Disclaimer - Any characters belonging to the anime Naruto are not owned by me, however any and all original characters are.

Quick note - This is my first fan-fiction so please no flames. Helpful criticism is appreciated however. ^_^

Haruki's black cloak billowed around him as he looked down at the man he was holding with disgust, so this was a Konoha Jonin? Disappointing, this cowardly excuse for a ninja hadn't even put up a fight. It seemed as if Konoha shinobi were growing lazy in the time of peace. Looking down at his bloody kunai Haruki wiped the dirty blade on the grass beside him staining it red, he had no need for the weapon. This man didn't deserve a quick death, no Haruki had something very different planned for him.

"Mangekyo Sharingan act of mind torture" he said smoothly, looking down at the man he smirked "It's pointless, your in my world now, here minutes can seem like days." "Did you really think you could win?" he asked the man who was now quivering as if his body was made of nothing more than jello.

"Who are you?" whimpered the Shinobi fearfully, allowing disgust to color his tone Haruki replied "I am Haruki Uchiha" looking down at his recently cleaned kunai he sighed, it seemed as if he would be using it after all and so with one last look at the man Haruki slit his throat.

Rising to his feet he watched as the other members of the akatsuki stared at him apprehensively, it gave him a strange delight to see that so many powerful shinobi were wary of him.

They should be considering he was a full member at fifteen; many even said he was more powerful than his father had been.

His father, Itachi Uchiha had died in a fight that had claimed both him and his younger brother Sasuke; he had been brought to the akatsuki by his dying mother shortly afterward. Daiki seeing the abilities he possessed even at such a young age allowed him into their ranks. After all why waste such talent? As the only surviving Uchiha he was the last of the Sharingan users.

"Well let's get back" Yuuta said somewhat shakily; the others slowly nodded as if coming out of a trance. As they neared the village Yuuta fell into step beside him "You know it makes them nervous when you use Mangekyo Sharingan" Haruki simply shrugged "Their opinion is no concern of mine, it is my gift and I will not let it go to waste."

Sighing in defeat Yuuta pulled ahead as they reached leader-sama's office. Daiki had become their leader after Pein was killed. His cold nature and harsh leadership seemed to rival that of Pein's as well. All in all the large and powerful looking blond man had filled the position as leader well and no member of the akatsuki could doubt his prowess as a shinobi. In fact Daiki was the only person Haruki still had reason to fear, and that was an amazing feat in itself. Shaking his head to bring himself back to reality the Sharingan user turned his gaze to the two men now talking across the room.

Haruki listened as Yuuta gave the report, the mission had been an easy one, to find and stop a team of Konoha shinobi that were getting a little to close to their base. He understood Daiki's need to rebuild the akatsuki's numbers before they could take action but he, like all the other members, felt they should soon exact their revenge on the village hidden in the leaves. Yes he would make Konoha pay in blood for their defeat.

Though it seemed he spoke to soon for a minute later Daiki leaned forward his chin resting on his fingers "We have reason to believe that war will soon be upon us, it seems the hokage isn't as dimwitted as we originally believed and has already mobilized troops to find our location."

Nodding to Yuuta Daiki dismissed them, though as Haruki turned to leave he heard Daiki's sharp voice "No you stay Haruki" freezing the ebony haired ninja turned to face the leader of the akatsuki.

"Yes leader-sama?" he asked his quiet voice filling the now silent room, the dying rays of the afternoon sun drifted in making the dust turn golden as it spiraled towards the earth. Shaking himself out of his brief lapse in attention Haruki allowed his piercing gaze to once again settle over the leader of the akatsuki.

"You have been missing a partner since Isamu's death" he began slowly before continuing "And so that fact along with the knowledge of your abilities has led me to decide to place the newest member of the akatsuki with you".

Haruki turned his head to face Daiki and replied his voice devoid of emotion "I was never told of a new addition to the akatsuki" Daiki's eyes narrowed before he replied "I will let your rudeness slide this once Haruki, our new member did not join willingly."

He paused to let the words sink in before continuing "We have been needing a medic ninja and with the threat of the war we decided to take action, this girl is the daughter of the famed Sakura Haruno and student of the fifth hokage Tsunade" "I have placed her with you because I believe that you can keep her from escaping."

"Very well" Haruki said in unwilling acceptance, Daiki's voice had held a note of finality to it that told him he wouldn't have taken anything less as an answer. Turning to leave he was once again stopped by the leader of the akatsuki "I will have Deidara show you your new room, as you know the akatsuki share a room with their partner."

Haruki stared back his face an unfeeling mask "Understood" and with that he left the room. Deidara smirked at him as he rounded the corner "Your room is right over there" he said pointing to a door three rooms to the left of his old one.

Sighing heavily the Sharingan master opened the door, luckily his 'partner' wasn't there yet the time before her arrival would give him a chance to think of a plan.

Whoever had come up with the ludicrous idea that he needed a partner was clearly insane. And although he admitted he was probably the only one here that could restrain her and provide adequate results on his missions as well the Uchiha was not enjoying his new position as baby-sitter.

The girl would clearly be a burden and an unwanted hindrance when it came to fighting, with his new handicap he doubted he would get a worthwhile mission. It seemed and though the gods were punishing him for his past crimes. After all he couldn't think of a worse punishment than having to play baby-sitter with a weak little medic. Sighing he ran a hand through his black hair and glared at the wall, if the object had any feeling it would have flinched at the cold fury in his gaze.

