EDIT: So I realized I had forgotten the disclaimer and author's note and stuff, so here it is...

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the song If Today Was Your Last Day. Or anyother namebraind stuffs.

Can you imagine a world where everyone would know when their deaths were right around the corner? People in this world would more than likely be full of gloom, dreading the day when they would see the mark of death upon their bodies. The mark, a dark purple X, would always show up within a year before their deaths; however, the time before their deaths wouldn't always be the same. A person could die in a day, or a year, but no one would ever really know the exact time.

This world would be full of dreary people. After all, that X symbolized that death was closer than ever and could now take you at any moment. This alone would be enough to send most into a mad depression; if not just drive them completely insane. People with the mark would walk around completely numb, never trying to feel the happier emotions, or even stop to watch a sun rise. Not knowing when death would take them, they'd become paranoid, afraid of the world around them and even despise the world for choosing them. Others would pity them and view them as the damned until the cursed ones fell before death's feet.

This is the account of a group of high school friends living in such a world. Soon, this mark will make a huge impact on their lives; as well as, if they have their way, the world.

~xXx~

Deidara stared in shock at his bare chest with wide blue eyes. Right over his heart was a large purple X, death's calling card. The blonde's eyes started to water as a range of questions over took him. How could this have happened? Why him? He was only sixteen! He was starting his second year of high school today and he still had his whole life ahead of him. How could that be ripped from right out underneath his feet? His sorrow built into anger as he gritted his teeth at the last question.

He knew he needed to calm down, so he let out a great sigh and wiped the built up tears from his eyes. He had to be optimistic about this. Maybe, if he's lucky, this curse would last as long as Pein's has; Pein being the leader of sorts in his rag-tag group of friends. He called the shots and gave everyone a purpose, even with death on his heels. His mark had shown up a month ago and yet nothing had seemed to change except for the X staining the boy's left cheek.

Deidara turned is weary gaze back to his face. His cerulean eyes had the whites stained pink and his normal smile was nowhere near his face. He glanced to the green glowing numbers of his digital clock in the mirror and quickly moved away from his reflection. He had lost a lot of time in the few moments after he registered the X was actually on his chest. He was going to be late if he didn't hurry up and the last thing he needed was his Danna yelling at him for tardiness.

The blond rushed around the room, trying to tie up the top part of his long blond hair in its usual topknot and throwing on the first pair of black skinny jeans he found. Then he quickly followed it with a tight black shirt with a bright green splatter design. He grabbed his lime green converse, hopping towards the door as he put them on, and ran out the door after taking his Akatsuki hoodie from the coat rack by the door.

Akatsuki was the name Pein had come up with for their group. The day he had announced their name and thrown each of them a black hoodie with a large red cloud across the back was the day after his mark had appeared. Their golden haired leader had announced that from that day on, they were going to make a difference in the world. Pein had decided that he would not live out his final days by moping in a corner like the rest of the world. Instead he was going to try to make something of it. He was going to try and change something. He had finished his speech with his hopes that they would carry out his wish after he was gone.

Deidara just wished he was as strong as Pein. He didn't think he could smile and shrug off his end just like he had. That was why Pein was the leader. He never backed down, never wavered, and was damn sure to get the job done.

Deidara ran the two blocks to school to make up for the time he had lost, but he still managed to be five minutes later than he should have been. Spotting a red haired teen up ahead he ran faster until he was right in front of him. He doubled over, placing his hands on his knees as he gasped, trying to regain his breath.

"You're late, Deidara." The boy's voice and light brown eyes were full of boredom. His slightly pale skin stood in contrast to his Akatsuki hoodie, which was partially unzipped to show a peek at the boy's favorite red scorpion shirt.

"Sorry… Sasori… Danna," The blond gasped out in between breaths. He had to wait a few more moments until his breathing evened out before he could explain further, "I got caught up at home, un." He had quickly settled on the decision to hide his mark from his friends. He was pretty sure he couldn't take the pitying glances they'd throw his way, or the bitter sweet favors they'd do for him. It was unnatural and unnerving. Knowing that they wouldn't have done the favors before was enough. It was proof he didn't want that the end was near.

