A Failure

With six people sitting shoulder to shoulder, the small ramen stand was at maximum capacity. Which was something Sakura wouldn't complain about if she were sitting next to Sasuke. On the contrary, that would've been quite nice. But she wasn't. Her love had taken the seat next to Shino, while she was stuck between Naruto and Hinata. At least her other teammate didn't bother her as much as he used to. While she would definitely never respond to his pathetic flirting attempts, the time they spent together had allowed her to warm up to him a bit.

Today had not been as physically exhausting as Tanya-sensei's training usually was, but in return, it had been all the more mentally tiring. She basically had no time to enjoy the fact that it was only her and Sasuke together because their young sensei had constantly given them an assortment of increasingly difficult mission scenarios to which they should formulate tactics. And of course, whenever they got too focused on their task, they would get attacked the moment they dropped their guard. By now, each of her arms and legs had multiple band-aids on them that started to itch. Each cut was so shallow that it barely qualified as a scratch, but every single one symbolized an attack that COULD have killed her.

After the first few, Tanya-sensei had then started to put them up against each other, placing them in scenarios where both were enemy team leaders about to clash, compared the strategies, and whoever's strategy trumped the other would win. The final score was somewhat even, with Sasuke having a few more wins, and many versions were both of them lost to a theoretical third party.

Unfortunately, her own score wasn't so close to Sasuke's because both had been comparably good. No, both had been comparably bad. Sakura had undoubtedly the highest amount of book knowledge in her year, but strategizing combat scenarios was something she never had any experience with. Sasuke on the other always had a good understanding of what he would do; his problem was that he didn't utilize his theoretical team enough. Sakura couldn't help but wonder if that was how he saw her. Just some extra he didn't know what to do with. And a part of her could understand it. Her performance during their missions so far had been lackluster compared to his or even Naruto's. This had been the most glaringly obvious when they went to help Team 8. All she had been able to do was stay behind with the old man. And she just stood next to him, she couldn't even help him because she neither knew first aid nor any useful jutsu for this situation. Actually, she didn't know any technique except for the basic academy stuff. The last two days had kind of hammered home that she was the only one among the six who didn't have any special ability to her name. Were there maybe ninjutsu that could heal? Maybe Tanya-sensei could help her, even though she dreaded what would happen if she asked the merciless girl for solo lessons.

Then, in the late afternoon, a message from the Hokage had called for Tanya. The golden-haired girl had decided to end the training there and instead gave the six of them a new task: go and eat dinner together. There was general uncertainty about what that was supposed to achieve, but no one complained. The only issue was where to go. Sakura, now that she had a couple of mission payments in her pocket, had opted for a somewhat finer restaurant that she had wanted to take Sasuke to anyway. Sasuke on the other hand didn't care, Naruto loudly declared they had to go to Ichiraku, Kiba voted for the steak house, Shino suggested a salad bar, and Hinata threw in a café so sheepishly into the ring they almost didn't hear her. In the end, they had decided to draw lots, and the ramen bar won.

She sighed. Ramen really wasn't what she normally ate. Tanya-sensei might have been very clear that she needed to ditch her diet plan ASAP and rather than reduce her calorie intake, she should burn them through more training, but that didn't mean she needed to jump to the other extreme right away. Checking the menu, she went for a chicken-based one to pick something not too heavy.

"S-Sakura?" a meek voice came from her right.

"Yes?" she responded, surprised that the quiet girl initiated a conversation of her own volition.

"Um, d-do you think I would look good with t-twin tails?"

Where did that come from? Well, I guess even a shy girl like Hinata is a girl in the end, Sakura thought with a smile.

"Hm, not sure if that would fit your facial shape. But if you want to go for a different style, why not start by growing your hair out? Longer hair would give you more options. I can give you some tips if you want, though just wearing it straight would probably look good already."

The blue-haired girl didn't answer right away.

"Do you not like that style?"

"N-no, it's just… f-forget it, I'll try it."

