Children of Pain

by PrinceOfUchiha

There is a new issue which has arisen in the Akatsuki: Konan wants children. Nagato isn't one to bring children into the world when so many are already suffering as orphans. The solution: Adopting an orphaned Sasuke, Naruto, and Karin. Oh, and an abused Gaara, Neji, and Hinata. Warnings: Mild kidnapping, swearing, etc.

8. Chapter Eight

Note: A time skip had occurred-- it has been eight years. I plan on creating a separate story for miscellaneous events and daily shenanigans for the kids/Akatsuki during this time-skip later on. For now, this story is set to continue focusing on the plot of this AU and their overall bonding. I hope you all are able to enjoy it.

Time Skip: 8 Years

New Ages:

Neji: 16

Karin: 15

Sasuke: 14

Naruto: 14

Gaara: 14

Hinata: 13

Itachi: 23

Kisame:25

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

It had been a good few years for the children. They had all experienced things previously unknown to them-- birthday parties, holidays, sleepovers, and much more. They had grown used to everyday life with the Akatsuki-- Wake up, eat breakfast together, go to school, hang out around town until dinner, then be home by dark. They were all fine with this, the now teens having no real issues with their much less stressful lives. Well, for the most part.

"Hn! I was just looking, gramps. You don't gotta get your panties in a twist." Naruto insisted he had done nothing wrong as he spoke, the blonde teen being dragged along by a very annoyed Hidan.

The silver-haired man didn't seem to care for his words however, only growing more annoyed. "What did I say about calling me that, brat? You aren't allowed to touch my god damn scythe, and you know it." pressing the door to Naruto's room open.

The room was nowhere near as plain as it once was. Rather than the original plain white, it was now a bright orange with the occasional picture of their family framed to the wall with tape. There were also miscellaneous art supplies covering the teen's desks and bed, not that he seemed to mind. Konan had told him a thousand times to keep it clean, but Naruto seemed to have trouble with it. Hidan easily tossed the teen onto his bed, slamming the door behind him and ignoring the pouting blond.

Hidan turned to leave the part of the house which they had deemed the 'children's hallway' when he spotted Gaara. He looked over at the redhead, quirking a brow at him. Gaara only shrugged. "Mother wants Naruto and me to come to the study room. She said she needs our weekly samples," he explained, the boy's voice having grown stronger and less scratchy as he spoke more and more. He also had forsaken his stuffed bear in exchange for a gourd, which Deidara had crafted for him on his tenth birthday.

Hidan nodded, running a hand through his hair and heading off in the other direction. He didn't have the nerve to deal with them right now. Gaara himself pressed the door open just enough to see Naruto pouting. The blond was moving some paints off his bed, placing them off to the side on his dresser. Gaara cleared his throat, getting Naruto's attention fairly quickly. "Naruto, mother wants us upstairs for sample time."

Naruto groaned lightly at that, but stood and made his way upstairs anyway. "Man, I know she said we weren't old enough to know yet, but I wish she would just tell us why we need these." walking up the stairs and opening the door, only receiving a light nod from Gaara in response.

As they entered the top floor, they were met with the normal sight-- Nagato asleep in bed while Konan stood on the other side of the room, in the doorway of the science lab which was added nearly seven years ago now, ready to take their blood. Naruto and Gaara slowly moved around Nagato, careful to be quiet and not wake him up. They doubt he would blame them if they did, but they knew he needed his rest. Karin's slow healing had helped him so he was able to at least move around the village, but he still needed a lot of natural rest too.

Once they were over to sit down in the pair of chairs, they rolled up their sleeves as usual. Konan said nothing at first, wrapping a ribbon around their arms and pulling out a pair of clean needles. Naruto was, of course, the one to strum up a conversation. "Mom, do you know when dad'll be awake?" referring to Nagato. Technically Nagato and she weren't yet married, but it was fairly obvious to everyone in the organization they had feelings for each other. Not that they tried to hide it. As such, the kids had all quickly taken to calling the man their father.

Naruto had been first, followed quickly by Karin. They were simply the closest to him. Hinata and Gaara gave in after a bit, surprised by how different the man was in comparison to their own fathers. Sasuke and Neji were the ones that took the longest, both holding great respects for their birth fathers. Sasuke did break before Neji however, his father never having been as affectionate as Neji's.

