Yay, new chapter! I told you I had more time now :3

Disclaimer: I in no way, shape, or form own Naruto or any of its characters. If I did I'd probably be very rich and happy.

"Thoughts."

"Inner/demon."

"Normal speech."

"Black Zetsu."

'Jutsu'

Please R&R

Itachi 13 years old – Sasuke 6 years old – Sakura 5 years old

Pein 22 years old- Konan 21 years old- Kakuzu 81 years old – Orochimaru 44 years old- Kisame- Sasori 25 years old - Hidan 13 years old

Chapter 5

Once they had disappeared Kisame took off into the civilian village to see ragged bodies, torn apart, most likely because of the explosion. He didn't know how Sakura's power actually worked but he sure hoped the children couldn't see the damage. Despite loving the thrill of fighting he was sure the children weren't old enough to see such destruction. He knew they had seen something similar happen to their family he just didn't want them to see such things again so soon.

Shaking his head of such thoughts Kisame made his way through the wreckage, coming upon a woman, weeping as she held a bundle of bloodied cloth to her chest. He looked away as she turned her eyes to him, asking him to help her.

He had no loyalty to her, therefore couldn't care any less what happened to her and the dead child in her arms. He jumped onto a nearby building, taking a higher route to find his comrades. Kisame spotted them easily across the village, a cloud of dust just settling there.

Though Itachi had been the first on the scene he was not the one fighting. Instead Kakuzu stood in the middle of the dust covered ground, a deep frown evident on his brow as he evaded and exchanged blows with his opponent.

Kisame made his way to Itachi's side, having accepted that this was not to be his battle.

"Where are the children?" Itachi asked once Kisame had appeared. His brow furrowed, prepared to kill his teammate should he say he had left them behind, or worse had been killed.

Kisame on the other hand, motioned to his shadow that resided just behind him before casting his eyes once more on the fight.

The person Kakuzu was now fighting with a man, much younger than himself. He had medium-length silver hair that was slicked back and distinctive purple eyes. Just by looking at him one could tell that he was all that Kakuzu hated. He was young and overly brash.

"It seems our target had managed to find us." Itachi said, now that he knew the children were safe and out of harm's way.

"He seems to be a good fighter but I still don't see what caught the leader's attention." Kisame said and paused before turning to his teammate. "So, do we capture him?"

"Hn." Itachi said though he made no move.

Meanwhile Sakura and Sasuke sat within Kisame's shadow, marveling at the speed and strength of the ninja before them. They had averted their eyes when they had seen the destruction upon their arrival but now they couldn't seem to turn away. Their breath came in heavy gasps as they could feel the killing intent of the ninja.

They had heard Itachi and Kisame discussing the silver-haired ninja and instantly knew that their new family was about to expand by one.

In the clearing the destruction had created Kakuzu evaded another attack, intent on tiring him out as opposed to showing his many skills. Taking advantage of his cocky fighting style, if it could even be called that, he took a kunai and ran at him.

The silver- haired man only smirked and poised himself to use the triple-bladed scythe he had in hand.

It was all silent then as both managed to impale the other with their weapons. Though impaled in life-threatening places neither of them swayed or cried in pain before their eyes darkened in death. As a matter of fact neither of them seemed to have died and stayed in a deadlock with weapons protruding from their bodies.

Once noticing this and surprise having passed through the silver-haired man's eyes they jumped apart, blood running freely from their wounds.

"Looks like you're just like me." The man said with a smirk.

"I'm nothing like you." Kakuzu said with a frown. How dare the man before him assume that they were alike?

"Alright, this is going nowhere." Kisame said as he came up from behind the silver-haired man and knocked him out with a jutsu. Once he restrained him in case he came back to his senses quickly.

"What do you think you're doing?" Kakuzu asked angrily as he stepped up to the shark-man.

