AN: We've made it! 50 chapters! It only took…like 5-6 years. Yikes but hey, we're halfway there! I've been excited to write this chapter and all I have to say is you better make a dentist appointment for this one due to how teethrotting cute it is. We'll be taking a break from the drama for awhile so everyone can have a breather.
magmo22: Holy moly! What a grand and brilliant review! Thank you for it! I love reading what you guys are thinking or what you have to say.
Orochimaru is a character that is a wildcard and all I can say is this: Orochimaru does whatever'll benefit Orochimaru. As for Konan, how I'm angling her is she's a bit of a pushover for Pein because she knows it's Nagato in the background and she has a weakness for him, being all sick and fragile and such. Basically, she handles him with kid gloves. That, and I still struggle with characters, I'll fully admit to it. That's why I add the "Out of Character" tag, just to be safe. Finally, the mysterious Yui. Well, all I can to that is, you've got to read this chapter! It's all about her!
Thank you again for your review and all your insight!
p.s. I may steal your "G" idea for Kakuzu now, haha.
Cat Beats: Yeah, I know. I'll start to make sense a little better in this chapter and future ones. Once this mini arc is finished, any uncanon lore will be taking a backseat for canon…ish content. I say canonish because even the canon is going to be tweaked. Anyway, thanks for the review!
Enjoy.
p.s. no beta, too lazy to edit. Please excuse any jank.
Warning(s): Genderbend (Low), Original Character(s) (Low), Language (Low), Out of Character
…
Wasteland
The Akatsuki Arc
Chapter 50
"Girl, I need you to run an errand for me." Zetsu yelped and looked up to see Kakuzu standing in her doorway, having been too distracted to sence his entrance. "Tch, did I scare you? Sorry but must I teach you again of the most basics of basics for a shinobi?"
"'Always watch your back'." She quoted while hiding her diary that she had been currently writing into the drawer of her desk. Afterall, wasn't much else to do these days until her suspension was up. Once it was safe and tucked away where no one would find it, such as Sasori—again, she turned in her chair to face her mentor. "How can I help you, Sir?"
"I need you to go to Iwa for me." He told her, tapping an envelope against his upper arm.
She frowned; eyebrow piqued. "Iwa? Why, may I ask?"
"Because our little sentence is nearly up and I'm four hearts down, so I don't know how Pein expects me to function without them."
"So…you want me to get you new hearts…in Iwa?" She dragged out the sentence, the statement sounding as odd spoken out loud as it had in her head.
He shook his head. "No, no. The hearts I can get myself, it's the masks. See, I pay for the masks and there's only one person in this entire, stinking world that makes them and she's in Iwa. Thus, I need you to go to Iwa and pick them up for me. Typically, I'd send Daora but seeing as it's out of commission, I can't exactly do that and I'm not keen on the idea of walking my ass all the way there either, outside being the most wanted man in the world."
That made a lot more sense. "But I can't. Sir Leader said we can't leave Ame during our probation."
To this, Kakuzu snorted crudely, huffing in his mask in the process. "I don't give a fuck what he said. We have a week left and we've done everything he told us. He can let you out for a little bit," Zetsu wasn't wheedled, a fact obvious by the suspect expression on her face and Kakuzu sighed. "I've spoken to Konan about this and she said she'd speak to Pein. Why don't you go up and see if she softened him up for you?"
Well, it would give her a reason to leave the mansion after not doing so for the last two weeks except to be taken to the hospital to have Dr. Ryu look at her neck and head. "Ok, I'll do it."
"Perfect. Here, you'll need this." He chucked her the envelope which a lot heavier than she thought as it jingled with coin. "Her name is Yui and her shop is called The Clay Pidgeon. If you can't find it, just ask around. Everyone knows her."
"Ok, Sir. I'll get it done."
With that said, Kakuzu turned to leave but then all of a sudden remembered one last thing and so stepped back. "Girl," He said, a little too snappish and so Zetsu flinched again as she was in the process of getting up. "Do not open that envelope. The insides of that envelope are…sensitive and for Yui's eyes only, understand?"
She wasn't planning too since she wasn't one to going through other people's things—unlike Sasori when he took her diary that one time and again when she hid it under her bed and again when— "I understand, Sir."
"I knew you would, Girl. Also, be on your best behaviour. Don't embarrass me." Though, that went without saying since wasn't a bad kid, not anymore, and he left, shutting her door as he did.
…
No sooner had Zetsu stepped off the elevator into Pein's Office, was Pein himself greeting her. "Zetsu. Konan said you'd be coming." At this, Zetsu glanced at Konan for support which the woman smiled at her from her desk. That must be a good sign. "Kakuzu wants you to go to Iwa, does he?"
