"Eri? Kaname?" Akira could hardly contain her shock as her brain registered the information. "You're in Konoha?!"
"We came to visit you," Eri explained, smiling as she did so. "Kaede-sensei worked out a deal with the hokage."
Not knowing what else to do, Akira stepped forward to embrace them, starting with Kaname. On Eri, she paused, realizing something before a small cry off to the side confirmed her suspicion.
"Kaname! I told you not to yell!" Eri all but hissed.
Said kunoichi nervously scratched the back of her head. "Sorry! I'm still getting used to this."
After quickly retrieving her groceries outside the door and dropping them off in the kitchen, Akira tiptoed to the cradle next to the couch where Eri already stood. A muffled gasp escaped Akira's mouth, which she made sure to muffle with her hands.
This was Eri's baby.
"There's my little boy," Eri smiled softly as she lifted the child from the cradle. He slumped against the dark-haired kunoichi's shoulder. As she rocked him, Eri turned just slightly enough for Akira to fully assess the boy's features.
Bright blue eyes were half lidded and soft blonde hair crowned his tiny head. Reaching out a hand to stroke said hair, Akira found the child's skin to be just as soft as she moved down to his adorably chubby cheeks.
"His name is Riku." Eri murmured. "Born July fifteenth." He was barely three weeks old.
Akira stared at the child in silent wonder. Her emotions only increased as Riku's bright blue eyes met her lavender ones, and, in a slurred motion, he reached out to grip her index finger. However, before she could comment, a slight pinch surprised her.
"Itai!" Instinctively, Akira pulled back her hand. Riku protested the sudden lack of contact with outstretched fingers, drawing Akira's attention to another detail.
"I see he takes after his father," Akira remarked, eyes narrowed at the mouth cavities on Riku's hands. No doubt about it, this kid was Deidara's. They were all gum and no teeth, but she hadn't expected that. Kaname laughed.
"Don't look so sour. The same thing happened to me," Kaname said, resting a hand on the Hyuuga girl's shoulder.
Smiling slightly, Akira placed her hand over Kaname's and watched until Riku's eyes finally closed again and he fell back asleep. Then, she withdrew her hand and spoke again, only this time much more quietly.
"So, what kind of deal are we talking here with the hokage?"
"Don't worry, no indentured servitude or anything like that," Kaname assured while Eri lay Riku back down in the cradle.
"Shall we take this up in the bedroom?" Eri suggested, and, with a slight nod, Akira agreed.
"How long are you here for?" Akira inquired, the door now closed behind them.
"The deal is six weeks, but let's see how that goes," Kaname said. "At Tsunade's suggestion, I agreed to work at the academy. Apparently, that's where she put you?"
Akira smiled and shook her head at the memory of how she ended up there. "Yep. Are you going to be a teacher's assistant, as well?"
"To the spy tactics teacher." Kaname smiled back. "Apparently, she's the only one without an assistant."
"Suzume." Akira laughed sardonically and shook her head. "If anyone is going to be able to get along with her, you will." Kaname certainly had more of a talent for that than she did. "What about you Eri?"
"With Riku around, I would prefer to stay home with him for a while. However, when he gets a bit older, Tsunade said she will think of something for me."
"Wow." Akira made a mental note to thank the hokage for her generosity later. Not only had Tsunade surprised her, but she had lined up jobs for her former teammates, as well.
The three of them had so much to catch up on, even after such a short time.
"So Tsunade found out?!" Kaname exclaimed. Eri quickly shushed her, reminding both of them of the baby. In response, Kaname all but whispered, "So she knows about Itachi, then?"
"It wasn't exactly how I planned it to go, but yes," Akira admitted, and without thinking she placed a hand on her stomach. By now, the lump was far more obvious. "Pretty much all of it."
Awkward silence filled the room, but, as quickly as possible, Akira changed the subject.
"I'm having twins."
Like her newfound Hyuuga family, Kaname and Eri's jaws dropped.
"Akira, that's wonderful!" Eri exclaimed quietly. "Do you know the gender?"
"A girl and a boy."
Somehow, everything but the topic of names came up. Akira made mention of Anko's aforementioned baby shower, which she secretly hoped would never happen, as well as the details of her revelation to the rest of the academy.
"How did they let Eri in with Riku?" Akira inquired, wanting to steer the conversation away from herself.
