Wasteland

by Roucarnage

An alternate telling of the Akatsuki, from humble beginnings to the bitter end. From an extinct bloodline, to a dysfunctional family dynamic, sibling rivalry, puppy love, tragedy and a war one thousand years in the making. Rated M for Violence/Blood/Gore/Language/Death/Implied Adult Situations/OOC/OC/Genderbend.

20. Arc 1: Chapter 19

AN: Heed the warnings below. This chapter shall have a lot of bloodshed in the second half. Also, it'll be the longest chapter to date because a lot happens to conclude the plotline of the previous chapter so should be a treat for everyone. This will be the last chapter of the Mayfly Arc.

you-may-call-me-V: Thank you so much for such kindness. I'm loving writing this story and I'm glad to hear there are readers who are loving it as much as I do! And thank you again. I'm glad the changes I've made aren't too dramatic (except Konan), since I'm rubbish at writing characters.

Cat Beats: Yes, she will remain innocent for awhile more. But, she'll eventually start getting smarter since she can't be like this forever, haha.

Warning(s): Violence/Blood/Death (High), Language (Med), Genderbend (Low), Out of Character (Konan)

…

Wasteland

Mayfly Arc

Chapter 19

"Quit strugglin', ya lil' shit!"

"Open the door!"

Seconds later, the falsely barricaded doors of an abandoned theater were heaved open and a dark-skinned man cautiously peered out. He stepped back surprised as two of his colleagues rushed inside, wrestling a squirming white sheet between them with kicking legs.

"What did you two do now?" He asked, rechaining the doors and trailing the twins as they took their latest prize onto the decrypted stage and dumped it, whoever inside yelping.

"We snatched that bastard Koji's daughter!" One twin snickered, fighting to subdue the struggling girl while the other searched for something to restrain her with.

"You did what?"

The rest of the handful of Moku members lingering in the theater migrated towards them in curiosity, watching and mummering amongst themselves. The second twin returned, having cut off the thick rope used to tie back the curtains along with the lever used to ascend them. Together, they unveiled their capture to their coworkers, like the presenters who once worked this stage and those observing quirked eyebrows upon sight of the girl.

Zetsu glanced around franticly once her vision was restored, analyzing the unknown surroundings and unknown faces staring at her. She couldn't' begin to fathom where she may be when spied someone approaching her and whimpered but was quickly silenced when the metal lever was thrusted against her temple, rending her unconscious instantly. Afterward, she was shackled with the rope. Once the twins finished, they high-fived each other and wiped the sweat off their brow.

"Auto isn't going to happy about this." Their tanned counterpart muttered, staring at the unconscious child who had blood dribbling from her nose and ear from the strike. Everyone else uttered their agreement with the statement before slowly dispersing back to their own duties of standing about and conversing. "Why would you kidnap the secondhand store owner's kid?"

"Because that bastard hired someone to off Auto!"

"We overheard everythin' in the bar!"

"He hired a mercenary?"

"Yes!" The identical twins adamantly voiced in unison.

He scratched his head, conflicted if he believed that little, cowardly Koji had the nerve to hire a guerrilla to assassinate the Moku's head honcho—given the twins reputation of lying. "Alright. You should inform Auto about that, and the girl. He won't be pleased if he learns himself that you kidnapped a kid behind his back."

"Auto is back?"

"Yes. He returned an hour ago. He's in his office."

"Alright. Can ya watch our lil' friend please, Kappei?"

"Yes please, Kappa?" Both stifled a cackle between them.

Kappei sneered at his loathed nickname but decided to agree so the obnoxious look-alikes would leave him alone. "Fine. I'll babysit for her."

"Thank you, Kappa." With that, the matching lavender-haired men left to the backstage while crowing with laughter at their little in-joke.

Kappei scowled before sighing, He stared at the unconscious girl after a few minutes before shrugging and leaving back to his much more interesting obligation of monitoring the entrance. He didn't see much reason to keep an eye on her since she was knocked out and even if she was conscious, what could she do besides cry?

Afterall, she was just one little girl.

…

"Boss, Naozumi and Naoyuki are here."

A heavy sigh originated inside the makeshift office. "Send them in, Shinji."

Shinju glowered at the brothers for a moment before heeding and stepping aside of the metal door so they could enter. Naozumi and Naoyuki grinned tauntingly at him as they walked by him and through. Shinji responded by belting the door closed behind them and locking it until they were finished—or so could not escape if their employer decided to put them out of their misery.

The office had been converted from a storage closest which hadn't been cleaned out when the Moku infiltrated the forsaken theater as there were boxes piled about along with age old cleaning supplies. Instead, a junked desk had been moved inside to justify it as being an office. Behind it, Howaito Auto himself was seated, thumbing through bills and mumbling numbers to himself as he counted through the latest "protection fee" his men had collected from Oashisu's citizens.

"Naozumi, Naoyuki," Auto greeted, writing down the payment beside the name of the inhabitant who had "donated" it on the back of a trashed script before returning to calculating the next fee, all without sparing the replicas the slightest glance. "What has brought you before me this time? Has another child spit on you, Naozumi?" Naozumi blushed, his brother giggling but Auto hadn't finished. "What about you, Naoyuki? Another woman rejected you?" Naozumi snickered this time and Naoyuki responded with punching him in the arm.

"No, we ain't here 'cause that." Naoyuki answered, dodging and glaring at his mirror image for his attempted rebellion punch. "We're here 'cause we got news."

"Important news?" Auto droned, sipping from one of his ever-present water bottles. Knowing their infamous reputation, it wasn't.

"Yes, important news." Naozumi intercepted. "You remember Koji?"

"Koji?"

"The one wit' the pawnshop?"

Auto paused in his tallying, legitimately thinking about that question. Seconds later, the answer came amongst the obscuring fog and he returned to his money. "Oh yes. Kenta and Yugo visited him last week before because he failed to pay his monthly protection fee to us. Squirrelly one, he is."

"Him. So, we were at the bar and he was hirin' a random bastard to murder ya!"

Auto unexpectedly hiccupped with laughter in response. "Killing me? Koji? The Koji who cries everytime he has his bill collected?"

"Yes, him! He did, seriously! Guy had an odd name too—err…"

Naozumi snapped his fingers. "Akatsuki!"

"Yes!"

"Akatsuki?" Auto muttered, writing down another confirmation while thumbing the scarring decorating his jawline. "That is an odd name, isn't it? It doesn't ring any bells either. But, if this man was a mercenary, it is doubtful he would use his real name so it might be an alias. Afterall, Howaito Auto is not my real name. Do I have another bounty on my head then?"

"Err—we don't know. We left before we could hear that part."

"Ah, to tell me then?"

"No, 'cause we kidnapped his daughter!" Another high-five was exchanged before the two literally patted each other on the back for their perceived achievement. "That'll teach that bastard!" However, their celebration wasn't shared by Auto, halted his estimations again and blessed them with the flattest gaze achievable over the silver rims of his eyeglasses.

"Why would you kidnap poor shopkeeper's daughter?" Naozumi and Naoyuki's shit-eating grinning faltered upon their superior's muted reaction and they exchanged puzzled stares. Both thought he would appreciate their efforts and congratulate them, not question their motives. "What were you two thinking?"

"We thought…we thought ya could…"

"Ransom her?"

"Ransom? There is nothing left to ransom from him. Do you two realize what you two have done?"

It had been a rhetorical question, which had soared over the twins' thick-skulled heads. "We—stole a kid?" The white-haired man pinched the bridge of his marred nose and squeezing shut his vermillion orbs, releasing a drawn-out sigh. Their ignorance was astonishing at times.

He threw down the stack of bills onto his desk, causing some of it to cascade off like green snow. "You imbeciles." He grumbled, kneaded the jagged scarring mirrored across his cheekbones and stretching his eyelids. "Because you've kidnapped that child, the citizens may be driven to report us to the government. We had managed to fly under the radar because they had been scared silent but now we'll have to relocate because you two decided to snatch someone's daughter!" His voice gradually increased until he was borderline screaming and the brothers huddled against each other, shrinking underneath his tongue lashing.

"N' who will answer their cries? Sunagakure? They can't even find their own Kazekage." Naoyuki quipped, attempting to inject humour in the dire situation and Naozumi chuckled nervously.

"What about Amegakure?" Auto muttered against his palms and peeked at them through his fingers. Immediately, their joking ceased and both gulped simultaneously as the prospect of having Hanzō the Salamander on the Moku's back—the realization of what they were responsible for steadily settling on them.

"Now please tell me the girl did not see where you have brought her and has not seen anyone's faces?"

"N-No. We had her blindfolded and knocked her out, Auto, sir." Naozumi said with Naoyuki nodding to confirm his brother's answer.

Auto believed them—although just this once—and sighed, slouching back in his chair. "Perfect. Then, since she had seen nothing, we do not have to kill her to protect the Moku. She'll have to be dumped by tonight, however, which will be your jobs since you two kidnapped her to begin with. Meanwhile, we'll have to make arrangements to relocate sooner than anticipated because of your foolish actions! Shinji!"

Shinji answered his manager's howling as he barged through the door and Auto gestured for him to remove Naoyuki and Naozumi. The doppelgangers yelped as their shoulders were grabbed ahold of by the watchman and used to forcibly escort them out of the office where they were then thrown ungracefully into the hallway. Shinji closed the door behind them and locked it to restrict their reentrance.

"Man," Naozumi moaned, standing and rubbing his aching shoulder. "I thought Auto would love the idea of ransoming the kid back."

"Me too." Naoyuki agreed, picking himself off the floor as he combed back his purple hair. "We never git any respect 'round here from Auto or nobody!"

"None—and now, we have to give the girl back for nothing." Naozumi sighed and started walking down the darkened hallway with his hands smuggled in his pockets. "Come on, let's get the girl back before Auto decides to axe us himself."

"Or—" Naoyuki suddenly spoke up and Naozumi stopped, staring suspiciously at his grinning brother. "We could ransom her still, n' the keep the money for us'selves."

Naozumi gasped. "Ransom her and keep the money!?"

"Shh!" Naoyuki scolded, stealing his twin's arm and towing him down the hallway and around a corner where they could not be accidently overheard by their boss or anyone else. "Ya heard me. We'll ransom off the brat n' split the money—half n' half."

"We can't do that."

"Why not?"

"Because Auto would actually kill us!" Naozumi whispered, glancing around nervously in search of anyone who may accidently overhear their treasonous conversation and Naoyuki impatiently clicked his bitten tongue against his teeth.

"He don't hafta find out 'bout it. He told us to dump her, which we'll do, but we'll pocket a lil' change in the progress. A—deposal fee, if ya will." Naozumi wasn't buying it and Naoyuki groaned, fisting his hair in frustration. "Come on, Zumi! We ain't never git nothin' 'round here. We don't even git paid for the work we does! What's a lil' money on the side that we earned us'selves?"

"Well," Naozumi said, thinking it over more and processing his identical twin's flawed logic, the thought of potential wealth overriding his fear. "If no one finds out about it…"

"There ya go!" Naoyuki punched him in the arm, subtly repaying his failed attempt earlier. "Let's go git us'selves a payday! After this, I don't need to talk to women, 'cause I can jus' buy one!" He cackled, throwing his arm around his sibling's shoulders and walking him towards the stage. "Now let's git us'selves a plan!"

