Naruto - The New Members

[mkuchiha]

Kaito hopped on the bird wordlessly, tilting her head back at Haruka to follow. The birds owner was a teen with long blonde hair that he swept over his right eye, and light blue eyes that twinkled with mischief. The Akatsuki member looked more like one of those pretty boy rock stars then a world class criminal.

"You're the Uchiha, huh? I expected you to be smaller." Deidara gave the tall Uchiha a once over. "Hell you might even be the same height as the shark freak, if not taller."

Kaito shrugged. He was 6'4" now, a pretty tall height but only unusual to the short ninja from Konoha. Apart from Jiraiya, who stood at 6'3", most Konohians never passed the 6 foot mark.

Deidara then looked at Haruka, and whistled. "What a hot piece of babe.."

Kaito grunted in annoyance but otherwise stayed quiet.

Deidara looked at him questioningly, "Ey no offense un, I can lay off if she's yours."

Kaito turned the other way, and clicked his tongue. "Do whatever you like. She's not mine."

Deidara smirked.

AiAi

 

[AiAi]

Haruka watched, head tilting up as she watched Kaito jump onto the large white bird. Haruka merely shrugged her shoulders as she jumped on after him. As she landed on the bird, she looked around in awe as she appreciated the view.

She blinked several times as she finally got a good look of the person. He looked no older than her and Kaito. She looked up at Kaito, indeed he was tall compared to most. Then again she was a bit on the short side so most people were pretty tall for her.

She blinked several times as she heard Deidara's comment. She pointed at herself slightly confused and embarrassed at being called hot.

Seeing him smirk, Haruka could only tilt her head to the side further. Deidara started the bird suddenly tilting up a bit faster and harder than Haruka expected. She felt herself falling backwards and landed in Deidara's arms. Deidara grinned down at her cheekily as he said, "the name's Deidara un. What's yours babe? "

Haruka could only stutter out, "Yukimura Haruka..." She was unsure of what to do having never been in such a situation before.

mkuchiha

 

[mkuchiha]

Kaito clicked his tongue for some reason, feeling extremely irritated. He looked to the side watching the clouds whip past, as the enormous clay bird flapped it's wings. It was actually quite peaceful, the wind was cool and being so high up made for a nice view of the sky. Turning his head to see what the blonde and Haruka were doing, he saw Haruka in the blondes arms making an absolute fool of herself.

Kaito frowned, not able to watch anymore, and pushed out of the bird, plummeting to the ground fast. At the last possible second, Kaito swooped back up cloaked with wind chakra. Fixing himself in midair, he made sure he was level with the bird.

This was way better then sitting in a stupid bird.

AiAi

 

[AiAi]

Haruka noticed something move in the corner of her eye. She turned her head to the side and saw Kaito fall off the bird. "Kaito!?" Haruka called out as she got out of Deidara's arms to walk over to the edge. She looked down with worry in her eyes as she thought that he fell, but just as quickly, Kaito came flying back up to be next to the bird.

Haruka let out a sigh of relief before sitting down onto the bird. She let out a long breath before looking up at the sky. It was nice...quiet and peaceful...or it was for a short moment. She blinked a bit as a shadow covered her view of the sky. It was Deidara. Haruka looked curiously at him, "Um, is something the matter, Deidara-san?"

Deidara saw the Uchiha jump off the bird and could only smirk, guess it did bother him despite what he says. Shaking his head, Deidara was about to say something to Haruka when she pushed him aside to go see if the Uchiha was fine. Deidara let out a small tsk sound but let it go. Once Haruka was sitting, Deidara approached her again. He smirked down at her before asking, "I have to ask. Why is a pretty girl like you, well in the Akatsuki? Un."

Haruka scrunched her brows together for a moment before shrugging her shoulders, "Does it matter?" She looked out over the edge. Sensing a few familiar chakra signatures, Haruka stood up and looking down she turned back to send Deidara a grin before she said, "See ya at the meeting." She jumped off the bird, passing Kaito and towards the ground. Haruka closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of the wind hitting her face.

mkuchiha

 

[mkuchiha]

Kaito landed on the cliff edge gracefully, before making his way towards the Akatsuki hideout entrance. The hideout comprised of a weared down cave that showed no signs of use, dust and spiderwebs, and shrubbery. The cave was put in a genjutsu that made it invisible unless you really looked for it.

Kaito pressed his ring against a little preface and the cover slid open revealing a little staircase that led down.

