Deidara carefully carried May into the small yellow house, nodding gratefully to Pein as he holds the screen door open. Itachi sits on the couch, a tired looking Cloud snuggled to his person, and looks up as the blonde enters. May stirs in his arms, eyes fluttering open.
"Monkeys?"
"Nope," Deidara cracks a thin smile, easing her down onto the couch beside Cloud and Itachi, "No monkeys. Just Itachi and Cloud, hmm."
"Hmm," May leans slightly on her sister, who coils an arm around her shoulder, "Your boobs are comfy."
"I know." Cloud yawns, clutching her stuffed weasel to her chest. "They're magical, remember?"
"All hail the magical boobs." May pumps a fist up into the air lazily and then slumps further against her sister, eyes fluttering shut. "I'm so tired."
"I heard something about fucking magical boobs." Hidan enters the room at the speed of light, eyes darting around curiously.
Itachi glares at him when his pink orbs dip a little too far low from Cloud and May's faces.
"Cloud has magical boobs." May chirps brightly, in a matter-of-fact tone, "They have the power to become really comfy pillows and can put anyone to sleep."
"Really?" Hidan stares intently.
Sasori throws a pen at the silverette's head, mahogany eyes blazing. "That's enough!"
Kisame stretches out on the couch beside him, chuckling lowly at Hidan's misfortune. Kakuzu sits beside him, brow raised. Konan and Pein stand in front of the television, watching their members/children converse, while waiting for Tobi to make his presense.
"Cloud-chan has magical boobs?" Tobi appears before the bluette, finger outstretched to poke one.
Before Itachi can bite it off, Cloud swats his hand away, "Enough about my boobs. I'm tired and I want to sulk some more." She narrows her eyes towards Pein, "What do you want?"
Pein stares at her for a few moments, face impassive. Then he dips his head. "We are sorry for your loss."
Cloud and May both seem to deflate like popped balloons. Cloud's grip on her stuffed weasel tightens slightly and she angles her face away, cheek resting against Itachi's chest. May fights back against a sudden onslaught of tears, hands curled into tight fists.
"We believe they were murdered." Pein continues softly, lips twitching towards a frown.
"We know." The girls speak in unison.
Even Tobi is slightly freaked out by it.
"We're not stupid." May grinds out, eyes blank, hollow. Cloud continues for her, "Mom was the biggest paranoid freak out there. We know the wires had to have been tampered with."
Sasori ducks his head, jaw clenched shut. "They were cut."
Cloud nods. May's knuckles turn a ghastly bone white.
Pein closes his eyes for a moment and then looks up, "We believe the killers are a part of one of our rivals and would like to offer you protection."
May's eyes narrow slightly, teeth gritting. "What's the catch?"
Konan takes a small step forward, amber eyes gentle, "You must join as members."
"We'll do it."
May jumps slightly, wide eyes snapping back to stare at her sister. Cloud reguards Pein with a cold, yet completely blank and hollow look. She ignores her sister, as said girl opens her mouth to protest.
"We will join," The bluette continues, "So long as we are allowed to extract our revenge."
Pein dips his head in a small nod. Konan glances back, watching Itachi and Deidara's reactions to the bluette's words. Seeking revenge could be dangerous, even with the protection Pein was going to provide.
Itachi and Deidara stare back at the contemplating Konan, looking as if they knew exactly what she was going to propose.
Itachi's eyebrow twitches slightly as the older bluette in the room starts to talk.
"Deidara, Itachi, you will be assigned to them as their bodyguards. We will speak with Tsunade about transferring classes and moving them into the Akatsuki dorm. Itachi, I understand you and Cloud have a class with Orochimaru, correct?"
Cloud's brows furrow, "What's the snake pedo got to do with anything?"
"He is the leader of Sound, the gang that we suspect to have been involved with your parents' murder." Kisame explains briefly, beady eyes hard. Yet his lips are stretched into a frozen, cheery smile.
Both Cloud and May tense at once, knuckles clenched tightly.
"What?" May growls.
"I'll kill that little shit." Cloud's brow ticks with annoyance and she shoots the Weasel beside her a dirty look, "I knew I didn't like him. This is all your fault."
Itachi shoots her an incredulous look. "How is it my fault?"
"You made me go up there." Cloud jerks her face away from him, "All by myself, even though I asked you to come with me."
