~~~~~

The next morning, Konan woke Itachi up extra early, explaining that she had a task for him to complete.

"Itachi, I know that you have experience with younger children, so I'd like you to take Kana into the nearby town to buy some clothes," Konan said.

"Why doesn't Deidara and Sasori take her, or yourself?" Itachi groaned, rubbing at his tired eyes.

"Pein-sama and I are busy looking into more potential recruits and Sasori and Deidara are in a mission debrief." Konan explained. "They would've done it yesterday, but Kana was a huge distraction."

"Fine, I will get her in an hour." Itachi sighed. "I'm sleeping for another half an hour."

"Perfect, that gives me enough time to get her ready," Konan smiled. "She needs a bath, urgently."

Konan left the room, shutting the door softly. Itachi glanced at his alarm clock, sighing. Half an hour didn't seem like much time.

~~~~~

Kana was already awake when a woman with purple hair walked into her room. Her memory reminded her that her name was Konan.

"Good morning, Kana." Konan greeted, something white and fluffy folded in her arms. "It's about time you have a bath."

"Bath?" Kana repeated. "What's that?"

"It's how you wash your hair and body in a tub of water." Konan explained.

Kana knew what water was from yesterday, but she was unsure of what exactly a tub was.

"Okay." Kana nodded, sitting up from her bed and throwing off the covers. Sleeping in a bed was a weird feeling for her.

Kana's bare feet padded against the cold stone floor as she followed the cloaked woman down the hall and lead her to what she learned was a bathroom. Konan opened the door and ushered her inside, setting down the fluffy thing along with two bottles. 

"I'm going to run the water now, pay close attention." Konan said, reaching over the tub.

She twisted a knob with blue trim and water came out, she pointed to the knob.

"This one is for cold water." She explained, then turning the knob with red trim. "This one is hot."

"Hot like the sun?" Kana asked.

"Not that hot, but it can hurt you if you don't use cold water with it." Konan replied. "Also, be sure you plug the drain, otherwise the water will come out."

Kana nodded, absorbing the new information. Once the tub was three-quarters full, Konan shut off the taps, picking up the two bottles.

"The white bottle is shampoo, you use it to wash your hair. Make sure you scrub all the soap out with water." Konan said, putting the white bottle down. "The red bottle is body wash, you wash the rest of you with it. Do you understand, Kana?"

Kana nodded, a little excited to step into the water. She wondered what it would feel like on her skin.

"This is a towel after you get out you can dry off with this." Konan smiled. "Now go ahead and get in, I will bring you some new clothes afterwards."

Kana took off her dirty shirt and pants, giving them to Konan, who threw them directly in the trash can. Konan helped her into the tub, lowering her into the water until she wasn't tense anymore.

"It's warm, like the sun." Kana said, swishing her hands around in the water.

"Here is the soap, do you remember which is which?" Konan asked, handing her the bottles.

"White is for my hair because it's white." Kana nodded. "Red is for the rest."

"That's right," Konan smiled. "I'll be right back with some new clothes."

Konan shut the shower curtain and left the bathroom, heading back to her room in search of clothes. Kana grabbed a cup that sat on the edge of the tub and scooped up some water, dumping it on her head. She shivered as the water ran down her back in a pleasant way, watching as droplets of water and blood mixed with the rest of the water. After soaking all her hair, she filled her palm with shampoo, unsure of how much to use. She scrubbed her tangled hair and then rinsed it again. She did the same for the rest of her, using as much soap as she deemed necessary. 

Konan returned about ten minutes later with some clothes, granted they were a bit big on the girl. Kana dried off with Konan's help as Konan began talking to her softly.

"I wore these clothes when I was twelve, so they may be a bit big on you." Konan explained, rubbing a towel over Kana's white hair.

"How old am I?" Kana asked.

"I think you're about eight or nine." Konan replied.

"How old are you Konan?" Kana asked.

"I'm almost twenty-nine." Konan smiled.

"That's a big..." Kana trailed off, not remembering the word.

"Number?" Konan suggested.

"Yes, that's a big number." Kana nodded.

Konan giggled. "I suppose it is."

Once Kana's hair was combed and she was dry, Konan put her hair into a ponytail with a red ribbon. Kana put on the clothes that Konan brought, and as she figured they were a bit big. She wore a purple t-shirt with black sweatpants and blue sandals. Her toes were just below the straps of the sandals, the t-shirt hung very low, and the sweatpants strings were pulled tight with the pant legs rolled up.

"Now we just have to go meet Itachi." Konan said.

"Itachi?" Kana repeated. "But why?"

"He's taking you into town today to get you some stuff that you need." Konan explained.

"Why can't you take me?" Kana asked.

"I have work to do, Kana, I'm sorry." Konan sighed.

Kana pouted

~~~~~

"Be safe, once you get into town be sure to use a henge." Konan said.

"I will be safe." Itachi nodded. "I wouldn't want to put Kana, or the Akatsuki at risk."

"Good, try not to spend too much, money is tight." Konan sighed.

"You should look into finding someone to get us more money." Itachi replied.

"I'll look into it, now get going." Konan said.

Itachi squatted down in front of Kana and she climbed on with a huff, wishing she could run too. However, her sandals didn't fit right and that would cause her to trip, something Itachi didn't want.

They made it to the edge of town in about an hour and Itachi henged into a new person. His black eyes turned brown and his long black hair became short and gray. He looked very similar to Kana in the way that his skin became paler.

"While we are in town, please make sure you don't say my name, alright?" Itachi said as they approached the gates.

"Okay." Kana nodded, walking alongside him. 

The towns gates didn't even pass as gates, it was a fence that went all around the town. Because it wasn't a shinobi village there was no one guarding the entrance either. Kana and Itachi made their way into town, stopping at the first store Itachi found that sold clothing. The entire time they were in the store, he kept a close eye on her and when he thought she wasn't looking, he would smile. 

Pein and even Sasori still seemed scary to her, but no matter how hard she looked at Itachi, she just couldn't help, but see someone who she could trust and look up to. Maybe he was used to taking care of kids.

"Why are you so nice to me?" Kana asked as Itachi held up a red t-shirt.

"I have a little brother about your age, and you remind me of him when he was little." Itachi distantly replied.

"What's a brother?" Kana asked.

"A boy who shares a parent in the traditional sense," Itachi said. "Although sometimes people have a brother who isn't related, but they care about."

"Nii-san," Kana said looking up at Itachi.

Itachi paused, eying her curiously. 

"Why do you say that?" Itachi asked.

"Because you're older, and I don't have a brother." Kana frowned. "Is that okay, nii-san?" 

Itachi nodded, giving her head a little pat.

"Now why don't we go get you some weapons and maybe stop for lunch?" Itachi asked.

Kana nodded, but she didn't quite understand what lunch was, or what she was expected to eat.

A/N

I have big things planed for the next chapter, so be ready! The Akatsuki knows nothing about Kana (Himika) yet, other than she was covered in blood and chained to a wall. VOTE COMMENT AND ENJOY!