Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

She ran her hand over the hot sand, watching the movement of the grains under her fingers. Exactly how much chakra would it take to drag herself back to the village she wondered, taking in a shaky breath. This wasn’t supposed to happen, she wasn’t supposed to get injured. It was just a quick mission for more info about the Leaf village. She wasn’t even supposed to encounter anyone, but the gushing slash in her side said otherwise. The shoddy job of gauze and compression wraps did almost nothing to keep the crimson from dripping down her waist as she put her all into getting as close to Sunagakure as possible before she fell. Just as she made it to the sand, the village visible in the distance. The heat refraction against the sand distorting her already hazy gaze, tunnel vision beginning to take its hold on her. The blood that began to dry along her left leg and waist met with a fresh gush as she coughed. A whole day spent at her highest speed, still considering her large wound was proving fatal at this exact moment.

‘Is this it? Did I fail my mission? Will they find me before anything else gets to my body first?’ She thought to herself, in an effort to keep herself conscious as long as possible. ‘I’m close enough to the village that the surveillance squad should sense my chakra, at least I hope so. I just need to hold on, as long as possible.’ She lifted her head and glanced down at her hand that held the injury, fresh blood pooling around her fingers. ‘How much chakra do I have left? Doesn’t feel like a lot, maybe just enough to use a healing jutsu. Fuck I wish I payed more attention when they told us about medical ninjutsus.’ Mentally punching herself for her self proclaimed stupidity she took a deep breath and focused her chakra into the hand holding her wound, a shaky green light growing in her palm. Closing her eyes and putting full concentration into the visualization of her chakra flowing into and closing the gash she began to feel the slow trickle of chakra. Her eyes shot open and she released a breath she wasn’t aware she had been holding that whole time. It didn’t close whatsoever, but the fresh consistent flow of blood had finally stopped. “Okay. Okay that I should be enough, I should be able to get there. I’m not far I can see it, I can make it I’m not far .I can do it. I can do it.” She said out loud, unsure if it was to motivate herself or convince herself that it was the slightest bit possible. Taking in a deep inhale she propped herself up on her elbows and proceeded to get up to her knees. Exhaling and mentally preparing herself to stand, she just needed to get to that gate, that was all. Easy. She knitted her brow and took another deep breath and with that she was finally on her feet again. A sharp pang in her rib reminded her of the severity and possible time limit she had.

Her medical ninjutsu was useless as soon as she started walking. Unable to use any more chakra she paid all her strength and attention to the village getting larger and larger in the distance. The familiar stair-like structure brought more warmth into her heart, if she was going to die at least they’d find her. At least she’s be safe. Blood began to drip behind her onto the sand once again as she walked. “Almost. Almost there. They’ll see me soon.” She said, in between breaths, almost gasping. The tears that had been threatening her waterline started to flow down her flushed cheeks. She made it. Falling to her knees again, another sharp stabbing pain to her side. She looked up at the approaching shinobi from half-closed eyes, the tunnel vision taking over once again and finally falling unconscious.

~

Waking up to the smell of fresh cotton sheets and sickly-sweet antiseptic, she opened her eyes. ‘Okay great, I’m in the hospital.’ She thought, a wave of reassurance blessing her mind. Her left hand coming up to her side, feeling the soft wraps around her torso. There wasn’t any more pain, she felt great actually, whether it be due to the medical ninjutsu that was performed or the possible pain medication she was being fed through the IV to her right hand. A light knocking on her door before it opened pulled her from her thoughts. A nursed walked in the room, clipboard in hand. She had obviously been pretty familiar with the routine because she didn’t look up to notice that her patient had woken up.

“Um, hi.” Said Jiro, with a light wave.

“Oh my! You’re awake, that’s great. How are you feeling? I bet you’re thirsty, I’ll go get you some water and I’ll get the doctor too. Wait right here please.” She said before exiting the room just as quickly as she entered.

Looking around the room Jiro wondered, ‘how long have I been out?’. Another small knock on the door before it opened to reveal the nurse with a jug of water and a glass beside the woman she could only assume was the doctor.

“I got you some water, and here’s the doctor. She’s going to answer any questions you have and talk about your discharge plan. I’ll let you two talk now, just hit your call button if you need anything.” The young woman said in a cheery tone, a sugary sweet smile across her face before exiting the room again, closing the door behind her.

Fixing her glance from the door back to the doctor, she watched as she pulled up a chair and set it beside the bed. Sitting down she motioned for Jiro to sit up and adjusted her seat before looking down at the many papers on her clipboard.

“Hello Jiro, I’m Dr.Tora, I’m the one who’s been treating you. I’m sure you have many questions so I’ll tell you a few things and then you’re free to ask me anything. Firstly, you’ve been unconscious for about 5 days now. It was medically induced as an attempt to restore your chakra stores. Which has been successful but you still need to take it easy regardless. Second, we’ve been able to heal your wound about 60% of the way. You had two broken ribs along with the deep laceration on your left side. You were also hit with a poison of some sort, so some of the healing needs to be done naturally so your system has time to breakdown and process the poison. After it’s confirmed it’s completely out of your system we can fix any deep scarring or whatever’s left. And lastly, it’s only a speculation but the cut itself left you with a lot of nerve damage. This means you will most likely have chronic pain in the area, which can be treated with physiotherapy and medication. Now any questions I didn’t answer already?” Dr.Tora stated, looking up expectantly.

Dumbfounded and trying to process the words that just came out of her mouth, she sat there silent. Eyes glued to the floor, the words ringing in her head like an old radio. “When can I leave? I need to report to the Kazekage.”

“Ah yes, your discharge papers will be ready by lunch time, so you have about two hours to kill. In that time I’ll have the nurse come explain your medications to you. There’s an antibiotic, some low grade pain relievers, and a stronger one. But use it sparingly as its addictive and causes cognitive problems. Other than that, you’ll have two physiotherapy sessions a week, you’ll see me once a week, and you need to come get a blood test done two times a week. It would be easier on you to keep you in, but we’re just too busy, I’m sorry.” She said as she stood up, placing the chair back where it was before glancing up at Jiro. “I hope you’re feeling a little better now Jiro, I’ll be seeing you. Have a good day.”

“Okay, thank you. See you.” She said quietly, still looking at the floor. Hearing the door close, the tears welled up and fell over her lashes. ‘I can’t believe I was so stupid and careless. I ruined the whole mission. They needed the information that day, and it’s almost been a whole week since then. I’m sure the Kazekage will be furious.’ The anxiety eating her up inside like a fire, threatening any semblance of stability and reassurance she had gained. ‘I can’t face him. I can’t do this. I can’t do this. I’m going to lose my job. They’re going to take my headband.’ The thought itself made her choke and begin to sob. Her hands began to shake and her chest felt tight, and she started to hyperventilate. Suddenly, in what felt like a single second, there was a ringing sound in her ears and the sheets on her bed and the curtains in the windows blew upwards as if a large gust of wind had blown in. Startled, she tried blinking a few times in an attempt to make what she just saw make sense. She wasn’t using chakra, or was she? She wasn’t concentrating on doing it. The gust of air itself resembled her usually wind style ninjutsu, but it felt different. It felt natural. She looked at the palm of her hands, and the tips of her fingers, trying to visualize air flowing from them like a blue smoke. Then, taking a full breath she pushed her palm out from her body towards the wall and another strong gust of air blew through the room, knocking over papers and plastic containers filled with cotton swabs and gauze. Eyes wide with surprise she looked at her hands again, trying to find some sort of difference, but found none.

