A/N: -twitch- -dies- Ok people: SEX. Now that I have your attention, do not read this if you do not like sexual situations. I mean it. Go away. Leave. Do it. Also, I do not own Naruto. How moronic can you people be, seriously? Gawd.
Her pale blue eyes opened slowly, adjusting to the dim light floating in through the window. The sky was overcast like always, and the misty glow lit the room slowly. She rolled over and watched the light slowly glint on Nagato's long black hair, unbound and hanging over his shoulders in a silky wave. Edging just a bit closer, she ran her fingers through the long strands, her forehead against his as she listened to his quiet breathing. His gray eyes slowly opened, the wide rings contracting as he slipped into awareness, watching her watch him.
Nothing passed between them for a long moment, the simple silence saying enough. The cold desperation in his eyes shone vividly even in the shaded room, his uncertain gaze unnerving her. He had never been one to hold so much raw emotion, but perhaps their clash had finally unlocked his last restraints on his feelings. She knew he dreaded the following days and yet craved them, the unforeseen relationship between them undoubtedly about to grow stronger. Thunder crashed outside as the storm's intensity increased, the low rumble shaking the compound and making the small bedside lamp jingle with vibrations. Every so often a bolt of lightning would light up the room, casting an eerie glow on his deep ebony hair. In this light it seemed almost a blue-black, gleaming ghostly in the dark.
He was the first to move, his gray eyes growing as tempestuous as the sky in the background, reaching over and putting a finger on her lower lip, still confused about what had happened. They had crossed the line. It was too late to go back. There was nothing that could be said anymore. It had been done, though neither regretted any of it. Their connection was deep and unbroken, the spiritual bond between them stronger than ever before. Why did he feel so content in the midst of this chaos? What was it that kept him feeling like there was nothing to fear anymore? No, this couldn't be right. Something felt off about the scene. Well, no, of course this wasn't right. Itachi was dead, and Madara had the younger brother contained who knew where, something just felt a little odd.
She leaned closer, her eyes reflecting his concern. "I don't trust Madara."
"Neither do I." He paused before looking down with frustration. "Do you think he'll attack without our consent?"
"Most likely. He is the leader, after all..."
He scoffed coldly. "If we had just sent in Hidan and Kakuzu to get the Ichibi like I had suggested, we wouldn't be in this situation."
"I know, he should have listened to us. At least they succeeded."
"Think about it, though... Sasori the poison user ended up being put up against the medic nin. Deidara fought that copy nin, capable of long distance genjutsu as well as anticipating his attacks. Deidara's advantage was in being unpredictable, but... somehow they were both pitted against the foes that could match them the best. Something isn't adding up."
She paused, then stared back with wide eyes. "Do you suppose he did this on purpose?"
He tried to come up with some other explanation for this but was left with only one thought in mind. "I think he may have. It might be that he planned this from the start, using our members as a distraction while he went through with his own plans in the meantime. But why? Why would he kill us off? Does he want..." He paused suddenly, his eyes going wide. "He wants the bijuu for himself."
She looked puzzled. "But why would he create an organization just to kill everyone off? That... wait. No, he didn't have the power to control the Kyuubi when he first assembled Akatsuki, but maybe he has grown stronger and now can handle the bijuu. If that is the case..."
"He no longer needs us." He sat up with a start, tossing on his clothes as he headed towards the closet. "We have to go. Now. He knows we're here. If he gets back and we're the only ones left alive..."
She rose just as hastily, shifting on her own clothes and grabbing essentials. "We would be easy prey if he truly can control the bijuu. But we can't abandon Amegakure just like that..."
He looked just as hesitant but shook his head slowly. "If we stay here, he would destroy the country even if we were dead. He might do it out of spite. But if we run, he might not destroy the country to try to get us back. If we're desperate enough to leave, we're desperate enough to ignore an attack. He won't bother."
"I suppose running would be the only way to save the village, then... But what if other countries attack in our absence?"
He sighed heavily, turning to look at her with a weary gaze. "As much as I hate doing this... we must leave Amegakure to its own devices. Our shinobi are skilled enough to ward off the other nations, unless they all attack at once. I will make a few clones to keep up appearances."
She paused in her hasty packing long enough to meet his eyes with a troubled gaze. "And what will we do after we leave? What are we going to do about Madara?"
He paused for an absurdly long time, not wanting to say that he didn't know, not wanting to admit that he didn't have some kind of plan. It was true, though. There had been little planning for such a turn of events, and he had to admit it. "Konan... I don't know."
Her gaze returned to her packing after a moment. "What about Zetsu?"
"He's loyal only to himself. If Madara makes him do something unreasonable, he will leave. If that happens, we may be able to sway him back to our side. Until then... we'll have to see. Kisame, though... he may be loyal to Madara simply because of the trash he's been spewing about overthrowing the old Mizukage and taking over the land of mist." He paused long enough to close his pack roughly. "He may end up dead before he can even realize Madara's true intentions. I hate to say it, but we have to leave him on his own as well."