"If this kept up, it would probably just end up in a draw and we'd have to fight our way out of here once other ninja began to show up. If that happened we wouldn't be able to tell this bastard why we were looking for him." Kisame replied as he frowned down at the stitched up man.

Kakuzu grudgingly agreed and nodded. "We should leave before nearby shinobi come wandering." He said in his baritone voice and vanished before their eyes.

It would've been better had Itachi used his sharingan, though, Kisame knew he wouldn't have raised a hand to help their comrade.

Kisame swung their new recruit over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and followed after the tanned ninja. Itachi followed after them, making sure they couldn't be traced.

They then stopped at a clearing, miles away from where the fight had occurred and far from any possible threats. The silver haired shinobi had yet to awaken and so Kisame called out to the children. If the ninja managed to get free of his restraints and became a danger to the children, Kisame was sure they'd be safe in the shadows once more. If even Itachi couldn't tell where they had been before he was sure the ninja before them wouldn't be able to find them either.

Not to mention that he had no idea how anyone else could get in without Sakura's approval.

"Itachi-kun, is that man really going to be part of our family?" Sakura asked as she sat next to him against a tree trunk.

"He doesn't seem as strong as you aniki." Sasuke chimed in, the adoration for his elder brother ever present.

"If he agrees." Itachi replied, his eyes staring at nothing in particular.

Sakura got closer to him, a smile spreading upon her lips. He could see her from the corner of his eye though he had no idea what had come over to make her act in such a way. In hindsight though, he should've seen it coming. She usually held such a smile when she was about to do something mischievous.

She stood, and began to brush any dust that might've clung onto her from where she had sat. She did so slowly, trying to give nothing away when all of a sudden she launched herself at him. His eyes widened for a moment at the sudden movement but his body did nothing to harm her, his mind knowing she wouldn't hurt him.

Her tiny arms wrapped around his neck, and her cheek rubbing his own. Her hands then came up to his face and two fingers hooked at the corners of his mouth. She stretched them up, forcing him to smile though to anyone else in the area he didn't look too happy. If anything the action made him look murderous rather than happy.

Sasuke on the other hand, being unable to see his dear brother as anything other than loving, began to laugh uncontrollably. His arms wrapped around his middle, trying to get his sides to stop hurting as he laughed.

Sakura who was now slightly behind Itachi began to giggle until Itachi flipped her over until she lay on his legs.

"That wasn't a wise move, Sakura-chan." Itachi smirked as he began to tickle her.

Her laughter rose until tears began to emerge from the corners of her eyes. She wriggled uncontrollably, trying to free herself from his grasp.

"Nooo! Itachi-kun, please! I'm sorry." She laughed in between sentences. "Tap out! Mercy!"

When he didn't give Sasuke began to join, beginning to tickle his brother's sides. When no laughter came from him he moved to force Itachi to smile.

"You too, Sasuke?" Itachi asked as he took a moment to let Sakura breath and grabbed his brother, giving him the same treatment.

It had surprised him that Sakura would begin the game when she had become so closed up after the massacres. He had thought she would never go back to being the same again. Now though he understood that, given enough time, she would go back to normal. Well, maybe, not entirely but surely close enough. Perhaps he too could go back to his old self again.

Maybe it was because of the change he had gone through that Sakura had begun the game? Maybe she had noticed?

"Aniki! Stop!" Sasuke screamed through his laughter. "Sakura, help!"

"Itachi-kun, smile more." Sakura said as she got behind him again, stretching his lips impossibly far, causing Itachi to flinch.

Having had too much now, he reached back and pinched her cheek until she let go.

"That's enough now." Itachi said as he held Sasuke off from another onslaught. "Go on with Kisame to catch some dinner."

Though he had liked that his brother and Sakura were having fun he could hardly lower his guard so much in front of the others. Not to mention that they had a stranger in their midst. Besides that he knew how much the two children could get carried away, thanks to Sakura's canine mindset.

"Aww, ok" Sasuke said as he got off from his brother's legs and waited for Sakura to follow Itachi's orders.