“What the fuck.” She said out loud to herself.

Yet another knock at the door before it opened, startling her. She saw the young nurse who looked around the room and at the floor. The rolling containers, cotton swabs, and papers littering the tile. “I heard a noise and just came to see if you were okay. Did something happen?” She asked with a slightly nervous tone.

“Um. It was the wind. The window. Some wind came in the window, so I closed it.”

Nice save.

“Okay, how odd. It’s hardly windy today too. Anyhow, I came with your meds and your little home pack. I’m sure the doctor already explained everything, but I’ll just clarify to make sure you got it all. She’s an amazing doctor, but she uses too many smart words.” She said lightly chuckling.

“Yeah she was really nice, too bad I was kinda in shock after she told me what happened. Well kinda what happened, mostly just about my injury.” Her right hand came up to her waist once more to feel the wrappings.

“Yeah you were in pretty bad shape when they found you outside the gates, it was kind of touch and go for the first while when you got into the OR. But you are a little trooper and pulled through!” She said with a laugh, putting her fist in the air triumphantly. “So for your medications. There’s an antibiotic that you need to take twice a day for 7 days, that’ll get rid of any lasting infection and also help your body work thought what’s left of that nasty poison. A light pain reliever that you can take every 4-6 hours, I’d recommend every 4 hours for the first three days until you start to feel a little better. And finally the strong painkiller, this is a medication called an opioid. It’s very good at doing it’s job of getting rid of pain, however it’s also very powerful. It should only be taken if you are in severe discomfort or pain. Don’t do anything that requires a strong amount of chakra control or anything like riding a bike or stuff like that. Drink plenty of water with it too because it’ll hurt your stomach and might constipate you. Other than that, you’re good to go. I had extra time to finish up your discharge papers so I just need your signature on those and you can go home.” Clapping her hands together as she spun on her heels back towards the door. Almost seconds later she returned with her clipboard and a paper bag. “Okay I need you to sign here, here, and here.” Pointing out all the lines and waiting for Jiro to finish. “And this bag is for you, sadly it’s not a present, just bandages and your medications. I threw a lollipop in there for you though. I’ll see you later this week okay, have a good day Jiro.” Waving goodbye as she left the room.

“Bye! Thank you.”

She got out of the hospital bed and proceeded to get ready to leave, changing her clothes and grabbing the ‘goodie bag’ she was given. She had been preparing herself, she had a plan. To go home, pack what she needed into some scrolls and leave Suna. She couldn’t face the Kazekage or her fellow shinobi, not after what happened. She felt weak, defeated and embarrassed. ‘People have left their villages for less’ she thought, in a weak attempt to validate going rogue. Leaving the hospital she made a beeline for her apartment, she was giving herself 10 minutes to gather some things and be at the gate. Doing her best to slide past pedestrians and walking behind buildings she finally reached her small apartment. It had been given to her by the Kazekage after both of her parents died in action when she was 10, the one small act of kindness seen by him. The small bachelor style apartment was surely seen better days, the water stained ceiling along with the cracked tile and lack of a proper kitchen, but it was home. Taking a deep breath, she quickly got to work, pulling the storage scrolls from a box and gathering her essential belongings. A few changes of clothes, a bag of hygiene products, the bag she was given at the hospital, some food pills and water bottle along with her carbon water filter. She had to get rid of all her other personal artifacts, grabbing whatever was left out of the scrolls she brought the small pile in her arms outside behind the building. She burned it all, watching the flames slowly eat away at her metaphorically her life in Suna. Realizing her self-set time limit had almost been reached she ran inside to do one last look around to make sure nothing was left. Tucking the scrolls away in her bag, she set all her nin tools along her black on black outfit, straps holing her kunai and senbon needles. Throwing her bag over her shoulder and tucking her trusty katana snuggly on her waist, she looked back into the small one room apartment. ‘This is it. This is the end. I might miss this place.’ She thought, closing the door for the last time.

Chapter Text

This was a bad idea. This was such a bad idea. As easy as running away sounds, it’s always the ‘running to’ that’s the hard part. She had been running for three days, as far away as she could. During that time she had been practicing that odd ability she had randomly attained, in the same movements as her wind style jutus. The wind in her fingertips now feeling more and more natural each time. But as amazing at that was, it didn’t solve her current issue of not having a place to stay. She didn’t have enough money for another inn, and was still healing, so continuing and possibly making her wound open up wasn’t even a question. The pain was slowly getting to her too, that ache in her side becoming all too irritating. ‘I’ll just take another one of those pain meds and stop to rest for the night.’ She though as she opened the small bottle, popping one into her mouth followed by a sip of water. After gathering herself back together, she found a small place to camp and set out her sleeping bag. “At least it’s summer, so it shouldn’t get too cold at night.” She said as she snuggled deeper falling unconscious.

The sweet sound of morning birds woke her, stretching in her sleeping bag and wincing at the sharp pain in her side once again. After steadying her breathing she reached for her bag again, pulling out the small bottle of pills and her water. Tossing back another pill she sighed as she stood up. Gathering her bag and sleeping bag she was now ready to continue her venture. But where was she going? Where could she go? After all there’s only so many places that are welcoming to a ex-nin like herself. Then the thought came to her, she could still be a shinobi. She knew of the bingo book, of bounty hunters. She had to kill a few in her career, so it wasn’t something new. Along with getting the money from the bounties, she could hone her new skills and possibly attain more. So it was settled, she was going to take another week of traveling the area to heal, and then start bounty hunting. During the week she would practice her medical jutus and work on her wind ability, along with finding out more about how to be a bounty hunter.

(Time skip I’m sorry)

A week came and passed by quickly, after meeting a few people in one of the nearby villages. She learned the whereabouts of the bounty collections office and also had a small bingo book in her possession. Her injury was now a pretty nasty looking scar due to the help of her low grade medical jutsu. Her ‘wind abilities’ also became stronger, she now had the concentration and ability to push things away, accelerate weapons she threw, soften her falls, and run faster than ever before. Looking pretty good for someone who had been living in the forest and training for a week straight. It was then she decided on a good soak, instead of a river bath. There had to be at least one hot spring around here.

And there was! Happier than she had been in maybe months, she quickly got undressed and almost jumped into the water. All her muscles relaxing and her breathing slowing to a comfortable rate, she basked in the warm water. In a pretty sad attempt to run her hands through her knotted hair, she was stopped by what can only be described as a ‘rats nest’ sitting atop her head. A bar of soap and random river water was not doing her hair any favors. Along with training everyday for a week and haphazardly throwing it upon a bun, it was now unsalvageable. She brought her hands away from her hair and down to her face, dragging then down her cheeks before groaning. “I’m going to have to cut my hair, I can’t upkeep this and be productive at the same time.” She sighed again before making her way over to her bag on the edge of the water, pulling a kunai from her bag, she grabbed a loose strand and cut it. Followed by another, and another, and another. After a few minutes the job was finally done, and a small pile of hair sat on the wet ground. Wading back into the deeper part of the natural hot spring, she cupped some water in her hands and splashed it onto her hair, running her fingers through the short strands. It wasn’t short enough to look exactly like a boys cropped style, but it wasn’t long enough to be a chin length cut either. Reluctantly, she exited the water and dried off. Staring at the small pile of hair, she started to cry again. It seemed that left and right there was always something that was keeping her away from her past life, from who she was, from home. Would she ever have a home again? Could she ever have a home again? Now dressed she, she continued her way deeper into the land of fire, in hopes of confirming the whereabouts of a rumored ‘collections office’, where her new career as a bounty hunter would begin.

