A/N: Squeeeeeeee

Haaaa, joy! Rar rar rar.

Yay.

.

Hidan

Hidan stopped outside the abandoned hotel and grinned. Ah, coming home. It's been nice chilling for a few days while absolute fucking anarchy happens to other people. Dozing in the sun. Lying on roofs. Mm. It was nice. Bring on the chaos!

Konan met him on the back porch. She must have been watching for him. He felt her relief. "Hidan. I am glad for your return." She gave one of his hands a squeeze.

He squeezed it back. "I missed you." He brought her hand up to his face and nuzzled it.

Konan smiled. "Later. When there is time."

Hidan let her go. "I'll hold you to that. So. Where do I start?"

Konan led him inside. She showed him the game room, which was now occupied by a bunch of dolls sitting in a corner, half of whom had a red blanket draped over their heads. "They searched the rooms one by one, using an orderly procedure to open doors. They seem to believe that it is the marks on their foreheads which make them special."

"Well, duh. They don't look any different from their cousins otherwise. No blood, no breathing, no muscles, none of that. They look exactly identical when they're sitting. How the fuck would they know their cousins aren't just really lazy?"

"We did come to that conclusion." Konan led him outside. "We have leashes for all of them now. Nagato is taking them on a walk. Yahiko promises news regarding Samehada's condition. Have you seen Deidara's message?"

Hidan checked. "New friends? Fuck yeah!"

"It worries me that I have no idea who he is talking about. I called Sasori. He does not know either."

"Ooh, new new friends. Fuck yes." Hidan rubbed his hands together. "I've gotta get a new cloak lickety split then. Want to look my best." He was currently shirtless.

Konan smiled. "I trust your judgment. I will try not to worry."

Hidan checked again. "Doesn't say anything about when. I assume tonight?"

"He tells me that he actually issued a general invitation. No time specified. He is actively refusing to tell me anything else about the people he invited to our base, which is why I have resorted to subterfuge. Why would Deidara refuse to tell me?"

"This is his big moment," Hidan said. "He gets to be the one with the big news for once. I'm not surprised if he wants it to be at least as big a thing as the time when you first gathered us. He seems like a kid who loves drama."

Konan tilted her head. "He refuses to tell me anything about these people for the same reason I refused to describe my real intentions back then? Interesting hypothesis. He has been smiling too much for my comfort."

"Not gonna be comfortable then," Hidan guessed. "So the dolls are being cute as hell. We can train them and take them on walks now and call them good little boys. Same's in the shark hospital and Kisame's hiding something. Deidara's also hiding something. Hoo shit, this is gonna be fun."

"There will definitely be a meeting tonight."

"Oh yeah!"

General

Deidara's new friends did not appear that night. "Maybe they need time to warm up to it," he said. "I was kinda blunt, yeah."

"Blunt with what? Warm up to what? What did you tell them and why and who are they?" Yahiko asked.

Deidara grinned. "It's a surprise!" Yahiko groaned theatrically and flopped onto his back. They were in the backyard. The vampires definitely needed to know about this.

Kisame raised a hand. "Hey everybody. I have news."

"You said you know why Samehada was poisoned," Itachi murmured.

"Yeah. It's because I am a shitty friend. I have been not totally intentionally but kinda intentionally ignoring Same's personal life for a long-ass time. A medical emergency is what it takes to make me pay attention."

"Why have you been ignoring Samehada's personal life?" Itachi asked.

"I don't know. I just keep finding other things to think about. I resolve to be a better friend and talk with him more, then I forget. Oh, sorry. Her. Turns out Same is female. And now that I think about it, nobody ever actually explained what pronouns are or why we use them. Same didn't even understand why humans find nakedness uncomfortable. Why would she understand that pronouns have anything to do with perceived sex? Oh sweet jesus."

"I have some thoughts about what this may mean from a meta perspective," Itachi said. "They can be shared some other time. Deidara, did your new friends give you any indication of when they may warm up to your invitation?"

"Well, I'd expect it to be pretty quick, yeah."

"They may visit tomorrow, then."

"Dei?" Sasori looked bored, but his voice had an edge in it. "Where and when did you meet these people?"

"Today, while shopping."

"So they're not secrets you've been keeping from me. That's good to know."

"Is the uncertainty you're inflicting on us a form of payback for the argument we had?" Kakuzu asked.

Deidara grinned. "Not gonna lie, I am looking forward to the look on your face, yeah."