"Kaede-sensei did it somehow. I didn't ask questions," Eri shrugged.
"And the nurses… how did they take to Riku's… erm…"
"Genjutsu," Eri replied simply. "Kaname did most of the work to help me, but, for any others, I simply let them see what they wanted to."
"Resourceful." Akira had to admit, she would have been freaking out way too much to have thought of that, especially after something as painful as labor. "And your parents?"
"Both of our parents were hesitant to allow us to come here, especially considering Eri's situation, but we wanted to support you, and eventually everyone gave in," Kaname chirped. "It worked out."
"Props to Riku for making such a journey."
"It comes in handy being a medic nin," Eri admitted. "He was fussy, though."
The girls continued catching up, talking about this and that, anything and everything. However, all three of them remained unaware of the two dark figures, chakras cloaked, watching them outside Akira's apartment window.
"Danzou-sama." The elder turned as a voice called his name. Two cloaked figures with nothing more than their eyes showing appeared in front of him, both knelt in prostrate positions.
"Rise." Without so much as batting an eye, Danzou spoke. "Fu. Torune." The Yamanaka and the Aburame. "Your report?"
Torune spoke first.
"You are correct. Tsunade's latest apprentice is with child."
"Itachi's?"
"Yes. Two other kunoichi from the girl's home village have joined her as of today. They also confirmed this. One of them will be working with her at the academy."
"Two more kunoichi?" Danzou looked away, mildly annoyed. Of course, Tsunade would allow such a thing. It would be more difficult for him to strike surreptitiously with two more sets of eyes watching.
"One of the kunoichi also has an infant of her own," Fu added. "The father is unknown."
"This certainly complicates matters." Danzou's index finger brushed across his chin in a thinking pose. Could he risk eliminating all three of them?
"What would you like us to do?" Torune inquired, still with an air of great respect.
Danzou paused for another moment, and then pulled his hand away from his scarred chin.
"Leave them be for now and simply continue watching. The Hyuuga girl will die before the young Uchiha are born, but we must wait for the opportune moment."
"Itsumade Kaname," Iruka sounded out the syllables of the Whirlpool girl's name as he read off a chart eerily similar to the one Akira had handed him only weeks ago. "And you're here to student teach, as well?"
"Yep! Tsunade's signature is right at the bottom!" Kanamae was far bolder about her position than Akira had ever been as she pointed to the section on the file. "I'm here for a six-week internship under Suzume."
"And your medical files?" Understandably, Iruka was wary as he flipped through papers for this detail.
Kaname sighed, knowing what he must be thinking and simply blurted, "I'm not pregnant. You don't have to worry about that."
A second later, Iruka's findings confirmed this, and at last he set aside the documents and extended his hand to Kaname to shake.
"All right then. Welcome to the team, Kaname-san."
"Iruka-san?" Just as the head teacher's hand made contact with Kaname's, a new presence poked his head into the room. Akira, Kaname and Iruka all turned to see Fukami Makoto at the doorway to the classroom.
"Daikoku-san just wanted me to drop off some papers for you," the chuunin explained, smiling nervously as he approached them. His eyes fell on Kaname.
"You're Suzume's new assistant?" he fumbled slightly at his words, but nonetheless walked forward to shake her hand like Iruka just had. Not knowing what else to do, Kaname laughed.
"Yep. Another Whirlpool Village intern." This was certainly becoming a thing for them.
"She also specializes in healing, although unlike Akira, she wields a plant jutsu rather than the gentle fist," Iruka explained. "She will do well with helping Suzume teach some of the girls about botany."
Judging by his expression, Makoto hardly heard a word Iruka said. His eyes were completely glued to Kaname, although it was not lust reflected in his eyes. Especially when she laughed, Makoto's eyes were filled with pure wonder, and he only broke out of his trance when Akira cleared her throat. Everyone seemed to have forgotten she was there.
"Shall I introduce Kaname to Suzume?" Akira inquired.
Makoto looked about to speak, but, with a brief look of strain, he held his tongue. Not at all noticing due to his focus on a stack of papers to hand back his students, Iruka said, "Sure. She should be in the teacher's lounge."
Kaname flashed both the men a smile as she and Akira headed out of the room. Once outside, Akira raised an eyebrow at Kaname, but her friend did not seem to realize what for.
