This story is off hiatus and will start being updated again.
Sorry. I probably should have mentioned that it was on hiatus in the first place. But I got kind of stuck. I wasn't sure where I was going with this. But I've figured things out, so the updates should be more reasonable now.
Oh, and this first chapter after the hiatus is special. Up until this point, Konan was the only canon character to appear in person, but that changes here.
All right. She was in. So that meant everything was all good, right?
Wrong.
For Konan, Konohagakure was a bit...overwhelming. It was such a large village, and where was the best place to start if she wanted information?
If Sasuke was a typical S-rank criminal, then he was probably rather detested here, in his home village. She couldn't just ask about him outright or people would get suspicious.
She just had to find a good place to settle down…gather information…there were other ways to gather information than just asking outright, after all.
Let's see…what sort of people would Uchiha Sasuke have been associated with before he fled Konoha? Obviously not the sort of people he kept company with now, or he would never have left. But they were certainly fellow shinobi. After all, the Uchihas were an elite shinobi family with a unique kekkei genkai.
She couldn't tell the caliber of Konoha's shinobi, but she had heard they were pretty strong. And the people of Konoha did whatever they wanted, it seemed. If they had a "god", then it was the Hokage. Their current Hokage was a kunoichi named Tsunade, one of the Sannin, a former teammate of Jiraiya.
No, there was no doubt that the Hokage ruled Konoha! Their faces loomed over the entire village. The stone eyes looked down on her. There was no fooling them that she didn't belong.
It was amazing the revealing things people said just in casual conversation. Subtly, as she walked the streets, little pieces of paper would go coursing in the wind.
What a huge and vibrant village Konoha was!
"Hey! Do you need help?"
Huh?! Oh…oh crap! Surely the person couldn't be addressing her?! Damn, she'd been caught already?! She'd underestimated Konoha's ninja!
A blonde boy approached her. "You look lost! Are you looking for something?"
How should she approach this? Play dumb or be honest?
"I'm not from Konohagakure. I don't really know my way around." Might as well tell the truth now so I don't slip up later and jeopardize the mission…
"Oh, really? Where are you from?"
"The Land of Rain." Tell me about Uchiha Sasuke.
"Oh, so you've been traveling for a while."
"Yes."
"Well then, you found the right person! The name's Uzumaki Naruto! What's yours?"
"Komaki." The Jinchuuriki boy! Time and again, he's interfered with our activities! The container for Kyuubi…Itachi died before he had a chance to capture him…
She may have hit the jackpot straight off!
"Nice to meet you. So, what do you think of Konoha?"
"It is…a nice village. Very peaceful." Which was all Pein ever wanted for Amegakure…and me too…it was the same for me…
"Yeah, it is, isn't it?"
How strange. Konoha's Jinchuuriki is so…cheerful and confident.
"Well, come on, I'll show you around. If you're going to come to Konoha, there's some places you've gotta see!"
"Oh…ok…" said Konan. What a perfect opportunity to get more information.
Uzumaki Naruto brought her to various tourist locations in Konoha, and she quietly accompanied him. When they were looking out at the stone faces of the Hokage, past and present, however, Konan heard a bizarre noise.
Naruto clutched his stomach and shuffled his feet, embarrassed. "Heh…sorry about that…I guess I'm hungry."
"That…that was your stomach?!" She couldn't help her surprise. Then she said, "Please allow me to treat you. As thanks for the tour."
"Really? Well, if you insist. But if we're going to go somewhere to eat, we should go to the best restaurant in Konoha!"
…
"You won't get better food anywhere, huh?" As Naruto set aside his third bowl, he said, "Hey, what's wrong? You haven't touched your ramen."
"Huh? Oh, sorry." She had to conclude now that this bowl of ramen was really no more than it appeared to be…a bowl of ramen. Everything about this situation---sneaking around in an enemy village---told her that this food had to be poisoned or something. But it didn't seem to be…
She took a bite. "This is quite good."
