28. Snow Fall

I stood in the dimly lit hall, gawking at the sight of my destroyed room. Tobi began to regain consciousness, lifting his head up from amongst the rubble and looking around.

"What the fuck is going on out here!" Hidan yelled as he swung his door open and looked out at the awkward scene, his eyes quickly moving from me to the massive hole behind me.

"It's all Tobi's fault! hm!" Deidara stomped, cocking his head to the side and crossing his arms. Suddenly, Tobi stepped out from the hole in the wall and screamed.

"Tobi is so sorry!! Oh no look what Tobi made Deidara do!" I sighed and looked back over to Deidara who is now furious.

"Why you little shit, I'll kill you! death by suffocation! Hm!" Dei yells, pushing me aside and running at Tobi, who, had already anticipated Dei's moves and legged it down the hall quick smart. Poor Tobi, Who knows what Deidara will do when he catches him.

"Tila, can I have a fucking word with you?" Hidan asked, I pulled my attention off the gaping hole in the wall and looked back at him defeatedly.

"Yeah, okay," I sighed, giving up on the situation which had just gone from 1-1000 in about five seconds flat. Hidan grabbed my wrist and pulled me into his room, closing the door behind him. I felt a bit stupid being in his room again, but for some reason, I didn't feel as scared as I'd been when I couldn't control myself.

I looked around at the dark purple walls and noticed a massive sign of Jashin hanging on the wall behind the bed head. I stood in the middle of his room, watching, as Hidan sat down on his bed and leaned forward eyeing me curiously.

"What the fuck was all that about?" He finally asked, I didn't know whether he was talking about Tobi and Deidara or what I had done a few seconds before that.

"What do you mean?" I ask, looking at his confused expression.

"You acting all cute and shit, then you ran away. Fuck, did I do something wrong?" He asked, brushing his hands through his slicked-back silver hair.

"Hidan.." I mutter, the urge to explain came over me but I stopped. I didn't know how to tell him without sounding crazy. I stood there, looking around his room awkwardly, trying to find the right words to answer him but nothing came to mind.

"Fuck, never mind. Just forget it, alright?" He said, cracking a small smirk. I sighed in relief knowing that he was going to drop it. I didn't even know what had gotten into me and I sure didn't know where to begin explaining it.

"Your room got blown to smithereens. Guessing you need somewhere to stay tonight?" Hidan asked, patting the spot on his bed next to him, gesturing for me to sit down.

"Yeah, as long as you don't try anything funny." I eyed him teasingly, sitting down and pushing his forehead back with my palm. He laid back onto his bed and looked up at me cockily.

"Fuck, as if I would," he joked. I raised a brow, knowing full well that he totally would if I ever gave him the chance.

"Only for tonight though, I'm way too tired to fix my room up now," I told him more seriously, but, he just gave me a cheeky grin.

"Yeah, yeah. It's fucking fine just don't keep me up, I got shit to do tomorrow." He says, getting up and pulling the covers from under me, which, made me quickly stand up too.

"Get the fuck in, you're on the wall side," He pushed me back down onto his bed, I bounced right into place as I hit the mattress.

"Hey! Be careful, I bruise easily," I say, giving him a scowl before rolling over to face the wall.

"I was being fucking gentle," He mumbled back. I felt him get in beside me and the blanket fall over us.

"Didn't feel gentle to me," I huffed, but he ignored it. "By the way... Thanks" I added, my voice trailing off a little as I closed my eyes.

"It's fine, just shut up and go to sleep," he says quietly. Usually, the only thing I heard Hidan do is yell, it was kind of nice knowing there might be a different side to him. One that probably not many people had seen. All went silent and I started to hear faint snores coming from behind me. I snuggled deeper into the pillow and felt myself slowly going to sleep.

I tossed and turned throughout the night, I could have sworn I'd even heard Hidan mumble something about sacrificing a mailbox in his sleep. Eventually, I gave up on trying to go back to sleep and started thinking about Sasori. I just can't keep hanging on to these feelings.. I knew that if I did, I would only be left with an empty heart.

I started to become caught in the crossfire of my own thoughts, but I knew if I let the darkness in my heart grow it would consume me. I thought about it a little longer, until, I found the courage to make up my mind:

'Sasori, I pray that you'll find peace of mind and I'll find you another time'

___________________________

I sat upright, not anywhere near being able to sleep. Hidan was sprawled out beside me, snoring loudly. He'd somehow become shirtless so I quickly looked away, not really wanting to be caught awkwardly ogling him again. How am I going to get out of here?

I carefully crawled towards the bottom of the bed and got up, making sure not to wake up Hidan. He'd get annoyed at me and I'd already had a terrible sleep. Quietly, I opened his door and crept out, making sure to shut it carefully behind me. I looked across to my room, everything just as it was earlier. I head down to the kitchen and make breakfast. But, as I sit down to eat I felt myself suddenly being surrounded by a light could of smoke. I'd been summoned somewhere.

