Chapter sixteen! After what has felt like over a billion years, I finally finished it! Thank you all of reading, review, favouriting, and alerting. It means a lot to me! My job, school, and all of the extra-curricular activities are making me super busy, so I won't be able to update very often (and if I do, the chapters might not be that long, but I'll try)! I'm sorry for the epic delay for this chapter. To make it up to you, I made it super long! :D Please enjoy and review if you liked it! :]

I was standing in the shabby lobby of the dilapidated inn that Kisame and Itachi decided we would be staying in. The inn was in a 'shady' part of the Cloud Village and was poorly taken care of. The Uchiha and the shark man were talking in hushed tones by the front desk (they were waiting for someone who worked at the inn to come and assist them) while I wandered away from the two missing ninjas and inspected the lobby. I was more than just a little pissed off. It had taken us a lot longer than I expected to reach the Hidden Cloud Village. The day was already fading into dusk and I was tired and hungry as fuck. Not to mention I was more that just slightly annoyed at how Kisame or Itachi would not tell me about the mission until we got to the hotel. Fucking secretive pricks.

I glared at nothing, looking around the lobby and taking in the surroundings. The yellowed paint was peeling in places along the walls, revealing water stained wood behind the paint. There were cheap and poorly done oil paintings hung crookedly on the wall where the paint peeled badly. Two mismatched couches that each had a different, yet hideous, flower print on them were placed in the middle of the room. In between the two couches was a small coffee table with worn and dusty books sitting on it. I leaned lightly on the walls and picked at my nails. They were getting quite long. I needed to cut them.

"Hello, how may I help you?" I heard a man ask in a frail voice, accompanied by a dry, weak cough. I turned my head slightly to glance at the man behind the service desk. There was an old balding man with stringy remnants of white hair hanging in his face and wrinkles that sagged his flesh so much it was hard for him to open his eyes.

"Two rooms." Itachi said.

The man nodded and told Itachi the price. I watched as the man slowly turned around and grabbed two room keys. I rolled my eyes and I went back to picking at my nails, tuning out what the men at the desk were saying, already bored with what was going on. After a few more minutes, I got bored again, and walked up beside Itachi and Kisame.

"Have a nice night." The old man said, shooting me a gaped tooth smile. I glared at him and let out a quiet snarl. The man just chuckled.

I rolled my eyes and followed Itachi and Kisame up a short flight of stairs towards our rooms. The man had said two rooms, did that mean the two Akatsuki members would be sharing one and I'd get one to myself? I hoped so. Then not only would I get to sleep on a comfortable bed and have privacy, but I would have a small chance of escape. I doubted that Zetsu would still be watching/following/tracking/stalking me now that I was in the hands of two other Akatsuki members.

Itachi opened the door to the room and I followed him in, Kisame following behind me. I looked around the room with a raised eyebrow. There was one double bed in the centre of the room with two rickety wooden nightstands on either side of the bed and a plain tan couch by the window. There were only two dim bulbs that lit the room up. The walls were bare of décor and the paint was peeling. The carpet was obviously old and had stains (of what, I wasn't too sure, and I had no desire to know) and the ceiling was a sickly brown colour. I raised my eyebrow and let out a snort of disgust, "Wow."

Kisame turned to look at me, "What?"

"This room is shit. Why did we pick this place?" I asked.

"It's in a place not many know about. If we were being hunted, we have a lesser chance of being found." Kisame explained.

I snorted and said, "Point taken, but wouldn't whoever was fucking hunting us look in the most obvious places, places that people who don't want to be found would stay, such as this?"

"It's also the least expensive inn to stay at. We could sleep outside if this isn't good enough for you, princess." Kisame smirked at me.

"Princess?" I barked out a laugh, "What the fuck?"

Kisame rolled his eyes, "Stop being picky."

"I'm not being picky," I said with a grin, "I was merely pointing out the facts."

Kisame rolled my eyes and messed up my hair. I glared at him and growled. "You're such a kid." Kisame said, laughing under his breath.

"No I'm not! I'm fucking older than you!" I snapped angrily.

Kisame chuckled and propped his giant sword against the wall, turning to Itachi, "So, I guess this room is mine?"

The Uchiha nodded from his spot on the couch and Kisame smirked, taking off his cloak and throwing it on the bed. I raised my eyebrow "Your room? I thought it was going to be mine."

Kisame laughed out loud, "What gave you that idea, kid?"

I glared sharply at the shark man and said, "I though the two males would share a room and the one female here would get her own room."

"No. You're sharing with me." Itachi said.

I think my brain just turned to mush just a little bit. "Why the fuck am I sharing a room with you?" I snapped. Outwardly, I looked angry, but on the inside, I was losing my fucking mind. I was sharing a room with the sexiest man alive. I'm sure I was dreaming. Someone smack me.

"Because, Itachi-san is a light sleeper. If you try to escape, he will hear you and stop before you can escape. And I want some privacy because I'm going to go and have some fun tonight, if you know what I mean." Kisame answered.

My eye twitched, "That was way too much fucking information. I didn't need to know that you're going to try and make some shark babies." I shuddered. Kisame shot me a toothy grin and I rolled my eyes. And what the fuck was with him calling me a kid? I was not a kid! I was waaaaaaaaaaaaay older than he was!

"So, Itachi-san, what's the plan?" Kisame asked, flopping onto the bed and leaning against the headboard. I also turned to look at Itachi with a raised eyebrow, my back leaning against the wall.

Itachi sat on the couch, his eyes closed in concentration, "I assume that the ANBU team assigned to watch over Aya will try and move him out of the city. Our best bet is to ambush them when they're leaving Kumo." Itachi said monotonously.

"Did they make any prior plans to leave?" The shark man asked.

"Not yet, but I assume they will move out either tomorrow or the day after. I planted a rumour that we were here. Nothing too serious, but the ANBU would want to get Aya out at any sign of a threat." Itachi said in his usual monotone voice, his eyes still closed.

I sighed and rolled my eyes, "What am I here for?"

Itachi opened his eyes and stared at me, "You are here to assist us."

"Obviously," I snapped, "But can't you two do this by yourself?"

Itachi blinked slowly. It felt like his gaze was ripping apart my insides. What a queer feeling. "It is always best to have more than two people for the amount of ANBU Aya has guarding him. We also need someone who is not in the bingo books and is virtually unknown in the ninja world to go undercover and find out who knows information about the Akatsuki and dispose of them." Itachi stated. I stood there, dumbstruck. Itachi sure knew how to make someone feel like a complete and utter idiot.

I shrugged and nodded, "Sounds good. So, what are we going to do once we find when this Aya guy is being moved out? And how are we going to find out who Aya told the Akatsuki information to?"

Itachi pondered for a moment before speaking, "You will go out and look for Aya. Talk to him and get him to tell you who he told."

I snorted, "That's a lot harder than it sounds."

"Well then kid, you better get started." Kisame laughed.

I shot him an annoyed glare, "Then please, elaborate on how and where I will find Aya when he is being so heavily guarded by ANBU."

"Aya likes his liquor and women. He'll probably be at a bar." Kisame said, smirking.

"So I basically have to go bar hopping to find this bastard?" I said, my upper lip lifting in disgust.

"Basically." Kisame said, shooting me a toothy grin.

"Ugh. What does he look like?" I asked.

Itachi pulled out a picture and flicked it at me. I walked forward and caught it before it hit the ground. I studied the man in the photo. He had deep blue eyes and chin length black hair. He was tanned and had sharp features. In the picture he was smirking like he had a secret no one else knew of. He was pretty attractive. I flipped the picture around to the back where I saw some scribbled information. Aya was six feet tall, was deathly allergic to cucumbers, and likes alcohol. I glanced up at Itachi, "So, what, I go into the bar and just ask him to confess? Won't he be surrounded by ANBU?"

Itachi stared at me, "You will use your shinobi skills to extract the information. There is a high possibility he will be in the company of ANBU, but knowing Aya, when he's drunk, he has no common sense and he likes to blab."

Great. I had an idea to where this was headed, "So, I'm supposed to seduce the information out of him?" I asked unhappily.

Itachi nodded while Kisame snickered from his spot on the bed. I glared at the snickering man and bared my teeth slightly.

"You should go and get some different clothes." Kisame smirked, "You don't look very seductive at the moment."

I smacked my hand to my forehead and muttered multiple curse words under my breath.

"You should find him tonight and see if you can extract any information." Itachi said.

I stared, deadpan, at the two Akatsuki members, "Fine. I'll get started right now." I stated as I threw my bag on the ground and walked out of the room and down the hallway, through the lobby and out the door of the inn.

I walked down the streets of Kumo, looking around for some sort of clothing store. I had to agree with the Akatsuki members, my ninja attire would not be appropriate to go to the bar in or get Aya to confess anything to me. I'd just have to steal some clothes, since I didn't have any money. I rolled my eyes. Stupid Akatsuki members. My mind went back to the mission at hand. I would have to seduce Aya. I shuddered. Gross. It wasn't that Aya wasn't good looking; it's just that I'm not a fan of acting like a whore. I had only been on a seduction mission once when I was still a member of the Hidden Leaf Village, but it was simple, all I had to do was get some woman (it was… uh… different…to act like I was gay… stupid Tsunade…) alone in a private place, get her to confess that she killed someone and then kill her myself. My mission was successful, but it was easy (and not to mention kind of awkward). Luckily, I was a good actress.

