A Life with the Akatsuki [ABANDONED]

The Misadventures of Nagareboshi: Chapter Ten

“You work for me now.” 

XChapter 10XX Your Soul is Mine X

“You said you have come to a decision,” Pein says the moment I step foot into his office. Just like the last time, his door swings shut without the slightest push from either of us. And I am one hundred percent certain that the door was not made to close on its own. In fact, I’ve even seen it slightly ajar before.

“I will accept your offer.”

The orange-haired man nods, not even the least bit surprised. He writes something down on a sheet of paper in front of him before gesturing for me to sit down, “We need to discuss what will be expected of you.”

I make no acknowledgments to having heard what he said other than sitting down and he frowns at me, but says nothing. “Hitsumi, the moment you leave this office, you will be a secret member of the Akatsuki, known only to those you met the other night. Your duties will be whatever is assigned to you, which may include spy work, infiltration, and assassination. It also means improving your abilities in the time between assignments. There will be no slacking off, is that understood?”

When I nod, he passes me the sheet he was writing on, “Sign here. And before you leave, do you have any questions?”

I stare hard at the paper, willing it to burn up into a million tiny pieces of ash. Mentally sighing, I sign the paper and push it back towards him. “Will I be able to visit my…the Kimura family?”

“Like the other members, you will be free to leave whenever you wish. You will not be forced to live here, either, but it would be more convenient for you if you did,” he explains, before adding in a more threatening tone, “It is assumed that since you joined on your own free will, that you will also return willingly. If you were to put up resistance on the matter of returning or completing an assignment, you will be contained for a duration that is fitting to the offence.”

The idea of being contained by the Akatsuki hardly sounds appealing so I quickly nod my head. “If I have other questions later, can I come back?”

“Of course. But if you knock and do not receive a reply, return in an hour and try again. Just because you do not see me leave, that does not mean I am still here.”

“Okay,” I mutter as I stand up.

As I leave the room, there is a rustling of papers and he calls out once more just as my hand touches the doorknob, “One more thing. You and Ma-erm, Tobi, had a conversation right before you entered my office. Did he, in any way, influence your decision?”

I get the sense that he already knows the answer to that and I hold my tongue. “I see…I apologize, Hitsumi. I did not want it to be this way,” Pein says with a sigh.

Once I am sure that is all he has to say, I open the door and leave the office. A secret member of the Akatsuki, huh? At what point did my life take a turn for the worse?

“Did you fulfill your end of the deal?” Someone asks as I turn to corner to the left stairwell. Leaning against the wall is none other than my new boss, Tobi. With the mask firmly in place, I cannot detect any emotions other than those in his voice…not that there are any clues in his tone either.

“You already know the answer to that. What do you really want?” I demand, crossing my arms. While it was meant as a show of defiance, I doubt it looked anything more than a defenseless girl trying to appear more confident than everyone knows she is.

Tobi tilts his head to the side, “You’re more spirited than I thought, Hitsumi-chan. And you’re right, that wasn’t the real reason I came here.”