Sutures || Kakuzu

Ch. 10 - Reparations

Intimidating. Menacing. Scary.

Nozomi could do nothing but stare at the man in front of her. Everything about him screamed dangerous and it felt like if she even attempted to look away, he would kill her on the spot. It was like her mind had drawn a blank as he stepped closer to her; what was she going to do? Seeing the others leave the room out of the corner of her eye, she silently willed for them to stay.

"Nozomi Shidou, correct?"

She didn't even realize her throat had gone dry when she tried to respond. Nodding slowly, she let out the breath she was holding so she could answer him properly. "Y-Yes, sir..."

"I am Pain, the leader of the Akatsuki." His deep voice filled the room as he moved closer to her. His footsteps echoed loudly in her ears, no doubt a result of her heightened senses due to the adrenaline rush she was feeling. The man squatted down in front of her and, automatically, Nozomi shrunk back and squeezed her eyes shut. She could feel his cool hands brushing against hers before the strain of her wrists suddenly lightened. He was... untying the rope?

"I would advise you not to run. I'm not going to hurt you unless you force me to."

Cracking open one of her eyes, she peered into those of Pain's. The rings were mesmerizing, as if he was going to put her under hypnosis or something. "How will I know you won't?"

"It's my word against yours."

Once her wrists were free, she held them in front of her and rubbed the slightly bruised skin. Although Pain stood up and stepped back away from her, she didn't try to move. "Please, sir, I really don't know anything. I didn't even know the Akatsuki was a group or something to that extent. I thought it was a person this whole time, I swear-"

"I'm not here for that."

Nozomi blinked in surprise at his words. So he wasn't going to torture her, kill her, then leave her body to rot with the maggots in the middle of the forest? Her body wanted to relax but she was far from that state. There were still too many variables. That didn't mean that the other people who left earlier wouldn't come back to finish the job.

"C-Can I ask why I'm here?"

Pain looked down at the little doe in front of him. It was evident that she was scared and she posed no threat. What did Kakuzu see in her that allowed her to stay so close to him? "I apologize for your previous treatment. One of your experiences has piqued my interest, so I would like to have a conversation."

The female thought about what he said as she slowly stood up. Conversation as in just words? Maybe if she cooperated and talked to him, he could possibly answer some of the questions she had. "Okay."

"To my understanding, you know of a jutsu that can bring back the deceased? Explain it."

Memories rushed into her head as she thought of his request. Looking down at the floor, she clutched her shirt by her chest. Never did she think that she would have to relive those moments. Of course, she had thought about it everyday since it happened, but when she dove too deep, she would pull herself out and close the door. Speaking up, Nozomi started from the beginning and explained in as much detail as she could.

"I'm not sure if he created it or if he altered a known jutsu, but my father figured out a way to bring back the dead by placing their spirit inside a host. I don't know about all of the ins and outs, but the preparation involved thousands of bodies of men, women, and... children. It was horrifying and disgusting..." Flashes of the scene invaded her mind as she spoke; it felt as if she was back in that crater seeing her family again for the first time in a while. "He formed a few signs and all the chakra that was trapped in the bodies was released and gathered into a ball. Once that was done, the chakra ball swallowed the host whole and after a few more hand signs, everything went dark."