Patriarch Angel

The steady rhythm of the eternal rain beat against the steel and concrete fortress that was Amegakure, occasionally softening its nighttime song as it landed on fabric umbrellas and shiny trash bags sitting neglected on the street corners. Slower footsteps overlaid the music as people traversed the sidewalks, unhindered by the weather they had lived with their entire lives. Halogen lamps lit the way, a yellow haze in the surrounding darkness.

A mere whisper in this thrum of life, Pein's Deva Path wove in and out of the foot traffic, keeping to the shadows as much as possible. Few actually saw him, and none questioned his presence whenever he ambled into the light, hair wet and piercings glinting. The other paths were at rest, as he should have been, but Nagato had been feeling agitated lately, and so had sent him out into the heart of the city.

It didn't happen often, but when it did the chakra-channeled need drove him to the darkest parts of Ame's underbelly, where the changes the Akatsuki strove for had the least effect. When the violence and mistrust of the shinobi life began to wear on him he came here to remind himself of why he did what he did. That he wasn't the true evil of the world. That lay waiting in the gutter, growling with an empty stomach and screaming with a hoarse voice for a fulfillment that never came…

Passing a familiar restaurant that was already closed for the night, he turned down the alley behind.

It was this same voice that filled the dark memories of his early childhood. Neighbors screaming before the telltale sounds of physical blows, slurring drunks stumbling over themselves on their way to their next bottle, sugar coated words behind twisted smiles trying to coax trust from a wary child. And the dead… victims of war everywhere, the ones who would care enough to bury and mourn them just as dead. But the external desperation was nothing compared to the emptiness inside. The hunger, the need for just one day of better things, an end to feeling hollow. It was a world of dying souls in empty husks, too fixated on the path before them to look up and see the abyss waiting to swallow them.

Solid pavement beneath his sandaled feet morphed into cracked fragments as he reached his destination. The buildings above suffered from the same neglect, bricks and broken glass littering the allies between. The stench of wet garbage permeated the air, a rotten smell that stayed with you no matter how far you managed to get away from it. Then came the people, standing or sitting on the street, looking for any opportunity to fill their need, or unwilling to return to their personal hell disguised as a home.

Pein wandered through street after street for most of the night, not really seeing any one particular person or thinking of anything more than his immediate surroundings. Dawn was streaking the sky when he stopped in the middle of a block of buildings, sensing the end of his impromptu journey. He was about to turn around when the sound of quiet sobbing reached his ears. He knew the hauntingly familiar sound well enough to know that it was a child, and he was mourning a loss that went to the bottom of his soul.

Drawn onward, he found himself standing beside an apartment building, broken and boarded windows glaring down on him. A boy of five or six years sat hunched over a pathetic square of yard next to the front steps, digging up the earth with his bare hands. His black hair was tangled and looked like it hadn't seen a wash in ages. His clothes were filthy and too small, with dark brownish black smudges replacing the original blue of the fabric. Beside him sat a dirty sheaf of newspaper, rolled around a small brown mouse. Its head was smashed flat, as if it had been caught in a trap set for a much larger rodent.

Completely silent, Pein walked up beside the boy. It wasn't until he had knelt down that he was noticed. Turning angry, swollen eyes on him, the child glared at him for his intrusion. They were hollow and haunted in a gut-wrenching way that reminded him of the first time he looked into the mirror Konan had dragged into their hideout.

"Go away." he commanded in a tight voice.

Pein stared him down for several seconds. "No," he said "I'll help you with this."

The child ignored him then, turning back to his task. Either he didn't see Pein as a threat to him, or was too upset to care. Leaning forward, weight balanced on the balls of his feet, the notorious leader of the Akatsuki helped dig a grave for a mouse. He scooped up a large handful of the wet earth and set it to the side. Two more scoopfuls and the hole was more than big enough. Very gently, the boy lifted up the newspaper and set the mouse in the hole. The dirt was pushed back in place and tamped down, a tuft of scraggly grass sticking out of one side. They kneeled in silence for several minutes before Pein placed a hand on the boy's head.

"Are you alone, child?"

Swiping at the tears streaking through his dirty face, he met his gaze levelly. "I am now."

"I was alone once, just like you. I lost my only friend, and had no one."

"What happened to you?"

"An angel came and saved me."

"A real angel?"

"Yes. Would you like to meet her?"

The boy grew thoughtful for a moment before he nodded. Standing, Pein scooped him up in his arms and started back down the street. He didn't protest, and no one questioned them as they passed, the back streets rapidly emptying with the coming light. The boy weighed next to nothing, and Pein could feel his bones protruding just beneath the skin. He also noticed a rattle whenever he breathed. A few more weeks on the street and he was sure the child would be just another forgotten casualty of the desperateness around him.

