Katsusaki Mo would be honest; she was not paying attention during English. Mr. Hatake wasn't really talking about much of anything interesting, anyway. Thing's she didn't need to learn about; stuff she already guessed. She was sitting next to Kakuzu, coincidentally, and he seemed to be paying attention. So she figured she could just ask questions later if she needed to.

Instead, she was busy daydreaming about her plans for her new little hide-out; the studio she planned on making, where she could put all of her art and paint all of her pictures. She could picture it already, when the new carpeting would be down, and the walls painted, and the curtains hung from the windows. It would be amazing, she had long since decided.

She was jolted from her imagination by Kakuzu jabbing her hard in her side. She jumped and grasped her hip, shooting Kakuzu a confused look. Sure, it hurt, but it really was more annoying than anything else. He glared at her before pointedly looking at the front of the class again. Katsu sighed and looked towards the board on the front wall. She really shouldn't be dreaming about it anyway; soon, it would become something that couldn't even be created, and then she would be disappointed when it was done.

She could even remember the argument with her mother. That, even if they were to move again, they could always jack-up the price because of the sunroom, or the studio, however they wanted to advertise it. Something about the sentence had made her mother sad, though; she could tell by the way she frowned. Finally she said yes, despite her mood, and Katsu had cheered.

When she got jabbed in the side again she realized she was going too far once more.

History was incredibly boring, but when she walked to Photography she could feel herself getting nervous. Katsu couldn't stop thinking about what had happened in the art the other day with Sasori, especially since she barely knew him. Even if she barely knew him, there was still the way he looked. He was beautiful, one of the most attractive people in the school. So what would she do about it?

She also didn't know what she would do about Itachi. What would she say? She felt like she should say something. The memory of his smile flashed through her mind, the small, quiet smile. Instead of the strong silent type he suddenly seemed a little more… shy. She sighed and hugged the book she was carrying closer to her chest. What now?

As she stepped into the class room, she realized she was being ridiculous. Why would she even need to talk to any of them, anyway, right?

They were all sitting in the back, as usual, but the only open spot… happened to be right in between Itachi and Sasori. She wanted to smack herself in the face. She was almost tempted to sit somewhere else, but she didn't want to be called out for avoiding them. She bit her lip, hesitant. She blushed when Itachi looked up, and quickly shuffled to the only seat left. She earned several hard glares from the girl's less confident (or probably more in this case) than her as she did, but did her best to ignore them, and hoped desperately that none of them tried to confront her once again.

Sasori noted her hesitation and couldn't help the smirk that adorned his face. She was nervous, probably because of yesterday, and his ego swelled. She didn't seem to notice the lilt to his smile and kept her head down as she sat at her desk, setting her book down carefully on top of her desk.

"Katsu."

Katsusaki jumped, but it wasn't Sasori who said her name, and she was thankful for that. Instead, Itachi was trying to grab her attention. She turned to him, completely curious, and he stared at her with intense eyes. She was pretty much used to it at this point, surprisingly, but hardly noticed when she looked at him directly.

"Yeah?" She asked swiftly, a smile on her face. Itachi only blinked.

"Would you like to come over so we can finish our project?" He asked. Katsusaki grinned.

"Tonight?" He nodded slowly. "Sure! Right after school, right? Wait, are we going somewhere again? Because I could always ride the bus home, and then you could pick me up there…" she placed her finger against her bottom lip, looking at the ceiling as if it would give her an answer to her question, rather than Itachi. She looked almost comical, but he did not laugh.

Kakuzu, who was sitting on the other side of Itachi raised an eyebrow, amusement in his bright green eyes. He shifted his mask a tad before shrugging slightly to himself and turning back to his paper. He had to remind himself that they were still working on their project until the end of the week.

Katsu's eyes shot down to Itachi once again, a careful smile on her lips.

"What do you think?" She asked simply. Itachi pondered for a moment. Of course, it would be easier, but he didn't want to drive all the way to her house, then back to his. Finally, he made a decision.

"You can borrow some clothes." The statement was simple, but immediately he felt Kakuzu and Sasori staring at him. This wasn't normal behavior. Well, Itachi found he was not behaving very normally lately. It wasn't normal for him to bring someone into his house, but it was done, and mostly for the sake of a project. No, completely for the sake of the project, he reminded himself, finding need for the emphasis.

Katsu looked a little shocked herself before a blush dashed over her cheeks and she began laughing nervously.

"What?" Obviously she had heard him, though, so he didn't bother saying it again. Her face cooled slightly and she sighed, though her cheeks were still pink. "I-I can't… Itachi, are you sure? I mean, I d-don't want to impose, or anything."

"Hn," was all he said back. He continued to be completely stoic, his dark eyes hard and so incredibly powerful Katsu could have sworn she almost fell off her chair. Finally, she sighed, her cheeks once again pale as always.

