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Chapter Thirteen
Interrogation, Indemnification
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Lights go out - all over town;
The people in the city can hear the siren's sound.
Run with me - this is an emergency;
Stay with me tonight.
...
Some faraway sound forced Kisame's eyes to open against his will and he swore softly as his mind came back around from unconsciousness. He tried to move and was met with the sound of metal scraping against metal. It was no good. At some point, after he'd passed out during the last 'session', Morino must have chained him to this chair. In addition to the chains, the chakra restraints still bound his wrists across the back of the chair. He was as stuck as stuck could be.
And he couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so weak.
Chances were, he couldn't remember weakness like this because he'd never felt weakness like this. The heavy weight of pre-existing exhaustion, coupled with Morino's particularly aggressive affections and his constantly depleted chakra had him screwed up in a way he hadn't thought possible.
He wasn't sure how long he'd been asleep for, but it couldn't have been long. Honestly, it felt like he hadn't slept in months. He knew he hadn't eaten in days.
Though he'd managed not to crack open any Akatsuki trade secrets so far - despite being under rather heavy duress - he was uncertain why it was so important that he hadn't. Chances of escape were pretty slim to nil and even if he did, returning to the organization brought a whole new set of challenges he wasn't sure he wanted to deal with. He was a liability now, and nothing was to be gained from welcoming back a traitor. It was funny, not really in a 'ha-ha' sort of way, but definitely ironic and he realized that that bastard Hidan had been right after all.
His sluggish mind wandered to Sakura, the baby and everything that had transpired what he assumed were a few days ago. It was hard to tell, there were no windows here, no way to keep track of the passage of time. It was just him, his traitorous brain and occasionally, that bastard Morino.
Knowing where Sakura was and that she was safe here should have been enough and he had honestly thought it would be, but now he wasn't so sure. He'd had a plan: leave Sakura right outside of the village gates, alert one of the guards and dash off. It was one he had forced himself to repeat over and over in his head during most of the hurried trip to Konoha. However, when the time came to execute it, he'd done the exact opposite and instead ran headfirst into enemy territory.
Even so, as he sat there, shackled to some metal monstrosity of a chair deadbolted to the floor with barely enough chakra to keep him alive and exhaustion the likes of which he had never thought possible, he felt no regret. He didn't take the opportunities to make his grand escape - and there had been several before he was caught - when presented. He hadn't fought or resisted capture despite his life being very much at stake. Sure, he hadn't talked, but he wasn't planning to - he wasn't a willing snitch - and if they wanted any intel he had, they would have to take it from him.
He supposed it didn't matter; at this point he was as good as dead.
The sound that had awoken him, rhythmic clicking, was nearing closer. He tensed, wondering if that sadist was coming back for another round of super fun torture time. How many times had Morino strung him up in that jutsu? Kisame had lost count.
He heard the sound of a lock sliding open but didn't look up as the door swung inward, keeping his gaze fixed on the stone floor. Like hell he'd let that bastard see that anything he had done to him had left any sort of impression. Kisame could torture someone better in his sleep. Douche.
"Enjoying your stay, Hoshigaki?"
Kisame turned toward the man taunting him from the doorway and smiled wide, making sure to show off every single sharp tooth he could for emphasis.
"Immensely," he faked a pout, "but you've been gone so long I thought you'd forgotten about me, Morino. I thought what we had was speci-"
Ibiki sighed and flipped a switch on the wall.
Kisame's words were cut off as an electrical current coursed through him, his body seizing immediately. It was a relatively low voltage current and while not strong enough to kill - but maybe enough to do some lasting damage if used too often - it was powerful enough to be pretty painful, and the Mist-nin couldn't believe he'd forgotten about it.
Suddenly it stopped, and Kisame slumped further down in the chair as the pain dissipated. He unlatched his jaw and fixed his glare at the man, another predatory smirk spreading over his face. He was only slightly out of breath, really, so take that you piece of shit.
"Is this your way of saying there's someone else?" He ground out, only slightly out of breath really, so take that you piece of shit.
Ibiki snarled, his hand tensed on the switch. Before he could act however, two women joined him in the doorway.
There, now standing next to the resident interrogator was the Godaime Hokage herself and another woman that Kisame didn't recognize. She stood about a head taller than the blonde and seemed immensely nervous, despite the glare she had fixed in his direction. Kisame had to repress the urge to shoot her a glare of his own.
