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"Failure"
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Pein stood hunched over, panting and bleeding profusely. All of his other Aspects lay in various corners of the landscape, all dead, blood pooling outward as their vacant eyes stared out at the horizon. He clutched his chest, his lungs filling with fluid and blood gushing out over his fingers. His mind blurred, hazy and going into the final state of numbness, blocking out the excruciating pain in these final moments he had. His rapidly darting eyes focused on one Konoha nin, then another, counting more than five. But the one that held his interest was this boy in front of him, the one that dealt this rasengan into his chest. Naruto... huh? So this was the power of the fearsome Kyuubi.
He struggled to stay on his feet, determined not to die on his knees. But his eyes widened in shock when he looked to his left and found that Konan had also been defeated while he was distracted, and she lay dying, watching him intently. He couldn't help but wonder if he was the last thing she intended to see. But why? Even now, his emotions were a confused mess, now that he finally had use of them. Konan... his companion for as long as he could remember, the only one that knew everything about him, the one he ever felt a close connection to. She didn't deserve to die like this. Not without him to be there for her, to tell her that everything would be alright.
Ignoring the angry boy still anxious to fight him, he staggered, one painful step at a time, ignoring the fire in his lungs, ignoring the other ninjas as they tensed. They could do whatever they wanted, he thought. Even if they killed him, he was determined to at least die on his way to her, to tell her one last thing he never had the courage to say. But surprisingly, the other ninjas watched him curiously. Were they wondering why the heartless leader seemed to be tending to his comrade? Were they wondering if somewhere, somehow, he had regained his heart? Were they going to allow him enough time to tell her?
After what seemed forever, he had struggled to her side, finally allowing himself to collapse next to her, watching her pale eyes shoot to his, tears welling up for the first time since she was a child. Somehow, in their last moments, all shrouds were dropped. They acted the way they used to, so long ago. Pein reached out for her hand, clutching at anything he could remember, his own hypnotic gray eyes crying for both of them. Her fingers intertwined with his, and she smiled, speaking quietly.
"Pein... you're crying."
He smiled feebly, not caring if he cried. He'd do this for her, he would show her that he had feeling yet. "You're crying too, Konan."
But she smiled back, nodding. Somehow the pain slipped away, and all that was left was this moment between them.
He edged as close as his failing body could bear, and he managed to get out enough of a whisper to say what he hadn't been able to before. "I always loved you, Konan."
Her eyes widened with shock, but then softened. "I know." She squeezed his hand, showing that she loved him just as much all these years. In some small way, this was her permission to let go of this life that had been so hard on them. He wanted to leave this behind, to go into the afterlife with her looking so innocent. She looked like that angel she had portrayed for so long. Her eyes closed as she smiled, and he smiled back, both their hands relaxing as the final sleep stole their souls away.
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That's the end. Yeah. I know, really short, but interesting. You know the drill, R&R, request future fics if you want.