At the end of the back hall of the B-wing, final door on the left and kiddie corner to the glass doors that led outside to the parking lot. A paved path sat at the bottom of the stairs, and beyond that rows and rows of glittering car's were parked underneath the orange, autumn sun. Wind had blown leaves on to the windshields of several of those cars, getting caught on the wiper's and beneath the tires, and then were gently pulled away by another breeze.

Kakuzu didn't bother to see if she was following him into the room. He simply went ahead, grumbling to himself as Katsu rubbed her wrist, trying not to say anything incriminating that might make Kakuzu come rushing back out at her. She didn't dare to assume that he was above violence, mostly judging the scars that littered his neck and face. He looked like a thug. She didn't dare say it out loud.

Just her luck, to get dragged halfway through the school by someone she barely knew. She stood, confused, outside of the door of B2, the last art room at the end of the hall. She could smell clay and acrylic paint wafting from the open door, and where she usually would have felt a sense of uphoria, she only felt dread. Why had Kakuzu brought her here, of all places?

"Katsu!"

Katsusaki jumped in surprise as a familiar blue haired girl lept from the doorway and wrapped her arms around her, almost too excited to find her new friend waiting for her outside. Katsu blinked, dazed, and found herself once again being dragged. Though this time it was by a lighter, manicured hand, that of which wasn't about to leave a hand-print-shaped bruise

"I'm so sorry, I forgot to tell you where to go. I went to go find you in the lunchroom but I culdn't see you anywhere. I guess I'm lucky that Kakuzu found you," Konan laughed. Katsusaki wasn't so sure about that. She glanced over at Kakuzu, who was brooding in the corner, and slowly it began to click together.

"You're friends with Kakuzu?"

"Yeah," Konan said, as though it were the most obvious thing. She glanced at Katsusaki, her golden eyes lighting up. "Well, as much as one can be friends with Kakuzu without being a raging psychopath." The way she said this, as though she were talking more to the room, made Katsusaki wince. Did she have a death wish? Her eyes flickered warily to Kakuzu, but he wasn't paying attention, much to her relief. Instead he seemed focused on some sort of math assignment.

"Hey! I fucking heard that!"

Katsusaki winced, her eyes widening in surprise as a silver haired boy lifted his head from where he had been bent over his cell-phone, his knee's kicked up and his heels stuck in the rungs on the stool he was sitting in. His uniform was a mess, his tie completely undone and hanging around his neck and his sleeves unbottoned and pushed—not rolled—up to his elbows. His pants weren't pressed, and his shirt was unbuttoned a quarter of the way, so his pale chest could be seen underneath it. Embarassed, Katsusaki quickly turned her eyes away.

"Hidan! Watch your mouth!"

Katsusaki didn't hear what Konan said next, because her eyes were suddenly in contact with an uncomfortably familiar shade of brown, shooting through her like a sharpened arrow. She hated the way her heart suddenly picked up pace in her chest, thumping against her rib cage as though it were struggling to get out, and her face heated as she realized she was caught looking at the first person she had met at Konoha High School, and the last person she had wanted to see in this room.

Was he a friend of Konan's, as well, or was he simply in the room to finish up a project? Her eyes flickered over his hands, covered in clay and found his fingers half buried in a sculpture of some kind, but she couldn't look at it any longer than a second because her eyes were drawn back up to his, and she could have sworn she saw a mocking smile tilt up the corner of his lips just slightly-

"... Katsusaki, ignore him."

Katsu flinched and turned back around almost too abruptly to engage Konan. She watched her for a moment, wary that she had noticed the wide eyed look she had, or the blush that was surely on her face, but she continued talking without a pause.

"Hidan's just a loud mouth. Kakuzu's best friend, though I haven't the smallest idea why," she snapped, shooting Hidan a glare, but he only smirked smugly back. His eyes drifted over Katsusaki, and she struggled to ignore the prickly way his stare seemed to rake across her skin. She clenched her fists, struggling to stop her fingers from shaking, but it only made her hands ache.

"Who the fuck are you?"

Katsusaki glanced out of the corner of her eye at Sasori, but his eyes were back down on his art, watching his lithe hands work carefully as he sculpted what was beginning to look more and more like a small person.

"Uh, I'm-"

"Don't be so rude, Hidan! What did I just say?" Konan snapped, crossing her arms. She rolled her eyes and looked to Katsusaki. "You don't need to take anything from him, Saki. Don't let Hidan push you around."

