A/N: A really long-ass chapter, featuring the Akatsuki, finally! Enjoy!

Beeeeep.

"Hi, Sasuke! It's Izumi. Uh, I've run into a bit of trouble down here, so I'll be a little late to get home tonight. Make sure you do your homework and go to bed on time! Uh, right, gotta go, love you, bye!"

Sasuke stared at the open Blackberry in his hands, at the ID on the voicemail screen.

Uchiha Izumi, approximately around eight-twenty-six PM on Wednesday, September 3. Approximately ten hours and twenty-three minutes ago.

Sasuke frowned, looking up. The sun shone through his window as it always did, but the apartment felt strangely... quiet. Was Izumi even home?

He knew he would've woken up if she'd come home early. After the spider-bite, he found it easier to wake up at sounds in the apartment, such as Izumi coming home late after a shift. It also made it harder to fall back asleep, as he would be acutely aware of any little noise in the home; every creak, every pop, every groan of the old building would taunt him with sleeplessness. He knew he would've heard her last night. So where was she?

"She'd better not have slept at the station again," he groaned to himself as he shut the phone and set it on the table as he began to get ready for the day. "Then again, she would've remembered to call or text either before she fell asleep or after she woke up. She's usually so annoyingly fastidious when it comes to letting me know where she is..."

A ball of fear began to sink deep into the recesses of his stomach, and he glanced at the hallway wearily. No sign of Izumi's shoes in the entryway shoe rack. The ball sank deeper, and he swallowed harshly to wet his suddenly-dry throat as he padded down the hall to the bathroom to take a shower.

He showered quickly, combed out his unruly hair and brushed his teeth, and got dressed a margin quicker than usual. He found himself at the kitchen table at six-fourteen, staring at an empty bowl with hardly any stomach to eat.

He swallowed again, pouring a bit of cereal into the bowl, followed by the milk. He closed his eyes, sighed, and poked his spoon around, getting a generous spoonful of cereal and raising it to his mouth. He chewed it, swallowed it, but it didn't feel right. He just didn't feel hungry.

"C'mon, what the hell is wrong with me today," he muttered to himself, shaking his head to clear his mind. He downed the rest of the small portion, thankful that he hadn't decided to go big. He drank the rest of the milk, washed the bowl and spoon (and set them on the drying rack for later), put the rest back, and grabbed his shoes and backpack.

He paused to send a glance back down the cold, empty hall, and an uneasy chill ran down his back.

As soon as he opened the front door, he came face-to-face with Sakura, who was holding the empty tray, plate, and silverware in her hands.

She blinked, surprised, taking a step back. "Sasuke! Hey."

"What are you doing out here?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "How long were you just standing there?"

"W- well, I woke up and forgot about the tray until Sasori reminded me about it, so I decided I'd try and catch Izumi-san before she left-" she poked her head around him to try and catch a glimpse of the woman in the hall. "-did I miss her?"

Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed in frustration, and he shook his head. "She didn't come back last night."

"What, really?" Sakura gasped. "Holy crap, I'm so sorry. That must've sounded super insensitive. Uh, c- can I drop this off first?"

He shrugged, stepping out of the doorway so that she could go in. She muttered a thank-you before slipping off her ratty tennis shoes at the entrance and rushing into the kitchen. After a moment, she came running back out, putting on her shoes again and joining him on the walk down the hall.

"So... what are you gonna do?" She asked nervously, some of her hair falling into her face when she turned to look at him. "Any idea of what happened?"

He contemplated it for a moment before shaking his head again. "It must've had something to do with the robbery last night. That would be a good place to start."

"Oh, I heard about that on the news." Sakura nodded, adjusting her red headband. "They were saying that hostages were taken... you don't think...?"

He grit his teeth, his next step down the stairs a bit harsher than he intended, making a loud thump on the wood. "I really don't want to talk about this right now, Sakura." He flatly said, narrowing his eyes at her.

She flinched at the intense glare, nodding her head rapidly. "R- right, sorry. I'll just, uh... go on ahead."

She hurried away, and he kicked at a pebble on the tile flooring of the lobby when he touched down. He didn't need to think about Izumi being hurt right now, he just couldn't. Not when losing Itachi was so recent. He honestly didn't think he could go through that agony again - and being so close to being able to live on his own, at that. There was no way in Hell that he was going into the foster care system. He had plans, big plans - plans that involved Spider-Man, and no outdated, abusive system was going to take that away from him now.

