Taken Akatsuki Fantasy

by DreamingSpiritBells

Six girls, Ashley, Raylin, Alice, Catie, Kamiah, and Mary Ruth are taken from our world by the Akatsuki, read and enter their lives as the new recruits in the Akatsuki.

1. Chapter 1

Taken:

A Fantasy of Me

By:

Ashley Rogers

P.S: I do not own any of the Akatsuki characters or any other characters from Naruto, I just own any characters you don't know. Also, there will not be chapter titles sense that also accounts for this story as well (it's just easier lol)

Character description:

Ashley: (BTW this starts in the U.S wit these characters, they can't speak any Japanese so yeah lol Ashley and Raylin are best buds) about 5'2 with long, slightly curling blond hair (not bleach blond or dishwater blond, but rather in the middle, like wheat) and curves in all the right places, really fit and has dark blue eyes and glasses for pale, almost albino but not quite. Strong-willed and loves to draw and read.

Raylin: Ashley's best bud, about 5'4 with long, curly brown hair and dark skin, with deep chocolate brown eyes. Strong willed and nice, and a good fighter when need be.

Kamiah: (Another friend, it's basically sort of a group) About 5'5 with short, A-cut dark brown hair and light blue eyes, can be very bitchy when needed, strong willed and a good friend.

Catie: (One of Ashley's more closer friends like Raylin) About 4'9-5 ft with shortish light brown hair and hazel eyes. Has slightly tanned skin, a little darker than Ashley. A spaz basically, but a good friend that can aid in many fights, very independent and likes to talk.

Alice: (Another friend that completes the group) About 5'5 with bleach blond hair that reaches her shoulders, and dark brown eyes. White skinned but not as white as Ashley, yet not tan-ish like Catie. A lot like Catie but can be unusually calm when needed.

Mary-Ruth: (Ashley's worst enemy and pitied by Alice) About 5 ft or 5'1 with short blackish hair and muddy brown eyes. Tries to be friendly but constantly provokes Ashley and tries to take her friends from her.

With that said let's begin!! oh and btw most of this will either be in Ashley, Raylin, Itachi, or any other Akatsuki members POV.

Starting Point!:

Ashley's POV:

Ugh finally! Summer vacation here I come, after today, I'm free for a whole 3 months woo! I know, I know, stop thinking freedom and start thinking how to get through the last day of school. Oh I almost forgot! Hi, my name is Ashley Rogers, I am a tenth grader at Belgrade high school, and, as you can guess, today's the last day of tenth grade for me and my friends. But, I had the oddest feeling that I might not make it through the day.

Oh you're just still traumatized from asking Dalton out and him rejecting you! I mentally yelled at myself. For those of you out there who can read my mind and are wondering who in the world Dalton is, he is or was my biggest crush ever. Yesterday I asked him out and he rudely rejected me.

I mentally laughed at myself, I had ran all the way to my locker and fallen down sobbing yesterday, but yeah, he was just a crush. But, there was one person I wanted more than Dalton, and that was none other than the fictional character Itachi Uchiha. Sigh, I wish he was real but sadly all I have of him are pictures printed off google and hung up in my locker with hearts all over them.

As I finally made my way into the high school, walking next to my best buds, Kamiah, Catie, and my bestest bud ever Raylin. Alice probably took her new car or her mom dropped her off, and as Raylin and I said our farewells and made our way to our lockers we saw Alice rushing to hers.

"Late again Al?" Raylin quizzed as I giggled and we stopped at our lockers, Ray's was on the right of mine and Al's to the left. "Yeah, my car broke down so I had to walk to school," she said in a breathless voice as early announcements went on. "Why didn't you ask your mom ton give you a ride ?" I asked in a whisper as I gathered my books and shut my locker, mentally giving my many pictures of Itachi a kiss good-bye.

"Because my mom left early," Al replied with a scowl on her face as she gathered her things and I giggled. "Wow, last day of school and that happens," Ray said as we started laughing. "Well at least I didn't get rejected today," I whispered and sighed as Dalton rushed past to his first period class.

"Jerk!" Raylin yelled after him as he rushed down the hall, "That man doesn't deserve you, and I'm sorry he did that." "I know, I am to, but at least I still have Itachi, and you guys haha," I replied as the announcements finally ended and I scurried off to first period gym. I was thankful that at least we didn't have to go outside and run another mile, I don't think my calf muscles could take another sprint around four laps.

Gym flew by, and then finally second period started, upstairs with Ms. Knodel in one of my favorite subjects: science. As I sat down I mentally cringed as my nemesis Mary Ruth sat in the desk next to me, stating in a sneer,"Heard you got rejected yesterday, what a shame." "At least I CAN get a boyfriend for more than five seconds," I sneered back, egging her on to try and mess with me right now.

Finally Ms. Knodel entered the room, her shoulder length hair pulled back, and started our lesson for today.

To The Akatsuki!!:

Itachi POV:

As the other members of our organization and I finally passed through the portal, I felt an odd sensation rush through me: I think it was power or something else. Pein, our leader under Madara Uchiha, had instructed us to come to this odd place and, for one, raid a military base, then to proceed in capturing and training six girls.

I have no idea why Pein wanted six girls for instructing, maybe to see if the people here had potential for our armies, or maybe just to have more women around. I mentally scowled at Pein's stupidness. We couldn't even understand their language, let alone how to train them properly. I sighed, Pein was our leader, and so whatever he said goes I suppose, though I would take satisfaction in strangling him with my Mangekyo Sharingan.

Ok, Itachi, stop thinking evil thoughts and start thinking on the mission at hand, and with that I, Deidara, Zetsu, Sasori, Hidan, Kisame, and, unfortunately, Tobi, made our way to the outer fort of the military base. We each took up different positions and soon had destroyed that part of the wall, making many of the people yell their unknown language and start attacking us.

Their weapons didn't work on us, though, because we were from a different universe all together, so their ammunition completely faded through us. Amazing, actually, and as they kept firing we made our way deep into the core of the place, grabbing all we needed.

The weapons we gathered were various hand guns, steel knives, strong rope, and most importantly, a small, really thin peace of metal with a light up screen that could translate any given language from here and also reverse the process. We also raided their bomb supplies, I must say, for people of this race they are quite good at making war devises.

Once we had finally gotten what we needed, we made our way back to the outer rim of the base and hopped in a strange metallic machine (tank). "Does anyone know how to drive?" Tobi exclaimed sheepishly. "Umm... no, but I call driving!!" Deidara exclaimed as we all yelled back,"No!"

It was too late, Deidara stepped on the pedal, for gas I'm presuming, and we shot forward in this mechanic death trap. We all clung to the seats in front of us as we sped off towards our other destination: Belgrade high school. Once the ride became a bit smoother we calmed down a bit, though Kisame looked like he would wet his pants.

Many army forces tried trailing after us, but one other good thing we had snatched from them was an orb that could stop time altogether, and so soon they were frozen behind us. The machine moved at a sluggish pace, and Deidara found he could blast buildings and blow them up if he pressed a 'magic red button' as he proclaimed it.

Apparently it would take us three more days to drive to our destination, so we hopped out and froze everyone in a small city in a state called Texas. We stole a sleek black car that we let Deidara drive again sense he had some more experience. Off we went again, across many states, accelerating above the 'speed limit' as Kisame used his translator to read as we passed another annoying white sign.

Since we had stolen such a fast car we made it there just in time as what they called 'second period' at this school had started. We each split up to find our charges which we would be training, with me Kisame, and Hidan heading off to 'Ms. Knodel's second period science' as our cards read where our apprentices would be.

Kisame and I would be training a 16 year old girl named Ashley Rogers, and for the oddest reason her picture brought weird emotions within me when I looked at it. She looked too innocent for this, but in reality she was only about three years younger than me. Hidan's apprentice was a girl by the name of Mary Ruth Prescott, and by the look he was giving her picture he wasn't happy about it.

"Why do you always get the pretty ones Itachi-sama?" Hidan questioned in an annoyed voice as we stopped outside room after room to find which was our apprentices. Deidara would be training a girl named Kamiah Maspero, Sasori a girl named Alice, and Zetsu and Tobi would be training Raylin Schanck. One other girl would be taken with us in case Hidan or Sasori killed their apprentices, and that was Catie Kuntz.

Finally we found Ms. Knodel's classroom, and we stood silently watching outside the door, peering through the small window. I spotted Hidan's apprentice first, I did feel quite sorry for him, she wasn't attractive at all. As I gazed around the room I couldn't find our apprentice, but then, Mary Ruth sat back and there Ashley was.

Her picture didn't seem to compare to the real her, her face was set calmly, almost as if she didn't care about the teachers speech, but every now and then her head would twitch, indicating she was in fact listening. Her hair lay tousled over her shoulders, curling and waving, making the sun be drawn to it as she jotted notes.

I couldn't see her eyes, but I knew she was our apprentice, and so finding them we kicked down the door as Ms. Knodel I believe, let out a huge shriek. Ashley's head flinched up and her gaze met mine, the strangest thing was that I didn't see a hint of fear, just never ending calm.

Mary Ruth, on the other hand, let out a blood-curdling scream as Hidan motioned for everyone to be quiet. I could tell most of the girls were scared, but the boys tried to hide it by trying to intimidate us. A tall one with straggly black hair stood up and tried to punch us, but his punch was blocked by Hidan's sword. "He's gonna regret that!" Hidan growled as he pushed the boy back.

"Hidan! Remember our main mission, we mustn't frighten the girls or they won't come willingly," I spoke softly as I turned towards Kisame and I's apprentice. I slowly made my way towards her, making sure as to not make her jump or flinch back. I let my eyes do the talking and soon towered over her desk.

Hidan made his way over to Mary Rith's desk next to Ashley's and grabbed her elbow ruffly, making her cry out in shock more than in pain. He made her stand up and tied her hands behind her back as the teacher dived for the phone. In less than a minute, everyone accept me, Kisame, Hidan, Ashley,and Mary Ruth were frozen where they stood or sat.

Deidara must have activated the orb, and a great timing at that, he and the others would most likely arrive soon. I turned back to Ashley as Hidan threw a sack over Mary Ruth's face, and I gently took out my translator, saying into it in my language,"Do you know who we are?" It came out in her language almost at the exact same moment.

She must've understood, because she leaned into the devise and said in her language, which then came out in mine,"Yes." "Do you know why we're here?" I asked, and a few moments after that she replied,"No." I then nodded my understanding and put the translator back in my pocket.

I motioned for her to get up, and when she obeyed I saw in her eyes that she would go along peacefully, unlike Hidan's charge. "Pretty and cooperative, dang Itachi you got a good one," Hidan stated and winked at Ashley. She simply rolled her eyes and we made our way towards the door. I stayed close to her left side and Kisame to her right, just in case she would try and make a break for it which I highly doubted.

She murmured something to herself and glared at Mary Ruth's back as we walked down the stairs and met the others. Everyone one else had their charge tied up, accept Zetsu and Tobi, and when Ashley saw Raylin they started chatting as if this was a normal routine. Ashley, after meeting up with Raylin, tugged on my sleeve and asked through the translator,"I need to get my gym bag, will you allow me to?" I thought about it a few moments and agreed, everyone following her as she made her way into the girls locker room. She swiftly went in and came out with a navy blue duffel-bag, and we then left the school. Instead of getting cramped in a car we loaded into a huge yellow bus where Ashley took the wheel and Raylin sat beside her.

I took out my translator in alarm and spoke into it,"What are you doing?!" "Driving, what does it look like. You can't expect me to let the dude with the blond hair drive, he'll get us killed," she said back and she and her friend started giggling. I gave up and sat behind her with Zetsu, and told her the coordinates of where we were supposed to go.

She nodded and we were off, the whole time the other charges squealing in complaint and trying to escape. After a while Ashley and Raylin seemed to calm them down, apparently reassuring them that we wouldn't harm them. As the bus kept going I and the other members made small talk about our charges, and apparently Hidan wasn't the only one that wanted Kisame and I's apprentice.

"Can't we trade, ppppppllleeaaaaaaassseee Itachi-sama, yours' is so much better than mine, and she actually listens!" Sasori complained as his two charges, Alice and Catie, tried to kick him. "Sorry, but I don't trade," I replied and smirked at Kisame as he asked our apprentice random questions about her favorite colors and stuff, trying to most likely figure out more information about her.

Night-time started to fall on us and the bus needed gas so we stopped off and let Raylin and Ashley go get random traveling food, and when they came back Ashley pulled me aside and made me take my translator out. "Itachi-sama? I was wondering if I could call my parents and tell them I'll be fine, they'll probably be worried sick and it won't do us any good if the police get involved," she said, and I agreed.

So she and Raylin stepped aside and made calls on Raylin's phone to their parents, and also the other girl's parents, letting them know they would be fine. "She even asks permission!" Hidan said and I chuckled, someone's jealous. "Eh, I bet we'll have our hands full soon enough, but at least we got a good one instead of a bad one," Kisame stated and yawned, we were all getting tired.

As soon as the tank was full and everyone was aboard the bus again we were off, and I could tell that Ashley and Raylin were tired,too, as their heads started drooping a bit. But, once they had some of that weird drink they bought (coffee) they were back to themselves and more rowdy than ever.

When the sun started inching it's way out from behind two mountains we finally reached our last destination, and as soon as everyone was unloaded Deidara created a huge bird made of clay and we hopped on. Ashley grabbed hold of my arm as she gained her balance and a huge portal opened up before us.

Ashley POV:

(BTW this is back in second period science with Ashley and Mary Ruth, before Hidan, Kisame, and Itachi arrive.) As Ms. Knodle started the lesson for today I drug out my pen and paper. I listened slightly as she started talking. It was a bit odd for us to be taking notes with her talking, usually she used a power point or a movie, but today was the last day of school so, whatever happens happens. The period ticked by, five minutes, seven minutes, ten minutes, it went by a bit too fast.

By the time we were fifteen minutes into the period I felt an odd shock shoot up my spine. It wasn't a shock of terror, or fear, but rather that of someone watching me, and I glanced over Mary Ruth's way to find her back stiffened, as if she could feel it too. I relaxed my shoulders and bent over my paper, doodling and adding some of Ms. Knodel's words when I felt the need to.

Almost five minutes had gone by sense the shock first went up my spine when the door was suddenly kicked down and three cloaked figures entered the room. My head flinched up in surprise, and my eyes stared into two pure black orbs, with a hint of red starting to brew around the pupils. I should've been scared as the teacher shrieked really loud, but I only felt calmness as the strange, yet familiar, orbs stared back at me.

Wait, familiar? Whoa who could this person be, I thought as my gaze finally left the person's eyes and caught a glimpse of his clothes, he wore a black cloak with red clouds scattered about it, and his hair was raven colored black. I knew this man, Itachi? I thought as my gaze once again found his and he started moving towards me.

People around me became silent as the other two that I also knew, Hidan with the white hair and Kisame with the blue body, motioned them to be silent. Kisame was behind Itachi the whole way, and I watched as Itachi said something to Hidan in Japanese. Itachi's eyes were calm, and I sensed that he had no means of harming me, and Hidan then went over to Mary Ruth's desk and grabbed her ruffly by the elbow, making her shriek out in shock.

