This is just my little tribute to the 'Akatsuki raise Naruto' idea. I'm giving it my own sadistic little twist as well (if you've read any of my other stories, you know how screwed up my brain can get), and I don't know how well people are going to like it. So if you do like it, tell me! My last story got discontinued and deleted because no one was reviewing, even though it got a lot of views. So if you want this story to continue past this chapter, please give me support. I'm not too confident in my works...

That said, please enjoy the story.

Rated T now, but might go up later for gore.

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He had always liked Naruto.

It was true. He had been truly loyal to the boy's father and him alone when he was alive, and when the man's wife had been in the throes of childbirth, Itachi was the only one nearby to help play midwife for her and her baby. He had been the one to suggest the name Naruto in the first place. He had been there the moment that the boy's mother had died, clutching her husband's hand with tears running down her face. He had been there at the very beginning, when the little newborn boy had been crying in his father's arms. As soon as Itachi had stepped forward and taken the boy to try and see what he needed, the tiny blond had gone completely silent and looked up at him with the same beautiful blue eyes as the only person that had ever shown him complete and total trust.

Minato had been kind to him. On several occasions, Itachi had told him things that should have frightened away a lesser man. He told his Hokage about his urges- the desire to kill that flowed just beneath his skin- he had told him about how disgusted he was by most people- how humans seemed so insignificantly meek- and how one day, he truly wished to just take up a sword and shove it into his own chest to escape it all.

But what had the man done? Had he told anyone else about what Itachi had shared with him? Did he try to put the Uchiha through therapy?

No. He had accepted what Itachi had said and helped him through it himself. He had told Itachi that if he wanted to kill others, then he should just ask for more S rank missions so he could slate his blood lust on his opponents. He had admitted that a lot of humans were just annoyingly weak, but that as someone with power, it was his duty to protect those people. He had given him a reason to live, to get up in the morning and catch just the merest glimpse of the tip of his red-tipped white coat fluttering down the hall.

Minato was everything to Itachi.

And when he died... a piece of Itachi died with him.

He still remembered what the man had taught him... how to control his darker emotions and make them something constructive... but he still felt like just going and throwing himself down on the man's grave and never leaving, some days. He had always tried to keep an eye on poor Naruto- to try and keep him out of trouble- but he knew that the villagers were beating the child up and constantly trying to kill him. He pulled many of the strings he had to get the boy off the streets and into an orphanage, but even then he was still treated worse than dirt.

That had been when he got an offer.

He had made ANBU captain level at thirteen, and when he did, something strange happened. A letter came for him written in a neat scrawl, and when he read it, his heart nearly stopped.

Uchiha Itachi
We know of your pain. We know of what you must put up with every day of your life, living a lie you never wanted to even see. You are strong, Uchiha. But we can make you stronger.
You know who we are. You know of us as the Akatsuki. This fact may make you desire to throw this letter away, but I ask you to read it through.
We are offering you a seat as one of our ten ruling members of Akatsuki. Stuck as you are, you have no chance of making a true change in this world. At most, you'll grow to be the leader of your village, sacrifice yourself for your village, and get your face carved into a big rock. Do you really want to spend your life surrounded by the people who hurt the son of your dear teacher and leader? Do you really want to keep company with the people responsible for his death?
If you're confused, speak to your clan about the Kyuubi. That should make you understand.
And when you understand, make a decision. Just remember, our gates are always open to you.

Below this, a symbol of a red cloud was drawn as a signature. Itachi looked down at the letter in half horror, half stunned revelation.

Akatsuki.

They wanted him to join?

Akatsuki.

The people of this village had always been scum...

Akatsuki.

The Red Dawn.

He turned on his heel, walking swiftly towards his house. He had to have a word with his clan about the Kyuubi...

As soon as he got to the front door, he opened it as politely as he could, not wanting to admit that he was angry. His father glanced over at him, curious, and he bowed once to put the man at ease.