Surprisingly, the walk wasn’t long. And the office was easy to find as she stalked two men in the distance wearing long black cloaks, carrying a dead body towards a small building. Now confirming the office was where the man had said, she turned back. Looking down at the small book in her hands, faces, faces, money. It was all money, for the making. Now fully healed she was more confident in her ability to fight. Even before the weird wind powers had manifested, she had been a ninja for well over 10 years having passed the chunin exams at 11 years old in the first place. She was placed on solo missions for a reason, she was trusted to finish the job, always. Being a powerful wind ninjutsu user, and a seasoned kenjutsu katana user she could almost always eliminate a target within the first few minutes. Her adeptness in stealth and chakra control also made her the first pick on reconnaissance missions. Her potential and natural prowess is what made her feel so confident, because like many other orphans from the sand, she was raised from a child to a perfect killer.

Another week spent training and working up her strength again. She was almost back to 100%, compared to before she had gotten injured. As she practiced and fooled around with her new ability she had chose to name ‘Air Manipulation Jutsu’. The new skills she had picked up were to bolster her jumps when she’d push off against the trees, concentrating the wind to slice and cut, and to vault herself upwards with a direct gust of air from a fall/flip. All skills that would show to prove useful and more than capable in her new career. Getting ready for bed a bit early that night, she looked down at the small book, staring at the face of the one she had been tracking for the last two days. Tomorrow was the day, she was going to collect her first bounty.

Hidden above in the trees away from sight, glancing down at her walking target, he suddenly stopped. She watched as he slowly took in his surroundings, doubted himself and continued. It was that exact moment that he turned around did she leap down from her hiding spot, softening the landing and almost silencing it. Using her air accelerated sprint, she launched herself forward and used her air slice technique, slicing open the back of his ankles as he fell to the ground screaming. Walking up to the now incapacitated man, she swiftly brought her katana down on his throat and cleanly cut his jugular before stepping back to avoid the gushing crimson from his neck. Looking down at the corpse she leaned onto one leg. ‘What do I do with the body? Do I carry it? I’m going to get all bloody and gross if I do that. Should I drag him? No, too much work. And they did say that they want the body’s in good condition. I wonder…’. She thought as she pulled her bag off her shoulder, opening the pocket containing her storage scrolls. Unrolling one of the empty scrolls she brought it over to the body, laying it beside him she did the necessary hand signs and *poof*.
All that was left to show of the murder that had just taken place was the pool of fresh blood and a scroll. Quickly rolling said scroll up and putting it back in her bag, she started her long walk back to the collections office, but maybe she could pick up a few more. Given if the targets were all as easy at her first. It was thrilling, to kill a man for her own self-gratification, for her own benefit. And the money was a big help, it was the whole reason she picked up the ‘new job’. Gearing back up, she stretched out her left side and rotated her shoulder a few times, a light pant in her side made her stop to open her bag again. Reaching into the paper bag she pulled out the small bottle of pills, easily swallowing it down without the assistance of water. Tasting the left overs from the coating the back of her tongue, she slightly savored the taste and enjoyed the numbing sensation as all her nerves melted away.

And luck had taken her side that evening as she just so coincidentally walked past a man she recognized from the bingo book. Quickly turning around she tossed a kunai at his head, surprised as he deflected it out of the way at the exact moment. The man quickly brought his hands up to form some signs and release a powerful fire jutsu, almost successfully pushing her back. But Jiro saw this as an opportunity, taking in a deep inhale just as she had so heavily practiced, she visualized the fire and the air around it as a bubble. ‘Without air, there can be no fire, so if I just make a bubble around the fire I should be able to stop it.’ Putting her hands out in front of her, she concentrated on the thought of isolating all the air in of that specific spot and stopping the fire. And miraculously just as the fire should have reached her, it ceased to exist and the bubble she created seemed to be a globe of floating smoke. Flexing her fingers and dropping her hands to her sides, she concentrated her attention back to the task at hand. The man quickly jumped towards her, attempting to slice her with kunai in each hand, only to be deflected with her katana before she used her air manipulation to push herself off of the ground and flipping herself over him to now be behind him, using her air slice technique to cut off his right arm. The loud screaming of the man rang in her ears and she looked down with an emotionless face on the now crouching figure on the ground, so helpless and vulnerable.

“Bleeding out like a dying animal, how pathetic. I’m doing you a favor by putting you down quickly. You should really be thanking me for disposing of trash like you so mercifully.” She said in a flat empty tone, quickly bringing her katana down on the man’s neck before taking a step back to avoid the gush pooling around her feet.

‘I kind of panicked when he retaliated, but other than that I did okay. I should have gotten him with the air slice at the beginning like I did with the first job, but I opted for my kunai. I guess it does feel more familiar, but this air manipulation is so much more natural and stronger. No one can see it and I hardly use any chakra when I use it.’ Unrolling the storage scroll with the ‘other bounty’ she laid it onto of the bloodied corpse and preformed the hand signs for it to activate. Seeing the body gone, she casually rolled it back up again and placed it back in her bag. Standing up from her crouching position she continued in her walk to the collections office.

Chapter Text

She had finally made it to the treeline surrounding the collections office that just so inconveniently happened to be in the mens room. She was told about the specific placement of a wall, that when you applied chakra to it, was supposed to fall open. Gathering the courage to confidently walk straight in, she saw them again, the men in black cloaks. From the other side of the tree line, they emerged with another body thrown over the shoulder of the one with a head covering. Deciding quickly that walking in that moment and possibly running into them was the worst idea, she took a seat in a nearby tree and waited it out. There’s no way they could take and longer than 30 minutes anyways, or so she hoped.

Just like clockwork, the duo walked out 30 minutes after they had entered. Watching them closely, she watched as the one showing his chest seemed to annoy the masked one, who punched the grey haired man so hard that he flew back a few metres in her direction. Doing her best to conceal her chakra, she tried even harder to hold her breath and compose herself. Now in better view she seen what design had been adorned on the long black cloaks, red clouds. THE red clouds, of the rumoured group of S-rank criminals, all rouge nin and extremely powerful, most likely unbeatable for the average shinobi. And not a risk she was willing to take, not today.

But it seemed as easy as luck can give, it can also take. As if he could smell out her fear, the masked one made his way in his partners direction, putting his hand outwards to silence him as he studied the treeline. Taking that as her sign to go, she swiftly jumped into the higher branches and pushed off, using her air accelerated sprint towards a new hiding spot, still relatively close to the collections office. She wasn’t going to let two criminals keep her from collecting the money she so desperately needed. And with the payout from just these two bounties, she could be set for at least a few weeks. It could all work out nicely for her, in theory.

Dropping to the ground, and forgetting to cushion her fall, a familiar sharp sting radiated in her side. Regardless of how much medical jutsu she used, she couldn’t heal severed nerves that now caused her an irritating amount of pain that could only be managed and ignored from this point on, parallel to the pain she lived with everyday.

Even before her parents had died, they were hardly around. Usually on missions that would run anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, leaving her by herself. She would never allow herself to make a connection like that. To love, to care, to be weak and unable to do anything about it. How she wishes they would have listened to her when she begged at their feet for them to stay home, only to be told “The village needs us baby, you’ll understand one day.” Not once could she understand how going out of the way to protect a village that could care less about the well-being of their shinobi could be of a higher priority that their only child. Those connections made her weak, they made her vulnerable, made her soft. Or that was what they enforced in her and many others during her ‘special classes’ at the academy. The strong throb in her side pulled her from her thoughts, taking a deep breath she began to calculate how long ago she had last taken the medication .