Konan raised a finger. "Hidan suspects that their visit is intended to be at least as big a moment as when I first gathered you all."

"Speaking of Hidan, Jiraiya and I had a great time talking earlier," Nagato said. "He's very happy for me, and he loves the plushies. I think he would be a fantastic dad. Or maybe he should skip directly to being a fantastic grandpa. They were freaking out because of Samehada, then he told them stories, and they were perfectly calm after that."

"I assume Hidan is off getting a new cloak?" Kakuzu asked Konan. She nodded. "Hmph. I wonder if we can leave the damn dolls with him for babysitting."

"Hey," Yahiko whined, sitting up. "If he wants to come over, sure. But we shouldn't remove them from their home against their will. They live here just like we do." Kakuzu sighed.

"It's going to be a difficult couple of days without Samehada around," Nagato said. "She's really good with the plushies. Maybe I should ask Jiraiya to come around. Speaking of which, I have an announcement. I'm going to go to work tomorrow."

"Yay!" Yahiko cheered. He elbowed Nagato's arm and grinned. "You're feeling better!"

"Yeah, the shock of nearly dying and questioning my entire life and everything has gotten manageable." Nagato took a deep breath. "I'm still wildly overwhelmed, but I think hanging out with dogs will help."

"I intend to visit this Friday, as usual," Konan told him.

Deidara checked his phone. "Lucky me, I don't have a shift tomorrow, hm." He grinned.

Kakuzu shot him a flat look. "Should everyone who's available sit around waiting for your new friends to appear?"

Deidara thought about it, still grinning. "Nah, that would be intimidating, hm. Maybe just leave a paper butterfly or two to watch for them."

Kisame's left hand curled into a fist. "Between Same and these unknown people, I'm going to be out of my skin with paranoia tomorrow. I won't be able to focus on shit. I should just call out."

"That might be handy, yeah," Deidara said with a grin. Half shark, half plant. They'll have so much in common!

"I am so fucking glad to be stepping out of any leadership role so I don't have to argue with this little brat," Kakuzu snarled, glaring at Deidara. Deidara stuck his main tongue out.

"Deidara, stop antagonizing the bear person," Sasori drawled. "Is anyone curious about how my day went?"

"Oh. I'm sorry. How was your day, Sasori?" Itachi asked.

"I got my laptop back from Laurie," Sasori said. "I had fun telling her about the spa day you guys put together for me. She thinks it's a great idea. We talked a little more about my difficulties with letting people be nice to me. I asked her if what you said was true, Dei. She says she forgives me."

"What did Deidara say?" Kisame asked.

"That by acting so confused and all but explicitly calling her kind actions weird and strange, I was trying to seize control over our relationship by discouraging her from doing things I don't understand."

"...Huh. I just avoid people who act in ways I don't understand. But it amounts to the same thing, doesn't it?" Kisame looked at Sasori in a new way.

"How is Ruta?" Itachi asked.

"He looks fine, but says he's rattled internally. He called it a depressive phase. Apparently he goes through depressive phases and elated phases. I did ask. He says it's related to bipolar disorder, but more moderate in every way."

Konan sipped her water. "Interesting."

The back door creaked open. Kakuzu looked up. "It's the dolls." Warlic, Solis and Manta joined the circle, looking around. Itachi told them not to interfere with the fire; the fire was a friend that they invited over as part of their meetings. Warlic waved at the fire. Solis held his hands out. Could they feel temperature?

Yahiko held Warlic in his lap. "Warlic, Solis, Manta. Something just occurred to me. Tomorrow, we're expecting some new people to visit. They're not intruders. Nobody that enters the base is an intruder, actually; I just want to get that out there. We have an open-door policy. That means anyone can visit at any time. Anyway, the people who might visit tomorrow are said to be friendly. Treat them nicely." Warlic relaxed into his lap. Solis and Manta sat down. They seemed chill. Deidara gave Yahiko a thumbs up.

"Don't think I'll take this lying down," Kakuzu told Deidara. "Depending on how much of a waste of time and energy your new friends are, I will respond."

Deidara began to giggle in a way that reminded others far too much of the demon boy at his worst. "Oh, that won't be a problem," he said, grinning like the Cheshire cat.

Nagato got Konan's attention. "As big a thing as the night you gathered us, you said?" A general feeling of dread settled over the group. They hadn't really noticed that part the first time Konan said it. But now, based on the look on Deidara's face, it seemed like an actual possibility. Most of the group looked around, a little nervous. New friends were usually great, but now? After the weekend battles? They weren't done recovering. Was this really the best time for a surprise?

