Thanks a bunch to Aimii0! :D Your reviews made me feel special and that my story was grand! I'll review your story. :) Hope you like this chapter! Yeah, the first chapter was short because it was the prologue. :P

I'm going to try and finish this by the end of the summer, just an fyi. I've noticed that if I leave a story too long I completely lose interest, and that doesn't seem fair to any reader :( I mean, what if J.R.R Tolkien or J.K. Rowling had lost interest half way through their series? So here we go; any critiques or ideas you have will be readily considered! :D

The Hokage's Tower

Genma finished his report, his face mirroring Tsunade's. Both turned and glared at Raidou, who shrunk away in fear for his life. Tsunade stood. "Raidou, you cost us dearly. Genma, you should've stayed with Raidou; both of you made grave mistakes." It was Genma's turn to shrink away. "Both of you, dismissed. You have gate duty for the next six months as punishment."

They would've groaned, but the pair felt that they were getting off light from Tsunade's wrath. She wasn't known for her rewards. Slinking out, they shut the door behind them and left a tired, worn out Tsunade to her thoughts and plans. Honestly, she could care less about Zero right now. The werewolf had betrayed Konoha after, she was a missing nin now; however, she knew it would still be hard to pass any sort of judgement on Zero when the time came.

Oh, yes. It would come. The Hokage was determined to take down the Akatsuki so they could more effectively focus on dearer matters at hand, like Konoha's alliance with Suna. It had grown fairly thin. Somehow it had to be salvaged; perhaps sending them an Akatsuki or two would help? She had no doubt that the organization had commited crimes against every nation, not just Leaf.

But that brought her to thoughts about her next course of action. The Akatsuki needed to be dealt with. She had told Raidou and Genma to feed false information to whoever in the Akatsuki they could; hopefully Zero would take it seriously and report it. Tsunade hoped that if she doubled or tripled the time before she attacked, the Akatsuki would let their guard down, or maybe even distrust Zero.

Someone rapped on the door. Rubbing her eyes, Tsunade looked up and sighed, "Enter." To her surprise, it was Kakashi rather than Shizune that entered; his presence was calming.

"You're late for a meeting with the elders."

Oh, crap. Tsunade clenched her teeth and pushed past Kakashi, making a beeline for the Elder's Building. "SHIZUNE!" she shouted. Her assistant would have hell to pay.

Akatsuki Base

"You're dismissed. Thank you, Zero, Sasori." Both named ninja got up from their seats and bowed to Pein before exiting his office. They had just finished reporting the event with the Leaf Ninja for the third time; Pein wanted to make sure he missed no details.

Sasori reached for Zero's hand. "I'll protect you when the battle comes." Seven days from now. Zero absentmindedly nodded, not really hearing what he said; she was more focused on Raidou's behavior. It hadn't seemed natural. Who would flirt with a criminal? No sensible man. Well, that's at least how she felt; and those feelings led her to believe that something in what he had said was false. Something, but what?

"Are you alright?" Sasori asked, genuine concern lining his eyes.

Zero jumped, almost forgetting his presence. "Uh, yeah! Sorry, just thinking." She looked away from him, the awkwardness that had marked the past three days dripping over her again. While she found she really was attracted to Sasori, she felt guilty about the whole situation when not even a year ago she had been married.

Kakuzu averted his eyes as the pair walked past. It was odd for the group to get used to anyone dating within it; sure, Konan and Leader were, but it was sort of a constant. It'd be weird if they weren't. Itachi seemed to have the most trouble. Zero took advantage of it for her own amusement, making Sasori smile. Only Deidara and Konan seemed alright with it.

"Zero! Want to train?" Deidara inquired in excitement- Sasori had given them both the all-clear two days ago. Zero nodded enthusiastically.

"Of course! See you outside!" The blonde took off. Zero was about to follow suit, but Sasori stopped her with his hand anchored to hers. She turned back to look at him. "Wha?"

