It took a week for Sasuke and Sakura to return to the Mist with Serenity. I was practically bouncing off the walls as I waited at the mansion with Itachi and Kisame. The blue man and I haven't gotten along ever since that conversation, however, we still hang out. He just doesn't talk to me or even look at me. So, I don't talk to him. It makes a very awkward situation for Itachi and I feel bad for him, however, he had gladly put himself in the middle to keep the peace.

"Adryn?" It was Sasuke's voice calling out to me. Instantly, I was up from the couch and out of the living room door. Itachi and Kisame followed closely by. I made my way to the entrance to see Sasuke, Sakura and my beautiful daughter standing there.

"Serenity!" I cried out happily as I immediately made my way to her.

"Mama!" She yelled out as she threw herself into my open arms. I fell to my knees to hug her tightly as I began to tear up.

"It's been so long since I've last seen you, I can't believe you've gotten so big now!" It'd been a year since the last time I'd seen her.

"I'm so happy to see you again! This visit will last a while, right?" She looked at me with big sad eyes and all I could do was smile at her.

"Serenity, you're here to stay now. I'm going to raise you from now on."

"Really, Mama?!" She looked so happy and even began to cry. I couldn't help it and began to cry as well.

"I love you Serenity. So very much."

"I love you too, Mama!" Serenity then noticed the two men who stood behind me. "Who are they?" I stood up and motioned to Itachi.

"This is Sasuke's older brother, Itachi."

"No, he's now Papa."

"What?!" I nearly yelled out at the same time that multiple other people spoke the same thing. Itachi looked shook as Serenity just walked over to him.

"Mama loves you, so you're Papa." Serenity then looked to Kisame and smiled up at him. "You're Uncle Blue!"

"Serenity, you just met them, you can't just..." I trailed off not really knowing what to say, however, Itachi and Kisame both smiled at my daughter.

"It's alright, I'll be Uncle Blue. Itachi, you're now a father." Kisame spoke up with a big smile on his face. He patted Serenity's head and she beamed up at him brightly. She then looked to "Papa" and gave him a questioning look.

"I'll be Papa." Itachi simply stated with a soft smile on his face. Serenity then lifted her arms to him, wanting to be picked up. So, Itachi picked her up and she snuggled into his arms happily.

"I finally have a family!" Hearing those words not only made me happy but also shattered my heart. She'd never had a true family before since Orochimaru never treated her like a granddaughter.

"Yes, you do." Itachi couldn't help but show sadness in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by happiness. I looked to Kisame only to see him turning away from the situation.

"Itachi, watch Serenity, I need to talk to Ki." With that, I quickly followed the blue man. "Ki, wait!" I chased him until we reached his room. Once there, he opened the door, pulled me in and locked the door behind him. "Ki?"

"What if I told you that I want you to be mine? Would you give up Itachi to make me happy?" Kisame questioned as he slammed me against the door. I gasped out, a bit worried but it faded into sadness.

"I would."

"You'd sacrifice your own happiness, for me?" I nodded my head. "Then that's enough for me. After seeing you risk your life for him, it made it real to me that I'd lost you to Itachi."

"Ki..."

"I know I never truly had you but seeing how much you love him..." Kisame trailed off into silence. He then let me go and realized that I'd begun to cry.

"I'm so sorry, maybe in a different world where Itachi didn't exist I could have been yours but I can't just give up on him." I sobbed out as I covered my face with my hands.

"I didn't mean to make you cry, Adryn." Kisame pulled my hands down and leaned over to kiss me on the cheek. "Don't cry, I don't know how to deal with a woman crying." His comment made me laugh as the tears began to dry. He wiped them away until nothing was left.

"I'll always be right beside you, even if it's just as a very best friend."

"That's all I'll ask of you." Kisame pulled me into his arms and we stood there for a moment, just hugging each other. He then pulled away and spoke again. "You should get back to Itachi and Serenity."

"I think I need to find Hidan and Kakuzu first. I can't remember why anymore, but I know we were fighting."

