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Chapter 11: Lifted Weight
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"When the apocalypse does come, I will rebuild our city with my tongue. I will suck this world's ashes from your fingers. I will refuse to let the fires of this hell be the only thing that makes us sweat. When the apocalypse comes, so will we." — "The Bones Below" by Sierra DeMulder
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The ruthless, seemingly soulless Obito Uchiha was confirmed as a man around her age, to her immense relief. The paper angel quickly identified his strong jaw and soft mouth, following upwards to an aristocratic nose. She found his intelligent inky black eyes, cunning and inquisitive, underneath refined dark brows. The most surprising, however- the spiral of his mask was echoed on the left side of his face, his skin completely marred, with no doubt, some horrible story.
He was beautiful.
She had imagined him many times, but she did not expect him to have a boyish handsomeness, a nostalgic familiarity. At that, her insides churned at the thought that emerged. He somewhat reminded her of a dark version of Yahiko.
"Obito." She whispered, her featherlight touch against his face. "Thank you."
He blinked, then his lips quirked into a side smile, his aristocratic features giving him a haughty air. "By the look on your face, I'm definitely not a Junichi Hanino."
She giggled. "No, you are much better."
"I'm sorry." Obito rasped, meeting her eyes.
"For what?"
"For everything."
She smiled at him gently. "Don't worry about that, seeing your face makes up for it."
"Consider it part of our agreement." He said, making a move to sit beside her, his hand slipping to her knee. "Speaking of which, I believe you still have to hold up your end of the deal."
"More errors?" She quipped, blushing. But she couldn't even look away, she was so mesmerized by his face.
He held her gaze with magnetism. She wondered if he knew he was good looking.
She hated that she was dying to be kissed by him again.
"More like corrections." He said leaning forward. Her hands when to his sleeves, gripping his biceps as the distance between them finally closed.
Yes, yes, yes!
It felt as if she was an origami he carefully unfolded with his lips and hands. Her mouth opened to his and it was as if he smoothed the creases with the caress of his tongue.
It was so wrong, so terribly wrong, it felt as if she was performing a forbidden jutsu.
She was at the eye of his storm, struck by the calm and clarity amidst the calamity of emotions, the thrill of his power as he engulfed her. Konan had long kept her emotional investments dormant within her, fearing another loss in her tragic life story, although this time felt different. It felt different with someone so unstoppable.
He was a firestorm. And she a paper kite.
She pulled away when she ran out of breath, her hands pressing to her cheeks in dreaded embarrassment. "We are terrible for this, I shouldn't be doing this."
"No?" Obito retorted, his voice breathy from the lengthy kiss. "This world is a forsaken hell hole. I'm ok with a distraction if you are."
He looked so cocky as he leaned back on the couch, studying her as he waited patiently for her answer. She guessed he had worn that expression many times under his mask when taunting her so.
"Ok." She found herself saying with hesitancy. As if she could say no to a devastatingly handsome Uchiha who drew out her most hidden desires with alarming ease. "But Nagato must never, ever know about this."
He smirked at that. Bastard. "No one will know. Especially not him."
She nodded silently. She would be lying if she said she wasn't wary, not knowing what this distraction would entail, though seeing Obito's actual face gave away a few clues.
The question fell out of her mouth before she could stop herself, "Why me?"
"You?" His elegant brow raised.
"You haven't shown your face to anyone, right?"
"Only Zetsu knows who I am."
His inky eyes met hers again, sending chills across her body. His eyes alone enraptured her. "And now me." She added. "For some reason."
"You've proven yourself to you me." He said easily as if she passed his test. "I know you'll keep your word, considering our agreements."
Yeah, if I out you, you'll trap me into an eternal genjustu…or worse… She thought to herself. She didn't know what unnerved her or excited her more, the seriousness of his threats, or the connection between them.
"Besides it seems you won't stay away, even though it's better for us in the long run."
She smirked at that. "Says the man feeding me dango and trying to hold my hand the other night right after wanting to 'keep things professional'."
"I tried." He confessed, his fingers grazing along the curve of her hip. "But you intrigue me."