He kissed his teeth and turned his head to the side, ignoring the blank stare of the front desk worker as he left the lobby. Che. All he had to do was get through the school day and then he would be free to check up on her.

On the bus, the bullies were a bit more ruthless than usual - one of them crammed into the seat directly behind Sasuke, much to that occupant's irritation, and began jeering both him and Sakura. He put in his earbuds to drown out the mockery as usual, but Sakura didn't have anything to distract herself with. She spent the ride staring right ahead, face downturned into a slight, weary frown. She looked a bit paler than yesterday, although she wasn't coughing as much.

When they got to school, they went their separate ways. Naruto immediately bounced up to him, looking concerned.

"Teme!" He called, rushing to Sasuke's side. "Dude, you alright? You good?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" He deadpanned, sparing the blond a curious glance.

"Cause I heard about the robbery last night," he stage-whispered, as if it were some big secret. His eyes were wide. "Did Izumi get back last night?"

"No, she's missing, no, I don't know where she is, yes, I'm gonna find out what happened today." He sighed tersely, slamming his locker door shut and fixing Naruto with an apathetic stare. "Is that all?"

Naruto was quiet for a moment, stunned at the outburst. Then he wrinkled his nose at him. "Geez, bastard, what crawled up your ass this morning?"

"I'm sick of people bringing her up," he snapped back, turning and walking to class.

Naruto followed, but at a distance.

A shiver went through the noiret, and he briefly missed Naruto's all-encompassing warmth bumping his shoulder.

He stepped into class, and immediately, his phone vibrated. He cursed quietly, making his way to his seat in the second row. Luckily, the teacher, Hatake Kakashi, wasn't in yet. He snuck his phone out, glancing at the screen.

It was a text from Kisame, surprisingly - when had he given the man his number?

"hey shorty, heard bout ur little 1v1 w/ old man shimura. don't worry bout him, he's just an asshole. sasori invited the gang, maybe see u there w/ pinky l8r?"

He scoffed, pocketing the phone again. As if he was going to join their inane meeting. It would likely be about something illicit. Maybe Hidan was passing on drugs again? He wasn't about to be somebody's errand boy, he knew that for sure.

He ignored the text and pulled out the textbook just as Naruto sat next to him, leaning in. "Dude... after you left yesterday, I went to get Sakura-chan..." he made a face. "She didn't look so good."

Sasuke hummed quietly in acknowledgement, flipping to the day's lesson.

"Like, she looked pretty sick," Naruto motioned to where the girl was sitting with her chin propped up in her hand, eyes half-lidded. "Sicker than that. I don't wanna be the only one to try and coax her to take a day off, 'cause she might not listen to me... but she'll do it if you tell her too. Please?"

Sasuke finally looked up and at the pinkette. Indeed, she looked just as sick as on the bus, if not a little worse. She looked exhausted as hell, and her head kept tipping forward, like she wanted to take a nap. He could chalk it up to bad sleeping habits, but he and Naruto had both known the girl for years - Sakura was not someone to sacrifice too much of her sleep when it came to things she took seriously, like high school. She was taking higher-leveled classes, but she always made sure she got her work done in school - and the work she took home she could easily complete in no time at all.

What was wrong with her all of a sudden?

Suddenly aware of Naruto's pleading expression, he gave a little sigh and nodded in agreement. "Fine, I'll tell her to pack it up. Only if she still looks that bad at lunch."

Naruto fist-pumped quickly, snickering under his breath, "Dude, don't let her hear you saying that. I know she likes you, but she's not above giving a TED talk on stuff like that."

True to his word, Sasuke helped Naruto confront the girl at lunch. She looked halfway to passing out, and her forehead was clammy and hot. She was understandably frustrated that they wanted her to go home, so she compromised: she would get her temperature taken at the nurse's before PE, and if she had a fever, then she'd go home early.

Their last class came, and Sakura went to the nurse's office. Neither of the boys saw her again after PE was over, so they assumed she went home. Sasuke said he'd check up on her after he got back to the apartment, and thus he and Naruto parted ways.

