Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

Purple Flowers and Crimson Clouds	By : Psychoholic Category: Naruto > Het - Male/Female Views: 13976 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters, nor do I make any money off of this fanfiction.

Chapter List
- 1-Prologue
- 2-San - Hidan
- 1
- 2
"Pathetic little worms."
Struggling for breath, desperately clawing at the large hands that squeezed her throat mercilessly, Ino meets Chōji's eyes as he flails across from her in an identical quandary, his expression of helpless terror mirroring hers.
"Just die."
Kakuzu's ominous growl precedes the immediate clench of his fingers. Both Chūnin utter pained gags and begin to thrash harder, though their strength is waning swiftly. Hot tears flood Ino's vision and sluice down her scuffed cheeks. Where are Shikamaru and Master Kakashi?
Abruptly, the pressure is loosened. Ino immediately sucks in a huge lungful of air – hearing Chōji do the same – then starts to cough violently. When some of her composure is regained, she weakly lifts her head and is spooked to see Kakuzu's disturbing eyes locked upon her, narrowed severely as he slowly scrutinizes her from her face all the way down to her toes. She blanches beneath his gaze. Why is he staring at me like that? Cold fear washes over her.
"Hm.” The miser grunts, breaking the tense silence. "On second thought, you may be useful to me after all."
Perturbed, Ino stammers hoarsely, "W-w-what do you-" but is startled quiet when he suddenly drops Chōji. The Akimichi releases a cry of surprise as he hits the ground in a daze, but quickly scrambles to his feet to drop into an battle stance. A look of scorn is all he receives.
"Don't bother," Kakuzu intones. "You try anything and I crush her throat."
Looking almost like a frightened child then, Chōji backs off a bit and exchanges uneasy glances with Ino, who can manage nothing more than a feeble swallow. Movement resembling the wiggling of worms snags her attention and she peers down to see filaments creeping out of the stitches on Kakuzu's arm, delicately brushing its length as if searching for something. Kakuzu shifts his grip on her throat, the muscles rippling beneath his brown skin. At once the threads dart for her – she flinches apprehensively – but they merely wrap themselves firmly around her waist, pinning her arms down. Kakuzu then lowers his arm and the threads prove strong enough to hold Ino above ground on their own.
“Woo-hoo!”
Craning her neck, Ino spots Hidan chasing Kakashi down a massive tree trunk, his maniacal cackles splitting the air. Kakashi is the cat – nimble and clever, darting to and fro as he seeks escape, whereas Hidan is the dog – ardent and fierce, barreling his way through every obstacle as he seeks nothing but bloodshed.
"Hidan!" Kakuzu calls to his partner, surprising the zealot into halting suddenly. "We're leaving!"
In the mere second it had taken Hidan to look away, Kakashi has vanished. Galled, the priest shoots an indignant glare at Kakuzu. "What the fuck are you talking about? I almost had him!" he snarls, balling his fists.
"Too bad. Let's go," Kakuzu deadpans, turning away dismissively. A variety of choice obscenities is spewed at his retreating back, which falls on deaf ears.
The threads bite into Ino's skin as she writhes in their grasp; they're strong as rope. Under Kakuzu's intimidating stare, neither Chōji nor Shikamaru can attack without risking her death, unless Kakashi manages to sneak up on the waterfall ninja... Hyperventilating, she begins to panic as she looks around frantically for the Jōnin, but sees no sign of him. Damn it! Where did he go?!
Grumbling, Hidan stomps over to them, only to halt once he looks up and notices Ino. He gawks at his partner. "Why didn't you kill her?" he asks incredulously.
"A bounty for her wouldn't amount to much, so I'm going to sell her to a brothel." Those nonchalant words cause bile to rise in Ino's throat. "She looks like she'd be worth a good price."
"No!" she gasps. “Master Kakashi, help!”
"Ino!" Kakashi's cry in response is a stab of hope in her heart. She twists around to see him dashing down an adjacent tree towards Kakuzu, his right hand engulfed in the crackling sapphire glow of his eminent Lightning Cutter. Her teammates immediately follow his initiative, exploiting the miser's diverted attention – Chōji draws back an enlarged fist as he charges at Kakuzu while Shikamaru's shadow zooms toward him for better accuracy.