Zetsu nodded, walking up to Pein's desk while thumbing the envelope in the kanga pocket of her old, hunting jacket. "Yes, Sir Leader. He wants me to pick an order for him because he presently can't."
Pein laid his chin on the back of his knitted hands as he looked her over for signs of deception. "And would this order be?"
"New masks for his hearts, sir."
"And how long will this task take?"
"It shouldn't be too long. I can get to Iwa and back in a manner of hours."
After staring at her for a second longer, Pein was pleased with her answers and so laid himself back in his chair. "Very well. I expect you back by evening."
"Thank you, Sir Leader." She bowed then left his office so she may get to Iwa as soon as possible before her evening deadline. She didn't imagine it taking any longer past noon anyway.
As she walked to the elevator, she looked to Konan and mouthed a, "thank you" to the other woman who gave her a thumbs up.
…
Despite it being five years since she was last in Iwagakure itself, due to past incidents, Zetsu kept her head down while in the village. Thankfully, she didn't look too farfetched in her casual clothing, even with her hood up and over her face and a black bandana over her mouth, a style she may or may not have picked up from Kakuzu himself. Unfortunately, while her talent was tracking due to the Mayfly, she was exceptional when it came to people, but places on the other hand? No, not so much. So, after a lot of lost walking and dead ends, she finally caved and asked the local populace on the location of The Clay Pidgeon.
As Kakuzu said, the first person she asked immediately pointed her in the direction of the village square while praising the owner's pottery and ceramics as being, "better than what the Katsu clan could make". After thanking the old woman for her guidance, Zetsu set off for the square. What she found wasn't so much a square as an outdoor mall as the section of the capital was clustered with shops, cafés, stands, and all other manner of barter and bargain. It reminded her much of the bazaar in Sunagakure. Though, thankfully, with the merchants barking and pulling at her as she passed.
It was at the end of the street in a quieter corner of the market she identified her destination: The Clay Pidgeon.
Unlike the other shops and stores, it didn't have colourful signs out front or in the windows exclaiming "Sale!" or obnoxious colours that snatched the eye and your curiosity. There was a wooden sign hung overhead that read the business' name and the glass frosted which gave it a holiday feel. Through the windows expert pottery and sculptures could be seen. Zetsu thought she had done enough gawking and so pulled open the glass door. Inside, she was welcomed by a chiming bell and scent of artificial vanilla from burning candles that made her a little nauseous thanks to her Mayfly. She pulled her hood down but kept her bandana up to mask the smell.
"I'll be with you in just a moment!" A kindly voice called from the back of the shop.
In the meantime, Zetsu decided to browse the good while she waited and keeping her hands tucked in her jacket. Afterall, you break it you buy it and a lot of this pottery looked well-done and thus, very, very expensive. She had made the mistake of playing with a snow globe while on mission with Kakuzu once in which she shook it a little too hard, causing it to fly out of her hands and shatter against the floor. Yeah, Sir had been none too pleased with her with that one and was too busy arguing with the storekeep over the price to stop the girl from then reaching into the broken glass to grab the snowman that had once been inside. Needless to say, he had to pay up for the snowglobe and a chocolate ice cream sundae to hush her crying. Good memories.
So, occupied with her trip down memory lane, Zetsu had failed to notice the owner of the shop coming walking out from the back and was now standing next to her, watching her as the teenager stared, emptyheaded, at a fat cat sculpture. "Can I help you, sweetie?"
Zetsu snapped back to reality and blinked to moisten eyes as she looked at the little old lady dressed in a clay splattered apron standing beside her. "Oh yes, umm…I'm here for a pickup? With Yui?"
"I'm Yui. Oh no, I'm not you-e, I'm me-e. Yui is me." Yui placed a wrinkled hand over her mouth and giggled at her own cheesy joke. Zetsu smiled at the elder's sense of humour. "Now, who is this order for?"
Zetsu opened to her mouth to answer before instantly realizing that maybe hurling Kakuzu's name in the open was a smart idea, even if this Yui knew him personally. So, instead, she pulled the envelope from her jacket and held it out to the other woman, rather awkwardly so. Yui perked up a pruned eyebrow but accepted it, fixing her glasses as she looked it over. After opening it, she pulled a letter out and once seeing it, gasped. Though whether that be for better or worse, Zetsu had yet to see.
Yui read the letter for a moment before looking over the paper and at Zetsu herself, her fuchsia eyes glistening. "Are you…Zetsu?" Zetsu was flabbergasted she knew her name like that and didn't know what to say to that, so she nodded to confirm. Immediately, Yui opened her arms up and pulled the girl into a tight hug. Again, Zetsu didn't know what to do with this stranger hugging her. Did she hug back?