I walked past a store that had some flashy clothes displayed in the window. I raised my eyebrow and walked in. I looked around the shop, distracted my all of the brightly shining sequin dresses that were on display.

"Hello, my dear! What can I help you with today?" A plump middle aged woman said, coming out from behind the counter and smiling wildly at me.

"Hello, I need to find a dress." I greeted back, explaining what I needed in the most simple way possible.

"Excellent! What colour? Style? Size? What for?" The lady questioned me with a huge smile on her face.

So many questions. I had to force myself to remain polite. "There's a party later tonight and I put off buying a dress until the last minute…" I tailed off with a small smile.

The woman chuckled, "I know how it is! Now, what are you looking for?"

I stared blankly at her, "I don't usually wear dresses."

"Ah, then we shall have to rely on my excellent fashion sense!" She said with an extravagant wave of her hand. This woman had a flashy personality, much like the clothes she sold in her store.

I nodded slowly as the woman hurried over to some racks of clothing, "I assume you'd fit into a size two or a size three. The colour black, purple, or navy would go amazingly well with your hair colour! So would a really deep green, as long as it didn't clash too much with your hair. Oh, and we must have you have something short and sexy with some strappy heels. A halter dress would show off your cleavage and lovely shoulders quite well and a push up bra will do you wonders! Darlin', I'll make you look fabulous!" The lady gushed.

My head was spinning with what she said. I hardly caught any of what the lady was telling me, not did I understand it. Suddenly a pile of dresses were in my arms. "Uh…" I started to say, but I was cut off by the loud lady.

"Go on to the dressing rooms honey, I'll be right outside if you need any help!" She said, pushing me over to a room with a bright pink curtain to shield what was behind it.

I sighed and looked at the dresses she handed me. One was a strapless deep green dress that probably wouldn't cover my ass. I immediately put that in the 'no' pile. The next dress was a blindingly bright purple dress with lots of fake diamonds sewn on and lots of sequins. That dress also went in the 'no' pile. There were many other dresses in the shade of purple, but I didn't offer the purple fabric a second glance. There was a single blue dress that I liked, but when I tried it on, I realized that it had no back to it and the front went down to my belly button and barely covered my boobs. That dress was a huge no. The last one was a simple black dress with, what I assumed, was a halter top. I shrugged; this dress was the one that looked the best out of the entire pile. I stripped out of my clothes and put the black dress on, slipping the straps over my head. The dress ended mid-thigh and my upper back was exposed. The dress had a built in push up bra, making my small bust look twice as big. It wasn't that bad.

I pushed aside the pink curtain shielding me from the rest of the store and walked out, my bare feet making a light noise on the cool tan tiles. The woman who was behind the counter again looked up, a bright smile on her face, "Sweetie, you look stunning!"

"Heh… thanks…" I said awkwardly.

"Here are your shoes!" She cried happily, tossing a pair of high heeled strappy shoes at me.

I caught them and put them on. They were two inch high black heels, with silky black straps that wrapped around my calf, stopping just under my knee. "Thanks." I said.

"You look fabulous!" She said with a giggle. She hurried towards me, grabbing my hand and leading me to the back of the store, where she sat me on a chair. "Now, time for some make-up!" I blinked, but before I could react, she swept back my hair from my face and puckered her lips in disgust, "Honey, we need to fix that scar up."

I sat in the chair for what felt like hours, while the woman flitted around me like a humming bird, applying makeup to my face and tugging on my hair. With a final swoop of her hand, the woman sprayed a bunch of hair spray into my hair, making me cough. "There!" She beamed, "All done! Oh, you look so gorgeous!" She said as she held up a mirror to my face.

I blinked in surprise. The lady had completely covered my scar with makeup, making it invisible. There was a bright red lipstick on my lips and deep purple eye shadow that accentuated my eyes quite nicely. Mascara lengthened my eyelashes and made my eyes seem more open and wider. My hair was done up in a messy bun, with my bangs and some tendrils of my hair framing my face nicely. "Wow…" I breathed. I actually looked… attractive.

The lady giggled, "Now the boys won't be able to resist you!"

"Thanks." I said, my eyes still wide.

"Now, I'll just go over to the cash register and ring up your total." The lady smiled at me.

I smiled back and jumped into action. I tackled her to the ground and did some quick hand signs, touching my pinkie and index finger to her forehead, effectively knocking her out and wiping her memory of the last thirty minutes, so that she wouldn't remember ever meeting me.

I stood up and smoothed my dress out. I grabbed my old clothes and stuffed them into a bag I found behind the counter. Then I moved the unconscious lady onto a stool behind the counter, so when she woke up, she would simply think she had fallen asleep. I walked out of the shop and jumped onto the rooftops, my high heeled shoes clacking against the tiled roof tops. I spotted the inn we were staying in and I jumped off the roof, grabbing onto the window sill to Kisame's room and vaulting into it.

As soon as I hit the ground, Kisame was already armed with his Samehada pointing it at my face in a threatening manner. "It's just me, fish face." I snapped.

Kisame put his sword down and raised his eyebrow, "Kid, what happened to you?"

I glared at him and rolled my eyes, "It's called makeup and new clothes, stupid. And I thought you were the one who said I needed to change my wardrobe in order to extract the information out of Aya?"

"I didn't think you'd actually take me seriously and do it."

I deadpanned, "I am your subordinate, no? Aren't I supposed to listen to you?"

Kisame chuckled, "Yeah, you are."

"Don't expect me to listen to you often though." I smirked.

"You better, or I'll just cut off your legs." Kisame shot back.

"Sure you will." I grinned, sarcasm dripping from my voice.

"Why'd you come back?" Kisame asked, changing the subject.

"I needed to drop off my clothes." I said, tossing my bag on the floor, "I'll be back later, don't wait up." I said, as I jumped out of the window.

After wandering around, I had finally found a few bar/clubs of some sort. At the moment, I was sitting on a bar stool in the last and final club. I hadn't seen any sign of Aya at all and it was already past three in the morning. I was getting tired, but there was no way in hell that I was going to go back to the hotel room so early.

"Hey." A male voice next to me said.

I turned my head to face them, "Hello." I replied coolly. The man who spoke had light brown hair and deep blue eyes. He was about six feet tall. He looked identical to Aya, minus the different hair colour.

The man grinned and took a seat on the bar stool next to me, "I'm Aya." Bingo. "What's your name?"

"I'm Makita." I said with a smile. What a shitty disguise. Oh well, it made finding him easier. My target was located. Now all I had to do was weasel out his plans.

"Would you mind if I bought you a drink?" Aya asked me with a wink.

"Not at all." I said, winking back.

Aya waved the bar tender over to where we were sitting, "One beer and a…"

"Another beer for me." I said with a grin.

"Coming right up." The bartender said.

"So, what's a pretty lady like you doing all alone?" Aya asked, leaning his arm on the counter and moving his body so it faced mine. I mirrored his actions.

"I just came in for a drink." I said, the grin still on my face, "And what's a handsome man like you doing here all by yourself?"

"I'm avoiding some people." Aya answered.

"Oh? An ex-girlfriend I should be worried about?" I teased lightly.

"Oh no…" He leaned over and whispered into my ear, "ANBU."

I let out a fake gasp, "ANBU! Are you some kind of criminal!" I asked in a low whisper.

"Nothing of the sort" He chuckled.

"Oh really? Then why are you avoiding them?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

He laughed and edged closer to me, tucking some of my tendrils of hair behind my ear, "I'm a very important man…" He said. I could smell alcohol on his breath. Excellent. He was already drunk. That just meant less work for me. "I have lots of information regarding some criminals…"

"Oh? What kind of information?" I asked innocently.

"Who all the members are, their abilities, where some of their hideouts are… you know, the basics…" Aya said, smirking at me and downing his beer.

"What criminals?" I questioned.

"The… Akatsuki… you've heard of them, right?" The blue eyed man said, waving his hand to the bartender to bring him another beer.

"Yeah… have you told anyone what you know?" I asked, taking a small sip from my still full alcoholic beverage.

Aya nodded, "Yeah… just the Leader of the Cloud Village…"

"Did you tell anyone else?" I said, crossing my legs and leaning closer to him.

"Nope!" Aya said, downing his second beer and staring down at my chest. Tch. Typical male.

"So, what did you tell the Leader of the Cloud Village?"

"Just the basics that I knew. Who the Akatsuki was after, the members, and how they got their money. I was going to tell him about all of the Akatsuki's hideouts, but, you know, I wanted to make sure that I would be getting a little somethin' outta the deal," He winked, "If you know what I mean."

"Wow. That's intense." I commented lightly, leaning slightly away from him and propping my head on my hand.

"I know, right?" Aya said, motioning the bartender again and getting a third beer. Wow. He drank a lot.

"So, how many ANBU are guarding you?" I asked, taking my index finger and lightly trailing it on his bare arm.

"I have fifteen guarding me." He answered, finishing his third beer.

