New and Old Bonds

Losing two percent life force hadn't created much of a difference and Fū mused over this topic as she walked along the corridors of the Akatsuki tower, meandering her way back to her suite.

Really, if Akuma hadn't told her he'd done it she never would've noticed that she was feeling a little lethargic. It was kind of like the feeling she had if she'd lost out on a couple hours of sleep.

She was keenly aware that this was only a hint of what was coming, however.

Now that there was a date set in stone for when she was going to trade most of her life force for Nagato's health she was getting nervous. It was real, now. She was going to go into a coma and then be unable to care for herself for months in recovery.

Despite knowing she wasn't going to die, as a deeply independent person relinquishing her autonomy, even temporarily, was terrifying to her. Now alone after dropping Kyo at his room it was starting to set in that she was really doing this.

What if Zetsu came back, found out about everything somehow, and came into her room to kill her while she couldn't move? What if Ame came under attack and something happened to Nagato, Konan, and Obito? What if something happened to Naruto and she couldn't be there?

The fact was that she wanted to help Nagato – this was her choice. No one was forcing her, in fact Nagato had tried to reason with her at length after Akuma had dropped his 'you're going to give up your title and be the Uzukage' bomb just an hour ago. Fū was just nervous about being unable to do things, and if she were being honest… she was trying to wrap her mind around the idea that she was going to take over the Akatsuki in only a few years.

Nagato hadn't even argued with Akuma about it! What the hell was that? The Akatsuki was literally formed by Nagato, Konan and Yahiko. While two were still alive, Fū couldn't imagine a reason for either of them to step back and let someone else run the organization.

Coupling that with the fact that she wasn't skilled in (or inclined to) violent conflict resolution she wasn't the ideal candidate to lead the Akatsuki and it didn't make sense to have her at the helm. She promised Itachi that she'd work harder on training, yes, but she planned to ask one of the higher level shinobi what abilities she could train that would accentuate her fūinjutsu prowess – she had no intentions on training to be an all rounder or a frontline.

She'd told them as much, yet Akuma would not budge on his 'prediction' and refused to elaborate.

So that either meant that she'd get her shit together and be formidable at some point, or he had something devious up his sleeve. At least, by Akuma's claim about the 'Touch of Death' she wasn't so easily killed… so there was that working in her favor.

Fū didn't realize she stopped breathing until her knees hit the cold concrete floor and nails scraped at her chest, pulling down the collar of her shirt because it was all too much, her chest was tight. Her heart pounded against it like she'd just sprinted a mile and her shoulders tensed… she couldn't breathe. The walls looked like they were closing in all around her and the hallway spun. She shot her free hand out to stop them and fell over when her hand swiped at the air.

She hadn't suffered through one of these since she'd been reborn.

Of course, she couldn't just be left alone to suffer through it. Oh no, that would be too kind of the universe that seemed hellbent on giving her the short straw.

"What do we have here?" Orochimaru turned, or should she say slithered around the corner, eyes lighting with mischievous delight upon finding her prone in a random hallway. "It's been some time since we last met Uzumaki-sama. I did not expect to find you in such condition upon our next meeting," his sadistic, maniacal laugh pervaded the hall as he crouched down to look at her, "and just when I was reaching an impasse with my research—it must be kismet."

'You've got to be fucking kidding me,' was Fū's only coherent thought as Orochimaru wrapped a had around one of her biceps and hauled her to her feet, disregarding how she gasped for breath.

"Oh come now, focus on something external and take slow, deep breaths in child," Orochimaru directed, pushing her up against the wall with just enough force to jostle her, "you can't possibly be this pathetic."

Fū's glare sharpened, honing in on the unfairly perfect contours of Orochimaru's face and imagining how nice it might feel to disfigure him permanently. Not that she'd even get a hit in, but it was the thought that had her breathing beginning to level out. Orochimaru's golden eyes sparked with mirth and he chuckled, releasing his hand from where he'd left it on her shoulder. Only to bring it up to her cheek.

"Well done," Orochimaru cooed at her before dropping his hand completely and taking a step away.

Fū took only a moment to be completely baffled by this behavior before she remembered that this was Orochimaru. The same guy who liked to manipulate children, especially orphaned clan children who were vulnerable, into joining his cause so he could take their bodies by being kind to them in a world where children were pawns.

'What a bastard,' Fū thought to herself, noting that her breathing had eased and her heartbeat was returning to normal. To Orochimaru, she decided it was best to act as if she were grateful for his interference, but hesitant or else he'd think he'd already earned her trust.

If only to prolong the inevitable.

The inevitable being that, based on current behaviors and who he was as a person, Orochimaru was probably going to try to body snatch her.

She'd have to warn Obito and Nagato.

"T-thank you, Orochimaru-sama," she eyed him warily, fixing her shirt where she'd been gripping at the collar to give herself more breathing room.

"Hm," Orochimaru began, eyeing her skeptically before a smirk dragged one side of his face up, "I should prefer your thanks be in the form of an impromptu research session. Now." At her clear hesitation Orochimaru leaned forward until they were eye level. "Ah, you worry what might happen should you be left to your own devices in a room alone with me without an escort? Don't fret, I have no nefarious purpose for experimenting."

She'd never believe that. But she forced her posture to relax nonetheless. They had four more sessions to get through and he wasn't likely to do anything to her until they got at least one or two more rounds of research in.

At least, that's what she told herself as she nodded and he beckoned her to follow him back to his evil lair.

Feeling half scared and half crazy because she was still shaky from the panic attack Orochimaru had forced her out of, she opened the connection with the boys.

'I just wanna let you guys know if you don't hear from me in an hour; Orochimaru did it.'

She was now lamenting that she hadn't approached Obito about giving him a seal yet.

'What?!'

'Can you get away from him?!'

'It'll probably be fine this time. I usually have Nagato with me when dealing with him but he caught me alone and vulnerable - I really don't have a choice or else he'll know that I know he's trying to manipulate me,' Fū responded, mired in senseless self-pity. She was just going to give herself that for a minute. It had been a day. 'I'm doing some odd counter manipulation. It's fun, tiptoeing around the snake sannin,' she said that last part with a voice so dry that Suna was jealous she was taking their thing.

