Ojos Asi [[private -- nyrax]]

"I would tell you, without hesitation. sakura has access to a lot of information that's considered privileged to the Hokage. So I'll ask her to read some of the reports that come in, if any do, about Aaliyah." Sasuke said, putting a hand on SHino's shoulder, in an attempt to comfort him. Logically, he knew that there was nothing he could do, but he still felt that he should try, at the very least, to make Shino feel better.

- - - -

Several days later, Youki had arrived in Ame, seeking (read as demanding) a meeting with Pein.

"Looks like someone has a death wish." Itachi said, sipping the cup of tea in his hand. They were at a collective meeting, discussing Sasuke's actions, which were famous by now. In terms of undercover operations, this was one of the best.

"You could say that again," Kakuzu remarked as he heard about Youki's demands to meet with Pein. Quite the bloody cheek that man had, seeking an audience with them after he had embarassed himself at the hands of Konoha. It was a shame though, Konoha had made the perfect plan and they had almost stringed Youki up like a fish. How embarrassing.

"I wonder what he wants, perhaps he was pissed we weren't there sooner."

Itachi leaned back. "I think he's angrier that my brother got the better of him, considering Sasuke is an Uchiha and almost half Youki's age." It sounded like Itachi was proud of Sasuke. And indeed, he was. If Sasuke was this powerful at such a young age and Itachi had been the protege between them, imagine how much better the older was. "All the same, perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea to let him in here. In case he goes off."

Pein didn't seem to appreciate Itachi's implication, but knew he meant no offense. It's not that Pein couldn't fight Youki, it was just that Youki was a far too impulsive fighter. "Let him in." He waved his hand and Youki was allowed in.

Once admitted, Youki came right up to the table they were seated at. "I need my sister." He said, staring at the leader intently. "I will give you anything you ask for to send her on a mission of my choosing."

The Akatsuki leader rubbed his chin before sitting down. "Well, I suppose I see where you would need her, but I respectfully decline. I would very much like to keep Kaliegh with us. She is a remarkable woman. In the time she's been here, she's brought five villages that opposed Akatsuki to our side, and she is not even a part of our organization."

Kakuzu sat at his seat and watched as Youki finally stormed in to the room. It was clear that the man was upset, anyone with two eyes could see that. Youki wasn't hiding his emotions well, and the suit didn't fit him well. It showed him as weak, cowardly, and pathetic. When things didn't go your way you had to stay firm to save face. That was the mark of a good leader. Pein got frustrated yet, but it was much harder to tell it with him over Youki.

When Youki made his demand Kakuzu couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. He wanted Kaliegh back for one mission? She had only just barely recovered from all of her surgery. She and Kakuzu continued to train together, though they both took it down a few notches to avoid what had happened last time. Kakuzu had kept an eye on her and so far she had done nothing to try to sabotage Akatsuki.

On the contrary, it was the leader that pointed out all of the good that Kaliegh had been able to do while in the organization. Kakuzu was glad that Pein wasn't going to give in so easily. They had a deal with Youki, and they weren't going to turn it over so easily. "I doubt that you have anyone or anything that has been as useful to us as your sister has been," Kakuzu said simply as he looked over towards Youki.

He wouldn't reach out too far, for he knew that overall it was still Pein's decision. It would at least show that overall he would rather keep Kaliegh here.

"We have the mutual interest in killing Sasuke Uchiha. And I know that my sister is strong enough to return the Uchiha's head to Akatsuki." Youki said, looking to Kakuzu, rather matter-of-factly. "If she is as good as you say she is, then she will be able to do this, then I will return her to you, as our agreement stated. I'd appreciate it, and it would go a long way for making me feel..." he paused. "Grateful, you might say."

Pein thought this over. He didn't want to make an enemy out of Youki, however, Akatsuki had other interests right now. "Kaliegh is strong, certainly, but she is not yet strong enough to face Sasuke and live. I think you should perhaps calm down and rethink this. I will let you see her, but she will not leave. That is my final decision."

Somehow, Youki didn't seem as angry as one would think. he let out a sigh, as if he knew that Pein was right. He nodded and walked out of the room easily.

Pein stood and moved toward the door. It was clear that he was going to follow Youki. The Akatsuki leader did not yet trust him. He left it up the the men themselves if they wanted to follow him.

Youki was glad that he could at the very least see her. Of course, Youki found her with ease. She was training. Youki reached out and grabbed her arm, twisting her around to face him. "I see you're not following my instructions."

