Authors note: Sorry about that long wait guys! Been pretty busy! I'm going to try to update more often but I can't guarantee it! Anyways, here you go!

Chapter 17

"OW! Could you be a bit gentler?" Akari cried out.

"Don't be such a baby. Now hold still, or they won't set right." Itachi chuckled.

She glowered at him, but did as she was asked. She stood still and tried not to flinch as he wrapped the bandage around her torso. Every few turns, he would pull it tight causing her to hiss through her teeth. The tuna was leaning against the wall snickering at her pain. If she wasn't at the mercy of Itachi at the moment, she would've attempted to kick his ass already.

As soon as they had gotten back, Itachi had taken her aside to help her heal. She had already managed to heal all her cuts and bruises on her own, but the ribs needed some assistance. Ino had not only managed to break two of them, but also bruised at least four more. Unfortunately for her, she couldn't just heal them straight away. Itachi had to set them first, or else she would have crooked ribs for the rest of her life.

"Which one did this?" He asked her as he pulled.

"Ahhh! Watch it!" She hissed.

He smirked at her, and pulled yet again.

"It was the blonde one, Yamanaka." She glared at him.

"Hmmm. One of the Yamanaka's huh. They use mind effecting techniques right?" He asked.

"Yep."

"So. How exactly did those two idiots get themselves killed? And how is it that you are still alive?"

Kisame walked up to her. Arms crossed he, stared at her waiting for her answer. A doubtful look on his face.

"I would like to know this as well." Another voice spoke.

Akari tried not to look scared as Lord Pain approached them. Konan followed close behind, always by her Lord's side. Itachi stepped behind her and pulled the last bit of the bandage. As he fastened it securely to her side, he leaned forward and whispered in her ear.

"Breathe."

She gave him a grateful look before facing Lord Pain. As Itachi began to heal her with his chakra, she began to speak.

"Well, we were making our way to Konoha. On the way, Kakuzu had warned me to stay out of his way. I was to leave it to Hidan and himself. So when they were attacked, I stood back and kept hidden. It wasn't until Kakuzu ordered me to, that I engaged with one of the Leaf Ninja. At one point, Hidan was separated from us by the Nara boy. He yelled for me to follow so I…knocked the girl out…and did so."

"You didn't kill her?" Kisame questioned.

"No. I didn't have the time. Hidan was getting farther away." She bit her lip.

Pain nodded for her to continue. Though Kisame was watching her a little more closely.

"Anyways. I managed to break him free from the boys shadow technique. But he had played a trick on Hidan. He used Kakuzu's blood and managed to get Hidan to kill one of his hearts."

"He knew of their techniques?" Konan rose an eyebrow.

"Yes. He was one of the ninja they had battled against after they killed the monk."

"I see. He figured out how to use their abilities against them. Well, the Nara's are known for their intelligence." Itachi stated.

"Right. Well after that, the boy got a hold of Hidan once more. I could no longer help, for he had me pinned to a tree with chakra blades. I wasn't able to break free in time. He managed to blow up Hidan, and bury him in a sacred forest belonging to his clan."

"And how did you get away?" Pain asked.

"While he was distracted I was able to pull out one of the blades. I didn't stay. The Nara boy was too big of a threat for me. If I didn't want to end up like Hidan, I needed to get away. So, I left to find Kakuzu. It was too late for Hidan."

"I find it strange that you weren't able to break free until after hidan was underground." Kisame accused.

Pain and Konan rose an eyebrow at her. She glared at Kisame.

"I'll admit Hidan wasn't my favorite among all of you. And I'm not going to pretend that I'm saddened by his death because honestly I couldn't care less. But if you're implying that I simply didn't try to save him, you are mistaken."

"Okay. Enough of that. What happened next, Hisako?" Konan asked.

"When I found Kakuzu, Kakashi of the Hidden Leaf had just finished him off. I wasn't able to see how it happened, I just know that he was lying dead in a crater. Seeing as how Kakuzu and Hidan were both gone, and there were at least eight Leaf Ninja around, I ran. They never even noticed I was there."

"Then you passed out. From a few broken ribs?" Kisame scoffed.

"I didn't have time to stop and rest or replenish my chakra from the fight so excuse me for passing out due to exhaustion." She growled.

"Alright. So you made it out and were soon found by Itachi and Kisame, correct?" Lord pain asked.

"Yes my Lord." She nodded.

He stared at her for a moment. A scrutinizing look on his face. As if he was sizing her up. She didn't turn away from him, but stood silently, waiting for him to speak again.

"All done." Itachi muttered. "Keep the bandages on for now. Just in case."

She nodded a thanks, eyes still on Pain. She hadn't even noticed that her torso no longer hurt. Itachi left her side for a moment then came back with her cloak. He helped her put it on, then stepped back.

