Chapter 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor any of the characters used in this fiction.
Halcyon: Happy, Sunny, Care-free; Little Sakura is a secret that was hidden within the forest and the more people visit the forest the more people notice the little girl. They noticed her secrets but they also noticed her kindness and innocence that they once longed for found in their heart they want to protect her in whatever means. Lots of Fluff, Akatsuki, konoha and more!
Konan watched the frustrated Kisame who said he would take a walk around the forest only to come back rather annoyed.
"Where did that thing go?!" She could hear him whisper in frustration, it has been a while since the man joined Akatsuki and more often than not she noticed that he would always come back here whenever he got some free time to spare as if searching for something.
Konan was surprised when she found out that Kisame had an interest in this forest, as the forest is known to sometimes be haunted while not dangerous as the forest of death there was an uncomfortable feeling that many who passed this place felt. Some thought that it was a genjutsu but no matter what they did they could not remove this sick feeling around the forest. Many try to avoid it saying things like,
"I feel like I am being watched by something big… like eyes are watching me daring me to breathe and that it could read my mind…"
People also get lost there, some return after a few days starved and some don't unable to find a body. There were also rumors that when someone was heavily injured and they go in the forest they will be healed the next day or the day after, but also if ones headspace is to destroy the forest someone will find the body after a few days barely alive. Broken bones, deep scars were just a few of the many.
"What interest do you have toward this forest? Did you already know that we have a hideout near here?" Konan asked Kisame one day, trying to get a read from him. They had a mission together, well more like Konan was only there to check if Kisame was really doing what he was ordered to do.
Kisame's eyes widened in surprise, "We have another hideout here?" He asked curiously making Konan frown, she thought that Kisame was searching for the hideout and making trouble but that surprised face and twinkle from his beady eyes told her that was not the case.
"Is it alright if I live there? I will come to the main base when I am needed. It is rather near right?" Kisame asked looking rather hopeful or that was what Konan thought watching his face brighten.
"I will send leader-sama your request." Konan monotony replied but then raised an eyebrow.
"Thanks, Konan." She frowned at the mention of her name but it was covered by her coat, "Why is it that you want to stay here?" She asked.
"Nah, it is nothing, just wanna stay away from the other members. They are always so sensitive to everything that it is a pain in the neck sometimes." Kisame answered, while it was true that some if not most of the members were rather odd, Konan can't help but feel like there was another reason why he wanted to be here.
"Anyway let's get going. I want to finish this as soon as possible." He suddenly changed the subject with a grin on his face. He started to walk in the direction of Ame but she caught him subtly looking back at the forest.
'Hmmm…'
Konan walked back to the forest, it was late at night and the forest was very quiet as if asleep. She came back after concluding her mission with Kisame, and unlike Kisame who had another mission the next day, she was free for a while and planned to use this time to check what Kisame was looking for.
Walking she noticed that there was no sound except her steps crunching the floor and the soft wind on her ear. The tree's leaves that were supposed to dance were silent and no animal could be heard.
She kept her guard up, whatever it was she could handle herself and walked forward. Looking around, nothing, the more she looked there was nothing. What felt like hours was only a mere few minutes when she saw light in the distance.
"Huh?"
Konan's eyebrows knitted, the light was strange to her somehow. As the light grew bigger and bigger she got ready to battle the being that was drawing closer to her. The chakra that must be holding the light was weak and something she was sure she could confidently take down this person or thing with ease.
She didn't realize that she was looking at a small girl holding a lantern looking at her funny.
"Miss, it is late, what are you doing here?" The child asked, Konan marbled at the dark pink hair which she was sure would be a gorgeous light pink under the sun, and the green emerald eyes that shined from the light given from the lantern.
"Miss? Are you okay, miss?" The child called, snapping Konan out of her thoughts. She looked at the girl and frowned; she didn't know what to say to the child as she was rarely with one in the past and not with her work in the Akatsuki, babies and kids were practically non-existent in her life.
"Mou…" Sakura pouted at the woman, she felt a disturbance in the barrier telling her to come and because she didn't want to wake up Shizune and Tsunade she thought to go to this person by herself. She didn't expect them to be so quiet. She looked at the woman's eyes, they were pretty amber eyes that looked like gold. "Miss' eyes are very pretty," Sakura said without much thought, the woman didn't want to talk so it was fair for Sakura to say something instead of standing around even if it was random.
"I wish I had eyes like yours." Sakura continued peering into eyes even more. It made Konan become very self-conscious, she hesitantly nodded as she tried to dispel a genjutsu she thought was over her but nothing changed. The small child was still in front of her, alone in this silent forest.
"Thank… you." Konan thanked the girl, she noticed how happy the girl looked when she finally said something. "See you can talk!" the pink-haired girl said cheerfully.
"Why are you here?" Konan finally managed to ask, suspicious of the child who continued to look at her eyes.