"He's been asleep for a few hours. It's almost time for dinner, so he needs to be woken up anyway. Go ahead when we're done with this." removing the needle from his arm and setting it aside to do Gaara's. "What do you need?" Konan asked curiously.

Naruto smiled widely at his own words. "It's our final year in the academy, mom. We'll be starting our internships. One year of that, and we'll be set to graduate! We'll be real ninja! I want to learn from the best of course-- dad."

Konan nodded in understanding. "Oh, I see. I almost forgot." she mused. Her babies were growing fast. She sighed lightly at the thought. "I was so nervous to let Neji intern when he was your age. I thought Nagato was going to declare war on the sand when he and Kisame came back injured. Luckily it was only a few scratches. I'm just glad you all have been smart enough to choose strong ninja to intern with so far. Karin just finished hers with Kicho, and Neji has been long since done with his. I just hope you twos go as well as theirs did." she finished, placing yet another bandaid over their arms.

As she watched Naruto quickly rush to Nagato's bed to wake him up, she lightly smiled at Gaara. She wasn't feeling the best these days, and it was no mystery why. In only three or four years, it would be time for Tobi to make his move. They would need to extract the beast. Three years might seem like a long time, but she had been trying to find out how to save them from death from the extractions for nearly nine years now. Unlike Orochimaru, none of them knew how to do this kind of thing. But he was long gone, and they would never let him a test on the children.

Well, that's what she told herself. But they had to do something-- they were running out of time.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Naruto sat down on the side of the bed, lightly shaking Nagato awake. "Dad? It's time to get up. I gotta ask you something." he insisted, smiling widely as he saw the redhead sit up.

Over the years, Nagato had finally got some meat on his bones. He wasn't bulky by any means, but he was no longer skin and bones as he had been. His dark, swirled eyes matched Naruto's happy ones easily. "Yes? What is it?" he asked, sitting up in a more straight position to better see the boy.

"Well, you know how I just started my last year and need a mentor? I was wondering if maybe it would be okay for you too?" he asked with a pleading look. Nagato was surprised only briefly at the request, as he had been expecting the boy to ask him. He just hadn't known it would be right after his nap.

He nodded, however, not having the heart to tell him no. He did feel it was only fair to warn him though. "I would love for you to officially train under me, Naruto. The only issue is that I'm the leader of the village, and I rarely go out to fight besides when I go out on kill missions. That means you would be learning more about taking care of a village than anything. Then when you do go out with me for kill missions...well...I'm not a very gentle person out of the village. My killing techniques may be more violent than you're used to. Are you sure you can handle that?"

The blonde stopped for a moment to think about it. On one hand, he really wanted to learn from Nagato, his dream of joining the Akatsuki not having wavered over the years. On the other hand, he had never really seen many gorey fights because of how secure the village was.

Not to mention the Akatsuki was clear that they were not allowed to leave the village without assistance because they could be hurt. Now that the kids were older, they understood that they were technically missing, and there was no doubt they would be taken if someone recognized them.

Naruto took a breath-- he would just have to get over it. "I'm fine with having to learn more about the village. I'll have to it I want to join you guys one day. Besides, I can deal with a little gore. I've never even been in a real fight. I know you and mom just want to protect us, but if I want to be in the Akatsuki when I'm older I have to be stronger like you all. I'll do what I have to if it helps me get there." he smiled widely in assurance to his father.

Nagato nodded ever so slightly, resting a hand on the blond's spiked hair. "If you think you can do it, I'll be happy to teach you. No come, you said it's almost time for dinner. Let's head downstairs." watching as the boy stood and headed down quickly at the mention of food, Nagato sent Konan a tired smile as he noticed her not so inconspicuously watching them.

He also noticed Gaara had already gone, not that he had to guess where the boy had gone. He was sure the boy was asking Sasori to mentor him-- anyone in the Akatsuki could say that much. Gaara had clung to Sasori the first week they arrived, and he hadn't let go since. Sasori had no option but to return the affections of the young boy after some time. The two were now as close as he was to Naruto.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Gaara headed over to a bedroom on the left side of the second floor. He pressed the door open quietly, entering to see Deidara and Sasori both covered in paint and roughhousing. Deidara and Sasori pinned playfully, rubbing the red paint from his hands onto the other's shirt. The entire room looked a mess, but they both stopped as Gaara entered. Deidara smiled widely at the boy in greeting, Sasori waving him over as they both sat up. The older redhead wiped the paint from his face, watching as Gaara sat down beside them. "Hey, what's up, buddy?"