But there is no need. What turns Ino's initial stab of hope into an icicle of trepidation is the fact that the bounty hunter stands relaxed, observing the three quickly approaching shinobi with unearthly calm.
He's already planned something.
Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Hidan crouch slightly and lick his lips, excitement alighting his face. A bolt of alarm lances through her. Did they forget about him?!
Before she can voice a warning to her teammates, Hidan emits a piercing hyena-like laugh and leaps into the fray with his scythe held high, effectively scattering them. All three Konoha ninja divert their attacks to the Jashinist, but he springs high into the air, avoiding the assaults with ease. "Ha! You think attacking me all at once will work?" Somersaulting, he swings his scythe in a downward arc at Chōji and Kakashi, clipping the former's knuckles and catching the latter's arm in between the blades. "Laughable!"
A shriek rips from Ino's throat as Kakashi is yanked up and flung away, scattered drops of blood glinting in the sunlight as it streams from a long gash in his sleeve. He crashes into the ground several yards away, where dust billows up and obscures him from view. Chōji grunts, grimacing in pain as he cradles his wounded hand. Ino spies the striking gleam of bone beneath his flayed skin, sickening despair curdling her blood.
Shikamaru's shadow had dissipated before it could even reach Hidan. Trembling with effort and exhaustion, he drops his hands while warily eyeing his opponent, who lands with a wide grin and raises a crimson-smeared blade of his scythe to his mouth to lick the blood off with relish.
"Is that all you got, Shadow Boy?" Hidan taunts. "That's pathetic, seriously."
With rapidly mounting horror, Ino watches as the priest's skin darkens, white skeletal markings stark against inky black. Crazed magenta eyes flash to Chōji – who hastily limps between him and Shikamaru – then to Kakashi, who's sluggishly pushing himself upright after the dust has settled. “This is the first time I've gotten two victim's blood at once,” he announces proudly. “So you get to watch your pals be sacrificed to Lord Jashin simultaneously, then you'll be next!” An insane guffaw bursts forth from his mouth as he draws out his pike, aiming the tip at his hand. “You should feel blessed to witness such a grand-”
"Leave them, Hidan," interrupts Kakuzu, much to Ino's massive relief. “They're done for anyway. You can kill a few whores at the brothel instead.”
Hidan whirls. “Fuck you! Whores are a disgrace to Lord Jashin!” he spits, brandishing his scythe at Shikamaru. “Now stay outta my way, Kakuzu!”
Growling in frustration, Kakuzu lashes his arm out, threads exploding from the gaps in his flesh toward Hidan. They encircle his torso and yank him back to their possessor with such force that he drops his pike and nearly his scythe. Spewing curses and flailing violently, he's deposited next to Kakuzu, who doesn't retract his threads. “This is what happens when you don't listen, idiot,” he berates, glaring at the struggling man beside him, who returns the glare with murderous fury.
“You made me drop my pike, you stupid fucking penny-pinching old dickwad! I'll sacrifice you then, I swear to-”
Outraged snarls are cut off with a gag as Kakuzu's threads constrict him tightly.
“You talk too much,” the bounty hunter says simply, then launches into the forest without a backward glance with Ino and Hidan in tow, carting them with ease as if they weigh nothing.
Hysterical with terror and anxiety, there is nothing Ino can do but watch as a disheveled Kakashi stumbles up to Shikamaru and Chōji, who desperately shout after her until they disappear completely behind shrouds of foliage. Too weak to follow and continue fighting, none of them are able to do anything as of right now; their only hope is to wait for backup. By then, however, Ino knows that she and her captors will be long gone.
She feels like crying.

Hours are spent running. An unrecognizable, seemingly endless expanse of woodland is their main pathway, and the constant jouncing from branch to branch had made Ino a little nauseous. Sporting a moue for the majority of the trip, she had remained subdued and became increasingly crestfallen the longer they traveled. Fretting over her rescue had all but preoccupied her mind, ineffectual reassurances – They'll be here any minute. I'll be back home in no time. – darkening to brooding suppositions – They lost the trail. No one's coming for me.
