A/N: I know that a lot of you are looking at your screens and screaming, "She finally updated!" Just to let all of you know, I am not going to be following certain things from the anime. I love Jiraiya and I can't let him go. So, I'm not. I'm finally finishing up with my bachelor's degree and school has taken me away from writing long enough. So, I'm going to do my best to get my stories done and out for you to enjoy. Please read and review.

Konan watched as Kisame made his way towards her and she tilted her head to the side. To be honest, while his appearance was frightening to look at, the man beneath the blue skin was someone she knew that she could count on if she were in trouble. When he first began recruiting members into the Akatsuki, Kisame had often been chosen to stay with her as the new members were evaluated and then paired up with a partner.

There was one instance where she had been left alone and had been approached by that cretin, Hidan. The man was as foul as foul could get and had the mouth that made her want to vomit. He had approached her one morning and when she finally had enough of his harassment; she turned on him and taught him the meaning of true pain.

It had been Kisame who came into the room and got between them, thus saving Hidan's life. He spoke calmly to her, told her that he was there and that he would deal with the freak. He was also the one to report to Pein what had happened. It took Hidan several months to recover from Pein's punishment and once he had fully recovered, he never spoke another word to her that was not respectful.

She found out by over-hearing a conversation between Kakuzu and Deidara that Kisame had given his own 'special talk' to Hidan. It was Kisame who first warned Hidan to never approach her again.

Monster in appearance. Gentleman underneath. That was Kisame and she knew that he was on her side.

"So, what has you so quiet?" Kisame asked his eyes staring intently at her. When she shook her head, he lifted an eyebrow and moved closer to her. "It's ok, you know. I won't tell anyone. What has you so upset?"

Konan fought the bile that was rising in her throat and took in a deep breath. "My former sensei is here in the village. Pein is dealing with him and I can't help but worry about them both." She explained, her voice quiet.

Kisame was quiet for a moment, but then asked, "Who is he?"

"Jiraiya." Konan replied and bit her lip. "He became our sensei in the worst of circumstances, but he was an excellent sensei. I can't help but feel that this fight between him and Pein is going to turn out badly for us all."

Kisame nodded. He had once come into contact with the sannin. In fact, it was rumored that despite being a pervert and a clown, the man was a legend in his strategies and was to be handled very carefully. "Do you think that the leader will kill him?" He asked.

"I think that Pein will do whatever it takes to make sure that his domain remains untouched and safe." Konan said. "But, I also think that Pein has a lot of anger towards Master Jiraiya because he left us to return to Konoha and as a result, we lost someone very precious to us. I just don't think that Pein can see beyond that anger, nor do I think that he wants to. He wants our sensei to see that he has surpassed him and is now better than him."

"Ah, it's that kind of reunion is it?" Kisame mused and then gave a lop-sided grin. "The leader would not fight him if he didn't think that it was necessary. The sannin is more than likely here to scope out the territory and information on our little hellion."

Konan nodded. "Perhaps, but Pein isn't going to care that Master Jiraiya is on a reconnaissance mission. What Pein wants is to not only show Master Jiraiya what he abandoned, but also to force our former sensei to pay for our friend's death with his own life." She replied, her eyes saddened. "I suppose that in many ways, Pein is still struggling to let go of the past, but with the sudden appearance of Master Jiraiya, he may decide that the best way to get go is to eliminate the past all together."

Nodding, Kisame silently agreed. While their leader wasn't a man of words, his actions often spoke volumes about his intentions. If the leader had gone to personally confront the sannin, no good would come of the meeting.

He walked Konan to her chambers and bid her a good night. As he walked down the hall, his mouth turned down into a scowl and he could not help but think that this would not be happening if his foolish partner had simply left the little hellion alone.

Sakura took in a deep breath and glanced over her shoulder. It had been decided that while it would be Kisame and Itachi who escorted her to the tiny shops in order to get her more clothing and personal items, Deidara would accompany the group in order to start to work on building a partnership with her.

Deidara wasn't stupid and had been praised as a genius in his village, but he was also territorial and because Sakura was to be with him, he didn't really care for the way Itachi was barring his path to her. In fact, he was getting quite angry over the way the former Konoha nin kept staring at him with those expressionless eyes. Oh, while he knew that the Uchiha was far from emotional, the very fact that he was warned not to go into Sakura's room told the artist many things.

The first, and most obvious, was that the Uchiha had some interest in the kunoichi and it would not be wise to enter the girl's room without an escort. The second, the girl was clearly oblivious as to the Uchiha's interest and seemed more interested in returning insults to Kisame. Until he could get her to trust him as a partner, he would have to tread very carefully. For now.

