Finding a ride was surprisingly easy. Many people desperately wanted out of the Land of Waves and were headed to the mainland. Promise them some payment and you were guaranteed a ride.

They managed to get a ride on a fairly big cargo ship, run by a man that insisted on simply being called Captain. Zabuza gave him some money and soon the ship had set sail, headed for the Land of Fire. Kana, Haku and Zabuza relaxed, preparing themselves for the two and a half hour boat ride.

"So, what is the Akatsuki like?" Haku whispered, leaning forward.

"Well, there is the way I see them, and the way others see them." Kana replied. "I see them as really funny and caring people who want the same thing as me, but to everyone else they are seen as criminals, traitors, and murderers."

"How many members is there, and who are they?" Zabuza asked.

"Counting myself, there are currently ten members," Kana said, counting them on her fingers. "Pein-sama, Konan-nee, Itachi-nii, Deidara-senpai, Sasori, Old Man Kakazu, Kisame, Hidan, Zetsu, and myself."

"Do you like them all?" Haku asked.

"Most of them," Kana smiled. "I'm on the fence with Zetsu. He's alright, but I don't really trust him."

"And the Akatsuki is based out of Amegakure, right?" Zabuza asked.

"Yeah, Pein-sama recently became the leader of Ame, so we help keep things in line there." Kana replied. "Some of the people also call me Okami-hime."

"Very fitting." Haku chuckled.

"So is this 'Pein-sama' guy your groups leader?" Zabuza asked, scratching his head.

"Yep!" Kana nodded.

"Cool, I don't want to end up dead lipping off some guy who I didn't know was leader." Zabuza chuckled.

"That wouldn't be good..." Haku agreed.

"So what's Ame like?" Zabuza grinned.

"You wouldn't believe it, but it's rainy!" Kana giggled.

~~~~~

Pein shuffled through some papers, placing them down on his desk with a sigh.

"Why are the genin here so pathetic?" Pein scoffed. "At this rate, I won't be able to find a team Kana could work with."

"She'd probably just get sick of them and eat them." White Zetsu chuckled, the black half then growling. "That's what I would do."

"The chunin exams in Konoha are for team entries only, so I have to find her two other teammates." Pein sighed.

"She's bringing a kid around her age back with them, how about him?" Black Zetsu asked.

"Good idea, but what about the third?" Pein asked.

"How about we find our next recruit and then wait and see?" White Zetsu asked. "We could even go in disguise if it came to that."

"I'll keep that in mind," Pein hummed. "In the meantime, I have a mission for you and I'd like you to start immediately."

"What do you want us to do?" Zetsu asked.

"Keep an eye on that kid I want Kana to get, I want to know where he is headed so I can send Kana to get him at the right time." Pein replied, folding his hands across his desk.

"You're not going to send her alone, are you?" Zetsu asked, sounding a little more concerned than he meant to sound.

"No, I just don't know who to send yet." He hummed. "Now get to it, I have to prepare for Kana's return."

"Okay."

Zetsu sank through the floor and vanished, leaving Pein alone in his dark office. He opened a drawer, glancing at a hat with the symbol for rain on it. It was something Konan had made out of her paper.

Him, a kage? No way. But one day, there would be someone...

~~~~~

"Is there a reason you have brought two Kirigakure shinobi back with you?" A man behind the desk at the gates asked.

"It was my mission." Kana shrugged, signing the clipboard he passed over.

"Alright then, welcome and welcome back to you." He shrugged.

A light rain pelted the village, making the air feel thick and heavy. There were few civilians out, and most the people who were walking around were shinobi and kunoichi with rebreathers.

"Is the humidity always like this?" Zabuza frowned, shaking some water out of his hair.

"No, most the time it's not this bad, sometimes the sun even comes out, I haven't seen the stars here yet though." Kana replied, leading them through the village and towards the tallest tower. "We're almost there, our group is based out of that tower up ahead."