‘Okay I think it’s been about 4 hours? Maybe 3. Closer to 3. I’m sure I’ll be fine if I take another now, I probably have a tolerance for them now, that’s why it hurts again. That’s the only reasonable answer here.’ Once again making a poor attempt at validating her shitty decision making. Popping another pill, the pain evaporated almost instantly as a wave of relief washed over her. Now all she had to do was check the open field surrounding the small building for the two men and walk into the collections office. Simple enough.

~

It was not simple. The medication had taken a full effect on her quickly, a sheen of sweat across her face and tunnel vision beginning to make it difficult to keep her eyes open. The sensation of vertigo started to hit her, causing her to stumble as she walked up the concrete steps to the bathroom. Stopping just outside the doors, she attempted to pull herself together and take a few deep breaths. Not ever would she let someone see her as weak, and today was not the day that changed. Finally feeling confident, she ran a small amount of chakra in her fingertips and started to feel the walls for the ‘door’. Once again, luck had taken her side that day and a small panel in the wall fell open, revealing a man in the hidden back room.

“You’re new. Why have you come?” The man asked firmly, arms crossed across his chest.

“This is the collections office. Correct? I’ve come to collect. I’ve obtained two targets and was hoping to be rightfully compensated.” She said confidently, straightening her posture as to say ‘I’m not intimidated by you’ and to keep her composure as the medication was taking a big hit on her.

“Well I don’t see the bodies? No body no money.”

“I actually found carrying two bodies to be a strenuous activity so I opted for a storage scroll. If food can be stored why not a corpse, right?” She said chuckling as she shifted her bag off her shoulder and dug into the small pocket holding the scroll. Unrolling and placing it on the concrete floor, she did the hand signs and the two men appeared. Seemingly in perfect condition, the man gestured for her to follow him as he picked up one of the corpses and placed it on an examination table, motioning his hand to place the other on the other nearby table a few feet away.

“Well, I’ve confirmed they’re who you said they are, and I have the money right here.” He stated as he brought over a bag, opening it to show the stacks of cash. “And don’t worry about being shorted, I’m a wiser man than to try and wrong a professional in my line of work.”

“I wasn’t worried, and it all seems to be in order so I’ll be off now. I hope to do business with you again.”

“I’ll see you then.”

Walking out of the musty room, she almost tripped down the stairs. Taking a few deep breaths, she attempted to regulate her racing heartbeat. Shaky hands brought up to her face as she sat on the ground and continued her deep breaths.
‘Fuck this was a bad idea. It’s never felt like this before, I don’t think I should have taken it. I should have just dealt with it like I used to with all my pain before. I’m so stupid. I’ve left myself vulnerable to an enemy attack, if this was an actual mission I could have been dead by now.’

She groaned as the self-depreciation ate away at her, becoming reliant on anything, whether it be a person, object or substance felt like a failure to her. She was meant to be an unmoving force, unable to be swayed with the emotional and mental torment that she was taught that the enemy would commit if she were to ever be caught. The worse had now started to taper off and her clarity was returning. With her mind clear, she decided to find a place to camp for the night and then maybe find a place to call home.

Chapter Text

Three days after the little incident she had, she’d decided that picking up a few more bounties couldn’t hurt. Suiting herself up in the black-on-black combo she favored along with her trusty katana strapped to her hip she set off. Two more targets in relatively the same area made for some easy money, and the practise itself truthfully couldn’t hurt. Making her way down the dirt road, she strolled leisurely under the hot sun. Not a cloud in the sky as she looked up, hand shielding her eyes from the suns beams.

“This is ironically a good day for a job like this.” She said to herself tone full of glee, she’d be lying if she told herself she wasn’t excited to use her air jutsu on another person. After hiding out for a few days, fighting trees and bushes just wasn’t doing it anymore, and to avoid the ‘cabin fever’ she’d picked two of the more ‘volatile’ targets from the small bingo book.

Kicking a pebble forwards with her as she walked to kill the time, it seemed to do exactly that as she approached the small village where one of her targets was rumoured to be last seen. A seedy town full of gambling clubs, bars, host clubs, and a ‘red light district’ that outmatched the small residential areas. Making her way down the busy street, brushing shoulders with strangers she glanced in shops looking for the face of the man she called her target. A tall man with a large build and long brown hair. Supposedly he had been exiled from his village decades ago and was still somehow on the run at his age.

‘Any shinobi who has been able to live such a long life surely have something to show for it, and I’m doubting he’s willing to go down without a fight.’ She thought excitedly, anxious tingles settling in her finger tips. And that was when she saw them once again, the same long black cloaks with the pretty little red clouds decorating the fabric. The grey haired one not carrying his obnoxiously large scythe and the masked one finally close enough for her to see his green sclera and red irises. Rather than being off putting she couldn’t help but think of the finest emerald and rubies, stuck in wondering how his eyes would shine in the sun, he made eye contact with her. Stunning her in place as he gave her a once-over and seemed to have said something to his partner before he started to make his way through the crowd towards her.

Feeling as if this would be the most important thing she could do at this exact moment, instead of thinking of a counter or a strategy of any kind, she simply took off running through the crowd. As quickly as she could make it through the sea of people she projected a burst of air from her feet, successfully catapulting herself two metres into the air and pushing herself off a lamp post back towards the way she had entered town. At least if she had to run, she could run in a familiar direction.

Seeing the black clad stranger suddenly almost levitate about the crowd, Kakuzu couldn’t be less than surprised, this was unlike any jutsu he had seen. Was it a kekki genkai? Was it some new invention that he hadn’t yet heard of? Intrigued with the kunoichi he continued his pursuit into the bushes after her.

After running into the bushes and atop the tree branches, she had decided to take a break and catch her breath. Which was probably the worst possible thing to do at that exact moment as she suddenly felt the presence of another chakra, a strong one at that. While the chakra felt intimidating, it also felt oddly segmented and unnatural, sending a shiver up her spine as she felt it approach closer and closer. It was now or never, she could continue to run or she could jump down and confront him.

Unlikely being able to take on an S-Rank criminal shinobi, her hopes were low. Putting herself into the mission mindset, her insecurities and doubts melted away into a black nothingness, the void almost swallowing her whole as she came almost face to face with her pursuer. The vibrant green and red eyes narrowed on hers as he broke the contact and studied her stance.

Readying herself for a fight, she decided to start with her air slice technique, which didn’t do nearly enough and instead blew him back and coincidentally into a better range for her next attacks. She watched as the large man threw off his cloak to reveal a sleeveless shirt and what looked like thick tendril-like stitching in rows on his arms and two sets of tattoos adorning his wrists. It couldn’t be, there’s no possible way that a coincidence such as that could happen. He was her target, but unable to see his face, the only signifier of his identity being the crude stitching and the prison tattoos.