The weasel blinks, trying to remember the incident she was speaking of. "Do you mean when you first joined the class? And you had to introduce yourself?"
"Look, if it's anyone's fault, it's that snake bastard's. Stop bickering." May glares.
"What does he even have against us?" She asks.
Leader's brow furrows.
"We're not exactly sure of the reason but we think it has something to do with your parents' careers."
Cloud frowns. "Our parents' careers? But they ar- were," she corrects herself grimly, "politicians."
Pein nods slightly, "We know."
Itachi glares at him. He had a good idea as to why the snake pedo had targeted the girl's parents. Orochimaru had wanted Itachi to join the Sound a while back, even going as far as to threaten Sasuke's life. But Itachi was already loyal to the Akatsuki. He'd taken an oath. So he'd politely turned the creepy man down in his offer, which the snake was probably still sore about.He'd probably noticed Itachi's growing affection for the blue haired girl.
But to go as far to murder the girl's parents was something Itachi hadn't expected, even from a bastard like Orochimaru.
"Either way," Cloud shakes her head, brushing the strange thoughts she'd been gathering out of her head, "We'll join. What all do we have to do?"
Tobi lets out a happy squeal and leaps to his feet. The masked lollipop of doom then procedes to run about the room, arms wide open, shouting happily about how his Cloud and May-chan are joining. Pein shoots the man a dark glare but nonetheless ignores him. He glances to Itachi, who looks frozen stiff. The fearless leader know about Itachi's reservations about the girls joining.
"Leader-sama?" Konan chimes softly, gaining his attention, "Should I go get the rings?"
Pein nods and looks to the girls. "We will not make you go through any initiation ceremony and you can recite the oath later. We will give you each a ring, which basically signifies that we have claimed you as members."
Konan returns to the room, a small dark box in her hands. She opens the lid, holding it out to the two girls as she approaches, revealing a bright, fluffy red velvet cushion surrounding a small row of different rings. Each has a circular colored stone, a japanese kanji symbol carved into the base of the ring, visible beneath the stone, in different colors.
Cloud snags a ring with a dark gray gem, with bright, white letters beneath it. She holds it up to Itachi, "What does this say?"
"Insane."
"Perfect." She grins, sliding it onto her finger. It's too big for her ring finger so she slides it onto her thumb, instead.
May grins half-heartedly and glances over the rings, spying a pretty little one with a black gem and a silver kanji, which reads, 'Strength.'
She slides it onto her finger and stares at it.
So it was official.
The Jefferson sisters were now a part of the Akatsuki.
~
Kakashi eyes the two girls that sit in the back of his classroom, lips pursed beneath his mask. He wasn't sure exactly how long it takes for one to get over the death of an immediate family member, but it had only been three days.
Yet the girls seemed almost competely back to normal.
He scribbles some notes onto the black board, just something for the kids to copy down so they have at least something for a midterm exam.
Cloud twirls her ring on her finger, "'Tachi?"
"Hmm?" The weasel glances up from his notes, gaze shifting towards the bluette.
She purses her lips, "Never mind. I forgot what I was going to say."
Itachi stares at her for a few moments. Cloud obviously has something on her mind. She nibbles on her lower lip, eyes glazed over and glued to the desk in front of her. The weasel sighs softly and pokes her shoulder.
"What is it?"
"Why did you join the Akatsuki?"
Her eyes flicker over, locking with his onyx ones. Surprise flits through his features and he blinks twice, mulling over his reasoning. He'd been with the Akatsuki for several years now.
The door flies open.
Kakashi blinks and lowers his chalk, lone eye flickering towards the door. Shizune rushes frantically into the room, panting heavily. Her eyes scan over the class before falling upon Cloud and May, who stiffen.
She looks to Kakashi, "Ms. Tsunade needs to see Cloud and May, right now."
Kakashi's eye widens. May's stomach drops through her feet. Something was off, and Shizune looked strange. This wasn't like last time. Something different has happened.
Cloud looks to Itachi as she slowly stands. The weasel stands along side her, gathering his things, and Shizune watches them warily. Tsunade had said that two members of the Akatsuki may join the girls.
Deidara stands, yawning loudly, and starts towards the door. May walks slowly behind him, feeling extremely nervous, and Cloud loops her arm through Itachi's. Shizune leads them out of the classroom.
