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Pein and Konan: Shifting Tides
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He thought it would make him happy. His hand quivered as the last ninja fell to the ground, unconscious but alive. This one was meant to live, if only for a time. The nine-tails jinchuuriki... Naruto. Capture, not kill. Extract his Bijuu, and leave him for dead. But this hand that quivered, this moment he hesitated even as he accomplished his goal, something felt horribly wrong. He never hesitated. His movements were quick, clean, and unfaltering. Yet when he looked down at the boy, he couldn't help but see some sort of similarity between them. This boy wanted the war to stop, he wanted a way for everyone to get along. Didn't he see that the only way that could happen was if the world itself ended? As long as life existed, war existed. This boy thought he could end it through peace? He used to think that way. Or at least Yahiko did.
Wait. Yahiko... He turned the boy over to glance at his face, and he drew a quick breath as he suddenly saw what made him hesitate. Naruto looks like Yahiko did. The same hair style, that same cocky attitude, the same ideals. It was like killing him all over again, observed by Konan as he doomed another soul to the afterlife. Nagato, that person he used to be, that weak creature that held those powerful eyes. As powerful as they may have been, they were too weak until now to see the truth in Yahiko's statements. The land cried for them, mourned all the souls he stole from this earth, begged him to stop.
"Pein, stop!" His hand froze when he realized that this request could be heard. Behind him, Konan shivered visibly, sinking to her knees with a look of terror that he hadn't seen in many years.
Something about his pride, his resolve, forced the next answer. "I can't stop. We need to capture his Bijuu."
She managed to snap out of her trepidation long enough to pull his hand back. "No, please don't. He looks like..." Her voice filtered down to a whisper. "I don't want to see him die again."
Her eyes welled with the tears she had scorned for so many years, and his hand relaxed in her grip. "There's nothing else we can do. It's the only way."
A shift of movement beneath them caught their attention as Naruto tried to sit up. "No, you're wrong... There's always... another way! Why do we have to fight all the time? There must be another way to end this!"
Pein crouched next to the boy, his swirling eyes scanning the other's. "The only way to end anything is to end it all. How can you believe anything else?"
Despite the obvious loss he was in, Naruto smiled up at Pein with that grin... he remembered that look from somewhere... "I believe in a world where monsters like me won't have to be ignored or hurt. People with special talents, the kekkei genkai... I've met them, they suffer just like I do... just like Gaara did." He daringly glanced up at Pein's Rin'negan, and nodded confidently. "Like you, right?"
Pein's eyes narrowed. "And how do you presume to know what I've been through?"
But Naruto only kept smiling. "Monster scum like me... I'd say you had it better than I did. Did they recognize your existence? Did they understand what true pain was? Let me guess... Instead of fighting to prove your worth, you made them understand pain the hard way." He winced and stood cautiously, the pain slowly being healed by the Kyuubi. "And you think that ending the world will end the pain?" His eyes suddenly grew determined with a fire that dissolved all doubts. "That's what makes YOU scum. You gave up, you're pathetic!"
Pein's calm resolve was not about to be broken by an insult, but deep inside, this hurt him just a little. Konan approached him slowly, and put a hand on his shoulder. "Maybe we can solve this another way."
He stared at the ground absently, his mind filled with scraps of conflicting thought. "How can we go back from all of this? I don't even remember how to stop."
She smiled reassuringly, choosing her words with care. "This one knows. And back then, when we were young... do you remember?" Even now, it was hard to say that name. "Yahiko... he said that he wanted to stop the rain, to keep it from mourning the losses. I think that if he were here... he'd want us to try."
"How can we be forgiven after all we've done?"
"Even if we're never forgiven, we can still repent. Don't you remember the dream you used to have, long ago? Don't you still want to help your people? Stop being a god to them and start being a leader."
His eyes shot open suddenly, struck by her words. A leader... wasn't a god a leader? No, there was something different, something more to being a leader. A god was more powerful, but a leader was more compassionate. What he did now could affect the world itself. Would he destroy it, or bring it salvation? "I... Yes, I want to be a leader."
