AN: This upcoming chapters will be considerably short because it will be exposition and such. After that we will return to your regularly scheduled action.

Cat Beats: Haha, given Sasori made puppet limbs for his best friends, why not himself? This arc will be Zetsu learning of her abilities then next arc all the Akatsuki members will be introduced so there will be a lot more interactions to be had. Like always, thank you for the review!

ReadingReadererReader: I can't exactly pinpoint it on a single idea because a lot of concepts were melded into it and each mention of it has a new idea. I can't list them all because it would spoil a lot. But thank you for the question and review!

And thank you to everyone else which favourites and alerts! You make writing this insane fic worth it!

Warning(s): Language (High), Genderbend, OC

…

Wasteland

Red Dawn Arc

Chapter 25

After the incident with Sasori, Konan learned the ugly reality involving Zetsu's episodes after hunting down Kakuzu and demanding an explanation of their newest guest and the truth behind his injuries. Kakuzu had no qualms with this and described everything in gruesome detail like he had done twice now, horrifying Konan. However, it explained to her why Ryu had suddenly taken a renewed interested in having Zetsu tested and treated. Zetsu overheard the conversation regarding her crimes against humanity and cried, saying over and over again, that she was a "monster" and pleading for forgiveness. Konan did so to soothe the upset girl while Kakuzu wasn't so forgiving. Afterward, Konan returned to Amegakure, leaving Zetsu with Kakuzu but checked in once during the week to take her to her new dialysis treatment for the Mayfly. Thankfully, Sir Leader gave them the week off, given Zetsu required a period of healing for her injuries.

The day after the shitshow, Kakuzu decided to check in on Sasori who had gone mysteriously quiet. Also to restrain him since he had proven himself more versatile than the elder originally predicted. When he tried opening the door however, he found it unlocked but wouldn't budge. He tried pushing against it with no give and realized the boy had barricaded himself inside somehow.

He punched his fist against the door. "Open up, you little shit!"

"Fuck off, you old bastard!" Sasori screamed back from inside the room. Kakuzu snarled. This might've driven him into kicking the door in right there and dragging him out by the hair, but he decided against it. He rather not walk into whatever the fuck that boy might've done to the room, like boobytrapping it with his damned puppets.

"Fine, if you want to starve to death in there, then go ahead!" He didn't receive a response and he didn't argue further with the teenager as he went back to his room. Sooner or later, he would have to leave the room to either eat or bathe and it was at that point Kakuzu would wrangle him. Afterall, he needed the brat alive to sell him off for the highest price.

Later that day, there was the distinct sound of wood being broken and the wallpaper being torn off the walls inside the room. Obviously, Sasori hadn't been satisfied with trashing everything Zetsu owned and was now literally tearing the room apart. Again, Kakuzu found himself trying to get inside to stop him but this time, he was halted by a black substance leaking through the doorknob's keyhole. Recognizing it as the Third's Iron Sand, he backed off. If this kid wanted to be hungry and be in the cold by ripping down the walls than godspeed to him.

It lasted until evening then after a period of silence, there was hammering and scratching. Kakuzu didn't know what the hell this brat up to but he wanted to strangle him as the ruckus carried on through the night and kept him awake. It was so bad he compilated stealing Zetsu's pain killers as she laid peacefully asleep on the couch, oblivious to the disturbance after taking said pills. This went on for the next two days; two entire days and Kakuzu started searching for a way to get into the room besides the door. He discovered Sasori had even made the effort to obstruct the window with blankets to prevent peeking inside and hide whatever he was doing.

After the two days straight of construction work, again there was silence; nothing but silence and Kakuzu was able to breathe again. Sometimes, he purposely walked past the room and heard something faint within; hushed and miserable like a dying animal. He couldn't bring himself to care enough to try and get inside to check what exactly it was. If there was racket, it meant the little redheaded shit was breathing on and that was all that mannered to him. Besides, he had better things to do with his time; like dealing with a different brat.

He tried and failed to get Zetsu back to training, now that she had demonstrated the Mayfly, but she refused, being too disturbed by her latest incident. She fought back whenever Kakuzu instructed her to go outside to the point she wedged herself underneath the moth-eaten couch and bit at his hands like a scared feline. He quickly gave up, deciding that he didn't have the patience to deal with one brat, nonetheless two and he would wait once Sasori was gone and Zetsu was cured of her outbursts like Ryu promised. Instead, he spent the days locked in his room, reviewing the Akatsuki's finances and impatiently waiting for the inquiries from the nations to be sent in.

