Author's Note: I have several ending ideas for this fic swirling in my head. But only one is standing out the most. ;) So...I think it's about time to wrap this story up soon. Finally complete it; and answer the big question: Will Itachi and Konan stop being in denial?

Since the ending is in sight...I'd say there's probably 3-4 chapters left. I was going to make it to sixteen chapters...but changed my mind. They were just a lot of filler stuff anyway; barely even about Itachi and Konan at all. -_- ...I know because I wrote the drafts in my spare time last month.

Anyway...let's just get going with the 10th chapter! It's probably a little short...but I can't help that. -_-;

Disclaimer: I DON'T own Naruto...and this fic is making no money whatsoever. ._.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Romance In The Snow:

Chapter Ten

0

"(He's waking up...)"

Konan continued to try and heal the minor wounds that Itachi got. She noticed his eyes slowly start to flicker open; so she figured he was finally waking up. The bluenette wanted to sigh with relief; but inwardly did it.

Seeing Itachi start to wake up was really a relief to her. But she couldn't help but feel disappointed that she was barely healing the minor injuries. She didn't want to fail; Itachi didn't deserve all the stuff he's been through. And all those minor injuries shouldn't even have been there; he didn't deserve that.

Thinking about that, Konan wondered if he had any more injuries; not the big like his diminishing eye-sight or the disease...but old ones from previous fights.

Even though Itachi was very strong; and much skilled...he still had weaknesses somewhere. Every shinobi does. None are completely invincible.

...And suddenly, Konan felt terrible for him.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"So...are we done yet?" Mayumi asked Pain as she leaned against a nearby wall.

"I think so. You're in anyway, I guess this doesn't matter."

Mayumi nodded and turned to look at all the guys who were still there in the meeting room. A little suspense suddenly overcame her as she wondered what would happen next; since she's been accepted into the organization.

"Can we all leave now?" Hidan spoke up as he lazily looked over. "I need to get back to my room and begin a ritual!"

"There's all the time in the world for that, Hidan!" Zetsu's white side snapped suddenly.

Mayumi eyed Hidan and Zetsu blankly and then sighed. She noticed Pain was looking pretty exhausted; and couldn't help but smirk as she thought about how things like this possibly occurred every day at the base.

"Anyway...we're almost done. First, exchange names so there will be no more confusion around here." Pain mentioned.

Then there was a collection of groans; followed by a few curses from Hidan and Zetsu's dark side.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Everything was dark to Itachi. And he felt some occasional pain as he slowly flickered open his eyes. His eyes almost completely open, he noticed the room was completely dark, and there was a hand with smooth looking skin on his arms; but the soft, green glow around it caught his attention.

"Where..."

Itachi would have continued, but then a finger suddenly touched his lips and silenced him.

"You're in your room. The fight is over; just rest."

Opening his eyes fully, Itachi looked over and saw Konan standing there. She was still looking blank, but Itachi noticed the look of both worry and relief in her eyes.

"...Konan?" Itachi asked; kind of confused as to what was happening. "What happened to the kunoichi?"

"Mayumi only came here to the base because she's a rogue ninja from a weak clan in the Leaf. After hearing her story, Pain let her join." Konan explained. "She only fought you because she heard about you; and believed that we would recognize her as a skilled ninja, if she could beat you."

Itachi nodded weakly and when he got a better look at Konan, he blinked as he noticed the minor injuries she had and her hair all down and messed up.

"So why do you look like you got into a fight? Did you try and fight her?" Itachi inquired.

Suddenly, the look in Konan's eyes became angsty.

"I had to fight that bitch! She could have killed you; and probably did put your life in danger even more!" Konan snapped. Itachi's eyes widened as she went on, but she sighed and calmed down before continuing in her normal tone. "...She kicked you very hard too. And we took you back here; but Kakuzu says that you might have a few broken bones."

There was tense silence after that. Konan's face actually fell slightly as she tried to avoid eye-contact with the Uchiha. But it wasn't working; she ended up making eye-contact anyway.

"I thought that I could do something for once; since I've been secretly training to be a medical ninja for a little while." Konan added; she then glanced away sadly. "...I just want to make sure you're alright. Because you really don't deserve all this, Itachi."

"..."

"..."

Konan tensed up as she felt something grab her wrist. She looked down to see that Itachi had took her wrist and weakly pushed it away from his arm. Konan blinked and her eyes showed some sadness in them.

"You don't have to help me." Itachi said; sighing slightly. "...There's no point."