The teacher dove for the phone, but then, to my shock and surprise, everyone except me, Mary Ruth, Kisame, Hidan, and Itachi were frozen where they stood or sat. As Hidan made Mary Ruth stand up and tied her hands behind her back, then planted a sack over her face so she couldn't see, Itachi took out an odd, military looking device from one of his pockets.

He held it up to his face and spoke his language into it, and then it was translated into my language saying,"Do you know who we are?" Of course I know who they are, I watch their show all the time! But, I was afraid to wonder how they came to our world as I replied,"Yes." He spoke again and his language was translated to say,"Do you know why we're here?"

Many plans shot in all directions of why they could be here, but none of them I could match so I replied,"No." He then nodded his understanding, placed the translator in his pocket, and motioned for me to stand up. I did as told and listened as Hidan said something to Itachi in their language and then winked at me.

I simply fought back the urge to blow a mocking kiss to him and rolled my eyes, then we started heading to the door. Hidan and Mary Ruth were in front of us, with Mary Ruth squealing in complaint and Hidan ignoring her, and Itachi was then on my left side with Kisame on my right. They most likely expected that I would try and make a break for it, but I wouldn't do that, since I wanted to be by Itachi.

"Why does SHE have to come along?" I questioned and realized Itachi nor Hidan or Kisame could have understood me as I glared daggers at Mary Ruth's back. At least I wasn't tied up I reckoned as we descended the stairs and finally reached the first floor. I was surprised a few moments later when we met up with Deidara, Sasori, Zetsu, and Tobi who had my friends Kamiah and Catie and Alice tied up with sacks on their heads like Mary Ruth.

But what surprised me the most and brought happiness was that my best friend Raylin was there, and she wasn't tied up like the others. She looked as happy as I was as we started chatting. "I can't believe they got all of us, oh who's the other girl next to the white haired guy?" Ray asked and I glared at Mary Ruth. "The white haired guy is Hidan remember, and that girl is Mary Ruth," I said and almost snarled HER name.

"Why in the world are they taking her? She would just slow them down!" Ray snarled and I laughed uneasily saying in a whisper,"I don't know, but lets talk about this later when they're not around." She nodded and we became silent, then I realized that I wouldn't have any extra clothes to wear. I felt a surge of panic, then remembered that I had my duffel-bag from gym which had all the things I needed for an emergency sleepover or two, it had my gym clothes and at least five to seven other outfits as well as my hair brush and things of that sort.

I also remembered that Catie, Kamiah, Al, and Ray had their gym bags assorted the same way and so I pulled slightly on Itachi's sleeve, making him take out his translator. "Itachi-sama? I need to get my gym bag, I was wondering if you would allow me to?" I asked and he nodded his approval. So I and Raylin headed towards the girls locker room, which was empty, with everyone else following behind.

The girl's that were tied up stumbled along as the akatsuki members pushed them forward. They were scared, and I could tell they wouldn't cooperate if the akatsuki let them roam. I swiftly went in with Raylin and we grabbed our huge duffel-bags, mine was midnight blue and hers a dark grass green. They were heavy, but we could manage as we came back out and Itachi and Kisame flanked each of my sides again.

Zetsu and Tobi flanked Raylin as we made our way through the stone-cold silent hallways and out into the fresh air. Spring had just recently decided to show up, but today it was raining, and as we walked I slowed my pace and tilted my head back, letting the sweat wet drops hit my pale face lightly. I could feel Itachi and Kisame's glances move to me as I walked, and finally we came to a halt in front of a bus with no driver in it.

Zetsu swiftly opened up the doors and the akatsuki all shoved us in, and once me and Ray were in we hopped in the drivers seat, cramming together with me next to the window. I grabbed the steering wheel and started the bus, the driver must be having a spaceish day if they left the key to the bus in the ignition. I became startled as Itachi's translator appeared by my left ear saying in alarm,"What are you doing?" "What does it look like we're driving, did you think I'd let Deidara-sama actually drive? He'd get us killed," Iasked as Ray and I started giggling.

Itachi gave up and sat in the seat behind us with Zetsu next to him as he gave me directions to where we were headed. As I turned onto the highway I wondered what people thought as they drove past us, must be a very peculiar sight to see. As we went further and further and the sun went lower and lower the akatsuki members made small talk, and Kisame used his translator to ask me all kinds of questions about me.

He asked me what my hobbies, favorite color, favorite type of animal and all sorts of different questions and I always replied. I heard Sasori moan something to Itachi as Alice and Catie tried to kick him and escape. I let Raylin take the wheel after a while and we both talked to the Kamiah, Catie, Alice, and Mary Ruth. They soon calmed down and some of them dozed off into a restless sleep.

I myself even started yawning and my head started drooping, but the sleep started wearing as I wondered what my mom would think since I hadn't come home. The sun had already started to set into a pink, purple, and blue background, and I knew the other girl's parents would be worried sick. "Ray, I think we should grab something to keep us up," I said and gave her a look she understood well. It was a look of 'I-need-talk-to-you-now' as she nodded slightly and pulled into the nearest gas stations stop.

I realized we also needed gas, and so I told Itachi what we were doing and headed inside the station. As Ray and I scanned the isles looking for traveling food we talked in low whispers, looking away from each other to make it seem as if we weren't even acknowledging each other. "Ashley, do you have any idea as to why they took us?" Raylin asked as she picked out a few extra T-shirts and some jerky.

It took me a moment of thought before I replied in a sheepish, quiet voice,"My only guess is that they either need more members, or they desire something from us that I don't know of." I glanced out the window to see Itachi smirking over at Hidan, I really hoped he'd at least warm up to me a bit. "Where will they take us?" Raylin asked in a whisper, looking away and grabbing a few bottles of water and a huge backpack to put everything in.

"I believe they'll most likely take us to their world some-how, unless they really want to try and cope here, which I doubt they would," I said quietly and glanced over at the guy behind the register, who was looking at the akatsuki members oddly. "But what about our parents?! They can't just take us away!" Raylin shouted in a whisper, and I could see tears start brimming on the edges of her eyes.

"Ray, I'm just as scared as you, but we need to stay calm, they haven't hurt us yet. I can tell they only want us for a reason that doesn't involve pain," I said calmly as we finally got ourselves a few pairs of travleing pants. Raylin looked at me worriedly and whispered in a rushed voice,"Ashley, let's run! We can go back and...." "And what? Ray, I know how you feel, but look at us, we're untied!" I whispered back as we finally put our stuff on the counter and the clerk rang it up.

"Do you want these in a bag?" the clerk asked, making talk between us impossible. "No thanks, we'll just use the backpack," I said and gave him a forced happy grin. The clerk nodded and put our stuff in the backpack, and finally we slowly turned and walked outside into the frigid air. "What do you mean 'we're untied'?" Ray asked and I quickly replied,"It means they trust us, to a level. If we try and run now it won't work, because they're highly trained trackers. Plus, running now would just make that trust go down the drain, and who knows what they'll do if they did catch us?"

I think my words got through to her, because she became quiet and loaded our newly bought stuff into the bus with Catie, Kamiah, Alice, and Mary Ruth. She came back out and we waited for the gas tank to fill up. Raylin and I stood next to each other, and I then straightened my back and marched up to Itachi then pulled him aside, making him take out his translator.

"Itachi-sama? I was wondering if I could call my parents and tell them I'm fine, it'll do us no good to have them worried and have the police get involved," I said and he nodded his agreement. So I told Raylin and we stepped aside to call my parents, and after I had called my mom and told her where I was I broke into tears.

Raylin and I spent the next couple of minutes calling her,Catie, Kamiah, and Alice's parents to reassure them we were safe and sound. I didn't know Mary Ruth's parent's number, so that might be a problem later, but I doubted it. The gas tank was finally full, and so we boarded the bus again, Raylin and I resuming our seat up front as the drivers and Itachi and Zetsu behind us.

I was so drained of my energy, but luckily Raylin had thought of the perfect solution: coffee with extra sugar. As we drove away the night we drank our coffee and soon were as hyped up as ever. As the sun started to inch its way out behind two mountain peeks and scatter the sky with orange and purples, we arrived at our destination. I idly wondered where we would go from here. It was basically a deserted place where there was no other signs of life except us.

I stayed close to Itachi and Kisame, and soon, to my udder surprise, a huge, swirling red and black hole opened up below us. Deidara reached into his back pocket, pulled out a huge wad of clay, and created a huge clay bird. Deidara, Sasori, Hidan, Zetsu, and Tobi all pushed Alice, Mary Ruth, Catie, and Kamiah up onto the bird and followed. Itachi and Kisame then followed, then Raylin and I, and I had to grab onto Itachi's sleeve as I gained my balance.

The huge bird sprang to life, hovering above the black and red vortex, and then we were plunged into it. It was quite exhilarating, actually, as we plunged into a swirling vortex of now a rainbow of colors. It was as if we had stepped into a dream that had turned into a huge, swirling tunnel. I clutched Itachi's sleeve and cuddled up next to him, my system rigged and aware.

But, it was over in a few minutes, and we were in a completely different world with trees and grass and even a bubbling brook flowing through the grass. But the most amazing thing was that my senses had been somewhat advanced. I could hear everything from the quiet snake slithering in the grass a few yards away to the yelling of a war about another country away.

My sight had also been increased, I could see every fine detail of everything, and I could feel an enormous amount of energy pulsing through my veins. The Akatsuki finally untied Kamiah, Alice, Catie, and Mary Ruth, and it appeared as if they, too, had their senses renewed. Then, Deidara, Hidan, Sasori, Itachi, Kisame, Zetsu, and Tobi jumped into the trees, and I followed behind.

After the shock wore off the other girls came up behind me, and the akatsuki took off in an eastern direction I believe. I could keep up just fine, I even started to gain on Zetsu, who was leading them. I think my senses and Raylin's had been increased the most since even she gained on me and we were neck and neck behind Zetsu. We even laughed a bit as we jumped from branch to branch and tree to tree.

I could also feel Itachi's gaze on my back, he was almost right behind me, and I felt my cheeks heat a bit. "Oooh Itachi's checkin you out girl!" Raylin said and giggled as she glanced over her shoulder. "Shh he might somehow understand you!" I said and blushed more as we both laughed. "I wonder where they're taking us" Ray asked as she gazed ahead of Zetsu.

"Probably to their headquarters, that's where their leader is," I said and gazed ahead with her. "Ashley umm... do you think you can answer me this quiestion?" Raylin asked and I glanced at the akatsuki members, then nodded saying,"Sure, what is it?" "Umm... they won't try to... you know will they?" Raylin asked, her cheeks heating a bit. I would've giggled if I didn't know what her concern was about. "No, I don't believe they will, they need us and they would've done it by now," I said as we neared a huge canyon-type place.

There was a huge river at the bottom, and on the other side a huge, and I mean HUGE boulder with what looked like a seal on it. We dropped down the canyon, with I, Raylin, and the akatsuki members landing on the water as if it was just more ground. The other girls, however, fell in and splashed around. Raylin and I laughed as Catie splashed us and Kamiah tried to pull us in.

We helped them up and steadied them on the water as Alice helped Mary Ruth out and on top of the water. Deidara, Hidan, Sasori, Itachi, Zetsu, Tobi, and Kisame made their way to the right side of the large boulder, with us following behind. Kisame pressed a medium sized rock that appeared to be welded to the canyon's massive walls.

His hands glowed with a blue chakra as they called it, and then the huge boulder split in half and opened into a huge cave, it's ceiling was as high as a skyscraper, and in the back was a huge head carved into the stone with two forearms springing, also, from the ground. The face had many closed eyes made of stone, but some were glowing from chakra that the akatsuki had drained from people with demons inside them.

Its mouth was open slightly, as if waiting to eat another victims chakra, and I became frightened as we made our way towards it, I thought they would drain our chakra, too. But, it turns out there was a secret in the shape of a door behind the huge figures left hand. It was huge door made of a beautiful wood, and as Hidan opened the door the huge boulder closed, sealing off almost every trace of light.

Then, another burst of light illuminated the cave, it was coming from the other side of the door, and then Hidan opened the door all the way. We all filed inside, to my left was cabinets and cupboards that went about ten feet along the wall, reaching to the corner. Then the cabinets and cupboards went along the wall directly to my left, and about five feet and met a fridge. Then another five feet of cabinets and cupboards and there was a huge open walkway sort of (it's like an open door, but without the door).

There was also an island centered, and to my right was the back of a couch and the side of a recliner chair. In front of the couch you could see the head of a 53 inch TV set, the carpet was a maroon color, and the walls were painted a light peach color. I was so tired, I don't think I could even recognize most things as we each split up into our own groups. Kisame and Tobi went to their own rooms, which were in the hall on the other side of the opening.

I went through the doorway and saw Zetsu take Raylin into his room, Kamiah being taken into Deidara's room, and Sasori taking Catie and Alice towards the second to the last door in the hall, which I presumed was either the leaders chambers or his own. Mary Ruth was taken into Hidan's room, hitting Hidan and trying to break free of the hold he had on her arm. Itachi tapped my shoulder lightly and motioned for me to follow him.

He opened the door to the very first room, and I followed him inside to what must be his room. It was a smallish room, with a king-sized bed centered in the room and backed up to the wall, the covers were made neatly and were a white color like the pillows. To each side of the bed were nightstands, and on top of them were lamps. To my right their were two doors, which most likely lead to Itachi's closet.

The bed looked so comfy, so I went over to it as Itachi disappeared through another door, which most likely lead to a bathroom. I closed the door to the room, laid my duffel-bag on the bed, and then laid down next to it. Raylin had the traveling backpack, so I didn't have to worry about that as I curled up into a little ball and rested my left hand on the rough fabric.

I felt my eyelids slide closed, and then my world went pitch black, no sounds could be heard, no movement detected as I drifted into a dreamless sleep.

Itachi POV:

I made my way out of the bathroom in my room with a stoic expression on my face, as usual, but what I saw when I came out almost took my breath away. There, laying curled up in a ball, looking more like a fallen angel then an akatsuki apprentice, was Ashley, asleep next to her duffel-bag. I had been ordered, before we left, that when we came back with them we would take them to our rooms and keep track of them.

I was supposed to make her sleep on the floor, but the way she was curled up, breathing slowly and soundlessly, it was to much to bear moving her. I noticed she had closed the door to my- I mean our- room, so I went over and locked it in case Hidan decided to sneak in and perform a Jashin ritual on her.

After locking the door I came back to the side of my bed and picked up her sleeping form, she was actually pretty light, and it felt actually quite good to hold her. I usually never let anyone touch me, or get close to me, but as she buried her head in my chest and I held her in my arms, I found I actually enjoyed it.

I pulled back the white covers of my bed and gently placed her under them, covering her up as if she were a small child. She mumbled something incoherent and then she whispered my name. So clearly was the sound that I thought she had woken up, but she turned away and buried her head into the pillow. Then fell silent as she slept.