"Itachi. She won't be needing that anymore." Lord Pain muttered.

Akari felt the blood drain from her face. She stared at the Akatsuki Leader, eyes wide. This couldn't be good.

"My Lord?" Itachi questioned.

"We now have not one, but two openings it seems. She will fill one of these spots. Konan, go inform Zetsu that he no longer has a subordinate."

"Yes My Lord."

Akari watched the woman leave the room. Her cloak swishing lightly as she left. Did she hear correctly? Was Pain implying what she thought? She could only stand there, surprise clear in her eyes.

"Kisame, why don't you go and find us a proper cloak."

"Lord Pain. Does this mean you are allowing this girl to fully join the Akatsuki?" Kisame wondered.

"Do as your told Kisame."

The Tuna man did not seem very happy with the way thing were going. But he didn't dare question his leader. With a curt nod, he also left the room.

"Who will she partner with?" Itachi asked.

"No one for now. She will go where she is needed, until we find another member."

"By herself?" The Uchiha questioned.

"If needed yes, but mostly she will join one of the others. Is that understood Hisako?"

"I…um…yeah…I mean yes! Yes Lord Pain, I understand." She stuttered.

"Good. Meet me at my throne as soon as Kisame finds that cloak."

With that he turned and left them standing there.

"Itachi?"

"Yeah?"

"That just happened right?"

"Yeah."

"I'm not dead? He didn't see right through me? He didn't kill me for lying, and now I'm in some state of Limbo or something?"

"No."

"Sooo…"

"So it looks like you have officially joined the Akatsuki. Congratulations."

He didn't sound too happy about it. When she turned to face him, she could see the worry in his eyes. With a sigh, she walked up to him and placed a hand firmly on his cheek.

"I'll be fine. I can do this. I'll just have to be more careful." She assured him.

He grabbed her hand and lowered it from his face. But he didn't let it go. He gripped it tightly.

"You can't go home now. Maybe they'll let you go back for a short while, but they will be expecting you to leave the village. And soon. You will have to leave it all behind."

He pointed to his headband. She bit her lip as she stared at the line crossing through the Leaf symbol. Could she do that? Could she deface her headband in such a way?

"I…I will do what I have to. Besides, leaving the village is no problem. I was already planning to anyways." She whispered.

Itachi let go of her hand. Akari bit her lip. She held her hands behind her back and stared down at her feet. Her right foot scuffing the floor nervously.

"What? When were you planning on telling me this?" He said angrily.

"Right now? Um…you see…I might have ran into your brother a few days ago."

"Sasuke? You're leaving with Sasuke?" He said wide eyed.

"He said he's coming for me as soon as he deals with Orochimaru. I couldn't say no! And this way I can keep a close eye on him." She explained.

"And how do you plan to be by his side and be an Akatsuki at the same time?" He smirked.

She glared at him. At least he didn't seem so angry anymore. She was doing it for his brother after all.

"I was thinking of using a Shadow clone. The real me can be with whoever needs me the most. If I'm just going to be spending my time here doing nothing, or just traveling with Sasuke and not necessarily getting into trouble, it will be a clone. If it's something serious where fighting is involved, it will be me. That way the clone doesn't go poof in the middle of anything important."

"Well, it's not perfect but it will have to do." Itachi sighed. "When will he go for you?"

"Um…not sure. It will be soon though. He said that whatever Orochimaru was up to, it wouldn't take long."

"Keep him safe for me, yeah?" He said softly.

"Always."

She gave him a peck on the cheek. He smiled a thanks.

"Gross."

They turned to find Kisame entering the room again. She flipped him off and he scoffed.

"Here brat."

He had a cloak in his hands which he held out for her to take. She took it and stared at it for a moment. Then, she removed the one she had on and put her arms through the sleeves of the new one. She fastened it in the front and smoothed out the wrinkles. She would have to get used to the high collar but it wasn't all that different from the one she had before. She let out a small sigh, then wiggled her eyebrows at Kisame.

"Thanks Tuna. Fits perfectly doesn't it?"

"Yeah whatever. Just don't get to much blood on it when you die. That way someone else can use it." He glared.

She rolled her eyes but said nothing. Then she walked out to find Lord Pain. She entered the throne room, Itachi and Kisame behind her. She was surprised to see that everyone was present. Or what was left of them anyways. Lord Pain sat on his throne, Konan by his side. Zetsu stood in the back, looking creepy like always. Deidara and Tobi leaned against the wall watching her as she walked in. Tobi waved at her excitedly and the blonde man gave her a smirk.

"Hisako. Please step forward." Lord pain spoke.

She nodded and placed herself firmly in front of him.

