Why Remember?

A young store keeper, long abused and blind, bumps into an Akatsuki member. What shall ensue?

Pairings: Hidan/OC

Rated: M

Genre: Humor/Romance

Note: I do not own Naruto, though I really wish I did. But I don't….su yeah. Don't sue me. It's called Fan-fiction for a reason… (And if you've noticed, I have one review! YAY! Thank you so much Orochigirl! Thanks! And I may used the word 'footfall' a lot in this story, so get used to it. It's a hell of a lot better than 'the patting of feet.' it takes up less space too.)

We walk through the doorway, heard you calling from the hall

To find you in the bedroom not breathing at all

I drag your body to the cellar where we lay, the wax it melts away,

I kiss your face...

The three stayed in the room in silence. The occasional shuffling of feet or cloaks lifted to the air, but the girl named Irei stayed on the bed, silent and still. There was nothing to talk about. And she knew it. That's why she was quiet in the first place. A loud sigh echoed through the room and the creaking of a door was heard, heavy footsteps followed shortly after, announcing someone else was in the room.

"Leader-sama wants to see the girl," A new voice said loudly, it was a wise voice, but it held an air to it that hid some sort of malice. Were the 'Akatsuki' all blood thirst mongrels? She confirmed her thoughts and swung her feet from the bed, searching the ground with small pats of her toes. When she finally touched the ground she lifted up, standing with an awkward grace holding out her hand without a word. She may as well comply… Irei felt her head swirl and stumbled a bit, a small squeak leaving her lips as she felt a strong arm wrap around her waist, "Easy there doll. Leader-sama wants you there in one piece… Kakuzu really did a number to your head… at least he sewed it up." The man grumbled, Irei felt his voice rumble through her body, and somehow, it seemed more relaxing when he was closer, than when he was away.

She sighed and used him as a bit of support, mainly for her head, which was in a world of pain, or was it her brain that was in pain? Did it get jostled or something? Maybe when she was hit she had a washer/dryer effect. And she kind of spun when she hit the wall. She couldn't remember correctly, and registered it as a tornado spin from hell. Those always messed her up. For a bit, she felt secure, with arms wrapped around her waist, and wished it would last, even if she had to die. Her eyelids drooped and the man holding her by the waist seemed to notice, nudging her lightly. She grunted and looked up at him, or where she guessed to be where he was, he tapped her chin lightly and a blush stained her face, making her turn to look away, "For being blind, ya sure are good at guessing where people are."

"You get used to it," She said quietly. A chuckled rumbled through the man as they walked, she soon heard footsteps behind them and the man next to her groaned lightly, an agitated vibe radiating off of him.

"Tch. That bitch is really needy isn't she? First Deidara and Sasori, now you? She really enjoys whoring herself around," Hidan smirked. She could feel the smirk, it radiated off of him. And she really wanted to blow it off. With a bunch of…well… explosives. She smiled lightly, imagining the best she could of a face, which was pretty much a circle with a line for the lips, a nose, and two eyes that were messed up. And watching them burst, just like when she's thrown against walls or struck to the floor, flashes of white pass through her mind. Horrible flashes of what seemed to be color. Saddening thought. New subject.

"May I ask who this Leader-sama is?" Irei questioned politely, looking back up to the man who was holding her. He seemed a bit uncomfortable, tensing at her question. Did she overstep her bounds? She would have dropped to her knees and bowed again, but his arm was an obvious obstacle.

"No. You'll meet him," The man beside her grumbled and the other, Hidan chuckled from behind them. With the thought of him being behind them, it made her feel very, very insecure. There was nothing protect her but this man, and she wasn't even sure he was good with hand to hand combat, or weaponry that was involved with the combat. Like shuriken and kunai or other things like that.

"So Kisame, what do ya think leader wants with this bitch?" Hidan questioned with another smirk. Maybe his line of speech was very easy to pick up on, because her brother used to talk like that before he got killed by…someone? She couldn't remember, she was only four at that time, and there was a fifteen year gap since then. It was a very long time for a blind person to remember.

"Dunno really. We'll have to see now won't we?" The man said, she could now identify the amusement in his voice. So, something was going to hurt her, or scar her for life. Wonderful. Irei huffed quietly and felt a hand pat her head, it was rough, and heavy, making her neck get a small kink. Ouch, "You'll be fine kid. Just as long as you don't talk out of turn."