Though they may not be his equal there were other shinobi that could handle this mission. Now that he thought of it this situation made sense this was just Daiki's way of subtly getting back at him for the failed attempt at getting the three tails. It had dent been his fault that his partner had died at the hands of the hidden mist ninjas or that he had been forced to retreat.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Saki pursed her lips in anger; how she could have been so stupid as to get caught she would never know. She had been on a special mission for the Hokage when she had been knocked out next to the river by which she was resting. She had been so drained she hadn't even felt the chakra signatures that singled her enemy's approach, no she hadn't felt them until one had struck her across the top of the head with a kunai effectively silencing her.

Wanting to growl in frustration the pink haired girl dug her nails into her palm. When she had regained consciousness she had found herself in a small room with no windows. Yes this seemed like her typical luck, she always seemed to be at the wrong place at the wrong time and it never ceased to amaze her how she remained alive.

Biting her lip she contemplated her situation, the Hokage would surly see her absence and send help. It was only a matter of time before she would be free of this place. She did have to hand it to the akatsuki though this cell was different, meant to hold a shinobi of great power. Though when you were in an organization as famed as the akatsuki you really didn't have weak enemies.

Staring at the plain wall in front of her she sighed wondering how everyone was doing back at the village. Did they even realize she was missing yet? It was unlikely, despite what everyone was lead to believe her family was far from perfect. Her mother Sakura, the perfect little medic, didn't even acknowledge her when they were alone and her father Naruto was always away on missions. And now her mother had the twins, with their birth her daughter was pushed away even farther from the family everyone admired. She was constantly trying to prove herself but it was never enough.

Even when she had earned her place as Tsunade's student just like her mother Sakura hadn't cared. Her father had been moderately proud but what she really wanted was her mother's praise. When attending the academy she had finally had an escape, she had thrown herself into her schoolwork with so much enthusiasm she quickly became one of the teacher's favorites.

Saki had only a few good friends, a result of having inherited her mother's cursed forehead and hair color. The wild pink locks seemed to be a cross between her father's hair and her mother's. Because of the catastrophic combination she was often teased and taunted, it had remained that way until she had met Yura Nara. Yura was a lied-back girl who seemed to float through life, and intern through Yura she met her sister Dai. Dai was the opposite of his sister and often came off as rude and hot-headed resembling their mother Ino. The last addition to her circle of friends was Akemi a shy girl who often remained close to at least one of her friends.

Yes she would miss them terribly; she would miss everything about the hidden leaf. Every last detail about her home was treasured in some way and the pink haired girl held them close to her heart. It didn't matter if they tortured her, she would never betray her village and her friends.

Biting down on her tong the pink-haired kunoichi's eyes lit up with fierce determination, she could get out of these binds. Concentrating she gently fed her own chakra into them and felt the opposing chakra pulse then fade, seizing the opportunity she quickly cut the now useless rope and brought her wrists into the faint light provided by a crack in the ceiling. The wounds were actually less severe than they felt and she let out a sigh of relief. Her freedom was short-lived however for as soon as she got to her feet they door behind her opened wide to reveal a tall heavy-set man. Temporarily blinded by the bright light of the hallway beyond the door the girl froze, she was brought out of her daze however when the man grasped her arm and proceeded to drag her down that very hall.

Pulling her roughly into a room a few doors down the man spoke "Leader-sama I have brought the medic you asked for". Saki turned her head and watched in fascination as a man stepped from the shadows his large figure towering over the man holding her. "I see" was all he responded, feeling his gaze rake over her Saki couldn't help but feel as if she was on display and this man was testing to see if she was good enough to let live. Raising her head slightly in an attempt to dispel her fear the pink-haired girl stilled her shaking legs; she would not be cowed by the likes of them.

Nodding his head in what appeared to be approval the blond man turned once more to the one holding her, "Danna take her to Haruki's room, I'm sure he is dying to meet his new partner" nodding the man named Danna turned to leave "Oh and I don't want a repeat of your last encounter with him got it?" after this Daiki allowed a small amount of malice to enter his tone showing that he meant every word spoken. Nodding his head sulkily Danna exited the room dragging Saki behind him. Thinking over the information in her head the girl smiled, she had gathered quite a bit from their exchange. Filing away her gathered information for use in the future she smiled grimly, it seemed as if the rumors were true. The akatsuki really were a force to be reckoned with. Yes escaping from these shinobi was going to be difficult, after all their strength and ruthlessness was legendary.

Trying to memorize their path down the halls Saki bit her cheek; the pathways were like a maze. They twisted and turned so many times that one could easily become lost down them, the only ones who could hope to navigate it where the ones that live here. This meant even if she happened to get away she would never find her way outside. Suddenly depressed the medic followed Danna's tall frame sulkily, what she would give just to be some one else right now. "Keep up you weak little kunoichi" Danna muttered, he was plainly still sore from his encounter back in Daiki's room. Instantly Saki's temper flared, if she just had her arm free she mused. Yes this man definitely had a chakra-laden punch in his future. "I'm not weak" she ground out between her teeth, in fact one of her punches could easily knock someone out for days even if it didn't kill them.

Even if her five foot three frame didn't look like much she had inherited her mother's fiery temper and had the stretch to back them up. Her team even had one of the highest success rates on missions. But of course this man didn't know that, nor was he likely to care she thought. Frowning the fourteen year old felt herself stop, apparently they had come to the room she was to stay in. "We are here" he stated with a sneer before pushing her through the door and into the dark room, but before he left Danna called back over his shoulder "Have fun with your new partner". Glaring in the direction the man and headed off in the kunoichi studied the room, as her eyes adjusted to the darkness she could barely make out two beds with what appeared to be a figure seated on one of them.

Author's note -

I would like to dedicate this chapter to my friend BlueGreenFishey, without her I would never have posted this here.

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