"Isn't it?"
That little Jinchuuriki…he knows I don't belong…I'll bet he figured out my identity from the very beginning, and he's just toying with me…but I'm not stupid! I've got you all figured out, Jinchuuriki brat…this ramen may be just ramen, but you're feeding it to me because you want to lull me into a false sense of security. And then, as soon as I have my guard lowered, you'll strike! You cannot deceive me…I'll go along with you for now and feign ignorance…but I'm ready for you…
She looked over at the conniving Kyuubi container.
"Get another one ready for me!" said Naruto. He was reaching the bottom of his fourth bowl.
Then again, maybe he really was just an idiot…
Konan began working on her own ramen. "We don't have ramen like this where I come from." I don't really eat much ramen anyway, but…
"See, what'd I tell you?" Naruto put his fourth bowl aside.
Damn…I said I'd treat, but all my money is going down this kid's throat! But wait…since I'm being stingy, does that mean I'm becoming…a second Kakuzu?!
Just the thought of that was quite repulsive.
"You certainly have a good appetite", she said, "You eat so much, and so fast. You're going to make yourself sick."
"Oh, you don't need to worry. I always eat like this!"
No way! "Maybe that's why you're so healthy."
He looked at her quizzically and finished slurping the noodles he'd been putting in his mouth.
Did that sound strange? "It's all right. I didn't mean that in a weird way or anything. I was just saying that it's good for a shinobi to be in top condition."
"You talk like you're a shinobi."
Konan was horrified. What a disastrous slip of the tongue! "Of course I'm not. There is a ninja village in the Land of Rain, true, but if I was a shinobi, don't you think you'd know?" Not just a shinobi…your worst enemy.
"Well, maybe…but I don't know. As long as you're not going to attack Konoha, I guess it doesn't matter."
If that's all you're concerned about, then put your fears to rest. I'm not here to cause trouble for Konoha today.
When Konan finished her third bowl, Naruto said, "Wow, you eat a lot."
"I do not. Just look at how much you've eaten. Is this because I'm a woman? One bowl won't fill anyone up, you know." Actually, some of the other Akatsukis have told me I eat a lot as well, but…
"I didn't say it was a bad thing. It's just that a lot of girls are worried about diets and stuff."
"Hmph. Diets are completely moronic." If you're a real woman, you can just kill someone who insults your weight. "But you really shouldn't talk to a woman about such things. Weight is a forbidden subject with females. Being female myself, that's the advice I have for you if you want to pick up girls."
"Well, I already figured out that stuff", said Naruto, "But I didn't know all girls were so sensitive."
"We're merely vain creatures. Girls like to look nice." She didn't mention that in every Akatsuki hideout, she had her own personal bathroom, each with a different color scheme. Some things were better left unsaid.
"Well, yeah, I know that. I'm not that dumb. I just don't understand it, is all."
"We act that way because of men. And because of the opinions of other women. Everyone is so superficial that they care merely about appearances and their own preconceptions. But outward beauty doesn't help you much in the long run, I think. Beauty won't stay the hand of death." I've outlived plenty of good-looking people.
"You're kind of…morbid", said Naruto.
"Death is the one battle that every person will lose", said Konan, "Everyone dies. Everyone." Even you, Madara, who is supposedly immortal. "Since it is an eventuality, I don't see why we should be bothered by it. Death can steal someone away at the most unexpected moments. Death itself is not scary, I think, but the emotions it instills in us in its wake are what's truly scary. Loneliness. Sadness. And…depending on the circumstances of the death in question…maybe even the desire for vengeance."
She delivered this in her usual monotone.
"Hey, what's the matter? You're trembling", said Naruto.
