Oh my God! I just read the most awsome one shot on Quizilla! It was one of the best stories I've ever read in my life, even though it was short. This is one of the only two story that actually makes my heart ache and tugs at its strings. Message me if you want to read the story (since this site won't lemme copy and paste the link...) It inspired me to write a one shot and gave me some ideas. So here it is!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto [Shippuuden] or any of its characters, seriously, Masashi Kishimoto does. I do however, own my OC, Hanako. So please don't steal her or my plot/quotes.

© 2011


Hanako's POV:

Zetsu, a strange man he was. Half of him was white, the other was black. He had the appearance of the plant, due to his Venus flytrap that encased his head. The two sides were like yin and yang. One was calm and kind, the other was rough and blunt. He was constantly arguing with himself. They could never agree on anything. Always fighting over something. Though there was probably only one thing that he agreed on. Gardening.

Gardening was his passion, his hobby, his life. He loved to garden. More than anything else in the world actually. In his free time, he's usually in his garden. Either he's planting a new plant, caring for the others, or just sitting there enjoying and embracing their company. The Akatsuki had built a massive greenhouse, just for him too. It was filled with plants. Thousands actually. He could never get enough of it. Even spending almost all his time in there, he still couldn't get enough of it.

This weekend actually, he had received rose seeds. A whole packet of them that would grow into beautiful red roses. He was especially enthralled of this, so he spent more time in his greenhouse even more than usual. However, Hanako was definitely not pleased with this. How she longed to have been born a flower. Maybe that way, Zetsu would tend and care for her, like the way he did to the plants. Hanako was extremely jealous of flowers. Even since birth. They seemed to be always mocking her, saying that she'll never be as pretty as them. Now, they seemed to be mocking her that she'll never be loved by Zetsu the same way they were.

One day the roses bloomed. Zetsu was extremely delighted. He rushed to get his gardening tools and tend to them at once. Hanako wondered why he was so absorbed into them. Why were they any better than her? Why couldn't she be better than them? Was she not as special? As beautiful? Maybe the flowers were right. Maybe she'll never be able to compete with their beauty, and she'll never have Zetsu look at her like he does to the flowers. Hanako wished to know the answer to her question, so she decided to go to Zetsu's greenhouse and ask him herself. So she did.

When she had arrived in the greenhouse, the humidity felt nice against her skin. She had always loved the warmth this place brought to her. It was especially beautiful due to the flowers. Instead of normal greenhouses, this one was like an indoor nature room. There was even soil, insects, a few animals, and a skylight. It was even more captivating at night, which it was currently. The stars illuminated brightly, acting as a light source. The fireflies were in flight and they were scattered everywhere, blinking their bright lights, making it look as if it were city lights that moved through the night. A few butterflies still flew around, flying from flower to flower, kissing each one and going to the next.

Hanako brushed past all the high stalks of lilies, finally coming to the spot where Zetsu was tending the roses. Zetsu seemed to mesmerized by them that he didn't even notice her walking past him, now standing beside him. Her heart ached when her eyes landed on him. He looked so lovingly at the roses. Why couldn't he look at her like that? Why couldn't he ever be as gentle as that to her? The roses seemed to be laughing at her. Mocking her in every way. How she wanted to rip off their petals and stomp on the stems. To burn them. To let them feel her pain. Her pain of never being accepted by Zetsu.

"Zetsu?" she tried to get his attention.

"Hanako? What're you doing here? Can't you see we're busy?" growled the black half.

Hanako was used to the harshness of his black side, so she ignored him. "I was wondering, why do you love your plants so much?"

"Because. They're not annoying like you. Don't say that! Hanako's not annoying. And they're beautiful and alluring, something you should learn from them. Don't be so harsh! Sorry Hanako." Zetsu argued with himself.

Hanako's forest green eyes drooped like her heart. Zetsu thought that the flowers were prettier than her. Of course he would, why wouldn't he? Besides, they couldn't even agree on her! The only thing they can agree on is planting and gardening. So the only thing that matters so much to him that can get even BOTH of them to agree is plants? No matter how hard she tried, she could never get them to agree on her like he did with his plants. She could never get them to love her. Never. It seemed to be haunting her now. How Zetsu wanted to be with a couple of penurious roses more than her.

Zetsu went on, "The plants are ravishing and peaceful. They calm us down. We feel at home when we're near them. And we like to experience it alone. So if you'd be so kind to leave..."

Hanako winced from his words. Even though his black side was rude, she still loved that part about him. Hell, she loved everything about him. Even his mossy green hair, and his exquisite yellow eyes. His split personality. The way they both argued, it was quite cute and entertaining actually. Every time she saw him, her heart leaped with joy. If she loved him so much, why can't he love her back? She'd love him more than his plants could ever. Then why could they steal his heart and not her? It was so unfair.

She couldn't take it anymore. Tears were already welling up in her eyes. Zetsu looked a little perturbed at her tears. Even the black half's features looked heavily with guilt.

She didn't care if he rejected her anymore. She just wanted to let this out. She couldn't bottle it up inside her anymore. It was killing her.

"Why...?"

Both Zetsu sides seemed confused and taken back at her question.

"Why couldn't you love me as you love your plants? Why am I not as beautiful as them? Why am I not as good enough as them? Why do they get your love? Why couldn't you look at me like you do them? Why am I not as important as them so you both'd agree on me?" She cried.

To say that Zetsu looked astonished was the understatement of the understatement of the century. A minute passed as she continued weeping quietly. She was about to run away before Zetsu grasped her wrists.

"We do love you as much as we love our plants, maybe even more. Don't you dare compare your beauty to the flowers. You'll drain them of their beauty. You're not as good enough as them, because you're even better. We were scared that you wouldn't love us like we love you. And..." Zetsu smiled, "We can't agree on you. We can't agree on you because we can't decide who should get you all to ourselves."