________

I coughed as I choked on the smoke that surrounded me. Holding my breath until it cleared away. It quickly became apparent that I was no longer in the Akatsuki hideout. Instead, I must've been in a dark cave of some sort... What's happening?

"Tila Kurama, I see you've truly grown child." A croaky female voice echoes from wall to wall off the dark stoned cavern. I peer around, light panic seeping in, trying to find where the voice had come from but, all I could see was shadows and small drops of water falling from the ceiling.

"Don't be scared, I've summoned you here for a good reason," her voice echoed, I narrowed my eyes, noticing a figure stepping out into the light.

"Who are you? Where am I?" I asked cautiously, a tingly feeling in the pits of my stomach grew as I watched the figure of a human-sized spider emerge from the shadows.

"I am Kure Gokegumo, the black widow of the Motoi Caverns. I have summoned you here because your father requested for me to do so as his dying wish," She said, her voice tactful and wise.

"My father? You knew him?" I asked, the mention of him building my curiosity even more. The mention of my father sparked a feeling deep down and the fear inside me whisked away.

"Your father asked that I summon you here when you turned 17, he requested that I trained you, personally," She tells me, I breathe in shakily.

"He wants you to train me? Why? I never knew him. Kure Gokegumo... Please tell me, what was he like?" I asked, she sighed as if she had known that my reaction was going to be something along these lines.

"Child, I knew your father for many years. You may hold it against him, not being a part of your life. But, I assure you, it wasn't without good cause. Your father, Jintaro, from a young age, was trained in the art of espionage. He was sent on missions that lasted years, spying and gathering intel on villages for the sake of the hidden Waterfall. He regretted not being able to see you grow up as a child and asked me to pass on his bloodline trait to you. His daughter that he could not protect." Kuregokegumo explained sympathetically.

I never had thought in my wildest dreams that my father would have done something like this for me... All my life I had been under the illusion that he hadn't cared, hadn't even thought about me. But, before me, stood a huge black widow named Kure Gokegumo who was telling me otherwise.

"After all this time. I. Never knew." I stammered. My mind started racing. My father wanted to pass down a bloodline trait... "What kind of training are you talking about?" I asked, looking back over to the large yet slender spider in front of me.

"If you want, I'm offering to sign a summoning contract with you," she said slyly.

"If this is what my father wanted .. Then I will," I said. She crawled up onto a nearby web and pulled at some treads. Almost instantly a small spider crawled out from a hole in the cavern, holding a scroll.

"This one, my lady," His voice is creaky and deep.

"Yes, yes," she takes it and hurries him away, flicks the scroll open causing it to roll out along the floor.

"Sign in blood here, my dear," She points to a spot on the page with one of her thin eight legs. I nod, bite my finger and dab each fingertip with the blood. I pressed down onto the scroll, leaving my mark clearly.

"I'm glad you're interested. I had my doubts about summoning you, but, you don't seem to be all bad." She tugged at the web threads again, handing back the scroll to the smaller spider assistant. I watched closely, still sort of trying to come to terms with what was unfolding before my eyes.

"Now, I'll show you the technique to summon!" She said, a little more excitedly. I couldn't help but feel as if she was somewhat like a motherly figure in a more creepy kind of way. I cracked a small smile and nodded. She explained the hand signs and I practised with her a few times until I had it down. Afterwards, I sat down on a nearby rock as I took a brief break.

"Tila, my dear. I think this shall do for now. The training we are going to be doing is Dark Release techniques. For this, I'll need you to be well-rested." I looked back up at Kure.

"I should be ready tomorrow, can you summon me back in the morning?" I asked her, she nodded.

"What are Dark release techniques? Are you sure I can do those?" I asked, shuffling my feet slightly. I'd never heard of such a thing. Kure laughed lightly, "Of course, you can my dear! The technique is rare but passed down from generation," she told me reassuringly.

I stood back up, her multiple eyes scanned my face as she came a little closer.

"Now, are you completely sure you want to do this? It won't be easy Tila, I can tell you that now." She stopped only a foot from me.

"If it's what my father wanted then that's what I'll do."

"I see, I'll be summoning you tomorrow then. Be prepared," She said slyly. With those being her last words I felt myself becoming covered in a cloud of smoke again. The fog lifted and I was standing back in the hideout. I peered down the empty hall then back at my room, I really need to fix this massive hole up and fast. But, I was still hungry so I headed down to the kitchen. As I headed through the training room I heard my name being called out.

"Tila, where have you been?" Itachi asked coldly from behind me. I turned around quickly as he walked up to me.

"I... Was summonsed this morning by a massive spider and ah, it's complicated." I laughed nervously. Itachi stared at me for a second before cracking a faint smile.

"I see, Leader is looking for you. By the way, if you want to talk, I'm here to listen," he told me. My heart may have skipped a beat. That was unexpected.

"Sure, thanks Itachi," I returned his ghost of a smile, then, watched as he walked back down his hallway.