"I will not," She stated as she heard a door open, and she felt herself get pushed in, she turned her head back lightly, as if she was facing them, "By the way. I'm nineteen."

The door slammed shut and there was a surprised grunt from the other side, and some swearing. As she had gone through before she passed out in Kakuzu's arms. She sighed and stood still, not sure if she'd bump into anything, or anyone for that matter. Silence. She hated silence. It mean someone was staring, or the room was empty. If only this monster had eyes…

"Welcome Shainingu-san," A cool collected voice said. It was interesting, she analyzed the tones, and found nothing that was traceable except for the soft undertone of curiosity. Had this man ever seen a blind person before? "The circumstances that you have been brought here are very… disturbing, but with the fact that you are blind, we find no reason…" The man seemed to stop in mid-sentence as he pieced his thoughts together. She waited patiently as the sound of footfalls created pats of blue in her mind. Soft steps, calculated. Precise. He was letting her know where he was. The man had stopped in front of her, and she squeaked in surprise as a few fingers touched her chin. Her white eyes widened and she cringed.

"You have come here…under undistinguished circumstances, and due to your inability to see, you must either die, or become some sort of help to us." He drawled on, making her blood run cold. He saw the color drain from her already pale face and sighed, she obviously did not want to die, that was a given, "We are going to test your chakra. It seemed to them as if you had some while you were sleeping, as your eyelids were glowing. Or at least, that's what Kakuzu said so plainly."

Irei blinked slowly, as her eyes grew itchy. Sure. She was blind, but it didn't mean she couldn't feel her eyes. She could also feel his stare, which was something everyone could do, she was almost positive that anyone could at least. Her father always said, 'Someone's staring at me…' or things such as that where he added 'I feel like.'

"For the hand sign…do you know it?" Leader-sama questioned. She thought for a moment and frowned, shaking her head without a word. She heard a light sigh and felt him grasp her hands, placing them together carefully, extending a few fingers and clasping his hands around them, "stay exactly like that." He grunted and let go. Irei's hands, as he commanded, she complied, keeping her hands there, "Now, focus on your hands, imagine a sort of energy flowing to them, as you did your eyes while you were sleeping."

"…," She did so. Irei's hands, over the period of five minutes grew to a bright green color, sickly, if most were to look at it. She heard the door open but she kept her concentration strong, "Kisame, use Samehada over her hands. Make sure not to slice."

"Tch. Fine. No guarantees though, Samehada has a mind of it's own," The man she heard earlier grunted lightly and she heard the hilt of a weapon rise, and start… pulling at her chakra. She retaliated and sent out a strong burst before backing up, her hands out in front of her, still glowing, "Hm. Samehada shoulda grabbed more than that…"

'What the hell were they trying to do to me?' Irei questioned herself and let out a huff of air, squeaking as she felt the pull again. Samehada was back. With no sound she quickly moved back and hit a solid figure. A door most likely. She didn't like that thing he held out over her hands. It made her feel weak. And she didn't need to feel weaker than she already was, "That's enough Kisame."

"Yeah, yeah Leader-sama," Kisame shrugged and looked at the girl who had taken a fighting stance. Maybe her blindness helped her physical instincts. She'd be a good fighter against chakra based opponents…, "Lemme know if you need to test her chakra again." He then left the room without another word, she felt his arm brush against hers and the place she was leaning against gave away, she stood quickly and let the chakra continue it's flow. She hadn't stopped, because he hadn't given her permission to. And she really didn't want to end up dead… she shuddered as the slice of her father's death reverberated through her mind. She hated that sound.

"You may release the chakra," Leader-sama said. She let out a small puff of air and her eyes flickered around as they usually did, hoping for even a glimmer of light in the darkness she was submerged in, "You have a bit higher expanse of chakra than most Nin. But it's nothing to brag about. We can train it and expand it." He said calmly, she heard him move and felt like her ears were going to pop from the strain she was putting on them to listen.
"And someday, you'll be able to see," Leader-sama muttered to her and her eyes widened, now white dots on the expanse, only separated by the thin lining of grey that tackled her beauty to the ground, "You will train with Itachi…that is all. Kisame."
She heard the door open again and squeaked as it bumped her, a small chuckle sounded from where the door was, and she knew it was the extremely tall man she was next to earlier. She flashed a small smile, either out of habit, or it was genuine. She couldn't tell, so she opted for the second choice. It was abnormal. Yes. But she could deal with it later. She didn't want to think about why she actually smiled. If it was really a smile.

