AN: So, we're going to go through a quiet period for a few chapters now. Just character development, and plot. What is left of this arc is going to be based on Zetsu's evolution from a crybaby to a graduated Akatsuki member. Also a few other things tied in that I'm excited to write. Be prepared for heart-warming fluff.

Cat Beats: I'll admit, Zetsu is a bit in the background, considering she is the central character of the fiction, but each part is going to have a central character. The first part, as in this one, is from Kakuzu's perceptive while the next will be Zetsu because she'll be older and brighter. Haha, I'm in my mid-twenties so I'm quite old (in fanfiction writer terms). I just graduated from college, so I sympathize with the writing papers. I can write twenty pages of fiction but struggle to write two pages of an essay, haha. As for depth, I'm trying to add as much as possible, so the characters and setting have a lasting effect. Thank you for the compliments!

rarae aves: Thank you so much for the praise. I'm glad to hear I'm doing something correct with my writing and that a college degree hasn't gone to waste, haha. It's correctly pronounced "Da-ora", so you were right with one of them! And nahs, I'm not going to be changing anything about Hidan; he'll still be the rude little albino boy that makes Kakuzu's life a living hell as you said. But, as shown, he wasn't always a horrible person. I'm going to have sick fun with his backstory. Muhahaha!

Warning(s): Language (Low), Genderbend, OCs

…

Wasteland

Red Dawn Arc

Chapter 29

Once back in the Land of Rivers, Kakuzu handed off Zetsu to an antsy Konan back at the cabin then made a b-line for Amegakure to fetch Daora and also apologize, once again, for dumping a dying teenager on Ryu's lap. At this point, it was becoming a trend. Sasori, meanwhile, was the last thing on his mind. The little brat could've died on the way back for all he cared. In fact, he prayed for it, so he wouldn't have to deal with the bushie and his shitty personality anymore. But, if his dreams came true, he'd be a millionaire with so much money he could burn it to keep himself warm in the winter.

When he walked through the drenched streets of Amegakure, he whistled a tune and was surprised when he received no reply, especially as he grew nearer to the hospital. Typically, Daora would remain in place so it could be easily found but this time, it hadn't. He was in a stew because, it was one of his hearts and also, it possibly meant it might've never made it to Amegakure. It was alive, that much was obvious as he hadn't experienced any chest pains, but if it hadn't made it to its destination, then it could be anywhere between Amegakure and as far back as Shimogakure. First, he decided to check the hospital to find out if Sasori had even been delivered then he could search for his lost heart creature.

"Hello Kakuzu," He was greeted by name as soon as he stepped inside by the nurse sitting behind the front desk. Afterall, he was becoming a familiar face around here lately with how many times he was in out, either for pleasure or work. "You're here for Dr. Ryu?"

"Yes, I am. Also, was a boy brought it? Sasori?"

"Oh, a red-headed boy? Yes, he was. He was handed over to Dr. Ryu. I'll page him. You can head upstairs." He thanked her and started up the stairs like told, all while thinking of where he should begin searching for Daora.

Well, he didn't have to search far because as soon as he stepped into the children's ward, he noticed a gathering of children in the back of the waiting room, giggling and chattering while their parents stared on, slightly disturbed over whatever they were doing but did nothing as they stayed seated. And who was in the middle of that gaggle of little ones? None other than Daora. It was laid out on its back, feet in the air and wriggling as it was the recipient of many belly rubs and scratches from the laughing kids. Kakuzu questioned why the hell it was inside instead of outside like had done before and how the creature had gotten inside and a million others. His building questions were answered when Ryu exited out of the hallway and saw his old friend.

"Oh, Kakuzu! I'm so sorry. I-I saw the poor thing waiting outside for you in the pouring rain, so I invited it inside—and well, the children love it." He explained while adjusting his glasses and beaming at the smiling faces of his little patients.

