A/N:Hi everyone! Here is the rewrite of Diamond of Akatsuki. It won't be completely different, just heavily edited and refined. I hope you enjoy it!
Now! On with the story!
Streams of water pour down from the leaves, landing in giant splashes on the straw hats that the two men wore. They were the only living creatures that could be seen without shelter for miles, squirrels had sought their nests for shelter from the downpour. The two men walk in comfortable silence, small bells sound with each step. The taller of the two men pauses before stepping in a large puddle, looking off to his left with narrowed eyes.
"What is it, Orochimaru?" The shorter man stops a bit ahead of the man dubbed as 'Orochimaru', an impatient sigh escaping his lips.
"There's someone nearby." The man walks into the foliage before words of dissent are voiced by his partner. About two meters into the forest, nestled in the roots of a large tree, was a basket made out of straw. Orochimaru kneels next to the basket and sees a sleeping infant, it couldn't be more than two months old. "Well, well, little one. You have promising chakra for someone so young." He picks up the basket and finds himself back on the path he had left his partner on. The shorter man had continued walking without him, but with a few quick steps he caught up to the smaller man. The shorter man peers at the basket and his eyes widen.
"A child? The Akatsuki is no place for children, Orochimaru."
"It has a decent chakra reserve for a child. I'm interested in seeing how it progresses. With proper training it'll be dangerous." Orochimaru looks at the child as he speaks, it's lips had turned a light shade of purple. It was too cold for a child to be left outside at this age.
"With proper training? Great. Add another responsibility to the members of the Akatsuki." The man stops by a cave, forming a simple seal before looking at his partner. "It'll be your responsibility if Leader-sama says yes." Orochimaru says nothing in response, simply following after his partner in silence. He places the basket down, takes off his shoes, and places his coat and hat on a hook before picking up the basket and entering what seemed to be a common room. The sight of a fire in the fireplace drew Orochimaru's attention, but the straw basket in his hand drew the attention of the rest of the organization.
"Is that… Is that what I think it is?" A purple haired woman quickly stands and lifts the baby out of the basket. Water drips from the soaked white blanket onto the floor. "Konan-sama!" The orange-eyed beauty walks into the room and spots the baby. Her eyes trail from the baby to the basket, then to the pale man in front of her, her eyes demanding an explanation.
"I sensed something off about a chakra source in the forest about two miles from here. It was hers, but it's quickly fading. She'll die if she stays wet." The man says this in a factual way, and Konan glares at him before seizing the basket and rushing away.
"A child, Orochimaru? We already have enough to worry about. You allowed this to happen, Sasori?" A masked man speaks, directing his attention to Orochimaru's partner. The redheaded man chooses not to respond, simply closing his eyes and sighing. A pierced man walks into the room, his purple eyes trap Orochimaru in his stare. Each member bows as the man enters.
"Leader-sama." They chorus.
"What makes you think we want another child in the base, Orochimaru?" Orochimaru bows his head as he responds.
"I believe it will be an asset to us, Leader-sama."
"An asset? What could that infant do that neither of my children can?" Almost as if he were responding, a toddler of about three walks in, pulling his younger sister in a wagon behind him. Their orange eyes peer at their father as his voice sounds throughout the room. Konan walks in again, the baby wrapped in a dry, blue blanket in her arms, pinched between her fingers were two scrolls.
"She's a Senju, Pein." The orange haired man peers at his lover. "And an Uchiha."
"So then she's.." Orochimaru starts.
"A direct descendant of the Sage of Six Paths." Pein finishes.
"And an orphan. Just like we were." Konan says this, knowing it would affect the man she was speaking to.
"Yes.." The leader trails off.
"And the scrolls?" Orochimaru asks. Konan gestures for him to take them from her hands. He unravels the smaller of the two.
To whoever finds my baby,
My name is Senju, Hikari. My story is a long one, but it is not important. The baby you are holding is Uchiha, Sachiko. I named her before I was told that she had to be killed. She is the daughter of the so called Uchiha, Madara, and knowing that both of our lines have formed this child, she will most likely be a direct descendant of the Sage of Six Paths. Please, I'm begging you, keep her, protect her, and love her as if she were your own. I am most likely dead as you read this, her father doesn't know about her, or doesn't give a rat's ass, and I don't want the world's only hope for peace to die as well. I want her to become a proud kunoichi, like I was, and protect this world with the powers she will be granted by God. Please, honor a woman's dying wish and protect my child.
~ Senju, Hikari
"Isn't Uchiha, Madara dead?" The purple haired woman ponders.
"Of course he is, Hiyori." The masked man responds to his partner. "Uchiha, Madara has been dead for many years."
"Zetsu." A black and white man appears from within the walls at Pein's call.
"Hai, Leader-sama?"
"Find the whereabouts of this child's mother, if possible."
"Hai, Leader-sama." The man disappears into the wall yet again as Konan walks over to a man sitting by the fire. He had been silent during the conversation, watching the child in Konan's arms with curious eyes.
"Hold her, Juzo. She needs to be kept warm."
"Hold her? I don't think…" The baby is thrust into Juzo's large arms and he lets out an uncharacteristic gasp as he tries to hold her properly. He holds her, facing the fire, and looks down at her sleeping face. Her lips were beginning to regain color. "Sachiko, hmm? Fitting."
"We're keeping her." Pein announces, looking over the room for any sign of disagreement before leaving the room. His son follows after him, his scarlet hair flowing behind him as his small legs run to keep up with his father.
"Kouichi-kun! You forgot your sister.."Konan sighs and picks up her daughter who giggles.
"What a waste of money.." The masked man grumbles in dismay.
