Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Kakuzu hasn't always been Kakuzu.

It's a bit hard to comprehend, and even he finds himself sometimes wondering if he's really Kakuzu, or he's not Kakuzu, or if he's really just trapped in some nasty genjutsu shit that makes him question his very own identity.

But he is Kakuzu, he knows that first and foremost. Kakuzu of Taki. Or, well, formerly of Taki, considering his slashed hitai-ate.

Sometimes, he'll frown at his own hitai-ate, the pain and somehow disappointment resurfacing whenever he remembered the day when he slaughtered the people within his own village. The disappointment goes both ways: to the people who turned their backs on him because he failed to kill the God of Shinobi and to himself, who found it easy to kill them in his bout of anger, disappointment and fury.

But, well, when he thinks over it again, it hadn't been easy. It weighed on him when he did it, when he had to do it for his own survival.

It was a do or die situation, and the shinobi inside him told him that he couldn't just run.

(He ran from Senju Hashirama, and look where that had gotten him into).

And so he took the village elders' hearts, a bunch of forbidden techniques in his arsenal (it would be useful, his mind told him that day), and went out of Takigakure, the place he'd treated as home until that moment, the place and the people he was willing to sacrifice his limbs and life for.

He took action in accordance to his fury and walked out with his dying will.

A sardonic smile lifts upon his lips. Dying will, alright.

He doesn't know what made it happen, nor the circumstances that triggered it. But when he was on his way out of the village, when he slaughtered elders upon elders and took their hearts, it was as if something was insistently whispering in his mind; telling him of when and where the elders would strike back during their battle, a strong intuition that he'd come to trust fervently.

It was as if fire had burst from his chest, his eyes, his whole body, engulfing him in calm tranquility in the midst of his fury.

It was flickering, but it was there, however it went ignored when he was on his way out of the village.

Only later on when he was settled far, far away from that wretched, traitorous, sickening place he once called as home--

Everything--

Spilled out.

He remembered of days with his family, and his Family, his friends and comrades and underlings. Remembered of days filled with laughter and warmth, remembered of days when he was afraid and scared for his friends that he dragged into this mess, for his future, for his safety and the people beside him. Remembered of days when he fought and fought and fought. Remembered of days when he won, when he lost, when he won and lost and won again. Remembered of days when he ruled, when he took leadership alongside his comrades.

He remembered of days passed and when he finally lied down and took his last breath.

Remembered of a life when he lived as Sawada Tsunayoshi, Vongola Decimo.

And even to this day onward, he will always remember it, will always finds himself reminiscing the distant, fond memory.

Perhaps when he remembered, he should have taken a complete U turn, should've turned into Sawada Tsunayoshi, instead of the angry and betrayed Kakuzu of Taki, who not even five hours ago had murdered his village's elders.

But in this life he's Kakuzu first and foremost, and Sawada Tsunayoshi second.

Their personalities mashed with each other, beliefs and cultures and values, all mixing into one. Some clashed, some mixed in together perfectly. In the cases when they clashed, one should win.

Kakuzu of Taki, and Sawada Tsunayoshi of the Vongola.

Both are different people,

but both are one and the same.

From that point on, he became Kakuzu who is not entirely Kakuzu, but still Kakuzu nevertheless.

From that point on, he became Sawada Tsunayoshi, who lived as Kakuzu, and will always continue living as Kakuzu.

He's Kakuzu now. And he will never change it for the world.

Money makes the world go round.

Kakuzu believes that in this world filled with treachery and back stabbing, money is one thing that he can always depend on.

He sometimes cannot believe he starts to think like Mammon, but nevertheless that is the one thing Kakuzu believes in. And his intuition agrees. After all, with money, he can pay someone that his intuition doesn't trust, into following his whims.

With enough money, he can live comfortably, wandering through this world and visiting many places in a comfortable pace, without having to worry much about what to eat, where to sleep.

Well, he's a shinobi anyway, so without money he can still live by. But with money, everything is easier.

