Are the Roses Red or Black?

Hey guys, I know. It's been a while, hasn't it? Well, I've been thinking, and I really want to finish typing this story for you guys, whether you want to continue reading it or not is up to you. I don't want to let you down any more than I all ready have. I am so sorry for the huuge delay.

Thank you,
Dawn

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I was skipping away from the frightened Kisame when Pein called me over to him by the stairs. I skipped over to him. “Yes, Pein?” I asked, trying to regain my composure.

“You have your first mission assignment,” he responded.

“What kind of assignment?”

“Assassination,” Pein gave me a picture of a young man along with his information. “He knows more than he should.”

“Who am I going with?” I looked up from the papers.

“Kakuzu and Tobi.”

“But I thought Tobi wasn’t an official member yet?”

“I know, but…” he trailed off, looking away.

I snapped my fingers in his face, “Helloooo? Earth to leader person!”

He shook his head and looked back, “As I was saying, I know that he’s not official, but he’s been getting on my nerves more often lately…”

“And this mission is a polite way of saying: Get out of my face! Right?” I finished for him.

“Precisely. Anyhow, he and Kakuzu have all ready been briefed, so what you need to do now is pack and try on your new cloak,” Pein smirked as I froze and gawked. He handed me a cloak – that signature cloak – that was black with red clouds scattered on the fabric.

My eyes lit up as I snatched it out of Pein’s hands and gingerly slipped it over my head as if it were as fragile as gold foil and let it rest gently over my body. I looked up at Pein, a glowing smile lit up my face, and giddily hugged him before running off to Hidan’s room to pack.

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When I entered the room, I had no knowledge of Hidan following me with his eyes. I was too busy packing happily away. “I got a cloak! I really have a cloak! Yay!” I am not going to list everything, but I shoved a lot of stuff into that little backpack of mine. I had to sit on it in order to zip it up.

Then, I stood up and announced, “I’m going to take a shower!” I hopped through the connected bathroom doorway without a glance at Hidan.

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--Hidan’s POV—

Once I heard the water running, I shrugged and lay back on my bed. I shoved my hands under my head and thought about Mikoto.

“Did she even see me when she walked past? I wonder where she’s going. Does she have a mission? What kind of mission would it be? Why did she pack so much? Has she forgiven me? Or does she still hate me? Ah, so many question that go unanswered. Will they ever be answered?”

I chuckled softly to myself, “Probably not…”

--Mikoto’s POV--
(Just before departure)

“Kakuzu! Tobi! Mikoto! Wait!” Pein called.

We stopped and turned to face him.

“Here,” he panted, handing Kakuzu a picture, “Find her while you’re in the Land of Greens and bring her back. Her name is Kytori Hakuran. That is all. You may leave.”

And, with that being said, we left.

--Minutes later—

“Kakuzu! Can I see the picture? I want to know who to look for when we get there!” I whined.

He sighed, but it turned into a growl, “No. For the million and fifth time, no!” he yelled, rubbing his temples.

I yelped and hid behind Tobi, “Tobi-san! Protect me from Kakuzu! He’s scaring me…”

“Don’t worry about Kazu-dana. He is just, well, being Kakuzu. It’s just how Kakuzu is. Does Mikoto understand?” Tobi explained.

I giggled, “Tobi-san? Why did you call him ‘Master Kazu’?”

Tobi froze for a second, but then continued to walk. He gulped, “Uhh…”

Kakuzu sighed, “She knows, Tobi. She knows.”

Tobi gasped, “You told her?! When?”

I, for one, found this all to be very hilarious and was laughing my ass off as they spoke.

Kakuzu sighed again, “Remember when she walked in on us… you know? Well, she had caught us red handed and made me tell her. Don’t worry, though. She swore she wouldn’t tell.” He shot a glare at me, but it didn’t faze me a bit.

“Yes!” I chimed, “I am keeping other secrets as well.”

“Tell us!” Tobi pleaded.

“Not on your life, Tobi.”

“Can you give us a hint?” Kakuzu asked.

I contemplated before responding, “All right. One secret has to do with Pein, and the other… Kakuzu, that sushi you made was not for me!”

“Interesting…” Kakuzu said.

“Now that you got your way, give me the girl’s fucking picture!”

“Fine,” he huffed, and handed it back to me without a look.

“Thank you,” I grabbed it eagerly and examined the girl. She had long strawberry blonde hair and green eyes. Pretty, too. “Pretty girl…”

“Tobi agrees, Miko-chan.”

Kakuzu glanced behind him at Tobi and me and forwards again. Was he worried?

Tobi apparently noticed, so he took it upon himself to reassure him, “Don’t worry, Kazu-dana. Tobi is not going anywhere.”

Kakuzu dipped his head slightly, but each step showed his disbelief. I decided to change the subject, choosing something that would capture his interest. “So, Kakuzu, is there any money on Makato Yori? You know, the guy we’re silencing?”

“Yes. Not a big one though.”

“How much?”

“Ah… About 700.”

“How far away are we?”

“Not sure. I’ll let you know when we’re close.”

“Do you know anything about the girl? Like, anything specific?”

“Not really, but since Leader-sama wants her, I can assume that she has some sort of power that even she might not be aware of.”

“How old is she?”

