AN: This is ridiculously overdue. I'm so sorry, but my Naruto muses took a massive break and I was only typing out sentences at a time for so long. I won't promise a date or timeframe for the next chapter, because I suck at keeping to them, but I'll try not to leave it as long as this. Enjoy the chapter :).


"So, when can I see Sasuke-teme?"

Konan eyed the blonde teenager lying sprawled on the grass next to her. He was utterly relaxed, blue eyes focused on the equally blue sky, not a hint of wariness present in his entire body.

She wasn't certain what to think of that.

"When Itachi has convinced him of our intentions." She told him for the seventh time.

Naruto scrunched his face up, saying, "I still don't get why Itachi's gotta be the one to tell Sasuke everything. Sasuke's not gonna listen to anything he says."

"You don't need to understand it. You just need to be patient and accept it." Konan secretly agreed though; it would surely take more time than they had available for Itachi to explain the entire situation to his brother in a way that Sasuke would believe. They had been as subtle as they could in their planning, but the kidnapping of the young Uzumaki and Uchiha would not stay a secret for long. They only had a limited time before Madara figured out what they were up to, and when he did…

Konan shivered. She knew and understood exactly what they were risking here, but in order to realize Nagato's – Yahiko's – dream of peace, the ancient Uchiha had to go. Even if that meant waging war against him and delaying peace just a little longer.

"Neechan?"

Konan blinked. She still wasn't used to Naruto's way of addressing her. They had only met a few hours ago, and already he spoke so familiarly. "What is it?" She replied.

Naruto rolled over to face her, a questioning expression on his face. "What am I gonna do while Sasuke's locked up? Can I train up here?"

Oh, right. "Yes, of course," she informed the younger shinobi. "There are several inside caves that can be utilized for training, or spaces outside for anything particularly destructive." Now, to tell him the rest, or wait? It was probably best to inform him now; the teenager seemed to prefer the direct route for everything. "And Pein-sama has decided that should you desire it, all members of Akatsuki are to help you with your training."

"Huh? You mean you're all going to be my sensei?" Naruto's beautiful eyes were wide with delight.

"If that is what you want. I doubt that anybody will wish to be called such, though."

Naruto laughed. "That's alright. Akatsuki is full of S-Class shinobi, right? That means I'm going to become way stronger with all of your help!"

Konan couldn't help the small smile forming on her lips. "I am not certain that they will all be happy about it," she cautioned. "You will likely have to work hard to convince them."

He just laughed again. "That's alright!" He repeated. "I had to convince Ero-Sennin as well, it wasn't that hard. Stupid pervert…"

The muttered comment at the end had Konan's lips twitching again. Jiraiya-sensei truly had not changed. She wondered if Naruto would find it strange if she asked about her old teacher's wellbeing.

"Ero-Sennin…" She drew the name out amusedly. "It is a fitting nickname." Deep amber eyes watched as brighter ones lit up even more in delighted agreement.

"I know, right!" Naruto nodded emphatically. "He always tells me that it's not appropriate for one of the 'great Sannin'," he made a face at the title, scrunching up his whiskered cheeks. "But I think it describes him perfectly- hey!" Konan smiled serenely, smothering the giggle that wanted to escape at the boy's sudden confusion. "How would you know if it fit him or not?"

"It is a well-known fact that Jiraiya of the Sannin is the author of the famous Icha Icha series." She informed him, not letting her amusement show.

He ran a hand through his blond hair, eyes still narrowed at her. "I guess…"

"Of course, it is less well-known that he had another book published, long before he ever began to write that smut."

Konan hid a smile as the boy bolted upright, pointing at her accusingly. "How d'you know about that?!" He demanded. "Even I didn't know about it until recently!"

"Would you believe me if I told you that I was there as he was writing it?"

