“Accept the money already,” Kakuzu growls, shoving a small stack of the colored paper into your face. You quickly take a step back, scowling.

“I don’t want your money, Kakuzu. I won’t date you because you’re paying me.” You reply, sidestepping him and making a quick retreat. However, the Akatsuki’s treasurer doesn’t relent and continues to follow you. Your feet pounding against the ground in anger followed by his angry stomps fill the empty hallway with noise. “Leave me alone already!”

Kakuzu grabs your shoulder and forces you to look at him again. “Not until you take the money. I won’t take no for an answer!” He shouts back. His anger only makes yours greater and you ball up your fists, ready to swing at him if he doesn’t let go.

Recognizing the danger, Kakuzu drops his hand from your shoulder, but doesn’t back off. Instead, he takes a step forward, closing the distance between you. He yanks the mask down, revealing his face. Before you can even react, he grabs the back of your neck and gives you a passionate kiss.

Barely a second passes before you are kissing him back. A moment later, you shove him away, satisfied, but still angry. “I’m not taking that money, Kakuzu.” You state for the last time before storming away. This time, Kakuzu doesn’t attempt to come after you.

XTime SkipX

It is getting late, but you have yet to retire to your room for the night. Many Akatsuki members have already gone up to their rooms, but you remain down in the living room, thinking too much to actually care that you are on a couch, not a bed. After all, there is a lot to think about and not as much time as you would like. As far as you know, your deadline is the weekend.

Last month, your apartment burned to the ground when a serial arsonist went rampant in Amegakure. The local police managed to capture the woman, but not before she carried out one last arson case, which also happened to be the place you live. Lucky for you, a friend of yours offered to let you stay with him. You just wish you had known that your ‘friend’ is an S-rank criminal and part of the notorious organization called the Akatsuki.

Your friend, Deidara, kept true to his word, though, and you have been allowed to stay until your apartment is rebuilt. You received news last week that you will be able to move in next week. It would have been great news, if it hadn’t been for the fact that you were suddenly being drowned in love from one of the most dangerous of the S-rank criminals, Kakuzu.

Strangely enough, over your stay in the base, it was Kakuzu that you grew closest to. The treasurer wasn’t very nice at first, and he did not always treat you with respect. There were even times when he did not treat you like a human. However, there was something behind the selfish front he kept up, and you were the first person to ever break through it. You know this because Kakuzu told you. It was also the day that he told you that he loves you.

However, the next day, he went back into his solitary state and didn’t talk to you for a full week. Suddenly, you received the news about being able to move back in and he’s around you constantly. It’s almost as if he fears you will leave him behind. It did not end there, though. Kakuzu began to offer you money. His reason: “I will give you as much money as you want; please go out with me”.

No matter what you told him, he refused to give up and even tried to force you into taking the paper. Every time you refused, he became more violent about his proposals. Now, you dread seeing him. However…the kiss earlier…it wasn’t that bad…

With a contented sigh, you think about the passionate kiss. It isn’t the first time he has kissed you, nor do you want it to be the last. You would be lying if you said you didn’t like him. In fact, you have told Kakuzu exactly how you felt about him, only to realize it made him ten times more forceful in his recent requests.

You let yourself slowly slide sideways, as you just want to curl up into a ball. However, you head hits something warmer and harder than a couch cushion. You jerk away, realizing that you just put your head into someone’s lap, only to have a hand gently guide your head back to the stranger’s lap. If only you had heard them enter…

Not wanting to risk injury and resist, you glance over at the owner of the lap you are using. It’s none other than Kakuzu. However, for the first time in a week, he doesn’t look angry or the least bit annoyed. Instead, he looks…happy. His green eyes are half-closed in contentment and you would even go so far as to say he looks peaceful, which is hard to say when it comes to such a violent man.

“If you’re tired, it’s okay to…stay like this for a little while.” He mutters, and you can see the faintest color to his cheeks, just barely showing above his mask. When he realizes that you are staring, he looks away and focuses some place between the ceiling and the potted plant in the corner.

Even though you aren’t really tired, you do not attempt to rise again and instead make yourself comfortable. Silence stretches out between you two, as neither of you know what to talk about in a situation like this. That’s when you remember something.