Sasuke stepped off the bus at the apartment complex and headed on up. Perhaps he'd have to take Kisame's invitation after all. First he stopped off at his apartment and changed into some comfier clothes (sweatpants and some hand-me-down tee), heated up some canned chicken noodle soup, and took it over to Sakura's apartment.

He knocked on the door and waited. As soon as the door opened, he met Sasori's eyes and held up the bowl. "I'm here to visit Sakura."

Sasori smiled calmly, letting him by. "How cute. I didn't think you and Sakura were that close."

"We really aren't," Sasuke thought to himself. He said nothing, though, and headed past the older man to her room.

He knocked twice on her door and waited for her faint-sounding "Come in" to enter. He opened the door and saw her lying in bed with a wet cloth on her forehead.

She coughed and struggled to sit up against her pillow. "Hi," she croaked, giving him a watery smile. "I had to go home early."

"I noticed," he agreed as he brought her the soup. "Here. Mom always said soup helps with colds."

"I dunno what I got, but I don't think it's a cold," she chortled weakly as he pulled up her desk chair to sit in. "But I'm not gonna turn down free food."

"Do you think you can eat it yourself?" He asked, eyeing the way she shivered in her spot.

She rose her arms, letting them shake in the air for a few moments before she lowered them and shook her head, quietly replying, "... no."

He spooned up some broth and blew on it gently before holding it out to her, bringing the bowl close to her so that it wouldn't spill onto her covers. She accepted the spoonful and sighed happily when she swallowed it. The soup warmed her all the way down, and she opened her mouth for another.

Sasuke continued to feed her spoonfuls until the bowl was half-empty, and then he set it on her desk while she snuggled back into her covers.

"Thanks," she said, letting out a shuddering cough into the crook of her arm. "I'll have to finish the rest later... for now I think I should sleep. I'm tired."

"You're not coming into school tomorrow, are you?" He asked, staring her down.

She frowned at him, rolling her eyes. "It's just a stress-induced fever, Sasuke," she huffed. Her voice was slightly muffled by her comforter. "As long as I don't have a fever tomorrow morning, I'm going to school."

"If you have anything over 100, you're staying home or I'm webbing your door shut." He half-heartedly threatened. He ignored the snort of "Whatever," before turning and leaving her room. He paused in the doorway, giving her a look. "I mean it."

"I got it, Doctor Uchiha," she waved it off with a small grin. "Good night."

He gently shut her door and walked back down the hall, where he walked past the living room full of Akatsuki.

"Oi, Inky!" Kisame called with a toothy grin, making him pause. "I know Pinky is sick and Clyde is with the old man, but surely you can join us for a few minutes?"

Sasuke let out a sigh through his nose before turning and entering the living room, taking a seat on one of the recliners in the room and folding his arms across his chest.

"Well isn't this a treat," the deep voice of the gang's leader, Pain, rumbled. He gave the boy a polite nod. "Good to see you again, Sasuke."

"It's been too fuckin' long, squirt!" Hidan piped up with a bark of laughter. "You oughta see us more often, dammit! We could use a fresh face around here!"

"I'm not in the mood for illicit activities," he deadpanned, giving the gray-haired man a raised eyebrow.

Chuckling laughter rose up from the group, and Hidan sputtered a defense. "W- well, not everything we do is fuckin' illicit! Give me some credit, squirt!"

Konan, the woman of the bunch, politely nodded to him. "Ignore him, Sasuke. We were just having a quick meeting."

"Can we continue with this unexpected... addition?" Kakuzu, a senior member of the bunch, questioned, folding his arms, riddled with stitches and scars, across his massive chest.

"Yes, I don't see why not," Pain replied, glancing over at him with ringed gray eyes. "This matter concerns him just as much as it would us, given his status among the local police."

"That robbery last night," Sasuke spoke up, bringing everyone's attention to him. "Something feels suspicious about it. It occurred too suddenly considering the crime in that area."

"Hm, and didn't your big sis not make it back last night?" Deidara, a relatively young member (of only 18, the youngest in present time in fact), drawled, narrowing his visible baby-blue eye at him. The man had a temper as explosive as his bombs, which he seemed to have an unusual expertise in. Adding the fact that he detested Itachi, Sasuke was uneasy having him in the same room.

Sasuke grit his teeth in irritation. "No, she didn't," he ground out, clenching his fingers into the fabric of his shirt.

