24Covered once again in gore, Yuzuki had let off some steam with her favorite activity. The bodies of a family laid across the dirt road, her badge of pride for the next unlucky fellow to find. After taking her fill of trinkets from them (they wouldn't miss anything now), the killer made way for a stream to look at her reflection. She so loved her appearance after a thrilling encounter.
As she admired herself, she noticed quickly a gleam of light bounce from something metal, and she twirled around to block the incoming projectile. A kunai skittered to the side, and Yuzuki looked curiously at it before sensing a presence behind her. She ducked a blow her attacker made with a katana and kicked him, using her hands as a spring to launch. The man was knocked backwards, against a rock, looking defeated. Yuzuki smirked, until the man disappeared in smoke.
"Shadow Clone?" Yuzuki mused. "Come out, come out to play, you little rat..."
"I'm not surprised to find you like this." Said the man, "Not at all."
Yuzuki found her enemy, leaning surprisingly casually against the broken trunk of a tree. His gaze was burning with intense hatred, a personal grudge against her.
"Do I know you?" Yuzuki asked, irritated. "Because if I do, you're lucky to be alive, asshole."
"Know me?" The man laughed. His green hair was untamed and his body wore the scars of many battles. "I'm the man whose father you killed, traitor!"
"Hmm?" Yuzuki tapped her chin in thought. "Traitor? I've never betrayed any of my clients, no matter how fun that would be, because they spread the word of my craft around. If you're done wasting my time, I might let you off with a warning, and most of you limbs."
He frowned. With a snarl of frustration, the young man lept at Yuzuki, knocking her off guard and slamming her against the thick trunk of an old tree. Yuzuki gagged, her eyes glimmered in excitement, and she stared at her attacker's heaving face until realization took hold. She grinned, and wiggled her body in glee.
"Little Hayato, the son of my master," She croaked, "I didn't expect you'd actually look for revenge. Your eyes," She added, "Look so much like his..."
"Don't you dare speak about my father, you foul witch." Hayato hissed, taking his kunai and sliding it down her cheek. It cut her skin enough to bleed, and it looked like a tear of blood oozed from underneath her eye. She hardly winced.
"So grown up, you can play with knives now, yeah?" She chuckled. "Cut a little deeper, I can barely feel your metal inside me..."
"Shut up!" He cut roughly into the side of her hip, and it tore through the protective material that she wore beneath her clothing. Hayato dug the blade in deeper, causing the blood to dampen her cloths, but Yuzuki did not shriek in pain. Instead, she tilted her head up, and closed her eyes as a blush crept up her cheeks. It was as if she were... Hayato realized this with a shudder... enjoying it.
"Harder, Hayato, penetrate me harder!" Yuzuki moaned, her breath quickening. Hayato recoiled in disgust, and in that small opening, Yuzuki was able to tear the kunai from him and ram it through his leg. With a howl of anguish, Hayato knelt over, trying to twist the weapon out of its wound, while Yuzuki thrashed against the tree and paid him hardly any mind.
"Ooooh, Hayato, why do you tease me with such gentle pricks? When I get going, darling, you have to give it to me hard and fast!" She licked her lips, tasting her own blood that dripped down her face. "Must I dominate you to teach you a lesson?"
With effort, Hayato pried the kunai free, and his face contorted with loathing. "You disgusting whore!" He snapped, getting back to his feet, "Like I'd ever entertain the thought..."
In an unexpected blur, Yuzuki was behind him, her arm pressed against his neck, and her face nuzzled in his green mess of hair. Hayato felt the edge of a katana against his skin, and kept still. Yuzuki laughed softly.
"I wonder if you're anything like my master, Hayato-kun," She cooed, breathing into his ear. "Like father, like son, they say..."
Hayato flinched when he felt something wet brush against his lobes. Yuzuki giggled.
"So tasty..." The kunoichi sighed, and licked down from his ear to his neck. "How much stamina do you have, I wonder?" She kissed his skin, and Hayato took that timing to thrust his elbow into her gut. She squealed. As she lost her grip, he spun a kick that sent her flying back, and he was free and above her now.
"Enough to kill you with!" He lunged for her katana, and snatched it before she could even recover from being knocked to the ground. Springing again, he aimed to finish her, but Yuzuki avoided the blow by a hair and laughed wildly.
"Show me your passion!" She screamed, and reached for something in her pouch.
The ground quaked.
xxx
From afar, along the treetops, a masked man watched the flames of battle ignite below.
"This won't do..." Obito cursed to himself. So Yuzuki had a hobby to kill random people. It seemed to have made her an enemy, as far as he could tell for now. She really might be more hassle than she was worth.
"It's one hell of a fight down there," Zetsu reported from nearby, "Intimate. I do think she might have a struggle with this one."
