Little Girl

Chapter Three:

No. This couldn’t be happening. Kakuzu had brought a seven year old on a mission meant for joūnin… This couldn’t end well. Pein forced himself not to go there, not to imagine what could happen. All he allowed himself to think about was Kakuzu's motive. There had to be one.

'She's just a child.... What could he possibly gain from killing her?' 

And why the hell hadn't he brought his partner?

Pein swallowed. Kakuzu had probably killed yet another one of his shinobi partners... 'Damn that man's short temper!' Pein shivered at the thought of what he could do to his tiny companion.

'And why hasn't Kakuzu killed her yet?' Perhaps it was her unquestionable loyalty, the fact that she always followed direct orders, and her stoic attitude. She was almost like a miniature Kakuzu in that respect- very stone-like and one-dimensional. 

Understandable.

Pein found Tobi, and began peppeing him with questions.

"Where is Keiko?!"

"Aren't you supposed to help watch her?"

"DO YOU THINK IT'S APPROPRIATE FOR A CHILD TO GO ON AN S-RANKED MISSION??!?!?!?!?"

Pein was so angry at the masked man that his shoulders were heaving and he was out of breath by the time he finished his rant. Tobi was being unusually quiet, given his childish nature and loud, outspoken personality.

"Kakuzu-kun is watching imouto. Tobi is a good boy!"

Pein raised a brow. Kakuzu-kun? Imouto? Why the hell is he calling Keiko 'little sister'?! 

Tobi went back to whatever he had been originally doing, effectively giving Pein the cold shoulder.

Well, damn.

Pein went off in search of Kakuzu. He had to find them, he just had to.

He was stopped by Kisame, who was eyeing him quizzically.

"Leader-sama?" Kisame asked.

"I'm fine," Pein snapped," Where the hell is Kakuzu?"

"Off on that mission. They were heading to... the Village of the Hidden Mist- I think, anyway. Why?"

"No matter. Thank you Kisame."

Pein sighed bitterly. He wasn't going to find them. They were long gone now. And Keiko probably wouldn't return. She was too young, too fragile.

BAM!

Pein looked up. A very pissed looking Zetsu came in, slamming the door behind him. He went off, muttering about "Damn Kakuzu".

Kakuzu?!

Pein followed him. "Zetsu- Kakuzu? Where? Now."

Zetsu growled at him, but hissed, "In the woods. Stupid bastard wouldn't let me eat the child with him!"

Pein backhanded Zetsu as hard as he could and ran for his life. He knew where they were!  He could... he could...

Everything went black.

*

Pein woke up, frantic, but Konan nearly knocked him out again in a fit of anger. His ears began ringing as she started yelling at him, saying things like 'How could you do this to me?' and 'Do you know how scared I was?'

The door opened, and he saw none other than Keiko standing there. Kakuzu stood behind her, looking every bit as stone-cold as usual. But Pein could feel his smirk, the gloating grin hidden beneath his mask.

"Mission complete."

"Way to go, Osanai imōto*! You survived!" Kisame cried.

Keiko looked at him, her doll-like lips curling up into a small smile.

"I did good," was all she said.

Brows raised, Eyes widened. She, a seven year old, was still alive, still thriving, and visibly uninjured, and all she had to say was, "I did good"?!

Pein thought he was going to pass out again. His eyes shifted to Kakuzu for confirmation. Kakuzu nodded.

He patted her on the head, and muttered, "She did good," before leaving the room. Keiko didn't follow him, but she watched him leave. Pein surveyed her for injury, but found none. She was only dirty, with matted hair. She looked almost identical to how she had looked two years ago, when she had first come to the Akatsuki.

But she also looked different. Healthier, stockier. Her eyes bruned with internal fire, her personal strength.

And she hadn't given up yet.

Strong.

Pein's lip curled. She looked like hell, but better. More controlled. Kakuzu had done good so far. She was alive, ready and waiting to fight.

"Did you bring back the body?"

"No. We blew it up."

Keiko pulled a necklace from around her neck and held it up. The symbol of Jashin shimmered in the light.

Mission: Complete. Assasination succesful.

"An unimortal Jashinist is just asking to be slautered," Konan said. She didn't hide the impressed way her voice shifted. She left it in the open, for all to hear.

"We're going to collect the bounty. Kakuzu-san just has to retrieve some documents."

Of course. The blasted bounty.

Kakuzu rarely accepted any mission without there being some sort of reward. It took a lot to get that greedy bastard outside and actually doing his job.

Keiko twirled the necklace absently. "I'm going to keep this, I think."

"Why?" Kisame asked.

"To remember the first time I killed a man."

Silence filled the room. Kisame looked incredibly shocked.

"You're too young!"

"No. Not too young. Age is just a number, onii-chan. Skill matters more."

"Well you took a chip of the old block!" Kisame cried. He looked unbelievably proud. He picked the petite raven up and spun her around, making her tangled hair even worse.

"Good job, Osanai imōto!"

Kakuzu came in. "Let's go. Time to collect the bounty."

"And what are you going to do with it?" Keiko asked as she fell in beside him.

"Save it. Even Hell runs on money, child."

Keiko looked mystified. "Really?"

"Yes, really."

The disappeared into the distance, becoming mere dots in Pein's range of vision. He chuckled at their silhouettes, one tall, lanky man, and the other, a tiny childish creature with wild hair. An unlikely match, yes, but a good one.

Safe.

*Osanai imōto- baby sister... It's like an affectionate nickname. She's the Akatsuki baby, so she's called 'Osanai imōto' or 'imouto', which is Japanese for little sister. The kanji are here:

幼い妹 (Baby sister)

妹(little sister)