'You usually have Nagato? So you've been around Orochimaru more than once?' Shisui was quick to point that out.

'He's Akatsuki since his defection – his membership is pre-Fū induced changes so I had nothing to do with it,' Fū told them as Orochimaru opened the door to his office, allowing her inside, 'I don't know what Nagato might have planned for his involvement now that the winds are blowing in a different direction, though.'

'What does your foreknowledge say about him?' Itachi asked, his insatiable curiosity leaking through their connection, shoving aside his worry for the time being.

'That he's bad. Bad, bad. Like, deranged and psychotic. But on the other side of that – he can be redeemed should he choose to be. Under the right circumstances. He was necessary, in the reality I knew. He became Sasuke's shishou - after Sasuke ended up 'defecting' himself as a genin. Sorta. I will say If it weren't for him and his connection with Sasuke the world would've fallen to Akuma's insane grandmother. We may still need him in this new reality. Who's to say?'

Without a relationship with Sasuke, Orochimaru might not be so inclined to help them in this reality.

Fū wasn't about to tell Itachi everything about Orochimaru's relationship with Sasuke in the story. Hopefully it would be a moot point to discuss. Sasuke would be stable and less likely to abandon the village in search of 'strength' if Itachi stayed in his life and didn't slaughter the Uchiha clan.

If she could keep Orochimaru's interest set on Uzumaki longevity, there was no reason for him to go chasing the sharingan… not that he wouldn't decide to do that eventually anyway. He was probably interested in Nagato's rinnegan, but good luck getting that.

"You're more introspective than usual," Orochimaru pointed out and Fū snapped to attention, just as his warm hand circled her wrist to check her pulse. "Is it so much to ask that you remain present during our time together?"

Ew. That was so… ugh. She felt her insides crawling at the idea. Did this guy even know what he was saying? Wait, what was she thinking? Of course he did.

"Apologies, Orochimaru-sama."

'He's noticed I'm quiet. I'll talk to you guys later.'

'Tell us when you're free of him so we know you're okay. Also, there's something we need to tell you,' Shisui said as he closed off the connection on his end.

Ominous. She wondered what they needed to tell her?

'And I'm not through hearing about Orochimaru's involvement with Sasuke, Tai. Please contact us soon, stay safe.'

Of course he wanted to know more. Picking and choosing what to tell Itachi about so he didn't think he needed to take the snake out early on was going to be a fine line to balance.

"What's on your mind?" Orochimaru asked as he stepped around and lifted her hair. "Just a few strands for testing," he told her – as if he'd stop if she asked him to.

"I learned a lot about my clan while I was away, I've been preoccupied with that," Fū settled on saying back to him as he cut a few strands off and let them fall into a small plastic bag he'd produced out of nowhere.

If she really wanted to scare Orochimaru – all she'd have to do was summon Akuma, really. Orochimaru had a true fear of death, being confronted with the Shinigami in the show when the Third used the Reaper Death Seal had shown that. What would Orochimaru do, in the face of Akuma, she wondered?

Orochimaru would go all out to prevent his death. Best not to find out unless she had no choice, especially not inside the Akatsuki tower. She'd seen two towers collapse on television when she was young – the start of a decades long war. The aftermath, the clean up and the death toll, those weren't things Ame could take while they were still on the mend and suffering from the aftermath of the Third war.

"Did you learn anything about your clan's longevity that may aid my research?" Orochimaru's brow raised as he took her arm, feeling around her inner elbow to find a vein so he could draw blood.

"My understanding was that it has something to do with our progenitor making a deal with a Shinigami," Fū told him, knowing that for once she needed to tread very carefully. She was honest by nature, but this was not the man to be totally honest with.

"Hm," Orochimaru's tone was borderline condescending, "and you believe this?"

"I don't have concrete evidence to support that it wasn't a deal with a Shinigami," she shrugged, hoping he'd take that for what it was without diving much deeper down that path.

She had concrete evidence to support that it was, but so long as he didn't ask that question she was absolved of lying. At least, that's what she was going to tell herself. She didn't want Orochimaru to think his next order of business was to go poking around Uzushio.

He'd meet Akuma, and it probably wouldn't be a pleasant exchange. She didn't know enough about Akuma's power or how it worked, but as the 'Father of Fūinjutsu' and the firstborn son of the Sage of Six Paths… She could only imagine Orochimaru would lose or be forced to flee that battle.

"It brings to mind the Mask Storage Temple," Orochimaru mumbled, sticking a needle into her vein with the expertise of someone who'd been doing phlebotomy for years, "there has to be a reason the Uzumaki are able to summon Shinigami using such masks."

Ah, hell.

Fucking Orochimaru.

"Takes a lot of chakra to pull it off though. Not everyone can do it."

"I am not everyone," Orochimaru glanced up from her arm to give her his version of a triumphant smile, which looked quite frightening. She hesitantly returned it. Not to stroke his ego, but because she knew he was right.

He'd brought all four Hokage back to help save the world, after all.

"Fair enough," she conceded with a one shoulder shrug, careful not to jostle her left arm as blood eased through the skinny rubber tube, flowing into the bag Orochimaru held in his hand.

She'd have to find a way to get those masks back to Akuma some time after her recovery. Why he couldn't just go get them himself, she didn't know. Probably had something to do with being lazy, or he was testing to see if she could do it. Could be both things. She didn't presume to understand the mind of a thousand year old immortal.

"Have you sorted Hiraishin with your father's journal yet?" Orochimaru questioned, glancing down at the bag to see how much more he needed to draw. Right, he knew which books she'd already gotten off him and what he still had in his possession.

Fū heaved a great sigh. Very real frustration in her tone. "No, I haven't. Something about his research and writings just don't click for me. It feels innately wrong, and every time I try to employ his method on paper and give it a go I end up kissing the ground instead of doing anything approaching a space-time shift."

Orochimaru chuckled, amused as he tapered off the blood flow to the bag and set it aside. With a small piece of gauze, he pulled the needle out of her arm and pressed against the small wound.

