The Light to His Darkness

Chapter 4

A few hours later, the two young women found themselves in front of a very large old-style house with a huge garden at the entrance. The building was surrounded by a dense forest which made it difficult to spot.

"It's here..." Konan whispered.

Upon hearing these words, Aurore tightened her belongings against her chest in apprehension, stress and a little bit of fear. The blue-haired woman noticed that immediately, so she put her hand on the girl's shoulder reassuringly before showing her a small smile.

"Don't be afraid, Aurore... Everything will be alright, believe me... You're safe with me..."

With a hesitant nod, the two women took small steps into the garden before opening the front door and entering the house. Once inside, Aurore couldn't help but notice how well the latter was cleaned and tidy, as if the place where she was was anything but the hideout of a criminal organization. The walls were painted in a beautiful white color and decorated with lots of paintings.

Both women could hear male voices coming from the room at the end of the hall.

"Looks like they're still awake," Konan remarked.

With these words, they moved towards the room that served as a living room. Upon entering there, Aurore was surprised to see a group of six men, all dressed in the same cloak as Konan, sitting on large cushions around a large low table. They looked up at her at once, stressing her even more than she was before.

The man who was seating at the end of the table spoke first. He had a rather extravagant appearance with short, orange-colored hair that were styled in spikes, completely purple eyes with black stripes, pale skin and lots of metallic piercings on the face and ears.

"You're finally back, Konan. I was getting a little bit worried," he said in his deep voice with a neutral expression on his face.

"I admit that I had a few minor problems that delayed my return," replied the young woman.

"The most important thing is that you're here now... I see you've brought our new member with you," he added, shifting his gaze to Aurore, making her freeze in place.

"What do you mean by our new member?!" exclaimed a blond with long hair who was seating on the guy's right in a surprised tone.

"No one told us about this as far as I know!" added another one that had mid-length silver hair.

"Silence..." ordered the man with the piercings, still keeping his composure.

"No, but seriously! What is this ridiculousness?!" continued the blond.

"Deidara... I said silence..." he repeated in a threatening tone.

Once the atmosphere calmed down a bit in the room, the orange-haired man looked at Aurore straight in the eyes, making her tremble slightly.

"Welcome among us, Aurore... As Konan probably explained to you, we brought you here so you can be part of the organization as our personal doctor. You are now officially part of the Akatsuki. I'll introduce myself. My name is Pain and I'm the leader of this organization," he explained.

"Nice to meet you," replied the young girl in a small voice, surprised that the man already knew her name.

"As you already know Konan, I'll introduce you to the other members... We'll start with Kakuzu, our treasurer..." he continued.

The man with the unusual eyes of green irises, no pupils and red sclera, stared at her coldly without saying a word. He had his face and hair covered with a grey-colored hood and a black mask.