Naruto smiled shakily. "I want to be Hokage someday, to help Konoha and bring peace to the nations. You... you could be their kage. I know that doesn't exist yet, but it could. You could be..." He puzzled over what that would be called. "Shodai Amekage?"
Pein stood there stunned. "Shodai Amekage...?" Complete silence lasted for only a second before another figure manifested behind him. It was Tobi- or rather, Uchiha Madara- and the man's scorn could be felt coming off in waves.
"Pein, what are you doing? Hurry up and knock him out. We need his bijuu."
Pein didn't even hear him. He just stared at this ridiculous blond ninja in orange- what kind of ninja wears safety orange??- thinking about what he said. A true leader for his people, living through honest means? None of them moved for a moment, and Pein felt Madara tense, going after the boy himself but Pein's arm held him back, his steely eyes still gazing back at blue- not red. He turned back to Konan. "What do you think, Konan?"
She stared pensively at the other three, eyes darting to each in turn. "Choose what you think is right. I will follow you." A slight smile. A quick nod. A look of complete devotion. This was why he cared about her.
Something inside Pein seemed to snap. Madara had been charismatic, telling them about how wonderful the world would be if everyone would just die and stop fighting. He was older than any of them and had a way with words, but this young, innocent ninja on the ground had more insight than this monster. He remembered what his dream was all those years ago. A peaceful world where scum like him would be accepted. A holder of the Rin'negan, partnered with a woman whose chakra took the form of origami every time she molded it. They were outcasts, just like these bijuu. What did Madara know of their pain? How could he have manipulated them like that? If it was one thing Pein hated... it was being used. In a flash, Pein's hand was around Madara's neck, tightening as realization ravaged his thoughts. "I should have done this the day we met."
Madara struggled, hands trying to pry the other man's grip. "What are you doing??"
Pein's eyes narrowed, his face contorting to an expression of anger. "You thought you were pretty smart, controlling Akatsuki like you did. Controlling me." His grip tightened further, making Madara choke. "I don't like being used!"
Madara glared, his lone Sharingan whirling severely. Pein only looked on impassively, intent on taking whatever this man had to dish out. The masked man even chuckled as he locked eyes with Pein, uttering one word. "Tsukiyomi." The two were transported to another dimension, Pein standing on an endless plane of existence, knowing all too well what this was. Madara apparently didn't know that he had once experienced this technique courtesy of Itachi. It was a simple jutsu, and easily broken by one of strong enough skill. The battle between Itachi and Sasuke had proven this. But Pein didn't break the jutsu right away, intrigued by how Madara might torment him.
With a grin, Madara drew a katana from seemingly nowhere, binding Pein to the ground. "How does it feel to lay helplessly on your back, fake leader? Are you afraid?" He slashed his Katana across Pein's face, pausing when he noticed that the fiery haired man didn't even flinch. He summoned several versions of himself, each holding a stranger and more painful weapon, slicing Pein in turn, getting no more than that calm, impassive gaze. He should be writing and screaming by now, or at least stiffening in pain! What is he?
Pein only glanced up with a bored expression. "Is that all, Madara?" In a surge, he activated the Rin'negan, breaking the jutsu with his terrible willpower and skill, making the other man scream in pain when the technique came to a close. He tossed the defeated ninja onto his back, binding him to the ground with an earth jutsu, vines tangling around all his limbs. Pein strode forth with ease, his blank stare far more demeaning than a smug gaze could ever be. "How does it feel to lie helplessly on your back... fake leader?" He tore off the man's mask, gazing down at the man's face. Hardly aged a day since that time so long ago...
Konan wasn't at all surprised by how easily her partner escaped the Tsukiyomi. The Rin'negan was much stronger than the pathetic Sharingan, and Pein's willpower was more than enough to beat Madara. The only reason that he never turned on Madara before was because he believed in his ideals. Now, however... "Pein, we should finish him. He won't rest until he is dead."