It got quiet again between them – or at least as quiet as it could be if one sat next to Naruto arguing with Kiba.

Well, this didn't go as I had hoped, but since Hinata already started, might as well hold some small talk.

Sakura had never spoken much to Hinata, but it wasn't like she had anything better to do. And she was curious about something anyway.

"Say, Hinata, just out of curiosity: why do you wear your headband around your neck? I know my way of wearing it is a bit unorthodox as well, but… I have my reasons for it. What about you? A specific purpose or just a style choice?"

"Um, i-it's… I-I'm not sure if I should… w-well, simply put: my family is s-separated into the m-main clan and the side clan. I c-can't go into too much detail, c-clan secret, b-but it's something like a t-tradition for main clan members to not c-cover our foreheads," Hinata explained with her gaze dropping. The pinkette cocked her head.

"But with your hair like that, it's covered anyway."

"I kn-know."

Sakura didn't quite understand what she was getting at, but the food arrived and she decided to postpone the conversation.

Light. A bright light blinded her, making her squint before carefully opening her eyes again.

Slowly, Kurenai's eyes got used to the brightness and she started to see again. White. A ceiling?

Then, as her brain finally woke up fully, the memory of what was happening flared up. Her muscles tensed as she tried to jump to her feet, but a sharp pain shot through her body and she fell back down. Everything hurt, and yet, simultaneously, her entire body felt numb somehow. Her attempt of a pained groan died in her dried-out throat and turned into a dolorous cough. How long had she been out?

Finally becoming aware of her surroundings, she looked around. It was early evening judging by the light, and she appeared to be in a hospital room. That… was a good sign, right? All the pain meant she was alive. Lifting her blanket and pulling up her hospital gown - her arms felt so weak that she almost couldn't do it - she took note of the huge, stitched wound that ran across her abdomen and already started to scar, thanks to the assistance of medical ninjutsu she assumed. That had been close. Because of the hit she took right at the start, all she had been able to do was stall for time. And then, somehow, help had actually appeared. Tanya.

She sighed mentally. As much as the thought that Tanya of all people had saved her left a bitter aftertaste, she wasn't petty enough to let it make her ignore the facts. Had her young colleague not arrived, she would've died there. Plain and simple. Maybe the kids would've been spared, but there was no guarantee for that. Would the whole ordeal have gone differently if she hadn't gotten injured? If Hinata hadn't been poisoned, taking both her and Shino out right from the get-go? If she hadn't fallen for the water clone? Maybe. But that didn't matter, because wasn't how it had happened. What she did know, however, was that she had an axe to grind with the old man as soon as she could stand again.

Coughing again, she decided that she really needed some water now and looked around in hopes to find some within arm's reach. That was when she finally noticed the bouquet on her nightstand. It wasn't big, but quite beautiful nonetheless. Its center were red poppies, her favorite, laid on a bed of white with some blue sprinkled in. Who had left that there? Probably Asuma, he was the only one who knew about her favorite flowers. How sweet of him. And the flowers surely would survive half an hour or so without water-

Wait, was she seriously considering drinking flower water right now?

Before she could contemplate whether or not she was actually desperate enough for water do to it, the door opened and a man entered. A man she knew quite well, even though he was lacking his typical cigarette, his hair was a mess, and he overall looked like he had seen better days.

"Asu…ma," she croaked, unable to lift any more than her head. Hearing her voice, he stared at her for a second, before snapping out of his stupor and rushing over to her bed, kneeling next to her.

"Kurenai! Oh, you are finally awake! Careful, don't try and move too much, your body still hasn't recovered from the fake death!"

"Fake… death?" Who in the world had put her under fake death? And why?

"Right, you need to hear this! You've got no idea what you and your team stumbled into with this mission…"

"Wa…ter…"

"Ah, sure, one sec!"

He jumped up and hastily fulfilled her request. The two shared an awkward moment when they realized she didn't have the strength to reach for the glass, let alone hold it, and that Asuma had to assist her with drinking. With anyone else, it would've felt humiliating, but with him, it somehow felt fine. Quite comfortable, actually. She felt… safe.

