AN: Here is the other half of a new episode of Kakuzu and Zetsu's Bizarre Adventure! Haha. There'll only be two chapters to this and after that, we'll be progressing rather quickly to the second half of this arc which saying now, is going to be rather tame but interesting. Also, be prepared for a cameo from a future character in this chapter! You'll have to squint though because he is quite small.
Cat Beats: I'm trying to give each mask is own distinct personality so I'm glad you like Daora. It'll likely have the most screen time given it is used for aerial surveillance. But, I'll include the other masks more also. And yes, Zetsu is 12-13 but she can be mistaken as being a child because of her stunted growth. It'll take her awhile but sooner or later she'll be running solo and meeting other canon characters. As for Sasori, he's horrible now but he'll mellow out as he gets older. He'll still be an asshole but not as bad as he is currently.
rarae aves: Oh, Sir Leader is going to be experiencing a few things through Zetsu. It'll be established soon! You're going to get a lot of that from Kakuzu when involving Zetsu and Sasori now, haha.
Warning(s): Language (High), Violence (Mid), Genderbend, OCs
…
Wasteland
Red Dawn Arc
Chapter 28
It took them approximately twelve hours to transverse through the Firelands, traveling dusk to dawn without break except to check his map. Zetsu ended up dozing off in Kakuzu's arms, the swaying motion of his leaping from tree to tree lulling her to sleep. He debated with waking her up, so she could remain on Sasori, but now they knew definitely where he was going and with Daora in the sky, he decided to let her rest. Though, it damaged his pride a bit to be used as a pillow with the girl also held in his arms. He was thankful no one else could see him right now.
Blackness blanched into a tie dye of warm oranges and pacific blues as the waking morning sun brought rise and shine over the misty hills of the Land of Hot Water. He decided Zetsu slept long enough, having let her sleep through the night and nudged her awake. He lowered the lethargic girl to the ground and she yawned, lips curling back over her canines. Using her sleeves, she rubbed the sleepies from her honey-coloured eyes as she blinked them up at him when he paused to read the map again.
If his calculations were correct, it should take them no more than six hours to navigate the Steamlands and enter the Frostlands where Sasori had apparently gone. Daora hadn't returned after Kakuzu sent it ahead to Shimogakure which meant it hadn't found the boy yet. He must've trudged through the night instead of resting and buying them time. If that bastard back there was right though, the redhead was going to Shimo so it didn't matter if they were behind because they would end up the same place sooner or later—or so he prayed.
Pocketing the map, he continued walking with a drowsy Zetsu stumbling behind him, grabbing onto his jacket so she wasn't left behind. The Land of Fire's woodlots progressively thinned out into mountainous fields and tranquil seclusion with not a township observed for miles and miles. It was a while that they trailed the deserted dirt path until any hint of civilization presented itself. The nauseating stench of manure being wafted downwind struck them, causing both Kakuzu and Zetsu to defend their noses; the obvious culprits of cows could be heard mooing as they grew closer. In the impending distance was a tiny but cute ranch. Upon seeing the black-and-white creatures, Zetsu gasped enthusiastically and went running towards them.
"Girl!" Kakuzu barked, giving chase. When he caught up to her, she was hiked up on the metal fence separating the cows from the road, hand outstretched to pet one of the cattle grazing in the field while excitedly chanting "cow" over and over again. "Girl, goddamnit, do not run from me like that!" He scolded her, plucking her off the railing by her underarms.
"Howdy," Someone called out and a woman with powdered white hair and dressed in dirty overalls exited a mid-sized barn, sauntered towards them through the pasture and it struck Kakuzu how alike to someone else he once knew.
"I'm sorry." He apologized to her, presuming her to be the owner of the cows. "She has a habit of doing what she wants."
The cowwoman smiled, her eyes glistening like dazzling pink diamonds. "It ain't nothin'. Would yer daughter like'ta pet them cows?"
"I…"
"Yes!" Zetsu answered instantly, wiggling excitedly in Kakuzu's hands. The cowwoman's smile brightened to a blinding degree that could've put the sun to shame and Kakuzu would be lying if he said if didn't make him melt a little.
Turning around, she hollered at the bovine, clapping her hands and stamping her muddied boots until drawing the cows' black eyes in her direction with their fluffy ears piqued. One by one, the herd curiously shambled over. Kakuzu released Zetsu who leapt back onto the pen, wavering her arms at them. He hiked back her sleeve and she petted them, giggling and muttering an "eww" when they licked her hand.
"Saw ya'll walkin' up the road, ya'll from Konoha?"
"No, just passing through." Kakuzu answered, keeping a handle on Zetsu so the teenager didn't take a header over the railing. "We're from the Riverlands."
The albino woman gasped. "Goodness me, ain't that a long walk an'a half! An' wit' this war goin' on? Ya'll must be exhausted! Would ya like a cup o' coffee er somethin'?"
"I…" He paused in his rejection to consider it. After the shit day he had yesterday, what was the harm in having one cup of coffee? "I would love a cup of coffee."
"Great! Oh, I'm Hikari." She wiped her hands off on her overalls then extended one to Kakuzu for a handshake.
"I'm…Akatsuki." Kakuzu lied, accepting her gloved hand with his own. It was best he kept his real identity a secret, even to a random civilian.
"Akatsuki? Ain't that an interestin' name? Come on then!" She leapt over the metal barricade and trudged down a beaten pathway that curved around the barn.
Kakuzu let Zetsu get in a few last pets on the stinky animals before putting her down and nudging her to walk so they could pursue their host. Behind the ranch, down a way was a small cottage. Chickens and ducks walked around the building and Kakuzu had to grab Zetsu to prevent her from chasing them like he predicted she might do; a prediction confirmed when the girl jerked in his grasp upon seeing the free-range birds. Hikari kicked off her dirty boots, leaving them by the door then welcomed in her two guests. Kakuzu cleaned his boots off on the welcome mat then instructed Zetsu to do the same, using the opportunity to teach her basic manners before entering the house, the entryway opening into a kitchen/dining combination area.
"Sit on down," Hikari said, gesturing at the circular dining table. "Would ya like meh to take yer coats?"
"No, thank you, it is quite fine." Kakuzu replied, pulling out one of the wooden chairs and sitting down. Zetsu didn't understand the question and therefore didn't answer she quietly sat beside Kakuzu. He sighed at her inadvertent rudeness.
Hikari nodded and walked into the kitchen, switching on the coffee machine to reheat the brew she made this morning. "I'mma be righ' back then!" She left, climbing up the stairwell outside the kitchen and leaving the man and girl by themselves.