He truly believes that Mammon must have influenced him somehow. It cannot be any other way. He did spend quite a lot of time with the Varia back then, despite Xanxus's characteristic wrath at almost everything from Sawada to Tsunayoshi. As angry and pissed off Xanxus was, he was a comrade he could always trust to protect Vongola.

And he did miss the guy. He missed everyone.

Nevertheless, they are mere memories for him now. Important memories, yes, but still just memories. He's Kakuzu now and he has to live on.

Perhaps some time in the future, he'll be able to gain another family.

His intuition seems to agree with him, and Kakuzu smiles behind his mask.

Soon, soon.

Akatsuki.

Kakuzu glances at the person (or is it?) who introduced himself as Pein, and to the strange creature called Zetsu. There's warning bells ringing inside his head, cautioning him that this... Pein, is dangerous.

And those eyes.

Ripples, ripples upon ripples.

A doujutsu? Truly, he hadn't focused much on doujutsu other than the Sharingan, more because he has no desire to obtain such eyes and that he hasn't encountered any ninja with particular doujutsus despite his many, many years as a nuke-nin. Perhaps it's because he hasn't found it necessary to travel to the Fire Country just yet, alongside him steering as far away as he can from Kiri thanks to its battles he has no interest in joining.

His knowledge in this particular purple doujutsu itself is almost close to none. But he knows enough that this person must be, in a way, dangerous.

Trust your intuition, Tsuna, Reborn seems to chide him inside his mind. Don't jump into conclusions, don't jump into the fight. Look, pay attention, and then fight back.

Kakuzu smiles lightly behind his mask.

I know, Reborn.

"Leader-sama wants you to join the organization," the creature resembling that of an Aloe Vera (and it's that just strange) says to him, and Kakuzu finds that it isn't a lie, not really. Something seems to tell him that there's something else though, something... more, in this Aloe Vera guy, but he cannot seem to find any that supports his intuition.

But a warning is a warning, and he trusts his intuition. Therefore, he shelves that particular thought for later and focuses on Leader-sama instead.

"And what is the purpose of this... organization?" He asks. "And why do you need me?"

"We are collecting S-rank nuke-nin to join our cause," Pein says ominously. "Your abilities and prowess have interested me, and therefore we are giving you a position within it."

So, an organization filled with traitors. His mind concludes. It doesn't sound like a place that Kakuzu wants to spend his time in. Especially when he doesn't know what this organization even wants.

And thus he asks just that.

"For peace," Pein answers swiftly, and Kakuzu is surprised when he finds true belief and conviction within the man. "Akatsuki aims for world peace, and it will create true peace with any means necessary."

"Peace," Kakuzu deadpans, "and how, I pray tell, will you be able to achieve such a thing?"

Despite believing in the notion in peace itself, Kakuzu cannot help but to be skeptical. No matter what, conflict will always happen, no matter how small. That's just how the world is. Effort can be done to minimize it, yes, things can be done to resolve it. But a true, whole peace, in a world filled with many differences, as well as a world filled with shinobi that seem to depend on conflicts to continue on living, an abstract notion of "true peace" seems to be... very lacking.

And to see group filled with terrorists aiming for world peace, even an insane man would question it.

"A person can truly desire for peace when they've experienced pain and anguish," Pein answers, and Kakuzu's brain almost short circuited when he realizes the implication within the name Pein. "If that must be done to have the people within this world to desire for peace, then so be it."

"So you're going to do genocide," he almost sneers, green eyes focusing on the minuscule twitch on Pein's eyebrow. "Or am I mistaken?"

"Perhaps," Pein answers, "The Akatsuki has established another way beside total annihilation of the people, Kakuzu of Taki, although you shouldn't be against it, given your reputation." The jab is as clear as day, but it goes ignored. After a small pause, Pein continues. "We are to collect the bijuu, and to do that, we need strong shinobi. I ask you again, Kakuzu of Taki, would you join the Akatsuki?"

Kakuzu almost balks. The bijuu? They want to collect the bijuu? What can the bijuu do to gain world peace save for being used to destroy villages?

He can believe that Pein is insane, for believing in this abstract notion of peace through receiving pain (how masochistic, Bianchi seems to comment inside his mind, sounding coy) and he's willing to do so either. Only, only, they're staring at him, expectant, and his intuition tells him that whatever he may think, there is no getting out of this.

