Length of Chapter: 2,500

Warnings: there is no warnings for this chapter.

Author Note: Chapter is set 2 years after the Kyuubi's attack. Also this is Arc one, which will be focusing on Hitomi's childhood until about age nine. Sasori and Hitomi meet each other for the first time in this chapter. Also Hitomi got her mother's look, excluding the eyes which she got form her father, and her father's personality.

Point of view: Third person

Proper Rating of Chapter: G rated, but PG to be safe.

Amegakure, September 6

Ame, a place where rain was a daily occurrence and sunlight was rare, is shrouded by mystery. Security in the village was high, and intruders were dealt with harshly. Only way to become a resident of Ame was to have been born there or brought there at birth. All children were drafted into the Shinobi academy at eight and would graduate at twelve or thirteen. Afterwards, they would spend thirty-eight years as shinobi and would retire at forty, thus becoming a civilian. Due to this system, the shinobi populace made up ninety percent of Ame's population, leaving the civilian populace a measly ten percent.

Unlike most villages that have a protective wall surrounding the outskirts of the village. Ame had four skyscrapers, known as the West, East, South, and North skyscrapers, surrounding the village. The West skyscraper served as the Akatsuki headquarters, the East skyscraper served as the Amekage's tower, the South skyscraper served as the Shinobi academy and mission pick-up, and the North skyscraper served as the meeting place and indoor training area. Both houses and shops, big and small, were located inside of the ring of skyscrapers.


Akina loved Ame. To her, Ame was better than any other village in the shinobi world. Ame couldn't be found on a map, you had to search for the village And even if you found the village it was nearly impossible to get in. Plus the Amekage was a fair kage, who thought of the interest of the people rather than himself. And Ame was definitely a safe place to raise a child. Especially if that child parents happened to be hated in Iwa.

Akina was at the moment resting on her brown leathered couch, awaiting the arrival of a two year old babysitter. She had received a mission outside of the village, that needed to be taken care of. And the Amekage had graciously picked her to handle it. Akina had been overjoyed, but quickly realized that she had a toddler to take care of. Yet Sasori had offered to watch the toddler until her return.

A knock on the door brought Akina out of her musing. She pushed herself off the couch, and swiftly walked to the door. Akina opened the door. "Morning Sasori," Akina greeted. Standing before her was a fairly tall teenager, with short red hair, brown eyes, pale skin. The teen wore a pristine white shirt and black pants. "Morning Akina," Sasori responded. "Oh, please come in," Akina quickly said. "Thank you," Sasori said, moving inside of the house.

Akina promptly closed the door and showed Sasori to the living-room. "I have to go now," Akina suddenly said, looking at the clock. "Don't worry Akina, I'll take care of Hitomi," Sasori assured. Akina thanked Sasori, before leaving the house. Sasori sighed, plopping himself on the same couch Akina had been sitting in moments before her departure. The house was so quiet that he didn't realize that he had drifted to sleep.


Hitomi had crept from the hallway, wanting to inspect the now sleeping man. She had seen her mother bring the man in, Sasori she believed was his name. Hitomi could see her mother's mouth moving, but she couldn't hear anything from her position. Than her mother had rushed out of the house, Sasori had said something before she left. After Hitomi's mother left, Sasori had plopped down on the couch and fell asleep.

That was when Hitomi had finally decided to move out of her hiding spot in order to observe the man. The first thing that interested her about Sasori was his red hair. Now Hitomi hadn't seen anyone with red hair, beside herself. She wondered if the two were related somehow, but quickly dismissed the thought. Hitomi moved on to his doll like skin, which see had never seen on anything but a doll.

Wanting to see if his skin felt like a doll, Hitomi climbed on the couch. She carefully stood on the couch, arm stretched out, and touched his face. Hitomi gasped, his face felt like a doll's face. Sasori shifted; Hitomi surprised stepped back and slipped off the side of the couch. She landed on the ground in a loud crash.


Sasori nap was disturbed by a resounding crash. Sasori looked to the location of the sound, which came from the hard wood floor. Frighten cerulean blue met his brown eyes, stunning him slightly. On the floor was a child with long red hair, cerulean blue eyes, honey tan skin; wearing a long white gown.

"Hello mister," the child said, the fright leaving her eyes and replaced by a twinkle. "Hello, my name is Sasori," Sasori greeted. "My name is Hitomi. It is nice to meet you Sasori," Hitomi enthusiastically greeted back. "ah, do you know where my mother is," Hitomi asked, now seat properly on the floor. "Akina is on a mission. I'm to watch you until her return," Sasori answered.