While he waited, Kakuzu idly observed the decorations furbished the pink, stripped wallpaper, noting a majority of them being framed religious scriptures and polished golden crosses. While he himself was not a religious man, he didn't pass judgement on those who were. Whatever got people through the ugly realities of life, he decided. Sometimes, he found himself praying so who was he to say anything?
Hikari returned a few minutes later. "Sorry 'bout that, jus' went to check on my lil' baby boy. He's had the worse cold this week an' them meds have him out cold!" She checked on the coffee's temperature which was still lukewarm and muttered to herself that it should take a minute or two more then turned, looking over at Zetsu. "In the meantime, wut would ya liketa drink, sweetie? How 'bout some chocolate milk?"
"Cho-co-late milk?" Zetsu parroted, having never heard of such a thing.
Hikari gasped. "Ya ain't never had chocolate milk? Wut child ain't never had chocolate milk? It's my baby angel's favourite! Here, lemme make ya a glass." Retrieving a bottle of freshly squeezed milk from the fridge and choco powder, she mixed them together in a glass then gave it to the green-haired girl.
Zetsu stared at the brown liquid dubiously and sniffed it. When it didn't have too offensive of a smell, she hesitantly took a sip. Given how picky an eater she was because of the Mayfly, Kakuzu expected her to hate it. So, colour him surprised when she downed it all in one gulp and eagerly pushed the glass across for more, whining.
"Girl, you say "please" and ask, "may I have more"?" The elder scolded her but Hikari laughed, waving it off.
"Oh, it's aw'right. My son is the same. He's three an' likes'ta speak by gruntin' like'a pig. Yer daughter is so adorable tho'!" She made her another glass which met the same fate as Zetsu swallowed it down like a fish starved of water.
After giving her a third refill, the woman then went back to coffee again and found it to be hot. Standing on her toes, she obtained two mugs from the cabinets then peeked out the window over the sink suspiciously, searching for something. "Ya know, saw myself the most frightenin'ly large crow this mornin'! Thought it was gonna eat my chickens, I did!" She said. "How would ya like yer coffee?"
Kakuzu stayed quiet on the fact that "frighteningly large crow" likely had been Daora and it would not be eating her chickens. "Black, please." He thanked her as she handed him one of the steaming mugs then sat down herself.
"So, where ya'll goin' to?"
"Shimogakure." He answered, pulling down his bandana past his lips while keeping his stitches hidden and cautiously sipping the hot liquid. "For a job."
"Ah, that'sa long way to go fer a job, ain't it? But I guess ya gotta do whatcha can in this economy wit' the war. My husband was drafted by Konoha to fight fer 'em tho' Yugakure don't have nothin' to do wit' the war. So, it's jus' been me an' my son by us'selves fer the las' year." She said, smiling sadly and staring at the cup in her hands.
Kakuzu admitted he found himself a little disappointed to hear she was married. Perhaps because now that he realized who she remained him so much of: it his fiancée whom he never had the chance to marry when he was arrested—Yui. "I'm sorry." His apology genuine.
Hikari perked up, her radiant personality shining through the dark clouds looming overhead as she smiled, displaying the gap in her front teeth where one tooth had been kicked out by a bucking horse. "It's aw'right. The war is endin' soon an' jus' got a letter from my dearest sayin' he gonna be home soon. Anyway, ya'll should be careful up in Shimo. They got problems wit' thieves lately. I think they musta came 'round here too 'cause woke up one day an' three'a my horses were gone!"
"Your horses were stolen?"
"Yes! 'Napped right outta the barn too! Those bastards took my prized runnin' mustang durin' my racin' days an' the Appaloosa I bought my baby boy fer his birthday. I was goin' to start teachin' him to ride soon too. He was so heartbroken when Marshmallow was stolen."
The man fought back a smirk at the name "Marshmallow". It was a name he imagined Zetsu giving something. "Did you report it?"
"Yes, an' the gumshoes up in Yu said they'd be "investigatin'" it. I've had animals stolen 'fore in the past they ain't done nothin' 'bout it so I say that be bigger bullshit than wut comes outta my cows!" She gasped, holding a hand to her mouth and pink eyes large as they glanced at Zetsu then Kakuzu apologetically. "I'm so sorry, I didn' mean'ta say a bad word."
Kakuzu chuckled. "It's fine, she's heard a lot worse. While I'm in Shimo, I could look for your horses."
"Oh? You'a detective er somethin'?"
"Something like that." He shrugged, drinking the remainder of his coffee.
She opened her mouth to say something else but was interrupted by a cough that was not her own or anyone else's at the table. Immediately, she got up from the table to go to the source while Kakuzu leant back in his chair, curiously looking pass the lip of the kitchen towards the staircase. Standing on the steps was a little boy dressed in pajamas, identical to his mother except with darker hair and eyes and holding a blanket that he quietly coughed into.
"Oh, Dawn, whatcha doin' up?" Hikari fretted, scooping the toddler up and brushing back his silver locks from his sweaty forehead. "You aw'right?" He nodded. "Ya hungry?" A cough and another nod. "Ok, lemme start breakfast then."
"We should be going." Kakuzu said, standing up from his chair.
"Oh, ya'll don' wanna stay fer breakfast?" Hikari asked.
"I'm sorry but no. We're behind schedule and have somewhere to be." He snapped his fingers impatiently at Zetsu. "Let's go, girl."
She glanced up from her chocolate milk that of which had been savouring every delicious sip and had to guzzle down the remainder of it down before he started screaming at her. Once she wrestled on her backpack, he walked behind her, nudging her towards the door with his knees.
"Thank you for the coffee."
"Well, of course! If ya'll ever come back in the area, feel free to stop by fer a warm meal!" Hikari called after them as they left, waving goodbye and picking up her son's little hand to make him wave too.
…
Getting through the Steamlands was a breeze, considering how minuscule the country was so by the time the clock struck noon, Kakuzu and Zetsu had arrived in Shimogakure.
It was a festive village as colourful lights hung from the street lamps, strung between buildings with the trees lining the streets decorated with lights and trinkets and the freshly fallen snow built into snowmen by the resident children, greeting whoever walked by with their pebbled smiles and waving sticked hands. Zetsu "oohed" and "ahhed" at the twinkling ornamentation while Kakuzu wanted to lock himself in in an office and count his money while growling "humbug" at people.