Kakuzu didn't back down his gaze from Youki's. He didn't care how powerful the man was, Kakuzu still considered himself the better of the two. He wouldn't back down just because Youki felt like he talked well and was strong, there were more important things to follow in a man. Youki was feared, he wasn't respected by anyone as a man, leader, or an opponent. The man was lucky and angry, and Kakuzu would never fear a man with those qualities.

Kakuzu stood up and moved behind Pein, following him to see how Youki reacted to seeing Kaliegh. Kakuzu was the one in charge of her after all, that meant watching over her now even when Pein was present as far as he was concerned. Kakuzu only watched with narrowed eyes as Youki grabbed Kaliegh's arm and twisted it. He held himself back though, but not by much.

Kakuzu's eyes fell upon Kaliegh, wondering what she was going to do now that she was confronted by the brother she both loved and hated.

Kaliegh winced, but she knew better than to struggle against him. "I'm making myself useful, which is keeping me alive. Which is more I can say than what you're doing for me." She said, glaring back at him. She did love her brother, but she didn't fear him at this moment, which was likely a mistake. "You're making this more difficult than you need to. Why is it that everyone else can muster respect for Pein but you? You want him to respect him then you should respect him."

Youki twisted her arm a little more. "Don't talk back to me. I didn't want you to be here. You were my last choice to be here. I value you more than most of the others. That exchange would have gone differently. The battle would have been different if you where there. I need you back, so you will find a way to make them release you."

"if they release me, it will be in a casket. Don't be foolish. They don't keep useless possessions, nor do they release suddenly unhelpful ones. You're letting your anger cloud your judgement. Again. This is going to end just like the last time. And the time before that. Why don't you just let go of all this hatred and accept what--"

He laughed, cutting her off. "Like Cyon let it go? Like Xerion let it go? Like YOU let it go? Don't be a fool, Kaliegh. You know that Heisha as rooted and we're stubborn. You show similarities than me. Is this going to be like the last time I left you with a powerful shinobi? Where you--" Kaliegh slapped him, hard, across his face.

"Shut up!" She yelled. "Shut up! You sadistic son of a bitch. YOU left me here and I will do anything to survive!"

Youki growled and wiped his face. Then, he turned and punched Kaliegh in the face, knocking her onto the ground.

Kaliegh shifted her weight and blood poured out of her mouth. She cut her lip and cheek open on her teeth.

Kakuzu stood there and listened to the conversation taking place. He was happy, to hear Kaliegh talk up about Pein and the organization as a whole. It made him feel like maybe she was seeing why a group like Akatsuki was necessary, even if she still didn't love the ideals as Kakuzu did. Such a thing would come with time though, and he hoped that it was sooner rather than later.

However, when the conversation escalated Kakuzu couldn't help but feel his eyes narrow. Youki's words were irritating him, and he once again continued to sound like an idiot and a fool. Pain came to everyone, but only fools turned it in to personal revenge. Kakuzu wanted to destroy Konoha as well, but he knew that the global mission of the Akatsuki was more important than his own feelings. That was what was required of individuals, to devote themselves to ideals.

It was when the punch was thrown that Kakuzu suddenly moved in to action. From behind, Kakuzu quickly moved forward until he was right next to Youki. He launched out a powerful kick right in to Youki's ribs, sending him away from Kaliegh. Kakuzu would than move his position, making it so that he was standing between Youki and Kaliegh.

"You will not touch her again. She is under the protection of Akatsuki and will not be harmed by an outsider," Kakuzu said sternly as he stared right at Youki. "I don't give a damn about your anger. Lay a finger on her again...and I will break both your arms."

Youki slowly pushed himself to his feet. He was holding his ribs. The kick had easily broken some of his ribs. He coughed, softly, glaring at the male. he couldn't believe that he had done such a thing for Kaliegh. So, it seemed that he was right. "I see." He stated, glancing to his sister. Steadying himself, he suddenly felt substantially less angry. The Heisha nodded and bowed. "Then I will see you next time, it seems." He walked to Kaliegh, around Kakuzu, and quite daringly took her hand, pulling her up to her feet.

"I apologize, nee-chan." He said, wiping the blood from her face. "But I will not abandon you to this organization." He looked to Pein then before bowing to the Akatsuki leader, which clearly pained him, due to hsi broken ribs, but he showed the proper respect none the less. After that, Youki turned his back to them and walked out of the Akatsuki base, his hands at his sides, without so much as showing how much his broken ribs hurt.