"Perhaps because you're employing the research of a non-Uzumaki. Understanding the sealing arts comes naturally to you, whereas someone like your father or myself has to structure it like a science to understand."

His words gave her pause, and she blinked at him.

"That… makes a lot of sense," she mumbled, glancing at her arm as he taped the gauze to it. Maybe she wasn't getting Hiraishin right because she was trying to force the fūinjtusu that she already knew wasn't right? At least not for her.

"I've been known to make sense from time to time," Orochimaru joked and Fū rolled her eyes good naturedly, giving him a wry grin as she hopped off the gurney when he gestured for her to do so.

"Is that all this time?"

"This time, yes. Next time I'll examine your chakra again –" he nodded to his desk and she stepped over to it, looking through the other four books that had belonged to her parents.

It was going to be some time before she could read through one of them, this time. She wasn't sure which one she needed to have on hand to study during recovery. But while she was unable to study it herself, Kyo could always utilize the books.

In the end, she settled on one of her mom's books intriguingly entitled 'Anatomical Fūinjutsu' because it sounded interesting before taking her leave of Orochimaru, grateful that he hadn't done anything untoward while they were alone together.

Like biting a cursed seal into her shoulder.

#

'So what did you need to tell me?' The connection burst open with Taifū's question and Shisui felt his nerves subside after an hour of gut churning anxiety. If this was how Itachi felt all the time, Shisui thought he might need to be less hard on the younger Uchiha.

He and Itachi had been nervously fretting ever since they'd heard the name 'Orochimaru' in Taifū's soft voice over the seal. It had gotten so bad that they'd decided to go to the Forest of Death and train while they waited. Instead of training, though, they'd mostly just been idly running through and fighting off whatever wildlife got in their way.

'You're okay?' Itachi asked, eyes staring ahead with the sharingan active. Just because they were talking to Taifū didn't mean they could suddenly drop their guard. 'Orochimaru didn't try anything?'

'No, he actually said something that might be helpful to me where my fūinjutsu is concerned…'

'Good, that's good. We're glad you're okay,' Shisui told her, feeling more and more at ease as she spoke.

'Right as rain,' the humor in her voice was unmistakable. He wondered if that was meant to be a play on living in Rain country and his lip twitched. 'So what's going on with you guys?'

Shisui and Itachi glanced at each other, the nerves coming back in full.

Itachi was of the mind that Taifū wouldn't be happy with them for going behind her back and making plans, involving Konoha in the Akatsuki without first speaking with her about it. Shisui agreed with this sentiment. She seemed committed to her goals, and Shisui's presence might throw a wrench in that…

But it was too late now, he'd gotten approval from the Hokage that morning. He was going to be leaving at dawn tomorrow.

'Well…' Shisui began, signaling Itachi that they needed to stop. Running and dealing with an irate Taifū while defending themselves from the unnatural wildlife inside the forest wouldn't be ideal. 'Before you get angry, just know that my intentions are to help, not hinder.'

'Oh boy,' she sighed over the connection, 'what did you guys do?'

'It was entirely my idea,' Itachi claimed full responsibility, even though Shisui certainly hadn't argued and had his own reasons for agreeing, '-Shisui just got approval from the Hokage to go to the Akatsuki and ask to join as a Konohan liaison.'

Their connection went silent for several long seconds. If he hadn't been sure she was still there because the seal felt like it was still holding chakra in the sun portion, he'd have thought she'd shut it down in anger.

'Tai?' Itachi prompted as he landed on a wide branch, concern pinching his face.

'What, pray tell, would the purpose of Konoha meddling in Akatsuki affairs be?'

Shisui's heart leapt into his throat.

That was not the voice he was used to hearing from Taifū – this voice was dark and serious. Like it had been when she'd been angry with Kakashi in the gate house back in Uzushio. Like it had been when she held Kyo by the throat.

They'd definitely angered her; truly angered her.

He and Itachi met eyes, both weary as they proceeded with caution. It was clear that her commitment to the Akatsuki vastly outweighed her loyalty to Konoha. If she had any left, that was. Shisui wouldn't be surprised to learn that had all but dried up following the revelations in Uzushio.

'Konoha's interest is rooted in striving for a peaceful future. To that end, we are the same as the Akatsuki. We think that we can find common ground and work towards that goal on good terms with each other,' Shisui supplied his answer – the same answer he intended on giving Uzumaki Nagato when he would ask the same question.

'Konoha wishes to ally?' Taifū asked, but her tone was still almost frighteningly grave and neither of them were eased by it.

'We want to see if it is possible to ally, yes,' Itachi told her, tossing a kunai into the forehead of an enormous snake that was lurching toward them from their left, it coiled tightly as it died, sliding off the side of the tree limb it was on and hitting the forest floor with a resounding thud, 'furthermore, I believe it prudent to have someone we can both trust nearby as you recover. Your concerns about Orochimaru earlier make it clear to me that Shisui's presence is a necessity for our own personal goals.'

The implication was clear, and Shiusi knew it wouldn't be lost on Taifū; Itachi didn't trust Obito, and neither did Shisui.

Just because Taifū was under the impression that he'd changed and was working towards 'fixing what he broke' in a sense didn't mean much. Especially when they didn't know what it was he'd done or what he was doing to fix it.

He and Itachi had talked about that, too, while they were planning. They didn't know much about Obito or the Akatsuki. Taifū had ensured the information they'd received about the Akatsuki had been minimal, while what they learned of her had been abundant – giving them so much information about her had to have been a tactic to distract them, and if it was then she'd played it well.

They couldn't begrudge her her hesitance to trust them when it came to the organization she was placing all her efforts into reshaping, but that didn't mean they weren't skeptical. Hence, Shisui's decision to join.

Shisui had his own reasons. It wasn't just because Itachi had suggested it. Namely, he was more genuinely interested than he cared to admit, even to Itachi. What he'd told the Hokage was true. He wanted to see how well the Akatsuki's philosophies were truly aligned, not necessarily with Konoha's… but with his own.

That he'd have the opportunity to look after Taifū and report her condition to Itachi and ease the younger Uchiha's worries was an added bonus.

