A/N: I hope you enjoy! Reviews are loved!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
"Don't worry, I promise we'll be perfectly alright. Trust me…"
With a loud, resounding gasp, the sweet anesthesia of sleep was broken. Bloodshot eyes stared up at the ceiling, trying to blink away the images that still appeared so clearly before them. Not once had the lone male inside the cell been able to close his eyes without seeing them and hearing his own words thrown back at him. It was like a fresh stab in the chest every time. He'd contemplated the possibility that the prison's food was drugged with something that caused the vivid dreams, but never got very far in his muddled, sleepy thoughts. The whole past few weeks were nothing but a blur. He remembered darkness, and a lot of it, while he was going in and out of consciousness. The reason for that must've been drugs or injections of some sort, and he had a vague recollection of fighting off a medic who'd attempted to dose him with something. The unconsciousness was like a dreamless sleep, one that he had to fight to awake from. It was hard to sort out the memories from the hallucinations, which he did as he attempted to piece together the events of the past couple weeks.
The one thing he remembered most of all was pain. The Konoha interrogation officials had made sure he was fully awake for every one of their torture sessions. They'd injected a stimulant of some sort into him, which prevented him from passing out, no matter how much physical agony he was in. Each session brought new surprises, and new levels of pain. They'd made sure the memories weren't just engraved into his mind, but onto his skin as well. Each mark was like another piece of the puzzle, and he could remember exactly what had caused each one. His chest, which was bare at the time of his awakening, was adorned with various scars and scorch marks. A few stab wounds were scattered about as well, mainly on his abdomen and stomach. His arms and legs had cuts all over, and scabs were forming on the older ones. Most of his body was black and blue, with his true skin color peeking through only occasionally. His face was in better shape than most of him, aside from the black eye. There were only one or two bruises there, as well as heavy, dark shadows beneath his reddened eyes. A few of his piercings had been forcibly removed, and both those and the ones that remained had grown pink with infection.
Although there wasn't a single bandage on his body, he could tell there were more than a few broken bones. As he attempted to move just a bit, he discovered the most painful ones were on his upper body, especially the couple of broken ribs. A soft groan escaped his scabbed lips after assessing this damage, as the pain coursed through his body once more. He was incredibly sore, and the slightest pressure on his bruises caused a protest of agony to emerge from his nerves.
Soft gasps and grunts breached the otherwise silent atmosphere, before finally, the orange-haired man had successfully risen a hand to his throbbing forehead. As expected, he felt sudden moisture on his hand, no doubt caused by the beads of sweat that'd appeared during his slumber. With some effort, he managed to wipe away the locks of hair that'd been sticking to his skin and hampering his vision. The world spun in and out of focus for the first couple of minutes after his awakening, but finally, the spinning and blurring had ceased. His eyes swept around the unfamiliar area. He'd already figured out it was a jail, but hadn't paid attention to any specifics. The jail cell wasn't one he'd been in before, so it could only be assumed that he'd been relocated. For what possible reason, he couldn't guess. Of course, that could simply have been because he was still having trouble thinking straight. His headache was intense, and the dizziness nauseating. The combination didn't make for a clear mind, or easy thinking.
The first observation the heavily pierced male made was that the room was dark. It hadn't, as he'd previously assumed, just been an effect of his recent awakening. The lighting was dim and scarce, and didn't provide a good heat source. The temperature of the jail was relatively low, and his skin erupted in goosebumps as a sudden chill ran through him. He moved his hand around the hard surface he was laying upon, searching for a blanket. He soon discovered there wasn't one, nor was there a pillow. The hard surface was actually a mattress that was set upon the ground, making for an uncomfortable bed. The only other things in the cell were a small, broken table and a toilet in the corner opposite the bed. There was no clock, no chairs, nor any water sources within the room.
After the ex-rain ninja was finished making his observations on the inside of the cell, he slowly moved his aching neck so that he could peer in the other direction. The room only had three walls, he noticed, and instead of a fourth, there were bars. It was, in his opinion, very cliché, and very outdated. But what position was he in to complain? He also noticed that there were many other cells close together in the room, and that the hallway was narrow.
