Omg, 21 chapters! Wow! XD I didn't think I would go this far with a fanfic! Because guess what? Since things are kinda just kicking off, that means that this is going to be a LONG fanfic! Hope you guys are happy! Have fun reading ;D

Oh, by the way... here's a lollipop for reviewing :)

Itachi narrowed his red eyes at his teammates. "Are you POSITIVE that you're ready for this?" he asked, unsure.

The Akatsuki were all seated on, in front of, or standing behind the couch. They all stared at Itachi, wide eyed and curious. Except for Konan, who just looked jealous.

"I'm not ready," she mumbled, crossing her arms and looking away. This earned her a small bop on the head for Sasori, along with a warning glance. She grimaced. "Yes, I'm ready," she sighed.

Itachi glared at her for a moment before clearing his throat. "Guys, this is Hinata Hyuuga, from Konoha."

As if on cue, footsteps from the upstairs hall were heard. The curious men (and not interested woman) turned their heads around to stare at the stairs, anticipation flooding the room as they waited to see the young Hyuuga appear.

Then she appeared from the hall. The room was completely silent.

Just don't make eye contact, Hinata told herself in her mind. She kept her head down as she made her way shyly downstairs and to stand next to Itachi at the front of the living room.

Itachi placed his hand on her shoulder, as if to tell her that everything was alright. "Hinata is one of us now," he said, "and I expect you all to treat her nicely. If not," he narrowed his eyes again, "You'll have to deal with me."

A few of the members gulped. Sasori looked very pleased, as if it were his own daughter or something.

Itachi quickly introduced all of his friends. "And, that's it. This is your new home, Hinata."

Suddenly, Pein stood up from the couch and briskly walked toward her. He was about two inches away from her, as he thoroughly examined everything he possibly could. When he was busy inspecting her... coconuts (awkward...), Itachi took Hinata's wrist and pulled her into his arms. He hugged her tight and glared at his leader, a glare that screamed, "I'm gonna KILL you if you do anything like that again!"

Pein took Hinata's hand (who was still being protectively squeezed to death by Itachi) and shook it. "I hope that you enjoy your stay," he said as though he worked at a hotel or something. Then he walked back to the couch. Hidan snickered. Itachi WOULD have used his Mangekyou Sharingan, but it didn't have any effect on Pein, thanks to his powerful Rinnegan.

"Well, you guys are dismissed," Itachi said emotionlessly, loosening his grasp around Hinata. He leaned down to her height and gave her a warning. "They're a little cold at first," he said, "but they'll warm up to you. I promise."

Hinata nodded her head. The next thing she knew, the red haired puppet master was right in front of her, vigorously shaking her hand. "It's a real pleasure," he said enthusiastically.

Itachi cocked an eyebrow. Sasori was usually so... chill. I should know by now NOT to get surprised by the way they act sometimes... Itachi thought.

"Why don't I show you around?" Sasori asked. Before Hinata could reply, he had rapped his tan hand around her wrist and was dragging her upstairs.

"Hey! Wait for me, un!" Deidara suddenly yelled after them before jumping up and running after them.

Sasori glowered back at Deidara, but let him join them.

Itachi watched as they disappeared back behind the hall. They're a little TOO excited... It's kind of worrisome. He calmly walked up the staircase, swiftly and quietly, and then he too, disappeared behind the hall.

Konan "hmph"'d.

"Quit being so jealous, Konan! You'll get to have another girl to talk about your weird girl problems with!" Hidan said, frustrated as he clicked on the TV.

Konan snapped her head to look at the Jashinist. "You don't understand, you insensitive, sadistic, sociopathic-"

"Hey!" Pein snapped as he pulled Konan's hair. "Let's NOT go there!"

Konan rubbed the top of her head. "Did you really just pull my hair? You fight like a girl!" She stood up and turned to face Pein. "I can do better that that!"

"Oho, really!" Pein challenged. "I'd like to see you try!"

"Hey! Let's NOT go there!" Kisame said, throwing Samehada in between the two fighting adults.

The two "harrumphed" and stormed off into opposite directions. Konan slammed the door to the kitchen behind her while Pein stomped up the staircase and slammed his office door behind him.

The rest of the Akatsuki blinked.

"Dang it, why did Konan have to go into the kitchen? I'm hungry!" Kisame complained.

/3

"Tell me, Hinata," Sasori said seriously, looking the Hyuuga dead in the eye. "What do you think... of puppets?"

Hinata blinked. "Um... I've n-never really thought m-much about them, to be honest..."

"Well," the redhead said excitedly. "After THIS, you will NEVER stop thinking about them!" he exclaimed.

Deidara sat boredly in the corner. He sighed and shook his head. "Must you bore every new member like this, un?" he asked in a monotone voice.

Sasori shot him an angry glare. "You're just jealous because you don't know what REAL art is!" Sasori pointed an accusing finger.

"What!" Deidara stood up. "You freak! Art is a blast, not some weird human puppets!"

The two glared daggers, a lightning bolt shooting between them.