"Oh, well I hope we can become friends," Hitomi giggled. Sasori watched as she got up, but didn't expect her to tug at his hand. "I'll give you a tour of the place," Hitomi stated. Sasori sighed, but got up and allowed himself to be guided around the house.

The first room he was shown belonged to Akina. It had carpet, instead of the wooden floors, cream colored walls. A bed was situated in front of a window, a nightstand on either side of the bed, a built in bookcase on the west wall, and a door that led into a bathroom. In the bathroom was the usually toilet, sink, shower, and separate bathtub. On the floor was a rectangle rug, which was brown in color.

After he was done with viewing the room, Sasori was taken to another room, which was a guest room. The guest room had the usually wooden flooring, but had tan walls. A bed was placed beside the window, a bench was set in front of the bed, and a door off to the side led to the bathroom. Bathroom was set up the same as Akina's, except there was circled green rug.

The next room was Hitomi's. Teal walls and wooden floors. A dark blue rug underneath a bed, built in shelves over the bed, a toy chest underneath the window, a dresser was off to the opposite of the toy chest, and a mini bench. Her bathroom had a shower/bathtub different from the separate shower and bathtub. A blue mat was set in front of the shower/bathtub.

Having seen the rooms, Sasori was led to the kitchen. The kitchen had several white cabinets, with two sinks, a stainless fridge was in the corner, and an oven. The counters were littered with can goods and fruits, while the fridge was filled with drinks and refrigerated goods.

In the center of the dining-room was an oak table with four chairs surrounding it. On the table was a bowl filled with fruit, and four place mats. A wooden armoire held dishes was set behind one of the chairs.

Finally Sasori was led to the living-room and, sadly, the end of his tour. The living-room had a fireplace, a coffee table was set a little ways from the fireplace, and two sofas formed a 'V' around the coffee table.

"And that is the end of the tour," Hitomi chirped, those blue eyes stared at him. "Thank you, Hitomi for the tour," Sasori thanked, a small smile gracing his face. Hitomi smiled back, her stomach growled loudly; causing Sasori to sweat drop. "Haha, sorry I haven't eaten yet," Hitomi sheepishly said. "Well we could go prepare something to eat," Sasori offered. Hitomi's eyes brighten and she nodded her head vigorless.

The two moved back to the kitchen, where Sasori asked Hitomi what she wanted. Hitomi had cheerfully answered ramen. So Sasori took out a package of noodles, broth, and beef. He also took out some vegetables to go with the ramen. He had first prepared the noodles in hot water, before starting on the meat. Once both the noodles and beef was down, he added them to the same pot and poured broth inside, along with the vegetables.

Sasori allowed it to cook for ten minutes, before asking Hitomi to fetch two bowls. Hitomi was back within seconds with the two bowls. Sasori poured the ramen into the two bowls, leaving some left for seconds. Hitomi than led the way to the dining-room, placing her bowl on the table. Sasori did the same and sat down, watching as Hitomi climbed into her seat. "This taste good," Hitomi squealed, having tasted some.

Sasori watched in amusement as Hitomi inhaled the rest of her ramen and happily went to get more. After she had finished her second bowl, Sasori had cleaned the dishes, while Hitomi dried the dishes.

The two had than spent the rest of the day and night getting to know each other better.


The next day, Sasori had suggested going to the festival being held in Ame's center. The festival was held every year and celebrated their victory against Hanzo. Hitomi had quickly changed into black pants and orange shirt. So at ten thirty in the morning, after eating breakfast, Sasori and Hitomi left the house for the festival.

It was also on this day that not a drop of rain touched the grounds of Ame. The two arrived at the village's center, which was decorated in an array of colors. Store fronts were decorated in bright yellows, purple, and blue. Small stalls selling various items were set up along the street. Women, alongside their husband, walked down the streets in very elaborate kimonos.

Hitomi had ran to a stall that was selling candy; Sasori had promptly followed her. The stall had mainly lollipops, that were formed into varied shapes and animals. Hitomi had picked out a lollipop that was formed into a dolphin for herself and a scorpion for Sasori. Sasori had paid for the candies, and gladly took the scorpion lollipop from Hitomi.

The two had than gone to see a reenactment of the final battle between Hanzo and Pein, the Amekage. By this time it was noon, giving them plenty of time to spare. Hitomi had insisted on eating Sukiyaki. Sasori didn't argue with Hitomi, instead they spent a good forty-five minutes looking for the restaurant.

