Agh, finally! Chapter 7 for real...

Sorry it's so late! I had to do... stuff.. x.x editting and shiz (excuse my language)

Hidan: I don't care.

Me: well of course you don't! You swear like a sailor xD

Hidan: you know you love it ~creepy perv side is present~

Me: o.o

Itachi: grrrrrrr

hehe ANYWAYS for those of you who said the original chapter 7 was short it's cuz it was a preview of this chapter 0.o and an A/n... sorry x.x

anyways!

Enjoy~~

~Ashley

Itachi POV:

"Who's going first?" Pein asked barely above a whisper, and I glanced to Kisame, silently asking if he was ok for having Ashley go first. He gave a curt nod but before I could motion for Ashley to follow us forward, Hidan nudged Mary Ruth, making her stumble a little before righting herself and standing with her back now straight before him.

"We might as well get it the fuck over with," Hidan stated as Kakuzu's eyes flickered in annoyance at his partner. Pein gave a quiet nod as Konan motioned Mary Ruth over to the model on the floor, giving her a sharp look when Mary Ruth stood her ground stubbornly and said something in her language, then scowled.

Ashley shifted slightly next to me, and when I glanced down at her, her eyes were focused intently on the brown haired girl, and the look in those blue orbs very nearly sent a shiver down my spine, they were laced with a lethal intent that I could just barely make out under the calmed expression she had on her face.

It took all of me not to see it as a threat as I watched her closely, and only when she shot something back in her language at Mary Ruth and relaxed her pose did I look away. She was still different to me, that was for sure, considering that a few days ago I never would have imagined that emotion crossing her eyes.

And it was then that I figured she wasn't as innocent as I had originally thought, given the other signs like the one when she'd surprised us all in the meadow by spooking Kamiah into giving her drawing book back.

I distantly thought of when we were in the school bus, taking them to the destination of where the portal back to our world was, when we had all basically agreed that these girls would be a handful. Only now was I realizing the truth of that, but I pushed the thought aside, these girls would become good ninja some day, and training them to be those ninja would entail all of this, no matter if we wanted it or not.

Mary Ruth finally let up and sauntered over to Konan, who knelt down and pulled Hidan's apprentice down next to her on the right side of the clay figure. I tried not to chuckle as Konan handled Mary Ruth like a small child that needed a bit extra help in learning how to do something, and I vaguely noticed a small smile playing at everyone else's lips as Konan took Mary Ruth's hands a little roughly and placed them on the figure's chest, and without giving any other sense of direction, she stood up and watched the girl intently.

Mary Ruth's confused face was enough for Hidan to snort and utter a few curses at her before kneeling down next to her and placing one hand on the figured right thigh, giving her a smug look as the tubes in the figure lit up with a ghostly blue color, glowing brightly to show how much chakra he had as he tried to demonstrate how to do it.

Mary Ruth's cheeks flared with embarrassment at having to be shown how it would be done, but she nodded and Konan motioned, annoyedly, for Hidan to resume his place as Tobi exclaimed,"Hidan-sama does care!" "No, Hidan-sama doesn't give a shit except when it comes to proving my apprentice is fucking better than fucking yours," Hidan retorted as he idly stroked the Jashin symbol on the chain around his neck. Though, I think we all caught the slightest amount of sarcasm in his voice as we all gave a curt chuckle at him.

We watched as Mary Ruth's eyebrows furrowed in concentration, her eyes intently trained on her hands as she tried to recreated what Hidan had just showed her. When that failed, she gave an annoyed growl and pressed her hands into the clay, holding her breath and clenching her jaw as she concentrated harder.

And before long, a gentle, soft blue glow lit under her hands, staying in a small ball just barely visible under the clay. None of it, however, reached out into the tubes yet, she was holding it all in the place where usually a person's heart structure would be.

The relief was so apparent in Hidan's facial expression that I figured he was just happy she had some amount of chakra in her, but now was the tricky part. Because, in order for her to learn proper chakra controlling skills, she was going to have to transfer her chakra all throughout the figure, not just in the heart chamber.

