TW: SA/DV
Nari was practically bouncing out of her skin with excitement. She wanted to burst with the news. They were going to play in Suna! She wanted to scream and sing and cry with excitement, she wanted to share it with someone, she wanted to celebrate. Instead, when she got home, she locked herself in her room and screamed into her pillow.
Once she had screamed herself dizzy she rolled over and took in a deep breath. She couldn't stop smiling. Nari picked up her phone and started typing a message. Then she deleted it and started over. Then she deleted it and started over again. She had a friend in mind she wanted to see, but how do you tell your friend you're showing up in a week with their favorite band? Nari lay there, staring at the ceiling, trying to think of how to tell her.
Then it hit her.
Nari sat up and grabbed her phone again. She scrolled through the contact list and looked at the numbers Konan had put in her phone. She had the number of each band member: Pein, Konan, Kakuzu, Zetsu, Kisame, Deidara, Sasori, Hidan, Itachi, and Tobi. She looked at a few options, trying to decide who would be best to ask. After a few minutes of contemplation she smiled and dialed the number.
"Hey, Kakuzu? It's Nari," She bit her lip nervously waiting for his acknowledgment.
"Hm?" His gruff voice came through the line. "What do you want?"
"I need a favor."
Tires rolled across the wet pavement as Konan pulled up to the agreed upon location while the rain continued to pour. She raised an eyebrow in surprise, seeing Nari run through the rain towards her. The red head yanked open the car door and climbed in, tossing her bag by her feet.
"Thanks for picking me up." Nari smiled at her, tucking a few strands behind her hair.
"Don't mention it." Konan said as she eyed the girl, looking for any sign of injury or illness. Nari watched her, confusion clear on her face, and they sat there for a moment. Nari waited for a question and Konan waited for an explanation. "Are you… is everything ok?" Konan asked and Nari gave a small smile.
"Yeah, just visiting someone." Nari dismissed. Konan looked her over once more before nodding and shifting the car into drive. Konan drove out of the parking lot and into the evening traffic, driving them to the hotel. They were leaving again, this time for almost a full week. She didn't tell her boyfriend. She wasn't going to let him spoil her fun. They sat in silence for a long while and Nari stared out the window, resting her forehead against the cool glass. "It's my brother." Nari admitted finally. Konan's eyes flicked to her briefly before returning to the road.
"What's wrong?" Konan asked, "Is he sick?"
"It's uh-it's complicated." Nari said. The two lapsed into an awkward silence for a few moments. Nari watched the windshield wipers swish across the glass and fat raindrops splat against the roof of the car. Konan merged the car into traffic, joining the crawl through the street. Nari sighed as the car stopped at the red light. "I haven't told anyone." Nari admitted and Konan looked at her. Nari gave a nervous smile. "My friends know he's in a coma, but they don't know all of it."
"What happened?" Konan asked as she turned her attention back to driving.
"Driving." Nari explained. "Really bad wreck. The doctors tell me he probably won't wake up." She turned to Konan and looked her up and down. "I haven't told a soul the diagnosis. Everyone thinks he's going to wake up some day."
"Why do you keep him on life support?" Konan asked, confused. Nari shrugged and looked back out the window.
"I don't know. Maybe it's just hope." Nari dismissed. "It's gonna be a lot easier now, with what you guys are paying. Now I can start paying off some of the medical debt."
"Can your parents help?" Konan asked and Nari snorted.
"Parents up and died on us." She explained, not looking back at Konan, her gaze fixed on the passing city. "He's all I have left." When Konan stopped at the next light she turned to face Nari, her eyebrows furrowed in concern. "What?" Konan just blinked at her for a moment, thinking, before facing forward. Nari watched as she rung her hands on the steering wheel. Is she nervous?
"If you uh," Konan started and Nari looked at the blue haired woman as though she had grown a second head. Konan giggled nervously and shook her head. "I'm terrible at this."
"You don't have to say anything." Nari assured her. "It's old news anyway."
"I know we haven't known each other long," Konan continued anyway, making Nari smile a bit, "but if you need anything, to talk or" Konan shrugged, "to not talk. I'm here." Nari sat, listening to her offer. Konan was a kind woman, but this more than just kindness, this was Konan trying to reach out and be supportive, trying to be a friend. Nari blinked in surprise as her eyes stung with the threat of tears and she sniffed.
"Thank you." Nari answered quietly.
"We all have our histories. So we get it and we get it if you don't want to talk, too." Konan explained, starting to ramble nervously. "We take care of each other and you're part of that family now. So, don't feel like you have to go it alone."
