Thank you all so much for your reviews and for sticking with me!
All right, then. For those of you who read my message at the bottom of Chapter 4 and didn't get disgusted because you thought what happened last chapter was unusually convenient, here's Chapter 5. It's a little shorter, but...sorry.
"Stick with me, Miss Komaki, and I'll show you the way to the Land of Fire", said the man.
The two of them left the small village together, their packs hoisted on their backs. "Miss Komaki", for her part, didn't want to stick with him any longer than she possibly had to.
There's no "maybe" about it. I'm definitely going to kill this guy.
"So", said Konan, "You know someone named Sasuke, as well?"
"Yes."
"What makes you think we're talking about the same person?"
"Sasuke isn't that common of a name. Besides...the way you describe your cousin, I think we are looking for the same person."
"Oh, all right. That would be weird if it was the same person, though." Why's this guy looking for a teenage boy? Is he a pervert or something?
"It would be weird, wouldn't it?"
"Thank you for helping me. You didn't have to." I'm on to you...
"Oh, I'm not different from anyone else, I'm sure. Who wouldn't help a girl in need?"
Whatever. The "chivalry" makes me want to kill you right now.
"So where in the Land of Fire are we going to go?" she asked.
"Oh, you don't need to worry about that."
Um, yes I do, or I wouldn't ask. "Forgive me. To question someone who was kind enough to help me..."
"It's perfectly all right. It's understandable. I don't mind helping you, Miss Komaki...not at all."
She looked at him with deep distrust. Just try and pull something on me. I dare you.
...
It was very late at night. Everything was quiet. The door opened. A figure crept into the room. They silently went over to the bed. But there was no one under the covers...!
"Looking for me?" asked Konan, stepping out of the shadows.
Her companion whirled around. "You...!"
"Oh. Hello. Lovely night, isn't it? The perfect night for...betrayal." Her eyes flicked over to him, and he flinched.
"You...you're not any ordinary woman."
"That's rude. I'm just as ordinary as the next woman." And I was trying so hard earlier, too!
"I knew there was something strange about you from the beginning. You...are a ninja of Amegakure, aren't you?"
"That's a pretty good assessment", Konan replied, "But you're still woefully ignorant. I'm not just a ninja of Amegakure..." She gestured towards the hitai-ate she'd tied around her forehead, drawing the man's attention to the line scratched through the symbol.
"A rogue ninja?"
She ignored him. "Again, your ignorance is amusing. But now that I know you have information on Uchiha Sasuke, I no longer have any use for you. Just as, clearly, you were willing to drop your facade for Komaki just now."
"Heh...so...I was planning to betray you...and you've beaten me to it. You are indeed a clever girl. So you, too, are after the gifts of the Uchiha bloodline?"
"The Sharingan? No. I could care less about that." The only way it's of use to me is if it helps me kill Madara.
"What? Why else would you be seeking out an Uchiha?"
"You know", said Konan, "I almost feel sorry for the Uchihas. The only reason anyone cares about them at all is on account of the Sharingan. They must get a complex." She looked at him. "I can't believe you would betray someone who needed your help on account of the Sharingan. That's despicable behavior."
"How so? For a rogue ninja, you're pretty naive. There are only two kinds of people in the world, girl. There are people who are used and people who use others. That's all. You have to be one or the other, sometimes both."
'You've outlived your usefulness'.
Her eyes were filled with deep hatred and disgust. "You're the one who's naive. Tools can't think, can't feel, can't hate, can't love. Human beings can. There's more to people than just being tools. Otherwise...what's the point in all of these amazing capabilities we've been given?" She narrowed her eyes. "One of my special talents is origami. I've always been very good at it. Even though you don't deserve it...I'll give you a beautiful show. By the time it's over, you'll have a wonderful appreciation for the potential of human talent."
...
Konan set out to continue her quest the next morning...alone. Her hitai-ate had been safely put back in her pack, out of sight.
"Why does...the truth of the world...bother you so much?" the man asked, once Konan had given him an initial display of her talents.
"It's not the truth", she replied, "It cannot be the truth." Then she finished the show.
She had rummaged through his things later and taken certain things that she thought could prove useful to her.
It can't be the truth...because that's the logic that murdered Pein.
No, the guy was not there to provide a life philosophy for the story.
I mentioned that Konan got some stuff from him that could be useful to her. I'll elaborate more on that next chapter.