"Hidan stop! You've done enough already!" you yelled but your pleas fell on deaf ears. Your eyes widened as the rod made contact with Hidan's skin, piercing right through his heart. Asuma gasped and slowly started to fall.
"No, NO! ASUMA!!!" Shikamaru yelled.
"Hidan," you whispered. Your head turned towards the ground, your clenched fists shook. "You... bastard."
You slowly looked back up to see Hidan's skin go back to its normal peach color. He put the rod away and turned towards Kakuzu.
"All done here, what about you?" he asked.
"Just give me a minute," Kakuzu replied.
Your eyes traveled to the two shinobi Kakuzu was holding, and then to Shikamaru. He was desperately trying to get up, to get to Asuma. Your eyebrows furrowed and you felt tears stinging your eyes.
"You," Shikamaru finally got to his feet. "You're gonna pay for this!" He charged at Kakuzu but Kakuzu only threw one of the two shinobi at him, sending him back to the ground. Something crashed onto the ground and brought your attention back to Kakuzu. The mace that shinobi had been holding disappeared in a puff of smoke. A small, black feather fell in front of your vision. You reached up and grabbed it. Suddenly, there crows flying in from all directions and obscuring your vision.
"Go away," you whispered. The crows around you got away but the ones around Hidan and Kakuzu stayed there, not allowing them to see anything.
"Hey princess!" Hidan yelled. You turned your head towards him. He was swinging his scythe around, trying to get the crows away from him. "Do something about these crows will ya?!"
You frowned. "Solve your own problems Hidan," you retorted. He raised an eyebrow but continued to fight off the crows.
You felt four new chakras. You turned towards where Kakuzu was, there was a man dressed in black cloak with scars running on one cheek and a blonde girl with a purple shirt and purple skirt beside Shikamaru. You looked to where Asuma's body was and saw a chubby young man with red shirt, gray pants and long brown hair picking him up. You looked behind you and saw another man with dark shades, a green vest, navy blue pants and black hair. He was making a hand sign while holding one hand in the air. He must be the one commanding the crows. You thought and looked back at the birds. A small smirk made its way onto your features. Reinforcements, finally.
The chubby boy took Asuma up onto the restroom building while the blonde young woman took Shikamaru up there as well.
"Don't let your guard down Choji," you hear the man say. More crows came and Kakuzu and Hidan jumped away. You jumped back as some crows came zooming towards you. You landed beside Hidan.
"Ugh. Reinforcements," Hidan muttered. The crows suddenly blow up and a white cloud of smoke replaced them.
Kakuzu jumped onto the building roof where the shinobi were. You watched as he engaged in a simple Taijutsu fight with the crow handler. The man with the scars and the one with a bandage over his nose, Kotetsu, still stood before you and Hidan.
"You can fight it all you want," Hidan started. You turned your attention back to the two shinobi before you. "You're still going to end up as part of my sacred ritual. And that's why-"
"He's calling," you interrupted.
"Come on," Hidan whined. "I only need a little more time sir. We're just about to get to the good part here."
"We should go," you said.
Hidan placed a hand on his head. "Please sir, just a few more minutes! Is that really so much to ask?!"
"Enough Hidan," Kakuzu ordered and landed beside you. "We'll be back in no time. So prepare yourselves." He knelt down and picked Hidan's headband off the ground. "Let's go you two."
"Yes," you answered.
"That blasted Leader of ours, one these days I'll put a curse on him," Hidan mumbled.
You rolled your eyes. "If you can that is."
"Shut it princess," he shot. You glared at him.
"Sensei!"
You looked up at the building where the other four and Asuma were. Carefully and quietly, you pulled a kunai out of your pocket while Hidan was talking to them. You infused it with half your chakra.
"Don't worry, we'll be back before you know it!" Hidan said. You threw the kunai at the ground as soon as you disappeared in a puff of smoke. That should be enough chakra. You thought. But, what if it's not? You shook your head. It has to be enough. At least, enough to complete it.
~Aiko clone pov~
Once you were gone, the kunai pulsed and released the chakra. A shadow clone appeared. She found the men and woman at the top of the building and jumped onto the roof, keeping a respectful distance from them. Shikamaru noticed her and stood in front of Asuma's body.
"Akatsuki," he growled through clenched teeth. The other six people looked towards your clone, eyes narrowed and scowls on their faces.
"Get out of here Akatsuki scum!" the blonde woman yelled as tears streamed down her cheeks.
"Did you come back to finish us off? To make sure none of us lives?!" Shikamaru demanded, his voice strained and rising slightly.
"None of that," the clone answered calmly. "I'm only a clone sent here to help by the original. She sent me to make sure he doesn't die."
"You should've thought about that before you attacked him," the chubby man shot, tears threatening to fall from his eyes.
"I didn't attack him," your clone argued. "I just want to help."
"Even if we believed you, you're too late," Shikamaru said. His voice lowered to a whisper and his head hung slightly. "He's dead." His voice cracked at the last word and his shoulders rocked slightly.
"That's what I was afraid of," your clone whispered. "I can still help him."
