Dead Girl Walking [Naruto]

Chapt. 64: When Is It my Turn To Take A Break?

"Have you come to finish the job?" Sauske asks Kurami as the two of them stood afar from each other. Once again Kurami refused to answer. "You actually saved me all the trouble in finding you. I want you to join me, Kurami. I know you can find Itachi. You know something about him, don't you?" 

Kurami shook her head. But he didn't know if it was a head shake of refusing to join or knowing nothing about Itachi. She glared once again as the shadows slowly crept out of her body, surrounding her as her emotions grew. But before she could attack, she felt another presence. 

"Hiya!" Sasuke and Kurami looked over to see Tobi casually walking over to them. "Look at this. Kurami and Sasuke both here. You really do look like Itachi. And we meet again, Kurami! How ya doing?!" He childishly waved at Kurami. 

Sasuke glared at him, causing Tobi to scurry behind a tree in fear. As he did, Kurami looked up to see another Akatsuki member flying down on a giant white bird, heading straight at them. 

Deidara detonated the bird just he came crashing down with the bird, possibly killing both Sasuke and Kurami. "Well that was easy, hn." Deidara smirked in victory. "Huh?" 

When the smoke cleared, Walrider was out and protecting its host while Sasuke summoned a snake to protect him from the blast. "Wowwww. She even has something to protect her! But it's not a summoning!" Tobi giggled. 

"Shut up, Tobi! I can see that!" Deidara glared but soon smirked. "Looks like I'll have to take them both on. Not a problem, hn." 

"W-Wait, Deidara! I thought the Leader wanted Kurami unharmed until he gets back!" Tobi says in a panic. 

"Hn, it'd be better to take them both out. Killing Itachi's kid brother and weakening the little dark manipulation user. I won't let you slip from me again, Kurami Kurosawa! Hn!" As Deidara talked high and mighty, Sasuke took this opportunity to strike. 

He was fast, but not fast enough to kill two birds with one stone. He managed to slice Tobi with his sword while Deidara jumped away and landed on a tree nearby. "That's one down. Now, chatterbox, you're going to tell me where Itachi is." He said while looking at Deidara. 

"What do you think you're doing Tobi!? Don't look down on him just because he's a kid, hn!" Deidara shouted down at his partner who was already beginning to recover.

With this going on, Kurami stared at the 3 of them who were about to fight each other to the death. But she kept her eyes on Tobi. Especially Tobi. Because she remembered him giving her the Akatsuki necklace. She wanted to know why, but at the same time, did it matter? Did she really want to find out? She rather continue on her way. But she knew if she were to do that, Deidara and Tobi would chase her down. 

'I'll sit back and watch... Running away isn't the best option...' She sighed with her thoughts while closing her eyes before teleporting herself elsewhere as Deidara shouted, 

"Go after her! Don't let get get away, Tobi!"  

"Right! On it, partner!" Tobi saluted and went after her. Kurami appeared in one of the tree branches, far enough from the battle, and watched from a distance. Her plan wasn't to run away. She just wanted to be away from the Akatsuki members and watch the fight between Sasuke and them to see who would be the victor in the end. If Sasuke ended up dead, it would make Kurami's job a lot easier. And one less person to deal with. 

As Kurami stood on the tree branch, watching the fight, she felt a presence not too far by. Without turning around to see who it was, the shadows crept out from her body and attacked whoever was nearby. 

"Wahhh!!!" Tobi waved his arms around to keep his balance from falling out of the tree. "Wait! Wait! I'm not here to fight you, I promise!" He said, putting his hands up in defense. "I know my partner said to go after you, but that doesn't mean I'm going to fight you! I swear, Kurami!" 

"......." 

"So...you're not going to attack me, right?" Tobi pointed to himself. "I swear I won't do anything... Besides, why would I want to harm you when you've already been through so much?" And just like that, his voice changed again. Deeper and more mature. "I see you've kept what I gave you. Does this mean I'm not a threat to you?" 

"......" 

"Why would I be a threat when I haven't done a thing to you?" He made a good point. Although Kurami has never seen nor met him before. But she didn't like being targeted. That's the one thing she hated ever since she came back from her 1st life. 

Kurami slightly turned her head over her shoulder and glanced at Tobi from the corner of her eye. 'The necklace...' She thought before looking at back at the necklace. 'Who is this man?...' 

She didn't understand why Tobi was being so gentle with her and why he hasn't attacked her yet. She can't recall him from her memories. She's never met him before. Or perhaps he was there. Always watching her when she didn't notice. 

"Why don't you tell me what you're after, Kurami. You refuse to go back to the village and you plan to do things on your own. Why is that? What is your motive?" 

'He doesn't need to know that... Just go away...' Kurami frowned and closed her eyes as the shadows from her body appeared and darted at Tobi. 

"That won't work a 2nd time." He said from behind her. Kurami's eyes snapped open, wide and filled with shock. She was sure that she got him. 

Tobi wrapped his arms around her neck tightly, keeping her in place. Kurami struggled with all her might as her eyes turned black, summoning Walrider. 

"Don't." A kunai was placed to her neck, having her stop in place. But she could easily get out of this. Yet, she stayed still. Why? "I told you I don't plan on hurting you. I know you are fighting to protect yourself. Why don't you relax for a moment? You've been fighting all your life, right? Take a rest." 

With his voice, Kurami calmed herself down and closed her eyes. She knew he was right. She had been fighting all her life. Her depression. The bad thoughts. The abuse. Brushing off harsh words that messed with her head. She's been fighting for so long. And not once did she take a break or have time to rest... 

She could never run away from the truth... 

"Good girl. Rest." Tobi loosened his grip on her when he felt her body relax. He kept one arm around her shoulders while placing his other hand on top of her head, holding her to him closely. "Rest, Kurami... I got you." 

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