Questionable Loyalty

A/N: Yes, well, I couldn't help it. I am writing an Akatsuki fic and my other OTP demanded to have part of it as well. XD





CHAPTER 3



The first thing Kakashi did after regaining consciousness, gripping his head and groaning excluded, was to check for his weapons – and unsurprisingly, they were all gone. Even the thin garotte wires carefully hidden in the seams of his clothes were taken. Someone had done a very thorough search while he had been out cold. His ANBU gear too, for that matter, was missing – the mask – both of them – the light armour, the arm-guards – all he had on was the form-fitting standard issue shirt and his black pants. Even his boots were missing.



Taking a good look of his surroundings he realized that the room he was in was small but elegantly furnished – a bed, a table by the window, a dresser by the wall, all made from solid mahogany wood. There was a scroll of calligraphy hanging on another wall as a finishing touch.



Swaying slightly he got up to his feet and carefully walked up to the window, peering outside. The sight shocked him and he stared, trying to comprehend the incredible view he could see from his vantage point. Apparently wherever this was situated, it was on a very high floor, because he could see the sprawling city partially obscured by the pouring rain – numerous spires and skyscrapers, their windows and neon signs twinkling faintly in the pale grey light, all of it drenched by the rain. His work as a shinobi had taken him all over the world, but he had never been here before. Still, the sight appeared familiar and Kakashi raked his tired mind in an attempt to remember. Finally, the memory resurfaced – a photo he had seen in a history textbook in the academy years and years ago – along with a tale of a Hidden Village destroyed by one of the violent ninja wars, which also happened to be one of the numerous conflicts Iwa had had with Konoha, a war fought on the territory of a small country situated between Earth and Fire country.



Still staring out of the window, Kakashi remembered the rest of the article – how the economy and the infrastructure of the small country had collapsed completely as it was ravaged by two forces which cared nothing of the people they trampled over in their attempts to destroy each other. There had been numerous factions led by even more numerous warlords ruling different parts of the country, but in the end the sole masters had been chaos and terror and anarchy. No one had cared about those people, starving and homeless and disease-ridden as they had been. Why should they care? In a world where only power mattered, those without it were lower than vermin.



The picture in the textbook had been from the time before the war and Kakashi was surprised to see that the place didn’t look that much different now. Then again, he could see a lot of new buildings, shiny and clean and untouched by rust or neglect or violence. Someone had been rebuilding the place for the past several years, apparently.



A soft squeak of an opening door took him out of his reverie and he turned around sharply to see who it was, preparing to defend himself, or at least trying to, because the sharp motion left him feeling weak and dizzy and he grabbed the window-sill lest he fell over.



“Careful there, Kakashi-san.” Itachi’s huge partner chided. “It will take a while for your system to flush itself out of the drugs we had to give you. Try not to keel over and hurt yourself.”



Despite his miserable state, Kakashi growled back at him:



“Why? Worried I might crack my head open? Make your job easier for you?”



The Mist nin rolled his eyes and smirked.



“Now, now. No need to be so defiant and obstinate. I assure you, if our orders were to harm you, you wouldn’t wake up here. There are plenty of nasty, dank cells underneath the city.”



Kakashi scowled.



“But, if you dislike it that much, I am sure I can arrange to move you in one of those. No? Good.”



He gestured to someone behind him and a young woman holding a tray with a bowl full of rice and a pitcher of water and a cup walked in, deposited her burden on the table and quietly left the room.



“I came to bring you dinner. Eat the rice – it will make your stomach feel better. I know you must feel nauseated by the drug.”



“WHY am I not in a cell?” Kakashi asked sharply. The Mist nin smiled again and shrugged.



“Our orders were not to hurt you and to make you comfortable. The… Leader doesn’t wish you to feel like a prisoner here.”



“So I may leave then?”



“I’m afraid not. You’ll be our guest, so try to make yourself comfortable. If you are bored, I am sure I can also arrange for the servants to bring you some reading material. And please, be kind enough not to attack them in an attempt to escape – you won’t go far and the boss doesn’t take well to his people being harmed.”



And with that, the Mist nin left.



Kakashi stood there for a while, eyeing the food and the water. His stomach growled. Loudly. And again. He was hungry, but he had no wish to accept anything from the enemy. Then again, if they wished him dead there were swifter ways to get rid of him than poisoning his meal – especially after all the trouble they had gone through to set him up here. That and he’d need to build his strength if he was to escape. He touched the window-glass. Reinforced and bolted in, but it wasn’t something he couldn’t break through if he really put his mind into it. Using the Chidori wasn’t an option – the noise would surely attract the guards. The height itself wasn’t an issue – it was possible to just run down the wall, once he felt strong and coordinated enough to deal with the slippery wet surface.



With that thought, he grabbed the food and began eating.





On an even higher floor of the same building, Itachi stood before his Leader and waited patiently for an answer.



“Why does this bother you so much, Itachi?” the red-head asked as he looked out of a much larger window.



“The man is a threat.”



“I thought you didn’t want anyone from Konoha to be harmed.” Pein said and turned back to look at his subordinate.



“I don’t. But you’re a fool to believe that you can keep him up there and prevent him from escaping. Why did you order us to bring him here? To see where Akatsuki’s Headquarters are?”



“Because, Itachi” the man began “I have plans for Kakashi-san. And they involve his willing cooperation.”



Itachi’s eyes widened imperceptively:



“You intend to recruit him.” He stated. The red-head nodded.



“You won’t succeed. He will be loyal to Konoha to his dying breath.”



“And are you not the same, Itachi-kun?” Pein asked him.



“I am nothing like him.” The younger man answered derisively.



“Actually the two of you are a lot alike. You both want what is best for your village and your loved ones. You are both burdened by guilt too great to be carried by one person…”



The brunette scowled at him.



“And it was your desire to help your village, Itachi, that made you join this organization, was it not?”



Pein turned to look at the city again.



“He is too set in his ways.” Itachi said softly. “He may not accept your plan… or even believe your intentions.”



“Perhaps. Perhaps not. We will have to wait and see, don’t we, Itachi?”



That was when Kisame entered the room.



“Ah. How did it go?” Pein asked.



The large man shrugged.



“Better than I hoped. He didn’t try to attack me. He seemed… confused, more than anything.”



Pein nodded and nodded to Itachi that he was free to go. The Uchiha bowed and left, the other two following him with their eyes.



“He looks exhausted, Kisame.” The red-head remarked and the man’s usually amused expression fell.



“He tires easily lately. It is beginning to take its toll on him. I wish we could lessen his burned…” he muttered in the end and then quickly closed his mouth, realizing he let too much slip.



“You take very good care of him.”



“As much as he allows me to.”



“In time, he will learn to accept it without reservations. Be patient.”



Kisame looked uncomfortable and Pein decided to let it go for the moment.



“You are free to go.”



The large man bowed and left as well.



Once again, Pein turned back to look at the city, once again he missed Konan’s quiet presence and her advice. She had been a good, loyal companion and all that they had gone through created a bond much stronger than the blood one a brother and sister shared. Still, she was gone now and he was truly alone now at the top of his pedestal. He had always feared loneliness above all else.