"Hey! I'm standing right the fuck here," Hidan growled, standing up fluidly. Katsusaki found herself involuntarily taking a step back as she realized just how tall he was. And not only that - he was incredibly muscular. His violet eyes narrowed sharply as he took a step forward, but he didn't get very far.

"Sorry we're late. That math test was brutal. Well, for me at least." Katsusaki turned around, and she was surprised to find someone even taller than Hidan walking through the doorway, and someone far more familiar. He grinned - well, he grinned wider - when he saw Katsusaki standing there, and he stepped forward. "Oy, Shrimp. You lost?"

"Shrimp?"

"Shrimp?"

Katsusaki winced at the nick name as both Hidan and Konan repeated it simultaniously, with humor and confusion respectively. She had a feeling that Hidan was one that was eager to make jarring insults, and wouldn't put it past him to use it against her, no matter how well she knew him.

"Wait, you know Kisame?" Konan asked liltingly, her golden eyes widening in curiosity. Katsusaki nodded once, and Kisame raised an eyebrow, his gaze sliding over to Konan.

"You know Shrimp?"

"Yeah, she's in my Astronomy class. I asked her to join us for lunch," Konan said, a smile lighting up her already beautiful face. She grinned at Katsusaki. "Well, I guess this makes introductions a bit easier, if you already know-"

"Miss Outoya? What a surprise." Katsusaki looked up, her eyes landing on another familiar person, and she wondered just how many members of Konan's friend group she had met prematurely today. Itachi strolled into the room, looking as elegant as ever, and she felt the hot feeling in her cheeks coming back as he approched.

"Ah, Itachi-" She paused, wondering if she should be calling him by his last name, as well, but she couldn't remember it for the life of her.

"And Itachi? Wow." Konan blinked.

"I ran into Shrimp this morning, when-"

"Who the fuck cares?" Hidan snapped, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms haughtily. "What the hell is your name, anyway?"

"Katsusaki-"

"Hidan! Shut your mouth!" Konan yelped, looking flustered.

"What the hell, Konan? Usually you couldn't give two shits about my swearing. What the fuck gives?" Hidan scoffed. Katsusaki frowned just slightly, feeling uncomfortable. She didn't swear often, and only when she was alone. Her mother didn't really approve and Katsusaki agreed that there was a time and a place for every word. Her little brother Hikaru, on the other hand, tended to take a few more liberties and that often ended up with him having more chores to do on the weekends, which was fine with her. It just meant she had more time to spend in her room, reading.

"I don't want you to bother Saki," Konan huffed truthfully, looking even more annoyed at having to say it outloud. She gave Katsusaki an apologetic look.

"Really, Konan, I don't mind." The way she said it made her sound so small, but Katsusaki supposed she felt very small, especially surrounded by people who were so much taller than her. Even Konan was taller than her, despite the fact that she was probably the shortest person in the group. The only person who seemed to come next would have been Itachi, or maybe Nagato, but Katsusaki wouldn't dare get close enough to Nagato to measure him.

"See? She doesn't give a shit," Hidan scoffed. Konan shot him another look.

"You don't have to put up with his rudeness." She rolled her eyes, but Hidan seemed to think that he clearly won this fight and smirked haughtily.

"Anyway, what the fuck did you say your name was?" Hidan asked, turning to Katsusaki for the third time today to ask her the same question. With the way his lips quirked, and the way Konan's mouth twitched in annoyance, she wondered whether it was because he actually hadn't heard her or because he wanted to annoy Konan.

"Katsusaki Mo Outoya," she said quickly, stumbling over her own name. Hidan raised an eyebrow.

"That's a long ass name."

"Anyway, now you've met Hidan. The antisocial one over there is Sasori," Konan chirped, eager to turn Katsusaki away from the silver haired menace. Kisame and Itachi had taken their seats on the stools, Kisame looking attentive and curious, and Itachi looking dog tired as he pulled out a brown paper bag. It didn't look right pinched between his elegant fingers.

"I'm busy, Konan, not antisocial," Sasori replied brisquely. "And I already met your new friend this morning. In the office." Katsusaki turned around, and found Sasori staring at her again. He looked amused, and she realized with a dark blush that he had seen her staring at Itachi as though she were some sort of stalker. She averted her eyes, uncomfortable with Sasori's gaze and she wasn't completely sure why.

"Have you met everyone?" Konan whined, scrunching her nose. "I wanted to introduce you to more than just Captain Dirty Mouth." She sighed, seeming to deflate. Hidan started to say something that was adorned with several lovely profanities, but Konan had moved on to ignoring him. "I guess it's ok. It makes it easier for you to join our club."

