A/N: A moment from Konan's life, reminiscing about one of her interactions with Yahiko. Iwrote this while listening to ''Saika'', track 4 of the second Shippuden OST. Enjoy!

Figment of memory

Konan's breathing was unusually slow. Lying as she was on her bed, she could barely lift her head without provoking the urge to vomit. Every bit of air that she exhaled seemed to give her nose a burning sensation, as if to much the one in her forehead. And yet, for all the heat she could feel on her face, her body felt strangely cold, almost to the point of shivering, even though she was underneath her blanket.

She was ashamed to admit it, but…

She was sick.

How exactly she had managed to catch a cold and have a temperature, was beyond her. After having spent virtually all her life in a country of constant rain, where the appearance of the sun was a rare phenomenon, she had never experienced so much as a sore throat. And yet now, for the first time in her 25-or-so years of life, it was as if her head had decided it would slowly melt from the inside.

Then again, she had come across a fever once before…

''So, what happened?'', asked Jiraiya with a worried look on his face.

''I-I… don't know sensei.'', stammered Nagato, averting his ripple-like eyes from Jiraiya.''One moment he was fine, and then suddenly he looked like he was going to collapse. I didn't know what to do…''

Jiraiya observed his spirited student in perhaps the most weakened state he had ever seen him. Yahiko lay on his futon completely devoid of energy, his breathing somewhat irregular, his eyes half-closed in fatigue and his cheeks visibly red. Nagato was almost shaking next to Jiraiya, visibly distraught by Yahiko's state, whereas as Konan's gaze seemed to wander between Jiraiya and her bedridden friend.

Jiraiya leaned over his orange-haired student and gently placed his hand on his forehead. His temperature was undoubtedly high, although he couldn't exactly pinpoint it by touch. The fact, however, that super-energetic Yahiko hadn't uttered a word so far, was not a good indication.

''Looks like he's got a fever…'' , murmured Jiraiya, but immediately regretted it. Nagato's face was hidden behind his red hair, but the experienced ninja was sure tears were forming in his eyes.

''It's nothing serious,'' Said Jiraiya, placing his hand on Nagato's arm. ''He'll be fin-''

''I'm perfectly fine, sensei…'', suddenly came Yahiko's answer. He seemed to be struggling to get up, his eyes still bloodshot and half-closed. ''I…I'm ready to go back to training anytime...''

Yahiko began coughing, prompting Jiraiya to push him back into his futon. ''Glad to see you're okay, but you'll have to take it easy for now.''

''Why!'' protested Yahiko immediately. ''I want to go train-''

''Ok fine...'', sighed his sensei, knowing how hard it was to argue with the hot blooded boy. ''But first, me and Nagato will go pick up a couple of herbs to make you feel better, right Nagato?''

Nagato nodded in relief, but Yahiko wasn't giving up. ''I don't wanna stay in bed-''

''SETTLE DOWN!'', barked Jiraiya, and Yahiko seemed to shrink in fear. ''YOU CAN START WORRYING ABOUT TRAINING AFTER YOU CAN STAND AGAIN!''

Konan let out a faint smile and an almost inaudible giggle. If Jiraiya-sensei was shouting at Yahiko, then he would definitely get better.

''Konan, you keep Yahiko company. Make sure you apply a wet towel on his forehead to lower his temperature, okay?''

Konan nodded in agreement, albeit a bit hesitantly, whereas Nagato gave his friends an uneasy look before following their sensei outside.

Little more than ten minutes later, Konan had placed a wet towel on her friend's forehead and had prepared a cup of green tea. Although she had never tried this before, having only watched their sensei make tea a few times, the result seemed acceptable enough. At the very least, she wouldn't have to fear poisoning Yahiko.

''Here you go'', she said offering the cup to him with a smile. ''This should make you feel better.''

Yahiko frowned, evidently displeased with his condition, but eventually sat himself up and took the cup in his hand.

''Thanks.'', he said grudgingly.

Konan's smile became wider. ''Only wait for it to cool a little-''

Too late. Yahiko had already gulped half the contents of the cup at once, and was now panting amazingly fast in an attempt to cool off his mouth and tongue.

''-because it's too hot.'', finished Konan, clearly taken aback by his carelessness. How could he even try to gulp boiling hot tea at once?