"Alright, good luck." With that, I left Kisame's room and headed out to find Hidan first. He was in his room all alone when I found him and knocked on his door.

"Ugh, you, bitch." He grumbled as soon as he saw who knocked on his door. I stopped him from closing the door and began to speak.

"I'm sorry, Hidan. I upset you and I shouldn't have. I kept poking at you when I knew it would only hurt you in the end."

"You are a bitch, you know that, but you weren't totally wrong." Did Hidan just admit that he has a thing for Kakuzu? "No! It's not what you fucking think. Just you being with him bothered the fuck out of me. Every time you showed up, we'd go to fucking bothersome places. Then after the long-ass day of work, I'd have to hear you two fucking and it's just disgusting."

"That was a lot of fuck Hidan," I commented, making him sigh out loud. "I understand why you dislike me and I'm sorry."

"Well, I don't hate you nearly as much as I fucking did before, so I guess it's alright. Just don't fuck around me anymore."

"I promise, no fucking around you ever again." Hidan nodded his head and I left the area to go find Kakuzu. He'd be a little harder to handle. Even though I had no idea why he was angry with me either. I completely forgot about it. I just knew that I needed to make it up to him. Eventually, I found Kakuzu in the living room with Sasori and Deidara. As soon as I entered the room, the redhead and the blond left, leaving me all alone with the man I used to sleep with.

"Go away." Kakuzu instantly said when he saw me. I smiled at him and sat next to him on the couch he was sitting on. "Adryn."

"Kuzu, why are you mad at me?"

"You keep pissing of Hidan and I have to deal with him."

"I just made up with Hidan, so we no longer have any reason to fight."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, so Kuzu, love me again." I leaned over onto him, just to be shoved away so hard I hit the floor. "Ouch," I grumbled instantly as I stood back up.

"I never loved a whore like you."

"That's rude." I nearly didn't believe him but I had to just go with what he said to not piss him off. "But will you admit to loving Hidan? He practically admitted he loves you." To that, I got glared at.

"I'll stop avoiding you, just leave me alone now." He didn't admit it but he didn't deny it either. I'll take that as a win.

"Fine." I then turned around and left the room altogether. I then went to go and find Itachi and Serenity. They were still in the entrance hall with Sasuke and Sakura.

"What took you so long?" Sakura questioned once she saw me. It was almost like she was accusing me of something.

"I had to make up with Hidan and Kuzu as well as Ki. So it took a little longer than expected." Sakura clearly wanted to say something about that, but she was stopped by a little voice speaking up first.

"Mama, I'm tired." Serenity wigged her way out of Itachi's arms and came walking over to me.

"Alright, let's go home and take a nap then." It was about midday anyway so it was the perfect time for a nap. At my little house, I prepared a room just for her so she'd feel like it was home.

"I'll see you later, Papa." Serenity waved to Itachi and began to walk out the front door.

"Hey, you don't know where you're going!" I called out and hurried after her. I waved goodbye to everyone in the entrance and then I grabbed Serenity's hand and began to guide her to where my home was. We walked slowly, enjoying the forest as we walked. There were different birds and different plants than what she was used to, so it was all fascinating for her. Once we got to my home, I let her run in there and check things out.

"Mama, where's my room?" I then guided Serenity to the bedroom right next to mine. It was full of toys and had a big bed in one of the corners.

"Take a nap now, because I'll have to introduce you to a lot of people afterward, alright?"

"Yes, Mama." Serenity then climbed into her bed and got under the covers. She was out nearly immediately. I couldn't help but just stand there and watch her sleep for a few minutes. I felt whole now that she was here. However, I also felt tired, so I went to my own room, leaving the door open in case she woke up before me, and then climbed into my bed. I also was asleep nearly immediately.

~

"Mama... Mama! Wake up!" I was shaken awake little arms. I looked around, confused before remembering that my daughter was now with me.

"How late is it?" I questioned as I looked to Serenity and then out of the window. It was still light outside.

"We slept for a few hours. Uncle Sasuke is here."