"I'm nervous about this," Kaname admitted, and Akira could tell by her friend's posture that this was true. "I've never taught children before."
Akira laughed, and, in an attempt to be reassuring, said, "Don't worry. If I can pull it off, so can you. Unlike me, you actually have a younger sibling." With Kaname and Ryo being five years apart, her friend should be far more knowledgeable with how to deal with childish behavior than her or Eri.
Once Kaname was situated and everyone was introduced, Akira headed back to Anko's classroom, where she knew the lecture would be starting soon.
It still felt like a dream to have her friends here.
Halfway through the day, Akira began feeling woozy. Likely, it was just the pregnancy acting up, but thankfully at the time she was not teaching. Anko raised her eyebrow slightly at Akira's sudden change in demeanor, but, from her positon behind the children, Akira gave her a brief wave to continue the lecture regardless.
Save for that episode, the day went on as planned, and Akira closed the day's lecture with her usual piece on healing. Some of the children were even beginning to summon proper green healing chakra, unlike some of the embarrassing failures they had endured before.
"Great job, Hideki!" Akira praised, as, of all people, the brown-haired boy with the bandage over his nose was the first to have the best example. Most people stereotyped girls as being the ones more adept at healing, but, like her co-worker Fukami Makoto, this boy was gentle.
Some of the girls got the basic principle as well that day, but not nearly as well as Hideki. And to think, this had been the disruptive boy Anko threw a kunai at to silence on her first day. But, since her arrival, he had drastically mellowed.
The end of the day came swiftly all things considered, and, unsurprisingly, Kaname babbled the whole way home.
"And then there was this girl named Ayumi, and she wanted to know the meaning behind an amaryllis. And she looked so surprised when I actually knew it!" Akira did not even register Kaname's full sentence as another wave of nausea swept over her.
Detecting her discomfort, Kaname stopped short.
"Something wrong?"
Akira paused her walking, hand over her stomach. "They're moving," she winced, exhaling slowly in an attempt to mitigate the pain. "It just caught me off guard."
Kaname nodded knowingly and placed a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder.
They walked home a bit more slowly, especially up the multiple flights of stairs, only to find Riku in his playpen meddling with a stuffed toy while Eri cleaned the area around them.
"Back already?" The dark-haired kunoichi held a cleaning rag in her hand. The premise looked better dusted and washed than Akira had seen since her first day here.
"Suzume-san let me off early for my first day," Kaname explained, smirking slightly. "And Akira over here wasn't feeling so good."
Eri's eyebrows knitted together in concern, but Akira merely rolled her eyes.
"Kaname's kidding. This is the normal time I usually get home." It was past four thirty, although sometimes, depending on what needed to be done, she stayed longer.
"I didn't even have a chance to go shopping for groceries to make dinner," Eri remarked, sighing as she tossed the cleaning rag back into the bucket of water she had been using. Akira was low on living necessities to begin with, and, now with three people, dinner for all of them without a shopping trip was out of the question.
"Sorry, but I'm not going anywhere," Akira muttered, curling up into a ball on the couch. Her feet—or, come to think of it, everything—hurt and the last thing she wanted to do right now was go out and walk.
"Riku is going to throw a fit if I don't take him with me," Eri remarked, casting a sideways glance at her son, who was still preoccupied with the stuffed toy for the time being, "and it takes forever to get him ready."
Kaname sighed, setting her bag down next to the couch where Akira sat. "All right, I get it! Where's the store list? I'll go by myself. How hard can it be to find my way from here to the market?" Kaname crossed her arms, nose in the air to prove her point.
Akira and Eri exchanged grins when Kaname looked away, and, as soon as she turned back, Eri scurried to the kitchen to grab the store list.
Kaname grumbled under her breath as she descended the multiple flights of stairs, skirt in hand to prevent herself from tripping.
It was understandable that she, the only one of them who wasn't pregnant or already with a baby, would be the one to run the errands. But after her first day at the academy, this was not Kaname's idea of a celebration.
"In the least, I'll be able to get whatever I want," Kaname murmured, subconsciously tapping the list in her pocket.
Finding the marketplace was fairly easy. Most of the people carrying shopping bags and such came from the same direction, and the most Kaname had to do was follow them.