What?! Konan looked at her hands, and saw how they had betrayed her. No! I can't give myself away! Not now! She stopped trembling, but it was too late. No…a shinobi is never supposed to betray their emotions…I'm a failure as a shinobi…
Why? This has never happened before. I have never before let personal feelings interfere with my mission…I've never before had personal feelings about a mission! Why now? She gave Naruto a dark look. It's something about this kid. Damn brat!
"Hey, you don't have to glare at me. You don't have to tell me about it if you don't want to. It's not any of my business."
"You're damn right it's not!!" she snarled viciously, then controlled herself. What's wrong with me? Lashing out without even thinking…being controlled by emotion instead of reason…how can I call myself an Akatsuki member? Why did I act that way just now…? The loneliness and misery she'd felt at Pein's death were returning to her now, at the worst possible moment! No! Somehow, just a passing mention…I can't even bear to remember it without losing myself? I'm not reasonable right now, here, in enemy territory…I have to get away from here! To go any further when I can't think logically is only endangering both myself and the mission!
She threw the money she owed for the meal on the counter and ran out of Ichiraku.
Naruto blinked. "Was it something I said?"
…
Konan leaned against the side of a building, trying to catch her breath. How far had she gone?
She played it over again in her mind, ever since she'd met Uzumaki Naruto, and she grew increasingly more angry as she saw her own weakness and folly, glaringly obvious in her memory. Dammit! And it had been going so well, too! She seriously doubted that the Jinchuuriki would know anything about Uchiha Sasuke, but still, maybe he knew someone who knew him, or something! Damn, and she'd been so close to getting some answers out of that kid! Why else had she brought up the subject of death, and revenge? To lead into the subject of Sasuke! Why had that conversation caused the suppressed emotions to flare up again? She didn't understand!
I've seen so many deaths in my lifetime. A lot of them were at the hands of me and my comrades. I never felt anything. I've killed and killed again, and never felt a thing about it one way or another. You cannot be a shinobi and go crying over every casualty. It's a kill or be killed world. The strong kill the weak. I know that, but…with that logic Pein's murder is justified. Is murder pure murder no matter what?
But, then that means that all shinobi have bought themselves one-way tickets to hell. But, in spite of that…aw, forget this philosophical crap! Who cares if I'm going to heaven or hell or any place in between? I need to be entirely focused and have iron resolve. If all shinobi are going to hell, then at least Pein and I will be there together…and Madara had better hope I don't find Sasuke for quite a while, because he's going to have one hell of a time down there with all of his enemies…not just Pein and me, but all of the Akatsuki members he's used as pawns for his ambitions…and all of his enemies from Konoha…they'll be lining up to get a piece of him…
Madara…I'll be the one to send you to hell! But I'm getting distracted. Focus. My first attempt to get information from the Jinchuuriki failed. But I'm more aware of myself now. Even if he is a Jinchuuriki, he's still a boy, right? And boys have this chivalry complex when it comes to women. As soon as they spot a woman in distress, they want to go and kill the bad guy who upset her. I've been around enough males to understand this. Most of the time it's quite obnoxious, and I do what I want anyway regardless of whether anyone wants to 'protect me from danger' or some such idiocy…
…except for Pein. He was the only one I would allow to protect me.
But anyway! Maybe I can manipulate the Jinchuuriki's male mind. I may have failed this time, but you can't get rid of me that easily! I'll have to come up with another plan.
During this whole mental battle, she remained by the side of the building, one hand touching it as she leaned against it, while she stared out into space. Now, she hoisted her pack higher up onto her back. The slightest hint of a smile crossed her features before quickly fading away and hiding behind her usual unreadable appearance. It wasn't so much a smile of joy as it was one of twisted pleasure from knowing that your opponent might just walk into a checkmate.
Konan really is a woman who's better at action than talk.
And even though Naruto isn't my favorite character, by a lot, somehow he got the honor of being the second canon character to appear. At first it was going to be one of the kunoichi, but I figured they might be more suspicious of Konan.
Anyway, thanks for sticking with me! Hopefully this story won't go on another hiatus!