I shat that last chapter out very quickly and I hate it. I'm so sorry guys, I'll try harder in this one! Please enjoy!

South of Konoha

Several pairs of sandaled feet bounced through the tree limbs in a mad dash for the large shinobi village nestled in the forest to the north.

None dared to think about the list of possible outcomes, as none were anything short of horrific.

The blond artist flew high above the cover of the clouds, preparing an arsenal of explosive sculptures. His friend was in danger, and he was willing to blow up anything to help her.

Back in the trees, the Uchiha sped ahead of the group, matching pace with the Leader of their organization. Pein had a troubled look in his eye but kept his grim gaze forward.

By the time the tall, wide gates of the village were in sight, hours had passed.

"Remain hidden in the trees. Assume your positions and wait for the signal." Pein said, turning on his heel. Itachi fell into step behind him, and the two Ronin approached the south gate.

The two guards were instantly standing before the duo, blocking the path into the village.

"Akatsuki!" One shouted, brandishing a kunai.

"State your purpose," the taller jonin demanded, his hand on the hilt of his sword.

"We've come to reclaim what you've stolen from us," Pein said, his voice deep and angry.

"Nothing more," Itachi added, flashing his Sharingan.

Instantly, the two men were slumping to the ground, their minds already in a state of unconsciousness.

The two S-class ninjas continued through the village, ignoring the horrified stares thrown their way. Itachi led Pein through the alleys to the tower, the duo coming to a halt a few blocks away.

A loud noise came from the main road, a woman's voice shouting.

Pein and Itachi exchanged a glance and were gone in an instant, quickly moving to the rooftop of a nearby building.

"FREEDOM!" I shouted, throwing myself on the ground in front of the Hokage Tower.

Tsunade had quickly deemed me as harmless and demanded my immediate release. It didn't take much to prove that I was being truthful; just some information about the past and present, as well as a few small details about the future. I tried to keep it as vague as possible, but when she asked about Danzo, I held nothing back. That guy was a shitstain, and I made Tsunade very aware of my distrust of the evil man.

I stuck my tongue out at Ibiki, who rolled his eyes.

"So, Saki," Tsunade said, "It was... interesting to meet with you, but now I need you out of my village."

"Noted," I replied, standing up and dusting myself off. "Thank you for not killing me. Not that it's possible or anything."

"Right..." The Hokage replied, looking at me as if my head had caught on fire and I'd began chanting out old sea shanties.

Then, Tsunade turned on her heel and retreated into her tower.

"What an odd lady," I sighed, "Well Ibiki-san, wanna walk me to the gate?"

By the time I'd picked myself up, Ibiki was gone.

"Wait," I called to the now-empty street.

Guess I'll have to unseal Hidan by myself. The sealing tag would be comprised of two sheets of paper, kanji scrawled across the middle of the paper sheet.

I wasn't exactly sure how to do it, so I pulsed a small amount of chakra from my fingertips into the seal. Nothing happened.

"AW GOD FUCKING DAMMIT I CAN'T FUCKING-" I stopped screaming and cleared my throat, shaking off the few strange looks I had received. "It'll be okay."

Well... Maybe not.

I had no way to contact Akatsuki, I couldn't get Hidan's head out of the stupid fucking box, and I no idea how to get back to the base.

Oh, Jashin, the base. It was probably demolished by now, so I was effectively screwed.

I laid back down in the middle of the street and heaved a sigh. So this is where it all ends, lost in the streets of Konoha, a decapitated head in an unlockable box as my only company. I threw my right arm over my eyes.

For several minutes I pondered my existence and

"Hey, lady." A young boy's voice called to me. "You alright?"

My ears perked up in recognition. Oh my god, it couldn't be. I sat up, blinking at the sudden sunlight.

Shikamaru Nara and Chouji Akamichi were standing above me, clearly confused.

"I'm good," I said, standing up. "Uzumaki Saki."

"Uzumaki, huh?" Shikamaru drawled, "Ino told me about you."

"Oh did she now?"

"Apparently you know a lot, more than I do."

"That's debatable," I chirped, "Well, boys-"

My stomach gurgled loudly, and I felt myself sweatdrop.

"Are you hungry?" Chouji asked, "Shikamaru and I were on our way to my favorite barbecue place if you want to come with us."

"Sure," I agreed, following the pair of 12-year-olds through the streets to the BBQ joint.

Shikamaru was extremely guarded, though I knew it was useless, I let him.