Kakuzu sighed. That explained it then; Daora couldn't pass up on affection. At least it was here and not god-knows-where elsewhere. "Daora!" He snapped his fingers and Daora immediately straightened up, chirping as searched. It saw him and skipped over, much to the childrens' vocalized displeasure as their entertainment left. It rubbed itself against its master's waist, wings twitching and purring so hard it was practically vibrating after hours straight of cuddles.

Outstretching a hesitant hand, Ryu patted Daora on the rump which it evidently loved as it turned around and nuzzled its porcelain face into hand, kneading its talons into the carpet like a feline. The threading itself reminded him of yarn while the texture was silk-like. "Daora, was it? That's a unique name."

"Wasn't my choice; the names came with the masks." Kakuzu shrugged. At first, he called it "Atsugai" but a certain person whom he commissioned the masks from insisted on naming them after the monsters in a picture book the masks were modeled after, thus "Daora". She always did have an imagination. "Now, can we speak about Sasori?"

"Oh yes! Let's go to my office." Ryu stopped petting Daora, earning a sad caw from it, as he turned and walked in the direction of his office. As Kakuzu tailed him, Daora returned back to its siblings. "Sasori is…an interesting case…"

"You're telling me." Kakuzu rolled his eyes so hard they felt whiplashed.

After entering the office, Ryu shut the door for privacy and produced a thermos from his satchel. "Would you like a cup of coffee? It's still hot."

"No, thank you." After this, Kakuzu wanted to rest and he couldn't do that with caffeine in his system.

Ryu nodded, and as he poured himself a cup, he started explaining the latest of his redhead patient. "Like I said, Sasori is an interesting case. After he was dropped off by…Daora, was it? We determined he was experiencing a high fever from an infection…"

"Because the little shit didn't take the antibiotics I gave him."

"Well yes, it was partly because of the amputation sites getting infected but mainly, it was heavy metal poisoning."

"He poisoned himself?"

"Oh no, he didn't poison himself—well, he did. It was the prothesis. Let me ask, had it done them himself or had them done by someone else?"

"Did them himself and made a ruckus when doing it."

Ryu appeared impressed by this information as he nodded, eyebrows to his hairline and sipping his coffee while staring over his thick-rimmed glasses. "Then that explains it. The prothesis themselves had been screwed into the bone which was the cause of the poisoning because the screws themselves were not approved for surgical use. So, we had to remove them and goodness, the handiwork of it! What this boy did would take a team of highly skilled surgeons hours to do! He had connected each individual nerve to the arm and leg so to create a direct charka pathway to them so the prothesis could function like a natural limb. I've never seen anything like it!"

"Ryu, please." Kakuzu pleaded him, not wanting to hear this brat being praised for being so stupid as to screw a fake arm on like he was constructing a house.

"Oh sorry," The pediatrician apologized, realizing he was "fanboying" again. "Anyway, we managed to remove both limbs after a few hours and now we have him on hard antibiotics to fight the infection. A few hours longer he may've died." At this, Kakuzu cursed himself for not waiting a few hours more so the miserable little shit would've died. At least then Sir Leader couldn't blame him for it because technically the brat did it to himself; suicide, it could be considered.

"So, he'll stay here while he recovers?"

"Yes, perhaps a week? Two, maximum."

"Thank god," The elder muttered, just so relieved to hear he wouldn't have to deal with the teenager for an entire week, perhaps two. It was the greatest gift he could've ask for right now. "Ryu, do whatever it takes to make him stay the two weeks, alright?"

Ryu chuckled. "I don't think I'm legally allowed to do that, but I'll try." He was joking, of course, but he knew Kakuzu wasn't. "So…how is Zetsu? She is due to have her cast removed now and I'd like to do one last MRI on her to check on the progress of the Mayfly."

"She's fine; she's with Konan now and—"

"Oh!" Ryu proclaimed, suddenly all excited as he bounced in his chair and grasped the armrests like a hyperactive child. "Oh, speaking of the Mayfly. I wanted to show you something!"

