Alright, here's chapter... uh, i've lost count... woo hoo! i'm pretty proud of this one, but please remember, i have a fragile ego. is it wierd to admit that? i hope so, i like being wierd. not voodoo & tin foil hats wierd, but "Where the hell does he come up with this stuff?!" wierd. For instance, in the original Naruto story, i wonder why Konan's reason is 'love'. I mean, Pein's a boring megalomaniac. could it be that Konan's freaky & just likes that he has six bodies?

Disclaimer: whoah, i almost typed 'deidara'. ever since a certain someone suggested TemaDei, it keeps invading my mind while i'm trying to write a GaaKon story! RAAARRGHHH! Nah, i don't mind it. it actually gives me more to write about, so thanks to that person!... oh, right! 'I don't own Naruto'

A paper heart

They entered into a large room, lights shining all round. The pipes moved across the ceiling, surrounding that.

All the pipes met at the same point, the water they were carrying poured onto a square structure with a pyramid-like roof. The water ran down the pyramid & poured off the edge, into a small pool surrounding the structure. The water rendered anything inside the structure unidentifiable, but Gaara was sure he could see a huddled lump there. He moved his hand through the water & touched a metal bar. He did the same with his other hand & again, grabbed a metal bar. Behind the water was a prison. Gaara pressed his face as close as he could, ignoring the cold water. Inside the prison was a blue haired woman, lying on the ground.

"Gaara-kun?" Konan called out, quietly.

Gaara looked at her, how weak she looked. She was missing both her cloak & ring, now wearing a simple black shirt & pants. Her eyes had dark rings around them. It was no surprise she hadn't slept with the noise of the water.

"Konan-hime!" Gaara exclaimed, eyes wide with shock.

"G-Gaara-kun," she began, struggling to get up, "What are you doing here?"

"I came here for you. Hold on, I'll get you out of here."

As Gaara's face disappeared, Konan smiled.

"I know you will." She whispered.

Gaara moved away from the prison & looked around. He couldn't find a valve or any other way to shut off the water, so he decided to just leave it. He rolled back his sleeve & focused chakra into his arm, feeling it grow & change. When the transformation was complete, he slashed at the bars, obliterating them. He ran in through the hole, his arm changing back, & knelt down beside Konan,

"Are you alright?" he asked, placing his arms beneath her & picking her up.

"I am now." She replied, before losing consciousness. Gaara ran back through the hole, shielding her from as much of the water as he could. Kankuro looked at Konan, a surprised look on his face.

"A woman?" he thought aloud. Gaara left through the door & Kankuro followed. They ran through the tower, managing to evade the guards. When they reached the main door, Gaara cast a Henge on Konan, to make her look like one of Kankuro's bandaged puppets. He then gave her to Kankuro, who carefully placed her on his back. Then they left, making sure the path they took was out of Pein's direct line of vision. They travelled through the busy streets when there was one, otherwise they'd take the alleyways. Anything to keep Pein from seeing them with his eyes.

They reached the main gates, passed the guards who bowed to Gaara, & headed for Temari's position. She was looking into the hole when they arrived, so she didn't see them. Gaara took Konan back & released the Henge. She was still unconscious as he did this. He looked at her in his arms. Temari sensed them & looked up, seeing the way Gaara was looking at Konan.

"Gaara..." she whispered.

"We have to go." Gaara said, "Somewhere safe. Where they won't find her."

"Where?" Kankuro asked. Temari just looked at Konan.

"To the oasis." Gaara replied, "She should be safe there, Kousou wouldn't let anyone in there that I don't permit."

Kankuro nodded, Temari did so too, just a little slower. Gaara walked away, his siblings following him. Gaara had removed his cloak & covered Konan with it.

As they walked, he found himself constantly glancing at her. She felt warm in his arms, it was nice. It made him warm as well. She looked peaceful, but Gaara knew she wasn't sleeping; she needed somewhere to recover.

After travelling a few miles, they found an inn & entered. A middle aged man stood behind a counter, doing paperwork. Gaara walked over to the man.

"Excuse me, do you have any rooms?" he asked the man, who looked up.

"Uh, yes sir, we do." The man replied, looking at Konan with unease, "Is she...?"

