Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter Nine

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Danzo set his cup of green tea down, his slow movement belying his simmering anger.

"Where is Hinata's current location?"

"We have heard nothing from her since she left on her mission to retrieve Itachi three days ago."

"And Itachi?"

"We have found nothing of the Uchiha either." Usagi relented, his arms crossed and head bowed in deep thought. He frowned. "It seems Itachi knew all along that you had spies on his trail, watching his every move from the shadows, Danzo-sama. For a long time, he's known this. But he has never done anything about it. Up until now, that is."

"Where are the spies?" Danzo demanded.

Usagi shook his head, expression grim.

"They're all suffering from the aftereffects of Tsukuyomi. It seems Itachi dealt with them around the day after Hinata was sent to retrieve him. All eighteen of them are currently in a comatose state, and there is no telling when they'll wake up, or whether they'll remember what happened to them when they do wake up… much less where Itachi is now."

Crack!

At that moment, Danzo's fist slammed against the wooden surface of the table in his private meeting room, causing it to splinter deeply upon impact.

"That Uchiha outsmarted us." The elder hissed out.

Usagi raised an eyebrow, but otherwise didn't react to the sudden outburst. At least Danzo couldn't see his face, hidden behind his usual rabbit mask. It was unusual for the elder to show his emotions like this, on clear display, but Usagi supposed that the success of this mission was very important to him. After all, Danzo had been planning out every detail of it meticulously for nearly two years.

"Do you want me to go after her?" Usagi offered, hopeful. Maybe she was still alive. At least, Usagi hoped so. He knew Hinata was a strong shinobi, and had held onto the hope that she could disable Itachi with Koryoku and bring him back to their headquarters.

But as time ticked on, and there was still no sign or word of her back with Itachi, the odds seemed to be stacked against her.

Since they hadn't been able to find a dead body yet, it was possible that the Uchiha was keeping her with him alive, perhaps as a hostage. For whatever reason, Usagi didn't know, but if he had harmed or tortured Hinata in any way, he would avenge her.

"She is not dead. I know Itachi wouldn't kill her," Danzo stated, without giving any explanation as to why. The elder knew deep down that Itachi was loyal to the Leaf village and would never spill Leaf blood again since the massacre of his Clan. "It is now clear that she had been unsuccessful in executing Koryoku on him."

That last part was bit out by Danzo as though it caused him severe pain, akin to pulling out his own teeth.

"If we hear wind, however, that she has betrayed me in any way, I want you to immediately take with you a specialist search unit and do all in your power to locate her. And bring her back to me. She belongs to me alone."

"Understood," Usagi replied, chills running down his spine as he watched his master close his eyes. Usagi had not missed the hint of possessiveness that had flashed in Danzo's only exposed eye a moment beforehand.

Usagi remembered the day when Hinata had first joined the Root foundation. Frightened. Alone. Miserable.

He had immediately taken a liking to her. Her personality was warm, simple and pleasant.

He sure hoped she was safe.

"You're dismissed," Danzo uttered. Usagi didn't need any more prompting.

As he left the room, and closed the door behind him, the rabbit-masked Root member silently wondered:

…Why did Danzo need Itachi brought back to him chakraless? What exactly had he been planning to do with the fearsome Uchiha once he had him?

Danzo continued to sit brooding in his private meeting room alone, the unseen shadows overwhelming him. Usagi was now long gone.

Things are not going according to my plan. I will need Hinata brought back first. Then I shall think carefully about my next move…

The elder's corrupt mind unquestioningly wandered to the new doujutsu he wanted to unlock, an evolution from the Sharingan…

…I need Itachi for that. Even if it takes another two years of planning, let it be. I must have him…

"Perhaps I was too hurried. I miscalculated his peskiness... and overestimated the Hyuuga in my blind admiration of her Koryoku."

Danzo unravelled his bandages and gazed down at his arm, riddled with the Sharingan of long-gone Uchiha.