She was still trying to get used to the sights and sounds of Konoha. It was so much larger than the Whirlpool Village, and she had never come terribly close to the Land of Fire on missions, and didn't entirely know what to do with it all. Apparently, Akira's request to move to Konoha was one of the first in a very long time that the Whirlpool Village had made an effort to contact Konoha.
Either way, Kaname thought, letting out a sigh as she reexamined the list, down to business.
Most stands were pretty straightforward. Lots of villagers sold produce, others soaps and handmade goods. Kaname was able to obtain everything on the list, but as she bought item after item and ingredient after ingredient, she fully registered why Akira and Eri tended to go shopping in a group.
It wasn't that everything was terribly heavy, but there was just so much of it. It was a balancing act simply trying to lift the eight or nine—Kaname couldn't really tell—bags. The plastic ones went easily enough around her wrists, but the three different papers bags had either broken handles or none at all, and she only had two hips on which to anchor them.
But, just as she felt her fingers loosen around one of the aforementioned bags, Kaname winced, bracing herself for the soul-shattering sound of their groceries hitting the ground. But, when no sound came, Kaname hesitantly opened one eye to see a familiar set of hazel orbs staring back at her.
"Itsumade-san?" It was Fukami Makoto, the teacher's assistant from back at the academy. The oddly nice one—and he had been the one to catch her grocery bag.
Blinking several times, Kaname reopened both eyes and stared at the man for several seconds, dumbfounded. A million questions raced through her mind, but her fumbling lips only managed to form one word.
"Hi…" Nice, Kaname. REAL nice. Could she have thought of a stupider reply?
"Need any help?" His smile was genuine and innocent. Something told her she could trust it, but her pride almost didn't let her.
"I'm okay, thanks," she insisted and attempted to continue on her way, but stumbled nearly a second later even without the bag he was holding. Thankful he couldn't see the face she was making because her back was turned, Kaname let out a sigh and spoke again.
"Only if you don't have somewhere else to be."
His smile remained. "Just show me where to go."
The two of them scrambled to the edge of the street where they ran less chance of someone attempting to shove or run them over. After readjusting the bags on her wrists and silently kicking herself for not thinking of this earlier, Makoto re-positioned some of the groceries and things into a single paper bag that he held from the bottom to ensure it wouldn't rip. And, although it begrudged her to admit it, Makoto definitely had the advantage when it came to upper body strength.
Makoto was surprisingly pleasant company and easy conversation. Not that she expected him to be unpleasant, but most young adult men she met were either full of themselves and completely lacking in social graces or the complete opposite end of the spectrum and overly sensitive, but not Makoto. He was good natured, he had a sense of humor, and, as demonstrated by his prior actions, he was a gentleman.
She was laughing, but honestly Kaname had no idea why. The topic of their conversation blurred and varied, but almost anything that came up she suddenly found funny.
They were a street away from the apartment now.
"Thanks for the help." Her cheeks burned red, and she prayed he didn't notice. "Hopefully, next time I'll be more careful so as not to trouble you again."
He just smiled at her again. "No trouble at all, Itsumade-san. Always happy to help."
No wonder he's a teacher. With a heart of service like that, what kid couldn't at least appreciate?
"Well, here we are," Kaname stated, stopping in front of the apartment. "You can leave the bags just inside the door." It would take her a trip or two, but in the least she shouldn't drop anything again. "Thank you."
Undeterred, he said, "What floor do you live on?" and immediately she knew his intent was to continue helping her all the way up to her room.
"Really, it's okay. You've done more than enough already!" she tried to insist, but he just kept giving her that puppy dog stare. Not in an annoying way or anything, just in a way that she couldn't keep looking and not feel guilty without answering honestly.
After a brief period of silence she finally said, "Fifth floor." And somehow, he knew there was no elevator.
His trek up the stairs was effortless. Not that hers was particularly strenuous, but she definitely felt something resembling strain near the last few steps. Makoto, meanwhile, looked energized, if anything.
"I'm home," Kaname all but muttered, kicking open the door to the apartment after fiddling with the key for what felt like an eternity.
Eri was the first face she saw. The dark-haired kunoichi was attempting to multitask setting the table with one hand all the while balancing her infant son on the opposite side of her body.
"Ah, you're back!" Eri didn't seem to sense the extra chakra behind her as she placed the final plate on the table. "Did you get everything okay?"