Pulling herself back into her mission mode, her eyes fell into a flat, empty black. she executed a practiced barrage of attacks that her target miraculously avoided. It seemed as though she was the only one attacking, with him just nearly dodging her every move. The confusion had yet to pull her away from her ‘mission’, as the man stood there motionless with his arms crossed over his chest watching her, waiting for her. She kicked off her footing with her air accelerated sprint almost directly towards the man before pushing another gust out of her hand towards his face, blowing the covering off his face and head as she had planned, then projecting a gust of air out of her feet again to propel herself into the trees. Knowing at this point she was unable to hide from the man, she tried to think up a strategy, but the same thoughts kept coming to mind. ‘Why isn’t he attacking me? What is he waiting for? Why hasn’t he said anything yet? I don’t even know what he wants with me, or if he wants anything from me at all. For all I know he could just be looking for me too. I’m probably in the bingo book at this point.’

And as if all logical thinking had vanished from her mind, she simply dropped down from the lush green canopy and used her air cushion to gracefully land a few meters away from her target. Bringing her glance up from the ground and back into the emerald and ruby eyes of the man across from her she took a deep breath and spoke.

“Why aren’t you attacking me back? What are you waiting for? What do you want!”

“You’re asking stupid questions girl, but I’ll humor you. I assumed from the moment you were in that town that you were looking for me. Every few weeks another unfortunate soul comes to me and meets their end in hopes of bringing me down and collecting the money on my head. And as for why I’m not attacking you, I simply wanted to see if you could lay a scratch on me, and while I’m the slightest bit impressed by your abilities, you failed miserably to do so. To finish this conversation, I want nothing from you, but I do want the money for your head, so I chose to give you the first swing.”

“That was an unnecessarily long response to my three short questions, but I’ll take it. I guess I was right to think my face is already in the bingo books. Too bad for you I won’t let you catch me. I’d like to confirm who you are first, for bounty purposes of course?”

“I needn’t tell you girl, the dead don’t need to remember names.” He spat as he lowered his stance in preparation for her next anticipated flurry of attacks, only it didn’t come. She stood there, studying his uncovered face.

With all the distraction of the fight and the long winded answer she has received, she finally got a good look at his face, she knew who he was. She knew his name from the book, but never in one million years did she ever think someone of his age could look like that. The book had said he’d been rouge for decades, but the man before her didn’t look a day over 30. His deep tanned skin complimented his gemstone eyes perfectly and the stitching that spread across his cheeks reaching under his chiseled cheekbones were oddly attractive in a way. A light flush grew in her cheeks and she quickly turned away to hide it.

“I was just asking to be polite. I’m aware of your name and who you are. I’m also aware of the group of rouge nin you’re apart of. And knowing these bits of information I know I’m in over my head by attacking you any further.”

“You’re wise for someone who looks so stupid.” He said lightly chuckling as he placed his mask and covering back on his head.

Taking a small step forward, she relaxed her stance and looked at him once more before asking him. “Would you happen to have any questions for me regarding the fact that you are aware that my name is in the bingo book?”

“All I want to know is if you were the one stealing my bounties from me. A few days ago two valuable targets stolen right out from under me. Under any other circumstance you would’ve been dead by now. I could’ve killed you easily the moment I saw you, but you surprised me girl.”

“Surprised you how?”

“Don’t play dumb, I’m speaking of that wind jutsu you’ve used. I’ve seen you weave no hand sign, state no technique, and use only the slightest bit of chakra. So you’ve peaked my curiosity.”

“So what? You want to cut me open and see what makes me tick?”

“Possibly.”

A chill running down her spine let her know he wasn’t kidding. Was he truly just curious about her ability? She herself was still very much confused and in the dark regarding her air jutsu.

“What if..” she paused. “What if I wanted to find out what was going on with me too? Do you have a doctor among your group?” Anxiety wavering her voice.

“I can’t say for certain but I’m sure our leader would be very curious about your abilities also. I can either take you by force or you can come by choice. Make up your mind girl, and don’t keep me waiting.”

“Do you promise I won’t be killed?”

“I am not permitted to make such promises, nor am I the one to be making them. I’ll take your question as your compliance. Now to begin, you will listen to everything I say, you will obey what I tell you, and you will stay out of my way.” He said, tone turning bitter and stern.

“Okay. As long as you don’t kill me, I’ll come. But I also can’t promise you that I’ll completely agree with the boundaries you just set. I work on my own terms, and I’m coming with you on my own terms. Okay?”

“Fine, it’s unlikely that you’ll be a larger pain in my neck than that religious, babbling idiot anyways. Speaking of him, here he comes now.” He said as he motioned behind her.

Turning around to see the grey haired shirtless man, she gave him a once over and rolled her eyes to see the large obnoxious weapon once again.

“Aw come on beautiful, I haven’t even said anything and you’re already blushing!”

Looking back at him with eyes like daggers she replied with a sharp tone. “I wasn’t blushing, and I already know I’m going to hate you.” She rolled her eyes.

“Oh, I love with when they play hard to get, don’t you Kakuzu?” The grey haired man said lifting his brow and laughing.

“Let’s go now, the girl has agreed to come with us, I believe she’ll be of some use to the organization and I’ve decided to take her to leader.”

“You picked up a hooker for the base Kakuzu!? That’s not like you man, I gotta say though this is making me see you in a whole new light.” The man said, over exaggerating his excitement.

“Shut your mouth before I sew it shut again Hidan. My patience is already wearing thin.” Kakuzu snapped at his partner.

Following closely behind Kakuzu and in front of Hidan, they walked for what seemed like hours in almost complete silence. Almost being that she and Kakuzu hardly spoke a single word all the while Hidan tried his best to get them to do the opposite by telling dirty jokes and having a one sided conversation with her about his insane religion. Which she thankfully tuned out almost 100% of, until he finally asked a genuine question.

“You gonna tell me why we’re bringing a chick back to base other than you thinking she’s important?”

Letting out an annoyed sigh, Kakuzu answered. “I’m curious of her abilities that she’s show me thus far and I believe that leader will also find them fascinating.”

A light blush gracing her cheeks once again as the word ‘fascinating’ left his lips. Although the man was no doubt terrifying and a literal mass murderer at this point, she couldn’t help but feel a sorts of gravitational pull towards him. And almost as if he could sense the growing emotion in her, Hidan asked her a question.

“So, why you making eyes at the old man and not me hot stuff? I promise I’m so much better than him anyways, he’s older than dust.”

“I wasn’t ‘making eyes’ Hidan. And you need to keep your crude comments to yourself, I might not be feeling too kind the next time you say something that annoys me.”

“Oh really? What are you going to do? Spank me with that big scary katana of yours?” He teased.

“I could quite literally kill you if I wanted to. You are aware of that right?”

“Nobody can kill me baby, I’m immortal. It means I can’t die or anything.”

“I’m aware of immortal means, I’m not an idiot. Unlike some people.” She said, speaking under her breath for the last part.

“Okay let’s see if you’re all talk then, come at me! I wanted to see what you’re packing anyways, bring that little sword over here and show me what you can do.”

“I don’t use my sword to fight, I use it to finish the job.”

“Oh I’m sooo scared. Just come fight me already bitch!”

Annoyed with the name, she looked to Kakuzu for a consent of some sort. Receiving a wave of his hand she pushed off, air accelerated sprint bringing her within touching distance before stopping in front of him. Her whole aura changed into that of a femme fatale and she looked him with half-lidded eyes. His magenta eyes meeting her stone black ones, and suddenly she reached out for his face, pulling him down. His hand settling on her waist and the other on her shoulder he pulled her towards himself, closing his eyes for the kiss he assumed he would be receiving. Only to feel the light brush of her pillow soft lips against his and a powerful gust of wind travelling down into his lungs before it essentially popped them like two pink balloons, sending him flying backwards tumbling as his limp body laid still for a few moments before reanimating.