I went over to my usual side of the bed and took off my armored-mesh shirt, leaving only my baggy pants on and climbed in next to her. I stayed back a bit, backing my side up to the edge of the bed, but I found myself watching her as she slept. Usually I never watched people sleep. Kisame, when we were on a mission would snore too loudly for me to sleep, and so I'd always go off a good distance away and sleep alone under the stars.

As she slept I felt an odd surge of new emotions course through my veins, she looked like an innocent child that needed to be protected, not trained in the ninja art of war. I mentally shook myself thinking What has gotten into me? As everything became quiet, I fell into a dreamless, yet peaceful, sleep.

I awoke a few hours later to Ashley cuddling her head on my chest, she had somehow moved and now we were together in the center of the bed, and when I came fully awake I disentangled myself from her and moved back. I watched her as she tossed and turned, mumbling frantically, and then she became quiet. I knew it was morning, I always knew what time it was, another advantage when being an Uchiha born.

I heard the other akatsuki members bustling around in the room across the hall, too, I also knew all our new apprentices were asleep. I got up, then, and put on a form fitting mesh shirt with a chest guard underneath it. I then put on my regular sandals, I didn't bother to put on my cloak since we wouldn't be going on missions until our apprentices were properly taught.

I unlocked the door and opened it, glancing back to make sure Ashley was still asleep, then made my way out into the hall. All the lights in the layer were turned on except for the ones in the rooms. I made my way through the frame and into the main room, where Tobi, Kisame, and Deidara were sitting on the couch watching TV and eating their morning meal.

Zetsu was sitting at the island reading the newspaper, with Hidan and Sasori sitting, too, but talking about how annoying their apprentices were last night. Kakuzu, Hidan's usual partner but who had insisted on not training one of the girls, was in between them, counting his money as always.

Our leader, Pein, was sitting in the recliner chair, his feat propped up, with Konan no where to be seen. "Good morning Itachi-san," Hidan, Tobi, Deidara, Sasori, Zetsu, Kakuzu, and Kisame mumbled as they continued what they were doing. "You're finally awake?" Pein asked as he turned his attention to me.

I nodded curtly, leaning on the island and watching as everything became silent. "Then we may get down to business," Pein stated, and everyone turned their attention to him. "I trust the girls are still asleep, and they were well looked after?" Pein asked, and we all replied the same answer,"Yes."

Pein then nodded slightly, his eyes not reveling anything,"Alright then, you got them this far, so lets take this up a notch. As you all know who your apprentices are, we don't know much about them." We all gave him a confused look, except me, as I look with no expression on my face. "We'll need to examine their habits for a few days before we can decide if they are worthy to be trained," I stated bluntly as everyone then understood and nodded.

"Yes, and so for the next three days we will observe them, today I had Konan make a room of paper where the girls will be quarantined, I trust you brought the laptop with the built in translator?" Pein asked, and we all nodded, Deidara taking it out of a sack and handing it to him. "Good. Tomorrow we will take them outside to be watched, and to see if they decide to try and make a break for it. The day after that you will take your apprentices to a village of your choice, showing them around and then you will decide if she is ready for training," Pein said in a voice with no emotion, and we all nodded, then went back to what we were doing.

A few minutes later, though, we all heard the door to my room being opened, and someone stepping into the hall. We turned and we each in turn stifled a gasp as Ashley came into the main room.

Ashley POV:

I stifled a yawn as I awoke from a dreamless sleep, I felt soft covers laying over me, and an even softer pillow underneath my head as I turned it from side to side. I opened my eyes to an unfamiliar place, and became frightened as I searched for my stuff in my room. I froze, then, as I remembered what had happened the previous day. I was in the akatsuki layer, in Itachi Uchiha's bed, and as I came fully awake I calmed down.

My eyes adjusted to the dark room, and I looked over next to me to see the covers pulled back, and Itachi was not there. I yawned, pulled back the covers, got up, and stretched out my aching muscles. I then turned around and made the bed as quietly as I could, not wanting to let anybody know I was awake just yet.

My duffel-bag had been put on the floor, and so I crouched down and unzipped it, pulling out my brush, deodorant, and hair spray. I put them aside and gazed into my pack, looking for something suitable to wear today. It was actually pretty hot in here, and so I pulled out a pair of short, sky blue shorts and a form fitting white tank-top.

I threw them on quickly in case Itachi decided to appear when I was in only my bra and underwear. I put deodorant on, then sprayed my hair and brushed all the knots out until it was silky smooth as usual. I pulled back my hair into a neat pony-tail with my bangs flopping down and reaching my chest, then I grabbed my butterfly hair clip and put my pony-tail up into a fountain type hair style.

I took a good look at myself in the mirror in the bathroom, and I was quite satisfied with me today. My bangs framed my face perfectly, and my eyes were actually pretty bright and happy considering what happened yesterday. I smiled and came back into the room, put my brush and spray and deodorant away, then went to the door.

I put my hand on the knob, about to twist it, when I froze, I could here the Akatsuki members talking on the other side. Then, everything became silent, and so I opened the door, closed it behind me, and stepped through the hallway frame and into the main room. All of the Akatsuki members were staring at me with an odd look on their faces, and as their eyes traveled the length of my body I fidgeted nervously.

Itachi came over to me and motioned for me to follow him over to Pein, the Akatsuki leader I also knew. Itachi spoke into his translator, saying,"This is our leader, Pein." Pein looked at me with his odd eyes, seeming to see into my soul, and then I remembered to pay my respects to him. I got down on my knees and sat back, bowing my head as my bangs covered my view of him.

I felt his hand reach out and grasp my chin between his fingers, I knew he could easily crush my jaw if he wished, and so I remained still. He trailed my face up, so that my eyes met his, and seemed to inspect my face. After a few long moments he nodded, his expression softening, and I knew he had accepted my respects as I stood up and smiled to Itachi.

Itachi's face was blank, but I could detect a bit of relief in his eyes as I arched my back and stretched. I could feel their gazes on me as I went in front of the couch and sat down on the floor, leaning my back up against it. I sat and waited for Raylin to wake up, and I basically just sat still and didn't move, staring at the wall.

Itachi eventually sat down on the couch, his left leg almost touching my shoulder as they watched some show in Japanese that I couldn't understand. I felt my muscles relax every now and then, and only then did I realize that I had been tensed and ready for something to happen. I yawned in boredom after about ten minutes and pulled on Itachi's leg, making him take out his translator.

"Itachi-kun, can I go wake up Raylin?" I asked, and he replied,"Alright, but make it quick." I smiled and got up, accidentally rushing my fingertips across his hand as I went around the couch and went over to the kitchen cupboards. I knew I had an evil glint in my eye as I took out a pot and a wooden spoon, then went into the hall and found Zetsu's room.

I opened the door quietly, making sure not to give away that I was there as I spotted Ray's hair sticking out from under a blanket on the floor. I raised the pot and wooden spoon above my head, then banged them together loudly as I freaked Ray out and she screamed a very high-pitched scream. She glared daggers at me and got up, saying angrily,"Why you little!"

I screamed and laughed as she chased me out of the room, down the hall, and into the main room. I raced around to the other side of the couch, giggling like crazy as I stood in front of Tobi, Kisame, Deidara, and Itachi on the couch. "I'm gonna kill you!" Ray yelled as we darted back and forth, me trying to dodge her and her trying to tackled me.

"Can't catch me!" I shrieked as I dove out from the front of the couch, but sadly she did catch me and tackled me to the floor. "Why in the world did you wake me up so flippin early?!" She asked in a cranky mood as she glared down at me. "Cuz' I was bored, hehe," I replied and shoved her off me as I giggled.

Raylin and I both blushed when we saw the Akatsuki members staring at us with weird expressions on their faces. It was odd, I expected myself, not to mention my friends and Mary Ruth, to be scared out of our wits and refusing to move, but here me and Ray are, laughing and playing like any other day. "So..... should we go wake the others up?" Raylin asked and pretended that the Akatsuki didn't exist.

"Umm no, for one I don't want to go through that again, and for two that dude with the shadow figure is their leader, and I wouldn't make him angry right now," I said as she helped me up and I brushed myself off. "That's their leader? He's umm..... p something right?" Raylin asked and I burst out laughing. I held my sides and tried not to fall over as I laughed, I guess I must still be hyper from the coffee yesterday.

I smiled after my laughing swing and said casually,"It's Pein by the way, and yes he is, well.... sort of, but I can't exactly tell you right now." Raylin nodded her understanding as we sat down in front of the couch, Itachi and Kisame still on the couch. We chatted about random topics for about an hour while pretending to watch a Japanese show which I had no idea what it was called.

Itachi POV:

(BTW this is back to when Ashley comes out of the room, basically back to where we left off with Itachi) She was very.... beautiful as she made her way out into the main room, she wore a form fitting tank-top with short blue shorts, very casual wear. Her hair was pulled back, showing her swan neck and most of her chest, her bangs flopped down to her chest and curled slightly. She looked ravishing.

"Damn...," I heard Hidan mutter as all our eyes traveled the length of her body, I couldn't even stop myself as my eyes watched her. I could tell she was getting nervous as we watched her with lust filled eyes, and so I took that as my cue and went over to her. I motioned for her to follow me as I lead her over to Pein, our leader.

As she took in the shadowed figure with the swirling gray eyes I detected a hint of recognition, which was odd. I took out my translator as they had a face off, saying,"This is our leader, Pein." "Is this your apprentice, Itachi?" Pein asked so quietly that I doubted anyone else could hear. "Yes, I and Kisame will teach her," I said back just as quietly. Pein nodded slightly as he stared at Ashley, and then Ashley did something none of us expected.

She got down on her knees and sat back, her head bowed in the traditional way of showing respect to the akatsuki. Pein watched her for a few moments as her bangs covered her view of him. Pein then reached out and grasped her chin gently in his shadowy hand, trailing her face up so her eyes met his again. He inspected her face, and I knew at any minute he could crush her jaw.

I felt my system tense, this girl looked so fragile in his hand, too innocent as I had said. I realized I was afraid for her, me, Uchiha Itachi, afraid for this simple human girl. It was so odd, but as Pein watched her and everyone watched him, he nodded his head in satisfaction, and his expression softened as he let her go. Ashley stood up and smiled at me, and I felt my system relax, but I didn't return the smile.

I almost melted as she arched her back and stretched out her muscles, she really was a beautiful girl. Everyone watched her as she sat down on the floor in front of the couch, she sat there for a while, not moving and just staring at the wall. I believe she was waiting for her friends as she stared off, and after a few minutes I sat on the couch, my left leg almost brushing her shoulder.

Her expression was soft, calculating almost, and I almost wished I could know what she was thinking about. Almost. It was weird, the feelings that coursed through my veins, but I soon pushed them aside and watched the TV. She yawned after a few minutes and pulled on my leg, making me take out my translator.

"Itachi-kun, can I go wake up Raylin?" she asked and I replied,"Alright, but make it quick." She then smiled and got up, accidentally brushing her fingertips across my hand, and I felt a weird surge of happiness surge in me as she went around the couch with an evil glint in her eye. I wondered what that was about, but put it aside as she grabbed a pot and wooden spoon from the cupboard.

She went through the hall and down to Zetsu's room as Hidan asked,"Jeez Itachi! Can't we trade? Mine is SO annoying." I chuckled and replied,"Again, I don't trade." "Leader-san can't I trade with the Uchiha?" Hidan asked in a grumble. He never used to complain this much, maybe his apprentice was that bad after all.

Pein seemed to smile as he shook his head, and then all of us tensed as we heard a high-pitched scream, followed by unfamiliar words, and then another scream emitted about. I heard Ashley scream and laugh, then I heard her rushed footsteps as she ran down the hall. She sprinted through the hall frame and into the kitchen, placing the pot and wooden spoon quickly on the island and running around it.

Raylin followed, looking like an angry bull as she chased after Ashley, and then Ashley jumped over the top of the couch in a frantic frenzy. She now stood in front of me, Deidara, and Kisame as Raylin shrieked something in their language and they darted back and forth. I have to admit they were pretty quick, and then Ashley shrieked something back and giggled like crazy.

Ashley tried to dart around the couch again, but Raylin caught her and they tumbled to the floor. Raylin sat on Ashley's back and said something, and Ashley giggled and replied something else, then shoved Raylin off her, then they both blushed when they saw us watching them.

Ashley looked happy and calm as she sat on the floor, and then Raylin said something to her, trying to pretend we weren't here. Ashley replied and then stood up, brushing herself off and gazing around the room. Raylin then said something, and apparently it was funny because Ashley burst out laughing, clutching her sides and trying not to fall over.

After she was done she smiled casually and replied, Raylin nodding as they sat down in front of the couch. Deidara got up and went over to the fridge, probably looking for clay to mold, as the two girls talked and watched the TV. After a long, grueling hour the other girls dragged themselves out of bed and came in, none of them compared to how Ashley looked today.

Finally Konan came in, I had thought making the apparent 'paper room' as Pein had said would've taken quicker than this. Konan gazed at the other girls with contempt, but when her gaze settled on Ashley I saw a flit of some emotion I didn't recognize, then she looked to Pein. Pein and Konan both ruled the Akatsuki, and in turn they shared a special bond.

Us other Akatsuki members stood up, then, as Pein nodded his signal to shuffle the girls into the room. I motioned for Kisame and I's apprentice to stand, and she followed suit without a hint of rebellion. Mary Ruth, Alice, Catie, and Kamiah on the other hand put up a protest, until Ashley shook her head and mumbled something to them.

They followed us silently down the hall to the very last double doors, and when we entered it another hall was presented. At the end of that hall was a new door, and to the left of it another new door. We opened the door at the end of the hall and shuffled the girls inside, then we shut the door and proceeded to the door to the left.

The door we entered lead to a small staircase, making us go single-file until we finally entered into a well sized room that held a desk with our stolen laptop on it. Pein sat down in the chair and turned it on, and we all huddled around him to see what our apprentices would say.

"They're gonna kill us. They're gonna kill us." Mary Ruth's voice filtered into the speakers, and then we saw all of them. Mary Ruth was huddled in a corner with Alice whereas Ashley, Catie, Kamiah, and Raylin were in the middle of the room sitting in a small circle.

"They're not gonna kill us Mary Ruth, now quit your whining," Ashley growled, and that in turn put a spark in Mary Ruth's eyes. "What do you know you little BITCH? That's right, nothing, so shut UP" Mary Ruth snapped back in a menacing tone. I didn't know what to think as Ashley stood up, her body coiled and her fists tightened.

"What. The. FUCK. Did. You. Just. Call. Me? You little whore, skank, bitch who can't even- ugh!" Ashley shrieked and crossed her arms, calming herself. "Jeez, I didn't know Ashley had a mean spot," Kisame muttered as we listened closer. "Mary Ruth, I know we both hate each other but for now can you shut up and let me think straight," Ashley said in a soft tone, sitting back down with the other three.