"Alright. Thank you." She felt a little rude for doubting him like she had, and for stuttering all over the place. Before anyone could say anything, however, Ms. Shizune called the class to attention.

In Astronomy, Katsusaki told Konan about what happened during her previous class, and how she didn't know if that was really something she should be allowing Itachi to do. Konan laughed.

"Itachi is cold on the outside, but super fluffy on the inside. At least, that's how I see it. He's under a lot of pressure from his parents to inherit the family business, and they're still not very happy about him finally convincing them to allow him into public school, so he may seem a little grumpy sometimes. The truth is that he's just stressed, I think." Konan adopted a thoughtful face.

"So he and his parents don't get along? What about his brother?"

"Well, Itachi is like a prodigy in everything, so his parents expect a lot. And his little brother is jealous of the attention he get's for it, and wants to surpass him. Personally, I don't think Itachi would really mind if Sasuke took the business when he gets old enough." Konan pressed her lips. "He really loves and cares for his brother, but Sasuke doesn't exactly feel the same way." She got an exited look, then. "He's the smartest person in our grade, maybe even in the school! All honor and AP classes, and he's already taking collage courses."

"Does he ever talk about what he wants to be when he graduate's collage?" Katsusaki inquired, biting her lip. Konan shook her head, shrugging slightly.

"No idea." She scribbled down an answer quickly on her paper before Mr. Umino could say something. Katsusaki fallowed her lead, as well.

"How is he with… having people over… at his house?" Katsu asked, hiding her face behind her red hair. Konan batted her eyelashes and smirked, just a little bit.

"Ah, doesn't happen often. Actually, now that I think of it, I don't think he's ever had anyone over. Why?" She feigned cluelessness, glancing over at Katsu. She stuttered something, blushing hard, and they let it go.

"What about Sasori? Can you tell me about him?" Katsu said after a short silence. Konan laughed a little too loud, earning another usual glare from Kobuto. She shot a glare back, narrowing her pretty, heavily lashed eyes. She turned back to Katsu who was laughing quietly at her.

"Well, pretty much everyone at school knows him as the 'Puppet Master,' but only behind his back." Konan shook her head. "He's really good at getting the reactions he wants from people. The girl's like him because he flirts so well." Konan giggled. "He got me the first time I met him, too, but Pein just about kicked his ass. It was so cute of him," Konan blushed just slightly, a happy look on her face. It didn't take a genius to figure out she was completely in love with her boyfriend. It made Katsu jealous.

Katsu could see a story behind all of them. There was something interesting about every single one of them, something that made them all unique. She had the urge to figure it out. In her body, she had this feeling that Itachi would be very hard to figure out—the hardest of them all. Why did he not like his parents? Was it simply because they pushed too hard, and so he pushed back? She felt like there must be more, but she could not tell what it might be.

The bell rang and with a sigh Katsusaki Mo stood and stretched her arms above her head, before grabbing her book bag and escaping with Konan's wrist in hand before she could start yelling at Kabuto.

Katsu couldn't pay attention in Algebra. Mr. Yamato seemed impeccably boring. He yammered on about something that she didn't understand, nor care about. She figured that she might have to ask someone about the lesson later.

As soon as the bell rang she was out of her seat. She didn't even wait for Mr. Yamato to stop speaking. Instead, she didn't hesitate in making her way down to the old science rooms.

Lunch was adequate. She talked with the rest of the Akatsuki normally, smiling and laughing easily. During lunch, however, she also called her mother and informed her that she would be going home with Itachi to finish up the project she had due and would be home for dinner. Her mother agreed easily, and she was set to go.

Once lunch was finished she bid Konan a good-bye, waved to the silent Pein who watched her as she did. She exited casually.

Just as she reached the door, however, Zetsu caught up to her, smiling lightly. She smiled back simply and they walked to class as they had the day before.

When it came time for Drawing and Painting, however, Katsusaki found herself hesitating. Her mind flashed back to the day before once again and she became nervous. What was on the alleged 'Puppet Master's' mind this time? As she entered the room, she ducked her head and shuffled quickly to her seat.

Sasori smirked as he watched her enter, hiding behind her long red hair and almost tripping over her own feet. She was doing her very best to avoid him today, wasn't she? He couldn't help but feel total amusement in her antics. Even during lunch she had refused to look at him, measuring her actions as carefully as possible so as to not have to cross his path.

It was a strange, predator-like feeling he had when he realized he had her trapped and waiting in anticipation for his next move. Her reactions were completely up to him, and his found that…

Inherently disappointing.

Sasori's face became blank, clear of emotion. He had thought that she would react differently, that she would be something new and improved compared to the other girls, who were obsessive and excessively boring.

As well as disappointed, Sasori was confused. He didn't understand exactly why he was so disappointed that this meaningless girl happened to be just like all of the rest. That was, until she pulled the picture she had been steadily working on the last two days was pulled out of her portfolio. A picture of Itachi, one that was almost perfect, one that rivaled even his own brilliance. She had drawn his eyes in finally, and stared from across the room, intense and defiantly so.