"Ok…?" Kakuzu watched as his friend hunched underneath his desk, apparently searching for something while he was left confused on what the hell the man was so eager to show him. A minute later, Ryu found it and placed a jar on his desk, the contents of which made Kakuzu backpedal in his chair a bit. "What the fuck is that?"

"This…this!" Ryu said, proudly holding the jar up like it was his own newborn child. "This is the Mayfly!"

"Excuse me?"

"Yes! Isn't it amazing?" No, it wasn't because to Kakuzu, it looked like a bunch of black goo inside a container and he had a hard time being convinced it was a bloodline; a fucking bloodline. "Do you remember the theory I shared with you? The one in which I hypothesized that the Mayfly was a fugus and sentient?"

"Yes?" He didn't but he wanted to get through this and learn what exactly Ryu was babbling about this time.

"I was right! It is alive! Fungus…I cannot confirm; I cannot confirm to be anything yet. I sent samples of it to a laboratory and the results came back…strange. It had high sodium, elevated erythrocytes, no floating cholesterol platelets, and traces of ammonia."

"Which is strange?"

"For us: yes, but not for a dead fetus."

"Where the hell did you get it?" Kakuzu asked as Ryu placed the container on the desk, pushing down his sunglasses so he could stare through the glass at the dark slime inside which, he would testify under oath, he saw moving on its own.

"When we were performing the chakra dialysis on Zetsu, this is what was washed out and I couldn't dispose of it. I was so curious of the nature of the Mayfly so I…kept it." Ryu proclaimed sheepishly, flushing. "For science!"

"This is what came out of the girl?" Now that he saw it, Kakuzu felt bad for Zetsu. He'd likely go ballistic too if he had this stuff growing on his brain.

"Yes, and I was right of how it kept replenishing itself." Ryu grabbed the jar, twisting off the lid which Kakuzu wanted to tell him wasn't a smart idea because he imagined the gunk leaping out and attaching itself to the doctor's face like in a horror movie; he then proceeded to poke his finger inside the slime which the elder wanted to tell him was an even worse idea. Before he could do anything to stop his old friend, he noticed the goo starting to twitch then bubbled around the man's digit like it was…it was…well, he didn't know what it was doing.

"Ryu, what the hell…?"

"I was right, Kakuzu!" Ryu exclaimed, giddy despite the fact this ooze had crawled up to his wrist, swallowing up his entire hand. "It's alive! Not just that, but eats chakra and uses to germinate! When I first acquired it, it was the size of a golf ball. But then, I tried feeding it. At first, I fed it things I suspected it wouldn't eat such as a mouse and—"

"You fed it a mouse?"

"Oh well, it was dead. I didn't kill it; I found in a patient's room. Anyway, it didn't take it; it spat it right out. And then I tried a piece of cucumber and then a slice of ham, but it didn't want those either, so then, I decided to offer it my own chakra and it ate it right up! I was right!"

"You're been feeding this thing your chakra?" Kakuzu questioned, flabbergasted the man would do something so stupid, both then and presently.

"Oh, it was just once to test and now to show you. It would be too dangerous to feed it on a regular basis because of how quickly it can grow off just a little chakra." With that, he yanked his hand of the jar, shaking it until the Mayfly product fell off. He flexed his fingers which tingled after having his chakra sucked out of them. "Oh no, looks like I'll be needing a bigger jar afterall." He muttered, realizing that before the feeding, that the substance just measured the middle of the container and now after, it had already expanded itself to the top. Quickly, he twisted the lid back on, so it couldn't escape, if it could function on its own. He hadn't tested that yet.

Sighing, Kakuzu massaged his temples. "You're a mad man, Ryu."

Ryu returned his little experiment back to the drawer underneath his desk so no one could accidently find it or dispose of it. "For science; it's all for science, Kakuzu. It was hypothesized the Mayfly developed into a brain cancer that made its hosts go insane which explained their cannibalistic habits but with this, I've just confirmed it wasn't cancer but to be a bloodline-mimicking fungus! Well, I theorize it to be a fungus. Not every test is back."

