Hoshigaki

The Blood Through Those Veins

"I'm going to give you a series of six tests," Pein explained. "You will perform them to the best of your ability in the time slots given. Do you understand?"

Sakura nodded firmly. She looked small in the chair opposite the Akatsuki Leader's desk, but she readily scooted forward when the first sheet of paper was slid over to her.

"You'll first complete the picture search. I'm going to start with basic shapes and colors, then we'll progress from there."

::

Sakura was in that office for seven whole hours before she trotted out with a smile and a new book for her to read.

Pein reclined in his chair as he held up one of her test results in his hands. The picture search started out with her naming basic shapes and colors as the basis until it steadily grew to the point where she had to look for one small, specific object in a cluttered sea on a black and white picture. Within ten minutes, she would always find what she was asked to look for. Within the hour, she completed nine sheets of complicated picture searches.

Next they'd taken the following hour to work on pattern finishers. Blocks, dots, colors, numbers—he'd shown her complicated problems until it reached the level of comprehension of the average Amegakure chuunin. Word problems came after, and Pein was surprised to find that he didn't have to read the scenarios out to her. Some words she struggled with and asked definitions for, but her grasp for sentences and linguistic understanding was more than he anticipated. Her logic in her answers were that of her father, both expected and impressive.

The math was mostly calculations on projectile trajectory and decisions based on probability. Again, her capacity stayed on the typical chuunin level and not much more after that, but it was advanced for a six year old. Her vocabulary on shinobi terms came after that, and their definitions rang like she had them ingrained to the backs of her eyelids.

And last was a recollection of the Top 50 Shinobi currently listed in the Bingo Book. Name, affiliation, specialty, worth.

After she'd named every last one of them with their respective details without flaw, he gave her a book to pay for her silence and sent her on her way.

There wasn't much he could say about her physical attributes, but her mind made up for what she lacked. Hoshigaki Sakura wasn't like any other kid, nor was she someone who was going to be the smartest person to ever live. But she was intelligent, practical, logical.

She wasn't some prodigy.

She was enough.

"What are you thinking?"

Pein looked to the side at Konan who appeared at his desk and scanned the neat stacks of paper before him. She quickly analyzed the results and took a cursory glance at the office door where Sakura departed mere minutes ago.

"She also has a keen eye for detail," he remarked. "A notable trait in genjutsu users, as if her display last year wasn't an adequate demonstration. Bright, which is another. Though lacking in physical strength, she makes up for it with the recent results of her chakra control exercises." He paused briefly. "There has yet to be a genjutsu specialist recruited into the Akatsuki."

Konan felt the need to frown but steeled herself to maintain the blank expression that never left her face. "You're looking to recruit her now?"

"Not until her skills are groomed by her father."

"He doesn't want her in the organization."

Pein's eyes glowed in the warm lighting. "You act as if he had any choice in the matter. She was born to the Akatsuki."

He gazed out the window to the stormy gray skies. Konan, on the other hand, took to looking at the papers for a little longer before her Leader spoke up once more.

"She will thrive here, or she will die."

::

"Already?" Sakura whined. She protested weakly as her father picked her up and carried her to her room. "It's so early! M'not even"—a yawn—"tired!"

Kisame grinned. "You sound a bit tired there, pup."

"M'not," she mumbled. She curled closer to him and reluctantly let her eyes droop. "Stay 'wake."

Sakura was dozing off by the time he set her down and tucked her in bed with her little shark plushie. Rain pattered softly against the window as he moved about the room, silently picking up some of the books she'd forgotten to clean up earlier and storing them in the bookshelf on the other side of the room.

Personally, he didn't like reading for leisure. Literature had never been an easy spot for him and he never felt a particular urge to sit down and enjoy a good book. But Sakura absolutely loved to read; big books, small books, picture books, textbooks—it didn't matter what she was reading as long as she was able to read it.

Kisame didn't see the appeal, but he encouraged it. Who was he to tell her what she should or shouldn't like?

As he put the last few books back where they belonged, he stopped short as he noticed the cover on one of them.

History of Konohagakure: The First Hokage's Reign

He didn't remember getting this book. Flipping through it, he frowned at the notes jotted down in the margins as he recognized the handwriting that always outlined his mission assignments.

He sighed and addressed the new presence in the room. "Leader-sama gave her another one. What did he do?"

"Gave her a series of tests to assess her intelligence."

Kisame slid the book into the shelf before he turned and met Konan's even gaze. "Didn't I already tell you she's not gonna get involved?"

"Pein-sama has plans for her to be the genjutsu specialist of the organization," she informed, her voice as flat and smooth as the polished wood beneath their feet. He ran a hand over his face and motioned her out of the room, following close by.

At the sound of the shutting door, a pair of eyes fluttered open and stared after them in the midst of darkness and the sound of rain.

::

"You should've known Pein-sama would see her as an opportunity," Konan said. She quietly refused refreshments and a seat at the kitchen table, and watched as Kisame rummaged through his fridge. "He never expected a child to be born within his ranks, and it wouldn't have mattered if she was smart or not. She has your blood running through her veins, and if that wasn't enough incentive, what she proved today is."

The fridge shut with a sharp snap.

"I don't care if he wants her because he's not getting her," he grit out. "I don't care what he thinks and I don't care about his plans. Once Sakura's old enough to make her own decisions about her future, I'll let her do anything she wants but live a rogue's life."

He sighed.

"I don't want her turning into someone like me."

Someone like him.

Someone like him, who felt the thrill of killing those who couldn't step up to his level and give him a decent match. Who grinned and laughed at those who struggled for their life when their only option left was to hide and pray he wouldn't find them. Who always did find them in the end and tore their flesh from bone with a sort that quivered with the thirst for blood.

Who came home at the end of the day to embrace his daughter despite the blood that lined his cloak and the dying pulse of an adrenaline rush underlying his veins.

Konan couldn't see much of his face but imagined how resigned he must have looked. She felt a twinge of sympathy in her chest, having known both him and Sakura for so long, but didn't let it show.

"... You should have left with her when you had the chance," she mentioned quietly. Kisame sighed again.

"I know."

It was silent for a little while.

"You would have caught us if I ever tried," he refuted just as quietly as she. Konan closed her eyes and drew in an easy breath.

"I know."