Sakura nodded, rubbing her slightly aching cheek and walked towards Kisame with Sasuke. With a chuckle Kisame left with the children, disappearing through the foliage in search of something edible. Hunting would have to suffice as their plans for prepared food had to be postponed.

"Too much to handle, Itachi-san?" Kakuzu asked with a small chuckle. If it weren't for the mask Itachi could swear the man was smirking at him.

"Not at all." Itachi answered. He knew how to control a couple of children. He had been made captain of the ANBU after all. A couple children were nothing he couldn't handle.

Kisame on the other hand smiled fully, showing off his razor sharp teeth as he walked side by side with the children. It surprised him that Itachi had dared to smile and play along with the children's antics. For as far as he had known him, Itachi always seemed so composed and stiff. It had seemed that they were complete opposites. Now he knew that all it took were a couple of children to bring out Itachi's soft side.

"Kisame-sensei, what are we going to eat?" Sakura asked as she looked around the forest.

"There should be a couple of deer around." Kisame said as he looked around until his eyes landed on a teary-eyed Sakura.

"We're going to eat a cute baby deer?" Sakura asked as she stopped walking and looked up at Kisame with big watery eyes.

"Err no; we're going to eat big grown deer." Kisame said, trying to ease her.

"But what if they have babies waiting at home?" Sakura asked.

"You ate deer that one time." Sasuke reminded her.

"Yeah, but I didn't know that and it was dead already." Sakura argued.

"This one's going to be dead too by the time we eat it." Kisame said with a smile, trying to show her it'd be fine.

He obviously didn't think it through as Sakura's watery eyes began to leak, a sniffle emanating from her.

"Stop crying Sakura. If we don't eat then we become weak and if we get weak we won't be great ninja." Sasuke said with a small frown.

"But…"Sakura whimpered as she wiped a tear away.

Kisame heaved a sigh. "Listen Sakura; we're killing it for our survival. I'm sure the deer would understand, just like it understands that it kills grass in order to survive. If it makes it any better I can show you how to kill it quickly so it doesn't feel any pain."

"It won't feel any pain?" Sakura asked in awe.

"No, it'll suddenly just wake up in heaven and it won't have to worry about anything anymore." Kisame said, hoping she understood what he was saying.

"That's where my family is now." Sakura muttered.

"Yes, and I'm sure they're happy there too. I bet the deer will go up there and tell them what a nice kunoichi you're becoming." He said, thankful that they were away from the others, knowing they'd probably ridicule him for his sappy comments.

"Could it send a message to my family too?" Sasuke asked, suddenly interested. He hadn't known animals could go to heaven too.

"I'm sure it will." Kisame said.

"Ok. Let's go get a deer then." Sakura said, know thinking of what message she wanted to send to her family.

Seeing the children suddenly happy and eager to kill a deer, Kisame wondered if what he had done had been right. He'd have to see to it that they understood before he let it get too out of hand. He didn't want to find dead animals wherever he went just because the children thought it was a good way to send messages to the dead. If his attempts were in vain he'd had to get Itachi or Pein involved.

After another talk however, the children understood that animals were only to be killed for food and not to send messages. Well, they understood once Itachi had clarified since Kisame hadn't been able to handle it. Teaching them about prayers had helped as they didn't need blood sacrifices.

The day had gone rather quickly and before they knew it dusk had come. It was at this time that the new ninja who had until this moment been, snoring finally stirred. Though the others knew he was close to waking Sakura and Sasuke were left oblivious as they laughed and talked with the group of ninja. They had a fire going since they had brought the deer and had left it on in order to not make another one once they went to sleep.

This was the scene the new ninja had woken up to.

"What the fuck?" were the first words that came from his mouth.

Sasuke and Sakura quickly turned to the new voice to see him begin to wriggle around and stare at them in confusion.

"What the hell kind of fucked up dream is this?" He asked to which Itachi appeared before him and punched him in the face.