Before she the chance, Yui pulled back, cupping the teenager's face with the biggest smile on her face. "Oh, you're as beautiful and perfect as Kakuzu described." Instantly, Zetsu's face blushed red. Kakuzu said she was beautiful and perfect? She didn't know what to say to that or think.
Finally, Yui pulled back as she stared down at the letter, reading through it while smiling to herself. She started walking to the counter but paused to look at Zetsu who was still standing there and blushing like a damned idiot. "Could you please lock the door? I don't want anyone interrupting us. We're closed for holiday!"
Zetsu just did as she was asked, though it took her a minute or five to figure out how to function the lock of the door. Once it finally clicked into place and the door didn't budge, she walked to the counter where Yui was seated behind, reading over the letter through for the second time, the beaming smile haven't left her freckled face.
"It sounds like you and Kakuzu had yourselves an adventure?" Yui asked her.
Realizing she must be referencing the Glut incident, Zetsu nodded. "Maybe a little."
Yui chuckled as her modest answer cautiously folded the letter so it may be filed away later. She then took the envelope she had still in her hand and turned it over, causing a blizzard of paper money and coin to dump out onto the surface of the counter. "Oh! That Kakuzu! I keep telling him I don't want his money!" She sighed as if being paid was the worst thing ever.
Meanwhile, Zetsu was just taken back that Kakuzu, the man if you looked up the definition of "cheapskate" you'd find his image next to it, the man that would stop and pick up every penny he saw, was giving money to a person that didn't want it. Not just but seemingly overpaying her too as before gathered it back up, Zetsu counted appropriately 250 thousand ryō. Though, that depended on how much the masks were.
After putting the payment back into the envelope with the letter, Yui clapped her hands and looked at Zetsu. "Oh, Kakuzu has told me everything about you! We have so much to talk about! Would you like a mug of hot chocolate? Oh, made with milk or water, cocoa powder because syrup, if it hasn't been mixed well, can make you sick and no marshmallows because they get caught in your teeth."
Dang, Kakuzu really had told her everything about the teenager, hadn't he? "Yes, please." Yui nodded and disappeared behind a back wall, leaving Zetsu to her own devices, once again. For the safety of the handmade product and her wallet, she stayed put.
It wasn't too long a wait as Yui lumbered out from the back with two hot mugs in hand, one of which she laid down in front of Zetsu while she sat down on her stool on the other side of the counter with the other. "So, Kakuzu went and broke my babies again?" 'Babies?' Oh, she must be speaking of the masks so Zetsu nodded, blowing on her hot chocolate to cool it. "As much as I hate when he does that, maybe it was for the best this time. As much as I love when Daora comes by with her cute little wings and little dances, this was a much better surprise."
"Her?" Zetsu asked, having caught the unexpected inclusion of the feminine pronoun.
"Yes, her. Oh, don't tell me he's been calling her an 'it'! Has he been doing it for all of them? Oh, it's one thing to hurt my babies but misgender them? He'd getting two strongly worded letter for that one!"
"So, they all have genders?"
Yui nodded, sampling her own hot chocolate. "Yes. Daora is my little girl, Teo is my big boy and they're twins! Rājan is my other big boy and Amatsu is my bigger girl. I named them all myself too!"
"That's amazing. I thought Sir—Kakuzu came up with the names."
To this, Yui laughed and placed her mug on the surface so she didn't splash herself with the hot liquid. "Oh no no no. When he first commissioned me for the masks, he was calling them such ugly names such as, 'Atsugai' and 'Gian'. They sounded like the names you'd give them big robots in cartoons if you ask me! So, I told if, if made him these masks, I was going to name them because they were going to be my babies! And I did just that." And here Zetsu thought he named them himself. "But enough about me, let's talk about you! I've wanted to meet you since the first time Kakuzu wrote me about you. Though, he didn't have the nicest things to say back then, you're all he talks about now."
Again, Zetsu's face darkened, a fact she tried passing off as being caused by the steam from her mug. "He does?"
"Oh yes. It's always, 'Zetsu did this' or 'Zetsu did that' and 'Do you want to hear what Zetsu did?'. He raves on about you in every letter to me," Zetsu knew Kakuzu was proud of her, but to brag about her like that? Well, it made her tear up a little and she warned herself of the 25th Shinobi Rule to banish them. "I even know about your—ahem M-A-Y-F-L-Y. But don't worry, your secret is safe with me." Yui winked at her over the lip of her cup.
"I didn't realize he thought so much about me." Zetsu mumbled humbly.