He wiped the tears off her face. "R-really?" She sniffed. He ruffled her jaded green hair.

"Really." he smiled a gentle smile, looking at her even more lovingly that any look he'd given the flowers would pale in comparison.

He leaned down so they were eye level, then, slowly, their lips met.

Zetsu had a unique way of kissing. The white side kissed slowly, savoring her taste. The black side kissed with passion and lust. This blended into a creative and unique mix. She loved it, because it was just like him. After a few minutes, they pulled back.

"Well, you can both have me," she whispered.

"I love you, Hanako Kikuchi, my little flower." Zetsu grinned, caressing her cheek.

"I love you too, Zetsu." Hanako beamed, closing her eyes and leaning in on Zetsu's hand.


Zetsu's POV:

I mentally grinned, this was probably the best batch of roses I've ever grown! I was about to continue tending to my flowers until I heard a familiar voice.

"Zetsu?"

Why was Hanako here?

"Hanako? What're you doing here? Can't you see we're busy?"

I wanted her to go away so badly. I didn't want her near, because whenever she is, that nagging thought always crawled to the back of my mind: She'll never like you. You're a freak. A freak of nature. You're better off with your plants. It pained me to be near her and never have her.

"I was wondering, why do you love your plants so much?"

That was such an unexpected question. Why on Earth would she ask that? And did she come all this way to the greenhouse just for that?

"Because. They're not annoying like you. Don't say that! Hanako's not annoying. And they're beautiful and alluring, something you should learn from them. Don't be so harsh! Sorry Hanako."

I didn't want my black side to be so rude to Hanako, but I couldn't help but agree with him. To not get her upset with me, I decided to just contradict with him. Maybe we could argue enough to get her tired of it and leave us alone.

"They're not annoying like you": Why did you always have to be in my mind? It's not like I chose for you to be there! Your face, your smile, your kindness to me. It always popped in my mind. Your cute smiling face would never leave me alone! And our memories together would always pop up. Just make this torture stop. I know you'll never like me, so stop with the agony already. I didn't need to be reminded of it 24/7.

"And they're beautiful and alluring, something you should learn from them.": Sure, they were beautiful and alluring, but they could never compare to you and your beauty. Doing something like that was comparing God to a mere ant. If you could tone down your beauty and stop being so beautiful, maybe I could forget about you and this pain would go away.

"The plants are ravishing and peaceful. They calm us down. We feel at home when we're near them. And we like to experience it alone. So if you'd be so kind to leave..."

I didn't disagree with that, I didn't disagree with anything my black side said. But I didn't contradict him this time because it was so true, and I couldn't bring myself to stop her from leaving. I just wanted her gone so this horrible misery would disappear. If she would leave, maybe my horrid thoughts of her never returning my love for her will dwindle down to nothingness. And then I can finally be at peace, and my heart would stop aching.

What happened next, I didn't understand. She looked as if my words had burned her. Then tears began to form in her eyes. Why had what I said mattered? It's not like she'd care about anything I say or do, I'm just a freak. A freak that would never be loved. Especially from someone like her. After all, she's like the 8th wonder of the world. How could I ever manage to get her to want me as badly as I wanted her?

"Why...?"

Why? What do you mean why?

"Why couldn't you love me as you love your plants? Why am I not as beautiful as them? Why am I not as good enough as them? Why do they get your love? Why couldn't you look at me like you do them? Why am I not as important as them so you both'd agree on me?" she cried.

Did she actually say what I thought she said? I'm not going paranoid am I? Or am I going deaf instead? Could it possibly be true? Could she actually love a monster like me? This isn't Itachi mind-raping me right? Performing Genjutsu or Tsukuyomi? After I thought about it for a minute, deciding on whether this was an illusion or not, I decided to confess anyway. If it was a Genjutsu, then at least it'll help me get it off my chest. If it wasn't...

"We do love you as much as we love our plants, maybe even more. Don't you dare compare your beauty to the flowers. You'll drain them of their beauty. You're not as good enough as them, because you're even better. We were scared that you wouldn't love us like we love you. And..." Zetsu smiled, We can't agree on you. We can't agree on you because we can't decide who should get you all to ourselves."

There. I let it all out.

"R-really?" I ruffled her silky hair, a part of her that I loved.

"Really."

I bent down to kiss her, I couldn't resist any longer. She tasted like sweet strawberries mixed with a little honey. When I tasted her, I wished that time would've stopped so we could have spent all eternity just to kiss each other. I couldn't get enough of her taste. Soon after a couple of minutes, we both ran out of breath so we pulled back.

"Well, you can both have me," she whispered softly, in that sweet voice of hers.

Is this really not a Genjutsu? Does she seriously love me like I love her?

"I love you, Hanako Kikuchi, my little flower." I touched the side of her cheek, brushing it slightly.

"I love you too, Zetsu," she sunk into my touch, relishing every part of it.

I don't think I have ever been happier in my life.


White Side of Zetsu

Black Side of Zetsu

Both Sides of Zetsu

The parts in Zetsu's POV where there's just normal text is where both of them are thinking the same thing. The ones where he's thinking and is in Italics, it's the white side of Zetsu while Bolded is the black half.

The second part was just a repeat. I did it so the readers could have a better view on Zetsu's thoughts. Okay I'm sad to admit that Zetsu was OOC for the romantic parts. Gahh...I seriously needa work on that! But I hoped you guys liked it! Helpful criticism is welcome too if you want, since I know I have a lot to work on. Meh, I still think the story that inspired me was a million times better...

¤ Mystic Shadow Demon