Not seeming to be affected by the paint roughhousing or the two being in the same room, Gaara settled to sit just beside them, careful not to sit in any of the spilled paint. He tilted his head, "Sasori-nii, will you be my mentor for my graduation year?" he asked, his voice having smoothed out over the years of talking more freely, though still soft.

Sasori nodded, offering the boy a serious look, however. "Of course. I would be glad to teach you more. There is only a limited about of skill I can teach you when we're in this village. I think it'll be good for you to get some outside experience with other ninjas."

After all, Sasori knew that having only four or five classmates a year would limit their knowledge of preventing an attack. Even if they had Seikatsu as their teacher, there was only so much the man could teach. Some things could only be learned through experience and hard work.

Deidara easily pipped in, "Yeah, some real experience will do you good. Plus with that sand of yours, you'll make an amazing ninja for when we need to work in the sand village. You'll do well in assassinations or things of that sort, I think. We probably won't be able to pass you off as a spy though with that hair of yours."

Gaara only nodded to this, not the least bit fazed by the idea of attacking what was once his own. After all, he had long since accepted that they never wanted him there. It's better to stick with those who appreciate him, he figured. "I actually think I could do spying if I change my hair up and maybe when I learn a bit more. Everyone always says they don't notice me standing in the background. I've heard more love confessions from you guys than I would have like to." he frowned.

Deidara smirked, Sasori only looking away slightly with an annoyed grunt at the boy's words. "If you would make more noise, people wouldn't be spilling their guts in front of you," Sasori spoke after a brief moment, arms crossing as he looked at the boy.

Gaara only crossed his arms back in reply. "Well, perhaps if you didn't spill your guts in the living room, I wouldn't have been there to step in on it." he pointed out.

Deidara seemed amused, but Sasori only reached over to lightly pinch the young teen's cheek despite the glare he got from him. "Silence, disciple." he playfully scolded with a sly smirk.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

It was Sasuke who was the last one to ask his chosen member to mentor him. Though, to be fair, it was far from his fault. As soon as the teen got home from school, he found himself entering Itachi and Kisame's shared room. He had long since got over the awkwardness of walking in on his all-powerful elder brother cuddling into Kisame's side, but that didn't mean it was something he liked.

As such, he was mildly happy to walk into an empty room. It was only after thirty minutes that he grew bored, wishing his brother had been in the room. He wound up settling on Itachi's bed, boredly practicing making illusions with his Sharingan. At first, it was simply warping Itachi's bed to look like a weasel shape, then it was Kisame's bed into the shape of a stuffed shark, the walls turned from blue to white with sharks swimming on them, then eventually the floor to water.

Sasuke filled his boredom with refining the water to look as real as possible, the beds to look softer, and the paint to look brighter. It was just a way to fill time. He hadn't intended on doing it, but that didn't change Itachi and Kisame's surprise as they returned from the mission. When the door opened and they gaped at the room briefly, Sasuke quickly dropped the illusion as he realized what he had done.

"Oh...hey big brother. Hey Kisame. You took a long time on your mission so I got bored. I was just imaging what your child's room will look like when you have one." he teased with a smirk, not faltering when both of the elder ninjas gave him a scolding glare, setting their equipment down.

Kisame was the first one to voice his annoyance, of course. "Don't be a brat. What are you even doing here? You shouldn't enter while we're away on a mission." crossing his arms at the boy and standing over him as the teen sat on Itachi's bed.

Sasuke easily slid around him, ignoring him for the most part, though allowing one last comment to make it's way past his lips. "Oh, wow, practicing your fatherly scolding already. He's dedicated brother, keep em'." stopping in front of a tired and only half-amused Itachi.

Seeing his elder brother's stern look, however, Sasuke decided Itachi most likely wanted an answer to Kisame's question as well. "Why I'm in here? Simple. It's the same reason Gaara was in Sasori and Deidara's room. The same reason Naruto went to father and mother's room." he smirked, leaning forward to lean his hands on his elder brother's shoulders. "I want you to be my mentor for my final year."

