Flee
A/N: I really love this pairing. There needs to be more of this. Please don't tell me you like Pein/Konan better.
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Konan sighed and set the tiny paper crane she'd finished folding down on the table. It'd been two weeks since Kakuzu and Hidan had fought the Kyuubi boy. Hidan, wherever he was, had to be dead by now. And as for Kakuzu...
Another sigh. Supposedly, his corpse was in Konoha. What they did with it, Konan didn't want to know. She'd replayed numerous 'what if's in her head, hoping somehow Kakuzu could pull himself together...that somehow...he could find a way to survive, like he always had before. But Kakuzu wouldn't hide from her for two weeks.
The blue haired kunoichi took hold of a new sheet of paper and idly folded it into another crane. Piles of them were scattered about her feet by now. Origami had always been her escape when she was distraught, but it wasn't helping. She was constantly on the urge of breaking down, but she kept her tears from falling by remembering that Kakuzu wouldn't want her to cry. He'd want her to move on. But how could she? She'd never done well alone. Yahiko, Jiraiya, Pein...they'd all kept her from being alone. But it wasn't until Kakuzu joined Akatsuki that Konan found someone she couldn't bear to be parted from.
Tears burned at her eyes and Konan blinked them away.
"I won't cry...I won't," Konan told herself. She bit her lip and took slow, steadying breaths. When a single hot streak slipped down her cheek, Konan cursed.
"I wasn't aware you even knew words like that," a deep voice murmured behind her. Konan started to turn when large warm hands rested on her shoulders. Konan's eyes widened, but the hands were gentle, and the voice...she'd recognize it anywhere. The only thing was, it couldn't be real. Konan managed to fight back more tears that threatened to spill over and took a deep, gasping breath.
"Kakuzu," she whispered. The hands squeezed her shoulders in answer, then Konan found herself quickly pulled to her feet and pressed against a broad chest.
"How?" Konan's voice cracked as she wrapped her arms around him, pale fingers ghosting up his back. She traced the rough lines of stitching, but the absence of a raised part where a mask should be...troubled her.
"I'm not sure." It came out as a tired sort of sigh, and Konan looked up at Kakuzu for the first time. He looked haggard and worn...his dark hair scraggly, hanging in his face. His clothes were different, most likely stolen during his escape. Konan shut her eyes and laid her head against Kakuzu again, hands sliding up to tangle in his hair.
"I should have asked Zetsu to watch Konoha...to help you if...if..."
A gravely chuckle shook Kakuzu's body. Konan nuzzled Kakuzu's chest, planting her ear against it to listen for his heartbeat. It was dull, quiet and the space between beats was too great...but it was enough to prove that she wasn't embracing a zombie...or a ghost of her own desperate imagination.
Kakuzu tucked her head under his chin and stroked her back in reassurance. Konan closed her eyes, a soft smile curling her lips.
"I want to stay like this forever," Konan muttered into Kakuzu's clothes.
"Hn..."
"But," Konan looked up to Kakuzu and caressed his cheek with a slightly shaking hand, "we can't, can we?"
Kakuzu's bright eyes burned into Konan's.
"No. I think it's time we left."
Kakuzu took hold of Konan's hand, and started to lead her away, but she struggled free.
"But I can't, Kakuzu! Pein and I...the village...Akatsuki..."
The old man sighed and nodded slowly.
"I suppose...yeah, it was foolish of me to come here."
Konan shook her head.
"No, you're not a fool. I'll...I'll go wi-"
Kakuzu clamped his hand over Konan's mouth.
"I can't let you make a decision like this so lightly. You have the village to protect. I'm sure Konoha will be searching for me. I..."
The missing falls nin removed his hand and tucked a strand of hair behind Konan's ear. He leaned in, as if to kiss her, and she waited, but after a moment's hesitation, he straightened and backed away.
"I have to go now."
Konan watched him go. After his heavy footfalls faded out of hearing, Konan had made up her mind. She ran after him, kicking up paper cranes in her wake.
