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Chapter 10

"The Order has been setting more demons loose on villages, they can apparently be stopped by singing to them." Leader was addressing his followers who were looking around uncomfortably. The Akatsuki were strong, seemingly heartless, killers, and none of them were very comfortable with the idea of singing a lullaby to zombies. Singing never before had been used to strike fear in the hearts of wrong doers, and it seemed to most of them that if they started singing to a zombie, they would loose their 'everyone fear me' edge.

"You will be in partners for these missions, so choose wisely." Almost all of the Akatsuki looked over at Ari, silently begging to be her partner so they would be spared the singing nonsense. But it was Itachi who placed a hand on her shoulder, claiming her as his partner, and daring anyone else to try and change that. The others looked slightly crestfallen, well as much as they could in their emotionless mask faces.

"Do not return here until all of The Order has been destroyed and the leader's head is sitting on a silver platter at my feet. Dismissed."

"I think we should start in Stone, what do you think Itachi?" Ari tilted her head towards her new partner.

"Hn." He responded.

"Wonderful! So have you thought of what song you're going to sing to the legions of the undead?" Ari suppressed a smile as she looked at Itachi.

"You will be doing the singing." Itachi stated coldly.

"Wait, wait, wait! I sang the last time. I do believe it is your turn." She broke into a grin, and he smirked down at her.

"I do not sing. Ever." He said lightly, which caused Ari to break out in giggles.

"Okay Mr. Macho Man, I'll sing. You know, before you chased all the others off with your 'stare of doom', I was feeling pretty popular." They walked to Ari's room so she could pack.

"I will not allow those mongrels to get you killed. You are too valuable in destroying The Order." He moved to sit next to her desk.

"Get me killed? Well it's nice to know that you trust me to be able to defend myself Itachi." She huffed, shoving her clean clothes into her pack.

"Don't act like a woman Ari." Itachi said shortly.

"I AM a woman Itachi, in case you haven't noticed." He picked up a discarded pink lacy underwear and threw it on the bed, causing her to blush.

"I've noticed. It doesn't mean you have to act like a brat." Itachi stood and moved to the door. "Meet me in the front in ten minutes." He said and walked out.

"Jerk." She mumbled and resumed packing.

"We are going to a small village outside of Stone, we'll travel with you. We need to stop in Stone for the night anyway, yeah." Deidara adjusted his pack and looked up to see Itachi coming down the stairs.

"Oh, look. It's MY partner." Ari deadpanned and turned her attention back to Deidara and Kisame, who both laughed.

"I assume you are going to the village of Limestone?" Itachi directed his question to his usual partner.

"Yup, they have a great pub in Stone though. We should get information out of the drunks there." Kisame shifted his large sword on his back.

"You just want to get drunk yourself, yeah." Deidara laughed.

"Nothing wrong with that. You up for a drink or two girly?" Kisame hit Ari lightly on the shoulder.

"Oh, I'm not old enough to drink." She stated sweetly. The three men looked at her strangely.

"You are Akatsuki, you can do whatever you want, yeah." Deidara looked at her with raised eyebrows. "You are eighteen as well, yeah."

Ari took a moment to process this and laughed at her foolishness.

"Yeah I guess your right! Lets go and dance on some tables, oh and when you guys are really drunk, you can rehearse the songs you are going to sing in front of the whole bar." She smiled sarcastically, which drew a blank stare from Kisame and a laugh from Deidara.

"You better have been joking." Mumbled Kisame as they started running to Stone.

"This town gives me the creeps!" she looked around to the creepy men staring at her, and moved closer to her partner. A move that did not go unnoticed by said partner.

"You could kill them all with your hands behind your back, do not show them fear." Itachi whispered calmly. This sobered Ari up a bit and she raised her head a bit higher. They walked into a shady looking hotel and asked for four rooms.

"Don't have four, have two. Two beds in each, good?" a greasy man with a heavy accent was there to check them in. Itachi nodded to the man and placed several bills on the counter.

"Well this is a lot better than the last hotel room we were in." Ari said as soon as they walked into the crappy room. The curtains were ripped and the sheets were covered in dust. Itachi nodded in agreement and set his bag down on one of the beds.

"I'm glad we are going out on the town for once." Ari plopped on the bed, looking to the stained ceiling. "I brought just the thing to wear."

"Hn. Be ready by eight." He said and moved to the door. "I am going to scout the town." He explained and walked out to leave Ari to get ready.

"Oh, I only have an hour!" she exclaimed and rushed into the bathroom.