I let out a low whistle, "That's a lot." I said, sounding impressed.

He nodded, "I know."

"Where are the ANBU?"

"I told them to leave me alone for a while… they're close by, just in case I'm attacked, but far away enough for me to have some alone time." Aya said with a drunken smirk.

"Nice…" I trailed off.

"Anyways," Aya said, "Where are you from?"

"From here." I smiled, "You?"

"I was originally from Iwa, but I move around a lot." He grinned, taking a hint from me drawing on his arm and doing the same to mine.

"Are you a ninja?" I asked flirtatiously.

"Yeah, a really powerful one too." He said back with a seductive smile. Ha. I bet he thought he'd get some tonight.

"That's amazing. I have a thing for ninjas." I said with a sexy wink. Well, what I thought was a sexy wink.

"That's a good thing then." He said with a returning wink, ordering his fourth beer.

"You drink a lot." I observed.

Aya hiccupped, "I know, but when I get nervous or I'm stressed, the alcohol calms me down."

I chuckled. This man was quite idiotic. "So, how long are you going to be in the Cloud Village?" I asked him.

"Just until tomorrow, around noon. I'm leaving with the ANBU to go into hiding." Aya said, ordering two more beers.

"Oh, that's interesting." I said.

"Hey, I wanna show you something." Aya said after he finished his sixth beer. Wow. Alcoholic much?

"What's that?" I asked. I was losing interest in this man now that I had got all of the information I needed out of him.

"Follow me." Aya said with a slow smile.

He grabbed my hand and pulled me up from the bar stool. I raised my eyebrow and followed him, keeping up the act of being a stupid girl who was 'totally into him'. Aya led me over to a dark, secluded part of the bar. He pressed me against the wall and nuzzled my collarbone. Great. Just great. I really hope the sarcasm came through on those words.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Making the most of my last night in the Cloud Village…" Aya mumbled huskily into my skin.

He trailed his mouth up the side of my neck and along my jaw, gently brushing his nose across my cheek. His fingers were drawing circles on my upper leg and he looked into my eyes before slamming his mouth hotly onto mine. I clenched my teeth together and glared. Aya's hands tangled in my hair and he pushed himself closer into my body. My arms hung limply at my sides, doing nothing. I was quite shocked. I didn't expect Aya to be so forward, but then again, he was drunk as fuck.

"What are you doing with my fiancée?"

Aya broke away from me and we both turned around to face a tall blonde man with brown eyes. What the fuck? "Your what?" Aya slurred.

"My fiancée. Why are you touching her?" The blonde man said, taking my arm gently and pulling me beside him.

I looked up at the brown-eyed man, about to tell him off in a very inappropriate way, but I saw a flash of the sharingan and kept my mouth shut. Aya said nothing. "Don't touch her again."

And with that, Itachi put his arm around my shoulders tightly and led me out of the bar. As soon as we were out of sight, Itachi asked, "Did you get all of the information?"

I nodded, "Yeah. You were right. He likes to talk when he's drunk."

"I know." Itachi said quietly.

"How'd you know where I was?"

Itachi was silent.

"You were following me the entire time, weren't you?"

Itachi nodded.

I let out a huff. "Doesn't anyone trust me?"

"Not yet." Itachi replied calmly.

"So, are we going back to the inn now?" I asked.

Itachi nodded so slightly I would have missed it if his arm still wasn't around me. I liked the feel of being so close to the Uchiha, even though he was in a genjutsu disguise. We walked towards the inn and before we entered, Itachi dispersed the genjutsu and removed his arm from around my shoulders. We walked into the inn, up the stairs, and into Kisame's hotel room. We entered Kisame's room to see the shark man lying on his bed, flipping through a very old and worn bingo book. Itachi immediately went to sit on the couch and I leaned casually against the wall.

"Hey kiddo!" Kisame greeted me with a deep laugh, "How'd it go?"

"Fine." I muttered with a glare. Kiddo. I resented that.

"Did you get all of the info?" Kisame smirked.

"Yeah." I said, rolling my eyes.

"Well, what did he say?" Kisame asked, sitting my on the edge of the bed and leaning forward, interested in what I was going to say.

"He said that he only told the leader of the Cloud Village the information about Akatsuki, which makes it easier for us. He said he told about whom the Akatsuki is after, the members, and how Akatsuki gets their money. He also said he has fifteen ANBU guarding him and that they are leaving tomorrow, around noon, to go into hiding." I said, picking at my nails, "The end."

"Good job, kid! You did better than we thought you would." Kisame congratulated me.

"Well, it helped that we was quite drunk and that he had somehow avoided and convinced all of his ANBU protectors to keep away from him and what not." I said with a slight frown. It seemed all too easy.

Kisame smirked, "Aya was always a lightweight, but he always kept slamming his alcohol back," Kisame laughed, "It was always funny to watch him."

I rolled my eyes, "So, what's the plan for tomorrow?"

"We shall set up an ambush along the Southern border of Kumo and attack when they go by us." Itachi said.

"Short and simple." I grinned, "I like it."

"Great, now you two get out of my room." Kisame said.

"Going to have some fun?" I laughed out the question.

"Oh, you'd like you to know, wouldn't you?" Kisame said with a wink.

I rolled my eyes, disgusted, and followed Itachi out of Kisame's room and into the room we would be sharing for the night. When we got into the room, Itachi immediately when into the bathroom. I assumed he was going to take a shower. My eyes gazed around the room, taking in my new surroundings. The room was almost identical to Kisame's room. The carpet had stains in it, the wallpaper was peeling, the ceiling was a dirty brown colour, and there was only one double bed and a couch in the room.

My backpack and my bag of clothes that I had left in Kisame's room were on the bed. The only bed in the room. I bit my lip. I didn't want to share a bed with Itachi. Mainly because it would be awkward, but I would also want to molest him in his sleep. And that would make things even more awkward. I sat down on the bed and took of my shoes. I took my hair out of its messy bun flopped down on the bed, my arms behind my head.

I heard the shower shut off and the sound of a shower curtain being pulled open. I couldn't wait to take a shower. I really wanted to get the mascara off of my eyelashes. I heard the bathroom door open and I glanced at the door, only to see The Itachi Uchiha wearing only a pair of low rise black pants. His long raven hair was still damp and it clung to his broad shoulders. Water slid down his well-defined torso slowly. Itachi was very lean, but his muscles were very well defined. There wasn't a scar anywhere on his body. I unconsciously noticed that my jaw had dropped open and I was ogling Itachi and his half nakedness with my mouth practically on the floor, but I didn't care. An incredibly sexy man was right in front of me. And he was topless. Topless! I wanted to tackle him and ravage his body at the moment. My brain was slowly turning to mush. He was just so attractive. I could feel my eyes trailing all over his body, taking in his sexiness. Itachi looked up at me and smirked. His smirk was so slight, if I hadn't spent so much time with him, I wouldn't have even noticed it. Seeing that small hint of emotion on the Uchiha's normally stoic face made my insides melt. Itachi Uchiha was the closest thing to pure perfection that I have ever seen.

"What are you looking at?" Itachi asked, the ghost of a smirk still in place on his face.

You and your obvious sexiness. "Nothing." I answered, "Are you done in the bathroom?"

Itachi nodded and I hurriedly walked past him into the bathroom. I shut the door tightly behind me and let out a huge breath I didn't know I was holding. I looked up and caught a glimpse of my reflection. My face was as red as my hair. I made a disgusted face at myself. I shouldn't let myself get so flustered because of a man. An incredibly sexy man.

I shook my head, stripped out of my clothes hurriedly, and jumped into the shower, the freezing water blasting me clean. I grabbed the hotel shampoo and vigorously scrubbed my hair. I washed away all of the makeup from my face and scrubbed my body clean. I worked in some conditioner and then rinsed my hair. I got out of the shower and grabbed a towel from the rack. I dried myself off and went to grab my clothes, but I stopped dead. In my rush to get into the bathroom, I had forgotten my change of clothes on the bed. I rolled my eyes and took in a deep breath. This would not be a problem. It's not like Itachi's going to see anything. I took another deep breath and walked out of the bathroom.

The first thing I saw was Itachi sitting on the bed, right next to my backpack. He looked up at me as I walked out of the bathroom and froze. He didn't even blink as he stared at me. I raised my eyebrow and walked towards him, picking up my backpack, and slinging the bag over my shoulder. "What?" I asked.

"Hn." He grunted. His face and voice gave away nothing.

I rolled my eyes and walked back into the bathroom, locking the door behind me. Well, that was slightly less awkward than I thought it would be.

I quickly put on my change of clothes and brushed my hair into its usual style before walking out of the bathroom. Itachi was in the exact same position as before. I threw my bag on the floor by the couch and turned to look at the Uchiha. "So, I'll take the couch tonight, okay?"

Itachi nodded and went to flick off the lights. I grabbed the top blanket from the bed and curled up on the lumpy couch. I was asleep in an instant.

