WITHER. [akatsuki x oc]

zero

Deidara runs a hand through his dripping wet hair, an annoyed wrinkle in his nose. "Konan, whatever this is, make it quick, huh? I'm getting tangles over here."

A chuckle resonates through the cold room. Kisame, already seated on a stool before Deidara walked in with Konan, shakes his head. "Look at this kid. Worried about tangles and all that. Why did you choose today to wash your hair anyway?"

"You didn't know?" Sasori sighs, the black bandana he wears over his mouth muffling his voice. "He told everyone who would listen that he was going to wash his hair. He does that every wash day."

"That's why you don't listen to Deidara," Kisame laughs, earning a cutting stare from the blonde.

"It's hard to do that when the boy is your partner," Sasori says, a deep breath blowing the loose end of his bandana up into the cold air. Deidara turns his glare towards Sasori, his frown ruminating in concentrated irritation.

"I'm not some puppet like you who doesn't have to maintain themselves"--

"That's enough," Konan bites, silencing the room. She takes a moment to expressionlessly compose herself. "Pain has received word of activity near the Hidden Leaf Village. Soon, we should be welcoming a new Akatsuki member."

Eyes in the room shift left and right, looking around for reactions to the news. No one is dramatic enough to do so.

"We have an even number of people here now. Wouldn't that cause an imbalance?" Kakuzu asks, the exposed parts of his face serene.

"Pain has reason to believe this new member will add value to our organization that supercedes the risk of an added person."

Once again, eyes roll around the room, searching for a cracked facade. Itachi's voice is a quiet sword that splits the silence clean.

"...this new member. They are from the Hidden Leaf?"

Konan's expression softens for a second before dissipating into emptiness again. "She probably knows nothing, Itachi. Don't get your hopes up."

Itachi looks down into the collar of his robe. He won't look up again for the rest of the discussion.

"Ah, so it's a 'she', huh?" Hidan says, a smirk forming on his lips. "I wonder if she's cute."

"No girl in her right mind would want anything to do with the likes of you," Kakuzu huffs. Hidan whips his head around to Kakuzu and pulls off the big red scythe hanging on his back, pointing the blades at his partner.

"Shut the fuck up, ya sonnuvabitch! I can put on the charms when I want to!"

"If by 'charms' you mean cursing at people, she'll fall in love in no time..."

Konan sighs and speaks up once more. "I expect you all to be accommodating, at least while she gets used to her new environment."

"Can you tell us more about her?" Zetsu asks, half his body rooted in the mud floor. He is a growth that hasn't fully sprouted from the ground, his robe fully melded with it. "It feels like you're holding out on us."

Konan lets her lips bloom into a foxy grin. "I want to give her the chance to introduce herself when she gets here with Pain. What I can say is that she's an ex-medical ninja, almost fresh from the academy."

"An ex-medic?" Deidara scowls. "What use do we have for her? Half the freaks on this team are practically immortal, and the ones that aren't are pretty damn close. A little redundant, wouldn't you say?"

"Her powers are not only regenerative to others, but to herself. We never have to worry about her in battle. She has three-quarters the control of a sage and half the reserves of a jinchuuriki. Her mortality rate is less than one percent. Even in dire circumstances where other shinobi have died, she has managed to keep her teammates alive. Her prowess is invaluable to us."

"That still doesn't"--

"No one is invincible, Deidara."

Deidara shrugs, opening his hands and looking away from Konan. "Fine. It's Pain's decision."

Konan continues. "If you would like to stay awake to meet her, Pain will be bringing her in later tonight."

Kisame shrugs. "I wasn't planning on sleeping tonight anyway. Might as well meet our newest member."

"Shall we give her the full fanfare?" Zetsu asks, his white half smiling.

"She'd better be interesting enough to deserve it," Kakuzu hums, the first to walk out of the meeting. Sasori and Deidara follow him out of the cold cave, and the others finally file out behind him.

Itachi stands in place, unmoving.