"We would like to take a couple of rooms." Gaara said, ignoring the man's question, "We would appreciate privacy."

As he said this, Kankuro dropped some of the money Kakuzu had given him on the counter. The man eyed it, greedily.

"Very well." The man said, "You may have the suites."

He gave Gaara a key & Temari another. The man then led them to their rooms. Gaara thanked him & entered his room.

He found the bed & placed Konan inside it, taking back his cloak & placing the quilt over her. He then found an armchair, pulled it over beside the bed & sat on it. He watched her as she lay there, unmoving. He couldn't help but feel responsible.

"I should have acted sooner." He thought, "She suffered for so long because I failed to act. I was already in the tower, I had a chance! This is entirely my fault."

This went on for the rest of the day & night. Gaara sighed and rubbed his eyes, it was times like this that they really started to react to the insomnia. Gaara decided to perform the only kind of rest he could get. He pulled his feet up so he was sitting cross legged & began meditating.

"What I have done." He thought, "This does cause a problem to my mission. If Pein discovers it was I who rescued her, then I will have failed. Another instance is that Konan seems to have been removed from Akatsuki. This disproves the oath that every member takes. If the oath did as Kisame said it would, then Konan would already be dead. But there's something else. If she is no longer a member of Akatsuki, the Pein must have her ring. If so, then who does he plan to give it to?"

"Gaara-san." Gaara's eyes snapped open as he heard the sound of Pein's voice. He channelled chakra into his ring & found himself back in Amegakure, but at the top of the tower this time.

"Pein-sama." Gaara said, bowing, "You summoned me?"

"Yes." Deva replied, "I have just received a report that Kakuzu & Hidan faced a team from Konoha. They were both killed."

Gaara nodded.

"My brother will be disappointed." He said, "He & Hidan were friends."

"Yes, it is an unfortunate loss. Konoha has been very troublesome to our goals."

"What would you have me do?" Gaara asked.

"Nothing. At the moment, Deidara is searching for the Sanbi. He shouldn't have much trouble dealing with it. Itachi & Kisame are searching for the Yonbi, they may be a while. Be ready for the sealing of the Sanbi."

Gaara bowed again, "Is there anything else?"

Deva stared at him for a few seconds, as if trying to come to a decision.

"No, that is all." He said, turning away. Gaara vanished from sight.

He opened his eyes back in the hotel room. He looked down to Konan, she was still out. A strand of hair was lying across her face. Gaara reached forward to brush it away. But as he did that, Konan exhaled, the breath from her nose hitting Gaara's hand. He shivered. Suddenly he noticed he wasn't alone. Temari was leaning on the doorway, watching him with a look of unease.

"Temari..." Gaara said, staring at his sister in surprise. Temari came over & sat on the edge of Gaara's bed, looking at Konan.

"She's beautiful." Temari noted, in a small voice. Gaara dropped his gaze to Konan.

"Is she?" he asked, trying to sound uncaring.

"I know what you said before, but there's no need to pretend." Temari replied, "You don't have to say it, but don't act like you don't feel it."

Gaara sat there, frozen.

"You... what you're saying... is that what this is?" he thought.

"It seems you know my feelings better than I do." Gaara said. Temari didn't reply.

Time passed. Temari left & the two of them were alone. Gaara found that he could sit no longer, so he wandered around the room. He went into the bathroom to splash his face with water, feeling slightly refreshed. He then took out Sasayaki & began to polish her. Once he was done with that, he stood by the window, looking out into the sunlight.

"Who knew waiting could be so difficult?" he thought, "Then again, I have waited a long time, without even knowing it."

"G-Gaara-kun?"

Gaara whipped his head around, shock on his face. Konan was looking at him, her eyes straining to see. Gaara was by her side in seconds, sitting back in the armchair.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, unsure of what to do.

"I... I'm ok." She replied, before shuddering, "Maybe not."

With difficulty, she moved herself into a sitting position.

"Here." Gaara said, handing her a glass of water.

"Thanks." She replied, taking a sip. She looked around the room, "Where are we?"

"A few miles out of Amegakure. We stopped here so you could rest, but we'll head to a safer location soon."

"But... Pein-"

"Is still in Amegakure." Gaara interrupted, "And he'll be there for a while yet. But I can't let him find you."

