2,324... 2,325... 2,326...

Sakura sat at the kitchen table as she silently twiddled her thumbs. Directly across the table was a maskless Kakuzu counting the money from his most recent bounty. Peeved, he only now discovered there needed to be withdrawals from the Akatsuki's finances due to two reasons: repairing Deidara's room from damage done from unexpected explosions and restoring the wall in the living area because of Tobi being sent right through due to being the cause for the previous incident.

"Ka-Kak'zu-san?"

2,327... 2,328... 2,329...

"What?"

"Dei... Dei'dra-san said you gotta temper. I'zat true?" she questioned meekly. His hand paused for a split second before continuing to flip through the money.

"Yes."

2,330... 2,331... 2,332...

She looked back down at her hands. She'd been at the base for about two weeks now and had stuck to Tobi and Deidara the entire time. In those two weeks, she'd only ever seen Kakuzu either counting money, scribbling down things in his small notebook, or getting into super scary arguments with the guy with the gray hair.

"Papa says I gotta temper too," she murmured. Kakuzu looked up from his money and raised an eyebrow. "He tol' me that I got really mad once an' broke his desk in two."

That was hard to believe considering that Leader's desk was made of thick, expensive wood.

"A temper, you say..." he mused quietly. Intrigued, he set down the crisp bills and placed the entirety of his attention on her. She ducked her head down even further if it were possible. "Raise your head. I don't talk down to people when they're sitting right across from me."

Her head snapped up, her cheeks flushing as pink as her hair. "S-Sorry, Kakuzu-san," she said. Her head might've been up, but her eyes were glued to the table to avoid his gaze. Internally, he sighed. It wasn't his intention to intimidate her to this extent. He might be a grown man without many morals, but scaring Leader's kid wasn't on his to-do list.

He sighed outwardly. "Sakura, when was the last time you visited a village?"

She turned her gaze to the ceiling for a few moments before looking at him with shy, green eyes. "I... I don' think I've gone. Mama and Papa wan' me to stay here 'cause it's safe."

Kakuzu stood. "Let's go. I have errands to run and you're not allowed to be left alone."

Pure excitement flashed across her face as she hopped out of her seat and ran towards her room. "Lemme get my jacket firs', Kak'zu-san!"

He watched her go with a quirked brow.

::

Needless to say, Sakura was absolutely ecstatic to be out in the cold bundled in her red jacket and lime green scarf. She peered around curiously as she absorbed all the sights and sounds of the hustle and bustle of civilian life. But no matter how curious she was, she stuck to Kakuzu's side. He was grateful she didn't give him any reason for him to keep a constant eye out. She was also rather well behaved for her age, letting him do what he had to without fuss.

She was good company. Compared to Hidan, at least.

He felt a tug on his cloak.

"Kak'zu-san, what's that?" She pointed to a building where you could see books upon books stacked on the shelves inside.

"A library," he answered, interest piqued. "It's a place where you read books. Would you stay there while I run the last of my errands? I'll be back in an hour or so."

She hopped from foot to foot in ill contained excitement before nodding and hurrying inside.

::

He'd taken much longer than he anticipated; the last few errands had taken him at least three hours to complete. Night had already crested over the horizon and left only a sliver or pink in the far off sky. Kakuzu walked back to the library and stepped inside.

The place stayed barren, the librarian nowhere in sight. A couple of tables were scattered around the room, unoccupied, save for the one in the far corner. A small tower of books stayed stacked on the surface, a shock of pink beside it. Peering around it, he saw Sakura napping quietly with her head buried in her arms.

Kakuzu ran a hand over his masked face and picked her up.

"Mmm... Kak'zu-san?" she muttered groggily.

"Sleep. I'll take you home."

She hummed, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face in the junction of his shoulder. Kakuzu stiffened in her hold and opened his mouth to reprimand her, but after quick consideration, he closed his mouth and breathed a near silent sigh.

Perhaps, this one time, he could let it slide.

::

EDITED 1/30/2018