That fuckup in the Firelands said if he wanted to find this Kidd person, he just had to ask anyone for his location, so he did exactly that, asking an elderly gentleman outside a bookstore, sitting beside a display rack of books being sold for five-hundred ryō and less.
"Kidd? Now why would you wanna know where Kidd is?" He asked, puffing from his pipe and rocking himself in his chair.
"I've been hired to kill him." Kakuzu explained simply.
"That so? 'Bout time someone got on taking that hooligan and his miscreants down. I haven't been able to see my grandchild in Yu for the last month because I've been too scared to leave Shimo because of them. And Kumo isn't doing anything; they're just compliant with going through us to get to the war and not with helping us!" He coughed, smoke billowing from his nose and scruffy lips which he waved away in a dismissive gesture. "Anyway, if you want to find Kidd, him and his ruffians are hiding out in the Caribou Coppice, the Land of Frost's national forest. I don't know where exactly they're at but if you go up road they should jump at you eventually like the cowards they are."
"Thank you." Kakuzu said while also thanking fate that he didn't turn into a senile old man like this person though he admitted, he had his moments.
Zetsu was looking through the books for sale, searching any colourful picture books when he grabbed her by the backpack and dragged her away to take their leave. "Wait, a minute there, son. You aren't thinking of taking that girl with you to fight them hooligans, are you?"
Kakuzu paused mid-step, eyebrows crinkled as he stared at the "older" old man. "Yes, I am."
"But, she's just a child! Why would you want to subject a child to something like that? What if she gets hurt? Or worse?"
"She's gone through the worse." With no further objection, the two left with Zetsu scrambling behind.
While they walked, Kakuzu whistled a jumbled tune which wasn't meant to replicate music. After awhile, something whistled back. His gaze was drawn in the direction it originated: a rooftop and Daora popped its head up. It must've been there for some time as it was coated in snow, using it as camouflage while it waited for its master to arrive. He searched for the nearest alleyway where privacy could be had. Daora met them inside, shaking off the white powder and plopping itself on its backside before its host.
"Did you find him?" Kakuzu asked Daora.
It made a warbling noise in its throat and tilted its head, signifying to him it had not. This resolution was a disappointment, but he wasn't surprised, given the head start Sasori had on them to begin with, including that coffee break this morning. Though, Kakuzu could not say he regretted it. He gave the bird creature its reward for its service in the form of head scratches and it arched into his hands, purring and shaking its rump.
Once it was satisfied, which took a minute, he stepped back and muttered another name underneath his breath. Daora released a delighted shriek and its wiggled harder upon seeing its favourite mask sibling, Teo, being summoned. The two chimeras happily greeted each other with a series of squawks and yips.
"Teo," Kakuzu addressed the fire mask once the two elementals finished with their pleasantries. "I have an assignment for you: I want you to watch Zetsu." Teo whined, quirking its grinning face at Zetsu, having never had the chance to be acquainted with the teenager, and Zetsu hid further behind Kakuzu's legs as the thing stared at her with its beady eyes. "Let nothing happen to her. If you are attacked or threatened, then you have my permission to fight back; do whatever is necessary to keep her safe until I return." It acknowledged the request with a ruff.
'I hate admitting to anyone being right but, that old man was right. I cannot bring Zetsu with me. Not just do I not to risk learning if Sir Leader was right of her episodes being contained but also, I know Sasori will purposely target her once he realizes she is with me. It is obviously he is searching for her if what those bastards can be believed. But, I refuse to leave with her a stranger or be herself so not to repeat past mistakes. It is better to leave her here with Teo, so nothing can happen to her.' He thought, nodding to himself as his decision was finalized.
Grabbing Zetsu, he extracted her from behind him and pushed her towards the bear-like creature. "Girl, this is Teo, one of my masks. It will not hurt you." Despite his insistence, she shrank away from the manifestation. Teo appeared hurt by her rejection as it whimpered. "I'll be back. Until then, you are to stay here, with Teo. Understand?" She glanced between the lion-masked creature and her custodian, sparing him an intimidated expression. He sighed sharply. "Understand?"
She flinched, hearing the impatience in his tone. "Understood…" She whimpered after a minute.
With a sigh, he patted his hip. "Daora, you're with me." Daora squeaked, joyously dancing in place and prancing after as Kakuzu turned and exited out of the alleyway.
Zetsu watched him walk away until he vanished around the corner, then back to Teo. It noticed her staring and borked, gifting her the ditzy smile that was permanently painted on its mask. She didn't smile back.
…
"Damn, kiddo, aren't I glad I met you!"
"Whatever." Sasori grumbled, staring his own sickly image in the silvery reflection of the machete he was polishing with one of his poisons. Once finished, he handed back to the waiting bruiser who received it with a grin, examining the purple-painted blade before walking off so the next person in the small line could have their weapon contaminated too.
Kidd's yellow-toothed smile crumpled from the teenager's cold shoulder only to return a second later. "Well, when we kill this Kakuzu guy, I'll make sure you'll get a big payout for helping us like this! We're going to be millionaires after this!"
"I don't want money; I want the girl."
"Oh right…well, you can have this girl and the money. How about that, hmm?" Sasori grunted in answer, using his sleeve to soak up the rivulets of sweat streaming down his pale face, something Kidd noticed as his smile faulter again. "Err…you alright, kiddo? You're looking a little…sick?"
"I'm fine! Fuck off!" The redhead screamed, pointing a newly poisoned blade at him.
Leaping up, the black-haired man decided to leave the boy be, not wanting to put himself on his obvious bad side and left to do his roundabout of their little desolated cabin in the woods and check if their two targets had been spied yet.
…
"I'm bored."
"Shut up, we heard you the first time."
"Where's Jun? He should be here by now with that Kakuzu guy and his daughter Kidd told us about. I'm freezing!"
"Shut up, we heard you the first time also!"
"I'm going to go check on the horses." One of the three men said, hearing the equine whining and stamping their hooves as though something was disturbing them.
He trudged through the snow towards the three horses tied up to a nearby tree, leaving behind his two associates, shivering in the cold air and chatting through chattering teeth. A few minutes later in their conversation of their pending payday and other humdrum topics such as the weather when their friend came running back, looking as though he just witnessed a yeti. He skidded to a halt in front of them, hunching over with his hands on his knees and his panting leaving his blue lips in thick clouds. The other two men blinked at their gasping friend.
"You alright there, Gin?"
"Did the horses kick at you again?"
"No…I…I…" Gin wheezed. "I saw the biggest bird ever! It was huge!"