"Alright, alright, come on," Kisame tried to placate them both. "We're not here to start an argument, we're here to discuss certain events."

"Exactly." Pain agreed. "Starting off, the robbery itself. The news has reported that it was a result of gang activity - one of the lesser gangs in the north end. The problem with this statement is that, until a few months ago, there were no gangs in that area of town. Someone is blatantly lying to the news outlets and decrying our reputation. We don't just moderate gang activity, we regulate them - and now the police are spreading the idea that we're growing lazy in our efforts."

"Bunch o' pigs," Hidan grumbled, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "I never liked that Shimura guy. Too shady if you ask me."

Sasuke sat up straighter, and Hidan caught his eye. He sent the teenager a knowing smirk, and Sasuke's frown deepened.

"Regardless of the scandals that have happened under his eye, he's not the biggest of our worries right now," Konan interjected, folding her hands together in her lap. "We can continue to gather evidence on him at a later date. For now, we need to get the police off our back by dealing with these rogue gangs."

"Sasori, Deidara, you two are going to meet with the leader of Kappa Alpha," Pain said, looking over to the two. "Make sure they know that they're going to have to curtail their... extracurriculars."

"Aw man, with a lame-ass name like that?" Deidara groaned, letting his head hang over the edge of the couch. "Yeah, yeah, we can."

"Of course we can," Sasori agreed breezily, eyes flickering toward the blond in annoyance. "Do we need backup?"

"As of now, it isn't advisable." The ginger shook his head. "We want to negotiate, not yet intimidate. They know that if they pick a fight with us, they'll have to deal with a combined coalition of ten different gangs all over the city. We don't want to push it."

"Understood." Sasori nodded.

"Kakuzu, Hidan." Pain turned next to the duo. "You two will be going with a squad of five men to meet with the leader of..." He squinted at a small list in his hand, "... 'Riot', spelled R-H-Y-O-T..."

"Oh, newfish, eh?" Hidan cackled, rubbing his hands together. "We'll sort 'em out, Boss."

Kakuzu nodded, his eyes narrowing in displeasure. "Might as well collect from them at this rate."

"Not yet," Konan reminded. "They may be newfish, but they will grow to resent us and form an uprising."

Kakuzu mumbled a reply and shook his head.

"Kisame, you'll be leading a squad of three to meet with the leader of Novi tonight." Pain nodded to the blue-skinned man. "We have reason to believe that their alliance with Rhyot is the reason for the robbery last night. You must go in to sort them out."

"This'll be fun," Kisame chuckled, his sharp teeth gleaming in the light.

"As for Konan and myself," Pain finished, "we've been summoned to discuss this recent increase in crime with the head police chief himself."

A couple of people groaned, and others rolled their eyes.

"Really?" Deidara squawked. "We're stuck goin' after some newfish, and you get to go toe-to-toe with Shimura?"

"He's just gonna spin a story about us being a 'bad influence' on the city or some shit!" Hidan agreed angrily, looking over at Sasuke. "Right, kid? He's an asshole!"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, leaning forward in the chair.

"We were explicitly requested to do this meeting," Pain's voice took a cold tone. "If anyone else were to do it, Shimura could claim that we aren't interested in negotiating terms with the police and could make a plea to the mayor to take our protected status away."

The group fell silent for several seconds. The air grew tense, and it was clear that mentioning the police chief greatly dampened the mood. Sasuke shifted in his seat, eyes darting back and forth between solemn faces.

"We can't afford our protection being taken away now," Sasori piped up in a quiet drawl. "The second that luxury is lifted, it's practically open season."

"If we want to protect the people of this city, we must do what we can," Pain declared, getting up from the couch. Konan followed his lead. "For now, do what you must. Take care that you don't stir up too much trouble. I expect a report tomorrow afternoon."

"What about the girl?" Deidara questioned, gesturing with his eyes towards the bedrooms. "Didn't she have a nasty run-in a few days ago?"

Sasuke's eyebrows knit together into a frown. What?

"We can't be totally sure that this is his doing yet," Pain replied flatly, shifting his gaze to where Sasuke sat for a moment before going back to the artist. "We'll need to keep a close eye on him from here on out to make certain that he's not poking his nose where it doesn't belong."

He?

A/N: A little longer than I'd originally wanted, but still.

Please tell me what you thought. See you later.