When Money Isn't Good Enough (Kakuzu Story)

Chapter 15

Blinking for a few moments to let the effects of the jutsu fade, Ryoshi turned to face Kakuzu once more.

But found she couldn't say a thing upon seeing his eyes staring intently at her.

Still in silence at what he had seen, Kakuzu said nothing for a moment longer, almost as if letting his mind catch up with what his eyes had seen. He'd never seen a jutsu like it, and right away he was curious about so many different things. But it was evident that Ryoshi could more than live up to her reputation; she had every right to be hailed at the level she was. No wonder she was such an amazing bounty hunter if she had abilities like this, and Kakuzu couldn't help but think it would be so much easier to complete them. Even Hidan wouldn't be able to complain. Drawn into his thoughts about what she could do, it was a minute or so later that Kakuzu noted Ryoshi's actions; how she kept turning away and keeping her gaze on the floor. Narrowing his eyes as to why she was doing so, he abruptly realised how much he had been staring at her, and quickly shook off his trance.

"That's an unusual jutsu. Did you learn it from somewhere?" He began swiftly, trying to dismiss the effect this had all seemed to have on him, and glad for the change, Ryoshi now turned to look back at him, replying with a small shake of her head,

"No. It's an ability that ran in my family, and I just developed it further. I can turn it into a two-way connection; using the earth's energy I can heal myself and things like it."

Nodding slowly in acceptance of that statement, Kakuzu couldn't hold back a smirk as he responded quietly,

"It's impressive, I'll admit it."

He paused at this point, opening his mouth to ask more questions about the jutsu and just about her abilities in general, but realised that there were other things he needed to be thinking about. Ryoshi was here to help out with a mission, after all, and she needed to keep to that—he couldn't just keep asking her questions constantly. So pushing aside his curiosity for the moment, Kakuzu simply added,

"But did you find out where Ketsu is?"

Snapping out of a stupor Ryoshi hadn't even known she'd gotten into, she stood up and headed for the map on her desk. When Kakuzu had said that...complimented her...and with how he just sat there, his eyes never leaving her...that same kind of feeling that she had been experiencing before came back to her. Only this time, she had felt more...in control, than the other times. Instead of reacting like a clueless teenage girl, blushing and getting all shy, she felt comfortable in that situation. She liked it, true, but Ryoshi found she was able to accept the way she felt towards it. It might not have been something she dealt with often, but now that it was there, she liked experiencing it. She could deal with it now, and she liked spending time with Kakuzu. It didn't necessarily mean she had complete comprehension of what was going on inside her head or full control of how her emotions responded to everything, but it was an improvement, to say the least, so she brushed off the trance as she reached the map, gesturing for Kakuzu to join her.

Doing so, he watched as she pointed to the southeast area of the map, marking specific points until there was a faint line outlining a certain part of the map. Checking it over to make sure it was right, Ryoshi nodded in confirmation, and explained,

"That's the area he's in. It makes sense; you said the last place he was seen was in that old town hall—he's simply continued in that direction to where the rest of the ruined buildings are; gives him more places to hide. I also noted that he's placed most guards around this area; so obviously that's the easiest way to get to him, and obviously the place you need to avoid. But if you come up from the northeast side, although it's more dangerous, you won't get seen—not that the danger is an element to it, anyway. Once I can get within that area and get closer to him, I'll be able to start up to the jutsu again and get a lock on him; then it won't matter where he goes."

Smirking in triumph at that fact, the memory of his fury at how Ketsu had gotten away from him coming back for a moment, Kakuzu nodded and stood, saying they needed to tell Pein as soon as possible. Agreeing with that completely, Ryoshi too, stood, taking the map with her, and saying she'd head there right now and explain it in the same way she'd done to him, Kakuzu following on behind. Pein listened carefully as she repeated what she had stated to Kakuzu, gathering what Ketsu was trying to do with what she already knew the situation was between Ketsu and the Akatsuki. But now everything had been explained, all they needed to do was figure out where to go from here. Glancing from Kakuzu to Pein and back again, Ryoshi stated it didn't matter to her; she'd go with what they thought best and put in her opinion if she thought something wasn't right.

"I say we head off after him now. We've got the whole day to travel; it will allow us to get a better idea of the area we'll be in and find a place to hide out in order to continue the mission. Ketsu's too busy concentrating on everything else he won't be thinking anything like this will happen," Kakuzu cut in, Ryoshi smothering a smirk at Kakuzu's clenched fists.

She knew about his temper, and this was a perfect example of it. He really was pissed at this guy—and it was evident it wouldn't end well for Ketsu. Kakuzu let his anger build up, and it only got worse as time went by. But Ryoshi had to admit the plan was good; he was right, even if his anger was influencing it, causing Pein to eventually say simply,

"Then I suppose it's time for us to start off."

Smirking at this knowledge, Kakuzu quickly left to get everyone going and be ready to set off any second now. Ryoshi stayed to run over a few more details with Pein, before they too left the building, joining the rest outside. Pein this time, decided to explain what was going on, and after a few minutes of making sure everybody knew what they had to be doing, they set off. Now the mission was set in place, however, Kakuzu couldn't just dismiss his curiosity anymore, and after a few moments of glancing over at Ryoshi only to try and shake it off and keep his eyes focused on the path ahead, he gave up. Moving, Kakuzu now fell into place beside Ryoshi, though hesitated as she glanced around at everyone, her eyes narrowed. Questioning as to what it was that was bothering her, she glanced at him and shook it off, replying with a shake of her head,

"Nothing; really. But we still need to keep on our toes. My opinions and answers aren't set in stone, and things could easily change."

"True, but considering your status as a bounty hunter and how well-renowned you are for your skills, I think we can trust your opinion when it comes down to tracking someone, Ryoshi," Kakuzu shot back bluntly with an imperceptible shrug, Ryoshi having to hide a smirk as he did so, prompting him to ask the question she knew he wanted to ask about her abilities.

She didn't need to think about his abilities to know she trusted his opinion.