where they differed in their beliefs.
"Deidara…let's go already!" Hoshiko called out to him in annoyance. Over the two weeks that they had been travelling together, Hoshiko had found that she liked Deidara. They butted heads most of the time, calling each other names and teasing one another—but it was somehow peaceful to Hoshiko. It reminded her of how her and Shisui had been, and to an extent how her and Itachi had been when they were young.
"Shut up, Hoshiko. This fucker gave us a hard time I wanna savor this moment, un!" Deidara called back with a glare pointed at her. Hoshiko rolled her silver eyes at him. She felt a sort of companionship with Deidara. He seemed to be the most normal out of all the members of Akatsuki she had come across. Normal is subjective in this case, as killers, criminals and walking piranhas surround her. Normal isn't even a word in the Akatsuki dictionary.
It was because of this weird friendship that they had with one another, that Hoshiko didn't argue with the blonde as he continued to figuratively 'dance on his grave'. Instead she settled with releasing a sigh and sitting back on a fallen tree log. Hoshiko caught glimpses of Deidara's hands as she watched him. His ability was bizarre to say the least. He would eat clay with his hands and create little creatures that would do his bidding, and then they had the ability to explode. It was cool, except for the hand part—that was still creepy as hell.
Hoshiko caught sight of his scratched forehead protector. As she saw the emblem for Stone she realized that maybe it was why they had a sort of kinship with one another. They were both technically from Land of Earth. Deidara had connected the dots on their first day of travel. He had recognized her last name and she had willingly told him that yes, she was the last of the Ginyoru clan. Deidara had been impressed and stated that he remembered hearing stories about her clan growing up.
It was different, when he talked about her clan. You could tell that Deidara admired what the clan had done during the war. They had infiltrated camps and killed hundreds of shinobi. Deidara had called them 'War Heroes'. It was a stark comparison to what she had heard growing up in Konoha. She had been labeled a villain, an evil creature and that her and her whole family deserved to die.
It made her wonder…who was right in retrospect? If you looked at from both sides, then either one of them could have been right. If you asked Hoshiko when she was young, who she thought had done the right thing she would've said Konoha in a heartbeat.
But now…now she wasn't sure anymore. And what did that say about her at this point in time?
"Alright." Deidara said, cutting off her thoughts. Hoshiko met his stare. "Let's get the hell out of here, un."
Hoshiko stretched as she stood up from the log. "Where are we headed now?" She asked him as they delved into the forest to find the main road that they had travelled along from before.
"Mm." Deidara pondered for a moment. "Probably the Ame base."
"Ame?" Hoshiko questioned. Her brows creased in thought. "Tobi mentioned that Ame is where Leader-sama is. Are we going there?"
"Not quite." Deidara replied. "Leader-sama's main operation base is in Amegakure itself, un. He never leaves the village unless he has to, and we don't go there unless we're told to. He's weird like that." Deidara ducked under a branch. "But there's a small base a few hours away from the village. We can hold up there until he tells us what to do, un."
Hoshiko nodded and fell into step beside the explosives expert. They walked for a little while before Deidara started up a conversation again. "So what's the story with you and the damned Uchiha?" Hoshiko scowled over at the blonde. Deidara took in her expression and then laughed loudly. "Kisame told me to not bring him up with you unless I wanted to get impaled, un."
"Well, he's right." Hoshiko snapped darkly.
"He also said you're pretty annoying, un. But you haven't been that much of a pain in my ass so I figured it might be safe enough to ask, un."
"There's not much to tell." Hoshiko stated, crossing her arms as she walked along. "We knew each other in Konoha. He decided to murder his entire family and turn into the biggest fucking ballsack I've ever met. The end."
Deidara snorted at her expressive choice of words. He glanced down at her small frame. "Did you guys just know each other or did you know each other, un?" He winked at her.