"Well, he may not say it, but I can tell he loves you a lot. I can read between the lines." To this, the girl gagged on her chocolate, causing a little bit of it to leak from her nose and thus making her eyes water. Kakuzu, love her? It wasn't a farfetched thought due to their closeness but to think of it, she couldn't comprehend. Sure, she saw him as a parental figure like Konan, but she always thought he treated her more as a student, if anything. "I haven't seen him so invested since shinobi classes when we were children."
"You two were…childhood friends?" Zetsu question between dabbing at her face with her bandana.
"I'm surprised he didn't tell you that. I'm guessing he didn't tell you much about me, did he?" Zetsu felt a little bad as she shook her head. "Oh no, I understand. The less he speaks of me, the better. Afterall, he wouldn't want us to be associated for both our safety. But yes, we were childhood friends and a little bit more. We were to marry long, long ago."
"So, you were…?"
Yui smiled bright. "I was his fiancée." Then flashed her left hand, the ring finger of which still outfitted with an aged gold band with a tiny diamond inserted and suddenly, everything made sense while simultaneously making no sense. Zetsu just had a hard time imaging Kakuzu being betrothed due to his frankly misogynist outlooks on women and how he treated them, Zetsu more or less included. Once upon a time, Kakuzu was obviously a much, much different person.
"But you two didn't?" She asked and immediately could've facepalmed herself at how self-evident it was, but it was confirmed when Yui shook her head, expression downfallen.
She let out a hefty sigh. "No, because a lot happened but that is a long story, I'd rather not bore you with the details."
"No, it's ok. I have the time," Afterall, Pein told Zetsu to be back by evening so she had a few hours, give or take. "I'd love to hear it."
"Then I can do you one better. I can tell you and show you. I have pictures!" Yui put down her empty mug and pushed herself off her stool to the grand armoire looming behind her.
After unlocking the glass doors with a key, she pulled out a chest that she set down on the counter with an exhausted huff. She climbed back onto her seat and pulled the crate into her lap, it being much lighter than it looked. So, opened it and searched through it the paper insides of pictures and letters before pulling out an old, yellowed photograph. She looked it over and smiled to herself before putting it face-up on the counter and slid it across for Zetsu to see. "This is our graduation photo when we were your age."
Zetsu looked at the black-and-white image of Yui, smiling large with her freckled face messy with white hair and dressed in a nurse's uniform while besides her was a tall, tanned man who barely fit in the frame. He was dressed in a shinobi vest with his dark hair buzzed and staring at the camera with a bored expression. If the elderly woman hadn't told her who the man in the picture was, the green-haired girl wouldn't have had a clue. "That…That's Kakuzu?" She muttered in disbelief. He looked so different. No stitches, no red eyes. It was just that same, old frown of his which was the only feature that she could identify him through.
"Yes! Wasn't he so handsome? Not that isn't still, I'm sure he is!" Yui gushed, cradling her powdered cheeks as she swooned. "I couldn't believe when he dated a person like me. Not that I gave him the chance to say 'no', mind you! Oh, I have one here of when we got engaged too." She put the photograph back in the chest and shuffled through the sea of photographs for a moment until finding the one she wanted and handing it over.
It looked parts the same as the other one, except in this one, the two were arm-in-arm with Yui's left hand up to show off her sparkling new ring and Kakuzu looking down at her, with such a tender lovingness and warm smile. It left Zetsu with a fuzzy feeling inside that she couldn't help but smile at seeing her guardian so happy for once. It in itself was such a happy scene that it begged the question: what happened? Why hadn't they married and lived happily ever after?
"So, why didn't you get married?" Zetsu decided to ask as she exchanged the snapshot back.
"Well…that's because that's when the First World War happened." Yui buckled the chest shut and put it on the counter to put back later, when her old bones could take it. "We were both deployed; me as a medic and Kakuzu on the frontlines. He made me the promise when it was all over, we'd get married then. I did my best to be optimist because of that, even as the horrors of war pushed us further and further apart. But it only got me so far, especially when I had my hands crushed on a mission by a Konohagakure shinobi and had to be sent back to Taki on medical leave. Afterall, what is a medic without use of her hands?"
"It was when I was healing in Taki that I got a letter from Kakuzu, the first one in months—and it read he was going to be sent on one last mission and depending on the success of it, he'd be sent back to Taki and we could finally have that wedding! Oh, let me tell you, I started reading all the wedding magazines I could find. I even had my dream dress picked out! It wasn't until soon after I learned what that last mission was and why Kakuzu hadn't mentioned what it was in his letter—because it was a suicide mission."
"What was it?" Zetsu inquired, having not heard this. Kakuzu never spoke of his past and she had quickly learned not to ask. She didn't even know what he did before the Akatsuki except notions of the black market. All she knew was he assassinated the Taki Elders, but anyone could pick up a Bingo Book and learn that.