"Heh, about that…" After removing her shoes and setting down the bags, Kaname nervously pinched her fingers together. And before she could so much as attempt to explain…
"Itsumade-san, where would you like me to put these?"
Eri raised an eyebrow. Then Akira came in.
"Ah, Makoto!" she exclaimed, looking happier than Kaname would have expected her to be. "What brings you here?" The form fitting purple shirt Akira now wore in addition to her dark pants clearly showed off the baby bump forming at her midsection.
"Makoto is one of the other assistant teachers at the academy," Akira quickly explained, noting Eri's lost expression, to which the chocolate-eyed kunoichi then nodded.
"Three people is a lot to shop for, so I was struggling with all the bags," Kaname admitted sheepishly, then motioned to their latest addition. "Makoto was kind enough to assist me."
"I'm Eri," she introduced, and then motioned to the boy on her hip. "And this is Riku."
"Pleased to meet you." Makoto bowed to both of them. Not sure what else to do, Kaname shifted awkwardly before he spoke again. "Thank you for allowing me in here. I suppose I should be going," he said, hazel eyes flicking toward the set of dinnerware Eri gathered.
"You've come all this way. Why don't you stay for dinner?" Eri inquired, offering a smile. "It's the least we can do after all you've already done."
Makoto's expression immediately changed to sheepish as he closed his eyes and raised his hands in a pacifistic manner. "I wouldn't want to intrude on you ladies any further."
"Come on. How else are we supposed to get to know each other outside of the academy?" Kaname was the next to speak, and Makoto inquisitively turned to face her. "Please. It would be our pleasure to host you."
And, with that, he gave in.
Honestly, Kaname should have known better. The three of them had so much to hide that it was practically social and possibly literal suicide inviting someone they didn't know into their home. But, somehow, as Eri situated Riku playpen, considering she had already breastfed him earlier that day, she and Akira scurried into the kitchen to finish whatever last minute preparations the extra groceries enabled, Kaname didn't feel so threatened.
Makoto was great with Riku, using one of the boy's noise-making stuffed animals and making faces as he did so, which caused the three-month-old to grin his toothless smile and clap his tiny genjutsu-altered hands in glee. Kaname smiled softly at the scene as she and the leaf chuunin leaned over the playpen.
"Do you have any siblings?" Kaname inquired. Makoto looked up at her, hazel eyes twinkling with childlike innocence. "You're way too good at that." Even she hadn't been that adept at playing with her brother Ryo when they were younger.
"I have two younger sisters, Aya and Megumi," he replied before turning his attention back to Riku, who was now nibbling the best he could on the toy with no teeth.
"And your parents?"
"My father died when I was young. My mother's still around, though." The nonchalant way he spoke made her feel incredibly guilty, and, with all the death and pain her friends had already endured, she wasn't about to feel better about her hasty statement to him any time soon.
"I'm sorry," she muttered quickly, but he just smiled at her again.
"It's okay. It happens."
Before she could talk again and likely ask another stupid question, Akira and Eri emerged from the kitchen, meals in hand.
"Sorry for the wait!" Eri said softly, smiling flawlessly like a proper hostess.
Akira sat down to join them and Eri returned to the kitchen to fetch something else while the other three of them clapped their hands together and chanted "Itadikimasu!"
As always with Akira and Eri's cooking, the food was delicious. Kaname was secretly thankful that she had not been the one to cook tonight, given her lack of skill in the kitchen. Somehow, despite Kaname's effort to avoid it, the topic of family was brought up again and Eri nigh parroted Kaname's prior words to Makoto.
"So do you have family in Konoha, Fukami-san?" She glanced back and forth to Riku every so often to ensure her son remained satisfied lying down in his playpen, but, for the most part, she kept her chocolate gaze on Makoto.
Kaname winced at the repeated mention of Makoto's family, but he seemed unphased.
"I live with my mother and two sisters not far from here," he replied. "In fact, Aya and Megumi both work as nurses at the hospital with Haruno Sakura. You may have met them already during your training with Tsunade-sama, Akira-san."
"I don't recall meeting anyone with those names, but I have probably seen them," Akira admitted, thoughtfully putting a finger to her chin. "I'll have to keep an eye out."
The meal finished quickly and somehow, further awkward conversation was avoided. Makoto didn't ask about the father of Akira or Eri's child. He didn't demand to know why they were all here. He just inquired about what he knew and didn't press unnecessarily.
