Well, I decided updating this would be the best thing to do right now. I'm in the midst of moving and don't have Internet so I've been quite bored. I'll probably have a ton of time to work on my stories. Unfortunately, I'm still not yet satisfied with this so I'll occasionally update it.

Well... here's the story...

Akatsuki belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

The Akatsuki

Out in the middle of nowhere, a large, apartment-like building loomed over the grassy hills of the countryside that bordered the small city a few miles to the north. It's windows were dirty and smudged so nothing of the occupants were seen from the outside aside from the occasional silhouette that would move from one side of the building to the other. This building was home of the notorious Akatsuki---an infamous group of party crashers known throughout the nearby city for their pranks and strange looking members.

"Itachi!" A shark-faced man shouted, his blue hand balled into a fist as he banged it against the hard mahogany of the bathroom door. This particular man's appearance was peculiar. He had three gills beneath his small dark eyes, unusually colored skin, and long pearly white teeth that gleamed in the light as he opened his mouth to shout again. "What the heck is taking you so long?"

A low voice answered from the other side of the door. "Where's the hairbrush?"

The shark man placed a blue hand on his forehead and slid it down his face slowly, letting out an annoyed sigh as he did so. "It's on the sink where it always is…"

There was silence on the other side of the door, and then a loud crashing noise sounding as if the man on the other side had fallen or stumbled, possibly clearing off any shelves in the process as he tried to catch himself before reaching the hard tiled floor.

Roused by the sudden ruckus, the shark man moved his hand from his face and pressed his covered ear to the door. "Itachi…? Are you alright?" He asked curiously, a hint of concern in his deep voice.

There was silence for a short moment, and then the low voice replied, "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. I think I ran into the shower door. That's all."

The shark-faced man rolled his eyes. His partner, Itachi, was nearly blind and hardly able to see two feet ahead of him. The stubborn man would never admit that his vision was impaired, nor would he allow any help when help was needed or offered. His shark-like companion was quite patient to have the ability to put up with such a high-maintenance person. "Deidara's going to take you to get a pair of glasses next week, so try not to break anything until then." The shark man paused, imagining the layout of the bathroom. "There's not a door on the shower..."

"I don't need glasses! My eyes are fine."

"Okay, whatever. Just speed it up, will you?" The blue-skinned man would've argued longer about Itachi's worsening eyesight if it wasn't for the short time limit the two were on. Tonight was a special task in which most, if not all, members were needed. What took even longer than usual was the requirement of a new "look"; not the ominous black, high-collared cloak with red clouds that was the uniform of the Akatsuki.

The shark-faced man ran his blue fingers through his wild navy hair and turned to the mirror on the opposite wall from the bathroom to check his appearance as he waited. His muscular torso was fitted with a nice, steel blue button-up opened ever so slightly below his neck to reveal a small bit of his ice-blue chest. Hanging loosely from around his neck was a thin black tie that made the outfit look like an informal work uniform, and holding up his steel blue slacks was a black studded belt with a couple of small silver chains hanging from it. The large feet that supported the tall man were dressed in a pair of nice looking suede kilties that matched with his belt. "Kisame…you look great." The shark-faced man couldn't help but admire himself. He was barely in his thirties, but his current getup made him look like he was a teenager again. A sigh escaped his thin lips. "Too bad Leader won't allow this for very long." He said quietly to himself, feeling a little melancholy.

Soon the bathroom door behind Kisame opened as Itachi stepped out. The nearly blind young man looked nice, Kisame had to admit. Itachi's long raven-colored hair was in the usual low ponytail at the base of his skull, and his bangs hung in his eyes and bordered his pale face. Dark lines showed beneath his crimson-colored eyes as a sign of exhaustion, and a grey, paperboy's hat graced his head. A thin black choker and a string of multi-colored beads hung from his neck; his good-luck charms. He wore a long-sleeved, black and red striped wool sweater with a black, double-breasted puffy jacket that had a thick furry collar. A studded black belt, almost identical to that of Kisame's, wrapped unusually around the raven-haired teen's thin waist in a manner that suggested it was more for style instead of holding up his plain blue jeans. The jeans looked tattered and worn although it was probably only the first or second time Itachi had worn them and his once-grey Vans didn't look much better.

"Did you find the hairbrush?" Kisame asked, noticing that his nearly blind partner's hair was not as neat as it usually was.