Yui took the other female's empty mug and put it with her own to be washed later. "It was to assassinate the First Hokage."
This revelation was groundbreaking as Zetsu felt her jaw drop open, eyes large and eyebrows to the sky. "T-The First Hokage? As in Senju Hashirama? The God of Shinobi?" Now that she thought about it, she remembered her textbooks mentioning an attempted assassination on the Senju during the First War by a Takigakure shinobi. Had that been…?
"Yes, that same Hashirama."
"B-But why?"
"Oh, because the Taki Elders thought killing him would magically end the war and declare Taki as its winner. So, they sacrificed the best shinobi they had while knowing well that it was a fool's task!" Yui all of sudden lashed out at the bad memory before hastily regathering herself so she didn't frighten her guest. "Sorry. But that's why and Kakuzu did it, because he didn't want to let down his village. How he survived, I don't know, but the next thing I heard of him was he was in jail for treason. Treason! He wasn't even given a trail, they just sentenced him to life and left him to wallow to death. After everything he'd done for Taki and they threw him out like trash because he failed one mission," She shook her head and sighed, pushing her bifocals back up the bridge of her nose.
"I tried mailing him in prison, but I never heard from him. They must've destroyed the letters. They wouldn't let me see him either. I became known as the 'bankrupt's whore' by all of Taki because of my association to him. I tried…I tried so hard to hang in there, to ignore the whispers and glares, but I couldn't. I was too weak and too naïve back then. Eventually, I left, driven out of my own home. I wrote Kakuzu one last letter explaining my decision, but he never got it, like the others. He must've thought I abandoned him too." Her pink orbs hazed over and seeing the wetness in her eyes, Zetsu frantically looked around for tissues to hand her but there were none. So, she did the second-best thing/worst as she offered up her sleeve instead.
To this, Yui smiled and sadly laughed to mask a sob, making a few tears leak down her face as she did. "Oh, thank you, sweetie, but I'm ok." She insisted and used her apron to dab her face, smearing clay on it in the process. "Anyway, I didn't want to live in the depression of losing my love and home, so I decided to distract myself by traveling the world. If you can name it, I've been there, twice over. I met a lot of people and heard a lot of interesting stories, so I used that material to write stories. I started off sending in short stories into newspapers but then I self-published a few books of my own; children's books. Oh! Kakuzu said he gave you a few."
Before Zetsu could confirm or deny, Yui was up and digging through that armoire again where she pulled out book after book detailing worlds of fantasy and magic, all written by her. As she put them on the counter, the younger of the two looked them over and immediately recognized them as those gifted to her by Kakuzu, all except the last one which had a tree on the cover and was titled The Tale of Yggdrasil.
Out of curiosity, she opened it to a random page and on it was a crayon drawing of the tree again with squiggles surrounding it and through its roots, a smile of fangs and yellow eyes. The eeriness of it struck Zetsu like a punch to the gut. She read the text on the page mirroring it. From under Yggdrasil lived the Nidhogg. It gnawed at the roots, day in and day out. It was lonely, so it made snakes like it to be its friends. It liked the snakes, and the snakes liked the Nidhogg. The Nidhogg, where had she heard that one before?
"I've read all of these except this one," She muttered and turned the page to an identical scene except this "Nidhogg" was frowning and there was a stick person depicted next to the tree. The Nidhogg did not like people so when people came to Yggdrasil to ask it for riches and luck, the Nidhogg swallowed them up.
"Oh, I'm not surprised by that. That book sold horribly. The critics said it was 'too scary for children' and 'made of lies'. Hmph! I'll have them know that it is all truth, much more than that Tale of Princess Kaguya. There's your lies. I would know, a snake told me!""
"Princess Kaguya?" Zetsu said, distracted by the book as she turned the cardboard page again to a surprisingly detailed depiction of a woman with long, long black hair side by side with Yggdrasil. One day, a princess of a faraway kingdom came to Yggdrasil. She didn't ask the World Tree for money or happiness but to speak to the Nidhogg. Her name was Kaguya.
"Oh, you do not know that one?" Yui asked as she organized her collection by alphabet and her question was confirmed with a bobbing nod, Zetsu's attention still laser-focused on the storybook. "Well, if you ever do read it, it's all lies. It depicts Kaguya as this martyr of humanity when she was the one to cause the first Ragnarök. That's why I tried teaching children the truth with this book, but it was blacklisted. Last I heard, it became a bit of a collector's item, like that Jashinist's Bible from Yugakure. I have yet to see a cent from any of it, though."