Itachi had given her quite a bit of money and the explicit instructions that she was to purchase what she needed and then meet them outside of the shop. No matter how much of a bad-ass they were, it was apparent that none of them wanted to be seen in a lingerie shop. However, that did not stop two of them from waiting outside and peering into the windows like little perverts. Thankfully, they didn't plaster their faces to the glass and drool all over the place like Naruto would have.

She slowly passed by a table containing panties and stopped. The panties were arranged in an attractive display and sorted by colors. She picked up a pair of black bikini panties and held them up so that she could get a better look at them. However, her attention quickly turned to the front of the store when she heard a bang and a loud yelp. When she didn't see any commotion coming from the outside, she shrugged and quickly picked out a few more pairs of panties, each in a different color.

Choosing a bra was a different matter. As a kunoichi, she had to be careful about what she wore. Anything too loose, her breasts would bounce around and they would hurt at the end of the day. Anything too tight, she would not be able to breathe. She didn't care for push-up bras, unless she was going out dancing and there was no way in hell she wanted to attract any sort of attention to her assets around those clowns in the Akatsuki, so she decided on a few pairs of simple bras. Pretty, but sensible. Next, she decided that she would need sleepwear. When she woke up nude after her encounter with the leader, she had been treated to a leer from Kisame. That wasn't something she wanted to experience again.

So, she began to prowl the nightclothes and froze when she found a nightdress that instantly captured her attention. It was white with a bow that tied right beneath her breasts. While the dress was a bit longer than what she was used to, the nightgown was gorgeous and made of the softest material she had ever felt. Glancing over her shoulder, Sakura realized that none of the three stooges were watching her and so, she added the nightgown to the items in her arms before quickly grabbing a couple of sleeping pants and tank tops.

With her arms loaded, she made her way over to where the cashier stood and gave the young woman a small smile. The young lady was clearly nervous over seeing the cloak she was wearing, but managed to quickly ring up her purchases and accepted the money when she informed Sakura of the total.

With her bags secure in her hands, Sakura moved slowly to the front of the store and noticed that all three males were surrounded by the villagers. She had heard that within the village of rain, Akatsuki were respected because the leader was the protector of the village. However, she also noticed that many of the people surrounding the three males were women.

Sakura wrinkled her nose as the women squealed and heaped compliments on the three men. How anyone could include Kisame in the realm of handsome was way beyond her, but she supposed that some women simply didn't care about appearances. Or personality. Or intelligence. So, she supposed that these women must be banking on the hopes that Kisame was packing in the pants because everything else sucked.

Sakura realized pretty quickly that because of the attention that was being placed upon them, the male Akatsuki's attention was not upon her. Instead, Deidara seemed to be soaking up the attention. Kisame appeared just as confused as she was regarding the attention that was being placed upon him. And, Itachi….well, he was staring off into the distance while managing to keep up the foreboding aura that normally surrounded him and was doing a pretty good job of keeping the adoring females from touching him.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly inched away from the group and began walking down the street, her inner persona feverishly praying that they didn't get caught and when she felt that she was a comfortable distance away, Sakura began to run.

Despite her bags being clenched in her hands, her only thought was to get the hell out of the village and back to Konoha as fast as she could. She narrowed her eyes as she realized that she wasn't being followed and allowed herself to gain speed before leaping from the street and onto the nearest rooftop. Buildings flew by as she ran and when she saw the entrance to the village, a loud bang caused her to freeze in her steps and look over to the area where smoke suddenly appeared.

Taking in a deep breath and glancing longingly at the entrance, Sakura mentally bid farewell to freedom as she turned her direction and began running towards the smoke. When she finally reached the source, her mouth fell open and she screamed, "Jiraya-sama!"

Deidara was in heaven. Women were falling all over themselves to talk to him and he was pretty sure that if he tried hard enough, he might be able to convince a couple of them to join him for an evening of explosive pleasure.

He glanced over at Kisame and smirked. The man knew that he was not pleasing to the eyes, but with the way some of the women were acting were as if the man was an Adonis who had appeared for their very pleasure. Apparently, Kisame didn't know what to do with the lot of them.

Deidara's eyes moved over to the stoic Uchiha and he frowned. The women's adoring gaze was lost upon the Uchiha and Deidara knew that their attention was wasted. The only woman who held the Uchiha's interest was currently perusing dainty, little panties while blissfully unaware of the Uchiha's attraction. The fact that the Uchiha slapped him in the back of the head when he stared a bit too long at the pair of panties that Sakura held up meant that the Uchiha knew that Deidara was imaging what Sakura would look like wearing them….and nothing else.

