In Amegakure…

Only rarely would the rain stop falling in here. The coloured lights of Amegakure where leading the way to the centre of the city. Konan brushed aside one her blue strands and pulled out the paper flower she gave to Kushina on the first and only day they would actually meet. She slipped it on the hair grip her sister gave her on that very day and never once parted from these two items ever since. In the stormy night, no one could see that the drops on her face where not only drops of rain. She hurried back to her hideout. Her turtle necked suit revealed her midriffs yet it was too dark for anyone to appreciate her slender figure properly.

She came to a halt and glanced back towards the village's gate. But it was too late to come back to Konoha and she didn't really want to anyway. Her place was here, near the one she loved, even if she never voiced her feelings.. As she entered her hideout, a voice called her from the shadows.

"I wasn't expecting you so early, Konan. What made you come back before the end of your vacation?" His voice was different. Less raspy and deeper. Much deeper.

"If you don't mind, I prefer not to talk about it."

He didn't need to ask any further questions. He actually knew just what had happened. He already saw her face when she lost her parents back in the days.

"It's quite fortunate you came back that early" he said "I wanted to show you something"

"What?"

"Come over and follow me"

And she did, even though she felt there was definitely something abnormal. She pulled out a kunai, just in case. Nagato led her to that room he had always forbidden her to visit. Strangely, she still couldn't quite see him, as if he was shrouded in darkness.

"Nagato what…"

"Don't call me that no more, Konan" he commanded in that newfound deep voice of his "As of now, I will go by Pein"

And she eventually saw him. She couldn't move anymore, petrified by the sight of the one standing in front of her.

"Ya….Yahiko…"

"I am not Yahiko" The orange-haired man told her. "Yahiko died as well as you know. I'm just using his body"

Konan couldn't talk anymore. She was too dumbfounded to even think of anything to say. The man looked exactly like a grown up version of their childhood friend. Spiky orange hair, a defiant expression and these unique eyes that only Nagato had. Yet what struck her the most was the incredible number of piercings studding his face. He also had put on a strange, completely black robe. The room looked like a conservation chamber. A rack of human-sized glass tubes was aligned in front of a strange machine. She could make out two other bodies in the tubes. One of them was placed apart, in an orange tube. Perhaps his actual body.

"The surfacing of the Kyuubi was our cue, Konan. And for you it's time to know about what is going to happen in the next years." He took a breath and went on "Back when Jiraiya-sensei was teaching us, I developed my bloodline, the Rinnegan. As well as you know, only the descendants of the One-Who-Created-The-World have this bloodline limit. Which means I'm a chosen one. Back in the days, Yahiko wanted all this violence to end. Well I think it's time for us to give him what he wanted and make this world a world of peace. Yet this world is not ready for peace. There are still too many people who want to wage war over futile things. Then we have no other choice than force them into it. But since the only thing ninjas respect is strength we have to come up with something strong enough to scare them into submission and teach them that fighting is meaningless. When all our neighbouring countries are pacified, it will be time to initiate this whole new era. But before that, I need to make my Rinnegan sufficiently effective to be useful and this is where you step in."

Konan still didn't answer. She was listening carefully.

"Your part will be to keep our base from being entered by anybody else. As you can see, there are 7 tubes and I need to fill 4 more with bodies fit enough for me to use the Rinnegan to its full extent. My true body is over there in that one" He pointed at the orange tube "Under no condition you shall open this tube unless I'm asking you to" His voice was moving to a strangely menacing tone "And I will not condone any violation of this rule. In 48 hours, I will leave this place. I have caught track of Jiraiya-sensei and I mean to follow him. I need to find the bodies of exceptional ninjas, ones whose abilities are sufficiently powerful for me to build the Six Paths of Pain with six of the strongest shinobis specialised in each of the 6 chakra types. When those Six Paths are completed, it will be time to launch the second part of our plan. I will inform you in due time."

"Why do you want to follow Jiraiya?" Konan asked "Why him?"

"That man knows how to raise the best in everyone. I never met anyone who could do that better than him. And there will be a time when he will come here and fight us again. If we succeed in defeating him then, it means we are strong enough to launch the final stage, but let's not dwell on that. For now, you will stay here and guard my bodies. You also need to play dead. No one can know what is going on here and no one should be allowed to stop us. Everyone must believe we're dead so spread rumours about this so we can act without restriction. "

"Nag…uh…. Pein, why are you doing this? What is it all for? I mean, why do you take charge of all of this? Why do you believe that I will follow you no questions asked?"