Konan kept her chakra to herself. Her heart pounded. Could he have found the missing group members?

Konan

She could not sleep with that thought buzzing around her mind. The more she considered it, the more it matched everything Deidara had said and done so far. Stop! You do not know for certain who he has invited over. But her instincts told her she did. They wouldn't shut up. She was compelled to think about and plan for the man who had killed her appearing on her doorstep. In desperation, she turned to anything else. She set a reminder on her phone to visit the doctor's office that had done her physical in order to pick up a paper copy of the records, then drop it off at the other medical office that would help her acquire medicine. She went over the group resources, financial and otherwise. She checked the fridge, only then remembering that Deidara had just restocked it. She paced the halls, quietly so as not to wake anyone, keeping her chakra as restrained as she could.

Restraining her chakra did nothing to help Hidan. He grabbed her hand to make her stop. "Wazzup?" he asked with a huge yawn.

"I…I cannot say."

"Okay. Let's cuddle, then." He led her outside. He sat down on the grass and pulled her down beside him. He put an arm around her shoulders, then lay down on his back. The resulting configuration was very comfortable. Konan closed her eyes and inhaled his scent, felt the warmth of his skin. Her heart slowed down.

"My apologies," she whispered.

"S'okay. You feel scared." Hidan yawned again. "Long term scared or just for now?"

"Not for much longer."

"Imma go to bed then."

"Thank you." Konan sat up on her own. She watched him as he did likewise and stumbled inside. I am sorry to do that to him. But he is very comforting.

Thanks to his intervention, she was able to get some sleep that night. She awoke to a flurry of activity that kept her busy enough to allay her anxiety. Deidara ran through the halls laughing. "I can't believe I never realized I could do this before, yeah!" A bunch of clay spiders skittered after him. The plushies rode on their backs. Kakuzu grumbled that at least Deidara was proving useful as a babysitter. Kisame and Nagato discussed their experiences calling out of work enough times to get them fired in a world that operated by normal rules. Hidan chased after the spiders, pretending to attack. Deidara had his spiders perform evasive maneuvers, and the plushies jumped from spider to spider to escape his blades. Well, most of them did. Little One didn't seem to be having much fun being attacked, so Hidan left him alone. Yahiko took advantage of everyone's distraction to hang out, drink milk and cheerlead in his female form. Sasori hung out next to him. After some hesitation, Yahiko put an arm around his shoulders. Sasori let him do this. Itachi sat on the lobby desk. Konan stretched. Ah, what a relaxed morning.

It had to end at some point, of course. Nagato waved goodbye to Kisame and made Yahiko promise updates before he left. Sasori elbowed Yahiko to make him let go, but gently, and with a smile. He told Deidara that it was okay to set up a surprise for now, but he wanted to have a discussion afterwards. Deidara promised one. Sasori and Nagato were the only people leaving the base that day. Everyone else wondered what to do as soon as Sasori was out of earshot. "I vote to keep playing with the spiders," Hidan said before anyone else could get out a word.

"I vote to not," Kakuzu replied. "That's a great way to frighten guests."

"May I pay the demon boy another visit, ask if all is well?" Itachi asked. He still sat on the lobby desk. Everyone was gathered in the lobby.

"That will be unnecessary," Konan replied. "He knows we have information. He will likely come over on his own if something changes. I vote for us to scatter. Hidan, you and Deidara may keep the plushies occupied in the backyard. I will check on the symbol in the basement. Everyone else, find separate activities, except for one person, who may remain here to greet them if and when they come. I will also leave a paper butterfly outside so that I may have advance warning."

"I will meditate. It has been too long since I sat on an elevated surface," Itachi said. "It literally provides me with a different point of view."

"I'll pretend to be a normal person and read a book," Kakuzu said.

"I'm too unfocused to possibly read a book, so I'll browse the Internet," Kisame said.

"I'll cuddle with Little One," Yahiko said. He was still in his female form. He looked around shyly after announcing his intentions, but nobody said a word.