"And what would you do," he tests, "if I refuse?"

Silence.

"I will fight you," Pein says, "if you win, I will let you go. If I win, you have to join us."

Yeaaaah. There is no getting out of this.

Kakuzu sighs. "On one condition," he tells them, "I shall be given the freedom to do whatever I want inbetween organization duties."

Pein seems to raise his eyebrow, "If you try to betray the Akatsuki, I will know."

The threat is as clear as day. Kakuzu simply stares at him in return.

"However," the orange haired man seems to amend, "bounty hunting is always welcomed."

Well, that explains that he knows exactly what Kakuzu likes to do.

"And vacation time," Kakuzu says, easily, like a child demanding candy from a mother.

Pein blinks. "Very well."

Beside him, Zetsu seems to tilt his head. "So you'll join?" The Aloe Vera's voice seems to echo even in a wide space such as this, and Kakuzu has to resist a shiver. There is definitely something wrong with this creature.

"Fighting two unknown people, one with a doujutsu, is a hassle," he simply replies, staring at them evenly. "And I trust my instincts."

"Oh, man, and I wanna see a fight, too."

"Too bad."

And thus, begins his days in the Akatsuki.

Next chapter: Bad Habit (or is it?)

Chapter Text

It takes one Kakuzu one look at Akatsuki's poor money management, and it is with pure horror on his face that he snatches the position of treasurer (and the considerably hefty amount of money as well as its bank book) from Zetsu's white fingers.

"If you don't understand how money works, then why are you managing it?!" He says, the tone almost taking a shrill one that he thinks is entirely justified. The book is filled with doodles of poo, and Kakuzu doesn't want to know why. Zetsu and his strange obsession of poop are not in his top list of the things he wants to know about.

Zetsu, the little fucker, simply shrugs his shoulders. His black half is missing, probably latching onto another aloe vera guy like the creep he is.

It still weird him out a little bit that Zetsu is not a single entity, but one of many.

(My name is Legion, for we are many)

Kakuzu rolls that thought—the thought that sounds like Hayato and his morning routine of reading the bible—away from him swiftly, like how he does everytime he gets new people speaking in his head in the voices of his past Family. Still, really, it's strange that there's only one Black Zetsu but so many White Zetsus. It's jarring, a lot more than finding out that Yuni is apparently an alien.

(And he still thinks that's something is wrong with the Zetsus).

(Particularly Black Zetsu).

(He is glad he doesn't have to spend much time with the black half, really).

"Well, nobody wants to do it," is Zetsu's eloquent reply, and Kakuzu wonders why Pein didn't just do it himself or, like, appoint Konan-san or something; the woman looks capable and responsible enough, definitely better than the poo obsessed white-person-cannibal-thing!

(He wonders if he was recruited because of his money managing skills).

(It can't be, right?)

(Right!?)

(It must be because he's cool or something, or because of his S-rank reputation, not his money managing skills!)

(He kills people for a living, for God's sake!)

(Honestly, while the Tsunayoshi in him is insulted, Kakuzu can't help but to preen. He does love money, so it's nice to be acknowledged that he knows how to handle his babies).

Zetsu grins at him, and Kakuzu feels like he won't like what comes out of Zetsu's mouth later.

His intuition is spot on, of course.

"So I just took the position, cuz somebody has to, right? And besides," he grins unrepentantly, "it's fun to doodle on it."

"…"

Kakuzu wonders if he'll get marked as Akatsuki's traitor if he burns Zetsu with his dying will flames. Zetsu is, after all, many. Losing one won't be that bad. Losing one won't hurt at all.

That's right, Kakuzu thinks viciously, his hand lightly sparking flames. It's just one, he won't be missed that much.

"Please refrain from murder inside the headquarters, Kakuzu-san," Konan's smooth voice interrupts his murderous thoughts and Kakuzu pauses, the sparks of flames on his hands dying like blown candles. Konan's eyes focus on them for a moment, finding it intriguing that she finds no smoke or burned clothing.