Konan was fast, if not on her feet, in the air. And that's how she caught up with the old man. He wasn't running, but he walked at a quick pace. The origami kunoichi rushed forward and stopped to rebuild herself in front of him, forcing Kakuzu to stop.
"I told you to stay here."
The blue haired kunoichi was unfazed by the biting tone in his voice.
"I left a clone behind. It'll buy me time until we get far enough away."
Kakuzu chuckled, shaking his head.
"And how far would we have to go? Konan..." Kakuzu traced the edge of her jaw. "I can't lead you into a life on the run. I've run all my life...it's no different for me, but you... You deserve the chance at a real life."
"A real life?!" Konan snapped.
"What kind of life do you think I could have? Akatsuki is falling apart, you're proof of that!"
"I survived."
"Hidan didn't."
Kakuzu's face fell. Konan took Kakuzu's hand and rubbed his fingers against her lips.
"Deidara too, Kakuzu." Konan regretted telling Kakuzu this news, but felt that she had to let him know.
The old man's bright eyes widened. Konan was sure she heard a sharp intake of breath. Kakuzu had been fond of the boisterous little blond.
"We have to get out of here," Kakuzu muttered, squeezing Konan's hand tight and breaking into a run. Konan kept up with him the best she could, resorting to splitting into paper sheets and gliding behind him.
They ran unheeded all through the night and part of the morning before taking a break. Both shinobi were exhausted, but the uncanny feeling of urgency nipped at their heels. Kakuzu and Konan decided that maybe, just maybe, they could outrun the paranoia, and start life anew somewhere outside the known borders of inhabited lands.
The two runnaway lovers managed to travel for a week before they ran into the first sign of trouble. They went a little too far east of the river they were following, and came across a shinobi village. Kakuzu was recognized, and they were forced to fight several nins before fleeing into the cover of the woods. Konan thought she spotted Zetsu melded into the brush, but quickly dismissed it. They were too far out. But just to be safe, Konan imitated the shinobi's uniforms with paper to camouflage the both of them. Hopefully, they could stay clear of other hidden villages until they reached the unknown areas outside of Daimyo rule.
After nearly another week of grueling travel, they finally reached the border where the wild lands started. No signs of shinobi or Zetsu. It seemed to be safe. They made camp, and that night, they both let their guard down.
"You need a bath," Kakuzu whispered to Konan, planting a kiss to her forehead. Konan pulled his face down and gave him a proper kiss on the lips, chaste, playful. He smiled and Konan shifted, sniffing his hair.
"So do you."
"There's a waterfall close by," Kakuzu said, sitting up. Konan laughed.
"How do you know that?"
Kakuzu smirked.
"Hidden Waterfall...had waterfalls," he answered, emerald eyes twinkling.
Konan arched an eyebrow.
"And that makes you an expert?"
"I know what they sound like from a distance. Let's go see. The water might be cold, but you can't complain about a free shower."
"You wouldn't...you cheap bastard," Konan joked, and followed him to look for the source of the faint rushing sound that since Kakuzu mentioned it, Konan could pick up as well.
That night, under the icy shower of the waterfall, the two consummated their relationship. Kakuzu, looking back, didn't remember the biting chill of the mountain born water cascading on their bodies, but the hot, sweet taste of Konan's mouth, the soft gasps, her plump chest in his hands, her thighs squeezing around his body.
God, she was intoxicating. So enchanting, like an angel seen in a vision. But Konan had been real. The ache in Kakuzu's heart was certain of it.
All he had left now was that empty pain. With Konan gone from his side, that's all there was. Emptiness. Fate had deemed it impossible for them to find happiness here on Earth. It didn't matter, however. Kakuzu was dying himself. Pein had at least granted Kakuzu that luxury.
As Kakuzu took his last few shuddering breaths, he thought he saw that angelic figure standing before him, beckoning to him to follow her. He extended his hand, and then let the darkness take him.