This evolution must take place.

His experiment was of utmost importance.

"And if I can't have Itachi, then I will have his younger brother, the more controversial one… Sasuke."

Danzo's voice reverberated eerily into the silence, not a single shadow shifting once, at his ominous declaration.

~.~

Itachi presented himself before Pain, the evening sunset casting the parts of the darkened room that were windowed in an orangey-red glow.

"Leader," Itachi stated.

"Uchiha," Pain greeted, monotonously.

There was a pause as they both slowly regarded each other, as if assessing what the other was about to say or do.

It had been a year since Itachi had last seen his Leader in person, face-to-face like this, and not as a bodiless hologram. Itachi had begun to suspect that the real Pain was no longer alive, and potentially another person was impersonating him in front of the whole Akatsuki. This was a rumour that Kisame liked to coyly spread, but no one took him seriously.

But finally, Itachi was satisfied that this was the real Pain. The same person who had taken him in and granted him asylum in his notorious organisation over a decade ago, when the Akatsuki was much smaller and lesser known than it was now.

Pain's unreadable expression showed no hint of weakness.

His Rinnegan eyes thoroughly had Itachi Uchiha on guard, but they were both allies, and Itachi was confident his doujutsu prowess could match Pain's in ability, should the unlikely event of a battle between the two occur. Itachi hoped that this unlikelihood would never arrive for both of their sakes.

"You wanted to speak with me privately, did you not?" Pain plainly stated, breaking the muted silence. His toneless voice belied his impatience. "What is it you would like to discuss?"

It seemed Pain's time was precious, as he was always busy doing something in the background. Planning out how to make the Akatsuki become more powerful, powerful enough to reach his ultimate goal of capturing the Tailed Beats and world domination.

Itachi made sure not to let the opportunity of occupying Pain's time slip, else the Akatsuki Leader suddenly changed his mind and decided that he had other pressing matters to deal with.

"There is a female ninja whom I believe would be suited to our organisation. She is a shinobi of Anbu rank and heiress to the Hyuuga Clan."

"And why should I consider admitting this woman into our organisation?" Pain asked disinterestedly, quickly catching on to Itachi's train of thought.

A beat of silence passed, and the Akatsuki Leader's eyes narrowed as his gaze slowly penetrated Itachi. "I already have my sights set on recruiting Deidara of the Hidden Stone village. He is our top priority right now."

The multiple piercings adorning Pain's face naturally hardened his features. His spikey auburn hair framed his porcelain face, giving him a doll-like appearance.

Itachi had calculated that Pain would say as much. The room they were standing in, which was more like a miniature meeting hall, darkened, as the last rays of the setting sun hid behind the hilltops overlooking their base.

"She could be our medic. She possesses her Clan's Byakugan bloodline limit. And her abilities are refined for a Leaf shinobi of Anbu rank, due to her recently training under Danzo Shimura and working as his Root operative."

Pain closed his eyes.

"You are privy, Itachi, to the calibre of shinobi that the Akatsuki require."

Itachi remained silent.

He knew he was being a fool, presenting himself before the Leader of the Akatsuki like this for a woman.

But it couldn't be helped. This woman happened to be Hinata Hyuuga, and Itachi happened to want to safeguard her. His reasons for wanting to do so did not entirely make sense to him yet; perhaps, it was Danzo, and their mutual distrust of him. Oddly, the Machiavellian elder had drawn them to each other, and was the reason for their paths colliding. And for some strange reason, Itachi was reminded of the remnant of his former self when he looked at her helplessness. The position he was in eleven years ago reflected directly back at him whenever he looked at her, and considered her dire situation with Danzo, and her forbidden jutsu. Not having a family, a Clan to belong to and be safe with, was one of the most isolating feelings a human could experience in the world. Being an outcast to your own brethren, alienated… truly he pitied her.

But also, he wanted to see her rise out of this, and live up to her dignity as a shinobi.