"I won't." Nari sniffled, rubbing her eyes. "I promise."
"Good," Konan giggled. "We just got you, it'd be a shame to lose you now." This made Nari laugh and Konan smiled, relieved at the laughter. "I don't really have a lot of girl friends. I'm so used to hanging around the boys, and don't get me wrong, I love them," Konan admitted, "but it's nice to have another girl around."
"I can't even imagine." Nari joked. "How did you survive this long?" Nari teased, making the two girls burst into a fit of giggles. It felt good to laugh and the two soaked in every minute they could. Konan continued to drive them through the city to the same hotel she had met them in last time.
While the band was local to this city, they always made sure to meet the night before at the hotel, that way no one over slept and held them up. Nari wondered if it was just an excuse to hang out together. When she walked into the room, following Konan, she knew her suspicion was correct. Hidan, Deidara, Sasori, Itachi, and Kisame were sat on the couch. In front of them, sitting on the floor, arms resting on the table. Once the door shut behind her they turned to her. The more outgoing busted into wide grins and greeted her. The more reserved gave her a smile and nod of the head. She waved and smiled and walked into the room, looking at the tv. They were watching sports. They were all sitting on the edge of their seats, drinking beer, eating pizza, and watching sports like a bunch of normal guys. It was startling how normal they had become to her. Within weeks, they went from her music idols to a bunch of boys she knew.
Nari had to bite back a laugh. They were such guys at the heart of it all, the epitome of boys will be boys. Even Kakuzu, Zetsu, and Pein had their eyes glued to the tv. They were sitting at the table against the windows but they were facing the tv, each either eating or drinking.
"Do you care about this stuff?" Konan asked with a fond smile. Nari giggled and shook her head.
"Not really." She admitted and Konan linked her arm with Nari's. "I take it you have other ideas."
"You must be reading my mind." Konan grinned as she dragged Nari to the room she shared with Pein, closing the door behind them. As the door shut, they heard a few of the guys cheer and holler, making the two girls laugh. "I guess someone scored." Konan laughed and gestured to the bed. "Make yourself comfortable." Nari left her bag by the door and kicked off her shoes. She tossed her coat over the bag and moved to the bed, sitting on it.
"So, what do you have in mind?" Nari asked as Konan rummaged through her duffle bag. Nari felt unprepared. She only had a backpack.
"Well, I wanted to try out a few makeup looks on you while he had a chance." Konan explained and straightened up, make box in hand. "Figured we could take advantage of the down time." Nari smiled at her. She had enjoyed her time being dolled up by Konan. She's had plenty of female friends and yes, she's done the makeup at sleep overs, but she'd been stuck in the city for so long, feeling alone. Konan was terrifying in the best way, pushing Nari to step into herself, and she found herself looking forward to spending time with the blue haired woman, even if it meant having to step out of her comfort zone.
Konan beamed at Nari's smile and dropped the box on the bed before grabbing her laptop, dropping it onto the bed with the box before climbing on. She opened the laptop and let some music play. It wasn't the usual rock or metal Nari had come to expect, but it wasn't music she didn't recognize. She grinned at the playlist as she looked over the upbeat songs.
"What?" Konan asked. "Don't tell me you hate this music."
"I love this kind of music." Nari told her. "I just haven't heard it in a while. It's a nice break from the rock."
"Definatly." Konan nodded as she began to pull out the makeup. "I love the music you guys play, but sometimes I just need something happy."
"I get it." Nari laughed as the music played. She hummed along and closed her eyes as Konan began. She felt the woman dabbing on primer. The two girls sat there while the music played. They stayed silent for a while, but when Nari's favorite part of the song came on, she couldn't help but sing along.
"My girl looks like Wednesday Adams, Eyes go black when she orgasms," Nari sang and Konan beamed, joining her for this section of the song.
"Hide your back she likes to stab them, my butt cheeks she likes to grab them. Her spit taste just like juicy fruit, she do that thing she usually do, spell my name with her tongue like uh-hu!" The two moaned the part loudly before laughing themselves silly. The lyrics were forgotten as the two laughed, doubling over at their own childishness, trying to catch their breaths.
"Stop, stop," Konan giggled as she tried to sit up, "you'll smudge the eye shadow," she laughed as Nari sat up and gently dabbed the tears on the corner of her eyes.
"Sorry, sorry!" Nari giggled, "I can't believe you sang that."
"I can't believe I sang," Konan giggled as well.
"Oh my god, I hope the boys didn't hear." Nari wheezed, and Konan laughed again.
