A/N

How are y'all liking this so far?

Kana returned to their camp about an hour later, specks of blood and dirt on her face. What was she supposed to do with the remains? Itachi sighed at her appearance, his brow creasing.

"Please go and wash up, we are not far from the seat." Itachi sighed. "Just don't be seen."

Kana nodded, but before she could leave, Kisame stood up as well.

"I'll go with her."

Itachi's eyes narrowed threatening, but he agreed, giving Kana a wary look. Kana simply smiled back, unafraid and confident.

Kisame walked at the girl's side as they made their way to the water's edge. The trip passed in complete, silence, making Kisame uncomfortable. He hoped the rest of the Akatsuki weren't this quiet.

"So what did you do with him?" Kisame asked as Kana knelt at the water's edge.

"I thought that was obvious," Kana distantly replied, cupping some cool water and splashing it on her face.

"I mean, I have a guess." Kisame shrugged.

"Then why don't you take a guess?" Kana suggested. "I will either answer or stay silent."

"The blood near your mouth," Kisame mumbled. "Did you... Eat him?"

Kana stayed silent, nodding her head once and keeping her back turned. Kisame sucked in a sharp breath, but remained unafraid.

"Does that bother you, Kisame?" Kana asked, her tone sturdy.

"Honestly, a little bit." Kisame sighed. "But, most shinobi these days have some kind of quirk. I'm seven feet tall and look like a shark."

Kana chuckled. "I guess you're right, there are strange people in the Akatsuki too."

Kisame sat next to Kana as took her hair out of it's ponytail and began scrubbing the blood out. The two talked a bit here and there, trying to find similar likes and interests.

"What's something you don't like?" Kisame asked.

"Sushi," Kana scowled. "Scratch that, food in general."

"What about weapons?" Kisame asked.

"Oh, I just use kunai and shuriken for now." Kana replied. "I'm still learning."

"What about swords?" Kisame suggested. "Would you ever try a sword?"

"If you taught me, sure I would." Kana smiled. "All the Akatsuki are responsible for teaching me stuff."

"Then when we get to the base, I'll be sure to look for a sword you can use." Kisame smirked. "Sound good?"

"Sounds good!"

~~~~~

Itachi sighed, the worry lines deepening for a moment before letting up.

He was worried about Kana, not Kana and Kisame, but Kana in general. She said she didn't need to eat for a while, so why was she eating? Something came out if her back and stabbed a man. Can she learn to control that? Not to mention the personality swap that occurs when she's hungry.

Itachi sighed again, this was proving to be a quite the problem. He gently rubbed his bandaged arm, frowning slightly at the memory.

Kana and Kisame returned, both of them smiling and talking, Kisame being the more talkative of the two. Kana looked at Itachi and smiled, however she averted her eyes when they landed on his arm. Her eyes had been so full of guilt, although she might not have known what that was.

"You two seem to be getting along well." Itachi noted.

"Kisame is going to be joining the Akatsuki, so that means we should get along." Kana said. "What if we go on missions together?"

"Very good point, Kana." Itachi said, a feeling of pride making his heart swell.

"When are we going to reach this base anyway?" Kisame asked.

"That depends on how we spread out the journey." Itachi replied. "We can run full speed there and arrive by sunrise tomorrow, or we can move at a moderate pace, camp the night, and then head there."

"Why don't we just run full speed?" Kisame suggested. "It'll be good stamina training for the kid, if she gets tired you or I can carry her."

"Alright, then I suppose we should get going now." Itachi decided, slowly standing up. "If either of you fall behind, shout."

Kisame smirked and swung his sword onto his back, looking ready to go. Kana stretched her legs, doing a few squats and lunges.

"Are we all ready to go?" Itachi asked.

"Yes." Kana nodded.

"Let's get going already!" Kisame grumbled. "I want to sleep in a real bed!"

~~~~~

The trio ran in silence, with the sound of the wind rushing past them it was impossible to speak. Kana was keeping up fairly well, and wasn't showing any signs of exhaustion yet after running for two hours. Itachi wasn't tired at all yet, he was used to hours without rest thanks to his time as an ANBU captain. Kisame didn't seem tired ever, he continued smiling, running right beside Itachi despite not knowing where they were going.

Itachi suddenly stopped, Kana would've run into his back if he didn't quickly turn around and catch her. Kana looked up at Itachi in. Confusion.

"Why'd we stop?" Kana asked.

Itachi turned them around. Kisame had stopped on a dime and was now staring at... Well whatever the hell it is.

The thing rose out if the ground, and was clad in an Akatsuki cloak. Kana relaxed a bit at the sign if an ally, but remained unnerved. His face and torso was black and white, with what looked like a plant surrounding them.

"Zetsu," Itachi greeted.

"Hey Itachi," The white half spoke. "How've? You been?"

"Focus, idiot." The black half growled. "We have a job to do."

"That's right, we came to report back to Pein-sama." The white half agreed.

"Tell him that we have Kisame Hoshigaki with us and we are on our way back." Itachi said.

"You got it," The white half said before sinking into the ground and out of sight.

Kana shivered as both halves gave her a glance before completely vanishing. Itachi sighed, massaging his temple for a moment.

"Who was that?" Kana asked, still a little shaken up.

"That was Zetsu," Itachi replied, with a huff. "And I don't trust him at all, if you're ever caught alone with him, come find me or someone else."

"What the hell is he?" Kisame asked.

Itachi scoffed. "No one really knows."

~~~~~

As predicted, the tired group of three arrived at the base just after sunrise. Kana slept peacefully on Itachi's back, her arms locked around his neck as she breathed with a steady pace. Kisame still looked wide awake, a thin coat of sweat dripped down his face, but his breathing was normal and he wasn't tired. Itachi was in a similar state, looking as if he had just gone on a light jog instead of running for over ten hours. They didn't even take breaks, they ate on the go. Only Kana didn't eat, still full from her 'snack.' 

The leader of the Akatsuki himself, Pein, waited for them inside. Once they walked in, his eyes landed on Kisame, sizing him up before giving orders.

"Hoshigaki, you will follow me," Pein said, then glancing at Itachi. "Mission complete Itachi, take Kana to her room and get some sleep. You meet me in my office at nine."

Itachi bowed his head slightly and then made his way down the hallway to the living quarters. He opened the door to Kana's room and quietly walked in, adjusting the bedsheets before tucking her in. She was still wearing her mission clothes, however, he doubted she'd care. He silently left the room and shut the door, placing a hand on his back. Hours of crouching and running while carrying an eight year old does that to a person.

"Welcome back, Itachi!"

Itachi's sharingan swirled into place. He slowly turned around to face the one threat to Kana in the Akatsuki.

"Hello," He spat. "Zetsu."

A/N

Wrote this at school and on my laptop, expect mistakes and errors. I can maybe edit later.