Down the steps was a little room of sorts that hosted the rest of the Akatsuki members.

Pein, an oranged haired, medium height man. His most notable features were the strange piercings that littered his face, and his strange purple eyes that had many circles around the pupil. Presumably his kekkai genkai.

Then, their was Saisori, a frail looking teen that looked not a day over 15. He had crimson red hair and light brown eyes, that seemed to have a tint of red to them.

Kakuzu was next. He tan skinned, and wore a head wrap. His most distinct features were his weird eyes--a pink color where the whites of his eyes were supposed to be, and a sickly green for his pupils, and his hunched back form.

Next was a tall guy with unusual silver hair and a scythe strapped down his back named Hidan. He looked much older then everyone in the Akatsuki, due to his strong jawline.

Itachi. A pale skinned Uchiha with straight black hair, medium length, coal black eyes, and tear marks that stretched from the corner of his eyes to slightly above his mouth.

Kisame. The one, Deidara had mentioned earlier. He was tall, around 6-3 in height, had black hair that spiked up, and blue skin. He resembled more of a shark then a man with his gill like marks on either cheek, and his small eyes and razor sharp teeth.

Finally their was Konan, a pretty blue haired woman, with the same strange markings like Pein. Her notable features were her amber eyes, and the white rose she decorated her hair with.


The first to greet Kaito was Hidan. He went up to Kaito with a cocky smirk, sauntering over.

"About time you brats arrived." He had to look up to meet Kaito's gaze. "You're a tall ass aren't you?" He exclaimed rhetorically.

Kaito gave him a bored look. Kisame grinned, exposing a set of sharp teeth.

"Ha, I guess all Uchiha are the same? Huh Itachi?!" Kisame joked, poking Itachi with his elbow. Itachi gave Kaito a disinterested look, Kaito returned with a indifferent one. Inside, however it was a different story. It took all the willpower Kaito had not to throw himself at the traitor.

AiAi

 

[AiAi]

Soon after her little free fall, Haruka landed gracefully like a cat on top of a tree. She looked up at the sky to see Deidara's bird slowly descending to land as well. She looked to her right to see Kaito have also landed. She jumped down the tree and began to make her way towards the entrance to their 'base'.

Haruka pressed her ring against the wall similarly to what Kaito did and went down the stairs soon after him. She bumped into his back as he was just standing there apparently talking to someone? Haruka rubbed her nose before peering over Kaito's large body to see who was in Kaito's way. She blinked several times as she finally got a good look of the rest of the Akatsuki. Actually, she never really met anyone since the last time was through the hologram thing.

"Oh and who's this babe over here?" Hidan spoke up rather loudly as he took notice of Haruka's arrival. Haruka looked at him with a slight frown, it only made her look more like an innocent child rather than some S-class missing ninja. Hidan was about to make another comment when someone else spoke up, "I wouldn't underestimate her if I were you..." spoke up Itachi as he stared with his sharingan straight into Haruka's blue and gold eyes. Kisame looked between Haruka and Itachi with curious yet suspicious eyes.

Haruka averted her eyes, not wanting to talk to Itachi just yet. She shivered slightly as memories of her childhood came back. Luckily, Deidara barged into the room soon after the two. He pointed a finger at Itachi while loudly remarking, "Why are all Uchiha's the same un!" and then he went to stand besides Sasori as he began to point at Haruka and said, "Oh danna, look at her un, isn't she just fine?"

"Shut up brat." Sasori murmured out, though he would agree that she would make a fine collection, but those bright eyes would look better alive he decided. Konan soon spoke up, "Silence." though she said that, she couldn't help but let her eyes roam over to the tall Uchiha in the room, he was definitely the definition of tall, dark and handsome.

mkuchiha

 

[mkuchiha]

It was suspicious. The way Itachi looked at Haruka. Almost as if they had some sort of history. He ground his teeth feeling a strange emotion in the pit of his stomach. The Uchiha ignored it however, when he felt Konan's amber eyes on him. She certainly was pretty, with her exotic features. Certainly a far cry from the bubbly Haruka, Konan was quiet dark and mysterious.

When their eyes met, Konan's lips curled up in a small smile. Ever since Yahiko passed, the navy haired girl stopped looking at the opposite sex as anything other then simply that... the opposite sex. But when her eyes bore into those onyx black orbs she could feel those feelings rekindle. Instant attraction. She never knew black eyes could be so pretty.