"I want to help you. I'm not going to let you suffer!" Konan snapped. "I'm sick of seeing you like this...slowly dying! Good people always suffer the most; and I hate it!"

Konan furrowed her eyebrows together and then brought both her hands close to her and closed her eyes.

"...I don't know why...but I can't stand to see you like this. It kills me...to think that you'll continue to slowly die and there's nothing I can do." Konan said in almost a whisper; Itachi heard it though. "...Please just let me do something."

Itachi stared at her; taking in those words. And he was really shocked to hear that from her, he felt some heat rise to his cheeks just thinking about what she just said. He didn't understand why should want to help him.

"Why would you want to help me?"

Konan's eyes opened and widened a little bit. She blushed slightly before glancing at the floor.

"I...I don't know why." Konan replied; it was true, she didn't know why. "...I just want to."

With that said, Konan lowered her left hand back over his arm and once again started healing it. Itachi meanwhile, was still shocked that she wanted to help him; and briefly glanced over at the window before shivering from the cold room.

"What were you thinking? Trying to fight Mayumi in the blizzard?" Konan suddenly asked after several minutes of silence. "You could have just...escaped easily. Then you wouldn't have ended up like this."

"I..."

Itachi glanced away and sighed. He ran his fingers through his long locks of raven hair as he avoided her questioning gaze.

"..."

"And how were you even able to keep going so long? When we all went out there and witnessed the fight, I could sense that you both were pretty much out of chakra."

"I was able to keep going...because of you, Konan."

"I mean, it really was unnecessary-what did you just say?"

Konan's eyes widened and she removed her hand from his arm. She could have sworn that her heart beat was starting to pick up as well. The moment became very tense, and Itachi just continued to avoide eye contact as much as possible. He himself, was kind of surprised that he just said that out loud.

"I...didn't say anything." Itachi replied.

"No. You did say something." Konan poiinted out. She then absentmindedly scratched her cheek. "Say it again, Itachi."

"...I told you: I didn't say anything..." Itachi replied; trying to not make eye contact.

Konan furrowed her eyebrows together; getting annoyed by how he wouldn't repeat what he just said. She actually couldn't believe what he had said; and just needed to hear it again...because it sounded a little revealing. But she wasn't too sure.

"Ugh..."

Konan looked back at Itachi and her eyes widened as she noticed him trying to sit up. She gasped slightly and quickly wrapped her arm around his back and placed the other on his shoulder to steady him.

"Don't move! You'll only make it worse!" Konan warned.

Itachi closed his eyes in pain as he rested there; in the position Konan still held him up in. He really felt drained from the fight; his chakra used up and his minor injuries still aching. But what really hurt the most, was his chest; it really hurt like hell.

Konan's blank expression was suddenly turned into a look of extreme concern. She hadn't ever seen the Uchiha in this shape; it really killed her to see him like that. In pain...and there was nothing that she, a medic, could do to help except heal the minor wounds!

"Just...lie back down. I'll try to do something." Konan said as she slowly pulled her arm back and gently lied him back down.

"Konan, you don't have to help me." Itachi replied tonelessly; looking up at her. "Heal your own wounds, you shouldn't even be injured."

"Mine can wait. I'm not going to leave you, Itachi." Konan stubbornly mentioned as she placed her hands on her hips. "Your life is already being slowly cut shorter every day! I don't want to see you die, and I don't want you to have to be in agony; because you really don't deserve any of this..."

"(Why does she care so much about if I'm okay? Is she...?)"

Konan glanced at Itachi's blank, onyx eyes and noticed that they had the look of confusion in them. Shaking her head, Konan placed her hand over Itachi's arm; and started healing the injuries once again. As the seconds ticked by, she sighed with relief as she noticed them completely heal and fade away. Itachi glanced down at his arm and blinked he then made eye contact with Konan again and decided to break the tension that overcame them.

"You're medical abilities seem to be very good. When did you start training to be a medical ninja, anyway?" Itachi asked.

Konan glanced down and smirked briefly before looking blank again.

"I've been training in secret for several months. I knew that...this organization needs at least one medic; we can't let ourselves get too beaten. Or we'll never capture all the jinchuriki." Konan replied; leaning over and healing his other arm then.

"...I see."

Silence once again overcame them. After ten minutes, Konan had healed the minor wounds on Itachi's other arm and even healed a few of her own on her arms. Now that she had checked on Itachi, she wasn't really sure what to next. A part of her wanted to try and heal his broken ribs; she had a feeling they were broken because Itachi seemed to be having trouble breathing and his chest really hurt. She also had a feeling that it was exactly two; like Kakuzu said.