…

Meanwhile, Kakuzu had trailed Koji back to his house when the jittery male had sprinted home after learning the missing girl may not be his daughter, Kari.

Kari had been home, doing her homework while under the supervision of their neighbour, Romi, when her father literally kicked in the door. Without an explanation, he suddenly released a wail and hugged his daughter, smothering her in kisses much to the girl and her babysitter's confusion. It was only amplified when an unknown, gigantic man casually entered the house after him. Immediately, Romi intercepted him in the doorway, thinking Kakuzu was another Moku which had arrived to extort more money and puffed herself up at the male in a humorous display to intimidate him.

"It's ok, Romi, he's a friend." Koji said between kisses, keeping Kari squeezed in his arms and her face was turning an unnatural colour from lack of oxygen.

"I wouldn't say we're 'friends'." Kakuzu mumbled, entering the house once the teenager had backed down and instead, she had resorted to glowering at him from afar.

Koji paid Romi her babysitting fee but she refused to leave, having instantly disliked Kakuzu upon first glance and Koji had to repeatedly assure her that he and Kari would be fine alone with him. Once she left, Kari prepared a kettle on the stove for tea while Kakuzu and Koji seated themselves on the couch and loveseat in the living room and waiting for it, sitting in dead silence. Kakuzu amused himself by thumbing through Zetsu's discarded dictionary while Koji fidgeted anxiously on the sofa like one of those trembling, rat dogs. Finally, after a few minutes, Kari served with their tea which Kakuzu politely thanked her for before she seated herself on the couch beside her father.

Kakuzu sipped the hot beverage before speaking. "Alright, let us talk about how we are going my partner back."

"Y-Yes." Koji agreed.

"What happened, dad?" Kari asked, cautiously removing the steaming hot tea from her father's quavering hands before he accidently spilt it and burned himself.

"In a nutshell: your father hired me about a problem with the Moku and a Howaito Auto. Apparently, while we were speaking, either someone of the Moku overheard us, or decided to play a cruel prank and kidnap you. However, who they kidnapped instead was my partner and now your father is going to help me get her back." Looking at her now, Kakuzu could see the resemblance between Kari and Zetsu.

Both were approximatively the same height, although Zetsu of slightly smaller stature and while Kari had black hair like her father, it could had been easily mistaken if Zetsu had her hood on. Also, she was currently wearing that foreshadowed pink jacket was practically identical to the one Konan had bought Zetsu and may have originated from the same store chain. Basically, he could understand now why the two girls had been confused for one another.

"Oh." She muttered, nodding. Although she still did not understand, she decided not to ask any more questions about it because honestly, she was slightly intimidated by this nameless houseguest her father had brought.

"H-How am I supposed to help?" Koji questioned timidly, attempting to soothe his riled nerves with the Chamomile tea.

"Simple. These bastards think they've kidnapped your daughter so one of two things shall happen now. Either one, they do not realize they've snatched the wrong girl and attempt to extort you for ransom. If they do, then they'll likely ask to meet up for the exchange and I'll leave with you in order to fetch my partner back, with or without a fight."

"W-What if they don't ask for ransom?"

"Then either they're idiots, or they've realized their mistake and will release her or kill her."

"Oh—"

"Understand now?" Kakuzu deadpanned and Koji nodded, sipping at his tea more until Kari had to take it back again before he scalded his mouth. "Or, if you know the whereabouts of the Moku, that would be perfect too because I can go there now and murder those motherfuckers and save my partner myself."

"W-We don't…"

"No one here has ever shadowed one back to whatever hellhole they've crawled out of?"

"I-It's too dangerous!"

Kakuzu snorted and Koji flinched, sinking into the sofa. "Alright then. Is there anywhere in Oashisu which might be a suspected base for the Moku? I'd rather not sit on my ass and wait for the worse here." Koji shook his head, but after a minute, Kari timidly raised her hand like she was in a classroom.

"Well," She started, lowering her hand and staring down at her glass of orange juice. "If I were a bad guy, I'd hide somewhere where no one would find me. Like, underground or somewhere empty where no one would think to look?"

Kakuzu snorted again but with approval, nodding. "So then, are there any questionable holes or abandoned buildings around?"

"N-No. Because Oashisu is a tradepost, we get a l-lot of tourists so everything stays open." Koji dismissed quickly.

"What about the theater?" Kari asked, capturing a bewildered look from her father.

"Theater?" He repeated.

She nodded. "Remember? The theater that you and mom used to bring me to when she was alive? It had the puppet shows."

"Oh," Koji mumbled and winced at the mention of his deceased wife causing to Kari frown, instantly feeling guilty for accidently bringing up her mother.

"Theater?" Kakuzu impatiently inquired, interrupting whatever real life theatrics was happening.

"Yes. There was a t-theater here that played movies and shows. It c-closed a few years because of the war when Sunagakure drafted the a-actors and staff and the e-entire entertainment district was a-abandoned."

Kakuzu sighed. "Better than nothing. I'll start there." He finished his tea before standing up, ready to leave to find Zetsu before she was executed or sold off then kill these Moku motherfuckers and this Howaito Auto bastard then collect his pathetic payday. God, what a lot of labour for nothing.

However, the moment he did, the doorbell rang and there was the metallic clank of the mail slot. Instinctively, Kari stood up to retrieve the mail but Kakuzu delicately caught her wrist to stop her, making her stare at him, startled and slightly afraid.

"You're supposed to be kidnapped, remember?" He placidly reminded her. She muttered an 'oh' and nodded, forgetting already. He released her and gestured at Koji to fetch the mystery mail instead, the skittish man scrambling to his feet and walking to the front door.

There was a single letter laying on the floor with his name incorrectly scrawled on it and he peeked outside through the window to steal a glimpse at anyone who might have left it. There was no one except his neighbours chattering outside and he picked up the letter before returning to the living room.

"There was a l-letter." He said, handing it to Kakuzu who outstretched his hand for it. "They m-misspelt my name."

Kakuzu looked over the letter. It was in a plain, white envelope with Koji's name printed on the outside but instead spelt with a 'C'. Using a thread, he cleaved it open and tossed the envelope aside as he unfolded the note inside. It been written in atrocious handwriting and was riddled with more spelling mistakes. Clearing his throat, he read it aloud.

"Dear Koji—spelt with a C—we have your dauter—daughter. If you want her back safelee—safely—, the Mokoo—Moku, how the hell do you misspell your own damn organization—demands the some—sum—of one million riyo—ryo—in cash by even—evening—today by the park foutin—fountain. Come alone and if you do not bring the money or show up, we will kill her."

"O-O-One million ryo!?" Koji gasped, virtually becoming white and Kari used a napkin off the table to franticly fan him before he fainted. "I-I don't have o-one million ryo!"

"You don't need one million ryo," Kakuzu grumbled, having removed his sunglasses and was massaging his bloodshot eyes to prevent a migraine from spawning behind them after reading that abomination against language. "I've done this before. Do you own a briefcase or suitcase?"

"I do." Kari responded. Once she was reassured her father wouldn't black out, she sprung off the sofa and left the living room, vanishing into the bowels of the house. A minute later, she reemerged, heaving along a large, matching pink suitcase. Kakuzu scowled. He was seriously starting to loathe that colour.

She passed it to him and he evaluated it, unzipping the main compartment to judge the depth of it and estimate it could fit hypothetically one million ryo in bills inside. Once he confirmed it could, he set it open faced on the floor and stared at the father and daughter.

"Alright, this is what we're going to do."

…

"You're sure he'll show up?"

"Yes! Why wouldn' he when got his daughter?"

"I don't know. Just starting to think that million ryo was too much to ask." Naozumi mumbled, scratching the back of his neck. "Also, we didn't bring her with so what if he refuses to hand over the money because we don't have his daughter?"

"Quit whinin'. He'll show up n' if he don't give us the money, we'll jus' kick the shit outta him for it!" Naoyuki scolded, peering over the concrete rim of the fountain for any sign of their victim before sitting back down behind it and sighing. "N' we couldn't risk that girl runnin'. We'll jus' dump her after we git the money."

"Maybe you should have been more specific about the time."

"Shut up!"

It was nighttime and Naozumi and Naoyuki were waiting for their victim to arrive as per the instructions of the ransom note they had left through his mail slot. Everything had been meticulously schemed between the twins, from the location being in an emptier section of Oashisu to avoid witnesses, to the time and their plan once Koji appeared with the money, if he ever did. It had been a hour since they had laid in wait with nothing yet except a stray dog trotting through the deserted street and a local hobo stumbling by to the saloon. Naoyuki was getting impatient, while Naozumi was starting to question if that this had been a wise idea and all this preparation for nothing. Another half-an-hour ticked by and the duplicates were ready to call it quits when in the distance, someone was approaching from down the lonesome, dirt road.

The person was impossible to name, the nightfall cloaking their face and them being too far off. However, as they neared and walked underneath the golden light of the flickering streetlight, the two men were able to determine their identity. It was Koji.

Koji shuffled apprehensively towards the stone fountain, hauling his daughter's pink suitcase in his trembling arms. His widened emerald orbs darted in their sleep-deprived sockets in search for any suspicious movements or evidence of Moku skulking in the shadows. When he tiptoed closer, Naozumi and Naoyuki lunged forth from either side of the bubbling reservoir and Koji scuttled backwards with the reflexes of a spooked rodent.

"Ya Koji?" Naoyuki asked, extending his hand and ushering at him. "Hand over the cash."

Koji hugged the cumbersome luggage against his chest, vigorously shaking his head. "N-Not b-before my daughter. Where's my Kari!?"

"We ain't givin' ya your daughter 'til you give us the money. We gonna hafta beat ya for it?" Naoyuki cast a sidelong glance at Naozumi who understood the signal and stepped aggressively towards Koji in a weak attempt at intimidation.

However, it was successful as the anxious man proceeded to quake and a cold sweat sprung forth through every pore on his body, causing his shaking grasp to also become slippery and threaten to lose handle on the suitcase. He swallowed thickly, eyes glancing off to the side and searching the darkness submerging the surrounding buildings for guidance to his seemingly dire situation. After a solid minute, he received the answer he had been desperately searching for and returned his gaze on the brothers, swallowing again—then, abruptly, he thrusted the baggage toward them. It startled the duo as Naoyuki fumbled with the suitcase for a moment, having not expected the sudden turnabout.

"T-There! Now g-give me Kari!"

The duo exchanged looks then shared a coordinated smirk before refocusing on the sucker shopkeeper. "Sure. We got your daughter right here."

Without warning, Naozumi pushed Koji, sending him tumbling to the ground and buying their escape as the men took off running down the road with the suitcase in hand. Koji recovered quickly, screaming after them but did not give pursuit as in those few seconds, they had managed to flee down the street before diverging into the surrounding bush and vanishing. They resumed running into the dusky desert until their lungs became starved for oxygen and their calves burned. Their pace slowed into a jog before both stopped, panting and heaving but grinning.