…

It had been five days now since the Sunagakure mission. Kakuzu had prepared himself breakfast while Zetsu left her hiding place to eat and take her medicine. Or rather, play with her food as she sat at the table, her cheek pressed against the splintered surface and bored gaze watching the sliced peaches gush back into their jar after being spooned out and dumped back.

Kakuzu glanced at her and grimaced in disgust. "Girl, don't play with your food; eat it." He told her, pointing at her with his fork and she muttered an unenthusiastic whine. Each day, she was eating less and less, and he wasn't sure what was with her. Perhaps he should speak to Ryu about it before the girl starved herself, he decided and went back to his own meal.

As he lifted a piece of salt drenched egg to his mouth, there was a sudden crash and his fork clattered against his plate. Zetsu jolted up in her chair, widened eyes darting to the source of the disruption with Kakuzu mimicking her. It was from her departed bedroom which was directly across from the kitchen/dining room area. A second later, there was another crash then another. It sounded like someone pushing over furniture.

'Little shit must be having another one of his temper tantrums.' Kakuzu concluded with a frustrated sigh through his nose and tried to return to his breakfast before it got cold. However, as he was starting to learn, it was impossible to enjoy a quiet meal in this place.

A second later, the bedroom door was kicked open, unleashing a cascade of dust, except it was too thick to be dust and smelt of wood—wood shavings? The door was kicked with such strength the rusted hinges shattered the door fell down, striking the hardwood flooring with a thundering crash. Zetsu immediately scurried for safety beneath the table like a panicked rodent. While Kakuzu sat there, fork halfway to his gaping mouth as he stared at Sasori who had marched out of the room; marched. Last time Kakuzu checked, a person without a leg couldn't walk or nonetheless stand. It was then his eyes inched themselves downwards that he realized why the teenager had suddenly regained the ability to walk.

His trouser leg had been cut off to reveal that in his empty left knee was literally screwed a prosthetic leg. It was jerry-rigged out of splintered, discoloured wood and nails and advertised a gruesome, blood paint job. On a hunch, he glanced back up to Sasori's right shoulder which now displayed a matching, cobbled-together wooden arm splashed with crimson. It explained why the redhead had become so hellbent on tearing the room apart. He had created himself a new arm and leg.

'Clever little shit.' Kakuzu huffed, throwing down his utensils.

Sasori was panting, his cinnamon orbs bloodshot with darkness staining the sockets, evidence of lack of sleep and his crimson locks were messy—messier—and greasy. His chest was bare of the medical gown he had been brought back in and was smudged with grease and dirt. Kakuzu was glad he wasn't standing close enough to smell him because after five days without washing, he was positive he certainly didn't smell like roses. The redhead flinched as he stepped forward with his fake leg, and lifted his new arm, trembling and rigid like a crank, pointing at Kakuzu with a creepy, matchstick-like finger.

He licked his cracked lips. "Where…is she?" He asked through gritted teeth.

"Who?" Kakuzu answered, feigning ignorance despite the fact he knew exactly who he was speaking of.

"That bitch!" It then Zetsu whimpered from the yell and Sasori's sleep deprived eyes twitched right to her hiding spot underneath the table. "You bitch!"

Kakuzu quickly stood from his chair and jumped the table to intercept Sasori as he bumbled at her, screaming like a banshee. He caught the puppeteer by the neck and Sasori reached up to claw at his hand with his wooden arm. It was then Kakuzu saw the fingertips had literal nails stapled to them and they were tipped with purple. He quickly escaped the swipe, aware that purple colouring wasn't paint. Sasori stumbled as he was released but lunged at the older man again, scratching his brainsick limb at him. Kakuzu activated his Doton and backhanded the hand away, the impact causing Sasori to be thrown off balance and fall onto his backside. Kakuzu stood over him, bronze arm cocked back and prepared to land the finishing blow in order to incapacitate him, but he was interrupted by an unexpected intruder.

"That is enough, Kakuzu."

