Reflection of God (Pein Story)

Chapter 23.

Kyo had been led, still shackled, into the building, with no one saying a word as to what was going to be happening next. Not that Kyo felt like responding; there was too much going on in her head to consider that. An unusual feeling of guilt was building up inside of her at the idea she had just turned her back on the Akatsuki. But even worse, a feeling of worry. The last time she had seen Pein, she had pulled away from his kiss, told him that she couldn’t do it even though it hadn’t mattered a few seconds ago, and then simply turned and go straight to her room without another word. What if he was angry with her for doing that? He might not check up on her, and although Itachi had spoken to her, he knew she wanted to be left alone, and as such had gone. Kyo might have left evidence to show where she had been taken…

But would Pein even bother to go looking for her?

For all she knew he had already found her trail, but had merely brushed it off, taking it as a sign that it wasn’t to be and was more than ready to forget her. And strangely enough, though Kyo had just walked off with Nikushimi without truly having a battle, she wanted Pein to come. She didn’t want him to forget her. It was at this point that she scowled at herself, glancing up at the dark, dreary corridors that lined her former home, wondering what would happen in the next few days, or better yet, the next few hours. When she had worked here, she had been decisive and always ready for whatever was thrown at her. Now she couldn’t make sense of anything, and she was contradicting her thoughts at every turn. Kyo had stood there and pushed Pein away, and yet she wanted him to be with her. She felt guilty for having not told Nikushimi about the Rinnegan, and yet she didn’t care and that she had had every right to say nothing after the way he treated her.

How the treatment would be now, Kyo wasn’t quite sure—especially as she saw she was being led up to the prison area of the building. Nikushimi didn’t like failures in his business, Kyo knew that, and no doubt secrecy wasn’t something he allowed either. But he wanted her to work for him; it was why he had come back. He wouldn’t do anything too serious if he was planning on keeping her alive and able to work. But then again—as Kyo walked past rows of cells and remembering the fates of several people who had been placed in there—she began to wonder how far he was willing to go to ‘convince’ her to stay. To make sure she wouldn’t do anything of the sort again.

But after all that she had done…did she deserve it?

Eventually they halted at the last cell on the row, the door creaking open and revealing the bare, desolate room Kyo was now to be occupying for the near future. Glancing at Nikushimi, his neutral look of almost care he had carried before had all but disappeared, leaving behind nothing but a stern disapproving glare as he nodded for her to step forward. She walked in in silence, going to perch on the edge of the bed and staring thoughtfully out the window. The door slammed shut behind her, the click of the lock sounding out to remind Kyo that she was stuck in here. Footsteps sounded out as the ninja began to leave; though Nikushimi paused to mutter one more thing:

“I can’t just dismiss it, Kyosei. You kept that from me—something very important. I considered you the most trustworthy ninja out of all my employees, but now…now I just don’t know. I have to make sure I can rely on you again, Kyosei. And you will not leave this cell until I have tested that—until I know.”

With that, he walked off swiftly, leaving Kyo sitting alone, her gaze still firmly placed on the sky outside. Bizarrely enough, Kyo wasn’t that shocked by the turn of events. She had seen first hand what Nikushimi did to those who disobeyed him or got in his way—sometimes she had been the one to hand out the punishment. Though it had never been turned towards her; because she had never disobeyed him. Not even with the slightest little thing—even if she didn’t agree with what he was doing and she had had issues with doing it. Somehow Kyo had overridden that idea and just ploughed on with what she was supposed to do. Keeping the Rinnegan a secret had been the first thing she had even done that went against Nikushimi’s rules. Because of that she had met Pein.

But shaking her head, Kyo turned away from the window for a moment. True, she had met Pein. She had experienced an entirely different lifestyle with entirely different values and rules. But had it been more trouble than it was worth? A large portion of Kyo's time in the Akatsuki had been trying to get her head around things; to understand so much that she didn’t understand and that ultimately caused her a lot of grief overall. Because of staying with the Akatsuki she had had to completely change her outlook on life, and get to grips with how she saw Pein—something that still wasn’t fully right. She had barely slept after his question, and the fact he had kissed her had messed things up completely.

Maybe it would have been better if she had just told Nikushimi about the Rinnegan from the start—from when it first turned up. Then he would have ordered her to train it and master the abilities, and she could have continued as normal. Nothing would have changed. The set of rules and beliefs that had been given to her when she was younger would have stayed firm and never been challenged. Kyo wouldn’t have had to deal with all this mental turmoil and these new emotions that she was barely able to comprehend. Life would have been just like it always had been from the moment Nikushimi had hired her. It was the way she knew and the way that was familiar to her—though suddenly it seemed wrong as she glanced around the cell. She was in a cell…how could she consider that familiar?

True, when Kyo had first turned up at the Akatsuki Pein had stated she would simply be staying in the hideout and having the members keep a close eye on her; but even then he hadn’t locked her up—and that was when he hadn’t been sure if she was an enemy or an ally. When he had decided to let her be an Akatsuki member, however, things had gotten even better. Though she followed the orders Pein gave her, the whole routine was nowhere near as regimented as it had been with Nikushimi. If anything, there was no routine; it was almost a case of ‘do what you want until told otherwise’. Upon meeting Hidan for the first time and seeing how he treated Pein, Kyo had been shocked—but he wasn’t punished. True, Pein didn’t like it, but it was nothing like she was being treated now. While in the Akatsuki she had had a lot more freedom and a lot more free will. Boundaries Kyo had always seen as permanent and ones that must never be crossed had simply been destroyed.

That had been clear when Pein had kissed her.

But was that a bad thing?

It was a massive change from here, and unlike anything she had seen before. A part of Kyo, even now, was still a little disbelieving of the entire thing; it didn’t fit in with how she had always seen the world and acted towards her job. But that didn’t necessarily make it wrong. Pein had gotten so far with the Akatsuki and they held so much power with how they were; their rules and atmosphere. A lot of things changed constantly around them—but if anything, that improved things. Maybe it was because things had always been so stable in Kyo's life—constantly living in the same routine of a monotony of rules, regulations and duties that meant nothing to her—that this change was so shocking. That it made her feel as if she couldn’t deal with it.  But everything had to change; it was the way nature worked, and people had to adapt to it. She wanted to ask Pein his opinion; ask why he used that method of working with the Akatsuki—but he wasn’t around. Which was why Kyo was so surprised when she heard his voice a second later. Freezing, she tried to shake it off, thinking it had just been a mistake. But when she heard it again, she knew she couldn’t just be remembering the sound of it, and as such she stood, walking to the window and fully looking down, widening her eyes at what she saw.

He really was here.

And by the looks of things…he was here for her.