Pein cleared his voice, his rinnegan eyes demanding attention.

"Now that we're all here. We can talk about our initiative. Most of you know our new recruits so introductions are not needed." Pein started. "As you know we are an organization and we are hired by villages or other influential people to do their dirty work. However, that is not our main objective. Far from it."

Kaito's face remained passive. He had already known that. Why would a group of S-ranked Shinobi group together just to do odd jobs? Surely, one S-rank was enough.

"Our main objective is to restore peace to the Shinobi world. As you can see, our world is war torn. Villages that are meant to protect us are corrupt, people are getting taking advantage of us, and children are witnessing horrible things." Kaito winced, remembering Uroki.

"Power controls everything. People respond to it. Before peace comes pain first. And to cause pain you need power." Pein explain idealistically. Kaito studied the oranges haired man carefully. What a twisted ideology. What had he gone through to think like this?

"Who here has heard of the Biju?" Pein asked

Hidan shrugged, picking between his teeth with his nails. "Uh, the biju. Aren't they them chakra monsters that villages seal into people. What about them?"

Pein gave Hidan a cursory glance before explaining. "The biju are beings of pure chakra that have been around since before Shinobi were created. They are so powerful, the weakest one can destroy an entire hidden village with ease. Originally their was one biju, the ten tails or the Jubbi . No one knows how it came about, but one day it just appeared. Almost destroying the world."

"The sage of the six paths fought and defeated it, before sealing part of it into the moon, and splitting the rest of into 9 parts. The ichibi of the Hidden Sand, and the Kyubbi of the Hidden leaf. Both respectively being the weakest and strongest of the 9."

"Normally these beasts are peaceful but their are certain cases where they attack. And when these attacks do happen they are often times sealed into people called jinchuriki."

Pein explained how not everyone could be a jinchuruki and how they had to be able to sustain their respective biju and etc.

Long story short, the Akatsukis goal was to gather the biju, somehow bring the back the jubi and somehow obtain peace through fear and iron rule. The plan overall was very stupid and not thought out. How would a couple of S-class Shinobi be able to stand against a beast that even the Sage, the creator of Ninshu, could barely beat.

Everyone seemed all in however, so Kaito feigned ignorance and went along.

"We will be splitting into partners. I have chosen teams."

AiAi

 

[AiAi]

Haruka was silent for most of the time as she felt the many eyes of the Akatsuki members. Each were evaluating Haruka and Kaito as they were the 'new' ones. Haruka noticed that Konan kept looking over at Kaito, she frowned slightly but she couldn't really do anything though Haruka did unconsciously move to stand closer to Kaito.

Once Pein spoke, the room became quiet as they listened to what their Leader had to say. She has indeed heard of the bijuu, but she never really paid much attention to them. She only knew that each of the hidden villages had a jinchuriki, but besides that she never really cared too much to know more.

She was silent as she listened to what Pein had to say. His ideals were to say the least interesting. Haruka wasn't sure if there ever could exist peace. She knew very well just how corrupt villages were. Her eyes slightly darkened, not wanting to reminiscence her past. Though Haruka snapped out of her thoughts when she heard that Pein thought of teams.

Haruka spoke up then, "Teams...?" She felt nervous, what if she was placed into a team with Itachi?! Now she was beginning to panic. She saw all eyes turn to Pein as well, that meant that no one really expected that. Does that mean they were going to be placed into different teams than they were already? Her blue and gold eyes looked around silently as she eyed each individual in the room.

Konan smirked as she licked her lips lightly, her eyes trained on the tall Uchiha. Konan hoped that Pein would place her on the same team as Kaito. Hidan smirked in a rather maniacal way as he hoped he could get someone other than Kakuzu just so that he won't have to keep getting killed by his partner. Kakuzu was too busy counting money to even take notice of anyone, he doesn't care who he got as long as they didn't interfere with his money making business. Sasori eyed Haruka, wondering if he could somehow turn her into a doll while keeping her bright mismatching orbs shining like how it was.