The base was already alive with activity when he stepped into the building. He sensed Konan's presence in the kitchen with Sakura, and the smell of breakfast being prepared floated through the hall. Ino, Tenten and Hinata were waiting for him in the common room, and they rose from the couch when he entered. Ino stepped forward, a cheery smile on her face.

"Konan-sama told us we were having a guest this morning. I have a bath ready, and Hinata and Tenten volunteered to go buy some clothes as soon as he arrived." She turned her attention to the boy in his arms. "Hey there. I'm Ino. Would you like to get cleaned up while my friends finish cooking breakfast?"

He took in the three women standing there before giving Pein a look that was half bewildered and half betrayed. "You didn't tell me there was more than one. How many do you have?"

"Five."

"Five." He repeated the word as if it were unfathomable. Then he struggled to get down until Pein released him, and walked over to Ino. "I'm ready."

She took his hand in hers, inwardly grimacing at how bony his wrist was, before leading him toward the door. Hinata and Tenten watched him go, sizing him up so they could get the proper clothing for him, before giving Pein a puzzled look. Surely he hadn't told the child he was taking him to a building full of ninja. That would probably have scared him more than anything.

"Excuse me, Pein-sama, but what do you have five of?" Tenten asked.

The corner of his lips lifted before he turned to leave the room, his voice floating over his shoulder before he disappeared from sight.

"Five angels."

Tenten smiled and Hinata lightly blushed before they looked at each other.

"Have you ever seen him act this way?" Hinata whispered after she was sure he was gone.

"No. I think our untouchable leader has a soft spot for kids."

Nearly an hour later Pein found himself in the kitchen, watching the now clean and dressed child being coddled by the kunoichi crowded around him. Ino had coaxed him into a relaxed state while she was bathing him, and was able to read his mind without him realizing her intrusion. She found out that his name was Haru and that both his parents were murdered while he hid under his bed. They were the only family he had, and he hid again when the authorities came and the bodies were removed, which was why he was on his own.

Sakura was currently giving him an examination while he ate, cleverly disguised as 'angel magic tricks', her face struggling to stay pleasant as she worked on the effects of malnourishment and neglect. While Haru was amused with Sakura's glowing hands, he had insisted that Konan sit beside him, being the angel that 'saved people and had real angel wings and everything'. She stroked his inky black hair that was growing long as she exchanged a soft look with Pein. While this was the first child the other kunoichi had seen come through the doors with him, Haru wasn't the only orphan he had rescued from the streets.

They had a house in one of Ame's better districts, bought and kept secret from even Madara, and run by a young couple that Pein had hand selected for the job. There were already three children there, two in a regular academy, the third just learning to read and write. Pein had insisted that shinobi training be discouraged, wanting them to have as normal a life as possible after the hardships they had already suffered. They didn't visit often, not wanting either party to get attached should something happen, but she knew he kept tabs on what was happening in their lives. After Haru recovered from the trauma she knew he was suffering, he would have a ready-made family waiting on him.

She watched from the corner of her eye as the peaceful expression left the Deva Path's expression and he moved from the doorway to disappear down the hallway. Recognizing the disturbed look, her own joy was replaced with concern. Leaving Haru to Sakura and his breakfast, she stood and followed after him. He was well ahead of her, and did not turn as he entered their office, leaving the door ajar to let her know he was aware of her nonetheless. Locking it behind her, she activated the seals to ensure their privacy before following him into the secret chamber at the back. After being awake all night, Pein went to rest his body, leaving her alone with Nagato.

He was awake, staring at her through his curtain of bright red hair. His ribs rose and fell rhythmically beneath his grayish skin in time with the gentle hiss of air moving through tubes. Stepping up to the machine that kept him alive, Konan gave him a small smile.

"He will be just fine, Nagato-kun."

His silver eyes roamed over her through the silence that followed. It took him several moments to find his voice, unused for a long time.

"When will it ever be enough?"

"You saved his life today."

"As you saved mine. But this world will only keep breeding the conditions that made him if something isn't done soon."

"You're doing the best you can."

"It isn't enough, my angel."

Konan's face softened as she stepped up on the edge of the machine so she could reach him. Gently wrapping her arms around his emaciated shoulders, she embraced him, laying her cheek against his. "You're so strong. Some men don't even care about what happens to their own children, but you have never forgotten what it was like to be without a protector. Thank you."

Sufficiently distracted from his brooding, Nagato's voice softened. "You looked very happy with him."

"I was. Shall we have a few more?" she teasingly asked.

He gave her a rare smile before turning his face into hers. "If that's what you want."

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A/N: I was in the mood for a little tragedy when I started this one, but wasn't sure where it should go from the beginning. It definitely wasn't what I envisioned for my Father's Day fic, but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. :)