Seishirou sat on the very edge of the bed, the bingo book open on his lap. No doubt he was feeling very young right then. Neji was also slightly curious about the book, but that would have to come later.

He didn't know how to broach the subject, really. Several opening topics came to mind. He considered taking the easy way out and letting Seishirou speak first, but Hyuuga Neji had never been one to take the easy way out.

That didn't mean he was going to take the first leap, however--especially without looking first. "How did you find out?"

"I added two and two," came the mumbled reply. That didn't help much.

"The book--?"

"Pictures. Tomozou found it… Why did he know, and I didn't?"

"That was Sasori and Kakuzu's fault. I don't know what they meant by it, but it was their doing nonetheless. It's possible he found out on his own and they had to confirm his theory to keep him quiet," Neji speculated, though he knew that that was most likely the case.

"Why did he have to stay quiet at all?" Seishirou asked angrily.

"Seishirou…" Neji sighed, taking the brief moment to gather his thoughts. "There are so many things that happened in that last war. Your mother--I mean, Hinata--and I, we weren't sure what to tell you and what we shouldn't, so we kept quiet while you grew up. When Hidan showed up unexpectedly… We didn't have time to tell you then, and all of these events kept piling up on one another to stop us from finding a place to speak to you about this."

"You could have told me that the leader and Konan were my parents."

"You would have only questioned us more on the topic."

"Well, that's what's happening now, isn't it?!" Seishirou snapped, glaring at him. It soon passed, however, and then he looked morose again. "I just… I don't know. On one hand, it's really cool to find something like this out. On the other… It's frustrating. It was kept secret, and they're both dead anyway, so it's not like I'll ever know them…"

"I can understand that," Neji said with a nod. "…You know, Sei, when I was about your age, I found out something about my family that completely changed my view on them, too."

"You weren't adopted," he muttered rebelliously.

"No, I wasn't," he allowed, "But it shocked me nonetheless. I can only tell you that you'll come to your own conclusion on this, and take it your own way. No one can tell you what to think. You can decide you hate everyone for keeping this from you, you can accept it and go on, or you could even decide you hate all of the Akatsuki and go on a killing spree."

Seishirou looked at him with surprise, trying to figure out whether or not he was joking. Neji only smiled, and the boy relaxed. "I probably won't do that."

"That's good."

"Dad… Well, I'm still calling you that. I still love you and Mom, but at the same time, I also feel a little distanced from you now." Seishirou sighed, looking years older. "How did you two end up with me…?"

"It's a long story," Neji said, half-hoping to not have to explain it.

"We have time." No such luck.

The brunette man took a deep breath, wondering where to begin. "Let's see now… Your mother, Hinata, she was informally adopted into the Akatsuki. Konan-san and she were hardly close, but they could loosely be called friends.

"On the night that the Bijuu broke free and attacked--"

"What do you mean, broke free?" Seishirou interrupted. "We never got any details in school."

"The Akatsuki were using a sort of prison to keep them all in and simultaneously power a jutsu that could eradicate entire villages. Like Konohagakure… After they used it that once, the seals weakened significantly, and the Bijuu all broke free. Needless to say, they were not pleased, and set about going after the Akatsuki for revenge," Neji explained with a faint frown. "The Akatsuki defended Amegakure, and ended up getting slaughtered in the process.

"Your father, Pein, the leader, ordered the retreat that came too late. He ended up sacrificing himself to save Konan-san. She died soon afterward."

"Were you there?"

"I was in Amegakure, trying to help with the evacuation. That night, when the Akatsuki had used their jutsu for the first and last time, we were actually babysitting you."

"You were my babysitter?"

"Don't sound so incredulous. After the fight began, one of the Akatsuki members came back and told us to take you and evacuate with the rest."

"Then… If one of them had time to come back, why didn't she come back? She--"

"Seishirou, you don't understand the panic and confusion of that night. The Akatsuki member who came back was an accident; we reverse-summoned him with Kisho in order to find out what was going on. The Akatsuki were holding the Bijuu at bay in order to give us time to evacuate. Konan-san wouldn't have left them, even for you."