"You must be desperate, to abandon Zetsu..." She rose slowly, pacing quietly to his side. "Whatever happens, I will follow you."
His steely eyes turned to watch her carefully before nodding. "I know. Whatever happens, we can't lose each other."
"I'm not going anywhere." She smiled slightly and followed him to the tall terrace, the small jutting rock overlooking the entire city. From here they could see the land all around them, the pipes and metal of Amegakure glinting in the morning light. Few rays of sun ever escaped the perpetually overcast sky, but just as they exited, a small glint escaped and fell on their heads, lighting them in a golden aura. It was almost as if they truly were deities, lost on top of their outpost as the world moved beneath them. However, gods never worried about death, never had to run for their lives. Nor did they love, and Nagato supposed that the sacrifice was worth it.
As they jumped from roof to roof, he wasn't completely sure where they were going. It didn't really matter. Away from here was all he had in mind. Even so, it would be a good plan to have something in mind. Kumogakure... the village hidden in the clouds. After the capture of the two-tailed jinchuuriki, the country had been exceedingly gracious to his fellow Akatsuki members, thankful for ridding them of the menace. If they needed a place to lay low, that would be the only recourse. Not only was the country in their debt, but they were also at odds with Konoha. If Madara succeeded in bringing down the village, it was possible that a few words would be all Nagato would need to convince them to aid in a second takeover. With a supposed god on their side, they may get overconfident but this would be better than nothing.
At the edge of Amegakure's border, Nagato turned to her abruptly, his cloak fluttering in the wind. "Konan..."
His worried gaze was so unlike him, so peculiar, she couldn't help but stop in her tracks, her own concern seeping through her carefully cultivated impassiveness. "What's wrong?"
His lips pursed briefly in thought, his eyes flitting around, watching her features before he spoke with a low tone. "If something happens to me..."
She cut him off with a defiant shout. "No! Don't talk like that, we can't-"
"Please, Konan." Though he didn't speak nearly as loud as she had, his words had a definite sense of power about them and silenced her immediately. "This is important. If something happens to me, go to Kumogakure alone. Wait for me there. If I don't come back..." He paused to see if she would defy his words again but his cold tone had only caused her to stare blankly at the ground. "Join up with the ninjas there. It would mean abandoning Akatsuki, but with things the way they are... there is no Akatsuki anyway. Please promise me... promise that you won't look back."
She finally met his eyes and a look of unguarded sadness clouded her eyes. "I can't make that promise."
His brow furrowed slightly. "I just want to have a plan if we get separated. By now our enemies surely know that our true weakness is each other. They'll try and isolate us. Just promise that you'll go on to Kumogakure if you escape. I'll come back..." He tilted her chin up to meet her gaze resolutely. "I'll do everything I can to come back for you. It's a promise."
Her tough resolve finally faltered and she nodded solemnly. "If you promise to do everything you can to return to my side... then I promise to meet you there."
They paused for the night in the middle of nowhere, in a seedy little town in a neutral country. Even here people trembled at the sight of black cloaks with red clouds. This was a small town but they both knew it was the site of several organized crime business dealings, though they were hardly concerned for their safety. They were the remains of Akatsuki, after all, and no one in their right mind would even look at them sideways. Even so, nothing felt right about the landscape and Konan insisted they move on to the next town. Though he wanted very much to just plop down where he was and sleep anyway, he also felt the sense of foreboding about this town. After a little internal deliberation, he decided to trust her instincts and set camp in a cave just near the border to the country of lightning. It would be several days before they would reach the actual village of Kumogakure, but getting into the country itself would be a start.
A sharp, cold wind blew from the north, signaling the start of autumn. The last waves of heat from summer were starting to fade away slowly, replaced by the slight chill of northern winds. His frigid hands formed a few quick hand seals outside the cave they had camped in, sealing it against the winds as well as hiding their presence. The icy wind could never compare to the deep chill he felt in his soul, the clutching emptiness rising from the tension of the past few days. As soon as the seals were complete, his shining gray eyes scanned the back of the cave where she sat tensely against the cold stone wall. She seemed so vulnerable, though he knew just how strong she could be. However, her paper shield could do little to cover her heart, and he knew just as surely as she did that they were even now living on borrowed time.
He felt he should say something, anything to make her stop looking at the floor like that. "Are you warm enough?"
She paused for a long moment before shaking her head slowly, still not looking up. "No. Maybe I shouldn't have insisted we leave the village."
His hands slowly relaxed from a poised tiger seal and flexed experimentally, his eyes darting over every little crease, his mind deep in thought even as he responded simply. "No need to apologize. I sensed the same thing you did. Whatever it was, there was something wrong about that place. You did what you thought was right."
"I hadn't considered that autumn might come so quickly up here." She shivered even though her thick cloak was stopping the majority of the cold. The woman had never liked the cold too much, especially after all those years of being cold and hungry on the streets when they were children. He was feeling the chill just as keenly as she was, but he strongly suspected that both of them were suffering from much worse things than mere temperature. His long, lithe hands clenched slowly as he halted his inner thoughts, rising and pacing casually towards the back of the cave. Briefly, he considered sitting across from her but when he saw her clutch herself tighter and shiver again, he instead sat beside her.