'Shall I be prepared to flee Amegakure after presenting the Hokage's correspondence?' Shisui asked, voice more light hearted than he felt. It was like he could feel a building tension over the communications seal and Itachi's straightforwardness hadn't helped set the Uzumaki at ease.

His attempt at deescalating the conversation failed, Taifū wasn't amused.

'Nagato won't kill the messenger. That doesn't mean that he'll simply trust you. You will be tested.'

'I assumed as much,' Shisui responded, eyeing a large flying insect that had landed on a branch above Itachi.

'Look, I'm sure you've figured out I'm not happy about this.' That was an understatement, Shisui thought. 'I'm irritated you boys went ahead and did this on your own without consulting me first.' That was fair, they'd figured she'd be upset about that. 'But my overall issue isn't with you guys, it's with Konoha interfering in the Akatsuki's business. Even if I wasn't already skeptical of the village because of Danzō's routine interference I'd still take issue with this.'

'Why?' Itachi asked over the connection, beginning to frown. He was getting better masking his emotions but sometimes they leaked through.

'Because If we make allies with one, we must reach out and make allies with all – otherwise the other nations will grow weary of us until things begin to pile up and it escalates. Thus, eventually, the spark of another great war. That's the antithesis of our purpose. The Akatsuki must tread delicately and maintain a balance or it could all come crashing down in mere weeks.'

Shisui watched Itachi's frown deepen as the bug flew off, wisely realizing they weren't worth the risk.

'I hadn't thought of it that way…' Itachi admitted.

Neither had he, in all honesty.

'It seems we have a lot to learn, Itachi.' Shisui said, making eye contact with his friend who looked like he was stressing out pretty badly now. The lines on his face deepened and his hand absentmindedly touched his poor guy was going to give himself an ulcer one day.

Shisui kept the worried frown off his own face, lest Itachi see it. He worried for the younger Uchiha, with him gone to watch over Taifū, who'd be there to make sure Itachi didn't withdraw?

He'd have to speak with Hatake Kakashi before leaving in the morning.

'That's why you come to me first next time,' Taifū sighed heavily over the connection. 'But what's done is done. How long will it take you to get here? I've got a few more days before I enter my comatose state. I might be up for your arrival.'

'If I don't stop too much I could be there in a day,' Shisui answered.

'Good, okay,' Taifū said, sounding distracted. 'I'll be up… you'll likely be introduced to an orange haired man with a ton of piercings. That's Pain, he's one of Nagato's avatars. When speaking to Pain, you are speaking to Nagato directly through him. I'd probably mention that you and I are friends. That should prompt him to summon me. Keep me updated on your ETA.'

#

Deep within the underbelly of Konoha, Kakashi stood as collected as could be after giving a heavily edited version of his last mission report to Shimura Danzō.

The original mission report itself was carefully crafted, and it wouldn't have been possible for Kakashi to edit it any more than he already had if the Third Hokage hadn't specified that the report was to be verbal only. Had there been a physical copy of it, Danzō wouldn't have needed to call him in to discuss what had happened.

Danzō being in the dark and reliant on Kakashi's word as far as the events of Uzushiogakure went was a significant boon to his cause.

That cause being the complete destruction of Root and Shimura Danzō.

After, of course, gaining every bit of intel he could to detail everything the Konoha elder had dipped his hands into over the years. Kakashi had an inkling that the man's influence had corrupted far reaching corners of the shinobi world.

It wouldn't be easy, collecting as much evidence as he could. It would take finesse, skill, and an innate ability to read underneath the underneath. It would take years to do it properly. Any misstep would prove disastrous and deadly.

Kakashi would rather put himself in that kind of danger than drag anyone else into this… he was still unsure if he should truly involve Itachi. Even if the genin was adamant to join him.

(He was still annoyed that the two young Uchiha had been conspiring behind his back for Shisui to infiltrate the Akatsuki. He'd be having words with them over that, in the future.)

Unfortunately, it seemed that involving the Uchiha clan heir was one of Danzō's personal goals. So Kakashi didn't have much choice. Even if he tried to keep Itachi out of it, Danzō was going to find a way to pull him in regardless.

"Did you learn anything else while you were on the island, aside from the existence of this malevolent spirit called 'Akuma?'" Danzō was seated behind his great desk, much larger than the Hokage's desk and that was a great testament to the man's ego if Kakashi had ever seen one.

"Just that I'm certain he's still around, even though we managed to reseal him. The island's protective barrier has to do with his own seal somehow – it expelled us from the city the moment Akuma was taken down. It stood to reason that he is connected to the city itself. To what end, we couldn't know. The city did not permit us reentry after that."

That Uzushio was semi-sentient was something that had been long reported, so it fit with current intel that something had to be at the root of that sentience. From Kakashi's own observation, it seemed that it had to do with Akuma.

Thus, a lie forged with a semblance of truth to make it more believable.

Danzō threaded his fingers together under his scarred chin and eyed him with his natural eye. Now that Kakashi knew the bandages covered a stolen sharingan, he was more weary than before of manipulation, and on edge waiting for the barest movement of the man's hand toward his bandages.

"I see," the elder sighed, his flat stare trained on Kakashi as if he was trying to draw the whole truth out with a look alone, "That a dangerous being has the ability to close off an entire island to outsiders is not ideal. However, as it seems unable to leave the island without a body it doesn't seem like too much of a threat to Konoha for now. Yet I have concerns that Uzumaki Taifū may yet return to Uzushio and unseal it. Good intentions within the Akatsuki notwithstanding, we do not know what could happen should Akuma find a willing host. Tell me, what was her reaction to the spirit?"

It was only his years of training and self control that kept him utterly neutral as Taifū's name fell from the elder's mouth. All he wanted to do was clamp a chidori charged hand around the man's throat to force him to keep his little sister's name out of that disgusting mouth.

He refrained.

"I don't think that is an outcome we need to worry about, Danzō-sama. She was terrified of the spirit, clinging to Itachi for protection when we arrived."

Kakashi didn't like having to make Fū seem pathetic, but it was safer that way. Of course, eventually, Danzō would learn that she wasn't without her skills and training. She was around academy graduate level in most shinobi disciplines. From what he'd recently seen of her seal work, she was at least chunin level in that specific field despite her young age. He thought, without really challenging her to see for himself, that she'd be a formidable fūinjutsu specialist one day.

