The Truth Be Told (Again!)

(Pauline's P.O.V)

I'd say that the surprise party went quite well, considering Kakuzu's wonderful response. Long story short, he hated it. Well, almost… Except for the fact that the others gave him money for a gift… Oh, the stuffed one hundred dollar bill? When he found out it was fake… Bye bye toy…

After the mess was cleaned up, we all resumed our normal activities and by the next day, it was as if nothing had ever happened.

"This is such a drag…" I groaned aloud.

"Now where have I heard that before…?" Hidan asked inwardly, trying hard to remember something that he couldn't quite yet grasp.

I attempted to continue this conversation in fear of when it was done, the boredom would settle in once again. "Is it usually this boring here?"

"I dunno," He responded sarcastically, "You've been here way before all of us came along." The Jashinist continued to flip through his magazine about hair absentmindedly.

"I dare to disagree!" The words slipped out of my mouth by accident. This caught Hidan's attention.

"What're you talking about?" He looked up from his article and lowered his voice, "And I'll be totally honest; we know you're not Konan. What's that shocked face for? We're not as stupid as we seem!"

"At least not all of us…" Kakuzu muttered while counting his money. Hidan chose to ignore his partner.

"I… I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Don't act stupid, it didn't suit Konan. So tell me, who are you really?"

"Like I said I-" And that was when Leader swept into the room.

"Yes, we had a meeting without you, Konan, and decided that it was time we actually found out who you really were." And suddenly, all the Akatsuki whisked into the living room.

"Wait… why does this feel so sudden? Everything was perfectly fine before!" I was in full-on panic mode now.

"The real Konan never would've even thought of celebrating my birthday" Kakuzu chimed in once again.

"Well she should've!" I put in defensively.

"Aha! That just proves that you aren't Konan!" Kisame burst out, pointing a finger at me. Shoot.

"Alright! Alright! I'm not Konan, okay? Happy?"

"What's your real name?" Pein asked.

"Pauline Jane."

"Where do you come from?"

"Earth."

"How did you take over Konan's body? And for what purpose?" He was anxious for answers and I could probably guess why.

"Okay, first of all, I didn't 'take over' her body on purpose! It wasn't my fault! I don't even know why it happened! There I saw Shizune through the mirrow with Kim's conscious inside and we switched! And then I saw Itachi and I don't really remember the rest…"

Pein took this into consideration before consulting the rest of the Akatsuki.

"She has not been a threat since the day that we began observing her but actions must be taken. What should we do with her?"

"Blow her up, un?"

"Eat her?"

"Sell her for money?"

"… Try to turn her back to normal?" Everyone turned to stare at Tobi, wide-eyed and I almost wanted to give him a hug. Almost.

"That actually doesn't sound that bad…" Kisame said.

"And it means that we'll be able to get the real Konan back!" It was as if Hidan had spoken Pein's mind for him because he nodded at his words.

"Yes, I agree. So starting today, we will now direct all of our attention to finding ways to get Konan and her conscious back! So do we have any leads?"

Then, it hit me.

"How could I have been so stupid?" I said aloud and everyone turned to look at me, "My friend Kimberly, who I told you guys about earlier, is in Shizune's body, right? So… she's in this world!" Since it still didn't register in the oh-so-smart Akatsuki's minds yet, I declared, "Maybe she'll know something about how to return to our original bodies!" That clicked. Several light bulbs flickered on.

So that concluded the meeting; we would be going to pay Shizune of the Hidden Leaf a little visit tomorrow.

Oh my goshness I have not updated since… last year!

Happy (belated) New Years everyone! :)

I hope that those of you who have actually stayed enjoyed!

And for those of you who left… please come back!

I sincerely apologize… I've been sooooo busy but I hope to update again soon! :D

Please do review! Late Christmas present? :)