Kakuzu glanced up at the mention of his name and was taken by surprise to see Sir Leader standing there, ever so casual outside the basement door, and he questioned how long he had been standing there as he hadn't heard or noticed the door being opened. It had to be the first time ever he had seen the ginger outside his little office since his recruitment. The orange-haired man was far more intimidating when standing in better lighting. Instantly, Kakuzu obliged the demand and turned off his jutsu with a flick of his wrist.

With Kakuzu backed down, Sir Leader's ringed orbs stared at Sasori next. "You are Sasori, correct?"

"Who the fuck are you?" Sasori muttered, scrambling back to his feet, ever so gracefully like a newborn fawn. Kakuzu stepped in front of the table that Zetsu continued cowering underneath in case the boy tried to go for her again.

"You may refer to me as Sir Leader; I am the creator of the Akatsuki. Kakuzu told me of you. Would you kindly step into the basement and speak with me?"

"Fuck no." Sasori objected crudely and turned back towards Kakuzu, prepared for round two.

"I apologize but I must insist." Sir Leader waved his hand and suddenly, Sasori was wrenched backwards by an invisible force. He flew through the open basement door and there was a loud crashing as he was thrown down the flight of stairs like a scenario in a cartoon.

Without a word further, Sir Leader then turned and returned to his little makeshift office, shutting the door behind him with a quiet click. Kakuzu was left there standing in awestruck silence as he processed everything that just happened in the span of a few minutes. Once he finished doing so, he persuaded Zetsu out from the table and she immediately scampered away and back beneath the couch. He didn't go after her and returned to his breakfast which was cold and unappetizing by now, so he threw it out. Afterward, he stayed in the dining area, passing the time with an old newspaper until whatever conversation Sir Leader was having with Sasori was finished. He was curious what discussion was to be had with the boy but whatever it was, Sir Leader had been hellbent on having it.

An hour ticked by and then finally, the door opened again. Sasori stepped out, red-faced and obviously agitated about something. His dark-rimmed eyes flickered to Kakuzu and narrowed into a heated glare. He started walking towards him and the financier expected him to try again with starting a fight; a fight which Kakuzu would win. Though, that wasn't the case as the redhead went right past him and to the icebox instead. He opened it up and quickly grabbed everything out of it he could, including a carton of eggs and head of lettuce. With a parting dirty look, he fled back to his new room with his spoils in hand and kicked the door shut behind him.

Once whatever that was, was over, Kakuzu got up and walked to the basement to speak to Sir Leader. He was surprised to find the other man had been waiting for him as he stared at the stairwell, reclined in his chair with hands intertwined on his lap, having anticipated his arrival after his conversation with their newest addition was finished.

"Hello, Kakuzu." Sir Leader predictably greeted him.

"What the fuck did you say to him?" Kakuzu asked, skipping the pleasantries and going straight to the nitty-gritty.

"I gave him an ultimatum."

"Which was?"

"Either join the Akatsuki or be sold off."

Kakuzu found himself dreading the answer to the question he had to ask next. "What was his decision?" There was a slight twitch to Sir Leader's lips and he perceived that as his answer before the other man said anything.

"As of today, Sasori is the newest official member of the Akatsuki." Instantly, the warning signs went off as the atmosphere went blistering hot and he managed to push his chair back in the split second before Kakuzu punched his brass fist straight through his desk, resulting in wooden shrapnel and flying paperwork going everywhere.

"Are you fucking kidding me!?"

Sir Leader staring mournfully at his demolished desk and paperwork, disorganized and laying everywhere. "No, I am not kidding you." He sighed.

"Do you realize what the little shit is worth!? We'd be better off selling him off; not recruiting him! The Akatsuki is in debt because of him!" Kakuzu screamed, pacing back and forth like a caged animal and pulling on his brown locks. He was going to have a heart attack, he felt one of his hearts going arrhythmic.

"We can recuperate the Akatsuki's financial losses with future investments. Sasori was too valuable an asset to sell off in my opinion and therefore, I made the decision I thought appropriate."

"That decision was bullshit!"

Sir Leader didn't reply. He was hunched in his chair, searching through the wreckage of his station. After a minute of ransacked through the parchment littering the floor, he found he had been looking for and lifted it with a victorious 'aha'. "Kakuzu, would you kindly sign this?" He asked, holding the single sheet out to him with a pen he had retrieved also.