Itachi shook his head. "No…"

Kisame glanced over the young man's shoulder at the sink where a black hairbrush stood out as much as an Eskimo in a desert, but before the shark man could say anything, his partner was already starting his trek down the long hallway to the main entrance. With an exasperated sigh, Kisame followed as well.

A blond stood before two colorfully designed outfits, a delicate hand to his smooth chin as he thought deeply about which he should choose. "Which one?" He asked aloud, more to himself than to the quiet redhead who stood in the corner of the large room.

"I think you should wear a dress again. It suits you much better," the redhead answered cattily.

The blond spun around, his cerulean eyes blazing, but no harm came to the smart-alecky boy. Sasori was his friend and fellow artist, and was the only one that could call him the opposite gender without ending up with a bloody face. It was indeed true that the blond was often confused for a female because of his long hair, smooth skin, and feminine features, but anyone other than Sasori who accused him of being a female would quickly be corrected with a couple of hard blows to the face or stomach. "That was only one time," the blond retorted. "I had to disguise myself as your wife because of Leader-sama's orders, un."

Sasori remained calm, his rufous eyes showing no emotion as he gazed back into the angry blue eyes of the blond. "Well, weren't we ordered to disguise ourselves this time as well?"

"Yes, but I'm not wearing a dress again. That was annoyingly uncomfortable, un!"

"If you have your mind set on not wearing a dress, Deidara, then at least wear something that matches," Sasori replied placidly. "Oh, and do something with your hair as well. It looks appalling."

Deidara ran his thin fingers through his golden hair, pulling back the long bangs that covered the left side of his face to reveal a scope on his left eye; used mainly when watching the victims of his clay smoke bombs from a far distance. He smirked. "Well, I wasn't planning on doing anything different than what I usually do, un." He let the blond curtain of hair drop down against his face again and his hand returned to his side as he turned back to the two gaudy ensembles hanging on the wall.

Sasori redirected his red gaze to the mirror in the small room, knowing that he'd be needed for a bit longer until the blond decided on what to wear.

The redhead's own outfit wasn't as elaborate as that of the feminine young man, consisting of a simple T-shirt, a grey hoodie zipped up to hide the shirt beneath it, and a pair of plain baggy jeans. It wasn't much to look at, but Sasori liked it better when less attention was directed his way.

Sasori sighed softly and shook his head to move his thick vermilion hair out of his eyes. He glanced at Deidara and then pushed off from the wall he was leaning against. "I'll meet you at the main entrance." And with that, he left the room, closing the door behind him.

"Zetsu-san! Let Tobi go see Deida-senpai!" The orange masked teen whined, clinging to the arm of an annoyed looking man.

"No, Tobi. Deidara doesn't want you bothering him. And neither do I." Zetsu riposted.

Zetsu was a strange man. He had a split personality and two different skin tones. The right side of his body was black while the other was white, corresponding with his "black" and "white" personalities, the latter being the kinder, most used side.

"But Tobi's a good boy!" The masked teen whined again, tugging more at the orange sleeve that covered Zetsu's arm.

The two-toned man continued to drag Tobi, annoyed by the childish boy's whining. "You're not acting like a good boy. What if I eat you? You'll be less annoying then. No, Cannibalism is bad. I'm not a cannibal. But the taste of human flesh is so good..."

Tobi slowly released Zetsu's arm, finding that is was the perfect time to sneak away unnoticed. Zetsu's personalities contradicted themselves, and he would often end up in an argument with himself. That was the main cause most of his assignments ended so terribly. Tobi grinned widely beneath his orange swirl mask and ran off to Deidara's room, nearly running into Sasori as he made his way down the long hallway.

"Deida-senpai!" Tobi called, nearly busting down the door as he entered.

The blond remained calm as he concentrated on putting his hair halfway in a ponytail while letting his bangs cover his left eye and the rest of his hair cover his neck. "You know you shouldn't just barge into someone's room like that. The occupants could be dressing, un."

Tobi stared for a moment, watching Deidara fix his hair, and then gasped. "Deida-senpai's a girl?"

Deidara resisted the urge to pound the little brat, and continued to tie his hair up with his usual red ribbon. "No, I'm not, un."

"Then why are you wearing a girl's shirt?" Tobi asked, referring to the form-fitting black shirt and tight tattered blue jeans the feminine blond was wearing.

Deidara didn't say anything, knowing that Tobi would take it the wrong way and possibly twist his words around.