I'm doomed.
"What's stuck up your ass, Blondie? Still mad about your teacher?"
Hidan's needling voice jerks her out of her despondent abstractions. Bristling with barely suppressed rage at the cruel jab yet adamantly biting her tongue, Ino doesn't grant him with a reaction, aware that anything she does or says will only serve as fuel for his taunting. She doesn't even acknowledge him with a glance.
Kakuzu had released Hidan after less than half an hour of travel; the zealot had spouted an incessant string of swears, rants, and threats until his irascible partner had flung him against a tree just to shut him up. Raging and attempted attacks had immediately ensued, but Kakuzu was quick to end it with a punch to Hidan's gut and the ominous warning that he'd be dismembered and scattered about the forest to be picked at by scavengers should he refuse to calm down. Thus, after a while spent muttering under his breath and rubbing his sore belly, Hidan had reluctantly ceased his prattling and trailed after Kakuzu, albeit with the occasional glower shot in his direction.

Inching closer to Ino, Hidan adds in a low, lecherous tone, “I got somethin' to stick up your ass.” Ino finally slides her eyes over to meet his, the detestation almost palpable in her glare. “...but you'll get that later.”
Ino looks away, the corners of her mouth angling downward and her nose wrinkling in disgust, and Hidan snorts in amusement at her reaction.
“Don't talk to her, Hidan.” Kakuzu's sharp order causes said man's eyebrows to pinch together in a petulant frown.
“Why the hell not?”
“Because you're not going to get a chance to stick anything up any of her orifices since she'll be soiled by your filth and be worth less. So keep your perverted thoughts to yourself.”
Hidan chuckles and scratches the back of his head in embarrassment. “Haha, oh, you heard that?”
Red-green eyes attenuate, paired with a sinister, “You're not getting between me and my money this time.”
The Jashinist suddenly thrusts out his chest. “Well, what if I wanna keep her for myself?” he challenges.
What the hell!? Ino snaps her head toward the two, her eyes flying wide.
“I had her first. She's mine to do with as I please.”
“Not if I take her from you!”
They're squabbling over me like kids over a toy! Ino thinks, appalled and repulsed into speechlessness. These are adult men, and S-class criminals at that! And I am not a damned object!
“You wanna fight for her?”
Hidan's casual suggestion causes her to tense, holding her breath as she awaits Kakuzu's response.
The bounty hunter gives him a withering look. “No.”
Ino visibly relaxes. Thank god.
“Aw, you scared I'm gonna hurt your precious cargo?” Hidan sneers. “I'll take the bitch right from under your snobby nose, you just wait.”
“Try it and you'll die.”
“Yeah right, you geezer! How many times I gotta say it, seriously-”
Another punch is thrown, and the Jashinist is again sent flying into a tree with a slew of shrill, infuriated profanity left in his wake. Despite everything, Ino has to smother a giddy laugh at the two Akatsuki's comical fracas. Kakuzu continues running so Hidan is forced to race to catch up to him, but not before delivering a resounding smack to Ino's backside as he passes by, eliciting a startled yelp in response.
“Hidan!” Kakuzu's angry bark rings throughout the forest.
Snickering, the priest raises his hands in surrender. “Sorry, sorry. I couldn't resist.”

“One million yen. No less.”
The brothel owner, a rather short, rotund balding man with a puckered purple-gray scar stretching from his left ear to his left eyebrow, frowns at Kakuzu's forthright assertiveness. Large and surprisingly tidy, the brothel's interior is made entirely out of cement and has an unsettling resemblance to a prison. High-pitched moans and squeals of rapture and the rhythmic pounding of bed headboards and squeaking bed springs emanate from within the rooms on the interior balcony above them, interspersed with voices raised in shouts of “harder!”, “oh god!”, “yeah, you like that?”, “little slut!”, etc. along with slaps, thumps, and grunts. Thankfully, they're faint, but audible nonetheless. While Ino is mortified by the risqué sounds – a deep crimson blush left her face aflame – Hidan and Kakuzu appear blasé, which piques her curiosity as to just how familiar they are with this place.