Seeing this, Konan motioned for Hidan to hand over his translator, to which he arrogantly replied,"I can fucking do it myself." Konan rolled her eyes and grabbed the translator from him herself, after a heated argument that lasted a few seconds, and made Ashley giggle next to me at, which caused a chain reaction of everyone else laughing a little too and loosening up. (xD gotta love those moments, Hidan arguments are funny to picture in my head... and I still say he looks like a panda in Jashin form. It makes it all the more funny when I picture him as a panda arguing with Konan)

Finally, translator in hand, an annoyed but a little happier Hidan quieted next to Kakuzu, Konan leaned down and spoke through the translator as she pointed to the chakra under Mary Ruth's hands. I semi wondered how she hadn't lost the flow of chakra by the distraction of Konan and Hidan arguing, but focused on what was happening now as Konan said,"Good, you've gotten this far, but now you need to maintain that chakra as well as transfer it throughout the body, this will help you learn how to keep it flowing and hopefully help you learn enough control over it for now."

Mary Ruth listened silently, without complaint, and then nodded when Konan was finished and tried to concentrate again. We were all silent as she pressed her hands a little rougher into the clay figure's chest, not hard enough to break through the mold, but enough to help her keep connected with the chakra as her back went ridged and and her face contorted again, trying to push the chakra flow out into the veins that connected the body together.

After a few moments the blue orb that had originally been situated snuggly under her hands began to shift and seemed to bubble a little, a few bumps here and there reaching int the veins and then retracting back into the orb of chakra. Mary Ruth's eyes closed tightly and her back arched in an up-side-down U shape as she contorted into a half fetal position with her hands splayed against the clay, and she muttered something in a growl.

And the orb of chakra gave one last shift, bubbling all around until finally, it morphed and the chakra flew into every vein, covering every inch of space that could be filled. One of her eyes opened, then the other, both going wide as she looked at the soft blue glow that resounded in the veins. A satisfied smile slowly spread across her face as she watched the chakra flow all around the clay tubes.

Ashley herself looked a little surprised, I noted, and when Mary Ruth looked over at her smugly she only gave a smile in return, which faltered her enemies look. Hidan's face was pretty self-satisfied, smirking to himself. Kakuzu was basically stoic, his eyes showing a slight trace of pride, but other than that nothing.

Konan motioned for Mary Ruth to stand, telling her she did well and saying that was all she had to do for now. Mary Ruth took her place back between Kakuzu and Hidan, and Kisame and I shared another look, both nodding as we still agreed that we were fine with Ashley going next, or last, whichever worked best or whichever was possible, considering Catie stepped up next.

(ok ima be honest, I'm lazy and won't explain all of them xD, don't point the squirre at me! T.T it's evillllllll D:) Catie worked a bit faster than Mary Ruth, having to only close her eyes in concentration and press a little harder on the clay model before chakra formed and spurted out into the veins quickly. Her chakra was also, all us Akatsuki members noted, a bit brighter than Mary's, but still a bit dim in some places.

Sasori gave a small, timid smile at her as he motioned for her to take her place again next to him by Alice, who shared a few words with her in their language as she did. Catie smiled at Ashley triumphantly, and Ashley returned smile and glanced up at me when she turned back. Instead of stepping forward like I thought she would, she waited, and when Kamiah stepped forward and tugged Deidara forward with her I somehow figured she either knew Kamiah would go next, or she wanted to wait.

There was an endless guessing game with this girl, which I admit to semi liking, it was a challenge, especially when my emotions were becoming so confusing since we had captured her and her friends. I wanted to find out why all of this was happening, and I vaguely wondered if Pein had planned all of this, but didn't give much thought to it as Kamiah began.

Her chakra was a lot similar to Mary Ruth's, glowing bright enough to see, and yet still dim enough to conclude that she could control it easily. Deidara's facial expression was hard to describe considering it was one he'd never shown before, it was somewhere between happiness and pride. It was easy to see a slight change in him, a good change, and I still wondered if that change was happening for me.