"No."

Sasuke was quickly baffled, not having expected to be shut down so quickly. "But brother-"

"No," Itachi repeated, moving his hand to remove Sasuke's smaller ones from his shoulders. He placed the teens by his sides, watching as the younger Uchiha sent him a hurt and confused look. He sighed heavily. "Sasuke, Kisame and I go on too many assassination missions." closing the door behind him so no one would eavesdrop.

He lowered his voice, "You know I don't like doing most of these missions. The only reason I do them is to keep you safe here in the Rain Village. I won't bring you along on some of the highest-ranking missions in the village and risk you being hurt. How do you think that would make everyone feel if you got hurt? Do you think I want to see you in pain? Do you think Hinata would want to see one of her big brothers in pain? How would Neji react, seeing his ultimate rival beaten? No, you need to mentor under someone like Yoi or Shu. Someone who's advanced in skill enough to teach you plenty, but won't have S-Rank missions constantly. It's safest this way."

He had his hands gently holding Sasuke's shoulders, trying to have the boy understand. He had given up everything to protect Sasuke-- Sasuke was one of his only reasons for living. He couldn't lose him just because he wanted to play hero to his brother and mentor him.

Kisame was silent and said nothing at first, but sat on his bed with a more serious expression now. "Your brother is right, kid. I know I agreed to take on Neji during his graduation year, but that was different."

"Different how? Because he's stronger than me? Because he's smarter?" Sasuke snapped. Even though many years had passed, he had been raised for six years of his life to compete with Itachi. It would only make sense that these things would be implanted into his subconscious as a reason for him not being accepted. When he was younger, it could pass through as waves of sadness and he could go on after a bit of comfort. Now that he was older, the subconscious idea seemed to wave out more in anger and jealousy when it did pop up, though it was rare, and they were trying to help the teen overcome this.

Kisame remained calm, knowing this as well as Itachi. "No. It's because I had no idea what I was doing by taking on Neji. He constantly came home injured because Itachi and I were too focused on not letting any of us die to attack. We were all defense, and it harmed the mission as well as Neji. We know better now than to try to take another one. I doubt Sasori or Nagato know fully what they're doing."

Shaking his elder brother's arm off, Sasuke crossed his own with a serious look. He looked up at Itachi, unflinching. "Exactly. You've already made your mistakes, so you'll do better this time. I've been training with my brother for years. Neji only trained with you occasionally before since he preferred solo training. Not to mention we're both Uchiha, so we have similar fighting styles and strengths to go with the bloodline. Like the Sharingan. Who's going to teach me to use my Sharingan better if it isn't you, brother?" he practically begged, though more in a frustrated tone than a pleading one.

Itachi narrowed his eyes. "I said no. That is final. Our missions are too high ranking for you to deal with as you are. Perhaps if you had more experience in a real fight, but you don't. Now go ask Yoi or Shu. Any chuunin will do. You have plenty of lower-ranking friends to ask. Hell, ask Neji. He might be low leveled since he's only a year into the program, but he'll have plenty to show with the right level missions. I won't risk you getting yourself killed just because of your childish hero worship." moving the boy by the shoulder towards the door gently. He didn't miss the upset glare Sasuke gave him, but let it be as he knew he was in the right to worry about his brother. It was his job as an older brother, after all. He gave his brother a small ruffle of the hair, watching as his shoulder slumped, and closed the door softly.

He hated to say it, but it was true. Sasuke's obsessive hero-worship of him would get the boy killed if it continued as it had for most of his life. He would rather Sasuke be safe and hate him than happy and dead.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Throughout the night, Sasuke seemed sulky. The elder members noticed this but didn't comment. It wasn't unusual for Sasuke to sulk, after all. They assumed it would ease but by the end of the weekend. It normally didn't last long. The younger ones, however, were either annoyed or concerned to see their brother upset.

Sasuke sat in his room, ignoring the occasional knock from Naruto or Gaara asking him if he was alright. He didn't want to talk to them. Both of them got to join their idols, but he couldn't. Just because it was 'too dangerous'. He knew his brother and Kisame had some of the hardest missions in the Akatsuki besides the zombie duo, and realistically it made sense they wouldn't want him to join them. To call out his idolization of his elder brother as a bad thing, though? How was it wrong that he wanted to be like him? Though he could see the reason, that didn't mean he had to like it.