Konan looked like she was about to argue, but she was no longer able to stay awake. Gaara grabbed her glass before it spilled & re-adjusted her so she was lying down again.

A few hours later, Temari came to the door again.

"Hey, how's she doing?" she asked.

"Fine." Gaara replied, "She's just sleeping now."

"You look like hell." Temari noted, "You should go get something to eat."

"I can't leave her-"

"I'll stay here, ok?"

Gaara searched Temari's face for a moment. He nodded & stood up leaving quietly so not to wake Konan. He made his way to the ground floor, where there was a small cafeteria. There were a couple others staying at the inn who were inside, eating breakfast. Gaara purchased a sandwich & headed outside, where he found Kankuro lying in the grass, drinking from a box of orange juice.

"Hey." Gaara said, sitting next to his brother.

"Hey." Kankuro replied, without looking to see who was there. The two of them looked up at the clouds, which were heading in the direction of Amegakure.

"You ever notice, whenever you talk, it's always something serious?" Kankuro asked. Gaara raised his brow at this. Now that he thought about it, Kankuro was right.

"I live my life leading to a single goal." Gaara replied, "Maybe after that, I can think about other things."

"Hope so, 'cos if you're gonna be this dull all the time, I'm gonna split."

Gaara grinned. Kankuro really had a way with words.

"So we're finally gonna see the place you've been living at?" Kankuro asked.

"Yeah. We may stay there for a few days, to figure some things out. She should be safe there."

"You keep saying that she needs protecting & she's gonna resist." Kankuro warned.

"That can't be helped. I can't have her interfering right now. If she tries to fight him, she won't win."

They both fell silent. Gaara finished his sandwich & stood up.

"Tomorrow, if she is able to travel, we'll leave." He said, heading back inside.

"See you then!" Kankuro replied, waving.

Gaara made his way back to the room. He paused outside as he heard Temari talking. He opened the door & entered.

Konan was sitting up again, looking a lot better than before. The two women looked at him as he entered, both smiling.

"Hey." Temari said, "Look who's up!"

"Hi." Konan said, looking at his strange expression, "Are you alright?"

"That's what I was about ask you." Gaara replied, moving to her side.

"I'm fine, but I'm getting really tired of people asking me that." She said.

"Right. If you're well, we'll leave tomorrow."

"About that... I can't leave."

Gaara folded his arms, "Konan-hime, I won't pretend to understand why you'd want to stay. Despite whatever business you may have in Amegakure, I cannot allow you to endanger yourself like that. As your rescuer, I ask that you be patient."

Konan considered him for a moment. She nodded.

"Alright, I guess I owe you that much." She said, settling down. Temari looked between Gaara & Konan.

"I'm gonna go get something to eat." She said, getting up & leaving. Now Gaara & Konan were alone.

"I want to thank you again, for back there." Konan said, "I'm sorry if I seemed ungrateful."

"It's fine." Gaara replied.

"So what's been happening while I was...?"

"The Ichibi & Nibi have been sealed, but Sasori, Kakuzu & Hidan fell to Konoha Shinobi."

"Really? So the immortal guys were the first to go, huh?"

Gaara stared at her. She blushed lightly.

"Sorry, that was wrong." She said, bowing her head, "I shouldn't mock the dead."

"I don't think it would really make a difference." Gaara replied.

"So... where are we going?" Konan asked, looking up to Gaara.

"I have a home near Sunagakure. We'll stay there for a while."

"Sunagakure?" Konan repeated, "We're going to the desert?"

Gaara blinked.

"Right, you've never been to the desert, have you? In that case, you'll probably make great use of the oasis."

Konan looked relieved.

"I've lived my whole life in this country, it's going to be strange to leave." She said.

"I'll see what I can do to keep you cool during the journey." Gaara added.

"You don't have to go to the trouble, I'll manage."

"You're sure?"

"Mm-hm."

Gaara sat back in his chair, "Alright then. As I said, if you're strong enough, we'll leave tomorrow. I'll let you rest."

He made to get up, but Konan reached out to him. Gaara stared in surprise at his hand in hers.

"Please don't. I'm sick of resting." Konan begged. Gaara was still staring at their hands, Konan realized she was still holding on & pulled her hand away, blushing.