Pein came nearer to her than he ever did.

"Don't you want this to stop Konan? Aren't you tired to have to loose everyone you care for? Your parents, your sister…"

"Yes but does this mean you have to play Kami?"

"This is what this world lacks Konan. A Kami-like king. I know I am not Kami but if people believe I am, then we can stop this violent world from existing and turn it to a peaceful realm. And I know you will help me." He put his hand on her face, gently caressing her cheek. He never did this before. She remained silent. "I know you will help me because you always did. And this time I am not asking your help as a business partner because you have always been more than this"

More than this? "What do you mean?" she said weakly

"When I become king of this world, I shall need a queen to help me govern my realm. And I wouldn't choose anybody else than the woman who always got my back since the beginning. Stand by me still Konan, and someday this world will be ours" He leaned even closer to her, inches away from her face. "My queen."

"But Pein, I… I…" she stuttered

"Don't you love me Konan?"

She was speechless. She didn't know how much time she stayed without moving before she slowly nodded in agreement. Pein smiled.

"Well, know that this love is returned. Now be mine." With that, he made his lips meet hers. Although she had the strange feeling of kissing Yahiko, she felt it was him and no one else. The one she loved, the man named Pein. She never thought she could feel so good with a simple kiss. Yes , she was his. She had always been from the very start.

"Since you accepted to be my queen, please wear this." Pein produced a white pearl piercing.

"Is it a gift?" Konan asked

"Yes. You may wear this as a statement that you already have given yourself to someone. It means you are mine and no one else's." Without any further word, Pein pinned the small pearl onto her lower lip. It hurt a bit but it didn't last too long.

"Pein…"

"Yes?"

"Could you kiss me again?"

He didn't answer and simply put his arms around her and complied… For the first time since years, she felt truly happy.

During the years that followed, Konan was always by his side. She was the privileged witness of all of Pein's achievements and the guardian of his bodies. She was the only one to know his true form. Every time he came back with a new body, she could see his powers grow, his strength increasing each and every time. Actually she didn't recall having seen him loose even once, not even to Yahiko when the three of them would spar under their sensei's command. When Pein gathered all the six bodies he needed, she helped him in defeating the hated Kage of the Rain Village, the very man who killed her mother while she was helpless, Hanzo. She also watched as he killed each and every person that would be affiliated to him, even children, even babies. But she didn't care. All what mattered was him and their aim. Because he was the one to give a meaning to her life, because she knew that these sacrifices weren't made for the sake of it. It served a higher purpose that only she and Pein knew about.

She remembered that night when both where left in Hanzo's apartments that were now theirs to use. He would always use the body of Yahiko by default. He said it was the most convenient to use in Ame since he could control the rain with it as well as tracking the chakra of anyone moving in it. Moreover, it always reminded of what his purpose was.

"Come over and watch with me Konan" Pein said

She complied and he put her in front of him, hugging her from behind. Down below, the commoners were celebrating the instatement of their newly appointed chief. The rain had stopped that night. He spoke in a low voice, so that only she could hear. Konan cherished those way too rare moments of privacy where he would let go of his usual stern, unsympathetic ways and show her his heart. She cherished them because those moments were meant for her only.

"Thank you Konan"

"Excuse me?"

"I said thank you. Do you see this?" He waved towards the crowd "This would have never been possible without you. I wanted to thank you for helping in making my dreams come true. You're an angel."

"An angel?"

"Yes. And this is what you will be from now on. Since I mean to become Kami in here, you shall be my angel and carry out my will as you always did"

"Pein I don't know if I can…"

"You will be able to. I'm sure of it." He said flatly "I know there is no way you could ever fail me"

"But what if I loose against an opponent? I might be strong, I'm not like you. I already lost to you many times back when we were kids"

"If you ever loose to an opponent then my role would be to punish them for having dared to harm you. No one should be able to do that to you other than me" he declared in an icy tone. He was meaning it.

"You want to hurt me?"

"If you fail me I will hurt you" His expression was neutral. It was a statement, not even a threat. It made it even scarier.

She turned around and faced him, looking right in his mesmerizing eyes. Whenever she looked at them, she felt as if he could read her mind.

"I would never do that Pein" she said "I can't let the one I love down."

