A/N: This was a concept that popped into my head while reading another fanfiction; it's another "take cliched idea and subvert it" thing, this time with the concept of "Akatsuki find and raise young child". So yes, more Akatsuki, and another OC.

Anyway, this thing starts early in Akatsuki's development, about eight years before Shippuden. This first chapter is mainly for exposition, so not much happens, but it may give a better idea of what's going on.

Obviously, I own neither Naruto nor the Akatsuki, or I probably wouldn't be writing fanfic about them.

Rain pelted the ground, each drop creating a tiny splash as it landed. In the distance, thunder crashed, the only warning for the sudden noise presented in the form of a brief flash of lightning. And inside one of the Akatsuki's many smaller hideouts, silence reigned.

The organization was in something of a slump lately; Kakuzu's most recent partner, having been abruptly attacked and strangled after an argument, had yet to be replaced. Kisame, too, was currently without a partner, with no possibilities evident. There was no news of the locations of the remaining Jinchuuriki, and no other particular missions which needed to be completed. On top of it all, they were running low on funds and constantly changing locations to remain undiscovered.

In other words, the Akatsuki were broke, many of them without partners. They had nothing to do, no way of reaching their goals, and overall, no purpose. They were most certainly not off to a smooth start.

Orochimaru peered out one of the small windows cut in the stone walls. "It doesn't look like it's letting up anytime soon," he noted, not appearing especially concerned with this situation.

If Orochimaru was unconcerned, his partner was downright apathetic. "If it keeps going, we may be trapped here for a while," Sasori added, carefully carving a piece of wood into what was already starting to resemble an arm.

"I'd think you two might see a bit more of a problem with this," pointed out Kisame, who was currently sitting as comfortably as one could on one of the thin mats that had recently been moved into the otherwise-barren cave.

Sasori just shrugged and continued carving. "I don't know about Orochimaru, but I have no real reason to be concerned." He put down his knife for a moment, looking Kisame in the eye to say, "If we end up trapped in here, I can outlast you all."

Kisame just smirked and leaned back against a stone wall. "Sure, Sasori-san. I don't doubt that. But I'm still wondering about Orochimaru-san..."

Before the snakelike missing-nin could answer, a wall shifted slightly as a human form emerged from it. "There's someone outside," Zetsu reported.

The four shinobi sitting in the cave turned to look at each other questioningly. With their leader gone, out looking for information on possible new recruits, they were left to watch the hideout.

Finally, Kakuzu sighed and took charge. "Fine... Zetsu, do you know who it is?"

Zetsu blinked, the white side of his face showing signs of uncertainty. "Well... not exactly. I mean, it's not someone who-"

"You may want to see him," the black side interrupted.

"Bring him in, then," suggested Sasori, clearly wanting to get back to what he was doing.

With a nod, Zetsu sank back into the stone wall. From inside, the Akatsuki members could hear muffled speech, blurred by the stone between them and the speaker. The talking quickly became shocked, then scared, as Zetsu apparently grabbed onto the intruder.

After a moment, the plant-man made his reappearance in the cave, and release the person he had brought with him...

As it turned out, the intruder who they had been so worried about had been a five-year-old child.

The five ninja sat in silence, as the boy stared around the room with sea-green eyes, bewildered by the strange people suddenly surrounding him.

After a long silence, Kakuzu spoke. "This the intruder? Really, Zetsu?"

Zetsu shrugged, watching as the child stood up carefully. "We're supposed to report anyone who ends up on Akatsuki grounds. Besides, for all we know, this child is a spy."

"Hm. That is a possibility..." Kakuzu crouched down in front of the young boy, who blinked in surprise at the older man's bright green eyes and red scleras.

Still completely calm, Kakuzu reached into his cloak, pulling out a kunai and making sure the child got a good look at it.

At the sight of the weapon, the kid drew back with a small whimper, only to stumble over Zetsu's feet.

"Good to know you get the idea," Kakuzu said. "Now then, to business. First off: Why are you here?"

The child stared in shock at him, then, in a tremulous voice, whispered, "I... I don't know."

"How did you find us?"

"I don't know."

"...where are we?"

"I d-don't know!" The boy sniffled slightly, moisture rising in his eyes.

Kakuzu scowled beneath his mask and pulled back. "This is going nowhere. Kid, I'll ask you one last time: Why are you here?"