"Bird?" The two men chortled in unison, entertained by the prospect of the blonde man being scared by a bird; a "huge" bird, according to him which could've been something like a raven.
All of a sudden, a shrieking caw echoed out, like metal grinding against metal and made the three men's skin go goosebumped as their heads snapped up to grey sky overhead in which the noise had originated. This huge bird flew overhead, except it wasn't huge, it was positively massive; it was like a bear with wings. It must've noticed them because it divebombed right at them, squealing. They screamed and tried fleeing as the creature landed and hurdled its distended body at the nearest person in a game of cat and mouse.
Kakuzu was walking up the path when he heard the screaming and Daora's own screaking, meaning it had found someone, or rather someones hiding out in the timberland and attacked them as instructed. He changed direction towards the ruckus. While lumbering up the incline, he discovered three horses, tied to a tree and obviously upset by the yelling happening as they whinnied and desperately yanked at their restraints to escape. One of them had a muscular build with a beautiful cinnamon coat that shimmered like bronze while another one had a white and black speckled coat to which something told Kakuzu that a little child would've named it "Marshmallow". He was positive he just found that cowgirl's missing horses. After untying them, he delivered a slap to their rear ends and horses went sprinting off, disappearing down the path he came up. He prayed they found their way back to the little farmstead in the Steamlands. He would've delivered them personally but at the moment, he had other matters to attend to as he continued towards the disturbance which had gone suspiciously quiet.
What he found was two men laid on the ground, disheveled with their clothing torn and bleeding with a third man being used as Daora's plaything, crying out as he was thrashed back and forth by the bird creature like a ragdoll. Kakuzu whistled and Daora's head jerked up. It dropped the poor man as it skipped over to its host, purring and rubbing itself against him. As he patted it, he examined the damage done. The three men, while battered and bleeding from shallow cuts caused by his mask's beak, they were alive, just in shellshock by their bleary eyes and husky breathing. One, he recognized two as having bounties; cheap bounties but a bounties nonetheless.
So, he quickly dispatched the men, bringing his steel-toed boot down onto each of their throats, crushing their windpipes and breaking their necks with a sickening crunch and gurgle of blood. Meanwhile, with the last man, Daora grabbed him to play with, dragging him off while Kakuzu snatched up the two dead men, slinging them over each shoulder and walking off to put them somewhere for safe keeping until he finished this mission.
…
"Have we had any reports from Jun or Gin's groups?"
"Not yet, Kidd."
Kidd have a frustrated huff, flicking the black wisps of hair from his face. "We should have heard something by now. At least a signal of our targets being in the area. Something didn't happen, did it?"
"Nahs, it would nothing our men couldn't handle. We've taken down shinobi before and soldiers nonetheless! This old man can't do shit to us." His lackey cackled in which Kidd replied with is own smoker's wheeze.
"Yeah right, and with this new kiddo, we'll be invincible! And—what is that?" He asked when he was disrupted by a bloodcurdling shriek from a location that couldn't be pinpointed as it echoed through the sleepy forest as though it came for multiple directions at once.
A large shadow swept over them and both men craned their heads upwards just as something fell out of the sky. It struck the cabin's roof then tumbled off, landing in a heap in the packed snow a few away as both stared on, terrified, as they recognized what, or rather, who it was.
"Gin!" Kidd gasped, identifying him through the old Takigakure vest he stole off as a passing solider. If it weren't for it, he'd would be considered a John Doe because his face was mutilated past recognition, the flesh ripped into ribbons and eyes gouged out like something pecked them out. Yet, somehow, he wasn't dead as the man gasped through blood pouring from his lips and upon realizing this, Kidd rushed to him, crouching beside him and picking up his head so he didn't drown in his own blood. "Gin! Gin! Hang on! Goddamnit Jean, go get someone!" He yelled at the other man, ushering him to the cabin.
Jean turned to run like told when there was that same shrieking and something big and heavy slammed right into him, crushing him betwixt its weight the cold, hard ground. Kidd looked up to find a gigantic creature sitting on his subordinate; it was bird-like with stingy wings and white, beaked face. It kneaded its victim's back, tearing through his shirt with its taloned feet and Jean cried out as it clawed through skin also. Its masked face picked up, tilting it sideways as its painted eyes stared straight at Kidd and he felt his blood run as cold as the fallen snow. Slowly, he reached for the sledgehammer buckled to his back. Noticing this, Daora slinked itself to the ground as he crept towards him, its skeletal wings standing straight up.
After a few tense seconds, Kidd grabbed his hammer and interpreting this as an offensive action, Daora pounced at him, screaming with claws prepared for bloodshed. As it did, the felon swung his weapon, striking the creature directly in the head. However, instead of the breaking of bones and a meaty thud, there was nothing. The threading fashioning Daora's head together undid themselves and wrapped around the mallet, swallowing it upon impact. He yanked to liberate it, initiating a game of tug-of-war in the process. After a bit of back and forth, he was declared loser as his cherished sledgehammer was devoured by Daora's body. Kidd hated himself for abandoning his men like this, but he couldn't save them without a weapon or protect himself from dying too, so did the only thing he could and turned tail.
As he fled back into the cabin, he kicked open the door and slammed it shut behind him, grabbing a nearby chair and pushing it in front of it to behave like a barrier; a weak barrier but a barrier nonetheless. Noticing their boss, ghastly white and shaken up, Kidd's underlings circled him with distraught and anxious expressions creased into their greasy faces and bombarded him with questions of what happened outside having heard a ruckus and yelling.
"There's a creepy-ass thing outside!" Kidd proclaimed to them all like a mad man. "It attacked Gin and Jean!" Chatter erupted with everyone else over his "creepy-ass creature" outside which was suddenly silenced when something shattered through the window beside the door. It slid across the floor until halting against one person's feet. It was Kidd's sledgehammer.
Everyone glanced up and gasped upon witnessing an unknown creature poking its white face through the broken window and staring back at them. Daora clicked its blood-streaked beak with a purr then withdrew its head as it slinked off out of sight of the window. Jean's screaming could be heard as it resumed back to using him as its personal scratch post. Kidd felt sick as he listened to his man suffer.
Sasori saw Daora too and with his cracked lips twitching into a shit-eating grin, he straightened up from his chair, flicking his head to expel the excess moisture soaking his pale face. "He's here."
"Who's here?" Kidd asked, glancing at him and then the window as his men franticly scrambled to section it off so that thing couldn't enter through it. "That thing wasn't this Kakuzu guy, was it?"
"Don't be idiotic! That's just one of his pets. If you want to kill it, I suggest hittin' it in the head; that's where it's heart is located."