When they reach the hallway, Itachi narrows his eyes towards the principal's assitant. "What is going on?"
Shizune shakes her head slightly, "I can't go into details now. Just...you may want to contact your leader."
Itachi stiffens.
Shizune glances back, frowning, "Social workers don't understand the importance of your gang."
May's brows furrow. "What does a social worker need with us?"
Shizune shakes her head. The rushing woman leads them across campus and into the front office building. The door to Tsunade's office is shut. Shizune opens it and holds it open for the small group. Itachi enters first, eyes narrowed. His free hand rests in his pocket, phone curled up in his fingers.
Tsunde dips her head a slight nod-a movement indiscreet so the social worker doesn't see . The woman sits in one of the chairs in front of Tsunade's desk, legs crossed, a small clip-board on her lap. Her bright red hair is pulled back into a tight bun and she wears a navy blue suit-dress.
Her brown eyes land on Itachi and Deidara. Her cheerful smile becomes strained. "Who are you?"
"Uchiha Itachi." Itachi stares at her evenly, face impassive. Deidara glares at her openly, "And I'm Deidara, hmm."
"Our boyfriends," Cloud steps forward, inturrupting the social worker as she goes to protest, "And we want them to be here. Whatever you have to say, you can say it in front of them."
Itachi stiffens, but forces his face to remain expressionless, and Deidara smirks.
The social worker twitches, but keeps her cheerful smile. "Alright then."
Tsunade gestures towards the chairs. "Take a seat."
"No, no," The social worker shoots her a smile, "This will be quick. The state wants to get them moved as quick as possible."
The girls stiffen.
"As you know, Cloud," The social worker continues, nodding towards the bluette, "You are seventeen. And since you have no other relatives, you are now wards of the state. Because of your parent's job status, we need to move you to your new school as quick as possible, so that way the media can't blow it up."
May shakes her head, rage swelling up within her, "Whoa, whoa, whoa. What? New school? What have you been smoking, lady?"
A strange hardness flashes through the woman's eyes. "Well, this is a private school. The state can't pay for each of its wards to go to private school, no matter how influential their parents were. You will be enrolled into a public school after you are transfered to a foster home."
Cloud's eyes narrow, "But-"
"I'm sorry," The woman shakes her head, still smiling, "But until you are either adopted, or are of the age eighteen, you can't even touch the money left to you in the will, nor can you live on your own."
"We will take them in." A smooth female voice drifts in from the doorway. Everyone in the room seems to tense, and then turn to see Konan and Pein entering the room.
The red-haired social worker's eyes narrow. Her cheery smile finally drops from her lips, making them a hard line.
"And who might you be?" She asks grimly. From behind her, Shizune nods slightly at Itachi. Bringing Leader in had been the right decision.
"I am Konan and this is Pein. We have come to take the girls under our wing." Konan explains serenely while Leader stands silently, authority radiating from his mere presence.
The sisters' eyes widen. Pein and Konan taking them in? Things were getting way too complicated in such a short amount of time.
The social worker stares at the intimidating couple, nose scrunching up at Leader's piercings.
"I'm sorry, but you don't have the authority to-" She is cut off abruptly by Leader's deep, rumbling voice.
"We are the Akatsuki. It is you who do not have the authority to question us." He says. The woman backs up a little, startled at the coldness of his tone. Akatsuki? Wasn't that Konoha's most powerful gang?
"Kindly hand over the necessary documents to Tsuande-san and we will take care of it from there." Konan continues.
The woman raises the clipboard to her chest, as if to protect herself.
"You don't understand. These children have to switch schools. The state cannot afford to pay for them to continue their education here-" her squeak is cut off by Leader's rumbling voice.
"We will pay for them. Hand over the papers." ''Before there is a problem.'' Were the unspoken words and the woman seems to understand the underlying threat in Leader's voice.
"F-Fine."
The woman clenches her teeth tightly, eyes darting towards Tsunade. "I will be back later with the papers." Then her eyes flicker towards the girls, "Just...try to stay out of the newspapers. We don't want the media blowing things up. It will be more stressful for both you and the state."
May's fingers curl into tight fists, making the skin on her knuckles turn a ghastly bone white, and Cloud's eyes narrow.
"We'll keep that in mind."