Mary Ruth huffed and sat back in her corner as Alice rolled her eyes. "Now, we need to figure out what exactly we're going to do about this, Ashley you got any ideas?" Alice asked softly. Ashley turned her head slightly towards her and said,"We stay here, that's what." "WHAT?! We can't stay here they'll kill us!" Mary Ruth shrieked and stood up, her hands tightened in fists as she glared at Ashley.

"You think you know everything! But you don't! They're gonna kill us and you can't do anything about it!" Mary Ruth said with so much venom that I felt my protective instincts take over. Ashley didn't deserve this talk, nor did the others, and yet she stood calmly up and faced Mary Ruth.

"You're wrong," She whispered and went over to the far wall, sitting down with her back pressed against it. "What do you mean?" Mary Ruth asked as Ashley stared off. "I may not know much, but I do know enough about the members of the Akatsuki to know they won't kill us unless we provoke them," Ashley said and yawned slightly.

"If you know so much about them why don't you tell us," Mary Ruth snarled at her. "Alright, come and sit and I'll tell you all I know about the members of Akatsuki, and why they are here," Ashley said with a sigh. My curiosity got the better of me and the others as we leaned in to here better.

Raylin, followed by Catie, Alice, and Kamiah, all sat around her in a semicircle, leaning in to listen to what Ashley had to say. Mary Ruth stood still, looking at Ashley like she knew she would lie and say something else. "Alright, who should I start with?" Ashley asked as she leaned back and relaxed herself.

"How about the blond dude?" Kamiah piped up after a few minutes, and Ashley smiled slightly. "His name's Deidara, he's from the Hidden Rock village, and tends to end his sentences with an audible grunt that is usually translated as "Hm", "Yeah", or "Un". He first acted as a terrorist bomber before he was either forced or invited to join the Akatsuki. Though he eventually came to embrace the organization he holds a grudge against Itachi and all the Uchiha's.

"He sees the sharingan eyes as if they look down upon him and his abilities. When he first joined the Akatsuki he was partnered with Sasori, or the redheaded guy as Miah would clame," Ashley stated and they each giggled a bit. I couldn't believe how much she knew about Deidara, and I wondered idly what all she knew about me.

"How in the world-" Deidara stated before being shushed by Konan. We were all wondering the same thing it seemed: who was this girl? Ashley stared off and continued,"Anyways, Deidara treats Sasori as his master due to his artistic expertise. By consuming clay with mouths in his hands, Deidara is able to create his own form of art, basically they're sculptures that explode with varying intensities.

"Deidara's creations can take any form he so chooses, and from the time of their creation to the time of detonation he can basically bring them to life and control them," Ashley said with a hint of awe in her voice. "That would be so awesome!" Kamiah blurted out, blushing a bit and casting her eyes to the floor after she said it.

"Aww! Kamiah's got a crush!" Catie said and the other girls giggled a bit. "I do not!" Kamiah stated and a huff. "Oh come on Miah, we know you've had a crush on Mr. Blondie since I first showed you his picture," Ashley said and they all giggled. "Well fine, but we all know who Ashley's in love with!" Kamiah stated and Ashley blushed.

"Say it you die Miah," Ashley stated and scowled at her, making her laugh. "Hmm I believe it started with a It or maybe a Ta," Kamiah taunted and Ashley just cast her eyes to the floor. "Just say it then if you want to torture me," Ashley stated and shifted her weight, looking at the ceiling. "Itachi Uchiha!" Raylin squealed and I felt my eyes flit in surprise.

Ashley's cheeks became a darker shade of red as the other girls started giggling. "Fine I admit I like Itachi, but I know he'd never like me back, and at least I can admit it Miah!" Ashley huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. Her face fell and she curled up in a ball until the other girls finally noticed, "Aww Ash I didn't mean to-" Kamiah started saying as Ashley's head came up, showing a single tear running down her cheek.

"Aww!" Raylin said and hugged her, Catie and Alice then following suit. "I'm such an idiot," Ashley said so softly the computer almost didn't catch it. She thunked her head against the wall and watched the ceiling as Kamiah fidgeted. "You're not an idiot you're just love struck!" Catie exclaimed, making them all laugh.

"Raylin's lovestruck too!" Catie said and pointed at the girl sitting next to her. "Fine, I sort of like someone," Raylin stated as the others squealed. "I know who it is!" Ashley said and smiled an impish smile. "Fine, you tell them then," Raylin said and looked away shyly. "It's Zetsu!" Ashley exclaimed and everyone squealed.

"Wait, that's not plant boy is it?" Alice said and Raylin nodded, her face an odd shade of red. "Ok so let me get this straight, Miah likes Deidara, Mr. Blondie. Ashley likes Itachi, Mr. Serious. And Raylin likes Zetsu, Mr. Plant Boy, what is wrong with us?" Catie said and they all giggled. "He's not Mr. Serious by the way, he's just really quiet is all," Ashley said and blushed.

"Anyways, we should get back to learning about them, I wanna here more stuff about the mysterious dudes!" Alice exclaimed as the others smirked. "Alright, who's next then?" Ashley asked as the others became silent. I couldn't even believe she could even think of liking me, this girl was so different, so mysterious.

Like Kisame had said, we would in fact have our hands full soon enough, only I didn't know just how soon that would be. "How about Deidara's partner, what's his story?" Kamiah asked as they all leaned in again to better here. "His name is Sasori, by the way, he was originally from the Hidden Sand village.

"He travelled with Deidara from the Hidden Rock village after he left the Sand village as a legendary puppet maker. His parents died when he was young, and was then placed in the care of his grandmother, Chiyo. She taught him the art of puppetry, which he then refined over the years.

"Lacking the love of parents, he left the Sand village when he got older and then joined the Akatsuki. He was then originally partnered with Orochimaru, but after Orochimaru left the Akatsuki Sasori was partnered with Deidara, who looks to him and his artistic knowledge with reverence.

"In due time he devised a way to convert the corpses of humans into puppets, allowing him the use of any ninja abilities they possessed in their life. He even, in time, converted his own body into a puppet. This gave him eternal life, and it also allows him to control hundreds of puppets at once. It's quite remarkable, really," Ashley said in a very matter-of-fact way.

I glanced to Sasori to see his puppet face held an ire of shock and awe as he watched the screen, waiting to see if she would say more about him. "That's about it on Sasori, only that each weapon in his puppets' extended arsenal is laced with a poison of Sasori's design which causes extreme pain to the inflicted until they die," Ashley said, her face not showing any fear or hatred, but rather a sense of idolization.

"He sounds evil," Catie said in a small kid like voice as Mary Ruth growled back,"They all are, idiot." Ashley sent Mary Ruth a silencing glare as the others shook their heads. "Alright then, what about the said 'plant boy' Ray likes?" Alice asked after a few moments. Ashley's face became one of calculation, as if thinking whether or not to tell them.

"Zetsu's not really someone to piss off, neither are the rest, but he's something to look after. I don't know much on him, such as where he's from and why he joined the Akatsuki. He does have the ability to, however, merge himself with other objects and travel quickly to another location, almost as if he's a ghost.

"Because of that ability and how other ninja can't copy his technique, Zetsu serves a variety of different positions in the Akatsuki. He's mainly used as a spy, or a lookout when the Akatsuki have missions and such. He doesn't have any partners, just basically Tobi as a sort of apprentice.

"One of the main reasons I want Ray to be careful around him is because he's cannibalistic, and is often sent to dispose of bodies the Akatsuki don't want seen or found. That trait also mirrors the large venus flytrap that envelopes his body. His body is also split in two different colors, with his right side being black and his left side white as you've seen.

"Each side also has a split personality and different range in knowledge bases, which frequently lead to discussions and arguments between the two," Ashley finished, and I could see a wave of emotions go through the other girls. Zetsu's face held almost no emotion on his right side, but his left held a sense of awe at the knowledge Kisame and I's apprentice held.

"Ray, I'm going to need you to watch your back around him, who knows what else he's capable of, I am a bit ashamed that I couldn't find out since that would've helped," Ashley stated rather shyly. "I'll be fine, it's just all of us I'm worried about," Raylin stated and sighed. "I know, but at least they gave us a place to sleep and food to eat, that's all we require right now," Alice stated and everyone nodded.

"You know we should probably hurry up since they could come back at any moment," Kamiah stated and Ashley barked a laugh. "They're not coming back," she stated and shook her head with a gentle smirk on her face. "What do you mean?" Catie questioned and Ashley replied bluntly,"They've been watching us, probably getting a good idea of what we're like, see that crack in the far corner across from us and to my left? Konan placed a bird there with a small camera hidden behind it, my guess is they're in a room not far from here."

The others gasped and Ashley said,"Calm down, they're not gonna come in here and hurt us, they're just curious." I and my fellow Akatsuki members were frozen with shock, and I'm guessing we each had the same thoughts on our minds: how did she find out? "Ok, can we get back to what we were talking about before?? I want to know more!" stated Alice after a few moments of silence.

Ashley giggled, a tinkling sound that was unlike anything I had ever heard, but I kept my face blank and void of any emotions as she started again. "Ok then, who else is there that you want to learn about?" Ashley asked and arched her back, stretching out her muscles, then relaxing back into her original position.

"Who' the hot guy with the white hair?" Mary Ruth questioned, and Pein and the others beside me started snickering as Hidan made puking noises. "His names Hidan for one thing, anyways, as you've seen Hidan bears a large rope-like scythe. He usually admits to being the slowest attacker of the group.

"He practices an evil god cult religion called Jashin which loves chaos and death, Hidan is also almost immortal due to the jutsu used on him by Jashin. He is the almost immortal foul-mouthed partner of Kakuzu, the dude we met today, he originally hails from Yugakure, or the Village Hidden in the Stream," Ashley stated rather bluntly while staring off, her eyes containing almost no emotion but that of remembrance.

"Can you tell us more about the Jashin religion, that seems like something to look out for," Kamiah stated curiously as she stared at Ashley. "Jashin is considered or named as the 'Evil God' religion to some, it is a basic practice that states that anything less than wreaking death and destruction is a sin. Hidan's religious experimentations have led to the creation of his unique abilities; by consuming an opponents blood and then drawing Jashin's triangular design on the ground, Hidan can create a voodoo-doll-like link with his opponent.

"Once this link is created, any damage done to Hidan's body is reflected on his opponent, allowing him to kill them by giving himself fatal injuries. Because he is immortal, Hidan is not impaired while doing this, instead finding pleasure in the pain it causes him," Ashley finished, blushing slightly at the thought of something. "So.... is he.... emo?" Catie asked slowly, and in turn the others started giggling.

"I guess you could say he is, and that's all I know about him so far," Ashley stated and shook her head. "Ok so what about Kakuzu , Hidan's partner, is he emo to?" Alice asked sheepishly, casting her eyes to the floor as a light blush highlighted her cheeks. "Kakuzu was a former ninja of Takigakure, or the village hidden in the Waterfall," Ashley started, and I felt Kakuzu stiffen as if waiting to see if she knew a lot about him like the others. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Hidan's face had gone a lighter shade of white, his purple eyes wide in shock at how much this girl knew about him. I could only imagine the stream of swears he was saying in his mind right now.

"The reason he joined the Akatsuki is because he's mostly motivated by greed, and this gave him the opportunity to seek out valuable bounties. At first he was partnered with many different people, and his extreme temperament led him to dislike having partners. He ended up killing whoever he had been partnered with in a fit of rage, which led him to being partnered with Hidan," Ashley said, a blank stare showering her face as she stared off, remembering every last detail about every last one of us.

I found myself.... anxious to see what she knew on me, and the longer I waited the more I started to think she knew nothing of me at all. "What's his power, surely he mustn't have a very good one if he loves money so much," Mary Ruth asked, and finally sat down a little ways away from the others.

Ashley gave a slight shudder at thinking on it, then put on a calm facade and continued,"Kakuzu's body is composed of large amounts of black threads, allowing him to sew things, even Hidan's head and Deidara's arms, back together. The threads are also capable of piercing flesh, which Kakuzu uses to remove the still-beating hearts of his opponents for his personal use while executing a forbidden jutsu. He uses the jutsu to integrate their hearts in his body to cheat death and extend his life indefinitely.

"He claims he has lived since the time of Hashirama Senju, Konoha's first hokage. He is able to store up to four spare hearts in animal masks sewed to his back. The masks can be detached during combat situations to shoot elemental blasts at his opponents, and can quickly be recalled to his body if he needs their heart, and that's all I know on him," Ashley started and I saw a visible shudder pass through the other girls as everything became quiet.

"Mary Ruth, you're pretty much screwed with those two, Hidan will either sacrifice you to his religion or Kakuzu will take your heart when he needs another one, and so I want you to distance yourself from them when you can," Ashley stated, though a perfect smirk set on her face told me she wished she hadn't said anything.

"What about the dude with the lollipop mask? He looked cool!" Catie said and the others chuckled quietly, but Ashley remained solemn. Everyone's puzzled looks made her say,"All I can tell you is his name's Tobi and he used to or still is an apprentice of Zetsu's. I can't tell you anything else because of the consequences." "What consequences?" Kamiah asked and the others leaned in, waiting.

"If I were to tell you anything more about Tobi, you'd probably find me or someone else dead in the morning, that's the consequences," Ashley said and let her head droop, her bangs covered her face as the others stifled gasps. Another awkward silence had started, each girl having their own look that said they were thinking, but when Ashley's face came back up it showed she had a deep scowl.

She scowled at the ground for a few minutes, probably trying to decide whether or not to say anything else about Tobi. It was odd, I would've thought she'd know more about Tobi, and it seems as though she was hiding something, something she didn't want anyone knowing right now. "Damn," Hidan muttered under his breath, still shocked out of his senses on what she knew.

"Pein, you didn't know about this, did you?" Konan asked in a quiet, drawn out voice as she watched the screen. "No, and if I did I might not have chosen her," Leader-sama said in a blank voice as he watched her carefully. "Might have not chosen her? What's that supposed to mean?" Sasori said, and I could tell most of the shock from hearing what Ashley said about him had worn off.

"I have my reasons for choosing these girls, and they are for me to know and you to try and figure out," Leader-sama said again, making the camera zoom in on Ashley's face. "Can you at least tell us why you chose Itachi and Kisame to teach her?" Hidan said, his face still white with shock. "As I said those reasons are for me to know," he said and scanned her face, a smile tugging at his shadowy lips.

"Alright, who else is there left besides fish boy and Ashley's boy," Catie asked and snickered at the last part. Ashley's face became annoyed, but then softened and she said,"Well there's the leader-" She was then cut-off by Raylin who exclaimed,"Ooh let's here about him!"

Ashley smiled and started,"His names Pein, well at least that's the other name I know him by, there was another name he went by before starting the Akatsuki, but I can't remember it. Anyways, he started the Akatsuki with Konan, or as Catie might refer to her as 'the blue haired chick'." They chuckled and I could see Leader-sama's fingers freeze on the keyboard.

