I didn't notice that I could actually REPLY to your reviews! I swear that feature wasn't there 10 years ago...

I apologize for not doing replies! I'll try to answer you guys from this point on if you all would like.

This chapter is more plot-based and meeting the rest of the main crew, but do not fear! The romance is coming!


Akatsuki.

A group of individuals with incredible talent and incredible influence. It was known that there were nine in total, and unknown if there were more. Rumors of them were passed through hushed whispers and anonymous messages. Some were of curiosity, others were mere jest, while the majority was fear. For the Akatsuki was more than a simple scary story or your run-of-the mill gang.

They were not only the heart of Amegakure. They were the veins. The blood. Every little thing that made the city thrive and flourish. Anything and everything that was within the city limits, they controlled and ruled behind a mask of anonymity. There would be no adversary to speak against them. No law that they could not bend. They were powerful, and they were absolute.

And they gathered in an unimpressive, two-story home.

"You are all here. Excellent."

The one who had spoken was known as Pein. There was no last name, nor any indication that he ever used his true name. None had the courage or the care to question it. He was a tall fellow, well-built but was more lean. A variety of piercings adorned his stoic face, and his bright, ginger hair spiked here and there. At first, a person would think of him as an average, attractive young man. Yet, the longer they were in his presence, the feeling of an abnormality became heavy.

Pein was the leader of Akatsuki.

"What's the special occasion?" The first one to speak was Hidan, unable to contain his curiosity. Undoubtedly, he had voiced the other's thoughts as they all looked up and set their gazes on their leader.

"A rare occurrence, and something to be remedied as soon as possible." Pein answered easily, grey eyes sweeping across the room as its occupants tensed, listening with a bit more intrigue. "It would appear that we have a 'rebellion' on our hands."

At this, an explosion of chatter echoed in the room.

"The fuck? Seriously?"

"Honestly, I didn't think these people had it in them, hm."

"Even a rat bites back, does it not?"

"Hn..."

"What Itachi said."

"They were all content living mundanely, ignorant of us." The rest fell silent as Kakuzu's words cut through the air, his eyes calculating the situation at hand. "There has to be someone pulling their strings."

A smirk had then played on Pein's lips, his eyes glimmering with amusement. It was enough to tell the surgeon everything. That he had been right on the mark. His only regret was that he hadn't bet any money on it.

Taking a step to the side, a woman had come up to take Pein's place. Her hair was black, with a shimmer of deep blue beneath the light. Her skin was fair, making the odd, sunset hues of her eyes stand out. She was beautiful, even breathtaking, but the cold air that seemed to surround her kept friend and foe at bay.

Konan was his right-hand, and she had been so ever since the creation of the Akatsuki. No one knew her origins, or what sort of bond led her to be the assistant of someone like Pein. Then again, no one cared to know. Dabbling into one another's tragic backstories wasn't part of the job description. They just knew that Konan knew how to do her job, and she did it very well.

"We have leads." She began, her voice cold but somehow having a sort of kindness behind it. Such a tone was dangerous. "Orochimaru is the most likely suspect, thus far. Having been apart of us and escaping into obscurity, he very well has the means to turn the tides into his favor. His lackey, Kabuto, is also a skilled information broker. We have no doubts that, with Orochimaru's charisma and Kabuto's info, they'd be able to convince more than a few people."

Kakuzu rubbed at his temple, eyes glancing to his associates. As expected, they all either seemed disgusted or disgruntled by the mention of their former comrade. The surgeon, himself, interacted very little with Orochimaru. The most they've accompanied one another was to recruit Hidan - even then, they hardly talked if ever. The betrayal was expected, the snake too sly for his own good, but still left a foul taste in their mouths.

"There is another." Konan spoke again, regaining their attention. "Uzamaki Minato is also a suspect."

"Why would Konoha care for Ame's business?" The inquiry came from Kisame, his head tilted and arms crossed over his chest.