"So, what are going to do with this knowledge then? Publish a scientific paper?"

"Oh no, not a paper. Papers require sources and I cannot credit my sources because well…questions would be asked how it was I acquired all this knowledge and I cannot tell them it because I have a jar of the Mayfly. B-But I've been thinking of writing a book! You do not have to credit sources in a book."

"Alright then," Kakuzu pushed himself up from his chair to take his overdue leave. "It's been an experience, Ryu. I'll tell Konan to bring Zetsu in to have her case removed."

"Please do. It was nice to see you again, Kakuzu. I've got this weekend off, if you'd like to do lunch?"

"Sure." Kakuzu flicked his hand in a goodbye wave as he left the office.

…

With Sasori hospitalized, it was quiet and tranquil in the Akatsuki.

Kakuzu and Konan had gone back to exchanging Zetsu as per their custodianship pact. Konan decided that Zetsu's education was most important so she had the girl for teaching at night while Kakuzu had her for training in the morning and missions. With Sasori in the hospital and after what happened during their last mission, Kakuzu made the decision it was the perfect chance to teach Zetsu the beginnings of basic taijutsu.

"Put the book down," Kakuzu told Zetsu as he marched outside where the girl had been waiting and passing the time by reading her new picture book. "We're taking a break from the Mayfly and doing something new today. Stand up."

Setting aside her reading material, Zetsu pushed herself to her feet as told, patiently waiting for further instruction as Kakuzu stood in front of him, tapping his chin as he deliberated what to begin with. After a bit, he got where to start.

"I'll be teaching you about self-defense. You had an encounter with it when you stabbed that bastard with your Mayfly," Zetsu cringed, not liking to be reminded how she harmed a person like that. "So, I don't have to explain it again to you. Now, to start, I want to test your strength; I want you to punch me."

"What?" She squeaked.

"You heard me, I want you to punch me."

"B-But…"

"Girl," Kakuzu deadpanned. "You can do literally nothing to me so quit worrying over hurting me or whatever bullshit you're thinking of right now. Now, you know what a punch is? You should've seen me do it plenty of times by now," After a minute, she nodded so he pointed at his abdomen. "Good. Now punch me right here and do the hardest you can. Do it!"

Zetsu hesitated. She didn't want to hurt Sir and she also didn't want to be mean by hitting him, but she also didn't want him hitting her instead for not listening, so she had no choice in this. She pulled back her arm like she had observed him doing many times before and then with every ounce of her strength, punched him the spot indicted with his finger, yelling a "yah"! to emphasize it too. Once her knuckles met his abs, the pain was instant. It felt like she just hit a brick wall. She pulled back her stinging hand, cradling it and chanting, "ow, ow, ow" over and over again while dancing in place from the pain.

Kakuzu stared at this pathetic display; if he hadn't been watching, he wouldn't have realized she hit him at all, that was how pathetic a punch it was. He shouldn't be too surprised though; the girl was made of tissue paper. 'I didn't activate my Doton either.' He sighed and pinched his fingertips into his eyes. 'Obviously, I was too ambitious with her off the bat.'

"Girl, quit your crying, you hardly tapped me," He barked at the teenager who was dramatically whimpering and shaking her hand like she had broken it. "Listen, your physical finance is laughable. If you got into a one-on-one fight with anyone, they'd kill you with one hit. You're pathetic without the Mayfly. So, before I'd dream of teaching you how to fight, we're going to have to build up your muscle, so you don't snap at the littlest breeze. You're going to start by running laps."

"Laps?"

"Yes, laps. I want you to run the perimeter of this entire opening." He estimated it to be half a ball park, in both length and width. "It should take you five minutes or less for each lap so I'll generous and have you do only ten today."

"Ten?" She didn't even know how to count to the number ten yet!