The miser turns to the only woman in the group (and a very pretty one at that) and stares at her with a gaze that conveys his very emotions and thoughts, particularly about Zetsu's doodling habit, something that the White Zetsus only do when they're bored.

(Well, Konan thinks, that, or they go out to eat some people.)

"While killing your partner isn't really recommended," Kakuzu raises an eyebrow at the leeway she gives him—not recommended doesn't mean he's not allowed to, after all—and listens as she continues, "it will be a hassle to clean it up here. If you wish to kill, cleaning the headquarters from the mess will be your responsibility."

It is then her lips twitches upward for a second, betraying her amusement at this event, and Kakuzu has to wonder if this is her way to smile or smirk.

(It reminds him of Bianchi, somehow).

The woman's yellow eyes gaze at his green ones for a little while, some sort of camaraderie passing between the both of them, before she nods and saunters away, probably figuring out that Kakuzu has listened to her words and won't end up killing Zetsu (yet).

Kakuzu, after watching the woman's retreating back, remembers the mess of an accounting book in his grasp, curses, and makes a beeline to his room to fix the data or… just… whatever can be salvaged and saved from this mess.

They both ignore Zetsu, who is pointing at himself and loudly protesting about the apparent worth of his life.

Pein doesn't really know what to think about his newest treasurer.

Being someone who loves money almost as much as he loves his own life, Kakuzu is obviously doing his job fairly well (even if he's a bit stingy when a request to buy something is esteemed one-sidedly as unnecessary). The traitor of Taki also manages to effortlessly juggle between his work as a treasurer and his missions—although with Akatsuki still being a rather new missing-nin organization, missions are still far and inbetween—as well as his hobby to collect bounties or, well, what he calls as vacation time.

Well, as effortlessly as he can, Pein guesses.

There were times when Kakuzu had to shoo Zetsu away when he was counting money and cataloguing the data while sitting in the headquarters' lounge, or when he threw a book full of doodles of poo and biceps and muscles and even some poorly drawn genitalia to a snickering White Zetsu.

Kakuzu bought Zetsu a drawing book, sometime later. A thick one.

And coloring pencils.

And crayons.

Lots of crayons.

Pein won't say it, but Kakuzu seems more like an exasperated father trying to maintain his difficult children than a murderous and blood thirsty missing-nin sometimes.

Kisame fits more into that "blood thirsty" picture, and even Pein finds him sometimes cooking in the kitchen with a blue apron decorated with a stitched picture of a shark and the words 'fishes are friends'.

(Pein finds out later that it's a gift from Kakuzu).

(Pein finds out Kakuzu likes to stitch, in which, okay, it fits his fighting style, but he also stitches things for fun, and now he seems more like a mom than anything).

(Pein finds out Kakuzu stitched a mini aloe vera Zetsu doll and gave it to Zetsu for safe keeping).

(The White Zetsus fight over it sometimes).

(Pein wonders if Kakuzu stitched him something and just haven't found either the time or the guts to give it to him, because Konan got herself a mini Yahiko doll and she loves it).

(…Sometimes, he wonders if he recruited the wrong ninja to be in Akatsuki. Why is his newest recruit so domestic?)

(Kakuzu of Taki is an S-rank missing nin who steals hearts from his village's elders, why is he so domestic?)

But Kakuzu is strong, and Pein acknowledges that. Not as strong as Pein with his Rinnegan, of course, but the man truly deserves the S-rank he gets within the bingo books.

His movements are swift and agile; he's sure of his own power and is not overconfident. Kisame, who has gone with the miser to a few missions together, says the man has managed to finish the mission as quickly and efficiently as he could, sometimes even ending it in one blow, probably making the blue skinned man pout over the loss of his chance to fight.

And then, there's the matter about his flames…

Zetsu and Konan both had told him about the sparking of flames on Kakuzu's hands—flames that curiously enough didn't leave smoke or burn marks after they disappeared—that appears whenever he gets fairly irritated or tense.

A kekkei genkai, perhaps, and of a new kind as well, considering his family didn't have such a thing, according to the information Zetsu gathered about the miser.