"That's enough, Ibiki... for now."
The interrogator let his hand drop from the wall and leaned against it instead. The Hokage and the other woman stepped into the room and shut the door behind them.
"Well, well, well..." Tsunade started and sat at the small table across from Kisame, folding her hands beneath her chin as she continued, "What have we here? Hoshigaki Kisame, in my village. You've caused quite a lot of trouble for me, haven't you boy?"
"Where's Sakura?" Kisame ground out.
Tsunade eyes widened. Well that hadn't quite been the response she was expecting. No death threats? No 'you better let me go or's'? She certainly didn't think that'd be the first thing out of his mouth. She reigned in her surprise quickly.
"My apprentice is fine. She's resting."
Perhaps she shouldn't have told him that, if for no other reason than that he didn't really have a right to know. He didn't have any rights, really. Still, something about the way he spoke her apprentice's name, the concern he couldn't hide, it pulled on her. Damn her soft ass heart. She didn't miss the way his body relaxed at the admission.
"I didn't think you cared, Hoshigaki. Color me surprised." Tsunade said, raising an eyebrow. A period of silence followed but she could see the gears turning in his head. She repressed a smirk; seems he wasn't too familiar with the feeling either. She continued, "If the last few days you've spent in the company of Morino-san here tell me anything, it's that you're not particularly keen on sharing any of the information you've got on the Akatsuki-"
"-second worst hotel I've ever stayed at-"
Honey eyes narrowed at the snarky interruption before she continued, "Luckily for you-"
"-got some suggestions for that comment box-"
The screech of metal sliding across the concrete was the only warning Kisame got before the blonde woman was upon him, hands fisting so tightly in the remains of his shirt it looked like her knuckles might break. Before the mist-nin could even so much as breathe, a fist as hard as steel met his jaw and his head snapped to the side violently. A spurt of blood - and surely a tooth - splattered across the floor.
The other woman's mouth dropped open in shock, a 'Lady Tsunadeee!' squeaking out as she dodged the heavy table that missed her by an inch. Ibiki looked absolutely delighted however, hand hovering over that god-awful switch again, almost trembling at the opportunity to flip it. An excruciating pain rippled throughout Kisame's face. His jaw was definitely broken and if that weird whistle was anything to go on, his nose was as well.
A few moments passed, silent and as still as a winter night until Tsunade leaned down, her face only a few inches from his. Kisame snarled and turned his head, immediately regretting it when another shock of pain spread throughout his neck.
"I am glad, so incredibly glad, that you find this situation so funny, Hoshigaki. You see though the thing is," She ground out, grabbed his jaw and forced him to meet her eyes, "and I don't know if you've noticed this yet, but you're not really in a position to play your little games. Not here." She grit her teeth in punctuation, squeezed his face and hissed, "Not in my goddamn village and certainly not with the shape you've returned my apprentice in. Am I making myself clear to you?"
He wanted to tell her to go fuck herself, to bite those fingers that were still squeezing his throbbing face - not that he could bite anything right now - but he couldn't seem to muster up the words or even a snarl. Instead she took his silence, stood and brushed off her yukata as if merely being near him had gotten something on it.
"Now, as I was saying," She lowered herself back into her chair, "when I came down here, I had no intention on discussing the Akatsuki with you."
"Is that right?" Kisame sneered, though with the current state of his broken ass face, the words came out more like a gurgle, sounding more like 'sthraight' than the well articulated question he meant it to be. It also hurt profoundly, so much so that his eyes were beginning to water.
"That is right," She scooted her chair closer to his, her smile smug,"Sounds like you're having some trouble talking there."
"I think you broke his jaw, ma'am." Morino interjected, sounding all too pleased with how the situation had unfolded so far, and met the death glare the mist-nin gave him with a smirk.
"Seems I did."
"I say we leave him like that, he's much less annoying when he's not speaking."
Kisame didn't miss the way Morino's hand twitched over that damned switch. The mist-nin suppressed a flinch.
"Hmm..." The Hokage leaned forward, her eyes never leaving Kisame's as she spoke to the other man, "Be that as it may, he and I do need to have a little chat. In private."
"Milady, I'd rather st-"
"That's not a request, Shizune!"
