Hey guys! I'm glad you are all enjoying this story so much! Please enjoy this next chapter! I'm sorry it took me so long to update, but life has been busy to say the least.

This chapter is dedicated to Macel, who is an avid reader of my stories and has fallen in love with this one : ) thanks for the support Macel! I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

It had happened the day he turned sixteen; that was the day that everything had changed.

He had a fairly normal upbringing until he turned twelve; his parents had decided to get a divorce, but whose parents weren't divorced back in those days? His parent's divorce was what he could only describe as being messy, messier than most divorces. His parents had fought over the house, the cars, the dogs, him and his little brother, and even the tiny birdbath that had been in their backyard.

They went to court when he was twelve, and they didn't get everything settled until he was fifteen; his brother had only been twelve at the time. It had taken well over three years for the courts to figure everything out between being interviewed by police officers to see if their father touched them inappropriately, to being interviewed by psychologists to see if their mother yelled at them in a damaging manner.

When he was going through it all, he had felt like those years would be the longest in his life… How incredibly naïve of him. When everything was all said and done, and the divorce had been finalized and everything had been distributed, he and his brother went to live with their mother. It had been a devastating blow to their father, but it had been decided because their father had very little means to provide for them.

He had ended up losing his job because the court case took too much time away from his work, and he had no family to fall back on for support. It seemed that his father could never forgive his ex-wife for that.

On the day he had turned sixteen, his mother had invited his father over to celebrate his birthday. Even through the messy divorce, he and his brother still wanted to see their father. Their mother knew this, and even though his father had turned into a raging alcoholic, their mother still let him see them every few months.

His sixteenth birthday had been such an occasion. His father had suggested he and his brother go get ice cream to celebrate his birthday, and had even given them money to grab some at the corner store. He and his brother had left, smiling all the way. For a second, they were able to pretend their life didn't suck, and that they had a normal family. That maybe their father was trying to reconcile with their mother, and their mother would actually listen to him and want to be a family again.

When they had reached the end of the driveway, however, they had been able to hear the screaming coming from inside the house, and that dream shattered.

"Don't you fucking dare, Nagato," their mother had screeched; it had taken him only a split second to race back inside their house and come face to face with their father who held a smoking gun in his hand. His adrenaline had been so high he hadn't even heard the gunshot.

"Nagato Jr…" his father said while looking him in his eyes. Nagato's mother struggled on the ground, not yet dead, but Nagato was not quite sure if she was going to live yet or not. The look on his father's face made him realize he wasn't going to let them see if she made it or not; his father was going to finish her off either way.

His father turned the gun on his mother once again, but the second shot wouldn't hit his mother, it would hit his little brother instead.

He had raced back to the house just like Nagato had, and instead of standing there being shocked like he had, his little brother, Yahiko, had moved.

Just as the second shot hit his brother in the chest, Nagato felt an intense rush of anger. Before his father could even grasp what had happened, and who exactly he had shot, Nagato had tackled him to the ground.

"You fucking bastard!" He had screamed as he had pounded his father's face in… The anger and rage he felt flared out through his fists, and even as his father struggled underneath him, Nagato couldn't stop himself.

He couldn't even stop himself when the police had arrived, or when he had been put into handcuffs. He still thrashed and held onto his anger as much as he could. He knew that once the anger was gone, pain would settle in its place, and Nagato knew he didn't want to feel the weight of everything that had just happened.

XxxX

Pein stared emotionlessly back at Kakashi. The five men had only just started the group session, but Pein had already wanted to head back to his room. "No," Pein said as he stood straight in his chair. "I wasn't going to say anything."

The thought of him actually saying something meaningful during a group session was preposterous. Pein wasn't here by choice and wouldn't participate in anything Kakashi wanted him to.

"I thought you were going to talk to us about why you changed your name," Kabuto supplied, trying to seem helpful to Kakashi. Pein's only response was to send the younger silver haired male a glare.

Even if he had wanted to share the pain of his past with Kakashi, Pein would never do so in this setting. The people here wouldn't understand his pain, they wouldn't understand everything he had to go through.