"His type of jutsu, or power, is that he is divided among six bodies, which are collectively known as The Six Paths of Pain. They are controlled by a single conscious mind, and each body is named after one of the six Buddhist paths of reincarnation. Each body has a series of body piercings that, from a different standpoint, give Pein a 'more dangerous' look that relate the pain of their installation to Pein's name.

"Each body also has the Rinnegan, a unique eye technique characterized by rippling patterns around the pupil that enable the six Paths to share visual information and coordinate attacks. By fitting corpses with a unique type of body piercing, Pein can channel his chakra into the bodies to animate and/or control them remotely.

"He can also give them unique abilities- the Animal Path can summon a wide array of creatures, the Preta Path can absorb attacks as form of defense, the Deva Path can attract and repel objects, and the Naraka Path can revive the other bodies. Controlling six bodies puts a great strain on him, who is often frail, emaciated, and contained to a chair like when I and Ray first met him this morning. He hides his emaciation by appearing as a shadow, and that's all I have on the great leader of the Akatsuki," Ashley said, her face becoming sad when she spoke of how our leader was emaciated and frail.

"Wow, that must suck for him...," Alice said softly, gently as if she knew the leader was actually watching, which she did but she didn't know if we could understand them. "So does the blue haired chick take care of him or is she just his partner, what do you have on her?" Kamiah said after a moment of thinking.

"Her names Konan, and she's his partner, but I believe she helps him too since they grew up together. Before we came here, she was the only female ninja in the Akatsuki and as such she shows a lot more of her mean side than gentle. When Pein and her were kids they were trained under Jiraiya, who now trains Naruto, but that's not the point. She was put under Jiraiya as his pupil after a war destroyed her family and orphaned her.

"She was forced to fend for herself, and because she serves under Pein the people of her village refer to her as 'God's Angel'. Though she worries for Pein as he was straining himself, she respects his wishes to stand aside so that he and Naruto may meet face to face one day. While training under Jiraiya Konan learned to take advantage of her natural talent with origami, using it as a key component to her battle style.

"Konan can divide her body into countless sheets of paper, which she controls and reshapes remotely to scout out an area, form weapons of attack, or create wings that mirror her title. However, her abilities are restricted when the paper is wet; since paper will cling to itself and lose its stiffness," Ashley finished shyly, and I could tell the others were pondering things as they stared off.

"Ok, so......... NOW FISHBOY!!!!" Catie said rather loudly, slicing the silence and making the others laugh. I could tell Konan was pondering something as she watched Ashley closely, and I found our leader's hands had clenched into tight fists. "Ok, ok, and by the way his name's Kisame say it with me now Kis..... a.... me," Ashley said and giggled.

Kisame went rigid as he waited to hear what our apprentice had to say about him, and I realized that I would most likely be next. My nerves were oddly running in all directions as I waited for her to get it over with so I could finally discover what this girl knew about me. "Ok ANYWAYS please continue Ash," Raylin stated as Ashley shifted her weight and sat perfectly still.

"His full name if Kisame Hoshigaki, he's a former ninja of a village that I only know the root name of in Japanese, which is Kirigakure. He is partnered with Itachi, and interestingly enough while most Akatsuki partners are hostile towards one another Kisame and Itachi get along considerably well. Kisame does as Itachi asks of him unquestioningly and always looks out for Itachi's well being.

"While he was loyal to his village Kisame was one of the Seven Swordsmen or the Mist, a group of violent ninja that use particularly large swords," Ashley stated with a slight smile. "So that's why his sword looks like a giant tampon! I was wondering why he had such a big ass sword hehe," Catie said suddenly, making all the others burst out laughing . They laughed like that for a few minutes and then calmed down a bit.

"Ok so moving on haha," Raylin said and the others nodded, waiting for her to go on. "No more bad comments about Kisame's sword ok? He's actually a pretty nice guy," Ashley said and scowled at Catie. "Ok anyways, Kisame's sword Samehada, or 'shark skin', is covered in scales that can absorb untold amounts of chakra, and only allows him to wield it.

"Kisame himself has massive amounts of chakra enough so that a clone created by Akatsuki that held 30% of his power can contain an amount of chakra comparable to Naruto when using the Nine-Tails chakra. Kisame also has a unique appearance, as you've seen, having pale blue skin, a gill-like facial structure, and sharp triangular teeth.

"These shark-like characteristics extend to his choice of attacks in battle, as he frequently shapes water into the forms of sharks to damage opponents. If there is no water nearby, he can quickly produce his own lake to use at his leisure. He joined the akatsuki after engaging in murder and rebellion in his home village, and that's all I know on Kisame," Ashley said and smiled.

"He sounds rather interesting," Alice said thoughtfully, and soon things became quiet. I was so anxious to see what she knew about me, I almost started to shift my feet until I remembered my usual Uchiha facade. Ashley appeared to be waiting, too, and I could tell by the torn expression on her face that she was contemplating whether or not to tell them something.

"Ok now is time for the last guy you haven't said anything about, Mr. Itachi Uchiha," Kamiah said mysteriously, making Ashley pull her face back and cast her eyes to the floor as a light blush accented her cheeks. "Alright, this is going to be a long explanation though, because I know a lot, and I mean a LOT about Itachi, can you guys handle it?" she asked and tried to scoot back until she realized she was sitting against a wall.

The others nodded and she began rather reluctantly, and I was blown away as she started,"Itachi was born in Konoha to the Uchiha estate, one of the most powerful clans in all of Konoha besides the Hyugas. He grew up as the child prodigy of the clan, and is the older brother of Sasuke Uchiha. As he grew he established milestones for not only him but Sasuke and the future Uchiha to live up to.

"But over time, he began distancing himself from the clan, he started acting hostile to others of his clan and even started prompting his father to discourage Sasuke from following him in his footsteps. After killing his best friend Shihou to obtain the Mangekyo Sharingan, he killed his clan off, explaining his reason for doing it as being simply to test his abilities. He spared only Sasuke, who claimed he was too weak to be worth killing.

"He then challenged Sasuke to live a life of hate so that he would get strong enough to someday pose a a challenge to Itachi. He then disappeared into the night, leaving Sasuke with the motive of revenge that drives his actions. Itachi usually shows a dispassionate appearance, rarely showing emotion and keeping his composure even when surprised or irritated.

"He is also shown to be confident in his abilities, taunting Kakashi for not being on the same level as he is. In both instances, Itachi proves to be on good terms with Kisame, and he is renowned for his mastery of all ninja abilities. From his days as a Konoha ninja, the ninja of Konoha know not to underestimate him, and killing his clan only elevated him to the classification of an extremely dangerous criminal.

"When I watched him yesterday he appeared very quick in his movements, and by knowledge I know he usually always knows before hand when his opponent is going to attack or respond. Generally, Itachi doesn't actively participate in battles, remaining in place where he analyzes an opponents actions.

"Only then acting in self defense. In these instances he relies heavily on trapping opponents in illusions to keep them preoccupied, something he can only do merely by pointing or looking at them. As an Uchiha, Itachi posseses the Sharingan, an eye technique that gives the user heightened analytical capabilities.

"As I told you, before he killed the Uchiha clan he killed his best friend to advance his sharingan to the next level: the Mangekyo Sharingan. When activated, the Mangekyo Sharingan changes the Sharingan's appearance and grants Itachi with many different abilities.

"The first ability is that of the Tsukuyomi, which traps his opponent in an illusionary realm in which Itachi is allowed to torture said opponent for what seems like days when in fact it has only been a matter of moments. The second, Amaterasu, generates black flames at his focal point that will continue to burn until the target is reduced to ash.

"The final ability, Susanoo, creates a massive etheral warrior that attacks on his behalf and uses something called Yata no Kagami to protect him from all attacks," Ashley said in contempt, her eyes harboring a sense of happiness as she finished. I was.... amazed at what she knew about me, much less my abilities.

"Jeez she's got almost all of us right down to the bone, un," Deidara muttered as Ashley smiled. "That's it? I wanted to hear more," Mary Ruth said and Ashley smirked. "That's it, for now anyways," she said softly as the other girl's positions relaxed. "You better be careful around Itachi Ash, who knows what he'll do if you piss him off," Raylin stated and sighed. "I know, but whatever happens happens, they control whether we live or die now, not us. Whatever happens we have to go along obediently, that's our only chance of them not killing us at this point," Ashley replied, but her face showed no trace of fear.

"Maybe we should..... do something to take our minds off most things," Catie suggested slowly, and I could see the evil glint in her eyes as the others caved in and nodded. "Alright, it's would you rather and truth or dare got it?" Alice said sinisterly, as if she knew exactly what Catie was thinking. The others groaned in protest but agreed after a few minutes.

"Alright, since Alice said it she gets to start! You can only have two chicken cards and that's it k?" Catie said as Mary Ruth decided to join the circle. "Ok I pick..... hmm..... Raylin!" Alice said as Raylin groaned. "Ok who would you rather do, Tobi or Kisame? And would you go all the way?" Alice said and I felt Kisame nearly hit the floor as he heard that question.

Raylin's face became red with a blush and after a few moments she replied,"Umm... Kisame, and no probably not." "Aww Ray you broke his heart haha kidding kidding," Catie said as the others started giggling. "Well would you rather do a dude with a lollipop on his face or a shark boy?" Raylin said and scowled. "Alright, who's you're victim Ray?" Kamiah asked as Raylin gazed around the circle.

"Hmm.... Ashley!" she exclaimed evilly and I saw a flicker of annoyance and fear pass her face in a flash before it was gone. "Ok so.... would you rather do Sasuke or... Itachi, and would you go all the way?" Raylin asked and I felt my face scrunch up in surprise. "Not fair you know I'd do Itachi, and I probably would but you know I would yeesh ask another question," Ashley said and rolled her eyes.

It was amazing how much this girl knew about me and how much she wanted me and how much I didn't want to kill her. My face softened and I leaned against the corner of the table as Raylin thought. "Fine ok then truth or dare?" she asked and Ashley replied simply,"Truth." "Umm...... let's see here.... ummm... ummmm...... oh I got one!" Raylin exclaimed proudly.

"Ok... shoot?" Ashley said and seemed to cringe back as Raylin's face became one of evilness. "Have you ever streaked in the middle of the night?" Raylin asked so seriously I almost smiled. Almost. Ashley's face turned so red I thought it might stay that way, and then she replied,"Yes.... but I was bored ok!" Everyone else started laughing as Ashley sat stone still, her face turning various shades of red.

"K Ash, your turn!" Kamiah said as Ashley got a cute evil look on her face. "Catie...," she seemed to hiss as she watched the brown haired girl flinch back. "Ok Catie truth or dare?" "Dare me I'm no chicken!" Catie said as Ashley started giggling. "Ok I dare you to go make out with the wall!" Ashley stated as the others fell over laughing.

Catie's face turned red, more in annoyance than fear as she replied,"But I don't know where that wall's been!" "Wow that sounded wrong," Kamiah said as the others started laughing again. "You have to do it! It's a dare," Ashley said seriously, but with a playful smile on her face. Catie grumbled something too quiet for the laptop to catch, then stood up and went over to the wall.

"And you have to be convincing!" Raylin said and snickered. "Yeah, give that wall the time of its life!" Alice said as Ashley fell over laughing again. Catie growled and turned to face the wall, then started, horrifyingly, making out with the wall. "Woo go Catie!" Kamiah said as the others started hooting.

Catie broke out of her heated make out session with the wall and had a sour expression on her face. "Eww that was wrong!" Catie said and whined. "Hehe K Catie, your turn," Alice said as they all giggled again. "Alice!" Catie grumbled and sat back down. "K, shoot," "Truth or dare?" Catie asked sinisterly. "Dare....," Alice replied uncertainly.

'I dare you to.............. try and make out with Sasori later today," Catie said, and I heard Alice and Sasori gasp at the same time. "I can't make out with a puppet!" Alice said as she blushed. Sasori's face held an ire of shock and amusement as he watched the girls. "You have to, 'sides you know you'll love it as much as I did making-out with the wall," Catie stated as Alice huffed and crossed her arms.

"Fine, it's my turn so I choose......... Miah!" Alice said in a high pitched voice, indicating she was nervous and in shock. "Fine...... but it's would you rather ok?" Kamiah said and scowled at Alice. "Alright, would you rather give Deidara a kiss on his left or right hand?" Alice said as the others giggled. "What kind of question is that?" Kamiah stated and hid her face behind her hair.

"Simple, he has mouths on his hands so which one would you kiss?" Alice said simply and in a matter-of-fact way. "Oh.... umm probably both........ I don't know!" Kamiah said and gave a shy giggle. "Nice Miah, nice," Raylin said and smiled. "Ok, Ashley truth or dare?" Kamiah said quickly with an evil smile on her face.

"Oh this is probably going to end badly, but truth," Ashley said and huffed, gazing pointedly at the wall. "Why do you really love Itachi?" Kamiah said quietly as Ashley froze. I even stiffened myself, then relaxed and watched more, my eyes glued to the girl who apparently really liked me.

"Well......," Ashley said as her cheeks heated with a light pink blush, making her look like a child caught doing something wrong. "Yes....?" Raylin urged, all of them watching her like hawks. "I don't really know exactly, I mean sure he's cute, but it's more than that...," Ashley tried explaining, looking uncomfortable under their gazes.

Ashley finally huffed and continued,"I like him mostly because he's a bit like me, but also unlike me if that makes sense. He's quiet and stern but I can see softness in him too, not like he's easily swayed, but rather as if he's lonely and needs someone to be there for him. I can't really explain it, it's like he's the opposite of me and the same as me at the same time, he completes me in a way that none of my older crushes could've." Her face softened at the end, and her eyes held an emotion I had seen in my mother's face when she used to look at my father.

"Aww! That's so cute!" Catie said and tackled Ashley, hugging her. "He may be dangerous and all that crap but he's still something close to me," Ashley said softly after Catie had let her breath. The others smiled, and I knew my mind at least held shock and confusion but something else. "Yeah I remember when we were in seventh grade and you used to wish all the time that he could be real, and now your wish has come true," Raylin stated with an amused smile.

"Just not in the way I had expected," Ashley said and giggled, while Mary Ruth's face hardened and glared at her. "I'm still wondering why you can't tell us anything about that Tobi dude," Mary Ruth snarled, making my fingers curl around the edge of the desk and then ease. "If you're so worried than I'll tell you why later," Ashley snapped back, then looked straight at the camera and said,"when they're not watching."

"So.... you're over Dalton right?" Catie said suddenly, making Ashley's head snap back in surprise. "Yeah, of course I am, why?" Ashley asked, and I found myself slightly intrigued, wondering how many people one person could like. "Cuz I sort of was in the middle of beating him up when Sasori walked in and demanded I come with him," Catie said shyly, but her face held a sly smile on it.

Ashley glared at her but smiled anyways and leaned back, her face now set in a calm stare. "I still can't believe he made you cry like that, the jerk. You did kick him where the sun doesn't shine right?" Raylin stated with an annoyed look on her face. "Yeah, when everyone 'cept me and Sasori and Al were frozen I kicked him like seven times before I followed Sasori," Catie said with a proud look on her face as the others smirked.

