Yay for slightly regular updates! Thank you everyone who reviewed, you're the reason this story is out so quickly.

Thanks to Peppercornpie for giving it a quick read through and i hope all of you enjoy!

Don't forget to let me know your thoughts at the end!


"So, one of the most important parts of being in the Akatsuki is the wardrobe rule." With the blindfold on and the wind flowing through my hair, I felt more like I was being held hostage than on some sort of joy ride. I also wish I could glance at the speedometer because I was almost certain Deidara was not obeying the speed limit.

"Was that a turn? Because I didn't hear a signal. You do know you need to signal before you turn?" Sasori chuckled quietly in the back, and I could practically imagine Deidara's eye roll.

"Maybe the chick with the blindfold shouldn't give driving advice, un?" He cleared his throat, but I did hear the quiet ticking of his signal as we made the next turn. "As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted, the wardrobe is an integral part. We hold ourselves up to a certain standard." We'd been driving for maybe about ten minutes now, and I had no sense of how far we'd come or how far we were going.

"Where are you taking me?" I heard Deidara's frustrated sigh before he cleared his throat again.

"You're not even going to ask about the wardrobe?!"

"You mean the red pin thing Sasori lent me?" Deidara gave a frustrated sigh before Sasori chimed in.

"He's trying to think of a smooth way to point out your skirt is too long." Sasori's voice sounded much closer, as though he was perched up right beside my ear.

"My skirt is the appropriate school length. Why is this such a big thing?" I'd noticed Hinata wore her's long as well, but if her quiet and proper demeanour was any indication she seemed the very conservative type.

"Because your skirt is currently the longest skirt in the school, and you have nice legs. It's a waste, un." I would have blushed at Deidara's compliment, but his words were spoken so bluntly they made me laugh more than anything.

"I can wear my skirt as long as I want to. Come to think of it, Haku wears hers long as well and her legs are quite nice." I thought about the attractive girl who hung out with Zabuza, and if my memory was correct her skirt was probably slightly longer than mine. "Not that it should matter. I still can't believe this is a thing."

"Who the hell is that? Are you just making names up to…" He was cut off from an odd chocking sound coming from the backseat.

"Sasori, are you okay?" It took a moment for me to realize that he was laughing, almost hysterically.

"What's so funny, un?" It took Sasori a few seconds to calm down.

"She's talking about Haku Yuki. The guy that's attached to Zabuza." There was a short pause as the information sunk in.

"Wait what? Really Himawari, again?" I could hear the amused judgement in Deidara's voice as it seemed I'd repeated past mistakes.

"No, Haku is definitely a girl. She wore a skirt."

"Way to be closed minded Himawari. Men can wear skirts too, un." I felt what I assumed was Deidara tap my shoulder teasingly.

"But… he's… wait… are you sure? You're not teasing me?" Coming from Deidara I might not have believed it, but Sasori wasn't the sort for these types of jokes.

"No, Haku's definitely a boy. Don't worry though, you're not the first to make that mistake. He'd get hit on all the time, and when some guys found out she was a he, well it pissed them off. Zabuza saw it one time, stepped in, and the two have been inseparable since." I thought about the unusual duo and I guess in a weird way it made sense. There was something mildly adorable about imagining big scary Zabuza beating up boys who picked on delicate Haku.

A ringing sound buzzed around me and I moved my hands reaching for my backpack which was difficult to get a hold of. I shifted moving to take the blindfold off my eyes.

I felt two strong hands wrap around my wrists and then pin them down to the head rest.

"Saso..Sasori?" It was an awkward position but terribly intimate not to mention inappropriate. "What are you doing, let me go!" I felt the car pull over to the side, and I could feel Deidara's weight as he sifted through the backpack on my lap. I heard him unzip something before I heard the ringtone become louder. "Let me answer it!"

"No can do, these are standard initiation rules. We probably should've taken this away in the first place. Nice socks by the way." He stretched out the white stockings, also part of the uniform and for a moment I wondered if he'd slipped something into the sock.