Seishirou glared down at the book, his ginger hair falling into his eyes. "Why… Why did they even use the Bijuu jutsu, then?! They had already won the war, hadn't they?"

"Konoha ordered one last-ditch assassination attempt in desperation. They made the mistake of targeting you and Konan-san. Konoha was destroyed in retaliation. Your parents loved you enough to destroy an entire ninja village to protect you," Neji said with an attempt at a smile. Seishirou returned it shakily, then turned back to his book.

"So… They loved me, then?"

"More than anything. Konan-san adored you, and the leader didn't let the two of you out of his sight. I still remember how she would glare at anyone who did anything 'bad'--by her standards--in your presence. This included swearing, unfortunately, and it got several of the members in trouble."

"Hidan-san and Kakuzu-san?" Seishirou guessed.

"Mostly them, though it actually got Pein-san in trouble once…"

"But… He was the leader."

"Konan-san could sometimes order him around, especially when it came to you."

"What else… What else happened while they were alive?" Seishirou asked quietly.

"I wasn't there the entire time… But I do distinctly recall that you liked long hair, particularly ponytails. I'm pretty sure you pulled on everyone's hair at least once, though. You really liked Itachi's hair."

He tugged at his own ponytail absently.

"Your favorite toy was Konan-san's flower, too, though Kisho's tail came at a close second once you met him." He elicited a tiny smile, so Neji continued. "Konan-san also enjoyed dressing you up. Often it was in red and black attire. Sasori also said that your blanket when you napped was usually her uniform."

"What were they like?"

"Neither of them spoke much. Konan-san was quite often the more dignified of the two, and she rarely spoke without thinking. She was strong-willed and independent, and she had this certain way of smiling that was all her own. Pein-san was commanding, and a very good leader. He was also hopeful. Though he was known for his sadistic streaks… He treated the Akatsuki like his family, so of course it meant he wasn't kind to them all the time. In fact, he was rarely kind."

"He was mean, then?"

"No, he just liked making people realize that they were in the wrong."

"…Huh?"

Neji thought about how to explain that. Pein had been one to enforce rules--at least his own. "If you broke a rule, you would be punished, but fairly. But if you tried getting around a rule, he wouldn't punish you so simply; he would have to make sure you learned your lesson."

"Oh. Um--what kind of jutsus did he know?"

"Besides his rain?"

"Besides that," Seishirou said flatly. "He had these eyes, so I'm wondering what they are--"

"It's the Rinnegan. I don't know what they did, but I knew he had a vast array of jutsus at his disposal. You've probably figured out by now that you're not limited by affinities?"

"Is that it?" He didn't sound impressed.

"Maybe," Neji replied evasively. He didn't know, after all. He was already thinking fairly hard just trying to remember all of the little details about the deceased leader, since they hadn't exactly been bosom buddies while he was alive. Most of his knowledge was secondhand, either from Hinata or Sasori.

"My mother used origami," Seishirou said seriously. "Kakuzu-san tried to teach me it. Now I'm definitely going to learn it, though. What did she do with it?"

"She could do a lot of things. She could make weapons, or create wings; those two she used the most."

"Did she just carry around a bunch of papers with her?"

"Not exactly."

-.-.-

"The sun will set soon," Daisuke told the mostly silent table. No one answered him. He sighed, and glowered at them all over his cup. True, Neji and Sasori had never been talkative, but he would have hoped to get one of the other (suddenly taciturn) ones to speak.

He caught Aoko's eye across the table, but she just looked pointedly at Seishirou instead. He wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean. Daisuke frowned, shoving another dumpling in his mouth. What was with everyone?! Usually, he couldn't get Aoko and Yukina to shut up, and he'd expected the children to be noisy as well…

Maybe I underestimated Neji's influence on Hitomi and Seishirou, he thought, looking at the two. Hitomi hadn't touched her meal, hands folded perfectly in her lap, white eyes on them. She was steadily avoiding eye contact with everyone. Seishirou just seemed lost in thought. His chin was propped up in one hand, and the other mechanically brought bite after bite up to his mouth. Daisuke doubted he even tasted it. Tomozou should have been talkative, though, he remembered irritably.

