She was met with the most annoyed look Deidara had ever given her. He looked like he was about to snap at her, before his facial expression morphed into one of confusion. Why…was she bloody? Again? He wanted to say something, but she was so frantic that it made it hard. She was already using tissues to wipe the blood away from her ears and the cut on her palm while suspiciously eyeing the room and –for reasons he did not know– the water faucet.
"What the hell are you doing?!" he asked as he watched as she touched the walls and looked around at the marks her jutsus left on them. Her head snapped towards him and put her index finger over her lips, making a 'shhh' sound. It ticked him off, but he also wondered what was happening. Did no one else get annoyed by the sound of her hitting the walls, yelling, and pounding on the door?
She quickly walked over to him before looking him dead in the eye and asking "Did you hear anything before you came in?"
"Yeah, you were yelling something and jutsu-ing the place up while pounding on the door. Which reminds me, if you wanted to leave so badly, why were you blocking the door when I was trying to open it?!"
"Could you shut up please?! If you wake the rest, it'll be my butt that pays for it!" she whisper-yelled. He was taken aback by her sudden sentencing, but understood it was Sasori she was worried about as he could see her eyeing his door nervously.
"Oh relax, he's still asleep-" Deidara was saying before he watched as she paled. He turned around to see Sasori's door opening, and suddenly felt bad for her.
He was about to say something, but was interrupted by Sasori saying, "Deidara, why are you making so much noise?"
"What? Me? She was the one yelling and destroying the place!" Deidara stated.
"What are you talking about? The only person making so much noise was you when you kept telling no one to shut up. And now you're yelling again," Sasori replied, his tone annoyed.
This confused both Harumi and Deidara. Had he truly not heard anything that just happened? Deidara turned his head to look at her, and she seemed to have looked annoyed as well.
"Yeah, now if you please stop trying to peek at me while I use the bathroom, I'd appreciate it," said Harumi. Deidara's jaw dropped. WHAT?!
"YOU were just yelling!" He pointed at her defensively and shockingly, watching as she shook her head.
"I'm just going to go to bed," she said nonchalantly before she began walking down the hall and to her room. She could hear Deidara and Sasori bickering but ignored it. She didn't understand what was going on, or what just happened. Deidara had heard her while the others seemed to have heard nothing. She thought carefully. Deidara's room was next to the room she was just in, so maybe that's why he heard her. Not only that, but what did he mean when he said she was blocking the door? She was the one trying to open it!
She rubbed her temple, it was making her head hurt. Sasori only heard Deidara, Deidara only heard her, and she could hear all the weird sounds in the room and the voice of a psychotic man. Even the thought of it scared her, how she could feel him grabbing her yet how she could never actually touch or see him. She held her arms tightly. Was she going crazy? No, no! None of it made sense! Even if she was, it didn't make sense why Sasori couldn't hear her! She wanted to run back and check to see if the invisible man was still there, but she couldn't. I'm a coward. She was too scared to go back, his words remind her of that man.
She walked into her room and quietly got back on the bed and into the exact position as before, curled up. Now she had to watch out for both Itachi and the invisible man. She sat in that position the whole night, never once closing her eyes for even a wink of sleep. The moon was once again her only friend and companion, until it switched places with the wicked sun she despised. She enjoyed the light it brought, but whenever the sun rose, she was forced to fight, train, or be tested until night as a child. She bit her lip, knowing it wasn't truly the sun's fault, but that of time.
Ah yes, time was her worst enemy. It ticked closer and closer to her death everyday. It ticked slower every time she was in pain, and so fast every time she was happy. It went too fast when she was ripped away from her parents, yet too slow when that man held her captive. It went too fast during all the happy memories she had with Itachi, yet too slow when he tried to take her life. It was too fast when she was at peace with Hido, yet so unbearably slow when she was kidnapped, beaten, and broken down. She never had enough time to run, it was simply against her.
Harumi was snapped back to reality when Itachi got up, her eyes opening even wider as she watched his every move. She uncurled herself from her weak position and sat up straight, leaning against the wall. He turned to her, looked her up and down, then put on his cloak. He gave her a look which told her to follow him. Not wanting to have her leg broken next, she got up without saying a word and followed him out. Her heart pumped against her chest as they walked past the room she was in that night. She stopped dead in her tracks when she came face to face with it. Her head was spinning. What the hell?