"Did you just-"

"Oh it's Haruno. She's sent you a couple texts as well." I felt a sinking feeling as I realized I'd told her and Ino to wait by my locker.

"Crap, let me talk to her, and don't go through my phone!" Deidara laughed before I heard the familiar tone of my phone turning off.

"Sorry Himawari, it's just the rules of initiation."

"Fine, then you tell her you kidnapped me and are the reason I missed our meeting." If Sakura's random acts of violence to Naruto were any indication, her temper was definitely not to be trifled with. I could feel Deidara's smile as he agreed to my demands.

"Besides, why do you guys take this Akatsuki thing so seriously?" Sasori answered, calm and collected.

"It's a club for misfits. We didn't fit in elsewhere and we fit in here." I almost laughed at that.

"You guys bicker with each other so much, are you sure you call that fitting in?"

"Duh. We tried to bicker with other people and they ran off terrified." From their odd descriptions, I was beginning to get the impression that this was some sort of collection of Frankenstein's monsters.

"Akatsuki, a band of misfits. I kind of liked the sound of that."


"Wait. Hold on! Can I take this stupid thing off?" We'd exited the car after another ten minutes of driving and while my eyes were still blinded, my feet were unsteady on the undergrowth.

"Hold on, we're almost there." Sasori's arms were wrapped around me, keeping me steady as I tripped over rocks and branches. Some sort of forest maybe? "You're doing great so far. Now remember, everything is just for show, but do pretend to be scared. It adds to the dramatics." I nodded, trying to pay attention to his words over the heat of his body.

"Okay, you can take it off her now." Deidara's voice was on my left, Sasori on my right, and as he took off my blindfold I was suddenly aware of how dark it'd gotten.

Was it that late already? I glanced up at the canopy of leaves overhead and the swarm of trees around us. Whatever forest we'd entered we were now very deep within it.

'What if this is a prank?' 'What?' 'You slapped Deidara in front of the school, you completely humiliated him, and now you expect him to forgive you?' 'Stop it, we've talked about this. They're our…' 'Our what, our friends? Himawari you barely know these people!' 'I've known Sasori my whole life!' 'You've watched him your whole life! Lets be honest, are you only here because Gaara's abandoned you?' 'He hasn't abandoned me!'

"You okay?" I flinched at Sasori's voice, his concern obvious.

"I'm fine." 'See? They're not like that…' Just as I was growing comfortable in the surroundings, I saw a series of lanterns come through the trees. Dressed in black cloaks with the familiar red cloud pattern walked out the remaining members of the Akatsuki. I recognized Hidan and Kakazu, and there was Itachi and Kisame. I was surprised to see Tobi as well and Zetsu. He was vaguely familiar, also in my philosophy class but I didn't recall ever speaking to him.

The last to enter the clearing was a blue haired girl with fluid steps and several piercings on her face. To contrast that was a delicate origami white paper rose in her hair. Beside her walked a man with almost more silver on his face than skin, metal adorning almost every conceivable place.

The only female in the Akatsuki was named Konan, so I assumed it was the one before me. As for the male, Sakura and Ino had informed me that I'd know him when I saw him.

This was Pein, the leader of the Akatsuki.

Standing before me, there was something unnerving about their black coats and dark gazes. All of a sudden Sasori's supporting hand on my arm felt more like a guard's iron vice. I felt like an offering or a sacrifice. As their lanterns light spread further I noticed a series of stone slabs protruding from the ground.

An initiation in a graveyard, how original.

"Himawari Fuyu." His tone was cold, crisp, almost unfeeling. It sent shivers down my spine. I couldn't fathom earlier why people feared the Akatsuki, but just hearing their leader speak erased any doubt. That man was dangerous, and not high school gang dangerous either.

"Let your initiation begin."


So, this chapter was a bit of a build up but I felt it was necessary to create that dramatic affect.

Did it work, are you curious?
what do you think will happen at initiation? Does anyone else think she's in danger? Any ideas as to what they're going to make her do? Please review and let me know your thoughts, the more you review the faster I update!