The dark haired woman hesitated only briefly before turning to leave. Morino followed suit, but his face spoke promises of more 'fun' times to come when he returned. Kisame shot him a dirty look, playing over all the ways he could skin the interrogator alive - and other super fun activities of his own - in his head. Perhaps he'd start with the bastard's hands.
The sound of the heavy metal door clicking shut brought his attention back to the blonde sitting across from him, an ethereal green glow now emanating from her hands.
"I can't have you sputtering and getting blood all over my very expensive yukata so I'm going to heal you; but know this, boy," she stopped just short of his face, "I have no qualms whatsoever about breaking this thing off and merely leaving it to rot on the floor right next to you. We have plenty of other ways of getting information out of you and they are far less pleasant than you behaving yourself and answering my questions. Understand?"
The battered man across from her narrowed his eyes but twitched his head in what looked to be a nod. Tsunade seemed pleased with that and placed her hand on his face, cooling chakra immediately soothing and mending the pain and bone shards lodged in his mandible.
It took every single ounce of restraint he had left to not shudder and moan in relief.
"Sakura filled me in on some of the details, enough to give me context on exactly why she was taken. She claims that you know as much as she does, which is very little. Only that her medical ninjutsu was required the Akatsuki."
Kisame's eyes shifted to the side, a vain attempt to prevent them from rolling back in their sockets. His teeth clenched and she continued.
"I trust her judgement and if she claims you acted purely on order, I believe her. Normally I wouldn't, in such a circumstance, but given what I've seen so far..."
His silence broke then, his jaw healed enough so that he could talk again, "And what is it that you think you've seen?"
The green glow traveled up his nose, "You saved her life, Hoshigaki. As much as I hate to admit that, if it hadn't been for you, Sakura wouldn't still be here. That has to count for something, don't you think?"
"You act like I was supposed to just let her die." He snorted, as if he were offended that she would suggest such a thing, despite the fact that that was exactly what he was expected to do.
She stopped for a second and focused on his eyes, "Weren't you?"
Kisame's eyes narrowed but he had no valid arguement to counter her question. Tsunade continued instead.
"She said you were bringing her back."
"I thought you said you didn't come here to discuss the Akatsuki?" he huffed and flexed his jaw.
"So I did," If you asked her, she would say that his decision to literally 'unabduct' Sakura and risk his own life to return her home was hardly an Akatsuki matter. Finished healing what she allowed herself to heal, Tsunade dropped her hands and scooted her chair back, "Feel better?"
As far as his face was concerned, he did feel better. Say what you will about medic shinobi but some of them could work magic. It was almost as if she'd never hit him to begin with. A single split across the bridge of his nose was all that remained. She smirked and continued.
"Had to leave you with a little something, lest you forget."
"Naturally," He stretched his jaw languidly, "Otherwise you might get distracted by how handsome I am."
A short burst of laughter, veiled in a cough, escaped the blonde's lips. Kisame's eyebrow rose imperceptively. Women were so strange sometimes, he'd definitely been expecting another jaw-breaker over that and instead he'd managed a laugh out of her. Strange creatures indeed. Silence followed as she continued to stare him down watching him so intently it was as if she were looking for something. It made him extremely uncomfortable.
Finally, she spoke. Her tone was surprisingly soft, somber even. Her eyes were just the same.
"I can see why..."
He wasn't sure what she was talking about, but the way she was staring at him was almost as bad as the way Morino did. Were all Konoha shinobi as fleeting with their emotions as this? Itachi sure wasn't. His tone was clipped as he responded, "I'm afraid I don't follow."
"I can see why," She shifted in her chair, crossing one leg over the other, "Sakura fell in love with you. It's hard and I have to really look - and I mean really dig - but I can see it even so."
It was amazing how a few simple words could hit him like a physical blow to the gut. That pesky knot had reformed in his throat and his hands clenched the metal beneath him. He wanted to protest, loudly, that that was the most incomprehensible, ridiculous load of bullshit he'd ever heard and that if that's what she truly thought, then she was out of her damn mind. And all he could manage was a wry, hollow laugh that didn't reach his eyes. Tsunade tilted her head.
"You can't even see it, can you Hoshigaki? You can't even grasp the singular idea that some way, somehow, someone like Sakura could manage to find something inside of you that is worth caring about...worth loving. You are completely blind."
Kisame scoffed, anger rising up in his chest and in his words, voice raising with every one, "Oh? And I suppose she just told you that, did she? Just came right out and said that, to you?...bullshit."
"She didn't have to."