"Hey, come here," he spoke, smiling. He pulled her close and kissed her, hand on her cheek. They broke away and he allowed the werewolf to run off in her usual excited manner. Sasori turned into his room to work puppets. About a day ago he had decided that he loved Zero, and he figured it was pretty much up to him to make sure she was happy. No matter the cost.

Outside at the Lake

"Clay me, blondie!" I shouted to Deidara. Scowling at his nickname, he threw a couple figurines to me. Recognizing my folly as he grinned maniacally, I dodged aside; good thing I did, because all of the five exploded where I had been standing.

"Ha!" he shouted. Then he rose on a clay bird, dropping by to pick me up. "Hop on!" I did. We took flight, gliding over the lake, letting the wind toss around us, breathing in the great scent of the outdoors. I lay back on the bird to watch the clouds go by. He did the same, and soon the bird slowed to a stop and we hung there peacefully.

"Good training, bro." I bro-fisted him. In reality we hadn't trained at all. He grinned.

Then he winked. "You and Danna, yeah?" I shoved him lightly, making his grin even bigger. "Getting some?"

"No," I protested.

He laughed. "Alright, whatever you say. The second you two start sleeping in the same bed you'll never hear the end of it," the blonde promised. I scowled. "So how did it happen?"

"You're such a girl."

"Hey!" A clay puppy bounded onto my chest, cutely revealing its little teeth in an adorable snarl. "He'll get you!"

"Daw, he's so cute!" I picked him up and cuddled my face to the puppy. His tail started to wag. "I'll call him Geoffrey, and he shall be my Geoffrey." Deidara snatched little Geoffrey out my hands and threw the poor, yapping puppy to its death; the poor thing exploded seconds later.

Deidara's expression sobered. "So what do you think the Leaf Nin will do next?"

I shook my head and closed my eyes. "I don't know. They'll attack, no doubt. And my guess is that they will go all out; we're a significant threat. Any reason they have to not kill us on sight probably isn't too promising for our future." The sun was warm, the breeze cool. They were conflicting, but they made the day as delightful as it was.

I opened my eyes to look at Deidara. He was pale. "I hope we can fight them off."

"I'm sure we can," I reassured him. He nodded, looking a bit more relieved but still pale. Reaching out, I touched my hand to his. This pyromaniac was more family than Sasuke had ever been- I couldn't let anything happen to him. We both closed our eyes and fell asleep there. It was a peaceful moment that I would never forget.

"Zero." I shot up- where was I? I wasn't on the bird with Deidara, I was in a dark, cold, sandy place. Mountains rose up in front of me and dunes behind me; the formations behind me looked oddly familiar in the moonlight. (Don't ask me how a sand dune looks compared to another one, because I honestly couldn't tell you.) "Zero." Where was that voice coming from? My head whipped around in every direction.

"Zero, here." My wild gaze came to rest on a figure in front of me. It hadn't been there before. I readied to turn into my wolf form; I had no idea what was going on. (That seems to be happening a lot lately.) "Zero, it's me."

I squinted, trying to pick out details in the shadowy figure. The moonlight conveniently moved or something, because a split-second I could pick out every detail of the man that had meant the world to me. "Liam!" I gasped. He smiled, almost a sad smile. "Oh, Liam, I've missed you so much," I whispered, lifting myself to my feet. I tried to move towards him.

"No, Zero. Stay where you are, you can't touch me. You have to let me go, you need to be where you are now. Rescue the people you love."

"I don't understand…" I couldn't help myself; I tried again to get close to him. But he moved; or rather, our distance stayed the same without him moving a muscle. "William…"

"Look around Zero. You'll find your allies here." And then he was gone. I felt a pain in my chest, the agony of his death reawakening. Growling and forcing it away, I whipped around and stormed away from the field, towards the familiar dunes. I didn't understand his message. What allies did I need?

Then sand picked up, whirling around me as if meaning to conceal me or the world. I wasn't sure which. Something was familiar about that too- where had I seen something like that before?