"Why do you insist on helping him?" the woman demanded. "You're the ones who killed him!"
"Because the Akatsuki have done this, is the reason why I want to fix it," she told her. "I can bring him back."
"How?" the chubby man asked.
"I have... a special jutsu that can bring people back from the dead," your clone lied. It was half true. It wasn't a jutsu but your Kekkei Genkai that could bring him back. "If you let me get near him, I can help."
"We won't let you get near him," Shikamaru declared. Your clone sighed.
"If she wanted him to die she wouldn't have bothered leaving me!" your clone yelled. She was getting impatient. "Why are you Leaf shinobi so hard to convince? What do I have to do in order to prove that all I want to do, is help?" They stayed silent and looked at the ground. "I can bring him back, if only you let me."
"You're a clone, right?" Shikamaru asked.
"Yes."
"Try something funny and we'll hunt the real you down," he threatened as he stepped aside.
"Fine by me," your clone stepped forward and knelt down beside Asuma's body. She made a hand sign and started to focus. "If it makes you feel safer, you can keep a kunai to my neck."
"What are you doing?" Shikamaru asked.
"I'm looking for him," your clone answered. "In order to bring him back, I must concentrate on finding him first. After that, I must summon him and return him to the body. However, since I'm only a clone and not the original, this will take up all of the chakra I have. As soon as he's returned, I will most likely disappear."
"So you need to concentrate a lot, is that it?" Shikamaru asked. Your clone nodded. "Very well, Ino, Choji let's quiet down so she can concentrate."
Your clone knew they still didn't quite trust her yet, but that didn't stop her from helping. Where? Where to look...
Your clone focused her chakra to float through the nether world, since she had no spirit of her own she couldn't focus on finding Asuma's soul with her spirit. She found him standing off in a small clearing, away from the rest of the souls and spirits. She focused her chakra on him. He was pulled towards her.
"Asuma?"
"You?" he glared at her skeptically. "You were with those Akatsuki!"
"I was, but I'm only a clone of the original. I need to summon you."
Your clone made some hand signs and summoned Asuma's soul. He appeared behind her in a foggy, see through blue form. Your clone was panting by now, just searching for the soul took up little more than half the chakra she was given. She held her hands out over Asuma's chest.
"Asuma!" Shikamaru exclaimed.
"Asuma sensei!" the woman, Ino, and the chubby man, Choji, yelled.
His soul floated up as she slowly brought her hands down and returned the soul. It was taking longer than last time. With no Naruto or Chiyo helping, it was slightly more difficult. The soul was little more than halfway back into the body when your clone's chakra was nearly done.
"Damn it!" your clone whispered as she focused more. With a little more time, she was able to return the soul to the body. She fell on all fours and turned to look at Shikamaru. "His soul has been returned. It might take a bit for him to wake up. Don't tell anyone about m-"
~Shikamaru~
The clone disappeared in a puff of smoke before she could finish her sentence, but Shikamaru could guess what the girl's clone might have wanted to say. She didn't want anyone to find out about her or what she had done just now.
There was coughing from Asuma's body. Shikamaru quickly knelt down beside him.
"Am I dead now?" Asuma asked and slowly opened his eyes.
"Asuma sensei!" Ino, Shikamaru and Choji yelled.
Asuma looked at them. His eyes widened.
"What are you doing here?" he tried to sit up but pain shot through his body. "Ack."
"Asuma sensei, you mustn't try to move around too much," Ino said and laid his head down gently.
"If I still feel pain, that must, mean I'm alive," he looked at Shikamaru and the other jonin and chuunin. "But... how? I died, I'm sure I did."
"It was that Akatsuki girl," Shikamaru answered.
"She insisted on helping you," Aoba added.
"She said that because the Akatsuki had done this, she wanted to fix it," Ino continued as more tears ran down her face.
Shikamaru placed the sleeve of his shirt on his face as his shoulder rocked. Asuma looked at him and smiled.
"Don't tell me," he started and chuckled. "You're crying? Shikamaru?"
Shikamaru wiped away his unshed tears. "I'm not, Asuma sensei."
"We have to get Asuma back to the Hidden Leaf," Kotetsu said. Izumo nodded.
"Right," Shikamaru replied and leaned down. "Ready Choji?"
Choji nodded and swung Asuma's right hand over his shoulders while Shikamaru swung Asuma's left hand over his shoulder. Carefully, they helped Asuma to his feet. Shikamaru looked up at the sky as it started to rain. Thank you, Akatsuki girl.
"Let's go," Aoba ordered. Everyone nodded and started on their way back to the Hidden Leaf.
~Aiko~
You sat under a tree while the two men decided to sit out in the rain. You held a hand sign as the two tails was being extracted from its female jinchuuriki. Hidan was shouting insults at Leader with everyone else listening while you stared off into space.
"Three days! Aw man, it's raining where we are!" Hidan complained.
