Wahh! I've been hiding in my room all weekend because my sister had ten of her friends over! They're insanely loud and one of them keeps flirting with me! I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Italics are flashbacks.

This chapter is dedicated to the fabulous blackrose1097. She drew the cutest picture of Emiko! You should all go look at it!

"Emiko, would you please put some clothes on!"

Kakazu rolled his eyes as he heard Konan's appeal to the small, naked three year old that was running through the hideout. He sighed and looked back down at the small dress in his lap. He resumed sewing the red clouds onto the black dress. He didn't even look up when he sensed a presence at the door. "Come in, Emiko."

A naked Emiko happily bounded into the room and plopped herself on the cold, stone floor beside Kakazu. "What are you making, Kaka-chan?"

"I'm making a dress for you that matches our cloaks. That's what you want, right?"

Emiko smiled up at Kakazu. "How'd you know?"

Kakazu shrugged. "Wild guess. Stand up. I need to make sure this is going to fit you."

Emiko held her hands above her head and let Kakazu slip the dress onto her. She smiled and twirled around. "It's pretty!"

Kakazu smiled behind his mask. "Let me finish sewing the clouds on and then you can have it."

Emiko giggled as Kakazu gently pulled the dress off of her. "Can I watch?"

"That's fine." Kakazu continued to sew. He looked down when he felt a small weight resting against his leg.

Emiko was sound asleep against his leg. He put the dress down and picked Emiko up from the ground. He walked over to his bed and tucked her in. Once he was sure she was comfortable, he went back and finished the dress. He placed the dress on the bed beside Emiko and left the room to eat dinner.

"Where's Emiko?" Itachi asked as Kakazu walked into the room.

"She's asleep in my room." Kakazu answered, sitting down at the table.

"Thank you, Kaka!" Emiko came running into the room with the dress on. She twirled around a few times so that everyone could see her dress. She then ran over and climbed into Kakazu's lap, hugging him tightly around the neck and kissing his forehead. "This is the prettiest dress I've ever had! I'll wear it forever!"

"You can't wear it forever, idiot." Hidan retorted. "You're going to eventually get taller and outgrow it."

Kakazu sighed when he saw Emiko's upset face. "I'll make you more dresses just like it as you get bigger."

Emiko grinned and hugged Kakazu tightly. "I love you!"

Kakazu allowed a smile to form behind his mask.

"Emiko, come with me." Kakazu led the still three-year-old Emiko out of her room and into the main room.

On the floor of the main room was large stacks of gold coins. Some were short while others were almost a foot higher than Emiko. Emiko blinked and looked up at Kakazu. "What are we gonna do, Kaka?"

"I'm going to start teaching you math." Kakazu sat on the ground with his legs crossed and motioned for Emiko to come over.

Emiko plopped down beside him. "Like counting?"

"Something like that." Kakazu grabbed twenty coins. He handed five to Emiko. "I have 15 coins and you only have 5. I decide to give you 5 more coins. How many coins do you have?" Kakazu put five more coins into Emiko's small hands.

Emiko thought hard for a few minutes. She pouted. "I don't know."

"Count them." Kakazu said patiently.

Emiko slowly counted the coins in her hand. She beamed up at Kakazu. "10!"

Kakazu hid a smile. "Very good. Now, since I gave away 5 coins and I started with 15, how many do I have?"

Emiko dropped her coins onto the ground and grabbed Kakazu's open hand. She used one hand to grasp onto Kakazu's hand and her other counted the coins in his hand. She hesitated before answering. "10?"

Kakazu nodded approvingly. "Very good. If you keep this up, I'll let you be vice-treasurer."

Emiko gasped and quickly ran out of the room, screaming at the top of her lungs. "I'm vice-treasurer!"

Kakazu actually laughed and smiled behind his mask.

"Um, Kaka, can I ask you something?" A six year old Emiko stood nervously in Kakazu's door.

Kakazu looked up from his account book. "What?"

"Will…" Emiko bit her lip. "Will you teach me how to sew? I want to make something really nice for 'Tachi since it's his birthday next month."

Kakazu blinked. "What do you want to make him?"

"A new holster for his kunai. I want to sew the Uchiha symbol on it."

"Do you think that's a good idea? He might get upset."

Emiko shook her head. "No he won't. I told him about the Uchiha symbol I sewed on the back of Sasu-can's yukata and he smiled and said he wished he could have seen it. So he won't get mad."

"So, why do I need to teach you if you already know how?"

Emiko shuffled her feet. "'Cause I'm not very good at it. The circle was all lumpy and stuff when I made it. I want to sew pretty things like you do."