"Oh. Why? He probably didn't tell you, did he?" I shook my head, trying to wake up fully. Once I was awake, I climbed out of bed and went into the living room where Sasuke was, just sitting on my couch. "What's up?" Serenity was right next to me and nearly threw herself onto Sasuke's lap. She smiled up at him happily as he gave her a look in return. It wasn't a harsh look, just a happy look. I don't think Sasuke is capable of smiling any longer.

"The Kage want to see you and Serenity right now," Sasuke responded after a moment of making sure that Serenity wasn't going to fall off of him.

"Alright, let's go Serenity, you can play with Uncle Sasuke later." Serenity nodded her head and hopped off of Sasuke's lap. I held out my hand and my child took it, so we left my house, leaving Sasuke in there. He chose to not follow us, but

it was fine, as he was allowed in my house anyway. I trusted him wholeheartedly. So, Serenity and I made our way to the Kage's place. Once in there, we headed to their chamber.

"Oh, hello Adryn, and who's this next to you?" Lady Mizukage's eyes went right for Serenity. My daughter instantly hid behind me.

"This is Serenity, my daughter." I stepped to the side and stood behind Serenity so she couldn't hide any further. She just looked around the room and hesitantly smiled at everyone.

"Hello." Serenity finally spoke up as she looked over to Lady Mizukage. Lady Mizukage responded with a hello of her own. Serenity then looked around the room and hesitantly said hello to everyone else, who in turn said hello to her.

"Was there anything that you all needed or did you just want to meet Serenity?" I finally questioned after they all said their hellos.

"We just wanted to meet her is all." Lady Mizukage responded simply. I nodded my head and took Serenity's hand.

"Well then, we will be at the mansion."

"You're taking her to be around a bunch of criminals?" Lord Tsuchikage questioned, sounding a bit in disbelief.

"I trust that they wouldn't hurt an innocent child," I responded immediately. "If they even tried, I'd deal with them." With that, Serenity and I made our way out of there. We headed to the mansion and went to find Itachi. We eventually found him in the living room with Kisame and Sasori.

"Papa!" Serenity called out as she let go of my hand and ran over to Itachi. Sasori just looked at the situation with confusion.

"'Papa'?" Sasori instantly questioned.

"She immediately took to Itachi. So now he's her 'Papa'." Kisame explained simply as he watched Serenity climb onto Itachi's lap. Itachi helped her out a bit but soon she was situated on him. Once she was properly on Itachi, she looked over to Sasori.

"Hello, Uncle Red." Serenity spoke as she looked directly at the now confused redhead.

"Excuse me?" Sasori seemed to be a bit annoyed by my daughter's naming of him, but after a moment he just sighed to himself. "Hello, child."

"My name is Serenity!" Sasori didn't give Serenity any response. He just got up from his seat and left the room. "He's not nice."

"He'll warm up to you, don't worry kid," Kisame responded patting the girl's head softly.

"Uncle Blue, I'm not a kid!"

"That's just what a kid would say." Serenity then glared at the blue man. Kisame, however, just burst into laughter making Serenity pout.

"So, how was your nap?" Itachi asked, directing the child's attention away from her pouting.

"Mama slept more than I did." Serenity responded simply with a smile on her face.

"So, you took a nap as well?" Itachi turned his attention onto me next.

"I did. However, Serenity woke me up when Sasuke arrived at the house." I responded simply.

"Not at first. First Uncle Sasuke and I talked about how I was liking my new room and my new father."

"I see." I just smiled at my daughter. "And? What did you tell him? Do you like your new room and new father?"

"I love my new room! It's so much brighter and has more toys than my old room with Orochimaru!" Serenity was seemingly thrilled about her new room. "And about my Papa, I love him as well!"

"Thank you, Serenity, that's sweet of you." Itachi gave her a small smile, but she just frowned at him. "What's wrong?" Itachi was clearly worried that he'd just done something wrong.

"You didn't say it back. You don't love me?"

"Serenity, he just met you, love takes a while to grow," I explained to the young girl before she began to cry. She just looked at me, thought it over and nodded her head.

