Kakashi's P.O.V.
"She's alive?!" Lady Tsunade cried in disbelief. I nodded. "There's a problem though...It appears she is now a member of the akatsuki."
She stared, dumbfounded. "A member of the akatsuki? Why the heck...?"
I shrugged. "I don't understand it either, but no matter what the reason she isn't allowed to leave even if she wants to, and I think she wants to."
"Well let's hope so...," she murmured. Her face suddenly contorted with anger. "Naruto! Stop eavesdropping!"
I turned and saw Naruto step into the room, his face a blank mask. It unnerved me to see him so expressionless, and I couldn't help but feel sad all over again.
"Don't you have any manners at all? Why must you always eavesdrop on conversations like this?"
"I was there too ya know," he retorted glumly. Tsunade sighed in annoyance. "Fine." She redirected her attention to me. "Do you have any ideas on how to deal with this problem?"
I thought for a moment then shook my head. "Sorry, but I haven't got anything yet."
She sighed again. "Right, of course. What about you Naruto?"
He stared at her in surprise. "You're asking for my help?"
"Any idea is better than nothing at this point."
He glared. "So, what? My thoughts aren't worth anything unless no one else has something of value?"
"That's not what I— "
"Whatever. I'll go think on my own." He turned and slammed the door shut behind him on his way out.
"Naruto, don't walk off on me when I'm talking to you!" Tsunade shouted, but he was gone. She brought her fist down hard on the cluttered desk. "So rude..."
"I should go after him," I suggested tiredly. She nodded and waved me off.
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Mori's P.O.V.
I sat on the section of couch farthest away from the other members with my knees hugged to my chest and my chin resting on my knees, sulking.
"Just shut your mouth brat. You don't know what you're talking about at all," Sasori said.
"Nay danna, you're the one who doesn't know what he's talking about, un," Deidara argued.
They were having one of their stupid arguments about art again.
"Money practically makes the world go 'round," said Kakuzu.
Hidan snorted in disapproval. "Hardly. Nothing good can come from being greedy, Kakuzu."
Alas, Hidan and Kakuzu were having another one of their stupid arguments as well, though they argued about everything, which made it even stupider.
My face was set into a sullen mask as I listened quietly to the bickering around me, wishing I could slap them all upside the head, and I was on the verge of doing so. Itachi walked quietly in and took the empty seat next to me, ignoring the others and turning on the television to some random rerun. I stared at the screen, not really seeing anything, only remembering the faces of Kakashi-sensei and Naruto-kun. They had looked so sad, and it was all my fault.
The noise of the bickering around me increased, and I could contain myself no longer.
"Shut your f-ing mouths already! Can you guys even hear yourselves?! You keep bitching like you're a bunch of freakin' six year olds!"
They stared at me, shocked.
"Wow, I never thought you capable of such colorful vocabulary Mori," Hidan commented.
I swept my sharp glare quickly over all of them then went back to my sulking. After a while their conversations started up again, only quieter and calmer than before.
"Somebody's in a bad mood today," Itachi stated. I shrugged half-heartedly and stalked away back to the library to read some more and practice some of the techniques mentioned in Scarlet Breath. So far I wasn't making any progress, but give it time...
As always when I tried to make the seal that would lock this power away, I felt a little like Hidan doing one of his bloody rituals because the seal had to be made out of my blood and chakra.
I drew the intricate symbol carefully and as accurately as I could, then sat down in the center and concentrated. I'm thankful I'm a fairly patient person because it usually took me a long time to make any progress, so I took my time with it, wanting to do it correctly. Sooner than I expected I felt the surge of power as the demon fought the seal. I concentrated harder and felt a greater surge. A sense of accomplishment began to bloom inside me, and I tried to stop it, but it had already disrupted my concentration. I frantically tried to regain it, but it was gone.
"Dangit!" I cried in frustration. "I was so close that time..." A sigh escaped me as I started over. This time an enormous surge rose up all at once and everything around me was blown back, including myself.
"Ahh!" I hit a bookshelf and quickly covered my face for protection against flying objects. Papers sliced thin crimson lines on my exposed hands and a book hit me hard square in the gut. Hurried footsteps could be heard approaching the library and I sat up, dazed.
"What happened, un? It looks like a tornado came through here!"
I looked around; he was right. Papers and books and splinters of wood were scattered everywhere, and of course I was sitting against a bookcase covered in tiny crimson scratches.
"Uhh..." What should I say?! "It's nothing. Sorry for the scare," I responded, laughing nervously. I picked myself up off the floor and dusted off debris.
"What's this?" Deidara asked. He was crouched over the symbol on the floor gently running his hand over the dried blood lines. "Is this blood?"
"W-what? N-no! I'm sure it's nothing!" I tugged on his sleeve and laughed again nervously, my voice shrill.
"It sure looks like something to me, un."
"No, no. It's nothing, really." I tugged harder on his sleeve. My hand slipped and I fell to the floor.
"Hey, I've never seen this book before, hmm."
I let out a little shriek as he lifted Scarlet Breath off the floor and flipped through. I saw him stop on the page that had the instructions for the seal on it. I heard his sharp intake of breath as he read the words "may be fatal if done wrong".
"Is this what you were doing Mori, un?"
"Uh, well...it might be..."
He stared at me. I looked away then looked back, and he was still staring. "What?" I asked after a while.
"Why are you doing this?"
"I don't want to deal with this problem anymore," I answered honestly.
"But there have to be other ways, un! Ways that don't have such risks..."
"If you have any ideas I'd love to hear them, but if you don't then I'm doing this my way."
An uncomfortable silence followed. Deidara stood up and walked towards the door.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm leaving if you're not going to explain anything to me, yeah."
I drew in a shuddering breath then exhaled.
"Is this about what happened in Konoha?" he asked.
"A little, but it's also about other things before Konoha too."
"So, you want to go back then?"
I gulped and looked down, tears stinging my eyes. "Maybe a little."
He turned to face me, his face angry and sad. I took a little step back. "Then leave, un! Or go about your potentially fatal rituals! I don't care, hmm!" He spun on his heel and ran out of the room, throwing the book down behind him. It hit the floor with a loud thud, like a final blow that shatters a broken heart.