If her memory served Zetsu correct, Kakuzu had an edition of this very book on his bookshelf so maybe she'd ask him later if she could read it on her own time. So, she finally turned this booklet back over. "I liked your writing a lot as child and even now. My favourite was the one with the lion and witch."
"Oh, and that was my favourite one to write! It was my first attempt at writing for an older audience." Yui pushed the stack next to the chest, all to be put back later. Or she would wait for one of her customers to ask to do it. "Oh, I have gotten so off track! You were here for the masks and I've talked your ear off!"
"Oh no, it's ok. This has all been so interesting." Zetsu claimed, having also forgotten the whole reason why she was here, but in a good way.
"Here, let me get them for you." Once again, to the dresser she went, making the Akatsuki member question if it was the real-life inspiration for the wardrobe in the book they just spoke of as she kept pulling things out of it as if it were a portal. However, as Yui leant over with key in hand, her back made a loud crack like the crunching of a plastic bottle and the old lady groaned. "Oh, my back."
Instantly, Zetsu was up and helping her back onto her seat before further damage could done, maybe even irreversible. "Here, here, I can get them. Where are they?"
"They're in the bottom shelf. Oh, I'm sorry for this, sweetie, but old age does that to you. I'm not the spry chicken I once was."
Using the key, the teenager pulled out the bottommost shelf and inside, aptly lined were four masks, all identical to Kakuzu's own and each numbered by ten, likely in preparation for this very scenario. "Wow. You've made all of these?" She pulled out one of each and laid them out of the corner, cautious not to chip or scratch the expertly crafted porcelain. Upon closer inspect, she saw each masks' distinctive facial features were also painted on.
"But of course! Especially since he keeps breaking them." Yui huffed then immediately grimaced as it translated into pain in her back.
"So, you made everything else too?"
"Yes, all of everything you see here was made by hand—and love."
Zetsu smiled at the cute little inclusion at the end. "You said you traveled the world? Why'd you choose Iwa to live and set up shop?" She decided to ask as she circled back to her side of the counter while glancing around at all the woman's craftmanship around the store.
"Oh, you've heard me talk too much already," The older woman insisted, fanning a dismissive hand then immediately said, "But if you insist. It was after my last book. I was so discouraged by its sale and the criticism that I didn't want to write anymore but I knew if I didn't do something, I'd fall back into that dark mindset. So, I came to Iwa to take up pottery. And who better to learn the craft but the masters' themselves, the Katsu clan? Well, back when there was a Katsu clan, that is. Sadly, they all got killed during the last war. There's only one of them left: the Tsuchikage's very own grandson. Such a creative little boy."
"And you've been here ever since?"
"That I have. It's been…thirty years? It was the eve of the Second War. But I've only had my shop for ten because I had so many people commissioning me that I had to buy commercial space to keep it all! But since there is no more Katsu clan, I've been everyone's go-to for pottery and sculptures these days. These old hands are never getting a break so long as I live." She laughed, flexing her creaky fingers while looking thoughtfully at her old engagement ring.
The innocent gesture prompted a new question out of Zetsu, her mouth speaking for itself. "How did you and Kakuzu reconnect?"
"Oh my, now that's a story and it all started with a package left at the door on my shop. It wasn't addressed so I didn't know who or where it came from, but it had my name written on it, so I opened it, and inside were all these letters. There must've been a hundred of them! And so, I started reading them and realized, they were all from Kakuzu, the one he had written me while in prison but were never sent. They were…they broke my heart because somehow despite everything, he never gave up on our dream of wedding and seeing each other again, even when I had. Then at the very bottom was a letter he had written after he escaped Taki, basically saying why he did it and that he heard I had opened shop in Iwa, so he wanted to congratulate me. Then it said he'd be sending me messenger with another letter and let me tell you, I waited day and night for that letter! I had even written my own one or ten to send him back,"
"Finally, a week later, was when little Daora arrived at my doorstep. Of course, back then she was known as 'Atsugai' and didn't have the beautiful face I made her. Poor baby looked so sad without a face that the next time she came by with Kakuzu's letter, I had made her a mask to wear and she was so happy that she danced, danced! Ha! Then Kakuzu asked if I could make him another mask and so I did. And well, the rest is history. We've been in contact ever since. We talk to each other at least once a month, but I know Kakuzu gets busy and so do I, sometimes."
"Wow…" Zetsu mumbled, having gotten lost in the whimsical tale as her face had been slumped in her hand while she listened.
"Oh, there I go again. Here, let me package these up so you can get back to that old grump." A smirk pulled at the juvenile's lip at the "old grump" as she knew exactly who was being spoken about.