"I have decided to make you an official member of the Akatsuki. Unfortunately we have had a few deaths recently, leaving us a smaller group than what we started with. We lost Sasori which was soon replaced with Tobi. Now Kakuku and Hidan have both been killed. You will replace Kakuzu's spot among us. Maybe one day we will fill in Hidan's but that's to be decided. Konan."

The woman stepped forward. She motioned for Akari to approach. Akari walked up to her and waited. Konan pulled something out her cloak and held out her fist. Akari held out her hand palm up. Konan opened her fist and a small object landed in Akari's palm. Kakuzu's ring. A blue one with the kanji symbol meaning "North".

"Put it on your left middle finger. That's where Kakuzu wore it. We would've given you Hidan's but it was lost along with his body. We were only able to retrieve Kakuzu's." Konan told her.

"This one is fine. Thank you." She muttered.

Slowly, she put on the ring. She stared at her left hand, the ring unfamiliar against her finger. It felt odd wearing it. Her hand felt slightly heavier.

"Alright. Now for your headband." Lord Pain said.

She turned to him surprised. Was she to do it so soon? She still had to go home. At least for a little while. She couldn't show up with a defaced headband. She looked at Itachi uneasily but his face was blank. There was no helping it. She nodded and pulled out a kunai. Then she removed her headband from her upper arm. The bandage hiding her A.N.B.U tattoo still underneath it. She held it in her hand and before she could hesitate, she swiped her kunai against it leaving a gash over the Leaf symbol.

"Very good. You will wear it on your forehead from now on. So that everyone you run into will see that you have broken all ties with your old village. That the place you once called home, now means nothing to you." Lord Pain told her.

"Yes…Lord Pain." She muttered.

"Deidara. Tobi. She will leave with you. I want her to help you retrieve the Three-tails. She will no longer just watch. When you come back, Hisako, you will help to seal it away. Itachi has shown you how, like I asked?"

"Yes. He has."

"Then go. Bring me back the tailed-beast."

The three of them nodded and made their way outside. The rain was cold against her face and already she was missing her old cloak. This new one didn't come with a hood.

"Come on. We need to find the lake." Deidara ordered.

Tobi and Akari followed as he made his way through the Hidden Rain.

"Lake? Which one?" She asked.

"Some lake in the Fire Country. Don't know what it's called, just know the directions." He answered.

About an hour later, they were entering the Fire Country. Deidara was a few feet away, clearly wanting to get it over with.

"So. You're now an actual member huh?" Tobi asked beside her.

"I guess so." She muttered.

"This is what you wanted isn't it." He asked. "Why you were a subordinate under Zetsu."

Akari glanced at him. He was acting strangely. Usually he was loud and obnoxious. Yet, he hadn't made a stupid comment for a while now. He hadn't even tried to annoy Deidara like usual. The way he spoke, it seemed humorless, ominous even. He was giving her the creeps.

"Ugh…yeah. It's what I wanted." She told him.

"Hmmm. Yet you don't seem all that happy about it. I noticed the same about Itachi. He was tense the whole time Pain was speaking to you."

She blinked at him. If he noticed that, it made her wonder exactly what else he had noticed. And he hadn't called Pain "Lord" like he always did. In fact, he said Pains name like he wasn't anyone of importance.

"I was nervous that's all. And Itachi had never really wanted me to join. He felt it was too dangerous for me. But I made my choice."

"I see. Well I'm happy to have you on board Hisako-chan!"

He gave her back a friendly pat and went to catch up to Deidara. Just like that he was his normal carefree dorky self. Feeling unnerved, Akari wrapped her arms around herself and followed.

Sasuke stood over a rushing waterfall, his arm chirping loudly with lightning. His face marred by black marks as they slid across the left side of his body. He felt a surge of power, courtesy of the curse mark Orochimaru had bestowed upon him years ago. He stared at his chidori for a moment before letting it fade away. He wasn't in the mood to train any longer. He had learned all he could from the snake. All that was left was to carry out his revenge. But, before he could do that, he would need to go home. If only for a short while.

Akari was waiting for him. All these years he never thought he could care for someone so deeply. Not since the massacre. He had closed off that side of him. Unwilling to allow anyone in. But she was different. It was strange really. Having her around should make him angry, resentful even. She was a constant reminder of how things were before his brother betrayed them all. And yet, he found her soothing. Back then, after it happened, he felt the urge to have her at his side. His only friend. One who wasn't jealous of him or fawned over him. One who understood him and wasn't afraid to put him in his place. But she never came. She stayed away. And god did it hurt.

He didn't understand his feelings back then. He thought she was just a mere crush. On a girl who treated him differently from the rest. A girl who seemed to be oblivious to his looks and abilities. But if that were true, then why didn't he fall for the Hyuuga? Hinata certainly didn't treat him like other girls. In fact she hardly every looked his way. So what made Akari different?