Deidara grinned, wanting Haruka as his partner or anyone but the Uchihas', he just couldn't handle them Uchiha's. Kisame grinned rather toothily as he nudged Itachi while asking him, "Hey Itachi-san, what if you get placed with your cousin?" Itachi closed his eyes as he merely said, "Hn...". He reopened his eyes as it landed on Haruka, he hid his smirk. He wondered if he could still scare Haruka.

mkuchiha

 

[mkuchiha]

Most of the Akatsuki were slightly shocked, seeing as teams had already been issued from the start. The zombie duo, Kazuku, and Hidan. The 'artistic bunch' Saisori and Deidara. The traitors, Kisame and Itachi, and recently 'The new members' Kaito and Haruka. Konan normally did solo missions, or other stayed close to Pein due to their longstanding relationship from since they were kids.

"Saisori, you will be with Kazuku." The aforementioned Shinobi gave each other pointed looks before nodding in resignation.

"Deidara with Hidan." Deidara sighed in relief, anyone other than the Uchiha would be fine by him. Hidan smirked at the brat, eager to take him under his wing and persuade him to join his religion (cult).

"Itachi with Haruka." Itachi remained stoic, but inwardly smirked at being able to get close to the girl.

"And Kisame with Kaito." Kaito looked over at the blue skinned Shinobi, who rolled his eyes

"Why am I always stuck with the emotionless freaks." He said half-joking, half-serious.

Konan looked a little sad that she wouldn't be able to get close to the Uchiha, but she didn't protest.

The teams made sense though. Saisori with his powerful puppet jutsu would heavily enforce Kakuzu with his stitches. Deidara would distract enemies, giving Hidan enough time to perform his ritual.

Itachi and Haruka complimented each other's weaknesses. Itachi would help Haruka improve with genjutsu and Haruka would help Itachi with his sickness and health issues.

Kisame and Kaito were powerful swordsman. Kaito would be the firepower, whilst Kisame the defence because of his stamina and large chakra reserves.

AiAi

 

[AiAi]

Everyone was silent as they each anticipated what Pein would say. Everyone's minds were running wild with their own thoughts as they silently wondered who they would be placed with as a team. As Pein listed each person and one by one everyone began to form teams, Haruka could only silently pray that she wouldn't get stuck with the other Uchiha. Heck, it'll be great if she could just stay with Kaito.

But the moment Itachi's name rolled off of Pein's mouth, out came Haruka's name right after his. Haruka opened her blue and golden orbs in slight shock. She opened her mouth to protest, but Pein continued on as if not leaving any room for any complaints from anyone. Seeing as no one really complained, Haruka shut her mouth closed as she glanced over at the older Uchiha.

Her face paled slightly as she could literally feel the smirk from Itachi, despite him not showing any emotion whatsoever. On the plus side, Haruka felt relieved when Pein placed Kaito with Kisame. At least Kaito wasn't paired with Konan...wait, it shouldn't matter so why was she so relieved? Haruka shook her head, trying to get such odd thoughts out of her head.

Each person went to stand besides their new team member. Haruka glanced up at Kaito, her hand lightly holding onto the hem of his shirt. With one soft tug, Haruka let go and with sad eyes she murmured out so only Kaito could hear, "Bye Kaito..." and so she begrudgingly walked to stand besides Itachi. She didn't lift her head up to greet him but instead remained silent. Itachi merely said, "Haruka." as a form of greeting.

Once everyone was besides each other, Pein spoke up once more. "I will assign each to a different bijuu, but first off we need to collect several key items necessary for the sealing of the bijuus. First off...Deidara and Hidan, go find a location where we can contain the statue which we will be using for the sealing. Sasori and Kakuzu, I need you two to go and find the statue, then contact Konan and I and we will help transport the statue to the location. Kaito and Kisame, I need you two to go and scout where each location of the Bijuu will be. And last of all, Haruka and Itachi, you two will go and gather several scrolls that I will need for the sealing. Each mission information is in your scrolls. Now disperse."

Each team got their own scroll in which locations and information were listed out. One by one, each team began to leave their base to go and start on their mission. Sasori and Kakuzu were the first ones out as they were rather the silent duo. Hidan and Deidara were complaining about how they have to find a huge statue, but how hard could that be, right? As Konan was walking out of the room, she brushed past Kaito and she sent him a smirk as she whispered out, "Good luck..." her eyes lingering on Kaito's pair of obsidian orbs before leaving the room herself. Haruka saw the interaction, her lips forming a small pout, but she was soon snapped out of her thoughts as Itachi began to walk off. He walked past Kaito without a glance his way but stopped and turned around once at the doorway to the room. He looked at Haruka and said, "Haruka, come." Haruka opened her mouth to protest, but found no words. Memories of long ago once again plaguing her mind. She shook her head, gave Kaito one last glance before walking past Kaito in a hurry to catch up to Itachi.

mkuchiha

 

[mkuchiha]

Kaito's eyes trailed up to the blue hand that lay on his shoulder, slightly grimacing. The dude was extremely strong. Kisame smirked at Kaito's reaction.

