At a Crossroads #Wattys2015

Colleagues- Mizuki

After Mizuki counted to one thousand, one thousand times, she knew she had to get out of that wretched prison. But she couldn't. She had to do what she was told.

She lay on her back on the polished, white marble floor gazing at the white ceiling above. Pein had answered her question quite unclearly before leaving. "As soon as all the preparations are made," he had said.

She was going to become a member of the Akatsuki, an association well-known for its terrible crimes, and other affairs. What was she to do?

Well... there was always one thing she could do...

Mizuki began to count to one thousand for the one-thousand and first time when a slight movement outside one of the polished windows caught her attention. She sat up and gazed outside of the cell.

Two guards flanked both sides of the window, both of the men wearing Akatsuki robes. When Mizuki glanced out of the other window, she noticed no one there. So the exit to the place must be somewhere on the guarded side, she inferred. They were there to ensure she didn't escape or try anything stupid.

Both of the guards regarded her for a moment as if wondering why someone like her could be worthy of such a shielded prison.

Mizuki had tested a left-footed kick - for her right leg was chained - at the glass windows earlier to no avail, other than to hurt her toes, of course. The glass had to have been over a foot thick, but that wasn't the problem. The glass was infused with a powerful kind of chakra.

One of the guards had long blonde hair, half of it pulled back into a high, traditional ponytail, the other half spilling over his shinobi headband. The headband's engraving presented the sign of the Hidden Stone Village. Of course, with a slash through it. His eyes were a vibrant crystal blue.

The other man had dull red hair, his eyes a more serious shade of grey.

They both turned away from her, taking up guard stances. Even though the walls were thick, somehow sound traveled through them clearly.

"Sasori, my man," the blonde guard spoke to the red-haired one, clearly oblivious to the fact that Mizuki could hear every word he said. "Why do you think Pein has that girl here? I mean how 'special' could she really be?"

Mizuki honed in on the word 'special'. Had Pein really used that word to describe her? And what did he mean by it if he did? Again she wondered just what exactly he knew about her.

The red-haired ninja glanced at Mizuki who kept her eyes trained elsewhere as she eavesdropped. He spoke in a studious, stern tone, "I remain, like you, unsure of her abilities. But Pein seems to think she's pretty dangerous. He wouldn't keep her in there if he didn't." The boy sighed as if bored before continuing. "I don't know why Pein is taking so long with the preparations. He knows I hate waiting."

"Do you know her name?" inquired the blonde-haired boy.

"Her name is Mizuki Amara," the other guard, Sasori, answered. "Of the Leaf Village."

"Ah," the still unnamed guard said. "Itachi's old home. Oh, I do wonder what she's capable of. Perhaps another artist among us, un?"