AN: Hello. This shall be my first story on this account and it's an oddity due to the fact it will be completely uncanon. It'll be centric around Zetsu from childhood to the 'current plot'. It's a personal project of mine to help with my practice of writing in the 3rd person and just to keep me writing. So please, do not flame. It won't be the best of stories and I know that already. For those which are interested, please comment or alert this? It would truly encourage me. Read and enjoy.

Warning(s):GENDERBEND, OCs and OOC. If you do not like this, leave. Just leave.

EDIT: Story edited as of (June 4th): Minor edits to improve quality.

Wasteland

Mayfly Arc:

Prologue

13th, Month 5

Today, two more experiments resulted in failure, neither capable of containing the Mayfly. Both were children, K-MF-127, Satori, Aged 7, and K-MF-203, Natsuko, Aged 9. Their tiny bodies were shortly fed to K-MF-001, who consumed them both within the hour and violently. I vomited this morning's tea and biscuits. Our remaining experiment numbers have dwindled, excluding K-MF-001 and K-MF-084, and orphanage has refused to supply us with anymore samples or the hospital with their sickly, otherwise people will begin to question. If we are unable to conquer up more experiments, we will have to enlist outside help once more or the project will be brought to a dead halt or worse, switch hands. Such a result would be undesirable to the government, especially before K-MF-001's field test to warrant more funding from the council. Hopefully, with the recent success of K-MF-084, all we will need is the two experiments and testing will cease completely.

The afternoon's dairy entry was concluded as Akiyama Kiyoshi tucked his pen into the broken spine of the tattered, old notebook before removing his glasses and burying his face into his hands.

For several years, he had studied adamantly to become a doctor. The first of a family of petty farmers. His life-long dream to care for the ill and the meek, but instead, he was enlisted under a corrupt government and instead of saving lives, he was taking them. Weeding through innocent lives like cattle. Worse, they were children. Young being which had never had a chance at life before they were stolen away to be poked and prodded. At the start of his days, he told himself he was much more than a cog in a machine, that this project was much more. But at the end of the day, he was still that one thing he loathed most about himself. He was a child killer.

His sour stomach twisted at those words and his throat burned with searing bile which he swallowed down thickly. Outside his office door, the hallways were alive with chatter, those others oblivious to his inner struggle as they conserved, about side-projects, home and love life and even their children. He dared not think of his own family, of his daughter whom he fed and clothed with his blood-soaked paychecks. Kiyoshi could even hear Ryouta boasting loudly to their coworkers about K-MF-001, whose project team he headed, in every minute, gruesome detail. His stomach lurched again as he listened and he decided to calm his riled insides with coffee.

He replaced his glasses upon his nose and stood stiffly from his chair, taking a step towards the closed door before spying the plush bear sitting on his desk. It was old, a relic of his daughter's baby years, and its soft purple fluff was dirt-stained and ruptured in spots where stuffing peeked through. He had stolen it from his daughter's room as she slept after she insisted she was too old for the toy and his wife demanded he dispose of it. He had decided on a better use for it.

Taking a moment, he took the toy and tucked it securely under his arm before he left the safe confides of his office into the brightly lit hallways of the underground laboratories. He received cheerful greetings from the fellow professors and doctors which roamed the halls to their various appointments and he returned them all with a half-smile and mumbled appreciation. He did not encounter Ryouta, whose laughter resounded around the laboratories, much to his relief. He did not think he was mentally or physically capable of hearing the man's bragging about superiority with K-MF-001 compared to K-MF-084 whom was still in the infancy of her development and Kiyoshi oversaw. If he did, Kiyoshi could not promise himself he wouldn't slug the man in the jaw.

Thankfully, his journey between his office and the breakroom was a quiet one and when he entered the room, he was delighted to see Ayano, a co-worker and close friend, pouring herself a cup of pure black coffee. Looking as ragged as he. She had been the one on clock when the two children perished. There had been many before them, yet she took every death as harsh as the first. As did he.

"Kiyoshi-kun," The nurse greeted once she noticed Kiyoshi, smiling softly. "You look horrible."

Kiyoshi laughed, his blonde curls bouncing. "Yes, as do you Ayano-chan." He plucked a styrofoam cup from its corral and grabbed the fresh coffee pot, pouring himself a completely black cup as well before taking a gulp of the piping beverage and heaving a sigh. "This morning was disastrous." 'At least it was only two of them this time.' He thought the next moment.

"Yes," Ayana agreed quietly. "Last night, both of them were in good health and conscious, then this morning…cardiac arrest. The Mayday rejected them. Again." She trailed off, shaking her head whilst staring down mournfully at her coffee.

