Title-A Race Against Time

Rating-PG For mild language, fighting, and some romantic stuff

Disclaimer-Naruto does not belong to me

Summary-Kaido (OC) used to be best friends with Uchiha Itachi when they were younger. But one day her suddenly moves away with her father without saying goodbye to Itachi. Twelve years later the Uchiha finds her looking for him. But where has she been for the past twelve years and what is she really hiding?

AN-Yes. Another story with an OC of mine. If you don't like it... TOO BAD! ^.^ Anywho... before you read you should probably know that Hidan is not a swearing machine and Tobi is not Madara but just sweet innocent Tobi. Also I know some things aren't true or whatever but I've altered it to fit with my story. So hope you like it and please R&R!

^/-\^ A Race Against Time ^/-\^
Grocery Shopping

"So you're Tsukino Kaido?" Pein asked. Kaido nodded.

After Pein had chided everyone for not getting him immediately after they found Kaido, he brought her to an empty room and began to interrogate her. Kaido, knowing who he was and how strong he was, answered every single question he shot at her without hesitation. "And why are you here?"

"I wanted to say goodbye to Itachi before I left," she replied.

"Where are you going?" At this questioned, Kaido giggled. "What's so funny?" Pein roared.

"Nothing. It's just that I'm not going anywhere. You see, I'm going to die soon." There was no hint of fear in her voice as she said the last sentence. Simply a smile on her face that clearly stated she accepted her fate.

Pein looked down at the ground, though he didn't know what for. "Okay. You can stay here until you decide to leave. But no longer than a month. Is that okay with you?" he asked.

Kaido smiled and bowed politely. "Of course. That is plenty of time."

"Now come on. We must tell everyone else the news," Pein said with a smile. He rarely ever smiled, but when he did it was always for a good reason. But today he just felt like smiling.

He led her out of the dark room they were in and back into the living room where everyone waited anxiously for the decision the Leader made.

Tobi jumped up and down with anticipation. "So? So? Can she stay? Can she stay?"

"All right, all right. Calm down, Tobi," Pein demanded. "Kaido will be staying no longer then one month. Other than that, she may leave whenever she would like."

"Where's she going to sleep?" Deidara asked.

"She can bunk with me," Hidan suggested as he scooched closer to her ,suggestively wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

Though no one noticed, Itachi sent a glare in his direction. If only looks could kill. "She won't be bunking with anyone. Kaido will be sleeping in the spare room," Pein told them.

"She can't sleep there," Itachi objected, "She's afraid of the dark."

She sent daggers his way with her eyes. "No I'm not!" Kaido shouted. "I overcame my fear of the darkness quite awhile ago, for your information. Plus, the room can't be that dark." She folded her arms as if that would officially prove her point.

Kakazu scoffed. "Are you kidding me? The room is pitch black during the day and pitcher than black during night."

Kaido felt a feeling of uncertainty wash over her as she bit her lip. But when she saw Itachi smirking at her all of her doubts evaporated into thin air. "I'll be fine," she reassured herself more than them. "As long as I have Gyakusatsu, I'll be fine."

"Gyakusatsu? Who's Gyakusatsu?" Sasori questioned a worried tone in his voice. Everyone else thought the same question. Was it her boyfriend? Even Itachi was slightly curious at learning if she had met someone over the years they had been separated.

Kaido felt the sudden change in the atmosphere and laughed at their reactions. "Gyakusatsu is my personal halberd," she told them.

"Oh. That thing you summoned when we fought?" Kisame asked. Kaido absentmindedly nodded looking around for something. The blue man saw this. "Looking for something?"

She looked at him with an embarrassed expression as her stomach let out a rather loud rumbling sound. "Huh, well. I haven't had anything to eat in a while… Got anything to munch on? I don't eat much."

Practically everyone laughed, except for Itachi and Pein because it was above them to laugh at such petty things. "We haven't got anything in the kitchen," Kakazu said.

"They only way you can get food in this place is if you buy your own food and hide it from everybody else or take everyone out to eat," Hidan explained.

Kaido pursed her lips slightly. "Oh, well, I haven't got enough money to buy everyone dinner. But if everyone pitches in I could get some ingredients to make something," she suggested, examining their faces for answers. With smiles on their faces they all nodded. Once all of them contributed, even Kakazu, which was always rare, Kaido ended up with 8450 yen to spend on groceries. "This should be enough," Kaido mumbled quickly going over the stuff she needed in her head.

"Kaido-san! Kaido-san! Can I go with you?" Tobi pleaded going up and down on his tiptoes.

She giggled. "Of course. I'd never think of leaving you behind, Tobi!"

"Then can we come?" Zetsu asked.

"Me too?" Deidara chimed in.

XoXoX

Kaido and the rest of the Akatsuki, including Pein and Itachi, walked down the aisles of the grocery store. Every time Kaido would put something in their cart Tobi would go, "Ohh. What's that for?" And then Kaido would give a whole explanation about what the piece of food was for and how it was going to effect the taste of the dish she was going to make.

"How do you know so much about food?" Sasori asked, the first thing he said since they entered the store.

Kaido placed yet another ingredient into the cart, calculating in her head the total of all of the things in the cart. "Oh. My mother used to teach me all about cooking before she passed away," she muttered, her mind in the world of food and delicacies.

Without a hint of remorse on his smooth puppet face, Sasori said, "Oh. I'm sorry for your loss."

"What loss?" Kaido asked trying to see which vegetables were better in taste.

This time Zetsu replied. "Well, didn't you just say that you lost your mother?"

She shook her head. "No. I said she passed away. I didn't lose her for I will never be able to find her again. Meaning she isn't lost," she outstretched her arm towards him, "Does this smell funny to you?"

"Um, no?" He sniffed it, but he couldn't tell if it smelled funny.

"All right! We have everything we need!" Kaido announced happily.

Sorry for not updating yesterday! I was busying finishing up a project for school. But here's the chapter! Hope you like.

eMiKo-ChAn ^/-\^ (/.0)