"I think Kakuzu would have a stroke," Konan nodded while still laughing. "He can be such a stick in the mud." Nari snorted and laughed loudly. The two women settled down after a minute, catching their breath. After a bit the two sat up and Konan stood. "I'm gonna go raid the fridge for some beer. Do you want anything? Have you eaten?"
"I'll have a beer, yeah." Nari smiled and watched her go. She sat there, looking at the phone in her hands as music played from Konan's laptop. Her skin crawled with the memory of what she endured during her visit with Eric. She felt gross, violated, guilty. She hadn't told him she was leaving this time. She couldn't bring herself to face him.
"You ok?" Konan asked, coming back in and closing the door behind her. Nari looked up from her phone and gave a small smile.
"Yeah, why?" She asked, shoving her phone in her pocket.
"You just looked like you had something on your mind." Konan said as she walked over and handed her the beer. "You worried about your brother?" She asked as she sat on the edge of the bed.
"Uh, no, actually," Nari sat her beer bottle on the nightstand and rubbed her hands together nervously, "Can I ask you something? It's personal." Konan eyed her warily and sipped her drink before nodding.
"Sure, is everything ok?" Konan asked, surprised Nari was already opening up to her about something. Nari was the type of person where it's like pulling teeth to get personal information out of her. Now she's sharing freely?
"I think so." Nari said and she furrowed her eyebrows, trying to think of how to ask. What does she say? What does she want to say? What does she really want to know? Nari shook her head and reached for her beer, taking a large gulp before setting it back down. She rubbed her hands together again. "Nevermind, let's get back to uh, the make up thing."
"Oh, no." Konan said taking a sip of her own drink and sitting further on the bed. "You're not getting off that easy." She knocked back the rest of her drink and grimaced at the bitterness before setting the empty glass on the floor and sitting on the bed fully, "I'm doing your makeup and you're telling me what's on your mind." She started to grab the makeup brush and started with the eye shadow again and grabbed Nari's chin when she started to stutter and fumble over her words. Konan looked Nari dead in the eyes and Nari froze at the firmness of her grip and the intensity of her stare. "That wasn't a request." Konan continued to stare until Nari nodded. Konan's smile returned and she began to apply the makeup once more. Nari closed her eyes and tried to think. How long had she kept quiet about her doubts? Now that she had the freedom to talk, what would she say? Does she talk about the doubts of the strength of the relationship? Does she tell her about the excessive weed and no income, that he's costing her more money than the damn hospital bills? She knows she should say no but he runs around in circles, confusing her or exhausting her. Every time they fight, it just turns into him verbally beating her down until she gives in. Hell, every time they talk, it just turns into him yelling at her for an hour. She can't sleep when she stays the night and he always wants her to stay the night. And it's always about what he wants or what he needs.
But it was so different with her new band. The only thing she had to do was play the guitar and sing. She could eat when she wanted, sleep when she wanted, spend time or be left alone. No one commented on what or how she ate. And when they touched her, she didn't want to flinch away, she never shrugged them off, and she had even grown comfortable enough to touch them back. Why was it so different?
"Do you uh," Nari started, her voice barely above a whisper. "Do you ever feel…I don't know how to ask."
"Just say it," Konan encouraged gently, the brush gently brushing over Nari's eyelids. "You can ask me anything under the sun. When you're around Hidan long enough, you tend to stop being shy about some things." Nari snorted at this, knowing what she meant. Hidan was the definition of raunchy some times. Nari swallowed.
"Do you ever feel like you can't say no?" Nari asked after a moment of hesitation. The brush left her face and she kept her eyes closed, expecting Konan to be getting more eye shadow. "Or like you can't say no?"
"With Pein?" Konan asked quietly. Nari opened her eyes and was startled to see the concerned expression Konan was wearing. Nari nodded at the question and Konan put the brush down before taking Nari's hands in hers. "Do you feel that way with your partner?" Nari didn't say anything. She didn't know what she was expecting, but she wasn't expecting this.
"I uh," Nari trailed off, trying to get her thoughts together. "I'm sorry. I just…I'm tired of it, you know?" Konan gave her an understanding smile and squeezed her hand. Nari sniffed and began to dab at her eyes. "I'm tired of the fighting. I'm tired of not feeling like I have a say over my own body. I have literally stayed up all night some nights, fighting with him just because I didn't want to sleep with him. I just wanted to sleep. I was tired." Nari shrugged and sniffled and turned around, grabbing the beer. She took a sip and continued. "Fuck, I'm so tired of crying." She mumbled and took another sip. "And you know what, after every fight, we still have sex. So, you know what, I just got tired of fighting."