“I thought you already went to sleep. You went upstairs over an hour ago.” You say/ask, your words holding a silent question.

Kakuzu shrugs. “I was waiting for you to go to sleep first. Since you are next door to me and I didn’t hear you enter your room, I assumed you were still down here. When I saw you spacing out on the couch, I didn’t like the idea of leaving you alone.”

You smile, feeling the warmth of his body seeping into yours. Before you can stop yourself, you yawn. Kakuzu chuckles, a sound that reverberates through your body and sends a tingling feeling down your spine. “Go to sleep already, brat. I’ll protect you.”

“Who are you calling a ‘brat’?” You mutter, your voice giving away just how tired you truly are. Kakuzu’s hand slowly starts rubbing circles into your back and you find yourself slowly falling into dreamland. “I love you, Kakuzu.”

“I know…I love you, too.”

XTime SkipX

When you wake up, you find yourself back in your room, tucked under the covers of your comfortable bed. Kakuzu’s doing, no doubt. You slide the covers away and slip out of bed, only half awake and still craving another hour or two of sleep. However, you promised yourself that you would go shopping today for furniture and household items. You’ll order them today and have them delivered to your new residence this weekend.

And you want to escape before Kakuzu wakes up.

Last night was actually very romantic and sweet, but you are a hundred percent sure there will be nothing from last night left over once the money-lover has woken up after a good night’s sleep. He will be back to his normal self…or not-so-normal self, considering everyone says that it is completely out-of-character of him to actually give money away and not take it.

While you might be flattered, the idea of being paid to date someone is not all that appealing. You’re supposed to date someone out of love, not love someone out of money.

You change into more comfortable clothing before leaving your room. However, you do not make it far when find your first distraction. Sitting in the living room is none other than Kakuzu. You scramble back up the staircase so that he cannot see you. Luckily, he is busy talking to Konan and most likely did not notice you enter the room.

Though, that is the least of your worries. Your first plan of escape has already been foiled. Taking the stairs two at a time, you reach the top of the staircase. Now on the second floor, you make your way to the second staircase on the other side of the building.

You quickly make your way down the stairs and out the back door. Normally, you would not take the back door, as it leads through a maze of training grounds and paths, but drastic times call for drastic measures.

Five minutes into the maze of paths, you are ready to admit the one thing you were afraid of ever since you left the back door. You are lost. Actually, lost is too good of a word for this situation. No, this is what you would call a ‘bad situation’. Lost means you had a destination but strayed from the correct path and there is a likelihood that someone who knew where you were going would come looking for you.

However, you had no idea where you were going from the start and no one knew you were going shopping this morning. And even if they did, there would be no reason why they would look in the giant forest behind the base and not check the road leading from the front door instead. After all, only Akatsuki members know this forest well enough to navigate it. You don’t.

With a sigh, you turn in a full circle before giving in to the inevitable and sitting down on a shaded rock. It would have been easy to turn back and try to return to the base that way, but you took many turns and there is no guarantee that you would remember them all in order and then be able to retrace your steps. It would be better to remain where you are rather than possibly ending up even farther in the forest than before.

There is not a lot of light that can make it through the dense tree coverage, but there is enough to see, though it does strain your eyes a little. When you feel your eyes beginning to grow tired, you take up the task of meditation. After all, it will do you little good to worry. Someone will realize you are gone and they will eventually realize that you are neither in town or on the main roads. They might not seem that smart half the time, but they aren’t idiots either. Someone will think to check the forest…right?

Hours float by, seeming both impossibly long and extremely short. Without any way to tell time, you do not know how many hours have passed, just that it is nearing late afternoon now because of the fading light through the tree-tops. You are becoming tempted to climb a tree, but with the limited shinobi skills you have, there is a high likelihood that you would fall on the way down.

“They probably didn’t even realize I was missing,” you mutter to yourself. It wouldn’t be the first time you spent the day avoid people in the base. Right after you confessed that you felt the same way about Kakuzu, you disappeared for two days; either hiding in your room, or hanging out on the roof when people gathered you were hiding in your room. They were probably thinking that you and Kakuzu were in another fight.

“You are correct. They didn’t.”