However, when a loud noise startled him out of his musings, Deidara quickly looked in the direction where the noise had come from and watched as both Itachi and Kisame tensed. The Uchiha's sharingan eyes were intent and his mouth pulled down into a frown.

"We must go." He said, his tone brooking no room for argument. Kisame nodded in agreement and sighed. "I'll go and get the hellcat and we'll be on our way." He muttered and made his way through the women and into the little shop.

A moment later, he appeared and his face was twisted into a scowl. "She's gone." Kisame gritted out through clenched teeth. "She walked right out and away and we stood here with our thumbs up our asses."

Deidara cringed, but then said, "She's got all of her chakra back, so it's probably her that made that noise that we heard earlier."

Itachi gave a sharp nod. "We will go and investigate." He said and motioned for the other two men to follow him. "If we do not find her, the leader will not be happy."

Kisame and Deidara shared a knowing look before following the Uchiha. Kisame stayed beside Deidara because he recognized the aura that Itachi was currently emitting. Itachi was enraged at the fact that the little female managed to slip past them, but he was also angry that she dared to run from them. It was as though she had delivered a slap to Itachi's face and now, she was probably running for her life. If she got back to her village, there was a good chance that she could lead a team back to them and the outcome would not be good.

As they neared the area where the loud bang came from, all three men readied themselves for a fight. However, when they finally arrived, they were unprepared for the sight that awaited them.

"Jiraiya-sama!" Sakura screamed, effectively drawing the attention of the two battling men. Jumping down to the battle area, Sakura kept a cautious eye on Pein as she neared the injured sannin's side. The older man was badly injured and she knew that if she didn't act, he would not survive this fight.

"Sakura," Jiraiya murmured, his eyes drooping as exhaustion began to overtake him. "You're a sight for sore eyes."

Sakura's eyes narrowed and she threw the bags in her hands to the ground behind her before moving in front of her brother's sensei. "I'm not without my chakra this time." She sneered, her anger growing. "Let's see just how well you do against me now."

Pein was silent for several minutes and watched as Sakura created a shadow clone. The clone bent down and began to heal the injured sannin and Pein could not help but release a sigh. "You are interfering in a matter which does not concern you. Stand aside, kunoichi." He ordered.

Sakura's eyes narrowed in a blatant challenge. "Move me." She said and quickly got into a fighting stance. The clone looked up from healing Jiraiya and asked, "Now?"

Sakura nodded and softly said, "Jiraiya-sama, tell shishou not to come after me. I am safe and they won't hurt me, at least not yet."

Jiraiya struggled to stand up and sternly said, "I'm not leaving you here. We'll go back to Konoha together."

"You don't get it." Sakura said as the clone wrapped its arms around Jiraiya. "No matter what I do, they will come after me again. You will return to Konoha and you will not return here. Tell Naruto not to attempt to rescue me. I'll figure this out for myself."

Jiraiya was about to retort to her statement, but when Pein flew at them, Sakura's clone performed the seals for transportation and with a loud pop, they were gone. Sakura waited until the red-haired man drew closer and then presented him with a feral smile.

Payback was in order.

The battle had been brutal and bloody. Finally, both combatants were separated and Pein glared at the injured kunoichi. "I should kill you for interfering. You had no right." He hissed, his anger growing as the impudent kunoichi dared to shrug her shoulder at him.

"You had no right to assault me in the manner you did." Sakura smartly returned and then sneered, "I'd say that now we are even."

Pein clenched his fist, but then turned his back on Sakura. Walking away, he snapped, "Return to base. We will deal with this matter there. Kunoichi, pray that I calm down in the time it takes me to return to base or there will be hell to pay when we meet again."

Sakura opened her mouth to retort, but a large, blue hand clamped over her mouth and prevented her from telling the leader what he could do with his temper and his ego. Once the leader disappeared, the blue hand slowly removed itself from her mouth and Sakura yanked away from the hands that held her. Stomping away from the three men, she snapped, "I was doing fine by myself. I didn't need your help."

Itachi calmly walked over to her and when he stood before her, Sakura lifted her eyes to meet his and never saw the hand that smacked her hard across her face. The only thing she could do lift a trembling hand to her injured cheek and stare disbelievingly up at him from her place on the ground. For a moment, no one said a word, but then Deidara snapped, "Shit, Uchiha. Did you really have to hit her?"

Moving to her side, the blond shinobi helped the stunned kunoichi to her feet and then took the hand she held over her injured cheek and moved it away. His eyes narrowed at the fiery red handprint and then glared over his shoulder at the Uchiha.

