When Money Isn't Good Enough (Kakuzu Story)

Chapter 14

That didn't stop a question from appearing in her head as she shut the door behind her.

What the hell was she doing?

Things had been bad enough when she had blushed in front of Kakuzu, but now it was getting worse, going around getting excited at doing her jutsu with Kakuzu there. In a way, she wanted to be angry at him for it—that way, at least, Ryoshi would know how to deal with it accordingly, without looking like a total idiot to some of the most powerful ninjas in the world. But sighing slightly, she rubbed her temples, pushing that idea away. She couldn't blame Kakuzu for something that he hadn't done; it was the way she was reacting that was annoying Ryoshi, not necessarily what Kakuzu was doing himself. But why she was reacting like she was, was something she couldn't quite understand. People had seen her do her tracking jutsu before—so why were things different now? True, this was the Akatsuki here, and therefore she held them higher in her opinion than she might have done other ninjas out there, but that didn't necessarily mean she turned into some shy, timid little teenage girl because of it.

Sighing, Ryoshi went over to the desk and grabbed the scroll sitting on the side, flicking it open as she took a seat in front of it. Attempting to read the information written there, she gritted her teeth as she drifted off into her own little world twice, no longer concentrating on the words and what she was reading. Scowling at this fact, Ryoshi shook her head furiously to get rid of the problem—she had to focus on this. It was part of the mission she had agreed to that she had to do the tracking jutsu, and that meant reading up on Ketsu's information. Not to mention the idea of Kakuzu coming in, seeing she was uncomfortable and asking what was up was not something she wanted to happen—considering the answer wasn't one she wanted to tell him in the slightest. But as the idea of Kakuzu coming to watch her do the jutsu popped up into her mind once again, that same feeling of excitement mixed with anxiety flickered into life in the pit of her stomach, and she had no idea why.

Maybe it was how he had said it. He had sounded so set on what he wanted; so looking forward to watching it. The intense tone of voice he had carried along with the intense look in his eyes...maybe that was what had caught Ryoshi out. After all, no one really took notice of her abilities before. Nobody really took an interest in them like Kakuzu was doing. Even though Pein had seemed interested in what she could do when she had mentioned it to him, he hadn't said he wanted to watch her perform the jutsu—only Kakuzu. That was why she was so conflicted in terms of her response towards him. She'd never experienced that kind of curiosity in what she could do, and what made it worse was that she respected Kakuzu—she valued his opinion. She had always lived her life alone and done her work on her own. She shared no affiliation, and did the jobs she wanted; she was independent. So to find that she respected Kakuzu to the level she did was a bit of a surprise, and altered the way she acted. Ryoshi was used to do whatever she wanted when she wanted, not caring what others thought. But Kakuzu had changed that slightly, meaning she had put restrictions on herself in terms of her actions, and meaning that he enhanced some of her reactions to his actions.

But that didn't necessarily mean it was a bad thing.

Ryoshi wasn't ashamed of her abilities; they were what had gotten her the reputation she carried, the money she earned and the missions people wanted her to take on. She had never really expected people to compliment her for them or be in awe, but now that someone was interested in them, it didn't automatically mean it was bad. For once she could be outwardly proud of her power; why not let herself enjoy the curiosity Kakuzu was showing towards her? He was a powerful shinobi, had years of experience and did bounty hunting too. Was it really so bad to value his opinion? Admittedly, there was no way she was ever going to let herself blush in front of him ever again or act all shy—as a shinobi, as a missing nin, and in her general line of work that never gave a good impression—she could allow herself a little bit of excitement and what was to come—and abruptly the information began to finally enter her mind.

She read through all the different sections of information on Ketsu, whether it was appearance, history or the like. There was more than enough information to allow Ryoshi to do the jutsu, and a few minutes later, she nodded to herself, ready to start it, prompting her to close her eyes and will her chakra into existence. Feeling her mind connect with Kakuzu's, she stated simply,

"I'm ready to do the jutsu, Kakuzu, and seeing as you're so set on being here...I figured I'd tell you now."

"Alright, I'm coming," Kakuzu quickly shot back, leaving everything in his room and heading straight to hers. He'd almost been concerned she wouldn't bother and just proceed without him—but she'd kept her promise, and Kakuzu dismissed the worry. She didn't seem the type to go back on her word, and so he held back a smirk of excitement as he entered, closing the door softly behind him. Seeing her look over the scroll one last time, she picked it up and went to the space in front of the window, settling cross-legged on the floor and laying the scroll down a couple of feet in front of her.

"Should I stand anywhere in particular?" He eventually questioned quietly, not even noticing the apprehension that flickered around his body and the way he was acting. But glancing up at him, she responded nonchalantly,

"No; it doesn't matter. It won't affect me being able to do the jutsu. Just...keep quiet, and don't try and break my trance."

Nodding in agreement, Kakuzu opted for the bed, sitting on the edge while turned to face her intently. Though Ryoshi felt his eyes on her, and wasn't as calm about it as she might have been with anyone else, her nerves had subdued to a minimum level, and she no longer felt so anxious anymore. As such, she took a deep breath and released it, sinking into a trance. For a minute or so everything was silent, Ryoshi's eyes closed as she sank further into her meditative state, and even though Kakuzu couldn't see anything that was happening with her, he was still riveted by what she was doing—even more so as he noticed something else. Now he could feel the chakra in the air around her, making it ruffle her hair and clothes with its strength. A few moments later and her eyes flashed open, allowing Kakuzu to see her pupils dilating massively and begin to glow. From there, she brought her hands up and began handsigns, and narrowing his eyes, Kakuzu couldn't help but wonder whether she was still truly conscious at this point, unable to take his eyes away as she now slammed her palm onto the ground.

The feeling of chakra in the air now only increased, sending a shiver up Kakuzu's spine and becoming so strong it was visible around Ryoshi. The point of contact of her hand on the floor was also glowing, and Kakuzu could see what she meant when she said she could disconnect her mind from her body—it was like she had merged her consciousness with the earth itself. His eyes remained glued to her as the light continued to shine for a minute or so longer, wondering what it must feel like to be in the trance—to actually be going through it. But slowly the light began to fade; the chakra swirling around her weakened and disappeared, and Ryoshi's eyes closed once more as the room returned to how it had been at the start, silence taking over once again.

Before her eyes flashed back open, and the jutsu was finished.