"Exactly. Just more fucking mind-games from you Leaf..."
Tsunade watched him slink down into the chair, as much as he could; watched him try to hide the pain evident in his heart, as much as he could; watched him try to reason with himself, as much as he could. There was never a world for him in which that beautiful, strong creature could ever feel anything more than hatred and resentment for him, not for a second. She could see it written on his face; he truly believed that.
She'd have to try a different approach.
"And what about the child, Hoshigaki?" Tsunade's voice cracked, emotions that she had been struggling with since Sakura had broken the news to her surfacing and breaking through. She had to pull on something, maybe the last part of him that was human, something to make him see, "Your child... or is that just another mind game to you too?"
Something to make him change.
His head snapped toward her, the barest of shock evident on his face before it was wiped. He clearly hadn't expected her to know about that. Sakura had said she didn't know, so how did she? Had Sakura told her?
Why would she ever admit to that? And did it change anything if she had?
Kisame snorted, filling that void in his chest with anger. Of course it didn't change a damn thing; it wouldn't help her and it certainly didn't matter. If anything, now that woman had made her situation far worse. And besides...
"What about it? She's already made it very clear what her intentions are with the ba- with it, and none of it involves me. How can it? How would it?! After everything I've done?" He snarled, lunging forward with whatever little slack the restraints pulling him back would give. This was a man unhinged, a man broken, Tsunade thought sadly, but still a man afterall. He laughed, a hollow sound that held no humor.
"-so you tell me why, oh wise and mighty, holier-than-thou queen of bullshit - tell me why she would ever give a damn...about me?"
Tsunade's heart lurched up into her throat as his voice broke - shattered really - but what she saw on his face, shocked her in a way that she couldn't have been ready for if you'd given her a million years to prepare for.
A single stream creeped it's way down his cheek, so small he probably couldn't even feel it.
In this moment Tsunade knew unequivocally, that despite everything he was and everything he'd done - how he'd hurt and destroyed and shredded apart the world without a single care for it or for himself - there was something here that could still be salvaged.
Tsunade was torn in more directions than she could count. What could she do now? What did she even have the power to do? Was it even worth it to try? She knew full well what this man was capable of, exactly what he had done.
The previous night - after leaving Sakura's side - she had sat down with a bottle of sake and had dredged up everything she could find that the village could offer of Hoshigaki. Violent deeds and massacres of all sorts had been laid out before her, cluttering her desk with a terrible lineage of darkness. Orphaned at a very young age, Hoshigaki had climbed the blood soaked ladder of the Mist's ranks until he defected suddenly at 17.
He brutally slaughtered his master, stole his sword and blazed a trail directly into the Akatsuki. There had been an entire folder of various photographs detailing his work, all of it rather difficult to stomach, even for the most seasoned shinobi. Some of it for the organization and some entirely senseless. A monster that killed just to kill.
As Tsunade sat there, surrounded by the evidence of Hoshigaki's atrocities, she couldn't help but feel the weight of her responsibilities pressing down on her shoulders. The burden of leadership had never felt heavier. The choices she made could have far-reaching consequences, affecting not only her village but the entire world.
Was the tiny flicker of humanity she saw in him, in this moment, enough to outweigh the tragedy he had wrought? Would it be enough to overpower and reach him, to change him?
And could that girl - with the pink hair and bright eyes and strong will and so much love in her heart that she could manage to find enough of it to give to someone like him -could she be the one to do it? Would Sakura be strong enough to reach down deep into all of that darkness - with hands of light and overflowing heart - and pull up that tiny flicker without being sucked down into that abyss?
As Tsunade sat there - honey eyes fixed on the last part of humanity that Hoshigaki might have left - sleep deprived and quite possibly insane, she truly believed that she would be.
"I can't tell you why. I don't have that answer," her voice echoed, barely above a whisper, "but I can tell you this: Sakura cares for you far more than you deserve - and you can choose not to believe that, Hoshigaki, and you can stay blind and angry and that's your decision - but that woman is your only chance. She's your last chance, boy, your last chance to change. As it stands, she's your last chance to survive. The only thing that's left is for you to decide if you want to."
A ragged exhale left his lungs, "...and if I don't? If I can't?"
"Then we get what we can from you and you'll be executed. Your daughter will grow up in a world without her father and if she's lucky, she'll never know the pain that comes with knowing who he was and the path he chose when he died."