With the right team to fill the cracks in her skillset and have her back she'd likely be an absolute monster on the field. If that's what she wanted. She had told him she didn't really want to be a kunoichi, and he wasn't sure how the Akatsuki would structure her training and if they would facilitate a good team for her so…

Regardless, for now it was safer that the elder think Fū was wholly incompetent. It would keep his mind off of thinking she was a threat and conspiring to assassinate her.

The truth was that Taifū was probably one of the biggest threats in the making. To Danzō, at least.

"Hm," Danzo's eye closed and he leaned back against the high backed chair in his office. Once again, more grandiose than the Hokage's. "Very well. Thank you for bringing this report to my attention."

Kakashi had never been more happy to hear a roundabout dismissal in his life.

He took his time, walking through the village instead of racing over the rooftops so he could stop at the market. He was jostling a couple grocery bags when he finally made it to his apartment, intent on preparing a quick meal and reading for the rest of the night when he noticed a familiar chakra signature lingering near his door.

"I'm not in the mood for visitors, Shisui-san," Kakashi told the young jonin, using one hand to release the seals on his door and eying the boy who stood pressed against the wall with his hands behind his back.

He was especially not in the mood for visitors who made plans about things that were important to him behind his back.

"Good thing I haven't come for a visit then, Kakashi-san," Shisui's usual jovial tone grated on his nerves and Kakashi thought about kicking the door shut in his face, but the young jonin continued on and Kakashi decided against it, "I'm leaving in the morning. I have a request, if you'll indulge me."

With a heavy sigh to convey how burdened he was, no matter how inauthentic it was, Kakashi waved him inside.

"I won't intrude long, I would just like to ask that you keep an eye on Itachi while I'm away. He's prone to overthinking and retreating into himself, withdrawing from the world. I tend to step in when I see it happening—"

"But you won't be around much, at least not for a while," Kakashi filled in the blanks as he dumped his groceries on his counter, starting to unload his items, "why do you think he needs to be brought out of it?"

"Because he's brilliant," Shisui deadpanned, stepping a bit farther into the apartment instead of loitering in the foyer, "and with that comes a capacity for deep, critical thinking. There are a lot of things in this world that can turn someone like him cynical. Then there's the pressure that's on him because he's the Uchiha clan heir… combined, Itachi is forced to live his life acting like everything is okay even when he's suffering inside and nobody notices."

Ah.

Yes, Kakashi could see why Shisui was so concerned. It was the perfect storm – with the right prodding, someone like Danzo could probably manipulate Itachi by wreaking havoc on his psyche with nothing more than psychological warfare. Especially at this age.

"Don't worry Shisui. I'm angry with you both, but I'll watch out for Itachi. I promise," he tried not to flinch at the word 'promise' because every time he made one of those he seemed to fail miserably… but Shisui seemed to need the reassurance and the younger jonin breathed a sigh of relief.

"Great, that's great. Thank you, Kakashi-san," Shisui bowed, low and respectful. "I'll leave you to eat your meal, I apologize for disrupting your afternoon."

'Don't thank me yet, kid. There's plenty of time for me to fuck this up too,' Kakashi thought as he watched Shisui form the seals for the body flicker and disappear a second later.

#

"Brat."

Fū looked up from the kitchen island where she'd been trying to decode the cypher her mother had placed on the new fūinjutsu book she'd gotten from Orochimaru. It had been a struggle, and she still wasn't getting anywhere when Sasori called out to her from her doorway. She glanced at him, the real him standing there with his arms folded over his chest and looking borderline annoyed that he was there at all – like he was about to turn and leave at any moment.

She hadn't even heard the door open. Didn't she have seals on it?

Also, how long had he been there? Wait, what time was it? She glanced at the clock on the stove. Almost supper time, Naruto and Obito had been out training for over three hours and she'd gotten sucked into her studies that whole time.

"Shishou?" Fū asked as she reoriented to the world, closing the book cover.

He didn't say anything, just stepped further into the room and closed the door behind him with a lazy flick of his index finger.

"You rely too heavily on fūinjutsu," Sasori deadpanned in the way he often did, and Fū's head tilted and she swiveled the barstool to face him better, her curiosity piqued. The man just didn't mince words. "You need to develop your speed, agility, sensory abilities, and find some sort of weapon to master. Daggers, katana, bow and arrow whatever suits you. I would recommend something you can use close ranged in a pinch. I believe you could reach Tokujō level in five years if you focus on your sealwork."

Fū was flattered that he believed she could be a specialized jonin in a few years of training. Considering this was the same man who'd told her she was never going to be a good ninja.

Still, she waited for the 'but.'

"But specializing is the privilege of those who live behind the walls of a large shinobi village, effectively protected in relative safety surrounded by capable front line fighters. You do not have that kind of luxury. You must fight to protect yourself. Master these additional disciplines and you may manage to see sixteen."

Fū's lip twitched.

'Aww, Sasori~'

"I knew you liked me," she smiled big as he scoffed, rolling his eyes and his crossed arms tightening over his chest almost imperceptibly. "Even if you are super grumbly about it."

"Watch it, you insolent brat," he grumbled without bite, proving her point.

"Anything else I should work on, Sasori-shishou?" Fū asked, deciding that it wasn't safe to provoke him any further lest she mysteriously disappear and resurface during a fight years from now as a puppet.

"Not dying."

Fū laughed out loud as Sasori rolled his eyes and took his leave just as quickly as he'd come.

#

Fū had probably expected a couple of skilled professionals when she'd suggested demolishing the wall between her suite and the vacant one next door.

In Obito's anger and frustration after learning what she'd gone behind his back to plan with Akuma and Nagato – Obito decided to take it upon himself. Luckily, Naruto was in the courtyard learning how to properly wield shuriken and kunai. Rubber, of course.

"You gonna be okay, Aniki?" Fū called out from the couch where she sat cross legged with her hands wrapped around her ankles. The dust from Obito's impromptu demolition was getting everywhere, but she was unconcerned for the moment. She'd muted the television to talk with him, so to their left an anime was continuing on in utter silence. The movement on the screen was distracting but neither of them made a move to turn it off.

