Alchemy

5,2) ENCOMPASSING DARKNESS

[Hi all here's a short chapter setting the stage for upcoming events. I thought that it would be nice to focus on the antagonists of the story for a chapter.

Thank you to OceaniaAsumi for voting for the last chapter and to ErisClearwater for voting and commenting. ]

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Pain:

I tapped my fingers impatiently on the table while we waited in Danzō's simple-styled waiting-room.

The Akatsuki were not to be summoned like dogs. This warning had been explicitly stated numerous times in the past.

It must have taken sheer arrogance or guileless stupidity on Danzō's part to order us around the way he had been doing lately.

As minutes drew to hours...Hidan's unbearable fusillade of complaints grew more and more irritating. Soon not even Kakuzu's admonitions could control his frivolous behaviour.

Thankfully--moments before Kakuzu was about to asunder the silver-haired man's head from the rest of his body-- Danzō 'deigned' to arrive.

He stood, shoulders braced confidently with his head slightly tilted backwards--as if he were balancing something especially precious on the tip of his nose.

"I thank you all for agreeing to clandestinely converse with me in such short notice. We have a myriad of indubitably infallible plans to discuss. Urgent missions to undertake-all of which will desecrate the Allied Shinobi Forces morale and indelibly stain their image," he said bumptiously.

His extravagant formality of speech just missed being completely absurd.

Danzō chose his words with care; wielding them like knives to demonstrate the difference between us and him-between subordinates and their 'master'.

He often spoke in such a manner, making use of byzantine casuistry to confuse and manipulate. For most of the Akatsuki--who had endured impoverished upbringings and had more brawn than brain--had not understood a word he had just said.

I was willing to bet that only myself, Kakuzu and Zetsu (as a result of their age) as well as Itachi Uchiha (due to his upbringing) had truly understood what the leader of the Dark Empire had said.

Hidan and Deidara wisely kept their mouth shut. We didn't need to prove his stereotypes of us, that we were an unrefined melee. We would only be subjecting ourselves to having even less say in matters that concerned us.

We needed Danzō's connections to achieve our goals, I reminded myself.

Let him-- and the world--think that we are his lapdogs, when the truth is that he needs us far more than we need him. The Akatsuki was an untameable beast, not leashed to any master. Least of all one like Danzō.

We needed to get closer to him.

We needed to gain his trust; if only to betray it when the time is right.

During the course of that afternoon, Danzō detailed to us the list of menial missions we were to undertake. Mostly the spying on and assassinating of advisors, lesser royalty and officials of countries in the Allied Shinobi Forces.

When he had called this seemingly urgent meeting, I had become worried.

Worried that he might have seen through our sycophantic behaviour.