Me: Tobi, how long has it been?
Tobi: Months! Lots of Months!
Me:-sigh- I know right? Sorry guys. My internet sucks but here we are with the eleventh chapter.
Tobi: Tobi has been a good boy!
Me: Yes he has! Anyways enjoy!
CHAPTER 11
I must say; gaining popularity overnight was not what I had in mind. After the concert, people treated me like I was some sort of star and well, it was hard getting used to it because I'd been a rebel my entire life; trust me, the life of a rebel isn't easy!
The amount of money we made with the Child Labor Program was used to buy clothes, stationary and food for the children who were going through poverty in the north. It's been a week and Hana went back to ugly sweaters, ponytails and glasses. I wish she'd stay the way she was yesterday but then again, she's Hana; she's my best friend no matter how she looked.
Right now, I'm currently bored out of my mind as Anko explains about some legendary musicians. I know Ame is the only college which has music as a totally separate course. We don't have text books but we get printed notes and we have to do a theory and practical exam; kinda like the computer courses but it deals with music rather than computers.
After the bell rang, signaling the end of today's sessions, everyone cheered; including myself. There was two whole weeks of holiday starting tomorrow because it was the celebration of the annual rain festival. It was celebrated each year in Ame and there was a huge festival that was held. It was awesome; there was a huge carnival held too!
During our two weeks of holidays, we were allowed to go to our home towns as well and I was super excited because this year, finally, I was going to Konoha! I was going to spend a week in Konoha and a week celebrating the rain festival. How cool is that! I've only seen Konoha in pictures and heard Hana talk about it. I've never visited it personally. But now I was going; I was really going. Maybe I'll get to see my rainbow . . .
I headed straight for my dorm; Hana was already there and she was packing her stuff. I grinned at her, "Konoha, here we come!"
Hana laughed, "It's your first time there isn't it? You're going to love it! I bet it has changed since I last saw it."
"We'll just have to wait and see! Okay, I have to pack now." I said as I reached under my bed for my suitcase. Strangely, it wasn't there.
Hana cleared her throat. She patted an object next to her; my suitcase, "Since it's your first time going to Konoha, I thought you'll get impatient and just toss everything in messily so I did it for you."
I hugged her, "You're the best. Thanks!"
Hana smiled, "You're welcome."
I pulled away, "Need help with your stuff?"
Hana shook her head, "Nah, I'm done. I'm just going to go to the lab to get my encyclopedia; I forgot it there."
I nodded, "I'm going to go out. I wanna enjoy the rain; I doubt I'll see much of it in Konoha."
Hana laughed, "You're right; oh, and say goodbye to the guys okay?" I nodded and headed out of the dorm.
It was raining really heavily but everything seemed so beautiful. I was in the hallway and I saw an open window. I looked out and saw everyone rushing inside, trying to get away from the rain. I laughed softly as I saw snickering Deidara, who was holding a deep red umbrella, trying to get away from a soaking wet Sasori who was yelling at Deidara to give his umbrella back.
I was excited about going to Konoha but I know I'd miss Ame. It's just one week but still . . . Ame is my birthplace, my home. Everyone had rushed inside so there was no one in the college campus. I stuck my left hand out of the window and let the raindrops fall on my hands. I smiled as they formed a small puddle of water in my palm.
And then it happened; something green fell from above and straight onto my hand. I cried out in pain and jerked my hand away but it was too late; the acid was already on my hand. It was eating through my flesh and the burning pain was unbearable. I fell to my knees and clutched my hand. I tried to get up so that I could go to the bathroom and wash it off but I was too numb to get up.
Suddenly, I felt a pair of arms lift me up and drag me off somewhere. I tried to see who it was but my vision blurred from my tears. The person, I could make out it was a guy, had taken me to a bathroom because I felt the cool water flow out of the tap and onto my palm. It stung a bit but the pain wasn't as bad as before.
"You okay?" a familiar voice asked. I used my other hand to wipe the tears away. Then I turned to see who the person was only to be met by a pair of alluring purple eyes.
"Pein?" I said shakily.
"Are you okay?" He repeated.
I nodded slowly. I noticed his arms were still supporting me, holding me by the waist. I blushed as tried to stand on my own but I collapsed back into his arms again. I laughed sheepishly, "Sorry."
He sighed, "Come on, let's go to the nurse."