That, or it's just a new jutsu the guy came up with in his long life as a shinobi.

But he hasn't exactly used the flames for some reason.

Not on missions, where he totally can handle them without the help of his 'flames', and not even during the spars he sometimes does with Kisame and rarely, Konan herself.

(She seems to be quite fond of him, although Pein doesn't know why. He rarely ever interacts with the missing nin outside of necessity, after all).

It makes Pein… curious.

As a leader, he probably can inquire the miser about it and demand a demonstration about the flames.

But Pein knows Kakuzu loves his freedom, the so-called Vacation Time and Leisure inbetween Missions, as Kakuzu himself so eloquently put it.

Or what's left of it anyway.

He probably will be reluctant to do it, considering he hasn't truly talked about it to shown it to anyone else blatantly. Although Kakuzu has shown that he is wary of Pein and his power.

If worst comes to worst, he'll probably lose a very skilled treasurer.

Well, whatever, Pein muses, closing his eyes.

As long as it doesn't affect the organization and its goals negatively, he shall not bother.

He believes the time will come when it gets revealed to him, anyway.

Soon, soon.

Kisame thinks Kakuzu is amusing.

True, he lives up to his reputation. Kakuzu is curt, ruthless and definitely lethal. Undeniably, he's also a really skilled shinobi. In Kisame's standards, he's an important, strong ally, and has the potential to be a formidable opponent.

(Although Kakuzu is funny, too, since he saw Kisame looking at the mini Zetsu doll and offered to make him one if Kisame wanted, and when he said he didn't need such a useless thing, the man got up and made him a freaking apron.

An apron, with a picture of shark and the word friend.

Then Kisame saw a small shark plush sitting in the lounge's sofa and he laughed).

But Kisame is also not blind, thank you very much.

Although Akatsuki hasn't made any real moves toward their goal in acquiring the jinchuuriki—save for the three tails in the Mizukage who is already effectively under Uchiha Madara's influence—it has begun to collect information regarding them.

He's seen Kakuzu's flickers of emotions—emotions that are quickly and expertly hidden underneath a blank mask—when he saw the jinchuuriki's information, and Kisame knows why.

Children.

Some of the jinchuuriki are children.

And Kakuzu, ruthless as he may be, is largely known for his penchant of sparing children, even young Genin or Chuunin that he seems to judge through his own criteria, because he killed some twelve year olds and let some others in the same age live before, and sometimes even women or pregnant women in particular.

This is one of the reasons as to why civilians don't hesitate much when they approach Kakuzu for mission requests.

Out of all troublesome traits to have, he has to just have his fondness of children.

There will be some problems with the extraction, when the time comes, considering Kakuzu's apparent weakness toward children in general.

Or, we can just wait until the children are old enough, Kisame thinks with a grin. That way, Kakuzu won't be adverse to capturing and killing them, would he?

If there's anything Kisame knows, Kakuzu respects and finds thrill in fighting strong and skilled shinobi. Older jinchuuriki are bound to fit those criteria. Kakuzu will find no qualms in fighting them; he'll even be honored, if Kisame's predictions of his traits are spot on.

Still, it's a long way to go, he muses. Akatsuki still needs to find a name of its own to be feared among the Hidden Villages, to gather enough information and funds, to gather more members, before they can think of capturing those jinchuuriki.

For now, he'll settle with gathering and getting to know new members, as well as watching how things go around the amusing miser.

Still, that plush toy, though, pffft.

Chapter Text

Kakuzu is amusing.

For someone well known in the bingo books as a ruthless assassin, it’s downright amusing that Zetsu has seen him flailing and yelling more than when he’s this quiet, coldblooded shinobi.

Granted, it’s mostlikely Zetsu’s own fault: they bother Kakuzu a lot, ranging from simple nudges to his side when he’s working with the organization’s and his money, to them doodling poo on the miser’s books.

It’s funny to watch Kakuzu takes deep breaths in order to try to calm down, funny to see his eyebrow twitch everytime any Zetsu try to play around with the temperamental Akatsuki member. It gets more entertaining when Kakuzu somehow turns into a mom, like when he starts stitching cute little dolls (Zetsu actually got one, it’s both weird and amusing) or when he starts giving the Zetsu herd crayons and sketch books.