I quickly grabbed something from the kitchen before going to see Leader. Deidara asked where I was going but rushed out, saying I had a few things to take care of and that I'd see him later. At a brisk pace, I went towards Leaders office. Shoving the last grape I'd grabbed into my mouth.

I knocked on the door, his deep voice answered.

"come in."

"Leader, you wanted to see me?" I ask, opening the door and walking in.

"Yes, I do. I have a mission for you, take a seat." He gestured. I sat down and listened carefully.

"I'm sending you on a mission back to Orochimaru. I want you to return there to collect information," he said ominously.

"Leader, I don't know if that's such a good idea," I said hesitantly. He wanted me to go back to that hell hole to collect information? Was he out of his mind?!

"Tila, you are the only one who can get the information I need. You will go back under the false pretence that you escaped the Akatsuki and have returned as his loyal servant." Leader paused for a moment, his Rennigon eyes were on me intently.

"Alright, what information do I need to obtain?" I asked, I would just have to swallow my pride on this one. I didn't want to be scared anymore, I knew that one day I would have to face my fears and this was now.

"I want you to learn how to do the Reanimation Jutsu, Tila. I know that Orochimaru has been using it for quite some time, he uses it to bring back people from the afterlife. Once you can use the Reanimation Jutsu I want you to find the piece of Madara Uchiha's DNA that Orochimaru has hidden away and bring it to me."

I gave him an incredulous look. He wanted me to go back to Orochimaru, steal his Jutsu, and, some dead guy's DNA, then bring it back to him?

"Wait, hold on. This isn't a simple mission leader?" I say, trying to prod at what was running through his mind right now!

"I know, I have faith that you can accomplish this mission Tila. It is very important and I'm trusting in you," He gives a small smirk.

"Okay, I'll take the mission."

"Good, you leave tomorrow afternoon. If you have any questions come and see me before then." He goes back to writing something on a piece of paper in front of him on his desk.

I left, still shocked by what he just asked me to do. After everything, I felt my heart sink and my head spin a million miles in two completely different directions. Maybe I should take Itachi up on his offer... I headed down towards his room and knocked on his door lightly. No answer, I slowly turned back around but then I heard the door open.

"Tila, come in," Itachi says, I turned back around and gave him a faint smile, stepping in. He closed the door behind me.

"What's wrong?" Itachi asked, I stood in the middle of his room, his gaze sits on me coldly. I started to fidget with my palms. It was a bad habit of mine when I was nervous. I guess Itachi may have caught on because, suddenly, I felt him lift my chin and inspect my face closely.

"Well? You didn't come here to stand around awkwardly did you?" I sighed, feeling my tension break a little.

"No, I mean, you said to come and see you... If I wanted to talk so," I mumbled.

"So talk. The sooner you do, it won't bother you so much," he said, letting my chin go and smiling faintly at me.

"Leader is sending me on a mission back to Orochimaru," I told him, the worry evident in my voice.

"That means you'll have to see Sasuke again."

"Yeah, I will. But it's more than that, Some really horrible things happened to me while I was there, Itachi. I think I'm scared to go back," I admitted. His expression became more curious. I hadn't ever told anyone what had actually happened while I was held captive by Orochimaru. The closest I'd come to saying it out loud was to Sasuke, and, even he probably didn't really get the severity of it.

"I just feel like I'm lost Itachi. Like I don't know where I belong," I finally said, I could see something flicker in his onyx eyes. Maybe an idea of some sort.

"Tila, why don't we go for a walk?" He suggested, still holding his emotionless persona.

"A walk? To where?" I inquired curiously.

"To wherever it was you lived before you came here," Itachi said, I nodded.

"Yeah. Actually, it's not far from here." I bit my lip slightly, the memories of home were not the best. But, it was the closest thing I could think of to cure this discomfort I was feeling.

"Just let me put on my cloak," I went to turn away but Itachi picked up a spare cloak that was hanging over his bedhead and threw it to me.

"Just wear mine." I put it on, the smell of Itachi cologne filled my nose. -Oh, wow. He smelt good. I quickly snapped out of the thought before I blush. We both headed towards the entrance together, stepped out into the snowy afternoon air.

"Winter's already here," Itachi says as he reaches out his hand, catching a snowflake.

Itachi held out his palm and I gently picked up the fallen snowflake.

"It's beautiful but so delicate," I watched it melt between my fingertips.

"Mh, like most beautiful things in life. Which way are we going?" he asked, I pointed north and we both started to walk slowly side by side into the snowy night. We walked for an hour and a half before we reached the lake where I'd spent most of my childhood healing fish.

As I looked around, so many memories began to flood Into my mind. Itachi and I continued to walk slowly up to my house and when I finally laid eyes on the small cottage that used to be my home I felt a deep drop in my stomach.

"Are you alright?" Itachi asked from beside me, noticing the uneasy expression on my face. I snap out of it and force a smile.

"I'm fine," I lied.