"Such language is to be kept from the children." He said simply.

Sasuke and Sakura stayed by Kisame's side, worried now about what the ninja would do. They knew he was no match for Itachi but that didn't change the fact that he could possibly kill them.

"Ok, so it's not a dream." The man groaned as he turned to look up at Itachi then to the group huddled at the fire. "Akatsuki?"

Itachi nodded simply, waiting to see what the man would do now.

"So, what, then? I would've been killed by now if that had been you're mission. Or was I too hard to kill even while asleep?" He asked with a smirk, not at all concerned about his health.

"Hidan, you were chosen to join Akatsuki. If you accept then you will be taken to our hideout and given a cloak and ring, as well as missions of your own. If you do not accept you will be killed." Kakuzu said as a matter of fact.

"Are you serious?" Hidan asked with a raised brow.

The others simply stared at the man before them, ready to fight if need be.

"Yes, you can become part of our family or not." Sakura said with a frown, mirroring the men around her. She wasn't sure if they really meant to kill him if he didn't join but she was sure he'd be happy if he joined. Who wouldn't want to be part of a big family like hers?

"I'll join, but what's the deal with the brats? Are they here for me to kill to prove my loyalty or something?" He shrugged. "I've got no problem with that. Jashin-sama might like it if I give him fresh sacrifices."

Itachi punched him once again. "They are not to be touched. If any harm comes to the children you will be dealt with."

"Does that mean he's part of our family now?" Sasuke asked curious to know if it was safe to approach now.

Itachi nodded as he went to free the ninja, careful to keep his guard up in case of anything. Once free the man simply rubbed at his aching wrists, cursing at the chakra enhanced shackles.

"Next time, try to leave a little room for movement, those fucking things nearly cut off my hand." Hidan said as he made his way to the fire and sat across from the children. "Do you guys have any fucking food around here? I'm starving."

"For someone who's nearly impossible to kill, you sure whine a lot." Kisame said as he stared at the man before him.

Itachi sat between the man and Kisame who had the children sitting on his lap now. Sasuke moved from Kisame to Itachi's side, glancing at the new member of his family.

Kisame turned to Kakuzu with a smirk. "Seems like you're going to have your hands full with this one, seeing as he's going to be hard to kill and all."

"It's just going to be more fun to try." Kakuzu said with a small frown.

"You can have my left overs." Sakura said a she walked to the man with a piece of meat covered in leafs.

"Thanks brat." Hidan said as he snatched from her hands and began to eat.

Sakura frowned at that. "My name's not brat, It's Sakura. Kakuzu-san says that we should call others by name because not doing so could offend someone."

"Like I give a fu-" Hidan began to say until his face met with Itachi's fist once again.

"I did say that such language was not for the children's ears. Take care how you speak to them." Itachi said.

Though he didn't like the man's foul language it seemed that for now he wouldn't try anything against his charges. If he did, the children knew of a place where the man couldn't reach them. Add to the fact that the new member would have three angry Akatsuki members to be wary of.

"What the hell is Akatsuki doing with children though? Are you running some kind of day care now?" Hidan asked as he dug into the food that had been offered to him.

"Any questions you may have can be answered when we arrive at headquarters." Kakuzu said, a headache already appearing at the onslaught of questions the new member threw at them.

Even the children didn't ask so many questions nor did they whine so much. Given this, he knew that fun he could have at trying to kill his new partner would not win out against the annoyance he was. Perhaps he shouldn't have killed his last partner. He could've probably dealt with his gluttony.

Kakuzu's eye twitched. No, that partner had cost his too much money. Maybe the annoyance before him wouldn't cost him as much. Surely he could deal with it. Right?

The next morning after having been annoyed far too much Kakuzu tried to kill the new member only to hear more whining. At this point Kakuzu had had enough and set the children on him. Give him a taste of his own medicine. Surely the children would annoy him beyond reason and he'd keep his mouth shut the rest of the way.