"The Mayday only accepts those which possess the bloodline." Kiyoshi sipped his coffee, the hot liquid soothing his rowdy stomach and tangled nerves. "That is why only 001 and 084 have been so successful. It's foolish for Tarou to expect us to take a thousand-year old bloodline and optimize it so it accepts anyone as its host without the need of a bloodline. If that was possible, people would be clamoring to possess the Sharingan or other powerful kekkei genkai."

"Speaking of 001 and Tarou, have you heard his proposal of a field test to the council is today?"

Kiyoshi snorted, adjusting his glasses. "Of course, Ryouta is rather prideful of 001 and has been boasting to whomever will led him an ear. He's eager to test 001 on more lively targets, such as the Iwagakure squatter camp outside the village. Such a thing would be suicidal. It would rouse the Iwagakure government onto our affairs if 001 fails. The council would never approve of such a risky move."

"And what if the council approves and 001 does fail? What of the project?"

"Then the project will be cancelled. But, if the council forgives such a blunder, then I imagine 001 will have to be reevaluated and the project has the possibility of falling onto 084."

"But 084 was not designed for direct combat so how would that be possible?"

Kiyoshi clenched the cup in his hand, the fragile material groaning from the pressure and threatened to rupture hot coffee. "I fear she will have to be optimized with the more aggressive strain of Mayfly such as 001 was." The thought revolted him. 084 was so young and a good girl. She reminded him of his own daughter and the two were not too far apart in age. She was the only reason he remained on the Mayfly project. To become the inhuman likes of which 001 had, it made him shutter.

An uncomfortable silence settled over them both as they lamented about the current events and possible future, sipping their coffees quietly. After a solid minute of the muteness, Ayana spyed the plush bear and was eager to transition to a lighter subject. "That's a cute bear."

Kiyoshi remembered the toy which had tagged along with him and unwedged it from under his arm where he had been suffocating the poor thing. "Oh yes. It was an old bear of Miku's and she said she no longer wanted it so I brought it for 084. Hopefully she's not too old for it either." He smiled down at the bear which stared up at him with its purple, buttoned eyes.

Ayana smiled, brushing her ebony locks from her face. "I'm sure she'll love it. She loves everything you do for her, afterall."

"I hope so. Has her daily chemo session concluded? I would like to visit her as soon possible. If Tarou is speaking to the council today then a meeting is sure to be held directly after about what was said and everyone knows Tarou loves to hear himself speak."

"I would say so. Her sessions usually finish at noon. If not then soon I'm positive."

"Perfect." Kiyoshi downed the rest of his drink in a single gulp before tossing the cup in the trashcan nearby. "I will see you after the meeting, Ayana-chan. If not, then tomorrow."

"Same, Kiyoshi-kun."

The two bidded their farewells before Kiyoshi headed to the infirmary wing where K-MF-084 was currently being contained, cradling the ragged bear against his chest. He scanned his identification card at the entrance and the thick steel door which locked away the wing unbarred itself with a resounding thud before slowly opening inwards. The dimmed halls were deathly quiet as the only sound was of those of his footfalls against the metal walkway. The lack of notable life meant the nurses which were stationed within the wing had concluded their duties and left to their other shifts. Due to the diminishing numbers of patients, it was not uncommon for the few which reminded to be left alone and left untended unless in the case of emergency or their daily care.

Bypassing the door to the infirmary ward itself, Kiyoshi nudged open the door and peeked inside. The room was darkened and quiet except the blinking lights and beeping of the medical equipment and soft breathing of the handful sleeping children which remained. As he searched for 084's bed in the darkness, he navigated through the arrangement of beds, stepping softly so not to rouse any of the ill children and disturb their desperately needed rest. Finally towards the back of the ward, he spotted the girl's trademark moss green hair, illuminated by the glow of the towering medical machines installed besides her bed.

Setting the bear on the bed, he reached over and carefully roused her from her slumber. A few moments later, the girl's caramel eyes rolled out from beneath their lids, the glowing orbs staring into the doctor's opposing chocolate ones and immediately, her chapped lips parted into a grin, exposing her inhume canines. Kiyoshi returned the unsettling smile without hesitation.

"Hey," He greeted, moving the bear so it sat within her vision. "I bought you a friend."

The young teenager groped the toy with her syringe-riddled hand and observed it, tracing the various tears and scruffs with her thin fingers before smiling again and proceeding to tuck the bear securely beneath her chin.

"Do you like it?" She nodded and Kiyoshi chuckled, petting his hand through her matted locks. "Are you feeling well?" There was a moment of hesitation, then she nodded. Despite her attempts to reinsure him, Kiyoshi knew it was a lie.