Panting as the glass was empty and her mouth finally didn't feel like sandpaper anymore, she let her head fall back into the pillow.

"Thank you for the flowers, by the way. They are beautiful."

"Glad you like them, but those aren't from me. The ones I bought have already wilted. In fact, I was just out getting new ones," he said and underlined it by lifting a bundle of poppies. Nothing else mixed in, just a whole lot of poppies. Kurenai couldn't help but chuckle. Right, that fitted him way more than an intricate bouquet. It didn't make it any less sweet, in fact, it was kind of adorable. But who else could've done it? No one else should know her favorite flowers, and poppies weren't exactly popular. Maybe-

"Those are from Tanya," Asuma completed his explanation before she could finish that thought.

Just hearing the name immediately made her tense up - something she instantly regretted as her muscled protested. How?! Even back when she was on good terms with the girl, they had never talked much about personal interests. Why did she know it?

She took a deep breath. She needed to think about something else. And thankfully, there was something else Asuma had said.

"If your flowers already wilted… how long have I been out?"

"About four days."

"F-four… nnghh!"

"Careful, don't try and sit up yet!"

Not that Asuma's warning had been necessary, her body had already reminded her of it. She really needed to control her impulses. Fake death alone could take a week to recover, and she lost a lot of blood on top of that.

"If you're worried about your team, don't be," he continued. "I've got that covered. They'll be in top shape when you can meet them again. I'll also tell them you're awake when we train together tomorrow, they will want to visit you, too."

"I see. Thank you."

"Ah, no need."

"No, I'm serious."

"I am, too," he clarified. "There is literally no need to thank me because I didn't do anything yet. I'll only meet them tomorrow, today and yesterday was Tanya's turn."

"…Come again?"

"So, this is it?" Kōzui asked, and his tone alone already made it clear that Kakuzu would need to hold himself back. After three more days wasted on the road, they finally found another clue that had led them into this forest.

"Yes," he grumbled. "This is where she was seen last." Unfortunately, this seemed to be a dead end. They knew their target had entered this forest quite some time ago, and none of the surrounding farms or villages had seen her leave afterward.

"There is nothing here, though."

"I'm aware." There was no trail, nothing. Sure, if she didn't want to, then no civilian could have seen her leave. But she didn't seem to care about that so far, so why should she now? She had been over a week ahead of them; there was no way she knew they were after her.

"Actually, wait, something is here," Kōzui suddenly stated, much to Kakuzu's surprise. The former Mist Ninja closed his eyes and formed a 'dog' hand seal.

"Yeah, I knew it. There is water running below us."

"So what?"

"Too fast, too thin, and too parallel for an underground river. Feels more like pipes."

Kakuzu's eyes narrowed. Pipes meant a structure built by humans, so if it was below them…

'Doton: Chikadō no Jutsu!' [Earth Release: Tunneling Jutsu]

In front of him, the earth broke open and a circular sinkhole formed, pushing the ground further down until the sound of stone shattering could be heard, accompanied with the creaking of metal.

"Subtle," Kōzui commented, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Shut up."

The two jumped down the hole and landed in what seemed to be a squared tunnel. It was only dimly lit, safe for the new light source that was the new entrance. Water ran out of two burst pipes and slowly started to cover the floor. Kakuzu grunted, grabbed the metal, and squeezed them shut with his bare hands.

"Yup, that's definitely not 'nothing'," Kōzui concluded in his annoying tone. But then again, he was the one who had found this structure, so Kakuzu simply ignored him this time and started to move.

The structure was quite large, an entire system of tunnels hidden right under the forest. Most rooms were mundane, either living quarters, storage rooms, or cells, though none of the latter was filled at the moment. The entire place reeked of death, a smell originating from the remaining rooms that didn't fall under any of the first three categories: laboratories, each filled with stranger stuff than the one before. Kakuzu might not be a biologist, but many of those test tubes definitely contained human parts. Especially eyes. It was almost absurd how many eyes they saw, some whole, some damaged from experimentation, some riddled with seals as it seemed. A part of him wondered if he should just take the notes lying around to try and sell them on the black market. The issue was that he didn't understand what was written there most of the time, and he knew scientific notes were worthless if incomplete.