His arm wrapped around her shoulders possessively, holding her as firmly as he was trying to hold his sanity. He loosened his arm from his cloak and draped it around both of them, holding her close enough to share heat. "The farther north we travel, the quicker it will come."
Though he spoke nonchalantly, she couldn't help the slight tremble inside her from happening just by hearing his deep voice and feeling his warm body beside her. She still wasn't accustomed to such proximity with him, but she would be lying if she said she disliked it. Without a sound, she leaned into his warmth, eyes half lidded in comfort. "Do you suppose that he will know where we intend to go?"
"No, unless someone has the guts to report our passing through villages. Even so, I sent several clones through many other villages in all directions, so our precise destination should be unknown. I will still be cautious, though. He is not to be underestimated." He took a moment to admire the way the waning light of the landscape glinted off her deep blue hair, the subtle colors changing every so often. In a way, he was so overly protective of her. Not just because she was his partner. Not just because she was his childhood friend. Not even because she was his impromptu lover. Something else twitched at the back of his mind, though he couldn't tell what it was.
She surprised him by leaning even closer, resting on his chest as she looked up at him, her nose only an inch away. "I don't want to think about that anymore."
He paused, watching how her pale blue eyes shone with the orange dusky light from the cave's entrance. Even scared and unsure, she was still beautiful, still a work of art. He sighed lightly, his hand slowly combing through her long navy locks, wondering again at that odd sensation tugging at the back of his head. Every time she looked at him that way, searching for answers in his gaze, sent that peculiar clutching sensation into his gut. "Then let's not think of it. If all we have is right now, then right now is all we should think of."
Without much preamble, he pulled her over until she was on his lap, entranced by the soft yellow and orange glow lighting the pale contours of her face. Once again the nagging thought in his mind didn't leave him alone even as another nagging thought was telling him to do all kinds of things to her, to touch every inch and find out what made her cry with pleasure. Perhaps it was the utter mystery of it all, or maybe the thrill of doing something new. No, with anyone else this would be nothing. He wouldn't have even come this far if it had been anyone else. She was different. She was Konan. She was his.
He felt a surge of possessiveness clutch at his stomach like a vise, urging him into guarding her to the point of obsession, never wanting to let her go. His iron will fought against the throbbing ache, his fingers gently sliding to her face, wanting to take his time. Last time had been rushed, each wanting the other to the point of full abandon. This time he wanted to prolong the act, wanted to see just how long he could last against his own instincts. It was a sick sort of challenge he was setting for himself, he supposed, but in the end he had her interests in mind. Overriding his need for a challenge was his need to please her, to make her feel just as fulfilled as he did. Ever so slowly he kissed the side of her neck, drawing out the small actions in a painfully delicious way, teasing her to the point of sending goosebumps all along exposed skin.
It was like a slow torment to hold himself back, to test the edge of his limits. In the past he had tested the edges of his other physical and mental limits, but nothing had ever made him feel this way. Nothing could ever compare to the sheer delight he found in seeing just how much he could do with her. Even as part of himself fought the urge to just fuck her senseless and be done with it, he couldn't hold back forever. No, he would let his body have what it wanted, but he would draw it out as long as he possibly could.
He found it even harder to resist once she started to respond to his light touch, arching her back ever so slightly as she bit his neck fiercely, leaving her mark. Though the world outside was in such great turmoil, somehow they found it so easy to slip into the easy world they created internally with just a few glances, just one light touch to pause time and hold off whatever worries might come. She grabbed his neck roughly and kissed him with an intensity he never knew she had. It was all he could do to respond to her intensity with his own before he was as caught in the moment as she was.
She still clung to him roughly, obsessed with his touch and his scent, addicted to him the moment she first saw him, his mere presence the only thing that kept her sane. Yes, they were probably doomed to die, maybe not even together, but right now it didn't matter. Now was the time to savor, to delight in what little time they had. She couldn't stop her wandering hands from slipping under his shirt to run against heated skin, couldn't stop herself from arching so sensuously under his grip. Even as he removed her cloak, exposing her skin to the chilly air, she barely felt the drop in temperature as the rising heat between them filled the space. It was slowly becoming too warm even as the dropping sun brought the heat with it, and she barely missed the absence of the rest of her clothing. Even as she relieved him of his own clothing, the steady puffs of vapor from their mouths was all that would indicate the true temperature around them.
They paused for only a moment, the cloudy vapor the only thing obscuring their gaze, rising slowly into the darkness. The last light of the sun suddenly glinted at the edge of her eyes and it was then that he could define that peculiar surge from before. It was then he knew that he loved her.
A/N: Well... yeah I'm gonna continue the lemon in the next part. Why? Well... I just need to work on it a lot since I'm so NOT used to writing these things. Gotta give me a little space!