“OH FUCK! Man she really got me there Kakuzu, she’s smart you got that right. I wasn’t watching out for an attack, but next time that happens, I’ll be on full alert beautiful.” He said with a wink as he walked back towards them.

“I didn’t really believe you before, but I definitely believe you now Hidan. I’ll have to ask you about it another time though, it seems as if I’ve reached my limit on the sound of your voice today.” She replied with a sarcastic tone.

“Aw man I like this girl! You’re alright with me beautiful, I’m sure the other guys will like you too if you keep this up.” Walking beside her and attempting to put his arm around her shoulders before being pushed back by a blast of air, sending him tumbling backwards.

“That’s enough now, the both of you. I believed you wouldn’t be an annoyance to me girl, but you’re proving me otherwise. You’re welcome to kiss and kill him as much as you’d like when we get back to base, but until then I will have no more breaks or distractions. We’re less than half a days walk to the base and I intend on being there in exactly that long. Do I make myself clear?” His hash tone sending a familiar chill down her spine once again, quickly nodding and staring into his ruby emerald eyes again.

“Jealousy doesn’t look too good on you there Kakuzu, but don’t worry. You can have at her when im done okay? I’ll leave her in one piece.”

“You won’t be having any of me at all, ever. And as I said, keep your crude comments to yourself Hidan, or do u want me to blow up your head next time?”

“Oh baby say it again!” He cried as he dramatically ran his hand up his torso to his chest.

“I will kill you Hidan I swear to god. I’ll cut you into a bunch of little pieces and string you up in a forest so you can watch as the animals eat your body.”

“Okay psycho bitch, I was just joking for Jashin’s sake.”

~

After a few hours of complete silence, the only sounds being that of feet hitting the ground and the grumbling that Hidan was doing from a little further behind than before, they had finally made it to their destination. What seemed to be a decently sized, fully grey concrete building stood in the distance. As they fully approached the building she watched as Kakuzu turned away to weave a few hand signs and touch the wall. Not a second after, the wall started to shake slightly as it lifted upwards to the height of Kakuzu, almost melding with the wall above. Mindlessly following behind Kakuzu as she had for the last 8 or so hours, she didn’t notice the four sets of eyes watching her every step into the building.

The four men watched silently as the stranger strolled so familiarly behind their most intimidating group member, leaving them all speechless. All eyes still on her as she walked closely behind Kakuzu, stopping to wait as he knocked on Leaders door and soon after entering, closing the door behind them.

“Who’s that, un?”

“Not sure, she sure looked really close to Kakuzu though. You think they know each other?”

“They obviously know each other if she’s here, yeah. He wouldn’t bring just anybody back to base.”

“Tobi thinks she’s pretty!”

“I gotta agree with you there Tobi.”

“Well you two can tell her yourselves, they’re about to exit the room.”

Their conversation stopping, they watched as Kakuzu and the girl left the office followed by Konan. Who was saying something to her before bringing her down the hall, leading her into one of the spare rooms.

“What are you all staring at?” Kakuzu said as he walked over to the four men, who were all spread out between three large couches.

“Who’s the girl, un?” Deidara asked, cocking his head to the side.

“Not my job to introduce you, ask her yourselves.” He replied as he walked past them into the kitchen.

“Maybe Leader sent them to go find her?” Kisame asked, leaning back into the cushions.

“Tobi will go find out!!” The orange masked man yelled as he jumped off the couch and went running down the hall, waving his oversized sleeves frantically before he knocked on her door.

“What do you two think she is going to do?”

“Maybe she’ll attack him, yeah?”

“She looks like a sweetiepie to me, she’ll probably be friends with the little guy.”

Then the door opened.

Chapter Text

(HER POV)

Following Kakuzu into the building I stared at my feet, walking closely behind him as he had instructed I do when we arrived at the base.

“Don’t talk to anyone and don’t look at anyone. Walk behind me and keep close.“ He had told me.

I continued to follow him down a hall, stopping to wait a couple feet behind him as he knocked on a dark heavy door.

“Come in.” A woman’s voice called.

Kakuzu opened the door and made his way to one of the empty chairs all sitting around a long oval shaped table. I looked at the large table, counting the chairs and thinking about who all the other members could be.

Then a deep voice spoke.
“Hello Kakuzu, who is this?”

“Leader, I’ve brought her to you because I believe she can be of use to our cause. To our organization, and I also thought that you might find her abilities interesting, as I did.”

“I see.” The orange haired man said. “Konan, bring her to one of the spare rooms and call for a meeting immediately.”

“Yes leader, right away.” The blue haired woman said

“You both may leave now, I’ll be speaking to you later on. But first, tell me your name.”

“Um, my name is Jiro. Sir.”

“Nice to meet you Jiro, seeing as I trust the judgement of Kakuzu here, I’ve decided that you will be a temporary member as of right now. Are you in agreement?”

I stared at him with wide eyes. ‘What did he just say? He wants me to be a member of the Akatsuki? A temporary member? What does that even mean? I’ve been staring to long. Speak. Speak. SPEAK!’

“I- uh I agree. I guess.”

“You may leave now.”

The soft voice spoke again “Please follow me, I’ll show you to your room.”

I stared at her, still processing what had just happened. Her soft blue hair and striking gold eyes burning their gaze into my soul. A shudder enveloping my body, how was she so beautiful? Snapping back to reality, I nodded and silently followed her out of the large office and down the hall. I watched as she opened the heavy door and motioned for me to follow her inside.

She walked to the middle of the room as the door softly shut itself. “This is your room, it’s the only one with a private bathroom,” she paused and looked around almost nostalgiclly. “This was actually my room when we originally moved to the base, but we tend to stay at the other building now. I left a decent sized dresser and all the rooms come with a desk, I hope you’ll be comfortable.” She said with another soft smile that reached her eyes. At least someone here, so far, was genuine. “There’s a larger shared bathroom at the end of the hall with full showers, baths, and an a large sento-style tub. Right through where you entered was the open living space with some seating and a few book cases. The kitchen is small, but it works enough for everyone here. All the other members seem to only shop and cook for themselves so you will be expected to do the same. Also clean up any messes you make quickly, to best avoid conflicts.”

“Okay, uh thanks.” I replied as I looked down at the bare mattress in the middle of the room. “Is there somewhere I can get some sheets and stuff?” I asked, turning my head back to look at her.

“Yes there’s a storage closet down the hall let me sho-“

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

“HELLO IT’S TOBI! Tobi wants to meet the new girl!” A loud voice from the hall bellowed.

I turned to Konan confused and she quickly walked towards the door, opening it to an odd man with an orange mask.

“Hello Tobi, you will get to meet her with the rest of the others. Can you go gather them at the table please?”

The man stood up straight and saluted before nodding his head and running back towards the living space.

“I’ll finish showing you around after introductions. Don’t be nervous okay.” Konan said to me a small smile forming on her lips. It seems as thought she was almost always smiling.

I followed her out of the room and back down the hall, taking a deep breath before entering the same large office behind her. I kept my eyes on the floor again, but felt multiple sets of eyes on me. Konan patted a chair and waved her hand for me to come sit. I sat down and looked up at the man they all called ‘Leader’. A stunningly handsome man who was heavily pierced with vibrant orange hair and the the strangest eyes I had ever seen in my whole life. His presence alone was full of pure power and intimidation, he was obviously strong, and he knew it. Rightfully so, as the leader of a group of men all known as S-Rank nin.

