A/N: YAYS!! Finally I got a break and I got Liz off the computer!! She's been writing essays and stuff for her English class and I don't have access to any other computers or to my story, so you can blame her!! Hehehe...anyways...it seems I have the same penchant for dragging things out as my twin, but I like mine better. Hope you enjoy, and remember...if I owned Naruto, I would be rich and wouldn't be in this cold place called Ohio, so it's obvious I don't own Naruto!!

Chapter 14: News Spreads Quickly

All was quiet in the Florida State Prison's solitary confinement building. A man with red-brown hair was staring at the wall in front of him, a smirk on his face.

"Four days…four days and I will be free…" he whispered to himself while looking at the concrete ceiling above his head. His solitary confinement ended in about an hour, so he would get the chance to see his 'eyes'. He looked at the door when he heard a creaking noise. The guard fell in on his face, his eyes wide with surprise. Sasori glared at the door…he wasn't expecting anyone.

"Akasuna…you should have taken my advice…" said a stern voice. Three people walked in at that time. There were two men and a woman. The woman had Sasori's 'eyes' and was grinning maniacally at him.

"You should have left us out of this Sasori." one of the males said with a sigh. The woman continued to look at Sasori. She then looked at the other two men, her face turning emotionless.

"Constantine, Drake…this one is innocent of the puppet master. He is merely being used. I will return him to his family." she then turned to the red head, who was now against the back wall. "So, Sasori…you wanna tell me where you found this one or shall I rip it from your memories?" she said with a sadistic smile. Sasori glared at her and was ready to attack when he felt restraining arms on his shoulders.

"Don't even think about it Akasuna. You already hurt one of our own…you won't put your hands on this one." A man with green eyes and black hair glared down at him. The other man had silver colored hair and golden eyes. Sasori watched as the girl put her hand on his forehead and it felt like ice picks were being shoved into his eyes.

He fell to the floor when she released him. She motioned the silver haired man to pick up the youth Sasori used as his eyes. "By the way Sasori…the Akatsuki mansion burned down today. There were three bodies found tied in the basement. They've been identified as Pein, Konan, and Zetsu." The man with dark hair smirked at his horrified expression. The mansion was the only place he had…only Pein was supposed to die.

"News says that a rival gang caught the three while they were sleeping and kept them drugged. We don't know the details, but it seems everything in the house was either stolen or burned. There was a small glass rose in the hair of the one identified as Konan." the silver haired man said while he was walking out. Sasori watched as they walked out. The woman was the last to look back at him an there was a smile on her face.

"Also…your puppets, including the puppet of Haruno, were burned. Seems whoever did this was targeting each member individually. Pein's office was blown up, Konan's flowers were burned badly, Zetsu's bunker was blown sky high…they went after the things each member cared about." the woman looked rather pleased with this.

Before slamming the door, the woman looked at him once more, only this time over her shoulder. "You woulda been better off to leave well enough alone Sasori no Akasuna." she said, then slammed the door. He laid on his side and wondered just what he was going to do now. He had no where to run if he broke out, no support, no money, nothing…he was stranded. Sasori laid there and glared at the ceiling…his day was officially ruined.

Hidan was staring at the ceiling and thinking about what was going to happen. He heard Tobi shuffling about the room, packing for the trip home tomorrow. Their phone rang and Hidan picked it up. "Yeah?" he said and looked at Tobi with an arched brow.

"Turn on the television to channel fourteen." said a voice that seemed familiar, yet completely unknown. The line went dead as soon as that was said. Hidan scowled at the phone, but turned the television on to channel fourteen.

"…an explosion rocked the neighbor's house a good fourteen miles away. Police say that it was an act of arson by a rival gang. There were three bodies found tied in the basement, the identities of the arson victims are not confirmed, however, it is assumed to be the only three members present in the house at the time. The house was ransacked and all the expensive items were taken." said a newswoman with the burning mansion in the background.

Tobi choked and looked at Hidan, whose eyes were wide. He got up and went to the television, clutching the set tightly. "No…no, no, no, no! Konan…" he said as he dropped to the floor with a blank expression on his face. Tobi reached down and put a firm grip on the older man's shoulder.

"I'm so sorry Hidan-san…" he said and withdrew. He left Hidan alone in the room and went to the lobby. He had just stepped outside when a figure bumped into him. It said nothing, but walked into the hotel. Tobi just went to the nearest bar to drink his sorrow away.

Meanwhile, Hidan was sitting in the floor of his hotel room, his mind numb but his heart screaming. His baby sister, the one person he loved the most, was dead. He had JUST talked to her…and now he'd never get to talk to her again. Hidan was sitting in his floor when he heard his door creak open. He looked over to see a figure wrapped in all black, a cloak covering the face.