Kaliegh wasn't sure what to do. Nothing like that had ever happened to her. No one had ever defended her before. She was still dazed, even when standing. "T-Thank you..." She said, looking at Kakuzu. "But you didn't have to do that."

Kakuzu just stood there, standing tall and firm as Youki started at him. That's right, rethink your plans now. Men thought that they were so invincible until they were wounded. Kakuzu was going to do much more than wound him if he tried to disrespect Kaliegh, Pein, or any of the Akatsuki again. The more time that they spent with Youki, Kakuzu became more and more convinced that the man didn't belong with them.

The sweetest moment was when even in pain, Youki bowed down to the leader of the Akatsuki. It was a very humbling moment, despite the fact that Kakuzu was almost certain that Youki didn't mean any of the respect directed at Pein. Kakuzu's eyes trailed on to Youki the entire time that he walked out of the base. Kakuzu would gladly humble the man again if it was required of him.

"Yes I did," Kakuzu said as he looked over to Kaliegh. "Youki placed you in our care as an exchange. That in effect makes you a part of our organization. If he hurts of disrespects any one in Akatsuki, he disrespects all of us. I was not going to stand by and let him think that we were going to tolerate his outburst," Kakuzu said slowly as he looked at Kaliegh. "Along with that, I am assigned to make sure that you're alright while you are in our stay. The moment that he struck you, I knew that I wasn't going to keep standing there," Kakuzu explained as he looked at the blood Kaliegh had spit up. "Do you require healing?" he asked curiously.

After making sure that Kaliegh was alright, Kakuzu turned to his leader and gave a bow. "Forgive me if I acted out of turn Pein," he said as he kept his head bowed. Kakuzu's actions and voice made it clear that he was respectful towards Pein and honestly feared that he had gone too far. "I just felt like Youki needed to be reminded of his place. He needs us far more than we need him."

Kaliegh was still quite surprised that Kakuzu had struck her brother as he had. She had been close enough to them both that she heard his ribs crack from the impact, and the way he hit the ground was likely to hurt him as well. Slowly, she started to regain feeling again, realizing that the man she never expected (or wanted) to protect her had done just that. Yet, he hadn't done it for honor, or something foolish, he had done it out of respect, not only for her, but for Akatsuki as a while. It was clear that Kakuzu did this for her with the intention of humbling Youki, something that she herself had never been able to do.

"Thank you." She repeated, truly believing the words she was telling him. "Truly, Kakuzu, thank you." She bowed to him before he bowed to Pein. However, seeing him bow to the leader made Kaliegh unsure of what to do. Should she apologize on Youki's behalf. Blood continue to drip down her chin both onto her chest and the ground.

Pein nodded his head at Kakuzu, simply. "It was not too far. I think that, his actions and yours were well deserved. I do not believe that anyone should ever strike an ally. That sort of rage weakens trust and willingness in battle. If Youki was a smarter man, he would not treat the women at his side as he does. Whereas not all female shinobi are strong, there are great exceptions to that rule." Kakuzu nodded to Kaliegh, locking eyes with her.

Kaliegh bowed to him. "Thank you, but Youki is just---"

"Do not make excuses for a man without honor. Nothing is more shameful than an honorless man forcing a woman to fight his battles and restore his title and improve his standing in the eyes of other men. I do not blame you for him and I've found that it is unfair to judge you with the criteria through which I judge him. It's clear to me that you should perhaps stay here for a time, for both your own safety and to be freed from his collective madness." Pein stated, walking over to Kaliegh. He pulled one of the piercings from his nose and pressed it against where her blood dripped. When the blood hit it, the sharp object almost seemed to pulse, before a wave of chakra entered her face and healed the injury to stop the bleeding. Pein was not a fool, and from the amount of blood she had just lost, it was clear that she was not yet fully healed and an injury like that could very easily lay claim to her life. Kaliegh was strong and held pride in herself, but was more than willing to act wrong even when she was weak. Whereas Pein admired the quality, he considered her foolish for being willing to die for that same pride.

"Kakuzu." Pein said, as he placed the piercing back in his nose. "I think that our meeting is over for the day. Do any of your have preference for the three missions I mentioned?" He asked, looking toward his teams. There were missions he gave to specific people, but in this case, they were all fairly intermediate skilled missions, and he sometimes allowed them to pick and choose what they liked. It kept them motivated and he didn't enjoy always ordering them around. They did have their own wills, after all.

Itachi and Kisame had watched the entire exchange from a distance, and in silence. "Kisame and I did the last three missions, so we'd appreciate resting for a few days." He said, speaking their mutual consensus.