All the marks of her jutsus were gone, not a trace of it left. It was almost as if it hadn't happened, but it did. She knew it did. It must have! She looked back at her palm, and was relieved to see that the cut was still there. It was a reminder to her that she hadn't lost her mind, but that something unexplainable had happened. She looked up to see Itachi staring at her, and she decided –against every cell in her body– to ask him something.
"Last night…did you hear anything?" she asked. If there was going to be anyone who heard something, it would be Itachi. He was a very light sleeper, so he must have heard. He was silent for a little, but she continued to look at him, waiting for his answer.
"No. Now let's go," he said simply before turning back and walking away.
Harumi was so confused, but decided not to dwell on it. She would find out sooner or later, she was sure the invisible man would come back eventually. They reached the lobby, and he led her to a room in the very back. She wasn't sure for what, but it didn't matter really, did it? If she died, then she died. At this point, maybe if she died, Hido would know she went out fighting. She survived a whole day, didn't she? No, what the heck am I thinking?!
She didn't fight for so long to die now! Besides, Itachi and Kisame both said they needed her for something, so he most likely wasn't going to kill her. Yet. Itachi was setting up something, she couldn't see what it was, but she was mentally preparing herself for a torture device. She was surprised by a scroll on the ground. Her confusion grew when Itachi muttered a, "Come out when you're done," before leaving the room, closing the door behind him.
She didn't understand what was happening until a hologram appeared. She gasped, staring in shock. The image of a man with the same cloak as the other four but with many piercings appeared before her.
"Harumi Uchiha, I am Pain. I am the leader of a group called the Akatsuki, four of the members which currently reside with you," said the hologram, or Pain, as he ridiculously called himself.
"Mighty name you've given yourself there, calling yourself something every person has felt at one point in their lives, whether light or extreme. Do you call yourself Pain because you believe you've received a lot of it, or because you enjoy causing it?" She tsked. "I should believe it's the latter considering everything your friends have done to me, under your orders no less."
"I understand you must be confused, so let me explain what exactly is going on here," he began. "We need your abilities and power for our mission. We want to collect the tailed beasts and use them as military power along with our members. We'll help smaller villages by offering our mercenary skills at far better prices than ninja villages. Eventually, the villages won't have enough money to do much of anything, and the Akatsuki will gradually take over the world. And to do that, a power like yours would help greatly. So I ask you, will you join the Akatsuki?"
It left her stunned before she began laughing. It wasn't a good kind of laugh either, but a dark one before it ceased and her expression turned into a furious one.
"You want me to join you? Are you kidding me? You're all a bunch of psychos who want to benefit from the pain and death of others! I would never, ever join such a sick cause. Not to mention that you want to use something that has caused me great suffering as a weapon!" she yelled. "Did you really think I would even consider saying yes? Your whole plan is so ridiculous and stupid, it actually made me laugh! But hey, in case you didn't get the message, I don't want to join your psychotic, twisted group. You can all go to hell!" She couldn't explain the utter anger that ran through her veins. He had the audacity to ask her to join not only after everything they'd done to her, but to cause that same pain on others. He was sick, they all were.
"Then you shall lose your life," he replied.
"You want to kill me? Be my guest! Go ahead and try, you'll really be doing both of us a favor at this point. I'll at least know I died taking down four of what I'm guessing are some of your strongest members." Her eyes darkened. "If you really are aware of my power, then you know that if I die, everyone in this building will as well. That is, if they could even get within a hundred meters of me before I unleash it. But really, go ahead! I dare you."
Pain sighed. He figured this would happen, so he had prepared something ahead of time. "Then I suppose you wouldn't mind if your friend Hido Aito dies as well?"
She froze, everything around her becoming silent.
"We're well aware of the friend you've been traveling with, we've been watching you for quite some time now. If you continue to refuse to work for us, then he will lose his life," he stated. Harumi's pupils began to dilate, her hair rising ever so slightly. The dark chakra began to circulate around her as her hands fisted.
"If you touch him, I will hunt you down and kill you, and every single person you've ever affiliated yourself with. If you think I'm bluffing, maybe I should kill two of them right now to prove my point." She couldn't even recognize her own voice, it was so filled with pure hatred and seriousness that if she were anyone else, she'd run.
"If you do, I'll kill your friend right now. Not only that, but I can always find other ninjas, but I believe your friend is the only person you have right now. I'm not afraid of you. So you either do as I say, or I order his death right now."