And then the vision was gone. I awoke on Deidara's bird, pink from the sun and Deidara bright red. "Aah! Deidara! Wake up!" He started awake.

"What's- ow!"

I bit back a laugh. "We fell asleep, lobster."

He groaned. "Oh, no. I had just recovered from my wound…"

"Can I call you Pinky now?"

"Shut up!"

Hokage's Office

Tsunade breathed out. "We'll attack in four days instead," she told Kakashi and Shizune. "The elders think waiting will be a dangerous gamble. And they wouldn't let me argue." She shook her head. "Kakashi, assemble three shinobi for every member of the Akatsuki, you will lead them into battle. You will meet here two days from now. Go."

Akatsuki Base

I plucked at my guitar strings aimlessly. My head was resting on its body and I felt as if I could fall asleep right then and there in my room. Slowly, my eyes drooped. I was beginning to nod off. A rap on my door forced me to wake up. "Enerr," I rasped, the cleared my throat and firmly stated, "Come on in."

The door opened to reveal Itachi. I smiled. I hadn't talked to him in a while, and in complete honesty I hadn't really been expecting him. Sasori was more likely to be in my room. "Zero," he greeted. Then he stopped, looking incredibly awkward.

"Yes, Itachi?" I prompted.

He took a deep breath. "Do you remember your mother?" He fixed me with a serious gaze.

"Not really," I slowly responded. "She died during childbirth." I didn't understand where all of this was going; this was one of the last things I had ever expected to discuss with Itachi. After all, what pertinence did it hold to us now?

"Do you know where she came from?" I shook my head. He shuffled papers in his hands- I hadn't noticed them until now. "I've been doing some research," Itachi told me. He held out a paper.

Setting my guitar down, I took it from his hands into my own and opened them apprehensively. What was this all about? Upon opening it I figured it out. "Miss Tadai Rosewind, a Soldier of Ohu… Married to Akame Uchiha on August 17th… Mother of one daughter, Miss Zero Uchiha… Allegedly murdered by Danzo." I folded the paper back up. "Mom was…" Ohu? I'd never heard of it before… "What's an Ohu?"

"Ohu's location is unknown. But it is rumored to be the home of a wild pack of fierce and loyal dogs; the Inuzuka Clan apparently got their first partners from there." He took the paper away, then handed me a different one. "Read this."

I took a second paper from him; it was yellowed and wrinkled. My eyes slowly roamed down it. They widened with each sentence I read, "Tadai Rosewind… now Tadai Uchiha… seen turning into a child-eating wolf, as reported to the public. She was also reported as extremely danger, kill on sight…" I held back a growl. "She is a threat to my potential to become Hokage, so I feel no loss at her death. But I will keep a close eye on her daughter, who resembles the woman in more ways than the father. At the first sign of a threat she will die. As her mother did. Signed, Danzo…" I crumpled the paper in my hand and threw it across the room.

Itachi put a hand on my back. "I'm sorry," he comforted.

I looked out the window, barely containing my fury. My mother had been killed and the same man was merely waiting, watching, to see if I needed to be killed. "It's not your fault," I growled. Something pressed against my cheek, and I looked down to see another paper. Taking it, Itachi left me to read it alone. So I did.

Five minutes later, I was shocked. So apparently the Third Hokage was a master detective or something, because he had found Ohu, smack dab in the middle of Suna's territory; and I guess he had figured out that the natives had dispersed. They were able to disguise themselves as humans and live among them. So there was a very strong chance that I was half-Suna and that a good chunk of their population was made up of wolves and dogs. Oh, my.

I shook my head like a dog. All this was disorienting. None of this really meant much for the me now, but it explained everything about how me came to be. Another knock on the door announced Sasori. He came in and sat down, looking into my eyes, scrutinizing me; he was waiting for some sort of sign for something.

He announced suddenly, "Sakura has joined our side. She's healing Hidan right now; she'll be down soon. She wants to speak with you."

I jumped to my feet. "Really!?" There was no containing my excitement. Sasori smiled and stood, pulling me close in order to embrace me.