"Did that really happen Sasori?" Kisame questioned as we all glanced towards the puppet. "Yeah, she seemed pretty bent on inflicting as much pain down there to that guy as possible," Sasori stated rather enviously, his puppet face seeming to smirk. I thought to myself that that guy deserved it if he had made her cry, then I caught myself. I didn't know what it was about this girl, to mysterious maybe? I just couldn't shake the fact that she was too innocent for this, nor could I shake off how much she.... captivated me, especially after she said all those things about me.

"Be careful around Itachi and Kisame Ash, if they are going to train us as you thought then those two are most likely your trainers, and they seem pretty dangerous to me," Alice said sympathetically. "I know, but I've told you guys before that I don't think they have any intentions of hurting us. They would've done it by now, so yeah," Ashley said calmly, her eyes seeming to glisten as she glanced around the room.

"Wait, so if Kisame and Itachi are training Ashley, then who's training the rest of us?" Catie asked, looking almost frightened but trying to hide it. "If my suspicions are correct then Zetsu and Tobi are training Ray, Hidan Mary Ruth, Deidara Kamiah, and Sasori is most likely training Catie and Alice," Ashley said, and I felt my eyes flicker, was there no end to what this girl knew?

Ashley sighed as her face took on a look of contemplation, and Mary Ruth growled again,"These men are evil and all you're doing is sitting here acting like this is normal!" Ashley's face softened as she said,"They may be evil but they chose this, their lives aren't ours to live nor are their feelings anything we can control." I even felt my face soften, her words were pretty much true.

"What do you mean 'they chose this'?" Mary Ruth growled, and I wondered why she hated Ashley the way she did. "Mary, listen, their feelings are theirs, just like their lives are theirs to live. Even if they look different or think different it doesn't make them any less human, it just shows you how they see the world: through their eyes," Ashley said softly, and I found myself fighting a smile.

"You may have a point, but that doesn't make them any less lethal," Mary Ruth spat. "Sure it doesn't, I'm just saying," Ashley said back calmly, though her eyes told that she wanted to either strangle the girl or tell her off. "Saying what?" Mary Ruth replied and Ashley sighed. "You don't listen very well, do you?" she said quietly, and I doubted Mary Ruth could've heard.

I could tell it was reaching late afternoon, that the day was drawing to a close as everything became silent. "Alright, we should probably stop this for now, we will continue as planned tomorrow," Pein stated as the screen went black, then he stood shakily, earning the help of Konan.

We went down the stairs single-file, and when we unlocked the door Raylin and Catie were holding back Mary Ruth as Ashley was rolling her eyes. I smirked as Pein motioned for them to go back to the living room, which they happily obliged. Ashley curled up on the couch and I sat next to her silently. Her head rested against the arm rest as she stared silently at the wall, yawning slightly as Kisame sat down to my left.

I could still hear her words as she told the others everything she knew about me echoing in the back of my mind as I watched her from the corner of my eye. She glanced at me a lot, then looked away sheepishly and watched the wall again, her brow set in a frown as she thought.

Soon enough Zetsu, Deidara, Tobi, and Sasori took Raylin, Kamiah, Alice, and Catie back to their rooms. It was just me, Kisame, Ashley, Hidan, and Mary Ruth left since Pein and Konan had already proceeded to their rooms. Ashley scowled over at Mary Ruth after she said something to her, but soon settled down again. She yawned again and I stood up, motioning for her to follow as I went back to our room.

She got out some form of fabric and went to the bathroom, probably changing as I settled into bed with only my ninja pants on. (lol ninja pants lol) She came back with only a pair of gray shorts and a light blue t-shirt on. Her hair was let down, and waved lightly down to the middle of her back. She blushed lightly when she saw me watching her and came over to the right side of the bed.

She drew back the covers and wriggled her way under them as quietly as she could, not looking at me until her head rested on the pillow. I watched silently as her eyes closed and her breathing slowed, the I turned over so that my back was facing her and turned off the lamp. Everything was silent and calm as I thought about how I was supposed to make her sleep on the floor, but oh well I guess.

Besides, she'd probably just move into the bed anyways so why bother. I closed my eyes and slept soundly for a few hours. At least, until I woke to the lamp, which was on now Ashley's side of the bed, blaring it's light. My eyes adjusted and I found myself staring at Ashley, who was sitting up with her legs crossed under the covers, reading.

Her eyes followed the page as she read silently, moving only to keep her legs and arms circulated. After a while of me just watching her, she felt my gaze and glanced over at me, our eyes locking as she blushed apologetically. She closed her book and put it on the nightstand, then smiled over her shoulder at me and turned off the lamp.

When my eyes adjusted I found she was staring at me, her eyes looking like black holes as we watched one another. She smiled slightly and closed her eyes again, and I felt the same odd emotions pass through me as my eyelids slid half closed. I watched her until I knew she was deep in sleep, then I closed my eyes all the way and fell asleep.

As I drifted among the darkness I thought back to my brother, how weak he was back then. I idly wondered if Ashley knew as much about him as she did me, an interesting thought to ponder at as the hours flew by. Soon enough I could feel it was morning, my instincts honing in on different sounds from the living room as I willed my eyes to open.

Ashley was curled silently up against my side again, only this time her face was snuggled up to the side of my shoulder, her fingers wrapped around the cloth that enveloped us both. All that was visible was the top half of her face and hair, and as my mind started to clear I could feel her soft breathing caress my right arm. Feelings I didn't want to ever surface again did as she slept next to me, looking fragile and small compared to me.

The ghosts of the clan members I had killed still haunted me, but ever since we had taken her and she had been around me, I was distracted from them, which I was grateful for. Endless whys streamed through my mind, they never ceased, no matter how much I wished they would, and now they were becoming worse because of the strange emotions that surfaced when I was near her.

She, herself, seemed unreal, and so fragile! It was as if a simple touch would shatter her, and with that thought I became..... afraid? No, that couldn't be right, I hadn't been afraid since I was five or so. But I was afraid, afraid this girl would somehow break and slip away from me, it chilled me to the bone, and it confused me so much.

I watched her silently, my head swimming with so many whys I couldn't think on just one thought, though most revolved around her. Curiosity also wained in the back of my mind, curiosity being that I wondered if she actually would shatter if I touched her. I then did something I never once imagined I would.

I took my right hand, which had been resting on my chest, and reached over to her, stroking her cheek lightly as she slept. Her skin was so soft, so smooth, as I trailed my fingers up and across her forehead, but she did not break or wake up. I felt a shock go up my back, and surprisingly my cheeks flush pink, which had never ever happened before. My features softened and I pulled my hand back, gazing to the door and back calmly, I still had a few more minutes before everyone woke up.

I didn't want to get up and walk away from her, that much I will admit, but I thought it best since staying here might invoke more emotions, which I didn't know if I wanted or not. I moved away from Ashley's sleeping form, getting out of bed and putting on a simple blue shirt and another pair of pants, completed with my usual sandals. She stirred as I walked towards the door, and I glanced back to see her stretch and yawn, her blue eyes opening slowly and locking onto me.

She smiled tiredly and sat up, her forehead scrunching up as she closed her eyes and yawned again. Then she slid out from under the covers and stood, arching her back and stretching out her arms again. My hand was frozen on the door handle as I watched her grab a few clothes and enter the bathroom swiftly, glancing at me sheepishly before closing the door.

I turned the knob slowly, watching the bathroom door, then flitting my gaze forward as the door opened silently. Seeing her like that, her hair matted and her eyes full of sleep, not to mention her clothes crumpled, it froze me, she had captured my full attention so.... easily, and I.... wanted her, which I admit also scared me. Pein and Konan were the only others up besides me and now Ashley, they both had their cloaks on, Pein still in his shadow form as he scrutinized me for a second and turned his attention back to the TV.

I sat at one of the chairs that lined the island and fetched my breakfast, staring off and not paying attention as I ate. When I heard the door open again my gaze flitted up, and I froze again as I saw Ashley enter the living room. She was wearing simple light blue capris that had one chain link key chain on them, and a spaghetti strapped turquoise tank-top that fit perfectly. Her hair was down and fluffed out and curly, she looked as beautiful as she had yesterday.

She smiled shyly as she caught my gaze, and I probed her blue eyes for any indication that she felt the same emotions I had. Then I remembered yesterday.... when she had told the other girls why she really liked me. I wondered if these mysterious emotions were the same ones she felt for me.

I surprised myself when I felt my lips quirk up into a small hint of a smile, I hadn't smiled in so long, it felt so... foreign to me. But it felt good, too, which confused me, such a puzzle this was turning out to be! She didn't look surprised, just genuinely happy as she came over and plopped herself down in the chair next to me. I felt one of my eyebrows arch as I looked at her, I hadn't seen her eat yesterday, and I was sure she must be starving by now.

Her cheeks heated as she glanced at her stomach, apparently I was right. I took out my translator and she asked shyly,"Can I go get my backpack, it's with Raylin." I nodded, my eyes boring into hers, and I felt.... well, happy. I huffed a silent sigh as she went through the arch and disappeared down the hall.

Ashley's POV:

I walked silently down the hall to Zetsu and Ray's room, opening the door as quietly as I could and slinking in. I picked up the backpack and tip-toed back out and shut the door as Ray and Zetsu slept. I went back down the hall and into the living room, plopping myself back down on the stool next to Itachi, my heart fluttering in my chest.

I unzipped the backpack and pulled out a small box of lucky-charms cereal, Ray had suggested we buy some in case they didn't have, well, food we'd agree with. I zipped the backpack back up and set it down next to one of the legs of the stool I was sitting on, then opened the box and stuck my hand in, I always ate cereal without milk, I know it may sound weird but hey, it's actually pretty good.

I ate silently and glanced at Itachi's quiet form every now and then, he was watching me out of the corner of his eyes as I ate, another rare smile tugging at his lips. I desperately missed my family, and I was scared, terrified almost, but at least I was alive, I wouldn't ever be able to go back home, and for that I was sad. I hid my emotions under a calm facade, the one I usually always wore.

When I finished my breakfast I grabbed the backpack and put it in Itachi and I's room, then came back and sat on the couch, Itachi to my left in the middle of the couch and Konan on his left. I fidgeted nervously for a few minutes and then relaxed, wondering what we were going to do today, even if it was almost seven o'clock in the morning (according to my portable alarm clock.)

I sighed and curled my legs up to my chest, crossing my arms over the arm rest and resting my head on them, staring at the wall. Sasori and Deidara suddenly appeared, bickering about art I guessed from the raised yells at one another. Alice, Catie, and Kamiah came in after them, looking still half asleep. Alice wore a simple pair of light green shorts and a white tank-top, Catie a pair of blue jeans and a polka-dotted white t-shirt.

Kamiah wore black capris and a red t-shirt with a v-neck, I smiled as Kamiah and Catie sat in front of the couch. "Morning," Miah said and rested her head against the edge of the couch, Catie yawned her reply and stretched out her legs. "I take it Mary and Ray are still sleeping?" Alice said from the island as she sat next to Sasori. "Yup," I replied as Kakuzu entered the living room almost silently, the buzz of morning finally starting up.

"So... what's on the agenda for today?" Catie asked as she stared at the TV, her eye's drooping, she wasn't much of an early waker like she used to be when we were thirteen. I shrugged and said,"I don't know, Itachi hasn't told me yet, and Kisame's still sle-" I started but was cut off when Kisame entered the room"-awake," I finished and made a small giggle, Catie smirked and Miah smiled, Itachi's head was turned towards me from hearing his name, his eyes still focused on the TV but his ears focused on me.

I tugged on his sleeve lightly and he took out his translator, I said into it,"What are we doing today?" He didn't reply at first, but then said,"Just go get something to keep you occupied for the day." His statement confused me, but I nodded and stood up with Catie and Miah, Alice throwing us a look and rising off her chair, then we each entered through the arch and into the hallway, splitting up and going to our separate rooms. I opened the door to I and Itachi's room quietly, then slipped in and shut the door behind me, heading straight for my duffle-bag.

I unzipped it and pealed back the folds, wondering silently what I would take along with me, I didn't really want to take my book, the Legend of the Seeker series was getting boring because of all the twists and turns that made me mad and made me want to cry. So I settled on something I believed I'd have fun doing, I took out my 200 paged sketch book and specialized pencil and sharpener.

I stood up and smiled as I held my sketch book to my chest and balanced the pen and sharpener gently on the cover of it, then walked back out of the room, closing the door silently behind me and walking swiftly through the arch and back into the living room. Itachi gazed at me with his eyebrows scrunched up over his onyx eyes that I could swim in forever, I guessed that was a form of his confused face, but I don't think I'd ever know what his real confused expression would look like, only if I got lucky. Like when he smiled at me this morning.

My lips twitched up into a small smile as Zetsu, Ray, Mary Ruth, and Hidan made their presence know. Mary Ruth snarled something at me that I didn't catch and went back to eating her cereal, and Ray gave me a sympathetic smile and said,"Morning Ash." "Mornin' Ray, sleep well?" I asked, I figured Kamiah and her hadn't gotten a lot of sleep because their crushes had found out yesterday that they had liked them for a very long time. Even I hadn't gotten much sleep, tossing and turning until I finally got up and read for a few hours before Itachi woke up and watched me until I actually noticed him and saw his disapproving face.

I just pretended to sleep after that, when really for another like two hours I was just laying and thinking, opening my eyes a few times to watch Itachi sleep. I only got about three and a half hours of sleep last night, but I could always stay awake, no matter how asleep I was. Ray sighed and replied in a grumpy voice,"No not really, the floor isn't exactly the best place to sleep when you're not in the mood to think on things that happened that day." She shrugged and said,"But whatever."

I gave her a small smile and poked her shoulder, which earned me a glare and a evil grin from me. Kamiah, Catie, and Alice finally reappeared holding things that would keep them occupied during the day today, Miah holding her own sketch book that was tattered and worn out, Al holding a magazine and Catie holding a SpongeBob CD player.

I stifled a giggle at Catie, she was obsessed with SpongeBob when we were younger, but now all she had left was that CD player. Catie was one of the most random people out of our group, coming in second was probably Miah or Ray, or even me, we were all really random when we were hyper off sugar. So I simply smiled and leaned against the back of the couch, Ray standing on the other side of the island with her left arm holding up her head, her fist held under her chin and her right arm crossed across her chest, her right hand under her left elbow.

Catie was leaning up against the back of the couch to my left, Miah was standing with her arms crossed over her chest a little to my right, Al was sitting at the same stool I had been sitting in a little while ago lining the island. And Mary was sitting as silently as she could in the stool to the left of Al.

It was almost like we were alone, the Akatsuki were silent, and the only sounds in the room were us talking and the Japanese words from the TV. I could feel an electric current pass up my back, Itachi was watching me. I turned my head and gazed over my shoulder, he had his head turned to his right, his onyx eyes visible over his shoulder, I almost gasped at the probing look that was swirling in them.

