They stop in the next village over. They aren't worried about the citizens that gave chase from the last village because that's all they are – citizens. All the shinobi (there were very few to begin with) are dead now, just as their mission detailed.
"It's getting dark," Kisame comments as they walk along the outskirts of this new village. Itachi nods, looking toward the horizon. The sun will be down in a matter of minutes, and they need to figure out what the hell they're going to do about this. The raven sets the small frame of Hidan down onto the ground.
"I'll find an inn to stay at and come get you so we can sneak them in." Kisame and Sasori agree, setting down their two dead weights. Itachi disappears into the village, coming back fifteen minutes later with a key to a room. They pick up their comrades again and quickly slip through the quiet town and into their inn room. Kisame locks the door behind them and turns to look at the room. It's a small room with only two beds, what he and Itachi normally get, but with the added three children and Sasori, it'll be a tight squeeze. "She gave me a funny look when I asked for two beds, I didn't want to make her even more suspicious by asking for a family-sized room," Itachi explains when he sees his partner's expression.
"I'm not complaining," Kisame chuckles, tossing Kakuzu onto one of the beds as if he were a sack of potatoes.
"Kisame," Itachi scolds, laying Hidan down next to the immortal duo. Sasori dumps Deidara next to them. "We need to get them back to the hideout as soon as possible."
"Without being seen," the blue-skinned man adds. Itachi silently agrees. Although the Akatsuki aren't very well known yet, there are still shinobi and others out there who want them dead, and in Deidara, Hidan, and Kakuzu's vulnerable states, it would be easy to take them out. "Maybe we should get them some clothes?"
"I agree." It would look very strange to be walking around with children all dressed the same as them, and even more strange if they were half-naked. "I saw a clothing shop nearby when I was looking for this inn; we'll leave early in the morning and stop by there before we head to the hideout."
"Alright." Sasori nods and steps outside the room, muttering that he's going to make sure no one followed them.
Kisame sets Samehada down beside the bed not inhabited by children and goes to the bathroom. The shower turns on a moment later, and Itachi lets himself relax onto the free bed, exhausted. They'd been getting missions one after the other lately, with little time to rest in between. This was the first time he'd been able to lie down in two days, and he was going to take advantage of it. The cheap lumpy mattress feels good under his aching muscles; he closes his eyes and lets himself fall asleep.
He doesn't know how long he's out, but it must not have been a long time because he can still hear the shower running. He also hears stirring coming from the bed across the room. He pulls himself into a sitting position and watches as Hidan shifts in his sleep, stretching his arms above his head and kicking his feet out over the edge of the bed. With a small yawn, the Jashinist sits up, blinking at Itachi in confusion.
And then he lets out the loudest scream Itachi has heard in his entire life. A loud banging sound comes from the bathroom, but the Uchiha ignores it, crossing the room in two steps and picking up the screaming child. "Hidan, stop!" The other two are waking up now, and their reactions, while not as extreme as Hidan's, aren't much better.
"Let me go!" Hidan screams, kicking Itachi continuously, and flailing his arms out.
"Hidan, stop, you're alright! I'm not going to hurt you!" Itachi is suddenly hit in the back of the head by a pillow, and though it doesn't hurt, he bites his tongue and blood immediately pools into his mouth and down his chin.
"Agh!" Deidara, the culprit, screams. "He spits red venom out, hm!"
"Deidara, I-" the raven's cut off by a punch to the back by Kakuzu. "Kisame!"
The bathroom door bangs open and the shark-nin exits in a panic, holding a towel around his waist. He takes one look at Itachi and bursts into laughter. "Can't handle a few kids, Itachi? Here I thought some shinobi were attacking."
"Just grab Deidara before he gets out," the Uchiha growls, jerking his head towards the door where the blond is trying to reach the latch to unlock it. "Hidan, please stop screaming!"
"Then let me go, you jerk face!" The silver-haired boy struggles out of the raven's grasp, landing on the floor with a thud. "And how do you know my name, anyway?"
"Don't worry about that," Itachi says, grabbing Kakuzu before he can punch him again. "Just sit down and remain calm and I'll explain every- Ow!" He drops Kakuzu onto the floor and pulled his hand to his chest. The little bastard bit him. Kisame crosses the room with a screaming Deidara hanging upside down by his foot.
"This is going well, isn't it?" Kisame smirks, and there's a knock at the door. "Oh dear."
"Put them in the bathroom. I'll get the door." Itachi stands up and rushes to the door while Kisame jumps into action. "Hello?"
He opens the door a crack, eyes meeting with the owner of the inn. "I'm getting complaints of multiple children screaming from this room, and when I checked the records, this room and only been reserved for one person!"
"I'm…terribly sorry, ma'am," Itachi apologizes, formulating some lies in his head. "I'm just visiting this village with my kids; I thought they stayed free so I didn't even think to mention them when I checked in."
The grumpy look doesn't change on the woman. "Well, they don't stay free here, you'll have to upgrade to the family-sized room if you don't want me to have the police show up."