Obito paused and scoffed. His whole upper body sagging in defeat. He laid a bloodied fist against what remained of the wall, followed by his forehead.

"Anything I'm going to say will fall on deaf ears anyway."

"It must be done," Fū told him. Just as she told him an hour ago.

"I am well aware that that is what you believe, Taifū." Obito ground out her whole name in a clipped, dark tone.

She must've been unsure what to say and realized he was just as upset with her as he was with the situation. She looked down at the carpet and gripped her ankles harder, looking like a kicked puppy.

"What did Nagato have to say about this plan?" He wished Kakashi hadn't taught her how to do that sad look. It stabbed him lightly, the first pang of guilt over his volatile reaction. Though she hadn't reacted to that. He was an Uchiha, passion was their nature. Fū seemed to understand that.

No, she hadn't reacted to his violence since it wasn't directed at her. She'd reacted to his words and his tone.

"He argued against it, but Akuma, Kyo, and I vetoed him," Fū said in a small voice. Another stab of guilt, and he watched her snap her knees together and tuck them against her chest, releasing her ankles to wrap her arms around her shins. "It's not an Akatsuki matter, it's a clan matter between members of the Akastuki who belong to the Uzumaki clan."

"Doesn't matter how you finesse the wording, Fū. Pretend the Akatsuki and your clan aren't factors and you're left with the fact that you're giving up almost every drop of your own life force to return Nagato to health. That's dangerous. What happens if Akuma takes that last percent? On purpose or by accident. What happens, then?"

"I die, I guess," Fū said and he could barely hear her now.

"Yes. You die, leaving me and Naruto alone. Naruto would lose his last biological family." Obito bit out, knowing he might be speaking too harshly but he needed to drive his point home. Fū had to stop making reckless decisions with her life, because her death was unfathomable and it would affect so many people in terrible ways… she needed to take that more seriously. "Kakashi and your other Uchiha friends, too. You've set them on a certain path, haven't you? What happens if you die and leave everyone behind to pick up the pieces of this shattered reality now that everyone knows bits of the future you're trying to prevent from becoming the present? How do they proceed without you?"

"I–I hadn't really thought about–"

"Exactly," Obito snapped, his guilt at war with his irritation and he was having a difficult time calming himself down. The tension in his shoulders made him want to go back to beating the wall down with force, but he'd almost completed that demolition already,, "you didn't really think."

"I'm sorry," He felt himself deflate at the watery cry that ripped from Fū's lips and he looked down at her, seeing her eyes loaded with tears and staring up at him imploringly, "I'm sorry, but this is still my decision. I'm not changing my mind. So either you can adjust to the idea, move in, and help me out while I'm weak, or you can retreat to Kiri if you're that upset with me. I can just stagnate for months and hope for the best."

"I'm not fucking leaving you, Fū," Obito gave a bitter, half laugh and sneered, stomping over to drop onto the couch beside her with a huff, "you're crazy if you think I'd ever abandon you no matter how royally pissed off I am at the stupid selfless decisions you make."

He meant it, too. Fū could do anything… the most heinous thing anyone could ever think of, and Obito wouldn't go anywhere, even if he was critical of whatever it was. Even if he was mad as the nine tails on Naruto's birthday. Uchiha Obito would not abandon Fū.

Fū was quiet for several minutes, and Obito used that silence to calm himself down. Eventually, he leaned his head back against the couch during his deep breathing exercises and Fū leaned into his side. He dropped his left arm around her shoulders and everything seemed to have reached its peak and was deescalating from there.

"Love you, Obi-nii," Fū mumbled, like she was scared to break the tentative peace between them and risk reigniting their fight. He squeezed her shoulders, pulling her more tightly into his side. He was just about to respond when she spoke again to tease him. "But if you don't clean up this mess you created I'm not making you a plate tonight. You can forget it."

#

"I– I didn't expect you to bring the child Jinchuuriki…" Yugito said in surprise as Fū stepped into one of the smaller Akatsuki meeting rooms, a wiggly Naruto in her arms and the Deva Path right behind her.

Obito was already hiding in the rafters, like the nosey nellie he was. Still very much concerned about her even if he was angry with her decisions.

They'd eventually make up with each other. Hopefully within the next couple days because she was running low on time at this point. But she hadn't seen him since their blow out where he began the impromptu reconstruction of their (he was going to move in to take care of her, angry or not) suite.

"Well I figured it was best not to leave Kurama-sama out of things if we were assembling to speak about the bijuu," Fū told her, dropping into an open chair and glancing between the blonde and Utakata.

Nagato's Deva Path was a steady presence at her back. He said nothing, but he placed a hand on her shoulder while Naruto eyed the new people.

She was surprised he hadn't immediately demanded she let him down so he could go see Yugito and Utakata, but she wondered if it had something to do with Kurama? This was a glaring reminder that she hadn't taken a look at her brother's seal, and that she needed to.

But she was still nervous that she might unravel Mintao's work. She could ask Akuma, but she was storing life force for Nagato– after. She'd look into Naruto's seal after she recovered.

Her stomach dropped, suddenly reminded that she'd be going comatose in just three more days, now.

Shisui would be arriving in Ame some time today.

"You really do know all of their names, then?" Utakata asked, the picture of relaxed as he leaned casually in his chair with his hands in his lap. He looked bored, as usual. Not that he was, of course. You never knew with shinobi. "Saiken wishes to hear you speak them."

"In order, then?" Fū's brow raised, and Naruto started huffing and squirming to get down off her lap so she let him as she stated; "Shukaku, Matatabi, Isobu, Son Gokū, Kokuō, Saiken, Chōmei, Gyūki, and Kurama."

Fū hadn't expected the small burst of blue chakra that gathered behind Yugito. But in hindsight she should have. A chibi version of Matatabi formed, gracefully leapt forward, and stood upon the table directly in front of her, tails flickering behind and her bicolored eyes watched Fū with interest.

"Kitty!" Naruto gripped the edge of the table with both hands, pushing up on his tiptoes so he could see over the edge of the table. He raised his arm to try and reach Matatabi, looking up at Fū with wide, beseeching eyes. "Pet kitty?"

