"Hey. Katsusaki, was it?"

Katsu paused as she was slipping Itachi's notebook into her regulation book bag. The bell had rung and already all of the other students had quickly made their way out of the class room. The last person shuffled out—the red-head Katsusaki had seen that morning in the office, rather lazily slouching as he went, his hands stuffed in his pockets.

"Ah, y-yes. Ms. Matarashi?" Katsusaki questioned, latching her book bag shut and scurrying up to the front of the room, hoping she didn't do anything wrong. The woman looked at her for a moment, her eyes hard. Then she sighed and shook her head instead, a small smile on her lips.

"Don't look so worried, ok? You'll do fine." And then she waved Katsusaki off, dismissing her. The blond blinked owlishly before nodding, saying a quick 'thank-you,' and making her way out of the class room. She wondered if Ms. Matarashi was talking about school, or her project partner. Either way, she wasn't sure she was as confidant as Ms. Matarashi was about what her future success may look like.

Her next class was Astronomy with Mr. Umino, in room S18. Katsusaki had little trouble finding the class room, now that she was starting to understand the way the different wings of the school worked. Walking down the hallways and peering into the class rooms made it very clear that the 'S' stood for Science.

Mr. Umino was a very kind brunette man with a long scar over the bridge of his nose. When he greeted her, Katsusaki felt all of the awkwardness melt away, and instead felt relieved. He introduced himself and she did the same, and he directed her to sit in what must have been an empty seat. The blond waited patiently while the other students filed in, and felt a breath of relief when whoever it was that took the seat beside hers didn't seem to be present as the bell rang.

"Alright, class-"

"Sorry I'm late!"

Katsusaki looked up, surprised as a pretty blue haired girl quickly slid into the room, looking guilty. Her hair was slightly ruffled, and the flower in her hair was askew, but her golden eyes were bright. She made quick work to try and put the flower back into place, but it didn't seem to want to behave.

"It wont happen again, Mr. Umino, I promise," she said quickly, her cheeks flushed and a sheepish smile spreading her lips as she snaked through the isles, finally plopping down into the seat beside Katsusaki. Mr. Umino shot her a disapproving look, but she didn't seem to be paying him much attention as she settled into her chair.

"You said that the last time," Mr. Umino sighed, before deciding that it wouldn't be of any use to punish her for it. He licked his thumb and started to count out several of the papers that he held in a pile in his hand. "I'll be handing out this worksheet. It's due tomorrow. Use your notes if you must. You can talk but the usual rules apply. If you get too loud I'm taking away the privilege." He set down several of the papers on the front desks, and the students handed them back.

"Are you new?" Katsusaki jumped, surprised as the blue haired girl turned to her, smiling prettily. She was working on her hair as she talked, her slender fingers pulling at the shocking blue strands as she tried to straighten them out.

"Ah - y-yes. I am." Katsusaki blushed, looking vaguely embarrassed. She felt as though she had just been caught doing something she shouldn't have been, though she didn't know what.

"I figured. I've never seen you around before. My name is Konan," she supplied, and the ashen haired boy in front of them turned and shot her a glare as he handed them their papers.

"Do you mind?" He hissed, shoving his glasses up his nose. Konan rolled her eyes at him.

"You haven't even started working yet, Kabuto. Could you relax for one second?" Konan's bantering was light, but Kobuto seemed to deem it personally offensive and snorted.

"If I don't quiet you down now, you wont shut up for the rest of the hour."

"It's not my fault you can't make friends," Konan giggled, glancing at Katsusaki out of the corner of her eye. It didn't take her more than a second to realize that the girl was feeling somewhat uncomfortable. Katsusaki simply busied herself with passing the rest of the papers back. "I'm sorry - what was your name again?"

"Uh, Katsusaki Mo Outoya, but you can-"

"How very formal of you," Kabuto sneered, his glasses glinting. He gave her a smile that was less than kind. "My name is Kabuto. Now that we're properly introduced, let me give you a bit of advice." He shot a look at Konan. "Her and her friends are cruel people, Katsusaki. You would want to end up like the last girl they chewed up and threw away."