Tsunade's words hung heavy in the air, her voice filled with a mixture of sternness and strange empathy. It wasn't a threat or a coy trick to force him to make a decision; it was a plain fact. Unless she could plea to the council to spare him and possibly find a way - as crazy as it was - to integrate him into the village, even if only keeping him alive for Sakura and the baby's sake, he would never again see the light beyond this cell. The council would certainly not hesitate to override her and she'd have to make an extremely solid case in his favor. It wouldn't be easy - it could possibly be the most difficult thing she'd ever have to do - but she would try, for Sakura's sake, and for the sake of that innocent little thing that they'd both created.
His head lifted, eyes of hesitation and disbelief and almost fear. She almost couldn't hear his words, soft, quiet and so exhausted, but reverent even so.
"...my daughter..."
"Yes, your daughter, Hoshigaki. Your daughter and the woman that will bring her into the world, despite every thing and everyone against it. Do they not deserve a chance?" Tsunade said, voice still stern but even more empathetic, though this time not for his sake, "I am willing to stick my neck out for you and so is Sakura. And like hell this will be easy for anyone: not for me, not for you and most of all not for her. It's a long, hard and bitter road to redemption, boy, and trust me I should know, I'm still walking it to this day."
Kisame's mind was a mess, a broken, pitiful cesspool of things that he didn't know how to face or handle. He'd only lived in this world for himself up until the last few days when something had clicked and somehow everything was different. He wanted to not give a damn, wished he could - it would be so much easier not to - but he did. He didn't know why but - gods help him - he did. Maybe that old geezer shark had been right after all and hadn't that been just a kick in the nuts. He swallowed thickly.
"If... I say yes..." He spoke slowly, the words tasting strange in his mouth because who in their right mind would agree to such a thing anyway, "what will happen then? You just keep me locked down here for the rest of my life? ...no offense, but that sounds like a kind of shitty deal to me."
"That depends entirely on you. First, you'll have to willingly submit to a full cognitive scan of your memories," Tsunade said, words thin but most definitely not hollow. If there was a point for him to throw in the towel, it'd be this one. To force what amounts to the revelation of all one's deepest secrets and thoughts to the enemy is seen as no better than death to a shinobi. If anything, death is preferable, as you can at least take those secrets to the grave
"Every detail of your conscious and subconscious thought will be mapped out for the Interrogation squad - earliest memories, darkest secrets, intel on the Akatsuki, everything - for use in the protection of the village. A village that would then, after some time, be yours as well."
He clicked his teeth but otherwise said nothing, allowing her to continue.
"Assuming you have done that and there have been no...unforeseen issues up to that point, my team and I will work on building a case for you that would allow you to stay here - in Konoha - not as a prisoner but as a citizen. During this time and up to sentencing you'd be allowed some modicum of freedom, with limitations of course. A seal, unbreakable by any but me alone, would be placed on your body that would limit your chakra to only just what you need to survive; very similar to what those chakra binds are doing now. You would be prohibited to contact anyone outside of the village and a full detail of Anbu will be assigned to keep an eye on you at all times. Otherwise, you'd be fairly free to move about the village as you please."
The shark-nin couldn't help but laugh at that. 'Free to move about the village'?! It was batshit insane, the idea alone. No one in their right mind would ever allow that! This woman was clearly off of her rocker.
"So basically," He began, biting back his irritation as best he could, "let me see if I'm getting this right, I let you guys mind-fuck my brain to mush with your freaky brain melting machine - you get all of my intel and then, with no chakra and a group of assholes on my back at all times, you let me loose into your precious village?"
The blonde seemed unfazed as she responded, "Essentially, yes."
"You know...Itachi always said the Leaf was a little strange as far as villages go, but that, lady, is the craziest fucking thing I've ever heard. I've heard a lot of crazy shit, trust me, and that takes the cuckoo cake."
Tsunade pursed her lips into a wry smile and finally stood.
"I think that you'll find that Konoha does things a little differently than other villages. It's really quite nice here, if you give it a chance. I personally find it much nicer than being dead, but you know, we all have our own preferences." She made her way toward the door, turning as she laid her hand on the handle and continuing, "I'll give you 48 hours to think on it, Hoshigaki. In the meantime, I'll have you moved to an actual cell, so you can get some rest, clear your head a little. And I think Ibiki has played with you enough for now."