The suspicious squint that Naruto sent her way told Konan that the answer was 'no'. She chuckled. "It's true. Yahiko, Nagato, and I were the first students that Jiraiya ever had." It felt strange, to say her friends' names aloud. But it was nice, to be able to acknowledge Yahiko's existence as a person, instead of simply as one of the Paths of Pein.

Nagato truly had told the Uzumaki boy (almost) everything, and it had paid off. The most charismatic person on the planet was now firmly on their side.

And he was staring at her like she was crazy. "I thought you guys were from Ame?" Naruto asked confusedly.

Konan smiled. "We are," she assured him. "But we did not originally learn ninja skills from our village. Jiraiya-sensei took pity on three starving orphans, and stayed with us for a good long while." Her smiled gained a nostalgic hint as she thought back to those days of fun, and laughter, and friendship.

"Really?" The squint was gone, replaced with wide-eyed wonder. "But you guys are really strong, right? So Ero-Sennin must actually be a good teacher, if he taught you and Nagato-nii, and the Yondaime, and me."

Humble, the boy was not, Konan thought dryly. But he was honest, and that was all that mattered. "Jiraiya-sensei was indeed a good teacher," was what she replied with though. "Without him, none of the three of us would have made it, and Ame would likely still be a war-torn wasteland."

It was sobering, the reminder of how things could have been, if it hadn't been for one kindhearted shinobi.

Naruto cocked his head. "But if he was your teacher, then why didn't he know that you guys are the leaders of Akatsuki? He knew about all the other guys."

It was something Konan had often wondered herself. Ame, of course, was shrouded in secrecy, so it made sense that Jiraiya-sensei wouldn't know of their takeover. But Nagato often had the Deva Path – Yahiko's body – out of the village on Akatsuki business. It wouldn't be unreasonable to think that Jiraiya-sensei might have at least heard something.

She ended up shrugging in answer.

Naruto's eyes seemed to dim a little, and Konan wondered what he had seen in that little gesture that would distress him so. But then he perked up, shooting her a hopeful glance.

"Well, we can always just ask him, right?" Naruto asked cheerfully. "When I send him and Tsunade-baa-chan a message, let them know that we're alive. They're probably going crazy with worrying so much by now."

Konan hummed, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. Her mind raced, trying to find a way to tell their newest resident hothead that the answer to that not-quite-request would be a most emphatic no.


Tobi peered around the corner, fascinated by the way Itachi-san was just staring at his little brother's cell door. Just behind him, Deidara-senpai was spying as well – he hadn't believed Tobi when he told the bomber what Itachi-san was doing.

But Tobi wasn't a liar; Tobi was a good boy.

'Maybe he really will stay there until Leader-sama says he can go in…' Tobi thought, remembering his talk with Zetsu-san earlier in the day.

Deidara-senpai snorted. "What's that damn Uchiha up to?"

Casting his eyes up toward the blond head hovering above his own, Tobi's brows creased in an unseen frown. Wasn't it obvious?

Upon asking this question aloud, however, Tobi received a hard cuff to the head and a scornful, "How the hell is it obvious, un?"

"Itachi-san is guarding little Sasuke-san!" Tobi explained. "Itachi-san takes his job as a big brother very seriously."

Really, it was very simple.

"I don't think that's it," Deidara-senpai told him. "He looks nervous."

Tobi wasn't entirely sure how his senpai could tell that – Itachi-san's face was very hard to read – but he trusted the bomber's words. Deidara-senpai hated Itachi-san a lot, after all, so he had spent a lot of time glaring at the Uchiha. It was understandable that he'd be able to see the differences in Itachi-san's expressions. And if he said that Itachi-san looked nervous, then Itachi-san probably was nervous; which meant it was up to Tobi to help him!

Decision made, Tobi rounded the corner, scuttling up to the younger man's side. "Are you okay, Itachi-san?" He asked in a loud whisper.