The chemo which she endured to monitor the Mayfly was an uncomfortable process filled with jabbed and poking of needles and torturous side effects such as vomiting, fever-induced shaking and exhaustion. He said nothing though, and just patted her head again. Such a courageous girl.

Suddenly, Kiyoshi's pager vibrated and he unhooked it from his belt, reading the message on the lit screen which simply read 'meeting'. He sighed and placed it away before returning his attention to the girl which was dozing off again, clenching the bear close.

"I have to leave now. I'll see you again soon, alright?" She nodded and he tucked the wool blanket around her petite form. "Sleep well, Zetsu." And with that, he got up and left as quietly as he had entered, leaving the girl to resume her rest.

Once he left the infirmary wing, he mingled into the moderate-sized group of scientists and doctors which were migrating towards the meeting room. Nurses were not involved in meetings so he did not see Ayana much to his familiar disappointment. He hated attending these meetings alone as he did not have a research team such as Ryouta and only Ayana to accompany him during the day. He liked the moral support they supplied each other especially when the news was a hard one to swallow and something told him this would one of those times.

That feeling was only reinforced when he entered the quarters which meetings were held and seated besides Tarou, he instantly spotted Ryouta, that familiar shit-eating grin of his plastered to his pale face. Kiyoshi's stomach began doing backflips again with anxiety and he concentrated on the sliver of hope that the meeting was completely unrelated to the Tarou's proposal to the council. Everyone took their respected seats along the elongated meeting table and Kiyoshi sat down opposite of Ryouta also besides Tarou. Ryouta smirked at Kiyoshi and the blonde dropped his sight to his lap, that urge of whacking the other man returning once again.

"Well then, it seems everyone is here so we can begin." Tarou spoke once everyone was seated and whispered conversations hushed. The obese man adjusted himself in his chair which groaned keenly, as to plead for mercy from the man's weight. "As you all know, today, I spoke with the council about several things. One of those things being the potential of K-MF-001's field test. Well…it was approved!"

Applause broke out amongst the attendance and everyone began congratulating each other on their contribution to the astounding news. Everyone except Kiyoshi as he struggled with his stomach once more and even retaining consciousness. The news had indeed been as he feared and debated about leaving to avoid the rest of it.

"Now, Hiruma Ryouta, project head of K-MF-001, shall speak." Ryouta stood and the applause increased in pitch, even with some people hooting and hollering. The man clearly relished in the praise. Kiyoshi's head began to subtly throb with a headache.

"Thank you, Tarou-sama, for speaking to the council. Without you we would have never reached this point." Ryouta remarked and a small round of applause was given to Tarou whom nodded in approval of the credit. Despite being seated right beside his boss, Kiyoshi's hands remained firmly on his quivering knees, his knuckles paling from the tension. "Now then, I'm sure some of you are questioning what 'field test' means exactly."

Ryouta gestured his assistant over and she bent beneath the table, producing a storage box stacked with thick, yellowed files within. She removed one at a time and handed them to the closest person who passed to the next then the next until everyone had a copy of the file in their hand, including Kiyoshi.

"Well if you open you packets and read page seven, you'll see…"

Kiyoshi flipped open the folder and upon the neatly arranged paperwork, he immediately noticed what was the transcript detailing the original Mayfly project. A flood of repressed memories washed over him and Ryouta's voice faded out as he read through the report which was written word for word in Kiyoshi's own handwriting.

PROJECT MAYFLY

PROJECT HEAD: AKIYAMA KIYOSHI

SUBJECTS: [NAMES CLASSIFIED]

SUBJECT NO: K-MF-001, K-MF-002

DATE: [DATE CLASSIFIED]

DESCRIPTION: K-MF-001 and K-MF-002 are both carriers of the Mayfly and last known remaining of the bloodline. They were brought in willingly for testing. Testing shall be carried out monthly for a year period to conceive a cure for the violent mutations which have been observed with the Mayfly.

[DATE CLASSIFIED]: K-MF-001 and K-MF-002 undergo studying to extract samples of the Mayfly. Both have been confirmed to possess the SAFE strain of Mayfly. Modification shall be performed to neuter the strain from the ability to mutate then be reintroduced to subjects.

[DATE CLASSIFIED]: The DISABLED strain of Mayfly was introduced to K-MF-001 and K-MF-002. Testing reveals the SAFE strain has rejected the DISABLED strain. More examples have been extracted and farther testing to be carried out.

[DATE CLASSIFIED]: Alternatives of the DISABLED strain have failed. K-MF-001 has been displaying unsettling side effects. Excessive drooling, loss of appetite and memory loss. Testing reveals his SAFE strain has begun to mutate. K-MF-002 displays no abnormities and her strain remains stable. The source of mutation is unknown but all future testing on both subjects will be ceased after only three months. K-MF-001 will be monitored and contained.