"Hey! You can't just let any fucking person join!" Hidan yelped from behind her. He looked somewhat frantic, and Katsusaki had the feeling that she had stepped into something she shouldn't have. "Nagato, tell her she can't do that," he growled, his head jerking in Nagato's direction.

The orange haired boy looked up from his homework, looking somewhat annoyed, and his eyes slid over Katsusaki.

"This club is exclusive!" Hidan argued, crossing his arms and adopting a smug look. Katsusaki shrunk back, feeling foolish. She didn't belong here, and she could feel it in the way that Hidan shot a snarky glare at her, looking as if he had already won the argument, and why should he not? If it was an exclusive club, then she had no right to be there.

She didn't notice the cautious way Itachi watched her, his eyes looking tired and curious. He could tell she was uncomfortable, and on some level he sympathised with her. He glanced at Kisame, and his best friends dark eyes connected with his and a silent agreement passed through them.

"Well, technically," Kisame cut in suddenly, leaning casually on his elbow. "School regulations don't allow for any exclusive clubs. All clubs are required to be wholly inclusive, so..." He trailed off, shooting Hidan a sharp grin that Hidan scowled at.

"But-!"

"Kisame is right," Nagato said dismissively, turning back to his homework. "Besides, what can it hurt? Konan will finally have someone to talk about shoes with... who's not me." Katsusaki glanced at Konan to see if she heard that last part, but she had already started celebrating. Nagato said it with such a straight expression, and such a serious tone of voice, Katsusaki wasn't sure whether or not to take it as a joke. No one else laughed, but she noticed Kisame grin out of the corner of her eye. Then again, he was always grinning.

"That's true!" Konan chimed in, smiling brightly. Katsusaki didn't have the heart to tell her that she wasn't particularly interested in shoes, not with the way she was smiling so expectantly at her.

It was then that she realized there was one other person in the room that had previously gone unnoticed. He was sitting in the back corner, hunched over the yellowed pages of a book. The front page was creased and most of the art had been rubbed off, but after a moment of subtle concentration, she realized that he was reading Moby Dick. She raised her eyebrow, somewhat surprised, but realizing that she was unable to judge him. He just looked so young in comparison to the rest of the small club.

Speaking of... Katsusaki realized that she didn't exactly know what the club was called.

"What is your club called, again?" She asked, despite the fact that no one had ever told her what it was called in the first place.

"Well, technically it's called the 'Red Dawn' club," Kisame cut in, sending Konan an accusing smirk. She shot him a glare.

"I thought it was a cool name, ok?"

"But most of us thought that was lame-" Kisame chuckled.

"And right-fuckin'-fully so." Hidan snorted, plopping down in his previously claimed chair, digging into his school lunch with a surprising enthusiasm. He didn't really seem to care about anyone else's opinions. Or maybe his own opinions were too loud in his head to hear anyone else's.

"-So Itachi, the genius that he is, came up with the idea to translate it into a different language where it sounds cool. So we call it 'Akatsuki.' It's not officially registered that way, but that's what everyone knows it as," Kisame supplied.

"As far as everyone else knows, this club is exclusive as fuck. So I don't have any fuckin' idea why you're different," Hidan grouched, looking even more annoyed than before. Konan let out an exhasperated noise and threw her arms up.

"Hidan! Would you knock it off? You're going to make her run away!"

"That's the fucking point!"

"Don't listen to him," Konan snapped, turning to once again look at Katsusaki, clearly fed up with Hidan's attitude.

"Don't tell her what to fuckin' do, she's got her own damn brain, doesn't she?" Hidan scoffed, rolling his eyes. He stilled as his gaze landed on Katsusaki, and then his eyes narrowed into a glare. "Of course, she's got to be fucking stupid to not have heard of us."

"She's the new student, actually," Itachi cut in softly. Katsusaki flinched at the sudden sound of his voice, monotonous and familiar. If anyone noticed, they didn't mention that they had.

"Ah, that fucking explains it."

Katsusaki noticed out of the corner of her eye as the young boy sitting in the back lifted his head in curiosity. His green hair was slightly mussed, and he looked as though he had just spent a decent amount of time rubbing his head against a pillow. With a shock, Katsusaki realized that his eyes were a golden hazel, something she had never seen before.

"We don't get new students here very often," Kisame inserted, taking the stool closest to Katsusaki. Despite the fact that he was sitting and Katsusaki was standing, he still managed to be taller than her. "I'm surprised you haven't been eaten alive, yet." He chuckled, his ever present grin seeming to grow on his face.