Hinata sweatdropped.

Suddenly, Itachi walked into the room. He looked boredly over at the two bickering criminals. "Guys, are you boring Hinata? I don't think that she wants to listen to you argue."

Hinata smiled upon seeing him.

Sasori snapped his fingers. "I know! Why don't we ALL watch 'Pinocchio'?"

"No!" Deidara said. "Let's NOT watch that dumb movie for the millionth time!"

"Fine, then! It's the puppets!"

Deidara "ugh"'d rather loudly. "No! No one want to see your puppets OR silly movie!" He turned to Hinata and smiled. "Why don't you take a look at my clay sculptures-"

Now, it was Sasori's turn to "ugh" rather loudly. "Your clay sculptures suck! It's a waste of time, and a disgrace to art!"

Before Deidara could go any further, Itachi took Hinata's wrist. "Let's go. These two are always arguing. You'll be in here for hours just listening to them fight."

And, before any of the two suffering artists could protest, Itachi had slammed the door shut.

"Sorry if that made you uncomfortable," he apologetically said.

Hinata giggled. "It wasn't th-that terrible," she said with a shrug. "I have to g-get used to it, r-right?"

Itachi paused and looked back. "Can I ask you something?" he asked.

"Um... sure."

"I don't want to offend you, but... why do you stutter?" Itachi looked as uninterested as ever.

Hinata blushed and thought about it for a moment. "I don't really kn-know," she said. "My father was always t-telling me that it was because I get shy around others. He w-was always telling me t-to fix it, and that I couldn't get anywhere i-in life if I kept stuttering." She looked up at Itachi and smiled sweetly. "I'm n-not offended," she said, scratching the back of her neck nervously and still blushing.

Itachi slid his hand down to take hers. "Fathers are strict, aren't they?" His voice sounded thoughtful, as though he was remembering something.

Hinata just looked at his face and said nothing. He was always looking so expressionless. He never showed any emotions. But as she looked at the shadows cast on Itachi's face in the dark, empty hallway, she noticed a trace of sadness- no wait, it wasn't sadness. He just looked... tired.

Hinata was so wrapped up in these thoughts that it surprised her when Itachi leaned down and said into her ear, "When I first met you, your stutter is one of the first things that I noticed. I love it."

Hinata felt like she couldn't breathe. "N-no one's ever asked me about m-my stutter," she said, surprised she still had a voice.

Itachi planted a kiss on her cheek. "Now you can ask me something," he said, instantly regretting what he had just said. She won't ask anything TOO personal, right? he reassured himself.

"What? Really? A-are you sure?" she asked, plain shock written all over her face.

Itachi solemnly nodded his head.

"Well, w-will you answer this time?" Hinata asked, remembering how he had never really answered her questions in the past.

Itachi nodded again.

Hinata frowned. "Well, I d-don't want to offend you either, but..." she paused. Should she say it? Finally, she just blurted it out. "Why do you torment Sasuke so much!" The Hyuuga slammed her pale hand over her mouth. Crap! Why did I say that!

To her terror, she kept going. "I-I mean, you're v-very nice, s-smart, caring, and so many other g-good things! I just d-don't understand why a guy like you would... would..."

"That's enough, Hinata. I know what you mean." Itachi closed his eyes and leaned wearily against the wall. He would just have to keep up the act that he had killed his clan to test his abilities. "Listen, Hinata. Have you ever hated someone so much that you honestly, truthfully want to kill them?"

He reopened his eyes. Hinata looked into them, seeing a sadistic, burning look. She wanted to run, but she also wanted to listen to what he had to say.

"I'm not just saying how some of you kids 'hate' and 'want to kill' your enemies, but I mean for real. You actually want them to die by your hand."

Hinata was speechless, so she shook her head. "I-I've never... hated anyone..." she said, feeling uneasy.

Itachi closed his eyes again. "I'm not surprised," he remarked. "I've hated Sasuke the moment my mother told me that she was pregnant. He was stealing my thunder. I couldn't let THAT happen."

Hinata furrowed her dark brows. "B-but you were so y-young..." she though aloud.

Itachi shrugged. "I wanted to kill him, but then I thought about it. I wanted to make him suffer endlessly for the rest of his sorry life. So I acted like the brother he wanted until that one night. Now, he's still alive, thinking about destroying me. He's still suffering."

This didn't seem right. Itachi was so kind towards her, and he was actually pretty normal compared to many of the Akatsuki that she had seen, such as Zetsu and Kakuzu. Was he really a homocidal freak?

Itachi pushed off of the wall. "The guest room is the last door down the hall. I'm getting tired."

"But it's only 11:00 AM!" Hinata protested.

Unfortunately, she was ignored by Itachi, who was already all the way to his room and shutting the door quietly behind him. Have I upset him? she thought, bewildered. Then, she sighed. She should've expected a reaction like that.

She turned around. Since the poor girl had nothing better to do, she would go and hang out with Deidara and Sasori.

So...? Review! Review Review! -_^