"Nari, that's-" Nari waved her hand cutting her off.
"I know, I know, I'm supposed to say "no," when I don't want to," Nari carried on, all of it spilling out, "I get it, it's on me." She took a long drink.
"Nari, that's not-" Konan was interrupted again by a knock on the door. The two girls watched as Kakuzu opened the door and popped his head in.
"Nari, I sent the tickets to the email you gave me a few hours ago." Kakuzu said curtly. "I'm deducting the cost from your next paycheck as we agreed." Nari smiled at the miser and nodded.
"Thanks, I appreciate it." Nari smiled at him. "Wait, why are you just now telling me?"
"It's halftime." Kakuzu said as though it explained everything, making Nari snort. Kakuzu nodded and shut the door again, leaving them be.
"Never really pegged Kakuzu as a sports fan." Nari smiled, changing the subject and Konan stood up, starting to pack the makeup. Nari noticed she had a focused look on her face, like she was deep in thought. "Sorry, I didn't mean to dump that on you." Konan blinked and smiled at her.
"No, Nari, you're fine." Konan told her as she walked over to her bag, packing the makeup back up. "I'm actually really glad you told me." Nari gave an unsure smile. "So, I'm not a fan of my work this time. Why don't you hop in the shower and get your pajamas on. We can just hang out and watch movies."
"You sure?" Nari asked, feeling unsure, almost as though Konan was keeping something from her. "Thank you for listening." She added.
"Anytime, Nari." Konan told her. "I mean it. Anytime you want to talk about it, I'm here." The two sat in the quiet room for a moment before Nari finished her drink and threw it away.
"Ok, well. I guess I'll shower." Nari smiled nervously.
"Yeah, I'm gonna run to the gas station down the street for some snacks. Do you want anything?" Konan offered and Nari shook her head as she stood. "No thanks," She said at first until she picked up her bag. "Actually, yeah, could you get some energy drinks?" Konan chuckled at her request but nodded.
"Sure." Konan told her. "I'll be back in a bit. Make yourself comfortable, you and I are gonna share the room tonight." Nari raised her eyebrows at this but just shrugged it off. She was learning not to question things. Konan stood in the room and watched as Nari closed the door to the bathroom. She ran a hand over her face before placing both hands on her hips. She stood there thinking over what Nari had just told her and it made her sick. Konan knew the fear and confusion accompanying this situation very well. Nari didn't seem aware of the severity of what was going on, which was normal, Konan supposed. It's denial in a sense. Konan bounced her leg in thought for a moment before grabbing her coat and wallet and walking out of the room.
Konan stepped into the main area and saw the game was back on. She watched it briefly for a moment as she walked over to Pein, Kakuzu, and Zetsu. She stood next to Pein and rested her hand on his shoulder. Without looking up he wrapped his arm around her, letting his hand rest on her hip as he watched the game.
"Pein, I'm going to the gas station down the street." Konan spoke quietly enough for only him to hear. He looked up at her at the tone in her voice and she met his look. "Do you want to come with me?" Pein looked at her, reading her face. He looked over to Kakuzu who had noticed the interaction.
"I'll be back." He said and stood, grabbing his coat and wallet as well. Konan went straight for the door and held it open as he followed. When they stepped into the hall, Pein closed the door and asked her quietly. "Is everything alright?"
"Yes." Konan responded as he walked with her to the hall. He noticed her blue hair was trapped by her black leather jacket and he gently lifted it out, letting it rest over the collar of her coat, careful not to bump the white paper flower in her hair. "Nari and I are going to sleep in the room together."
"Glad I was consulted." Pein teased in a flat tone, hoping to at least get a smile from her. When Konan just stared straight ahead, her delicate eyebrows furrowed in thought, he knew something was wrong. "It's about Nari." He pieced together quickly as they stepped onto the elevator. Konan nodded and hit the button for the lobby. It shifted and they began their decent. "Is she alright?"
"It's complicated." Konan sighed. "When we get back from Suna, I want her to stay with us for a while. Just a few days."
"Why?" Pein asked. He didn't mind, but he wanted to be brought up to speed. "I need to know what's going on with my band members." The elevator dinged and they stepped off the elevator, making their way across the lobby.
"Please, keep this between us." Konan started and Pein nodded in understanding. "She was nervous enough about talking to me. I don't think she'd appreciate me sharing her business with everyone."
"Understood." Pein agreed as he opened the glass door, letting them both step outside.