However, he knew the figure was female. He could see the boots that had high heels on them and the 'lumps' around the chest area that signified breasts. With a cry of sorrow, Hidan leapt at the figure, which allowed him to do so. He pinned the figure to the wall of his room after he grabbed it by the wrist and pulled it in.

When he'd banged the female up against his wall, he stared down at her. Even with the boots, the top of her head came to his throat. Hidan ripped the hood away and just stared. There, before him, was the little woman he'd met outside the shop he'd been staking out. The black shock of hair tickled his neck slightly as he leaned into her, feeling her curves against him. He saw something in her eyes that suggested she felt something was wrong.

"Why are you here?" he growled, releasing her and walking away. She stared at him, then looked at the television and observing the mess that was the house he used to live in.

"That your old home?" she asked carefully. She noticed the pain that flashed over his face. She felt bad for him, but she had to know if what she felt was linked to what he was feeling now. "Look…I don't want to seem rude, but not too long ago I fell to my knees in the shop. I felt a searing pain in my shoulder and I had no wound whatsoever." she glared at him with suspicious eyes. He looked up at her, then looked back at the set with horrified eyes.

"My baby sister was in that house…she's one of the bodies they found in the basement." He said quietly, looking away from her. Kit stared at him before walking over to the set and watching closely.

"The identities of the three victims have been confirmed. They were members of the local gang, Akatsuki." the picture of a smiling young woman with blue hair and silver-blue eyes was put up, then the picture of a dual colored guy with green hair and yellow eyes, but it was the last picture that had her: there was a man with orange-red hair, blood red eyes, and lots of piercings on his face.

Kit's eyes widened and she took her locket out and looked at it. The little boy that was in there had the same color hair, but not the piercings. She looked up again and the image of the little boy overlaid the image on the screen. She dropped the locked with a loud clatter and just stared at the screen, dumbfounded.

Hidan heard something heavy clatter to the floor and looked over at the young woman who was standing in front of the screen. He saw the horror on her face and the tears running unchecked down her cheeks. He looked down at her feet to see a large, heavy looking necklace. He reached over and picked it up, looking at the picture inside.

Hidan saw a woman holding a baby with black hair, a man standing behind the woman and a little boy sitting in the woman's lap close to his father. The woman had black hair (I never specified it the first time I mentioned the people in the locket), the man and little boy had orange hair. He looked up at Kit, who was now holding onto the television, her knuckles turning white.

"A-aniki?" she whispered, still staring at the screen. Hidan stared at the little boy in the locket, then at the picture of Pein. His eyes went wide with surprise. Without all the piercings, it was clearly Pein as a little boy in the locket.

"Where did you get this?" Hidan asked with a rough voice. Kit continued to stare at the television screen in horror. Hidan finally growled and ripped her away, only to find arms wrapped around his waist and a sobbing woman in his arms.

"I've spent the last two years looking for my family only to find my parents dead and my brother missing…now my last link to my past is dead…" she wailed, not being able to control herself after such a shock. Hidan's eyes widened in surprise…he'd thought the people inside the store were her family.

"What about the red head from the tea shop?" he asked, trying to disentangle himself from the young woman. She cried harder at this and he just looked at the ceiling, praying for patience. He looked back down at her and his expression softened at the heartbroken look on her face. He patted her head and awkwardly tried to comfort the girl.

"Look…these reporters aren't always right. They could be assuming things. You can't just walk into a scene like that, look around and tell who the victims are without an autopsy and identification from the close relatives." Hidan said, then realized he, himself, had just been moping because he thought one of those bodies was his baby sister. He chuckled and looked down at her. "You just made me make myself feel better…what do you know…" He about jumped out of his skin when his cell phone went off.

He managed to get out of Kit's vice-like grip and get his phone. When he answered it, he gave a huge sigh of relief. "Hello aniki…I'm sure by now you've seen the news of our 'deaths'? No doubt someone informed you from the tone your sigh took. You actually thought Pein-kun would let something happen to me?" there was amusement in the light voice on the other line. Kit heard the name Pein and looked at Hidan, who arched a brow at her. Kit lunged for the phone, but Hidan managed to keep it.

"Konan…I need you to do me a favor…first off, where the hell are you!?" he ran around the bed, dodging Kit once more. He heard Konan giggle on the other end.

"We are on a plane on our way to Kagure." she said as if she weren't supposedly dead. Hidan sighed and scooted away from Kit again. Konan must have noticed all the noise because she asked him about it. "Aniki…what are you doing? Are you fighting with Tobi again?" Hidan growled and looked at Kit.