That was why. She was different because she had not begged his opinion on art before telling him her own, and simply feigning that they thought the same thing. She wasn't trying to impress him with her giggles or her thoughts. And she wasn't afraid to draw Itachi so perfectly, even though someone could see it and report that information back to him, thus embarrassing her and ruining her for the rest of her stay at Konoha High.

Katsusaki Mo was not out to impress, and Sasori found that impressive.


Katsusaki glared heatedly at the road in front of her. She had managed to miss the bus. Again.

It was finally Friday, the last day of her first week at school, and she had been almost positive that she would finally catch the bus this one time. Still, she missed it, and still, she was standing awkwardly, alone, in front of Konoha High School.

"This is getting really old," Katsu grumbled, bowing her head.

"Miss the bus again, Katsu?"

Katsu spun around, gasping, coming face-to-chest with none other than Kisame, who laughed obnoxiously as she revealed her fright. She stood frozen for a few seconds, trying to grasp her surroundings and calm herself down before, finally, her heart slowed to a steady beat.

"Kisame! You scared me," Katsu announced.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Kisame laughed. He rested a hand on her shoulder, still grinning uncontrollably. Like a shark, Katsu realized.

Katsu glared at him as her cheeks turned bright pink.

"I figured you would. You know, if you keep this up, I might start to think you're doing it on purpose!" He laughed. Kisame spun her around and began to lead her towards the parking lot. Katsu grumbled to herself about how she really needed to get a cell-phone.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." She sighed.

"Hey, you know what? Since its Friday, Hidan is having a party at his house. You're part of the group now; you should come along!" Kisame bellowed.

Katsu frowned. She had been planning on working on her new art studio all weekend—then again, she did have all weekend to do whatever it was that she wanted with it. Hanging out at a friend's house for a few short hours with all of her new group wouldn't be too bad. Then again, it meant that she still had to get home and change out of her uniform, and then get a ride there.

Katsusaki sighed and shrugged. Kisame cheered, but she doubted that he thought she would say no, and if she did, she was sure he would have begged until she changed her mind.

"You know, you kind of live near Hidan's house, anyway. Do you mind if we stop at my house, first?" Kisame asked, turning the key in his trucks ignition, said truck roaring to life. It grumbled as Kisame pulled out of the parking lot at speeds that were much too dangerous for Katsu to feel comfortable. She was distracted as she clutched at the leather seat underneath her.

"N-no, I don't mind," she coughed, quickly buckling her seat belt. "Do you have a phone I could use so I could explain to my mother why I'm late?" Katsusaki realized that her tone was rather bitter. God, she wanted a cell-phone.

"Great!" Kisame laughed.

They barreled down the streets, driving relatively safely compared to the other people caught in the Friday excitement that always seemed to make people vague. For a while Katsu wasn't paying much attention, simply listening to Obsessive Derangement and watching as Kisame talked dramatically about Hidan and his parties, that of which she wasn't really listening about. Eventually, she noticed that they were going into the poorer part of town and frowned as they pulled up to an apartment building.

Kisame parked and quickly got out.

"You can come inside if you want! But I'm going to be pretty quick," he laughed. Katsu quickly got out and fallowed him inside.

The apartment building wasn't so bad. Katsu had definitely lived in worse before, when her mother wasn't so well off. Katsu remembered shady hallways with water stains and the sounds of gun-shots.

Kisame's apartment number was 105.

Inside it was cleanly and pretty. There were vases with flowers in them and a small fish bowl with a gold-fish winding its way around and around. Kisame dropped a pinch of fish flakes in the bowl as he walked by and made his way to his room, leaving the door open as he presumably changing.

Katsusaki Mo gazed curiously at the photographs that were placed precariously on the table's, at the floral pattern love-seat, the 'There's No Place like Home' sign above the kitchen sink. Somehow, she never imagined Kisame living in a place like this.

"It's just me and my mother here," Kisame called from his room. Katsu frowned a little as she picked up a photo of Kisame as a little kid, his hair wild and unkempt, and in the arms of a man who looked almost exactly like him. "We get along just fine, so no need to worry about us."

Katsu set the photo down and stepped away, afraid to be found staring at his past without his permission.

He came out of his room, a grin on his face, and nodded towards the door.

"You ready to go?"

Katsusaki nodded and turned, a sigh on her lips. She smiled just a bit at Kisame and shrugged, before turning and walking out the door. Kisame watched her go, his grin falling away to a frown. He glanced back at the photograph that she had undoubtedly picked up.

With a small sigh he followed her out the door.


A/U: Yeah, it's been a while. I just finished school. Yay, summer-time! Sorry it took so long-wait, nevermind. Most of my readers are probably gone by now. T.T I'm sorry! If you came back, thank you. This one is a little short but I found it and I was a bit rushed to publish it because it took so long. :/