"Yes," he breathed. At first I felt the familiar guilt, but it was pushed aside by contentment as he gently kissed my cheek. "I love it when you get excited like that." I blushed and attempted to push him away, trying to hide my face. But it only increased his amusement and grip. "I'll leave you then. Oh, and you have guard duty tonight," the red-head told me. He kissed me once more.

"Ahem."

A voice at the door made us spring apart. Sakura stood there, eyebrow raised in question as I shooed Sasori away. He slipped by Sakura with a respectful nod. "Glad we gained another intelligent member."

"Deidara's smarter than you think," I called after him. He snorted. Then an awkward silence fell into the room. Well, for me. For Sakura she seemed to think of it more as a game, to see who spoke first. Her green eyes bore into my gold ones. I finally broke, "Uh, hullo, Sakura."

"Found some romance, I see. What about Liam?" She inquired coolly, and I could see that our relationship still needed to be repaired and strengthened. While most of my fellow ninja couldn't understand what had happened to make a werewolf settle down with a musician of all things, Team Seven had just accepted the fact and even taken a liking to the odd William Westra. My blush deepened.

I scratched my ear nervously. "I suppose… And I'm a bit too embarrassed to explain the important details," I declared, pointing to my red face. "You can't argue with that shade of red."

She cracked a smile. "Red as a tomato. You haven't changed as far as boys, Zero; you used to be like that around Liam, too. You and Hinata both." She shook her head in mock exasperation. Suddenly she sombered. "But I'm still mad at you."

I laughed. "Oh, c'mon! You just joined us; you're like my sister again! It's as if nothing happened," I offered. My choice in words was poor.

"Nothing happened?" she quietly repeated, rage evident on her face. I backed away. "Nothing? You dropped Konoha like a hot coal for a gang of criminals! How can you say that's nothing? How can you dismiss everything that happened with Liam? How can you say that when you, the last Uchiha, abandoned the Village you were raised in? You were the clan's last chance at redemption! "

"I'll come back later," Itachi spoke in his monotone from the doorway. Sakura jumped.

"S-sasuke?" she aqueaked.

Itachi shook his head. Then he pushed past her into my room, walking over to me. "I'd like those papers back; I'm presuming you agree that forging some copies would be looked highly upon?" I nodded in reply. He returned the curt gesture and prowled out of the room.

Sakura seemed too stunned to speak. "Zero, Itachi-,"

"Killed my clan? I know. But I also know my cousin; although I have nothing to go off of but a gut feeling, I don't believe he would have done such a thing without a legit reason," I snapped. I knew I had taken offense to something she hadn't voiced, but I didn't care. I would protect my family. The discovery of my mother's murder had reinforced that. "Besides, Konoha is only half of my ancestry. I technically only owe half my loyalty." Sakura blinked, not sure what to do with that knowledge.

Sakura wouldn't speak, so I snatched up my guitar and began to play it softly, turning my back on her and the complicated ninja world of loyalties. I found myself staring out my window. My mind wandered to my dream. Sand. Sand. Sand. Suna. My allies were in Suna- were they the Soldiers of Ohu? Excitement gripped my heart. But why was I going to need allies? I felt confident that we could fight off the Konoha Nin, no problem.

"Zero?" Sakura quietly questioned.

"Hmm?" I responded, not really listening. I was too busy pondering! :D

"Can I see your stomach wound?"

"I got the all-clear two days ago."

"By who?"

"A perfectly credible person."

"Was it Sasori?"

"…No."

"Let me see it, Zero."

"Why? I don't trust you when you're angry."

"Zero."

"…Fine."

Hokage's Office

"Great, Kakashi. You've chosen well, I don't think I could have done better- go, now. The sooner we rescue Sakura and defeat the Akatsuki the better. The ambassadors from Suna will be here in a few days."

"Yes, ma'am." Kakashi made a motion, and the impressive assembly of ninja moved as one. Gone.

Tsunade sighed. Hopefully this would be just one more thing off her list of things to do and kill.