WAP 14

CHAPTER 14


Kakuzu had a very unfortunate sinking feeling that he had done worse than fail a mission.

The shinobi he was with clearly didn’t trust him. He shied away from the group and cast his face low, trying to avoid eye contact with the Priestess’s acolytes when they came tumbling out of the shrine to fall at her feet in tears.

‘She said that I won’t be punished.’

That seemed impossible. It was better than his own village would be, when they found out what had happened.

The Daimyo-

The former Daimyo had been forced to post an exorbitant reward for the head of the priestess. It was too shameful and blasphemous to openly ask, so he must have been mad with arrogance to make the demand.

A few hours ago, Kakuzu would have laughed at the superstition. He had, in fact, laughed. He had seen that promised money and seen only the fact that it would be easy to kill a civilian holy woman.

‘And it was easy.’

The thought made his stomach twist now in horror at what he’d done. There was a primal shrieking fear in his brain that had been going off since the head he’d been holding by the hair had said his name.

His heart shuddered at the memory.

He was suddenly and firmly a believer. There was no jutsu that could do that. There was no power among men that could keep a decapitated woman alive. There was certainly no jutsu that could open up a pit to the land of the dead and drag down a blasphemous man.

If he had any sense of preservation whatsoever, he should turn on his heel and run. He should be getting as far away from the holy woman as possible and hope that he was so far below her notice that she forgot he existed.

The unfortunate fact was that Kakuzu did not want to run away. He wanted to kneel at her feet.

He had never seen Izanami-no-Mikoto. The priestess had said that the goddess was real, and so she must be. But what Kakuzu believed in was what he saw with his own eyes. What he’d seen was an avatar of such power that his mouth watered.

He wasn’t going back to the clan elders. What they thought no longer mattered. This woman was the only thing that mattered.

“Him?” a female voice cried out in disgust. Kakuzu impassively followed it back to an enormously pregnant young woman. He raised an eyebrow at her.

She flushed red with fury. “He’s the one who attacked the priestess!”

That set off a mess. Kakuzu tensed, eyes darting between the other 4 shinobi present. The Uchiha might be a threat. That was the Clan Head’s warmonger brother, and Kakuzu was an assassin.He shifted his feet to a more ready stance and sneered. He wouldn’t make it easy.

“Calm down.”

Miraculously, everyone did. Kakuzu didn’t take his eyes off the Uchiha, but he let his hand drop from his weapons pouch.

The Priestess emerged from her carry box and looked at him. He repressed the urge to drop to his knees. Her eyes weren’t quite human. They looked right through him. He thrilled at the feeling. Kakuzu licked his lips. This was it. This was the meaning he had been missing in life.

“If he missteps, you may kill him. Until then, I am giving him a chance.” The instant that she turned away, he ached for her attention again. She was cold, though, and she walked away without a second glance. Kakuzu scowled at the others. They’d been her disciples first. He had to be better. He wanted her to look at him, to think about him.

The priestess went into her shrine. It was a shockingly humble thing, wood and cheap paper screens. Kakuzu frowned at it. It wasn’t right. She was better than this.

‘It should be gilded. It’s not right for a woman like that to live in a little wooden shack.’

While everyone else gave him unfriendly looks, Kakuzu turned his mind to the problem of funding. Someone had to, after all.

____

Aiko was enjoying the mess.

Maybe that was immature of her, but after months of being so humble, it felt good to have shinobi waiting for her orders. She’d gotten used to being at the top, a decision-maker and shaper of the earth. She reclined elegantly and let Mayumi prepare cushions for her clan members and the Uchiha, who had turned out to be the infamously murdered Izuna.

The one room of her shrine felt a bit cramped with this many adults in it.

She briefly considered feeling embarrassed, but why bother? Aiko dug her fingers into the plush carpet and watched Izuna clearly puzzle over the foreign furnishing. He was discreetly rubbing his hand over it back and forth to observe the illusion of it darkening and lightening in color as the threads were shifted.