He nodded briskly, using one of the vines to finish the man with a stab to the heart, then turned back to her, a sudden look of relief on his face. "We're free now... to make our own choices." A genuine smile flooded his face and he turned back to Naruto, a surge of compassion making his mind swirl. "We don't have to live that life we chose back then. We can start over... as hard as that will be. It will be harder than using the bijuu to destroy the world. It's a challenge that I'm willing to take. It's so easy to live for someone else, and so hard to live for yourself. But you... you live for everyone, don't you? Living for everyone is the hardest of all."
Naruto grinned, reaching out his hand. "That's the only way I know."
Pein took his hand, a sign of the strange new brotherhood between them and smiled again, helping the boy to his feet. "Maybe I will learn to live for someone other than myself."
He took back his hand, giving a quick nod. Another figure was running to the scene, and her pink hair made her instantly recognizeable. Following behind was the silver haired ninja that Pein remembered to be Hatake Kakashi, the copy-nin. The two paused hesitantly at the edge of the field, staring around at all the dead ANBU and the three left on the field. Naruto turned to face them, waving them over, then looked back at Pein. The once-Leader had stiffened at the sight of the newcomers, but Naruto nodded to him reassuringly. They stayed put, waiting until Sakura and Kakashi both approached.
Kakashi was more interested in glancing at the dead Akatsuki member at Pein's feet, his visible eye widening in recognition. Uchiha Madara...! How was this even possible? His left hand tensed over his headband, ready to unveil his Sharingan but Pein held up his hand imperiously. "I have killed the traitor. He fooled the Akatsuki with his lies of glory and justice, and it's hard for me to admit that he had even me fooled. From the beginning he told us that ending the pain of war and strife would only come with the end of the world itself. Until now, I was convinced by his words." He glanced at Naruto, then back to Kakashi. "This one is a strange person, living not only for himself or for someone else, but rather both at the same time. Until now, I have lived only for myself and my vision for this world. Maybe... maybe there's something to living for something more."
The Konoha ninjas relaxed, and Kakashi nodded, his hand drifting from his headband back down to his side. "Leave it up to Naruto to make friends with everyone..."
Sakura glanced suspiciously at Pein, but when he didn't budge she moved to Naruto's side, seeing if he was alright. "Are you okay? Did they hurt you?"
Naruto grinned in his trademark jolly manner and nodded. "Don't worry, Sakura-chan, I won't die, I've gotta live long enough to be Hokage! No way am I going down now!"
Pein watched the exchange between the two, wondering what sort of connection, what kind of bonds the two had forged over the years. Was it anything like what he had with Konan? Could he ever look at her with complete innocence and integrity? He glanced back at her, his gaze softening. "Let's go, Konan." A smile playd across his lips, then across hers as they dashed out of sight.
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"I want to live for everyone too." Pein had been staring out at the rain from his window for a good hour, Konan watching with him silently. She turned to face him, the silence broken.
"You will, if that is what you wish." Her gaze was reassuring, her demeanor serene as always.
He turned to face her closely, his eyes searching hers. "I want to live for you too." Never had such an urge come up from within, and his hand raised to touch her cheek, lingering there as his gaze remained on her eyes.
She reached up and held his hand to her face, nodding slightly. "And I for you."
His heartbeat surged, and he impulsively asked the next question. "Do you love me?"
Her eyes widened suddenly, but softened just as quickly. "I did. I still do."
He wrapped his free arm around her waist, pulling her into another impulsive action, kissing her boldly. Something must have snapped between them, tearing down the boundaries that separated their hearts, dissolving the shy tension that had existed for years. Maybe it was their feelings for each other. But maybe... just maybe... it could have been the innocence of one young boy that caused him to think of someone other than himself.
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A/N: Enjoy? Yeah? No? Either way please R&R, I love your feedback!