"I know that. This is why you are here tonight with me. And this is also why I am going to make love to you now" No matter how tender he was to her, he was always domineering. His mouth made fast to hers. She gave in, not even trying to pretend she didn't want to.

And she let him do. She let him strip her from all of her garments and lay her on the bed. Surprisingly, he blindfolded her right after getting himself naked.

"What are you doing?" she asked in surprise

"Don't ask and enjoy" he commanded "This is how I want to repay you for all what you did for me"

And she did. For the first time in their lives, he touched, he fondled, and he rubbed her. And the celebration outside covered her moans of pleasure and his restless panting. After all the battles they had led together, they were now comforting and healing each other in a mess of sweat, tears, rustling sheets, scratches and sensuous kisses. All through the night until their exhausted bodies couldn't give anymore. Until they ended up locked in each other's arms, letting sleep claim its stakes.

The following day, late in the afternoon…

"Konan there is someone I want you to meet" Pein said leading her to yet another part of their brand new base

Without a word, Konan followed him. He ushered her in a room that looked like a parlour. There a dark figure was waiting for them, gazing through the window. When he turned to them, she could see the orange mask that covered his entire face, save from his right eye. He wore a strange black coat spangled with red clouds. His voice was strange, almost magnetic in tone.

"I am pleased to meet you at last Konan-san" the man said "My name is Uchiha Obito. But to anyone but the two of you, I go by Tobi"

Konan nodded in agreement but kept silent. Something inside of her told her to remain so.

"I am most impressed by your prowess in helping Pein is his task, and now it's time for you to know the next step of our plan"

'Their plan' she thought 'But I thought Pein was doing it all by himself'

She then learned that Pein and the man had known each other upon the civil war of Amegakure, the one that occurred before Pein set out to track Jiraiya in his exploration of the world. Actually, the man was left to die by the 4th Hokage ('That pissant again' she thought), his sensei. He never explained how he escaped from a certain death. All he condescended to explain was that he was the one who learnt about the tailed beats and who let loose the Nine Tailed Demon Fox years ago. He said that he wanted to see and measure the beast's power. Although it was eventually defeated, the Fox was still sleeping in the 4th Hokage's son, her nephew. The man also said that the only way to ensure peace was to hold a weapon strong enough to pacify the different countries. And this weapon had just been finished. She was lead in the basement of the Amekage's building, in a wide grotto where the man told them to wait. He moulded some chakra and then she saw that gigantic statue where she would have her place, just like Pein and some other people she would meet later on. This is where they would store the Bijuus. In total, there were nine to collect. And once this task was finished, it would be time to initiate the final phase of the plan: pacifying the countries, one by one until they all acknowledge the power of their newborn organization: Akastuki. From now on, Konan and Pein would wear the same garment as Tobi was, as well as a one of the ten rings each member would wear, as a distinctive sign of membership. Pein personally slipped hers onto her right middle finger. The ring read Byakko, the White Tiger. Pein added that she would only report to him as he was now their leader and that she would be his partner. Konan followed his word to the letter.

More members were gradually recruited, all of them powerful missing nins, she had only heard of. Still she recognized that man she once met when she was a little girl. The man also recognized her. But Orochimaru didn't last long as a member of Akatsuki. His own ambitions were way too demanding for him to even think of acting in the interest of somebody else. This very attitude cost him his left hand, yet he kept the little finger ring of said hand with him. As for Tobi, he said that it would be better if he kept a low profile and made himself a subordinate to the organization's spy, Zetsu.

Konan knew each of the members distinctively yet would seldom ever talk to any of them, be it in their ritual meetings or in a one-to-one talk. Thus, despite her beauty, no member ever propositioned to her. Perhaps because of her link with their leader or perhaps because of her icy demeanour. Deidara tried to woo her soon after he joined the organization as the ninth member, but the look she gave him was enough to turn him down. However, she would sometime have an amicable talk with Itachi Uchiha, a missing nin of Konohagakure who had known her sister and who kept her updated on what was going on in the country she had turned her back on.

During her time in the Akatsuki, Konan trained thoroughly under the command of Pein and Kisame Hoshigaki, one of the members she appreciated the most for his polite, respectful ways on the rare occasions he talked to her.