"What the hell could keep you caught up at your shitty apartment?" Deidara turned to see his silver haired, potty-mouthed friend approaching. His hoodie was fully unzipped and showed off the dark grey shirt he wore with the words, 'Jashin-sama will smite you all' in red, complemented by the silver pendant of Jashin's symbol. Jashin was the boy's god and pretty much the only thing he loved, besides the blood sacrifices the god demanded. The boy was twisted as hell but could be a great friend when he wanted to be.

Behind him was their friend Kakuzu with his usual black bandanna around his mouth and his hands in his hoodie pocket. Almost all of his dark tan skin was covered by a piece of clothing, besides his messy dark brown hair and the top portion of his face. There his solid green eyes drew all the attention. The boy had always covered up excessively, preferring to wear his bandanna and all even in hundred degree weather. No one knew why and the larger teen was too intimidating to ask, so everyone just took it as fact and moved on.

"Hey Hidan, Kakuzu." He nodded to each respectively. He got a nod back from Kakuzu and a 'whatever, bitch' from Hidan. "Where's Itachi and Kisame, un? They're usually here before us."

Itachi was one of the richer kids in their group. His family was well known throughout the country and had control over the nation's police force. His father was in charge of it all. That is, until his whole clan died in a fire. Itachi, his brother Sasuke, and their cousin Tobi were the only ones left now, leaving Itachi as their guardian. Unfortunately, Itachi had just come down with some mysterious illness that no one knew what to do with. He had always been sickly pale and fragile but this illness made those features even worse, adding a terrible cough into the mix. Deidara, and the rest of Akatsuki, figured that his mark wasn't far off from revealing itself.

Kisame, on the other hand, was the most athletic of the group. He was the football and swim team captain and a soccer champion. He was pale even though he spent most his time in the sun, and whenever he wore blue, his skin would take on a slight blue hue. This excited the jock to no end so he chose to wear blue as often as he could for this effect and even went so far as to dye his spiked hair a dark blue. He was the second most popular of the group with only Itachi being ahead of him by a few fans. You just can't win a popularity contest over an Uchiha.

However, much to the dismay of their many fan girls, both of them were happily taken by each other. In fact, they are also considered the most popular couple in Konaha High. Even their broken-hearted fan girls had to agree that they were perfect together. When they were just with friends, they were very 'lovey-dovey' as Deidara liked to say and Hidan had a great time making gaging noises whenever they chose to break the no PDA rule in front of him.

"They're in the bathroom," Sasori began to explain, "Apparently Itachi's gotten the call from death we all knew it was coming."

Deidara stared blankly at the group, taking in each one of their solemn faces. He knew there was no doubt then and he was sure all color drained from his face. "When did he get it, un?"

"Last night. It hadn't been there in the morning but I noticed it before I got into bed." Itachi announced as he and Kisame made their way to the huddled group.

Kisame's arm was draped over Itachi's shoulders. His hoodie was unzipped and revealed his plain dark blue shirt, giving him that small touch of a blue hue he loved so much.

Itachi had clearly been crying. That much could be told from his abnormally puffy, blood-shot coal black eyes. His hoodie looked as if it had been tossed about in a hurricane, a huge sign that something was wrong with the usually clean-cut Uchiha.

Deidara scanned his friend's body for any sign of the mark. Itachi caught his looks and pulled up the sleeve of his right arm to reveal an X in the crease of his elbow. "I want to keep this a secret from Sasuke. He doesn't need any more worry or stress after last year."

Sasuke was Itachi's younger brother. He was still in middle school but was already the genius of his class, just like his big brother. Last year around New Years, all of the twenty Uchihas living at the mansion they shared had received the cursed mark, except the three youngest members. Two days later when they were at school, a fire was set in their home and since most of the clan worked from home the three younger ones were the only ones out of the house. No one survived, leaving Itachi in charge of his younger family members since he was the oldest by a year being only 16 at the time.

It was around then when Itachi's illness had first shown up. His vision had begun to get blurry off and on, and if he strains himself too much, he'll lapse into an uncontrollable coughing fit. It has gotten to the point where he's become partially blind and must be lead along by Kisame once it became dark. Not to mention now he can hardly walk to his classes without becoming short of breath. Yet through it all, he's still tried to hide his weakening body from his brother, with minimum success. The boy was smart but for the sake of his brother, played along for the time being.