I had been awake for quite some time now, listening to the quiet, even breathing of the Uchiha sleeping in the bed a few feet away from me. I was going to try and sneak out to freedom. I was just waiting for the opportune time. I didn't want Itachi to wake up and catch me. I'd be in for some hard core genjutsu hell if I was caught. Being around Itachi was just unhealthy. Yeah, he was gorgeous, and I'm quite fond of the 'strong, silent' type, but this was just ridiculous. I needed to be away from him. Far, far, far away from him. Some place so far away, I won't be tempted to do things I will regret to him. Being with the Akatsuki was making me go insane. No one in their right mind would be attracted to the fucking homicidal and obviously unstable Itachi Uchiha. I needed to get back to Konoha. Everyone there was probably worried sick about me. I didn't want them to worry. And I wanted to get away from Hidan and all of the other fucking insane people in the Akatsuki. Like Itachi. And especially that goddamn Tobi. But mostly Itachi.

I took a deep breath. I'd been waiting long enough already. I needed to get out now, before I chickened out and didn't leave. I got up quietly from my spot on the couch and grabbed my backpack. I stealthily made my way to the door. I took a silent breath and turned the door knob.

"What are you doing?"

I almost jumped a mile high. I turned around to see Itachi leaning against the wall casually, his arms crossed over his chest, and his hair cascading down his shoulders. His sharingan was activated and he was staring at me emotionlessly. I studied his face. Nothing. I couldn't tell what he was feeling. I think that his lack of emotions was a billion times more intense and scary than if he showed anger or any other type of emotion. And for some fucked up reason, I liked it. What the fucking hell was wrong with me? My eyes travelled down his body. He was still topless. I had to force my mind to focus on the situation at hand.

"… Going for a walk…" I said slowly.

"With your bag?" Itachi questioned, one delicate brow raised.

I nodded.

"Makita, you know if you run away from Akatsuki, we won't stop looking for you until we find you and kill you, right?" Itachi stated.

I nodded again. I hadn't actually taken that into account.

"And when we find you, we'll probably kill not only you, but also whoever was helping to hide you."

I nodded for the third time. I hadn't taken that into account either.

"And the Akatsuki would probably destroy the village you were living in as well." Itachi said softly.

I sighed and kneaded the bridge of my nose. I hadn't even started to consider the consequences of running away from Akatsuki. I let out an angry huff and threw my bag on the floor. "This is bullshit." I hissed under my breath as I stalked angrily back to the couch.

Before I could make it back to the couch, Itachi grabbed my wrist. "I don't trust you."

I snorted, "I don't trust you very much either."

"Don't try to escape again." Itachi ordered in a whisper.

I let out a bitter laugh, "No promises."

"Makita…" Itachi said. I stopped dead in my tracks and turned my head towards Itachi. Whoa. I really liked the way my name rolled off of his tongue and how he didn't use any honorifics at the end.

"What?" I sighed, looking into the Uchiha's eyes.

"Please." Itachi whispered softly, letting go of my wrist.

My head was swimming. Itachi's sharingan was swirling slowly and it was hard to focus on anything else. Itachi was just so amazing. I stared at the Uchiha for what felt like an eternity. I bit my lip and I ripped my eyes away from his. I quickly glanced back at his face, taking in its perfection. I took a deep breath and then took a step towards him, pushing my lips lightly onto his. My mouth felt as if it was on fire. Heat rushed through my entire body, sending pleasant tingles everywhere. Itachi's lips were soft and warm and nothing like I expected them to be. The feeling of our lips together made me want to melt. I could have stayed like this for a long time. My lips lingered on his for a few moments until I realized what I was doing. I jerked away from him like I had been burned. What the fuck did I just do!

I growled angrily at myself and I stalked towards the door. I needed to get out of here. Before I could take more than three steps, Itachi had circled his hand around my wrist again, preventing me from moving. I whirled around and snapped out, "What!"

"Did what I just say not affect you at all?" Itachi asked.

I blinked, "What?" So Itachi was going to pretend I never… k-… kissed him? Well, that works for me. It never happened.

"I hope you're still not going to run away from Akatsuki." Itachi said.

"I'm not." I hissed.

Itachi nodded and I shook off his hand, stalking back to the couch. I clenched my fists so hard that my nails bit into my skin. I could feel blood seeping through the small cuts my nails made, but I liked it. The pain just fuelled my anger. I was pissed at myself. I needed to get some self-control. I pumped chakra into my fist and slammed it into the couch. I heard the wood crack and splinter into a thousand pieces. Oh. Great. I broke the couch. I was raging.

I grabbed the blanket that was on the now broken couch and lay down on the floor and began smacking my head repeatedly into the dirty, stained carpet. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, STUPID! Why the fuck was I so fucking stupid? Kissing an S-rank missing nin was one thing someone like me should never EVER do. Fuck! Why was I so stupid? Itachi had fucked up my mind completely.

"Stop it." Itachi said, grabbing my hair before I could slam my face back into the floor.

I sat up and glared, "Why?"

"Hn."

I rolled my eyes and snarled, "Whatever."

I went to lie down on the floor again, but Itachi looked at me with a raised eyebrow, "You're sleeping in the bed with me." Itachi stated.

"No." I snapped.

"Would you rather go share a bed with Kisame?" Itachi asked, his red sharingan eyes boring into my bright yellow ones.

"Fuck no." I hissed.

"Then you'll share the bed with me." He said simply.

"I'd rather sleep on the floor." I glared.

Itachi paused, he seemed to be amused, and he said, "You really want to sleep on the floor?"

"Yes." I said.

"With all of the stains?"

"Yes." I said again.

"With all of the bugs?"

"I actually don't mind bugs at all." I said.

"With all of the human body fluids?"

"I really don't mind blood." I snapped.

Itachi blinked, "I wasn't talking about blood."

I cringed inwardly. There probably was blood on the floor, but I was certain the Uchiha was talking about some… other… white… body fluid. I shuddered. "Fine." I muttered, defeated.

The sharingan user pulled me over to the bed. I would much rather share a bed with Itachi instead of the fish man… or the semen covered floor (hell, we were in a shitty inn. I didn't want to take the chance that there would be male baby making juice on the ground…). I rolled my eyes and slipped under the covers, Itachi doing the same. I rolled over so I was the farthest away from the Uchiha and so I wasn't facing him. I wasn't pleased with this arrangement. At all. This was not helping my 'get away from Akatsuki and stop thinking about Itachi Uchiha' plan. I really needed to get away now. Especially since that incident when our lips met. Luckily for me, it wasn't as awkward as I thought it would be. At least we can both pretend it never happened.

The sunshine was blindingly bright. It was practically roasting my eyes through my eyelids. I winced and buried my face into something that was definitely not a pillow. I opened my eyes to see Itachi staring at me. I blinked. "What the fuck are you staring at?" I snapped.

"Hn." Itachi muttered, glancing at the ceiling.

He was lying on his back with me snuggled up to his side. One of my legs was wrapped around one of Itachi's and my head was resting on his muscular chest. Itachi's hand rested on my arm. His raven hair tickled my nose. I'm not going to lie; I could have lain there, staring at Itachi, for a very long time, but common sense kicked in and I shifted away from him, uncomfortable.

"How long have you been up for?" I asked.

"… A while…" Itachi said.

"Why didn't you wake me?" I asked.

"I tried. You wouldn't wake up." Itachi said monotonously.

I snorted. "What time is it?" I questioned the Uchiha.

"Ten am." He answered.

I sighed and rolled away from Itachi, getting out of bed and stretching. "We should get going. Where's Kisame?"

"He's getting some extra supplies." Itachi answered simply.

I yawned and nodded, "So, we're just going to ambush our target?"

"Yes. We'll have you circling the area in the air. As soon as you see them, come and warn Kisame and me." Itachi instructed.

"So I'm shape shifting into a bird?" I asked dumbly.

"Yes." Was Itachi's simple reply.

I shrugged, "Sounds simple enough."

Itachi also got up from the bed and went into the bathroom. I put on my black travelling cloak on over the clothes I slept in (they were the only extra set of clothes I brought) and pulled on my ninja sandals. Itachi walked out of the bathroom, fully dressed as well. "Shall we go?"

"Yes," Itachi muttered, "We'll meet Kisame outside the gates of the village."

And with that, Itachi and I left the inn by jumping out the window.

I was circling high above the Southern border of Kumo. It was almost noon and I hadn't seen any sign of Aya or the ANBU. I stretched my eagle wings and went into another wide arc, searching the ground below me. Suddenly, I saw a flash of movement in the distance. I lowered myself slightly closer to the Earth below me. I grinned internally. It was Aya and his entourage of fifteen ANBU. I laughed internally. Aya did like to blab when he was drunk. But for some reason, I was very uneasy. This was happening too quickly. And much too easily. Why weren't the Akatsuki worried about this mission?

I swooped down and landed where Kisame said that he and Itachi would wait for me. I poofed into my normal form as soon as I hit the ground of the clearing. I landed in a crouch and slowly stood up. A kunai came out of nowhere and almost embedded itself in my skull. It missed the side of my face by mere millimeters. The two Akatsuki members walked out and Itachi smiled at me.

"Makita-chan. You saw them?" Itachi called out.