"…" He remained defiantly silent as he eyed Kabuto challengingly. Pein knew what type of person Kabuto was, and he knew how manipulative he was trying to be. Kabuto was the scum on his shoe, and he would never understand true pain.

"Well I guess we'll head back to Itachi then," Kakashi said with a sigh as he raked his hand through his hair. Pein mentally scoffed at the idea; Itachi would be just as unwilling to speak as Pein himself had. "Have you talked to your family recently?"

"Hn," Itachi said, and Pein had to mentally sigh. Why did they do group sessions anyways?

"Okay," Kakashi scribbled hastily in the annoying notebook of his. Pein could care less what Kakashi had written about him. "Sasori?"

"?" Sasori had tilted his head to the side and was giving off a questioning look. Pein really did sigh this time; group sessions really were hopeless.

XxxX

Sakura and Konan had finally made it out of their bathroom. It had been a slow process, because even after what had just happened, both girls felt safer in the bathroom than they did in their room.

"When is your session with Kakashi?" Konan found herself asking while she wrapped her arms around herself. The thought of being alone without Sakura was not one she had wanted to face, especially after what had happened earlier.

It seemed, however, Sakura was hesitant to leave her. The attachment she had to this pink haired girl was scary, because she had only known her a day. Konan didn't want to seem clingy, but she didn't know how to act any other way.

Sakura shrugged after seeming to think for a moment. "I'm not sure…You can come though, if you want."

Konan nodded before she could feel like she was intruding. She didn't want to be caught alone anywhere Kabuto would find her, though… Being alone with Kabuto would not end well for her. Anything that dealt with Kabuto would not end for anyone.

Slipping into her bed, Konan curled her legs up under her chin and closed her eyes. She wondered how the group session was going. The last time she had went, everyone other than Kisame had kept quiet about their past.

She didn't understand why Kakashi thought bringing them together was such a good idea, for her especially. She was sure Kakashi knew about her anxiety around men… she was sure he had read her history. No one completely knew all that happened in the basement of her old house, but Konan was sure everyone could at least guess as to what had happened.

Sinking further into her knees, Konan repressed a shiver. There were so many men at the group sessions; they always made her feel uncomfortable. She usually sat between Pein and Itachi; the two seemed to understand that she would rather sit there quietly than try to converse with anyone.

Kakuzu was also someone she would sit by, because he tended to ignore her, but he rarely came to group sessions. Konan wasn't quite sure why that was, but he didn't seem to get in trouble for it. Maybe group sessions weren't a part of his therapy?

Hearing a wary sigh come from the other side of the room, Konan's grey eyes lifted up to watch her pink haired roommate turn uneasily in her bed. Sakura seemed to have a hard time staying still in one spot… Konan wondered if that trait reflected upon everything the girl went through.

Keeping her eyes on the other girl, Konan felt her shoulders tense when she saw Sakura turn again. The girl's eyes were opened, and she looked troubled… well more troubled than Sakura usually looked. Whenever she herself felt troubled, Konan found herself walking to the library to get a book.

"…Do you want to go to the library?" Konan found herself asking from within her knee haven.

Konan watched Sakura's eyebrow rise; it seemed Sakura was curious as to what Konan was offering.

"There's a library near Kakashi's office," Konan said her voice cracking. She hadn't remembered the last time she had spoken so much… it was probably before her mother had died.

That thought instantly brought a nauseous feeling to her, but Konan was able to stomach it down. She didn't have anything to throw up any more anyways…

"… I think I'd like that," Sakura said with a small nod as she stood up. So far, the pinkette seemed to be able to read Konan's mood well. It was a telling trait that made Konan realize Sakura dealt with people far more than she had.

Konan untucked herself from her knee haven, and stood from her bed. She slowly started to lead the way out of the room. As she left their room though, Konan's slow walk sped up a little. After Kabuto's intrusion, Konan had felt unconsciously uncomfortable in their room. She was more than happy to leave the place when she had almost been violated.