Hoshiko wanted to throttle him. Honestly, why did all the Akatsuki want to know if her and Itachi had been a thing back before? It was ridiculous. Hoshiko was tired of trying to defend her pride each and every time this question came up. She decided though, she didn't mind talking to Deidara about it. Even if he were secretly trying to get in her pants—not like that would ever happen because; let's face it—the hands.
"We've known each other since we were kids." She admitted with a sigh.
Deidara made a little noise of surprise. "Knew each other that well, huh?"
"It was never like that." Hoshiko clarified with a pointed look. "We were friends. We did…absolutely everything together. He helped train me so that I could become ANBU. We were inseparable, Itachi, Shisui and I. And then he changed—and he turned into the bastard we all know today."
"Shisui…I've heard that name before…" Deidara mused.
"Uchiha Shisui." Hoshiko said with a faint smile. "He was the strongest shinobi I'd ever met. He was clever, kind and funny. He was my best friend."
"And that punk ass Uchiha killed him, didn't he, un." Deidara mumbled.
Hoshiko's brows crinkled together as she stared off into the distance. Indeed, that punk ass Uchiha had killed him. "You seem to have your own issues with him, what gives?" Hoshiko asked, glad that she had found something to divert the attention off her and her sad life.
"Bastard beat me." Deidara grumbled. "Leader-sama sought me out and wanted me to join Akatsuki. I didn't want to so the Uchiha challenged me to a fight and if he won I had to join, un."
"Yeah…" Hoshiko sighed. "He has the annoying ability to win all of his fights. I've never once won against him before."
"Smug bastard." Deidara growled.
Hoshiko smirked. It seemed she wasn't alone in her loathing of the Uchiha prodigy.
"It's raining? What the hell it was sunny not two seconds ago!" Hoshiko complained under the heavy rainfall. Deidara was a few paces ahead of her as he called back.
"That's Ame for you! The place is always under a constant rain. Now you know why no one chooses to live here, un."
Hoshiko grimaced as she glanced up into the sky and the never-ending rain. Dark clouds loomed ahead, and thick droplets pounded against Hoshiko's face. She was just thankful that her new cloak was completely waterproof. Not like the last time in Stone Country when her and Itachi had been caught out in a storm and she had gotten drenched beyond belief.
Hoshiko sniggered as a funny thought crossed her mind. Maybe that was why the Akatsuki cloaks were waterproof. If Leader-sama was based in Ame, and it always rained there, then it explained why he would create his cloaks to be waterproof.
"What's so funny, un?" Deidara asked as he brushed back his wet hair from his face.
"Nothing." Hoshiko told him as she caught up to where he was standing.
X
They had been travelling for a good three days into Ame's borders. Kusa was a small country in itself and so was Ame, so it wouldn't take them long until they reached wherever they needed to go.
But apparently for Deidara, it was taking too long and he hated the rain. He had told her that there was a village coming up soon that would have a hotel for them to stay in for the night, and then tomorrow they would make their way to the hideout. They trudged along the muddy path together, Hoshiko one pace behind Deidara.
Ribbit!
Hoshiko's eyebrows twitched into a frown as she heard a frog nearby. She didn't think much of it. It was raining, and frogs loved the water.
Ribbit!
It sounded much closer now. Hoshiko had the horrifying thought about what if it was one of Jiraiya's frogs behind her. She turned her head subtly, and then felt her blood run cold. The little orange frog that carried letters between her and Jiraiya was following along, hopping happily. She whirled back around to see if Deidara had noticed, he hadn't and was walking ahead, grumbling to himself about the rain every couple of seconds.
Hoshiko spun back to the frog, which gave another happy little ribbit. She held up her hands in a wait motion as the frog halted, then cocked it's head to the side. Hoshiko frantically shook her head at him and pointed over at Deidara, who was still oblivious to what was going on behind him. Even though it was just a frog, Hoshiko didn't want to risk the chance of anyone finding out that she was having contact with someone outside of Akatsuki. That wouldn't end well for her.