When Kamiah was done, she stood and I caught the slightest twitch of Deidara's hand, it looked like he wanted to move it more, but I believe he caught it and instead motioned for her to follow him back to their place against the wall. Ashley giggled next to me when Kamiah did a weird dance thing and then reached around me and high fived her. I felt a tinge of amusement go through me before lapsing back into a calm, stoic facade as I waited for Kisame and I's apprentice to step forward.

Kisame's face was relaxed, idly fingering the handle of his Samehada as his eyes flickered to Raylin when Tobi playfully nudged her forward. Raylin didn't seem to expect that gesture, however, since she stumbled forward and one of her legs ended up shooting back and kicking Tobi.

When Tobi let out a screech-that was surprisingly girlish for him-it was then I realized just exactly where she had kicked him. Right in the spot where no man wants to be kicked. Ever. Kisame, Deidara, Sasori, me, Hidan, and even Kakuzu, Zetsu, and Pein cringed as Tobi fell to his knees holding his crotch and wailing,"Why!"

When Tobi fell forward and rested his forehead on the ground in a semi-fetal position, that was when Hidan started laughing, which in turn made Kakuzu grumble and smack the back of his head, which made Deidara laugh, which made all the girls start giggling. Well, Raylin looked shocked for a second before looking apologetic, then burst out laughing. Kisame chuckled a little at her and Tobi and I smiled.

"God, I was waiting for that to happen," Hidan stated merily. (OH MY GOD Hidan's mery... woooooo!) I think we all agreed with him as Tobi writhed on the floor, Zetsu watched him curiously before his dark side asked,"Can I eat him now?" Pein chuckled a little before replying,"No, he's still an Akatsuki."

That got Tobi's attention, and he hopped up joyfully and cried,"Really Leader-san? I'm a member now?" "Apprentice," Pein corrected, and Tobi became somber and then held his crotch again in pain. Hidan started laughing again and moved towards him, with Kakuzu predicting his move to kick Tobi again and grabbing his cloak collar. Hidan groaned,"Dammit."

When Raylin was done apologizing to Tobi, she dragged him over and got down on her knees on the left side of the figure, putting her hands over the chest cavity like the others had.

The friction that seemingly tingled around her, however, was what made me think this would be a bit different than the other girl's before her. It wasn't like I hadn't noticed the friction around Raylin and Ashley the first moment they touched ground in our world, it was more that I hadn't looked too closely at it before now. But now, I actually saw the energy, it was coming off in almost waves around Raylin as she crouched silently, now concentrating as a small tinge of blue began to form under her palms.

I didn't dare glance over at Ashley, for I already knew that now I would see her energy more present than the first time I looked, and I didn't wish to see that, or prove myself right, until it was her turn.

When Raylin's chakra began to grow, I found myself gazing intently at the blue orb, then became wary, wondering what exactly would happen once the chakra was transmitted into the tubes, and I hesitantly activated my Sharingan, feeling that sense of power enter my wake in the process. My eyes instantly zeroed in on Raylin's body, watching the flow of chakra in her own body, and trying not to arch an eyebrow at the sight.

For it seemed that her chakra was at normal level for now, nothing threatening about it, yet I still felt the wariness surging in me, and for that reason I looked on, taking in her every move as she slowly began to move the chakra out into the veins of the figure, hesitant at first she was, but then soon relaxing and easing into a steady calm as she watched her chakra flow about in the tubes.

It wasn't until the chakra reached the tips of the figures toes that it surged in a way that made my guard heighten, and I zeroed in on it. The chakra itself was moving in a way that almost suggested it was alive on it's own terms, not hers. It was flowing, yet bubbling just enough to show that it wasn't yet contained, and I had yet to see how bright it was. Right now, my focus was on just what it was going to do.