Obito reflected this. He couldn't afford having a disgruntled ninja tracking one of them back to the base, especially behind someone as unstable as Yuzuki. Perhaps he'd have to kill her. Of course, he needed her jutsu first, and that was something he wasn't close enough to extract yet. She teased him with it, knowing it was her only power over him, and he'd have to put a stop to that behavior.
"Are you thinking about killing her?" The dark side of Zetsu spoke, "I could eat her to dispose of her body's evidence."
"Not yet, but I am considering it." Obito replied. "She could endanger us all."
"You're not worried about the others," White Zetsu said, "You're just afraid she'll jeopardize the plan."
"What difference does it make?" Obito asked haughtily. "The success of one requires the survival of the other. For now." He seemed to have made up his mind on the matter. "I'm leaving. Keep an eye on her for me, and report anything of importance right away."
"Of course."
In a blink, Obito was gone.
xxx
Not wanting to wander too far away without anyone with her, Tukiko kept close to the perimeters of the Akatsuki hideout. It was gloomy inside, and it was a pretty day to go out. The breeze felt nice against her face, and Tukiko was glad that she had some time to herself. It gave her a moment with her thoughts outside of her dreams.
Being on the run didn't suit her. The Akatsuki was a sort of familiar family unit, but it wasn't enough. Tukiko longed to have a real home, and she knew, deep down, she had one before.
She stretched out over some rocks, and watched the sky while her mind tumbled about. It was so strange, that such a dreadful place unlocked so many of her secrets.
Tukiko was not alone for long, as she noticed Tobi approach from a distance. She watched him, and he changed his direction to walk towards her. Remembering Yuzuki's jealousy, her heart raced nervously. The masked man waved at her.
"Tukiko-chan!" He called in his silly voice, "Hey! What're you doing by yourself?"
There was clearly no one but them around, yet he still played his convincing part. "I'm just getting out of the hq for awhile," Tukiko explained, "I didn't go too far, did I?"
"Aw, Tobi knows you're always cooped inside, Tukiko-chan." He said sympathetically. "Maybe you can tag along with Tobi, and I'll be your senpai!"
Finally, a chance to leave. But what would Madara do when they were alone? Would he keep up his Tobi facade the entire time?
And what would Yuzuki do?
"Oh, I don't know if I should... you know how my partner is, if she's not the one with me..." Tukiko stalled.
"Yuzuki-chan is out without Tukiko-chan, so Tukiko-chan should come with Tobi!" He pointed at himself. "C'mon, please? I've got lots of places I wanna go, but Deidara-senpai never lets me..." He whined like an impatient child.
"You really want me to tag along, eh?" Tukiko tried to grin. "Well, if you insist..."
Before she could change her mind, the excited man grabbed her wrist. "Yaaaay, Tukiko-chan!" He began to string her along, and Tukiko had to break into a run to keep from snapping her arm off. "We're gonna have lots of fun!"
"Tobi! Tobi!" Tukiko gasped, as they were going much faster than she would have liked, "Can't we slow down? Where are we going? Tobi!"
Tobi didn't stop for awhile, and when he finally did Tukiko was too light headed to realize where they were. She panted in exhaustion, not having conserved her chakra properly for a sprint like that. After a moment to catch her breath, Tukiko composed herself and finally took in their surroundings. They were in a meadow.
"Tobi, what's the big hurry to get here?" She asked, looking around. The grass here grew tall enough to stand above her waist. It was quiet and secluded here, and for a moment she wondered if Madara would come out from behind the mask again, away from the eyes of his other underlings.
But the man behind the mask had a goofy posture, scanning the skies. "You wanted to stop, so Tobi stopped." He explained. "We're not all the way yet. Unless Tukiko-chan is ready to go?" He started jogging in place.
"No... no that's fine, I think we should stay here." Tukiko sat in the grass, and crossed her legs. Tobi sat across from her, and Tukiko felt like he was observing her, but she wasn't sure why.
"Tobi..." She said the name without purpose, but the way the name felt in her mouth was funny. It wasn't quite a familiar name, but it was similar. She looked back at the mask thoughtfully. Anyone could be hiding behind it, and she'd be none the wiser.
"Why do you wear a mask?" Tukiko asked, trying to sound as casual about her question as possible. "You told me your name. How is your identity a secret?"
Tobi tilted his head. "Sometimes, Tobi thinks you're pretty." He said bluntly. Tukiko blushed, but mentally brushed it off.
"I don't understand." She sighed, but accepted the fact that Madara wasn't going to tell her anything. She let herself relax a little, and watched a butterfly float along the breeze.
"In some cultures, butterflies symbolize the souls of the departed." Tobi had turned to Madara, and took Tukiko by surprise.
