Author's Note:

Hello lovely readers,

SORA MEETS PAIN. That is all.

Thank you for reading and for the favorites and reviews, they seriously make my day.:) If you're enjoying this fic, feel free to leave reviews and/or favorite it. Reviews make me write faster... no lie.

Stay safe and see you for the next installment!

-J.E

Kisame and Deidara changed wide grins, staring at Itachi and me from another enormous wooden door just up ahead. Their mischievous smirks forced my apprehension to morph into something more akin to wrath.

"Alright, what the fuck is up with those stupid grins!?" I exploded they began to snicker like children. "Would you two like to share what's so hilarious with the rest of the class!?" Glowering at them, I threw my hands on my hips, like a mother scolding her children.

Deidara and Kisame exchanged conflicted glances before Deidara spoke, "Are you, uh, a little chilly there, hon?" The pompous tone in his voice made my rage swell.

Glaring at them with unwavering intensity, I scoffed. "What the hell are you even talking about?" I spat gratingly, clenching my jaw tighter. Kisame cleared his throat, then gestured with his eyes to my chest and lifted both brows. Blinking in confusion, I directed my attention downwards. To my horror, I discovered my nipples standing at full attention. They were clearly visible through the thin fabric of Itachi's shirt. Due to the the shambles that my bra had been in after the rock collapse, I had no replacement. Damn, the universe truly loved to piss on me without even the curtesy of calling it rain.

You two fucking asked for it.

Fighting back the reflexive want to cover my breasts in shame, I embraced the oncoming wave of anger fueled by the humiliation. I refused to be thought of as an object to be stared and/or laughed at. Besides, they shouldn't have been looking in the first place. With a couple heavy footed steps towards the giggling men, a sadistic smile tugged at my lips as I readied myself to deliver their punishment.

Feeling the last of the chakra suppressant finally wear off, I concentrated on gathering chakra in my core. I extended my hands outwards, aimed for the sniggering man-children. My chakra tingled while rushing through my hands and fingers, then outwards. The target: the subtly illuminated chakra pathways surrounding their major arteries and veins. Deidara cocked a brow in confusion and exchanged glances with and equally puzzled Kisame. As I began slowly curling my outstretched fingers in towards my palms, their blood along with their chakra started constricting, sending the men into a fit of violent choking and coughing.

Told you so.

They'd been ensnared by my Blood Puppet Jutsu. It allowed the user to move chakra into another persons pathways, aka, their blood supply in order to manipulate an enemy's physical body and movements. Noticing the tint of blue staining their lips, I broke my concentration and released my struggling acquaintances. Killing them would most certainly not start me off on the right foot with their leader. My goal was simply to intimidate them enough to deter their childish need to be assholes. A stabbing pain shot up from my neck, through my head with such ferocity that I struggled against the crippling urge to physically wince. I shrugged it off, hoping it would subside on its own.

The echo of methodically slow clapping rang out from behind me only served to agitate the throbbing knocking against my skull. Whipping around at the sound, my eyes widened in fear at the incredibly tall man with two intimidating magenta, spiral shaped eyes that stuck out against his bright orange hair. Like everyone else, he adorned a black cloak covered in red clouds, scrutinizing me so apathetically it made me want to cringe. An abundance of protruding, grey piercings ran up the sides of his sharp nose, lips pulled into a taught line.

Next to him stood an equally expressionless woman, but her deep amber eyes were somehow more gentle than the taller man at her side. I silently admired her ultramarine eyeshadow. Light blue hair fell in small curves to frame her round face—a beautiful, pastel blue paper flower sat just above her right ear. She wore a matching cloak with one small piercing embedded in her chin, much unlike the male she had entered the room with. The pair of them looked as intimidating as the best of my previous captors.

A light popping noise came from my shoulders while rolling them in a small circle and cracked my neck to the either side. The relief was fleeting against the growing ache in my head, but I relished in it none the less. The clapping finally ceased, "Well done. It seems you may not be a waste of our time," the orange haired man stated in an icy, monotone voice. My eyes narrowed dangerously at him as he continued on, "We are the Akatsuki. You may refer to me as Pain-sama, and this," he gestured a hand to the blue haired woman beside him. "is Konan. We are the founders of this organization."