Kakuzu only gained a larger smile as Pein told him not to fear, for in his eyes Kakuzu had not gone too far. Youki had stuck an ally that was under Akatsuki protection, and all to save his own pride while it was on the line. It was foolish and stupid, and Pein recognized it as such. Kakuzu was glad that he served a man like this, a visionary and a man that would lead the shinobi world in to a glorious future. Pein was a man that the whole world would respect one day.

As the missions came up, Kakuzu glanced over as both Itachi and Kisame seemed to bow out of the missions due to the rest that they wanted. On the other hand though, Kakuzu still wanted to build up more of his strength and continue to improve himself. The past few months had been wonderful for him, but he knew that he needed to continue to make sure that it stayed that way.

"Kaliegh and I will take these three, we could use a few days to let some stress out I think," Kakuzu remarked as he glanced towards Kaliegh. It was a curious look, one that showed that if she didn't want to go she could voice such. She was still recovering after all, and Kakuzu would respect that if she needed more time.

Kaliegh felt much more at ease as Pein put to silence all of her worries. To be cherished for a shinobi was a ltitle strange to her. Although she did enjoy it, Youki never truly cherished any of them. Lillian said that he had before, but she couldn't remember that day, it was before her time. So, she nodded, slowly, understanding.

When Pein brought up missions, Kaliegh remained silently. This was nothing she had rights in, but hearing Itachi speak so blatantly and refuse surprised her. Where... where they allowed to do that? Youki would never allow such a thing to be said.

But Pein simply nodded and waved the rwo of them off, excusing them from the missions. It was strange, how well they worked together and respected one another. She admired it, but was also completely awed by it. When Kakuzu glanced at her, she turned to him and smiled, nodding to him once to show her agreement. They didn't need complex signs. From the very start, they had understood one another.

"Excellent," Kakuzu said quietly to himself before nodding once again. He was glad that they could get the missions, once again it would allow them to build up their strength. Clearly they had already made great strides as Pein had no problem with the two of them going on to take three missions in a row. They were getting stronger by the day, and Kakuzu aimed to keep that going.

"Come on," he said before motioning to Kaliegh to follow him out of the room. They had to prepare and get ready for the mission after all. Of course Kaliegh still had her armor and sword from the last few missions that they had gone on, but it was still best to make sure that they were fully prepared.

"Does your mouth need to be looked at?" Kakuzu asked as he looked at Kaliegh. The blood wasn't flowing as much anymore, but some of it was still on her lips.

Kaliegh shook her head. "No, Pein healed my mouth." She answered, wiping the rest of the blood of her face. She wiped her hand off on her pants and then wiped her mouth again. Once all the blood was gone from her face, she spit the rest of the blood that gathered in her mouth on the ground and walked with him back to the house they were sharing. Since Kakuzu didn't have a partner and she needed to be watched, it worked out well.

"So, what are the missions?" She asked. Being outside the Akatsuki, she was not given information during their meetings and was always excluded from them, which wasn't something she objected to. Conversely, she completely understood.

"Let's focus upon them one at a time," Kakuzu said as he looked towards Kaliegh once they were away from the others. "The first mission is the one of most prominent importance. Another village is in need of Akatsuki protection," he said as he leaned up against a nearby wall and crossed his arms. "In the grass village there has been a group of rogue shinobi that have gathered together under one man due to his power and influence. They have been bullying various villages in order to gain supplies to feed their men...it's going to be our job to stop it."

Kakuzu pushed himself off the wall and walked over to grab his weapon pouches, equipping them as he grabbed them from his stand. "All we need to do is defeat this leader. Supposedly the men practically worship him. If he falls, the men that follow him will more than likely give up their cause. As usual though, we need to change to whatever the mission requires of us."

Kaliegh listened to him intently and nodded after she understood the full extent of the mission. "I guess." She said, starting to get ready to leave, which consisted mostly of her grabbing her blanket and folding it to fit in a mission bag. They usually traveled without much, but she couldn't go anywhere without it.

"I think that, there has to be another man that will take up the cause. Men don't stop rape and pillaging because they've been shown the error of their ways through death." She shouldered the bag (that, was more like a satchel than anything else) and went to stand at his side, showing that she was ready to go. "I think this will end in blood in and blood out. Even if they do repent, they deserve to die for what they did, just do they won't do it again."