She hisses in discomfort when Kakuzu's threads slip down to her wrists and pull them taut over her head, stretching her body for better view – at least her feet are touching solid ground for once – and restraining her before the owner, whose eyes are quick to leave the bounty hunter to greedily examine her form.
“Hmmm...” he hums thoughtfully, leaving his desk and approaching her slowly. Ino aims a venomous glare in his direction. “How is she?”
Kakuzu seems puzzled. “...What do you mean?”
“Like, is she good at fucking?” Hidan paraphrases in his own unique way, visibly bored with the discussion. He shrugs. “Dunno. I could have tested her out but tightwad here-” he jerks his chin at his partner, “-insisted on selling her. His dick is probably shriveled from underuse 'cause he'd rather have a fat wallet than a tight-”
“Shut up, imbecile,” Kakuzu snaps.
The owner does not seem at all ruffled by Hidan's foul mouth. He crosses his arms. “Not knowing is better than a “no,” at least. No worries, if she's a virgin she'll be broken in.” Though said casually, the words are paired with a daunting leer that unnerves Ino. “Now...” His eyes slide toward her again and she resists the urge to shrink away.
A pudgy finger prods the exposed portion of her toned abdomen and she stifles the urge to giggle at the ticklish sensation. The man eagerly eyes her perky breasts – shoved out thanks to her painfully arched back – and Ino resists kicking him in the groin. He circles behind her like a stalking predator. “My, my, she is magnificent,” he remarks appreciatively; Ino can almost feel him slavering at the sight of her ass. “Your price is becoming more and more appealing to me, Kakuzu-san.”
Ino curls her lip. Slimy bastard.
“All right.” He swivels around to face Kakuzu. “One million yen it is.”
As the two discuss money, Ino feels a prickle on the back of her neck: the eerie sensation indicating that she's being watched. Already sure of the culprit, she turns to defiantly meet Hidan's gaze with a hard scowl. Deceivingly nonchalant, the priest is studying her deliciously stretched body out of the corner of his vision with a faintly minatory glint in his hooded eyes. She raises her chin at him in a facade of intrepidity despite the sight sending a chill down her back.
He responds with a small smile.
The aberrant gesture nonplusses her. While she blinks dumbly at him, the threads curled around her suddenly slacken and slither back to Kakuzu. Fierce soreness instantly seizes her muscles and she can't withhold a small cry of pain as she doubles over, rubbing her arms with a grimace. Light pinkish-red indentations mar her skin, bumpy under her massaging fingers.
She knows better than to try to attack or flee, so she simply crosses her arms tightly over her chest – wincing in pain as she does – and warily eyes all three men. Absorbed in counting his money, Kakuzu does not grace her with a glance. She doesn't dare look at Hidan again. Then that leaves...
“Come with me,” the brothel owner orders, beckoning her with a curled finger, and turns toward a dim hallway to the back right corner of the room. He adds over his shoulder, “And don't try anything – you won't get far.”
The warning is vague, but said confidently enough that Ino understands “something” has been “tried” before, and to no avail. Nevertheless, her keen mind immediately begins scanning for possible outlets as she meekly trails after him, but strays behind a good five feet or so. His aura is absolutely vile.
She peruses him from behind as the shadows of the hallway engulf them, seeing nothing remotely dangerous in his flabby build; he doesn't even appear to have anything hidden on his person. He clearly isn't a shinobi. So what's got him so cocky? Maybe I can attack him. The notion is vague, but with this man, she thinks even the simplest of attacks will be easy to use on him without much effort, if any at all. Knocking him out will be a piece of cake. A simple roundhouse kick should suffice.
She lunges forward in a single step, spinning on her heel to swing one slender leg at his bald head.
But when her foot is mere inches away, her ankle is abruptly grabbed with a steely fist, halting her attack mid-strike. The owner leisurely peers over his shoulder with a complacent expression, cocking an eyebrow at her tauntingly.
Ino gapes, shocked. How-!?
“I told you not to try anything.” His voice is low as he sends her a small smile. “Didn't I?”