Not a very intelligent design, he thought. The fact that they were taking such risks with a prisoner of his caliber could only mean one thing. This room was used only after the torture being carried out on it's occupant was finished, and the prisoner unable to escape. And if the torture was finished, then there was only one last thing for them to do to him. He was waiting on death row, and his executioner would soon come to fetch him.
It was a bittersweet realization. While it meant the end of the suffering he'd been put through, it also meant the end of his life. If only he could be granted one last time to speak with the one he loved, if only he had one more chance to set things right…no doubt these were the things all prisoners facing death thought in their final moments. He was no exception.
"Pein? Pein, is that you?"
No…could it be? It was so convenient, that even after hearing that familiar voice, the former Akatsuki leader still couldn't believe it. He blinked his spiral eyes a few times, moving his neck a bit and shifting his position on the bed, letting out a few pained grunts in the process. What he saw confirmed it, and for the first time in a long while, he felt genuine joy bubble up inside him. There she sat in the cell across from his, beautiful even when scarred.
"Konan…" His voice was but a hoarse whisper, his weary eyes staring straight at her. Seeing her was the only thing that could improve his mood during this dismal situation. He looked at her beautifully pale flesh, scarred and bruised by the devices of the Konoha ninjas. Her blue hair was knotty and ragged, and her origami flower had long ago been lost. It didn't matter much to Pein, though. Even at her worse, there was no sight more spectacular than that of his blue-haired partner. He watched as her wide eyes watered with tears, which he hoped were of joy as well as sorrow.
"It's so good to see you, Pein…" She said, her voice cracking as she did so. A sob escaped her lips, and her tears ran down her cheeks and spilled onto the floor, staining it with tiny, dark dots. "I've missed you so much." The origami mistress added, her voice shaking as much as her body. It made him want to do something to help their situation, and it was just that much more frustrating when he realized he could do nothing. He couldn't touch her, couldn't comfort her, and couldn't help her. All he could do was talk to her. Perhaps that was all it would take.
"I've missed you too." He said, wincing as his sore throat protested. He fell silent as he thought about the dream he'd had just minutes ago, and his partner made no move to break the silence between them. Finally, he decided to speak up about the thoughts that'd been haunting him.
"I'm sorry, Konan. I promised you nothing would go wrong, and that we'd be okay. You put your trust in me, and I failed you. I was supposed to protect you, and keep the both of us safe. And now we're here…" He trailed off, in case she hadn't figured out yet that they were waiting there to die. He thought then about that fateful day. It felt like decades ago now, and yet it was still so clear. They'd gone off into enemy territory, which they'd both known was dangerous. But he'd been so confident that he could take on anyone, that he hadn't done the proper thing and retreated when it proved to be too risky. It was his fault they were trapped here, and he knew it.
"They'll be coming soon, won't they?" She asked. "This is just our residence until they kill us, isn't it?" Pein's childhood friend stared at him with expectant eyes, and he could see the knowledge behind them. Despite the fact that she'd worded it in questions, she already knew that they were going to be killed. He stayed silent, and did nothing but nod in response.
"It'll probably be soon. I doubt they'd risk keeping us here for long." He said quietly after a few seconds. Why hadn't she responded to his apology? Could it be that she didn't forgive him? These questions and more raced through the battered man's mind. As it turned out, he didn't have to wait long for the answers.
"Then we don't have the time to waste on things like blame and guilt. These are our last hours together, if we even have that much time. I don't want to spend this time thinking about what should have been." Konan said. Her voice was growing stronger, and her tears were beginning to slow to a halt. It seemed her own words were having an effect on her. Pein nodded again, in complete agreement. He'd deeply desired to be able to speak with her one last time like this, so there was no point in spending their short while together feeling so guilt-wracked.
"You're right." The auburn-haired male responded. He knew what he had to do next, and the very thought of it brought stark terror to the traumatized man. Regardless of this fear, he began to move. A creaking sound pierced the air as the tight mattress springs groaned in protest. His body ached with each new movement, and absolutely screamed as he tried to use his arms to push his body up from it's laying position. His muscles throbbed as he used the small bit of strength he could gather to accomplish his task. Unfortunately, he wasn't very successful.
