Never Before

Summary: With the Huns closing in, the Emperor fears his kingdom will be destroyed. The new soldiers are clearly not ready and the Imperial Army does not have enough men for a war. Desperate, he sends his fastest messenger to the only person he can think of who can help them. He had heard of a deadly group of ninjas in Japan and hoped they would help. What he doesn't know is the leader of the group is his old friend's grandson and he decides to help his grandfather's friend. Will the soldiers be able to survive the intense training, or will the ninja have to stay and help with the war themselves? AkatsukixMulan crossover. Inspired by the video We Are Akatsuki! By Night Gaze and me loving the Akatsuki, add in me thinking of how awesome it is that the Akatsuki could beat the shit out of them and you get this. No pairings.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Mulan or the Akatsuki, but I own the idea.

"Akatsuki kick ass" talking

'Akatsuki kick ass' thoughts/flashbacks/dreams

'Akatsuki kick ass' any inners, I will tell you who

-Akatsuki kick ass- noises

AN: Note, when I refer to Mulan in this chapter, it will be as Mulan(Ping) because they haven't found out yet.

Noon, Soldier's Camp

The rhythmic beating of clothed feet against the ground echoed in the cool afternoon air as the soldier's prepared to move out, per Itachi's orders. Everyone worked to be ready by the time the group headed out, lest they be left behind to deal with whatever or whomever happened upon them. Cruel, red eyes surveyed the men as they slowly all merged into a large group in front of the man and his teammates.

"We will be moving 160 kilometers north of our current location, to the Tung Shao Pass. There, we will continue on to the palace. Move out." he ordered, his strong, low voice, echoing to the back of the large group. A silent order was initiated, and Itachi, Kisame, Deidara, and Sasori took places around the group; Itachi in front, Kisame and Deidara taking up the left and right sides respectively, and Sasori bringing up the rear. The large group walked in silence, the tension in the air almost palpable. All attempts at small talk within the group were quickly smothered as none wanted to break the silence. One very brave soul decided he would try and start a song to make the time go by faster, but was immediately silenced by Itachi appearing in front of him and hissing to him that if he tried to so much as hum a single note, he would rip out his vocal chords to ensure he didn't make another sound. This shut the poor soldier (Ling) up for the rest of the trip.

The end of the day was approaching and the weary group was relieved to see the crest of the final hill before their destination. What they came upon, however, beyond that crest, left them all shocked, tense, and confused. Charred remains were all that were left of the once thriving village nestled between the mountains. Some fires still burned, an odd creaking and snapping sound accompanying the licking flames as the last of the moisture was sucked almost torturingly from the wood, leaving it to break and collapse in on itself. Shang stared at the scene, ordering the others to spread out and look for survivors, though he did not recognize his own voice. The silence and tension only increased as they all spread. And through the ravaged village they walked, all noticing the same thing; there were no bodies. Where were the villagers? The only ones unaffected were the hired ninja, who walked silently through the blackened snow, to the edge of a small drop off. They soon heard a shout to their right, and saw the captain join one of his troops to look down on the view presented to them. Littering the ground, soaking it with their blood, hundreds upon hundreds of bodies lay, impaled upon gruesome spears, pinned by wicked arrows, and decapitated by the sharpest blades.

Itachi sensed, more than saw, his team's sweeping eyes, finding the missing villagers, counting casualties, and slowly pulling together how many the enemy had on their side. Itachi had already estimated several hundred, all highly skilled. A slight nod from the puppet-master confirmed his suspicions. Sharingan swept the field themselves, searching for anything unusual, stopping on another approaching soldier, holding a blood-spattered helmet, the feather adorning it, ruffled, broken, and askew. The four approached the captain as he took the headpiece, only staring at in what could be described as horrified confusion. He turned, walking slowly, heavily, away from the group, leaving deep prints in the oddly crisp, white snow. Drawing his sword, he drove it into the cold ground, setting the helmet on its handle, and prayed.

(Now remember, you asked for this. They aren't as funny cause this is all, serious and crap. The others should (hopefully) be more chuckle-worthy)

Shang was pulled from his thoughts when a cold voice broke the surrounding silence.

"Stop grieving. We're moving out again." the captain stared up at Itachi, shocked by how cold and unfeeling the words were, and feeling a need to speak out against them.

"You....how can you be like this? Can't you give me some time to adjust? I just lost my father you bastard!" he ground out, not expecting the other's to speak before their leader.

"Oh please man, you think you've got it bad? It's a freaking war, he was bound to die at some point. Hell, my father tried to kill me!" Deidara chuckled, remembering that certain day.

"I don't even know what the hell happened to my father after I murdered my village....(1)" Kisame quipped, putting his own two cents in.

"I turned my father into a puppet." Sasori interjected, looking almost proud of his gruesome accomplishment.

"I killed my father." Itachi finished, talking about murder almost like he were discussing the weather.

"And Itachi wins again." the blonde sighed, causing the captain to look at him with an expression that said 'Again? What the hell do you mean by again??'

"Well what were you expecting," Kisame answered, "he always wins in this kind of competition. He does have a pretty fucked up past after all."

"Don't we all?" Deidara argued.