"So you're Itachi's cousin. I thought he killed all of you brats." Kisame continued. "Looks like he does have a heart after all."

A split second later, Kisame was sent crashing out of the hideout and tumbling to the edge of the cliff. Everyone dropped what they were doing and stared in shock.

Kaito walked up to Kisame slowly, his sharingan activated and full of malice.

Kisame lunged at him, but the move was so slow to Kaito's eyes he waited until the absolute last minute to dodge. Kisame growled, getting to his feet and flashing through hand-signs.

"Water style: Water Dragon jutsu." A dragon made of pure water formed from the water particles in the air and barreled towards Kaito.

Just as it was about to hit Kaito, Pein appeared and seemingly absorbed the jutsu.

Kisame hissed, but sighed reluctantly when he saw Peins purple eyes.

Kaito 'hn'ed, pivoting around and leaving. Although he wasn't too sure if he could defeat Kisame, Kaito certainly wouldn't let him disrespect his clan like that.

AiAi

 

[AiAi]

Itachi was waiting for Haruka outside already. Haruka finally caught up to him. She took a glance back at the cave's entrance, hoping to catch one more glimpse of Kaito before she has to leave. Itachi noticed that and was about to comment on it, when he side stepped to the side, pulling Haruka by the arm as well just in time as Kisame came crashing through the walls.

Everyone was about to leave when this happened and those who were still there watched in silence as they saw Kaito approach Kisame with eyes full of rage. Haruka was also in slight shock, having never seen Kaito this angry before. She was about to step forward and stop Kaito, but Itachi's vice like grip on her arm never loosened.

However, soon enough Pein stopped the fight. Haruka let out a sigh, slightly worried about Kaito being left alone with Kisame. She just hoped Kaito won't push his eyes any further. Tugging on her arm, Haruka glanced up at Itachi with slight annoyance, "Can you let go now?" Itachi merely let out a small 'hn' as he didn't make a move to let go. Haruka let out a small growl.

Itachi pulled her away from the scene and spoke up, "Let's get going, we have a lot to do." Haruka looked up slightly confused, "Huh? What do you mean a l-" her words were cut short as she fumbled to grab the scroll that Itachi just tossed to her. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye as he said, "A lot to do." repeating it once more to emphasize on the amount of scrolls they have to collect. Haruka's eyes slightly widened as her jaw dropped open slightly at the amount of scrolls they had to collect. Was Pein being serious here!? Itachi allowed a smirk to grace his features as he said, "We're going to collect it all within a weeks time, got it?" Haruka glanced up at Itachi, her face full of disbelief. Why were all Uchiha's so damn cocky!? Haruka could only mutter under her breath as she walked alongside Itachi. She wondered how Kaito was faring with Kisame.

mkuchiha

 

[mkuchiha]

After half an hour of cursing, Kisame was finally calm enough for Kaito to explain the mission. Even then he still sent the Uchiha dirty looks.

"We're going to scout the locations of the biju, and nothing else." Kaito explained. "We already know the nine tails is in Konoha, and the one tail is in Suna. That makes our jobs easier. I'm pretty sure that the eight tails is in Kumo, since their have been many reports of an octopus like creature over there. The others I'm not too certain about."

Kisame grumbled. "I heard of a large wasp like creature that inhabited Taki, but I'm not so sure on that rumor. Other then that I don't know where any of the others are located."

AiAi

 

[AiAi]

The first scroll they were looking for was apparently located in a temple guarded by ninjas from the Mist. It was on the border of the Mist village hidden within the fogged forest. Haruka let out a huff of air as they haven't had a break for over a day. Did this guy know how to take breaks?! Haruka was glaring at Itachi's back as they continued their trek to the temple in silence. Something which Haruka was glad for.

As they neared the foggy forest, Itachi stopped by a small clearing. He glanced over at Haruka as she came to a stop behind him. Without another word, Haruka sat down on a broken log, letting her feet get some well deserved rest. Even Kaito would have taken a break by now. Haruka had her eyes closed as she appreciated the cool air due to the fog.

