Sutures || Kakuzu

Ch. 7 - Old Memories, Older Feelings

Nozomi looked in awe as she saw the lush greenery in front of her. If that wasn't enough, there was a beautiful, majestic waterfall that flowed over the side of the cliff. When the sun caught the water droplets just right, a rainbow became visible "There's really a hidden village in there? You must have traveled here before, huh?"

Kakuzu didn't answer, which caused her to raise an eyebrow in confusion. Rather, he started walking again and Nozomi followed behind. There was a secret passageway behind the main waterfall that they entered, but instead of being greeted with darkness, there were lit torches along the walls.

"Wow, this is so cool. Is it like a maze or something?" Nozomi glanced around at their surroundings. "What's the name of the village? Are we going to visit?"

"Just focus on keeping up." He didn't look at her. "You're asking a lot of questions."

Nozomi tilted her head. "Isn't it normal to ask questions about a place you've never been before?"

The two turned a couple of corners in silence, Kakuzu looking for something and Nozomi simply in tow. Each hallway seemed to look exactly the same as the previous and, frankly, Nozomi was starting to get lost. It was good that Kakuzu seemed to know where he was going, but that also made her a little uneasy. He's been really quiet and he refuses to say anything about the village.

"Kakuzu-san... Is this place your home village?"

Kakuzu stopped walking and glanced over at Nozomi. Although his gaze was still as impassive as ever, she could feel a hint of animosity towards her. Hopefully it was all just her imagination. Maybe it was to get her to stop talking, but the gears in her brain were already turning.

"I-I, uh... I was just thinking because you've been really quiet and purposefully not answering my questions about the village... But you don't have to tell me if you don't want to!" Nozomi started to ramble as she laughed off her nervousness. Because it was hard to figure out what Kakuzu was thinking, she didn't want to piss him off.

"Yes."

The female's eyes widened as she didn't expect for him to answer her. "Huh?"

"The name of this place is Takigakure and the only way to enter the village is through this cave system behind the waterfall." Kakuzu told her. "I lived here my entire life before I eventually left."

Nozomi felt a mix of emotions. On one hand, she was happy that Kakuzu was opening up to her. Judging by his demeanor, he probably didn't share his private life with others, so it made her giddy that he trusted her enough to tell her himself. On the other hand, however, her questions weren't going to stop there. What was his life like in the village? What was his family like? Does he still have family there? Did he have any close friends?

"...Why did you end up leaving?" She decided to push the envelope and get straight to the point. "Does it have something to do with what you told me before? That if you don't follow directions, then you're wrong?"

"I'm not obligated to answer your questions." Kakuzu's voice was harsh as started walking again. "You're the one that's in debt, not me."

Nozomi puffed out her cheeks in annoyance from his tone, but she held back her comments. Whatever happened, it was clear that he didn't want to talk about it and she didn't want to push him anymore than she already had. As she followed behind him, she strayed closer to the wall as she tried to make connections of his personal life in her head. Taking another step, part of the path shifted underneath her foot and a hatch opened in the wall. Smoke blew out of the opening and Nozomi was able to inhale a bit of it out of surprise before Kakuzu pulled her away. Immediately, she fell unconscious in Kakuzu's arms.