Pein had to support my weight since my whole body was too numb to move. He held me by the waist and dragged me towards the nurse's office. I was really trying to suppress the blush that was threatening to crawl up on my cheeks.
"What do you eat? You're so heavy." Pein muttered.
I pouted, "I am not! My weight has been constant."
"Well, Miss Constant Weight, you should be more careful next time."
"How did you find me?" I asked him. "I mean, everyone's in their dorms getting ready for leaving aren't they?"
He was silent for a while. I looked at him, "Don't tell me that you were stalking me."
"Yeah right," Pein scoffed. "I was on my way to my dorm when I saw you."
I nodded, "I wonder where the acid came from."
"It was no accident." Pein muttered. I looked at him but he was looking the other way; he seemed to be thinking about something. I knew he words were true; the acid was no accident. But who was it? A fan girl maybe? Probably; I mean almost all the girls in this whole college hate me and Hana because of our friendship with the Akatsuki.
We reached the nurse's office. Pein knocked on the door.
"Come in!" A voice called out from inside.
We stepped inside and we saw the nurse, Shizune, standing on a chair and stacking some medicine bottles in the top cabinet. She stepped down after stacking the last bottle and jumped down. She looked at us and grinned; for an adult, she sure had a hell lot of stamina.
Shizune was the head of the Medical Department too. She had short black hair and black eyes and she was currently wearing a brown shirt and black skirt with black flats. She put her hands on her hips, "So guys, what can I do for you?"
"Shizune-san, could you check her hand?" Pein said as he gestured towards me.
Shizune gasped when she saw my hand, "Come here Konan. Sit." She patted the chair which she had been standing on. I gingerly sat on the chair and Shizune came up to me while putting on a pair of disposable gloves.
I winced when she touched the burnt skin of my hand. Shizune examined the wound on my hand; it looked horrible. The skin was red and charred and some of the skin portions were peeling off.
"Goodness, what happened?" Shizune asked me as she shook her head.
"Umm . . ." I started to say. I wasn't really good at explaining things. "I was sticking my hand out of the window and some acid fell from above and it landed on my palm."
"What?" Shizune said with a confused frown. I bit my tongue. Great; the way I said it, it sounded like the acid had fallen out of the sky. Now Shizune must think I'm crazy.
"The window in the chemistry lab was open," said Pein. Shizune and I looked at him. He cleared his throat and looked away. "Acid doesn't fall out of the sky; my guess is the wind knocked it over or someone did it on purpose. I'm suspecting someone did it because if it were the wind, the container would have fallen along with it. But it didn't."
Shizune nodded, "I see. But who would do this? The acid on Konan's hand is a very strong one. It would have killed her if it had further entered her skin. You did a good job today, Pein."
I sighed quietly with relief as Shizune applied some ointment on my hand. I turned to see Pein looking at me so intently with those beautiful eyes. I cleared my throat, "Thank you."
He understood that I was talking to him so he nodded. There was another silence. Shizune worked on my hand as I stared at the ceiling. That's when I noticed Pein was still here in the office.
"You don't have to stay," I told him. "I'm fine now." But he simply shook his head.
Shizune laughed softly and looked at Pein, "Well now, I'm surprised to see you care this much for someone else; especially when that someone is a woman."
I blushed and looked down at my hand; it was looking much better now. I peeked from my side and looked at Pein. He was looking away from Shizune, "Well now I couldn't just let her wither in pain now could I? That too, in the hallway."
Shizune chuckled and shook her head. She then bandaged my hand up and handed the ointment tube to me, "Change the bandage everyday and apply this ointment before you do. Since the damage wasn't that bad, you'll heal in about two week's time."
"Thank you Shizune-san." I said as I bowed politely.
Pein and I left the nurse's office and headed for our dorms. Before we part ways, I thanked him once again and headed back to the dorm ASAP!
Hana was waiting for me in the dorm. She was reading a book and when I opened the dorm door, she looked up, "Konan-chan, because of-"
She was cut off when she saw my hand. She immediately rushed towards me, "My God, Konan-chan what happened?!"
I told her what happened with the acid and Pein. Hana sighed, "Thank God Pein-san was there. I would tease you but I won't. He saved you."
I grinned, "Tee hee. Pein said someone must have done it on purpose but come on! It can be by accident right?"