"Its heart is in its face? And I tried that, and it ate my sledgehammer!" Kidd picked up his hammer, checking it over for any blemishes or bodily fluids that creature may've left on it. When nothing was found, he cradled it, kissing the metal mallet.
"Just do it! If you kill it, it'll weaken him an' he'll be easier to kill off!"
Kidd flinched at the teenager's yelling and while he typically didn't take orders, especially from a kid, he trusted his instruction since he was the one which came to them with information on this Kakuzu person. Plus, whatever it took to collect this jackpot easier, he would take it. He was never a person that liked working hard. Turning, he pointed at two of his men at random and ushered them over. "Reigen, Goda, you're with me! Let's kill this thing and save Gin and Jean!" The two men yielded without question, drawing their poisoned weapons and providing back-up for Kidd. He pushed away the chair and with a countdown from three, threw open the door and the three of them ran outside, prepared to murder this bird-creature.
However, it was nowhere within sight as it had left Jean again, bleeding to death in the snow after cleaving through flesh and bone and into organs. He couldn't be saved, and neither could Gin who had bled out his brain's blood supply through his sundered face. The three others turned their head so not to gaze upon their fallen friends, sorrowful but and also fueled further to kill this beast responsible for their deaths.
None them lowered their guard, keeping clustered together back-to-back with weapons raised as they searched for its whereabouts. Then, something caught his eye and Kidd's electric blue orbs twitched in that direction, spying something dark and large slinking around the corner of the cabin. Signaling the other men, they pressed themselves against the wall and tip-toed to the edge. Kidd glanced around it, locating the thing what was on the other side. It was doing a happy dance with its backside wiggling like a dog greeting its owner. He didn't think anything of it, presuming it to be a bizarre ritual or celebration for its kills. Lifting his hand, he held up three fingers for his comrades and lowered each one-by-one. Once the last one was down, the three ran around the corner and charged the bird. However, they came to a skidding halt as something stepped behind the thing. At first, Kidd thought it to be a sasquatch by how massive it was, but it took him a second to realize it wasn't a sasquatch but a person; a massive person that triumph over all three men in height, perhaps combined. The bird-like thing huddled behind him, peeping like it was snickering at them.
Kakuzu eyeballed them, instantly recognizing Kidd from his wanted poster and Kidd gulped as he felt this giant's gaze piercing him through the darkness of his sunglasses. "You're Kidd?" It wasn't so much a question as much as a statement.
Kidd didn't realize this and after a minute, he puffed himself up in attempt to make himself appear as large at the man standing in front of him. "So, what if I am? And who's asking?"
"I am."
"And who are you?"
"Kakuzu. I heard you've been searching for me." He expected the mention of name to make the man go white or shit himself upon realization he was in the presence of the most wanted man in the world with a bounty of half a billion ryō and being responsible for the murder of Takigakure's elders.
Instead, what he got was the exact opposite as Kidd brightened up, like a child told they can have a piece of candy. "You're Kakuzu!?" Meanwhile, his peons gave the appropriate response and started shaking, and it wasn't because of the negative temperature.
"You're deaf?"
"No, but I'm going to make you dead!" Kakuzu sighed at the poor put-down.
"Whatever. Is the boy here?"
"Boy? Oh, the kiddo? He's here. Whatcha want with him?"
"We have unfinished business."
"Well, you can't have him because he's my new best friend!" Reigen and Goda stared at him, appearing offended that a snot-nosed kid that just showed up was promoted to "best friend" in one day instead of them who had been with him since day one. "He told me all about you and prepared us to kill you!"
Kakuzu piqued an eyebrow. "That so? I'd like see that." Daora hissed, arching its back and puffing out its tendrils to twice its size as an intimidation tactic. It was successful as the two lackies gulped, falling back and huddling together. Kidd glared at them.
"Tch, whatcha two doing!? Get up and let's kill this bastard and his little pet! Don'tcha wanna be rich!?" He yelled at them in which could be considered the worse rallying call ever heard, at least to Kakuzu. Yet, it was enough to persuade the two back to their feet with weapons drawn without a second of hesitation as they suddenly exhibited the same pigheaded confidence of their leader. Daora snarled, stalking forward and prepared to protect its master but Kakuzu quickly snapped his fingers, causing it to backpedal back to its position behind him. It sat down like obedient mutt, waiting to be told otherwise.
While typically civilian bastards like this gave him no issue, with Sasori pulling the strings behind it (no pun intended), he knew the little shit had something up his sleeve to make them so convinced they could kill the elder. Because of that, he wasn't going to put one of his hearts on the line like last time. If need be, Daora could provide back-up. After tightening his gloves and cracking his knuckles and neck, he stepped up for whatever scrabble these maggots wanted to give him. Kidd matched his step, drumming his fingers against the handle of his sledgehammer and grinning upward at Kakuzu, advertising his missing upper canine.
Like predicted, Kidd made the first attack, spinning and swinging his hammer at Kakuzu like a professional weight thrower. It struck the brunet in the midsection with a metallic thud and ricocheted, sending the gang leader stumbling. Kakuzu hardened his hand, prepared to punch him in his greasy little face but was distracted when one of the others leapt at him with a sword. When he swatted the blade, something splashed onto his face and his leather jacket and faintly burned his skin. Wiping it off, he inspected it and discovered it to be a purple-coloured liquid and it wasn't jelly; it was poison.
'Tch, so that's Sasori's plan? Have these bastards poison me then go in for the easy kill? You little shit.' He flicked the pestiferous substance off his fingers. 'Now I'm was glad I hadn't brought Zetsu with.' With this realization though, he couldn't hold back. If any one of these delinquents landed a single hit on him, even the slightest nick, it was game over. He wasn't going to put himself in danger by playing with them or waste the time for Sasori to run off again. He was ending this quickly and he was ending this now. His first target was the ruffian that tried to stab him.
Grabbing the swordsman's dominant hand by the wrist, he squeezed it until the ulna and radius splintered, piercing through the skin and with a pained yell, the man dropped the blade. Kakuzu caught it then proceeded to plunge it into the other's gut down to the hilt, twisting it for maximum damage and bloodshed. He fell backwards, shrieking and clenching the handle of the saber planted in his belly. When he tried to pull it out, his intestines bubbled through the hole and the gushing blood dyed the snow. If the poison didn't kill him then that certainly would.
"Goda!" Reigen screamed at his fallen friend then ran at Kakuzu, swinging his axe at his neck. "You bastard!"