“How should I know? About your age, if I had to guess, give or take. Why?”

“I have a plan.”

“A plan?”

“Yes, a plan. I have a plan. Is there something wrong with that?”

“No, not at all.”

“Good. Do you have a plan for getting Makato?”

“I’m working on it, but figuring out how to infiltrate the village is more of a priority.”

“And how are we going to do that, oh smart one?” I asked sarcastically.

“I’m not sure. I’d need to know more of what you can do before I can make anything solid.”

“Other than the abilities that come with worshiping Jashin-sama?”

“Oh, God! I get enough crap about that damn religion from Hidan! Not you too!” Kakuzu slapped his forehead.

“Can Miko-chan tell Tobi more?” the child-like man asked sweetly.

“Sure, Tobi. In exchange, for worship and sacrifice, Jashin-sama grants his followers a weapon and immortality. Also, we must obey his commands and never take his words lightly.”

"Oh! Jashinism sounds hard, Miko-chan," Tobi said.

I shrugged, "Not really. Once you really understand it, you realize that, um... your world has become better than it ever was before; and you'll have a better life in the future than any mortal could ever imagine." I said happily.

Tobi was about to say something, bu Kakuzu cut him off. He said, "At least when you talk about Jashin, you don't try to convert anyone..."

"Um... Thank you?"

He nodded. “Hey, Mikoto, I wrote a little poem. Would you like to hear it?” Kakuzu asked, obviously changing the subject.

I was shocked; I had never taken Kakuzu as one for poetry, but… who would? “Sure, Kakuzu. Go for it.”

“Okay. Here goes nothing:
Roses are red
Violets are blue
Sugar is sweet…
So what the hell are you?”

I literally froze in my tracks. Terrible flashbacks rose out of their graves and poured into my mind as tear droplets formed in my eyes. My eyes bulged out of their sockets – I couldn’t blink. My fingers curled into fists at my sides. I bit my lip to try and keep the tears from spilling over.

“Miko-chan? What’s wrong?” Tobi hopped over, but I didn’t – couldn’t – move a muscle.

Kakuzu spun around to see what had happened. He galloped back to me with concern in his eyes. “Mi-Mikoto? Are you okay?”

Only noises came out of my mouth as I struggled to find the right words. As soon as I could feel my legs again, I sprinted away into the depths of the dense surrounding forest. I didn't stop. The poem had hit something buried in the depths of my heart and brought it back to life. I made it all the way through a medium-sized mountain. I ran and ran until I was halfway up and ducked inside a dark cave. I was sobbing. I pulled out a candle from my backpack and lit the wick with a snap of my fingers. I took out my giant chain scythe – a gift from Jashin-sama – and slit my finger. I used the blood to shakily draw Jashin’s symbol around my body. After I drew it, I kneeled inside, shut my eyes, and began to pray.

“Jashin-sama? Can you hear me?”

“Yes. I am here, my darling Mikoto. What is it that you want?”

“First, why are you not mad at me for the incidents with Pein and Deidara?”

“I am not mad because you are young and need the experiences just as anyone else.”

“Oh… Second, why does it seem that anywhere I go, there will always be that one person who will insult me?”

“He didn’t know that the poem was insulting to you thought.”

“I don’t care! I’ve heard it from enough people enough time that it just burns, no matter how innocent the speaker. It still hurts.”

“You should talk to him about it. Make him realize how much he hurt you.”

“Brilliant! I shall do that. Arigato, Jashin-sama.”

“Wait, Mikoto, before you go, I must remind you of your promise to me from nine years ago. You had promised, on my command that you would marry that you would marry the first male Jashinist you met.”

“So I really must marry Arashi, then?”

“Yes.”

“As you wish, Jashin-sama.”

“Go back to your friends Mikoto. Go now. Who knows how long you still have with them? They sure don’t,” his booming laugh resounded inside my skull.

I nodded and ended the prayer. I blew out the candle and put it and the chain scythe back in my bag. I slung the bag over my shoulder and jumped off the mountain, landing precariously in a tree. After my talk with Jashin, I was no longer sorrowed by the poem. I leaped from branch to branch until I reached the edge and dropped to the ground. I walked the remaining distance to the dirt road and turned up to rejoin Tobi and Kakuzu.

Both men ran at me when they caught sight of me. “Mikoto!” they yelled.

“Are you okay?” Kakuzu asked.

“I-I don’t know. But I have to talk to you about that damn poem. Now.”

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“What’s wrong with my poem?” Kakuzu asked.

We had set up camp a little ways into the trees for it was close to moonrise all ready. We sat in the same tent so we could talk while Tobi kept first watch.

“Ever since I was able to walk and talk, people from all over the world would mock me and that poem was one of the things they said. It’s insulting, as it was created to be. People from all over Iwagakure would recite it. I heard it every day. There was just no escaping the pain. I was abandoned by my family – no, scratch that – I was abandoned by my entire clan. I was born I Kirigakure, but they abandoned me in Iwa when I was only two years old.”

“What was your clan’s name?” Kakuzu asked when I was finished explaining.

I bit my lip awkwardly and muttered something incoherent to Kakuzu’s ears.

“What was that?” he asked, leaning in closer to hear.

Slowly, I raised my head and met his gaze…