"You're a psycho." He snarled and moved to stand in front of Sakura. "You only hit her because she made you, and admittedly us, look like fools because she was able to slip away. You hit her because your fucking pride was injured so you decide to injure her physically. Stay the hell away from my partner, Uchiha."

Turning back to Sakura, he softly said, "Let's get your bags and return to base. I'm sure that I can find you clothing to wear until the next time we have the opportunity to get you more clothing, ok."

Nodding, Sakura allowed Deidara to turn to towards where her bags lay and she picked them up. For some reason, it wasn't the sting of his slap that hurt. It was the fact that he actually lifted a hand to her, even though the Itachi in her dreams had told her that he would never be able to lift an unkind hand to her.

Confused, Sakura followed Deidara as he began leading her out of the destruction that had been evidence of a fight between a god and a sannin. Deidara's eyes narrowed as the pair silently passed Kisame and his stoic partner, but the artist didn't bother gracing either man with any further words. Instead, he was more focused on getting Sakura back to the base and then going to the leader to smooth over any problems that may be waiting for her.

When the pair were gone, Kisame turned his eyes towards his partner and calmly asked, "Feel better?" Knowing that Deidara had actually hit the nail on the head didn't make Kisame feel any better about the situation. Hell, he wasn't blind. He knew of the attraction that his partner held for the female and for him to actually lose his temper and strike her told him that Itachi had finally had to come to acceptance.

However, there was one point Deidara was wrong on. It wasn't because of pride that Itachi slapped Sakura. It was out of fear that she would be harmed even worse than the last time she and leader had fought. It was out of fear that prompted Itachi to act before thinking his actions out. And, it was out of anger over her lack of regard for her own safety that caused Itachi to strike out.

He may not have much experience with romance and all that bullshit, but Kisame was an expert at instinct and the instinct to protect someone was a powerful motivator for people and he was certain that once he calmed down, Itachi would come to regret his reaction.

The Uchiha began walking towards the base, but stopped in his tracks. Kisame watched as Itachi moved over to a large pile of rubble and reach down. Pulling back, Kisame's eyebrows lifted as Itachi lifted a shopping bag and then shook his head when the younger man motioned for him to get moving. He could bet that when they returned to the base, there was going to be one hell of a headache waiting for them.

Tsunade sighed and turned from the window. It had been a few days since Jiraiya had left for rain and yet, there had been no word from him. She hated to admit it, but she was getting worried for the old fool.

But, she could not help but feel as though something had happened to him and that she had failed him just as she had failed Dan. Yet, somehow the thought of failing him hurt her more than anything she had ever known. Somewhere along the line, Jiraiya had become the man she had looked towards for comfort and strength. Sure, he was a pervert, but she was a gambling drunk, so she figured that they evened each other out.

She was about to sit back down at her desk, but her door slammed open and Shizune rushed into the office, her eyes wild.

"Get to the hospital!" She ordered, her tone harsh. "Jiraiya-sama was found by Kakashi at the gate and he's badly wounded."

Shizune blinked and found the office empty. Instead of using the door, her lady had jumped out of the window and was moving fast to where her last teammate lay. Taking in a deep breath and falling to the floor in a heap, Shizune allowed tears to well up in her eyes and then slip down her cheeks.

She could only thank whichever kami was responsible that her lady didn't have to bury another loved one.

Tsunade slammed through the hospital doors and ran towards the emergency room. She saw a large crowd gathered in one of the exam rooms and quickly elbowed her way into the center of the crowd. Jiraiya gave her a thumbs up and then closed his eyes in order to rest. Before her people, the slug queen moved to his side and gently pressed a kiss to his forehead.

Kakashi motioned for everyone to leave them alone and once the crowd was gone, he turned to the hokage and murmured, "He told me that he had been fighting a former student who apparently is now the leader of Akatsuki."

"I knew we should have followed Orochimaru's advice and killed those kids." Tsunade snapped and allowed her hand to smooth back the older male's hair. "There was something about those kids, especially the dark-haired boy, that gave me chills. But, Jiraiya just had to help them and now look."

Kakashi nodded and took a deep breath. "You should know that it was Sakura who intervened before the killing blow could take place. She got him out of there and with her clone, managed to transport him close enough so that he could walk the rest of the way here. Apparently, she healed him enough so that he could finish the rest of the journey here. I must say, her abilities with chakra are unmatched." He said with pride.