Kisame was Amegakure's harbormaster. He oversaw the ports, regulating which ships were allowed to dock and which were to sail. No one from the outside was let in without being put through his meticulous procedures. And no one saw what business he had with a few unsavory looking folks. At least, they told themselves they saw nothing.

"Konoha's people have a chivalrous belief system." A smooth, softspoken voice had answered for Konan.

Uchiha Itachi emerged from the shadowed corner, his downcast gaze rising to meet his fellow's. The man was known for many things; a prodigy, the next heir, the chief of police. In very little time, Itachi had passed bar after bar of expectations. For reasons unknown, the young man had left his family in Konoha and pursued a path in Ame. Some believed that he had been recruited, others think he had been forced. Uchiha neither confirmed or denied any of the claims.

"They don't like how we run things. Is that what you're saying?" Kakuzu pressed further, staring at the Uchiha.

"Indeed." And that was the end of that conversation, and Pein began a new one.

"Sasori, present your current findings. I'm sure you had discussed it with Kakuzu before." He ordered, looking to the redhead. The toxicologist nodded and fished out a few pieces of papers from his bag.

"As I had said to Kakuzu," He glanced at the surgeon, who nodded and gestured from him to continue. "The incident with the mistress poisoning her lover was unusual. The evidence, her alibi, her motives... It all screamed for her to be caught as the culprit. For that matter, it was done in a family diner - witnesses were abundant."

"So, what's that gotta do with any of this?" Hidan interjected, earning a glare from the redhead and a hard jab in the rib from Kakuzu.

"The lover wasn't just any man, Hidan. He was one of my puppets, gathering information and reporting anything noteworthy." Sasori continued with a roll of his eyes. "After testing the poison, the results made my conclusion final. The toxin that was used is not something readily available in our region - not without having it smuggled. Why would a mistress go through such tremendous effort to kill her lying lover and still get caught?"

"She didn't." Kakuzu grunted, sinking back into his seat.

"Precisely." A wicked smirk slipped easily into Sasori's expression, and he tossed the papers onto the surface of the coffee table. There, printed next to a bulletin of notes, was a picture. Depicted was a glass bottle, presumably what contained the poison, and printed so finely on the surface was a red cloud with white borders.

Akatsuki.

"Ain't this a bitch of a situation." Sasori rolled his eyes at the Jashinist.

"That's putting it rather casually."

"No, it's serious if Hidan goes southern on us, hm." Deidara halfheartedly defended, gazing hard at the photo presented to them.

"You're all idiots." Kakuzu sighed, rubbing his face. "So, what. Is this some sort of a set-up?"

"Or a calling card." Itachi mused, rubbing his chin.

"The fact of the matter is that the Akatsuki is personally being pointed out to." Pein interjected before the chatter went out of hand. "If people are led to believe that we are carrying out meaningless murders, then a situation will arise."

With a gesture of his hand, Konan readily procured a note book and awaited his orders. "Sasori, I will have you work with Zetsu to ascertain what exactly that toxin is and where it came from. Kisame, you will have to reinforce your proceedings at the ports. Whatever is strict now, make it more so. Nothing gets in or out without you looking at every inch. Itachi, keep an eye on your people. Do not let them pry too much into this business. Deidara, Hidan - you two will be on standby. Be prepared should a complication arise and we are in need of your firepower. Kakuzu, you will be providing Sasori and Zetsu assistance should they require resources from the hospital."

The list of demands were ended along with the final sound of a pen scratching paper. Nothing was to be repeated twice, and did not need to be. Pein had chosen these six for a reason, and he was satisfied with the determination that blazed in their eyes.

"Dismissed."

"Yes, sir."


They all filed out of the house, one after the other. Pein and Konan were the first to leave, while the others lingered just to catch up on each other's daily lives. If it weren't for the original reason they were there, no one would believe they were anything but normal men.

