Much to their dismay, six members of the Akatsuki Organization begrudgingly filed out of Amegakure's persistent rainfall and into the tallest tower at the center of the Village. Tired and cold they walked silently, for the most part ignoring the existence of the other teams as each pair made their way toward the designated meeting room, feet padding against the metal flooring and water dropping down off of their star hats. The Fall season had taken over most of the land, a cold wind had begun to blow as the leaves changed colour and fell from their branches signifying the end of camping out on the road. If it were still summer they might not have minded the travels so much but with the chill in the air, this rain was sure to make them sick.

Their Leader, Pein, had decided that they would all meet personally to discuss the next phase of their Mission Agenda and ordered them all to arrive by this date. In reality, it was really Tobi, or Obito, who had called for this face-to-face meeting, having something entirely special planned for the gathering. He had used his false identity as Madara to ensure he got what he wanted, claiming that he, Madara, personally wanted to meet each member before they began collecting the Jinchuriki. Pein, though slightly confused, had agreed to this risky meet and greet, acknowledging that assessing the group as a whole was indeed necessary.

That discussion had been a week ago and it was now October 31st. The moon, though obscured by storm clouds, hung full in the night sky and lanterns lit the entranceway to Pein's tower, courtesy of Tobi. The atmosphere of the tower itself was sinister; lightning flashing and illuminating the dark corridors made of metal sheeting and piping, for just a moment while the thunder which would follow boomed through the halls, echoing in a hazardous way against the steel and iron. The wind whistled through the creaking pipes which created a haunting melody of ghostly cries as the rain dripped to the floor with a hollow reverberating splash against thin puddles.

Obito could not have asked for a better location than this on the night of Halloween.

At this moment Konan stood at the very back of the meeting room while she waited for the members to arrive, face expressionless and demeanour calm. Pein was yet to have come down from his spot atop the tower as he made sure that only the Akatsuki had entered the Hidden Rain Village and only the Akatsuki had arrived at his doorstep. Konan had been sent down to greet the men while Pein finished his survey of their peaceful Village, as an acting God should.

Konan trusted Pein, Nagato, but she had her reserves about Madara and still could not figure out what could be so important that they all had to meet in person. Yes, he had told them he wished to meet everyone face-to-face but Konan believed he could have done that at any time he so chose. To her, this was all too great a risk and threatened the peace Nagato had finally brought to this Village. Her opinion on the situation did not matter much when it came to Madara though. He had insisted, speaking mostly to Nagato at their last meeting, that it was to be done, before he turned back into his hyperactive Tobi personality, running off to find Zetsu and have him relay the message to the teams.

"Oh, Mr. Zetsu! Mr. Zetsu, look! They're all here!" Tobi screeched as he tugged on Zetsu's cloak, pointing towards the stairs of which the six members had just climbed to the top of.

"We see that you idiot!" Kuro Zetsu scorned as he tore his arm out of Tobi's grasp. Shiro Zetsu chuckled and patted Tobi on the head.

"He's just excited, that's all. I am too, actually." Kuro scoffed at his other side and tried to turn away but Shiro wasn't having it, taking control this time. He really was excited to see everyone in a single place for the first time, though he was admittedly a little concerned considering the members track record when coming into contact with one another for too long.

"Mr. Zetsu, let's go say hi to everyone!" Tobi prodded as he raced off to greet the others. At his point in time, "Tobi" had yet to meet many of the members face-to-face so asking him to take it down a notch was asking the impossible. Obito knew some of the members since he was the one, as Madara, that recruited them but at this moment he was neither Madara nor Obito. It was time to officially introduce Tobi to the rest of the Akatsuki.

"Who the hell is that?" One of the members groaned as the orange masked man came bounding up to them.

"My name is Tobi! Tobi is very happy to meet you all!" Tobi grabbed Deidara's hand and began to shake it enthusiastically, causing the blond-haired Explosion Artist to unwillingly be jiggled up and down.

"Let go of me! Hm!" Deidara complained as he pulled on his hand, the tongue of his palm-mouth attempting to lubricate his escape. "I will turn you into Art if you don't stop touching me! Hm!" He yelled, finally ripping his hand free.

Hidan started laughing in the background as the other members either smirked or stared blankly at the scene. "Hey Blondie, I think someone actually wants to be your fucking friend!" Hidan bent over some as he laughed even harder at the first bit of amusement he's had in days. Deidara's eyebrow began twitching as he glared at the silver-haired man.

"Just shut up, Hidan! You're so annoying! Hm!" Deidara yelled. "You're the one no one wants to be friends with! Hm!"

Hidan immediately stopped laughing and his expression turned dark. "The fuck you say, bitch?"

Sasori sighed at the events around him as Deidara and Hidan now yelled insults at each other. He began walking away but not before Tobi had lunged forward, grabbing his hand and shaking it as well. "That's enough you brat!" Sasori hissed as he brought Hiruko's scorpion-like tail down to strike, missing Tobi by mere inches as he ducked back away in fear, turning his attention back towards the two screaming younger members as their voices rose in pitch and volume. Once Sasori was certain the hyperactive brat wasn't going to come near him again he continued on his way.

Kakuzu groaned, irritated at the noise his immature partner was making and scorned him for it, threatening to kill him if he didn't shut up. Noticing how Kakuzu had his attention on Hidan, Tobi decided to run up to the Jashinist next, grasping his hand and shaking it just as warmly as he had done with Deidara. The young Artist snickered before turning, nose in the air, and walking after his partner, seemingly satisfied at the turn of events.