You nod, biting your lip at the confirmation of the truth, only to realize that voice was not just in your head. Your head whips around. A tall figure is walking towards you. You jump to your feet and close the distance between you quickly. Worried that he is just a figment of your imagination, you wrap your arms around his waist, hugging him tightly to prove that he actually exists.

“How did you find me?” You ask, afraid that if you let go, he will disappear. Until he explains how he found you, and how he knew to look, you aren’t going to let him out of your sight. Bad luck has always kept you company and it wouldn’t be surprising if you stumbled upon a Genjutsu set up by Itachi to trap unwanted visitors.

Kakuzu stiffens up for a moment, surprised by your sudden hug, but seems content to wrap his arms around your anyway. “I always know where you are in the base. I am the one who created a lot of the alarms throughout the base, so it is not hard to find you inside. I noticed you leave out the backdoor, but I thought you needed space and let you have your free time.

“But when you didn’t return for lunch, I became worried and began to search for you. Truthfully, I am embarrassed by how long it took me to find you, but then, I did not expect you to take the paths that were so obviously deer trails…” He says, his contentment changing to a dark look.

“Hey! I thought that was all part of the trick. I figured that you guys made them seem like deer trails, but they were really how you navigated the forest.” You complain, explaining your reasoning.

Kakuzu shakes his head, but you feel him shaking slightly as he tries to contain laughter. “We are not that paranoid about trespassers, [Name]. Most of our main paths are just hidden by Genjutsu or protected by traps.” He says.

“Oh, yeah, ‘cause that’s not paranoid at all.” You retort sarcastically before burying your face into his cloak and breathing in his scent. For reasons unknown to you, Kakuzu has always smelled like mint. Not toothpaste mint or the money ‘mint’, but more along the lines of mint tea leaves. Even if mint was never your favorite, it smells amazing on him.

Kakuzu chuckles, kissing your forehead despite the cloth still covering the lower half of his face. Suddenly, he looks up towards the sky…or, rather, the deep foliage hiding the sky. His eyes are smiling when he looks back down at you. “Hold on tightly. I want to show you something.”

He suddenly picks you up princess-style and jumps up. Four seconds later, you are above the treetops and have a clear view of the sky. Kakuzu carefully sets you down on one of the bare branches jutting out of a tree. He slowly turns you around until to look at the scenery behind you. The sight causes you to gasp.

“N-no way.” You mutter, seeing the beauty of the sun setting in the distance. This view…! You could never see this view from the base because the forest was too big. Kakuzu wraps his arm around you, pulling you closer to him.

As the sun finally disappears, leaving only a pink-purple sky behind, he picks you back up so you can both return to the base before dinner. After all, you are rather hungry. However, when he sets you down once you are clear of the forest, you get the sudden urge to kiss him. So you reach up, pull his mask down, and do just that.

The kiss is just as passionate as all the others, but the spark you feel grows each time. Oh, how you love this man. When he pulls away a moment later, breaking the contact so both of you can breathe, you begin walking back towards the base. And that’s when you call out. “Two ryō and nothing less.”

“What?” He asks, lost to your meaning.

“I want two ryō for every month we spend dating until it is deemed unnecessary. Say, after your propose or something to that effect. You also have to come visit me at least once a week after I move.” You reply, not looking back. If you look back now, you’d lose your nerve and not be able to go through with it by adding ‘just kidding’. However, you mean every word and don’t want to freak out and take it back out of fear for the future.

This time, when his hand lands on your shoulder and he turns you around, you are happy to listen to anything he has to say. Though, to anyone listening, no words were being said…

…

……

………

XA Little Extra on the SideX

You break the kiss first, a question coming to mind and leaving your lips before you can stop it. “I’ve been wondering for a while, but why do you taste and smell like mint? Is it a mouthwash?”

Kakuzu merely smiles, running a finger along your bottom lip. “I drink a cup of peppermint tea every morning because the flavor helps me focus when working. It normally is not used for those purposes, but it is strong enough to help me remain awake without caffeine.”

“I see…” You answer, licking your lips as you stare directly at his. He appears happy to oblige to what you have in mind. That is, until the back door opens behind you and you turn to see Konan step out.

She raises an eyebrow at the two of you, crossing her arms. “Are you two going to join us for dinner, or should we start without you?”