"I was up in the chemistry lab to get my text book," said Hana. "I saw a beaker of something green, probably an acid, near the window. When I walked out, I saw someone in a hoodie come in. I just thought it was someone who came to get their stuff; like me."
There was an eerie silence.
"You think that hoodie person did it?" I asked her.
"I don't know," said Hana. "But if it was, I'll tear him apart!"
"It was a male?" I asked, noticing she said him.
Hana scratched her cheek, "I'm just assuming; it was hard to tell whether if it was a male or female because of the hood."
I sighed, "I guess we should assume it's an accident because I don't think we'll ever know who it was."
Hana nodded, "Well, what did Shizune-san say?"
"She told me to change my bandages everyday and to apply the ointment before I apply new bandages," I said as I held up my ointment tube. "Oh, Hana, what did you want to tell me when I came in? I mean before you saw my hand?"
Hana sighed, "We won't be going to Konoha today because of the rain."
"WHAT?! Says who?!" I yelled.
"Sasori-kun stopped by and told me; I guess he and Deidara-san were going somewhere too." Hana replied.
I groaned and sat on my bed, "I was so excited!"
Hana smiled, "So was I. But hey, we'll leave tomorrow."
"Tomorrow seems so long!" I moaned as I buried my face in my pillow.
Hana laughed, "You're just being impatient!"
"Am not." I muttered. I knew Hana was right . . . but that doesn't mean I'm going to tell her that.
Pein was behind the college. He went back to the dorm to get his iPod and then had headed for the back. The raindrops clattered noisily upon his black umbrella. He listened to some music on his iPod, a piano piece performed by who was the most important person in the world to him; his mother.
He clenched his fists. His mother and father were dead. He knew that very well. He lived with his aunt and uncle, whom he called his 'parents.' He loved them but it wasn't the same as being with his real parents.
Suddenly, he heard a voice from the corner. He didn't like people coming to his favorite spot, except for Konan but that was only because he found her company somewhat relaxing.
He listened to the voice; it was a male voice. The person seemed to be talking to himself. Pein recognized him even though he was wearing a hoodie; it was one of the students from the Music Department. He was holding a wad of cash in his hand and was waving it around happily.
"Heh," said the boy. "I get paid so much just to spill some acid; this is the life!"
Pein knew right away that this was the person who had spilled acid on Konan. His guess was right; it wasn't an accident.
Swiftly, Pein kicked the boy straight in a pressure point behind his back. The boy gasped and tumbled forward. He looked back threateningly, about to pounce at the person who had kicked him but his eyes widened when he saw that the person who kicked him was Pein.
"P-Pein-sama!" He stuttered
"So you were the one who spilled acid on Konan's hand." Pein said with a cold glare.
"N-no," he blubbered. "I mean . . . she I-"
Pein grabbed him harshly by the collar, "Who paid you to do this?"
"F-Fuyu-chan," he said helplessly. "She told me to get rid o-of Konan. She p-p-planed everything!"
Pein would have groaned out loud but he didn't; his number one fan girl had paid the boy to harm Konan. He glared at the boy so intently that the boy yelped like a helpless puppy, "You tell Fuyu-chan that if she pulls off any more stunts like that," He leaned in so that his mouth was next to the boy's ear. "I'll destroy her."
Pein let the boy go and he tried scrambled away but Pein called out to him, "I did not give you permission to leave."
The boy immediately froze and turned around to face Pein, "Y-yes?"
"You owe an apology to Konan," said Pein. "I'll be watching you; if you don't apologize . . ." He let the threat hang in the air and the boy understood the message clearly.
Pein dismissed the boy but he was too scared to move. Pein started to walk away. The question on the boy's tongue came rolling off immediately, "Is she your girlfriend?"
Pein stopped and turned to glare at the boy. The boy immediately regretted what he said. However, Pein simply shook his head and spoke, "She is innocent and hasn't done anything wrong; she doesn't deserve to be sprayed with acid." And with that, he walked away.
As Pein walked back to his dorm, he couldn't help but wonder himself; why did he care so much about Konan?
Care? Where did that come from? Pein shook his head; caring for someone meant attachment. Attachment meant bonds and bonding meant pain. He had sworn he would never become attached with anyone; ever. He had learnt the lesson of pain the hard way . . .
Me: Ooh-la-la! Pein-sama is opening up more!
Tobi: -nods- What is his secret?
Me: Well you just have to wait and see.
Both: Read and Review!