Chouji, however, was extremely chatty as he shoveled food into his mouth. His appetite fiercely rivaled Kisame's, and that was saying a lot.

"Hey, Saki-san," Shikamaru suddenly asked, sitting forward, "What's in the box?"

"A head," I said.

"A head?" Chouji parroted, dropping his chopsticks.

"My boyfriend's head," I added, "If that makes it sound any better."

Shikamaru sat back, perturbed, "it doesn't. Why do you have your boyfriend's head in a box?"

I sat back, my stomach full. "Kakashi took it."

Shikamaru shook his head. "You have problems."

"Yeah and one of them is that I can't unseal the box," I grumbled.

"Why do you want to unseal it?" Chouji was so cute and innocent. I loved him.

"To get my boyfriend's head out," I replied. The questions were starting to get annoying so I held my hand up, stopping Shikamaru's next query. "Kakashi took it when the ANBU kidnapped me, and I just got it back, but the problem is that I don't know how to remove the seal."

Shikamaru gave me a dry look. "You're an adult, and you don't know simple fuinjutsu?"

"I'm a genin!" I shouted. "Granted, so are you, but you're a freakin' super genius. No, I don't know basic seals. But I do have a pretty kickass katana. I don't know how to use that either." I slumped over and rested my forehead on the cool wooden table. "I'm a failure."

Chouji patted my head for a second, then pulled his hand back quickly.

Shikamaru heaved a sigh and stood from his seat. "I'll unseal it for you," he mumbled, turning and walking out of the restaurant.

"Alright, I guess this is goodbye, Chouji-san. It was nice to meet you." I nodded at him and picked the box up from the table gingerly.

"Likewise, Saki-san," Chouji chirped before resuming his meal.

Shikamaru was waiting for me on the street. He held his hand out as I exited the shop.

I held it out to him, hesitating. "You can't look inside."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow but took the box anyways.

"I guess I can tell you something about your future," I sighed, edging closer to the young genius.

"What's that?" He asked, his curiosity piqued.

"I'll have to think about it," I admitted. I didn't want to tell him something that messed up the timeline, which is why I couldn't tell him about Hidan's immortality.

As much as I thought the information could help save Asuma, I knew I could easily stop Hidan from sacrificing him. Or so I hoped. I

I gave Shikamaru a once over, finally deciding on what information could have the least use to him.

I stepped closer and leaned over, my mouth a few inches from his ear, "You and Temari make a cute couple."

He dropped the box and backed away, a bright pink blush spreading across his cheeks.

Geez. I swiped the box up, muttering an apology to Hidan's still sealed head, and chased after him, shouting.

"Shikamaru!"

After a few blocks, I had lost him and realized I had gotten turned around. The top of the Hokage tower peeked over the rooftops, a few blocks away. Jashin damn it.

Itachi led Pein through one of the many windows into the Hokage's tower.

Any record of Sakana, Hidan, or the attack on Akatsuki would be in the records room, a path that Itachi still knew by heart.

The room was dim and dusty, and Pein stood guard as Itachi rifled through the various stacks of paperwork.

After a few uninteresting finds, the name of their organization caught his eye.

"Subject apprehended and delivered to Torture and Interrogation, the subject appears to have rare Kekkei Genkai or Tota resulting in immediate regeneration and immortality."

"Sakana," Pein said, his voice gruff and annoyed. "Quickly, Itachi."

"Yes, Pein-sama." Itachi inclined his head and scanned the document, spouting out the necessary information. "It would seem Sakana-san had an audience with Tsunade this afternoon."

A look of confusion crossed the Uchiha's face, "No mention of Hidan."

"That is troubling," Pein commented, crossing his arms. "If that's all..."

"There is no further information," Itachi confirmed, already crossing the room and joining Pein in the doorway.

Unnoticed, they exited the tower and once again took to the rooftops.

"Hatake, then," Itachi said, his blood-red eyes turning to Pein.

The latter inclined his head fractionally and in an instant, the pair was gone.

Outside of Konoha

"I thought Pein-sama told us to go to whirlpool?" Suki chirped, tilting her head. "I mean, I'm absolutely thrilled at the destination change, don't get me wrong."

Konan gave her a dry look, "And miss out on all the fun? No way."

Kira let out a dark chuckle, "I wonder if Gaara is still in town after the chuunin exams."

Zena shook her head, "Doubt it, he's already back in Suna."