"What is wrong with all of you?" Konan yelped, placing her hands abruptly on her hips. "Can't you say normal things? Or ask normal questions?" She turned to Katsusaki, still looking annoyed. "Like, how do you like it here so far, Katsu? Or, what's your favorite class?"

It took Katsusaki a moment to realize that Konan actually wanted her to answer those questions, and she fidgeted awkwardly.

"Ah, I l-like... My photography class seems nice, I guess." Katsusaki swallowed, trying to straighten her thoughts. "It's not so bad. I tend to transfer a lot, so it's nice, but I don't really know the school that well yet." Katsusaki bit her lip, trying to force the blush that was growing on her cheeks away. It wasn't working.

"Those were shif' que'f'ions," Hidan grumbled through a mouthful of sandwich. She turned on him, her eyes shooting daggers through him.

"They're better than anything you could ask!" She shrieked, and he glared right back.

"You wanna fuf'in bet?" Katsusaki winced at bits of bread flew out of his mouth, but Hidan didn't seem to notice. He swallowed roughly, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, manners be damned.

"I don't have to bet to know that you don't have a bone in your body capable of being appropriate in a social setting, you jerk," Konan huffed, crossing her arms haughtily.

Katsusaki glanced over at Kisame nervously, but he just shrugged in a casual way, leaning back with his elbows on the table.

"Does this happen a lot?"

"Most days, yeah," Kisame shrugged. Katsusaki frowned.

"Bet me, I fucking dare you," Hidan scowled, crossing his arms in return.

"Fine. Five bucks says you can't," Konan hissed. Hidan rolled his eyes, then turned to Katsusaki, still looking somewhat uninterested.

"So, Katsusaki. What class do you have next?"

Konan stiffened, and Katsusaki didn't miss the way Hidan was struggling to fight off a smirk, trying to remain casual as it would seem.

"U-uh—" Katsusaki bit her lip harder, feeling her cheeks getting hotter. She glanced nervously at Konan, who seemed to only be growing more irritated. "M-Myth's and Legends w-with Ms. Yuhi," she managed to spit out. Hidan raised an eyebrow, suddenly looking intrigued.

"Huh. So do I—Zetsu, too." At this, the golden eyed boy reading in the corner looked up sharply. Katsusaki realized that he must have been responding to hearing his name. "We'll walk you there. Then you don't have to walk alone."

Then Hidan turned to Konan and held out his hand, palm up, a victorious grin splitting his face. Konan sputtered, her face growing red, but she ripped a five dollar bill from her pocket anyway, slapping it into his hand violently as she spat two words in his general direction that Katsusaki didn't feel the need to repeat.

Katsu blinked in surprise when Konan turned and shot her a cute wink and a mischievous smile. Katsu glanced at Hidan, but he was too busy eagerly thinking about what he was going to do with his new five dollar bill to notice.

A/U: Oi! I'm back.

Okay, here's some real talk.

So, here's a bit. I was depressed. I didn't even notice. Now, mind you, depression is no excuse to not be doing what you're supposed to be doing. Actually, if anything, it's an excuse TO do those things, because as long as you're doing something you're not thinking about killing yourself or how awful life is. I'm being a bit dramatic and blunt. I have a history with depression. My mother had it when I was very young, and now it's something that is causing me problems. I didn't go to classes. I didn't do anything. If I wasn't working (I'm a waitress at a popular restaurant chain) then I was sleeping so I didn't have to think about anything.

I hated going to class. It's a half hour drive from my home to my school, and I spent that half hour thinking about how easy it would be to simply end it. Some of you will understand, and here, I'm talking to you.

If you are having suicidal thoughts, or you're just not feeling yourself or you just need someone to BE THERE for you, I will be that person. No matter who you are, or what's going on in your life. I will tell you straight up, from experience, that it just helps to talk about it. To just tell someone what's going on. Even if they don't give you the best advice, it just helps to feel like someone is listening. To feel like someone has heard you.

Anyway, I hope you liked the re-do of this chapter. I read through it again and fixed some things. Hopefully it looks better, now. Also, I changed the ending so it makes more sense. I'm a little stuck on the next chapter, but maybe I'll be able to get something out sometime soon.

REWRITTEN VERSON

I own only Katsusaki Mo Outoya, Takara Outoya, Hikaru Outoya and the plot-line. All other characters and names belong to the author of the Naruto Manga series and those affiliated.