Konan shot him a glare, and this time it seemed a lot more threatening than what should be possible for a short girl like her.

"It's none of your business to go spreading information like that around, Kobuto, and you know it." Katsusaki was awfully surprised at how motherly she sounded. Kobuto just rolled his eyes. "Now why don't you leave us alone and do your work before you get us all in trouble."

He shot her one last nasty look before turning back around. The tall, white haired boy who was sitting next to him said something in a low voice, presumably some sort of calming words. Kabuto seemed to refuse to say anything back. Katsu watched them for a moment, nervous curiosity making her muscles tighten. Konan caught her attention again, her prying gold eyes noticing as she tensed.

"Sorry about that. Kobuto is just a prick." She didn't bother to lower her voice when she said it, and Katsusaki could see his shoulders tense. "Anyway, like I was saying. I'm Konan. And you're...?"

"Katsusaki," she supplied, her cheeks darkening. Konan smiled.

"Can I call you Saki? It's a cute nick name for you."

Better than Shrimp, she thought, but didn't say it out loud. She doubted she was ever going to run into the blue haired monster of a boy ever again, anyway.

"I don't mind." Katsusaki gave an awkward half smile, trying to appear somewhat friendly. "You can call me whatever."

"Good. You'll like it here, I'm sure. As long as you stay away from the weirdos."

"Isn't that a rule anywhere you go?" Katsusaki shrugged, turning to the worksheet. Most of the answer's were simple. Konan laughed, fiddling with a pencil she had pulled out of her bag.

"I guess so, but you have to especially careful here. Some of the people at this school, honestly." She shook her head as though it were a real shame. Katsusaki had a feeling she was trying to hint towards Kobuto to make him even more annoyed, but he had moved on to ignoring her completely, and was doing a rather good job of it.

They talked all hour, much to Kobuto's chagrin, and when the bell rang Konan jumped up, as energetic as ever. She tossed back her head, laughing at a joke that was her own and poorly made. She didn't seem to notice, and Katsusaki smiled despite herself.

"Hey, are you sitting with anyone yet at lunch?" Konan asked curiously, tilting her head as she picked up her uniform book bag and snapped it shut. Katsusaki gave Konan a half smile, trying not to look too relieved, but Konan must have seen it on her face anyway because she giggled. "Come and sit with me and my friends. I'll introduce you."

"Ok-"

"You sure your boyfriend wouldn't mind that?" Kobuto sneered before walking away, the tall white haired boy beside him casting a backwards glance. He watched Katsu for a single moment, his eyes connecting with hers before she looked away in embarrassment and he got the message. He followed Kobuto out, stepping around an orange haired boy that was quite a bit shorter than him on the way out.

"Don't listen to him, Saki. He's just a rude jerk," Konan sighed.

"Konan."

Immediately, the blue haired girl perked up. If Katsusaki had thought she was radiant before, it held nothing against what she was now. Everything about her seemed to glow at the sound of one person's voice, and she turned to regard him excitedly, her golden eyes glittering excitedly.

He was terrifying, if Katsusaki had anything to say about it. He wasn't particularly tall, certainly not as tall as the blue haired boy she had met that morning, but he made up for it in how hard set his features were. He was also pierced in several different places, making him look all the more rebellious and daunting.

"Nagato!" She laughed, bouncing over to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pecked his cheek, murmuring something to him that he regarded with cold eyes, before he glanced over her shoulder at Katsusaki. He seemed to realize she was a friend, though, not an enemy, because immediately his eyes were back on the blue haired girl attached to him and Katsusaki could breath a sigh of relief.

"Konan," he said back simply. She seemed to realize who he was looking at over her shoulder and she smiled, glancing back at Katsu as well.

"Come over here and meet the boyfriend," Konan laughed. Katsusaki hesitated, but after a short, encouraging look she came over. "This is Nagato. Nagato, this is Saki. She's going to eat lunch with us today because she has no one else to sit with." Nagato regarded her with a cold expression, but didn't say anything. Katsu shifted.