Tobi tilted his head to the side in a way much like a confused puppy would and then, seemingly forgetting about what he had just asked, started up another topic. "So what do you think about my clothes?" He asked, striking a crazy pose.

Deidara finished wrapping the base of his ponytail and then turned around to examine the hyper teen's choice of clothing. Not a single patch of Tobi's skin showed… typical. His messy black haired almost seemed to blend with the black mask-like thing he used to cover what the orange swirl mask did not. He wore thin black gloves on his hands, fitting the form of his long fingers, and couple of random accessories here and there. To most, Tobi's outfit looked like a bunch of brightly colored clothes that were thrown together without much thought, but to Deidara, it was something completely different. "So…what does Deida-senpai think?" Tobi asked curiously.

Deidara looked over the suit once more. "Pretty good. It suits you well, un."

The masked teen seemed overjoyed. Although his facial expressions were covered, one could definitely hear the excitement in his voice. "Your girl clothes look good on you, too, Deida-senpai."

The blond's hand turned into a fist, but it remained hidden from Tobi's view inside the long sleeve of his black, purple, and red coat. "Tobi…that's just the style of clothing, un." He replied between clenched teeth, doing all he could not to damage the boy.

The childish Akatsuki shrugged. "Well, that style looks nice on you." He said sincerely.

Deidara looked surprised at Tobi's genuineness. "Well…uh, thanks, un."

Tobi smiled beneath his orange mask, and his happiness seemed to radiate from every inch of his body.

The blond smiled, placing a hand on the masked teen's head and tousling his dark hair. "I bet Zetsu's looking for you, un. Leader-sama paired you with him, correct?"

Tobi looked thoughtful for a moment, a gloved hand to his head.

"Uh…Tobi? It's a simple yes or no question, un."

The masked teen jumped. "Yes, I better go find him! He's probably still arguing with himself. Bye-bye, Deida-senpai!" He waved over his shoulder and quickly left the room, but unlike Sasori, he didn't bother closing the door in his mad dash to find his two-toned partner.

Deidara shook his head, smiling to himself as he followed behind the hyperactive teen.

A dark shadow stood before the group of Akatsuki gathered in the large main entrance. His towering figure, height boosted by the podium he was standing on, cast a long shadow over the gathered group, hiding his appearance. "Now that we're all here, I will now take attendance and make sure everyone who was asked to be here is with us." He began, his booming voice resonating off the walls in the large room. "Starting from the highest rank…Deidara with the blue ring."

The blond held up his right hand, showing the blue ring on his index finger to the Akatsuki's leader.

"Itachi Uchiha with the scarlet ring."

The nearly blind Uchiha did the same as Deidara, holding up his right hand to show off the red ring on his ring finger.

"Zetsu with the ring of the boar."

Zetsu raised his black right hand, showing off the ring on his little finger.

"Kisame with the ring of the south."

A pale blue hand rose from the back of the crowd, showing off the ring on the shark-man's left ring finger.

"Kakuzu with the ring of the north."

A sinister looking man wearing a red skull mask, sunglasses, and a dark brown hat raised his left hand, showing the ring on his middle finger.

This man was greedy. He did anything for money. He would even selling his most prized possessions, and he always wore some sort of gold or silver garment; in this case it would be a gold belt and a silver chain around his waist.

"Hidan with the ring of three."

A grey-haired man standing beside Kakuzu raised his left hand, showing the ring on his index finger.

Hidan had grey hair, despite his fairly young age, which slicked back against his head. What he wore seemed the most normal out of everyone (aside from Sasori): a black shirt with a brown jacket over it, and a pair of brown bondage pants. Apparently he was one of the only members who got the concept of "blending in".

"Sasori with the ring of the jewel."

The redhead standing beside Deidara raised his pale hand, showing the ring that he wore on his left thumb. He was the lowest ranking member of the Akatsuki, other than Tobi, because he failed to gain the leader's respect and trust. Not that he really cared, anyway.

"And Tobi."

A gloved hand in the back of the group appeared out of nowhere, waving violently in the air. "Tobi's here 'cause Tobi's a good boy!" He shouted.

Since he was the newest member, he did not have a ring of any sort, and was only assigned to go on this assignment because Zetsu needed a partner.