She swallowed. The rush of want was clouding her judgment. She knew she was winning this game, but she wasn't quite sure what her prize was. She didn't know what to say to him at that moment, so instead, she broke the spell with, "It's getting late."
He looked out the window, to the blinking cityscape. Her eyes flickered upwards to admire his profile, wondering about the etched lines on his face. "I suppose it is."
She slowly removed his hand from her side. The reasonable part of her wanted him to leave, but the other part of her begged herself to let him stay. Her selfish side won. "It's been a long day, I'm going to sleep now. You're still welcome to stay in here though."
"Very well." He said, looking at her thoughtfully. He brought his hand to her hair, running it through her lavender locks as he did that one day in the kitchen. "Thank you for your discretion."
She could only give him a wide stare, startled by the new tenderness in his expression and body language. All she could muster before leaping away from him was a whispered, "Goodnight, Obito."
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The sun greeted Konan after a fitful sleep. She was tired but happy. It had been a long time since experiencing content and warmth seep into her bones, especially when looking at Obito Uchiha, sitting directly next to her.
It all felt quite unbelievable. Her lips still tingled from their kiss the night prior. Despite the unfolding of shocking events, the two shinobi sat in a comfortable silence as Konan served them tea in the privacy of her room. She was worried he would flee at some point in the night, but he stayed. She felt special, watching him move comfortably within her space.
Though throughout the night, Konan's tendency to overthink and overanalyze kept her awake, that and the buzzing energy of a very handsome man sleeping across the room. She had so many pressing questions.
"Have you ever been with a woman?" Konan broke the silence with one of the risky questions that plagued her mind during her restless night.
He had been good at kissing, and confident in the way he touched and held her. Surely, he wasn't new at it, but she could hardly imagine him being close to another woman in a romantic capacity over the years of growing the Akatsuki. It had puzzled her, especially since she now knew he was young like herself. She sipped her tea as she observed the newly unmasked man, the dim morning sunlight on his pale face. She watched him frown in disdain, as his hand ran through his dark, disheveled hair.
"Madara taught me everything."
"Well, that doesn't mean…" She paused as she processed the information. "Wait. What do you mean he taught you everything?"
Color flooded to his cheeks, a sight Konan never thought she would see. "He used his visual prowess to pass on all of his experiences and skills to me so I can effectively carry out his plans as a fully developed adult man. That also means experiences I never got to have myself…women included."
She wanted to gag at that. "That old pervert passed on his sexual encounters to you?"
He scoffed. "Not specific encounters, but the skills to lay with a woman. I guess he thought it would be useful."
"Well…is it?" She dared to ask.
He scratched his head, smiling bashfully. "I'm not sure yet…I didn't want to risk my identity, so I decided it was safer and easier to remain alone."
She felt like there was something else in his eyes, a flicker of sadness. But she knew better than to ask about it. So instead she probed into the more disturbing piece of information. "So you hitting on me…is that Obito or Madara?"
His eyebrows rose, and to her surprise, he let out a dry laugh. "I don't even think I can imagine Madara trying to make a pass at a woman."
She giggled, also unable to procure an image of one of the most terrifying men in the world being soft and romantic. "Well, despite your inexperience you could've fooled me. You are very charming, Obito."
His lips drew upwards into a slight smile. "It's been a long time since I've allowed myself to feel this."
"For me, also." She hummed in agreement.
"You and Yahiko…" He began, then stopped, as if he was unsure. He cast his eyes away as if looking guilty. "I'm sorry for everything that transpired."
She shook her head, pushing down a mix of guilt and dread rise within her. "He was targeted from the beginning. I was holding my breath for when it happened."
"I see. And you were close?"
Ah, it was her turn to answer uncomfortable questions. "Yes, we were." She began cautiously, once again recalling the eerie similarities of the two men. "We were in love, and I felt like anything was possible with him."
"Eventually we will be reuniting with both of them." His expression grew distant.
She started. Both of them, he said. Who is he talking about? Surely not Madara. But still, Konan held her tongue.
In an attempt to lighten the mood she asked humorously, "So what happens if Madara's advice is total shit in bed?"