"Is she coming or what, yeah?" Deidara said shifting his weight impatiently.

"She said something about wanting to look like someone people would want to give information to." Kisame mumbled and looked at the clock.

"She told you that?" Deidara looked at Kisame stunned.

"Yeah, when we were checking in. I told her to look hot." Deidara rolled his eyes and looked to the staircase where Ari was slowly descending.

She was wearing a silk black dress that went mid thigh, and was v-neck. She had her long curly dark hair down and a touch of makeup on her eyes. She replaced her boots with flat sandals, and she was wearing silver earrings and bracelets.

"Well, how do I look." She smirked seductively at her companions.

"Hot." Kisame said simply. Deidara glared at him slightly and returned his gaze to the woman in front of him

"Beautiful, a living piece of art, yeah." He said finally. She looked at Itachi who merely nodded his consent and they were off to the local bar.

They chose a seat in the back, where they could hear all, and be seen less. Ari however wanted no part of just sitting in the back corner. This was the first time she had ever dressed so provocatively, and she was going to have as much fun as she could.

"Anyone care to dance?" she asked hopefully.

"Not drunk enough." Kisame downed a glass of sake.

"Cant dance." Deidara followed Kisame's lead and drank his glass. She looked at Itachi, with the barest flicker of a hope.

"Itachi?" she asked cautiously. He turned his head away and took a small sip of his sake.

"Fine! I'll go dance by myself, maybe I'll get some info while I'm doing it." She huffed and walked away from the table to the small dance floor where a few couples were dancing to an upbeat song.

Ari swayed her hips and moved to the beat. She raised her arms over her head, and soon got the attention of most of the men in the bar. One brave soul sauntered over to Ari and began dancing with her. She smiled at him and let him put his hands on her hips. They moved closer and he whispered something in her ear that made her laugh.

Meanwhile, in the back table, the three Akatsuki were starting at the man hard. If looks could kill, that man wouldn't have had a snowball's chance in hell. Ari noticed this as well and moved closer to the man, determined to get some information out of him before Deidara or Kisame killed him for touching her. She whispered something softly in his ear and he nodded solemnly. She put her best, 'I am just a little girl' face on and asked him what he knew, softly humming along to the song. He heard her song and told her everything he knew. She stopped humming and thanked him, leaving a lingering touch on his chest before going over to the back table.

"There was a strange occurrence here two nights ago." She began as she sat next to Itachi. "Three masked men came through dragging a coffin. Apparently there is a cemetery nearby that has been robbed several times. The leader isn't in this town, but he might be in the next town over." She noticed the men were not thrilled with her news.

"What?" she asked exasperated.

"Don't you think you were dancing a bit close, yeah?" Deidara said into his glass. Ari looked at him with her eyes narrowed, and then to Kisame and Itachi who both looked slightly angry.

"Oh, come on! That was the plan, to get information. Not all witnesses need to be beaten up to get them to talk you know!" she whispered carefully, making sure she was not overheard. "If you guys are going to be jerks about this then I am just going to go to my room." She got up and went to walk away when Itachi grabbed her wrist gently.

"You did what was necessary." He stated plainly. "But just remember, when you were being seductive with him, you were catching the attention of others. You will not walk anywhere alone tonight." He pulled her down next to him and she crossed her arms over her chest. Some of the men in the bar were looking over at her now and again, silently pleading for her to get up and dance again. Itachi grew tired of this and pushed her out of the booth, getting out as well.

"What?" she asked suspiciously.

"I tired of those bastards looking at you like meat. Come with me." He ordered taking Ari by the hand.

They walked to the dance floor, Itachi spun her around to face him and he took her hips in his hands, pulling her close to him. She moved her arms to rest around his neck and swayed with him. His left hand moved slowly up her back, beckoning her for a dip. He whispered softly in her ear, making her shiver slightly.

"I am dancing with you. You will be the one to sing." He smirked, which made her laugh.

"You win." She whispered back, letting her lips linger on his ear slightly.

"I believe we made our point. Time to retire Ari." He stopped the dance, leading her out of the bar with a hand on her back.

"Change out of those clothes, they are not you." He ordered when they got into the room. She sighed and went to the bathroom to change, secretly loving the fact that she had got to dance twice with two men. One slime ball, of course, but one of her partners as well. She smiled at the memory of dancing with Itachi. He really was something else.

A/N: There, I wanted to make up for that short chapter. This scene came into my head while I was asleep. Thought I could add some hotness. Please read and review. Makes me a happy writer!!!