Itachi watched her movements silently before finally speaking up, "What relation do you have with my cousin?" Haruka opened her mismatching orbs to stare across at Itachi, raising a brow in question, "Does it matter? More like, why did you spare him and your brother...?" Haruka returned the question back to Itachi. Something flitted past Itachi's eyes before he merely let out a small grunt. "That is none of your business."

Haruka retorted back, "And neither is my relation with Kaito." Standing up stretching, Haruka glanced over into the foggy forest as she asked him, "So what scroll are we looking for anyways Itachi?" Itachi closed his eyes, as he answered, "It's a forbidden scroll about fuinjutsu. More importantly, you don't seem to be that happy to be reunited again. Haru." He smirked as he mentioned his old nickname for the younger girl. Haruka could only look mortified that Itachi even remembers, then does that mean he remembers what she used to call him!? Before Itachi could say any more, Haruka stood up and literally began to drag Itachi towards the dense forest as she said, "Break time is over! Let's go, a lot to collect remember!?" She really hated Pein right now.

mkuchiha

 

[mkuchiha]

Kaito had been right. The eight tails had been in Kumo, and was currently sealed inside the Fourth Raikages adoptive little brother, Killer B. Kaito frowned thinking about how troublesome it would be to extract the biju from B, seeing how close he was to the Raikage. He was also formidable, being friends with his tenant gave him a wide list of abilities.

Kisame had also been right. The 7 tails was indeed in Taki, sealed inside a young girl named Fu, who also seemed to be close with its biju.

After that the group seemed to be in a runt, unable to find the locations of the others. It wasn't until later when Kaito realized that their could be more then one biju in one village. So, they returned to Kumo and found the 2 tails. It's owner, a gorgeous women with blonde hair called Yugito, had been out on a mission when they first arrived. She also had a positive relationship with her biju.

Soon enough the group found the rest of the biju one by one, and made the trek back to the Akatsuki hideout.

AiAi

 

[AiAi]

It was a rough week to say the least. Haruka had to put up with Itachi's nonstop teasing and his rather strict schedule in collecting all the scrolls. By the end of the week, Haruka and Itachi were able to collect all thirty scrolls that Pein so decidedly stated was necessary for the sealing of the bijuus. She could only hope that Pein actually did use all thirty of the scrolls since she was positive that her and Itachi's bounty just went up with the amount of stealing they had to do.

Though during that week, Haruka's aggression towards Itachi simmered down as she saw no way out of this and so she ended up going through a routine of healing his eyes little by little each day. Fortunately for her, Itachi agreed to let her heal his eyes something which she didn't expect from him at all. Now back when they were kids, the two actually did get along well together despite the nonstop teasing and scares Haruka received from him. Oh, and in return to all the healing, Itachi taught Haruka genjutsu little by little.

Haruka's eyes brightened at the sight of the Akatsuki hide out up ahead. Finally they were back! She glanced back to see Itachi taking his sweet time to get there and so Haruka grabbed hold of his hand and began to drag him towards the base all the while saying, "Hurry up Ii-kun- er I meant Itachi!" She definitely need to break that habit of calling him by his nickname again.

As the two entered the room, Haruka looked around eagerly for Kaito, but didn't find him in the room. Rather, the room was empty besides Pein and Konan. It seemed like Pein was waiting for them as he said, "I'm assuming the mission went well?" Itachi merely nodded his head as he handed the scrolls to Pein. Pein looked through it before handing it to Konan who seemingly disappeared into the shadows to go place the scrolls in a safe place.

Pein looked past Haruka and Itachi and said, "Good, everyone is here. Now then, your next mission.." he began to speak. Haruka looked confused, next mission? Wait, with who? She glanced back to see who Pein was talking about.

mkuchiha

 

[mkuchiha]

Kaito and Kisame sat in the back of the room, having reached the hideout a while back. It had been relatively peaceful when they arrived, Pein had interrogated them and then left them alone. It was when Itachi and Haruka arrived, when the tenseness in the air appeared.

His onyx black eyes quickly zeroed in on Haruka's hand which was almost hidden by Itachi's bigger one. It almost felt like a stab of betrayal. He had told Haruka how he felt about Itachi. Why would she hold his hand?

Then Kaito remembered what happened back in Rice Village. He sighed in resignation. It was better like this. Kaito stood up when Pein announced that they would be teaming up with Itachi's group, Kisame quickly following. Eager to get back with his previous partner.