''Damn, Konan! What was THAT about! You almost killed me there!''

''Well, I was expecting you'd know better than to try to empty a boiling, hot tea cup…'', joked the girl. However, there was a small shred of guilt in her chest. ''Anyway, sorry about this… I'll go get you some water…''

''Whatever, forget about it.'', said Yahiko casually, dropping back on his pillow. The girl observed him for a few seconds, until she took a seat on the floor beside his futon and picked up his cup, holding it in her hands. Yahiko looked oddly pensive, his gaze fixated on the window across the room. ''Reason number 2 I hate the rain.''

''Huh?''

''It can give you a stupid cold and leave you bedridden with a searing pain in your brain. Doesn't get much worse than that…''

''But you'll get better soon. No reason to make such a fuss about it…''

The boy scowled, clearly distasting what Konan had just said. ''I can't afford getting sick all of a sudden. How am I supposed to get stronger if I'm messed up like this?''

The blue-haired girl gave Yahiko a questioning look. It really wasn't like him, scowling in self-pity like that. ''Well, now that Jiraiya-sensei has agreed to train us, we'll get stronger soon. We may even get to be as strong as Nagato.''

''Nagato, huh?'' Yahiko's gaze seemingly intensified for a moment, as if recalling something unpleasant. Could a simple cold and a fever really get someone into thinking like this? ''I guess he's stronger than us in spades… sure saved me from that Stone ninja back then…''

Konan suddenly gripped her cup of tea with a bit more force than necessary. She wasn't fond of recalling the time when her friends were attacked by a Stone ninja, and narrowly escaped thanks to Nagato. Even her red-haired friend himself didn't know how he'd managed to defeat their enemy, although Jiraiya-sensei seemed to be aware of something they were missing. However, she could understand how Yahiko was feeling. Any sense of weakness, or hopelessness, Konan knew, were things he hated. And this fever was exactly one of those.

''Nagato really believes in you. You saw how upset he was when you collapsed. He may be strong, but he still was on the verge of crying. If my guess is right, sensei went out with him to make him feel a little better. The way he is, he needs more support than you and me.''

Yahiko's eyes narrowed a little when they met her eyes and Konan was under the impression that they were reminiscing about the same thing. It was as if the sound of an explosion, the dying howl of Chibi and Nagato's crying echoed inside the room for a moment. The boy turned to her, but avoided meeting her eyes. ''You think so, huh?''

The girl nodded with her most convincing smile in place. Her friend turned to the window again, his expression having softened a little. ''I guess Nagato is a crybaby. That's why I'll have to get stronger soon. To be able to support and protect Nagato and fend for myself.'' His face darkened as he glared at the endless rain in dislike. ''Then, maybe when I rise at the top of the world, I'll get rid of this rain and this country can finally stop crying.''

Konan held back a laugh. Yahiko's big dream of world domination never left his thoughts, it seemed.

''ACHOO!''

The girl gave him a look filled with concern, but he simply wiped his nose with his sleeve and kept glaring at the window. ''First thing I'll do is give the rain a nasty cold. Then we'll be even.''

Konan didn't bother hiding her giggles this time. Apparently, her friend's 'eye for an eye' philosophy applied to even inanimate objects. ''The rain can't catch a cold, Yahiko.''

''Hey, don't ruin my dream, Konan!''

Konan's expression softened as she stopped laughing and her own gaze drifted into the rain. Yahiko really hated it, maybe because it reminded him of their own weakness. She never thought about it until she met the boy. To her, the endless pounding of the raindrops was just as natural as her blue hair. The only thing she had ever heard about the rain was something her mother used to say when she was still alive.

''Did you know, Yahiko?'', she said after reverting her gaze back to him. He was looking at her curiously.'' They say the raindrops are the tears of God, who weeps for this war-torn world…''

Yahiko looked straight into Konan's eyes and gave her his genuine, confident smile. ''Well, that's a lame god! When I become one, I'm going to stop all that crying and end the fighting for good!''

Konan couldn't help but smile too. ''Yeah, but you'll have to get better first, so rest.''

''I guess so.'' And much to the girl's surprise, he rested his head on his pillow obediently and handed her the wet towel. ''I did promise to become stronger and make you eat your words, after all. Can't do it if I my head is boiling.''