"Pein!" The origami mistress cried as her partner's arms gave out from beneath him, causing him to fall from his position above the mattress, and onto the hard, concrete ground. His lips parted, and his jaw lowered itself painfully, but no scream came out. Instead, he let out an odd sound that was somewhere between a muffled moan and a tortured yelp. It felt as if sandpaper was grinding against the inside of his throat, and his breathing came fast and labored. His eyes were shut tight as he waited for the pain to subside, and he managed not to make a sound as he did so. He knew that emitting even the slightest bit of noise would throw him into another fit of agony. Finally, after a minute or so, the feeling passed. There was still an ache in his throat, but it was nothing compared to what it had been just seconds ago. His body was sprawled out on the ground, but luckily, he'd fallen onto his stomach. However, that did cause his broken ribs discomfort, and the agony from them wasn't just going to dull down in time.
This didn't hinder his determination at all, though. If anything, these injuries fueled it. He'd already gotten this far; he might as well go the rest of the way. He moved his arms out in front of him with painstaking slowness, and pressed them down onto the cold floor. The exhausted muscles in his arms throbbed as he did this, and it only worsened with his next move.
Using his arms, he pulled the rest of his body forward in a pathetic crawl. His exposed stomach and ribs scraped against the ground, causing the already intense aching to escalate. Finally, the bars were within arms reach, and he inched his body forward, until finally he gripped the freezing, metal pole with one hand. Then, he repeated the process with his other hand, grabbing the bar beside it to pull him right up in front of the bars that blocked his exit. Now it was time for the really tricky part.
He removed his hands from the rusty poles and placed them on the ground. Once again, he had to call on the almost completely drained energy he had left in order to push himself upwards. His arms threatened to give out beneath him, but he persevered, until finally he was able to pull in his legs and push the rest of his body upwards so that he ended up in a kneeling position. Then, he grabbed the bars again, and set his eyes on Konan.
His partner gazed at him with a petrified expression, the worry evident in her wide eyes. The past few minutes had passed by with incredible slowness, and it was a miracle the injured man had even been able to move off the bed, let alone get to where he'd ended up. His chest rose and fell with each heavy breath, and sweat poured down him. All that physical exertion had paid quite the toll on his body, and it showed outwardly more than he would've liked.
"Konan…" Pein whispered, unsure of what exactly he wanted to say. For so many years now, he'd kept every single emotion bottled up inside of him. He'd faced the world with an emotionless demeanor, and fooled even himself into believing the charade. But now, all those feelings were pouring out, and he didn't even care. His only regret was that he hadn't let it happen earlier, and that all those years had left him without the ability to put those feelings into words. He had no idea what to say, or how to word his thoughts. There was simply no way to truly describe what he wanted to express.
"Yes, Pein?" Konan whispered in return, her body still trembling violently, more so now than before. There was at least a full minute of silence between the two as the pierced male desperately searched for the words to say to her. Finally, he realized that words alone wouldn't do. Whatever this was that he wanted to show her, it was too big to be confined to the vocabulary of man. He wasn't even sure it could be shown. However, that wouldn't stop him from trying.
It turned out his arms weren't going to get much time to rest up. Even as he began to move them only slightly, they made their complaints known. The only positive side to this was that it took his mind off his aching legs, which were being painfully pressed upon by the weight of his body. The male closed his eyes again, trying to concentrate on lifting up his right arm. Finally, he'd brought it up from its previous position. The rest wouldn't be so simple. Now it was time for the real agony to begin. He twisted his body so that the right side of it was against the cold bars of the cell, and he began to move his arm through the small space between two of the poles. Unable to help it, a short sound escaped his throat, causing another spasm of anguish to pulse through it. When that had subsided, he continued with his task. He moved his arm farther and farther through the bars, until it was all the way out of the cell. He gazed at the hallway between their two cells, and realized that this wasn't enough. He twisted his upper body again, causing a fresh bout of agony to rip through his ribcage, and tried to move his shoulder through the space as well. It didn't fit well, and he had to force most of his shoulder blade through. Which, of course, was also very painful. Finally, he'd breached the distance necessary, and gazed once more upon his partner. Surely, she understood what he was doing.