Even though Itachi was quiet, he wasn't as cold as Kaito. Like seriously, the dude wouldn't so much as look him unless it was necessary for the mission.

"Itachi." Kisame raised an eyebrow at Itachi's hand which was firmly clapsed with Haruka's. "You sly dog.." Kisame grinned revealing razor sharp teeth. "Congratulations."

AiAi

 

[AiAi]

Haruka looked back to see Kaito and Kisame coming towards them. She felt her heart speed up a bit when she saw Kaito, it's been a while and she would be lying if she said she didn't miss him. But then she saw the look in his eyes and was confused. She was even more confused when Kisame grinned at the two. She looked between Itachi and Kisame then realized what Kisame was talking about.

Haruka tried to get her hand out of Itachi's grip, but Itachi kept a vice like grip as he merely said, "Hn" in response to Kisame's teasing. Haruka shook her head as she blabbered on getting flustered, "No no no! This is not what you think! Itachi! Let me go damn it!" Haruka glared up at the older Uchiha. He merely shrugged while saying, "You were the one who held my hand first Haru." Haruka glared at him as she said through clenched teeth, "Because you were walking like an old man!" Itachi opened his eyes to look over at Haruka amused, even Kisame seemed amused to see a small girl yell at an Uchiha so openly like that.

Pein sighed as he cleared his throat. "Stop this nonsense. Now this mission, I need you four to go to find the hidden Time Shrine located somewhere in the mountain in the land of Sand. There is a scroll there that I need. Go and retrieve it, the leader for the team will be Itachi." He handed the scroll to Itachi and disappeared from the room.

mkuchiha

 

[mkuchiha]

Kaito clicked his tongue, annoyed that Pein had chosen Itachi over him as leader. But then again it made sense. Itachi had been in the organization longer and had more experience. In terms of battle skill, that was anyone's guess.

Kaito remained quiet, not really close enough to anyone in the group to make small talk. Kisame however was different and was chatting away.

"You cannot believe what I've been through." The shark man started, going on about how Kaito was the worst partner ever, and how he was so boring and acted as if he was mute. "...and I thought you were bad."

AiAi
((I'll control Kisame, you'll control Itachi. Unless you want to do it the other way around?))

 

[AiAi]

Itachi was used to Kisame's endless chatter and so he merely listened to what his 'old' partner had to say. He glanced over at Kaito,but before he could say something Haruka butted in. She pointed a finger at Kisame as she said, "You think you had it rough!? Please, I don't understand how you stand this guy! I rather be with Kaito." Haruka ended with a whine.

Seriously, it was pure torture for Haruka for most of the time since during her training for genjutsu with Itachi, the damned Uchiha would continuously relive the nightmares that have haunted Haruka for her entire childhood. Reliving those nightmares were not fun.

It looked like Haruka and Kisame might get along as the two seemed like they could endlessly chatter away. Itachi was just relieved that there was someone to keep up with Kisame's endless talking. He opened the scroll and read the contents before speaking up, "We'll have to go through the desert and also the village to get to the mountain. That means we'll be having to use a henge so as to not be discovered." he pointedly looked at Haruka especially since she stood out the most with her mismatching orbs.

Haruka let out a huff as she pointed at Kisame and Kaito, "I think these two would stick out way more than me! They're both over 6 feet tall for crying out loud." She pouted at that, sensitive about her height after all. Itachi held back a chuckle as he said, "Let's get going."

mkuchiha

(Totally fine with that, unless you wanted Itachi and I could control Kisame if that's the case, but you're doing a fine job at Kisame if I can say so myself xD)

 

[mkuchiha]

Kaito watched the exchange between Itachi and Haruka. They were almost like an old married couple. When Itachi explained the mission directives, Kaito scoffed before henging into a replica of Shishui except with brown hair, and green eyes. The henge was about 6'1", Kaito felt awkward when being less then 6'0", and wore nondescript clothes.

Kisame transformed into a guy with navy blue hair, grey eyes, and pale skin. He henged himself at around 5'10". He wore a dark grey obi, and black Shinobi pants that billowed towards the end.

AiAi

 

[AiAi]

Itachi tensed slightly when he saw Kaito henge into a Shishui with brown hair. He didn't tense that badly so that others would notice, but he definitely tensed up and felt his heart squeeze in pain as the memory of his dear friend came to mind. With an impassive face, Itachi changed into a slightly more tan and taller male with short red locks and bright blue eyes. He looked over Kisame and Kaito with a simple nod, approving their henge, well Kaito he had to approve but was reluctant on the inside.