Ino huffs, frustrated, her cerulean glare harsh enough to impale him. “Let go of me,” she snarls, yanking awkwardly against his grip, but then something moves over his shoulder and her eyes dart away from his to look.
A dark form looms behind him. Mauve eyes glint with insane glee. Slowly, the form raises an enormous weapon over its head, three long, wicked blades flashing in the dim light.
The owner hasn't noticed the threat, assuming Ino's expression of fear is directed towards him. “I'm gonna break you in, girl,” he purrs, his eyes roving up and down her body.
“Not before me, fucker.”
Frowning, the owner releases Ino and turns around right as the weapon is lashed down. With a shrill cry of terror that catches somewhere in her throat, she quickly stumbles away.
Thock.
The blades gouge deeply into the owner's head. Several drops of hot liquid spatter Ino's face as she shrinks away. His heavy body tips backward and falls at her feet with an echoing whump. Ino surprises herself by not screaming – instead, the noise she utters is more of a cry of disgust. Blood seeps out toward her sandals, and she jerks them back before it can touch them.
Hidan stomps a foot on the body's neck and jerks his scythe free. He raises his head to the frightened kunoichi, who huddles in the corner, and their eyes meet. A cruel grin flashes white teeth in the gloom.
“You're coming with me, bitch.”
Terror locks Ino's limbs as he stalks toward her. “N-no,” she stammers, stumbling backward on wobbly legs, but she hits the wall and presses herself flat against it.
“Yes,” Hidan retorts, grabbing her arm and yanking her roughly. He treads over the brothel owner's body as if it's carpet, his sandals splashing in the blood. Ino recoils and tries to skirt it, but Hidan's pull is insistent and she's forced to follow his trail through the sticky red pool.
She tries to jerk herself away. “Get off of me!” His grip is bruising. “I can walk by myself.”
He scoffs. “You're gonna make a run for it. I'm not stupid.”
...Fine then.
Kakuzu had drained her chakra and relieved her of her weapons upon her capture, but she was still perfectly capable of lashing out if push came to shove. And playing dirty never did me wrong... So, scowling pertinaciously, Ino pulls Hidan's hand toward her face and crunches down on his knuckles, feeling her teeth split skin and crack bone; the salty tang of blood gushes into her mouth and saturates her tongue and she grimaces at the taste.
Hidan's responding bellow of enraged agony pierces her eardrums. The priest rips his hand away and immediately slugs her across the face so hard her neck pops as her head whips to the side, too fast for her to dodge. A muffled cry is forced out of her mouth as fierce, hot pain shoots from her cheek across her face. Stunned by the blow, she's grabbed by the throat before she can even straighten and yanked forward. Hidan's fingers clench tightly, painfully, almost suffocating. His eyes are bloodshot, pupils fully dilated, nostrils flared and lips drawn back to bare his teeth as he glares down at her, his face aflame with wrath that makes Sakura's hostile glares seem meek in comparison.
“You fucking cunt, I oughta break your goddamn neck for that,” he spits, hot breath gusting into her face.
Though Ino is rattled, her next move is reflexive – something she should have done a long time ago: employing her intense loathing of him, she rams her knee up between Hidan's legs.
His reaction is glorious: Expression faltering, eyes flying so wide they look as if they'll pop out of their sockets, a strangled grunt escapes his gaping mouth and he crumples, releasing Ino to flop to the ground as he curls into a trembling fetal position. “Ghh... F-fuck-k-” he chokes out, saliva dribbling down his chin to the floor, tinged pink with blood as if he'd bitten his tongue, lip, or cheek. Fierce satisfaction surges through Ino at the sight and she can't stifle a callous, smug laugh that triggers his eyes to roll up to her, glaring weakly.
“Asshole,” she says coldly, then, with a haughty flip of her ponytail, whirls and marches away down the hall.
“You're proving to be quite a handful.”
Kakuzu's voice halts her mid-step. She peers over her shoulder apprehensively.
The massive shinobi blocks the end of the hallway, arms crossed. His eyes lower to Hidan. “...I see you had no trouble taking care of him,” he remarks.
Is that amusement I hear in his voice?