"Oh you're most likely right," Kakuzu remarked as he watched Kaliegh continue to get ready. "I was mainly repeating what Pein said. As always he just tells me to keep my eyes open. Once I get a look at these men and how they act, I'll be able to quickly judge what value they have on this world. It's somewhat of a skill of mine, after a hundred years reading people comes naturally," he said before turning to the house and beginning to walk out of the house and eventually moving out of Ame.

"How are you feeling?" Kakuzu finally asked as they entered the woods outside of the little village. His eyes were upon her as they walked, and his voice had changed in to a more concerned tone.

Kaliegh looked at him, quite surprised. "Hm? What do you mean am--" she stopped and then laughed softly. "Yeah, I'm fine, Kakuzu." She smiled at him, believing this would put him at ease. She had never truly fought against Youki in such a way and she could never imagine herself physically fighting him with the intention of ending his life. Such a thought had never really occurred to her until now.

"He didn't hit me that hard. You hit him far harder than he hit me. He just wanted me to hold my tongue. You wanted to like... break him in half. I've never seen you hit anyone that hard, or him take such an attack without reacting."

Kakuzu gained a tiny smile as Kaliegh revealed that she was okay, even going as far to admit that Kakuzu had struck Youki much harder than he had struck her. That may have been true, but that didn't mean that it wasn't deserved. "Yes well, Youki still needs us and I knew that he wasn't going to risk angering Pein. Along with that, I'm just not afraid of your brother like everyone else seems to be. I just see a weak man standing before me every time he enters in to the Akatsuki base," he remarked.

After a few silent moments Kakuzu let out a soft breath of air. "Kaliegh there is something that I wish to discuss with you, but I fear that my words might offend you. May I speak freely with you?"

Weak man? Kaliegh had never heard someone talk about Youki in such a way. He was much more powerful than he seemed to be recently. He was strong and stubborn. It was strange to picture him as an inferior to anyone. She couldn't imagine Youki being talked down to in such a way. Had she been wrong all this time? Because he had hit her down and pushes her around all her life did she see him as more than he was? More than she was?

"You can always speak freely with me, Kakuzu. I will never judge you for something you say."

Kakuzu was silent after Kaliegh had given him permission to speak. He didn't quite know how to bring this up, despite how badly he had wanted to speak of it for some time. The incident with Youki pushed Kakuzu's hand though, and he couldn't think of anything else that he could do. He just needed to come out and say it. Kaliegh had always been honest and direct with him, it was only fitting that he do the same.

The Akatsuki turned his gaze upon her. "I wish to speak to Pein on your behalf, and offer you a chance to join us as a full member of the Akatsuki."

Kaliegh stopped walking as soon as he said that, a look of surprise coming to her face. There was silence for a few moments, during which, she steadied her breathing. Then, slowly, she looked up at him, holding her chest. No... He couldn't. There was no way he could truly mean that. She was powerful, but not as powerful as he was proposing. Dogs couldn't serve two masters and she was a hostage, not something that would be pulled into Akatsuki. And, if they did, they take another one of her siblings and hold them hostage and she couldn't do that to them. She'd never want one of them to be forced into a position like this one.

"I..." She mumbled, drawing away from him. "Dogs can't serve two masters, Kakuzu. I think we've had this conversation once before."

Kakuzu stopped walking a moment after he heard Kaliegh's feet stop moving. His gaze fell upon her, and he couldn't quite make out the look on her face. It was torn, but he couldn't tell which side was winning right now. He just looked to her as she spoke about a dog not serving two masters. He gave a slow nod of his head. "Yes, we have had this conversation....but you're no dog," Kakuzu said before elaborating. "Unlike a dog, you can freely choose who your master can be. Pein respects you and is willing to acknowledge how much you've helped us, he freely admitted it to all the members of the Akatsuki as we met today," Kakuzu said honestly.

"Your brother doesn't treat you well Kaliegh, and you have done so much to help us already. Leave him behind and work with us."

Kaliegh shook her head. "No." She shook her head again, backing up. "This isn't this easy. Akatsuki has me here to bribe Youki and use that sway over him. I can't condemn one of my other siblings to be trapped here. If Youki finds out that you took me and want another, he'll believe you'll try to steal his army and he'll try to eliminate Akatsuki. I won't lead my brother to his own death..." She paused, rubbing her arms. "I just..." She whispered. "I don't know, Kakuzu. I love my siblings, and Youki, despite how he treats me or whatever. That's what family is."

Again, she stopped, not sure how to proceed. She was too insecure at this moment to figure out what she was supposed to do, or what she could do. "I don't know." She said again. "what I want or what I should do." She rubbed her eyes, as if that would clear her vision enough to give her an answer. "I don't know..."