Easily, Kakuzu caught the poisoned head between his metal fingers without looking, inches from decapitating him. With a pinch, the spade shattered into slivers with Reigen left clenching the wooden handle. It was snatched from his white-knuckled hands as Kakuzu used it to crack the gaping man in the skull, sending him down beside his writhing friend. The felon turned towards them, prepared for the kill but was prevented when Kidd intercepted. He swung his sledgehammer overhand and Kakuzu used the handgrip to block it with it being sent spinning out of his hand.
"Reigen!" Kidd yelled at his underling as he positioned himself between his friends and their target, hammer held readied. "Get Goda to Shimo; get yourselves out of here!"
"But what about you Kidd?" Reigen asked, cradling his bleeding head.
"You don't think I can't kill this motherfucker myself!? Get outta here! Now!"
Reigen opened his quivering jaw to challenge his boss' order, but snapped it shut like a beartrap when he realized he had to do as told when blood frothed from Goda's lips and he started tremoring as the poison took effect. Without further question, he picked up the other man and lugged his deadweight towards the treeline. Daora squawked at the fleeing prey, kneeding the snow with its taloned feet and Kakuzu snapped his fingers so it wasn't inclined to chase after, permitting the two men to limp off safely into the thicket. They'd catch them later.
Once gone, Kakuzu turned back to Kidd. "Hmph, so you stayed to fight while creating an opening for your men to escape with their lives. Tell me, what is your name again?"
"Tch, you got memory issues, old man? It's Kidd."
"Kidd," Kakuzu nodded. "For that, you have my respect; but what you do not have, is my mercy."
"If anyone needs mercy, it's you!" Kidd barked.
Again, Kakuzu sighed but said nothing else, deciding to put an end to this as this guy was starting to give him a headache with his obnoxious behaviour. Once today was done, something told him he'd require an entire bottle of migraine medicine.
While Kakuzu may've praised this gangbanger on his dedication to his men, what he didn't praise was his combat skills. It was like fighting a toddler with a toy hammer, if it could be considered fighting as it was over in seconds. Kidd swung his sledgehammer and Kakuzu caught the mallet targeted at his face, it just barely scratching his sunglasses. It was then wrenched from the other man's hands and used back at him as Kakuzu landed a straight hit to the other man's thick skull with a thundering crack, like someone dropping a watermelon from a third-floor balcony onto pavement. Kidd dropped like a sack of potatoes, eyes white and blood spilling from the crevice left in the side of his skull. Kakuzu didn't check if that hit had killed him as, currently, catching Sasori was of higher priory to him then this man's bounty, which was slanderous considering who he was. If he wasn't dead, then he'd just kill him later. He whistled at Daora to stay put then marched past the corpses strewn about to the cabin itself. With the faintest bit of knowledge of Sasori, he realized he may be walking into a trap, but at the moment, he didn't give a shit as he kicked open the doors.
Immediately, he was met with a dozen or so pairs of eyes darting to him of the dozen or so lowlifes huddled inside; sitting on dusty old furniture, leaning on walls and sitting on the ground. Kakuzu glanced through the audience of greasy faces, searching for Sasori's hateable little face and awful red hair but found nothing, resulting in his bandana creasing as his lips quirked into a sneer. He wasn't here, so either, he had scampered off again, or was hiding. Either or. If he wanted to find the teenagers, he'd have to start answering questions, not he thought he'd get any answers. "Alright, now, you all have two choices: you can tell the truth and die quickly, or say nothing, and die horrifically. Your choice. Now, where is the boy?"
The men exchanged glances with each other, speaking without speaking, as though telepathically broadcasting to each other a message because simultaneously, they all drew their weapons, glistening with poison, and glowered at the larger man. Kakuzu sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. So, die horrifically then, was it? He hadn't excepted anything else, yet, he was left disappointed. 'Whatever, let's get this over with.' He thought as his emerald orbs browsed this legion of simpletons, searching for the easiest method to dispatch them all in little to no time. It didn't take him long to notice the common weakness they shared.
"Rājan…" He whispered, and his jacket rustled as Rājan clambered out, squeezing its latitudinous shoulders out from his collar. It kept itself half-tucked away, clasping its pointed fingers onto his shoulders and hunching over his head, rumbling like thunder as it twitched its head to observe each and every other person present; a few of them blenched under the oni-masked creature's gaze. It's black threading started crackling with electricity, causing Kakuzu's hair to frizz from the static. "Rājan…make it painful." He told it and it did so, belching a thunderclap.
Blue lightning discharged from its snarling lips, focused into a beam which wasn't fixated on a person, but rather a thing; the thing that Kakuzu noticed every man here had: metal. It struck one man's metal weapon and from there, the electricity jumped to every other person, all whom clenched a type of metallic weapon in hand. They screamed and shrieked as they were collectively electrocuted and because their muscles seized, no one was able to drop their weapon turned lightning rod. It wasn't a quick death either as it took approximately over six-hundred volts to kill a person, but Rājan purposely administered a lower voltage so instead of being electrocuted, they were being barbequed as skin turned black and eyes bled red. One by one, the screams hushed and once the last person was silenced, the cabin smelt of burned flesh and black smoke billowed up from the dozen melted corpses puddled on the floor. Kakuzu gagged, thankful to have nothing in his stomach to upchuck. Satisfied, Rājan huffed and went back to sleep, leaving Kakuzu to search for Sasori by himself. It didn't him much time to find him, or rather, any time as before he could take a single step, he heard clapping and Sasori stepped out from a back room with that shit-eating grin Kakuzu hated.
"Brilliant. I should've known these bludgers couldn't off you but ain't no harm in tryin', aye?" The boy said, stepping over the pale ooze which once a human being like he was stepping over dog shit, casual though mildly inconvenienced.
"You seriously thought these weak bastards could kill me?" Kakuzu snorted.
"Nahs, not kill, but I was optimist they would at least get one prick on you, so I could watch you die slowly an' painfully on the side of the road like roadkill."
"Hmph, then collect on my bounty and live happily ever after with your new friends?"
"Tch, don't be a drongo. It was never about the money. I just told them of your bounty, so they'd be motivated to go after you for me. I was goin' to kill them off later, but you saved my precious time from doing so. Thank you."
"You're welcome." Kakuzu said, answer dripping with sarcasm.
Chocolate orbs glanced past him and the teenager's grinning faulted as he realized something. "Where's the girl?"
"She isn't here. You'd think I'd be stupid enough to bring her when you obviously want to kill her?" This didn't please Sasori as his happiness melted like the men dripping through the floorboards.