"I never knew that," She admitted, looking up to see the masked man gazing at the butterfly as well. Or, it looked like it, from the way his mask was tilted.
Madara sat next to her, cross legged, and with his hands in the grass. The wind billowed through his cloak, and she could catch glimpses of the dark armor underneath. There was no trace of the man who wore them.
"Do you believe that to be true?" Tukiko asked softly. Madara seemed quiet and contemplative.
"I must believe in something." He finally said, "Tell me, where are you from, Tukiko?"
Tukiko blinked, surprised by the casual interest. "Well," She stated, "I really don't know where I'm from."
Madara seemed quiet again, and she wondered if this was a bad answer, until he spoke up again. "You remind me of someone I knew before. That is all."
"Oh." Tukiko's eyes fell downwards. "I'm sorry if I'm not that person... but I really don't remember anything. For all I know, Tukiko isn't my real name. I think Yuzuki might have named me that, when she found me."
"Found you?" His attention seemed full and alert. His fists dug into the dirt, tearing at the grass. "Where did you meet?"
"I... I don't remember. All I remember is the moon, and seeing Yuzuki looking down at me. I guess she saved me." Tukiko tried to smile. "She was always protecting me, even back then."
Obito's was interested.
"Tell me more about yourselves." Madara prompted.
"Well," Tukiko stared into the clouds, "I'm not very interesting, but I guess I can tell you about what we've been doing..."
xxx
The bodies of the three men were laying in a circle, dead. Tukiko was not sure how they had died, it just looked like something had frightened them, and they fell over like that. Yuzuki was shaking violently, and Tukiko held her for comfort.
"Don't worry, Yuzuki, it's okay. They're gone now." Tukiko soothed. Yuzuki shook her head aggressively.
"I killed them!" She wailed, and the girl teetered back and forth in agony. "I... I don't know how, but I just did!"
Tukiko kept her friend from falling over by holding her tightly. "No, you didn't do anything..." She tried again, keeping her voice soft. "None of us did anything..."
Yuzuki hiccupped.
"I can make their lives end..." She whispered hoarsely. "I can make people die, Tukiko... I'm not sure how, but I can... and I can make it so, so painful." She shuddered, and Tukiko saw her eyes were shimmering.
"But I'm scared, Tukiko-chan." Yuzuki continued, "I don't want to get in trouble..."
Tukiko rubbed the older girl's back. "You won't get into trouble..." She said reassuringly. "They attacked first."
Yuzuki was quiet for a moment, and Tukiko was relieved to think that maybe she had calmed down. She took her arms away, and watched Yuzuki carefully. The other girl looked frightened.
"It's not just about them," Yuzuki explained gravely, "I... I like watching them die. I like knowing I can kill them. I'm a bad, bad person, Tukiko." She whimpered pathetically. "I've killed before, and I liked it then just as I did now!"
Tukiko was shocked. It was hard to imagine Yuzuki, such an easily shaken and desperate girl, as a killer. It had to just be her nerves getting to her.
"You're not a bad person, Yuzuki!" She said, holding onto her shoulders and shaking her friend lightly. "Listen, sometimes people do bad things, but that doesn't make them bad people! It's your heart, Yuzuki!"
Yuzuki stopped trembling, and looked at Tukiko with a puffy face. "I've done many bad things..." She whispered, "Too many..."
Tukiko shook her again.
"It doesn't matter! Yuzuki! You're my friend now, and I know you would never hurt me! I don't know what you might have done, but it's over! You're my friend, and I love you, so please, don't be upset!"
Yuzuki seemed to choke.
"You love me?" She wheezed, and tears trickled down her face again. "Do you really mean it? We're friends?"
Tukiko nodded. "Best friends!" She stated, giving her a comforting smile.
Yuzuki grinned, and pulled herself closer to Tukiko. Tukiko expected to be pulled into a friendly hug, but was wrong.
Yuzuki had pulled her into a full kiss.
Tukiko was too stunned to protest, but the kiss lasted long enough to cause alarm. She didn't dare try to pry Yuzuki away, afraid that it would upset her again. Yuzuki broke the kiss, and buried her face into Tukiko's neck.
"Please don't ever leave me, Tukiko!" She pleaded, muffled by skin. "I'll protect you until we die, I swear! I don't want to be alone!" Her voice wobbled.
Tukiko was at a loss. Something did not feel right to her, but Yuzuki seemed to be unbothered by recent events. It occurred to Tukiko that something was wrong, but she didn't know how to heal it.
"I won't leave you." She promised, patting Yuzuki in a friendly manner. "I'll always be here, when you need me."
Yuzuki smiled.
"I will always need you." She said, tightening her grip on Tukiko's clothing.
Tukiko felt a twinge of fear.