Blank black eyes flicked sideways to peer at him. Tobi easily read (guessed) the question there, and he smiled comfortingly (forgetting that Itachi couldn't even see it past his mask). "You've been standing here for a long time, Itachi-san. Deidara-senpai and I were wondering if there was anything we could do to help." He rocked back and forth on his heels, hands clasped behind his back.

"Oi!" Deidara-senpai appeared from behind the wall, pointing accusingly at Tobi. "Don't go making things up on your own! As if I would be worried about the shitty Uchiha!"

"Eh? But Deidara-senpai, I never said anything about being worried~" Tobi said teasingly. "You came up with that part all on your own."

The blond faltered in his indignant march forward. Tobi, smiling like a loon inside his mask, had no time to crow about his triumph over his senpai, because Deidara resumed movement, rushing forth with murderous rage written all over him.

Gulping, Tobi barely managed to say, "Ah, Itachi-san! Don't be sad, I'm sure everything will go great!" and then he was running for his life, a blond bomber intent on strangling him only a step behind.

Watching his ridiculous comrades disappear around the corner, Itachi's lips twitched upwards. He wondered if Tobi would ever realize that escaping the people he pissed off could be so much more simple if he would only remember to phase through the walls.


It was a very different Konoha, Sakura decided, when Naruto and Sasuke weren't present. She had gotten used to their presence again, and it was as though the last three years of loneliness hadn't happened. Currently, Sakura was meandering her way around the village, trying to comprehend what her shishō had just told her. It was a bitter pill to swallow, that her two boys were in trouble and once again, Sakura could do nothing to help them. What had all her hard work over the past few years been for, if she couldn't even use the results to take care of her team?

"Hey, Sakura!"

The familiar voice had Sakura pausing before she turned around to greet the person who owned it. It wasn't his fault… It wasn't his fault… It wasn't his fault…

Blue-white hair and violet eyes met Sakura's gaze when she turned. Hōzuki Suigetsu, who had been with Naruto and Sasuke when the Akatsuki took them, stood before her, face unusually downcast. Her anger faded at the sight; how was he supposed to have done anything against two of the strongest S-class nukenin in the Elemental Nations? If her troublesome boys hadn't been able to get themselves away, what could Suigetsu have done?

Her face softened, and the ex-Kiri/Oto nin quirked a small smile. "I'm really sorry about your teammates, Sakura." He said, sounding as earnest as she'd ever heard him.

Sakura sighed, shaking her head. "It wasn't your fault, idiot," she told him. "Those two boys are trouble magnets." And she was never there when they needed her.

How pathetic.

"Oi, oi, don't look like that!" Suigetsu nudged her in the side. "What've you got to feel guilty about, huh? You weren't even there!"

He meant well, but the words just send another stab of guilt and self-recrimination through her. "I know," Sakura said quietly. "That's the problem. I'm never there."

She hadn't been there when Sasuke and Naruto almost killed each other at the Valley of the End. She hadn't been there for a single one of the infrequent meet-ups that the boys had arranged during their three-year separation. And she hadn't been there when Naruto left Konoha to help Sasuke take down Orochimaru.

It all left her feeling a little bit bitter.

"Aw shit, Sakura," Suigetsu said, looking supremely awkward. "I didn't mean to make you feel even worse. I just wanted to apologise for losing them."

The kunoichi quirked her lips up, pushing her negative thoughts to the back of her mind. That was all in the past; right now, Sakura was determined to be useful to her boys. Those idiots needed to learn that she had grown too – she wasn't going to be left out anymore. And what better way to prove herself, than to figure out a way to get them out of the clutches of the Akatsuki?

Sakura didn't know how long Naruto and Sasuke had left to live, or if they could trust the message that Kisame and Itachi had given to Suigetsu to bring back, but that only increased her drive.

Team Seven was going to be reunited, even if Sakura had to storm the Akatsuki hideout herself and drag her boys home.


AN: Thoughts welcome! This is obviously AU, so if you don't get something, it's likely because it hasn't been explained yet, and it will definitely come later :). Thanks for reading!

- Kelly