They all did as they had promised. Konan felt the familiar rush of whirling energy as soon as she opened the basement door, a sense that she was stepping out of normality and safety and into wilderness. She smiled. The symbol was undamaged. Of course it was; how could it ever be damaged? She sat in the middle of it and closed her eyes. Remembered Original Hidan. She found herself visiting this room, sitting in this position and remembering him on a recurring basis. It was becoming a ritual. She felt closest to him here. She often wondered if his soul, after death, had become part of Jashin. It would only be right. Hidan… I'm sorry I never asked you where your scythe came from. I'm sorry that I never revealed my inner heart to you, not even once. That I was like you. That I was not the perfect tool, after all. If only our world could have been a little more like this one. If only shinobi weren't destined to be chained to fate. Perhaps you should not have become a shinobi. Then you could have been…free.

The symbol took her sadness, which normally would have sat upon her like a dead weight, and turned it into a stabbing pain in her heart. Tears came to her eyes. She wiped them away before they could be shed. "You were just as much an avatar as he is," she whispered. "He speaks for Jashin sama. You embody. You both should be here. Both versions of you have a place here. I know it can be done. Some excuse can be found or made up. I only…want that…that the version of you who loved his god return. It still doesn't seem right to listen to a version of you that does not preach."

It was impossible to know how long she sat there remembering and grieving before her paper butterfly informed her of approaching people. Her heart leaped in fear. Is it him? She gathered her strength, put on her brave mask, and left the basement. She commanded her paper butterfly to follow the people inside as she returned to the lobby.

Her heart skipped a beat. For a moment, her world stopped. It is him. She stood in the space where the lobby and the hallway met and watched the man in the orange mask. He did not act like she remembered. Zetsu did all the talking, asking what was up with the butterfly. Tobi, or whatever he called himself, hung back like he was using Zetsu for protection and nervously held one wrist with the opposite hand. It is not him. It is someone else, some other persona. Her ninja senses helped her. A civilian could be fooled by outer appearances, but ninja were trained to recognize people by the way they moved, stood and breathed. He looked like a completely different person to her. She could breathe more easily.

Itachi explained that the paper butterfly belonged to someone else. Konan stepped out of the hallway. "It is mine," she said. "I use them to find things or keep watch." She made the butterfly return to her. She did not turn part of her body to paper and absorb it. That would be too much. She had it perch on her shoulder. "Our friend told us to expect visitors."

"He, uh, told us that he belonged to a club," White Zetsu said. "A club of people who are really weird."

"He was not exaggerating," Black Zetsu said.

"Hey, this guy seems normal."

"Ahem." Itachi waited until they looked at him. "I have a physical abnormality, actually." He closed his eyes, then opened them to reveal the Sharingan.

Both halves of Zetsu flinched, just a little. "Hey, we knew a guy with those eyes," White Zetsu blurted.

"Shut up, idiot!" Black Zetsu glared at Itachi, his fist clenching.

"Sorry, Ani."

Itachi returned his eyes to normal. "You did? And - I take it he was not a nice person?" He leaned backward, unconsciously trying to get away from Black Zetsu. His shock was clear as day.

Konan stepped up and placed a hand on Itachi's shoulder. He seems to be talking about someone other than the man who stands behind him. Who? I was unaware that Zetsu had contact with any other Uchiha. "Itachi is a kind and gentle person. Do not be harsh with him." She narrowed her eyes at Zetsu.

"Sorry," White Zetsu mumbled.

"Bad memories," Black Zetsu clarified. They both relaxed.

"My name is Itachi, and her name is Konan," Itachi said. "Are you…interested in meeting anyone else?"

Both halves of Zetsu looked around as they conducted some kind of internal deliberation. "Eh, sure," White Zetsu said.

"Itachi, fetch Kisame," Konan ordered. "I can explain more about our club while you do so." Itachi nodded and left. Konan sat lightly on the edge of the desk. "I am its leader and founder. Anything you want to know, I can tell you."

"What did he mean by 'a club for weird people'?" Black Zetsu asked. "A club for weird people to do what?"

Konan took a moment to answer. "Well… The answer to that has changed over time. My original intentions were simply to help each other explore our oddities and perhaps find out more about them. But when we started spending time together, it turned out that all of us had unique reactions to feeling different from normal people. We started providing support to each other, sometimes in the form of group therapy. Now, it can't really be said to be just a club. More of a family. And there turned out to be other groups of strange people in this area, so we adopted a group uniform and some official rules. It's very hard to describe. Did Deidara tell you why he invited you?"

"He said we looked like a perfect fit," White Zetsu said.

"Perhaps that is true," Konan said. "The other groups are different. There are some friends of ours who have strange abilities but normal appearances. There is a local family who are all half beast. Taking appearance, ability and ancestry into account, our group is the most varied. It is most likely that you would fit in here rather than anywhere else."