He smirked, his eyes darkening. "From what I know, I doubt it. Why do you ask Konan?"
She grew redder, flustered by his insinuation. "Men are chauvinistic pigs. They forget to listen to our love language."
"Love language?" He said with a trace of disbelief.
"Yes, it's how we give and take affection. Everyone is different in the way they love."
"I never thought you'd be an expert in this." He said sarcastically.
"I'm not! I'm just saying, there are more world perspectives than the ones you learned from Lord Madara."
"So what is your love language?"
She paused at that, not prepared for that question. Then haughtily answered, "That's none of your business."
"I told you about Madara, least you can do is provide your secrets, Lady Angel." He purred, leaning closer towards her.
She blinked, studying their newfound proximity on her couch, how he laid there lazily like a cat, watching its prey. "Keep dreaming," She leaned towards him. "You might never find out."
"Challenge accepted." He said with a casual air, though his heated gaze gave away something else entirely.
The scratchy noise of the Tower's speakers came to life, slicing the tension in the air. "Meeting in five, top office." Came Pein's deep voice.
"Well, My Lord, that's our cue," Konan said, thankful for the excuse to create some distance.
"Konan."
She turned around as she felt him grab her hand. She gaped as he brought her hand to his lips, pressing a kiss across her knuckles, his eyes full of mischief.
She chuckled, ripping her hand from his, feeling butterflies nevertheless, abruptly turning back to the door. "That's not going to make me tell you."
"I'll use my Madara-charm on you when you least expect it."
Throughout their meeting she sat there suppressing a smile every time she looked his way, knowing he was grinning under his damn mask.
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Obito was experiencing an exquisite distress, like an impetuous volcano readily erupting it's suppressed white-hot emotion. Perhaps this was one of the worst decisions of his life, but he was enjoying every second of it.
At the touch of Konan, it felt as if her swift hand bent at a bow, arrows of delight shooting through his body. He stood at the edge of a cliff as his eyes found hers, unveiled and exposed, ready to fall to his sweet, sweet death at the hands of a beautiful, kind woman.
Despite revealing his face the night before, he had slept deeply, Konan's burning gold eyes and memories of her soft touch lulled him to sleep. He knew that wasn't the case for her when he awoke, seeing bags under eyes but a smile none the less, a rare sight for the mysterious kunoichi.
She had asked why he decided to reveal his face. Truthfully, he didn't know beyond his climbing desire to prove his worth to her. He couldn't stay away, he finally admitted to himself. Unbeknownst to her, he was enraptured.
His breaking point had to be when he showed up in her room, at some ungodly hour, to find her taking off her sweater. He hadn't imagined what it would be like to have her undress in front of him until it was happening in front of his very eyes. His body felt as if it was on fire, his hands moving on their own volition to stroke the smooth planes of Konan's back. The moment gave him a vision if life was different if he could let down his walls for her and unearth the Obito that looked at him in his bathroom mirror every morning.
So he decided he would make it a reality.
Perhaps he wished that the scarring on his face would chase her away, that this delicious torture would end with her rejection of him. That he would be broken free from his guilt. It was easier for him to accept that he was too horrendous to be wanted by someone so whole and beautiful.
She did not push him away, for reasons unfathomable to him. He knew he didn't deserve her warmth and kindness, that was part of the reasons why he felt he owed her some sort of truth. The kiss had only sealed his budding emotions. It was a kiss of redemption.
Since he can't form the words, he tried to tell her with his mouth on hers, his hands gently caressing the curves of her body, leaving fiery trails of want, that he cared about her.
They had a pact that leveled out their playing field. He left her room feeling relieved and even though he'd never tell her, it was like she lifted a thousand-pound weight off his chest when she removed his mask, when she kissed him back, when he woke up to her. Suddenly, life in this world felt a little more bearable, even if fleeting.
He watched the woman across the table, listening to Pein, her face glowing in the sun. He could see the light dancing in her eyes, her facade cracked. He found a smile forming on his lips. He didn't feel so alone.
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Author's Note: Short but sweet. Hoping the wait wasn't too bad :) Excited to explore the next part of their growing romance.
Thanks for reading!