"Nari's seeing someone." Konan started, "And it's not going well. She started to describe what's been going on." Konan stopped and looked at Pein. He stopped and watched his girlfriend, waiting for her to continue. "He's hurting her."
"How?" Pein asked firmly. This would not do. "Has he hit her?" Konan shook her head.
"I wouldn't be surprised if it escalated to that soon." Konan shifted the weight on her feet almost nervously as she bit her lip. She didn't want to say it, she didn't want it to be real. "Pein, he raped her."
"Nari was raped?" Itachi asked, making Pein and Konan snap their heads to him. Konan had a wild look of panic and Pein just looked at him with a neutral face. Itachi stood there, just a few feet from them, two bags of snacks in one hand, a coffee in the other. "Is she alright?" He asked calmly.
"Itachi, I didn't see you." Konan said as she collected herself. "Shit."
"This stays between the three of us." Pein told him firmly. Itachi nodded and Pein turned back to Konan. "Tell us what's going on. Do I need to call Madara?"
"No, no." Konan told him. "She doesn't even realize it."
"Explain." Pein instructed. Konan looked between the two men and bounced on her leg, nervously. She didn't even want to tell Pein but now she had to tell both of them.
"It's abuse, he's manipulating her." Konan began. "She didn't tell me much, but it sounds like she thinks it's her fault."
"It's common for victims to blame themselves." Itachi added gently.
"It's worse than that, I think." Konan explained. "It sounds like he has her so turned around, she thinks she's to blame." Pein and Itachi looked at each other in confusion before looking back at Konan.
"I don't understand." Pein stated and Konan sighed.
"He pressures and guilts her. He's kept her up arguing over it. This isn't just a one time thing." Konan explained. "It sounds like it's a constant ongoing thing. She thinks by caving and giving in every time he pushes, it's her fault."
"Coercion." Pein nodded in understanding. "He's coercing her. You said he keeps her up late at night arguing. It's common for abusers to use sleep deprivation like that to make their victims give in."
"Yes, and it's been so common that she's stopped arguing so she can get some sleep." Konan explained.
"They live together?" Itachi asked before sipping his coffee.
"No, thank god." Konan breathed and the other two men seemed to relax their shoulders in relief. "I don't know what to do or how to help."
"Did you tell her?" Itachi asked, making Konan blink. "Did you tell her it's considered rape?" He elaborated and Konan shook her head.
"She'll piece it together soon enough." Pein sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "It might be better that way anyway."
"What do we do?" Konan asked. "I don't want to just send her off to deal with this alone."
"Does she have family?" Pein asked and Konan shook her head again.
"Her parents are dead and her brother is in a coma." Konan explained. Might as well tell them everything. "She has a friend who is a nurse at the hospital, but she hasn't talked to her about this. She hasn't talked to anyone. I don't know what to do." Konan sniffled, worried for her new friend. Pein pulled her in, holding her close. He rested his chin on her head and rubbed her back.
"All you can do is continue to be there." Pein explained. "When she is ready, she will know what to do. She isn't stupid."
"She still has some fight in her." Itachi reminded them. "You can see it when she argues with Hidan. She'll get through this."
"I know," Konan sniffed and stepped back, dabbing at her eyes. "I just wish I could do more."
"I think we all do." Pein reassured her. "For now, let's just focus on this concert. There's nothing we can do now." He turned to Itachi. "You seem to be close to her. Keep working with her on the guitar. We need to keep things as normal as possible."
"Hn." Itachi nodded, understanding. Special treatment was needed here. They just needed to keep treating her like Nari.
"We're gonna go to the gas station." Konan explained, excusing herself and Pein, "We'll be back in a minute." Itachi nodded at them and watched them walk off. A breeze rushed past as he stood there, absorbing all the information he had just received while strands of his hair flew around his face. He glanced down at his cup, watching the steam rise from it.
Memories of Nari's laughing face at the pool flashed in his mind. He could watch her smile and laugh all day. She was a beautiful woman, but her smile made her glow. He would watch her dance a bit on stage as she played, and her voice was strong and clear, echoing through him like a siren's call.
He raped her.
Suddenly the memory of her dazed look on the way home, her flinching away from his touch replaced her smiling face. The exhaustion and emptiness he saw startled him. She looked hollow and now he understood why. He had seen the text and thought she owed a friend a favor. Her reaction confused him at the time, but now it all made sense. Itachi looked up at the tall hotel building in thought. He wanted to help her, he wanted to help his friend.
Thank you so much for reading! I know this may be a rough chapter, but it's going to be getting happier soon!