The child preened like a cat that was given tuna. "This place is my home! Miss must have stumbled in here and gotten lost." she continued "Follow me and I will show you the way out of the forest."
"You home?" Konan asked as she watched the girl lead her deeper into the forest. "Yes, it is my home and has been since the day I was born." The child replied.
"Are you alone?" The child looked at the woman and smiled at the question, "No I am not alone, I have my aunties and I am also friends with nature. So truly I am never alone."
Konan observed the child and tried to get a feel of who this child was, the child supposed to be innocent eyes was curious and awed but she couldn't help the feeling of being watched by multiple eyes. She tried to sense them but wasn't able to.
"Miss what are you doing here?" The child asked again curiously looking back at the woman who was following her, Konan took a while to think before answering. "I am hoping to find the thing that someone I know is looking for."
"Ahh, they must have dropped something, I often lose my stuff too." The child frowned and looked at her with worry, "What does it look like?"
Konan paused for a bit, how should she answer this she didn't know. She did not know what Kisame was looking for as before she came here she asked Kisame one more time what he was looking for but only got a reluctant answer that she knew was a lie.
"I don't know." She honestly answered.
The child frowned at her words but did not question it surprisingly. "Well miss, I hope you and your friend find what you are searching for."
Friend? Konan tilted her head, what an odd thing for the child to say. Did she think of Kisame as a friend? She always thought of him as nothing more than a member of the Akatsuki and sometimes she was teamed up with him with the rare missions that she gets outside rain. At most, they were just colleagues.
"You guys are not friends?" The child asked when she got no response, the child was rather sharp. "We work under a group for the same goal, we only sometimes join together as a team for missions," Konan answered softly at the child.
"Eh? Then you are friends!" The child said, raising a brow looking at Konan as if she was clueless about how relationships work. Konan wanted to chuckle at the look that the child gave her but kept it for herself.
"You know that person, are in the same group and if you trust them to watch your back at missions, isn't that what you call friends? Teammates and friends are the same things! You trust them and they trust you!" the child naively said.
"A teammate is someone you work with when you are needed, not necessarily meeting them after work and such… a colleague." Konan tried to explain to the child but the child just shook her head, "But why don't you? You are going out of your way to search for something he is searching for. Why do that if you guys weren't friends."
"I am merely curious about what he is searching for."
"Interest towards another leads to friendship." The child answered cheerfully if Konan was any other member she would have thought that they would kill the child right on the spot for being so annoying but Konan didn't mind, in fact, found the child's innocence like fresh air from the other members. Kakuzu and Sasori only have an interest in money and puppets repeatedly, the same goes for Orochimaru, others are always busy. Kisame was the only one who talks but even then him being there doesn't change the dreary air around the base.
"Where are your friends and family?" Konan swiftly changed the topic, it was getting rather awkward to continue. She glanced at the forest, she did recall the child saying that she was friends with nature but the quiet forest didn't look kind and certainly not to a 5 year old child.
"I don't remember my parents... They are not here anymore. I was alone for a while till my aunties found this place." The child said Konan looked at the child who was looking ahead, in surprise but she wasn't shocked. There were always places with children that lost their parents at a young age, Konan only wished for a place with peace and security for them.
The child looked at her and smiled, the smile was peaceful a contrast to her usual curious stare Konan thought she saw wrong thinking that maybe it was just the lighting but that smile didn't fit the small girl.
The small girl looked at the front of her as they continued on walking. "I am friends with nature as they took care of me till now, they are watching over me, feeding me and keeping me safe." She answered, "I also am friends with the people who get lost here… The small conversations we have always make me happy."
"People come here?" Konan asked, the child bobbed her head as if to say yes. "When they come they are always either injured or lost, If they are injured I will take them to my aunties who could patch them up if they could and if they are lost sometimes I guild them out of the forest but my aunty always tell me to call her as she doesn't want me to talk to strangers. But they never stay for long and most of the time they never come back."
Konan found the pout on the child's face really cute, wanting to pinch them and see if they would stretch. "I can handle myself. I am a big girl!" The girl almost yelled, slightly bitter.
Sakura got an ear full from aunty Shizune for the fact that she interacted with a Kiri shinobi, whether they were a loyal shinobi or not, the rogues were most of the time the more dangerous ones, Shizune almost fainted when she heard from Tsunade that Sakura meet and healed one of the seven swordsmen of the mist. Sakura told them that she made a promise with him that she would not be kidnapped by that man but that still wasn't enough to escape Shizune's warth.
Konan laughed at her words, she forgot how fond some children could be really.
"Did miss realize that she was lost in the forest when we met?" The girl asked curiously. Konan frowned rather than lost. She was busy trying to understand the forest, "Rather than lost I feel like I am being watched… Does it have anything to do with you?" She asked directly.