Deidara watched as the pitying glances began, along with a muttering of, "If you need anything, just ask" from Konan, which everyone nodded to, to show they'd be there too. He didn't understand how both Itachi and Pein could handle them so well. It would hurt him immensely to be on the receiving end of those looks. He hated pity. He got enough of it when he was ten and his mother died right before his father left the country. He didn't need any more.

The five minute bell rang out over the crowd of students and their whole group turned their attention to the street. This was the tensest moment of the day for Akatsuki. Pein and Konan were usually dropped off within the next few minutes by their foster father, Jiraiya. Every day they waited, fearing that their leader wouldn't step out of the car and join them with his normal cheery grin as they plotted for a changed world. Today was no different.

Once they spotted the cherry red mustang, they held their breath until two figures emerged from within. The first one to step out was Konan. Her blue hair done up in its usual bun, held together by a white origami rose clip she had made herself. Her piercing under her lip caught the light as she stood out of the car and smiled at her surrounding friends. Her hoodie was zipped up to the collar and complemented the black and red checkerboard skirt she wore over her black skinny jeans. Her long black leather heeled boots clicked as she stepped aside for the boy behind her.

Pein stepped onto the concrete sidewalk with a huge grin plastered on his face. It was intimidating and relieving all at the same time. Even with his many piercings he could still manage a kind appearance while keeping up his badass one. His hoody was zipped up most of the way and had his name embroidered on the front, something all of Akatsuki unanimously decided should go to their leader. The death mark sat proudly on his cheek for all to see, for he believed it added character.

Pein laughed at the looks on his friends' faces. "Every time I step out of that car, it's like you've all seen a ghost or something." The rest of the group ended up joining his contagious laughter. After calming down they all greeted Jiraiya who in turn told them all to behave today and sped off for the teacher parking lot. The man was also one of the literature teachers but mostly taught the ninth grade classes.

Seeming as if out of nowhere, Deidara was tackled to the ground by a masked teenager screaming, "Senpai!" at the top of his lungs. The boy's mask covered his whole face in an orange swirl. How he had managed to get the school to allow him to wear it, no one knew, or wanted to know for that matter. His hoodie was half unzipped out of a pure ADD moment to glomp his senpai. Being an Uchiha he automatically had all the good looks of his clan, what could be seen anyways, though he was way too childish for anyone to stand.

"Tobi!" "Calm down damn it!" The two different voices came from the last member of their group of friends. He had neon green hair and a very uncanny complexion. One side of him was really tan yet it slowly faded to an almost white pale. His split personalities often fought with each other as both were nearly opposites, earning the nicknames Whitey and Blackie on account of their personalities.

"Zetsu! Get him off, un!" Deidara wined as he was crushed by one of Tobi's overbearing hugs. The green haired boy presided to grab onto the boy and pried him off of the blond with minimal ease. The two toned teen were about the only people who could do that without Tobi going completely nuts. Deidara picked himself off the ground and dusted off his black jeans. "Thank you." He added, in a tad bit snippy tone.

"Welcome," Whitey replied with and instant remark from Blackie afterwards, "But we won't do it again!"

"At least not today," Konan added with a giggle which all of the Akatsuki members joined in on, including both halves of Zetsu. For now, the world was right. Pein was still with them and Tobi was still a pain in the ass. No, for now it was like nothing had changed, and that was exactly how Deidara wished it to stay. However, he was well aware that this was only temporary.

Once the laughter had died down, everyone turned to their leader and Kisame spoke for all, "So, boss. What's on the agenda for today?"

Pein glanced at each of his friends and smiled brightly. "We're changing the world, of course-" He was interrupted by the tardy bell, followed by a few choice words from certain members. "After Algebra!" He finished as he dashed off towards his class, laughing the whole way.

The rest of Akatsuki headed off for their respective classes. Each laughing in the moment, forgetting all about the death marks on their friends, and themselves, if only for that moment. This was one way that they have planned to change the world.

Just by adding a little more laughter.