Ryoshi had turned back to Kakuzu when he had visited her. She had believed what he said and figured things would move on. But just like the very first moment when he had spoken—she had remained sceptical. Though it had faded the more he spoke; the more she thought about it, there was still a trace of it that stayed within her. It didn't matter how much they talked, with her giving all the information he needed to defeat Ketsu; with Kakuzu saying he would come and find her and get her out of there or the memories of how much they had been hanging out lately...that feeling wouldn't fully disappear. It hovered at the back of her mind, darkening every thought and feeling that arose within her. Ryoshi didn't want it there, strangely enough; most of her life she had been mistrustful of people, and didn't give a damn about them. But the one moment she found someone she did want to trust, and that feeling wouldn't go away.
It was what brought up the doubts in her mind as Kakuzu stared down at the money in the briefcase. As much as she tried to fight it, the idea that he would take the money and go on regardless was one Ryoshi couldn't shake. She had been keeping an eye on all that had been going on in Ketsu's hideout since she had been imprisoned here, and used her abilities to check on everything she couldn't see or hear normally. But that meant that she had heard Ketsu talking. She had heard him say he was a little paranoid about all of the Akatsuki—that there was a possibility that they might be able to catch up with him and find him. To corner him and leave him without anywhere to go. Even that might not have been so bad—if it wasn't for Kakuzu. He knew what Kakuzu wanted. He had seen Kakuzu's reaction when Kakuzu had first tried coming after him for his bounty. But because of this, it meant that he wouldn't be getting out of it alive once his usefulness was used up.
So that ultimately it meant that he needed a backup plan.
And he had the perfect one—money.
Naturally, being a bounty hunter as well, Kakuzu considered money the first and most important thing in life. The reason he would be killing Ketsu would be for money, so if he could just pay Kakuzu off, then he could survive. He had Ryoshi, too—and that's when the idea had come to him. That's when Ryoshi had listened in to what he was planning on doing; on what that money was going to be. She hadn't cared about that fact then; that was back when she was still angry at Kakuzu and considered him to have betrayed her. But then she had reconciled with him; and although that might have dismissed the fears she might have had...Ryoshi still had that shadow of a doubt in her mind. The more she stared at Kakuzu's gaze on the money, the more it swirled around, and for the first time in a long time, Ryoshi was getting anxious, and had to resist the urge to shuffle around; gritting her teeth to try and keep it back instead, unable to take her eyes off of him as he stood there.
Not that the Akatsuki were moving, either. They hadn't expected Ketsu's actions, either; and they weren't sure how Kakuzu was going to react to this. Yes, they all knew that Kakuzu's main priority was money and it was all he worked for in life, but they knew he'd been really pissed off after Ketsu got away from him twice. In a way, it had become more about the idea of killing him than the money itself. But if it was being offered up on a platter, and the mission would be completed...would he accept it? Pein wasn't certain how to feel towards the matter; he wanted the information, true, and this was the perfect opportunity. But with the way Ketsu was acting, it didn't seem safe to just let him walk away from all of this. The fact that Kakuzu had wanted to kill him had been a good coincidence.
So what now?
Kakuzu wasn't sure either—he was as on the fence as Pein was. This was a lot of money, and it was tempting. But Ketsu was his enemy; and an enemy who had really angered him, done so much to piss him off and who he would get money for if he killed him. He had organised the whole thing for Ryoshi to hear—why should he trust him in the slightest? There was no way this was just a simple 'no strings attached' deal. But then again, Ketsu cared about himself more than anything else in life. He was such a coward he'd probably do whatever he could to stay alive. In that sense, the deal was most likely one he could take at face value. But Kakuzu didn't buy it. Something wasn't right here—as much as the money was extremely tempting to take. It was more than Ketsu's bounty, that was for sure. If he could change things round a little...maybe it could work out better in his favour.
"I take this...and you give us the information we want—willingly—and you just want to get out alive?" Kakuzu eventually questioned quietly, never taking his eyes off the money in the case. Ryoshi's heart clenched and she gripped the bars so tightly her knuckles went white as she heard Kakuzu speak, and she swallowed, hard. She was torn; there was so much anger inside of her—but there were several other emotions getting in the way. What could she do? But she still kept quiet as Ketsu nodded in return, replying while trying to smother the smirk that was trying to appear on his face,
"Yes. It's for me, you could say—well; and for her. It's her bounty."
Though at those words, Kakuzu froze completely, his gaze hardening as he looked at the contents of the case. He had known something wasn't right—he had known that Ketsu wouldn't just ask for something as simple as that and leave the deal there—and this was what he had been talking about. Of course there was more money in the case than Ketsu's bounty would have been; it was the amount on Ryoshi's head! He said he wanted to be left alive, but neglected to tell him the fact that he was planning on keeping Ryoshi as well? Suddenly money was the last thing on his mind. Suddenly the idea of his bounty disappeared—he wanted Ketsu dead, yes. But this time it was personal.
It was why a chill ran down Ketsu's spine as Kakuzu's eyes finally lifted from the money, slowly meeting with his own. If Ketsu had seen more anger in someone's eyes than that moment; he couldn't think of it. But it couldn't be described as anger—it was fury. Rage. Pure, unadulterated rage, and all of it aimed at him. Ketsu had heard rumours of what Kakuzu had done, but had dismissed them for the most part. How wrong he had been for doing so. Swallowing hard, Ketsu took a step back, the colour beginning to drain from his face as his fear began to rise. It didn't decrease as Kakuzu now reached up to the top of the case and slammed it shut, his fingers curling around the handle into a fist and his eyes never moving from Ketsu's form. No one said a single word as he suddenly lunged forward, slamming it into his stomach; and as Ketsu flew backwards and into the wall opposite, Kakuzu allowed the briefcase to go with him.
Blinking in surprise at that fact, having thought he would have clung onto it, the room stayed silent as he walked over to the now groaning Ketsu, his fists clenched and eyes still blazing as he snarled,
"At what point did I say I wanted her bounty? I'm working with her! I'm here. To get her out!"
Hidan couldn't hold back a smirk and roll his eyes at that—considering he'd often said 'the mission is absolute', the idea that his first priority was helping Ryoshi was one he couldn't help but smile at. But Hidan wasn't the only one who was smirking.
Because suddenly Ryoshi's doubts had all but disappeared.
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When Money Isn't Good Enough (Kakuzu Story)
फैनफिक्शनA bounty coincides with a mission for Kakuzu, and it becomes a matter of revenge as well as money. But the only way to track the ninja down and kill him is to go to outside help, and it turns out they have a lot more in common than he had expected...