"Yeah Leader-sama?" Kisame grunted crossing his arms.

"Lead her to Itachi, she is now under his protection," Leader-sama said and Kisame bowed, unknown to Irei, who just stood there like a beacon, screaming 'hey! I'm right here! Not bowing! Cause I'm blind! Woowoo!' Kisame, as she guessed, gave him the response she couldn't register; a nod. She hated people who nodded, and she wanted nothing more than to smack him upside the head.

Hidan, who was standing behind the door, was now laughing and pointing at Kisame, who rolled his eyes and covered Hidan's face with his large hand, "And now she's after Itachi! Ahahaha! What a bitch!"

Irei growled. She had it up to her nose with that blockhead already. She'd teach him a lesson… her pupils reduced to mere slits, similar to paper, and she communicated in the form of a roundhouse kick to his gut, giving him the perfect reason as to why he shouldn't call her a bitch. She heard him cough and smirked, rewrapping her arm around Kisame's carefully. His laughter ceased, and his loud cussing filled the air as they walked away, feeling the man next to her try to suppress his laughter. Perfect day. If not lovely.

--

"Itachi-san," Kisame grumbled rasping his hand on a door, slight shuffling could be heard… but nothing more, until the door opened, revealing none other than a very sleepy and irritated Itachi, "Hn."
"Leader-sama wants to have you watch over the blind girl from now on. Teach her chakra control and things like that…," Kisame grunted sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

Itachi looked at the blind girl with a skeptic eye, she somehow felt his gaze boring into her eyes and blinked, averting her gaze. She was smart. She could learn, even though she was blind. He let out another small grunt and took her hand, pulling her into his room abruptly. Irei squeaked loudly and fell forward, and as planned, he caught her, lifting her up and carrying her.

'Sense of balance. Gone. Gone. Bad. Balance. Need balance!' Irei then began to struggle in his grip, hearing him grunt in annoyance. This was Akatsuki right? The same organization that just eliminated her ex-ANBU father? Yeah. It was. She rolled her eyes and stopped struggling, squeaking when she fell on a surface she guessed was a bed, "I am tired. You shall go to bed, and if you are hungry or have personal needs, leave the room without disturbing me."

What the fuck?

She sighed and laid down, feeling him lay on the other side of the bed without another word, and soft whistling sound filled the air, signifying that he was breathing. Good? She guessed so… she felt her stomach churn and noticed that she was, indeed, very hungry. Maybe she did loose her lunch yesterday…

She lifted up, hearing a small grunt, she tensed. No. He was asleep, he just…moved…. To touch her butt. Irei twitched and resisted the urge to hit the now sleeping man. She could tell he was asleep however, due to his heart rate. Though she was blind, it didn't mean she was deaf…

Irei stood quickly, brushing off what she deemed as tainted clothing and shuffled to the door, feeling eyes on her. He…was awake? Her senses were on high alert now… it wasn't fun.

Itachi watched her carefully as she retraced her steps, she was quick to memorize patterns, he had noticed that with the small calculated steps he got annoyed with when she was walking, so he made her fall on purpose. The main purpose was merely a test, to see if she memorized his footsteps and the direction he was headed when he reached the bed. He watched her through sleepy eyes, eventually dozing of as she reached the door.

A very smart girl. With a very nice ass.

--

Author's Note

Woowoo! The next chapter is up! I'm proud! I know Itachi is a TIIIINY bit out a character. But hey, he's a man isn't it? Who wouldn't grope a pretty lolita-shaped girly? She's very pretty anyways, so who'd not feel tempted? XD Anyways, thanks for reading! Review please! I got kinda sand I only got two review last chapter… but knowing my fans, they pick up pace. As you know, I used to be Indigo Foxx, but I didn't want to delete my old stories, and I was tired of looking at them every single day, so I switched off of that account and onto this one…. Su yeah! It makes me happy! Please review! Or favorite the story or something. -Mumbles- Thanks!

Samishii