Hello! Thanks for clicking! First off I feel compelled to inform you of a few things about this story. If you could care less then go ahead and skip this note and start reading. Ok everyone who wanted to leave went? Good. Ok, now for the rest of you, when I first started this story it was supposed to just be short little clips from Sakura's like if she was born to Pein and Konan. However it morphed into something bigger. So the style of how I wrote this changes a little as the story goes on. Sorry if this irritates any of you. Oh, and another thing. I know some of these stories end up paring Sakura up with one of the Akatsuki, however this is only a Akatsuki Sakura family fic. If I put any romance in it (highly unlikely) then it will only be a tad and it will be SasuSaku. Okie dokie, that should be it. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own in any way shape or form any recognizable characters in this story. I only own parts of the plot.
Oh yes. And a special thanks the Goldenwolfhowl aka Howl-chan for betaing and helping me with these plot bunnies!
There was silence.
"What?" Pain asked.
"You heard what I said." Konan replied, leaning with forced confidence against his desk.
"So, you're really…"
"Yes."
"You're sure?"
Konan rolled her eyes, but on the inside she was a nervous wreck. "Yes, I'm sure."
There was more silence.
"Look I understand this isn't what you want, but I've had time to think it over and this is something I want to do. If you want me to I can leave but I will have this baby." Konan said, pushing off against the desk and readying herself to leave his office.
"I'd prefer it if you stay." Pain said, keeping his voice even, despite the panic that rose in him when she said she was willing to leave.
"So then you're ok with this?"
"I'm not sure."
"But you'll allow it?"
"Yes."
Konan silently sighed in relief. She was willing to leave Akatsuki for this unborn child, but she'd been unsure of where they'd go.
"Do you wish for me to tell the others?" she asked.
"You may if you wish." He said, nodding his head to dismiss her.
"Arigato."
Konan left the room, the only sound of her departure a faint rustling of paper on paper.
Pein turned in his chair and looked out into the dreary scene that was Amegakure.
What was he to do with a child?
"Daddy, Daddy, look at me!" the four year old cherry haired girl called.
Pein looked up from his paper work to see his daughter zigzagging throughout the room.
"I look like Mizu-nii!" she exclaimed, pointing to the maker lines on her face resembling gills before scrunching her hands at her side to make fins.
"Hmm." Pein hummed, not really laughing, but getting as close to the action as he could.
"I do not look like that." Kisame said, coming into the office.
"Mizu-nii!" Sakura shouted, forgetting her charade and running to embrace the gilled man.
"Squirt." He acknowledged, slightly bending down to meet her.
"I see you've returned from your assignment." Pein said, becoming the stoic leader he was known to be.
"Yes Leader-sama. The new recruit looks promising. A bit brooding, but capable of handling the job."
"I'd agree with your assessment, seeing has he followed you all the way here." Pein said, looking past a shocked Kisame to the door behind him.
"Come in Uchiha."
With no pomp or grandeur, not even an overconfident comment on how Kisame hadn't detected him for two countries, Itachi Uchiha entered the room. Pein eyed the Leaf-nin carefully, leaning back in his chair. Itachi eyed him in return, wary of any sudden movements from the two older ninja.
"You've come to consider our offer?" Pein asked, sounding disinterested.
"To investigate." Itachi answered.
There was a silence as all three ninjas watched each other, anticipating a scuffle. Unbenounced to them, Sakura had left the shelter of Kisame's side and approached Itachi. She watched him a second before tugging on the hem of his pants and made a small grunt to get his attention.
For years later each of the three ninja would deny that a pink haired four year old made them startle.
Keeping his guard up and still watching Pain and Kisame, Itachi kneeled down to Sakura's level.
"Yes?" he asked, sparing her a glance.
"You're going to be part of our family?" she asked with wide emerald eyes.
"Hn." He answered, looking back up.
Suddenly little arms were wrapped around his torso.
"Nii-chan." Sakura identified, smiling at Itachi. "What's nii-cha's name?"
Now his attention was on the intriguingly curious child before him. Despite the physical differences she reminded him of Sasuke.
"Uchiha, Itachi."
"It's nice to meet you It-chi-nii." Sakura said, happily.
Kisame repressed a laugh.
Itachi grimaced and rose to meet Pein's gaze, an answer to the unasked question.
"Welcome to the Akatsuki, Uchiha."
"Hn. We'll be in touch." He said before leaving.
Kisame and Pein watched as the four year old happily waved to the newest member of the Akatsuki.
"Well that could've gone worse." Kisame commented.
"Quiet, now to discuss how you led an enemy shinobi to the hideout and my daughter."
"I get off scot free and Konan never hears of the 'kunai incident' or that you let Sakura play with shuriken."
Pein paused. "Deal."
Emerald eyes watched brooding blonde hair.
A small hand reached out.
"Don't, un." Deidera semi-barked, halting the eight year old, while still molding clay.
"But…"
"No. You cannot braid my hair, un."
"Why not?" Sakura whined.
"Cause I said so, un. Aren't you supposed to be training?"
"But I already hit the bull's-eye with all my kunai."
"Then go find something else to do and stop annoying me. It's bad enough that I have to babysit but now I have to entertain you too, un?"
"Fine." Sakura huffed, going back to the field, presumably to practice more.
Deidera was annoyed, deeply annoyed. Not only did this stupid mercenary group force him to join, but then they stick him with a child to watch. How was he supposed to express his artistic style if he was stuck to a pink haired brat?
"Deidera-senpai."
"What is it brat, un?" he answered, turning around.
He was met with an eight year old waist high Sakura, green eyes burning with determination and a crudely sculpted bird in her cupped outstretched hands.
"It won't explode." She said, pouting.