"Quiet Kakuzu." Orochimaru snaps. "She can wear Nagomi's clothes, use Kouichi's old crib, drink from Konan's breast, for now the only cost you have to worry about is diapers."
"And I'm not taking care of her." Hiyori quips. "As one of two women in this organization, I am not having that responsibility fall on me."
"Everyone is taking care of her." Konan counters. "This child can be beneficial to the future of this organization. We will obey her mother's final wish and protect her."
"Hai, Konan-sama."
Five months had passed since Sachiko had been accepted into the family of criminals. Against his wishes, Sasori had begun to deeply care for the child, as did the rest of the organization. Sachiko was on the floor, playing with a wooden puzzle. She was attempting to fit a triangle block in a round slot. Sasori sighed before walking over and crouching next to her.
"The triangle block goes in the triangle hole, Sachiko-chan." The dark-eyed child looked at Sasori curiously when he said her name.
"Ba-ba-ba.." She lifts the block and tries to put it in the square hole and he sighs once again.
"No, not that one either." She looks back at him, turns the triangle sideways, and shoves it into the box through the square hole.
"Ha!" She claps as she babbles, happy that she got the triangle in.
"What a pain." The redhead looks up as he hears Juzo's footsteps.
"Getting on Sasori's nerves this early in the morning?"
"Ju!" Juzo grins and lifts the baby. His nickname was her first word, it was a surprise to everyone. When he first met her, he was surprised his appearance didn't scare her, she actually seemed to be the most comfortable in his presence, and she fell asleep in his arms often. He lifts her into the air and she shrieks with excitement. Sasori glares at his younger comrade.
"Cut it out, Juzo. You could hurt her like that."
"You could hurt her like that." Juzo mocks, bobbling his head. He drops Sachiko onto Sasori's lap, and the redhead catches her easily with his left hand, using his right thumb to turn the page of the book he was reading. "Girl." The baby immediately pouts as Juzo drops her, reaching out for the tanned man.
"Piss off." Juzo laughs at Sasori's reaction before leaving the room.
The masked man was happy that his face was covered from the two shinobi in front of him. A child? He was as nervous as he was elated. His wife had birthed a child, and she conveniently landed in the very organization he created. His voice was level when he spoke, despite his excitement. "So I have a child, then." His red eye peered at the couple, resting on the pierced man, but it was the woman who spoke.
"Hai, Madara-sama. According to the scroll left with her, she is yours." Her voice held doubt, as if the mother of the child was lying.
"She is mine. Hikari Senju was my wife." Konan's eyes widened a fraction.
"Your wife. I see." He didn't comment any further, seeing no need to explain his personal life to the people who were merely pawns in the grand scheme of his plan.
"She will be strong. The members must make sure of that." He turns his gaze to Pein, the faux leader of this organization.
"Hai, Madara-sama."
"I wish to see her often. I will take her with me whenever I please. She will love me like she should, this way she won't think twice about doing what I ask of her." Obito ignores the glare that Konan was trying to keep at bay. He glances at her and she immediately looks away, silently seething at his idea of making his child another piece for him to play with.
"Is that an issue?" He directs this at the blue haired woman decides to meet his gaze again.
"The only issue is how to keep her absences a secret from the members."
"Figure it out. I can't do everything. You will bring her to me tomorrow." The Uchiha orders before disappearing, his mind set on finding his wife.
The man sits in a chair in the old woman's cat-ridden apartment, staring down at the sleeping child in his arms. His mask was off and the scarred right side of his face was visible. His look of astonishment was not well hidden. He was surprisingly young, late teens to early twenties, no one would have known that by the way he carried himself around others, no one but the woman who sat watching him from across the room.
"She looks like you, Obito-kun." The young man snaps out of his stupor and looks at the old woman. Her residence was the only place he could be himself, though he would never again be the same quirky boy he was before his first love was murdered. He looks down at his child, caressing her soft cheek with a thumb. Her fine hair curled up, no matter what anyone tried to do to smooth it to her head.
"She's so small.. To think she could be more powerful than me one day." His heart swelled with pride at the mere thought of it. Cats swarmed around him, trying to get a peek at the baby and her young father. "I never expected to have a child."
"No one expects to have a child so young, Obito-kun."
"It isn't about age. I had no room in my plans for a child. But now that she's here, I see even more of a reason to go through with Madara's plan." He holds the baby close to him, conviction in his gaze. "She won't have to live in such a fucked up world her entire life." The old woman says nothing, and the youngest Uchiha stirs in her father's arms. His heart drops as he wonders how she will react to seeing him for the first time. Dark eyes meet dark eyes and hold a gaze before the baby's eyebrows furrow in confusion.
"Ju.."
"No Sachiko-chan. Juzo isn't here." Her eyes begin to wander and she stares at the old woman who is sitting across the room.
"Oo.." An uncharacteristically deep frown forms on her face.
"Oh no." Obito rocks his arms. "Shh, shh.. Don't cry." Against his wishes, Sachiko begins to cry. "Oh no." He wipes the tears from her eyes. "Please stop crying." A kitten looks over Obito's shoulder at the crying baby, placing his paw on her cheek. She looks at the kitten with furrowed eyebrows, not knowing how to respond, but the tears stop. The kitten lays in Obito's arms, looking at the baby.
"Oooh!" A small hand grabs the kitten's paw and Obito sighs.
"I'm going to make the world a better place for you, Sachiko. I swear."
A/N: I wasn't intending for him to be so open around Nekobaa, but it just makes sense. According to the age gap between Obito and Kakashi, Obito should be about 18, this is a bit over year after Naruto's birth. He's a very young father, and I kind of want to show that without him becoming as childish as he used to be. He may seem OOC, but Obito is a dynamic character and we haven't seen all sides of him since he's grown.