After a minute, he straightened up with that ugly grin back in place as he started pacing towards Kakuzu. "Whatever, I'll just kill her after I finish with you. Have you ever seen how a dog's tail is docked? They tie rubber bands 'round it an' tighten it lil' by lil' until it falls off. I'm goin' to do the same with that lil' bitch except I ain't goin' to use a rubber band. No. I'm goin' to use barb wire and I'm goin' tie it 'round her arm an' leg an' watch until they go black with necrosis an' the infection of it kills her off, slowly an' painfully. An' I'm goin' to enjoy each an' every second of it." As he paused in step in the sunlight filtering in from a window and his appearance took Kakuzu aback.
'Something isn't right with him,' He thought. He noticed Sasori being a bit feverish when they left but now, his pale complexion was ghastly white with bloodshot eyes, and sweat pouring off his face despite the frozen temperature. He wasn't sick; he was ill. 'What the hell has happened to him?' Before he had a chance to question the boy's wellbeing, Sasori extracted a scroll from his pocket and held it out, undoing it. He bit his thumb and smeared the blood onto the parchment, causing it to erupt into white smoke. When the smoke thinned, the Third Kazekage puppet had been summoned, staring Kakuzu down with its golden-painted eyes, twitching and clattering its serrated teeth.
"Now then…" Sasori muttered breathless, lifting his arms with the Kazekage mimicking him as translucent threads glimmered off it. "Let's end this, you ol' fucker."
Kakuzu sighed, exasperated. 'So, we're doing this again? Doesn't look like I've got much of a fucking choice.' He held up his fists up in a fighting stance causing Sasori to smile as his challenge was accepted.
He swung his arms and the Kazekage was flung at Kakuzu, scythed arms outstretched. "I'll fuckin' kill…you…" His scream quieted into a whimper as he wavered on his feet, as though he had thrown himself off balance with the jerky motion. He stumbled a bit, like a drunk then collapsed. The Kazekage crashed into the floor, sliding through the flesh-coloured goo until halting inches from Kakuzu's boot. A second later, it disappeared from whence it came with a puff of smoke and left Kakuzu standing there, stupefied. Everything just happened so fast; one minute, the brat is shrieking like a child with development issues, and the next, he was down.
"What the hell just happened?" He asked himself, staring at Sasori's crumpled form and scratching his head. Presuming the boy to be playing possum, he waited but when a minute passed without so much as a twitch from him, the older man started inching towards him.
As it grew closer, his nose was attacked by a horrible stench; stench he recognized. It was rot, like that of flesh but it wasn't that of the nuked bodies littered about. He gave the redhead a hard kick in the ribs, knowing it was something he couldn't ignore and when he received no results, he leant down over him. Grabbing a handful of his crimson hair, Kakuzu picked up Sasori's head as he laid facedown on the ground, mercifully, not in the liquefied remains of one of the bandits. His eyes were white, and jaw slacked making it evident this was real and not an act. That decaying stink was radiating off him and after a bit of searching, Kakuzu found the source. The teenager's right arm sleeve was drenched, and it wasn't in sweat.
"You little shit…" He snarled, letting go of his bloody locks and permitting his face to strike the merciless floor. "You let your arm get infected!? I gave you medicine! You little…"
"Bastard!" Someone behind him finished his sentence. It was Kidd, beaten and bleeding, but still alive. Like a cockroach, he was a hard one to kill. He brought up his sledgehammer with trembling arms, then down onto Kakuzu's head with the strength of his entire, injured being with a prideful scream of, "This is for my men!"
It hit its mark as he struck the felon right on the head like he was playing whack-a-mole. However, instead of crushing his skull like a squishy piece of fruit and painting the walls red with its fluids, the mallet harmlessly bounced off. Kakuzu climbed back to his feet, facing the other man, emerald-orb flickering through his sunglasses and bronze skin melting back into flesh as he deactivated his jutsu which he had triggered when the leader ruined what little element of surprise he might've had with his yelling. Suffocated by the behemoth's shadow, Kidd dropped his weighted weapon, falling onto his backside and scrabbling backwards, eyes saucered and shaking. As he dragged himself, his hand came in contact with something slimy and he gasped when he realized he gotten it in the molten remains of one of his dearest friends.
"Run," Kakuzu told him, just one single word and Kidd didn't have to be told it twice. Immediately, he pushed to his feet, nearly tripping over one of his men and out the door, squeaking like a frightened mohawked mouse. Kakuzu casually stalked after him.
Outside, he whistled and Daora, who had been entertaining itself by making snow angels, sat up, chirping. "Fetch." He told it, gesturing in the direction their target had gone. In his desperate fleeing, Kidd had left a pathway straight to him in the snow. Daora was off after him like a bullet, hurdling through the ankle-deep powder and vanishing in the trees. It didn't take long for a terrified scream followed by a bird-like shriek to pierce the tranquil atmosphere of the frosty forest; it lasted only a second and then calm returned. Afterward, Daora came hopping back with a present in its beak that it dropped onto Kakuzu's boot. Satisfied, he gave it a lot of head scratches and pats.
Once done, he went back into the cabin and exited with Sasori's unconscious body in hand. He handed it off to Daora and told it to take him to the hospital and Amegakure, so Ryu could take care of him. After securing the teenager so he wouldn't fall off during the lengthy travel back, Daora fluttered into the sky, camouflaging into in the grey clouds. Kakuzu then picked up the gift it had left and started the tedious walk back to Shimogakure.
…
Back in the village, a scene was playing out as the resident police had an area taped off and a crowd of civilians had gathered to investigate that was happening. Turns out, Reigen had made it back to Shimo with Goda but upon entering the township, a person had recognized them as being two of the men which mugged them days before and called authorities who quickly arrived and detained the two men. Reigen was handcuffed on the sidewalk, bawling and pleading for them to take Goda to the hospital as his friend laid beside him, also handcuffed, seizing and spitting up blood as a result of the poison.
Kakuzu noticed the ruckus and joined in, his large height easily letting him peek over everyone else to see what was going on. After navigating through everyone else, he stepped behind a police officer and politely tapped him on the shoulder. The man turned around and flinched back in surprise from the giant. Kakuzu handed him something wrapped in a stained blanket. "Here. Consider it a gift from the Akatsuki." While a bit confused and suspicious, the policeman accepted it. As he pulled back the fabric, he gasped upon finding what was hidden within and his immediate reaction was toss it away. It hit the cement with a wet thud and an innocent lady was the first to see it, screaming in horror. Everyone else stared at what she was pointing at and gasped, backpedaling from it. Reigen saw it also and once recognizing what, or rather who it was, wailed out, "Kidd!" It was Kidd's decapitated head, staring at him with its dead eyes.