But Tomozou, too, was mute. He was also not looking at anyone, and instead was concentrating on building a pile of the vegetables he wouldn't eat.

Everyone seemed lost in their own thoughts. Sasori was flexing his hand experimentally, studying his fingers with a care that belied his disinterested expression. Kakuzu was eating, at least, though he didn't seem happy. That, Daisuke could attribute to being told he wasn't allowed outside after dark. Neji was also eating silently, glancing over at Seishirou and Hitomi from time to time.

"…I think I might kill myself now," Daisuke announced. A few eyes went up to him, either from curiosity or surprise, but no one immediately spoke. His flat look dropped into a glare. "Damn, I had forgotten how boring all of you are."

"We're not boring," Tomozou mumbled half-heartedly.

"Why would you kill yourself, Dai-sama?" Aoko asked. At least she had the courtesy to look concerned.

"Maybe I've lost my honor as a host, if you all are looking like I just killed your puppy. Or maybe I just want the entertainment value." He pouted, setting his chin in both hands, elbows resting on the table.

"It's a meal. You're supposed to be using your mouth to eat, not speak," Sasori remarked lightly.

"You guys are making me lose my appetite. Goddamn, it's like someone died in here, seriously." To his annoyance, no one replied. Daisuke got up and crossed his arms. "I'm going outside to watch the sunset. If any of you need me, heaven forbid, that's where I'll be."

"What about the monsters?" Hitomi asked in a small voice.

"Don't worry about the monsters, Hitomi," Neji said quietly. None of the children knew about their plans that night, to prevent worry and possibly a scene. Daisuke sighed and departed from their company, heading up to his office for a few things.

He never would have guessed that this, all of it, would have happened, twelve years ago. Was it only that long? It seemed like so much longer. The world was supposed to change centuries ago, and gradually--not just over a decade ago.

I wonder what Pein would have done if he was still alive, Daisuke thought absently, rummaging around in his desk. He couldn't even remember what he was looking for, now that he thought about it. He sighed, sitting down in the chair. "This is stupid," he said aloud, quite unaware that he did so.

Pein probably wouldn't have let those things appear in the first place. His rain would've stopped it the first night, anyway, he thought morosely. …What am I gonna do about them? Neji and Sasori were his last resort, so to speak. Unless he got some sort of clue as to where they were coming from, or what they were made out of, or some way to combat the creatures, he, and Amegakure, would be in dire straits indeed.

Daisuke finally left the room and headed outside. The sun was already over half set, bathing the village in a warm, red glow, barely seen between the clouds. The last stragglers of the day were hurrying about, hasty to get inside before it was fully dark. Here and there, mothers screeched at their children to get home, and merchants closed up their stalls. The rain was thin, but not quite misting; rather, it fell in fat drops.

The dark clouds overhead reflected the sun's last rays, which further served to annoy Daisuke. The reflected light made it too red, as if the village was on fire. Actually seeing a sunset was a rarity in Amegakure, but the scarlet ones always had this effect, so he was probably one of the few that didn't appreciate them when they did show up.

By the time the sun actually set, twilight setting in, the clouds overhead fading to a faint orange, Daisuke was much less stressed. He was also completely alone outside. Several people had asked him to go inside, but of course he politely refused.

He couldn't suppress a small grin.

It's about time we tried fighting back for real, he thought, glancing over his shoulder as Neji and Sasori finally joined him in the rain.

"Where are these things, then?" Sasori asked, looking around him in the closest thing to uneasy as Daisuke had ever seen.

"Nervous that they eat hearts?" Daisuke asked, allowing himself to grin. Sasori glared at him.

"They also take other internal organs. Maybe I'll carve you open here for bait for them, and maybe I'd just watch them carry away your liver."

"Livers aren't very threatening."

"But you do die without them."

"Will you two stop it?" Neji asked with a wearisome sigh. "You're like children, honestly…"

"Speaking of children--" The leader started, only to be cut off by an unwelcome visitor to the scene.

"They're on the fourth floor," Yukina chirped happily, hands clasped behind her back.