...But she wasn't sure if her medical abilities were strong enough to heal those broken bones. Besides, it wasn't like she was an expert medic nin! Would she even be able to heal them?

"...At least I healed the minor."

Konan sighed and then lowered her hand to Itachi's face. She absentmindedly traced the scar on his face and then moved up to his forehead; Itachi's eyes followed her the whole time in suspense.

"I'm going to leave now. Just...just try to relax." Konan mentioned. "I know you might be in agony with it...but try to stay through it. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if you died a tragic death."

Konan's eyes softened suddenly and she quickly stood back up and brought her hand back to her side as if she touched fire. She felt kind of strange at the moment...like see wanted to just...

"(...Why do I feel so strange?)"

"(This feeling...is it really?)"

Suddenly, something very sudden happened: Itachi, despite barely even being able to breath or move, gestured for Konan to come closer. And despite her confusion, Konan got down slightly to be at eye-level with Itachi.

"...What are you doing?" Konan asked as she stared at him right in the eyes. "Why did you want me to come-"

Konan never got to finish her question. Because the complete unexpected happened: Itachi lightly grabbed her face and then, with what little energy he had at the moment, sat up slightly and pulled her closer; then crashed his lips on hers.

Konan's eyes widened; nearly bugging out at that moment. They never have been before; she was completely stunned and caught off-guard for once! A hot blush crept from her neck to her face and stained it crimson as her mind registered what just happened.

It didn't take too long for Konan to pretty much melt into the moment. She closed her eyes in contentment, and kissed back; wrapping her arms around his neck.

And it seemed so right. Everything, including time, just seemed to slow down. The room was no longer freezing to death, it was burning up. Well...it would have been freezing to anyone else if they were in there, but Itachi and Konan were actually the ones burning up. They weren't cold anymore; and something kind of clicked.

A full minute passing, Itachi and Konan both pulled away to get some air. They're faces were probably going to be stained crimson forever, and they were probably never going to be able to cool down, but that didn't matter.

Konan's heart beat was now thumping loudly and she just stared at Itachi speechless as she tried to somehow piece together what just happened.

"...That...that was..." Konan commented; in almost a whisper as she tried to look away.

"...Unexpected..." Itachi finished for her; just as stunned as she was. And his heart pretty much pounding against his two broken ribs.

"I...I should probably get going..." Konan mentioned as she quickly brought her arms back to herself and got up from the floor.

Konan and Itachi just locked eyes once again. But they're eyes both showed surprise and extreme confusion as they tried to understand what just happened and why they suddenly felt much different than before.

What they didn't know however, was that someone was watching them the whole time. A very light purple colored eye slowly retreated from the very, very, very slightly ajar door and silently closed it.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Pain sighed silently as he just stared at the door that led to Itachi and Kisame's room. He couldn't believe what he just saw with Itachi and Konan. He never actually imagined that those two would ever start to develop feelings for each other; it seemed so unlikely.

Besides, how could have not seen that coming? From what he'd heard the guys going on and on about lately, and the way his old friend has been acting since the season started, he should have been able to catch on. Then...he wouldn't have had to find out the hard way.

Maybe his expression didn't say it, but he was actually very shocked.

"..."

Pain just turned around and walked away back to his room. Taking in what he had just witnessed, he would have normally done something dramatic; like murdering Itachi in his sleep. But he didn't. Despite the fact that he was kind of jealous.

Pain knew one thing as he walked back to his room; the halls suddenly getting much more darker than ever and a sharp breeze suddenly blowing through the walls.

...He would have to discuss something with Konan.

End.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Oh...so what will happen now? Were you expecting that to actually happen between Itachi and Konan? And did you expect Pain to actually witness it? ;]

Don't worry, it's not over...YET. We still have a few things to clear up here, and then it'll all be over. ^_-

I can't believe this fic is coming it it's end. I remember only planning it out to be a simple one-shot! ^^

I just...love this pairing. And I wanted to add another to FF! Because you don't see this one written much; it's probably considered a crack-pairing for all I know. -_-

Anyway...sorry if this chapter is rushed. T.T I didn't get to write it back on Wednesday...then I started it yesterday...and finally finishing it today. :(

I SWEAR! THIS WEEK HAS BEEN SO BUSY FOR ME! D:

...Oh well, at least tomorrow's Saturday. ^_^

...Why am I rambling? Sorry about that, let's just move on! I'll try to update next week. If my life doesn't get in the way! *Winks*

And anyway, hope the story's been good so far. Because the conclusion is getting pretty close. ;)

Read and review. V