Kakuzu, at this time, was simply leaned back in the recliner. He didn't engage in conversation as intently as the others, but he did tune in every now and again to make jabs and throw in some sarcastic humor. Most of which were at Hidan's expense. It wasn't until he felt his phone vibrate within his jacket that he was brought back to reality and his fingers procured it. His brows raised.

'Good evening, Doctor!' The first line of the message read, making him slowly blink. It was from Haruno.

'Apologies in advance. I know your personal number is meant for emergencies only. I must be breaking some sort of privacy code, please forgive me!' A snort left him.

'I didn't have time to ask you before, since that whole business with that man. You left so suddenly, too! Anyway; would you like to go out for coffee with me sometime? You know, to celebrate our first surgery together?' It was here that his expression fell completely flat, as though he couldn't believe what he was reading. Even so, he continued.

'I hope to hear your answer, soon! Have a goodnight.'

"Holy shit, is someone asking you out?" If it weren't for his self-control, Kakuzu would have jumped onto his feet and sputtered from Hidan's sudden appearance behind him. Instead, he automatically shot up his left fist and smashed it right into the Jashinist's face.

"Ow, fuck! You are!" Hidan cackled, the pain passing quickly. "You fucking are! C'mon out with it, who is it?"

"It's none of your business." Kakuzu growled, reaching his arm out as far as it could go as Hidan tried to make a grab for it. The man squinted, then grinned once he caught a glimpse of the name.

"Haruno? That chick?"

"Haruno?" Sasori parroted. "You mean that girl who applied to be your assistant?"

"Looks like she's wanting to be more than that!" Hidan laughed, finally able to snatch to phone, much to Kakuzu's dismay. Almost immediately, he scampered off and plopped himself right between Deidara and Sasori, showing them the recently received message.

"Oh, come on, hm. Asking a coworker out for coffee is normal, isn't it?" Deidara gave the screen a look, not quite understanding the fuss that their friend was kicking up.

"Think about it, Deidara. This could be the only chance this fucker gets to loosen up!" The Jashinist insisted, his grin widening when he saw four sets of eyes lighten. Looks like the pair weren't the only ones fussing over Kakuzu's stubbornness. "I'm gonna reply to her."

"No, you are not." Kakuzu snarled and made a jump for Hidan, who had just begun typing.

'Hey, babe! How about we skip coffee and go for a night-' The Jashinist let out a distressed noise as he felt weight on him, Kakuzu having tackled him with his full body. But, before he could reclaim his phone, it was tossed to Deidara. With the speed of a madman, he deleted Hidan's sentence and attempted to spell out his own.

'Sure! We'll make sure to have a banging good ti-' Deidara screeched as the eyes of a predator were set upon him and he fumbled with the phone as he was grabbed by his scarf. It dropped, only to gracefully land in the hands of Sasori.

'The pleasure would be all mine, little girl-' Before the redhead could continue, he found a pyrotechnician being tossed his way. Instinctively, he chucked away the phone and held out his arms in order to cushion himself from Deidara's flying weight. The device had ended up in Kisame's hand, who caught it with natural ease in fear of his associate's personal belongings breaking. He looked at the screen, then at the scowling Kakuzu.

"Nope." Then promptly tossed it to Itachi.

'Good evening, Haruno. Thank you for your offer. We may discuss it upon our next meeting, if you would like. Rest Well.' The Uchiha calmly tapped the 'send' button.

The room had fallen silent, different sets of eyes staring at the Uchiha in wonder. Out of everything, the man was least expected to play as a wing-man. Yet, here he was, returning the phone to Kakuzu's hand. At this point, Hidan snapped out of his baffled state and blurted out a question that swam through everyone's heads.

"Why the fuck didn't you pounce Uchiha?" Kakuzu heaved a slow sigh when heads turn towards him for answered.

"Have you seen him fight? The man's a goddamn feral weasel."

Itachi chuckled.


Unnecessary Preview:

"Are you out on your date, hm?"

"It's not a date."

"And that's not her scarf around your neck."