The Things She's Seen (An Alternate Story-Line)

Chapter 33

Third person pov

The Fourth Raikage was not amused. 

Standing before him was a girl with rather gaudy hair, a man he was pretty sure was a criminal, and a very fat hamster. They all stood in a row, gazing at him. Hidan's face was stone cold, save for a small sneer, and Hollow was clearly more than a little nervous. The hamster was probably the most intimidating out of the trio, which wasn't saying much.

Hollow noticed two dead men in the room, as well. One was clearly the Third Raikage based on the portraits they'd seen coming into the building. His name was also A, and he was A 2.0's father. Having two A's would be hard. Living A and dead A, she supposed she could call them. Living A was the Fourth Raikage himself, while Dead A was the Third Raikage.

"Blue B, you know these brats?" Dead A asked the other man, revealing his name. Hollow glanced between the pair and the Living A, who honestly didn't look too amused. He leveled them with a stony glare, hands laced together under his chin. His right hand man, Darui, stood relaxed at his side. Darui's partner, C, on the other hand, had gone stock still ever since introducing himself. Hollow couldn't understand Kumo's obsession with the alphabet.

"No." Blue B answered in a cool tone. His eyes flickered to Hollow, and she glanced at him only briefly. He seemed to tense at that, narrowing his eyes at her, unsure. She didn't look again, sweat beginning to bead her brow. It was humid here in Kumo. Stuffy, she supposed would be the right word. 

"Can I help you... three?" Living A asked blandly, not seeming like he really wanted to be here. Hidan nudged a terrified Hollow forward. This was her show, was it not? Besides, he was pretty sure if he moved too much, he'd be recognized or some dumb shit and get himself arrested. He really wasn't in the mood to break out of prison.

"U-U-Um." Hollow sputtered, eyes wide. "W-We want you t-to ally with K-Konoha?"

Everyone, dead and alive, stared at her. They were clearly very dumbfounded, and Hollow couldn't blame them. She squirmed under their gazes. "W-We want to achieve w-world peace." She squeaked, eyes flickering from Live A to Darui, who was showing the most emotion out of all of them. Albeit, the emotion was sheer shock, but it was better than the look on everyone else's collective faces.

"You want us... to ally with Konoha." Living A raised his eyebrows. Hollow offered a meek nod. The man immediately burst out laughing, howling with amusement at the announcement. Darui glanced at him uncomfortably, and C had yet to move. He was quite serious, Hollow noted nervously as she waited for Living A to get over himself. He probably thought she was joking, but she was not. Not even a little bit.

"Shut yah damn mouth." Meatball Kyle snapped, successfully making everyone jump a little. Save for Hidan, who looked mildly amused. "We being deadass serious, motherfucker. So you give us yah damn terms and we'll do the fucking do! We don't got all day to listen to yah damn hokey-pokey laugh." Meatball Kyle snapped his small fingers, and it was surprisingly loud.

Living A stared. "...You're serious?" He asked, eyes shifting to Hollow. He looked like he wanted to laugh again. "What I want you can't get me! Nothing else would make me ally with Konoha. Go away."

"A-sama, please." Darui said politely. "Perhaps we should humor her. She's only a child."

"One who's about to have her dream crushed." Living A snorted. He looked Hollow in the eye. "If you can get the Fourth Hokage to apologize to me for what he did, and all he said, then I'll... consider allying. But only if we have a race. To prove it's him." 

"The fuck? The fourth has been dead for twelve fuckin years." Hidan snapped. Meatball Kyle nodded, but Hollow didn't seem fazed by the request. She tilted her head incredulously at the man. That's all he wanted? An apology and a race? That couldn't be too hard to get! The Fourth Hokage was said to be an honorable man. Surely he'd do it for peace.

"O-Okay." Hollow said, blinking. "W-We'll be back later."

Living A's grin dropped, but he hid his confusion well. "Yeah," He snorted, "good luck with that, kid."

"Poor girl." Dead A said. "World peace is an honorable thing to strive for."

Hollow turned and looked the ghost dead in the eye before she left the room. "Thank you." She said firmly, causing the man to freeze. And then she was gone, Meatball Kyle and Hidan both scurrying after her as she exited the room. The two ghosts watched her go, eyes wide. They remained frozen in place for what felt like forever.

"You really think she'll try?" C asked, eyes shifting to Living A.

"She'll fail." Living A seemed amused, but Darui wasn't too sure. She'd been a shy girl, but he'd seen surety in those eyes of hers, and a form of confidence that was formed only by fact. He wouldn't be surprised if she showed back up here in a week or two, Fourth Hokage in tow.

"So... We're going to Konoha?" Hidan asked as they exited the building. Shisui was waiting in the hallway on watch, making sure no ghosts interrupted, and watching for ANBU. 

"Did it go well?" Shisui asked the girl. Hollow nodded in response to both questions, taking a deep breath.

"L-Let's go." She whispered. "Th-The Fourth Hokage is w-who we need."