Considering how accustomed to Misaki and Saito I am, this is unreal.
"May I help with the clean up?" Makoto asked earnestly once the meal was over, which both Akira and Eri insisted he not.
"Please, stay out here and play with Riku," Eri had said. "It's odd when he takes this much of a liking to someone he's not familiar with."
"My sisters cook well, like your friends," Makoto murmured, almost absentmindedly after Eri and Akira had gone back into the kitchen to wash the dishes. "The three of you should come over sometime. Bring Riku if you like. Aya and Megumi love children, and my mother loves to entertain guests."
"That would be… great." Kaname could not help but trail off. Something about the whole situation was throwing off her thought process. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been this scatterbrained in front of a complete stranger.
Just like on their way to the house from the market place, Kaname didn't remember much of their conversation after that. They said a few words to each other. Makoto mostly played with Riku and she watched, relishing the scene.
By the time Akira and Eri returned, Makoto was preparing to leave.
"Thank you for having me, Eri-san, Akira." He bowed to both of them and turned to the copper-haired kunoichi last. "Kaname."
Whatever it possessed her to act this way, Kaname also felt it increase her heartbeat to a speed as if she were in the midst of a dangerous battle. She quickly bowed in an attempt to hide her flushing cheeks.
"I look forward to working with you at the academy!"
She hadn't said anything wrong that time, but Kaname still felt her body overheat as Makoto waved a final time and then headed out the door. She stood there silently, tracing his chakra as he descended down the multiple flights of apartment steps and then out the door, only to intermingle with the countless other presences of Konohagakure.
She felt stupid. Stupid, but giddy. What an odd combination.
"What a nice man," Eri remarked, her tone thoughtful. Kaname could only nod in agreement.
"Yeah, nice," she said absentmindedly.
Maybe living and working in Konoha wouldn't be such a difficult transition, after all.
(Two months later…)
Akira waddled down the dusty Konoha path away from the academy and toward her apartment. Now six months along, even a total stranger could deduce her condition.
"I can't believe Anko actually followed through," Akira remarked to Kaname, shaking her blonde head. She'd actually kept her promise about that baby shower.
It embarrassed her to admit it, but Akira hadn't seen it coming. She recalled the snake kunoichi mentioning something about it, but Akira hadn't actually expected her friend to gather gifts and expenses and then surprise her at the end of a long work day with a dango-themed party. Her gift from Anko, aside from the party itself, had been three stuffed pillows: green, white and pink, momentarily compressed for the sake of travelling convenience.
"One for you and another for each of them!" Anko had reasoned.
The entire ordeal had been catered and everything. Even the boys were surprisingly cooperative in contributing. Everyone had signed a card wishing her luck in three months time when her due date came, and Hinata and Hanabi had even taken the time to show up and celebrate with her and the other ladies.
"Yeah, but at least you don't have to carry everything," Kaname muttered, readjusting her grip on all the bags and boxes.
"It'll save us some serious shopping and you won't have to ask Makoto-san for help later." Kaname blushed, but Akira pretended not to notice. Kaname got upset when she did that. "Speaking of which, how is he doing?"
Shopping would be a lot easier for the next few weeks with all the money some of the parents had donated. Those that hadn't known what to get her had simply presented her with cash, and apparently Akira was more well-liked than she thought.
"How should I know better than you? We all work in the same building."
"True, but I'm not the one who went out to lunch with him this afternoon."
"It was a thank you for helping him with all the grading last week!" Kaname protested. Akira laughed again.
"Sure, Kaname, whatever you say." She waited a few seconds for her friend to fluster some more before speaking again. "Any word on when your next dinner with the family is?"
True enough, Makoto had kept his promise to invite them over a few weeks after his inadvertent visit to the Whirlpool kunoichis' apartment, but, due to extenuating circumstance—being Akira's meetings with Tsunade and Riku being fussy—Kaname had been the only one to go that first time. And then the next time. And the next time. By now, it was becoming such a pattern that Akira and Eri often joked that they'd been forgotten altogether.
"Probably sometime next week, depending on how much we both manage to get done," Kaname replied, trying to sound casual. Akira just laughed again.
Even if she couldn't directly say it, Akira was happy for her friend. Makoto was a good man, a good teacher, and a good shinobi. Given her and Eri's failures with relationships, in the least, Kaname deserved to get this right.