"…You're supposed to be babysitting them," Daisuke said flatly, turning his red glare on her. "You know, inside, where it's safe."

"Are you kidding?" Of course, if Yukina was outside, Aoko was sure to follow. The brunette skipped out into the rain after bolting the door shut behind her. "First off, just because we are female, it does not mean we are babysitters."

"Second," Yukina added, "If you are going to be out here, Dai-sama, so are we."

"No, you two aren't," he replied. Neji and Sasori exchanged a look, clearly questioning just how much power he had as a leader if two young kunoichi wouldn't listen to him. That only served to irk him further. "Get back inside, both of you."

"No!" they chorused. Yukina continued, "You haven't let Aoko-chan get a good look at any of them, so she really should be out here!"

"And Yukina-chan can keep them at bay with her ninjutsu!" Aoko also had to have her say on the subject, loyally defending her friend's right to be there.

"Just let them stay out here. Their voices are grating on my nerves," Sasori muttered. Daisuke rolled his eyes.

He didn't have time to argue the point, however, as the first monster chose to appear at that time.

-.-.-

"Come on, come on, it doesn't take that long to pick a lock!" Tomozou hissed, hovering over Seishirou's shoulder. The elder of the two sighed irritably, shaking his hair out of his eyes. "Come on!"

"If you think I'm taking too long, why don't you do it?!"

"Oh, I never learned how to pick locks." The offhand remark was punctuated with a broad smile. It only highlighted Tomozou's patchy education--and Seishirou's waning patience.

"Then kindly shut your mouth before this pin goes up your nose."

"That would hurt, though."

"Yes, yes it would."

Tomozou kept quiet after that. As if that did the trick, the lock clicked open just moments later, and the two boys snuck out into the hall. Seishirou shoved the pin back into his ponytail, giving Tomozou a disdainful look as he snickered. "You're so girly."

"At least mine is long enough to have some use. You look girly and it's pink," he snapped, looking around to make sure they weren't discovered. The hallway was empty, save for them. In fact, the entire building seemed eerily quiet--except for the constant pitter-patter of the rain on the windows and the roof, far above them. It was just background noise, however. Even being in Ame a few short days, they had gotten to the constant rain. "Where did you find that book?"

"Library, on the floor below. It was with a whole bunch of other bingo books," Tomozou whispered in reply. "That was the only one that had your parents post-Akatsuki, though."

"What about pre-Akatsuki?"

"There was one or two with your mom. I don't recall seeing your dad."

"Well… It's Ame. There's bound to be more information on them both."

They stole down the steps cautiously, as good shinobi should. Even so, they came across no one, which was surprising--several ninja, including Neji, should have been on them to send them back to bed the moment they snuck out. The tower seemed empty.

Even when Tomozou tripped on the stairs, falling onto Seishirou and sending them both down half a flight, no one showed up.

"…Where is everyone?"

"Get off of me."

Suspiciously, they continued onward to the library. Still, they saw no one.

-.-.-

Neji ducked smoothly under the first monster, Byakugan activating as he did so. He was alarmed to find that it looked exactly like it did in his normal vision: black and chakra-less. They weren't animals, then, that was for sure; nor were they any living creature, unless they had somehow evolved without any chakra or internal organs.

The one in front of him staggered back to its feet--or lack of, as the case was. Just as Daisuke said, it had nothing but sharp spikes from the knee down. Its hands were replaced in the same way. Its head, however, was suspiciously round, aside from a slightly pointed nose; it seemed out of place on a body of angles and points. The creature tilted its head, swinging its arms and shifting its weight from one leg to the other.

Neji faltered just a bit. If it didn't have chakra, he didn't know what his Juuken would do. The black thing took that as a sign of weakness and charged again. It moved in a perfectly straight line, one foot exactly in front of the other, he noticed. It was easy to sidestep. The monster had to halt completely, and slowly swung its body around, one part at a time, to face him again.

It's behavior is odd… unnatural, he noted. Behind him, the others were engaged in their own battles, all of them one-on-one. It was actually very easy fighting the things, even if they were strange. Their movements were easy to read and they didn't seem to be able to think past one move ahead in a fight. Why are they posing such a problem to Amegakure? There's just a handful here, but they are easy enough to take care of.