"Yes. Now, go to that tree there and that'll be your start and finish. Go on." He gestured at a random tree and Zetsu stalked over to it, standing beside it. "On my mark, you'll start running the fastest you can. I'll be counting each lap you make until the last one. From five: five…four…three…two…one! Go, girl!" Zetsu started running like told, staying on the inside of the trees and outside of the clearing.

In the beginning, she demonstrated a suitable speed as she ran and like predicted, it took her approximately three minutes to make a single lap. It was only after the second lap she started going sluggish. Her sprinting dwindling into a jogging as she panted for breath and sweat dripped off her pale face. It didn't help she was wearing the jacket he gave her because it was a little cold outside now. It took her ten minutes to complete her third lap and by then, she was tasting blood and her legs burned like she was running through fire. Pausing for a breather, she threw her asphyxiating jacket in the process, but Kakuzu was having none of that.

"No stopping, girl! You can stop when you're done!" He barked, and in reply, she gave him a pleading look, her eyes watering and face flushed but her quiet begging fell no deaf ears. "Now start running or I'll give you a reason to run!" He took a threatening step towards her and that was enough to send her running again—not so much running as a pained staggering.

It took her thirty minutes to make her fourth lap and an hour for the fifth. By this, her legs had cramped with charley horses making each step excruciating, so she'd take one step then have to take a five-minute break then do so again. Kakuzu became so fed up with her that he summoned Amatsu to bite at her ankles to get her going again but even that had little result as it would send her stumbling a few steps then she'd halt again. Amatsu became so bored of this that it ending up falling asleep, laid out in the trail like roadkill. After waiting two hours for her to make the sixth lap, the tan-skinned man decided to call it off and sent Zetsu back inside, a task easier said than done as it took her ten minutes just to drag herself back to the cabin.

Needless to say, he was paid a visit that night from an infuriated Konan who proceeded to scream at him for the next fifteen minutes about how Zetsu had blisters on her feet and could've pulled a muscle from him being too harsh on her. He just shrugged it off, muttering along the lines of, "if she weren't so weak and pathetic…" and that had to be nearest she came to striking him; the origamitress raised her hand as to hit him but didn't, either realizing it wouldn't benefit her or that by hitting him, she gave him the privilege of striking her back. Either or. So, her hand fell back to her hip and she stalked off, embered orbs burning holes through him as she glared back at him. Konan's reprimanding failed because Kakuzu continued Zetsu's new training routine.

The next morning, when the teenager met him outside, her walking was hitched from the leftover ache in her legs and she was wearing slippers because it was too painful for shoes with the raw blisters on her feet. Kakuzu shook his head at the display with Rājan, who was present for the lesson, mimicking him.

"Today, we're continuing your training." He proclaimed.

"L-Laps?" Zetsu asked, milquetoast voice quivering.

"No," She sighed, relieved, but it was premature. "That'll be tomorrow. No, you're going to learn basic workout techniques today: crunches, push-ups, squats, the such. After that warm-up, you'll be practicing your punches. Stand up." She did so, cringing as just standing hurt. "We'll start with push-ups. I'll show you how to properly do it and then I want you to do it also. Understand?"

"Understood…"

He had to admit, it had been awhile since he did any of this, a cruel reminder as after just one push-up, he felt a tingling in his muscles. Perhaps he should start his own training regimen, so he didn't go all weaksauce like Zetsu. After he finished his demonstration, he helped the girl with getting laid out in the correct position, so she didn't hurt anything else. "Alright, now as I did, push yourself using your arms; do not use your legs!" As Zetsu pushed herself up, her delicate arms trembled like branches threatening to snap and it took a few seconds to get herself up, after which, she didn't lower herself as much as faceplant into the ground, laying in the dirt like she suddenly had a heart attack. It was pathetic, but it was a push-up; a pathetic push-up. "That's one, now give me nine more." Immediately, her dirt-smeared face picked up as she stared at him wide-eyed. Nine!? She didn't know how to count to nine either! Was that more or less than ten?