Kisame bit his tongue, the taste of copper filling his mouth, exhaustion baying heavily on his limbs and a raging headache behind his eyes allowing for some strange clarity. Before he could stop, he rasped into the emptiness, "...wait..."
The door stopped moving. He continued.
"Why are you doing this? What's in it for you?"
Tsunade exhaled. Why indeed. There were lots of reasons, she supposed, but none of them more important than the one that was resting in the hospital at the moment. She supposed that was more than enough reason to give.
"Because I love Sakura. She's always been more than an apprentice to me; honestly," she laughed, "that girl is the closest thing I will ever have to a daughter. And though I may not wholeheartedly...approve in who she decides is worth her heart and her time, I do want the best for her in everything she does. She chose you and I will stand by her choice because I trust in her. She is strong, she is fierce and she is unwavering in her loyalty and all you have to do, Hoshigaki, is give her the chance to show you that."
A strange tingle spread from deep in his chest and he couldn't help the softening of his countenance or the tiny flick upward of the corner of his mouth. There was no denying that Sakura definitely was... something else... but did he feel the same way about her that this woman was claiming she felt for him? Could he possibly be in... love with her?
It was in this moment that Hoshigaki Kisame realized two things: the first was that somewhere along the way, without even trying to, he had changed, if just a little. Maybe not for the better and certainly not without a fight - or maybe absolutely for the better, and only time would tell. The second thing was that yes, he was in love with Sakura - hopelessly, stupidly, irrevocably.
He wanted to pretend like he had no idea when or how it happened, but he knew full well, and it was strange and it hurt but then... it didn't.
It was as light as air and as heavy as stone - it was terrifying and it was awe-inspiring - it was all-consuming and it always had been, right there from the start.
He just couldn't see it until now. What was it that Hatsuki-sama had told him all of those years ago? Something about sacrifice...
'There is no stronger love than sacrifice, Kisame-kun. It is in giving, not in getting; sometimes it takes the loss of everything you know, everything you thought you were, to find it.'
And wasn't that what he'd done? He'd risked everything to save Sakura, even though it meant he could never again be who he was before. Was that not sacrifice? Was that not love?
All of those strange feelings he'd felt toward her had been because they'd been connected, through the baby and in other ways maybe he just wasn't meant to understand. His shark echo had known it, even when he hadn't. Hell, even Samehada had known it.
There wasn't anything he wouldn't do if only to watch those brilliant eyes of hers light up in happiness and wouldn't it just be something if that light was because of him?
There wasn't anything he wouldn't do to keep her safe, she and their child. And just to see where this path might take him, it might be worth trying after all, just this once.
"48 hours is the best I can do-"
"I'll do it."
"-then I'll have to-," Tsunade's words fell off and she snapped her head back, eyes wide. The interuption was so quiet, she wasn't even sure she heard him correctly, "I'm sorry, what?"
A ragged exhale left his lungs, there was no taking it back now. It was done.
"I said," he started through his teeth, "I'll do it."
The woman wedged in between the door and jamb had been momentarily stunned into speechlessness. It was like finding a four-leaf clover in an endless field of regular ones; as rare as ice circles or fire rainbows or lightning striking twice, the moment she was witnessing. A path of redemption followed was the hardest thing to imagine; to watch the first step was, for lack of a better word, awe-inspiring. To see it in someone like Kisame was nothing short of miraculous.
"I've gotta say, Hoshigaki, I'm a little surprised you agreed so quickly." She said, not bothering to conceal her shock.
"Yeah, well..." Kisame replied, voice gruff and defensive, "don't get the wrong idea. I'm not doing this for you or anyone else. I'm doing it for her... and for the kid..." He added with some level of discomfort.
Tsunade chuckled softly. "I'd never dream of it. I know where your loyalties lie, and it's not with the likes of me or this village. But if it's for Sakura that's all that matters,"
"I'll make sure the council knows about your decision," Tsunade continued, her tone serious, adding before the door closed behind her, "You're doing the right thing, Hoshigaki, just remember that."
Sharp teeth found his tongue as he considered the Hokage's words, alone with his thoughts in the near darkness, exhaustion spreading through his bones. No one had ever told him that what he was doing was 'the right thing' before and it left a strange feeling he wasn't sure he'd been ready for, a spiral of conflicting emotions in it's wake.
He wondered, a ghost of a tired smile on his lips, what Itachi would say if he were here to see him now.
