What even is life I s2g.

Hello everyone! 'Tis I, the Konan fangirl who just can't give it up.

I was driving home from work the other day and was bowled over with an idea for an AU, so I wanted to try some loose sketching just to see what would happen. Let me know what y'all think (this hasn't been polished, so I'm looking for comments as to ideas or characterizations).

Direct credit for the Kisame-joins-Hidden-Rain idea goes to Remember my name by Kind of a big deal.

Naruto and all its nonsense belongs to Kishimoto.

"My people could use a protector like you."

"A protector, huh? Nobody's called me that before."

The look she sent up at him was nearly blank, except for a hint of a smile. "Rain shinobi do not forget their own; you are welcome here."

Kisame grinned back at her.

Itachi showed up in her office some time later, a dripping umbrella held in one hand.

"You owe me a favor," he said. He did not say for what, but they both knew what he meant. She nodded once. "Let me live here."

Life in Hidden Rain moves on with these new refugees. At his request, she hands Itachi off to the head of trainees at the hospital, and watches from a distance as he absorbs himself in the study of healing; Kisame comes and goes from her office, dripping on the floor, telling her about his missions; she is the only person he can report to.

Occasionally, Sasuke shows up.

Konan knows better than to ask her people to restrain him. Instead, she addresses Itachi – "Keep it outside of the city, next time."

One night, he appears – soaked with rain and some kind of alcohol, and if there were tears on his face, they were washed away on the journey here – and stands in Itachi's foyer, the door open behind him, screaming obscenities, too drunk to attack, the Sharingan whirling in and out of his eyes as he attempts to focus.

Konan and Kisame materialize in the shadows behind Itachi, their faces blank and their stances neutral. Sasuke's rolling eyes land on them, and he sneers – "You can't even take an insult by yourself anymore you have to call your faithful hound and this bitch –"

"Kisame is not a dog, Konan-sama is not a bitch," says Itachi, the first thing he's said since this evening's flow of bile began.

"Oh, you'll say something to defend them, but not to your brother, you traitor, you scumfuck, you piece of absolute shit –"

A dog sniffing the ground enters the room, and as soon as he lays eyes on Sasuke, he looks over his shoulder and yells at somebody outside – "He's in here!"

A man with large eyebrows runs in, closely followed by Naruto Uzumaki. Sasuke turns slowly, sees his teammate, and reaches for a sword that isn't there. The motion upsets his equilibrium, and in quick order, he turns grey, then green, and leans over to vomit onto the wooden floor. The man with the eyebrows makes use of this opening to knock Sasuke out, and hoist him over his shoulders.

"Our deepest apologies, Lady," he says, miming a bow to Konan so as not to shift Sasuke's weight. Konan steps forward, past Itachi, and stares up at him, amber eyes steely. "Someday, my patience with your friend will run out," she says, voice quiet.

"Understood," he replies, and leaves, edging out through the door and back into the downpour.

Naruto bows deeply to Konan. "Lady. The Hokage sends his apologies." He digs underneath his jacket and produces a crumpled, damp piece of paper, which he unfolds and offers. Konan does not reach for it; rather, the paper lifts itself from Naruto's hands to present itself before her.

"These incidents have become so common," she states, "that the Hokage has taken to mimeographing his official letter of apology, in lieu of writing a new one each time." She shifts her attention back to Naruto. "The Rain, with intentions of friendship, forgives you this time. You are dismissed."

He bows again, glances at the puddle of vomit. "Yoshimaru will take care of that for you," he says, and turns to leave.

"Uzumaki-san." Naruto pauses and turns at Itachi's voice.

"What do you want?"

"Don't give up on him."

"Like hell I would." Naruto glares and departs, closing the door roughly behind him.

The dog stares at the sick, mutters, "No way in hell," and follows Naruto in a puff of smoke.

Konan closes her eyes, takes a moment to soothe her headache. Adopting an Uchiha had come with unexpected consequences; at least this time, nobody had been burned. At last she looks around to study Itachi's reaction. She's never had much luck reading his face, but the stoop of his shoulders and the way his hair hangs over his face is much more telling. She exchanges a look with Kisame, who disappears into the kitchen, and touches Itachi's arm, wordlessly asking him to sit down.

The dining room windows open on a beautiful view of Hidden Rain at night: city lights surrounded by halos of rain, the spires and towers circled with late night mist. Konan has him sit facing away from it, and she sits beside him in silence, staring straight ahead. Touching broken things, she knows, sometimes makes them more broken.

Kisame comes in, bearing a tea tray. He sets cups on the table and prepares the drink, also not looking at Itachi.

Stillness is a skill that shinobi perfect over long years, but before the untouched tea stops steaming, Kisame picks up on some cue from Itachi and asks Konan to teach him a new shape.

At his insistence, they move to the window to practice by the encroaching city lights, leaving Itachi in the shadows, the edge of his robe skirting the light. She passes over a piece of paper from inside her sleeve and considers what to teach him. "The owl," she says at last, and begins the first fold. The progression of the paper from flat plane to bird is deliberately slow, so Kisame can follow and replicate the motions. (It is not as crisp as she would like; the owl shape is not useful to her, and thus she does not practice it often.)

The rain picks up, hammering against the building and as she waits for Kisame to complete a particularly tricky fold, her eyes wander to watch the city. Her city.

Her people move about in the darkness of her city. Spies, spies-of-spies, shinobi going to and from missions, little genin getting practice sneaking around an area they already know.

The gradual slowing of Kisame's motions catches her attention, and she looks at him, and then looks at what he looks at.

Itachi is slumped over the table; Konan instinctively sniffs the air for alcohol, but of course Itachi keeps none in the house. His shoulders twitch once, twice. Kisame moves to sit beside him, puts a stiff hand on his shoulder.

Konan hesitates, searching herself for something to offer, before joining them on Itachi's other side. Instead of taking his hand, she takes a corner of his robe sleeve. A small offering is still, after all, an offering.

He cries all the harder for their kindnesses, slight and brusque as they are.

Leave a review.