"I…I can't believe that worked…" Naozumi huffed and stared at his counterpart, blue eyes glistening with unshed tears from overwhelming happiness. "I'll never doubt you again, Yuki."

"Damn right." Naoyuki replied, straightening up once he caught his breath again. "Come on, let's find us'selves somewhere to open our jackpot!"

The brothers walked the arid outskirts of Oashisu before finding a moonlit patch to count their winnings in and seated themselves underneath. Their ransom was hurled between them, the hefty, rose-coloured luggage pluming sand upon impacting the ground and they gathered around it.

"We'll open it together," Naoyuki proclaimed, snagging one of the silver zippers while Naozumi took the other. "On three: One…two…three!" Both zippers were drawn around and together, the suitcase was pitched open as they anticipated rows and rows of beautiful green bills. However, the reality was far uglier—and blacker.

It looked like the baggage had been filled to the brim with thick, black yarn while a single, white porcelain mask with beady, black eyes accented with blue markings and a frowning beak laid out atop it.

"That bastard tricked us!" Naoyuki shouted, yanking out fistfuls of his purple locks while Naozumi stared at the real contents in puzzlement, trying to decipher them.

"What is it?"

"It ain't money!"

"Maybe the money is hidden underneath?" Naozumi shrugged. He attempted to comb the threading away but when his fingers came in contact with it, there was a shuddering and it gurgled, making him yelp. He cowered behind Naoyuki and the brothers backed away as the strange substance convulsed violently and burbled, causing the baggage to tremble.

Suddenly, a stream of the thread thrusted upward and arched toward the ground, spreading out into four thinner extension which replicated fingers. Another makeshift limb jutted out before the rest of the tendrils swamped out of the suitcase across the sand like an oil spill with the mask floating along with it. More disturbing shuddering happened and the siblings watched, shaking and horrified, as a mass lifted itself off the ground with its gangling arms and inflated the dark cording to resemble a body with the mask positioned in the middle like a face. The false face stared at them for a moment before the bottom half detached and it released a screeching, trumpeting which the men echoed with their own terrified yelling and embraced each other when the creature lunged at them.

"I knew they'd be runners." Kakuzu muttered in response to the shrieking and blaring, leaving the dark alleyway he had been waiting in during the transaction and Koji flinched, temporarily forgetting he had been there. "By that atrocious letter, I was correct in assuming that they weren't the smartest bunch."

The bloodcurdling screaming all of a sudden stopped and Koji swallowed. "Did you kill them?"

"No. They're too valuable for me to kill right now. Amatsu is just apprehending them." Kakuzu dismissed, crossing his arms while he awaited his elemental to return with its prey. Koji waited too, as curious as he was mortified.

Minutes later, a large, grotesque creature emerged from the inky darkness of the badlands, its white face twitching in search before staring at them. It scuttled down the road back towards them like an engorged lizard and sprawled in front of the fountain, belching. Kakuzu affectionately patted Amatsu on the back like an old mutt and it gurgled. Koji winced at the monstrosity despite having met it earlier when conceiving their plan along its "siblings", much to Kari's pleasure.

"Release." Kakuzu snapped his fingers and Amatsu clamoured back upright. A gapping mouth-like hole materialized underneath its mask and it audibly retched once then twice before regurgitated the twins onto the ground like spoiled food. It gagged again and spat out the obnoxiously pink suitcase also which Kakuzu caught and tossed to Koji.

"Leave. Your assistance here is done," Kakuzu told Koji, thrusting his thumb over his shoulder. "I'll contact you again for payment after I've finished with the Moku and Howaito Auto." Koji nodded, he didn't have to be told twice, as he sprinted back home at breakneck speed, disappearing in a dust cloud.

Once gone, Kakuzu fixated his attention on his two identical guests who were both unconscious, eye whites visible and jaws agape, obviously having blacked out from the horrific experience of being eaten alive. He delivered a hard kick against each of their backs with his steel toed boot to rouse them, gifting a second one when the first failed to awaken them. It was successful, as Naozumi woke first with Naoyuki doing so seconds later, both groaning and rubbing their aching backs synchronously. However, their groaning transformed into screaming at witnessing Amatsu who was passively hunched over them. It croaked idly and Kakuzu scowled, digging out his ringing ear with his pinky from their screeching.

"Shut up." He barked and snapped his fingers again. Amatsu reacted immediately to the unuttered order and grabbed ahold of the men, its groping fingers casting out and winding themselves around them, pinning their arms against their abdomen before spreading upward and blanketing across their mouths, muffling further wailing. Once restrained, Kakuzu leant over the brothers who were feebly wriggling in Amatsu's tethers and mutely yelling, eyes dilated and watering.

"Alright. I've got a few questions for you both. If you either fail to answer them, or lie, you'll be subject to my favourite past time: torture. Understood?" It was a rhetorical question, but one twin readily nodded while the other glowered and muttered unintelligibly which Kakuzu assumed to be derogatory towards him. "I'll start with you then. Where is the girl?"

Amatsu unmasked him so he could answer and Naoyuki scowled. "We ain't got her."

"Where is she then?"

"Ain't nowhere!" Obviously, that was a blatant without Kakuzu requiring to read his facial quirks or eye contact, and he was being plain rude so he snapped his fingers again.

"Wrong." Amatsu blanketed his mouth with threads again, except this time, it also clogged up his nose and the beast leant over his face, opening its hooked cavity.

There was burbling in its throat then a cascade of ice cold water poured onto his face. Naoyuki screamed and thrashed, the obscuration of his nose and mouth not permitting any water into those orifices but instead the restriction of air and wetness mimicked the sensation of drowning. After a minute, the waterflow stopped as Amatsu closed its mouth and the tendrils suffocating Naoyuki temporarily parted, enabling to him to breathe again as he gasped vociferously and wheezed.

Kakuzu switched his attention to the second man, who was staring at his brother and sobbing into his restraints. "Your turn. Where is the girl?"

"I—I d-don't know!" Naozumi whimpered once his mouth was freed but Kakuzu didn't buy his stuttered answer, snapping his fingers and Amatsu gagged him again, delivering the same torture to him as his breathing was hampered and water poured onto his face. Naoyuki gasped, staring horrified at his twin's jerking and kicking as he was waterboarded too. Amatsu yielded a minute later and Naozumi choked once freed, coughing so hard he vomited onto himself.

"Let's try this again. Where is the girl?"

"She ain't nowhere…so fuck off!" Naoyuki hissed and spat at Kakuzu, the spitwad landing on his rather expensive leather coat. The elder scowled, the little insult enough to trigger his temper and snapped his fingers, Amatsu blocking his nose and mouth with its black threading again. However, it was interrupted before it could deliver him a second dose of torture.

"Theater! S-She's at the theater!" Naozumi cried and Naoyuki glared at him. Kakuzu prevented Amatsu from continuing by resting his hand on against its mask as he focused on this new revelation. It appeared he found their weak link.

"The abandoned theater?" He questioned and Naozumi nodded curtly without hesitation.

"Y-Yes! I promise—I promise! P-Please…just leave Yuki alone." He hiccupped, weeping and red faced with seeping snot and leftover bile in a disgusting show. It was pathetic, but it was the truth as Kakuzu flicked Amatsu and the aquatic creature backed off, unravel its fingers from Naoyuki nose so he was capable of breathing through it. However, it kept his mouth muzzled so he could not fling anymore insults or bodily fluids at him. Kakuzu spotlighted his intentness on the meeker twin instead.

"She's in the theater. Is the Moku there?" He asked. Naozumi hesitated.

"I—I…they're…err…" Before he could conjure together a weak lie, Kakuzu snapped his fingers. Amatsu recovered Naozumi's face and upchucked a torrent of water onto it without hesitation, Naoyuki shouted his name and struggled fruitlessly against his bindings.

It eased off after a few extra seconds but when unveiled its threading from Naozumi's face, he didn't automatically gasp for breath or move, jaw slacked and eyes closed. Kakuzu thought he may have accidently been suffocated and was prepared to have Rājan revive him when he suddenly jolted up, gulping for air like a beached fish and trembling.

"Y-Yes…" Naozumi panted, the last waterboarding leaving him light-headed and exhausted, physically and mentally—he had successfully been broken with minimal effort to Kakuzu's pleasure. Naoyuki sighed, disappointed. "The Moku…are there."

"How many?" Kakuzu pressed.

"A dozen—p-plus us."

"Is Howaito Auto there?"

"N-No…" It didn't sound entirely truthful and Amatsu leant over him, clicking its beak and drooling onto his forehead. Predictably, it made Naozumi squirm. "H-He isn't! I-I promise! He leaves in the m-mornings and nights! I promise—I promise!" That was better.

"Where is he?"

"We don't know—he never tells us where is going. Just says on business." Kakuzu sighed. It wasn't the answer he had wanted, but there was no evidence of it being lie and it would have to suffice.

There was little left to inquire about, and asking pointless questions would sacrifice the little time Zetsu might have left before they potentially disposed of her. So, he snapped his fingers and Amatsu sat up on its stubby hindlegs. Keeping the siblings leashed, it wrenched them off the dirty ground and stood them up on their feet. Naozumi faltered and required extra support to keep upright while Naoyuki remained muzzled like a rabid hound.

"Now then, this is what we're going to do. You two are going to lead me to this theater and the Moku. If you either attempt to take me on a wild goose chase or take too long, I can promise you that what happened right now will pale in comparison to what I'll do to you later. Understood?" Kakuzu stated and Naozumi eagerly nodded in agreement while Naoyuki scowled behind his spit guard. Satisfied, he gestured at Amatsu who trumpeted at them to start walking. Naozumi did so while Naoyuki literally dragged his feet and had to be escorted.

The obedient brother led them into the establishment side of Oashisu, which contained its businesses such as expensive stores and food stands which justified it being a tourist trap. Everything had shut down for the night expect a random inn and odd corner store with no one walking the dim streets or exiting outside to investigate the suspicious scene of a masked man with an abomination walking two other men in the middle of the night or the earlier screaming. Perhaps, the residents were not permitted to do so by their Moku dictators, Kakuzu hypothesized.

Eventually, Naozumi led them down a pitch-black alleyway and Kakuzu prepared himself for a potential ambush if the Moku were lurking about. Thankfully—for his guests' sake—it hadn't been a trap nor did it appear anyone was patrolling outside. There was a chain-link fence barring the exit of the passageway which was easily pushed aside to grant entrance to the vacated entertainment district.

Refurbished spotlights and decorative lighting brightly illuminated the sector to substitute the defunct street lights and rotting wood and seating recycled into barriers laid indiscriminately on the red brick leading to the theater like a battlefield. The theater itself was dilapidated with fortified metal doors and a grand neon sign swaying ominously over the entrance which threatened squash anyone unfortunate enough to be standing underneath it when it finally fell.

Satisfied, Kakuzu snapped his fingers and Amatsu brought the twins to a halt at the bottom of the incline towards the cinema. The threading fastened around them unraveled to release their arms but kept a minuscule hold on them with a single fiber to prevent them from immediately fleeing.