The monster came at him again, and this time, Neji tried a counterattack instead of a dodge. He got out of the way of the pointed arms and then brought his palm up under its chin, immensely surprised when he felt something crack and the thing went flying into the nearest building.

That was way too easy, he thought in astonishment. So in addition to being only moderately fast, easy to read, and one-track-minded, they were incredibly light and had no natural defenses.

After it fell from the building, the creature just got back to its feet, shaking mud off of its face. It rushed him yet again, and this time, Neji caught its arm and snapped it effortlessly.

"Daisuke, these are easy to fight. What is the problem--"

Neji found out the problem right then, as if summoned. He had his Byakugan active, which allowed him to see all around him and spot the others fighting; even though it was night, they glowed in his vision with their chakra systems. He was too used to fighting humans and reacting to that.

Suddenly, four more of the creatures appeared from the shadows of the night all around him, coming at him in a unified attack. Neji ducked under the first two, but the third grazed his arm with its fingers--that one had them, evidently--and the fourth bowled him over completely. It had been a small, squat one, and took out his knees from the back, just as the first one hit his chest from the front. He was down in the mud before he could catch his balance, and the monsters were immediately upon him.

They swarm! He cursed himself for not thinking of it sooner. It would have made sense, but that was hindsight, and he didn't have time to work that out just then. Neji tried to roll, but he found himself under half a dozen of the monsters. They restricted his movements surprisingly well.

The Juuken style was dependant on movement, which was why he was temporarily stuck. Neji stopped struggling and took a calming breath. One thing that saved him these past years was that while his signature style was dependant on movement, he was not dependant on that style. Still, he didn't have much time to think of a way out of so many flailing, sharp limbs. Limbs that were now methodically pinning his arms and legs down, while one was trying to attack his chest; however, the fabric of his shirt seemed too much for it to handle.

They take hearts, and other organs, Neji remembered, staring coldly down at the black thing sitting on his chest. That is their goal. They seem to have no other conscious aim. He could use that to his advantage then.

He tested both arms, finding that his left one had a lighter creature on it. With a burst of strength, he threw it off and rolled over onto his hands and knees, throwing most of the rest off in the process. Neji grabbed the one that was now suddenly under him by the head, picking it up as he stood up. It flailed wildly, scratching him in several places with its sharp legs and arms, until Neji crushed its head between his hands. It fell to the ground, twitching slightly.

The only thing on his hands was mud, which was being quickly washed off by the rain. They didn't bleed and they didn't have brains. The latter didn't surprise him much.

What did surprise him was that after a few twitches, the thing at his feet got back up again. True, it seemed sluggish and disoriented, but it was still functioning.

"What the hell are you things," he growled, kicking it.

The monsters responded by tackling him again, trying to force him back to the ground. As he was expecting it, it didn't work; he threw them off and began the tedious process of trial-and-error to figure out what would work on them.

Dawn broke quietly through the pouring rain. It illuminated five bloody, exhausted ninja, watching sullenly as the black monsters dragged their broken bodies away. It was no easy feat for a shinobi of any level to fight all night, especially when they were outnumbered. Neji felt like collapsing where he stood, but he knew he ought to help survey the damage and talk over the information they'd gathered.

Neji had suffered no serious wounds, but enough of the small ones to make walking a pain for awhile. There was also a thin cut down his chest, the closest the things had come to getting what they wanted. He had learned that they didn't have chakra, and that no sort of chakra attack would work on them. That was valuable information, even if it hadn't helped him much that night.

"What is this supposed to be made out of?" Neji asked sourly, holding up what appeared to be a piece of a leg one of the monsters left behind. Aoko, the closest, turned and made a face immediately. He rolled his eyes, ignoring the stinging, and flung it to the ground at her feet. She delicately stepped away from it, looking decidedly ill.

"It looks as if it's half-rotted…" she mumbled defensively.

