"You brought a Konoha Shinobi into my lair." The deep, ominous voice stood Sakura's hair up on end.

"Hair Leader-sama, but not without good cause I assure you. This Kunoichi has been tracking the Akatsuki down, she is a rogue Nin from the village hidden in the leaves, apprentice to Tsunade one of the three legendary sanin. She is also the only female student of the Copy Nin Kakashi Hatake. On top of all of this she is head medic of the Konoha hospital and a quite competent opponent. All of these skills I have witnessed myself, I felt as though this particular Kunoichi would make a welcome addition to the Akatsuki, having defeated Hidan-sama even single handedly." Kakazu explained hurriedly.

She had been very apprehensive when Hidan and Kakazu had transported her into a dimly lit room, both dropping to their knee's toward a completely blackened figure than sat in the back left corner. She hadn't followed suit, but instead tensed into a defensive position. Both men had completely ignored her.

"I know of you kunoichi. Haruno Sakura, yes your head is worth quite alto in my bingo book. I have even witnessed the death of one of my more accomplished members by your hand." That sinister voice addressed her directly.

She shuddered a tiny bit, and then pulled herself up to her full height, letting her listless eyes rest on the blackened figure.

"That is considered a crime in the Akatsuki, to kill another member... however I suppose you were not in the organization at the time of said offense, still I cannot help feeling that Sasori may have some bitter feelings if I were to grant you status among my ranks..."

Sakura didn't blink at this. She wasn't surprised that Sasori had not vanished entirely; there wasn't a lot that could surprise her anymore.

"I grant you status into the Akatsuki Haruno Sakura. You will meet with Konan, my second in command, another female. She will introduce you to the rest of the organization. You are lucky cherry blossom; I usually test those who come before me. You have quite an impressive record, and my own men tell me you easily defeated them. I will expect a lot from you. You are dismissed."

Sakura nodded solemnly, and suddenly a blue haired woman stepped out from behind the dark mass. She glanced at Sakura, beckoning with her wistful eyes. Sakura followed the pretty woman out of the room, leaving behind Kakazu and Hidan, who would still face punishment for bringing and enemy home.

"As you have heard, I am Konan, Leader-sama's chosen and second in command. There is very little I do not do around the base, very little I do not know of its inhabitants, and very little I will not do for this organization and leader-sama." The bluenette told Sakura, very bluntly infect.

Sakura remained silent, and followed the woman throughout the many twisting hallways of the Akatsuki lair. Konan must have sensed Sakura's utter lack of enthusiasm, or any emotion.

"Why are you here?" She bluenette questioned seriously, and turned to face the pink haired woman.

Konan had been with the Akatsuki since the very beginning, being one of its founders. She had seen a lot of hopeful recruits, each had shown their own excitement when it came to them serving the organization. If not excitement than it was cockiness, or the urge to prove themselves. However, this kunoichi showed nothing, not even the slightest bit of relief that her life had just been spared by the most notorious criminal on the face of the planet.

"I have my own reasons."

The bluenette's eyes widened drastically as she stared at the tiny woman in front of her. She hardly looked like a worthy opponent; she was tiny and frail-looking. Her long wavy pink hair and her dark jade eyes made her look more the likes of a geisha, not a kunoichi. Those eyes, to Konan eyes were everything in a person. As an artist, she appreciated the fact that eyes were the gateway to one's soul, everything about a person showed in the way their eyes shone, the shape, the colour, even the way they analyzed their surroundings. But staring into this pitiful woman's eyes, Konan saw nothing but unbridled sorrow. Her heart thudded strangely in her otherwise uncaring chest. Sakura stared back at her, unfazed by her reaction.

"You are broken." Konan stated.

Sakura continued to stare at her, only to blink and sigh softly.

"There is no part of me that is broken, no part of myself is unsure." She whispered.

Konan stepped closer, bringing her hands up to the smaller girls face. Sakura didn't flinch, she just stared passively back at this increasingly strange woman.

"We here consider ourselves to be family. Every member loves the next in their own way. Loneliness does not build strength Sakura-san; you must try and create bonds within the organization. Try and fix your inner state, it will only bring you more strength my poor girl. You are broken; I can see the pain deep in those emerald eyes. You cannot hide from me, I am the only other woman you will see here and I want you to trust me as I want to trust you. That pain will fade Sakura, if you let someone try and fix it."

Sakura felt an odd pang in her heart, staring into the older girls eyes. Her head was in utter turmoil, wasn't the Akatsuki a grouping of insane murderers and thieves? Weren't they no better than the devil himself? Than why was this woman showing such compassion for her? Was this some kind of test? Was this some kind of sick joke?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a touch of soft lips on her forehead.

"The life of a shinobi can deteriorate ones heart, that is what we strive for, a world of peace where lives of living beings do not need to be thrown away in carelessness in order to live. But that peace must start here, at home. This is your home now. Forget all you have been thought about the way of the shinobi, you are human Sakura."

And with that Konan took Sakura's cold hand and started pulling her down the dark corridor, whilst Sakura continued to reel inside. This woman had been so genuinely nice, so sincere that Sakura's hardened heart had felt her words. She was left wondering what was in store for her here, and what else she had been told about the Akatsuki that was a lie. Whatever the story, when Konan told her this was her home... for the first time in years, Sakura Haruno felt as if she had come home. And this was just the beginning