"Thank you, gentlemen," Kakuzu announced, evacuating his gloves from his pocket and tugging them on. "Because you two have been so cooperative, I'll kill you last after I've killed all your friends. I'll even give you a ten second head start. Ready? Go." Amatsu released them and neither man hesitated to dart, running for their lives towards the theater while Kakuzu calmly counted down the seconds in his head.

Kappei had been casually conversing with another Moku member when someone, or someones, smashed against the entrance doors then erratically pounded on them. He sighed, guessing who their guests were, and as he walked towards the entryway, he also heard screaming over the deafening knocking. He unlocked them and the metal doors were kicked open, almost hitting him in the process, and Naozumi and Naoyuki tumbled inside, both sopping wet and looking petrified.

"Close the fucking doors!" Naoyuki yelled.

"What have you two done this time?" Kappei sighed, shaking his head at the two as he went to shut and relock the door. However, as he did, he caught a glimpse of a hulking figure approaching the theater, shrouded in darkness despite the glaring spotlights and eyes reflecting a piercing emerald stare submerged in suffused blood. He hurled the doors closed and scrambled to latch them. "What have you two done this time!?"

"It was Zumi! He brought that bastard here!" Naoyuki pointed accusingly at his brother and Naozumi erupted into tears.

"He was going to kill us, Yuki!" He wailed. "What was I supposed to do!?"

"Wh—?" However, Kappei could not finish his question when suddenly, the metal doors were thrusted open with a single strike and he was sent soaring into the aisle with them crashing after, inches from decapitating him. Naozumi and Naoyuki screamed and retreated backstage to hide while the rest of Moku rushed towards the pandemonium. Shinju arrived and assisted up Kappei.

Kakuzu crouched through the undersized doorway and was instantly surrounded by a flock of scowling men, each armed with an ineffective weapon. He stepped further inside and a few backed up while the others pointed their armaments at him. He ignored their futile intimidation and searched around the hollowed-out theater until resting his gaze on a suspicious, human-like package laying on center stage. He recognized the offensive, pink pants sticking out.

"Zetsu." He bellowed and the pink package jolted up.

"S-S-Sir!?" It was Zetsu.

That clarified, Kakuzu addressed his gathering entourage. "I'll be taking her back now," He explained, cracking his knuckles. "If anyone has an objection to that, I'll happily answer it by punching your teeth down your throat. Now, step aside or die now rather than later." His friendly warning though fell upon deaf ears as the members of Moku took the offensive and attacked Kakuzu with their weapons primed. He sighed—it would be the hard way then.

He activated his Doton and the weapons battering him ricocheted harmlessly off his brass skin, stunning their wielders and he took advantage of their vulnerability to deliver a round kick and send them flying in multiple directions across the old auditorium. Those wise enough not to besiege him with meager weaponry threw punches and he blocked them with his hardened limbs, causing them to break fingers and toes on the metallic surface and while distracted with the pain, he kicked them away also. His initial assailants dispatched and recovering, he stole the chance to run down the center aisle towards the stage to rescue Zetsu. However, Shinju and Kappei intercepted him, equipped with shanks. Each took turns stabbing at him and he entertained them as fluently bobbed and weaved around their blades, doing so for a minute until growing bored.

Kakuzu caught Kappei's knife between his dense fingers, capturing his fist and bending his wrist at an impossible angle, then breaking his arm at the elbow in the process and causing the balding man to plunge the knife into his own shoulder. He collapsed, screaming while switching between cradling his bowed arm and bleeding shoulder. Shinju jumped behind Kakuzu, dagger aimed at his skull. The whistling of the knife slicing through the air forewarned him to the attempted sneak attack and Kakuzu caught his hand also. He wrenched down the other man's arm over his shoulder and shattered his elbow. Shinju screeched and joined his colleague on the floor as both nestled their broken bones while withering and wailing.

Kakuzu leapt onto the theater platform and tended to Zetsu who had been bagged like a cadaver. He unveiled her from the tattered bag and the first thing his attention was drawn to was blood; a lot of blood. It was crusted on her face, underneath her nose and layered inside her ear, with a dark, curdled patch of crimson and matted green hair on her head. It appeared that they had rendered her unconscious at one point using a blunt object. Hopefully, it had resulted in just a bad concussion and not a fractured skull that would have to be addressed later. He untied her arms and once freed, Zetsu did not hesitate to lethargically tussle to her feet and attach herself to Kakuzu's leg, burrowing her face against it—too relieved in that moment.

"S-Sir…" She whimpered, sniffling pathetically and he sighed but did not reject her. Instead, he rested his hand gently atop her head and massaged his fingertips against her scalp to soothe her. He'd scold her later for being kidnapped.

"Are you alright, girl?" He asked, although the answer was obvious.

"Hurt. Owie. Bad."

"Can you walk? No—can you run?"

"Run?" Zetsu reuttered, smearing the mixtures of dried blood and her tears onto his slacks before staring up at him with waterlogged eyes. "Err…yes run. Run nows?"

"Yes, run now." Kakuzu investigated the scattered Moku members who were recuperating, including Kappei and Shinji. "Listen—I'm going to open a path for you. When I say, I want you to run for the exit and keep running. Do not stop running until you either find someone to help you or somewhere to hide. I'll retrieve you later after I've finished here. Understood?"

"Understood." Zetsu quietly confirmed, much to his surprise. It had been the first time she had answered him accordingly and he patted her cheek in approval, making her wince when he unintentionally rattled her pained brain. He stepped off the stage while the teenager stayed back, anxiously awaiting the signal to run.

Obviously, these men were ruffians and not shinobi as instead of flashing a flurry of handsigns and overwhelming him with a multitude of jutsu, they salvaged their weapons and advanced on Kakuzu for another wave. He had been generous before, but now, he'd do as he originally sworn and murder the pretending gang for interfering with his business. Afterward, he'd wait patiently for this Howaito Auto and kill him too for his paycheck then leave this godforsaken township.

He cracked his neck and exhaled deeply before lunging at the two staggered men who were currently blocking Zetsu's pathway to safety. He grabbed the mohawked man's collar first and triggered the casting of his forehead before colliding their heads together, the impact emitting a ringing with the cracking bone of Shinju's skull. Kakuzu chucked the limp male aside into the arms of his descending associates. Kappei yelled out in rage and jabbed his blade at the intruder, missing him and Kakuzu caught his wrist. He brought the arm down onto his knee, breaking it in half like a twig before stealing the skewer and pierced it through his opponent's jaw. Kappei gagged on the blade and his own blood pouring down his throat from his sundered cheeks before toppling backwards.

"Girl, run! Run!"

Zetsu scurried off the stage, tumbling off and onto the carpeted floor a foot below. She stumbled to her feet and fled past Kakuzu towards the entrance. A Moku member attempted to apprehend her as he dove after. He was met with Kakuzu's detached fist which thrusted into his face and sent him into a wall. She made it to the entryway and retreated through without looking back, doing as told and kept running once outside. Kakuzu sighed, linking his hand back onto his wrist as he flexed his fingers and leered at the remaining recruits—at least ten plus the two men he had started with if they had miraculously survived. Although, he did not know where the twins had gone but like he had promised, he would kill them last.

"Let's finish this." Kakuzu charged toward a group of four men tending to their unconscious teammate previously thrown at them.

He grabbed a hold of one man's ugly mug and smashed it into his neighbour's uglier face, blood and teeth spraying in every direction. Two remained and one released the unconscious Shinji and hurtled at Kakuzu, an iron pipe in hand. The felon caught aerial man by the ankle and launched him into the rafters far overhead where he struck one of the active spotlights. It flickered, short circuiting as naked skin met live wiring with the metal piping clenched in the thug's fist behaving as a conductor and he screamed out as he proceeded to be electrocuted. Broken glass and sparks showered down succeeded seconds later by a smouldering body as it crashed to the floor, burning flesh and hair polluting the air.

His immediate friends either dead or dying, Kakuzu pinpointed his attention on the last man standing and the goon abandoned Shinju, backing up and shivering as the behemoth's bleeding gaze gleaming sinisterly at him through the darkness of his sunglasses. He attempted to turn and flee but Kakuzu was faster than he could ever dream to be and snatched the back of his collar, hoisting him up to eyelevel. He snarled and the man flinched, cowering as he shielded his stubbled face with his hands in preparation."

"Release him or this girl is dead." A voice spoke, interrupting Kakuzu before he could rearrange his latest guest's face into something the least bit attractive. While he did not release him, he lowered the man and glowered at the newest arrival—another man standing at the entrance—his presentation meretricious with his unblemished white suit identical to his bleached facial hair and slicked back locks.

One hand was casually tucked in his trousers pocket while his other clenched a machete with his arm flexed in a headlock—captured in that headlock was Zetsu. She had been rendered unconscious again as evidence by her whited eyes and the fresh river of blood dribbling from her lips. Kakuzu muttered a quick swear mentally.

"I'll assume that you're Howaito Auto?" He asked. The ostentatious man smirked and itched his blemishes, confirming his suspicions before an answer.

"Yes—and I'll assume that you're Akatsuki?"

"Yes." Kakuzu confirmed, deciding that explaining he wasn't would be idiotic at a moment like this.

Auto nodded and glanced at his frightened lackey before returning his gaze back onto Kakuzu. "Now, if you please." He ushered him with his sabre before replacing it against Zetsu's throat.

Kakuzu scowled, but he did as asked and surrendered the Moku member who immediately scrambled away towards his compatriots who had been standing on the sidelines. Satisfied, Auto eased his weapon off the girl's neck but did not release her as he kept her apprehended.

"I thought something was bizarre when while out for my nightly scroll when the shopkeeper—Koji—ran into me looking rather panicked and holding a suitcase. On a hunch, I backtracked his footsteps and saw a suspicious figure with a freakish pet torturing two of my men. I knew they'd give up the Moku's location since they have a knack of being loose-lipped so I shadowed you back here. But, when I did, this darling girl collided into me and I recognized her as being Koji's daughter that had been kidnapped earlier," Auto explained, tapping the blunt side of the knife against the top of Zetsu's head. "But, she wasn't his daughter because the hair colour is all wrong and I realized she had to belong to someone. Would that be you?"

Kakuzu sneered in response which disguised his confliction with a select section of the tale. 'He followed us this entire time? I never sensed his chakra and neither did Amatsu. He must have been hiding it with an advanced jutsu. Goddammit! Goddammit again Zetsu!'

Auto took his silence and grimacing as answer enough. "Well, I was going to give her back since I'd rather not have any trouble for the Moku until we can relocate from this hellhole to our next target. However, you've not just tortured my men, but also maimed them by a quick glance around. So, for that, I'll just kill her."

"She has nothing to do with this." Kakuzu urged, holding his hand out in a stopping motion and took a step forward.

Auto smirked. "That so? Then in that case, how about a little duel?" He said, nudging his spectacles back onto his missing nose and yanked Zetsu's head back with a handful of her grassy hair. "To the winner goes the spoils." Kakuzu scowled.

