Stitched || Kakuzu

Ch. 10 - Awake (The Finale, Part 1)

Silence filled the air as the chakra ball disintegrated along with the thousands of dead bodies filling the crater. The rolling thunder died down and the lightning faded in the sky, however the dark clouds stayed planted in their positions. Nozomi's body laid limp and face down in the middle of the crater, her short, sandy blond hair sprawled messily around her head. The open wound in her wrist where the stitches had been pulled out was still actively bleeding. Touma looked in the direction of the body, feeling that the jutsu was complete. Now, all he had to do was wait for his wife to get up and greet him how she always did.

Suddenly feeling a pain in his chest, Touma dropped to one knee, grunting as he grabbed at his chest. Hideki immediately stepped away from Kakuzu and jumped to his father's aid. "Don't worry about me. Take care of the open wound. We don't need any complications for your mother's arrival," his father ordered. As Hideki moved away, Hidan appeared beside Kakuzu and examined the male. Kakuzu wasn't dead, was he? Usually he got up by now. The pain in his ass always said it would take more than one time to kill him.

"Where am I?" Nozomi thought to herself. She was floating in a dark abyss. Which way was up and which way was down; she couldn't seem to figure it out. A bright light abruptly interrupted the darkness and the female groaned as she shielded her eyes with her arms. It felt like she was being sucked in somewhere, much like when she was being sucked into that chakra ball. Was she still in there?

Once she could see again, she was standing on something, but she was in another dark abyss. Little bubbles passed her by and she tilted her head curiously as she held her hand out to grab one of the bubbles. The one she chose showcased herself around age five when she still lived in Konoha. Her father had come home from a mission and she happily ran to the door to greet him with Hideki. Her mother came to their side and hugged her father before ushering everyone to the table so they could eat dinner.

Letting go of the bubble, Nozomi walked around and started looking at other bubbles. So, these were what her memories looked like? She noticed the memory where she was six and Konoha was under attack. Ninjas quickly ran through the village, evacuating civilians. Nozomi was running with her mother when she tripped over a fallen light pole, twisting her ankle in the process. Seeing that the Nine Tails was headed in their direction, her mother scooped her up and kept moving, but they couldn't outrun the beast. Her mother set her down and pushed her in the direction of a nearby ninja before she was caught in the crossfire and crushed under the Nine Tails' paw.

Tears flooded her eyes as Nozomi ripped her focus away from the horrid memory. It was her fault; it was all her fault that her family was like this now. The other memories passed her by as she crouched down in defeat. She deserved to die.

"Die now or die later."

Nozomi's eyes widened as she quickly looked up. That voice was familiar. "Kakuzu-san?" She found herself staring at a bubble that was floating in front of her. She watched Kakuzu held a kunai to her wrist and she watched herself react in shock and tell him that she didn't want to die. Other memories of her and Kakuzu passed by her - her initial meeting with the male, her active pursuit of him, and their travels together.

Kakuzu was a very stern male that was driven by goals. He was analytical and headstrong. Although they were stuck together, he didn't complain and he even protected her - granted it was most likely because she was his client. Wiping at her eyes, she turned her head to see another bubble next to her - one that projected her night in the cave with him. He was kind and gentle with her when she was scared and even answered some of her questions. She had a deep respect and admiration for him as he had qualities she could never attain.

Her memories continued to move forward and she began to realize the severity of her situation, especially the fact that she didn't know whether she was dead or not, however it seemed as though Kakuzu was. The darkness opened up and all of a sudden, she was on the very battlefield she disappeared from. Kakuzu was laying on the ground and his partner was at his side, whereas her father seemed to be in pain and Hideki was tending to her body. She was... outside her body?