"I apologize for disrupting you, but I wished to know your opinion on something." he stated, eyes guarded. He didn't want to let on how worried he was about the answer. "I've recently come to find a piece of information that I would like to confirm."

"Of coarse, Itachi." his father smiled at him encouragingly, still caught up in the rush of his thirteen year old son being an ANBU captain already and mistakenly believing that the boy was completely loyal to him. "Ask whatever you want."

"...does our clan have any connection to the Kyuubi?" he asked, wondering if he was wording it right.

To his horror, his father laughed once, walking over to him and putting a hand on his shoulder.

"...I should have known better than to think you wouldn't figure it out, genius as you are. As a little present for your promotion, I'll tell you." he leaned forwards, whispering into Itachi's ear. "The whole clan gathered together to cast a genjutsu on the fox. He was to be our ace in the hole- with him, we could take over the whole world. Unfortunately..." he shrugged, not realizing that he had pretty much driven Itachi to the very edge. "...it turned out that the fox's mind didn't work the same way as a human's. It went insane and attacked the village. Don't worry, my son- we understand how it works now. The next time we find a Bijuu, we'll know how to control it. You'll even get to join in, and those amazing eyes of yours will lead the way in breaking down the monster's mind..."

That was it. That was it. No excuse would be worth anything at this point.

Itachi just saw red.

He enjoyed it. He had always known that he loved blood on his hands, but he really, really enjoyed it. Killing his clan- every last man, woman, and child- had felt better than he ever would have expected it to. He was in a haze of gore and death and bodies, and he had almost made a step towards the rest of the village before he realized that he had lost control.

There he was. A thirteen year old murderer. A thirteen year old psychopathic serial killer.

Evil.

That was what they would call him. Evil.

Even as he stepped into his home again and looked down at his parents, he heard a scream behind him. His little brother. He hadn't killed the boy? He didn't remember... everything was just a haze of blood in his memory.

His eyes stung, but he still stared right into Sasuke's own. A boy without a family. A little boy that hated him as a monster.

"I killed them." he said, not really knowing what to say to his little brother. He'd always just wanted the best for the boy, but he managed to keep it together long enough to realize what he had to do.

Sasuke needed a reason to live on. So Itachi would give him one.

It was short and messy, but at the end of the Genjutsu, he was sure that Sasuke would come after him with everything he had.

He left. He knew where he was going. He was going to the Akatsuki- the group hailed as being composed by the worst demons on the planet. He would fit right in.
...And speaking of demons...

He paused, heartbroken. He had always been there to look out for the little demon boy he had brought into the world with his own two hands. That little boy with hair like gold and eyes so deep and blue that the sky and the sea paled in comparison. The boy that looked so much like his... friend... Minato.

Sasuke would be fine. This village would dote on someone like him. But Naruto would be torn apart by them like hungry wolves to the slaughter.

Naruto.

...slowly... he moved one foot, then the other. He had been heading for the gates, but now... he knew where he was going. He knew where he had to go.

He just hoped that the Akatsuki would understand...

Lightly hopping from roof to roof, he headed towards the orphanage, heart pounding in his chest. Any moment now, someone would find his handiwork and the whole village would go on high alert. He had to get Naruto and leave before that could happen. He settled on the windowsill of the upper floor room, looking inside. A large group of boys were sprawled all around the room, some asleep, most of them talking and laughing. Itachi frowned when he realized Naruto wasn't in the room. Where was he? He needed to move fast...

After one last glance to make sure he hadn't just missed the boy, he jumped to the roof, wondering. The times he had come to this place to check up on the boy, the blond seemed to have taken a peculiar interest in hiding on the roof. He pressed his luck, hoping that it would be the same this time.

And there he was. Curled in a corner behind some boxes, the boy sobbed brokenly into his knees. Even knowing that there was simply no time left, Itachi still knelt down next to the boy, wondering how to comfort him.