He should have killed this arrogant bastard once he started jabbered his jaw. However, with Zetsu there now, he wouldn't make it two steps before Howaito Auto slit her throat like the coward he had exhibited himself as being. No dignified person took a child hostage. It wasn't that he didn't think he couldn't murder this motherfucker, but would be such a burden to fight this bastard instead of just breaking him in half over his knee. In his current position though, he had no choice of he wanted to retrieve his partner back alive. So, he would have to play along for now. He'd just end it quickly.

"Fine."

"Perfect. I haven't had a satisfactory fight since the Second World War when I fought the Mayfly. Naozumi and Naoyuki! Where is Naozumi and Naoyuki?"

Moments later, Naozumi and Naoyuki shuffled out onto the stage from backstage, hiding behind one of the red curtains. Auto gestured the duplicates over and both stared apprehensively at Kakuzu who was standing idly below. After taking a moment to embolden themselves, they scurried off the platform and around Kakuzu to their biding boss. The rest of the Moku's angered and criticizing gazes for bringing this upon them washed over them as they ran past.

"Since you two caused this, you can babysit her," Howaito Auto stated, tossing Zetsu into Naoyuki's arms and the machete to Naozumi. "Can I trust you with this tiniest of tasks?"

"Yes, sir." Both answered.

Appeased, Auto approximated himself to Kakuzu so both men were positioned feet apart. The Moku withdrew out of the pending battlefield and heaved away weeded up theater chairs and unconscious colleagues to remove any potential obstacles. Once finished, the men stood back to enthusiastically watch their superior beat the shit out this bastard who had sauntered in and attacked them. Howaito Auto unfastened one of the multiple jugs from his belt and drank from it, chugging down all the ice-cold water inside. He sighed and tossed the empty bottle aside, wiping the excess liquid from his mustached lips as he narrowed his red orbs at Kakuzu.

"Let us begin then." He announced then took a fighting stance. Kakuzu grunted in reply but did not take his own offensive stance as he stood straight, reading his challenger's posture. It was mediocre, either being accidental or purposeful which hinted at a trap. However, he was too impatient to finish this—and frankly irked—and would accept the former this time. It might be foolish but nothing about this person intimidated him. A random Moku member shouted to begin.

Instantly, Kakuzu lunged, having identified the exploitation within milliseconds and he thrusted his fist towards Auto. Auto made no motion to dodge it—instead just smirking. Suddenly, inches from punching the albino's obnoxious face, he exploded into a smoke cloud. The exhaust engulfed Kakuzu's fist and arm and the usurer realized it wasn't smoke from a substitution jutsu as it was scorching hot. He leapt back out of range of the billowing fog and unfurled his burning hand, observing it. His glove had protected the majority it and his jacket his arm but his bare fingers had suffered as they were pink, the layer of tanned skin had been melted off and were rapidly blistering. He winced.

"What's amatter?" Auto taunted, invisible within the unknown smog. "Never seen Steam Release before?" The Moku hooped and hollered at witnessing their leader's infamous Kekkei Genkai.

'Steam Release?' Kakuzu thought, sneering. No, he hadn't. He had heard about the Kekkei Genkai though. It originated from Kirigakure and its users rumoured to be have been killed off during the Second World War. By the Mayfly too. That was the extent of his knowledge however as he knew nothing about its physical capabilities—but he was a quick learner.

He glowered at the expanding steam cloud and clenched his injured fist before lunging towards it. His Doton activated again, coating his hand in polished brass which safeguarded it from the scalding heat as he punched it into the mist towards Auto. However, instead of meeting the other man, there was nothing as his fist harmlessly wafted through the steam and expelled it, revealing the man was missing.

"Here I am." Auto's snickering voice escaped the gloom behind Kakuzu and the older man hardly managed to turn his head towards it when a steam-powered fist ejected through it and punched him in the face, sending him stumbling a single step.

He cradled his faintly stinging cheek and scowled. 'This bastard is invisible. I cannot feel his chakra. That must have been how he managed to stalk us without either I or Amatsu noticing.'

Auto's crowing laughter whooped at him. "Hmm, why don't we make this interesting? Every time I get a hit on you, my men get to punch that little girl of yours. Yes, let's do that. Naozumi and Naoyuki! One punch for our little guest."

Naoyuki smirked, saluting. "Yes, sir!" He handed Zetsu to Naozumi who held the inanimate teenage up with the sabre against her throat. Naoyuki cracked his knuckles before winding up his fist and bringing it across Zetsu's cheek. The punch managed to awaken her as she yelped out and her honey-glazed orbs flew open, wide and startled. Kakuzu snarled and took a step in their direction but Auto intercepted him, hot steam fanning his face and causing the skin to tingle.

"No, no, no. This is our match, remember? If you forfeit, then we get to kill her. So, I suggest you keep playing unless you want her back dead. However, if you keep losing like this, then she'll just be beaten to death before we finish."

"Bastard." Kakuzu swore, turning in the direction the voice was emitting from but he saw nothing as the thick steam obscured his vision.

A moment later though, there was visible movement inside the vapour and Kakuzu spied a silhouette which resembled an arm. It was being cocked back and he lifted his own earth-infused arm to block the incoming punch this time. Then, it wasn't just one arm, it was five simultaneously glimmering and spiraling in a kaleidoscopic display. Each shimmered and gyrated hypnotically and were thrown at him. He thwarted the fists but when he impeded them, each evaporated into a rainbowic mist until one was remaining. He didn't have the time to block it also and it turned out to be the real as it hit him square in the face.

He stepped back, touching his throbbing nose. 'The water particles of thesteam mirrors objects inside so it appears like there is several of it.That was the reason I could not decipher which was real and not and he was able to hit me.'He noted it. 'What a fucking obnoxious Kekkei Genkai.'

Auto howled with the Moku echoing his hoopla-ing. "Another for me!"

Naozumi hoisted Zetsu up for another winning hit and she thrashed against him to escape despite the knife cutting into her skin. His strength was superior to hers though, as hers was beginning to diminish with the minor blood loss and multiple concussions. Naoyuki nailed her in the nose and the fragile cartilage busted, causing blood to gush out and she bawled in pain. Kakuzu clenched his teeth in reaction to her screaming, also his own blundering, until they threatened to crack when something diverted his attention—or rather a noise.

Zetsu's pathetic wailing had changed and instead of the hyperventilating, whooping she had been making, it had lowered into a heaving rattle. First, he thought she might be choking on blood pouring down her throat from her broken nose or experiencing a breathing attack, but when he got a decent look at her, he immediately knew neither was the case—far from it. Her eyes were large with the golden irises having gone lackluster, harbouring a devoid gaze staring at the floor, and blood tinted drool leaked from her quivering lips. He recognized that blank look and saw the forthcoming trouble—the calm before the storm.

'Shit.' He thought.

"Forfeiting?" Howaito Auto disembodied voice jeered.

Kakuzu separated his thoughts off Zetsu and back to his ongoing feud the same moment that Auto was preparing another punch by the colourful emulations of his arm pranced about in dizzying circles. Kakuzu was ready this time, after learning from his mistake, and waited for the other man to throw the hit. Once he did, instead of counteracting the illusion to be punched again, he sent in his own ingot fist while eluding the opposition. It broke through the phantasms into the steam, he smirked when his fist made contact by the satisfying chiming of metal and the invisible man inside yelped out. The Moku gasped.

"Your cheap tricks won't work twice on me." He explained, flicking off the Earth Spear. "Release the girl, now."

Auto scoffed, ignoring the pain after being struck in the jaw by the equivalent of a metal bat. "Release her? Why should I?"

"Because if you don't, that girl is going to murder you, and everyone else here."

Howaito Auto erupted into abrupt laughter from the hilarious threat with the rest of the Moku echoing him. Even Naozumi and Naoyuki chimed in, neither noticing their jubilant sound was agitating their captive as she began twitching, blinking her hollow eyes rapidly and clicking her canines rhythmically together.

Kakuzu didn't share their hysterics. "I'm serious." He deadpanned and everyone roared louder, a few members practically rolling on the floor.

"What is she going to do? Cry on us?" One Moku member joked.

"I'm so afraid of her getting her tears on me!" Another one said and everyone crowed with renewed jest.

Zetsu's wheezing became more urgent in the background amongst the howling and the brunette looked at her. She was tremouring like a leaf in a hurricane and it might be mistaken she was having a panic attack, but he knew otherwise and found himself unconsciously tensing—she was on the brink.

"Zetsu." He attempted to pacify her, praying that hearing her own name might by enough to ground her in sanity.

It did nothing and he made the mistake of taking a step towards her. Naozumi quickly hushed his merriment and took the offensive, pressing the machete harder against her neck until the razor-sharp blade pierced skin and a trickle of blood dribbled down it. Then, Zetsu went dead silent and static, head bowed.

Naoyuki snickered. "She fainted 'gain? 'Bout time." Naozumi muttered a grunt then a strained noise in reply, his wettish face writhing into a grimace. Naoyuki quirked an eyebrow at his bizarre behavior then inhaled pointedly upon seeing blood pouring from his brother's quivering jaw and nose. He locked his startled gaze with his twin's matching blue eyes which were trembling in their sockets and dilated.

After which felt like an eternity, Naozumi lowered his widened eyes to his stomach where a thick, green appendage had impaled through it. It shuddered before melting into a white substance and withered into the girl's lower back where it had originated from. Naozumi stepped back, the machete clattering to the ground as he clenched his abdomen while syrupy, dark blood bubbled through his fingers. He could feel the throbbing of his intestines against his palms. He looked at his identical twin and tried to speak, but instead of words, blood spewed from his lips. He fell backwards onto the carpeted floor in a swelling pool of crimson and twitched for a manner of seconds before going still.

"Naozumi!"

Everyone went silent instantly upon Naoyuki's horrified yelling and stared at him before noticing his dead brother laid out on the ground to which there were gasps and muttering. Kakuzu sighed and muttered a swear, shaking his head. It has begun.

"You bitch!" Naoyuki snatched up the abandoned knife and rushed the motionless teenager, stabbing at her with a livid yell. Zetsu slowly lifted her head and stared at the incoming knife, amber orbs flickering. Then in a blink, Naoyuki found himself pinned against the ground with her atop him, her canines viced on his neck and before he was capable of realizing his plight, she had wrenched her head back and torn his out his throat in one gruesome fellswoop.

He gasped, blood frothed from his lips and he seized underneath her, clawing desperately at the carter left behind and fighting to breathe through it. It was fruitless and after several agonizing seconds, he went limp after having suffocated to death. Zetsu threw her head back, audibly purring and sloppily swallowing down the gory jugular. Everyone stared, frozen stiff from the instantaneous carnage and Kakuzu scowled, recognizing this all too familiar scenario.

'Goddamnit, she's gone berserk just like the Mayfly Man. She'll kill everyone here and attempt to kill me if I don't fucking do something. Maybe if I jus—"

"Kill her!" Came an urgent scream, shattering his thoughts. Zetsu turned her head towards it, red lips twitching back as she snarled when her potential meal was disturbed. Kakuzu glared at the person responsible and discovered Howaito Auto standing behind him, the camouflaging steam having thinned with his rival's trepidation.