...
In Amegakure, beneath a vicious torrent of rain that threatened to crush the city below, the Akatsuki base was silent, save for the pacing, frantic footsteps of its leader.
"And you're sure? You're absolutely certain of this?" Pein's voice quaked with rage, but he maintained his calm for as long as he could. Even if the anger bubbling in his chest threatened to spill over at any moment.
"We're certain, Leader-sama. The girl and Hoshigaki both. Gone,"Zetsu said, both sides of his face impassive, until the milder voice sing-songed with no small amount of amusement, "Madara isn't going to be happy..."
Konan glared daggers at the plant man, as Pein continued to pace. The air was thick with a tenseness not even the sharpest kunai could cut.
"Kisame always has been a wildcard. Perhaps we should've been more careful with him," Zetsu mused thoughtfully.
Pein stopped his pacing, his piercing ringed gaze fixing on Zetsu.
"Find them," he ordered, his voice low and dangerous, "Find that traitor and you bring him to me. Haruno as well. It's still vital we have her alive but as for him, he will be shown no mercy."
Konan stepped forward, stomach flipping in fear but her resolve firm. She pleaded, "Pein, please, perhaps there's a chance to resolve this without further violence-"
"Enough!" He bellowed, careful restraint broken, he gripped her arm painfully and released it quickly with a shove, "I am sick of this bleeding heart nonsense from you! If you are going to continue to impede our plans, you're no better than Hoshigaki!"
Tears stung the corners of Konan's eyes and she bit her lip in defiance, fists balling at her sides as he turned his back to her. Whoever this person was, it wasn't the man she knew. This 'Pein' had become the amalgamation of the very power-hungry forces they had formed this organization to stop. In some moments, she'd thought she could see flashes of the old him, before 'Pein', before Yahiko died and the path they'd carved through the world was always for the greater good. When he was still Nagato.
But this... this wasn't about the greater good, was it? No, this was a petty game being played with two lives inconsequential of it, for the sake of full control.
"Power has changed you," She said to his back, heart breaking with every word, voice barely above a whisper, "This isn't about our plans, Nagato, and it never was-"
A fierce flash of the Rinnegan in the dimly lit room was all she saw before the back of his hand collided with her cheek sharply. Her knees hit the smooth stone and she couldn't choke back the sob that escaped her throat, a shaky hand coming up to cradle her burning face in shock. Anger settled in its place and she narrowed her eyes at him.
"Insolence," he started, quiet voice trembling only slightly, as ringed irises burned into her, "will no longer be tolerated." He cleared his throat and turned back to Zetsu, who'd remained silent, "I trust you understand this, Zetsu?"
"Hai, Leader-sama," both voices said in unison.
"Good," he exhaled, taking careful control over his emotions once more, "Find out where they've gone and we will take the next steps to-"
"There will be no need for that, Zetsu." A disembodied voice, smooth as silk, interrupted from behind Konan.
The blue-haired woman, still in a heap on the floor in her anger and hurt, felt her stomach plummet. She'd been desperate with hope that they could stall out Madara as long as possible. Of course that was a foolish hope, she winced with a pang of self-pity, like everything else she'd dared to hope for.
"I have it under control, Madara," Pein ground out.
The man in question, fully assimilated, moved past Konan.
"Clearly you don't," he started, "I've been telling you for years, Pein, that if you give these dogs," he motioned toward the woman on the floor, "of yours a long leash they will eventually proceed to bite the hand that feeds them."
He continued, a smirk evident in his voice, ignoring the vicious daggers being stared through the back of his head, "That's twice now, that you've been bitten, Leader-sama."
The orange-haired leader said nothing to this, knowing that while the words were meant to rile and unnerve him, they weren't untrue. He looked at Konan and watched as she stood silently, refusing to meet his eyes. A pang of regret hit him sharply at first but he willed it away. He was above such feelings now and it was time he started to cut off those soft edges that had been holding him back all these years. He loved Konan, of course he did, but he could not, would not, tolerate disobedience in his organization, least of all from her.
Especially, from her.
She needed to learn her place, just like the rest of them. He turned to Madara, "I'm assuming that you already know where they are then?"
A low laugh echoed from behind the mask, "It seems he's returned her to Konoha," he folded his arms casually, "and remains there currently."