Due to her back, she leant a hand as Yui used old newspapers and bubble wrap to cushion the masks before stuffing them in a large, recycled box Zetsu fetched her from her workshop in the back. She had just taped it shut and handed it off so the girl could take her leave when she remembered something. "Oh, one last thing!" Zetsu peeked over the awkwardly sized box. "Could you stay just a little longer? Whenever little Daora comes by, I have her wait while I write a letter to Kakuzu so she can bring it back with her. I have a lot to tell him!"
At this, Zetsu glanced up at a coocoo clock overhead that read it to be late noon. If she wanted to get back to Ame in her earmarked time, she'd have to leave now if she didn't want to get lectured. "I can wait." As could Sir Leader.
Yui clapped her hands. "Oh, perfect! I won't be too long, I promise!" She pulled her white hair back from her face then pulled out a fountain pen and stationery out from under the counter. Then she got to writing, her hand like a blur as she scrawled line after line, paragraph after paragraph on the paper until it was full, front to back. She next pulled out another paper and in seconds, it was jammed pack. In only a handful of minutes, she had written a novelette and stuffed the letters into an envelope. Before presenting it to the girl, she blessed the message with a kiss. Zetsu tucked it safely in her jacket.
"Here, let me get the door for you." Yui scuttled to the door as Zetsu tailed her with the bulky box. "Next time Kakuzu has a letter or a new mask, can you tell him to send you instead? As much as I love little Daora, I'd love to see you again. Or you two can come together! Don't tell Kakuzu, but everyone knows Daora. She's become a bit of a mascot for my shop. Everyone loves her."
How could she say no to that? "I'd love to." Zetsu smiled though it wasn't visible after she had pulled her black bandana back up over her face.
Yui clapped excitedly. "Oh perfect! We can go shopping, and have dinner, and…oh! I can introduce you to all my friends! Oh, I don't know if I can wait that long! You tell Kakuzu to give you an excuse to send you back to me as soon as possible."
"I'll let him know."
After Yui opened the door again, she hugged Zetsu and pecked her on the cheek before the other woman left, deliberately maneuvering out so she didn't knock the fragile contents she was carrying. As she did, she felt someone pushing past her, not having seen the little boy who had been waiting outside the entire time. Yui had just waddled back to counter when she heard the sound of coin being dumped on the surface.
"Oh, if it isn't my favourite little customer." She cooed at the little blonde boy as he pushed his weekly allowance towards the old lady. "So, how much clay is it going to be this week?"
"Two pounds, hn."
"Hmm, I'll do you one better. I'll give you three pounds if you help me put a few things away, deal?"
"Deal!"
…
"Back so soon?" Kakuzu muttered as Zetsu stumbled his bedroom. He pushed himself back from his desk where she placed the oblong cardboard box onto it, cautious not to crush any important paperwork underneath or the masks inside. "Thought she'd keep you for longer."
"No, though she did say to make up an excuse to send me back, and Daora," She countered.
"You and Daora? Sure, I can bullshit an excuse to send you with it."
"Her."
"Her?"
"Yeah, Yui told me Daora was a girl," Stepping back, she dusted herself off. As she did so, she felt something inside her jacket. Remembering it to be the letter, she pulled it out of the compartment and held it out to him. "Here, this is also for you."
He took the fat envelope from her but instead of opening it, he stared down at it, purposelessly, in his lap. "What did you think of her? Of Yui?" He finally asked for a moment of silence.
Zetsu's lips tugged into a smile. "She was great. She told me a lot of stories and was she funny too."
Kakuzu met her smile with one of his own as he looked up at her, surprising her a little since the elder wasn't exactly known for his smiling. It instantly reminded her of that engagement picture Yui had shared with her. "She's amazing, isn't she? Glad that hasn't changed about her."
"She also told me about you…and her."
To this, he chuckled. "Fuck me, she told you that too? Definitely hasn't change a bit. She had a knack of talking. She could meet someone new and in a span of a few minutes, would've told them her whole life story and mine to boot," But as quickly as it came, the smile was gone as he leant back heavily in his chair, twirling the letter between his fingers. "Sometimes I wonder what my life would've turned out like if all the bullshit with Taki never happened. Would we have married? Had kids? Grown old together? Shit like that."
"If it helps…she still wears the engagement ring you gave her." Zetsu inputted quietly, watching the spinning envelope.
He didn't say anything to that, just smirked and huffed as he pushed himself back up in his seat and turned it to his desk. "Anyway, thanks for doing this for me, Girl." He opened a drawer and pulled out a sharpened letter opener to cut the tape on the box.
"Of course, Sir." She walked past to take her leave when she remembered one last thing and so paused in his doorway. "Oh, Sir?"
"Hn?"