The colourless-haired man stared at the girl who no more resembled a human being but one of the hellish abominations which haunted his darkest nightmares—the Mayfly. Like those during the Second World War which had slaughtered his clansmen and left him disfigured. Flashbacks plagued him and he heard the screaming of his brothers-in-arms also the crunching of bones and sundering of flesh including his own. His old war scars were aching again, and Auto started scratching his chin and nose to soothe them until his blunt nails were clawing off chunks of skin and his white goatee, leaving bleeding, raw cervices. 'She has the Mayfly!'

"Kill her!" He shouted again, pointing a blood-painted finger at Zetsu who arched her back in response, apparently aggravated by the gesture. None of the remaining Moku members reacted, however, mutely glancing at each other before staring their boss, their narrowed gazes obviously questioning his sanity and his wellbeing. They'd never seen his so scared of something or someone—or scared at all. "Kill her or you're all fired!" Again, no one moved despite the poor threat, their minds officially made that their lives were more valuable than their unpaying jobs. Although, their decision wouldn't manner.

Zetsu shrieked—an inhuman noise that mimicked the scream of a wildcat—and she pounced, galloping down the aisle. Kakuzu sidestepped her as she lunged at him first and caught her by the scruff, holding her out at arm's length.

"Girl, do not make me hurt you!" He warned, and the feedback he received was a high-pitched snarling and thrashing as she attempted to crane her head around to bite the hand latched onto her neck like a rabid animal.

Amidst her growling, there was a familiar humming and immediately recognizing it, the elder managed to activate his iron defense just when muscled, green limb thrusted out from her waist, aimed at his abdomen. It ricocheted off his hardened abs and in the process, he released her. The girl jerked herself around, landing on her hands and feet then leapt at him again, teeth snapping at his throat. He couldn't disband his jutsu to transfer it to his arm in the split second of next attack and had to shield his neck with his bare arm. Her jaws clamped onto the limb, canines piercing through the thick leather sleeve like paper and he cringed as they embedded themselves through the flesh and muscle underneath.

He didn't want to harm her—despite being so tempted to in this moment—since it would be detrimental towards him more so than her. He stole the opportunity while she dangled off his arm and locked his hand around her narrow throat, squeezing his fingers onto the pressure points located on it in order to render her unconscious with minimal damage. However, this Zetsu, though berserk and homicidal, was smarter than her dull counterpart and wised up quickly to his attempt. Kakuzu heard the telltale revving of her Mayfly and realized if she initiated it again, he would have to armour himself and it would enable her to escape to attack again. Then, they'd be repeating this redundant song and dance until she had accomplished in tearing out his throat—clever girl.

So, instead of counteracting her bloodline with his Kinjutsu, he cocked back his bleeding arm and swung it with enough force to dislodge the teenager, sending her soaring across the theater. Unfortunately, for the Moku, it was in their direction. Zetsu swiveled her spine, correcting herself mid-air and landing on all fours in the middle of the gathering of men who stumbled back away from her. Her crazed gaze darted around at each scared face staring at her then hissed, causing the criminals to instantly scatter away from her like startled prey. That did little in their favour as she grinned and proceeded to chase one at random, finding pleasure in the pursuit.

Kakuzu watched briefly before removing his arm from his trench coat and analyzing it for any serious damage. Despite the tan skin instantly darkening further with ugly bruising, she hadn't managed to break bone and the worse result would be another permanent scar and an infection from the bacteria lingering in the human mouth. He sighed and sewn up the bite markings along with the puncture holes in his jacket before focusing his attention on the main cause of all this.

Howaito Auto was standing feet away, apparently paralyzed by the old war flashbacks he was experiencing as he resumed itching his profusely sweating face, flakes of skin and blood drops raining off it—all while witnessing his men being hunted down like in the war again. He hadn't noticed Kakuzu approaching until the goliath had punched him in his disgusting face with enough strength to send him flying into the lip of the stage and making his body to somersault onto it. Auto grunted painfully, leaning up his forearms and glaring at his attacker through his broken lenses.

"You're an idiot." Kakuzu said, pointing his thumb at the developing bloodshed behind him. "I warned you not to fuck with her. Now she'll kill everyone here and it'll be your doing. Weren't you bragging before about fighting the Mayfly in the Second World War? If so, then why don't you go stop her before she kills your men. Or, you could continue be the coward you've proven yourself to be and leave them to die. Either or, it'll result in your death anyway."

Auto scowled, but made no urgent motions to rush to the aid of the people which epitomized his little organization as they shouted and fled about. This lack of action spoke volumes to Kakuzu as he walked towards the stage, cracking the joints in his fingers. "I've no respect for a man who betrays or abandons his own men. You'll die by my hand instead now."

He ejected a torrent of black threading at him and Auto triggered his Kekkei Genkai again before siege could assault him, fading into nothingness as steam billowed out of every pore on his person. This time, Kakuzu was prepared for his little tricks after playing along a bit.

"Daora." He muttered, receding his tendrils. Said mask detached itself off his back and slithered out from underneath his collar, massing itself onto his shoulder and perching itself like a bird, chirping at him in greeting.

He gestured at the fog and Daora lopped onto the stage. It inhaled, comically ballooning to its rupturing point until unleashing gale-strength winds onto the lingering gloom, making the theater groan as its rotten wooden structure shuddered and the tattered curtains shred into red strands. Instantly, the steam vanished as it was blown away, revealing Howaito Auto who sheltered his face with his hand and struggled to keep his footing on the platform against the tempest. It was futile though as he was picked up by the ravishing winds and pitched into the backstage where he collided with a plastic table and chairs. Kakuzu waved and Daora postponed the onslaught.

He ascended onto the stage and patted his wind element, receiving a fluttering its threadbare wings and rear wiggling in return, as he walked across to examine if his friend had survived the attack. He had, sadly, as Auto picked himself up off the broken furniture and prodded the back of his head where it had struck the wall. His fingers returned painted red and he scowled at Kakuzu as he straightened up.

Daora waddled beside its master and he pointed at the swindler for another barrage before he could regather himself. It heeded his request and proceeded to inflate again. It released another cyclone as Auto generated his release again to shield himself. This veil, however, was stronger than its earlier incarnations as larger plumes billowed out at a faster rate and remarkability resisted Daora's whirlwind, even pushing back against it. Then, a steam fabricated extremity stretched out of the smog and bulleted at the assaulting heart creature.

Daora ceased its offense and scampered from the white hand as it tried to grab it. When it failed to capture it, it switched its target to Kakuzu and darted at him next. He scowled, evading the smoking palm as he skirted between its fingers. Daora rounded back around the stage, launching an air bullet which struck the projection and made it fracture apart. It patched itself back together a moment later and pivoted at Daora in another attempt to trap it. Another limb spawned from exhaust backstage and speeded at Kakuzu. He avoided it too as he skidded underneath it and off the platform, sneering. Another new trick, he should have known better than to think this bastard was a one-trick pony.

…

Meanwhile, the Moku had been too occupied with saving their own lives to pay attention to the literal theatrics happening in the background.

Zetsu hounded after each member, finding delight in their screaming and desperate scrambling to escape her. She had done this for awhile until her ravenous hunger outweighed her entertainment and she started attacking. Those attempting to flee through the entrance were the first to be picked off. She dexterously outsped two men running for the doorway, appearing in front of them as a blur of pink and glowing yellow streaks and pounced before they could react. One man went down instantly, his throat eaten out. The second one tried escaping in the opposite direction but had the teenager leap onto his back and his chest penetrated through by her weaponized vegetation.

Realizing that leaving was impossible, the remaining Moku either hid or resorted to protecting themselves using whatever was available for a weapon, although it did little. Zetsu scrupulously ducked their attacks, eluding them faster than their human eyes could track and ambushing them. In minutes, she had killed three more, each murdered with differing methods of bloodshed.

There were six members left now, including the previously injured Kappei and the brain damaged Shinji. They hid in the hallway leading backstage and the dressing rooms, peeking around the corner and watching mortified as the girl devoured one of their own like he was an oversized steak.

She peered up from her feast, gliding her tongue across her red-painted canines to purge the pieces of flesh wedged between them, and the survivors hastily cowered back behind the lipped wall which separated them from their gruesome deaths. It did little, however, as Zetsu stared at their flickering charka signatures which visibly kindled through the wall. She decided to save them for later pickings as she returned to snacking on one poor dead bastard, gnawing on his blubbery arm and purring in enjoyment of its chewiness.

The doorkeeper stared at the bodyguard who was slumped against the wall and cradling his broken skull after having been lugged to safety with the rest of them.

"We have to kill that insane bitch!" Kappei hissed, spitting out curdled blood from his stabbed cheeks while speaking. "She'll kill us too if we don't!"

Shinji grunted and coughed, blood splashing from his cracked lips. "What a shit day…I ain't…getting paid enough for this." He slurred, head lolling on his shoulders as his yellowed eyes frequently fluttering behind his eyelids.

Realizing Shinji was too far gone, Kappei focused on his other compatriots. "We have to kill her!"

"How?" Yugo, one of the debt-collectors, questioned. "She murdered Kenta! He didn't have a chance against her and he was the only one of us with shinobi training!"

"He failed at a genin level." Goro, Howaito Auto's bookkeeper, deadpanned and Yugo spared the ginger a dirty look for speaking ill of his butchered partner.

"W-We could try the exit again instead." Raizo, the Moku's newest blood, nervously suggested and wringed his fingers around his bruised neck.

"Did you not see what the fuck she did to Shuko and Tokio when they tried that!?" Yasuo, one of the Moku's scouts, sneered. "She'll kill us before we were even within pissing distance of it! Fucking Naozumi and Naoyuki! They're lucky their dead because I would fucking kill them for bringing that bitch and huge bastard here! Now Auto had left us to die too!"

"Yasuo, breathe." Kappei assuaged the other balding man who was progressively turning red during his tirade. "Auto is distracting that girl's father from killing us too. He isn't abandoning us."

"Bullshit! He went white—whiter when he saw her. I'm positive he shat himself! He ain't going to fuck with her so, why should we?"

"Because she'll kill us if we don't!"

"I've got an idea." Yugo muttered, interrupting the heated feud between the two men. He stared at the fading Shinji then diverted his forest-green gaze to Kappei. "You'll have to trust me though. We'll have to take drastic measures if you want rest of us to survive." Kappei didn't trust him, giving his prior staring at Shinji, but he realized he would have to listen if they had any hopes of living like he said and nodded. Everyone else shuffled closer to listen.

"This is what we'll have to do—"

Zetsu resumed her munching, having switched to another corpse in the meantime—a burnt one which had been perfectly charred to her liking. Her dinner was disturbed yet again when someone approached her, making her flinch and the hairs on the back of her neck to stand erect. She growled in her throat, lowering herself with her belly against the ground as a precaution measure and staring at the invasive person.

The mohawked man stumbled towards her, mumbling incoherently and spitting up blood between words. She hissed a warning from him not to near her further but he did not heed it as he resumed shambling in her direction. Once he had stepped too close, she snarled and sprung at him. Instinctively, he defended his face with his arm and she caught his forearm between her jaws. He toppled backwards onto his back causing the teenager to fall with him. With her canines hooked into his arm still, she thrashed her head back and forth like a crocodile in an attempt to tear the limb off. During this progress though, she failed to notice the people impending on her until they were right on top of her and their charka signatures were smothering her senses with their heat and a variety of scents and flavours.