The whole time, Konan had been simply been watching with a shocked expression as he continued to put himself through even more torture. Yet, when their gazes locked, she seemed to understand. She let out a very unladylike grunt as she moved her arm through the bars in front of her as well. She didn't have as large a reach, due to her shorter and slighter frame, but she managed to close the distance between them. Their hands found each other, and their fingers laced together. Each of them gripped the other's hand tightly, and their respective knuckles were shockingly white, even through the bruises. Their gazes locked again, and they spent the next several minutes doing nothing but looking into one another's eyes, until finally, Pein broke the silence.
"Konan, I didn't think I was ever going to see you again." He said, visibly pained as each word formed in and escaped his sore throat.
"I didn't think I'd ever see you again either…" She said, new tears welling up in her beautifully blue eyes.
"And during the time I thought this, I realized that there's really only one big thing that I'd regret from this early death." He continued, speaking each word as they popped into his mind. He was a man who always thought things out in advance, and so he wasn't quite used to this spontaneous behavior. But it seemed to be working, and the things he was saying were more real than anything he could've planned.
"Konan…I should've told you this a long time ago, and I know this isn't exactly the best time…but it's the only time." He said softly, his rinnegan eyes reflecting some sorrow as he spoke, continuing to gaze straight into her eyes.
"What is it, Pein?" The female across from him asked, her grip on his hand tightening.
"My angel…" He whispered. "I love you. I always have…ever since we were children…"
There was so much emotion poured into just these few sentences, and his eyes began to dampen as well. Konan closed her eyes; the tears spilling down her cheeks faster than ever now. She let out a soft sob, and her grip on Pein's hand tightened even more. It was beginning to hurt his hand quite a bit, but he didn't even notice the pain anymore. It was as if he'd suddenly been liberated, and all the agony of his physical self was now insignificant. He didn't notice the aches anymore, nor the screaming pain that rang through each nerve in his body. All that he cared about now, all that mattered, was his beloved Konan.
"Pein…" She sobbed, before gaining control of herself at last. She took a few more quick breaths as the tears began to slow, before parting her soft lips and uttering her answer.
"I love you too. You're the only thing in my life that matters. I've wanted to hear those words from you for so long, and even dreamed about them…" She whispered. "I want to spend all of eternity with you."
Pein felt the corners of his lips twitch upwards for the first time in so long. A genuine smile crossed his face, and his eyes shimmered. The strong male spilled no tears, but for the first time since his childhood, the signs of being on the verge of doing so showed. His eyes glimmered with wetness, and it distorted the circular pattern of his eyes in an almost hypnotic way.
"I'll find you, Konan. You can count on that. When we've both perished, I'll stop at nothing to search for you. Forever…we'll be together forever, my angel…" He said, causing his partner to give him a minute grin.
"You won't have to search, my love. I'll be there, waiting for you." She said, her voice cracking with emotion.
"My angel…" Pein whispered.
"My god…" His beloved one replied.
As if to bring an end to the absolute perfection of the moment, footsteps resounded through the jail. Could the executioner really be here so soon? Surprisingly, Pein found that he truly didn't care what the answer was. He'd just settled the last regret that'd been bothering him. Sure, he would never complete his life's work, and never carry out his goal to create world peace. The thing was, he'd come to terms with that shortly after being captured. As of then, he was at peace with himself and everything else. His life may have been coming to an early end, but it didn't even matter to him now. He couldn't wait to be set free.
The guard who walked down the narrow hallway was a tall, awkward-looking young man. He wore the standard uniform of the Konoha police force, and carried no food or water. There was only one purpose for him being here, and that was to lead the two to their execution. The male approached Pein's cell, and stared at the former Akatsuki leader with widened, shocked eyes. It seemed to Pein that the guard must've been new, to react like he did. In fact, everything the man did, from his stride to his posture, indicated that he was a rookie.