Of course it backfired as the rest of the trip had gone on with nonstop chatter. It only grew quiet when they were to pass by other ninja but quickly resumed when the danger had passed. Though the children had been fairly curious of everything that had to do with the new ninja he was also curious about them.

The children were happy to have someone to talk to who seemed just as curious as they were but were careful not to say too much. It annoyed Hidan when a question would cause the children to look at each other in worry then tell him he'd find out soon. Figuring that they probably didn't know much either way his annoyance quickly vanished. Why would a couple of children know anything about the organization anyways?

They were probably kidnapped and well on their way to being killed. Then again that didn't explain why Itachi had hit him every time he cursed around the children. If he really took the time he could see the resemblance between the young boy and Itachi. That didn't explain why he took care of the girl though.

When questioned, the children looked at each other and answered the same annoying response.

"You have a pretty necklace." Sakura chirped then, trying to change the subject, knowing they were closer to her home.

"I thought jewelry was for girls." Sasuke said as he scrunched up with face in distaste.

"Nuh-uh, Itachi-kun has a necklace too." Sakura said with a small frown aimed at him.

"That's just because you gave it to him." Sasuke said.

"I have it cause it's from my religion." Hidan replied, seeing Sakura in front of him clinging onto Kisame's back and Sasuke clinging to Itachi's.

"That doesn't look like anything I've seen." Sasuke replied with a small frown.

"That's cause not a lot of people know about it. In this religion it gives you immortality, that's why no one can kill me, cause Jashin-sama gave me immortality." Hidan said with a smirk.

"Cool." Sasuke said with awe in his eyes.

"Why did he give you im-mor-ta-li-ty?" Sakura asked, scrunching up her face in an attempt to say the word correctly. She knew what the word meant; she just had a tough time pronouncing it right.

"Because; I follow his rules. I always give him the best sacrifices." Hidan said, proud of the fact.

"Wait, I thought sacrifices were bad." Sasuke said, turning to Itachi with a raised brow.

"He only kills bad people." Itachi quickly said then turned to Hidan with a frown. "Right?"

Feeling the killing intent rise Hidan quickly nodded his head. Jashin could hardly care who died, just as long as he was fed. Figuring the children didn't need to know that he just agreed with the Uchiha before him.

Feeling a sudden onslaught of rain pouring on him Hidan quickly cursed. He could've sworn the climate had changed dramatically just now.

"Father is here!" Sakura quickly said, sitting up straight on Kisame's back.

Hidan looked around but couldn't see anyone, just trees and shrubbery. The forest would probably keep on until a couple more miles and he had yet to find any chakra signatures, save for the ones surrounding him.

"Mother is with him too." Sakura said with a grin.

The group suddenly stopped and dropped the children on the tree branch they stood on.

"Let them know we'll be there in a moment. Take Sasuke with you." Itachi said.

With a nod Sakura quickly took Sasuke's hand and disappeared in a nearby shadow. Hidan's eyes widened, feeling their chakra suddenly disappear. It wasn't suppressed. It quite literally just vanished. He neared checked the area where the children had gone but couldn't find them. His eyes then turned downward. Maybe they fell off and died?

Looking back at a chuckling Kisame his eyebrow lifted up in confusion. The elder Uchiha didn't seem at all phased at the sudden disappearance and just began to leave. Hidan quickly followed, unable to figure out what had just happened. Maybe they had been killed?

Sakura on the other hand appeared along with Sasuke behind Pein from his shadow. Pein and Konan quickly turned to them with a smile. They were on the highest floor of their home, overlooking the village. Konan took both of the children in her arms, welcoming them with a hug. Upon seeing that neither child was hurt she let go of them.

"Itachi-kun said they'd be here soon." Sakura said with a smile.

Nodding at that Pein went back into his study, making sure everything was set for their return.

"So tell me, how was your trip? I thought you'd be back later." Konan said as she led the children inside and out of the rain.

TBC