This time, there was no coherent answer, as the child simply stared in terror at him.

Rolling his eyes, Kakuzu turned to one other person who he figured might be able to get something out of the kid. "Sasori, do you have anything that could...?"

The puppet master got to his feet with a sigh, setting down his arm-in-progress and knife. "I'll see what I can do."

Within a matter of minutes, Sasori returned to the entry room of the small hideout, a small vial and needle in hand. "This should do it. It won't take much to ensure that everything he tells us is the absolute truth."

Ignoring his soft protests, Kakuzu took hold of the child's right arm, allowing Sasori to carefully inject the serum. The other Akatsuki members watched silently, curious as to the boy's reasons for being there at all.

After a moment, the serum did its work, causing the child's scared expression to become relaxed, and even blank. Kakuzu looked at Sasori, who nodded at him to start questioning the young intruder.

"Why are you here?" Kakuzu demanded.

The boy's face remained blank. "I don't know. I just came here."

Kakuzu raised an eyebrow, still doubtful. "Do you know where 'here' is?"

"No."

"Did anyone tell you to come here?" From what the boy said, there was still a chance that he had simply been sent to spy on them and didn't know why.

"No, I just did."

After a moment, Sasori asked a question of his own. "Where were you before you were here?"

For an instant, confusion flickered across the child's face. "I don't remember."

Sasori frowned slightly, then, a possibility dawning on him, tried again. "Where are you from?"

The child's pale blonde eyebrows knit together, his voice trembling slightly. "I-I don't know. I don't remember."

Sasori turned to Kakuzu, raising an eyebrow. They clearly had the same idea. Finally, Sasori turned back to the boy.

"What's your name?"

For a moment, the young boy didn't answer, his expression becoming troubled, as he tried frantically to remember what he was sure was an important piece of information. "I... I don't... I can't..." His answer trailed off, tears once again filling his eyes.

Sasori and Kakuzu stood upright, looking down at the now-sobbing child. "That's it, then," Kakuzu stated flatly. "He must have amnesia."

"He could still be a sleeper agent," pointed out Orochimaru. "We would be best off killing him now."

Sasori rolled his eyes. "That's your answer to everything, isn't it."

His partner chuckled slightly. "Like you're one to talk. Besides, you know perfectly well that it's a possibility."

Sasori nodded slowly, turning back to the boy. The small dose of truth serum had started to wear off, sped up by the mental strain caused by Sasori's last question. The child was still crying, as well as starting to stare around the room in confusion, his memories of the last few minutes being foggy at best – another effect of the serum.

For a couple of seconds, Sasori watched the child, thinking. Then he came to what he realized should have been an obvious solution. The boy stood where he was, sniffling and rubbing round, seafoam-colored eyes with small, pale fists, looking as harmless as could be with his small size and soft, straw-blonde hair. Completely harmless.

Abruptly, Sasori turned to face Kakuzu. "I know what we can do with the boy," he announced.

The older Akatsuki member raised an eyebrow. "And that would be?" Whatever the puppet master was planning, he didn't seem to be taking his partner's suggestion.

Sasori nodded toward the child as he spoke. "Look at this boy. Do you honestly think that anyone could suspect him of working for Akatsuki?"

Understanding rose in Kakuzu's eyes. "He could be very useful as a spy..."

Kisame frowned slightly, standing up. "I'm sorry for interrupting, but... does that really seem like a good idea? Orochimaru-san has a point; he could easily be a sleeper agent."

Sasori gave the shark-man a doubtful look. "And if he is? Do you really doubt that we, the Akatsuki, could not realize it if he got his memories back and started to work against us? And of course, once we knew that, killing a mere child would be nothing."

Zetsu, having been watching the other members' discussion in silence, took this chance to speak up. "We would need to get Leader-sama's permission for something like this. I think he'll probably agree, though; we'll go talk to him right away."

After the plant-like man had disappeared through the floor, Kakuzu turned to look at the child, who, not following the conversation at all, was looking around in bewilderment. "Hmph. I just hope he doesn't become too problematic to have around. Either way, he'll need to have at least some training."

Sasori nodded. "Of course. And with that in place..." Sasori turned again to the boy, something that was almost a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "I think we'll have quite an effective little spy."

A/N: So there ya go. First chapter is not exciting. But don't worry, it'll get better soon! So, read and review!