Funny, how he ends up indulging with Zetsu’s little teasings.

Zetsu likens it to Kakuzu falling prey to their little façade of harmlessness. Thinks it’s Kakuzu falling to their schemes, losing his initial wariness around Zetsu, and perhaps, growing to underestimate Zetsu enough that it’ll be easy for them to manipulate yet another member of the Akatsuki.

And it’s interesting, too, when Kakuzu’s hands start to spark in orange flames, when it subsides easily enough with a mere exhale from the missing-nin. Something that definitely speaks power, something that sparks a thrill inside of the hive.

Whatever that is, if it proves to be useful, then it can be used to further the Moon Eye Plan even more. Something that may prove to be advantageous to have, or so Kuro likes to mutter.

Shiro Zetsu’s job is to listen, and so they do. They come traipsing toward Kakuzu in an almost daily basis whenever he’s in the headquarters, half done to have fun and another half an actual effort to see more of that orange flame of his.

For the most part, they aren’t really affected much by Kakuzu’s apparent capability of being soft toward his comrades and children.

For the most part.

There is no explanation as to why Guruguru spends more time hovering over Kakuzu, no explanation as to why Guruguru finds slight joy over how Kakuzu patiently—however slightly begrudgingly—explains how pooping works.

No explanation as to why Guruguru feels a bit detached from the hive mind lately.

It doesn’t matter, Guruguru muses to themselves, even when they don’t bother Kuro as much as before anymore, even when they don’t visit Obito as much.

“Oi, Guruguru,” Kakuzu beckons them over, waving around a book in his hold. “I got a book about human biology. You want it?”

It doesn’t matter, Guruguru thinks, even as they sprints over to Kakuzu’s side, a strange excitement even in their otherwise empty body.

Guruguru spends their day like that; reading a book Kakuzu bought for him—for him! He didn’t say it’s for Zetsu, it’s for Guruguru. And that means something, somehow, someway. Guruguru doesn’t know how to explain it, but it feels like there’s something tugging at their chest, making their otherwise unfeeling body warm all over. It’s weird, but it’s a good kind of weird, perhaps something similar to the content feeling when humans poop, or when Guruguru kills humans. It’s definitely something Guruguru is not mad about. In fact, it’d be great if this warm feeling can go on.

(If to keep it, Guruguru needs to be near Kakuzu often, then so be it.

So be it).

.

.

.

.

There are signs of it: drunk on Sky flames.

He’s seen it happen to his Mama when he was Tsunayoshi, a mist drunk on Iemitsu’s Sky Flames, causing her to feel intense attachment and loyalty to an otherwise undeserving man. Oh, Iemitsu was a good leader that was for sure. He led CEDEF properly, his subordinates loyal and singing praises, even with their occasional exasperation over him gushing about his darling Nana and cute “Tuna-fishy”. But despite his gushing, he was anything but a good husband and father. In a way, Tsunayoshi could understand. He could understand the need to keep that life a secret, to stay away for the safety of his civilian family. But then it proved to be useless anyway didn’t it? Tsunayoshi still became the Vongola Tenth, his family still got into lots of troubles with enemies because of it.

If his mother hadn’t been so drunk on Iemitsu’s Sky, she’d have seen what kind of a bastard he was and probably divorced him, that Tsunayoshi was sure of.

Being drunk on flames, it could be provoked consciously or unconsciously. He didn’t know if his mother was made drunk on purpose so she could be more suggestible when it came to Iemitsu’s lies, or if the situation was as it is right now with Guruguru.