"Oh, of course, ma'am, I'll upgrade right away."
"Good." The woman's face softens a bit, and she takes out a notepad. "How many kids are in the room with you?"
"Uh, three."
Her eyebrows raise as she scribbles away on her notepad. "Busy guy, you are. You don't look much older than twenty, either." Itachi just stands there nervously. Yells can be heard coming from the bathroom and the woman looks up again. "You need to keep those kids under control."
"Sorry, they…really hate bath-time."
"Itachi," Kisame opens the door to the bathroom slightly and yells out. "Is that Sasori?"
"Just a minute," the raven hisses, turning back to the less-than-please woman. "I forgot to mention there's two more adults as well."
"Sure you did." She finishes her calculations and tells the price to Itachi, who sighs as he takes the money out of his own earnings. "Come down to the front desk to receive your new key and please, keep the kids out of my lobby. I don't need them making a ruckus and scaring away any other guests."
He closes the door and sighs, leaning against it and staring toward the bathroom as Deidara peeks his head out. It's obvious that none of them remember that they're S-ranked criminals belonging to the Akatsuki organization. And they certainly don't remember Itachi or Kisame, or each other for that matter.
"We need to change rooms, Kisame," Itachi says, rubbing his temples. Kisame exits the bathroom and the three kids with him spill out, running in all directions.
"At least the next room will be bigger," Kisame says, crossing the room and grabbing Samehada before Hidan can get his hands on it. "You go grab the key, I'll stay and make sure they don't get us into any more trouble."
Itachi nods, standing up from the floor and doing just that. When he comes back up, he and his partner quickly usher the still-struggling and confused kids into their new room, which is bigger than the last, but still just as cheap and dirty-looking.
"Okay, everyone sit down on that bed and I'll explain what's going on."
"Are you guys kidnappers? Hm." Deidara asks, hopping up onto the bed and swinging his legs, not as panicked as any normal kid would be. Kakuzu rolls his eyes and glares at the two adults in the room, still standing. Itachi and Kisame can barely recognize him; he's still got his long brown hair, and his eyes are the same, but there are no stitches anywhere on his body, and it's odd to see him without his mask. He's the tallest out of the rest of the kids, and stands at his full height in some attempt to threaten the two older members.
Deidara looks very much the same; his long blond hair is fully down, the ribbon he usually keeps in it must have fallen out during the skirmish. He still has the same mischievous look in his eyes, which are even more clear to see since it appears he lost his scope as well. A quick glance at his hands confirms that the mouths are still there as well.
"What makes you think they'd tell us if they were kidnappers, stupid?" Hidan snaps, crossing his arms and sitting down on the floor in a huff. He's pretty much the same as well. His silver hair is a little shorter than before, but his face appears the same – not innocent at all. Itachi had never really pegged Hidan to have an innocent bone in his body anyways.
"We're not kidnappers," the Uchiha explains. "We're part of the Akatsuki, and so are all of you."
"What's the 'Katsi?" Deidara asks, leaning forward. "Is it a kidnappers' club?"
Kisame face-palms. "The Akatsuki is a group of mercenaries-for-hire."
"What's that?" Hidan asks, though he doesn't really appear too interested. He plays with a loose thread on his cloak. "Is that why we're all matching?"
"I've heard about mercenaries," Kakuzu says, ignoring is partner's words. "They kill people for money. That's what I'm gonna be when I grow up."
"Anyways," Itachi continues. "You're all a part of the Akatsuki, we were on a mission and then-"
"Does that mean we get to kill people?!" Hidan jumps up and kicks as high as he can, showing off his skills. He turns to Deidara. "Maybe being kidnapped isn't so bad if we get to kill people."
"You weren't kidnapped!" Itachi rubs his temples. Kisame puts a hand on his shoulder, chuckling.
"Just forget it, Itachi, as long as they aren't screaming anymore who cares what they believe?" Kisame turns toward the three. "How old are you all?"
"Five!" they shout simultaneously, looking at each other and bursting into laughter afterward. Itachi and Kisame fail to see what's so funny, but they ignore it. They're a lot younger than Itachi had initially thought. Not even old enough to start Academy.
Itachi stands, motioning for his comrades to do the same. "We have a lot to do tomorrow, so it's best we get some sleep now." The protests that follow his words catch him off guard.
"I'm not even tired, hm!"
"We just woke up."
"My bedtime's not until nine thirty."
Itachi closes his eyes, considering using a genjutsu on the brats. What Kisame says next stops him from actually doing so. "If you don't go to bed, Samehada's going to eat you."
"Samehada?" Hidan scowls. "What's that?"
"My sword." Kisame hefts it up over his head. "His favorite thing to snack on is little boys, especially after dark."
There's a split second where the former Akatsuki members stare at the huge sword, and then they all scream and scramble into the bed, hiding under the covers. Itachi rolls his eyes as he watches them fight over the covers.
"This is going to be fun," Kisame grins, resting Samehada over his shoulder. Itachi can't seem to agree.
