Disclaimer: None of the characters and places belong to me. I just burrowed them to play a bit.

Author's Note: Spoilers for those who haven't read Naruto up to chapter 511. This one-shot is about a flashback Konan is havening before Madara kills her. It's my attempt to explain how Madara first got involved with the Ame-Orphans.
I always liked Konan a lot, so it's mainly about her character and feelings.

Words dyed in Darkness

The rain was still falling fast and heavy. Her whole body had become somehow numb. She didn't really care about the pain anymore; it all seemed kind of dizzy and far away now. Only one question was burning in her mind, very clear and very painful.
Had it really been his plan all along?
Konan choked. She hated the thought, it couldn't be true. There was no way Yahiko and Nagato had died for his plan, that they had been merely puppets in some evil scheme. How could it have been Madara, controlling them? Nagato and her had met Madara Uchiha long after Yahiko had died, after they had formed the group called "Akatsuki".
No. That wasn't right. An unwelcome image entered her mind. A foggy memory form years ago... They had met him before and it had been her who had brought him to her two best friends. It was strange how, now that she was going to die, things started to connect and make sense.

If someone had asked Konan before that day if it was possible to fall in love with someone's voice, she would have rolled her eyes. She was and had always been reasonable and realistic. Nagato and Yahiko, they had always been the dreamers, the idealists; not her.
And about love, Konan had been very certain as well. She loved Yahiko and Nagato. And there was a reason she did so, it made sense. She had been alone, sad and hungry before she had met Yahiko. He had looked after her, protected her and most importantly, had made her laugh. When she had met Nagato, she was the one to do the saving and protecting at the beginning. It had made her feel to be worth something. After that Nagato had also started to protect her, he had always been very kind, had always listened to her when she needed to talk.
It had been Yahiko she had eventually started to crush on. It had seemed only reasonable to her. Yahiko had been a bigger contrast to her compared to Nagato, who was like her, quiet and less self confident. Yahiko had always been the leader, the strong guy and he had made an effort to impress Konan. It had made sense.

But that man, who had suddenly appeared out of the rain, tall, lean, with a long dark traveling-cloak and a hood, which had covered his whole face, had made no sense at all. There was no way that someone who had a voice like that could possibly be bad news. No way. There was no way that a voice alone could make her knees go weak and make her blush the whole time, no way. But she was proven wrong.
Konan had managed to get her hands on some food and was heading back the muddy streets of a rundown district of Amegakure. They had recently been joined by other young people who tried to rebel against Hanzou, so they needed more food than before. Yahiko had become the leader of their small group. The thought of Yahiko, his face alight with hope and his eyes burning with the will to fight, made her flush for a moment. And suddenly she saw it. A tall figure emerging from the mist, was striding towards her. Konan grabbed the Kunai she carried in her pouch, just in case. The man was hooded, his face was completely concealed, but a few curls of long, black spiky hair fell down over his shoulders.
Konan stopped, ready to defend herself if necessary.
"I wonder if you could help me?", the man asked and Konan forgot all about defending herself. Never had she heard a voice like that. Yahiko's voice was loud and convincing, it was warm, just like his eyes, reassuring. Nagato's voice was soft and quiet, always comforting. But this voice was the most beautiful thing she had ever heard. Deep and silky, firm but not too loud, like water, strong but composed, or maybe more like wind, weightless, fleeting… Konan heard herself answer "Sure."

"Thank you, young lady. Let me help you with that." Without waiting for a response he took the heavy bags filled with food out of her arms. Konan tried to protest, but found herself unable to utter a sound.
"Would you know of a talented young man, who leads a rebel group in this city?" the man asked. Konan's inner voice of reason screamed not to answer. This man could be working for Hanzou, she should escape right now. But she stayed.
"Why do you want to know?" she asked, desperate to hear this captivating voice again, hoping she didn't sound rude. The man laughed. It sounded delightful, truly amused, but also a bit frightening. "Oh, I'm sorry. Since long I'm looking for an opportunity to overthrow the dreadful regime of Hanzou. I heard of a group of rebels who managed to withstand him for quite some time now. I got curious."
Konan wanted to believe he told the truth, she wanted it so badly. She stared at the man trying to make out his face. She wondered how old he was. She couldn't tell by the sound of his voice. Surely he was beautiful. He had to be, how could he not?
Konan tried to focus. "I know him, but I can't bring you to him. He wouldn't want it." she said with a huge effort. Please, let him stay anyway, she thought desperately.
"I understand." The stranger's voice was the softest purr, reassuring, placid. "Maybe you could ask him to meet me at a place he suggests?"
Konan nodded. That was alright. What harm could be done? She preformed her special origami jutsu and sent a butterfly baring a message to Yahiko.
"I'll wait here with you, if that's alright." Konan croaked, her voice sounded unusual harsh and unpleasant in her own perception. The hooded man agreed.
They sat down on a dirty, broken down wall while the rain dashed down on them, but Konan hardly noticed. She didn't know how long they sat there. The voice of silk and wind told her about far away countries and long lost wars and kindled a desire in her to travel, to conquer. And she noticed how she began to talk as well, her feelings flowing out of her without stop and she told him things she didn't even tell Nagato or Yahiko. And the voice of wind soothed her and encouraged her, floating around her, drying the tears that began falling down her cheeks.
Yahiko arrived far too soon. With him were two of the other rebels and Nagato. Yahiko's face was worried at first, but it changed as soon as he saw that Konan was well, not in trouble but happier than he had seen her in a long time. He walked off with the cloaked stranger, deep in conversation. As soon as she couldn't hear his voice anymore, doubt began to grow in Konan's insight like a nameless darkness. She leaned closer to Nagato who also watched his face calm but slightly fearful. But no warmth Nagato could give her could suffice to loosen the grip of ice-cold fear clenched around her pounding heart.

Konan had noticed it had been a mistake to lead the stranger to Yahiko the very next day. Not because she had been able to see the dreadful consequences it would have. But because she was jealous. Yahiko had always told her everything. All his plans he confided in her, his ideals, his wildest dreams. Yet he said nothing about his conversation with the stranger. The stranger, she had found. His beautiful voice had been hers alone. Yahiko had taken the stranger's voice from her and the stranger Yahiko's trust. Konan felt cheated. And slightly scared.

But it wasn't until now that she realized the full extent of her mistake. They should have never got involved with him. He was Madara. He was darkness.
She could see part of his face now. His mask was shattered. There was nothing beautiful about him. Nothing. Years and evil thoughts had scared him deeply.
Only his voice was still captivating. He was talking to her now.
But Konan had been wrong about his voice as well. It wasn't like the wind; more like boiling hot water, burning her while she suffocated. She couldn't make out the words he said anymore. She was just falling, drowning in words dyed with darkness.

Thanks for reading! It's a bit rushed at the end, sorry. I'd love it if you told me what you think about it.