She doubted she'd fully be able to relax anywhere. When she was young, she had thought she was safe at home. After her mother died, she definitely hadn't been safe. Now, she knew better though…

Konan stopped her thoughts when the door to the library came into view. With the group session that was going on, Konan doubted anyone was inside. The fact that it would be just her and Sakura left her feeling a little better.

Opening the door to the library, Konan felt her eyes fall on the mounds of books there, and she felt herself relax a little bit more. After everything that had happened, Konan was able to lose herself in the world of books and knowledge.

"Kakashi said I could take anything that I wanted," Konan relayed quietly to her companion. "I'm sure the same rules apply for you."

Konan watched as Sakura nodded her head. The pinkette was already looking through the shelves of books, obviously looking for something to distract herself with.

Konan wasn't sure, but she didn't think Sakura was a romance reader. The girl practically screamed intelligent, so Konan found that she wasn't surprised when Sakura walked passed the romance section and into the travel section; it was one of Konan's favorite places to look for books as well.

Konan skipped the section for now, though, and headed in a direction she hadn't went before. She hadn't explored the whole resources within the room, but Konan didn't feel safe enough to leave Sakura's sight. She compromised with her curiosity, however, when her eyes scanned a section of hobby type books that was both in Sakura's sight, and a section she hadn't read yet.

Hobbies were not something she had ever thought about having before, but now she had a lot of time on her hands… Kakashi had told her she should find something to engage her mind, not to distract her per say, just something to focus on for a while.

Konan's hands swept over the top of the books as she read the titles. Nothing seemed to catch her eye as she continued to read the titles, but that didn't surprise her either. She didn't know a lot of hobbies, and therefore none of the hobby options were jumping out at her as being something she might be interested in.

She sighed again, and took a step away from the bookshelf. Who was she trying to kid? She wasn't normal enough to have a hobby… And even if she found something she liked, she probably wouldn't be good at that anyway.

There was only one thing she had ever been told she was good at, and that was something she desperately didn't want to think about… especially after what happened earlier.

"Fuck Konan," her father had told her. "I'm gonna cum again… God you're so fucking good at sucking me off. Swallow this time, or I'll fuck you in the as-"

"Konan?" Konan flinched at the voice, but was grateful to the pinkette. She still thought about him a lot more than she knew she should. She still thought about all of the awful things he used to do to her.

She hadn't told Kakashi, couldn't tell anyone, all that he had done to her. All of the things he had taken away from her… The list was too lengthy and the wound was still too fresh. She doubted she'd be able to tell anyone all of what she had went through.

"Did you find something?" Sakura's voice was quiet as she stood a good half foot away from her. Konan hadn't heard her approach, but appreciated the distance Sakura gave her. Konan didn't know if Sakura did it subconsciously, or on purpose. Konan turned her head to look back to the shelf she had been staring at before and shook her head.

She was sure Sakura could tell she was insecure, so Konan didn't tell Sakura that she hadn't chosen a book yet because she didn't deem herself worthy of learning a hobby. She should probably just settle in with another book about travel. She hadn't read them all, anyway, and the books allowed her to see things she would never actually get to see in real life.

Konan noted Sakura had tucked a book titled 'Backpacking Abroad' under her arm. She hadn't read that one yet, because just the title caused Konan to become anxious.

The idea of visiting places, alone, with only a backpack was not one she found appealing at all. In her life, she had three male authority figures (her father, Kakashi, and Kabuto), and two out of the three of them had, or had tried to molest her.

If she couldn't trust the people she was supposed to, how could she trust people she didn't even know?

With Sakura it felt different… she stood up to Kabuto for her, and had protected her from him, but even after all of that, Konan knew she didn't trust Sakura completely, but Konan doubted she'd ever trust anyone completely.

Walking past her roommate, she ignored the pinkette as she traveled past her, and went to find a different book. Konan set her sights on the travel section of the library, and decided to find another book on Japan. There was never enough one could learn about the country they lived in, and Konan found that she loved the idea of learning since she had been forced to give it up when she was younger.

"You don't need school," her father would tell her, "all you need is me."