With how late they had gotten out thanks to the baby shower, the sun was already setting. Splashes of orange and pink littered the sky in a typical Konoha sunset, but not-so-typically, today's clouds were tinged red.
The color gave her a dank feeling. Akira couldn't quite place it, but she felt like something bad was about to happen. She instinctively ran a hand across her swollen abdomen.
"Is something wrong?" Kaname inquired, and it wasn't until her friend spoke that the Hyuuga girl realized she had stopped walking.
"Oh, nothing at all!" Akira assured, brushing off the feeling. What was she thinking? How was she supposed to know anything about what was going to happen? It must be the pregnancy making her feel so strange.
With a quick grunt of determination, Akira resumed her pace with Kaname. Even with all the gifts and trinkets from the shower encumbering her, Kaname still managed to stay in front of her, to which Akira could only sigh. But, even as they slowly ascended the flights of stairs to the apartment and Akira sat on the couch to view the bloody sky through the glass in her window, she couldn't seem to shake that silly, negative feeling.
Whatever it was, she would know soon enough.
"Tomorrow it begins." Konan did not look up from folding her origami paper in half when Nagato spoke. Yahiko's body and Nagato's voice—something she'd never quite managed to get used to.
Akatsuki's base had grown considerably lonely. Since Itachi's death, Madara had been working tirelessly to train Sasuke and prepare for Konoha's invasion. Most of the other Peins were out on scouting missions or maintaining order in Amegakure, but she and the God realm were alone together in her room.
Their standard meeting rooms had been much too dark and damp for her. Even the station containing the equipment required for maintaining the Realm bodies had not been a place she desired to be. She was accustomed to darkness, yes, but at times she tired of it, and when she had headed off to her room for a change of scenery, Pein had wordlessly followed her.
Konan sat on her bed folding origami. Pein now stood beside her, watching ominously.
"We have waited a long time for this," Konan agreed, still not making eye contact as she performed the next fold in her arrangement. "And Sasuke?"
"Madara has sent him after the eight tails. Likely, he will not fail us."
"Likely?" Konan's lips remained emotionless as she began folding the neck for her paper crane, but her eyes flared. "The boy is rash. He may look like Itachi, but he is nothing like him."
"He is powerful."
"True." Konan could not argue with that. Finished with her first paper crane, Konan reached for another sheet in the stack of paper beside her. She folded this one in half, as well. "But that kind of power without control is nothing but dangerous."
Nagato did not argue further. Instead, his ringed gaze followed her hands as she placed yet another paper crane on the nightstand's surface and reached for a third sheet of paper.
"Why cranes?" he finally asked. "Out of all the origami you can fold, why cranes?"
"Legend says if one folds a thousand paper cranes, the folder's wish will be granted."
"And what is your wish, Konan?" At last, the kunoichi looked into his ringed gaze. Her amber eyes that had once been full of childish youth and vigor were now barely alive. Yahiko's death had sapped her of whatever positive emotion she had left to express, but nonetheless, here she was staring at him.
"Peace." With that, she stood up, the third paper crane she folded cradled in her hands and still locking eyes with "Yahiko." "A world where children do not need to suffer and people like Yahiko and Sensei don't have to die."
"Jiraiya had it coming. He did not share God's views."
"I know." Although her face showed nothing, her fingers tenderly reached for the familiar hands of her lifelong partner and, with open palms, he received the crane she had folded. "But if my wish were granted, you would not have fought in the first place."
"Tomorrow it will be," Nagato said quietly. His fingers enclosed around the creature, and, as they did, Konan's hands lingered on his.
Her affections for Yahiko had been no secret. The first few days after his death were the worst. It was one thing for a comrade to die and for her to bury them. That, in the least, allowed closure. But Yahiko—the boy she loved—was gone, and although his body still moved, all his eyes displayed were Nagato.
She cared for Nagato deeply. With his current condition in controlling the realms, she waited on him hand and foot, always ensuring he had what he needed and that he did not push himself too far. She offered protection, and she offered advice. Sometimes, he even listened.
But did she love him? To this day, Konan did not know. After all this time, both of them had pushed aside any thoughts of emotion and focused fully on their task of not only avenging Yahiko, but preventing other tragedies like his from happening again.
