Chapter 4

"Damn, it's about time you got up."

Nozomi slowly blinked her eyes as she started to come to. Where was she? The last she remembered, she had gone to get some apples, then everything was blurry. Moreover, her body felt heavy as she tried to sit up to no avail. Turning her head to the side, she noticed a familiar face sitting across from her. As her vision cleared up, her heart plummeted to her stomach as she realized who it was.

Hidan, who had been the first to speak, crossed his arms. "Damn, did you see a ghost?" After commenting on her paling face, he began to read the atmosphere in the room and decided it was his cue to leave, wanting to get some fresh air anyway. Once he left the apartment, the tension in the room only grew.

Finding some energy, Nozomi sat up and held her head with a small groan. She literally felt like shit but couldn't remember why. Every time she thought about it, the headache only worsened.

"Repeat what I said when I left the apartment." Kakuzu ordered, showing the female no sympathy. It didn't take a genius to figure out that he was highly upset with her.

Frowning, the blond let go of her head and twiddled her thumbs as she looked back at him. "Stay here until I get back and don't open the door for anyone."

"Was I not clear?"

"Well, yes… but I was feeling really hungry and you never said when you would come back so I didn't see any harm in leaving to get a snack! Technically, I stayed in the village so-"

As soon as Nozomi saw Kakuzu's eyes narrowed, she immediately stopped talking. Slowly, Kakuzu got up from his chair and approached the cowering female who was too scared to break his eye contact. Clutching the arm of the sofa with an immense grip, he leaned forward so he was inches away from her face. "You are to do everything I say when I say it, Nozomi."

"Y-Yes, I'm sorry…" Nozomi squeaked out. Her heart was beating so fast in the moment, she couldn't tell whether it was fear or excitement. Although she wished it could've been under better circumstances, he was so close to her that she could hear him breathing underneath his mask. That, mixed with his deep voice was more than enough to help regain the color back in her face and then some.

"You're coming with me." Grabbing her wrist, he pulled her off of the couch and took her outside. With a surprised gasp, she stumbled over her feet trying to match his pace.

Nozomi followed behind Kakuzu as they walked down the street, absentmindedly biting the inside of her cheek. The male hadn't said a word to her since they left the apartment and she knew he was most likely still mad at her for not following directions. Although the situation was a bit fuzzy in her head, she had already apologized so she didn't know why he was still so moody. How was she supposed to strike up a conversation in this awkward air?

After a few painfully quiet minutes of walking, the two reached their destination - a small marketplace. Vendors lined the sides of the street as an array of passer-bys frequented the stands. The female's eyes lit up at the sight of fresh food and snacks. As she took a step forward, distracted by her hunger, she bumped into Kakuzu's back.

"Sorry…again..." Nozomi mumbled as she looked down at her feet.

"We're here to get the items on this list and nothing else, got it?" Kakuzu turned around so he was staring down at her as he produced a piece of paper from his pants pocket. Once she nodded in agreement, he turned around and started walking.

While Kakuzu shopped, Nozomi peered around from behind his body with a small pout. Apparently food was too much of an expense because the man in front of her was picking out the bare minimum. Sure, she'd had her fair share of shopping at markets but to not get any snacks or sweets was a crime. Every item she picked up, he either told her no or took out of her hands to put back, and he wouldn't even let her see the shopping list.

"Why did you even take me with you if I can't do anything?" Nozomi grumbled to herself.

Kakuzu raised an eyebrow at her comment as he added a package of fish to their growing bag of groceries and paid the vendor in cash. Why would he leave her in the apartment again when he couldn't trust her to follow directions? "Make yourself useful then." No sooner had the words escaped his mouth, he dropped the brown muslin bag in her arms before continuing on.

"That's not what I meant!" The blond fumed as she adjusted the weight of the bag and followed him again. "If you're still mad at me, then just tell me." She was only met with silence and more items being dropped into the bag, which only angered her even more.

By the end of their shopping, Nozomi's arms felt like they were going to fall off and they still had to walk back to the apartment. Dragging her feet, she couldn't help but glance at Kakuzu. Because of that mask and his eyes, she could never tell what he was thinking. Catching her gaze, the male spoke up.

"Do you need something?"

"No, I'm perfectly fine being your humble servant and carrying your bags." She huffed.

Kakuzu refrained from rolling his eyes at her sarcasm. "They're your bags too. The reason we're on this little field trip was because you were hungry."

"Thank you for the food...but I know you're still mad at me."

"Think what you want."

Unbeknownst to her, the male had secretly picked up a package of macarons to satisfy her sweets craving. He wouldn't let her have them easily though; only those who work get paid.

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"Get up."

How can two simple words ruin everything so quickly?

Nozomi groaned softly as she curled into herself, hugging her cloak to her body. Unfortunately she had been banished to the servant's quarters, aka the couch, after dinner last night and after constantly turning back and forth on two small couch cushions, she'd finally found a comfortable position. There was no way she was going to move until she felt better rested. Sure enough, the perpetrator dragged her by the back of her shirt, causing her to fall on the floor.

"What the hell!" Nozomi jerked awake, sharply looking up at her attacker. Her anger mellowed down to a simple glare as soon as she realized who it was - Kakuzu.

"Hurry up so we can go." The male spoke again, showing no concern for the female before walking towards the door. With a dejected sigh, Nozomi got up and followed behind the man.