"No…not even Tobi can make me run around the room like this. It's a crazy chick I met while staking out the tea shop the Haruno woman works at. I assume that the hunt for her is off…at least on our end?" He heard Pein's voice in the background grumbling about Sasori being an obsessed freak and can rot in prison, then Konan's giggling again.

"It's safe to assume that Sakura-chan is not our enemy any longer. By the way…does this woman have a name?" there was a mischievous note in the younger woman's voice that made Hidan nervous.

"My name is Aidan! But you can call me Kit!" she yelled at the phone while Hidan scowled at her. There was a commotion on the other end and a 'What the fuck did she just say' from Pein. Pein's voice became louder until it was apparent he was holding the phone now.

"Who the hell is there claiming to be named Aidan!? What does she look like!?" Pein demanded with the same tone he had run the Akatsuki. Hidan winced as Aidan just arched a brow at the phone.

"Well fuck me sideways…it is you aniki." she smirked, then her face became angry. She grabbed the phone from Hidan and proceeded to scream into it. "Where the FUCK have you been you jackass!? Do you know how many foster homes I bounced around while you were off gallivanting in the U.S. being the small time leader of a big time gang!? Do you know what that fucking psycho Orochimaru did to me!? He implanted a fucking BOMB in my chest you walking pin cushion! And what's with all the piercings? You imitating a lightning rod with that shit? Remind me not to stand next to you when it storms." Hidan's eyes were bugging as the young woman ranted and raved at a man he was sure could kill her if he chose to.

"AIDAN!" Pein finally got that single word in while the young woman was ranting at him. She shut up and just glared at the phone in her hand. When she was quiet, he continued. "The police told me that you, mom and dad all died…I didn't even know you were alive until right now." Kit's eyes widened as she thought about that. Then tears formed in her eyes.

"Aniki…I'm scared…I…I can't remember anything before Orochimaru did his experiments on me. There's a blank spot where he's concerned. I…I don't remember anything…all I have to go from is the locket mom and dad gave me…" Hidan looked at her. She looked like she could break at any moment. He had the strange urge to comfort her, but he stayed where he was.

"Just calm down. I'm on my way to Kagure right now. We will get this sorted out when I get there. I need you to do something for me. I need you to go to the Haruno woman and inform her of exactly what is happening. Tell her that I would like to meet with her and that she can bring anyone she wants that she feels safe with. I have a lot of explaining to do." Kit agreed and looked back at Hidan. She handed him the phone, then disappeared. Hidan looked at where Kit had just been, then at the phone.

"Hana-chan?" he asked, only to be greeted by a giggle and Pein telling Konan to behave. Hidan sighed and hung up the phone, knowing his sister would call back when she realized she'd lost him. He was just glad she was alive.

Sakura was flipping through the channels in the break room while Gaara was sitting beside her, Tomi in his lap asleep. He rubbed the little boy's back, his eyes closed. Sakura finally got to the news channel only to see black smoke billowing out of a building. Curious, she turned it up just enough for her to hear what was going on.

"…Rescuers say that there were three bodies tied in the basement. The walls collapsed around them, killing them instantly. The house was looted of all the valuables and authorities have declared this arson. The Chief of Police Daryl Strunnam believes this was an attack by a rival gang." Sakura shook her head sadly. She couldn't believe that more innocent people were killed because of gang violence. She was glad she lived in Kagure now.

"The Medical Examiner has released an idea of who the victims were. Seventeen year old Ortomi Konan, nineteen year old Youro Pein, and twenty-one year old Hoto Zetsu…all members of the local gang called Akatsuki. It is undetermined whether these three were involved in the murder of FBI agent Haruno Soto and his wife Diana. The whereabouts of their nineteen year old daughter is still unknown. For NBC International News, this is Tsuichi Kin reporting." Sakura was dumbfounded. She had befriended Konan when she was being held captive by Sasori. She couldn't believe she was dead.

"Oh no…not Konan too…" she said sadly. Gaara could feel her sadness and sat up, looking at her. He put his hand on her arm and made her look at him.

"You okay?" he asked gently. She shook her head and looked down, tears forming in her eyes. He shifted Tomi and held his arm out to her. She sniffled and leaned into him, burying her head in his shoulder. She cried silently while he held her and cooed nothings into her ear.

This was exactly the sight that greeted Kit when she came through the door of the break room. She smirked at them, then sobered when she remembered why she was here. She cleared her throat and waited for them to compose themselves. She beamed at Gaara, who looked confused for his part.