Kakazu closed his account book and put it away in one of the drawers in his desk. He then rummaged around before pulling some fabric out. He sat on the bed and waited for Emiko to join him. Once she had, he handed her some of the material, a needle, and thread. "First, you need to thread your needle."

Emiko watched closely as Kakazu showed her how and then she shakily attempted to mimic his actions. She finally managed to get the thread through. For the next few hours, she sat beside Kakazu, listening and watching carefully as he taught her the proper way to sew.

Once the holster was complete, Emiko smiled and held it up for Kakazu to inspect. "Is it okay?"

Kakazu took it from her and scrutinized it. Some of the stitches were bigger than others but overall, it was decent. "Not bad for your first try. Why don't you go hide it so Itachi can't find it."

Emiko beamed and quickly hugged Kakazu and kissed his cheek. "Thank you! I love you, Kaka! I promise on your birthday I'll make you something extra special!"

Kakazu couldn't help the smile that graced his face as he watched Emiko skip happily out of the room.

"Hi-chan!!" Three-year-old Emiko scurried over to the hideout entrance where Hidan and Kakazu were standing. She wrapped her small arms around Hidan's legs and laughed as he fell to the ground. She climbed onto his chest and hugged him tightly around the neck. "I missed you, Hi-chan!"

Hidan growled and dislodged the child from around his neck. "Would you get the fuck off of me!?"

Emiko pouted as Hidan sat her on the ground. She made her big black eyes even bigger and began sniffling. She then released a torrent of tears onto the unsuspecting Jashin worshipper.

Hidan panicked. If Konan heard Emiko crying like that, she was going to throttle him with her metal bat again. "Would you stop that shit!?"

Emiko continued to cry. "Hi-chan hates me!"

Hidan groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I don't hate you, damnit! Now stop with the fucking water works."

Emiko sniffled. "Promise?"

"Yes!"

"Then take me out to get ice cream!"

"Do I look like a fucking chaperone!?"

Emiko began sniffling again as a warning. "So you do hate me."

Hidan sighed. "Why the fuck do I always get stuck doing this shit?" He walked back out of the hideout, not even bothering to see if Emiko was following. He knew she was when he felt a small hand grab his. "What the fuck are you doing?"

Emiko grinned up at him. "Holding your hand."

"Why?" Hidan attempted to yank his hand out of Emiko's grip.

Emiko snuggled close to Hidan's side, holding his hand. "Because I love you."

Hidan growled and reluctantly allowed the small child to hold his hand. "You better not tell anyone about this."

Emiko nodded her head. "It'll be our secret."

"Why the fuck do I get stuck with you when your sick?" Hidan sat on the edge of Emiko's bed, glaring accusingly down at the thermometer in his hand.

"I'm sorry, Hi-chan." Three-year-old Emiko whimpered out pitifully before coughing. Her cheeks were flushed and she could barely keep her eyes open. All the other members were on their own missions and Kakazu had gone into town to claim a bounty.

Hidan sighed. "I guess I should get you some medicine." He stood up to leave and frowned when he felt a small hand tug on his cloak. He looked back down into Emiko's upset eyes.

"Please don't go. It's really cold."

Hidan's frown deepened. "What the fuck do you want me to do about it? Do you need more blankets or something?" Hidan was not a caretaker. Usually when the brat got sick, either Konan or Itachi would take care of her.

Emiko shook her head, coughing again. "I want Hi-chan to take a nap with me."

"Are you shitting me?"

Emiko pouted. "Please, Hi-chan?"

Hidan sighed. It would be a few more hours before Kakazu got home. He laid on top of the covers and reluctantly allowed Emiko to snuggle close to him. "You better not tell anyone."

Emiko closed her eyes and yawned. She sleepily responded. "It'll be our secret."

"Would you stop moping?"

A seven-year-old Emiko didn't look up from the rocks she was throwing into the water. "I'm not moping."

Hidan rolled his eyes and plopped down beside Emiko. "The hell you aren't." He sighed when he saw the sad expression on Emiko's face. "Just forget about them. It'll make your life easier."

Emiko looked up at Hidan. "I don't want to forget them."

Hidan frowned. "So we're not good enough for you anymore?"

Emiko's eyes widened. "No! I never said that!" She frowned when she saw Hidan laughing at her. She punched him in the arm. "You're a jerk!"

Hidan rubbed his arm. "Shit, that hurt. You're getting to be a strong little brat."

Emiko huffed and pulled her knees to her chest, her arms wrapped tightly around her legs. She buried her face in the small circle of her arms. She gasped when she felt an arm wrap around her. She looked up when she was pulled close to a warm body. "Hi-chan…?"

Hidan looked out over the lake. "We…the others hate seeing you sad like this. So you better get back to being your bratty self."