Konan's eyes widened. Initially, when Zetsu had returned to them with the news that both Kisame and Sakura were gone, she had briefly thought that he may have done that. In order for him to do something so reckless though, he'd have had to have knowledge of their shared past. Sakura must have told him the truth.
Pein narrowed his eyes, "So he's been imprisoned then?"
"Yes. The only reason I discovered this little tidbit was because I was... in the area at the time. Imagine my surprise to find him in Konoha, when you were supposed to be keeping an eye on him."
"Then he's as good as dead," Pein said, ignoring the jibe from the masked man. He was more than a little salty that Konoha would be able to deal with the traitorous rogue-nin before he could, "if he isn't already. He's a highly wanted criminal, there's no way they'd offer him sanctuary amongst their precious citizens."
"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Madara laughed ironically, "as a shinobi village, their main priority is to protect its citizens from harm at all costs but let us not forget, it's also run by a group of pragmatists. Kisame is a high value target, no doubt, but if he is so willing to stand trial to save his ass and join them in return, they'd have to take that into consideration."
"And then they'd be able to use him to reinforce their ranks..." Pein filled in quietly, irritated that he hadn't thought of that first.
"Exactly. Why eliminate an enemy when you can reshape him to fit your mold? And Kisame would make for a valuable acquisition indeed."
The orange-haired man shook his head, "That's assuming Kisame would ever agree to that; you know as well as I do how deep his hatred for hidden villages go-"
"Ah, yes, I do," Madara cut him off, "But is it deeper than his affections for his little pink plaything? It's clear what has happened here, Pein. Haruno has somehow wormed her way into his lonely wittle heart," his voice dripped with saccharine taunt before he continued, "She's become his weakness. And we all know weaknesses can be exploited."
Pein considered this. Kisame had been compromised, no doubt, but the fact remained that neither he nor Madara had decided on what to do about that. To learn of Kisame's betrayal - who he had, up until now, considered his most loyal subordinate, next to Zetsu - had stung in a way he'd not expected. He'd been full of intense rage and wanted nothing more than to rip the traitorous bastard's head off, but this had been only an initial reaction.
To truly lose the mist-nin, and to something as idealistic and ridiculous as love - or what Kisame might perceive as love - would be a devastating setback to the organization itself.
It didn't matter anymore, Pein decided, the Akatsuki would recover - just as they did from the loss of Itachi - in time. He'd assumed he'd known the mist shinobi's priorities and now those loyalties were shifted. If Konoha decided to have him executed then the problem would sort itself out, but if they did not...
"Kisame is a liability now, and a dangerous one at that, if he spills all of the intel he has on us, it could cripple our operation."
Madara smirked beneath his mask, "Any intel Hoshigaki has is surface level at best, Pein. We may face a few...complications, but it won't be anything we won't recover from."
"So what do you suggest we do then, Madara? Clearly the plan has deviated. You offer explanations but no solutions." Pein bit out, his frustration beginning to mount again.
"The game is still the same. We're still after the child; if anything, its usefulness has increased if Kisame is now lost to us. We'll just need to play our cards a little closer to the chest is all," He pushed off of the wall, "We'll send Zetsu to keep watch these coming months and when he reports back that Haruno is ready to have the brat, we strike. We attack the village, create a commotion and take the child."
"And Kisame?"
Madara smiled viciously and though none could see it, his chakra had taken on a much colder demeanor. Konan, still silent with shock, paled and fought down a tremor.
"Kisame made his choice. If he dares to stand against us, we put him down like the rabid beast he is. And that little strumpet of his too. In the meantime, Zetsu will attend to the reconnaisance, and you and Konan will operate as normal. We don't move until I say so, understand?"
Pein bristled. This was still his organization. He was fed up with being undermined at every turn. Madara could sense his irritation and seized on the opportunity to stoke the flame.
"You had your chance to handle this, Pein, and you failed," he said sternly, adding in patronizingly, "but try not to beat yourself up about it too much. To err is human after all."
Madara didn't give Pein a chance to respond before he began to fade, one hand waving nonchalantly in his departure, "I trust you'll not do anything stupid in my absence. Later." He didn't miss the uncharacteristic curse of the orange-haired man or the sound of his fist driving into wood in anger.
The eldest Uchiha could only smirk maliciously as he faded from sight completely.
...
I'm sending out an SOS;
It's the real thing - not a test.
Tonight there's trouble in the city.
There's trouble in the city.
...