But I only formed a sheepish half smile and turned back ahead, a light blush painting it's way across my cheeks and I gazed ahead with pursed lips. "Aww Ashley's in Love!" Catie teased and poked my shoulder as the others giggled, Mary Ruth was only quiet though. I made a weird noise, it was somewhere between a desperate moan and a whine. Then I gave a little giggle as my eyes widened and my cheeks darkened to another shade of red.

Catie patted my back and gave a cat-like grin, which I returned as my cheeks returned to their normal pasty white. I let out a small sigh and crossed my arms under my chest, looking down at the floor as my nose and eyebrows scrunched up in an annoyed way. "I think Catie's actually right, for once," Alice said in a sweet voice, as Catie grinned,"Well than-Hey wait!" We all started laughing, Catie can be really funny when she wants to, and also when she doesn't want to.

Suddenly, all the Akatsuki members stood and made their way towards the front door, Itachi motioned for me to follow him and Kisame, and I obliged silently, both of them flanking me instantly as we were basically herded out into the cold, damp darkness of the huge cave. That creepy figure loomed a thousand feet overhead, it's fingers still spread out as if it was reaching towards the ceiling, trying to claw it's way out. I expected us to make a left and for the rock to split open in the same place it had yesterday, but we went right and straight behind the huge figure the Akatsuki used to drain demons from people and use the demon's power.

I and my friends didn't waste any time in huddling together, we weren't sure where we were going, and I hesitantly clutched my sketch book, pencil, and sharpener to my chest. The Akatsuki members surrounded us in a way that said 'protection' or maybe even 'guard'. I didn't question it as Itachi walked silently next to me, my eyes had adjusted quickly and I watched his eyes dart around quietly, always aware. The others in the red and black cloaks weren't much different, their forms were all rigid, their eyes darting around silently as they slunk forward, I swear if anyone had walked by right then and there they probably would've thought we were being escorted by ghosts, they all moved with such hostility and grace, not to mention silence.

The only sounds was the occasional ting..... ting.... ting of water as it dripped down from the ceiling, not to mention our heavy footsteps, we weren't that skilled in ninja art, so we weren't as quiet as the Akatsuki. But I knew that while I was here, I would learn how to slink about just as quietly as Kisame and Itachi did, I hoped that I'd learn quick, 'lest they decided to bring me on a mission that required being very sneaky and quiet.

But somehow, I doubted I would be going on missions any time soon, Itachi and Kisame would have to train me properly first, and then maybe, just maybe, if I was worthy of being called an Akatsuki, I'd go on missions with them. We entered into a tunnel that was lined with many stalactites and stalagmites. We continued along silently for a good amount of time, I guessed it had been an hour since we had left the 'house' when I saw a dot of white in the distance. Light...Outside...Where are we going? What's going to happen..., I thought as the speck of light increased in size. An overwhelming sense of joy washed over me, I had thought I wouldn't see the light of day for a good long time, yet here I was, heading towards the outdoors.

By the other's expressions, they had been thinking the same exact thing, especially Ray, she hated staying inside for a long amount of time, she was more of the outdoorsy type. I wanted so badly to run forward and just... find a tree and sit in the shade, the light breeze caressing my face and the sun shining in a cloudless blue sky. But I didn't. Because if I had run forth, the Akatsuki would've taken it the wrong way and probably done some form of punishment to me.

So I stayed by Itachi's side, along with the others, until we finally entered into the shining light of a new day, a few clouds were skittered across the sky, the sun bright and high overhead. There wasn't any other sign of life except for the far off sounds of wildlife, the closest village was a LONG way off, so it was just wilderness that stretched as far as I could see, and farther. All six of us sighed, I tipped my head back and let the sun heat every fiber in my body, a light breeze flowed across all of us, seeming to welcome us as we took in all the trees and bushes.

I turned to Itachi, smiling, wanting to share the wonderful sight with him, but he wasn't there. I looked back forward to see the Akatsuki taking relaxed positions on a pack of medium sized boulders that were lined up almost perfectly. Itachi and Kisame sat on the last boulder to my right that was close to a huge pine tree, Deidara sat to the left of Kisame, Sasori next to him and Hidan and Kakuzu to Sasori's left. Zetsu had disappeared, probably scouting the area for any unsuspecting ninja that just might happen to stumble upon us. Tobi was probably with him since I didn't see him around.

Pein and Konan sat on the very last boulder to my left, they all looked a little happy to be outside, even Itachi, who was as pale as me. I was so giddy, jumping from foot to foot, but unsure if I should go forth and explore, Itachi looked up from his perch and tipped his head to the side, indicating it was fine to go ahead and look around, but the warning in his eyes told me I had to stay in sight.

I walked forward cautiously, the others following slowly, I hopped up onto the boulder, positioning myself between Itachi and Kisame, then I set down my sketch-book, pencil, and sharpener and looked ahead. A patch of light grass stretched for about fifteen, twenty feet in a semi-circle, then it hit the tree-line, it was a small meadow, but big enough to explore without getting in trouble. I smiled and slid off the other side of the boulder, stepping cautiously onto the grass. Then I was running.

I flitted around the whole meadow, jumping around happily, my eyes wide with curiosity and wonder, a smile always placed on my lips. I was curious, that was for sure, but what can I say? When we came here I didn't get to see much, the Akatsuki were in a hurry to get us back before sun-down and before any other ninja's spotted us. So I investigated every tree, every bush, anything I could investigate without wondering too far off, I felt like a dog at a new park, trying to take everything in at once.

The others weren't far behind, we were all extremely happy to be outside in the sun, and soon enough I poked Miah in the arm and started a game of tag. None of us dared to venture into the trees, we stayed clearly in view of the Akatsuki at all times, playing tag and shrieking when we were caught. Even Mary Ruth joined in, we were both too happy to care if we were enemies, for now, we had formed a silent truce, today was too perfect to have to worry about fighting and how much we really hated one another.

Once, when I was IT and was chasing down Alice, I saw the Akatsuki's out of the corner of my eye, they looked lonely in a way, and they looked almost as if they... wished to join us in our game of tag. But in the end, they just sat and observed quietly, making idle chatter every now and then as we ran around like little kids. I caught Itachi staring at me a lot, his lips twitching into small smiles that disappeared quickly when he saw my gaze land on him.

Finally, after about three hours of running around, it was just past noon and we all crashed. We each lay in our own little patch of grass quietly, just staring at the sky, our panting breaths slowing and resuming their regular calm cycle that is breathing. I closed my eyes for a few minutes and let the little gust of wind blow my hair around as I laid on my back in a patch of luscious green grass. I soon flipped over onto my stomach and crossed my arms over the grass, laying my chin softly on them and closing my eyes.

Darkness consumed me easily, an I fell into a dream-less round of sleep, not caring what happened while I was out, I was so tired...

Itachi POV:

I watched silently from my perch on the hard, now warm boulder, Ashley's unmoving form was the focus of my eyes. At first I had been worried, I thought that somehow she had... died, but then I saw her flinch and roll over onto her side, she was asleep. I mentally sighed in relief, and I watched her as she slept the afternoon away. Kisame's eyes were trained on her for a while, but then he started gazing around, his eyes falling on all of the girls, only Ashley was asleep, the other five were awake and laying down in the grass, or sitting against a tree under its shade.

Seeing her asleep, not to mention completely alone, made a sudden urge shoot through my body. I wanted to... I wanted to go over to her and lay down with her, wrap my arms around her protectively and hold her to me as she slept. I actually imagined myself laying there, holding her softly in my arms, her eyes fluttering open as she awoke, our eyes meeting and staying, we were the only people in the world it felt like. I leaned forward slightly and started inching my eyes closed, wonder what her lips would feel like agains- what the fuck is WRONG with me?!?!

I snapped out of my imagination, mentally cursing at myself for thinking such things, she wasn't supposed to do these things to me, I was supposed to hate her with every fiber of my being and tolerate her only when training, she was supposed to mean NOTHING to me. But she did.... she meant... a lot to me. I relaxed my position and leaned back, spreading my arms out behind me and holding my upper-body up.

I was still cursing myself in my head, it was sooo wrong of me to be thinking those things let alone PICTURING them, or even wondering what her bubble-gum sweet, luscious lips would feel like pressed ever so softly against mine- STOP IT!! I commanded myself, part of me was mortified at myself for thinking such things, the other part didn't care and wanted to picture it, no requested myself to picture it and wonder.

I mentally sighed, still watching her sleeping form, my face softened ever so slightly, and I pursed my lips for a quick second before arching an eyebrow. These feelings were one thing to worry over, but now I was thinking things I had never thought before, contemplating and questioning so many things that revolved around her.

I stiffened slightly as I caught the faint trace of her body stirring, and then she laid back on her back and her eyes slid open ever so slowly. A yawn escaped her lips, and she stretched out all her limbs before relaxing back into the grass again. Raylin approached her and I almost growled, I didn't want anything or anyone to come close to her, and then I remember that Raylin was her friend. Unlike Mary Ruth, who was her enemy and presented a slight threat to her, there wasn't any danger being presented to Ashley, and so I bit back my feelings and showed a stoic face as I watched their every move.

My mind wandered back to that vision of me and her alone, together, in the grass, just about to kiss... UGH! Dammit! I only JUST met the girl like two days ago! She may know a lot about me but I knew nothing about her! Except that she's pretty... and sweet.... and beautiful and- SHUT UP! I kept ending up cursing at myself, getting distracted from keeping an eye on Ashley, though I knew she wouldn't wander off.

My attention returned to her though, when she came over to me and picked up her book and pencil and the other odd contraption that I figured accompanied the pencil. A very odd sensation ruffled it's way along my spine as she glanced at me, before turning away and going to sit silently under a tree that lined the meadow. Her face softened as she flipped open her book and grabbed her pencil, gazing quietly over at all of us Akatsuki, then she apparently started writing in her book.

I watched her silently as she sat and scribbled in her book, catching her gaze only a few times when she looked up at our group again. "Wonder what she's doin, un," Deidara stated, gazing intently over at Kamiah who was watching Ashley with a curious look. After about fifteen minutes Kamiah approached Ashley and... snatched her book from her hands, earning a very convincing growl from Ashley. For some odd reason, that growl sent another shock up my spine, and I became... excited? Odd.

Kamiah then proceeded to try and run off, clutching the book in her hands and smiling evilly. She only got about two feet, though, before Ashley appeared quickly in front of her, jumping down onto the pads of her feet and stretching out her left leg, swinging it around in an arch and tripping Kamiah. She then disappeared and about a mili-second after she reappeared behind Kamiah as she started falling forward. Ashley then picked up her right leg and hooked it through Kamiah's left, her fists ready to collide with her face, balancing perfectly on her left leg as Kamiah stared back at her in surprise.

I felt my right eyebrow arch as I watched the whole scene play out before my eyes, I hadn't figured any of these girls could perform such a task like that, Ashley had been silent, quick, and efficient in her movements. Her lips moved as she said something to Kamiah, then Kamiah handed over Ashley's book. Ashley then unhooked her leg from Kamiah's and Kamiah fell back on her behind, looking confused and surprised as she sat there.

Ashley turned away silently and came back over to me, sitting down between my legs which dangled lazily off the boulder. She opened up her book again and I felt both my eyebrows raise, there, on the page she had been 'writing' on, wasn't anything like writing or words for that matter, but a very realistic portrait of us Akatsuki members sitting casually on our rocks. But the thing that really caught my eye was... how happy we looked, she put life back into our eyes, and I wondered if that was what she saw us like.

I cast a look at Deidara and Sasori, then the others, she had... well, talent, that move she had pulled was enough for me to determine she was going to be worthy of training. Kisame leaned over, making his face come close to my left shoulder, much to my annoyance, then gasped as he caught the sight of Ashley's drawing. "Hey Deidara, Sasori come check this out!" Kisame said and grinned a sharky-looking grin at them. Deidara muttered a usual grunt and came over, then his eyebrows raised as he saw the drawing.

"Wow, un," Deidara said as he leaned down to get a better look, his mechanical eye coming into view as he gazed almost fondly at Ashley's drawing. She took her pencil from behind her right ear and started sketching the background, which only magnified it as she started in the entrance to the cave which we had exited. Sasori's puppet gazed over at us silently, then almost reluctantly slid down the rock, like a beetle crawling stiffly down a tree.

Sasori semi-sauntered over to us in his puppet, then cast a critical eye towards me and Kisame before taking a peek at Ashley's drawing. Her face softened, her gaze only concentrated on her work as her left hand flew lightly across the page, adding tiny details that somehow made the picture pop to life. We all watched silently, I was very intrigued as I watched her sketch out everything she had seen.

Soon enough she looked up again to find almost everyone watching her, which earned us a slight blush from her. I fought back a smile, my nerves wracking through-out my body like a ship on a sea in the middle of a huge storm. My heart fluttered ever so slightly in my chest as she added more small details to my figure in her drawing, I looked rather happy, seeming to enjoy myself in the afternoon sun.

She even added her friends into the picture when they were all playing tag, I have to admit while they were running about like little kids I was nervous for her. Especially when Catie had tackled her once and she had let out a scream, I had been afraid that she'd gotten hurt. And then I mentally scolded myself when she got up and the others scattered since she was now IT. I was also happy for her, my own heart swelling when she'd glance my way and our eyes would meet silently, I'd offer her a small smile that would always disappear quickly. Seeing her grinning and laughing and just... having fun, even if she was our sortof 'prisoner', it made me happy I guess.

The day was coming to a close as the sun was setting, oranges, reds, and pinks, not to mention yellows and lighter and darker blues flying across the sky as darkness neared. I admit I didn't want to go back to the lair yet, Ashley and the others were so happy being outside in the open air. Even the other Akatsuki members seemed reluctant to leave, Pein and Konan were rather content cuddling in the shade of a nearby tree, Zetsu had returned to inform that only one squad of ninja's had come by scouting, he had disposed of them easily. Tobi, on the other-hand, made me almost want to go inside and lock him out in the cold.

What happened was as him and Zetsu joined us on the boulder's he handed Ashley a bouquet of roses he'd apparently picked, and in turn he got a peck on the cheek from Ashley. That made my blood boil like it never had before, I was absolutely fuming, at least until Ashley replied through Zetsu's borrowed translator,"They're my third favorite flower." "Third?" Tobi replied as his masked face seemingly fell. "My second favorite flowers are lily's, and my absolute favorites are white roses and lilacs," she replied and smiled as she burried her face softly in the bouquet, inhaling quietly.

I fought back a satisfied smirk, then my blood boiled at the thought of him returning with white roses for her, he and I both now knew her favorite flowers. Wait... why do I even CARE?! I started cursing myself mentally again, I swear I'd never cursed myself like this unless I'd done something wrong on a mission (which was almost never.) I think I was turning into Hidan... now THAT is a scary thought. I mentally snickered, Hidan and his swearing never did cease to entertain you, unless you didn't like it.

As we Akatsuki stood on the rocks and motioned for the girl's to follow I ended up walking besides Ashley again. We were the last in the line, and before we entered back into the cave Ashley looked to the sky and smiled. I gave her a semi-confused expression, my translator already in hand sense I had told her to follow me. She pointed towards the sky and I followed her arm until I saw what she was pointing at, it was a star. "The first star of the night, make a wish," she said softly and smiled when I glanced back at her.