Hidan froze for a moment in shock at what was happening. He, the ever-loyal Disciple of Lord Jashin, was being touched by this Heathen? That would not do. His face soon contorted violently as his arm was thrust up and down in the greeting. "Let the fuck go of me you little bitch!" He screeched, reaching up for his scythe and aiming to kill the Defiler.

Tobi yelped and dodged the attack as Hidan's tri-bladed scythe dug into the metal floor. It hit with such force that the impact sounded like an explosion, catching the attention of Deidara yet again. Stopping to see what was happening the Bomber could only laugh at what Hidan had done.

While Hidan cursed Tobi and Deidara's names, trying desperately to pull his weapon back out, Tobi made his way towards where Itachi and Kisame had been standing, though only the tall blue man still remained there. Kisame slightly intimidated Tobi so instead of going directly for him he turned to find the other two he had yet to greet. This action made the ex Mist Shinobi frown a moment before his grin broke out across his face even wider; after all, he now put effort into intimidating others so why continue to feel down about it?

Kakuzu and Itachi had been following Sasori's lead, making their way to the meeting room like they were supposed to, though they hadn't gotten far, just a few more steps past where Deidara had stopped. Tobi raced around them a few times, halting their movement, before reaching for Kakuzu's hand. The masked man just pulled his limb away and growled darkly to which Tobi squeaked. Looking into Kakuzu's cold eyes sent foreboding shivers down the smaller man's spine and so he backed away, spinning to grasp Itachi's hand instead. Itachi just glared, activating his Sharingan which only caused Tobi to panic further before getting as far away from the two as he could. 'Oh wow, these guys are pretty scary!' He thought, still keeping to his Tobi persona.

"Is that brat seriously a member?" Kakuzu muttered as he watched Tobi run toward Deidara and Hidan, circling the two who were yelling at each other yet again, wanting to catch their attention before they really tried to hurt one another. Deidara would most likely win being a long-ranged fighter, using his explosives to keep Hidan at bay who, as his scythe was still wedged in the floor, would have to use his fists.

"Not exactly," Shiro replied as he watched Tobi with delight.

"He's more of an errand boy at this moment," Kuro added. "Though should something happen to one of you he will most likely be made an official member."

"Then for his sake, let's hope it doesn't come down to that." Kakuzu glared one last time at Tobi before he turned back around, walking away. "Hidan, stop messing around." He called over his shoulder as he made his way through the door to the meeting room. Hidan paused in his next strike, using only the cable of his scythe to attack, an annoyed look taking over before he began to curse.

With the sudden interruption from Kakuzu Hidan was now thinking a little more straight, easily pulling his weapon from its embedded spot in the floor with a well-calculated yank. Though he wished dearly to paint the room red in blood, sacrificing the annoyances to his Lord Jashin, he followed Kakuzu's order nonetheless. He would send offerings to his Lord when this damn meeting was finally over.

"Why me?! Go over there! Hm!" Deidara yelled as Tobi went to attack him in a hug, pointing towards Kisame who Tobi had yet to greet. Kisame, who had been watching the scene in great amusement this whole time, chuckled as the smaller man instantly ran over to him, stopping timidly as he looked up at how tall the shark-like man truly is.

Smirking downward, Kisame extended his hand to which Tobi, with a delighted gasp, grasped. He tried to shake the well-built blue arm just as energetically as with the other members but Kisame was too strong and dominated the handshake, keeping it at a steady pace before his grip tightened and his smirk turned predatory. "Do try not to get yourself killed." He warned playfully before releasing his grip and walking away.

Tobi just stood there as he watched all the members disappear into the meeting room. "Mr. Zetsu, Tobi doesn't think the others like him so much..." The swirly mask turned to look at Zetsu, his shoulders slumped.

"Of course not! You're annoying!" Kuro scorned as Shiro placed his hand on Tobi's shoulder.

"Don't worry Tobi. I still think you're a good boy." Tobi perked up at this and threw his hands into the air.

"Yay! Let's go join the meeting now!" With that, Tobi bolted toward the door while Zetsu followed calmly behind.

In the meeting room, everyone had spread themselves out in a giant circle. A good distance was placed between each member, most likely so there would be no touching. Konan had realized that you needed to treat these dangerous men as if they were a bunch of small children at a daycare so she had the Kanji from their rings scored onto the floor, designating where they should stand. She watched each of the men as they glared around the room or stared in boredom and irritation at the door where Pein was to be emerging from.

Finally, Pein arrived. He took his place next to Konan, Zetsu and Tobi sharing a space to his other side, and cleared his throat to silence his followers. "If everyone is quite finished with making a scene we will begin."

As Pein spoke these words and Tobi snickered one last time the dull electrical lights went out and a flash of lightning lit the darkened room, for a mere split second blinding everyone.

Then there was silence as darkness engulfed the surroundings.

{**A/N: The next chapter will be posted Oct. 24, 2018, followed by a chapter a day until Halloween and then Nov. 01 will have the wrap-up chapter.

I love your feedback!

Until next time, thank you for reading, My Darling Sweetsparks!~**}

[Posted: Oct. 01, 2018]-[2,162 wordcount]