I froze. There was no way in hell that Itachi would refer to me with such an honorific. Or be the first to greet me. Or smile. Ever. I glared at the two men and shut my eyes, focusing on all of the genjutsu training I had done with Itachi. When I reopened my eyes, I saw that I was surrounded by Aya and fifteen ANBU officers. "Hello." I said coolly.

Aya chuckled, "Hello there, sweetie."

"Sweetie? You don't know me that well, you dumb fuck." I snapped.

Aya chuckled, "So, you're the newest Akatsuki subordinate, huh? You don't look like much. Although you're a pretty good kisser." He said with a wink.

"Ew." Was all I said.

"Makita Amaterasu, you are under arrest for the involvement and association with the Akatsuki organization. You will come quietly with us, or we will have to use force." One of the ANBU to the left of me said.

"Alright." I nodded. "Just one question."

Aya waved his hand, which is what I assumed meant for me to continue, "How the fucking hell did you know I was with Akatsuki?"

"You were a hot topic of conversation for a while with the other subordinates. It's not every day that an Akatsuki member gets their own personal subordinate, let alone a female one." Aya smirked.

I rolled my eyes, "How the fuck do you even remember anything after all of the alcohol you consumed last night? And how the hell are you not hung-over?"

"One of the ANBU officers picked my memories when I got back to the hotel last night and I took some herbs to cure the hangover." Aya explained with a smirk.

"You will come with us quietly or suffer the consequences." The same ANBU who spoke earlier said.

Well. I was fucked. "I can't come with you. I have prior engagements to attend." I said. There was no way in fucking hell I was going to go with this bastard and his stupid protectors.

"Like what?" Aya snorted.

"Kicking your fucking asses." I said, jumping into the air and throwing a barrage of kunai knives on the group of sixteen below me while sending out a pulse of my chakra to alert the two Akatsuki members to my location.

I shifted into a bird and shot into the sky, avoiding the kunai, shuriken, and other weapons that were being thrown at me in an attempt to maim me. I shot towards the ground and turned into a large tiger before I hit the forest floor, lashing out my razor sharp claws at the multiple ANBU members around me. I shifted back into my normal form and grabbed the ANBU to my right, slitting his throat before he had a chance to do anything. One down, fifteen more to go. Wow. All of the training with Itachi was really paying off. I was surprised.

Suddenly, I was kicked in the back from behind. I was sent flying through the air until I hit a tree, face first. I felt my nose crack painfully and hot blood drip down my face. My nose was definitely broken. Fuck. I had been getting cocky and I had spoken too soon. I clenched my teeth in pain and pushed myself up, immediately dodging weapons that came from all angles. I jumped and kicked another ANBU in the shoulder. I heard the bone break as he cried out in agony. I turned around and punched another ANBU in the face, cracking his delicate porcelain mask and I watched the shards of broken mask dig into his skin and cut open his flesh. Blood seeped out of his facial wounds and he let out a pain-filled scream. I jumped and flipped over the man, grabbing his neck from behind and breaking it, instantly killing him. I received a kunai to my right thigh. I let out a shocked gasp of pain and fell down, having to roll over to avoid more kunai from embedding themselves in my body. I got up, but was immediately kicked back down; Aya shoved his knee into my stomach and two ANBU members drove two kunai knives through the palms of my hands and into the ground. I shut my eyes in pain and hissed. I refused to scream and give these bastards any form of satisfaction.

Aya laughed, "Will you come quietly now?"

I coughed, blood coming out of my mouth, "Fuck you."

Aya punched me in the face. I felt my jaw crack and I groaned in pain. "How about now?"

I let out a pain filled moan in response. I couldn't speak. It hurt too much. Oh, fuck me ever so gently! I was so dead. I really hoped the lazy ass Akatsuki members hurry their asses up and help me; otherwise, I was going to die. I knew it, the ANBU knew it, and Aya knew it. Sure, I was keeping up quite well, (until now) but there was no way in hell that I could win against fifteen ANBU. I just wasn't strong enough yet.

"Answer me." Aya said sweetly, smiling at me.

I roared in anger, shifting my hands so I could unpin them from the kunai knives that were pinning me down. I punched Aya in the face and shifted into a tiny sparrow; ignoring the pain I felt and flew quickly upwards, trying to form a quick plan to win against the ANBU below me. I landed in a tree that was far away from the clearing where the ANBU were and I took a deep breath. I felt movement beside me and I whipped my head around to see Itachi and Kisame beside me.

"It took you fucking long enough." I growled.

"You look like shit, kiddo." Kisame grinned.

"Fuck you." I snarled as I wiped the blood off my face. I winced. My nose hurt like a fucking bitch.

"Someone's in a bad mood." Kisame chuckled.

"No shit! I just got my fucking ass kicked! You could have hurried your fucking asses up!" I hissed in anger.

"What's the situation?" Itachi asked.

"I killed two ANBU already. There are thirteen plus Aya left." I explained.

Itachi nodded, "Good. Let's attack. Kisame, you know the plan."\

"Plan? What plan?" I asked, but Kisame and Itachi were already gone. I could hear them fighting in the clearing a few feet away.

"Stupid fuckers…" I muttered as I jumped down from the tree and ran towards the fight.

A large shuriken came hurling towards me out of nowhere and I ducked, the blades taking off a bit of my hair. The weapon embedded itself in a tree and I tugged the gigantic shuriken out of the wood. I looked at it and smiled. This would come in handy. Not only was it deadly, but it looked pretty kick ass too. I ran the rest of the way to the clearing and was immediately bombarded with an array of sharp weapons. I jumped and dodged out of the way of most of the weapons, but a few of the sharp tools nicked tiny cuts in my flesh.

I looked and saw that both Itachi and Kisame were fighting extremely well. There were only about six ANBU left. There was blood and body parts strewn everywhere. It was a gruesome scene. Out of nowhere, I received a blow to the back of my head, causing me to fall forwards and land flat on my stomach. I groaned and quickly rolled over, seeing Aya's fist coming towards my face. I lifted my leg up and kicked Aya in the stomach, sending him flying backwards. I got up and rushed towards him, throwing the large shuriken at him and watching the shuriken embed itself in Aya's arm. Aya growled and pulled the shuriken out, tossing it to the side.

Aya jumped to his feet and ran at me, tackling me to the ground. We rolled around, throwing punches at each other. I shifted my hands into claws and scratched Aya's face. He cried out in pain and I kicked him off of me. I rolled away and jumped to my feet. Before I could gain my bearings, Aya was in front of me, throwing more punches. We fought for what seemed like forever. I was landing more hits and I was doing better than the stupid asshole was, but he just wouldn't give up. We had been moving away from the clearing where the ANBU and the two Akatsuki members were. We were so far away; we had our own clearing to fight in. I couldn't believe that I fell for that stupid fucking genjutsu! I defiantly needed more training. I mean, fuck, I was an idiot.

I must have been distracted, because Aya landed a direct punch to my face. I flew backwards, skidding on the ground.

"Ready to give up yet?" Aya asked, panting.

"I could ask you the same question." I said with a grin, "I'm the better fighter here."

"Screw you!" Aya growled.

I threw my head back and laughed, "Don't be jealous!"

"Why would I be jealous of some Akatsuki whore!" Aya screamed at me.

I stopped laughing and glared darkly at Aya, "Excuse me?" I snarled out.

"You heard me. You're a whore. For the Akatsuki. Why else would they have a female subordinate?" Aya spat at me.

I was pissed. No one, and I meant no one,ever called me a whore and got away with it. Especially this bastard in front of me. There was no real reason for me to be angry I guess, although my pride was damaged. I could be the mature one and just kill in a humane way, but I was never able to do that. I was just too hot headed. My rage flared and I snarled inhumanly. There was anger written clearly on my face. I'm sure I looked scary. I lunged, demonic claws ripping out of my flesh and imbedding themselves into the soft tissues of my enemy. I faintly heard a scream of pain, of terror, from Aya, but I didn't care. I ripped my claws out of his body and stuck the deadly claws back in. I did this multiple times until I felt satisfied that Aya had suffered enough. Blood was splattered on my arms, my cloak, and my face. I darted away from the victim of my rage and I hid on the highest branches on one of the taller trees. Aya fell to the mossy forest floor, blood bubbling out of his mouth and seeping out of his wounds. I crouched down and smiled. The blood of that stupid fucker dripped down my face. I darted out my tongue to capture the crimson liquid, but then grimaced when the metallic taste reached my taste buds. I spit the blood out of my mouth, disgusted. What the fuck? Why did I just do that? I shuddered. I was turning into the female version of Hidan, only I was much more skilled, hotter, and overall, just a much better ninja than that religious bastard was.

I felt the branch I was sitting slightly dip and I turned around quickly, my fingers shifting into claws once again. "Chill kiddo." It was Kisame.

I glared at him and snapped, "I'm older than you."

Kisame smirked and ruffled my hair. I swatted his hand away, annoyed, "Whatever. You still look a lot younger than me, kid."

I rolled my eyes and stood up; jumping out of the tree, air whistling around me. I landed with a stumble on the mossy ground below. I winced as I hit the ground. My entire body was sore and my right leg was still smarting from that damn kunai wound. I noticed the giant shuriken that I had dropped and picked it up. I liked this weapon. I looked up at the tall tree branch Kisame was still standing on, about one hundred feet above me. "You coming, Sharky?" I called.