"I won't be needing those travel papers after all Gaara-niisan. But I will need a favor from you instead. This will make us even on all accounts no matter what else you ask of me." He nodded, knowing that it must have been important for her to say that. He wondered what had changed her mind so suddenly.

"Alright…you've got my attention Kit." he said while still comforting Sakura. Kit worried her lip a bit, then looked straight at Sakura.

"I come bearing a message of peace from the man once known as Youro Pein." She saw the look of terror on Sakura's face and the rage on Gaara's. She hurriedly settled both of them. "Look…just listen to what I have to say. There are lots of things going on that you don't know about." she said then pointed at the television. "That being one of them. Pein, Konan and the other guy aren't actually dead. Pein staged their deaths to get away from that life."

The terror left Sakura's face at that. She looked at Tomi, then at Kit. She nodded for Kit to continue. Kit smiled and continued "Pein wants to meet with you and said that you can bring anyone you felt comfortable with. He said he has lots of explaining to do to you and that he assures you that you were not hunted under his orders. Seems there was an attempted coup de-tat by his subordinate Sasori that backfired when Konan walked in and saved him. Nothing Sasori did was under Pein's orders." she finished and sighed, her message having taken a toll on her.

Sakura just stared at Kit, then looked over at Gaara, who still looked skeptical. Kit looked at Gaara then and smiled. "Oh, and I found my brother. Seems that Hidan guy was more helpful that I thought." she gave a silly laugh and put both hands behind her head. Both Sakura and Gaara looked at her. Her nonchalant attitude abruptly ended and she gave them a serious look. "Pein is my brother." She said and watched the shock that spread over their faces. "I won't ask you to make us a part of your family, because it's obvious that you don't like him…at all. But he is the only family I have left and I love him despite the mistakes he's made. All I ask is that you help us make a life for ourselves here." Gaara gave a non-committed nod and looked at Sakura.

Sakura looked at him, then at Kit. She sighed and agreed to meet with Pein. She looked at Gaara and he knew what she wanted. "When and where do we meet with him?" Gaara asked on Sakura's behalf. Kit looked like a deer in the headlights at this question.

"Ehhh…He didn't tell me when…he just said he was on his way to Kagure at this moment. I guess that he'll contact me when he wants to talk to you." she scratched the back of her head. They all heard a commotion in the front room and Sakura and Kit walked in the front while Gaara stayed in the back with Tomi.

Sakura stiffened at the sight of the silver haired and eyed man that had chased her for so long. She scowled at him and he actually had the grace to look away. The dark headed youth with yellow-orange eyes and a slight blush from drinking too much was sitting at the bar nursing coffee. Hidan sighed and looked at Sakura just as Gaara walked out with Tomi in his arms. Hidan choked on whatever he was about to say when he saw the child.

Tobi looked up and his eyes bugged out of his head. He pointed to the kid, then to Sakura. Sakura nodded and took Tomi from Gaara, who crossed his arms over his chest and stood over Sakura's right shoulder glaring at both men. Hidan's face displayed shock, then sadness, then anger. "So…that's why you hid yourself so adamantly. You shoulda just told me you had a kid. I'd have gone to Pein myself and told him that there was no way in hell I was bringing a kid back to that house." Sakura looked shocked, then she laughed quietly so as not to wake Tomi up. Hidan arched a brow at her and she continued laughing.

"You may not have taken Tomi back…but Deidara has been here trying to take him." Gaara's eyes were cold and Hidan actually felt the urge to shiver. It was obvious the red head was the boy's father…by blood or not. Hidan then snorted in disgust.

"So that's where the little whore went off to. She said she'd hit up a lead on something important…not that she was going to try and steal someone's kid." Sakura couldn't help but detect the note of disgust in the man's tone. She cocked her head to the side and looked at him carefully.

"You don't like her do you?" Hidan gave her a look saying she had stated the obvious. He snorted again and looked away with a bored look.

"What EVER gave you that idea?" he said, making her laugh. She handed Tomi to Gaara, who put both arms around the boy protectively. Sakura then walked up to Hidan until they were toe to toe.

"I owe you a little something from when I was pregnant with Tomi." She said, still smiling. Hidan looked at her, then was suddenly thrown out the back door to the shop as Sakura punched him in the gut. Kit just howled with laughter while Tobi looked slightly frightened. Hidan sat up slowly and peered in through the door at them. He got up carefully and walked in, being clear to stay away from her.

"I guess I deserved that." he muttered under his breath. A thought struck him then. He looked at her with wary eyes.