Akatsuki never traveled alone unless on a menial task such as making a delivery, and each pairing was based on how the leader saw fit, mainly matching up strengths and weaknesses. The downside though was that partners sometimes hated each other; that being the case of many fights breaking out amongst the members.

The dark shadowed form of the leader cleared his voice before speaking again. "Your task for this evening is to crash Itachi's younger brother's party. Itachi has the information and will lead you to where the party is being held. I wish you all good luck." And with that, the bright light behind the podium turned off, hiding the Akatsuki leader from view as he crept off to his office.

The shark-faced man neared his partner. "Let me see the invitation you confiscated from your brother."

Itachi looked up at the tall pale blue man, and for a moment, didn't seem like he was going to speak. "Here." He finally said, holding out a slip of paper.

Kisame took it quickly and scanned over it, his dark eyes searching for the place the event was being held. "So the old warehouse not too far from here, huh?" He then shifted the large wrapped box on his back and stepped quietly to the door, the rest of the Akatsuki following. "The party is being held in the old warehouse." He announced, raising his voice so the following crowd could hear.

The raven-haired Uchiha followed close behind his shark-like partner, retaining his calm and collected disposition. Although he could hardly see, he would act like his vision was perfect no matter what the circumstances were.

Following behind Itachi and Kisame was the masked teen, Tobi, and the two-toned man, Zetsu. Tobi latched onto Zetsu's arm. "So we're going to a party?"

"Not going…crashing" Zetsu replied flatly.

"Oh…" The masked teen seemed almost disappointed, but brightened at once. "That sounds fun!"

Zetsu rolled his yellow eyes. "It would be if I wasn't paired with you." He mumbled beneath his breath.

Farther behind, Kakuzu and Hidan walked steadily on, hardly speaking to one another. The two were an example of a pair who hated each other. Kakuzu hated Hidan's slow strategies and his obsession with religion while Hidan hated Kakuzu's love for money. The two stayed as far away from each other as they could, remaining silent for the rest of the trip.

Deidara and Sasori were the farthest behind, Sasori wearing his "puppet suit", as Deidara called it, which caused the redhead's speed to decrease. The puppet suit was a heavy shell Sasori wore on his back. It had a mask that covered his face and crawled on four legs.

The blond walked quietly alongside his partner for a moment, matching his pace. "Have you decided how long you're going to wear that thing?" He finally asked, breaking the silence.

"For as long as I need. As soon as my form is revealed, I'll get rid of the shell." The redhead answered, the suit causing his voice to sound dark and sinister.

The blond nodded silently.

"And your clay? How much did you bring?"

Deidara pulled a small bag from a pouch on his hip. "This should be enough. My explosives shouldn't be needed as much in a confined space, un."

"And you're sure that's enough?"

"Of course. I think I may have brought too much though, un." Deidara laughed lightly, returning the small bag to his pouch. "Well, it doesn't take up a lot of space, so it doesn't make too much of a difference, un."

Sasori answered with silence, his partner not needing an answer. The two had an okay relationship, both being artists and all. The only thing was that both views on art were completely different. Sasori thought that fine art was something wonderful that was left long into the future while Deidara thought fine art was transient, departing quickly. Both views showed their two different forms of art. Sasori built long-lasting puppets and Deidara created clay sculptures that exploded.

The blonde respected Sasori's beliefs and often called him "Master Sasori". Sasori, on the other hand, could care less about Deidara's clay, often finding ways to insult his art and anything else he found wrong, like the blond's feminine appearance, which he often described as "the halfway point in a gender changing procedure."

The two continued their walk in an awkward silence, the only noise being the sliding sound as Sasori moved across the ground in his puppet suit.

Once the procession of Akatsuki reached the warehouse entrance, Kisame called for them to halt. "We'll walk in acting as casual as possible." He directed, taking the rank of leader in place of Itachi. The Akatsuki nodded in agreement; ready to enter once Itachi opened the large double doors.

When the doors flung open, the group of party crashers piled in after one another.

Kakuzu blinked. "Hey! I thought you said a party was being held here!" He shouted.

"Yeah, it's dark, and I don't see anybody!" Tobi piped.

Kisame took note of the many angry Akatsuki and turned his dark gaze to the blind Uchiha who looked as if he didn't realize what was going on. "What day did that invitation say the party was going to be held on?" He asked.

"The invitation said the 6th." Itachi replied simply.

Kisame pulled the invitation from his pocket and read over it more carefully than the first. "You blind idiot! It says the 16th!"