Now that she mentioned it, it did. In fact--even as they watched, as the sun started to lighten the sky through the clouds and the rain, it started to decay completely. It was not much more than a dark puddle in just a few minutes. Neji knelt down beside it, activating his Byakugan again, trying not to wince as he did so. "…It had a decaying jutsu placed on it. That's why they can't come out into the sunlight, however weak; they'll fall apart," he informed her, straightening.

"Who would do that to their own… creations?" Aoko asked, pausing when she tried to identify the monsters.

"Someone who doesn't want them to get caught."

"Can someone help me with this?" Both looked up at Yukina's shout, and were shocked to find that she was fighting with one of the few remaining active things. It had an unusually bloated belly, which was unfortunately explained when they saw the state Yukina's body was in. Her stomach was torn open, still bleeding, bits of flesh and clothing hanging over the gash. She was still functioning, somehow, though. "It took one of my kidneys! Help me get it back, please?"

"Yukina-chan!" Aoko screamed, scrambling over to help her friend. The two of them wrestled the creature to the ground, cut it open, and the brunette kunoichi tried to fish Yukina's kidney out of its belly. Yukina collapsed soon after that.

"Come on, you two. We need to get inside." Daisuke jogged over, holding a wounded shoulder in one hand and his sword in the other. He glanced back at Neji over his shoulder, and asked, "Can you carry Yukina?"

"I'll try." Truthfully, he didn't feel quite up to it, but he wouldn't allow her to simply die in the rain. Plus, the tower wasn't that far away; surely he could make it there--

"I've got her." Sasori pushed past him and strode over to the fallen kunoichi, throwing her over his shoulder with nothing more than a groan from her. Neji was not surprised in the least at Sasori's state; aside from Yukina's blood, there wasn't a scratch or mark on him.

"Come on, Aoko-chan," Daisuke said gently, helping her up. She seemed shaky, but otherwise fine. Neji helped support her, grabbing her under the arms and forcing her upright when she swayed.

"Yu-Yukina-chan will… She'll be alright, right?" she asked shakily. Daisuke and Neji looked at each other over the top of her head.

"Of course she will be. Kidneys are one of the less vital organs they could've taken," Daisuke said kindly.

"Unless she dies of blood loss, I'm sure she'll be fine," Neji added. Aoko whimpered at the thought, and Neji earned himself a glare from Daisuke.

"You suck at comforting."

"I was being realistic," he replied defensively. "…If you can help Aoko-san, I'll go back and grab that monster. We'll need to examine it before it rots."

"Yeah, go ahead." Neji ducked out from beneath Aoko's arm, backtracking his way through the mud and puddles to find one of the larger, less decayed monsters. It was a surprisingly easy task. The one that had attacked Yukina was still alive, to some degree, and still more or less whole. He wrestled it to the ground and managed to tie its arms and legs with strips of fabric from his shirt.

So they had survived the night's onslaught of the creatures. Now they just had to figure out how to properly combat them.

-.-.-

Kakuzu closed the book he'd been reading--one of the ones he had 'borrowed' from Sasori--when the tower's doors opened. He wasn't surprised to see the sorry state most of them were in. "Have a good time?" he asked mildly. Sasori rolled his eyes and deposited a very injured Yukina on the foot of the couch.

"Oh, yes, it was amazing. Too bad you missed it," he replied calmly. "Can you sew internal organs back together?"

"Of course. What do you think Hidan's always cutting out and stabbing?" Kakuzu leaned in curiously. It wasn't every day he got to operate on people who weren't Akatsuki. "What did she lose?"

"A kidney and a lot of blood," Daisuke said as he came in, supporting Aoko. "Aoko-chan, go to bed now, okay? We'll take care of Yukina-chan."

"I'm staying up. I'm fine. Don't baby be so much, Dai-sama." She detached herself from him, wobbling a little as she walked over and knelt beside Yukina.

"Go to bed. I don't need any emotional kunoichi hovering around me," Kakuzu snapped. Aoko looked hurt, but stayed her ground. "Go! You'll just be in the way--"

A soft noise at the top of the stairs made them freeze. Hitomi was standing at the top, stuffed chicken clutched tightly in one hand, staring at them all. To make things worse, Neji had just got inside, carrying the struggling monster. He, too, halted once he spotted his daughter. "You… You are all covered in blood," she said, hurrying down the stairs. "Why are you all injured?!"