She tried to unlatch her cavities to protect herself, but they had been installed too deep and before she could remove them, something hard was brought down across her back, narrowly missing her skull. She yelped and winced, glancing up to see a gang of men surrounding her, holding pipes and planks. Another man struck her then another, this time nicking her skull and stunning her into submission as she was unable to flee. Each took their turn hitting her, the ambush lasting several minutes until she had collapsed atop Shinji and ceased moving. They paused in their assault, panting and staring at each other then back at the rabid girl, searching for any sign of movement. Another series of minutes passed with nothing and they realized they might have successfully killed her.

"Fffuck you!" Yasuo shouted, throwing his pipe at her—it bouncing off her back with a hollow thud—then promptly flipping her the bird and cackling manically.

"We actually killed her?" Goro mumbled in disbelief. "Yugo's plan actually worked?" Yugo nodded, rather proud of himself for his quick thinking.

"What about Shinji?" Raizo mentioned, the amount of blood seeping across the cement floor troubling him.

Kappei leant down and checked on the fallen man but the prognosis was grim when he was not breathing and no pulse could be read. The girl had succeeded in partially amputating his arm at the elbow and that had been the primary source of the blood soaking into their shoes. During their lengthy and frantic flurry, he must have bled out without anyone realizing. Immediately, Kappei felt guilty for having sacrificed the one person in the small-scale organization he considered a friend. Yugo had been correct, though. It was either them or him and he had already been on the brink of death.

"He's dead." Kappei confirmed.

"He didn't die in vain." Yugo mumbled. "If he hadn't distracted her, we would have never been able to blindside her." Everyone nodded in agreement with Kappei sighing.

"W-What about her? Is she dead?" Raizo asked, pointing at the motionless juvenile. "Someone has to check her too!" No one moved and glancing at each other, waiting for someone else to volunteer to do the task.

Finally, Goro sighed. "Fine. I'll do it!" He grumbled, stepping towards the two presumed dead individuals.

He extended out the metal pipe he had been wielding and used it to nudge and prod the girl. She didn't move, even when he tapped it against her skull, and didn't appear to be breathing either.

"Nah, she's dead as shi—" However, before Goro could declare her deceased, the pipe was grabbed ahold of by her and wrenched forward, causing him to be taken with it and directly into Zetsu's yawning jaws.

She snapped her knife-like teeth onto the side of his neck, severing an artery and causing a high-pressure stream of blood to spurt out. Goro released a muted scream. Everyone else released a mixture of gasps and screams and backed off. All except for Yasuo who dove for his discarded pipe, screaming and swinging it at her. However, Zetsu was ready this time despite being dazed and in significant pain from her earlier beating and at the last possible moment, she yanked forward her prey so the pipe instead struck Goro, caving in his skull and killing him instantly.

She released him and pounced at her assailant, biting down onto his outstretched arm. Yasuo shouted, jerking his arm back to release it but she tugged it back like a puppy with a rope toy, growling included. She won the tug-a-war when the arm popped out of its socket then was torn off from the shoulder, sending her tumbling with the dismembered arm. Yasuo screamed, groping at his empty crater where his arm once was and was spraying blood like a broken water pipe. Zetsu recovered from her spill and spat out the arm, licking her lips before averting her gaze to the distraught man. He was screaming and stumbling about in a blind panic, trying to desperately have his friends help but the other men backpedaled away from him—unsure how to save him.

She decided to end his suffering and jumped at him, landing on his turned back and slamming him facedown into the swelling blood of ocean swamping the flood. Her once pink jacket—now dyed crimson with blood—rustled and her Mayfly melted through the red fabric as it freed itself. The muscled growths were scattered with notches and gashes cleaved into them and the deep lacerations were oozing a transparent fluid like blood. Kappei saw this and realized that whatever those were, she must have cushioned herself with them like a military vest which explained how she survived.

Yasuo groaned, attempting to get up. Instead, he cringed and vomited up a fountain of blood then collapsed again, twitching. Zetsu grumbled in her throat and extracted the flytrap tooth she had plunged through the man's back and into his heart. The digit extended to her face and licked off the blood and gore coating its honed tip while staring at the last three standing.

The man prepared their weapons and braced themselves for the fight of their lives.

...

Howaito Auto hadn't lost his steam—no pun intended—as the spectral hands drove after Daora and Kakuzu without intermission.

Daora trotted away from another swipe by the white hand hunting it and jackknifed towards the backstage. The bird-like creature sent another bullet at the miasma to penetrate it but it was too thick and the missile was swallowed up. It squawked unhappily and tried again, pinpointing in a single area in a vain attempt to thin the steam as it laid bullet after bullet into that one spot while dancing past the hand still groping at it. It wasn't successful but by the strained noise inside, it was obviously irking Auto who then shouted something at the heart but it was muffled by the whooshing sound the steam emitted. Daora assumed by the angered tone it was to leave him alone which it naturally didn't do as it inflated to unleash another charged attack when something caught its painted eye.

A subtle silhouette wavered amongst the fog then a sinister glinting as a kunai pierced through and hurled at the heart. Daora got out of its trajectory—bouncing its swollen body like a ball—also with the second one and the third one. There was an angered noise from the steam, obviously Auto's irked snarling and something else was thrown. Instead of it being another knife, though, an empty water bottle was chucked at it. Daora did not avoid it and squawked when it thunked against its mask. It went spiraling into the air and landed with a hollow clonking besides Kakuzu, rolling against his boot. He stopped and stared at the plastic object for a moment until an epiphany struck him.

'So that's how he generates that steam from his person. It isn't manifested from a jutsu.' He thought, remembering the other water bottles Howaito Auto had had clipped to his belt. "Teo!"

The repaired fire element mask reacted to its name and skittered across his back, huddling onto his other shoulder. The second vaporous hand swiped at him again but he did not skirt it as Teo responded, poking its smiling face from beneath its host's collar and spewing fireball at it. The flame engulfed the fist and, behaving like a spark with gasoline, devoured the rest of the arm and setting the limb alight until it exploded seconds later. Kakuzu smirked, his theory confirmed.

Teo lurched out of Kakuzu's coat and disturbingly convulsed on the stage until it managed to assemble itself into its bi-pedaled physical form then trotted off towards Daora to save its mask sibling. It belched another blaze at the remaining hand and like the other, it caught on fire then erupted into an explosion. Daora chirped at Teo as a thank you for helping it and Teo yipped back. Kakuzu climbed back onto the platform and whistled at Teo then pointed at the gloom. The lion-faced mask understood and inhaled before breathing an inferno at the surging steam stonewalling the backstage.

Instantly, the red-hot fire ingested the steam and converted it into a massive bonfire. Howaito Auto screamed out as he was ignited also, his sweat glands acting like microscopic burners on a gas stove. He deactivated his Kekkei Genkai and the kindling steam evaporated into a shower of embers. However, Auto remained on fire and a human-shaped pyre fled out from the backstage. It collapsed onto the stage and he desperately rolled across the ground to put himself out. After flailing and rolling around for awhile, it worked and he laid out on the floor, his clothes and hair smouldering. His expensive white suit was a charred brown.

Kakuzu leant over him, cringing behind his bandana from the gut-wrenching scent of burning flesh and hair. "I'm finished playing with you. Your little Kekkei Genkai won't work on me again. It took me a minute, but now I realize all you are is a glorified water heater." Howaito Auto scowled and attempted to stand but Kakuzu stomped his boot onto his back. "None of that. You're going to lay down and die like the pathetic creature you've shown yourself to be. I've no respect for a man which abandons his own to die. Now die."

Threads sprouted from his wrist and tightly knitted themselves together until creating a pointed tip. Kakuzu kept Howaito Auto pinned against the ground and aligned the mock sword over his back to the location his heart would be. Once pinpointing it, he cocked his arm back to stab him but he was disrupted by something—or rather someone.

"Boss!"

Kakuzu scowled at the interruption and Howaito Auto lifted his head up, seeing Kappei running towards them, his clothing soaked in blood and an expression purified after having watched everyone else left being torn into ribbons. He desperately scrambled onto the stage, too afraid of what was chasing him then the six-and-half-foot man leering at him as he ran towards him. Zetsu leapt up also, snarling and hissing as she inelegantly clambered after. Kakuzu begrudgingly released Auto as he stepped out of the way to avoid being caught by her again. Auto didn't attempt to help his peon and instead dragged himself to the backstage.

Kappei screamed and ran across the set with a screeching Zetsu hot on his heels. He had made it within inches of the other side when the girl pounced and landed on his back, slamming him into the wooden broads. She clamped her canines onto his neck, thrashing his head back and forth and Kappei screamed and screamed until he was silenced seconds later her when her jaws shattered his vertebrate, internally decapitating him. She released her bite and turned around to stare at her next victim, growling with blood frothing from her lips.

Kakuzu caught her caustic gaze and sighed. "God damni—" He couldn't finish his muttered swear because was Zetsu sprinting at him.

He sidestepped her but she was fast on her feet—or rather hands and feet—and she caught herself with one hand, using it to spin herself back around for another attack. Teo and Daora stepped in to assist and spun their threaded limbs around her, webbing them between them and ensnaring her. Zetsu screeched and chewed at the fibers to break through them. They were too thick though and in mass so she resorted to shrieking and lashing out in the makeshift net while Daora and Teo struggled to keep her contained. Kakuzu sighed in relief and searched around, remembering their remaining guest.

Auto had managed to painfully crawl backstage. He heaved himself to his feet using a chair, wincing as his motions provoked his searing skin. He looked towards the stage, seeing Kappei who now laid dead on it, and that meant everyone else must be dead. That or had managed to escape but that was impossible. No one could escape the Mayfly—he had seen it with his own eyes. He had hardly survived it himself. The Moku was dead and he had no obligation to them to stay and fight. Especially not against a brat wielding the Mayfly. He had to escape—he would escape and start the Moku over again. A new, better Moku.

He unbuckled another water bottle from his belt and popped the cap open so to replenish his fluids for his Steam Release. But, within inches of his lips, the bottle was smacked out of his hand and he flinched as he noticed Kakuzu hunched over him, bloodshot eyes staring daggers at him. Kakuzu scowled and punched Auto in his throat, making the albino gag and collapse to his knees as he struggled to breathe from the strike. While on the ground, Kakuzu stole the chance to yank off Auto's belt with the rest of his water supply and toss it away so he could not recharge his Kekkei Genkai. He then plucked the heaving man up by his creased collar and walked him back onto the stage.

Teo and Daora came to attention when their owner whistled but it didn't translate as an order to them. Kakuzu whistled again until he caught the attention of his intended audience as Zetsu paused in her struggling, staring at him and panting with her tongue out like a mutt. He held up Howaito Auto and shook him like a treat bag to a pet.

"Is this you would like, girl?" He inquired in a pretend, euthanistic tone, shaking him more and Zetsu made an inhaled snorting noise as her nose twitched which he took as a yes.