And then, they finally found her. At the end of a rather big room, she was bound to what looked like a slightly tilted operating desk, bandages covered her eyes, and her constitution had clearly suffered from whatever she had been subjected to down here. As they entered, she raised her head.

"Is someone there?" she asked with a slightly panicked voice.

"Shijima Hōki?" Kakuzu confirmed, even though he was quite sure it was her. And her reaction to the name proved him right.

"Wh-wha… who are you?! You are not him! Are you one of his goons?!"

"At least she won't run away anymore," Kōzui quipped, which seemed to confuse her even more.

"Are you from Sand? Look, I know you won't believe me, but you must listen! We have been tricked! It's a lie, all of it! It's all him! I don't know what exactly he is planning, but it's something with the Chūnin exam! The Kazekage-"

"My, my, someone is chatty today. I recall you coming here on your own accord, did you already forget that?"

The two Akatsuki turned to face the newcomer. In the doorframe stood a lanky man with long, black hair and a face so pale it was almost completely white. The only colors on his skin were the purple markings around his yellow, snake-like eyes. His voice immediately made Shijima clamp her mouth shut.

"May I ask what brings you to my humble abode," he now turned to the two Akatsuki in a mocking tone, "or what you want from my failed experiment, Kakuzu and… I'm afraid I didn't get your name, but I assume you are new at Akatsuki considering that you are Kakuzu's partner and seemingly still alive."

Kōzui tilted his head.

"Who's the albino? And what is he talking about?"

"Oh my, did they not tell you?"

"I see you are still as obnoxious as ever, Orochimaru," Kakuzu now joined the conversation.

"Huh? Wait, THE Orochimaru?! Of the Legendary San-nin?"

"The title is largely overblown. But what is real are the hundred million on his head."

Orochimaru laughed.

"And I see you still only care about the one thing, Kakuzu."

"Besides money, there is nothing in the world you can trust. As you so graciously demonstrated."

"Well, you can't expect me to ignore a beauty like the Sharingan if a set is right in front of me. But rest assured, I do not care about Itachi anymore. I have found a new, better target."

"Too bad you'll never get it."

As he finished his sentence, Kakuzu raised his right hand. The lower arm detached at his elbow and, guided by a mass of black tendrils coming out to the stump, shot forward, his fingers grasping the throat of the San-nin and squeezing. But instead of getting its windpipe crushed, the body in front of him dissolved and crumpled into a pile of mud.

"…well, we got what we came for, let's just-"

Ignoring his partner's suggestion, Kakuzu finished a set of hand signs and put his palms flat on the ground.

'Doton: Chidōkaku!' [Earth Release: Moving Earth Core]

The entire underground facility quaked as the earth started to shift. Like a massive trapdoor, everything around them seemed to break open and swing upward. The ceiling cracked, light flooded the room, and Kōzui instinctively grabbed the operating table to not fall over as the floor got pushed upward. Meanwhile, the forest around them got leveled and trees collapsed left and right, the tectonic movement tearing the hideout apart. But the former Waterfall Ninja was far from done.

'Katon: Zukokku!' [Fire Release: Intelligent Hard Work]

A small orb of fire shot forward, and Kakuzu immediately formed the next hand signs. The orb touched the ground a bit further away, suddenly erupting into a massive firestorm, the same moment as the next Jutsu was ready.

'Futon: Atsugai!' [Wind Release: Pressure Damage]

Densely compressed air exploded into a spherical tornado that caught the previous fire jutsu and fused with it into a blazing inferno. The wind amplified the flames to such a degree that the emitted heat caused the trees to burst into splinters from the evaporating water in them before the fire could even reach them. Meanwhile, the flames rolled out in every direction, rushing tightly over the ground and incinerating everything in their path. When the Jutsu finally ended, the forest was gone, and nothing but a smoldering wasteland remained.