For a moment, the girl didn't understand what he was talking about, nor why his smile seemed to resemble Jiraiya-sensei's smile all of a sudden. But then, she recalled the time when their sensei had agreed to teach them ninjutsu.

''Thanks for saving me, Nagato. Sorry I called you a weakling. If anything happens, I'll be the one to save you!''

''Oh, but isn't Nagato stronger than you, Yahiko?''

''Hey! I'll start training and become stronger! I'll make you eat those words, Konan!''

At the thought of that day, Konan smiled subconsciously, making a mental note to tease Yahiko more often. She slowly rose from the floor, heading for the door. Her friend needed rest, and she thought it would be better if she left the room to him for now. She should be able to kill some time making origami in the other room, at least until sensei and Nagato came back.

''Konan?''

The girl's hand was already on the doorknob when she heard him. ''Yes?''

''When I get stronger, I'll definitely protect you, too. And if you ever get in a bind like, let's say a cold, I'll take care of you.''

Konan was under the impression his face had been painted a darker shade of red, but he was hidden under his blanket and couldn't say for sure. Although, she thought while smiling playfully, I doubt something like that will ever happen. Up until now, Yahiko was always jumping head-first into trouble and danger, usually without thinking. If nothing else, the way things seemed to be with him, she predicted she'd end up bandaging his wounds. However, she didn't have to mention this to him.

''Right.'', was all she said and left the room.

Konan...Thanks.

Looks like I was right after all.

After all her reminiscing of that time, Konan couldn't help but think that. After Jiraiya-sensei left them and they had been in charge of themselves, she had lost count of how many times she had bandaged a messed up Yahiko, either after a dangerous patrol, or an attack by enemy ninja. It was as if he would come back even more battered every time. This was also the only activity in which Nagato never helped her with, leaving her to take care of Yahiko's injuries alone. Thinking back with her eyes closed, maybe it was intentional of him.

However, she had never been in a bind where she needed Yahiko's medical attention, probably because she was the one occupying that role in their team. At least when it came to Yahiko.

Then again, when she was in the greatest bind of her life, he chose to save her and died for that. Without a second thought, without even remotely risking her life or safety, he chose to die.

Ironically, she had spent every day of her life wishing that Yahiko would have just taken care of her during something simple like a cold, instead of having to die so she and Nagato could survive.

The searing pain in her head wouldn't stop and she really didn't want to open her eyes. In happier times, she would wonder how in the world ninjutsu, which allowed ninja to summon gigantic animals, travel miles within seconds and even allowed her to turn into the origami she had always loved, was unable to cure something as simple as a cold or a fever. But now the illusion had been shattered. She had seen how limited ninjutsu was. Even Nagato, the person she herself now called a God, couldn't do anything when faced with the choice of letting her die or killing Yahiko. If the legendary Rinnegan was unable to prevent the hell they had been through, then the inability to get rid of a cold didn't surprise her the least.

''Looks like you have a fever.''

Konan was clearly taken aback by the sound of the male voice. In any other case, she would have split into a thousand paper pieces, expecting an attack. But the heat in her brain wouldn't let her open her eyes, much less use her powers. Something ice-cold landed on her forehead, the difference in temperature with her own skin astonishing.

She slowly opened her eyes, and managed to make the outline of a familiar face. Orange, spiky hair, a headband of the Hidden Rain Village with a horizontal scratch and violet eyes with ripple-like patterns.

The Deva Path.

''I'll be fine by tomorrow'', said Konan, trying to suppress a cough. ''I should be able to seal the Five-Tails-''

''Rest.'', was all Nagato said through the Deva Path. He removed the ice-cold hand from her forehead, and applied a soaked towel instead. It was a comforting sensation, somewhat easing the searing pain.

Konan knew Nagato wouldn't want to argue, and she didn't have the capacity to say a lot. ''Don't strain yourself too much.'', she simply said.

The Deva Path had already turned his back and made his way to the door. ''I'm leaving the Animal Path with you. If anything happens, he will summon me.''

Konan's amber eyes followed the Deva Path until he left the room. It seemed Nagato had been more insightful about her and Yahiko than she had realised. And now she also knew that a cold and a fever really could get someone into strange thinking. Especially if you are a captive of your memories.

For a moment, she thought he was Yahiko.