Hellooooo everyone! *is shot and pelted with tomatoes* I'm sorry for the delay on my fanfictions, I really am! School has been a pain in the ass and end of levels are not treating me kindly! Also the situation here at home is not going so well, so I might not be writing as much anymore… I'll stop talking about myself and let you read this. Please accept this as my apology! I worked hard on it just for you guys! Read and review!

Disclaimer: Um, do you think I know Naruto? Yeah that's what I thought.

Summary: Akatsuki was never a place for caring from the start. So what happened to change that?

Warnings: Well, it's pretty sad, I almost cried while writing this… There are spoilers up to the fourth shinobi war arc so be warned! I think that's it…

Akatsuki was never a place for caring from the start; S-class missing nin weren't supposed to feel emotions anyways. That was the number one rule in the world of shinobi: never let your feelings control your actions. Of course, this rule has been broken throughout the years by many, but Akatsuki never thought they would be added to that list.

Somehow, a redheaded puppeteer had fallen for a cocky loud-mouthed suicide bomber; a shark-like swordsman couldn't get a certain raven-haired Uchiha out of his head; a war-experienced miser felt his ice-cold heart melt around a foul-mouthed religious zealot; a bipolar plant kept his eyes on an equally bipolar masked nin; and a man who wanted to be god gave his heart to a woman with a flower in her hair.

No one knew when or how they had gotten themselves into this messy business called love. Maybe it was the fact that they found comfort and understanding in the other, that they had found the one person that could understand the pain they'd felt. Maybe it was because they had been around each other for so long that it had gotten to the point they always knew what the other was thinking, what their next move would be. Or maybe it was just all by fate's hand that they had fell for each other.

The Akatsuki soon discovered that this feeling, this desire, made them fight harder. It gave them a purpose to make their way through a difficult battle. They would gladly give their own lives to save their partner, the one that they cared about the most. Their motives had been strengthened; they would not give up when they knew there was someone to return to after the mission. They were now unstoppable.

But slowly, one by one, this love that had once been so great started to tear Akatsuki up from the inside.

Sasori was the first to die. Deidara slowly started to lose his mind, becoming more reckless and his sheer disregard for human life had returned in full force. The only thing he had left was his art. You could almost call him insane. Kakuzu and Hidan were the next to go.

Nobody could believe it when they heard that the immortal pair had been killed. Pein was starting to become affected by the deaths of his comrades; the missing nin he'd taken in when no one else would, the shinobi who he'd given a purpose, the people who had given their lives for his cause. For the first time since Yahiko's death, tears stained his face.

Deidara's death didn't come as much as a shock. The blonde bombshell had been lingering closer to death lately than ever. The remaining Akatsuki couldn't feel too much pity for him, because the terrorist had finally joined his puppet master. Itachi became sick, mostly from over-usage of his eyes, but everyone suspected that Deidara's death had something to do with it. The blonde was looked after by everybody, being the youngest in the organization. He was close with everyone.

No one uttered a word when they found the Uchiha's dead body. He had a serene look on his face, he looked almost at peace. Kisame's anger flared up like the black flames Itachi would use on his enemies, and became savage much like the shark he resembled. He couldn't be controlled anymore. Half of the Akatsuki was dead.

Pein never expected to be the next to die. In his last moments as Nagato, he was determined to do something good for once in his life. He resurrected the shinobi that had died by his hands, excluding his mentor Jiraiya, with his dying breath. Konan couldn't stand to remain in the organization that her dead partner had begun, and turned her back on the Akatsuki. Tobi took his rightful place as the leader of their small group of three.

Konan soon found peace in defying the person who had pulled the Akatsuki's strings from the beginning. She was reunited with her two childhood friends and left behind the world that had become corrupted long ago.

Kisame was soon to follow. He gladly let his life be torn from him as he spent his last moments contributing to the organization that had given him a purpose. Tobi stole from Nagato's corpse and started a war with the rest of the shinobi world.

As he gazed at the war-torn battlefield, Zetsu wondered what had become of them, the Akatsuki. What was once strong, understanding, and hell-bent on achieving their goals, had deteriorated. The Akatsuki was no more. It was now merely a single mad man intent on controlling the world.

When the dead members of the organization had been resurrected, it was painful. They were together, and so close to one another, but they could never touch or comfort each other as long as Kabuto was controlling them. Zetsu had to watch them die all over again.

Sasori, once again, had been the first to go. Deidara was forced to watch this time, and the once headstrong terrorist had been broken beyond repair. Zetsu felt his heart wrench when he heard the blonde's cries for the puppeteer to stay, and the tone of his voice when he realized he was going to lose his partner again. The grass nin wished for the two to be reunited soon.

Anyone could see the pain in Kakuzu's eyes when he realized that Hidan, his silver-haired immortal, was trapped and there was nothing he could to about it. He fought against Kabuto's control as hard as he could, but it was no use in the end. Zetsu swore he could see a tear or two fall from the miser's eyes as he was forced to fight in Tobi's war against his will. But that couldn't be, because Kakuzu didn't cry.

Nagato's body was moved around like one of Sasori's puppets; unable to hold itself up, but forced to attack by its master. Itachi broke the Edo Tensei on himself as the once proud leader of Akatsuki was sent from this world once more.

As Zetsu watched Itachi leave the battlefield, he prayed for the Uchiha to end this madness. He prayed for him to return the zombies that Kabuto had summoned to the grave where they belonged. He prayed for him to release Deidara from his prison so he wouldn't have to suffer anymore. He prayed for Kakuzu to find the Jashinist that had been lost. He prayed for Itachi to stop Tobi's war and knock some sense into the corrupted man the grass nin didn't recognize anymore.

Akatsuki was never a place for caring from the start; but somehow, two artists, an immortal duo, a shark and a weasel, a plant and a masked man, and a god and his angel changed that. It became a refuge for understanding, comfort, and for love. It was a place they could call home.

Yeah I almost cried while writing this… poor everybody! Especially Dei… I feel so bad for him! Anyways what do you guys think? This was my first attempt at a drabble and I'd like to know how I did. Please review! They make me happy and give me motivation to update! I promise I'll find some more time to work on my other fics, I know I've been a terrible author lately.