For a second, my concern outweighed my wariness, being that I wondered whether or not the chakra would surge enough to burn through Konan's paper, thus making the clay become instantly deadly, and if it blew up... My thoughts shifted to Ashley, and all of the girls, as well as us Akatsuki. We'd all be effected, and Raylin would be killed upon impact.

I think Zetsu foresaw this, for he stepped forward and motioned for Raylin to stop, which she did obediently, redrawing her chakra and pulling her hands off the figure's chest. I distantly de-activated my Sharingan and saw just how much that had drained her, I had been so focused on her chakra that I hadn't noticed how hard she had been concentrating. Sweat beaded on her brow and she was panting from the effort of pulling her chakra back, but in her eyes... I could tell she had liked releasing that amount of energy, and I could see that she felt stronger than she normally thought she was.

I slid my eyes down to Ashley hesitantly, not expecting her expression, which was blank and calm, relaxed as she stared at Raylin, who caught her breath and stood shakily. When she finally regained her complexion, her eyes flashed over to Ashley's, both of their eyes locking onto each other's and holding steady for a moment, before they shared a nod. I couldn't decipher the emotion that flashed across Kisame and I's apprentice's eyes in that moment, but it was something I believed to be a mixture of pride and concern for her friend.

Either way, I hesitated in debating whether or not she should be next, and eventualy I settled on her being last, nodding to Sasori to show that he should let Alice go next. He responded by gently nudging Alice, then motioning towards the figure. She understood and walked forward warily, then knelt down and got into position on the left side of the figure like Raylin had.

The energy that was present around her was subtle, unlike Raylin and Ashley's. The other girls were almost like that as well, only with them you could just barely detect a slight shift in the air around them before it disappeared, Alice's was a bit more present, whereas Raylin and Ashley's was just... there. Out in the open basically, easily seen. It wasn't an unusual sight, however, considering that mostly every ninja's chakra energy shoiwed like Raylin and Ashley's if they had a healthy amount.

Not saying that the other girls didn't, since for someone who was from a different universe entirely having the slightest glimpse of chakra showing concluded that they had a healthy enough chakra span in them. But to another ninja, the other girl's chakra level would be, to them, like seeing a genin's chakra, being that they know it's there, but it's not totally present. (that took a lot of thinking to come up with xD I hope it makes sense to you guys 0.o if it doesn't... I'll try and find an easier way to explain it xD)

My attention was drawn back to the present when Alice's chakra began to form, and we all watched as she made it flow into the tubes like the others had. Her chakra was definitely brighter than the other girls, except for possibly Raylin's, though, I hadn't exactly seen it since I had had my Sharingan activated the whole time she was up there.

Alice watched her chakra with a sense of awe as she kept it under control and flowing smoothly throughout the figure, it was easy to9 see that she could control it well enough. So could the others, though Raylin might need a bit of honing to hers, as well as Ashley, possibly. It just depended on how far Raylin could have gone if Zetsu hadn't intervened, I didn't doubt that she could have very well burnt through the protective layer of paper Konan had encased the tubes in, thus setting off the clay.

That made me edgy, since I knew that Ashley's power was just as-if not more- powerful as Raylin's, it was hard to tell when you looked closely. I knew that Ashley was up next, she was the last apprentice that hadn't gone yet, and for that reason as well my guard was heightening, my back becoming rigid and my senses aware as I waited for Alice to finish.

This, was going to be interesting.

Agh, cliffy! haha

sorry the editting was sooooo late ): I like decided that I was going to keep writing until I got to page 100 on Office Doc.

Cuzz then I'd have 8 more chapters if I kept the chaps. 5 pages each 0.o

This one itself is 6 pages, so yea, be patient T.T cuz I also have driver's e.d. Going on xD

But I swore that there was no more slacking! It's bad!

Reviewww pleaseee and you gets whatever stuffed animal you want, a hug from your fav character (of the naruto series, and possibly one of mine if u want xD) anddd some cookies.

I love you guys! I'm sorry T.T

~bells