"When I was with Yui, she showed me all the books she had written but there was one I never read before. I'm pretty sure you have a copy. Umm…it was called the Tale of Yggdrasil?"
"Yes, I have that one." He said, almost immediately.
"I was curious if I could read it? I only got to read a few pages of it, but I want to finish it."
"Sure. It's on the third shelf between two other books. You'll see it." He thoughtlessly ushered at his bookshelf while pulling out one of the masks from the package and inspecting the sublime handiwork. Money well spent.
Per his instruction, Zetsu found the draft and plucked it from its resting place, managing it carefully since she knew how defensive the older man was over his book collection. "Thank you, Sir. I'll bring it back once I'm done."
"Take as long as you want with it." Kakuzu told her, finishing up with the masks and opening the letter to read next.
…
After making herself a glass of chocolate milk, Zetsu sat at her desk to read the book. She started from the beginning, turning over the cardboard page which creaked as she did until she was on the first page which depicted of a heavenly tree, identical to the cover. She began to read.
Long, long ago, there was a tree called Yggdrasil, the World Tree, and it was the source of life for all living things, big and small. People came to Yggdrasil to be blessed. There was a fruit that grew on Yggdrasil that no one ate for fear of angering the tree and cursing them all.
From under Yggdrasil lived the Nidhogg. It gnawed at the roots, day in and day out. It was lonely, so it made snakes like it to be its friends. It liked the snakes, and the snakes liked the Nidhogg.
The Nidhogg did not like people so when people came to Yggdrasil for blessings of luck, the Nidhogg swallowed them up.
One day, a princess of a faraway kingdom came to Yggdrasil. She did not ask the World Tree for money or happiness but to speak to the Nidhogg. Her name was Kaguya.
Princess Kaguya told the Nidhogg of her kingdom that was at war and it made her sad. She traveled to Yggdrasil because no one listened to her and so, the Nidhogg listened and did not eat her.
Princess Kaguya came back again and again to talk to the Nidhogg and everytime, the Nidhogg listened. To thank it, she sang to it and danced. The Nidhogg fell in love with the Princess.
Once day, Princess Kaguya came to the Nidhogg and she was crying. She told the Nidhogg that her father, the King, wanted to marry her to a Prince of a rival kingdom to end the war. She did not want to be married. So, she asked the Nidhogg to eat her.
The Nidhogg did not want to eat her because it loved her. So, it offered her the fruit from Yggdrasil as its blessing and to promise to take the Nidhogg with her so they may live happily ever after. She ate the fruit and was blessed with chakra.
With the Nidhogg, Princess Kaguya ended all war and brought world peace.
Princess Kaguya fell in love with a Prince and she had twins, Hagoromo and Hamura. They too had chakra.
As Hagoromo and Hamura grew up, they wanted to share their blessing and so gave other people charka. Princess Kaguya and the Nidhogg did not like this. They did not like sharing.
Angered, Princess Kaguya and the Nidhogg became one to destroy the world and everyone in it. There were hurricanes, earthquakes, eruptions, tornadoes and the Nidhogg made itself as large as a nation!
Hagoromo and Hamura, to save the world and all its people, challenged the Nidhogg in a battle that would become known as Ragnarök, the Twilight of Gods.
Together, Hagoromo and Hamura won the battle and used the Nidhogg's body to create the moon while Hagoromo took its chakra, using it to become the Sage of Six Paths. He later used the chakra to make the nine Bijuu.
With its last breath, the Nidhogg told them it would be back in one-thousand years and with it, a second Ragnarök. Hagoromo and Hamura told it they too would be back through their reincarnations known as the Children of Prophecy to fight it once more.
The End.
With that, Zetsu shut the book and had a think. Needless to say, she could understand now why her critics said it was, "inappropriate for children". Subjects such as scary monsters, war, suicide and Armageddon would freak out any child. Hell, she would've been freaked out reading it. Maybe that's why this was the only one of Yui's books Kakuzu never gave her or let her read. Yet, something about it…irked her and it had nothing to do with the subject matter.
As she said, scratching her head, her eyes were drawn to the desk over which, she had drawings she had down taped to the wall and there—there she saw it. In an instant, she was up with the book turned to the Nidhogg's introduction, that illustration of Yggdrasil and in the darkness, whirligig eyes and gnashing teeth and held it up to the sketch she had done when she first told Kakuzu of the Wasteland, of the Hanging Tree and Monster and—
They were identical.
…
AN: Dang! I am murdering this updating thing. Three chapters in three weeks? Yes please! Ok, ok. We'll go back to your planned programming of more action and less monologuing. The next chapter is going to be a lot of fun and a lot of shenanigans involving an unlikely trio!
Next Chapter: The Femme Fatales.
Until Next Time.