"Noooo, Naruto, she's a forbidden kitty," Fū tried not to laugh as she hauled her brother back up into her lap again so that she could have some semblance of control. "No petting without permission. Good morning, Matatabi-sama."

"Good morning, Fū-san," her calm voice set some of the tension that had burst in the room due to her sudden appearance at ease. "I am glad to see you well."

"Likewise," Fū smiled at her, then looked down at the curious toddler she was barely holding in place, "this is my little brother Naruto. He's Kurama's jinchuuriki. Naruto," that yellow head snapped up and cerulean blue trained on her, "this is Matatabi-sama, and behind her are Yugito-san and Utakata-san. They're friends."

"Friends?" He asked, glancing between her and the ball of blue chakra.

"Yep!"

"Ok. Hi friends!" Naruto's hand shot up and swung wildly through the air, the most exuberant wave she'd ever seen.

"Hi, Naruto-chan," Yugito was smiling softly and Fū thought the blonde probably had a soft spot for kids.

Utakata looked unimpressed.

"So, what questions do you have for me?" Fū directed her attention to Matatabi, distracting Naruto with his frog stuffy so she could try to get this conversation rolling. If it didn't happen now, it wouldn't be happening for a while. She was running short on time. At least for a few months.

"You said there was a reason you knew the names of myself and the others?" Matatabi prompted, lowering herself to lay on the table as if she owned it. Nobody tried to correct her. "We would like to hear this reason."

Cat's do what they want, after all.

Fū did her best not to look up at the Deva Path, because she knew he wouldn't approve of her honesty in this situation. His hand tightened just slightly in warning but she ignored it.

"I have some foreknowledge of the future."

Matatabi's bicolored eyes remained trained on her while Yugito's widened and Utakata actually displayed some semblance of shock when his back straightened and his jaw went a little slack.

'Ha! You aren't bored now are you, pretty boy?' Fū thought, feeling like the evil elmo in the fire image from the other world.

"Most of what I know is no longer viable. I've influenced change within certain groups, and am closely monitoring another, to prevent events that would escalate to forge a way for Kaguya's return." Fū's own gaze remained locked on Matatabi as she continued to drop the truth to the bijuu, because at least three of them were listening to her right now. "The future I saw – all nine of you converged back to your original form and you know what happens after that. Fortunately, that's no longer going to be the outcome. What the future holds now is only a dream, one that we at the Akatsuki will toil to make reality."

Pain's hand on her shoulder eased now, and a little green frog flew past her eyes while Naruto babbled about 'flying froggies.' His voice was the only one in the room right then, breaking up the awkward silence following her proclamation.

"What dream would that be, Fū-san?" Matatabi asked with an eerie calm. Fū had a feeling a lot was riding on her answer here. The opinion, or perhaps the blessing, of the bijuu could herald a turning point down the line in the Akatsuki's plan. Making a good impression here today could be pivotal.

"We wish to establish and maintain a sustainable peace," Fū mustered every bit of conviction she had in her body and her spirit when she said this, with single minded determination, "and we're well aware that it's going to be a long, difficult, and unsteady road to walk. It will be littered with peril at every turn, but we're undaunted by the threat of turbulence."

"What makes your idea of peace any more feasible and sustainable than other idealists who have come before you?" Utakata interrupted, frowning deeply as if he was concentrating hard on something. She wondered what, but his honey eyes snapped to hers and he elaborated; "Saiken wishes to know."

Fū shrugged in response, her throat going a little dry. She cleared her throat, to buy herself time to assemble the correct answer… but ended up just going with her heart.

"I don't think my idea is more feasible, per say. But… I've also witnessed another reality, a world in which there wasn't peace… not in a sense that everything was utterly utopic and perfect at all times… but foreign leaders came together to negotiate each other's interests more often than they warred. Policies were agreed upon and written to maintain congeniality between nations. Most people did not engage in violent conflict resolution. It was as peaceful as humanity could be, because we are all deeply flawed and we will never make the correct decisions all of the time and self interest will still reign supreme if left unchecked. But as I once told Pain, peace is not forced; it's negotiated continually. I'd like to go forward with that in mind, always."

"You're Uzumaki Nori's current reincarnation aren't you?" Matatabi asked, her voice less grave than it had been before.

Blinking, a little disoriented by the about-face in the conversation, Fū could only nod at the Nibi's question.

"Since you entered the room today I can feel Akuma's chakra all around you. I wondered why, but I have my answer now," the bijuu raised and stretched, front paws reaching out as far as they could go and her hindquarters up in the air, "very well, Uzumaki Fū. You have my interest and at present my cooperation. Chōmei has requested a rescue. She wishes to join myself and Saiken, but her container is young and cannot make the trip on her own."

Fū.

Chōmei's jinchuuriki was the teal haired Fū. That would get confusing, having two Fū's in the Akatsuki. Perhaps the little one could be referred to as Fū2, since she was still a toddler? That would have to be something they worked out.

Wait, was she actually considering kidnapping Fū2 from… wait, where was the seven tails? Takigakure? Fū looked up at Pain with a frown, then back at Matatabi who'd relaxed and was sitting on her haunches blinking at her.

"Uhm, I'm not really equipped for a mission at the moment. Is Chōmei's jinchuuriki in danger?"

"Not that she has said, but if you know of other realities then you must know how jinchuuriki are treated. The child is young, roughly the same age as your Naruto. Do you wish to see her suffer the way I've seen Yugito suffer?" Matatabi asked, and Fū couldn't help but feel like she was definitely being guilt tripped.

"I can retrieve her," Pain offered, speaking for the first time since entering the room with them and saving Fū from answering. "If that is what the bijuu wishes."

"But does she have parents, though? Because we can't go around stealing babies from their families like that, Pain-sama." Fū's heart clenched at the implication and forcefully banished the thoughts of Minato and Kushina.

"Much like many jinchuuriki, her parents have abandoned her. They cut ties and left Takigakure after Chōmei was sealed within," Matatabi answered.