“Hello everyone, I’ve called you all here to introduce a new ‘temporary member’. She will be living here at the base among you all. I expect no harm to come to her, I do not wish to repeat myself.”

“Yes Leader.” They all responded in unison.

“Moving on. Left to right we have Kisame.” Who waved when I looked up at him with a toothy grin. “Itachi, Sasori.” Who both didn’t even look up when named. “Deidara.” His one visible eye looking me up and down. “And Hidan and Kakuzu who you have already met. You are to feed yourself and clean up after yourself, Kakuzu will speak to you later on regarding your salary.”

“Uh, yes, leader.”

“Tomorrow I wish to see your abilities, I will be here at noon. That is all, you may all leave.”

(Third-person POV again)

She watched as the six men all stood from their seats and left the room, the orange haired man staring at the centre of the empty table and motioning towards Konan to take Jiro out of the room as well. She looked to Konan, who again shot her a soft comforting smile and led her out of the office/meeting room and down into the hallway. Reaching the end of the hall, she opened a thin door, revealing a surprisingly large room with an array of cleaning supplies, bed sheets, blankets, extra pillows, and towels of all sizes.

“As you can see, this is where we keep almost everything besides food. Regarding food, for the first month of your stay you will be under supervision and will not be able to leave the base under any circumstances. Anything you need you can write on these notes, and I’ll have it sent for you.” She handed her a small stack of papers, similar to a pack of ‘post-its’. The light shade of blue reminding her of the pretty shade of Konan’s hair. Perhaps it was intentional, either way it was very pretty. She looked up to meet Konan’s glowing gaze, a blush greeting her cheeks as she quickly glanced back to the well stocked shelves.

“I guess I better grab some of this, right?” She said laughing awkwardly as she grabbed some sheets, a blanket, and two pillows.

Just as they were leaving the large supply room, Konan lightly gasped as if she had just remembered something before telling Jiro that she would be right back. Konan disappeared down the hall, turning left towards the now occupied kitchen from the sounds of pans and bowls lightly clinking. Deciding to finally dress her naked matress she walked leisurely to her room, closing the door behind her and making her bed. Just as she had left her room and was making her way towards the living space, Konan returned. A mixed expression of surprise and delight that Jiro had been comfortable enough to to leave her room already after having ‘met’ the others.

“I was just coming to tell you that I just sent Deidara to town to pick up a few things for you. Just some fruit and instant dinners. Ramen and the like, I hope you don’t mind that for now. In a few days after you discuss your pay with Kakuzu you can make a list and I’ll have it brought here to the base. We’re just very busy right now. Speaking of, I’ll be leaving very shortly and I’m unsure of when I’ll be back. I just spoke to some of the men in the kitchen,h and I assure you that you have no need to be nervous or fear them. They’ve promised me to be upstanding gentlemen.” She said, lightly chuckling towards the end.

“Oh that’s great, thank you so much Konan. I’ll be happy to see you again whenever you get the chance. And thank you again for talking to the others, although I didn’t feel as if I needed to be scared in the first place.” A half-lie, not that Konan could tell otherwise.

She gave a light wave while watching as Leader and Konan left the compound and feeling a slight sense of loneliness. How long would she be the only female at the base? A few days? A few weeks? Over a month? Who knew, certainly not her. Pulling here from her thoughts per usual she began to mentally organize her priorities, the top one being a long hot shower and then a proper meal. Making her way back to the closet, she grabbed a large and a medium towel and made her way to the shared bathroom.

‘I can’t wait to try out that tub, my bones have been killing me. And maybe it’ll help out my side.’ She thought as she undressed and stepped into one of the shower stalls. She sighed as the hot steamy water ran over her body, relaxing and loosening muscles she wasn’t aware that she was tensing up this whole time. ‘I supposed travelling, sleeping outdoors, and fighting for a few weeks straight really take a toll on the body’ she thought, lightly exhaling through her nose as she finished rinsing the suds from her hair and body. After what seemed like well over 30 minutes, she wrapped herself in the fluffy towel.

Just as she was about to exit the stall, she heard the sound of sloshing water and a deep exhale. Having traveled with him for over a day, she knew that sound anywhere. It was Kakuzu. She’d be lying if she told herself that she didn’t find him attractive, his tanned skin, his high cheekbones, his long dark hair. Even his odd stitching was pretty, the intricate threads canvassing his body intrigued her. ‘I wonder if they’re all over his body. It wouldn’t hurt to take a peek.’ She thought, a warm flush now across her face. Gathering the courage, she finally opened the door, to find Kakuzu soaking in the large tub, his eyes covered with a small wet cloth and both his stitched arms resting on the stone lip of the tub.

“What are you staring at, girly?” His deep voice asked.

“Oh, I- I just. I’m sorry. Your stitching, it’s just- “

“I see.” He said sharply.

“No no! Not like that! I- it’s just. It’s really interesting. I like it.” She said, nervously laughing

“Hm.” He sank lower into the water, lifting the cloth from his face, shifting his head to look right into her eyes. “Mind where you’re staring, girly. I might not feel so nice next time.” He grumbled.

“Yes. Of course, I’m sorry.”

Just as she was going to ask him if she could enter the tub as well, the sounds of conversation from Hidan and Kisame approaching became clearer.

“I’m just sayin’! I met her first, I should at least have first dibs.”

“And I’m ‘just saying’, you can’t call dibs on women. They don’t like it.”

“How do you know what women like ‘shark boy’?” Hidan teased.

“Oh trust me, I know what women like.”

Just ask the door opened, their conversation ceased, both of them shifting their gaze between Jiro and Kakuzu, who had obviously just been having their own conversation.

Hidan strolled in, making his way towards her. “Hey beautiful, didn’t know you’d be here. If you don’t want to take a soak with this old relic, I can come sit with you if you want babe.” A slick grin on his face as he spoke, only to receive a sharp smack to the back of his head from Kisame.

“Konan asked us to respect her privacy Hidan, or did you already forget?”

“Hey man, she knows I didn’t mean anything by it! We’re practically best friends now, isn’t that right baby?”

“Hidan, I quite literally killed you. We are NOT friends, and certainly not ‘best friends’” she replied with a slightly annoyed tone.

“I’m done, this suddenly got too loud for me.” Kakuzu said as he grabbed his towel and stood, wrapping it around his waist and walking out of the bathroom.

She exhaled another annoyed breath through her nose before shifting her towel around her body. “I’m done too, I’d rather not be in here while Hidans here.” Now stepping down from the platform of the bath. She signed as she put her bath slippers back on, quickly leaving the bathroom and making her way down the hall to her room. After drying and dressing she laid on her bed, the resulting relaxation and comfort of her new bed, slowly gripping her mind into sweet unconsciousness

Chapter Text

She woke to a soft knocking on her door, reluctantly opening her eyes and being instantly blinded by the light beaming through the window. She shielded her face and glanced at the clock hanging on her wall. It read *9:05*, ‘Did I really sleep that long?’ She mentally asked herself as she stood and answered the door, only to be met by the masked man who had knocked on her door the day before.

“Hello Jiro! Leader will be here in a few hours and Tobi made you some breakfast!” Tobi said, handing her a stack of toaster waffles that were absolutely drenched in syrup.

“Um. Thank you, Tobi was it?” She said, taking the plate from his hands, looking at him slightly curious. “Can I ask, why the mask?”