Kakuzu snatched the paper from his outstretched hand and read it without halting in his pacing. He immediately recognized it as something he had signed before. "What the fuck is this?"

"That is an identical copy of Zetsu's contract except for Sasori. By signing it, you agree to being responsible for his welfare which includes that no harm or death shall befall him while he is in your care and you will not sell him. Nothing is different from Zetsu's contract you signed."

"You want me to sign this and agree to babysit a second little shit?"

"Well, you do not have a choice in the matter. I just require your signature for filing."

Kakuzu paused mid-step and crinkled the paper in a shaking fist. "I'll do you one better." He whispered, ever so calmly that behind the scenes, Nagato felt a shiver run up his spine. "I quit." He threw the wrinkled contract to the ground to join the fabricated snowfall.

Sir Leader's eyebrows flew to his headband in genuine surprise at the unexpected declaration. "You quit? You cannot quit."

"Watch me." Kakuzu said and turned his back to his ex-employer, starting up the stairs.

"Kakuzu. It would be a shame if I had to make up the Akatsuki's financial losses with the gains made off your bounty." Kakuzu stopped dead on the stairwell, signifying he was listening so Sir Leader continued, leaning back in his chair and fingering one of his lip piercings, his Rinnegan staring at his banker's back. "If you recall, when I first employed you into the Akatsuki, I had you sign an agreement that if for any reason you defect or are terminated then you will be turned over to Takigakure so the Akatsuki may collect on your bounty. Last I checked, your bounty was priced at five-hundred million ryō? That could fund the organization for quite some time into the foreseeable future, wouldn't it?"

Kakuzu remained standing there even after the orange-haired man finished, making no motion to take his leave despite the consequences it brought. Finally, after a solid minute of silence, he turned on his boot heel and marched down the stairs. Picking up the crinkled record, he proceeded to punch a hole through it, the second time that day he had punched something. He then crumpled it into a ball and threw it at Sir Leader who made no attempt to dodge it as it bounced off his face and into his lap.

"There's your fucking signature!" Kakuzu snarled. With that, he charged back up the stairwell, stomping his feet so hard a few of the wooden steps cracked beneath them. This time, Sir Leader did not stop him.

"Thank you." He called after. Taking the paper ball, he smoothed it out against his knee and once he finished doing so, he realized he had nowhere to file it as he stared at the devastation left behind by this latest encounter with Kakuzu. "Perhaps I should invest in a metal desk."

…

Konan returned to the cabin later that evening to perform her daily check on Zetsu and also drop off more paperwork for her partner. When she entered his office, she was stupefied to find him sweeping up the debris of his broken desk which had its pieces stacked in the corner.

"What happened?" She asked, stepping carefully so she didn't trample the precious paper also blanketing the basement floor.

"Kakuzu wasn't pleased with my decision." Pein replied simply, leaning the broom against a file cabinet and taking a seat back in his chair for a breather.

"Which was?"

"To recruit Sasori as our latest member."

Konan gaped at him upon hearing this, dropping her arms to her sides. "Pein, we agreed that the Akatsuki could not handle anymore members due to our financial circumstances." She said, flabbergasted.

"Yes, we did. But Sasori is too prized a shinobi to sell off. I think he will benefit the Akatsuki greatly in the future."

She opened her mouth to say something, perhaps the fact she was second-in-command of the Akatsuki and she should have a say on these types of decisions before they were made, or even that Sasori tried hurting Zetsu and might do so again, being oblivious to the fact he had tried again this same day. But she didn't say anything because she knew Nagato and once he had his mind set on something, there was little to no persuasion to be done that could dissuaded him, especially when involving the Akatsuki. So, she said nothing and instead, she quietly handed him the paperwork she brought then turned to take her exit, leaving behind a bewildered Pein in her wake.

"Konan?" He asked with no answer. "Konan, would you kindly find a replacement for my desk?" Again, there was no response, but he trusted she heard and would bring something back, so he could get back to his paperwork that never seemed to have an end to it.

…

AN: A short chapter. Apologies it took awhile but I had driving lessons and for a person with anxiety, it wasn't a fun experience, but I got my permit and have my driving test in a few weeks. Anyway, the next chapter will be short also, but I hope to get it out faster, so we can get past the dialogue and plot points.

Next Chapter: Sasori is the Akatsuki's newest member and has Zetsu in his warpath.

Until next time.