They had found the restaurant further down the street. The store front lanterns were lite, the light shining through the red paper. Sasori had ushered Hitomi inside. When walking into the store you first see the front counter, behind the counter were booths, some occupied by others. On the far right of the restaurant was a door that seemed to lead to the kitchen, made obvious once waiters came out carrying huge trays.

"Good afternoon," said a cheerful voice. Sasori looked back at the counter, which hadn't been occupied before. Standing behind the counter was a woman, with braided black hair, gray eyes, and fair skin; wearing a red kimono. Hitomi impatiently tugged at Sasori shirt, bringing him out of his musing,

"Booth for two," Sasori said. "Right this way," the female responded. The lady led them to a booth further in the back, but still had a good view of the festival. She placed two menus on the table and informed them she would be back. After taking a seat, Hitomi had quickly snatched up her menu, her eyes scanning through the many food items.

"So what are you getting," Hitomi suddenly asked, placing the menu back on the table. "Sukiyaki. That is what we came for," Sasori responded. "True," Hitomi muttered. The one who had seated them returned.

"My name is Jun and I'll be your waitress for the day," Jun introduced. "What would you like," she asked, taking out a white pad. "Sukiyaki," Hitomi happily answered. "Okay, anything else," Jun asked, writing on the pad. "No, thank you," Sasori replied. Jun bowed and quickly went to place the order.

"She's pretty," Hitomi thoughtfully said, looking in the direction Jun took off in. "What do you think Sasori," Hitomi asked, quickly turning her attention back on Sasori. "Jun is pretty indeed Hitomi, but not as much as you are," Sasori answered, a smile on his face.

The food had arrived, Jun placed on the table before dismissing herself. On the platter was different types of vegetables, thinly sliced beef, and two bowls of rice. Sasori heated up the grill, cooking both the beef and vegetable together. He gave Hitomi her's first before placing some in his own rice bowl. The meal had only

lasted fifteen minutes. Sasori placed money on the table before the two left to enjoy the rest of the festival.

Back outside, the sky had seem to darken immensely while they were inside. And Sasori knew why after looking at the nearest clock. They had spent a good hour inside, placing the time at two o'clock. Yet it only had gotten crowded over the period of time. The two had walked the streets, Sasori being sure to keep Hitomi's hand in his own.

Sasori and Hitomi had stayed at the festival until five o'clock. Before leaving, Sasori had bought Hitomi a mask. It was a fox mask, that had purple and yellow markings.


Once arriving home, Sasori had put Hitomi to bed. After tucking her in, Sasori had slipped into the guest bed. He blankly stared at the wall, awaiting for sleep to claim him. Yet the padding of feet alerted him that Hitomi was not asleep. "What's wrong Hitomi," Sasori asked, turning so he could face Hitomi. "Can I sleep with you tonight," Hitomi quietly asked. Sasori sighed, but lefted up the covers, allowing Hitomi to slid in next to him.

"Did you enjoy the festival today," Sasori curiously asked. Hitomi replied, "It was fun. Maybe we can do it again next year?" "I would like that," Sasori said. "Night….brother," Hitomi yawned, her eyes growing heavy, and drifted off to sleep. Sasori smiled, it was cute that Hitomi thought of them as siblings. He too close his eyes, allowing sleep to claim him.


Akina had arrived back home to a very silent house. The first thing she did, was check on Hitomi. Seeing Hitomi was not in her room, Akina panicked. She went down to the guest room and saw the cutest thing ever. Sleeping on the guest bed, was Hitomi and Sasori. Sasori had Hitomi enveloped in a protective hug, while Hitomi had nuzzled into his chest. The moonlight illuminated their face. A smile crossed Akina face.

She closed the door behind her, going to her own room. Akina collapsed onto her own bed. It had seem leaving Hitomi with Sasori was a good idea.


Hitomi, Sasori, and Festival end

AN: the author hope you enjoy this chapter. It had taken me awhile to write this chapter because the author had originally wanted a chapter with a baby Hitomi. Yet, to the author's dismay, couldn't come up with enough. It is quite hard writing a chapter that incorporate a baby into a chapter without making it seem so babyish. So the author decided to write one with her interacting with Sasori. Now Hitomi will call Sasori 'brother' now, for she feels comfortable with him. Any way, thank you for reading this chapter and please review. Oh and thank you for the many favorites and alerts. Have a merry christmas!