Emotions were especially useless to her in a house full of psychopathic, egotistical and, with the exception of Pein and Itachi, self-centered men. Nearly this entire time, save for a single year, she had been practically the only woman, and although women were stereotyped as overly emotional compared to the average man, Konan prided herself in being an exception.
"I suppose it will." Konan removed her hands and sat back down on the bed, in the process, grabbing another sheet to continue folding.
Nagato looked at her blankly, almost as if he were about to speak, but for whatever reason, he waited a few seconds.
"Are you afraid something will go wrong?"
Konan shook her head.
"You are God. There is nothing that you cannot do. An angel does not doubt."
Despite her words, Konan knew she wasn't being entirely honest. Of course, she had worries. They had lost so many members already, and she didn't want to lose Nagato like she had Yahiko. Almost as if he could sense her dishonesty, Pein moved to sit on the bed beside her. He didn't touch her or even offer a comforting word. He just sat there with her, and secretly, she was grateful.
Nonetheless, he assured her, "We will win tomorrow."
By the time Konan looked at him again, she had finished her tenth crane and the nightstand was beginning to crowd.
They had nothing to do and nothing left to prepare. All was just a matter of time. But what were they supposed to do with that time? Orders had been given, plans were prepared and all of the remaining members were off achieving their own assignments. For the next ten hours, it was just them, and training at this point was useless.
Nagato's actual body was just down the hall in the secret room behind the meeting room. Their base in the top of Amegakure's highest tower was one they frequented, and even customized with a standard meeting place and a personal room for Konan amid everything else. Being God to the people certainly did have its perks and as did the impressive funds they had gathered from all the missions and bounties.
Konan was not entirely sure who initiated what happened next. Likely Nagato, since she did not recall moving, but still, she could not be entirely sure. All she felt was the light touch of Pein's lips on hers.
He did not linger long. The kiss was so short, and for a moment Konan wondered if it ever actually happened—but the feel of another person's saliva on her lower lip was unmistakable.
Not wasting a second, Konan cupped her newfound lover's cheek and pulled his face back to hers, not wanting to let go just yet. This time, the kiss deepened.
It felt wrong, or so Konan tried to tell herself. Yahiko's body should be cold. The only thing animating this silly form was the chakra receivers piercing the skin, and the proof of that lay in Nagato's rinnegan. But Yahiko's mouth was inviting and his skin warm to the touch. How could he not be alive?
By the time they separated, both of them panted but not from exhaustion.
Pein cupped her chin to kiss her again, but Konan turned away, not wanting to look into Nagato's eyes on Yahiko's face. She felt confused enough as it was.
Maybe she loved both of them. Nagato's true body couldn't move on its own. Changing locations, even close ones, was agony and something they tried to avoid as much as possible. Yahiko was dead, but his body could move. Could this even sanely be considered a compromise?
"What's wrong?" Even at Pein's words, Konan continued to look away.
Then again, could any of their actions even be considered sane?
Without replying, Konan pulled him into another kiss, and before Nagato could say another word, Konan shoved the man onto the bed with his feet still dangling over the side. She didn't straddle him per say, but one of her manicured hands remained firmly planted on the God realm's chest as she continued kissing him.
They'd lost Sasori, Hidan, Kakuzu, Deidara, Itachi and even their healer—Madara had been the one to bring them news of that last one. Somehow, Akira had escaped Zetsu's watch with Itachi's body. Konan felt little pain over the losses, as she was far too used to it by now, but she could not deny the impact it had on their organization.
Save for her last few moments with Akira, Konan had kept all of the members at an arm's length, both emotionally and physically. However, having them all there had filled some hole in her. Just having people around, even if no one was close, had been so much better than nothing at all—better than spending all her days around corpses of former comrades.
With all of them gone, here she was, starving for companionship and desperate to feel something.
Her breathing hitched as Pein moved his affections from her mouth to the side of her neck. She gasped when he bit down and, before she knew it, he was the one on top.
"Konan?" Her cheeks were flushed and, with her head thrown back, all Konan could do was groan.
"What?"
"Should we stop?" Despite his rough exterior and countless heinous acts, with her, Nagato still tried to be gentle. But right now, gentle was not what Konan needed. Her hands reached to begin unfastening his Akatsuki cloak, and that was all the reply he needed.
Just this once, they could be together without the worries of duty, politics, and villages.
Even if was only for a little while.