"Thank you for your escort," she said silkily. "It was very kind."

Mayumi gave her an intense look, eyes dark with some unnamed emotion. "You are the mouthpiece of a goddess. I would not leave you to face a trial alone."

The Uchiha cut a mildly intrigued look at her. So he hadn't realized that Mayumi was a believer yet, then?

'At this point, why is he not?'

"Your faith is strong." Aiko flicked her eyes over to examine the other Inuzuka. The man she'd met by the river met her gaze with a calm, impassive stare. The other two women were professionally blank.

'That's not my business,' Aiko recognized. 'Pushing them would push them away. They'll confer with their leader when they leave.'

With that in mind, she began to set up for a tea service. No one was ever going to praise her grace, but she dredged up ancient kunoichi lessons of the ceremony.

She shot for "passable" hospitality. In the silence of everyone drinking green tea, Aiko figured that she'd hit that mark.

'Should I talk about anything?' Aiko examined each of them in turn. 'Actively trying to convert the Inuzuka is a no, but Izuna might be more vulnerable to me. I'll get him alone after. Mayumi… she really stuck her neck out for me. I need to recognize that and give her something, to signify my appreciation if nothing else.'

"It seems that my humble shrine can expect visitors," Aiko said blandly. "I am merely a servant of Izanami no Mikoto. The political welfare of the country is outside my ken."

Mayumi and Izuna gave each other narrow-eyed looks.

Aiko pretended not to notice. She hummed. "I would be grateful for assistance on this matter…" She let her voice trail off.

"Of course I will help," Mayumi said immediately.

Izuna grinned at her.

Aiko's heart stopped.

'This man is dangerous.' She swallowed as subtly as possible. 'If Sasuke went around smiling like that, women would just drop dead. Is he doing that on purpose?'

"Priestess-sama, this one would be honored to assist in any way that is necessary." Izuna gave a perfect bow, but his cheeky wink up at her through his lashes ruined the effect.

"Myself as well," Ude-san said blandly.

His dour professionalism cut through the attack of charm. Aiko clung to the interruption by turning all her attention to him. "Thank you," Aiko said, ostensibly to them all. "As for Kakuzu-san…" She couldn't help but frown.

"Shall I kill him?" The Uchiha blinked his horrible sooty lashes at her, a pleasant smile playing with the edges of his mouth.

Mayumi gave Izuna an approving look for the first time.

'No. This is terrible. Don't give him any kindness.'

"I would prefer not to," Aiko said blandly. She looked away from Izuna. It was too risky. He was pretty.

'I'm downgrading him for my psychological welfare. He doesn't get a personal name. He's just Uchiha.'

"I will impress upon him the appropriate reverence for your station," Mayumi said mildly. She sat her cup down.

…Threaten him. She was going to threaten Kakuzu to behave.

"Please be careful," Aiko said. Kakuzu was probably nowhere near as strong as he'd been in the future, but still…

"We're coming with you." Ude-san put down his teacup as well with a polite nod to Aiko. "Let's see what the man has to say for himself."

Aiko relaxed as all four Inuzuka left the shrine. Kakuzu wasn't good enough to get through all four of them without her noticing. She was left alone with a rapidly cooling cup of tea and an Uchiha.

They sat in silence for a couple of moments. Then he broke it by clearing his throat. "I still have a gift for you!"

'I still don't know why. Was that some kind of idiot personal initiative or did his brother send him here?'

For a moment she looked at him, exhausted by the emotional effort his existence was putting her through. He was perfectly engineered to fuck with her hindbrain- he made her miss home, and he made her relax in his company, and he also gave her a terrifying glimpse until hiw attracted she would have been to Sasuke if he'd ever been less than dour and mean.

…fuck it. She couldn't do this sober.

"Let's have that instead." Aiko slammed back the rest of her tea and rose to change the cup out for a sake dish.