He noticed her looking at him like he hadn't just asked her to do basic push-ups but walk through Hell and back. "Girl, you might not believe this, but I'm doing this for your own good. As you are, you wouldn't live through one mission once Sir Leader starts sending you on your own. It'll get easier. Now quit whining and do it! We've got a lot to do today so let's not waste all day like yesterday!" Well, it wasn't like she had any choice, so she did it.

Afterward, he had her do ten crunches then ten squats and ten jumping jacks and it was like, a bijillion tens! Once she did everything, her legs hurt, her arms hurt, her tummy hurt, everything hurt! She wanted to take a nap or read; anything but this! She didn't like this. But Sir said no. At least he didn't make her run again.

"Get up, girl, you're going to practice punching now." After a bit of flipping and flopping like a beached fish, she managed to get herself straightened up with her knees hitting each other like a plastic clanker toy. "Rājan." Kakuzu gestured over his heart and as it stepped over from the background where it had been silently observing everything, Zetsu fell back down in the presence of the oni-masked creature which dwarfed the massive Kakuzu himself frightened her. He wanted to tell it to quit intimidating the skittish girl, but it wasn't like it could do that given this was how it was made. Instead, he just snapped his fingers at her until she got back up.

"Rājan is going to be your practice partner. I'd do it myself if I wasn't so positive I could kill you with one punch. Now, hit Rājan, the hardest you can like you did with me yesterday, and I'll correct you." Rājan hunched over, holding out its hand so she had a target. After much hesitancy, she finally went through and punched it as told. Like yesterday, she pulled back, shaking her hand and whining as pain pulsated from her hand and to her elbow. Rājan snorted as her weakness considering it had slacked its threading as it had the constancy of a pillow and should have done nothing to hurt her.

Kakuzu gave an exasperated sigh, massaging his temples. "Fuck…where do I start with that?" He asked himself. He didn't know so he decided to show her instead as he stepped over and took her arm. "First off, do not tuck your thumb inside your fist unless you want to break it; lay it on your first two fingers. Second, do not straighten your arm out so much because you're going to break it. When you punch, use your shoulder, not the arm itself. Let yourself be carried with your fist so your weight is behind it for maximum strength. Lastly, hit with your first two knuckles, not all or your last two unless, yet again, you want to break your hand." After correcting her hand and posture, he stepped back, signaling for her to do it again. She did, doing everything he told her to and discovered, much to her amazement, that it hadn't hurt this time. Sure, it hurt but it was like a bumping her hand into a wall instead punching said wall. "See? Didn't hurt, did it?"

Given how easily fascinated she was, Zetsu shook her hand and stared at her hand as though it changed physically between punches. It hadn't, but it felt like it to her. "Good, now do it fifty times." And her temporary pride in herself was shattered as she gaped at him like a cartoon character with their jaw on the floor. Fifty!? Was that even a number!? It sounded like a food! A food she didn't want to eat either. "Girl, I suggest doing it or, I'll tell Konan you've been bad."

"No!" She cried out. Anything but that! If Sir told Konan she was bad, then she'd be so sad, and she didn't want her to be sad.

"Then get on with it. Perhaps, if you're done early, you can finish those laps you didn't do yesterday."

At the end of the day, she didn't finish those laps nor the fifty punches because after the twentieth one, it was a replay of the day before with her moaning and groaning and Kakuzu realized there was a lot of work to be done with her; so, so much work.

…

AN: Aye, a tiny yet quick chapter. It was mainly to establish Ryu's discoveries of the Mayfly and start of Zetsu's training regime. Trust me, it's all going to pay off sooner or later; sooner for Zetsu and later for the Mayfly. Ehh, that's all I got for now, so I'll see you all on the next chapter where things will start kicking up!

Next Chapter:Sasori returns from the hospital and discovers Zetsu isn't the pushover last he picked on her. Also, Sir Leader hints the future for the organization.

Until next time.