Ino recovers from her momentary shock and glares at him. “You'll end up in a similar position if you try and stop me,” she blusters, though he'd likely break her leg before it could land between his. Maybe her threat would unnerve him...hopefully. Surely just looking at Hidan would strike fear in every man, even a monster like Kakuzu?
“I don't care what you do.” Fast as lightning, his hand shoots toward her and grabs her neck, and though she was prepared for this she's still astonished by his incredible speed and strength, a gasp of surprise forced out of her mouth upon impact. Kakuzu reels her toward him, her sandals dragging on the ground as she kicks and skids in struggle and claws at his hand in frustration. “But let me tell you this: petty threats don't work on me, kunoichi,” he growls, inches from her face. “Even if you could pull them off.”
Oh, really? Eyes flashing lividly, she raises a leg to give him a taste of Hidan's pain – Ino swears she sees his eyes widen a fraction – but he tosses her away before she can lash out (though secretly she's pleased to have caused him a mini heart-attack for a moment). With a grunt, she crashes into the wall and slides to the floor, rubbing at her very sore neck – and now her back and head – as the Falls ninja turns to his partner.
“Get up, Hidan,” he orders.
The Jashinist groans, shuddering. “God...damnit.” He slowly rolls over and pushes himself upright, but does not stand until several moments later. “Fucking...stupid...” He weakly picks up his scythe and trudges over to them, glowering darkly at Ino, who returns his gaze boldly, albeit secretly perturbed as she stands. His face is pale and glistening with sweat. “...bitch.”
Ino says nothing, but Kakuzu snorts. “You look terrible. How does getting kicked in the groin compare to being decapitated?”
“Shut the hell up,” Hidan growls half-heartedly. “Anyway, I'm still keeping her.” He slings an arm around the kunoichi's waist and tugs her toward him, and in a flash, Ino has punched him soundly in the ribs – a small crack splits the air – and ducked out of his grasp.
“Ahh, fuck!” the Jashinist yells, clutching the area. He snaps around, raising his scythe to strike at the blonde. “You piece of shi-!”
His curse is cut off when Ino's foot smites his jaw. His head is whipped to the side as he stumbles backward, freezing and staring in dismay at the wall. Then he slowly straightens. Speechless, he gapes at the kunoichi, who glowers at him from a defensive stance.
“What, did I knock your brains out of your ear?” she sneers, her bravado swept away by adrenaline-fueled anger. That'll teach you not to underestimate kunoichi. But, to her surprise, he doesn't respond – admittedly she's a bit unnerved by his uncharacteristic lack of belligerence. Instead, he probes around his mouth with his tongue before spitting out a broken fragment of a tooth. He stares at it as well, his face blank.
“...Jashin,” he says hoarsely, “I think I'm in love.”
Ino is stupefied.
Immediately, Hidan swings the back of his scythe around and clubs her in the head with it while she vacillates. “Sike!” he crows, watching the kunoichi crumple to the floor, her blue eyes glazing over as she succumbs to unconsciousness. “Sucker.”
Kakuzu looks on, shaking his head. “Considering that was the most idiotic gambit I've ever heard, I think she did knock your brains out.”
Hidan bends down to lift Ino's limp body with a fistful of her purple top and slings her over his shoulder. He shoots a smug look in Kakuzu's direction. “Hey, it worked, didn't it?”
“Think you got her hopes up?” the Falls ninja asks dryly, and Hidan barks out a laugh.
“Nah, my only love is for Lord Jashin. Anything or anyone other than him is a sin. Blondie can only dream of having my sweet ass.”
Kakuzu rolls his eyes. “Anyway, it was amusing watching you get your ass kicked by a chūnin while it lasted,” he sighs, sounding oddly disappointed, “but we have other places to be.” He turns and starts toward the end of the hallway.
“Wait, you're not mad that I killed that bald guy?” Hidan ventures, jogging to catch up to him.
“I got my money.” Kakuzu replies simply, not looking at him. “And I took all of his.”
Hidan halts suddenly, as if realizing something. “Ah, shit.” He snaps a finger. “That reminds me. I need to do my ritual.”