I heard Kisame snort and a few seconds later; he was standing beside me, "Where is Itachi-san?" I asked.

"He was just finishing up the rest of the Cloud ANBU." Kisame replied simply.

"I see." I said, nodding.

"Good job with Aya. He deserved it." Kisame said, giving me a toothy grin and nodding towards the slowly dying man I had fatally injured a few moments ago.

"Thanks." I grinned. I looked Kisame over. He had no injuries. At least, none that I could see. I huffed internally. Why the hell didn't he get hurt? I scowled at him. Stupid shark.

"What?" Kisame asked as his eyebrow rose.

"Nothing." I hissed angrily. Stupid blue man, making me look weak. I grumbled under my breath as Kisame and I began walking to where he had last seen Itachi.

"Where'd you get that?" Kisame asked me, referring to the large weapon in my hand.

I shrugged, "I picked it up back where the ANBU were. I thought it looked cool."

"It's a Fūma Shuriken. It suits you." Kisame said, giving me a sharky grin.

"Thanks." I said, "So, what are we doing now that the mission has been completed?"

Kisame glanced at me and snorted, "We'll have to stop at a nearby village and get you cleaned up. You look horrible."

I rolled my eyes and grumbled, "Thanks for telling me something I didn't already know."

I heard Kisame snicker and I rolled my eyes again. The shark man and I walked the rest of the way to the clearing in silence. Itachi stood in the middle of the open space, wiping blood off of a kunai knife and he glanced up when Kisame and I walked into the clearing. The bodies were all piled together. I wasn't sure why, but I was certain I would find out soon enough.

"So, Itachi-san, what's the plan?" Kisame asked.

"We'll go to one of the smaller villages near here, heal, and rest. Then Makita-san will go back to the main Akatsuki base and you and I will continue on." Itachi said to Kisame, doing a few quick hand signs and setting the bodies of the ANBU on fire.

I made a face at the smell that the burning bodies made, but making facial expressions hurt my broken nose. I winced at the pain. Itachi looked over to me and said, "Your nose is broken."

I glared and snapped out, "Thanks for telling me, Captain Obvious."

Itachi motioned for me to come towards him and I obliged, stopping right in front of the Uchiha. Itachi gingerly lifted grasped my chin and lifted my head, inspecting my nose. "It's a clean break. Would you like me to put it back in place?"

I nodded. Fuck. This would be painful.

"This will hurt." He mumbled under his breath.

"I know." I said as I clenched my jaw shut and prepared for the pain.

Itachi kept a firm grip on my chin and gently grabbed my nose. "Take a deep breath." Itachi whispered.

"Mhm." I said as I sucked in a breath of air.

Itachi cracked my nose suddenly and put it back into place. "Motherfucker!" I shrieked out.

I heard Kisame laugh in the background and I turned to glare darkly at him. "Shut up, fish face."

I blinked a lot, trying to clear the tears of pain from my eyes.

"Are you alright?" Itachi asked quietly.

"Yeah." I muttered, "I'm fine."

Itachi nodded, satisfied with his work and said, "We'll get a medic to heal that in the next town over."

"Good." I muttered.

"We'll only be resting for two hours, three at the most. Then we shall travel together until tomorrow, then we will head our separate ways." Itachi explained.

Both Kisame and I nodded. "Let's go." Itachi said, jumping into the trees.

I yawned and leaned against a tree that was close to the fire, letting the heat caress my face gently. Itachi, Kisame, and I had stopped at a small village on the way out of Kumo to rest and stop at a tea shop. Well, Itachi and Kisame stopped at a tea shop while I went to find a medic to heal my nose and the rest of my injuries. The lady who healed me, an elderly woman who looked as if she should be dead already (yes, she looked THAT old), had gone on and on and on about why I should quit being a ninja like she did, and move to some remote village, like she did, and become a medic, like she did, and heal some wary travellers, just like she did. I've noticed that I have amazing self-control when it comes to killing the elderly.

So anyways, after the woman was finished healing me, I stayed for a twenty minute lecture on why I should quit being a ninja and focus my energy on something more 'nice'. After I left the crazy old woman, I went back to the tea shop where I left the two Akatsuki members. We had a quick discussion on the travel plans for the next few days. It was decided that I would travel with the Akatsuki duo until morning, then we would head our separate ways – me back to the Akatsuki base in Ame and them to do whatever mission they're supposed to do next. And now we're here, somewhere in the unclaimed land near Kumo.

"So, Kisame-san, what are you and Itachi-san doing after we spilt up?" I asked.

"That's classified information, kid. Only members get to know." Kisame said as he re-bandaged his sword.

I rolled my eyes, "Whatever." I had given up on getting Kisame to not refer to me as 'kid', 'kiddo', or any other type of childish nickname. It was pointless.

Kisame and I sat in silence. Itachi had gone for a walk a while ago, mumbling something about 'needing to clear his head'. Oh well. The farther away I was from him, the better. "What time are we leaving tomorrow?" I asked.

"The crack of dawn." Kisame said.

"Ugh. That's disgusting." I said, making a face.

Kisame sniggered when he saw my expression and said, "You need to learn to wake up."

I snorted, "I like my sleep. I hardly get any of it anyways."

Kisame raised an eyebrow, "You sleep more than Itachi-san and I combined."

I paused, "I need a lot of sleep, because otherwise, I become a monstrous bitch."

"You're already a monstrous bitch." Kisame chuckled.

I glared at the shark man, "Imagine my bitchiness twenty times worse."

Kisame chuckled harder, "I didn't think that was possible."

"Oh, it's possible." I said, lying down next to the tree, using my black travelling cloak as a pillow.

"How do you like Akatsuki so far, kid?" Kisame asked, leaning against the tree nearest to him.

I paused, thinking over what to say, "I'd rather not be here." I said.

Kisame looked at me, "That's not what I asked you."

I let out a huff of air, "I hate it. I'd rather be with the people I care about, instead of being stuck with a bunch of fucked up criminals…"

Kisame shot me a small glare when I said 'fucked up criminals', but then his glare turned into a sly grin, "You're a fucked up criminal now too, you know."

I glared at him, "No I'm not."

"You are. You just helped two criminals kill someone. You're living with the Akatsuki. You're not a part of your village. You are a criminal."

I clenched my fists together and snarled, "I am not a criminal."

The shark man rolled his eyes, "Whatever you say."

"I'm not." I spat vehemently.

"Forget I said anything about it. Just go to sleep." Kisame said, rolling over to his side.

I rolled my eyes and decided to listen to the blue skinned man for once, "Fine."

I was already really tired from all of the fighting and the healing and the travelling and arguing and worrying that I had done in the past few days. All I wanted to do was take a really long, hot shower and then sleep for a few days. I rolled over and snuggled into my cloak, falling asleep quickly.

I flew over the vast land below me, sleepily blinking my eyes and watching the blur of bright colours dance brilliantly under me. It was still early morning. I had been awoken with a rude blast of water that was spewed out of Kisame's mouth (which had drenched me until I was almost completely submerged in a large puddle of water, fully awake, and swearing my head off). It was not a pleasant way to wake up. And Kisame had lied. I was not up at the 'crack of dawn' like he said I would be. I was woken up way before the sun was even up. Even now, the sun was just peeking over the horizon. Hours had gone by already, I was sure. I let my gaze wander to the ground and noticed a welcoming stretch of water below. I smiled in my eagle form. It looked like it was the same lake that I had stopped to rest at on my way towards Kumo (where I had met that stupid Orochimaru fuck and his band of bitches).

Against my better judgment, I swooped down slowly and felt the cooling sensation of the water as my wings skimmed the surface of the glistening pool. I flew down to the sandy shore and transformed back into my normal form. I got up and stretched, cracking my back in the process. I let out a tired sigh. Right now would be a great time for a nap. Screw Akatsuki and their 'time limits' for missions and shit. If they really needed to find me, then they'll come and find me. I walked to the cover of trees and leaned against the one closest to me, shutting my eyes. Fuck, this was stupid. I swear to the fucking sun, I would get Kisame back for waking me up at such a hellish hour. I was going to kick his ass. Being up at this hour not only made me really pissy, but it made me want to piss off everyone else and kill things.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" I heard a hiss from somewhere to my left.

I cracked open my eyes and lazily lolled my head to look over to where the voice had come from. I lifted my upper lip in contempt and let out a low growl when I saw who it was. Orochimaru. This was peachy. Just peachy keen. This was just what I needed right now to add to my sour mood. "What the fuck do you want?" I snarled out.

"Nothing my dear, I were just wondering what was causing you to pass through this area again in such a short amount of time." The snake grinned at me, "Have you finished your business already?"

"Yes." I said tersely, wanting the stupid annoying fucker to fuck off and die.

"Why are you finished so soon?" Orochimaru asked me, walking over and sitting next to me.

"Because I fucking finished it, that's fucking why!" I snapped, standing up and whirling around to face him, arms crossed angrily over my chest.

"I see you got a new weapon." He said, a sick gleam in his eye as he eyes up my new Fūma Shuriken that was attached at my hip.