It was sudden, like a shock of electricity through the body when you accidentally touch the metal of a phone charger as you unplugged it from the outlet. Fū's whole body seized up and she dropped her jaw.

"Gaara!" Fū slammed her hand to her forehead and Naruto shrieked at the sudden jostling. "I forgot about Gaara – is Shukaku interested in a rescue too? Because his jinchuuriki definitely is in need of one…" Fū looked back up at Pain. "Gaara, at very least, is going to need his seal fixed. Suna had no idea what they were doing – the Fourth Kazekage was overly ambitious. To the detriment of his own third born."

She couldn't believe she'd forgotten about Gaara! That sweet boy who went so horrifically off course, only to meet Naruto and change his life completely in the years that followed. If she recalled correctly he was a little younger than Naruto. If the Akatsuki could find a way to take him now she could prevent a lot of the damage that would be done to his psyche when Rasa started sending assassins after him at six years old.

"Do you think it wise to kidnap the Kazekage's child? You just said we couldn't take children from their families…" Pain reminded her, a very faint humor in his voice.

Fū waved a hand at him, channeling her inner Kakashi. "Mah, it's different if the child is in an abusive home situation."

"In any case, Shukaku has not called for assistance. He was vehemently opposed when we last spoke. When he does ask, I shall let you know. Meanwhile, Kurama's seal is most restrictive…" Matatabi eased the conversation along, eyes darting between Fū and Pain with an amused smile.

"I've been hesitant to touch his seal. My father created it and his understanding of fūinjutsu was different from mine. I worry I'll make things worse – I plan to do more research before I go anywhere near it, lest I hurt my brother in the process." Fū dropped the hand that had been waving at Pain to the back of her head sheepishly through her explanation. "Apologies, Kurama-sama. I'll work on it soon."

"Your father was a fūinjutsu specialist?" Matatabi asked, head tilting to the side as if she was trying to figure something out.

"My father was an all rounder and a frontliner… it was my mother who introduced him to complex seal work and he was brilliant at it for an outsider of the Uzumaki clan," Fū explained with a proud grin, because Mintao was someone to be proud of even if she wasn't claiming his name these days, and Kushina was just as worthy as Mintao had been. "They were amazing people."

"What happened to them?" Yugito asked quietly from behind Matatabi and Fū felt her mood drop instantly.

But she wasn't going to shy away from the truth.

"They both died defending their village from Kurama when he wrenched out of my mother's seal due to manipulation from an Uchiha's sharingan on the night Naruto was born," she felt Pain go utterly still behind her, but continued on because it was the truth–and just because she'd forgiven Obito didn't mean that it didn't hurt her that it happened. Didn't mean that she didn't still struggle with the guilt that she hadn't tried to prevent it. "My father summoned a Shinigami and exchanged his life for the ability to stop Kurama's rampage and seal away half of his chakra in his own body whilst sealing the other half inside Naruto. My mother was impaled on his claw saving Naruto from the same fate. My father was also impaled on the claw, trying to save my mother because his fate was already sealed."

"I–I'm sorry," Yugito looked pale and quite sorry she'd asked.

'Yeah, so am I.' Fū thought, absently running a hand through Naruto's spiky yellow hair but seeing the flash of someone else.

She swallowed past the sharp ache that formed in her throat.

#

The curly haired Uchiha boy who stood before him was not nearly as intimidated as he should be, and Nagato had to commend the boy's composure as he finished reading the Third Hokage's note through the Deva Path.

"This is a bold approach by your village, Uchiha-san," Nagato began, releasing the paper and letting it flutter down to his desk where he pressed his hand against it and drummed his fingers, eyeing the proposed 'liaison,' "your Kage is asking for me to place a level of trust in you and your village that I do not have."

"I understand, Pain-sama," the boy who couldn't be any more than twelve years old but carried himself like a man well into adulthood nodded, "it's asking a lot. Per Taifū-san, we learned that your goal is to establish a peaceful future. Konoha envisions a future much the same. We don't see a reason we can't work together to achieve this."

The problem was that not everyone inside Konoha was peace oriented. Surely Danzo had not been informed of this mission – the Third Hokage was acting bold indeed if he was reaching out to the Akatsuki without the support of his elders.

Unless he'd gotten the support of the Konohan Elders and this was some kind of trap. Which was where Nagato's belief was leaning.

"Why choose you?" Nagato asked the Leaf jonin, careful to keep the Deva path's tone just as neutral as always.

"I was the one who suggested this arrangement," the young man confessed, a soft smile turning the corners of his lips. "I was inspired by Uzumaki Taifu's conviction and I wanted to come see for myself what the Akatsuki was and how you operated, because your goal is one that I share personally. But… I didn't wish to forsake my village to come here. So I proposed this as an alternate route to get here that wouldn't label me a rogue ninja and allowed me to return to see my family from time to time."

'Bolder still,' Nagato thought, detecting no lies in the Uchiha's wording and wondering what it was in Konoha's water supply that forged such odd yet strong and steadfast people like Shisui, Taifū, and Obito.

"That is quite brave of you, Uchiha-san," Nagato said, leaning back in his chair and threading his fingers together with his elbows on the desk, observing the surprise on the Uchiha's face at his words, "you've risked your life and your status within your village for the opportunity to come to the Akatsuki based solely on the words of one girl who has yet to reach her eighth birthday."

Nagato said this specifically to see how the Uchiha would react. He had a feeling that Taifū had told him far more than he was letting on. Obito's mission report had stated that Uchiha Shisui had been invited inside Uzushio's walls, which meant that Akuma had allowed it. Akuma wouldn't have allowed an outsider in for no reason.

Idly, he wondered if he'd get a chance to meet Uchiha Itachi, the one Akuma had taken alongside Taifū. Nagato had yet to discover why the ancient spirit had done that and he was intrigued.

"Ah, but you'd probably have to agree that one doesn't need to spend much time in Taifū-san's presence to realize she's more than what she seems," Shisui told him with a demure grin.

"Yes, that is true enough." At this, Nagato allowed himself a small smile alone in his rooms before conceding through the Deva Path, while simultaneously sending one of his other Path's to retrieve the girl in question.

He had need of her input before allowing Uchiha Shisui to join the Akatsuki.