"Well, I've got to get to Algebra, so..." She slipped around them through the doorway, and when she glanced back she saw Konan waving.

"Oh, right. See you at lunch, Saki!"

Konan's bedroom is filled with paper cranes.

They were not the only things that were in her room. She had a bed, and a dresser and a vanity where she kept a single comb, and littered on every surface were tiny paper creatures. Turtles and dragons, sea gulls and squid, crabs and dogs, and sometime even flowers and little paper throwing stars. Some were white while others were brightly colored with polka-dotted or striped paper, in blues and reds and violets and yellows and everything in between. But the most noticeable thing about her bedroom was that it was filled with paper cranes.

They cover everything, hanging on the walls and from the ceiling, splayed out over her dresser and across the foot of her bed, rustling against the curtains when she opens her windows and drift from the door frame of her closet. Each one is folded carefully, stark white and pristine, as though they await patiently for the day when they can flutter away, attached to one another by long strings so they will never be lonely. No one would ever know simply by looking at them, but carefully hidden inside each of the cranes is the same phrase written once in neat, tidy handwriting. Determined handwriting.

When Konan was little, she was fascinated with Japanese culture, and one thing in particular caught her interest. When a little girl loved a boy very much, she would make one thousand paper cranes, and string them up in groups of ten. The crane's represented determination and hard work, things that were greatly valued in Japan, and if she could show that she was hardworking enough, then the boy would love her back.

Konan also had a crush on a little boy with orange hair. He was wild and outspoken, and strong in his own way. He had grown in hard times, a tough weed in a field of flowers, moved to Konoha to start brand new. The other children were drawn to him, and looked to him like a leader. He demanded their attention without having to raise a single finger. Konan was intrigued by his hard face and set expressions. So one day, after thinking long and hard, Konan set to work on making one thousand paper cranes.

She would sit in her room for hours at a time, folding the papers after writing inside each and every one of them one single phrase, a tiny little wish, and when she was done she would string them up and start again on the next. It took her months, her tiny fingers working dexterously. Her teachers looked on worriedly as she came to school with a multitude of bandages over her fingers, her hands aching as she tried to write her sentences, but she never complained.

Then one day, Konan told the little boy that she had a surprise for him, and she brought him home and presented him with one-thousand paper cranes. He looked at all of them, his eyes taking in their careful precision, and then he turned to the girl (who was a brunette at the time) and told her that he didn't know what he was supposed to do with so many useless paper cranes.

Had he been any less sure of himself, he may have hesitated too long and Konan may have cried, but he was very sure of himself, and he lifted her hands to his face and asked her why she had so many cuts on her fingers. She told him because she had made so many cranes-she thought it was obvious, and she was certainly very proud of the fact. The boy looked at her sadly, and Konan was confused.

"So these are also for me?" He asked. Konan frowned. She supposed they were.

The next day he brought her a crane, and when he handed it to her looked sure of himself as he always did. There was never a tear in his confidence. Konan had not seem him look unsure of himself even once. He knew what receiving one thousand cranes meant, he was a smart boy. Even if he hadn't known, he would have researched. When he had gone home and made a crane himself, he had also made a decision.

Konan carefully unfolded the crane to find a wish on the inside. A wish that was very much like her own. She smiled, and looked up at the boy, and if fairy tale's were real this was as close as it got to a happy ending. She hugged him, and giggled several words into his ear, and that night she took the crane home and carefully set it on her dresser, next to one thousand crane's just like it. Only this one was different.

I wish to be happy with you always.

