Questionable Loyalty

A/N: Aaand we flash back to Amegakure.



CHAPTER 25







The morning after he agreed to join Akatsuki, the large Mist nin once again appeared at his front door which had been left unlocked this time.



“I am to show you to your new quarters.” He informed him flatly, looking distinctively unhappy. “Afterwards, you can show yourself around.” He groused and after several unintelligible but possibly dirty words, he continued “I am not a damned hotel maid. If you have anything you’d like to take from here, carry it yourself.”



Amused at the large man’s miffed expression Kakashi just shrugged and nodded:



“I have no such thing.” And since Kisame’s face retained the same look, he continued mildly “I am very grateful for the way you have been treating me lately.”



The annoyance drained a little off the large man’s face and he gave him a crooked smile, showing a hint of his sharp teeth:



“Flattery won’t take you far with me, Kakashi-san.” He answered as they walked down the corridor to the separate elevator that led up to the closed off section of the tower that Kakashi knew that it held Pein’s office.



“The Akatsuki quarters are up in the restricted zone.” Kisame informed him, beginning to look a little bored. “Since you’re not assigned a partner, you’d live in a smaller apartment with a single bedroom.”



The elevator arrived at their floor with a soft ringing sound and the doors opened to reveal a corridor which was almost the same as the other ones – except that it held a few more personal touches – differently coloured doors, a scroll with kanji hung on the wall… and a scorch-mark which had stained several square feet and partially ripped off one of the wooden panels that hid the walls. An explosion, maybe? An unpleasant suspicious began to plague Kakashi.



“Does the blonde loudmouth with the sculpture bombs live here too?” he asked as they passed by the scorch mark.



“Blonde loudmouth…?” said Kisame, looking sideways to Kakashi “You mean Deidara?” he smirked amusedly “Occasionally, yes. He used to stay more often before, when Sasori was still alive – he had to, because Sasori wasn’t much of the traveler part. He’s mostly out now with his new partner. They don’t come back here very often.”



“A new recruit? Someone else Pein’s managed to convinced to join this crazy little club?”



They stopped by a door and Kisame handed Kakashi a key and gestured him to open the door on his own. When they entered, the man answered the question:



“I don’t know what Tobi’s motives are. He’s one funny guy, that’s for sure.” He said it with such a tone that Kakashi wasn’t sure which meaning of “funny” the other man used.



The Jounin looked around curiously – indeed, this was much more spacious than the cramped room he had been housed in before – they were in a large living-room, furnished with an eclectic mix of traditional and modern furniture – tatami on the floor, a soft, low sofa by the wall, rows of book shelves by the other walls. The far wall was made of rice-paper covered panels and a sliding door which probably led to the bedroom. In the middle of the floor there was an old-fashioned brazier with several pillows around it.



He moved and sat down on the sofa which sank under his weight and molded against the shape of his body.



“What about you, Kisame-san?” he said, using the honorific for the first time with the man. “Why did you join Akatsuki? Forgive me for saying it, but I find the idea that a man like you would care about world peace a bit… strange.”



Kisame smirked at him again and walked up to one of the pillows, gracefully lowering his massive body on it.



“Now, how do you know that under this bestial cover there isn’t a heart of gold?” he asked mockingly.



Kakashi smiled back and said nothing. Sighing, the Mist nin said:



“You’re right, I don’t care much about world peace. Frankly, I think that Pein’s goal is unreachable. There can never be absolute peace, Kakashi-san – it is in our very human nature to destroy each other. There will always be need for people like me.”



“Like you?”



“Fighters. Warriors.” The smile grew wider, showing two rows of perfect, needle-sharp teeth “Predators.”



“Why join then?”



“I said people like me, Kakashi-san, not people like you and me. Or you and Itachi. The current system forces everyone in, well, my role.”



“The role of the beast?”



Kisame nodded.



“Indeed. It never gives people like him and you any choice in the matter.”



“Pray tell, what kind of people are we, Kisame-san?” Kakashi asked curiously.



“Your hearts

bleed when you kill. Especially when you kill someone you consider innocent. You die with your victims every time you take their life. I, on the other hand, like fighting. Frankly, I like killing as well, after a good fight. It gives me a rush. I wouldn’t choose to become something else, someone else, even if I was given the chance to be born again and live this life anew. You and Itachi, on the other hand? I am not so sure. That is why I joined Akatsuki, among other things. I want a change in the system, and I believe that Pein has a good chance to achieve it.”



“And the other things?”



“Oh, those are more private, pettier reasons. Have to do with revenge and other stuff. I won’t bore you with a personal sob story.” The look on Kisame’s face told Kakashi that the topic was closed.



“You’re one very interesting man, Kisame-san.” The Jounin said thoughtfully.