The lawman started ordering people back from it, proclaiming it to be evidence while the policeman Kakuzu had given the head to, turned towards him again, deciding to question him, not through the means of words but rather but by poking him threateningly in the abdomen with his nightstick. So, the miser decided to explain himself. "The Akatsuki was hired to eliminate Kidd and his men and that is what we did. You'll find the rest of them in a cabin up in…Caribou Coppice? Tell whoever hired us that the job has been finished and to send the payment promised." If he was going to interrogated further on it, it didn't happen because the police officer was pulled away to help with evacuating everyone away from the new crime scene and arrest Reigen and Goda; leaving Kakuzu to simply walk off to retrieve Zetsu so they may leave.
Unfortunately, when he returned to the alleyway, he had left Zetsu, she wasn't there, and neither was Teo; just footprints in the snow leaving the alley. While irked, he wasn't too beside himself because he knew that Teo wouldn't leave her side as told and as long as she was with it, she would be safe. But, he had to find them as soon as possible because it wasn't so much her wellbeing he was concerned with as much as his own considering Teo was one of his hearts. He pinched the bridge of his nose as he thought of the possibilities of where the girl might've wandered off to.
"Excuse me?" Kakuzu's brainstorming was swiftly interrupted and he glanced over his shoulder to the person behind him. It was the old man from the bookstore with his pipe, smoking like a train "You're the one responsible for killing Kidd and his hooligans?"
"Yes, I am."
"I just wanted to thank you. It'll be nice to take a scenic walk without being mugged." Kakuzu grunted his gratitude and turned away to go back to the matter at hand but didn't get much further in his thinking. "Are you searching for your daughter?"
Kakuzu decided he was going to stop correcting people who presumed Zetsu was his daughter. It saved him a lot of explaining to do. "Yes."
"She was at the bookstore when I left to see what all the hullabaloo was 'bout. She walked in with a beast with her too! As big as a grizzly! Is that thing your pet?"
'The bookstore? I should've known she would go there.' Kakuzu thought to himself, giving himself a mental facepalm for overseeing such an obvious solution. "Thank you." He told the old man and strided off back in the direction of the bookstore.
When he arrived at it, he welcomed himself inside to search for the teenager. It took him only seconds to find Zetsu inside the bookstore, due to the size and basic layout. She was sitting at table, reading an old, tattered picture book she had taken from the sale bin, kicking her legs and humming with the music playing through the speakers. Teo was with her, like foretold. Though, being not the brightest crayon in the box it was, it had tried (and failed) to keep itself inconspicuous while with the girl. How had it done such a thing? By jamming itself underneath the table she was seated at. Problem was, Teo was big, too big to fit beneath it so here was this black creature, the size of a grizzly bear, loafing with the table teetering on its back, the legs a few feet off the floor. Everyone was standing back and staring at it, a mixture of horror and confusion painted of their faces. Kakuzu sighed, shaking his head. When he snapped his fingers, Teo picked up its head and tilted it with a whine while Zetsu glanced up from her book at him.
"Girl, come on, we're leaving." He told her, patting his hip.
She didn't have to be told again as she bounced down from the chair and walked over to him with the book in hand. Teo had a harder time. It tried to crawl out from under the table without causing much a larger scene than it already had with its presence but in the process, it accidently bumped it off its back, causing it to flip over and hit a shelf. Thankfully, didn't fall, just smacking a few books off to the floor. Oblivious to what it did, Teo then happily bounded over to its master, searching for a reward in head pats for doing such a great job at playing babysitter. Kakuzu's lungs were getting an exercise today as he once again sighed but gave in and thumped his hand on the creature's head, earning a little dance out of it. He then ushered the three of them out, yelling back an apology for the mess made.
Outside, his stared at Zetsu and pointed at the clearance rack in which she had gotten the book. "Put it back."
"Oh no, she can have it," It was the old man again, having finally limped back to the shop with his cane. "It is the least I could do for her father taking care of Kidd once and for all."
Well, Kakuzu certainly wasn't one to reject anything free. "Thank you." He grasped Zetsu by the handle of her backpack and walked her with him while Teo bumbled behind. "Let's eat." He muttered, having not eaten since they left and wanted a little something in his stomach for the long trek back to the Riverlands.
…
It was evening and Hikari was finishing up her day as she herded the chickens and ducks in the barn for the night. She had seen that large crow flying overhead again. This time, she could've sworn it had a person on its back and she wasn't about to risk her precious livestock with something skulking about and eating people!
After giving the last duck a kick in the butt to get it inside, she pushed shut the barn doors and locked it, so nothing could get in or out. She started back towards the house to hang up her overalls for the day when she heard something hastening down the road. It sounded to her like…hooves? Seconds later, three horses emerged, galloping down the pathway. She gasped.
"Seraphim! Valkyrie! Marshmallow!" Quickly, she ran over and unlatched the gate, leading in the horses. While spooked and hungry, they had no signs of major injuries except the hint of saddle sores from being improperly ridden. "Oh, Dawn! Dawn, come out here! Marshmallow is back! She's back! They all back!"
The front door of the house opened as her son cautiously peeked out after being ordered inside so he wasn't snatched up by the flying people-eater. Once he saw his horse had returned, he gasped and excitedly skipped down the steps, running over. He hugged the Appaloosa, grunting happily and giggling as the mare nibbled on his silver locks. Hikari patted her mustang, Seraphim, on the neck. "He did it; that Akatsuki man did it." She smiled. "I'mma owe him breakfast now! Come on, Hidan, let's git them inside the barn. Ya'll must'a so tired an' hungry."
She made a clicking noise with her tongue and her son helped with guiding the three horses inside the barn for a well-deserved meal and rest.
…
AN: Welp, this chapter is hella late. I wanted to get a chapter out a month but than Monster Hunter XX happened and then I had to get my driver's license. I've always got excuses. But, I hope the wait was worth it for this chapter! Including that little cameo of a certain someone, hehe. From here, things are going to be quiet as character development is going to be the main focus for the rest of the arc.
My Tumblr is roucarnageblog. I'll be posting pictures and other stupid things for Wasteland.
Next Chapter: Dr. Ryu makes an interesting discovery about the Mayfly and life in the Akatsuki goes on.
Until next time.