"What's wrong?" he asked in a whisper, and the six-year-old's head snapped up, eyes open wide. As soon as he realized there was someone in front of him, he covered his face with his arms, begging-

"-please don't hurt it! It doesn't mean to be bad! Please! Please don't..." the pleading trailed off into weak sobs as the boy tried to get away from him. Itachi stared at him, mouth open slightly.

He was stunned. He had thought that he might be able to protect the boy just a little, if only by bringing him to the orphanage. But this... this was just...

"...shh..." he whispered, holding out a hand and brushing a piece of hair out of the boy's amazing blue eyes. He realized he still had blood on his hands, but he forced himself to ignore it. "...it's okay. I won't hurt you. I'm here to help you." Naruto quieted, wide eyes staring into Itachi's own deep black ones. Realizing that the boy was actually starting to calm down, he kept speaking. "It's all going to be okay. I know that people do bad things to you, Naruto. I'm going to take you far away from this place so they can't ever hurt you again. Okay?" the little boy stared up at him in awe, eyes red from crying.

"...are you an... angel?" he asked, almost like he was afraid to speak up. Itachi opened his mouth to answer, but then closed it at once. What was he supposed to say to that?

"...I'm... not an angel." he finally managed. "...but I'll still save you... if you let me."

Naruto stared at him with something Itachi could only say was akin to hope. But then it sank back below the surface, and Naruto curled up on himself.

"...you're a nice angel." he decided, quietly. "But you're going to take it away to hell. That's what the scary lady said. She said that it's going to hell and it'll never come back out. She said that it doesn't deserve anything else. You're going to take it to hell."

"No, I'm not going to-" Itachi froze at the sounds of shouting coming from far behind him. Hyper-sensitively panicked as he was, he realized he had spent far too much time here. He held out his hands to show Naruto, still trying to be patient, even while he felt lightheaded from nervousness at being caught. "See this?" Itachi had to wonder if this was the best way to make the boy understand, but he figured it would work fast if nothing else. "This is blood. Blood from a bunch of people I just killed. I'm not an angel and I'm not taking you to hell. We're both monsters, right?" the boy's eyes widened, and Itachi felt his heart sink. He had heard people call the boy that to his face. He had just never thought that invoking that word would be what saved them in the end... "I'm a monster and I want to help you because you're a monster too. But we need to go fast or else everyone's going to come and hurt us both for being monsters. Understand?"

"You're like... it?" the boy gaped. Itachi nodded quickly, glancing back over his shoulder. No time.

A tiny hand landed on his own, and his head turned back, eyes wide at the look of forlorn hope in the blond's eyes.

"...and you're taking it... with you?"

"Yes. Please."

Naruto nodded, and Itachi felt himself relax a little bit. Gently taking the boy and setting him on his back, he stood, running as far and as fast as he could.

He had just been promoted to ANBU captain, given in to his darker desires and killed his whole clan, driven his brother to loathe him, and made plans to join the Akatsuki with a six year old boy that called himself 'it' and had the most dangerous demon ever known to exist sealed within his stomach.

All in all, a rather eventful day...

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...and there you have it. First chapter, people. Read and review if you can...

And also, as a side note- I really don't like it when people make Itachi and the Akatsuki all friendly and fluffy and 'fighting for good reasons'. They're a bunch of loons and I intend to portray them as such. Sure, they're going to like Naruto, but they aren't exactly going to be 'oh, lets all kill the bad guys' and 'we have to give money to the families of the people we've killed' and the like. They're a bunch of freakin' psychotic murderers- they aren't going to change their ways just because some thirteen year old with mutated pinkeye brought a six year old mentally-disturbed blond to their ranks. As I said, they're going to like Naruto and become a lot like a family to him, but they're not going to go all fluff-bucket just to protect his juvenile, naive sense of right and wrong. If anything, they'll just make sure to corrupt him at a younger age so he doesn't have a problem with it when he grows up...

No, they aren't collecting the Bijuu and they won't be collecting them, either. Naruto's too cute to be that depressed yet. He doesn't get to that level until later. XP

Thanks for reading. Nessa out.