"Thanks for fucking noticing." I said sarcastically.

"You're welcome." He hissed, suddenly behind me.

I slowly turned around to glare darkly at him, noticing that his body was hardly two inches away from my own, "Go the fuck away."

I turned to walk away from the disgusting snake man, but before I could go any farther than ten feet, I saw the damn Sasuke step out from behind a tree. Fuck. I was pissed. Oh well, there were two people for me to take it out on now. I cackled evilly on the inside and said, "Oh, hey Itachi! How're you?" I called out, "I just saw you! How'd you get here so fast?"

I was pinned up against a tree before I could blink, kunai to my throat, and a pair of enraged sharingan eyes staring down at me. "What do you know about my brother?" Sasuke hissed.

"Well, this is kinky." I said with a wink, avoiding the younger Uchiha's question. Oh dear. I needed more sleep. Hitting on minors was illegal. I 'tsked' my tongue at myself. I was almost as bad as Orochimaru. Oh well, who the fuck cared? I'm pissed, so now he is too. I am quite good at pushing buttons.

"Answer the question." He growled, pressing the kunai harder into my neck.

I laughed, "Fuck you, you stupid bastard."

I looked up at Sasuke, our eyes meeting. I felt my mind moving in and out of consciousness. I tried to look away from the Uchiha's ruby red eyes, but my body wouldn't listen to the directions my mind was giving it. Look away! My mind screamed. I tried, but I couldn't. I giggled out loud. I was so stupid. 'Oh fuck' was my last thought before I fell into the darkness of unconsciousness. Oh well, at least I was getting the sleep I wanted now.

I blinked my eyes open, shutting them when I stared into a bright ball of flames. I was slightly dizzy, but I felt refreshed. How strange. What the fuck happened? I couldn't remember anything from before I fell asleep. The last thing I remembered was leaning against the tree in by the lake. I must have drifted off. How the hell did a fire get here? I felt someone lightly tugging on my hair and I swatted angrily at the person, my eyes still closed, but they swatted me back. I opened my eyes. My yellow orbs were met with golden snake eyes.

I raised my eyebrow and said, "Ew."

Orochimaru chuckled, "It's good to see you're awake. I'm sorry that Sasuke did that, he's rather sensitive when it comes to the subject of his brother."

"Oh really? I had no fucking idea." I said sarcastically as my body shuddered violently. I made a face and rubbed my arm, trying to get rid of the disgusting crawly feeling I had from Orochimaru touching my hair. I let my eyes glance around, taking in my surroundings. I seemed to be by the same lake as before. Then I realized my head was in Orochimaru's lap. My eye twitched and I shot up wards into a sitting position.

"Well, I should be on my way." I said as I went to stand up, but as soon as I was on my feet, my legs seemed to turn to mush and I landed on my ass. I turned to Orochimaru and glared darkly at him. Before I could open my mouth to yell at him, he spoke.

"The after effects of the sharingan can do that. It's best if you rest for tonight." Orochimaru said, smiling at me. The smile did not reach his eyes.

"How long was I out for?" I asked slowly.

"About four and a half days." Was his reply.

I huffed angrily, "I have places to fucking be."

He chuckled and said, "I'm sure that it can wait."

I glared again at the snake man and went to brush my bangs back in front of my eye. I paused and lifted a red strand in front of my face. It was braided. My eye twitched, "What the fuck!"

"What?" Orochimaru asked, eyes gleaming in the fire light.

"You braided my hair?" I asked in disbelief.

He nodded.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" I snapped, taking out the braids that my hair was put into.

"Nothing. I just needed something to do, since Sasuke-kun was quite adamant about training by himself." Orochimaru said.

"Are you gay?" I asked, while still fighting with the braids in my hair. There were so many!

Orochimaru glared, "No. I am not gay."

"Are you a pedophile?" I questioned.

"No! What would make you think that!" Orochimaru asked, angry.

"Well, you hang around with a little boy all fucking day… so, you know, I just assumed…" I explained. The snake sannin glared darkly at me, sending shivers of fear down my spine. It was a feeling I did not like at all. Orochimaru continued to glare at me and stood up, walking away from me and into the trees. I rolled my eyes. I needed to find a way out of here. I tried to stand again, but I couldn't. My body was shaky. I bet the snake fucker poisoned me while I was sleeping or some shit like that. Oh well, I'll stay here until I'm able to walk again, then I will get my ass out of here. I reached for my kunai holder on my leg, only to find that it wasn't there.

"OH FUCK ME!" I screeched when I discovered that I had no weapons what so ever on me.

"Hn." I heard from behind me.

I swiveled my head around to stare at Uchiha, "Where's the snake rapist?"

Sasuke glared at me, "Hn."

"Well fuck you too, you damn fucking bastard." I snapped.

Sasuke didn't say anything as he walked and sat on the other side of the fire. He sat down cross-legged and made a steeple with his hands, resting his chin on it. He stared emotionlessly at me through the crackling flames. I raised my eyebrow at him in question.

"You mentioned my brother." He stated.

I nodded and then said, with mock seriousness, "That I did."

Either Sasuke was too stupid to notice my blatant mocking, or he chose to ignore me, so he continued, "What do you know of him?"

I blinked at him and then let out a low chuckle. It was time to see how good of a liar I was, "Nothing that the rest of the world doesn't already know. He killed the entire Uchiha clan, except you, became a member of Akatsuki, is completely evil, blah, blah, blah."

Sasuke stared at me, "Hn."

"What? You actually expected me to know where he was?" I clicked my tongue mockingly at him, "You're buttons are too easy to push when it comes to your brother."

Suddenly, a kunai went whizzing through the air, lightly cutting my cheek open and cutting off a few of the longer strands of my hair. I looked up at the younger Uchiha and raised an eyebrow, "What the fuck was that for?" I snapped.

He stared blankly at me, the firelight dancing in his obsidian eyes, "Hn."

"Is that all you ever fucking say?" I growled.

I wasn't graced with a response from the raven haired teen, which I was silently thankful for. In my current condition, there was no way I'd be able to even stand up to fight. This was ridiculously stupid. I glared heatedly at Sasuke while he stared blankly into the fire, blatantly ignoring me. I hated being ignored. I ran my hands through the cool grass, feeling for something, anything, which I could use to hurl at the apathetic Uchiha in front of me. I felt a small pebble and let a slow grin creep onto my face.

I picked up the pebble and launched it at the unsuspecting Uchiha. Just as the small, grey rock was about to hit Sasuke, he leaned slightly to his left, avoiding being hit. I frowned at him and he looked at me emotionlessly. We stared at each other in silence, until I picked up another small pebble slowly and deliberately. I flung it at the Uchiha again, but he caught it this time. "Stop." He commanded me.

I let a sarcastic smile creep onto my face and said a pleasant, "Fuck you."

His glare darkened and he said, "Do not speak to me like that."

I let my smile grow a little wider, "Why the fuck would I take orders from you, you little stuck up jackass?"

In a flash, I was on my stomach with my arms held painfully above my head and my face being ground into the dirt. Sasuke's knee was jammed into my back and I wasn't able to move. I tried to tilt my head to the side, but Sasuke grabbed my hair and rubbed my face farther into the dirt. "Because I have the power to end you." He hissed, his voice filled with venom.

I growled and shifted into a snake, slithering away as fast as I could. Sasuke seemed shocked and fell onto his knees.

The Uchiha looked around and saw me, sitting in my normal human form where he had been sitting previously. I was panting; tired from the amount of energy I had to put into shape shifting. My body felt like it was on fire and my vision was going in and out of focus. Suddenly, I started coughing violently. I slapped my hand over my mouth as my entire body shook. Pain ripped through my chest and travelled all the way down to the tips of my toes and all the way up to the top of my head. I had to force myself not to cry out in pain. I would not look that weak in front of the enemy. My eyes were clenched shut in pain and I felt a warm liquid drip from the small cracks in between my fingers. What the fuck did these jackasses do to me!

When the coughing fit receded, I fell over onto my side, breathing heavily with blood still seeping slowly out of my mouth. I was covered in the crimson liquid, but I felt so dead, so tired, that I didn't give a fuck. Sasuke was sitting on the opposite side of the fire, staring at me. To others, he probably looked emotionless, but because I had spent so much time with his older brother, I had come to read people much more easily that I was able to before. I could see the smallest glint of satisfaction in the younger Uchiha's eyes. I glared at him and spat out hoarsely, "What the fuck did you do to me?"

"Hn." Was his only reply.

I clenched my fists and ground my teeth together in anger. As I was about to open my mouth to let out a snarky remark, Orochimaru walked out of the darkened forest with a sick smirk plastered on his sickly pale face. He looked at Sasuke fondly and then looked over at me, his eyes noticing the blood on the ground and the dried blood that was still covering my mouth and the front of my clothes. "Oh, Makita-chan, did you try and move after I told you not to exert yourself?"

"You didn't tell me not to move." I shot back blandly, "You told me to rest. There is a huge difference."

"Yes, I assume there is." The snake sannin said dryly.

"Why am I still here?" I asked as I let out a long huff of air. I was still lying down on my side. Truthfully, I was scared to move. I didn't want a repeat of my previous cough attack.

