His Gift to Her (Mary Sue Series)

Chapter 41

"That's it, again!" 

Sweat dribbled off her forehead and soft wisps of hair at her hairline were plastered and stuck on her face. Qui was exhausted, to say the least. 

Tobi and Zetsu were training their little protégé the art of playing "Wack-n-Mole." Qui was to disappear into her space-time dimension and pop right out before Tobi could hit her with a stick. Tobi was in the space-time dimension and Zetsu was right outside. 

"Come on, you've gotten really good!" 

Since her mentors have been pushing her to the limits, Qui had been steadily improving, each and every day. Still, it was nice to take a break. Her stamina really had gotten better than before. 

"Water!" Tobi sang, handing Qui her water bottle. "Drink drink drink! We've got lots of time to play!" 

Too tired to speak, Qui took a large gulp of water and dragged the back of her hand over her forehead, brushing away stray hairs. 

"You are better than yesterday! And the day before that! And the day before that! And before that!" Tobi cheered energetically, bouncing around. "Remember," he stopped in front of the teenager and brought his masked face to her eye level and spoke seriously, "your mistakes and don't let them escape. Figure out that person's trick or habit and you'll learn things about them they don't want you to know. Okay?"

"Okay," Qui responded blandly. "Should we play shogi or go next?" 

"Let's play shogi!" his cheerful voice was back. 

Qui smiled nicely and responded, "I know all your tricks, I'm almost done calculating everything about your playing style and defeating you from the beginning."

"That's so scary~" Tobi leaped up and shouted, "So cool! My little kouhai is too cool!" 

Although they had captured many tailed beasts except for two, the Akatsuki had lost many people. Some people she had never met or even seen before had died in battle. Sasori, Hidan, and Kazuku never met or saw Qui. They had only heard of her existence and notification of the hideout she was in. These three Akatsuki members were in different places and were dead before her headset had been removed. 

Deidara, she had felt his presence many times, but like the other three, he died before she could meet him face-to-face. She did get a good idea of his appearance in the bingo book before. Otherwise, his face was removed as he was pronounced dead and no longer a target. According to Tobi and Zetsu, Deidara had fought Sasuke and as a last resort, he made a suicide bomb and died. 

Tobi and Zetsu were often with Qui both before and after she was given the headset. Zetsu was constantly monitoring her physical stats and making sure her body was in perfect condition and excellent health. Tobi was one of her trainers and was always with her. 

Pain entered war with Konoha but was defeated soon after. He gave up his life to save the lives of others who had died in the war. Qui was relieved to hear her parents were okay. 

Konan, the only female member of the organization left after Pain's death. She went back to the Rain Village without a word and didn't come back. 

Now Tobi stood as the new leader and he began to show his more serious side. When he needed to, he laughed playfully and acted childishly as his disguise. However, he was no pushover and killed when he needed to. It puzzled and surprised Qui at times, but he spoke cordially with her and didn't pressure her to become an Akatsuki member. 

Ah yes, it begs to be repeated: Qui is not an Akatsuki member. Zetsu even called her a prisoner and future weapon multiple times. She might become a weapon to destroy whatever was in the way for them, but when she asked them about it, Tobi only patted her head and gave her pineapple-flavored jellybeans.

(Where do you get these anyway?" Qui asked. It had been the fifth time Tobi had given her candy with all her favorite flavors. Tobi took a handful of candy and dumped them in his mouth under his mask. 

"From Kabuto."

"Wow." Qui deadpanned, her curiosity fulfilled. "Just...wow."

"Yep! I love pineapple-flavored candy, don't you?"

Qui stared apprehensively at the candy before taking a handful and dumping it in her mouth. "I love pineapple-flavored candy." 

"Right?! Let's try sour plums next!")  

Hours later, Qui stood with one of Zetsu's clones and watched the other leave, presumably to kill Sasuke. A small part of her did want to avoid this fight, but she did nothing to stop them. 

"Aren't ya worried?" Zetsu asked in his strange voice. "He's a family relative or something, right?"

"It has nothing to do with me. Besides, won't you stop me if I do run after them?"

Zetsu remained silent, but they both knew he was more than prepared to take her down if she were to run. Exhausting herself served no purpose here. 

"Actually, I told Sasuke this before: this is the path he chose. He wanted this, so I won't get in his way. I'm not going to help or stop him. It's his decision and his responsibility. If he wants to wreck havoc, he doesn't need me to hold his hand to do that. He's a grown man, not my responsibility." 

"Oh?"

"I may not wish to become a fighter, but I can't deny the security of self-defense. Besides, I agreed to become your little weapon for the war. Uncle Igo really knew what Madara wanted, huh? I also can't deny the blessing-in-disguise once you kill someone. Dead people can't kill you after all. Unless they resurrect or something." 

"Kabuto is going to ally with us. I heard he can resurrect people from the dead." 

"A-are you for real right now?" Qui deadpanned. 

"Yup." 

Qui stared at Zetsu in complete disbelief and horror, the furrow in her brow wrinkling more and more. Suddenly, she swung her hand in an upward arc to smack the palm of her hand right in her face, squashing her nose. 

"We've been eating candy that's been made by a murderer. We now have said lunatic bringing dead people to life. Fantastic. We're all gonna die."