"Yeah," Kisame drawled slowly. He stood in the hallway with Itachi. "Didn't wanna interrupt," he muttered as he entered the lobby. He walked up to Zetsu, stopping several feet away. "Are you half plant?"

"Are you half shark?" Black Zetsu replied.

"Why are you half black and half white?"

"Because we're a dicot!" White Zetsu chirped. "That's a plant with a seed that's split in two halves. One of us was clearly damaged in the seed, but we don't know which one. I bet it's Ani."

"I bet it's you," Black Zetsu shot back. "Anyway, what he said. That's the only explanation we can find."

"I have a shark friend," Kisame said. "She, uh… She's not a normal shark. I don't know what she is. She has humanlike intelligence and can live on land. She's kind of my other half. We're usually together. I would be at the vet's with her right now, except…" His face was purplish. He trailed off and scratched the back of his head, obviously feeling very awkward.

Zetsu tilted his (their?) head. "Woah," White Zetsu said. "Hey Ani, you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Slow down," Black Zetsu growled. "Alright. We'll meet the rest of your group."

"Uh, hi there," Kisame said, leaning over to look around Zetsu. "Does your friend talk?"

Zetsu looked back at him. Tobi, or whatever his name was, shrugged. "Maybe when we've found out what you people are all about," Black Zetsu replied.

"I'll grab Kakuzu and Yahiko," Kisame said. "Itachi, you get Hidan and Deidara. Konan, I guess you can tell him about Nagato and Sasori while we do that."

Konan nodded. They left. "Two of our members are away at their jobs right now. The rest are either unemployed or called out in order to meet you. Nagato has strange ringed eyes. They do not appear and disappear like Itachi's; he has them permanently. Sasori is physically normal, but can sprout strings from his fingers. He joined because he is close friends with Deidara and did not want to leave Dei alone with strangers."

"Understandable," Black Zetsu said.

"We're kinda protective of Obito," White Zetsu said, gesturing at the masked man. "Sorry if Ani seems gruff. It's just our thing."

Konan fought to keep her face blank. Obito? I haven't heard that name before. How many identities does this man have? "Yes, that is apparently a common response to being excluded from normal society. Many of our members knew each other before I appeared. I simply suggested that we formally group together. I met and suggested this idea to Hidan first. He told me to talk to others, who suggested others I ought to speak to, and that's how our current membership was established."

"Huh. We've never met anybody else like us."

"Well, something about this geographic location seems to draw in people with odd abilities. I take it you're new to town? The rest of us have been here much longer."

Hidan's whoop echoed down the halls. He leaped into the lobby and skidded to a halt. He swung his scythe up so that it rested on his shoulder. "Mother of fishsticks, Dei wasn't kidding. You guys look awesome. This is gonna be a lot of fun!" He put his scythe on the desk and sat next to Konan. "I'm Hidan. My thing is that I'm immortal. I can't die unless I choose to. Oh, and this scythe is part of my body."

Deidara darted in, grinning from ear to ear. "Hey guys!" He didn't seem to know what to say after that, so he stayed close to Itachi, who leaned against the wall.

Kakuzu announced his presence next. How long had he been silently watching from the right hallway? He stayed there as he said, "Hello. My name is Kakuzu. I'm just here to keep Hidan from getting into too much trouble."

"And for another reason, but he's shy," Hidan told Zetsu. "He's secretly a big fraidy-cat."

"Do not call me that or treat me that way unless you wish to have your ribs rearranged," Kakuzu growled.

"He's also funny!" Hidan chirped.

Yahiko ran into the lobby and skidded to a stop just like Hidan had. He was in his male form now. He opened his mouth to speak, but realized at the last moment that he didn't know what to say. "Uh… Hi!" He cringed, blushing bright red.

"Yahiko," Hidan said, pointing at him. "Best buddies with Nagato, our ring-eyed guy, and a perpetual optimist who likes helping people. Konan said she needed help, so he came. And that seems to be just about everybody, except for the people that aren't here. So, Plant Guy, introduce yourself and fast. Someone here needs to leave ASAP."

Black Zetsu shot Hidan a suspicious look. "We're Zetsu," White Zetsu said with a wave. "He's Black Zetsu and I'm White Zetsu, if you wanna talk about just one of us. And this guy behind us is Obito. He's shy."

"Excellent," Itachi said. "I will leave. Zetsu has a bad history with someone possessing a Sharingan." He left the lobby. Konan hoped he was capable of wrangling the plushies all by himself. The absolute last thing anyone needed was for a bunch of living dolls to show up.