Cool. Can we get to the point now?

Glowering at him, my brows pinched together a bit more, "And what is it that you want with me?" I demanded, hissing through my teeth.

With one nod directed at Konan, Pain turned away from me and strode over towards the wooden door that Deidara and Kisame were now using to pull themselves to a standing position.

"Come. We have some things to discuss. All of you." Pain commanded, striding past the door and setting foot into a dismal looking concrete room. It was completely devoid of furniture, except for one of the biggest tables that I had ever seen located smack dab in the center of the room. Entering the room, Itachi didn't spare me a glance as Deidara followed behind him, tipping me an imaginary hat as he passed by. A rush of pride had my heart swelling. Kisame, silently applauded me with his hulking blue hands.

With a soft smile, I pressed my palms together and bowed my head in appreciation, then mouthed a silent "I'm sorry". While remaining externally placid, I celebrated internally, knowing that I'd demanded and earned respect through sheer ability. As Konan assumed her position at his right side, Pain took a seat on the far side of the table and gestured at the metal chair in front of black metal chair shocked my fingertips with cold while pulling it out to plop down across from Pain, closest to the doorway. For some reason, Itachi sat to the right of me as Kisame and Deidara occupied the chairs on the other side of the table.

Pain's voice was especially frigid as it echoed across the bleak, concrete room, "We would like to offer you a proposal—protection in exchange for your assistance."

Wow, what profound meaning that carries when you're literally the head of a criminal organization.

I scowled and inadvertently let my internal dialogue slip from my lips bitterly, "Protection? Assistance? Wow, don't make me laugh," I scoffed, rolling my eyes in amusement at his words. "That's a nice way to put using someone until you get what you want. Then discarding them when they are no longer serving a purpose."

Pain narrowed his swirling purple eyes into a menacing glare that made my skin crawl. He'd been incensed at my acidic rhetoric. "Watch your tongue, girl. You may be an asset because of your talents, but, ultimately, you are unnecessary. Don't forget that." Despite glaring back at him with an equally enraged demeanor, his seething tone had me internally quaking. Breaking the tension, my gaze drifted over to Itachi, giving me a terrible stare that told me to watch my words.

Damnit, Sora... Why are you like this?

With a deep breath, my lids fell closed as I swallowed back my indigence, "Ah, and who told you about my supposed 'talents'?" I probed, fighting to to soften my own cross expression in the hopes that Pain would do the same.

His expression unchanged, Pain haughtily lifted his chin as if to imply that I already knew that answer, "We have our connections. Do not underestimate the Akatsuki, Sora..." Upon hearing my own name, my mouth went dry while the color drained from my face. My eyes stared wide and unblinking at him in disbelief.

How the fuck does he know my name?

He continued despite my stark reaction, "If you agree to help our organization and not cause trouble, I will allow you to live and provide you safety, where you will not fall into the hands of other captors. Something I know you desperately crave."

He wasn't wrong, I did need sanctuary. But there was something about agreeing that left me uneasy, almost nauseous. Bringing my gaze back up to meet Pain's, I swallowed hard, "... What would be required of me?" I muttered low in defeat.

It was not Pain who responded this time, but rather Konan's feminine voice that echoed back at me, "We have political issues that need to be addressed. You would gather intel and go on missions as requested with various members. We are also aware of your extensive medical capabilities—so, you would fill the role of medic for the organization. Do you think you would be able to do so once you've fully healed from your injury?" She inquired impassively. I dipped my chin to give her a tiny nod, not fully grasping what I'd just gotten myself into, while Pain and Konan nodded back at me simultaneously.

Fuck... What did you just do?

Pain looked over to Itachi, "Itachi, you are the person most equipped to subdue Sora without physical injury—should any problems arise. I'm tasking you with watching her and aiding in helping her heal so she can begin proving her worth to the Akatsuki."

"Yes, Leader-sama," Itachi answered objectively.