It was the fact that she knew him before he had changed. Before he had been consumed by the need for revenge. And it was the fact that she knew to stay away. To give him space, instead of forcing herself on him. And when they had met again, she didn't question him about the past. She continued to treat him like any other friend. Except, he suddenly didn't want her too. He wanted to be special to her. Her friendship no longer satisfied him. He wanted more.

Having Naruto around didn't help the situation. Sasuke couldn't help but compare himself to the blonde loser. Obviously he was superior but he couldn't help but doubt himself at times. The fact that Naruto and Akari were close friends made him feel worse. He started to see something between them and it angered him. Then he began to see how much stronger Naruto was getting. While he wasn't changing. Resentment towards his friend began to grow. He didn't want to stay in the village any longer. And even though Akari had assured him that there was nothing between her and his teammate, he wasn't so sure. There was no way he would stay to watch them grow to love each other while he was left alone. And he would've walked away with no lingering doubts. If it wasn't for one thing.

Akari was an Uchiha. The revelation had been shocking to say the least. When she came to him that night, and told him the truth, he had felt torn. Because he now understood that he loved her. And she loved him. Seeing her with the same eyes as him had forced Sasuke to see the truth. The truth had refused to admit. He didn't think he could ever love anyone. He was too broken for love. But as soon as he kissed her, he saw that it was possible.

He couldn't part with her. She had to come with him. But she didn't. She chose to stay. She chose to protect Naruto. Her choice had hurt him, but he knew now that she didn't love his friend. If she was staying, it was because Naruto was her friend too. He couldn't force her to leave, and she couldn't make him stay. Because back then, the love he felt for her wasn't strong enough to make him stay. His need for revenge was suffocating. Besides, he could never be happy by her side knowing his brother was still out there. So even though he loved her, he walked away.

Sasuke knew that loving her could be dangerous for him. He couldn't focus on her and Itachi at the same time. She deserved all his attention, but so did Itachi. So when he walked away that day, he had thought that maybe his love for her would fade. That once it was gone, he could put all his strength into killing Itachi. He had told her he would one day go back for her, but he didn't believe he would. He honestly thought that he could forget her.

He never did. Even during his training, even when he felt nothing but rage and hatred, he still loved her. Three years apart hadn't changed that. When they had seen each other again, at the waterfall, he realized it would take a lot more to forget her. And when she had left crying at his words, he had felt something he hadn't felt in years. Regret. Because he now knew that there was no living without her. And that he had been naive in thinking that his love could fade. But could hers? If she set her mind to it, could she forget him? She wasn't like him. Yes, she was an Uchiha but she had family, she had friends. She loved her village and protected it wholeheartedly. Was it possible that she would choose them over him?

He didn't like the idea. So he made up his mind to look for her. To take her away with him. He would have Akari leave her home for him. He was selfish that way. Besides, she was an Uchiha. She belonged with him. She could learn to forget her old ties and focus only on him. She would accept his ways and stay by his side because she loved him. And she had, when she agreed to leave. Now she was waiting patiently for him to go back for her. Like he had said he would on the day they had parted years ago. He wondered what she was doing while she waited. Did she still go on missions or had she asked for time off? Didn't matter. She would be there waiting.

With a small sigh, he made to leave. Movement caught his eye. With narrowed eyes, he turned to see a child. He was crouched low to the ground. The boy was picking up flowers that were falling from a nearby tree.

"Hey, do you like red camillias, or do you like white camillias? Camillias necks fall in whole pieces rather than in parts of a petal. You can get oil from the seeds, and the tree itself can be used to make great ink." The boy spoke.

"You shouldn't be here. Go home." Sasuke turned away.

"Go home? I wonder where that place is." The boy stood. "Where should it be? Maybe this is my home."

His tone had Sasuke turning around again. He studied the boy. He was young, with long light brown hair framing his face and odd purple eyes. Sasuke had never seen him before but he had an idea of who this was.

"But still, I'm not too sure. This place right her doesn't seem like the place I should go home to. That's right. You wouldn't know where it would be either. Hey, do you have a place to call home?"

"For me, there's no such thing." He answered.

This was true. He didn't have a home. He certainly didn't see his old village as one. But he didn't care. He didn't need one. All that mattered was that one day his brother would be dead at his feet and Akari would be by his side to witness it.

"So this is where you've been, Yuukimaru! We have to get going now." A new voice spoke.

"Okay." The boy answered.

"Sorry to have bothered you." Kabuto said before turning to leave.

"See ya later, Sasuke-san!" Yuukimaru waved.

Sasuke said nothing as he watched them leave. He had been right. It was the boy Orochimaru plans to use in his new scheme. He wondered what was so special about him. No matter. It didn't concern him. He just hoped that whatever the snake was planning, it would be over soon. He was tired of waiting.