Her status as the Leader's partner also made her second-in-command of sorts, a fact that was somewhat resented by some members. She remembered that day when Hidan directly addressed to her:

"Pfft! I still don't get why you hang around with us really! I mean what can you do? Some fucking origami and then what? Who the hell would be scared by some shit like this? Anyways we don't need a vagina in here unless you want us to bang you up!" Hidan was always incredibly rude and vulgar, even to Pein himself.

"Hidan-san, is this kind of rudeness necessary?" she asked, trying to remain calm

"You gonna cry, princess? Face it, bitch! If it weren't for that damn orange-haired faggot over there, I would've already had you. And I'm sure you must give decent blowjobs otherwise he wouldn't protect you all the time and shit. By yourself you're nothing!" Hidan unzipped his robe, letting everyone know he wore nothing under it "Now come over here and do what you do best!"

Konan approached meekly and swiftly decapitated the loudmouthed prick with a paper blade she had molded while he was talking.

"You talk too much Hidan-san" Konan said "It dulls your reflexes. Just for you to know, paper is actually made out of wood. Moulded properly, wood can cut just as well as metal. Next time you address to me in a similar way, I will cut something else that might just dissuade you from going commando in public."

"I'll fuck you up someday bitch!" the severed head shouted "And you will love it! I will shag you until you beg me to stop!"

She turned to him and uttered clearly with absolute scorn "In your dreams!"

This kind of altercation was quite rare, and yes Konan almost never left Pein's side. It was actually their only display of affection when around their fellows or outside in the world.

And then the time came when Konoha started to hunt them all down, killing them one after the other after they extracted the Bijuu from the Fourth Kazekage who happened to be a friend of Konan's nephew. She remembered when she first saw a grown-up Naruto with his comrades, right before the grotto where his friend was lying dead. She recognized him right away, without even looking closely. His fiery attitude, his spiky blond hair, his impossibly large grin… All in him screamed Minato Namikaze . A bit later, she also learned from Itachi that the little brat was dreaming about becoming Hokage. Just like his father…

'That little shit needs to die! Protecting a stupid, worthless village with his so-called power? How dare he using that damn Fox's strength when it killed his own mother? Just WHO can he protect with that?' she thought.

Konan remembered their first encounter, the first time she would ever talk to him since he was born. She and Pein had been chasing him along with his team mates. Konan insisted that she would deal with him herself, something Pein didn't mind and he contained Naruto's team mates with clones of themselves while she cornered him:

"Who the fuck are you?" Naruto had asked

"Don't you remember me?"

"No otherwise I wouldn't ask! And I would like to know whose butt I am about to kick!"

"Oh yeah, that's right. When we first met, you were just a toddler. Still I don't think your mother would have appreciated your being so rude to me."

"What have you just said?" an even more ticked off Naruto asked

"My name is… Uzumaki Konan. It is nice to meet you at last… my nephew."

She watched bemused as Naruto gave in to the ground, his mouth gaping and tears coming to his eyes.

"You're…my…aunt?!" was all that he could say

She would have captured him, if it weren't for that ninja couple who meddled in her fight with her nephew. That Sand kunoichi… She was the one who blew her away while she was about to ensnare Naruto. The shadow user attacked Pein directly so he couldn't focus enough for the clones to remain active. Both retreated since they couldn't win against so many shinobis, at their back and Pein didn't have his other bodies to help them out.

In the end, they were the last two Akatsuki members standing along with Tobi. She fought the Sand kunoichi and the Leaf Chuunin once more but, that time, both proved being powerful enough to make her get serious. When she was done with them, she was utterly out of chakra and unable to use any technique. The rose in her hair was torn to shreds. What Naruto did to Pein right before her eyes, she would never forgive. Her nephew had taken every person she cared for away from her. Her sister, her man.

When Naruto stood above her and a dying Pein, he was unable to hurt her, due to their blood tie, the only one he had left.

"Please forgive me, auntie."

"Forgive you? Are you fucking kidding me? You killed the only person I loved and you want me to forgive you?" her voice was a mess of sobs.

"Please, I had no choice. It's not like I wanted to do this! Hell, nor did I ever intended to kill my mother! My father made a mistake but it was not my fault! If you give it a chance, maybe we could just make up for it and…"

"Just shut up! How could you make up for anything like this! You'll never…"

"Konan…" Pein interrupted weakly

"Yes"

"I'm….sorry…I…I…wanted to give you the world. Looks…l-like… I can't… Please for-forgive…me…" his voice died with his last body

Konan yelled out in grief and held her lover's last corpse, begging him not to leave her alone. She then planted a look of pure hate in her nephew's eyes.