He then glanced over at Haruka and nearly let out a sigh, "Haru...your eyes." he said pointedly. The younger girl used a henge of a woman with long black hair and pale skin, her eyes staying the same mismatching blue and gold. She was a bit stubborn about changing her eyes and held quite a bit of pride in her eyes. She pouted at Itachi, not wanting to change but she let out a sigh as she changed it to a simple shade of emerald green. She only changed it since she saw Itachi switch to his sharingan. She changed her height to be taller at 5'6 instead of her small 5'3.

The four began to set off towards the Sand village. As they began to enter the desert, Haruka let out a small whine, "No, not the desert...I'm going to die...and I think Sharky is too." Haruka pointed at Kisame.

mkuchiha

 

[mkuchiha]

Kisame glared at the now raven haired Haruka in indignation. He hated when people made fun of his condition. It was not like he decided to look like this.

"Har de Har Har. Very funny." He seethed, voice full of sarcasm. Kaito looked Kisame over, a smirk playing on his lips. Once you got over the fact that he was a 6'3" humanoid shark, Kisame wasn't all too bad. He had a dark sense of humor and enjoyed making people uncomfortable. But deep inside he was extremely loyal, and just wanted a place to belong. The akatsuki was that place.

Kaito glanced over at Itachi, a weird memory playing in his brain.

Kaito glared at Itachi, tears streaming down his face. "Why?!" He asked. Why would Itachi? His cousin, his brothers best friend do this? What did he get off killing his entire clan? Why? Why? Why? Anger burned at the pit of the 10 years olds stomach. Angry at Itachi for doing what he did. And most of all, angry that he was entirely powerless to stop it. As he clenched his fists tightly and stared at Itachi's pinwheel sharingan, Kaito promised himself that he would never show weakness. Not to anyone.
Itachi smirked at Kaito, his eyes boring into the 10 years old awakened sharingan. Then something changed in Itachi's cold eyes, a flicker of emotion. So quick if Kaito would have blinked he would not have seen it.

Guilt.

That was the last thing he saw on the traitor Uchiha's face before he was pulled into the deep darkness of unconsciousness.

Kaito stole a glance at the Uchiha, scanning his face for any sign of the emotion he had previously seen. Nothing. Completely blank.

Kisame started jabbering about how tough his life was because of his blue skin, and how kids always teased him about it.

"They would always make fun of me, and say that I would eat them one day...." Kisame's now gray eyes glinted dangerously. "And so I did.... just kidding." He laughed at his joke, and continued talking about kami knows what.

AiAi

 

[AiAi]

Haruka giggled at Kisame's sense of humor. She could get used to his humor. Haruka decided that he was a fun guy to be around. Haruka ran next to Kisame, grinning at him cheekily as she said, "How on earth did you handle that Uchiha?" Haruka pointed at Itachi wondering how such a talkative guy even got along with Itachi who barely spoke.

Itachi merely grunted in response to that. Despite his looks, he could talk if he wanted to, then again he was more talkative around Haruka for reasons unknown to them. He glanced at Kaito, wondering if he was still mad at him. Itachi didn't really try talking to Kaito, still feeling the guilt from years ago. He kept an impassive face on so as to not let any other emotion slip past his features.

Up ahead the gates to the village could be seen. Haruka let out a sigh of relief at that. As the four approached the gates, the guards asked for reason of visit. Itachi answered with a smile, "We're just travelers wanting a place to rest is all and some of us has been dying to visit this place." Itachi gestured towards Kaito and Haruka. Haruka was fanning herself when the ninja's eyes turned to her.

She blinked several times before smiling over at the guard as she said in a higher pitched voice, "Oh yes, I've been wanting to visit Suna for the longest time ever! I heard the sand baths here are just lovely~" She nudged to Kaito and Kisame to say something too.

mkuchiha

 

[mkuchiha]

Kisame squinted his eyes at Itachi and Haruka before putting on the fakest smile. "Yes, yes, I also heard the women here were absolutely stunning."

Kaito scoffed when Haruka looked at him expectantly. "Yeah, what he said."

The guards chuckled and let them in, patting Kisame and Kaito's in the back as they went through.

"Go get em, tigers."

Kisame laughed, and Kaito forced himself not to lunge at the men.

AiAi