“I’ll take it as a compliment.” The Mist Nin answered and got up, walking up to the door to leave. “At the end of the corridor there’s an additional kitchen, if you want to have a snack or something and you’re too lazy to go downstairs for it. Oh, and Pein-sama said to go upstairs to him when you’re settled here. So don’t take too much time, lest he becomes about as pleasant as an angry porcupine when you do show up. Trust me, you wouldn’t want that.”



He was about to leave when Kakashi asked gently:



“How is Itachi?”



The large man froze at the question, his hand on the handle of the door, his back turned to Kakashi.



“No different than he usually is.” He responded flatly and left without looking back at the Jounin.



Kakashi sighed and got up from the sofa, heading for the bedroom behind the sliding door. In it there was more of the same mix of modern and classic furniture – low bed, but not a futon, a pretty nightstand lamp next to it, more kanji scrolls and a large water-colour if a mountain and a waterfall on the opposite wall. There was also a middle-sized window which gave a very nice view of Amegakure around them. The bathroom – which proved to be as spacious as the rest of the room contained a shower and an ofuro1 next to it, the sink and the toilet seat separated from the main room by another panel.



The place was nicer than his Jounin apartment back in Konoha – apparently Pein liked doting on the people who were closest to him.



When he returned back in the bedroom he opened the old-fashioned cabinet hidden in the wall by more sliding doors and found several new changes of clothes – so after a quick shower and putting a clean change of pants and shirt, Kakashi quietly left his quarters, locked the door and headed for the elevator.



Once he got inside he realized that Kisame hadn’t given him the special card that made the machine run between this section of the building and the unrestricted area. It annoyed him but he decided to speak to Pein about it first before he got really mad about it. What was more, he noticed a second slit in the wall, apparently designed for a different card – what it unlocked and why Kakashi didn’t know yet but he was determined to find out.



So Pein was on the floor above them? He looked at the small gleaming buttons and pressed on the one he thought he should, feeling the familiar unpleasant lurch when the elevator moved up.



When he arrived before Pein’s door he knocked politely and at the muffled “Enter” from inside he slid in the spacious office.



As usual, Pein was by the windows, looking down at his village. When Kakashi entered, he turned to him and said:



“Hello, Kakashi-san. I trust that Kisame showed you around?”



“He certainly did. However, he didn’t give me the access card for these floors.”



“I know. I ordered him not to.” The red-head moved to his desk, opened a drawer and handed Kakashi a card similar to the one Kisame had.



“They are all personalized – and the computer, along with the protective wards recognize who is the user.



Kakashi smiled at the smart idea, nodded and tucked the card into his inner pocket.



“Is that all?”



“No, actually. Why don’t you have a seat? I believe we need to talk about what needs to be done from this point on, now that you have become a member of this organization.”



Kakashi nodded, if a little hesitantly, then sat down in the offered chair, watching as Pein took his behind the desk.



“You said that you wanted me to become a spy, so that you gain intel on Naruto’s seal. Is that it?” he began and Pein nodded.



“Indeed. As you well know, your Sensei did that seal and we don’t know what kind of surprises it has in store for anyone who tries tampering with it.”



Kakashi nodded.



“How and why you will gain access to such sensitive information will be decided later, once you return to Konoha and we assess the situation. As it is, it might be quite a while before we are any close to needing the Kyuubi.”



Kakashi gave him a quizzical look.



“Why?”



Pein leaned back in his seat.

“We need the bijuu in the order of the number of their tails to make the jutsu work. At the moment we’re at the Six Tails, and it might be a while till we get the Seven. Not to mention Eight. Usually this type of operations take months to complete, if not years.”



Kakashi nodded.



“I see. Well, either way, I need to return to Konoha. I have no idea what they know or think about my sudden disappearance.” He said.



“They think you’re dead.” Pein told him flatly. “Killed during a mission.”



Kakashi stared at him for a moment, making an effort not to sputter.



“Dead? So how am I going to return from the dead without raising any suspicion or questions?”



Pein gave him a miniscule smile and pressed his fingers together under his chin.



“I have a plan about that, don’t worry.”



“And what that might be?”



“Make Konoha’s informants think that you’re still in Earth Country’s territory, held prisoner by the heir of the man you killed.”



“You will plant the information?”



Pein nodded.



“I have allies there. Admittedly, it will take a while to reach Konoha’s ears, and an even longer while until they are absolutely sure the intel is true. After that, they’d try to negotiate with Iwa – after all, they don’t need to start another war with them, which would happen, if they send in an ANBU squad to extract you. And haggling, even for highly appreciated Jounin like you, takes a while.”



“I see. Very well. I guess I need to get settled in then – it seems I’d spent the next several months here.”



Pein nodded and gave him another small almost-smile.



“I am sure your stay will be pleasant.”

1 - The Ofuro is a traditional Japanese bathtub which is filled with cold water that is heated once inside. A person gets in the ofuro AFTER a shower.