Granted, the Akatsuki was not the best organisation for such a personal transformation to take place.

However, Itachi had joined them eleven years ago and continued to remain loyal to the Leaf village.

It could be possible for her too.

"I will consider it. In the meantime, where is she?" Pain finally relented, his features revealing he was looking tired.

"In a cottage with an elderly woman I am acquainted with, near the northern boundary of the Rain village."

"Fine. As you know, time is drawing near for Deidara's official recruitment into the Akatsuki organisation." Pain started.

Itachi listened carefully.

"I want you to bring this Hyuuga medic with you and Kisame on your mission to go and retrieve Deidara. If she survives it, I will appoint her as a member of the Akatsuki and as our primary medic. What was the timeline you gave the Explosion Release user?" Pain questioned.

"Five months." Itachi stated, carefully concealing that he was pleased with Pain's response. "We're now only two weeks away from when he should meet us at his business partner's estate."

"Very well," Pain said, his voice clipped and final. He turned away from Itachi, signalling that their meeting was now over.

But before he could make a move to leave, Itachi spoke up.

He hadn't forgotten about the request Hinata had made of him.

"I suspect she does not like killing." Itachi lamented, speaking slowly, carefully. "Nothing has been set in stone yet, but she has said that there are certain things she will not participate in, without stating exactly what. I have agreed that we would not force her to do anything against her wishes, but made it clear to her that her main duty as our medic is non-negotiable, and should she fail in this duty, there would be severe consequences."

"It's never a straightforward process with these things, is it?" Pain stated plainly, sighing. "But I am willing to take a gamble with this Hyuuga. We'll see if she has potential in your upcoming mission first, before I am willing to agree to negotiate on such terms, if I decide to grant her membership into our organisation."

"It was never going to be easy to get someone to perfectly conform to our organisation's wishes, Leader." Itachi simply stated. "But I leave that final decision to you, of course, after the mission has taken place. We may well find we'll also have trouble getting Deidara to perfectly agree to our main principles, too."

There was a moment of silence, almost as though Pain agreed with him.

However, when Pain reopened his eyes and pierced Itachi with a hard glare, his Rinnegan eyes caused the hairs on the back of Itachi's neck to stand on end, and the Sharingan-user entered a state of high alert.

"Uchiha, I hope you haven't forgotten…" Pain uttered quietly, "The Akatsuki kills anyone who happens to be a disobedient traitor or a threat. The same goes for you, and this Hyuuga girl. And Deidara. For everyone, for that matter. Don't disappoint me. I expect you to keep a close eye on her. And likewise, I will keep close eyes on you."

With that, Pain disappeared in a flicker of movement.

Good.

Itachi, satisfied, looked away from the space his Leader had previously occupied.

Although Pain's last words had been far from reassuring, the Uchiha had gotten what he wanted from this meeting. Pain had not outrightly objected to his assertion that Hinata, subject to her admission into the Akatsuki, should be shielded from getting her hands bloodied with their business.

A slight uplifting of his lips painted a subtly triumphant look on Itachi's features.

He shook his head.

Even Pain of the Rinnegan could not resist having the Byakugan kekkei genkai in his midst.

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A/N: Thank you for all your wonderful reviews, my lovelies! I always read every single one and they always make me smile.

I know this story is a slow burn, but it will eventually be worth it, the romance will come in its perfect timing, and I hope you will like it. I am a hopeless romantic, as you can probably already see, or at least you will soon find out… :)

I just wanted to make a clarification regarding Usagi, as fanofthisfiction asked a really good question, I hope to clear things up in case it was too blurry in Chapter Four. During her final test with Danzo, at the point where Hinata is handed a blindfold by Danzo, he entraps her in a genjutsu. When she lifts up her blindfold, one of the shinobi she had used Koryoku on has the exact appearance of Usagi, but this is a genjutsu trick and it is not him. The real Usagi still has his charka and is absolutely fine!

Take care, I hope you enjoyed, until next time!

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