Kakuzu releases a weary sigh.

The duo arrive at Akatsuki's main hideout in Amegakure. Because Pain is away at the moment, they summon his astral projection. Immediately, those keen Rinnegan eyes dart to Ino's body.
“...Who is she?” he inquires slowly, his voice deceptively calm.
Kakuzu glances at Hidan, who shrugs carelessly, then sighs and answers for him. “I believe she's Yamanaka Ino.”
Pain is silent.
“So can I keep her or what?” Hidan prompts impatiently.
“Where did she come from?” Akatsuki's leader asks again, ignoring the priest, who scowls.
“Konohagakure. She along with three other shinobi were fighting us.”
“And why did you bring her?”
“Ask Hidan, not me,” the Falls ninja grunts.
Those eerie eyes slide over to Hidan, waiting.
The Jashinist sighs exasperatedly. “'Cuz I want to keep her, like I said.”
“For what? She's not a pet.” Pain's voice hardens. “For all we know she could use this as an opportunity to spy on us.”
“Yeah, yeah-”
“Hidan,” Pain snaps, cutting him off, “you're toeing a very fine line here. Your foolish behavior has cost us valuable time and energy on countless occasions. I should oust you right here and now for disobeying me and risking the organization's discovery because it's been a long time coming.”
Hidan is insouciant in the face of the threat. “What're you gonna do, shoot holographic laser beams at me?” he drawls mockingly.
Pain pins him with a chilling glare. “Do not test me,” he growls in a low voice. “Kill her immediately or I will.”
“No fuckin' way!” the Jashinist bursts out. “She was a pain in the ass to get and I'm not giving her up that easily! Screw this group and its rules.”
Warped voices fade in and out of Ino's hearing, emanating from all around her. The blood has rushed to her head in her upside down position. Her right temple and left cheek throb viciously, each creating a hot pain that radiates out to meet the other, using her nose as a rendezvous point. Blearily, she struggles to open her eyes, lolling her head as she tries to lift it.
“She's waking,” Pain remarks, his narrowed gaze darting to her, then back to Hidan. “I mean it, Hidan. Kill her before she's able to-”
“Ugh...” Ino stirs, the movement causing her head to pound. “Pu' me down...” Weakly she thumps her fists against the back her face is pressed against. “My head hurts...”
“Hmph.” Hidan shifts and with one arm hefts her off of his shoulder, setting her none-too-gently on the ground. “You're heavy anyway.”
Ino staggers, placing her hands on her knees for leverage, then rises unsteadily. Once her unfocused eyes land on Pain's flickering hologram, however, they widen, and her foggy mind immediately clears. She glances around, alarmed. Her gaze stops on a large window on the opposite wall of the room; outside, rain splatters the glass in a steady downpour, the sky a flat, dark gray. Amegakure? Dutifully she takes note of her whereabouts.
The hologram stares at her, light purple eyes with tiny pupils girdled by black circles rippling outwards. Spooky. She resists the urge to shrink away. “Who are you?” she ventures.
“I am the leader of Akatsuki. Pain.”
Ino frowns, perplexed. That's his name? “Why am I here?”
Pain does not respond for a moment as he eyes Hidan, his gaze icy, then looks back down at her. “...Perhaps I might rethink your use to us,” he says eventually, then turns to Kakuzu before he can see the alarm flash across her face. “I'm assuming you took care of everything?”
“She's harmless, as far as I can tell.” The bounty hunter casts a sidelong gaze at Hidan. “...For the most part, anyway.”
The Jashinist glares balefully at him, though he doesn't respond; Ino's eyebrows shoot to her hairline upon seeing a light blush of embarrassment darken his cheeks.
Ha. A bit of smugness brims within her.
“Good.” Pain nods. “Hidan, do with her what you will, I suppose. Kakuzu will oversee everything for now. I'll be back to discuss this later.” With a soft buzz, the hologram vanishes.
Ino's cruel delight instantly dissipates, and a frigid kunai of horror stabs her in the heart when Hidan turns to her, a disturbing, lecherous grin stretching his face.
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Purple Flowers and Crimson Clouds