Thankfully, the frog was a lot more adept at subtle signs then his master. It gave a deep ribbit and then hopped off into the nearby pond. Hoshiko sighed in relief that her crisis had been adverted. She would find a way to sneak off later to come back and search for the frog and the letter that would be from Jiraiya.
Deidara still hadn't noticed that she had fallen behind as Hoshiko spun around on her heel and jogged after him. As she caught up with the blonde Akatsuki, she couldn't help but smile at the fact that even through all the confusion and anger in her life. At least there was one person that hadn't forgotten about her.
Hoshiko retreated into her room that was next to Deidara's when they had arrived at the hotel. Ame was a poor country, so the hotel room only had the basic necessities and a lumpy looking futon in the center of the room. Hoshiko waited for a while, keeping a check on Deidara to make sure that he wouldn't be leaving his own room for the time being. Once she was confident enough, she quickly made a clone while masking her own chakra simultaneously.
The clone nodded in understanding as Hoshiko went to the window and pulled it open. Freezing cold rain splattered on her face as she winced, hating herself that she was about to head back out into the cold weather. She steeled herself for the rain and launched herself out and landed in a deep puddle.
"I hate this country." Hoshiko hissed to herself as she glanced back up at her room's window to see her clone shutting the window behind her.
It didn't take her long to find the area where she had last seen the frog. She flared her chakra a tiny bit so that it would sense it and come out of hiding. And sure enough, his little orange head bobbed up onto the surface of the water. He croaked in what appeared to be annoyance as he hopped out of the water and then bounced on top of Hoshiko's head.
"I know, I'm sorry." She apologized to the frog. One of its feet slapped her cheek as she brushed it off and then unclipped the letter from its pouch. With the frog still lying on her head, Hoshiko looked around for a dry place to sit and read the letter from Jiraiya. It was a ridiculous thought, considering she was in the land where it always rained. In the distance, she spotted a cluster of trees. They wouldn't be totally free from the rain, but it might give her that little bit of respite that she needed. She hurried over to the trees, and found a spot under them where the rain all but stopped bar from a few scattered drops.
As she sat on the damp grass, the frog leapt off her head and onto the ground at her feet where it waited patiently for her to begin reading. She couldn't wait any longer as she ripped open the seal as he eyes scanned over the familiar scrawl.
Hoshiko,
I hope you're doing well, kid. And I hope you're staying safe, like you promised. With everything settling back down in Konoha I'll be leaving soon. I'm thinking on taking Naruto out of the village for a while, training him up because one day—I know that Akatsuki are going to come after him. He needs to be prepared if I'm not around. If all goes well with that, I'll come find you. We can have that face-to-face chat you asked for, and no disguises this time! I wanna see what you really look like now!
I have a feeling that Danzo is up to something again; he's been awfully quiet as of late. At first I was worried that maybe he had caught up to you, but then I realized that if he had he'd be announcing it like he himself had just been given the title of Hokage. I can't stress enough to you that you need to watch your back out there, if he finds you—he wont show you any mercy.
Finally, we've had some more info of the Akatsuki. They've been spotted roaming around the Land of Fire once again and also a new pair was recently spotted in Kusa. Not much was given except one was blonde and the other a dark haired female. If you're in the vicinity of those areas, be careful. We don't know for sure just how many members are active right now, but it wouldn't be a good idea to approach any of them.
I'll send word once I'm out of Konoha.
-Jiraiya
Hoshiko's hand shook as she read the letter. Her eyes stared at the paper, but she wasn't focusing on it anymore. She had…she had almost been seen with Deidara. Hoshiko swallowed the large lump in her throat. If Jiraiya found out that she was in league with the Akatsuki, he'd never forgive her. The harsh reality set in. She was in the organization that Jiraiya was trying to protect his student and her from. And here she was, apart of them. Hoshiko didn't want to think of the fact that in the very near future, she may be ordered to locate the Konoha Jinchuuriki. That meant that she would very much have to fight Jiraiya.