"I'm sorry." She muttered, but in truth, Gaara was a little disappointed she'd let go.

"Don't be." He replied, sitting back down. He looked at Konan, who was touching her hand, a strange look on her face. Gaara looked at her, & spotted something.

"Uh, your flower..." he said, pointing to her hair. Konan blinked & touched the paper flower, it was crumpled. She focused for a second & it returned to the way it looked before. Gaara grinned.

"I didn't know roses bloomed twice." He said. Konan smiled & he felt it again; that warm feeling. He liked it when she smiled.

"You're staring." She said, blushing again.

"Oh, sorry." Gaara said, blinking.

The clock ticked as they sat there, not saying much. They were both feeling very uncomfortable, yet neither wanted Gaara to leave. To break the tension, Gaara decided help was needed.

"Umibe, why don't you come out?" Gaara requested, noticing Konan's strange look.

"Hai, Gaara-sama!"

Konan jumped in her bed as Umibe's high voice sounded, her strange look turning to shock as Gaara's cloak disintegrated into sand, which then turned into a quite large sandworm.

"You don't have to stay like that." Gaara added, referring to him still being black with red clouds. Umibe nodded & turned back to his normal sand-like colour. The seven year old worm then turned to Konan.

"Hi!" he said, brightly, "I'm Umibe!"

Konan looked at Umibe uncertainly.

"What is this?" she asked, hoping she didn't sound insensitive.

"This is Umibe. He is a sandworm from the deserts of Wind Country. It's alright, he's only a child."

Umibe huffed at Gaara's words & Konan giggled. She reached out & petted Umibe, who purred. Konan giggled again.

"He's cute." She said, smiling at Umibe, who was rocking happily.

"Yeah, he's a very delicate child." Gaara said, smirking.

"Am not!" Umibe exclaimed, childishly. Gaara laughed.

"Ok, you're not." He agreed. He looked up & noticed Konan.

"You're staring." He said, "Is it that strange to hear me laugh?"

Konan blinked & then looked away, embarrassed.

"Sorry." She muttered.

Suddenly, a loud bang came from the room behind Konan. The three of them whipped their heads in the direction of the noise.

"I'll see what that was." Gaara said, "Umibe, stay here."

Gaara left the room & opened the door to the room. Temari was sprawled on the floor. It looked like she had fallen off her bed, which was placed at the same wall as Konan's.

"How graceful." Gaara noted. Temari got to her feet, rubbing her head & wincing.

"Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear-"

"I'm sure you couldn't." Gaara interrupted. Temari laughed nervously.

"Well, you two were falling over each other, I couldn't resist listening in!" she exclaimed, defensively.

"Falling over each other?" Gaara repeated. Temari nodded.

"The amount of times you've apologised to each other, you sound like a couple of clumsy fools!"

Her expression softened.

"You just need to relax." She said, "Don't try so hard."

"I'm not trying anything." Gaara retorted, "Perhaps you need to work on interpretation."

Temari shrugged, "Ok, don't take my advice."

"I won't." Gaara replied, leaving. He knew that he'd probably hurt Temari's feelings, but he didn't appreciate it when his privacy was invaded. He re-entered his & Konan's room, where Konan was looking up at him, questioningly.

"Temari fell over." He told her.

"Is she all right?"

"The most she's suffering from is a bruised ego."

Gaara sat back down on his chair. Umibe had falling asleep with his head resting on the bed.

"So... Gaara-kun," Konan began, "Can I ask, what made you come for me?"

Gaara leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees.

"Well, you'd missed both the sealings, which was peculiar considering how important that is. Also, Pein recently gave the speech about motives to Hidan, but he missed 'Love'. I realized he must have done something, otherwise he wouldn't have been making up tales of you being away on 'important business'. But why would he imprison you like that?"

Konan nodded, "But you didn't answer my question."

Gaara hesitated; his reasons were difficult to explain.

"I-I remember the day we met. I could see the pain in your eyes, the loneliness. From your eyes, I could see that you & I weren't so different. I remember the afternoon we spent, it was a memory I have cherished ever since."

Konan stared at him, speechlessly.

"But, there was always something I could never understand." he noted.