Did it work? Was a clone enough to at least make sure Asuma's soul was returned to his body? You wondered. If it wasn't enough, they were sure to come hunting you down. You felt something. The happenings of what happened with Asuma and the others flooded into your mind. A smile crossed your face. She did it. A clone was enough after all. You looked up at the other member's holograms. The only things visible on their silhouettes were their eyes.
"It doesn't matter what you use to justify war," Pein stated. Your head snapped in his direction and you listened attentively. "Religion, philosophy, resources, land, revenge, love... even the wind. No matter how trivial the motive, they're all worthy causes for war. There will always be war. The reason is simple; human instinct seeks it."
As Hidan started to yell back, your mind drifted off to a conversation you had with him.
~Flashback~
"Even if you do find a way to erase hatred, there will always be those who seek war. They will bring rise to more hatred," Pein told you.
"Then I'll have to hope I'm reincarnated," you told him, a determined look on your face. "Even if I must work forever, I will find a way to get rid of hatred!"
A small smile formed on Pein's lips. "If you wish to."
You smiled and hugged him. "Thanks."
He hugged back. I will find a way to get rid of hatred. Even if it takes me forever.
~End Flashback~
I promised myself back then, I would find a way to get rid of hatred. But so far... you looked down and stared at the giant bubble of chakra where the female jinchuuriki was. Nothing is coming out the way I wanted it to. Hatred keeps rising. Hidan and Kakuzu's incident created tension between those Leaf shinobi and the Akatsuki. My help might have reduced that tension, even if just a little. But... there's no guarantee it will last. I wonder, can the Leaf shinobi and the Akatsuki ever come to work together? Can all shinobi, rogue and village ninja alike, come to accept one another? Can fighting between villages ever come to an end?
"It's the third, and final step... world domination," Pein said. Your eyes widened and your hologram flickered.
"Huh?" Hidan turned towards your hologram. "What's wrong princess?"
You turned towards him. "It's nothing."
"Your hologram is flickering," Pein pointed out. "Did you expend chakra?"
"No, I'm fine," none of the members looked like they believed you though. "Really."
"You've also been awfully quiet," Hidan said. "Something's definitely wrong."
"You're right," you answered. "You're absolutely right. Something is wrong."
"What is it?" Konan asked.
"Did he have to kill him?!" you demanded and turned to glare at Hidan. "There was no reason to kill him. Sure the Akatsuki needs the money to accomplish their goals, but there's no need to kill anyone! Just like we didn't kill Arata and his followers or the monk, there was no reason to kill Asuma either!"
"Kiddo, calm down," Kisame cut in. You turned your head to look at him. "It's just what has to be done."
"Oh? And killing is something that has to be done in order to get the money?" you asked. Kisame looked away. "No, killing isn't what had to be done! Killing someone for the money they have on their heads, or for the sheer pleasure of it, is NOT something that has to be done! Killing can be avoided, if only-"
"Enough Aiko," Itachi interrupted. You turned to glare at him.
"Don't tell me you're siding with them?" you asked. He said nothing and only stared right at you. "Itachi, you should know better than anyone what I mean."
"I don't," he answered.
"Killing isn't right," you stated and looked at everyone. "Killing someone, leads to hatred from those close to the one killed. They want revenge, what do you do?"
"Kill 'em as well," Hidan answered. "Sacrifices can be made any day to lord jashin."
"Exactly," you said.
"Not you too kid," Kakuzu muttered. "You're siding with Hidan on this one?"
"I'm not siding with anyone," you told him. "When someone wants revenge and comes after you, the first thing that comes to mind is to kill them. But that isn't the right thing to do. Killing someone, revenge, more killing... it will only lead to war, and the deaths of those dear to you. Is that what you want? Is that the future of the world you envision?" None of them said anything so you continued. "That's the not the future I want. It's not the future I want for this world, not what I want to leave for future generations of shinobi. I want the young children to grow in a world free of conflict and devoid of hatred. I want them to have the childhood I had when I met you, a happy childhood. Not one that has them running from one place to another, fighting for their lives."
"I understand what you're trying to do," Pein said. "But that isn't something you can do right now, nor something that will be completed overnight."
"I know but if I can just-"
"Focus on sealing the two tails," Pein interrupted. "We'll talk about this later."
You bit your lip. "Yes Leader."
Damn it! You thought. Three days here, and not enough chakra. I just hope they don't figure it out.
~No one pov: Hidden Leaf Village~
"What happened?!" Shikamaru demanded as he broke into the room where Asuma was being kept. He froze upon seeing Asuma.
"Asuma has..." the nurse looked down. "Passed on."
"How did this happen?!" Shikamaru asked.
"Someone broke in here in the middle of the night," came a voice from behind him. He turned around.
"Lady Tsunade," he said. The blonde woman with brown eyes looked at Asuma's body.
"Nothing was found of the attacker except this." She pulled something out of her pocket and held it out to Shikamaru. He took it and held it on the palm of his hand. His eyes widened. It was a silver necklace with a ruby. His fist tightened around it.
"The Akatsuki," he whispered through clenched teeth. That girl... she wanted us to get confident and trust her. Then came and killed Asuma. I will find her... And kill her.