She wouldn't.
She would refuse. If it came down to it, Hoshiko would never betray Jiraiya.
But what if she wasn't told to look for him? What if it was someone else? She knew, that she would protect Jiraiya, so that meant in the end she would have to fight someone who she may have become friends with. She thought about Deidara. They had become somewhat friends over their three weeks of travelling. Could she kill him to save Jiraiya?
Jiraiya,
I thank you for the information you've given me. I'll try my best to be on the lookout for them. And if I hear anything about them, I'll let you know too. I am happy to hear that you're going to be training your student away from Konoha, but you have to be careful too. The Akatsuki know who you are, and they know that to get to the Jinchuuriki they would have to go through you. You're as much a target as your student is.
Thank you, Jiraiya, for always looking out for me. I would never have made it this far without your guidance and words of pervy wisdom. You can be sure that I'll definitely be seeking you out once you've left Konoha, maybe if we meet, I'll be able to explain everything to you.
Forgive me,
Hoshiko
It was as much as she could say without him knowing the whole truth. It felt wrong to tell him about Akatsuki in a letter, she would much rather explain it to him when she saw him again. Until then, she would keep herself hidden within the ranks. She wouldn't let the world know that she was apart of their organization.
Hoshiko rolled up the letter and attached it to the frogs pouch as she patted him kindly on the head as he gave her a happy little ribbit. She knew that when Jiraiya read her letter, he would know that something was up, he wasn't entirely stupid.
She sat there for a little while longer, listening to the rain falling on the ground around her. It brought her a strange sense of tranquility, listening to the droplets fall through the leaves. She was happy to have some time to herself. For over a month, she had to keep up her façade of being this hardened ex-shinobi, when in reality all she wanted to do was just sit and drink tea with Jiraiya once more.
But her fate had been decided for her once again. She wouldn't have that luxury for a while. This small moment would be all that she could get. It was only when her butt had gone numb from the cold and wet that she decided to move. She stood under the shelter of the trees for just another fleeting moment. She hadn't felt this calm in a long time.
All too soon she headed off into the rain, and back to the hotel where hopefully Deidara hadn't noticed that she had disappeared.
Hoshiko painstakingly climbed up the side of the hotel as her clone opened the window for her and she tumbled in gracelessly. Rain followed her in as her clone hurried to the window and slammed it shut and then disappeared in a puff.
Hoshiko remained on the floor, breathing in deeply as her wet hair plastered against her face annoyingly. Her body may have been safe from the rain, but her feet were soaked and her face had gone numb from the chilliness of the rain. The hotel room was cold enough without the chill that the outside brought, and Hoshiko knew that if she didn't warm up soon, she'd probably get sick.
She forced herself to sit up, and that was when she heard a knock at the door. Hoshiko sighed as she began to peel off her wet boots from her feet. "Go away, Deidara!" She called out grumpily. She didn't have the heart to deal with him right now. She had put herself in a foul mood after leaving her little tree sanctuary.
With her boots tossed to the corner of the room, Hoshiko unzipped her cloak. Deidara knocked at the door again. "I said fuck off!" Hoshiko screeched as her cloak was tossed to where her boots had been discarded.
Hoshiko stood up; a little puddle had formed under her from her sopping wet hair as she quickly tied it up on top of her head. She had been facing away from the door when she heard it open. She whirled around, an angry retort ready to be flung at Deidara, but the colour left her face when she realized that it hadn't been Deidara knocking at her door.
"What are you doing here?" Hoshiko snapped at him. She probably would've sensed him, had she bothered to. She had just assumed that it had been Deidara coming to see her.