"It is the forest watching. It doesn't like it when others trample on its beauty too much. Konan must be liked enough so the forest didn't send you to go around in circles." Konan snapped her head at the child, alarmed, under her coat she pulled out a kunai ready to kill the small child, what did she mean by the forest watching and how did she know her name!
"The forest told me your name." the child giggled. She didn't look scared at the glare that Konan was pinning on her, acting as if nothing was wrong with what she said. Konan suddenly heard the leaves rustling around.
"The forest said they heard Kisame call you Konan when you were passing by here last time. They saw that Kisame wanted to come here but didn't let him till now." The girl frowned looking at the very tall trees that blocked her view of the starry sky. "How rude, I wanted to see him again!"
"Why… Why is Hoshigaki-san not allowed here? Who are you really?" Konan asked, the child knew all along what she was searching for… no… it was the forest who knew and told the child.
"Kisame fell one a batch of lavender and lilacs, nature here is salty that he had to matte blood on them when he could have dropped somewhere else instead." the child sang giggling a bit. "My name is Sakura, I live in the forest."
"How is it possible that you can interact with nature," Konan asked, carefully watching the child. She saw the girl looking down and not at her, she wasn't particularly smiling but more thinking.
"I do not remember," Sakura said looking at Konan, her eyes held no suspicion and were free from anything malicious. "They were always there for me and I was always there for them."
"Don't worry. They won't hurt you." Green eyes looked at Amber. The light from the lantern flickered but Konan thought that the child's eyes glowed even in the dark.
Konan narrowed her eyes on her. "Tell me why I should believe you?"
"If nature believes that you should not be here, you will not be here, instead you will be stuck in a maze with oftentimes no way out. The fact that you saw me means that they deemed you nice! They will not hurt you if you don't hurt me or cause havoc in this forest." She answered, still cheerful.
"They will not harm you Konan-san." Green eyes glowed bright "Here you are safe from the world outside. Here there are no titles and ranks, just beings that want rest."
Sakura blinked and showed the woman her hand as if telling her to grab it, Konan looked at how small it was she didn't understand that this hand is the one has a lot to do with the pressure she is feeling being here,
"Come I will guide you out of here."
Konan looked at the hand then to Sakura then to the hand again. She didn't know if she should but she had this gut feeling that it was okay to do so and that no harm will come when she holds the small child's hand. Hesitantly she reached out to take the child's hand.
Sakura grinned and suddenly more light appeared surrounding them. Konan had to close her eyes when a large gust of wind hit her face and pushed her. It was strong and harsh but soon she noticed it slowly became gentle as if caring for her and delighted.
Slowly she opened her eyes and in front of her was still the pink hair child holding her lantern which wasn't glowing anymore but there was light.
Small fireflies flew around her and Sakura as if welcoming them, "They are saying nice to meet you!" The girl said and waited for Konan who was silently watching the fireflies.
In the dark silent place was a beauty hidden, Konan found the place beautiful and the rustling leaves above sent chills in her body. After a while, Sakura gently pulled her hand "Konan-san needs to go back home no?" She said smiling. "It is getting late."
It was already really late as it is, maybe past midnight at 2oclock.
"Konan-san can always come back next time if you want," Sakura answered cheerfully.
Konan looked at the child, the girl's eyes reflected the neon yellow from the bugs and were staring at Konan smiling patiently.
"..." Konan looked around her, a place to rest huh.. "If it is okay, can I come back here again next time?" Sakura grinned "Anytime but for now, you need rest." Konan wanted to look at this beautiful scene again, it brought peace to her mind and somehow she didn't want to lose it.
She was slowly guided in the forest paths and within 15 mins they reached the end of the forest, the same place where Konan and Kisame had their conversation last time.
"Bye-bye Konan-san!" Sakura said with a smile saying she can't go any farther.
Konan was just about to leave, still dazed from everything till she paused and looked behind her at the little girl Sakura. She pursed her lips and remembered something that the child said.
"Sakura…" Konan found the girl's name to be very cute and it matched the innocence in the girl's eyes. "Do… Do you want to be friends?"
Sakura looked at her for the first time in surprise but then a smile stretched on the girl's face, different from the ones before. Quickly she nodded "Then can I call Konan-san, nee-san?" The girl had a hopeful look on her face.
Konan blinked and nodded at the child, she watched the small fairy jump in joy and unconsciously patted the girl's head.
"I never had a nee-san before, so I am really happy than-.. Ohh heh" Sakura looked at the hand on her head and grinned.
Konan left the forest with a light heart, thoughts on telling Pein about this place could be done later she wanted to keep this fluffy feeling before returning to reality.
Author's note: I did not think that this would be this long, my main goal was that each chapter be only around 2000 words but i did a little more than that heh. Very happy with how this chapter turned out and I hoped you liked it as well! Konan needs more love!