Naruto One-Shots *Closed to Requests*

In the Shadows [Itachi Uchiha] for Tama Kimi/Uchiha

Kisame roared with laughter a few feet away, rolling on the ground. Meanwhile his partner, Itachi Uchiha, lay sprawled out on the ground, looking up towards the sky, blinking. "What hit me?" he questioned.

"Oh man," the large man continued to chuckle. "You should've seen your face! Priceless! The emotionless Uchiha bested my a midget!"

"Hey! I've over five feet, thank you very much!" a young woman's voice stated from her perch. Glancing down, the Akatsuki member found her sitting on his stomach, legs straddling his sides. She grinned elbow resting against a propped up knee, cheek pressing against the suspended arm.

"That was a fun spar, wasn't it?"

"It wasn't much of a spar when you come lunging out of the trees without warning," Itachi stated.

"Not my fault you had your guard down." Kisame snickered, picking himself up.

"Ayu, do you mind?"

"Nope, I'm actually rather comfy, thank you very much," she stated with a grin, arms crossing.

The Uchiha forced himself to sit up, causing Ayu to shift, falling off of his lap, butt hitting the ground between his legs. "You're going to make us late meeting with Leader."

"So sue me, the guy needs to lighten up." The young woman stood, extending a hand, which he took.

"Can we expect the rest of our journey back to base uneventful?"

"I make no promises," she grinned, Kisame chuckling, while Itachi rolled his eyes.

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"Hey, bitch! It's been a while!" Hidan sneered as Ayu made her way into the lounge room. "My Village too much for you."

The young woman rolled her eyes. "As if. Though your incompetence to gather and relay the correct information is what nearly cause me to be ripped in half."

All of the members in the room barked out in laughter, excluding Itachi, who watched Ayu carefully sat herself on a couch. "You shouldn't have let your guard down," the man stated her common phrase. A kunai went flying through the air, embedding in the criminal's forehead, causing him to jerk backwards.

"It was ten against one, your asshole. I'm lucky these are the only injuries I sustained, damn immortal."

"Fuck-!"

Kakuzu's threads wrapped around his partner to hold him in place. "If you bloody another item in this hideout that is not yours I will personally cut off your head and bury it somewhere miles away from the hideout. You are costing me money."

Hidan glared at the man before smirking back over at the young woman. "Should've taken my offer to become a Jashinist when you joined. Then you wouldn't have this problem."

"And roam the earth with your sorry ass when this lot kicks the bucket? I think I'll pass."

This time, Itachi couldn't help but chuckle.

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Ayu was irritated, rolling back and forth carefully in bed, unable to get comfortable. "Damn stitches," Ayu huffed, staring up at the ceiling in irritation. Finally, the ninja stood, making her way towards the kitchen.

"Couldn't sleep?" a voice came from the lounge room as she passed. Glancing over, the young woman found Sasori sitting on the floor, eyes trained on one of the many puppets surrounding him.