"That's huge..." Zabuza whistled. "I hope this means that the bedrooms aren't shit."

"Oh no, they're all pretty big, along with a really big training area in the basement, a huge kitchen that I never really go near, and a big living room for everyone to relax in." Kana chirped back, recalling some of the larges spaces. "Oh yeah! I just remembered something!"

"What is it?" Haku asked.

"You guys should probably scratch your headbands, a lot of the people here don't like Kirigakure and it's people." Kana cringed, watching as a few people glared their way.

Haku took a kunai and scratched the Kiri symbol on his mask, and Zabuza did the same to his headband. A few people passing by visibly relaxed, making Kana relax in return.

"What's the deal with Kiri?" Zabuza asked. "I mean, the Mizukage has done some stupid shit in the past, but what does that have to do with Ame?"

"That's simple," Kana chuckled. "Plenty of the people here came from Kiri when they started hunting down people with kekkei genkais. Amegakure was still really new at the time and needed the power boost, so they opened their gates to the flood of potential shinobi and kunoichi."

"But not everyone came here." Haku sighed.

"That's true, many people didn't know that Amegakure was even a village and they didn't think to come all the way here for a new place to live." Kana replied, recalling some of the history she was taught by Kakazu. "Hey look! We're here!"

Zabuza and Haku stared up at the tower, standing silently in it's long, intimidating shadow.

"Let's go!"

~~~~~

"Hidan, what the fuck?" Kakazu growled, elbowing past him in an attempt to fit into the cramped front entrance.

"Watch your step asshole!" Hidan barked back, pulling the naked dead body away from him. "You're going to get Kana's present dirty!"

"It's a nice thought and all, but did you have to put a bow on top?" Sasori asked with a sigh.

"It's a present, you have to put a fucking bow!" Hidan scoffed.

"Alright, shut up, all of you, she's just outside." Konan hissed, holding a small box to her chest.

"See, Konan got her a gift too..." Hidan grumbled.

"Shut up." 

Hidan flinched when Pein showed up out of nowhere, standing next to Konan. The door slowly opened, and Kana entered first, her eyes lighting up when she spotted all of the Akatsuki. 

"Welcome back." Itachi said, giving her a nod.

Kisame whooped in excitement.

~~~~~

On the edge of the Land of Fire was a small bounty hunting joint, mainly used by locals, retired shinobi, and sometimes, spies. In the corner sat a boy clad in black, his dead, cold eyes constantly swept the room from beneath his hood. His headband had a single long scratch running through the symbol. A few strands of white hair obstructed his vision, however, he didn't seem to really care. His gaze was focused on two shinobi who sat at the bar not far away. Their faces were tinged red, and they laughed and spoke loudly and openly. 

"I can't believe the boss wants to go to the chunin exams!" One of them cackled.

"I know right?" The other giggled, slapping his companion on the back. "All that's there is a bunch of stupid genin! Brats! All of 'em!"

The quiet boy lifted his gaze slightly, locking onto the headbands they wore on their arms. The symbol was just a single black music note.

Quietly, and ever so slowly, he stood up, slipping over to the bar, almost completely unnoticed. His eye glinted red and his hands shot out, grabbing hold of the two men by their throats. They both squirmed and opened their mouths in an attempt to scream.

"Take it outside, I'm not letting you start a fight inside." The bartender growled.

"Of course," He smiled, a sickly twisted grin on his face. "I was just going to take these two so we could have a friendly chat."

"Whatever." The bartender shrugged.

The teen dragged the men out, walking for a minute until he eventually reached the woods. He threw them down, his eye flashing red again.

"So, tell me about your boss going to the chunin exams," He said, idly cracking a knuckle. "And while you're at it, tell me where they will be held."

Four crimson tentacles ripped from his back, pointed at the men when they stayed silent. He took a step forward, grinning at them in sadistic glee. 

"Tell me or die."

A/N

Hope you liked that end bit! Once the chunin exams come things are going to get interesting!