Just as his anger was cooling down, however, his door opened. He turned, giving the intruder a nasty glare, Sharingan blazing. He didn't even care to focus on who it was as he growled. "Don't you know how to knock?" he barked, words trailing off as he realized who it was.

Tobi had entered, closing the door behind him. He wore his normal orange mask, his Akatsuki coat hanging off him. Sasuke had trailed off not out of fear, but rather surprise. Tobi rarely came to visit them, but when he did, he was normally playful and loud. Now, however, he held himself upward in a straight position. His shoulders were pushed back. Despite not being able to see anything past one eye, Sasuke could see the focus of it. The focus on him. The teen's words had died in his throat, not sure why he was here. Had someone been hurt?

The man locked Sasuke's door, slowly making his way towards the teen. "Sasuke~, you seem upset, my boy." he hummed, though his voice was not its normal playfulness. It was much deeper than Sasuke had ever heard it before, more serious. Tobi was acting stange, and Sasuke wasn't sure he liked it. Why wasn't he being the annoying blabbermouth Sasuke had grown up with?

Sasuke didn't let his nerves show, or so he hoped, instead bringing his hands up into his lap. "Hn, it's none of your concern," he spoke, hoping giving him the cold shoulder would make him either get to the point or move on. Unfortunately, it did neither.

"None of my concern? Why, Sasuke, of course, your distress is of my concern. I'm the oldest Uchiha alive, and you're the youngest. It is my duty to make sure the next generation is strong. You're the baby of our clan. The future. How could I not watch out for you?" he cooed in a way that made Sasuke weary.

Sasuke pointed out with doubt, scooting away as Tobi sat beside him, "You didn't care for the future of the clan much when you killed them with Itachi." knowing Itachi himself had done it to create a new future, but unsure if Tobi's plans aligned with Itachi's plans. Not when Tobi had said he killed them because 'they were mean to Tobi'. The man had to of done something wrong to make them upset. Sasuke hadn't really questioned it much until now since Tobi honestly seemed to idiotic to be as slippery as Itachi. Now that he was hearing this alternate voice, though, he wasn't so sure.

Hearing Tobi speaking in the first person was odd too, Sasuke noted. "No, no. That was the past of the clan. It needed a fresh start, with those strong enough to carry it. With Itachi, you, and me. We can make a truely fierce clan..." he paused for a moment, before sighing. "Or, rather, Itachi and I can."

Accusation quickly left Sasuke's mouth. "What's that supposed to mean? I'm strong! I'm intelligent! I could be just as strong as Itachi one day!" he barked, fist clenching.

Tobi nodded. "Yes, of course, I have no doubt you can even surpass Itachi. The only issue is..." he trailed off, much to Sasuke's annoyance. "Well, you don't have the right environment to grow into someone who could make a mark in our clan's new history. Your brother loves you far to much to ever let anything happen to you. He killed the clan and went back on his plan within a year. He just can't let you fly out of your nest. Not that it's a bad thing. It is good he cares for you. It will make for a good life on your part. Yes, sheltering you is for the best, I suppose. Itachi and I can focus on building up the clan's power and you can perhaps father the children. Maybe you can help teach them morals or such while we protect you to give you the chance. Yes, that seems like the best plan since Itachi won't want you hurt."

Sasuke frowned. "I don't want to be protected. I'm strong, and Itachi will teach me to be a good ninja. He just wants me to get a good start with lower-level ninja, that's all." he reasoned, trying to defend his brother despite still being angry at him.

A chuckle escapes Tobi. "Oh? Is that what he's told you? I'm sorry, I don't mean to laugh, but it's just hard to imagine. You know he sees you as a mere child, and I don't see that changing once you start doing low ranking missions. If anything, he might be content with you doing C-Rank missions forever. After all, you would never object. Look at you now. He killed your family, you forgave him within a month. He supported Konan in taking you from the leaf, you forgave him from taking your home away. He forced you into a new family, you forgave him. He shoved you to the side when you expressed you want to get stronger, and now you'll obey him and ask Yoi or Shu, won't you?"