[DATE CLASSIFIED]: K-MF-001's symptoms have remained stable for an entire month. He has been deemed safe enough for release from containment and reunited with his daughter. The project is too dangerous to proceed and both will be released but are required to return to the hospital for monthly check-ups to insure no farther mutations of the Mayfly.

The transcript ended there. Shortly after, that had been when the Kusagakure government stepped in and Tarou was personally assigned over the dying project.

Kiyoshi remembered that day well and the thrill he experienced, assuming the government was assisting their failed attempts to domesticate the bloodline and resurrect it from extinction. However, those hopes had been quickly dashed when his team was released and K-MF-001 and K-MF-002 were brought back in for testing once again. But not for their benefit, but the benefit of Kusagakure and their current position in the rumoured approaching war.

Samples of the deemed 'unstable' strain were recovered from records and used on the two subjects in an attempt to agitate the bloodline into mutating then more subjects were brought in, in the shape of orphans and the sickly to test if they could be infected with the Mayfly. Tests to 'introduce' the bloodline to the subjects proved a failure with a one-hundred percent fatally rate. Attempts to mutate the bloodline were successful however, with both K-MF-001 and K-MF-002 propelled from wielding 'safe' strains to 'unstable' strains within a period of months.

'That was when she killed herself.' Kiyoshi thought, skimming the underside of his thumb nail with his teeth. 'Complications with the Mayfly. Bisected herself.'

It had been the most devastating day of Kiyoshi's life. He had cared for the girl throughout a period of years as her doctor. He would describe her as a daughter before his had been born. She had only been nine, a beautifully young life wasted.

'Then you, 001, surcame to the Mayfly, you couldn't handle her death. Then you killed two doctors shortly after, tore them to shreds then ate them before anyone could safely contain you in your grief.' His chewing intensified as the nail splintered and blood oozed before his teeth focused their mindless chewing on another nail. 'But we didn't cancel the project, because then we discovered 084, and the project resumed, even after a decade. Now they're risking the livelihood of you both with this field test. I failed you, 001 and your daughter, but I won't fail 084. I won't, I won't…I.'

"Kiyoshi."

Kiyoshi jumped in his seat and glanced around, realizing everyone was staring at him, especially Ryouta and Tarou who both had their eyebrows quirked at the fidgeting man. Kiyoshi felt his face drenched in warm sweat and his fingers ached after having chewed two of his nails to the quick during his frantic reflecting. Ryouta forced a laugh to break the awkwardness, making Kiyoshi flinch again and lick the sticky blood from his lips.

"Come on, Kiyoshi. Didn't think I was that boring." Everyone chuckled and the black-haired man cleared his throat. "Would you like to share on your plans with K-MF-084? Because obviously, K-MF-001 isn't interesting enough for you." A few more snickers sounded. Kiyoshi swallowed thickly and opened his mouth to speak in an attempt to defend himself when Tarou interrupted.

"No plans will be needed. K-MF-001's field test shall be a success and we will have no need for K-MF-084. No need to worry yourself, Kiyoshi." The reinsurance rung hollow and Kiyoshi caught the subtle threat smuggled among the words. No need for K-MF-084. Suddenly, his stomach lurched and bitter bile spilled into his mouth.

Without a word, Kiyoshi snatched up the file, scattering some of the paperwork to the floor, and fled from the conference room, hand slapped over his bulging mouth. Ayana had been waiting outside the room along with a few other nurses for news when Kiyoshi rushed through the doors, startling the women as they stumbled away.

"Kiyoshi-kun?" She gasped as the man ran past, making a b-line for the nearest restroom and she didn't waste a second to follow after him despite the fact he entered the men's bathroom.

Once inside, Kiyoshi collapsed into a stall and tossed the files aside before he vomited violently into the recently cleared toilet. Ayana entered a mere millisecond behind and dropped to her knees behind her friend, instinctively groping for the man's hair and yanking the blonde curls back from the backsplash. He retched for several minutes before his stomach was unable to produce anymore of its contents and he dry-heaved before finally stopped, trembling and gasping for breath.

Ayana tore some paper from its roller and used it to dab away the sweat that coursed down Kiyoshi's face and the vomit caked on his lips, sighing to herself. "I'm guessing the meeting did not go well?"

Kiyoshi shook his head, inhaling a shaky breath. "No…no it did not."

AN: This is the prologue. Originally, it was meant to be longer but I divided it in half when I felt it was carrying on too much. There are going to be a few OCs in the beginning so if you do not like them then I apologize. Next chapter when the second half of this chapter and the introduction of the Akatsuki. Thank you for reading and please comment?