Emiko smiled and leaned against Hidan's side, closing her eyes and smiling contently. "Okay."

"You better not tell anyone about this." Hidan muttered.

"It'll be our secret."

"Oi, Emiko, wake up!"

Emiko slowly blinked her eyes opened. She looked around and saw that she was in the room with Suigetsu's tank. She rubbed her eyes slowly and gasped when she realized her cheeks were wet. She looked up at the tank. "What happened?"

"You fell asleep and then just started crying."

Emiko closed her eyes, concentrating. She could feel the chakra of Itachi, Kisame, Zetsu, Tobi, Konan, Pein, and Deidara. She closed her eyes tighter. She began sniffling and then sobbing. "I can't sense them!"

"Shit, what's wrong!?" Suigetsu was beginning to panic. He'd never had to deal with Emiko when she was crying.

Emiko sat on her knees and buried her face in her hands, continuing to cry. "I can't sense Hi-chan and Kaka anymore!"

"What's wrong, Emiko!?" Sasuke ran into the room and quickly knelt beside the distraught child. He pulled her close to him and let her cry onto his shirt. "Did Suigetsu do something?"

Emiko shook her head and continued to cry. "Hi-chan and Kaka are dead! I can't sense them anymore!"

Sasuke smoothed her hair down. He tilted her face up and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Stop crying. It's okay."

Emiko cried harder. "No, it's not okay! Hi-chan and Kaka are dead and I'm never gonna get to see them again! They're my family and they're dead!"

"Emiko, look at me." Sasuke waited for Emiko's tear filled onyx orbs to meet his. "We've got to leave now. As soon as we get out, you can cry as much as you want and I'll hold you. Right now, though, I need you to be a tough girl and stop crying."

Emiko took a deep breath and choked back her tears. "W-why do we have to leave?"

"You killed him, didn't you?" Suigetsu asked Sasuke.

Sasuke released Emiko from his embrace and stood up. He pulled his sword out of its hilt. "Yeah. I'm going to let you out now."

Emiko watched Sasuke slash the tank open and water cover the floor. She screamed. "You killed Suigetsu-san!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "No I didn't."

Emiko watched in awe as a man slowly rose from the water. She tilted her head to the side once the man slowly stood up. "Are you Suigetsu-san?"

Suigetsu grinned. "Yup. Nice to finally meet you face to face, Emiko-chan."

Emiko blinked and then looked up at Sasuke. "Why is Suigetsu-san naked?"

Sasuke sighed and covered Emiko's eyes. He looked over at Suigetsu. "Would you hurry up and put your clothes on?"

Suigetsu grinned and quickly appeared behind Sasuke. "You shouldn't act so high and mighty just because you killed Orochimaru. A lot of us were out to get him. You were lucky enough to be a favorite and were allowed more chances than the rest of us."

Sasuke didn't even blink. "Your point?"

Suigetsu laughed and moved away from Sasuke. "Wow, your heart didn't even skip a beat. That's pretty amazing."

Emiko tugged impatiently on Sasuke's hand. "What's going on?"

Sasuke glared at Suigetsu. "Suigetsu is going to put his clothes on and then we are going to get Karin from the southern hideout and Juugo from the northern hideout."

Suigetsu frowned. "Are you serious?" He slowly began pulling his clothes on.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Do you have a problem with that?"

Suigetsu shrugged. "I just don't really like either of them."

"You don't have to like them. You just need to work with them." Once Sasuke was sure Suigetsu was completely clothed, he removed his hand from Emiko's face. He took her hand and the trio walked out of the hideout.

Emiko was silent the whole day, a thoughtful look on her face. She picked at her dinner and eventually gave it to Suigetsu. Later that evening, Suigetsu was sound asleep and Sasuke was keeping watch. Emiko walked over to Sasuke and sat herself in his lap. She sighed in content when she felt his warm arms envelope her.

"You can cry now. I'll hold you until you fall asleep."

As soon as the words left Sasuke's mouth, Emiko unleashed her pent up emotions. She wept into his shirt, clutching the fabric tightly in her hands. She felt Sasuke's arms tighten around her small frame and him placing small kisses on the top of her head. She cried and cried until her body was spent. She fell asleep in Sasuke's arms, tears still managing to leak out as she dreamed.

I was so sad the entire time I wrote this! Hidan is probably one of my favorite Akatsuki members (I'm really not sure why). It didn't help that I had all the sad songs on my Ipod playing. Some of the worst ones to have playing were Goodbye to You by Michelle Branch, When You're Gone by Avril Lavigne, How Do I Live by LeAnn Rimes, Memories by Within Temptation, Gomenasai by tatu, and, of course, My Immortal by Evanescence. Please review and let me know what you thought!