Konan blinked at him, "What was it?" she asked.

Gaara looked out the window, to the sky.

"Well, as a member of Akatsuki, You seek to create war. But as a person, you seem very gentle, having hobbies like origami and flower-pressing." Gaara turned to Konan, "You don't believe in the Akatsuki's ideals. It's because of Pein that you're a part of this, isn't it?"

Konan looked down at her hands.

"I need him." she whispered.

Gaara felt himself go numb. She… needed him?

"What do you mean?" Gaara asked, praying he'd misunderstood.

Konan's stared deeply into her hands, but he could tell she was looking much further.

"When I was a child, my family was killed in the last great Shinobi war. I was left travelling across the Land of Rain, when Yahiko found me."

She smiled to herself.

"Yahiko always hated the rain. He always made that silly promise to become a god & make the rain stop, and to stop the fighting as well. We became very close friends, we depended on each other. Then I found Nagato and his dog, Chibi. Nagato was badly hurt, so I helped him as best as I could. Then I took him to Yahiko, who was a little reluctant to let them in, but he eventually welcomed them into our little family. Later, we met a Shinobi who trained us in using ninjutsu, so we could survive."

Her smile faded & her eyes started watering.

"Years later, we formed a group that became so strong, Hanzō became afraid we would try to overthrow him."

Now tears were streaming from her eyes.

"Hanzō kidnapped me, and demanded that Yahiko choose between my life & his own. He took Nagato's kunai and killed himself with it without hesitation."

She was now sobbing fitfully.

"Yahiko… killed himself for me. And then… Nagato… he killed them all… & then turned Yahiko. He turned him into… into... THAT THING! DEVA!"

She screamed the last part, now crying freely into Gaara's shoulder. Gaara's eyes were wide open. He had no idea what to do in this situation.

"I-I have to get Yahiko's body back. I won't let him be remembered like this!"

Gaara could feel her tears dampening his clothes. Despite her pain, Gaara felt relief that he had misunderstood.

"But, what can I do?" Konan asked, "I can't defeat him & if I try, I'll damage Yahiko's body."

She pressed her hands against her face.

"I don't know what to do." She said. Gaara reached forward & placed a hand on her back.

"Give it time, an opportunity is bound to arise." He said.

"I shouldn't be saying this." He thought, "This betrays my goal. But…"

"Listen, this person… Yahiko." He continued, "Is he the kind of person who would want you risking your life like this?"

Konan paused, her hands slowly coming down.

"No." she replied.

"What is more important, his body or his soul?"

"… ok. I guess your right. But, I can't ignore what Nagato's done."

"Everyone gets their due in the end. Whether Yahiko would want his body being used like this or not, Pein's fate is sealed. I made my promise to make Madara's clan strong, so it can reach its purpose. I will succeed no matter what."

"Madara… to this day, I still can't believe that he had such a change of heart."

Gaara didn't reply.

* * * * *

"Are you ready?" Gaara asked.

"Yeah." Konan replied pushing her hair back. Gaara held the door open for her as they left.

"Thanks." She said, smiling as she walked through the door. Gaara smiled at her back. They left the inn, giving the innkeeper his key & a tip. Temari & Kankuro weren't out yet, so Gaara & Konan waited for them.

"Hey, great place you've got here!" they heard Kankuro say, dramatically. He was being pushed out by Temari, who looked none too pleased, "I'll DEFINETLY recommend people to drop by!"

"What's up with him?" Gaara asked Temari, who shot a glare at Kankuro.

"Look at this stuff!" he said, pulling out bars of soap & other toiletries, "This place is awesome!"

Gaara stared at Kankuro.

"Have you done this every time we've stayed at a hotel?" he asked.

"Yep!" Kankuro replied, "I figure we paid enough to entitle us to some free merchandise!"

Gaara, Konan & Temari each stared at Kankuro as he pulled out the most random things. Gaara shook his head.

"Let's go." He said turning away & walking. As the rest followed, he was pleased to see that Konan had chosen to walk beside him. It was a small thing, but it was nice to glance to his right & see her there.

"Maybe Tsunade was wrong." He thought, "Maybe I don't have to put what I want aside."

As they walked, he gave a small smile. Konan noticed this & smiled as well. Things were finally looking up.