Today, Nozomi could say that she beat the sun as the break of dawn had yet to appear. She'd been on a crazy schedule with Kakuzu before for the bounty but this was a new level. Were they leaving already when they just got here? The journey wasn't long as they left the village and stopped at a semi-open clearing in the surrounding forest.

"Finally! I was getting tired of fucking waiting." A familiar voice spoke, coming out of the trees. Nozomi frowned as it was way too early for this kind of interaction. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see Hidan emerge from the greenery and that was enough for her to cross her arms and turn to Kakuzu.

Nozomi covered her mouth to stifle a yawn. "It's too early and cold to be out here."

"Your training begins now. Start running laps around the clearing." Kakuzu instructed.

"...Huh?" Nozomi blinked, wondering if she heard him correctly. "Training? For what?"

Hidan smirked as he sat down in the grass, placing his scythe down beside him. "You almost fucking died yesterday. How the fuck did you expect to stick around this asshole? As a ghost?"

"I knew you were still mad!" Nozomi accused Kakuzu, ignoring her urge to take a jab at the silver-haired moron with them.

"Mad?" Hidan raised an eyebrow before bursting out in laughter. "He's too fucking sweet on you. That bastard has a temper from the pits of hell. Damn near tries to kill me every day."

"Shut up." She rolled her eyes. "I didn't mean for-"

"I won't have an incompetent servant." Kakuzu interrupted her, adamant with his words. "Lose the cloak and start running." Seeing as this wasn't up for discussion, Nozomi unbuttoned her cloak, dropping it on the ground next to Hidan and commenced her physical torture. 'I'm not mad', my ass.

Training started with a number of physical exercises to increase stamina. Having never done training like this before, Nozomi was barely holding onto the air in her lungs. Falling into the grass after the last workout, she laid on her back and looked up into the sky before covering her eyes with her arm. The sun's rays were peeking through the trees and although it was still morning, she felt like she had been here forever.

"We're moving on. Get up." Kakuzu stood over her body.

"Can I get five minutes please before I die of exhaustion?" Nozomi whined as her body felt like jelly. She had a newfound appreciation for shinobi through her experience, however she didn't expect to have that lifestyle thrown on her like this. Putting her arm down, she looked up at the male, only to have her focus shift elsewhere. Usually Kakuzu had on a cloak so his body was covered, but now that he removed it, she had a full view of his form fitting tank top and bare, muscular tanned arms, which revealed numerous stitchings. If they covered his arms, did that also mean they extended to his chest and other areas of his body? The more she imagined, the more she felt the heat building in her cheeks.

"You're wasting my time."

Nozomi snapped out of her thoughts and immediately sat up, looking away from him to hide her flushed face. At least this time she could blame it on the exercise. Once she stood up, Kakuzu had her practice stances and basic moves to defend herself from attacks. Being that she had no real combat experience, he at least knew she couldn't regress from this lousy performance. Each move she made, he corrected, and whenever he got close to her to fix her physically, Nozomi could only pray that he couldn't hear her heart beating out of her chest. She knew, for sure, the feeling was bittersweet whenever he moved away.

Once the sun was at its highest point in the sky, Kakuzu was ready to conclude their practice as he had other business to attend to. Handing Nozomi a handful of kunai, he told her to aim for the center of one of the trees so he could determine what else he needed to work on with her in their future sessions. Nozomi let out a sigh of relief, feeling more comfortable with this task because it was actually something she learned already from her brother. Setting a focal point, she chucked the tools at the base of her designated tree - one hitting her imaginary bullseye, three near the middle, and one more off to the right. Turning around, she grinned at Kakuzu, obviously proud of her accomplishment.

"Try it again with these." Kakuzu handed her five shuriken after he retrieved the kunai. Thankfully she was decent with this so that crossed one chore off his list. For a civilian with no previous skill, she was a hard worker and a quick learner, when she wasn't complaining. Of course, she would never get close to his level, but with this training, he wouldn't have to worry about her being on her own.

Nozomi held the shuriken between her fingers, which was a slightly different feeling from using the kunai. Taking a chance, she threw the tool at a different tree this time. Two of them made it onto the tree, but very off center, and another two disappeared inside the forest.

"Damn…" Hidan whistled lowly, as he had just finished training himself. Being so focused on Kakuzu, she'd forgotten he was even there. "You can't teach an old bitch new tricks."

Clutching the last shuriken, Nozomi narrowed her eyes and turned on her heels, launching the metal tool at Hidan's mouth. "Put a sock in it, jackass!"

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Post Credits Scene: (Kakuzu and Nozomi before she wakes up!)

Kakuzu laid the unconscious female on his couch back at his apartment. After such an eventful day, he was highly irritated, more so because the woman in front of him was the main cause of his stress. As she laid, oblivious to his agitation, he found himself crouched down at her side. Despite the strength of his previous emotions, they seemed to falter in her presence. Using his hand, he brushed a loose strand of hair out of her face before brushing his thumb along the soft skin of her cheek.

He wished she would stop being so troublesome and stubborn, but at the same time, he enjoyed her change of pace in his life. Frustrations rose as he figured that he shouldn't have left her alone, but he couldn't take her along with him either. Why was he trying to hold on to something unnatural like affection when it wasn't supposed to work for someone like him?

Nozomi nuzzled her cheek into the palm of his hand, a slight smile appearing across her slumbering features.

That was enough for his thoughts to change once again. As long as she didn't disappear, then he could continue to selfishly want her.