"How long did it take you for you to love Papa?"

"Oh... Um..." I didn't want to say the truth. I'd instantly fell in love with him as soon as I first met him. That'd be bad to admit at that moment, so I just replied something else. "Let's go meet the other residents of the mansion, alright?" Perfect, I'd distracted her, but not the two adults in the room.

"Wait, I want to know too," Kisame spoke up as I pulled Serenity off of Itachi's lap. I ignored him and carried my child out of the room. As soon as we were far enough away, I set her down and we walked, holding hands, to find the next Akatsuki member. The first room we came across was Kakuzu's. So, I knocked on his door, fully knowing that Hidan was in there as well.

"What do you-" Kakuzu paused in his grumbling as he looked down at my side. "What is that?"

"'That' is my child, Serenity. I want everyone to meet her since she'll be living with me and seeing everyone every day now." I simply responded as I slightly glared at Kakuzu.

"She doesn't fucking look anything like you, bitch! Are you sure she'd your fucking child?!" That was Hidan's response as he approached the door behind Kakuzu.

"I went through 18 hours of labor to have her, so yeah, I'm fucking sure she's mine!" I snapped back instantly causing Hidan to just glare down at my child.

"Uncle Kuzu and Uncle Silver!" Serenity didn't seem to understand the annoyance the two men had towards her, or maybe she didn't care at all about it.

"The fuck?! 'Uncle Silver'?"

"Your hair is silver, therefore-"

"I got it, bitch!" Hidan snapped, cutting me off.

"Hidan, stop swearing around the child."

"I'll fucking say whatever the fuck I fucking feel like saying!" Hidan threw a few more fucks in there than usual, just to make his point I'd assume. I just sighed and tugged Serenity away from the now arguing men. The next room we came across was Deidara's, so I knocked on his door. He opened it up and seemed to notice Serenity right away.

"Is that your kid, hm?" Deidara immediately questioned. I just nodded my head.

"My name is Serenity."

"Hello, Serenity, hm." My little girl then noticed his hands and her face lit up.

"You have mouths on your hands! That's so cool, Uncle Yellow!"

"'Uncle who now, hm?"

"She bases names off of hair color." I simply explain to the confused male. He just nodded his head, seemingly accepting that.

"Why do you have mouths on your hands?" Serenity questioned, bringing the conversation back to her.

"That's a secret, hm." She didn't like that, so she began to pout.

"Come on now, Serenity, we have a few others to say hello to." I pulled her along with me as I began to walk away. We headed towards the furthest rooms from the living room now. Those rooms were Konan's, Nagato's and Obito's. They seemed to be all in one place, so I headed towards what I think is Nagato's room. Once there, I knocked and smiled at Konan when she answered it.

"Hello, Adryn, and who is this that you have with you?" Konan questioned when she looked down to see Serenity.

"My name is Serenity. Mama is my mama."

"I see. Well, I'm Konan, this is Nagato and Obito."

"Aunt Blue and Uncle Black." Serenity corrected the woman. She then paused and made a face. "What should I call him, there's already an Uncle Red." Serenity looked up at me for help. I just shrugged my shoulders. I didn't know what to call him.

"How about Uncle White? When I run out of chakra, my hair still turns white." Nagato questioned, making Serenity smile at him. She nodded her head.

"So, that's everyone. Let's go back to Itachi and Kisame now." I spoke to Serenity as I
grabbed her hand once again. She nodded her head again and followed after me as I began to walk away. "So what do you think about the residents here?"

"I like them. Uncle Red is a bit mean though, and Uncle Silver swears too much. Uncle Kuzu doesn't like, I think."

"Why doesn't he get a color for a name?"

"He's special to you, or at least was, right Mama?" I was taken aback by that comment. I just sighed and nodded my head. "I could sense unresolved tension from him towards you, but I don't know what it means."

"I'm sure it'll be fine," I replied as we continued to walk around the mansion. Eventually, we made out way back towards the living room, but Serenity's stomach began to growl. So we headed into the kitchen instead. There was some cereal there that she could eat and I became hungry as well, so we ended up eating some together. While we were eating Kisame and Itachi entered the kitchen, wondering what we were doing.

