Marionette - Naruto Shippuden High School [Akasuna no Sasori x OC]

Chapter Eight: Wretched

A look of horror came upon Kuro's face as she unwillingly threw punch after punch to Gaara's face, who'd long fallen unconscious. Screams of repeated "Stop! Stop!" tore from her throat. Unable to fight against the control of her arms, Kuro used every ounce of her will to launch herself off of her legs and topple away from Gaara until she lay flat on the ground beside him. The hold on her limbs finally broke.

Kuro was up on her feet again within the blink of an eye, new strength replacing where it had been gone only a moment ago. Before anyone else could react, she lunged for the puppeteer, tackling him to the ground with her hands around his throat.

"You asshole!" she roared, wrestling with him on the ground until they came to a stop with her straddling his waist. "How could you?! I...I HATE YOU!" Hot tears came to Kuro's eyes, but she held them back and kept her hand on his throat, the other smashing his face. Grunts of choked pain wafted from his lips, both of his hands scratching at his throat. Black dots swarmed Kuro's vision, absolute fury radiating through her; she released Sasori's throat and pummeled his face with both hands.

The other Akatsuki members had to interfere and tear her away from the battered puppeteer, dragging her away forcefully.

"No!" Kuro roared, her eyes glittering. "Let me kill you, you little bitch! You fucking BITCH!" She thrashed in Kisame and Kakuzu's arms, her feet nearly smacking them in the faces. Strings of profanity poured forth from her as Deidara and Konan helped Sasori sit up. He spit out a small pool of mixed saliva and blood, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand as he flashed Kuro a smug glare.

"A deal's a deal," he called, his voice smooth and unwavering. "Try as you might to break away, but at least your family gets to live one more day."

"Screw you and your stupid deal!" Kuro spat, face still colored in rage. "My friends are my family. Don't give me any of your bullshit, dollface! I will kill you, I swear! You bitch! You sick little bitch!"

"Then you'll just have to suffer the consequences!" Wobbling to his feet, Sasori smirked and tossed a few stray strands of hair by his ear backwards as he pivoted to walk back towards the limo. "I'll take refuge in the car—and you have a certain somebody to thank for that."

"Shut the hell up, you bastard!"

"You will be fine," Pein said, looking at Kuro with an unreadable expression. "Konan, treat Sasori's wounds as needed. The rest of you—including Kuro—will find their C block and raid it of all the chakra you find. One of the interrogated Suna fighters indicated that most, if not all of their supply is located there." Konan nodded and placed a hand over her heart, bowing before following the incapacitated Sasori.

The others nodded in unison; Kisame and Kakuzu pulled the simmering girl along as they trudged off in the direction their leader motioned toward. There were several buildings in the rather secluded district, several of them covered in protective veils of golden sand. They trod in silence, and Kuro finally got her captors to release her, stomping ahead of everybody else angrily.

"You sure you know where you're going, hm?" Deidara called, raising an eyebrow in amusement.

"Like I care where I'm going," Kuro spat in reply. The answer seemed simple though, because not long after that, they came across a fairly average-sized warehouse, its structure made of a thin, ridged metal. She didn't need anyone to tell her what was inside; just from standing near it, she could feel the immense strength and pull of the intense power hidden inside.

Kuro's comrades milled close behind as she stomped over to the thing, her eyes dark with an endless loathing. She stalked up to the large, garage-like opening, enforced with hard metals. Twisting her ankle, Kuro leapt into the air and spun, bringing around her heel to smash into the large entrance. The metal of the slide caved where her foot kicked it, but it stayed upright.

"Need some help?" Itachi offered, stepping beside her, but she shoved him away with an elbow.

"Get out of my way before I take your head," she growled. Taking a few steps back, she dashed forward and launched off the soles of her boots, driving them both into the metal. It gave way and fell to the ground with ear-splitting shattering, carrying down Kuro with it. She landed crouched, standing to see upon her a gigantic spinning orb of chakra the size of an entire house.

"Whoa," Hidan murmured with a low whistle, rushing forward with his teammates. "I didn't know they had such a huge stash. Jackpot!"

Kuro rose to a stand and watched as the Akatsuki formed a circle around the levitating sphere of energy, their eyes cold and calculating as they each raised an outstretched hand. They seemed prepared to start their weird ritual of some sort, but someone called her name.

"Kuro," Kakuzu said. "Hurry up and get over here." Kuro snapped out of wonder and realized that it had not yet formed the perfect circle; there was one gap, one spot left open. She assumed that was where Sasori usually was if he was present, but she sulked over and stuck out a splayed palm like all of the others.

Once their ring was complete, strange markings appeared at their feet and began to glow, huge torrents of wind ripping upward. The markings connected all of the members in circlets of runes. Awe covered Kuro's face, her hair whipping around her body as six different small funnels diverted themselves from the core and glided for their hands. A blue-ish light reflected in her irises as it split from the small branch into five even tinier ones and touched each of her fingertips.

A strange and tingly sensation filled her as her fingertips, too, glowed, a strange power flowing into her body. It looked exactly the same for the others, power pouring into their bodies. As she was filled with the warm light, she closed her eyes, allowing the sensation to wash over her.

The warm feeling spread from her fingertips to her hand, then crawled up her arm to reach her torso. From there it fanned out; it flared throughout the rest of her body and she could immediately feeling the magic-like effects taking their toll. All of the small gashes and wounds she received from the earlier fight sealed, closing, and the blood disintegrated into dust that dissolved into the rushing currents of air. A film of clarity soaked into her being and she felt instantly replenished.

Soon the feeling was beginning to die out, and she opened her eyes to find the orb of chakra had shrunk, shrinking still. Eventually, it dissipated, the markings below their feet blinking away. The raging winds died down and everything seemed to settle, the Akatsuki's arms still extended. Kuro let out a small breath and lowered her arm, glancing curiously at her hands and perfectly remade body.

"That felt hella good," Hidan sighed, rolling his shoulders in satisfaction.

"Let's get going," Kisame urged with a tilt of his head towards the exit.

"But what will become of this place?" Kuro asked, following as her teammates made their way back to the vehicle.

"It's ours," Deidara explained. "That small turf war we just fought was to take C block—at warehouse we were just in and a couple of the surrounding buildings."

"But why? That's so inconvenient. The block is so deep into Suna district, it's impossible to get there without going through the district itself."

"It doesn't matter," Kakuzu interjected. "All we came for is the chakra, anyways. Otherwise, we won't touch it. If your friend and his people want to use it, they're going to have to pay rent to us—which eventually will happen, like it or not."

"That's...sick," Kuro murmured. "What a disgusting scam. It's a win-win situation for you bastards, but you're just stripping Suna of their resources. They work hard for everything they have, you know."

"And so do we."

"Don't forget," Kisame reminded her, "you're part of our fucked up organization, too."