Konan didn't reply, only pausing in her stride to perform a quick henge Jutsu. Her blue hair and amber eyes were now black and brown, dull and plain.

The other three girls didn't react, continuing their conversation. "Well, you never know if he's on a diplomatic mission or not," Suki offered, playing the mediator before Zena and Kira began bickering.

Konan shook her head and took the lead, marching the trio toward the towering South Gate of Konohagakure.

"I miss Sakana," Suki whined, "I hope she's okay."

"You're not the one taking the brunt of Kira's anger," Zena cried, matching pace with Konan. "She's not nice at all."

Kira stuck her tongue out at the brunette.

"Nah, she's just super sexually frustrated," Suki chirped, jumping out of Kira's sudden grab.

"Enough," Konan said, her voice quiet and stern. "We aren't far, now our cover story is that we're villagers from Totsumo Village to the south."

Kira, Suki, and Zena nodded in unison.

"No mention of Jutsu, no mention of any names, you are a villager."

"Hai, Konan-san."

"Ko-san." Konan corrected, winking.

With that, the quartet of women marched ever closer to the famous shinobi city.

Pein and Itachi

The leader of the Akatsuki wasn't happy, Itachi could pick up on the ever increasing temper of his boss.

The Copycat nin was very elusive, it turns out.

It should have been easy to spot him with the giant mess of silver hair on top of his head, but he was regarded as one of Konoha's finest.

Itachi wasn't surprised the man wasn't considered for the role of Hokage when Sarutobi passed.

None of his clones had caught a glimpse of Kakashi, and none had heard anything regarding the spitfire Akatsuki member somewhere in Konoha.

"Itachi," Pein said, "It's time to alert the others."

"Hai," Itachi said, sending one of his clones to inform Kisame and Kakuzu of the order.

Within seconds, an explosion sounded nearby, and screaming rose up through the streets.

"If they won't return what's ours, we'll just take it back." Pein's deep rage shone through his voice.

Itachi couldn't agree more.

Konoha's crimes couldn't be ignored any longer.

Sakana

The ground shook and villagers came scrambling down the road, elbowing and pushing past me. The box was knocked from my hands and I was swept away by the crowd.

I don't know how far I was dragged, but I eventually wrestled my way out of the frenzy, rubbing at a particularly sore spot on my leg. Fucking assholes.

Hidan.

Fuck.

I worked my way back through the streets, searching for my lost cargo, eventually stopping in the middle of the street.

A familiar man stood in the center of the road, the sealed box clutched to his chest.

"Lose something?" He asked, holding it out.

"D-" I caught myself, correcting, "Don't unseal that."

"I'm aware of the contents of the box, girl." Danzo sneered, "And of your current immortality. I am no fool."

No, but you're definitely a huge jackass, I thought, swallowing the lump in my throat. "What do you want?"

"A 'fortune', if you will."

I scowled, I had nothing to tell this ultimate shitbag. "So you know of me, then?"

"Saki Uzumaki, as you claim. It's true, you do have Uzumaki blood. It's rather interesting, no?" He smirked at me, his eyes full of darkness and malice. "You're currently working under Akatsuki, as well. You have potential to be a great kunoichi, provided you don't follow a blind fool down a dark path."

"You're one to talk about dark paths," I mumbled, glaring at him. "Why should I tell someone like you about the future?"

"Ah, here comes the fun part," His dark eyes lit up with sadistic glee. "You tell me what I want to know, and I'll let you leave."

I glanced around. His root ninja were everywhere, crouching in the shadows, hiding among the rooftops, all watching me like hawks.

Standing my ground, I stepped forward. "Danzo, I cannot give you the infor-"

"Wrong," He interrupted, matching my step forward. "You will tell me."

"Sakana!" A voice cried to my right, and in an instant I was swept into a pair of large tanned arms.

"Kakuzu-" I gasped as he jumped away from the village elder. "-He has Hidan!"

"Sealed box, hm?" Kakuzu grumbled, running away, "Got it."

Kisame jumped into the light as an explosion detonated where I had been standing. Deidara was flying above us, dropping explosives on Danzo's root members as they tried to evade.

Kakuzu jumped onto a nearby rooftop, now clear of any of Danzo's lackeys. Pein and Itachi materialized before me, Itachi's Sharingan blazing.

Was I really worth coming all the way to Konoha and staging an invasion? I felt tears prickle my eyes and all of a sudden, the weight of the last few days was lifted. I was safe.

Akatsuki had come for me.