She wanted to believe he was bluffing, she wanted to believe he cared about his teammates and wouldn't risk it, but she knew a person with a goal like that wouldn't mind killing an entire village if it meant reaching it. She knew he wouldn't hesitate to kill Hido, and that's what made it all the worse. Her heart clenched, she couldn't lose him. She would give up everything in this world but him. She'd do anything to protect him. She ignored the urge to scream and cry knowing that she was once again imprisoned to be used as a weapon, and instead looked at the hologram with dead eyes.
"Fine, I'll do as you ask," she finally spoke up.
"You can't currently be trusted, so you'll remain under supervision until further notice. Once you complete the mission I've assigned, you will become a full fledged member of the Akatsuki. I look forward to working with you," Pain explained before his hologram disappeared. Harumi sank to her knees and looked at the ground, only one thought in mind. I want to die.
She wanted her life to end right then and there, she wanted to go to a better place where she didn't have to worry about all this. She wanted to go see her mom and dad again, to live in a world of only happy memories. But she knew, even if she died, she'd go to hell. Heaven would never accept such a monster. And yet still, she wanted to die. She wanted to rip the heart that was causing so much pain out of her body, but she couldn't.
You have to live to protect Hido. The thought made her body burn. You have to hurt and kill others, but it's for Hido. She knew that she would do anything if it meant keeping him safe, but also realized that she would likely never see him again. The thought made her hands fist tightly in her hair. She lost him. She couldn't hug him anymore, listen to his stupid jokes or go on fun trips with him anymore. She'd lost him too, she lost her best friend. The one person who looked past her flaws and loved her just as much as she did him.
She wanted to sob, break down, and scream at that moment, but nothing was coming out. She kept reminding herself that whatever she was going to be forced to endure and do, it was to make sure Hido could continue to live. So he could find love, settle down, and have kids. So he could find a new best friend and do all the things they did together with them. As much as the thought of never seeing him again made tears prick her eyes, she loved him so much that just knowing he would have a good, happy life even without her in it, was enough to keep her sane. It was just enough to keep her from killing everyone in the world, to keep her alive.
She rose and opened the door, looking up at Itachi with a look in her eyes he didn't recognize.
"I know you heard everything, so I hope you're happy, Itachi. I hope you enjoy watching my life fall apart yet again." She stared into the eyes she once adored. "I hope you enjoy watching me kill innocent people, and I hope you revel knowing that what you're doing is exactly what that man did to me. I really, truly hope you're happy to watch my sanity chip away before you. I'm sure you will, right? I mean nothing to you after all."
Itachi didn't say a word, there was nothing to say. She didn't know how her words affected him, and she didn't care anymore. She only thought about all the ways she was going to be hurt, mentally and psychically. The thought brought back so many memories, ones she wasn't ready for. She didn't show it though, she just waited for him to make the next move.
He just turned away and walked back to the front of the lobby. She followed, but he suddenly stopped when they reached their destination. They were alone, the others were still asleep. She felt her body tense, almost preparing her just in case. She watched as he turned around to face her, walking towards her.
She felt a rush of adrenaline hit her. What was he going to do this time? Please kill me. Was he going to hurt her? She didn't know, but she hoped he wouldn't repeat his actions from the day earlier. It wouldn't be so bad if he did, the pain is a comfort. She tried to decipher the look on his face, but was unable to.
He stood in front of her, looking down at her strong eyes that tried to keep contact with his. His hand slowly reached for hers, and she sucked in a breath. She took a step back, but he pulled her back to her spot. She knew she was at his mercy, that she couldn't do anything bad without the risk of Hido getting hurt. She shut her eyes tightly. Please let it be over quickly.
"Did you and Deidara have a fight last night?" he asked. Her eyes flew open as she looked at him with confusion. He was looking down at the cut on her palm before his gaze returned to her. She just shook her head, worried her voice would come out unstable otherwise.
He let go of her hand and turned back around before he walked over to a wall and sat against it.
"Our goal is nothing like that man's. He was selfish and only wanted things for himself," Itachi stated.
Harumi's eyes narrowed in disbelief before she said, "Yes it is. You plan to weaponize me for your own benefit, it doesn't matter how it affects me as long as you get what you want. You don't mind hurting others if it means you'll reach your goal. You want the world in the palm of your hand. Just. Like. Him."
Itachi turned his head to her, watching the next sentence come out of her mouth.
"At least Orochimaru had the guts to admit it."