Rise From The Ashes (Kakuzu Story)

Chapter 13.

The rest of the night everyone spent to themselves, getting used to the building, and relaxing after everything that had happened that day. A lot of things had gone on, and it would be interesting to see how it all turned out now Suzaku was a part of it all. She had caught the attention of most of the Akatsuki with her appearance, and they couldn't help but be curious about her, and even more so with the fact that she knew Kakuzu. It wasn't just that she knew him from so long ago, but he had had an unusual reaction to her upon seeing her again. True, he hadn't exactly been excited and happy when she appeared, a huge smile coming to his face as he had run over and grabbed her in a hug, but it wasn't quite like they had been expecting. Kakuzu was stern and blunt, apathetic in a way that wasn't precisely like, say, Itachi or Pein's, but instead mostly focused towards people. He didn't care who they were or what they were like. He followed Pein's orders, but not out of loyalty, but merely because the situation worked with his own. If he had to work with someone, he would—it was only through a terrible coincidence that he had happened to be put with someone he loathed entirely—but he never tried to become friends. It was merely something he had to do. The only people he conversed properly with were his bounty officers, and even then he wouldn't hesitate to kill them if they got in his way. Because of his past; he had distanced himself from humanity, and even with how much time had passed, things had remained the same.

Yet it wasn't the same with Suzaku.

He had been unsure when seeing her, like he couldn't believe she was really there, but in a good way. That he was surprised Suzaku had shown up, but he was glad about it. Then he had obviously asked her to help with the mission, and had done so straight away without any doubt about asking her. It was clear Kakuzu trusted Suzaku enough that he felt she was capable of helping on the mission and that there was no reason to be hesitant about letting her work with them for the time being. But for Kakuzu to be like that towards someone—let alone a woman—with his track record, was something that had shocked most of the Akatsuki, and especially Hidan. Kakuzu wasn't one to trust somebody easily, or even at all. So the fact that he was showing trust to Suzaku marked her as different from most, and certainly one to watch now they were to be working with her and spending a lot of time around her.

With all this in mind, the mission began once again the next day. Both Kakuzu and Suzaku were interested to see how it would turn out, but brushed that thought as they got up and ready for the day. But not bothering to wait until the Akatsuki were all finished with their morning routines and getting something to eat, Suzaku went straight to Pein to talk to him about the mission. Having brought a map with her, she wanted to get an idea of what information they did know so she wouldn't have to be repeating herself when she was talking to the others about what they should do. As such, Pein gave the details of what they had been told by the people that had hired them, and taking it all into account, Suzaku altered what she needed to say, and as Pein suggested, to wait for the others before she started to go into details about what should be happening that day. Having already been planning to do so, however, Suzaku headed down to the living room, spotting Kakuzu straight away and heading over to talk to him.

"Got everything sorted, then?" Kakuzu greeted bluntly, not bothering with any small talk. There was no need for it, so why not get straight to the point—something that Suzaku agreed with, meaning she responded simply,

"Yeah—for the time being, at least. I know what you know, so I can suggest what should be done next, but there's no telling how things will turn out. We'll just have to wait and see."

"Maybe this time I'll actually see what you can do—any other surprises you'd like to tell me before we start?" Kakuzu abruptly replied teasingly, and with a smirk flickering over Suzaku's face at what he was doing, she shot back,

"Well, there's no need to spoil the surprise, now is there. Not to mention I've got your abilities to see. I know you've got Earth Grudge Fear, but I've never actually seen it in action. I'd suggest you've lost your touch over the decades...but somehow I get the feeling you might even be better than you were back then."

Raising an eyebrow at that statement, unable to hide the smirk that coalesced onto his face at the same time, Kakuzu wasn't sure how to respond. Their eyes merely remained connected, unsure what was visible there; but before Kakuzu had a chance to reply, Pein had appeared now that the rest of the Akatsuki were ready. As such, Suzaku turned and went to join him in order to tell them all what they would need to be doing throughout the day, leaving Kakuzu standing by the wall and watching her go. He still wasn't entirely sure how to react—having only met Suzaku once, there hadn't been any way of knowing how things would be when spending more time with her. But evidently that connection that he had noticed between them hadn't disappeared, even with the amount of time that had passed between seeing her again. How exactly Kakuzu was going to respond to this, it was still unknown, but there was only one way to deal with it, and that meant just continuing on as normal and seeing how things went.

Shaking his head at that fact, his frustration growing at the fact that it hadn't even been one whole day and he was already confused and with no idea as to what Suzaku did that made him react like he did—or didn't react, as the situation seemed to be. That in itself was pissing him off. If someone started a conversation with him, he'd talk, but he wasn't exactly talkative, to say the least. But he wasn't once to mince his words or remain quiet and shy—if he had something to say, he'd say it, and wasn't one to hold back. So why precisely he hadn't been able to come up with a response to Suzaku's comment he had no idea, and he gritted his teeth as he thought about it. Just like always he almost wanted to be angry with her, but it never came to anything. So shaking it off for the time being, Kakuzu was determined to remain firm the next time. Sure, he liked talking to Suzaku. They had more in common than he did with the rest of them, and he knew there was a connection there. But his opinions and outlook on life hadn't changed even with how many years had passed, so there was no reason for anything to catch him out.

Or so he told himself.

Suzaku stood next to Pein as he began mentioning the mission to the Akatsuki, and beginning to speak, she explained a few things. She herself didn't know where the main hideout was, but knowing the area well and having been staying there a little while, she knew of places that ninjas often used. She hadn't thought anything of it—she kept to herself, and they never particularly bothered her. But now Pein had mentioned the group and that he was planning on getting rid of them for the mission, Suzaku got the feeling they were all involved with it. It was just a matter of collecting some info and checking a few buildings out, and they'd have found the main hideout soon enough—along with the leader of the group, and with him dead, just as Pein had been planning, the group would dissipate, with nothing to keep them together anymore.

Suzaku's words didn't falter, and she never had to pause to think about what she was saying, but there was still that tiny part of her mind that was thinking over what had just happened in the conversation between her and Kakuzu. She, too, understood the connection they had with each other, but she had never expected anything like that to happen. It wasn't that she was ashamed or embarrassed by it, but the fact she had said it at all caught her off guard. Hiding a sigh, however, she had tried to go on as normal while explaining the mission. Just like last time, Suzaku couldn't ignore Kakuzu, keeping an eye on him to see how things would go. To begin with she hadn't been planning on giving him a token, and yet she'd done it anyway. So now with them working on a mission together, what would happen next? A thought that only made Suzaku want to roll her eyes.

It's always the ones you least expect...