"No! Please no!" Howaito Auto pleaded, grabbing at Kakuzu's hand to release him but was met with sharp threading poking at his hands to ward them off.

Kakuzu whistled again and this time it was a command which Daora and Teo heeded as they released Zetsu and stepped back out of her range. The minor flopped to the floor and wriggled around until getting onto her hands and feet. Kakuzu released Auto and backed up so he wasn't caught in the crossfire. Once free, Auto turned and ran for his life. A huge mistake.

Zetsu shrieked and bolted after him, ignoring Kakuzu in favour of her more active prey. Auto kept running and franticly glanced behind him at the girl barreling towards him. As he did, he failed to notice Kappei's corpse in his pathway and tripped over it, hitting the platform hard enough to daze himself. He groaned and rolled himself over onto his back. He felt something heavy atop him and opened his eyes to see Zetsu leaning over him, growling with red-tinted drool dripping from her lips onto his pale face.

"Please no! Please!" Howaito Auto shouted, safeguarding his face with his hands. "Not again!"

Zetsu shrilled and attacked him, viciously biting at his hands and nipping off fingers until there was little to nothing left of them and she reached her real target. Her jaws latched themselves onto his face, her canines perfectly aligning with the old, jagged scarring lined across his forehead and jawline.

Kakuzu passively listened to Howaito Auto's bloodcurling screaming as Zetsu gormandized his face. It took several minutes until he finally went quiet and stopping fighting. Zetsu leant up, chewing on a flap of flesh which once the man's cheek. She swallowed it and looked at Kakuzu who sighed.

"No." He warned her. It was talking to a brick wall as she ignored him and immediately ambled towards him, hissing and baring her fangs. Kakuzu wasn't going to entertain her though and when she pounced at him, she was met with his steel-toed boot being kicked into her gut.

She squealed, blood and bile splashing from her lips, as the air was stolen from her lungs and she summersaulted away from the force of the kick, landing feet away with a heavy thud. She whimpered and squirmed on the floorboards as she tried to recover but Kakuzu wasn't about to have that. He ejected his hand from his wrist and it latched onto her neck, pinching her pressure points. Zetsu hissed, clawing at the appendage but she didn't have enough strength presently to pry it off and after several tense seconds, her eyes went white and her head lolled against her shoulder.

The elder recanted his hand and cautiously approached the girl, not trusting she was actually unconscious and was just playing possum like he remembered the Mayfly Man doing. However, after much nudging with his foot and even stepping on her fingers which he knew she could not ignore, he confirmed it had been enough to render her out. He released the sigh he had been withholding and looked around, observing the carnage the teenager had left in her wake.

The Moku was dead, its men slaughtered in a variety of ways as amputated limbs laid scattered around and the theater's wooden paneling painted red with blood and gore. Some were partially eaten while others just maimed beyond recognition. Like Howaito Auto, who laid dead atop his lackey, his face having been eaten off and was unrecognizable.

Kakuzu sighed again, scratching at his head as he stared at Zetsu, the girl's obnoxiously pink outfit had been darkened with blood and her pale face with crusted with dried blood and pieces of human flesh. "I told Sir Leader you'd be nothing but a menace." He snorted. "And I was right."

He hunched over, yanking her up by the hood of her sweatshirt and threw her onto his shoulder. He snapped his fingers and Daora and Teo obediently returned to their nest in his back.

With one last look around, Kakuzu left the condemned theater.

…

"T-T-Thank you so much! You've saved Oashisu f-from Howaito Auto and the Moku!" Koji babbled on while he laid each individual bill in Kakuzu's waiting hand so he didn't think he was trying to cheat him.

"Whatever." Kakuzu grunted, internally cringing as he counted out his payment and realized he had gone through that hell for nothing more than pocket change. He would have to speak to Sir Leader about reconsidering the Akatsuki's rate. It might help them dominate the market but this was ridiculous.

"I-I'll speak to the mayor about the theater. I-Is it that bad?"

"Just suggest to him to employ cleaners with strong stomachs." Kakuzu glanced at Zetsu who was quietly seated on the couch, dressed in clean clothing—in another pink outfit that made Kakuzu want to burn her and that hideous clothing—and cradling an ice pack against her head with another one to her face while Kari and Romi fussed over her.

Thankfully, Oashisu had a clinic but Kakuzu had to wait until the next morning for it to open. Zetsu had been checked out and she had been significantly beaten up with a severe concussion/fractured skull, broken nose and implied fractured vertebrae and ribs. It testified to the Mayfly's ability to heighten its host's pain tolerance. The doctor pleaded him to stay and have her x-rayed but wasn't going to waste any more money or time on the girl. So, instead he just gave her an ice pack for the pain and left to receive his payment.

Once Koji coughed up the last bill, Kakuzu pocketed the cash and turned towards Zetsu, snapped his fingers at her. "Come, girl. We're leaving."

Zetsu listened as she stiffly stood up, wavering on her feet as she staggered towards him. She slouched against his leg, using him to keep herself upright and he excused it this once as he patted her washed cheek.

"T-Thank you again!" Koji called after them from the doorway of his house and waved as they walked down the main road towards the settlement gates to leave.

Kakuzu didn't grace him with a "you're welcome".

…

They had left Oashisu and were walking back towards the Riverlands.

Kakuzu had taken pity on Zetsu as he carried her backpack and dictionary and kept his pace casual so the girl could keep up with him as she weakly wobbled behind him. It had been a quiet walk for an hour when an obnoxious noise sprung up in the background. He ignored at first but when it persisted for minutes, he finally glanced over his shoulder to find the source. Zetsu was crying.

Her head bowed, tears and blood-tinted snot dripping from her bruised face while her shoulders trembled. She hadn't noticed Kakuzu stopped until she walked into his leg. She stumbled back and stared up at him, sniffling and hiccupping.

"What? What's wrong now?" He demanded, irritated by her sniveling. It seemed like her two extremes were now either berserk or crying. There was no in between with her.

Zetsu wiped her sleeve across her wet eyes and sniffed. "H-Hurt."

"You're hurt? Too bad. I gave you an ice pack—two of them. You're aren't getting anything else to ease the pain until we return to the Land of Rivers. Then Konan can take you to the hospital."

"N-No!" Zetsu said, an edge to her voice which made Kakuzu sneer. She better not be using that tone with him or he would teach her quick about speaking to him like that. He'd excuse it this once as being because she was crying. "Hurt. Do hurt?"

It took him a moment to decipher her primitive language. "Did you hurt?" Zetsu nodded.

"Hurt." She said again, touching her lips. She couldn't remember anything which had happened between being beaten unconscious by the two men who had kidnapped her and waking up in a clinic with a doctor shining a bright light in her eyes. There was blips though—screaming echoing throughout the depths of her head and the coppery taste of blood tingling her taste buds. "Hurt?"

"Yes. You hurt a lot of people. You killed a lot of people." Kakuzu said, deciding not to sugarcoat it for her. Afterall, this wouldn't be the last time she would do something like this, he knew that to be true.

"Killed?" Zetsu parroted, never having heard that word.

"Yes, killed. You killed them. You snuffed out their lives so they aren't alive anymore." She cringed. Not alive? Killed meant not alive? She made people not alive? She killed them? "You tore them apart and ate them alive. Killed them all like the little monster you are."

She gasped, recognizing that word. "Not monster!" She adamantly denied but Kakuzu wasn't having it from her.

"Yes you are!" He suddenly screamed in her face, startling the girl onto her backside as she stared at him stunned with leaking, sauced eyes. "You're nothing but a little monstrosity! It's coded in your bloodline so don't give me that bullshit you aren't an abomination against nature! What? You thought that eating humans was natural? Ha! I was just being a kind person by introducing you to that diet in the beginning so it wouldn't be such a surprise to you when you went balletic and cannibalized someone for the first time. And you went down the route I knew you would. Now stop with your pathetic crying over it because this won't be the last time you'll kill a person because that fucking Kekkei Genkai of yours! Now stand!"

He shrugged off her ugly pink backpack and threw it into her arms before turning and leaving without her. He didn't stop, even when he heard Zetsu's infant-este wailing behind him.

…

Konan was pacing around the living room, anxiously waiting for Kakuzu and Zetsu to return. Their mission shouldn't have been more than a single day yet it had been two and she was worried sick—but not for Kakuzu.

It had been hours since she started waiting near the opened front door after Pein kicked her out of his office when her pacing distracted him from his paperwork, but finally, Kakuzu entered. However, it was just him and Konan's maternal instinct kicked in.

"Where is Zetsu!?" She interrogated him after intercepting him on the way to his bedroom. Kakuzu sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, already too fed up to deal with her nagging also.

"She's right behind me. Now out of the way, woman!" He roughly shouldered her away, almost managing to knock her over. "Also, I suggest you take her to the hospital for the injuries she sustained." With that, he disappeared inside his room and slammed the door behind him, threatening to break it again after just repairing it. Konan scowled at him before realizing what he had said and gasped.

She ran towards the door, prepared to search for Zetsu. If she was wounded, she could have collapsed along the way back and she didn't expect Kakuzu to have helped her. He hadn't even bothered to protect her by the sound of it!

Thankfully, she didn't have to when she was saw Zetsu limping through the treeline, head bent downwards and dragging her pink backpack through the dirt.

"Zetsu!" Konan yelled and raced to the teenager. "Oh, Zetsu. Are you alright, sweetheart?" She didn't hug her, afraid of her what injuries she had or their locations so she resorted to cradling the girl's face instead. Although, she regretted that when lifting it up and witnessing the bruising blotted across her cheeks and surrounding her nose. What had happened on this mission?

To her shock, Zetsu shied from her affection as she withdrew her face from her hands and began shuffling around her towards the cabin. Konan stared at her, flabbergasted.

"Zetsu, what ar—?"

"Monster." Zetsu replied quietly before she could finish her question, not pausing in her step. It only further confused the woman.

"Monster?"

Zetsu pointed at herself, keeping her back to the other female. "Monster." She repeated then vanished inside—leaving Konan outside, lost and disturbed by that single word.

Monster.

…

AN: IT'S DONE. Now you can see why it took nearly three months to update again. This chapter was MASSIVE. 35 pages and 17000 words. I didn't want to make it two chapters because I wanted the second arc to start on the twenty chapter. Bizarre, but I'm very particular about this stuff and it bothers me if I don't do it. But yes, I hope you enjoyed this jumbo mega-sized chapter. I promise I'll try not to do this ever again unless again, it is required to appraise myself.

But this officially concludes the Mayfly Arc. Thank you for reading this far.

Too large to check for all spelling and grammar errors, I apologize.

NEXT ARC: RED DAWN ARC:—the Akatsuki recruits a new member who Zetsu finds herself at odds with as the two butt heads in a sibling-este rivalry. Meanwhile, the Akatsuki finishes their final transition and Sir Leader reveals the Akatsuki's ultimate goal.

Next Chapter: Sunagakure petitions the Akatsuki again for assistance about their missing Kazekage and his disciple. However, it not about finding them but rather their killer.

Until next time.