"See now, that's not the point." the ex-swordsman 'explained', enjoying the expression that came over his teammate's face.

"Well if that's not the point, why does he always win?" the bomber shot back, getting very confused.

Kisame chuckled. "You're an idiot."

"What?!"

"You heard me."

The Uchiha prodigy blocked out his groups bickering and turned to Shang, who only stared at the two incredulously. Sneering slightly, Itachi walked over and pulled the captain up forcefully by the back of his shirt, almost choking him in the process. Then, dragging him across the snow, he dumped the man on to Deidara and Kisame, who only groaned and stared at him for an explanation.

"We're moving out. Since he hasn't managed to pull himself together yet, you two get to carry him as punishment for bickering too damn much." Itachi explained, silencing the inevitable second groan with a glare. Deidara and Kisame sighed, pulling themselves to their feet and were about to pick up Shang when he shoved them off, almost leaping towards Itachi with a crazed look in his eye. Just as he opened his mouth to let loose whatever tirade he had planned, the prodigy silenced him as well, with more than a glare. "Listen to me closely, you ungrateful little ass; We, as a team, were sent on a mission to help stop the Huns from destroying everything you know. No where in there does it say that I should be an over-sensitive twat(2). Neither does it say that I have to make sure everyone lives to see the enemy die. It simply says 'kill the Huns'. So do not tempt me right now. I am sick and tired of you not being able to control your emotions, letting them over-ride your sense of duty. Be silent until we reach the capital, or I will have no qualms making sure everyone knows there never was a Captain Li Shang." hissing the last part, the Uchiha prodigy turned swiftly, knowing his threat had done its job. Shang only stared after him, mouth partially agape until Deidara and Kisame grabbed his arms, dragging him forward off his feet and through the snow after Itachi, the troops following behind.

Some hours passed in tense silence. Shang sulked near the back of the group, wanting to be as far from Itachi as possible after his threat. When the prodigy next called a halt to let everyone have a brief rest, he called for Deidara and sent him ahead to scout out the terrain and location of the enemy. They then continued on, trudging through the deep snow of the mountain side. Deidara had arrived back and just finished his report when an explosion drew everyone's attention to Mulan(Ping). Everyone else stared as Shang ran up to her, yelling that she had given away their positions. A sharp sound, of wind passing over an object, confirmed Itachi's suspicions when it hit Shang in the shoulder. Whirling around, he faced the thousands of others and drew on his chakra, forming and heating it into the Phoenix Flower jutsu.

As the rest of the troops fell back out of range, Deidara and Sasori covering their backs, Itachi called Kisame to put out the fire on the following arrows as he burned them. This proved to be a problem.

"Itachi! Keeping the water unfrozen is taking up too much of my chakra!" the other man only grunted as he released another round of fire. Cannons sounded behind him and he knew the troops were firing upon the Huns. Itachi cursed, knowing if it kept up for too long, the mountain snow would collapse and drag them all down with it. The group watched as the mist dissipated and revealed the hundreds, possibly thousands, of Huns, lead by Shan Yu. The battle cry echoed over the mountain as the Huns poured over the mountain side, covering the snow completely. The troops drew their swords, but the ninja had a better idea.

"Deidara." Kisame looked over at the blonde as he spoke. Said ninja just smirked and hopped on to his clay bird, letting it circle before flying off towards a precariously placed cliff and its snow-covered side. Itachi watched a certain soldier run out in front and fire the last cannon at that same mountain side, the two explosions being more than enough to upset the delicate balance. Just as Shan Yu cut down Mulan(Ping), Deidara swooped down to let the others board as well. The four circled the avalanche, watching Mulan(Ping)'s horse try to save her, and then in turn having to save the captain. They watched them plummet off the cliff and their comrades fail to save them, and finally watched the arrow shoot of the oblivion and the soldiers pulling them to safety. Landing, Itachi immediately sent Deidara back out again when Mulan(Ping) collapsed.

Hours later, the group were all gathered around the tent Mulan(Ping) was being bandaged in, Kisame and Deidara ranting behind them all;

"I mean, come on! Passing out from a cut in the side!"

"We bleed nearly half to death and still keep going."

"I freaking lost my arm and I kept going!"

"Stupid soldier's a wimp! A cut in the side would be like a paper cut for us!"

"IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII know, but APPARENTLY the poor baby soldier over there couldn't handle the 'pain'!"

"I'd like to see her last one day in the Akatsuki."

Luckily, none of the soldiers heard the last comment, but it seemed it did not matter. Only seconds later, the doctor emerged and whispered something to Shang. The captain immediately barged into the tent and re-emerged with Mulan, chucking her into the snow.

"Treacherous snake."

AN: Okay, I know that took FOREVER to come out, but I swear it's not my fault! My grandpa died recently, then I had to go to his funeral, and I had mountains of homework and tests, and Christmas shopping and dealing with my family and all that sorta stuff D:

1) I don't know if this actually happened....

2) I couldn't think of what else to put, and it kept popping up in my head!

I've also noted my writing changes in like, the middle of a chapter. Anyone else notice?

Please review and I will be posting the first...4 chapters of my Christmas fic soon!