"What, un?" Deidera asked, dumbfounded.
"I keep putting chakra into it, but it won't explode."
Deidera's inner teacher emerged. "Well of course its not, you're not using the right clay or ratio of chakra, un. Here let me see." He said, taking the bird into his hands.
When Sasori came to retrieve them two hours later he found Deidera teaching Sakura about how to use his explosive clay.
"Ah, Sasori-dono come here, Sakura-chan is learning the meaning of art, un!" he said, not bothering to conceal his excitement.
"Art is a bang, un!" Sakura exclaimed.
Sasori sighed, "What nonsense have you fed her?" he turned to Sakura, not letting Deidera respond.
"Sakura-chan, art is forever."
"Are we really going to do this?" Konan asked as she and Pein looked over their sleeping daughter.
"An S-ranked criminal hideout isn't exactly the ideal playground for an eight year old." Pein replied.
"Yes, but she's safe here. Everyone of the Akatsuki would protect her with their lives, they adore her."
"But she is a target for that exact reason. She is the weakness of everyone here. If something happens to her then all of the Akatsuki would be compromised. What we're doing is for the best."
Konan sighed and nodded, agreeing with Pein, but not liking it. Gently Pein laid his hand across his daughter's eyes. Not a minute later he was done. Silently he picked up Sakura's still sleeping form and left her room, Konan close behind. Utilizing the full moon, the ninja made good time in getting to their destination. With a final kiss, hug and presents from each, the torn parents left the memory-less child in the foreign village.
When the sun lit the horizon, the Third Hokage found a pink haired girl laying across his door step with a paper sakura blossom in her hair.
"Sakura-chan!"
The twelve year old pinkette halted her packing to open the bedroom door for her blonde teammate and roommate.
"What is it, Fuzz-for-brains?"
"Your nicknames are getting worse and worse. Are you ready to go yet? Kakashi-sensei said we're supposed to meet him and the old man at the gates soon."
"Hai, I'm almost ready. Just hold on." She answered, returning to her room.
Looking around Sakura realized that the only thing left to pack was her gifts.
When the Third found Sakura on his porch four years ago she only had a paper flower, a shiruken with a cloud engraved on it, the clothes on her back, and the knowledge of her name.
For a time the Third Hokage cared for her, but Sakura requested that she live alone, to make sure that she wasn't a burden. However the Hokage refused to let a nine year old girl to fend for herself. Instead he introduced the unknown pink hair child to the lonely blonde prankster menace of Konoha. The two took to each other immediately, or least it seemed they did, it was kind of hard to tell when Sakura was beating Naruto up. Being as close as siblings, the two children shared almost everything with each other.
Almost.
Every year on her birthday Sakura would find two presents in her room. On her ninth birthday she found a small clay bird and a pack of filled vials at the foot of her bed. The bird was fashioned in such a way that t if a bit of chakra was pushed into it, a small spark of an explosion would occur. The vials were filled with poison, each labeled and complete with instructions on how to recreate it. The morning of her tenth birthday, Sakura found a new ninja tool pack and a bingo book laying on her dresser. For her Eleventh birthday the mysterious gift giver left eleven lollipops and a small Venus fly trap. On her twelfth birthday Sakura found a pair of new ninja tools and an unusual knife in her closet. The foot long blade was made of a strong smooth white material with serrated edges that absorbed chakra. She had taken to 'feeding' it a small portion of her chakra every day, for some reason it seemed like the knife became happy when she did so.
Sakura never told anyone about the mysterious gifts she received, they seemed too personal. She had shared the lollipops with Naruto, but anytime he questioned her about the new stuff she had she lied, claiming she got them from traveling traders and merchants.
She wanted to bring a few of the items with her on her first mission outside the village. Quickly packing, Sakura found that the pack comfortably held her poisons, bird bingo book and all her kunai and shuriken. She strapped the knife to a belt she really did buy from a traveling merchant and looped it around her waist. After donning the ninja shoes she said good bye to the fly trap and headed out the door.
"Hurry up, Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled.
"Shut up Baka, I'm coming." She yelled back.
Finally the two reached the gate and met up with the rest of their team and the bridge builder they were escorting.
"See Sakura-chan. You made us so late that even Kakashi-sensei got her before us." Naruto whined.
"Actually Naruto, you two arrived before Sasuke. I wasn't expecting any of you for another ten minutes." Kakashi said, for once not reading the brightly colored Icha Icha book.
"Told you." Sakura said, happily.
"Whatever, you're just glad that the time you took to look better for Sasuke-teme didn't run into your time with him."
"Shut up Naruto." Sakura said in a sing song voice, one that should've warned Naruto to stop.
"Why should I? We all know you like him."
"In either case, it's none of your business."
"Oh, so you admit that you like him."
"No, I-" Naruto but Sakura off.
"Sakura likes Teme, Sakura likes Teme, Sakura likes Teme!" he chanted.
An angry tick mark appeared on Sakura's face.
Kakashi sweatdropped. "Um, Naruto you might-"
"Naruto" Sakura shouted.
"Nevermind." Kakashi sighed.
Sakura began chasing after Naruto. "You are dead meat Naruto!"
"Nah, nah, na-nah, ha!" Naruto answered mockingly.
During this chaos Sasuke showed up.
"Ah, Sasuke you're here. Now we can get going. Naruto, Sakura we're leaving." Kakashi called cheerily.
As easily as the chase began, it ended and the two young ninja returned to the waiting group.
"Yeah, let's go! Dattebyo!" Naruto shouted, running out of the village gate.
Tazuna muttered something under his breath the sounded suspiciously like "Should've sprung for a B-rank."
Thanks for reading my plot bunny. There will be more soon! But in the mean time please review!