"We were hungry." Serenity simply explained to the two men when they questioned what we were doing.

"So, did you meet everyone?" Itachi asked the young girl. She nodded her head happily.

"Yup, and named everyone." Serenity then went through all the names of the Akatsuki members.

"Why does Kakuzu get a non-color?" Kisame asked once Serenity was done speaking. She just giggled though and shook her head.

"Hey, Mama, why didn't you answer my question from a while ago?" Serenity seemed to just think of that. I sighed and shook my head. "Is it embarrassing? Did you fall in love with Papa at first sight?" Serenity seemed happy to think that and my red face seemed to answer her question.

"Oh really? Instantly, huh?" Kisame's voice sounded unsure.

"Don't say it like that. It wasn't completely at first sight..." I was lying and it was obvious.

"For a ninja, you're a terrible liar," Kisame stated simply causing my face to get even redder.

"Papa?" Serenity questioned, losing interest in mine and Kisame's conversation.

"What is it Serenity?" Itachi responded as he looked over to the young girl.

"Do you love Mama?" Itachi seemed to think about her question for a moment before responding.

"That's complicated."

"How?"

"You'll understand when you're older," I responded instantly, trying to stop the topic. I didn't want to have him say no, and have my heart shatter completely. I hated this topic and wanted to avoid it as much as possible. Serenity just made a face at us and finished up her cereal. She then jumped down from her seat and headed into the living room. I finished up my cereal and followed her along with the guys. "Are you pouting now?"

"Yes." She was sitting in the middle of the room with her arms and legs crossed.

"I see. Well, what would make you feel better?"

"You kissing Papa."

"Huh? What? No?" I was thrown off completely. However, it looked as though Itachi and Kisame were also thrown off. "I can't just kiss someone who doesn't want to be kissed, Serenity."

"Maybe he does want to kiss you, Mama, maybe you just don't know it yet."

"Either way, it's not appropriate for someone to kiss someone else if they aren't romantically involved."

"Says the whore." We all turned to the living room door to see Hidan standing there with Kakuzu behind him.

"You know what Hidan, how about you just-" Kisame put his hand over my mouth before I could say something bad in front of Serenity.

"Mama, what's a 'whore'?"

"It's someone who sleeps around with multiple different people," Kakuzu answered instead of me.

"Hey! I don't do that anymore and I haven't done that in years! Therefore, I'm not a whore anymore!"

"'Anymore'," Kakuzu stated in his normal voice with a hint of annoyance thrown in there.

"Who do you think I'm sleeping with now?!"

"We probably shouldn't be having this conversation around the child."

"Mama, do you want to sleep with Papa?" Serenity's innocent question nearly caused me to literally drop dead at that moment. However, within a second I recovered and responded to my child.

"No, I don't."

"You don't?!" Hidan yelled out, completely confused.

"My feelings aren't like that."

"How can you love someone and not want to fuck them?" I couldn't help but shrug as the adults in the room looked at me for an explanation.

"I've loved Itachi since I was a child. My feelings didn't involve anything sexual then, and I guess they don't now. I don't know, I never thought of it."

"However, you loved Kisame and it was sexual, so you're capable of feeling such a thing." Kakuzu simply stated causing Serenity to gasp out.

"Mama is having an affair with Uncle Blue?"

"What?! No, of course, I'm not! I'm not having an affair with anyone! That's impossible considering I'm still an independent single woman!" I was getting flustered and hearing Hidan begin to laugh at me, wasn't helping anything.

"Mama-"

"Nope! No more questions from you." I instantly picked up Serenity into my arms. "It's time to go. It's getting dark now anyway." I then glared at Hidan and Kakuzu before looking to Itachi and Kisame. "We'll see you two tomorrow. Goodnight." Before anyone could say anything in return, I fled from the room with my child in my arms. Thankfully, no one followed us and we managed to make it out of the mansion without any trouble. Hopefully, tomorrow they'll have let go of the situation.