"If you've seen Deidara, then you've seen Kakuzu correct?" he noticed her eyes become cold emeralds. He whistled lightly at the drastic change. "I'll take that as a yes…Kakuzu tends to have that affect on people. You wouldn't happen to know where the greedy piece of shit is, would you? He owes me fifteen hundred dollars and said he'd pay me back when he got back from here." he noticed, for the first time, the blonde that was standing behind the corner, her arms crossed over her chest.

"He's dead." the blonde said coldly. Hidan looked at Sakura, who looked away. Hidan arched a brow with a silent 'what he do this time?' and saw those baby blue eyes on the blonde get even colder. "He stabbed a good friend of ours and almost killed her." Hidan stiffened and cursed colorfully under his breath. He wiped his face with his hands and looked at Sakura again for confirmation. It was Gaara that nodded in affirmation.

"Your blonde friend is passed out in the back. The body of the man that owes you money is gone. You'll never see it again." said an old man that just walked in through the door that headed into the back of the store. Hidan nodded and looked at Tobi.

"Let's get going young blood. I want to be at the hotel in case the others show up. I want to make sure Konan is alright." he said then looked at a curious Sakura and an amused Kit. "What?" he asked with an irritated voice.

"Why you so concerned about her? From what I can remember you were awfully cold to her when the others were around." Sakura's curiosity got the better of her. Hidan chuckled and pulled out a photo. It was of Hidan and Konan side by side, Hidan's hand on top of her head and her smiling.

"Konan is my baby sister. I raised her when we left our clan. Our father became abusive after Konan was born. Most of our siblings were old enough to move out so they didn't get it that much. He liked to beat up on Konan because she was so small and wouldn't fight back." his jaw clenched but he smiled nonetheless. Sakura nodded and turned to walk into the back. Hidan noticed the relief in Sakura's eyes at the knowledge that Konan was alright. He gave her a curious look before he spoke. "You cried for her…didn't you? When you thought she was dead…that's what you're going back there for…to cry…for her. You're happy she's alright…" He was amazed that Sakura could be civil to any of them, much less their leader's girlfriend.

Sakura looked at him with haunted eyes and he gasped at the depth of sadness in them. "Konan was the only person that comforted me while I was in that hell hole. She was the one that prevented Sasori from touching me and she's the one that helped me escape. She went to visit your leader the day that my parents raided the club." Sakura saw the surprise in Hidan's face. She laughed lightly.

"She's also the one that convinced Itachi that what Sasori was doing was wrong, but they couldn't afford to move against Sasori until the time was right. Unfortunately, I was found before everything fell into place, and my family paid the ultimate price for their love for me. It was Konan that warned Itachi every time you were sent on a mission to retrieve me and it was Itachi that relayed it to me. They both knew that Pein was not issuing the orders, but there was never time to inform Pein, as Sasori and/or Zetsu was always there to interfere. Anyone that learned the truth died." she said quietly and retreated to the back as tears started filling her eyes.

A violet haired young woman watched as her two companions loaded her 'cargo' onto the private jet she would be taking to Kagure. The jet belonged to the corporation they worked for, but this was important, so they were allowed to use it. She arched a brow when Sasori's living puppet began to stir. She heard him moan before the dark haired young man knocked him unconscious once more. She shook her head.

"Constantine…you really should be more gentle with him. He is innocent in all this. We both know from experience how powerful Sasori's mind control is. If we weren't genetically altered, we would be under his control as well." she reminded her companion. The young man scowled at the youth they were loading, then at the woman.

"I would almost say you like this guy…almost. Too bad you're a lesbian…you'd make one helluva lay." The silver haired guy, Drake, scowled at this.

"And just how do you know she's a lesbian? She's never presented an interest in women." The dark haired guy glared at the other man, then looked in her direction.

"For one, she's never made a move on any guys, even the ones in the agency. They are always up for a good toss. Second-" he never got to finish because the woman cut him off.

"Second, I turned the I-am-so-hot-worship-the-ground-I-walk-on Constantine down when he asked me on a date. So, obviously that makes me a lesbian." Drake burst into laughter while Constantine scowled more.

"I'm not like that…I just appreciate women. It's not my fault they think I am so sexy." the woman and Drake rolled their eyes at him and then looked at each other.

"I doubt she will remember you, Miranda, but give Sakura-chan our best. It sucks she had to withdraw from the program, but with those murderers on her trail, she didn't need the kind of publicity we bounty hunters bring in." The woman named Miranda nodded and held her hand out to Drake, who shook it, then to Constantine, who kissed her hand. She scowled and wiped the back of her hand on her pants. She walked onto the plane and prepared herself for the long flight.

A/N: blushes I forgot that I could make those bars on here...hehehehe