"You'd better kill me now, Naruto! If you don't, I will make sure you regret it the rest of your life"

"I can't do that."

"You coward !"

"Kill her Naruto!" a young pink-haired girl said behind him "She will make your life miserable if you let her live! Kill her now while she can't defend herself!"

"I just can't okay! She's my fucking aunt! She's the only family member I have left! I can't kill her just like that! Are you stupid or what?"

"You will regret it Naruto" Konan said "You took away my chance at happiness twice, you will pay for that." She then turned her attention to the injured Leaf Chuunin who was carrying the even more injured Sand Kunoichi. "And I won't forget the both of you either. If it weren't for you maybe I could have prevented him from doing this. You'll get your share as well. I swear I will hunt down and slay all of you!"

Everyone watched as Konan divided herself and left in a swirl of paper, taking away with her the body of Yahiko, the last body Pein was seen in and buried it next to one of the rare trees of Amegakure. She went back to Tobi, despondently telling him the facts. She only owed her life to Itachi's younger brother, Sasuke, who challenged Tobi to fight him right when he was about to punish the blue haired kunoichi. Konan escaped from the scene and exiled herself in the Snow country, away from it all, to mourn her lover in peace. She gave up on her Akatsuki robe and kept it hidden all this time, keeping in touch regularly with the only Akatsuki subordinate to still be alive, the Konoha elder Danzo.

All these things went through her mind as she watched the trio she tailed finally settling down to take a break. All the pain, the mourning, the solitude, and all the things she lost because of those shinobi fuckers. It was payback time. And the Sand Kunoichi would do just fine as first name on her list.

She waited calmly for the three ninjas to finish eating. She swallowed a food pill in the meantime in order to replenish herself and waited for the Kazekage's sister to take her shift on the watch.

Temari knew she was here. She was lurking nearby. She could feel her killer intent and her hostile chakra, yet she couldn't tell exactly were she was.

'Tricky bitch!' Temari thought 'I knew that time would come. I just had to take the first turn on the watch. I don't want Chouji and Ino to get hurt."

Before she could do anything, she noticed a strange smell. She looked back at her sleeping team mates and saw a blue smoke around them. As a botanist, it didn't take long for her to recognize what it was. Peyotl and poppy pollen! A highly poisonous substance that caused any sleeping person to enter a deep, long hallucinogenic trance. She tried to dispel it but it was too late. They already had inhaled enough pollen and no matter how hard she shook them, Ino and Chouji remained asleep. And her ninja skills couldn't help at all in that situation. It was no Genjutsu, just pollen. The poison wasn't deadly but it sure made anyone out cold for quite some time. Temari stood up and closed her eyes.

There was no way around it; she had to fight her now. She remembered her horrible fight with the aunt of Naruto, the way she had managed to defeat both of them, leaving her and Shikamaru horribly wounded. Temari sure had improved since then, but will it be enough to fight off the woman who almost killed her and Shikamaru back then? Time to find out!

"Alright, let's not play games in the shadows anymore. Come out now" Temari commanded

She didn't even look at the woman who loomed out of the darkness. She knew just who she was.

"Long time no see, Lady Konan"

"Yes indeed. Please forgive me if I put you bodyguards to sleep but they would just get in the way. Since when do you refer to me by this title?"

"Since I have learned that you are indeed affiliated to one of Konoha's founding clans. Don't worry about my companions. I wanted to deal with you myself anyway" Temari said, clenching her fan as she turned to the woman.

"How did you know I was tailing you? In no way you could have detected my chakra, I was too far and using my Invisibility Jutsu." Kotono inquired

"Well you should try to use your imagination more often. I already saw your butterflies more than once. You should have used something else to spy on us. Moreover, I scanned the surroundings by sharpening the air pressure waves around us while we were in the trees and I heard your robe flowing. With these two hint I just made my guess about who was on our tail. "

"Well done. Glad to see you've improved during all this time. The fight will be more interesting that way."

"Damn true!" Temari said "But those two have nothing to do with this. If you want to fight, let's just get far enough so they won't get hurt in their sleep"

"I don't mind. Let's go!"

Both leapt away from the sleeping Chouji and Ino. When they were far enough, Temari unfurled her fan and stood right before Konan.

"Let's do it, Lady Konan"

"Let's see if you've actually improved, Sand wench!"