Itachi entered her room and shut the door behind him. Hoshiko's anxiety shot up through the roof as she faced him, her guard up as her body was poised to attack. "Kisame and I were on our way back to the Ame base when we sensed your presence here." Hoshiko tried not to let her fear show. Shit, had Itachi seen her? Was this why he was here? Her palms began to sweat; she wanted to rub them against her pants but held herself back. She couldn't show Itachi that she was scared right now.
"Deidara told us that you had been in here the whole time, and when I sensed for your presence I was able to pick up that it was in fact a clone in here, and not you."
Fuuuuuuuuuuck! Hoshiko screamed in her head. He had been paying attention to her clones ever since they were teenagers. She used to be able to get away with fooling him most of the time, but his Sharingan had obviously become that much more powerful now that he could distinguish between a real Hoshiko and a fake.
"So tell me, Ginyoru-san." Itachi took a step towards her as his blood red eyes bore into her own wide and frightened silver orbs. "Where were you, and what were you doing?"
Hoshiko held his gaze, not intending on backing down. She balled her fists at her side as a single thought drifted through her mind.
Fuck.
Not gonna lie, this chapter kicked my ass...
The good stuff happens next chapter, but I needed this filler to be done first and I just couldn't get my head around it! But alas, finally it is done and I quite enjoyed it tbh! I love how Deidara and Hoshiko have bonded, I always knew that if there was one person who she could sort of be friends with, it was gonna be Dei! And again the Tobi stuff always has me cackling to myself so I hope you all enjoyed it! We won't be seeing him for a while now I think...unless I can figure out a way to sneak him back in...we'll see...
I'm glad you all love the way I have been portraying the Akatsuki. They've always fascinated me so I'm so happy to be able to create them in the way that I envisioned and everyone loves them! Also I know we're all Naruto fans here but I need to fangirl about the fact that Bleach is returning to you guys as well! I'm so happy I actually cried! If you didn't already know I have a bleach story on fanfic too so I am an avid fan of that series too-but anyway, back to this story!
Thank you all so so so much for the love and support, I wouldn't have gotten this far in the story without all of you! I hope you are all keeping safe and healthy in this time. Stay indoors and social distance! I want everyone to come out of this safe and happy! I love you all!
REPLIES
Janeth16 - Thank you! Sorry it took me a little longer to get this one out!
asianuruknan - You're welcome. Kisame is a bit of a jerk, but we love him! xD Take care!
Lala Maryama - You're welcome! Kisame is just being a tease for both of them! He's just gonna torture them some more I think xD We'll see if they survive...but don't hold your breath...
SuperKaiokenGoku - Hi! Thank you for reading! As for my update schedule...I don't really have one lol I've been doing weekly updates as of late except for this one as it gave me a lot of trouble and to the fact that I've been trying to update my other story as well. But they should be out within a week or two or each other!
TheMaximumExperience - Thank you! Took me a week longer but here we go!
Gio - Thank you! I'm loving writing the Akatsuki as well, I didn't think I would enjoy it as much as I am. I'm even extending it and adding in more things because I'm loving it so much! We really should be in a different place of the story right now but oh well, we'll get to all that soon enough! xD I hope you loved this Tobi scene as well! He disappears for a little while now but I'm trying to figure out a way to sneak him back in considering he was so popular with everyone xD Hidan's coming soon! I'm sorry to hear that you're in quarantine! Hopefully it's gonna get better for everyone real soon!
sHiZoooo - Aww thank you! I'm so happy you're liking my story! Makes me so happy to hear that :D Thank you thank you!
Nostalgic29 - Thank you! I'm so honoured! Hoshiko is honestly amazing to write. I'm glad that people can see her development, she started off as a bratty kid, turned into a sarcastic and arrogant teenager and is now a vulgar and hurt adult. There's still a lot more for her to learn and develop but I can't wait for all of that! And yeah, she always makes me cry too.
Again thank you so much everyone! Let me know what you thought about the chapter and be prepared for some little hints of ItachixHoshiko in the next chapter! You guys deserve a treat ;)