"Why did he need to leave ASAP?" Black Zetsu asked.

"We have some pets that would leap all over you and just be way too much to handle right now, so someone needs to keep them out of the way," Hidan replied. "Everybody except me was super overwhelmed at first, and we were all newbies together. We're trying to go easy on you guys."

"What kind of pets?" White Zetsu asked. "Dogs? I like dogs."

"Haha, nope!" Hidan giggled.

"Do not ask about them," Konan advised Zetsu. "At any rate. You have now met or heard described every member of the group so far. Obito, what do you think?"

Zetsu stepped back. Obito shrank in on himself. "W-well…" He sounded just like a young boy! "I…have a question."

"Whazzit?" Hidan asked.

"So…many of you look unusual. But do any of you…have minds that are unusual? Be-besides feeling different?"

The room became very quiet. There was much glancing around. "Permission to list off," Konan requested. She received a chorus of "Granted"s. She clasped her hands. "Very well then. Let's see. I am all but confirmed to have bipolar disorder. Yahiko is recovering from having crippling anxiety. Kisame also has crippling anxiety, though it manifests as paranoia and a dislike of other people. Itachi?"

"I have symptoms of autism, both Konan and Deidara occasionally show signs of PTSD, Hidan has an alternate personality, and we manifest a group-level form of ADHD," Itachi said. "Have I missed anything?" If he had, nobody could think of it.

"Excuse me," Black Zetsu said slowly. "Did you just mention alternate personalities?"

Yahiko went over to the desk. "Hey Hidan, let's talk all about it. In great detail. With names and everything." Hidan's face went blank. He grabbed his scythe and left the room in a manner that suggested he was being commanded to do it. "Is it okay to do that to him?" Yahiko asked Konan.

"He does not seem to experience any ill effects," Konan replied.

Yahiko turned to Zetsu. "Yeah, um, so, he and the other guy can't interact. At all. Hidan can't even really know about him. Uh… It would be really hard to explain why. So, um, what it means is… Is… Well, sometimes Hidan'll say strange things. Usually in the middle of a bunch of normal things. If you ask him about it, he doesn't remember saying it and has no idea what it means. Because he's not actually the one who said it. You can tell him what he said, but don't press him for answers about it. And don't try to bother him in the middle of the night. Sometimes overnight, the other guy takes their body out for stuff. He's really creepy, doesn't talk and has zero interest in other people, so, don't bother him. Just wait until Hidan's out of his room in the daytime. Seriously, don't bother the other guy."

Konan tapped him on the shoulder to make him stop. "Yahiko is afraid for the consequences to Hidan if you do," she clarified. "His other self is not malicious or evil, but it is very off-putting. Hidan has experienced rejection in the past from people who found his other self creepy. It was very traumatic. He ran away from home to escape it. Do not interact with the other guy until you have a solid relationship with Hidan. As Yahiko says, it will not try to interact with you, so that would not be difficult."

"Um, since he is using a human body…"

"That does not make it any more human. If it has a problem with the pronouns I use, presumably it will speak through Hidan at some point to say so."

"Okay. That makes sense." Yahiko scratched his chin. "Speaking of pronouns, Hidan picked up the ability to switch between male and female forms. It doesn't matter which form he's in; he always takes the same pronouns. And - and, uh… S-s-same applies to me, kind of. J-j-just keep it the same." He flushed bright red and shook all over.

Konan pushed him in Itachi's direction. Itachi patted him on the back. "Needless to say, one of our rules is that there is absolutely no mocking, exclusion, or jokes of any kind on the basis of personal preferences regarding physical presentation or chosen partners." Konan narrowed her eyes and projected her chakra to make it clear how serious this rule was.

Obito's shyness had completely fallen away. He looked around in a way that suggested hope. Zetsu glanced at him. Obito nodded. "We might stay for a few hours," Black Zetsu murmured.

Konan restrained her chakra so that nobody could detect her dread. That is the desired outcome, and yet I almost wish he had backed away. Those hands. These faces. How will I ever learn to live alongside them? She murmured something about checking on Hidan. It was just an excuse. The truth was that she needed comfort and reassurance that everything was going to be alright.

.

A/N: Heeheeheehee.

Ooh, next week is going to be great! Not only will it be the last chapter of the fourth year of this story, but it'll contain the first scene from one of the new members' perspectives! Eek!

See you then!