"I have some questions for you to answer…" Orochimaru hissed out at me, his long tongue slithering out of his mouth as he spoke.

"Why should I answer any of your questions?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You are in my care. I think that it is the least that you can do to repay me." He said.

I raised my other eyebrow, "That's really not much of an argument."

Orochimaru chuckled and sat down near the fire, far away enough from both Sasuke and I, but almost close enough to touch. "It is the polite thing to do."

"I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I'm not fucking polite." I said sourly.

Orochimaru sent me a deathly glare, "Yes. I've noticed. I'm sure everyone has noticed"

I could hear the icy impatience in his tone, so I forced my weak body into a sitting position and turned my head to look at Orochimaru and said, "I'll answer your questions, but only if you answer mine."

Orochimaru put his finger to his chin, as if he was thinking, and turned to me, "You will answer all questions truthfully and honestly, and I shall do the same. If I find out you are lying, and believe me, I'll know, you will be punished. Understood?"

"Perfectly." I said, my voice dripping with distain.

"Now, Makita-chan, let's begin with the questions." The man said with a sickening smile.

I cringed internally and kept my face blank. The body knows when you lie. The heart beat accelerates and blood pressure spikes, breathing quickens, and the skin begins to sweat. For any well trained ninja, the minor differences in the body, especially heart beat and breathing, would be extremely easy to spot. I was going to have to try my best to lie my way out of this one. Orochimaru was a fucking strong opponent. In my current state, I wouldn't be able to do anything to fight against him, so I had to be convincing.

"Alright." I said.

"Makita-chan, tell me, what village are you from?" The snake sannin asked me.

"As I stated previously, I don't have a village." I said casually, making sure to stay calm and keep my face natural.

"Yes, but you must have had a village at one time, correct? You would not have the skills and abilities you have now if you did not come from a ninja village."

"What makes you think that?" I asked casually with a raised eyebrow.

"Your ability to shift into seemingly anything is not a normal thing a regular civilian would be able to do. Your abilities to fight and escape are well above someone with training from a normal, everyday non-ninja." He explained, his creepy, golden snake eyes watching my sharply.

Fuck. How was I going to get out of this? I knew that if I told Orochimaru I was originally from the Hidden Shape Shifter Village, it would lead to many unnecessary complications, but if I told him that the last village I lived in was Konoha, that would also fuck me over. The creepy snake man would probably want me to tell him all of the secrets I knew of the Hidden Leaf Village. So, basically, I was fucked over no matter what I said. Well, I hope I'm a good a liar as I thought I was.

"My father used to be a ninja. We lived in a small village in Fire Country and he trained me. My ability to shift into other things comes from his side of the family." I lied casually. That's what I had to do. Keep it short and sweet.

"I see. What's your last name?" He questioned.

Oh shit. I hadn't thought that far ahead. I decided to tell the truth, "Amaterasu"

"What-"

I cut Orochimaru off, "It is my turn to ask some questions."

He glared darkly at me and I just glared back at him, despite the tightly clenched ball of fear that sat in the pit of my stomach, "Did you drug me?"

A slick smirk slid its way onto Orochimaru's face, "I did."

My jaw clenched in anger and demanded, "Why!"

"We didn't want you waking up and taking off without us being able to be properly introduced. I wanted to ask you some questions as well. Not to mention the fact that I find you very… interesting." He said, as his tongue slithered out of his mouth and caressed the side of my face.

I scooted back, wiped my face, and snapped out, "Don't touch me!"

"I'm sorry my dear. Now please, let's continue on with the questions. It's my turn." He said.

"Fine." I muttered.

"I'm going to ask you one last time, what village are you from?" Orochimaru asked, his gaze turning steely.

I froze. He knew I was lying the entire time. "It's none of your business."

"Makita-chan, I've been very patient and tolerant with you since you've been in my company, but if you continue to blatantly lie to my face, things will get ugly." He said with a fake smile.

I bit back a retort and sent him the most scathing glare I could muster, and said quietly in a defeated tone, "The Hidden Village of Shape Shifters."

He reached out to pat my head and I jerked backwards away from him. I refused to let his slimy hands anywhere near me. "Good girl. Now, that wasn't so hard, was it?" He said it like I was a child who he was congratulating. I did not appreciate it at all.

"Is that all you wanted to know?" I asked sarcastically.

"For now, yes. We shall continue the questioning in the morning. You need your rest. I assume what I drugged you with has taken a toll on you." The sannin said as he shifted into a more comfortable position.

My eye twitched when the disgusting snake mentioned drugging me, but I thought it would be wise to ignore that part. "Great." I muttered sarcastically.

"Sasuke, you will take first watch." Orochimaru ordered.

"Hn." Sasuke said as he stood up and walked away.

Sasuke had been sitting quietly, observing my and Orochimaru's conversation the entire time. He was so still and quiet I had almost forgot that he was here. I turned onto my side, facing the fire. How the hell was I going to get out of this mess?

Back at the Akastuki hide out…

"Where is she?" An angry Akatsuki leader demanded to the two holographic images of Itachi and Kisame.

"We let her go her own way about four, almost five, days ago," The monotonous voice the holographic Uchiha echoed around the cavernous room, "She said that she was coming here."

"Why is Maki-chan not here! Tobi misses Maki-chan!" The masked man shouted.

Kisame slapped his hand to his forehead and muttered something about how stupid Tobi was under his breath.

"Zetsu," Pein's loud voice called out and a large figure morphed out of the wall, "Do you know of her whereabouts?"

Before Zetsu could open his mouth and reply, Tobi bounced up next to the Leader of the Akatsuki, waving his arms around crazily while screaming, "TOBI DOES! TOBI KNOWS WHERE MAKI-CHAN IS!"

"How?" Pein snapped.

"Tobi put some tracking bugs in her bag!" Tobi giggled wildly, "He wanted to make sure Maki-chan didn't get lost!"

Pein looked at the holographic images that still stood in front of him, "You two are dismissed." And with a flash, the holographs were gone. "Tobi, tell Zetsu where she is. Zetsu, you will retrieve her. Use force if necessary."

"Maki-chan has been in the same place the entire time!" Tobi shouted.

"Find her." Pein ordered.

"Yes Leader." Zetsu said.

I had been awake since Orochimaru declared it was 'sleep time'. To say I was angry would be an understatement. Why the fuck was I so stupid? Sasuke and Orochimaru had already switched on guard duty and at the moment, Sasuke was leaning up against a tree, sleeping. At least, I assumed he was sleeping. I needed a way to get out of here. From what Orochimaru had said earlier, I highly doubted that whatever the fuck he drugged me with would not just 'wear off'. I hoped that there was an antidote somewhere. I rolled onto my back and looked up at the sky. This was so fucked up.

A vine suddenly wrapped itself around my throat and I was about to let out a scream, but the ground opened up beneath me and I was covered by a large, green, leafy thing. I could no longer feel the heat from the dying fire or see that stars that were once above me. I didn't know what the hell was going on, so I panicked. I began to struggle around and lash out at whatever was holding me, but the vines would not loosen up at all.

"Shhhh… it's just us… shut up or we'll eat you." Two different voices said.

I relaxed slightly when I realized that it was Zetsu, but as soon as the moment of familiarity passed, my body stiffened and immediately became on guard. Zetsu was a cannibal and I had never been this close to him. I hoped he wouldn't eat me. I tried to shift in the bi-polar man's arms so I could look at him, but the vines around me just squeezed me tighter. So tight, that it was hard for me to breathe.

"Don't turn around… we're really pissed we had to come and get you." The man snapped grumpily at me.

I glared at the darkness, "Weren't you watching me the entire time? Why the fuck didn't you help me earlier!"

"We weren't watching you, you idiot. We have better things to do than chase around some immature brat… but there were tracking bugs in your backpack. That's how we found you." He replied.

I paused, "Who the fuck put the tracking bugs in there?"

"Tobi!" The more pleasant side of Zetsu said.

I rolled my eyes and changed the subject, "Where the fuck are we?"

"We're travelling underground. We should be back at the main Akatsuki base in a few hours." The plant man replied.

"Joy." I mumbled sarcastically.

"Leader is very angry with you… you're going to be in so much shit when we get back." Zetsu informed me with a dark chuckle at the end.

"Why?" I asked.

"He thought you left Akatsuki." The white side answered.

"I was drugged and held hostage by Orochimaru and Sasuke!" I said angrily.

"We know that… but he doesn't." Zetsu said.

"Well he will when I get back." I shot back.

"I don't know… he's pretty angry… and when Pein-sama is angry, he likes to 'beat now, ask question later'…" The darker half of Zetsu said with a small laugh.

"I was drugged! Drugged! I couldn't do anything!" I shrieked.

"That's your problem." The darker half laughed.

I opened my mouth to snap out a sharp comeback, but I was cut off by the plant man,

"Don't talk anymore… or we really eat you."

Fuck. Now I had the next few hours of travelling in a fucked up way next to a hellish cannibal plant-man thing to worry about what was going to happen to me. Why did life have to be so fucked up?

Thank you for reading! Review if you want. :)