Katsusaki could feel the fear washing over her in waves, crashing down on her over and over again as she looked out over the sea of people before her, bustling and shouting out each others names, companionship leaking from their pores where she was alone, lonely, standing stock still her white knuckles wrapped around the edges of the green tray in her hands hopes crushed underneath her feet wrapped in tidy leather and she tried to think about that but the smell of food was making her stomach turn over and she was sure she was about to puke right in front of everyone on her first day and they would laugh at her and she would be mortified and she would never be able to look at them again her mother would have to home school her she would be locked away-

Katsusaki took a deep breathe, struggling to breath through her panic as it rose in her throat. She was sweating, she could feel it pooling in her palms. Her grip tightened, but still her tray felt slick. She was almost positive someone had their hands wrapped around their throat, but she couldn't feel any fingers on her skin. It was as if they were her own. Something in the back of her mind whispered that she should have known this was going to happen, she should have known that it was too good to be true.

So before she could make a fool of herself in front of everyone, Katsusaki turned on her heel and quickly pushed her way out of the cafeteria. It took far too long for the doors to click shut behind her, and for the noise to fade. And even when it did, she just kept on walking. She walked and walked until she found herself at the stair well, and trembling she set her tray down before she could drop it and make a mess, and carefully set herself beside it. Then she tucked her knee's to her chest and gently rocked back and forth until she could breath again, until her fingers stopped shaking and the bones in her fingers no longer strained her skin white.

She gently let her feet rest on the step just below her and put her head in her hands, counting her breaths and listening to her heart as it slowed down. When it finally seemed to reach some sort of steady rhythm, she uncurled her body.

But now she wasn't hungry, and so she dumped out the food on her tray in a nearby trash can. Just the sight of the food making her stomach churn. She made her way back to her seat and leaned back against the railing of the stairs, and she listened to the silence.

She wondered how she got here. Her life was so twisted and strange, not necessarily in a bad way or a sick way like some people would expect the term 'twisted' to mean. It was more as though she was simply folding in on herself constantly, everything always constantly being hidden under other things so that she didn't have to see it any more. Her mind wandered back to her old schools, to the people she had met and who she had always been torn away from. She didn't blame her mother, not really, but it was exhausting to constantly be the new kid, and sometimes she wished that her mother understood that.

She sat there for several minutes, just thinking, until she heard the sound of shuffling footsteps. Katsusaki planned on ignoring them, even as they grew louder and louder, and she realized that the person was passing her where she sat on the steps. She didn't intend to open her eyes, not caring if they thought she was strange for resting her eyes as she leaned on the steps, her elbow somewhat hurting from where it was pressed roughly on the no-slip rubber placed at the corner of the stairs. Then the foot steps stopped, and she felt herself tense, waiting for some sort of jeering insult.

"What are you doing?"

Katsusaki flinched, and opened her eyes to find the last person she wished to see standing in front of her, glaring down at her with his sharp eyes. He had crossed his arms, one eyebrow raised on his marred face

"Never mind, I don't care," he spat, pushing his brown hair out of his face, his neon green eyes blazing. Katsusaki wasn't sure whether to be shocked or insulted, and the expression on her face clearly showed it. "You're late. You should show a little bit more respect and act somewhat grateful. Pain doesn't invite just anyone to the meetings, you know." He rolled his eyes, seeming to almost be talking to himself. When he realized that Katsusaki wasn't getting up, he turned his sharp gaze back on her. "Well get up, then! Goddammit, are you useless?"

Katsusaki stared for a moment longer, and when she could see that Kakuzu was getting close to the point where he just might use physical violence, she quickly stood, looking extremely embarrassed. She straightened her skirt, but Kakuzu grabbed her wrist, and she let out a gasp as his fingers wound so tightly around it she was sure she was going to bruise.

"Honestly, don't know what Pain was thinking, inviting an idiot like you..." He muttered to himself, and gave Katsusaki a not-so-careful tug.

And that was how she found herself being dragged down the hallway of Konoha High School by the last person she thought would ever want anything to do with her.

A/N: AHH!

I'm so sorry! I totally forgot to post yesterday. O.O Eek. I'm being completely serious when I say my mind was completely focused on a paper that I had to finish writing that was due today at 10:00. Don't worry, it's finished now and off my mind. Next update should be up on June 6th, and I promise to be on time.

Hey, if any of you like Ouran High School Host Club, you should check out my story The Ocean. Especially if you're Mori or Kyoya fans.