Pain got up to leave, then abruptly halted to regard me once more. "If you want to set a single foot outside of this compound, you will need to be escorted by an organization member and watched at all times. So long as you behave, you won't be harmed," his swirling, magenta eyes morphed into thin, threatening slits. "but if you become troublesome, we will simply kill you. Is that clear?" My stomach churned at the malice in his voice. I gave one swift head bob in response.

The painful throbbing in my head pounded with an intensity that boomed in my ears. A thick silence ensued while Pain and Konan slunk out of the bleak room. A silent, stale breath I didn't know I'd been holding rushed out of my lungs the moment the ominous duo were out of sight.

What is up with this stupid headache? Am I dehydrated or something?

Peering over at me ambiguously, Itachi didn't utter a word. He was probably annoyed at the fact that he'd just been assigned to babysit the rude newbie. Kisame and Deidara appeared almost jovial about me essentially selling my soul. "Dope, we get a hella strong lady friend to hang out with!" Deidara exclaimed as he held his palm out to Kisame, high-fiving him with a piercing clap of their hands, made all the louder by the enormity of the plain concrete room.

Letting out a hiss through my teeth, my body recoiled at the resounding noise. I shushed them, "Too. Fucking. Loud," I grumbled while massaging my temples gently to quiet the pain.

Deidara cleared his throat and spoke in a mocking whisper, "Aw, does your head hurt, hon?" He lowered his volume even more before continuing. "Is this better?"

A devious smirk pulled at my lips. "Much. I actually like it so much that I might make it permanent. it's really not very difficult, ya know. Ready?" I extended my arm out as if to choke him once more. It was just a bluff, I truly had no intention of using my jutsu. Something in the way my chakra flow was circulating was... off. I wasn't sure what it was, but it was probably the cause of the thundering pain in my skull. Now was not the time to prove a point.

Deidara threw a hand up to his throat, fear washing over his boyish features. Itachi stood watching with a bemused smirk as Kisame's sandpaper laugh rang out. He got up form his seat, strolling over to me and slapping an enormous blue hand on my back with enough force some air from my lungs . "You'll fit in just fine here! At least you aren't some stupid weakling that needs to be babysat. How do you do that by the way? You didn't even weave any hand signs..." Kisame sounded sincerely impressed, I took it as a compliment.

With a nervous chuckle, I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "I—uh—don't really need to weave signs to mold and release chakra…"

Kisame and Deidara gawked at me in utter disbelief. Itachi, observing their reactions, shook his head slowly side to side. "Kisame, you need to start reading the mission files more thoroughly."

So, they have a file on me? That checks out.

"Tch," Kisame groaned, rolling his eyes at his partner before we all rose from of our seats and made our way towards the exit. He suddenly shot me a mischievous, sharp-toothed grin, "You've got to be tired from the trek here. Do you want someone to take you back to your room so you can lay down? I'm sure Itachi wouldn't mind." He jeered, winking a round eye at Itachi.

"I wonder, could you go more than a few minutes before making a snide sexual comment?" Itachi teased dryly.

"Maybe, but that wouldn't be any fun now, would it?" Kisame retorted as he poked Itachi in the ribcage with his elbow, "Come on Deidara, let's leave these two lovebirds in peace."

Why does he keep saying shit like that?

I scoffed in disgust at his comment while sending a minuscule amount of chakra to my knuckles and wrist. Smiling, I waltzed up to Kisame, catching him with a swift, hard punch to the gut just as he was turning to leave. Deidara sputtered a booming laugh as Itachi sniggered. Rubbing the spot where my fist had made contact with his flesh, Kisame grimaced before a he let out a hearty chuckle. I couldn't help but to laugh with them.

The genuine laughter was nourishment for my broken soul, realizing I hadn't laughed like this in a very long time. "Not bad, Sora-chan. We're going to get along swimmingly." Jabbing a friendly elbow into my side, Kisame waved while exiting the room with Deidara. I giggled softly at how Deidara's long blonde ponytail swayed in tandem with his stride. And at how much smaller he looked walking beside the huge, bandaged sword attached to Kisame's enormous form.

Well, weird friends are better than no friends, I guess.