“Tobi has a secret identity! He’s a super spy!” He dramatically exclaimed, leaning back and bringing a finger to his ‘lips’ in a ‘shh’ position.

“Ah, okay I understand. I won’t pry. I also understand wanting to hide your true self.”

Tobi stood still, lightly tilting his head to the side and staring at her. “Is Jiro a super spy to? Tobi loves playing super spy!” He said, wiggling back and forth.

She laughed lightly and shifting her weight onto one leg, trying her hardest to try and understand how someone like this could ever be a part of the criminal group she was now a ‘temporary member’ of. “So, Tobi. What exactly is going to happen today?” She asked, now bringing her more formal attitude forwards again.

“Well Jiro, leader is going to come and all the other guys are going to have a meeting with him, and after that we’re all going to go out to the training field. Out there you’re going to show us what you got and then someone is going to spar with you! Sounds super fun right? Tobi is so excited to see you in action!” He responded gleefully.

“Ah I see. Alright is that all now Tobi?” She asked, taking a quick glance down at the now soggy waffles on the plate in her hands.

“Yup! See you later Jiro!” He said as he pulled himself into his kamui, waving goodbye to her as he disappeared.

Staring at the spot where he just was, her jaw fell along with the glass plate that shattered upon impact with the floor. The shards scattering around the area of her open door and out onto the empty hallway. She had to blink a few times before she could pull herself back and realize the mess that was all around her, along with the tiny slivers of glass sprinkled around her bare feet. Dropping her head and shoulders she groaned in defeat, accepting that she was going to have to ask for help if she wanted to clean this up without any injury.

She began to quickly think about all her options as to who could/would help her here. Itachi and Sasori were an instant no as their cold personalities were intimidating to say the least. Hidan and Kakuzu were going to be of no help, not that she would ever seriously think of asking them for help. Tobi had mysteriously disappeared moments ago into the weird black hole jutsu and she had assumed he wasn’t around now. Lastly there was Deidara and Kisame, who both seemed nice enough, but were also both very intimidating in their own ways as well. She hadn’t even realized how long she had been standing in her open door way staring down at the broke glass until the presence of someone made themselves known, startling her and causing her to slightly jump successfully landing and embedding a few small pieces of the glass in her foot.

“Ouch fuck!”
“You okay there sweetheart?” The deep voice asked
She fixed her footing to stand where per feet were placed beforehand, avoiding the glass as much as possible now, before looking upwards and finding a large chest at eye level. Running her eyes up the wide set of shoulders and strong neck until her stare met his. The unique dark eyes of none other than Kisame looked down on her with a small smirk on his lips, slightly amused with her shocked look and the way she had flushed when her eyes met his.

“Hey, I asked if you’re okay.”

“Oh, yes! I’m okay, I could use a broom and dustpan though. Could you go get one for me please? I’d be extremely grateful.”

“Yeah sure, just hold on one sec.” He turned and walked off towards the closet at the end of the hall. She watched as he quickly opened the door, leaned in and leaned back out, broom in hand. Looking back down at the glass as to avoid another moment of direct eye contact once more as he walked back towards her with large strides. ‘I wonder how tall he is.’

“I’ll get the stuff out here, and then I’ll pass you the broom, okay?”

“Okay, thank you Kisame. I’m normally not this clumsy, I was just, kinda startled.”

“By what?”

“Um, Tobi did this odd jutsu. He got sucked into something, I’m not exactly sure. But it was surprising enough for me to drop the plate.” She let out a sigh at the end, still annoyed with herself and the situation she was stuck in.

“Oh yeah, he does that sometimes. You get used to it, but it doesn’t get any less surprising when he does it.” Kisame responded, now crouched down to sweep up the first pile of glass. Standing and turning to look at her, he passed the broom towards her. “Here you go sweetheart, I got what was out here, and some of the big pieces around you. You should go find Sasori after you’re done there, he can help take that glass out of your foot.”

“Thank you again Kisame, this was very kind of you.”

“No problem, happy to help.” He said as he turned and walked back down the hall, turning into the third door down from her room and entering.

“That must be his room, hmm.” She said to herself quietly as she brought her attention back towards the mess around her feet. Exhaling another deep sigh before getting to work.

All the glass now cleaned and disposed of along with the waffles and syrup residue that stuck to the floor, she sat on her bed and looked at the sole of her foot. Multiple tiny shards of glass pressed deeply into her flesh, small pricks of blood rising to the surface as the only indicator of the wounds. She sat for a few more moments as she gathered the courage and confidence to go find Sasori as Kisame had recommended, although she was slightly scared of Sasori, she knew it was in her best interest to go to him for assistance. She stepped/limped out into the hall. Stopping in the middle as she looked down each side of the empty hallway.

“I didn’t even ask what room was his.”

“Who’s room?”

The sudden voice startling her once again, she stepped onto her bad foot by mistake, wincing at the pain and she leaned her weight off of it and back onto her other leg. “Hello Itachi. Im looking for Sasori’s room. Do you know where it is?”

“What for?”

“I stepped in glass and Kisame said that he could help me somehow.”

“I see.” No concern showing in his low monotonous voice. “His room is at the end of the hall, to the right of the closet.” Itachi answered before silently walking off towards the living space.

She turned her head slightly to watch his back as he left. ‘I didn’t even hear him. He was completely silent. I didn’t even sense his chakra, that’s so odd.’ She thought. Turning her sights back to the other end of the hall, she looked at the door Itachi had told her was Sasori’s and made her way over. Taking a steadying breath as she stood in from of the door, she reached her hand up and knocked twice, dropping her hand and waiting. The muffled sound of profanity followed by shuffling steps, the door opened a small amount, dark brown eyes looking into hers, then scanned her and narrowing.

“What are you bothering me for?”

“I stepped in glass and Kisame had said you may be able to help me.” She quickly responded.

“Come.” He said as he stepped back, opening the door wider. “Sit.” Motioning a hand towards his neatly made bed. “Don’t move. Don’t touch anything. Don’t speak.”

She watched in silence at his quick hands searching through small drawers and baskets, finally pulling a pair of tweezers before he walked over to the bed, sitting down shifting to sit on his feet with his knees facing her.

“Let me see.” He said, motioning towards his lap.

Slowly bringing her foot up for him to see, glancing off to her left to avoid another moment of eye contact, it had really been an odd morning of interactions. He grabbed her foot, nimble fingers running down the arch of her foot, sending a chill down her spine.

“I said don’t move.” Pulling her foot down into his lap as he prepared the small bowl by his side and the gauze on his leg. Grabbing the tweezers he swiftly went to work. After almost 3 minutes of awkward silence and the exhaustion it took to sit completely still for that whole time, he was finally done. “There, I’m done. Now leave.”

She pulled her foot away and turned off the bed as Sasori stood as well, both of them walking in the opposite directions with no words. Stopping right before she was going to shut the door, she hesitated. “Thank you Sasori. I appreciate it.” Closing the door quickly and walking down the hall back towards her room.

Chapter Text

I’ve decided with the new year to actually get back to this fanfic and do updates every month!! Pray for me >_<

Chapter Text

I’m so sorry for not updating when I said that I would

But I’ve been super busy with my two kids lately and finding the time/motivation to write has been soooo hard omg

I’ve decided that I can realistically update this every other month so I can give more detailed and longer chapters

Once again, I’m sorry for not updating you guys when I said that I would

Thank you to everybody who has left kudos and who are hoping to continue to read my fic that that I love so much