Kisame stood in his position on the far side of the circle watching Shiryoku spar with the Uchiha. The match was short; everyone had predicted that it would be. The girl was fast and had the ability to think quickly enough to bring Itachi to the ground. But, ultimately he was able to take advantage of her one weakness. Kisame believed that if she was not blind, the girl would be just as prodigious as the Uchiha boy.

"Which one are you: Itachi or Deidara?" She asked as her nostrils flared trying to take in the scent of her opponent. Itachi slowly worked his way around from Shiryoku's back, keeping his kunai precariously placed on her artery. Kisame actually felt nervous that Itachi would accidentally slit her throat. He knew Itachi had one of the steadiest hands of anyone in all of Akatsuki, but seeing her throat in danger elicited a strange feeling in Kisame's gut. He clenched his fists tightly together, waiting for Itachi to make his final move.

"Why does it matter?" Itachi asked, firmly planting himself in front of Shiryoku. She smirked at him before offering up a small taunt. Kisame had heard her talk about her sadistic siblings, but he could see a twisted streak in her when she sneered. Maybe he was only projecting his own feelings on to her because of their similarities, but Kisame had a instinctual feeling that she had the potential to be as vicious as the rest of them.

He didn't know why, but Itachi dropped the knife. As he did, Shiryoku wobbled slightly. She had used her Kekkei Genkai in some capacity, but it hadn't been large enough to create a chakra wave. At least he thought that until Samehada purred quietly at his back. Kisame smiled, knowing his sword enjoyed the feel of the girl's chakra as much as he did.

Shiryoku staggered forward, loosing her balance. Kisame wanted to move from his place to try to reach her before she hit the ground, but he did not wish to know Akatsuki's wrath if he moved. Itachi was close enough to catch her once she had stumbled forward.

"I'm okay." She said as she pushed herself out of Itachi's arms. As Pein excused the girl from the circle, Itachi went with her to help find her way back to her room.

Once the pair was out of the cavernous space, Tobi shouted loudly. "Shiryo-chan is amazing! Tobi wants Shiryo-chan to stay. Shiryo-chan can be Tobi's partner!"

"I still believe taking her on will be a risk." Kakuzu stated. "She may be able to keep up with Uchiha, but sending her on missions will ultimately cost us. She has too many disadvantages to be worth our efforts."

"She managed to down Itachi, hm." Deidara countered.

"For less than a fucking second. The damn match only lasted a minute before he had the knife at her throat, you dumb fuck."

"But, she managed to match speed with him without seeing the boy, evade his attack, land a hard strike on him - even I saw him wince when she kicked him - and vault him over her body." Sasori offered. "I do agree that she comes with risks, but if she can replicate that explosion Kisame and Itachi came across, with some training and a good partner, the pros would far outweigh the cons."

"I agree that she has potential, but to put her in a life and death situation when she cannot see would put both her and her partner at risk." Konan said. "And we do not know if she would even accept a mission with us. It seems to be that the only reason she is even remotely willing to stay here is because we offer her refuge from whatever it is that she was running away from. I have no qualms offering her a home within this base, but I cannot, in good conscience, accept her into this organization."

"Good fucking conscience!?" Hidan wailed. "Who in this damned organization has ever had a good conscience?"

"We do not think she would be a good choice for being a member either." Zetsu said, glossing over the howling Jashinist.

Kisame had remained silent, listening to the other Akatsuki members voice their opinions. He did agree that there would be risks in putting her out on a mission, but he felt Sasori was right. She needed training and the right partner. But there weren't any guarantees that she wouldn't somehow find her way into a situation that put herself and her partner in danger. In which case, Konan's suggestion of offering her sanctuary within the base made sense. Whatever it was that she ran from, she had a reason. Living in the base would offer her a marginally safe place. His mind kept swimming in circles, trying to figure out where exactly his opinion lay.

"Kisame?" Pein asked pulling the large man's attention outside of himself. "What is your opinion of the matter?"

"Since when is Akatsuki a democracy?" He retorted gruffly. "What does it matter what we think? Let her stay, make her leave, no matter what we do, she's still blind and will face risks wherever she goes. She could go home to Tanigakure and face whatever it was that she ran away from. She could stay here and get hurt in a training accident. She could go out on a mission and get everyone killed. She could trip over a damned stone and fall to her death in one of the rivers. But, so could I. So could any of us. We may as well give her a chance. If she fails, she fails."

"If she fails, one of us could fucking die." Hidan spat at Kisame.

"Like you have any reason to fear death, you damn zombie."

"If someone in Akatsuki dies, it will be because of their own ineptitude." Itachi spoke from the doorway as he closed it behind him. "No one in this organization is the type to fall on their sword for their partner. If she gets into a situation she cannot handle, on her head be it."

"Uchiha!" Hidan snapped at the man as soon as he finished speaking. "Why the hell did you drop the kunai before cutting the bitch up a bit?"

Itachi looked down at his hand before holding it up for everyone the see. A long, red burn stretched across his palm. It was the size and width of the handle of his knife. "She made me drop it." He stated nonchalantly before letting his hand fall back to his side.

"How did she do that, hm?" Diedara asked, looking curiously around the room.

"Her Kekkei Genkai." Pein responded. "Apparently it has manifested normally, despite not having the use of her eyes."

"No." Kisame said. "I don't think that's it. She may be able to bend the environment around her slightly, but something is off with the way she is able to do so."

Itachi picked up on Kisame's logic, adding, "The chakra blasts that can be felt after she uses her ability shouldn't be happening. She needs a large surge of chakra in order to create the reality she sees in her head because she can't do so using her eyes. The size of the chakra bursts she needs to use her power varies depending on what she is trying to create, but the effects of it to her body are obvious. Burning my hand momentarily took out the use of her inner ear. She was rendered unconscious from merely shutting a door -"

"Merely!? Dammit, she broke my foot!"

Itachi ignored Hidan. He continued by saying, "She can only affect her environment in minor ways. If she tried to create a genjutsu type reality -"

"The blast wave would have the ability to decimate her surrounding area, tearing anyone in her path apart." Kisame agreed.

"If your hypothesis is correct, the effects of the explosion that led you to Shiryoku should have killed her." Konan countered.

"It should have." Itachi concurred. "But it didn't."

"Why?"

"Maybe because it was her first time using her ability. Maybe it was a fluke that she survived. Maybe her body has a way of protecting itself. The only way to find out is to keep her here and watch her." Itachi stated, looking to Pein for a definitive answer. The orange haired man nodded his head decisively.

"She will stay." Pein stated before walking out of the room.