Only two places had been left untouched. One was the center of the storm, a small circle where Kakuzu and Kōzui stood next to Shijima.

The other was a single, thin strip of land, which had gotten shielded by what looked like a large, metal gate with a demonic grimace engraved in it. With a rumbling noise, the Rashōmon sank back into the ground, revealing an unharmed, still smirking Orochimaru.

"You truly have the finesse of a rhinoceros in a porcelain store, Kakuzu."

"Yeah, seriously, what the fuck was that?!" Kōzui agreed, grabbing his partner by the shoulder, or at least attempting to do so. But as soon as he touched him, the black cloak with the red clouds on it fell to the ground, empty.

"What happened?" the blindfolded and bound kunoichi asked disoriented. "Are we outside?"

Milliseconds later, black tendrils erupted from the earth below Orochimaru, but in a snake-like movement, the San-nin twisted his body out of their grasp and hopped back. Kakuzu jumped up from the below the ground, just as Orochimaru pointed his hand at him.

'Sen'ei Jashu!' [Hidden Shadow Snake Hands]

From his sleeve, three large snakes shot forward, coiling themselves around the airborne Akatsuki and opening their maws, ready to sink their fangs into him. But before they could, his skin turned pitch-black like charcoal, and the snakes' teeth bounced off like of solid rock.

Metal reflected the sunlight as all three snakes got cut in half. Their bodies had not yet hit the ground when Kōzui already stood in front of Orochimaru and swung his ninjatō again, this time directly at him. The San-nin opened his mouth, his multiple meters long tongue wrapped around Kōzui's wrists, lifted him up, and flung him through the air, but the former Mist Ninja managed to twist his body around and landed on his feet.

'Raiton: Gian!' [Lightning Release: False Darkness]

A singular bolt of lightning, short from Kakuzu who had finally gotten the dead snakes off of his body, hit Orochimaru in the back and pierced straight through his torso, leaving a smoking hole behind. Capitalizing on the moment, Kōzui closed the gap between them in an instant, swung his ninjatō, and sliced their opponent cleanly in half.

The cut-up clothes fell to the ground, a mass of snakes wiggling out of it, but no body.

"I would love to stick around more, but I'm unfortunately quite busy."

Hastily turning around, the two found Orochimaru standing next to Shijima, holding the frightened kunoichi's head tightly with one arm, while his other hand removed the bandages around her eyes.

For a second, the two Akatsuki could see her irises shimmer in all colors of the rainbow. Then, accompanied by a startled outcry, prismatic beams shot out of them in a wide cone. Blinded by the light, Kakuzu instinctively crossed his arms in front of his head, but the limbs almost didn't follow his orders. A paralyzing numbness spread out through his body as his chakra was thrown into complete turmoil. Using Ninjutsu like this was impossible, he barely managed to keep standing upright.

"Not bad for a failure, huh?" he could hear Orochimaru's voice from somewhere. "A far cry from the Sharingan, but it has its uses."

Kakuzu grunted. Something like this would not be enough to stop him! Pushing through the paralysis, he moved two of his extra hearts into his elbows, allowing his arms to move again. Detaching them once more, the black tendrils swung the limbs at the point where the voice was coming from, but they hit nothing but the empty ground. Finally, his main body was able to move again and he assessed their surroundings. Kōzui had fallen to the ground and was only now getting up again. Orochimaru was gone, and so was Shijima. After weeks on the road, they had exactly as much as they had at the beginning of their journey, which was nothing.

Weeks wasted for literally nothing. Kakuzu could feel the rage boil up inside of him. Someone, probably Kōzui, was about to die unless something happened that quenched his anger within the next five seconds.

Curiously, something happened indeed. Said something took the form of an orange moth, big enough to rival the size of a large mastiff, that landed in front of him.

"Lord Kakuzu? Lady Tanya wishes to meet with you to discuss a business proposal she is sure will interest you."