I gazed back at the star and pretended to wish for something, but in reality, I didn't even know what to wish for, then I turned my face back to the cave and we walked side by side after the others.

Time skip!! (back at the 'house')

Ashley POV:

I sat crossed legged on the bed, the covers covering only my crossed legs as I sat quietly, Itachi was in the bathroom taking a shower. "Mmm," I mumbled as I watched my hands as they sat limply in my lap, being alone was a good thing for me sometimes when I didn't want people to see my real emotions, but even here I couldn't show them. Itachi would probably be out soon, so I couldn't let my calm facade down.

Like a caged bird, I sat dejectedly on the bed, not daring to leave the room, but as I sat and listened to the rushing water of the shower, I let myself slip. I felt my calm melt away and show the real pain and fear behind it, if anyone had seen me right then they'd probably think of me as a bird with a broken wing that was, like I said, in a cage. A beaten, broken bird, scared for it's poor life.

Right when I heard the water start slowing, I felt my calm come back and engulf me in a warm embrace. Being calm was always a good thing for me, it let me think clearly and not cry much, not to mention show my true feelings unless I really wanted to. Like with boyfriends. I froze for only a second when the water stopped, it was rather relaxing to listen to the rushing water of the shower, I'd always found it relaxing for some reason. I ran a hand through my long hair, sighing as quietly as I could and cupping my right hand around my cheek, resting the weight of my head on my right arm.

I felt my calm slip again but this time I only let myself show sadness, and that's when I felt that shock go up my spine. I glanced up quietly to see Itachi staring at me as he stood in the doorway. I felt my cheeks heat, he was only wearing a pair of black boxers, his black hair wet and falling over his shoulders, not pulled back into its usual pony-tail. His whole body glistened, he was still wet, his boyish looking chest that held a stretched six-pack over his ribs showed the most. I blushed as my eyes raked across his body, and I felt myself start heating in places I didn't want to.

Fuck! I thought as I tore my eyes away from him and gazed straight forward with my cheeks so damn red. It was at that time that I felt a little grateful I had chosen to wear a simple tank-top and short-shorts for pj's. Then I caught myself, fuck I WANTED him, and in THAT way, I'd never wanted a guy like this before, I was hot almost everywhere, and I clenched my fists together, I should've worn a t-shirt and knee-length shorts tonight.

I avoided looking back at him, and soon I calmed down a little, I was only fricken seventeen, I knew I'd have... urges, but that hit hard. I mentally sighed and laid back against the pillow, that shock was still there, he was still watching me. I feared looking up again, I didn't want to feel that again, because I knew I'd most likely pounce on him. And he'd most likely kill me.

But in the end, I took another look, he was still standing there, watching me like a hawk, but his eyes weren't onyx anymore... they were the red of the sharingan, those three black comma's seeming to swirl around his pupils, swimming amongst the red sea. I felt my face soften, and his softened slightly, too. He walked a little stiffly over to the right side of the bed and drew back the covers, his eyes focused on my face almost fiercely.

I watched him with a hesitant expression, not knowing what would happen if I moved one inch. He laid down and flipped the covers back over him, then turned his back on me. I felt my heart fall with my face, and I sighed a small sigh and wiggled my way down so I was encased in the covers, I turned away from him, too. I lay quietly on my side, my left hand cupped between the pillow and my cheek, and my right arm wrapped around my waist.

I felt almost alone, Itachi was stone silent behind me, though I wished I could talk to him, and actually understand him without the use of the translator thing. I knew he didn't like me the way I liked him, heck I didn't even know why I was placed under his watchful eyes, and why I was in HIS room and not Kisame's, who would also be teaching me. Either way, I was half happy and half regretful for being taught by him and in his room.

I felt the bed crease silently as Itachi turned over, now facing my back, and I felt that damn shock go through me again. He was watching me again, he probably thought I was asleep. I wanted to turn over and face him, but I was afraid of being turned on by him again ugh! I'd probably jump on him and he'd either push me off or most likely take it as an attack and kill me, soo yeah I just laid still and faced away from him.

After about ten more minutes of that shock still there and me not getting to sleep, I mentally sighed and turned over. I closed my eyes and refused to look at Itachi yet, but when I slowly opened my eyes I saw he was staring back at me. His head was propped up with his left arm, his head turned silently towards me, and I could see a good amount of his upper-body, at least a few inches under his shoulders, I could see all his muscles rippling under his pasty white skin. His hair was still wet and cascaded down his back and clouded his right shoulder from me, all together he looked like... a dark angel.

I felt myself become hot everywhere again, but not just because of how sexy he looked, but because of the hungry look in his eyes. I don't really know if he wanted me back, but that look... it made me feel vulnerable and turned on and beautiful and just... alive. I clenched my eyes shut and buried my head under the covers, then I hesitantly opened my eyes and moved so that only my forehead and eyes were visible.

I peeked up at him shyly, and he was gazing back at me, a smile laced hesitantly on his lips. I knew it was hard for him, to smile and actually show some of his real feelings, and that it was rare to see him smile. I felt my heart swell in my chest, and I smiled shyly back at him, though I'm sure he could only see the tips of my mouth quirk up. Then my smile fell and my eyes flashed with sadness, I didn't want to think he liked me back when I doubted he did, he might be trying to lead me on for the fun of it, and I didn't want to get hurt again.

His smile faltered when he saw my expression, and then he did something I never expected he would do. He started reaching his right arm towards me, as if he wished to... stroke my cheek and make me happy again. But in the end, he jerked his hand away and looked away, looking... unsure? Huh, odd. I yawned and gave a small smile to him, then I cuddle my face into the pillow and closed my eyes slowly, he had his head tipped down, still unsure, but his eyes were focused on me.

Darkness encased me quickly and silently, no dreams surfaced that night, just the sweet darkness of a deep sleep.

Itachi POV:

As dawn neared I still lay in bed, watching, waiting, as if I were a predator, watching it's prey. Ashley slept soundly, her cheeks still tinted with pink from earlier this evening, I hadn't slept this night, I'd just watched her sleep. Why's swam in my head, now increasing in numbers since that... moment I guess you could say.

Flashback:

I came out of the shower rather reluctantly, encased in the cold water still, taking a breathtakingly cold shower always stilled my head, so that I couldn't ponder things. I expected her to be asleep when I came out, but no. She was awake, her whole upper-body clothed in that very revealing white tank-top, her head resting in the palm of her right hand as she propped it up with her whole right arm. Her face had fallen a few minutes before I had opened the door, showing sadness.

But when she looked up at me and our eyes met, a new feeling washed silently over me, my body became very ridged, aware. My heart beat slow, but my breath was panting, my eyes coursed with a new-found, overpowering sense of lust that was laced with something else, an emotion I'd obtained the first moment I saw her. I was... afraid for one thing, this overruling sense of lust had almost knocked me over as I stood quietly in the doorway to the bathroom.

I wanted her. No, I needed her, she was just there, watching me, her eyes raking across my body in a silent but breathtaking way. The look in her eyes told me she felt the same amount of lust, but in the end she tore her gaze from me, her cheeks staining pink. I admit I rather enjoyed the sight of that blush, knowing I could always make it come on. This time I let my feelings flow ever silent through-out me, my heart swelling when she looked up at me again and our eyes met.

I watched her like a hawk as I finally started moving my feet, trying not to shuffle across the floor. I came around to my side of the bed, the left side, and peeled back the covers, not taking my eyes off her for one minute. My nerves were electrified in me, fraying about so quickly I might've jumped at the slightest of movements from her. I was about ready to just pounce on her and take her as mine when I caught myself.

This time, I laid myself under the covers silently and turned my back on her, in that movement it was the hardest, I wanted to see her. I heard her huff a sigh that filled the room in my ears as I felt the bed crease while she covered herself in the covers. I laid still and silent for a little bit, not daring to take a glance over my shoulder at her 'lest my emotions took over my body and I did something I'd later regret.

The pull to her was increasing, my heart now beating wildly in my chest as my still wet body lay under the bed covers. After a very... heated thought that had me trying not to squirm around, I mentally sighed and turned over onto my stomach, propping my head up with my left arm quietly as the covers slid down my back, stopping just a few inches under my shoulders.

I watched her back quietly, half of me wanting her to turn over and look at me, the other half rather reluctant to watch her. It felt as if my heart had somehow risen up into my throat, my eyes raking down her body, wanting her, the little voice in the back of my head that I'd locked away a very long time ago surfaced, yelling at me to go closer to her. I was afraid of doing that, afraid of what would happen if I did.

So in the end I laid there, watching her, a smile evidently tugging at my lips for a while, until she finally turned over. My mouth turned into a broad smile, hesitation lacing it, it was still rather hard for me to show my emotions. Her eyes were closed, however, seemingly clenched shut, and when she did open her eyes I almost heard her intake of breath. That hungry look in her eyes from a little while ago was there again, only this time, that lacing emotion I'd seen was now greater than her lust for me.

She then clenched her eyes shut again, burring her head under the covers, then hesitantly opening her eyes and making only her forehead and eyes appear out of the blanket. She peeked up at me shyly, then she smiled back at me, the only visible indication of her smile being that of the tips of her mouth showing to be tipped upwards. That smile reached her eyes for a few moments, before it faltered for some reason, and dropped, her eyes flashing with sadness again.

I felt my own smile falter as I watched her, her eyes almost pleading with me for some reason, and I wanted to comfort her, to make her happy again. So I hesitantly reached out my right arm, wanting to stroke her cheek and tell her everything was going to be ok, though I didn't know what caused her this pleading and sad look. But in the end, I caught myself and jerked my hand away, she didn't need my pity, and I didn't understand these emotions that swirled within me, most of me desperately wanted these emotions gone, but a small, fragile part of me bathed quietly and... happily in them.

I looked down, unsure whether to trust myself and try that again, or more angry at myself for even thinking it. My eyes glanced up at her again, and she yawned and formed a small smile, then cuddled her face against her pillow and closed her eyes as I continued watching her. As she fell into a a deep slumber I watched her like the ravenous predator I deemed myself as. I continued to watch her as she slept, wanting my feelings to dissipate, but also not wanting them to.

End Flashback

In the end I had just stuck to watching her for the rest of the night, every now and then an urge would slice through me, wishing for me to slide closer to her and sleep next to her warm body, so that maybe, I wouldn't feel like the cold monster I thought I was. A predator, a watcher, a monster, names I'd given myself from the day I'd killed my clan. Genius used to be one of them by my father, and I was rather cold hearted towards that name, the Uchiha clan only thought of me as a simple trumpet card, nothing more, not even a son to them.

I was dieing from that, from the quilt and horrible realization of what I had done, the only comfort for many years being that I'd let my younger brother Sasuke live. He had been like a small, out of sight shadow of mine half the time, always there, on the edges of my peripheral vision. But now, I had a silent and almost unrecognizable bond as friends with the Akatsuki members, and recently the strange feelings for this simple girl who was our semi 'prisoner' or also known as I and Kisame's new 'student'. In Zetsu's opinion, the girls were just pet's to us, used and trained for our leader's own reasons.

As the hours dragged by for the most of it, I idly wondered and pondered at why Leader-sama had chosen these specific girl's, I'd pondered at this thought before yesterday night. These girl's were supposed to be nothing but students to us, perhaps meant to carry on the Akatsuki if some of us died, though I doubted any of us would at this point, we were all pretty much immortal (I felt like making all of them immortal 'cuz I mean, how much fun is it when you think of the Awesomeness of the Akatsuki dying? See my point ;)) I fought back a cringe at the thought of them being our 'breeding women', they were nothing but students for us, even if my feelings attracted me towards my train-y. She was just... interesting to me.

Now that thought got me horrifyingly on the thought of if I would even have kids, which I seriously doubted, I mean sure, I'd killed the Uchiha under the direct orders of the elders, so I didn't think it would be very smart to actually start the Uchiha's rein over. That'd just get my family killed, in the end. But then my thoughts snagged on Sasuke, wondering, if the elders had wanted all the Uchiha's dead, why hadn't they killed him already? I had been supposed to slaughter every last member of my clan, but when I got to him, my little silent shadow, I guess I just couldn't do it. Then I wondered, why hadn't they killed me, either? They wanted all of the Uchiha's dead anyways, so why not just end it already?

The answer I thought was that they feared me, because I had done the deed swiftly and fluently, not hesitating in the slaughter, not feeling any emotion until I reached Sasuke. So I guessed that they feared loosing more ninja's to me, that I'd slaughter every last member of Konoha. I mentally scoffed at that thought, killing every last person in Konoha would take awhile, since there numbers were far greater than that of my and the Akatsuki, besides, I'd probably just end up getting killed.

Now that thought made me cringe, I never used to be afraid of dieing, but now I was... and I didn't know why. But the thought of dieing while fighting made me a bit... happier I guess you could say, that dieing in the line of duty was a good way to die. Pride fought it's way through my heart as I thought of dieing protecting someone... maybe even... then I caught myself again. Hell did every thought now revolve around her?! Fuck! Then I sighed as quietly as I could, trying not to stir the confusing and captivating girl sleeping next to me.

It was then I realized how close I'd moved to her, I was now just a few inches away from her, her breath fanning my right arm as she slept. She really did look like a fallen angel when she slept, and I felt... well now protective of her. Gawd, I think I'm becoming bipolar. (don't kill me for that hehe what? He's just changing emotions and denying things for Ashley at this point so he sounds a little bipolar, once again do not kill me lol. Keep reading pplzz i'll give u a cyber cookie! Lol I promise things get interesting soon ^^)

I heard Pein's door open, then Konan's, we had to get up early today to discuss where we'd be taking our apprentices. I got out of bed soon after, very hyper aware/awake as I put on my usual pair of blue ninja pants and sandals, throwing on a black tank-top and a mesh shirt over that, then grabbing my cloak and sliding it on. I heard the other Akatsuki members' doors open, and the sound of quiet and precise steps drummed through my ears as they went into the living room. It would still be a few more hours before Ashley and the other girls awoke.

I entered into the hall swiftly, shutting the door to Ashley and I's room silently, hoping not to wake her. I walked into the living room as the others bid me good morning, though outside it was still about two more hours until the sun arose. I sat down on the couch quietly, my system was too rigid and aware this 'morning' so I wasn't that hungry yet. Kisame, Tobi, Deidara, and Konan were in the kitchen already eating, I'd get something later probably.

Sasori was in his 'human' form, his red spiky hair showing as his calm brown eyes regarded all of us silently, his puppet body masked by his Akatsuki cloak as he stood at the island. Kakuzu sat next to me in the middle of the couch, Hidan on the other side of him surprisingly. Hidan was glaring at Kakuzu, while Kakuzu was staring at the TV. Zetsu morphed out of the wall silently, his venus-flytrap encased head the only thing sticking out of the wall. Pein was in his usual recliner to my right, his shadow form regarding everyone with those silent and swirling, ringed grayish-purple eyes.

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