Kakuzu knows what he is: an open Sky without any bonds with other flames just yet. Sky Attraction within unbonded Sky is especially strong, and thus Kakuzu has always tried to keep his flames at bay. At least, he won’t consciously reach out to other people’s dormant flames to provoke their activation, or to force a bond. Within this world of shinobi, especially one he’s living in as a missing nin, creating a bond with someone he doesn’t trust fully is something near a self-imposed suicide. What if his bond is rejected? It’ll be bad for his psyche, and truthfully Kakuzu prefers slow bonding more than anything anyway. While his friendship with his Guardians when he was Tsunayoshi seemed to happen quickly, the actual bonding took years to happen. Courting is a thing, and so is the initiation. So much cuddles and body contact happened, Kakuzu remembered feeling both content and scared as Tsunayoshi cuddled Hibari Kyoya. Granted, they both felt the urge, like an itch needed to be scratched, but years of sweating nervously around the Hibari Kyoya felt like second nature by now.

If he can, he’ll like it if bond with his Guardians here can happen in a similar way.

He hasn’t really chosen any Guardians just yet, considering his situation. But his Flames definitely found potential candidates. Kisame is a Rain, something similar to Squalo’s pure flames, and yet more tame, more… subtly dangerous, in a way. Kakuzu is torn between feeling safe when Kisame is near him, his flame even when passive is nothing but calming when Kakuzu’s intuition recognizes him as an ally, or to feel threatened, because such power is deadly on its own, even more so if honed properly.

And then, there’s Konan.

Konan is a Cloud, unsurprisingly so. The woman is beautifully deadly, and his Flames dare to purr whenever they go on missions together, the little shit.

She’s blunt and quiet, someone with intellect and the perfect amount of charm that she can easily weave her ways through her enemies, whether subtly or explicitly. He wonders if her paper jutsu is passively powered by her Cloud flames’ propagation quality, and wonders, exhilaratingly, how that technique will be deadlier if she does end up activating her flames somehow. Kakuzu had laughed a bit when he thought of it for the first time, remembering the women who were by his side when he was Tsunayoshi. How they were so elegant and beautifully deadly. How people in the Underworld learned not to underestimate his girls. His beloveds.

Kakuzu has seen a little bit of her soft side, particularly when he gave her the Pein little plush doll; how her eyes softened, gaze almost wistful and so sad, Kakuzu had to stop the urge to envelop her sad, sad, grieving flames with his own. He doesn’t really understand why she looked so happy and sad at the same time, especially when she’s with Pein almost all the time when she’s not off on missions, but his intuition tells him there are more things than what they are seen with his naked eyes. Everything in this organization seems to be more than what they seem, after all.

(Her flames, from what he had managed to graze before he coiled his flames tightly around him to prevent accidental bonding, feels like a remnant of a broken bond, a courting that went unfinished, and Kakuzu’s heart aches.

Even if he doesn’t care much for her just yet, unfinished courting and broken bonds are something he can’t help but to feel grief over).

He doesn’t spend much time with Pein to know what type of Flames he may possess, and the Zetsu herd is nothing but creepy nothingness. He avoids Kuro unless it’s something he can’t help but to face, and he is always wary, even around the annoying white clones.

Guruguru though—

Guruguru is a void, some weird creature that shouldn’t have had any flames. Guruguru is a part of the Zetsu herd, another annoying creature Kakuzu has to endure and be wary of.

But Guruguru is drunk on his flames, definitely so. And it’s not something Kakuzu did consciously either. Kakuzu did not envelop Guruguru with his flames, oh no, Kakuzu did nothing of the sort.

For Guruguru to be drunk on his flames even when Kakuzu didn’t initiate can only mean one thing: it is Guruguru who reached out to him first.

But why?

What for?

And why does it seem like Guruguru is the only one who is affected by it?

Even when Kakuzu tries to subtly feel Guruguru’s flames, there’s nothing. It’s a void, something empty and so cold that Kakuzu reels away from. It’s like something died in there, and it’s not a reference on how Zetsu clones eat human flesh for fun.

It’s something Kakuzu can’t control, neither is it something Kakuzu can stop.

Guruguru is drunk, and they want more. Not Black Zetsu, not the herd of Zetsu clones. It’s just Guruguru who is drunk and wanting.

He is wary, but he is willing to wait and see what happens. It’s not like he can form a bond with a void anyway.

And so, he beckons Guruguru over, green eyes watching intently as they skip over to their side almost happily, the void answering to his Sky.