"Sir, what are you doing?" The guard asked nervously. Pein tilted his head a bit, as he looked at the newcomer. The smile was still on his bruised, tired face, and his eyes were wide and bloodshot. That, combined with the heavy bags under his eyes and the inflamed, infected piercings, must've made for quite the sight. In fact, the auburn-hair male looked downright mad. No wonder the rookie was so nerve-wracked.
"Why, I was speaking with my lovely Konan-chan of course." Pein answered, before erupting in a long bout of laughing that bordered on hysterics. It caused his ribs to ache once again in protest, but he no longer noticed. "Can't you see that?"
The guard blinked a few times, staring at the cage opposite the powerful prisoner's. He stared there for a few long seconds, before looking back to Pein.
"Konan? Who's Konan?" He asked. The other male responded by scoffing at the guard's utter incompetence.
"My partner! The girl who was captured along with me." Pein explained, unable to believe that this fool had been assigned such an important role. The guard looked shocked at this answer, and it took a bit for him to compose himself. When he finally did, he was shaking a bit, and his expression was one of terror and uneasiness.
"Pein-san…" He said shakily, making sure to keep his distance from the dangerous prisoner. "The female who was captured alongside you is dead. You were present at the execution, remember?"
Suddenly, Pein's hand fell to the floor, as he realized that he was grasping nothing but air. The cell across from his was empty, with no trace that an occupant had been there. His smile faded, and he stared blankly at the spot where Konan had just been.
Dead…my angel's dead…No…how can that be?
Images flashed before him, and the painful memories he'd subconsciously suppressed emerged at last. The Konoha officials strapping him down after a long session of torture…him being forced to look through a two-way mirror into the execution room…seeing Konan laying down on a table of some sort…the slow and painful execution…his unheard screams…all of it was now so clear. She'd died before his very eyes.
"No…" He whispered, his whole body trembling now. "That can't be…" He'd been speaking to her just seconds ago, he was sure of it. It had to be real, and he was convinced it had been no mere illusion.
"No, it's true…she's definitely dead." Pein said to himself, before focusing on the guard again. "But she paid me a visit. I saw her, just a couple of minutes ago. She was really here, to pay me one last visit. An angel…" He wasn't even aware of how crazy his claim sounded, and that strained grin was back on his face once more. He was sure that it had been Konan he'd been speaking to. It'd been a visitor from heaven. The experience felt no less real to him, nor did the words he and his partner had exchanged. Hadn't she said she'd wait for him? Now he was going to join her in the heavens, and they'd be together again at last.
"Please take me away now…" He said with unnerving serenity to the guard. "I want to go to the executioner. I'm ready to die." The other male nodded and complied with his request, fetching the key with his shaking hand. Then, he unlocked the cell door, before quickly retreating backwards a few feet, as if expecting the prisoner to harm him. Instead, Pein got to his feet, standing up straight. He felt nothing but numbness as he exerted this onto his stressed muscles. The smile was gone once more, and was now replaced with a look of utmost serenity. He took a few steps out of the cell and over to the one across from his. He looked around it, convinced that his 'heavenly visitor' had occupied it.
"Konan…I'm on my way. Wait for me…" He said quietly, before looking down to his feet. He let out an almost inaudible gasp at what he saw. There, on the concrete ground, a few dots of water stained the ground, in the exact same place he'd seen Konan's tears fall. She had been there…the thought brought glee to his face, and the sight of it caused the guard to approach him.
"Pein-san, sir…it's time we get going." He said. Much to his surprise, the other man didn't protest.
"Yes, let's go." Pein agreed. It was time he freed himself of this mortal body, and he wanted nothing more than to take his place in the heavens alongside his angel.
The guard turned around and nervously began to lead the way out, glancing back often to make sure the prisoner was still compliant. Pein followed after willingly, exiting the room and heading off to his death. Neither of them noticed that the rain that was pouring down wasn't quite natural, nor that the roof had a leak. A few raindrops dripped from the ceiling and into the prison, staining the ground by Pein's former cell.
"I'll be there, waiting for you …"
They looked exactly like teardrops.
A/N: Now that you've read it, I'd appreciate feedback very much! My apologies if the summary was misleading, I'm not very good at those, and if the story was lacking...but regardless, please review!