"Hitomi, why are you awake? It's still early--" Neji was cut off as she tackled him in a forceful hug. He winced, which, she thankfully didn't notice. "Hitomi, go back to bed. We're fine. See? We're all fine."

"Come on, Hitomi-chan. Let's go to bed, okay?" Aoko came to the rescue as she gently detached the young girl from her father, carrying her towards the stairs, so she wouldn't see Yukina. "Why were you up, anyway?"

"Seishirou and Tomozou are not in their room, and I heard noise downstairs…"

"We can find those boys later…" Their voices faded away as they disappeared upstairs. Neji sighed in relief.

Kakuzu had been stitching Yukina up while they were busy distracting Hitomi. It wasn't particularly hard: a relatively clean cut. The hardest problem to deal with was the fact that she'd lost a lot of blood, most of it pooling in her body, which made things messier than they strictly had to be. Kakuzu, however, was used to Hidan as his partner, so it wasn't as if he minded such things. He only had to use two threads in the operation, so at least he could be thankful for that.

"There," he said, watching dispassionately as the last thread sewed her stomach back together. "It'll probably scar, but it was her own damn fault. How did it go otherwise?"

"Daisuke wasn't kidding when he said they were annoyingly durable, and they can certainly take down chuunin or jounin, if there's enough of them," Neji said with a sigh, nudging the monster at his feet. "We might want to take care of this one quickly. It's already starting to fall apart."

"I'll preserve it," Sasori offered at once. Most of the others took this for granted, but Kakuzu knew better. He didn't say anything, however, and just watched as the short puppet master carried the squirming monster up the stairs to his workshop.

Now, if I were him, what would I do with that thing…? he wondered, but he couldn't come up with any obvious answers. There was no doubt in his mind that Sasori had ulterior motives for being so helpful, but he wasn't sure what those might be. Kakuzu tore his thoughts away from his ally and returned them to the present. "Anyone else need stitching up?" Daisuke and Neji looked at each other, and then shook their heads. "Fine. Good. That means it won't cost as much for you."

"What? You're charging us for this--?" Daisuke squawked in outrage.

"Of course I am. It was a rush job, and I don't like being rushed. Also, you said I couldn't go out there last night, so I was bored out of my mind all night. I want compensation." Kakuzu stood up to his full height and jabbed a finger into Daisuke's chest. The black-haired leader paled, and reluctantly nodded. Kakuzu couldn't help but grin. "Good."

"Since you were in here all night… Do you happen to know where the boys went?" Neji asked.

"Hm?"

"Hitomi mentioned that Seishirou and Tomozou weren't in their room. I was wondering if you had enough foresight to keep an eye on them."

"I didn't hear them, so they probably didn't come down too many floors. Check the library. They seem keen on learning more, don't they?" Kakuzu shrugged indifferently.

"In that case, can you go grab them? There are things in that library that overenthusiastic young boys should not be learning." Daisuke yawned and stretched before resuming, "I'm paying you, so you could at least do a little babysitting while you're at it."

"This is going to cost more," he replied critically, mentally wondering how many more digits he could add before Daisuke would refuse to pay.

"I'm too tired to care right now. Just keep them out of the library and make sure they don't see Yukina. I'm going to bed." Daisuke yawned again and went to the stairs.

"How responsible of you," Neji muttered, loud enough to be heard.

"I'll take care of it when I've had more sleep. You might want to get some sleep, too, unless you like dealing with children while operating on no sleep…" By the look on his face, Neji did not like doing that. Kakuzu sighed as the two retreated upstairs, leaving him to clean up and take care of Yukina.

"…This is going to cost them a lot more," he said grumpily, eyeing the all of the blood.

-.-.-

Next Chapter: As the adults sleep off their exciting night and generally recuperate, the kids decide to do some exploring on their own. Seishirou insists on finding the giant fish in Ame, while Tomozou insists that there aren't any. Hitomi's mad at him, however, and will back her brother; this results in a search for the giant fish in Amegakure! ...And plenty of fighting along the way.