Tsunade's eyes widened and she sucked in a deep breath. "She saved his life." She said and the tears she had been holding back began to travel down her face and a soft sob escaped her chest. The young girl she had once wondered about had saved Jiraiya's life. Finally, a bet she had made had paid off in her favor. She could not help the pride she felt for her student or the gratitude that her student had sacrified herself to get Jiraiya to safety. She jumped slightly when a warm hand touched her back and turning her eyes to where Jiraiya lay, she saw his eyes were open and he softly whispered, "How about you lay with me for a while, 'nade?"

Kakashi slipped from the room quietly, but caught the sight of his hokage laying down beside the tall man as soft sobs sounded throughout the room. Smiling to himself, he silently hoped Sakura knew just how much the village was now indebted to her and her compassion. She had returned one of their sannin and for that, Sakura will be honored.

He told the nursing staff that unless called, it would be wise to leave Jiraiya and the hokage alone. When the nurse nodded, he began to walk towards the entrance, but stopped when Naruto, Sasuke, and Sai came through the doors.

"They said that the pervert was brought in and he was hurt." Naruto said, his blue eyes wide with worry.

"He is in good hands, Naruto." Kakashi murmured and motioned for the younger men to follow him. When Naruto appeared to want to hang back and go see his sensei, Kakashi calmly said, "Lady Tsunade is with him and they need to be alone for a while."

Naruto gave one final glance in the direction of the emergency room, but then gave up and followed Kakashi and the other two males from the hospital. Sasuke glanced over at Kakashi and asked, "How was he injured?"

Kakashi knew that he could not keep this from the males and stopped in his tracks. "He was fighting the leader of the Akatsuki and was nearly killed." He explained. When the three males stared at him, he continued, "It was because Sakura came to his aid that he was able to escape. She allowed a clone to get him the hell out of there before taking on the leader, herself. According to what I could get from Jiraiya, had Sakura not come along when she did, his life would have been over. He also mentioned that she said that she could not leave and for us to not come after her. Apparently, they need her for something and she is sure that they will not harm her, at least not yet."

Naruto took in a deep breath and allowed his shoulders to sag. "I can't leave her there, Kakashi." He said, softly. "She belongs here. My sister isn't going to be used as a bargaining chip to get me. She doesn't deserve this and the fact that she put herself in harm's way for ero-sennin, I would feel as though I betrayed her by letting her remain there."

"I know." Kakashi replied as the other two men silently agreed with their blond friend. "But, for now, we are going to honor Sakura's wishes until Lady Tsunade tells us otherwise. She will be fine, Naruto."

"I hope you're right." Naruto murmured and shoved his hands in his pockets. "If they hurt her, I'll kill every single one of them and I'll make the damage that Gaara and shukaku did seem like a sweet dream."

"Well, at least she is loyal." Madara purred as he watched Pein pace back and forth in his office. "However, her loyalty needs to be with us. Still, she handled the fight with you beautifully and I have to wonder just how far she can be pushed until she decides to really let loose."

Pein snorted and shook his head. "She should be punished. She had no right to interfere." He snapped and didn't care if he sounded disrespectful.

Madara shrugged. "Perhaps, but this could also serve as a lesson not only to you, but to her, as well. She needs to be corrected in whom she protects, but you need to learn restraint. Killing the sannin would have caused us more problems than we need. At this point, we need to focus on obtaining other containers so that we can move forward with our plans. While she will not cooperate with us in the extraction process, perhaps we can offer her something that would interest her. I wonder how she would feel about being allowed to save the lives of the containers once the demon is removed. It would prove to be an interesting challenge." He mused and then glanced over at the young man before him.

Standing up, he moved towards Pein and stopped before him. Reaching out, the elder man grasped Pein's chin and lifted it so that he could look him in the eye. "Inform Sakura that while you understand her motives, you will not tolerate any further interference in your private matters. I want you to offer her the opportunity to continue her healing not only within the Akatsuki, but within the village. If we can sway her with the idea of helping the village and those who need her, we may be able to obtain some of that fierce loyalty."

Pein closed his eyes, but gave a sharp nod. "When are we going to stop pretending?" He asked, tiredly. "You have more interests in the girl other than the kyuubi. You want something else from her."

Madara chuckled. "You're perceptive." He said in a sing-song voice, but despite the lightness of the statement, Pein could hear the dangerous undertones. "However, I will remind you that Sakura is my business and you are merely her babysitter. Mind me, Pein. I grow tired of your resistance to my will."

Closing his eyes, Pein silently reminded him that everything would change soon and all he needed was to be patient. Nodding, he watched as Madara released his chin and moved towards the door. With a cheerful wave, Madara was gone and Pein sat down heavily in his chair.

Patience. All he needed was patience.