"My big brother only wants the best for me. He killed them and took me to keep me safe. He doesn't want me to go on missions to keep me alive. He..." the teen blinked as he came to the bitter realization. His brother did do everything to keep him safe, yes, but was it true? Did Itachi do it because he didn't trust him to be strong enough on his own? Would he ever see him as his own person or just an eternal younger brother?

Hearing Sasuke's silence, Tobi decided the time was right. It was time to make him move. "You know Sasuke, it's like I said. I'm only here to do what's best for our clan. Perhaps...no. Itachi would kill me to even suggest such a thing. This is exactly why he doesn't like me." he sighed.

Sasuke frowned at the older man, "What? Do you know what would make big brother understand that I'm not weak? Tell me." he demanded.

"Well...perhaps if you disobeyed him, just this once. It would hurt him, but it would prove the point that you can make your own choices and forge your own path. Perhaps if you chose a different mentor than him, but someone strong. Someone who would have missions ranked just as high as his and Kisame's." Tobi suggested.

Sasuke was all too emotionally driven, not noticing one bit as he continued to fall into the manipulation. After all, Tobi had helped raise him and the others for years. He was like the fun elder sibling who helped you sneak dango before dinner. "What about you? You're an Uchiha, so we'll have similar strengths, right? Not to mention you have a lot of solo missions, besides your main ones with Deidara. There would be a lot of chances for you to teach me things Itachi never would out of fear I would get hurt. Please, Tobi? I won't get in the way, and if brother asks, he won't get angry at you because I'm the one who asked." he reasoned.

Tobi only smiled, wrapping an arm around the poor oblivious teen. "Of course I'll teach you. I'll make you stronger than even Itachi himself," he promised.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

The next morning, Sasuke woke up in a fairly better mood. He headed to breakfast as per usual, meeting up with everyone and sitting on the side of the table where the teens usually ate. Slowly people filled in, taking their seat, and beginning to eat the eggs Itachi had oh so perfectly made. Breakfast continued in idle chatter, for the most part, the only thing of any importance to anyone being Nagato giving out a few missions.

Sasori and Nagato needed to send in the confirmation letters saying that they would take Gaara and Naruto on as students before they could take them on any actual missions. They figured that they could wait a day. Tobi, on the other hand, had stayed up the night before writing it already. He was prepared to deliver it on the way to his mission and simply take Sasuke with him. He stood, not giving the others and glance, and heading for the door as if it were ordinary as he spoke. "Sasuke-kun~ Let's head out! Tobi needs to deliver something and you're coming with him~." he giggled, reverted to his eerily childish self in front of the others.

Itachi was of course immediately on the alert. "Go? Where are you and Sasuke going?" glancing at his brother for an answer, and only receiving a shrug as the teen turned on his heel.

After a moment of thought, Tobi already gone, Sasuke gave him a brief answer. "Tobi agreed to train me, upon my request. He's the only person with a Sharingan willing to, after all." stepping out before Itachi had a chance to interfere.

Itachi stared wide-eyed at the door, momentarily snapped out of his cool persona. "Konan, Nagato! He can't train under Tobi! He could get hurt, Tobi's missions are far too difficult for him to assist with. You just sent him on an assassination mission, Nagato!"

The red-haired man could only frown. "Itachi, I wasn't aware Sasuke had chosen to mentor with Tobi. I assumed he would be going with you, hence why you got guard duty today." sighing. "I hate to put him in any danger, but he is a ninja too, Itachi. If he didn't feel like putting his life forward, he always had the option to go into the medical field or become a citizen. It's his choice to make. Once he returns home tomorrow, you can speak with him on it. You may try to convince him to transfer over to another, but you can not force him."

Itachi could only look around at the others in a desperate way, hoping someone would side with him and say Sasuke shouldn't be allowed to, but not a single person in the Akatsuki seemed willing to take away Sasuke's choice. He knew it was wrong to force him, but Itachi had dedicated his life to protecting the baby which had laughed so carelessly in his arms all those years ago. He couldn't help but wonder if his constant protection was the reason Sasuke's undeniable hero worship had begun.

He clenched his fist, rising with a false wave of calm covering his face. "Very well. I will be heading out to my gate duty. Kisame, come, we have the same mission. Let us go together." heading to the door before even getting a response from the shark-like man. The screeching of a chair being pulled out told him Kisame was following.