Author's Note: Thanks for all my reviews for the last chapter! You guys finally get to read about some fighting in this chapter! I'm sorry it took so long! ^_^

When Konan finally got up, there was dirt all over the knees of her Akatsuki uniform. She brushed it off, not wanting it to stain after a while. Besides, it was her turn to do the laundry at the Akatsuki base.

She walked up to Pein, who'd just bowed down before another headstone. "I'm finished." She said, staring up at the stars that weren't there anymore. The sky was whitish-blue, with the exception of all the fog.

Pein rose from his kneeling stance, looking her in the eyes. He nodded, starting off in a new direction. Like a lost child, she followed him.

Today was not a sunny day, but it was not raining either. The usual mist floated around Amegakure like smoke around a fire. You could hear as people came out of their houses, breathing in the always-most air. Children filled the streets, happily playing.

You might remember that children were often afraid of Pein. Well, when Konan was next to Pein, and she wasn't sad, people considered it alright to rejoice. Konan had earlier decided not to stay saddened anytime after their visitation, and she'd kept that golden rule. Now, happy people filled the streets, heading to markets or chatting happily.

Pein turned to Konan. "What would you like to do?" he asked. Konan looked a bit surprised. Even though Pein was not always focused on world domination, it wasn't often that he respected his free time.

Konan thought about it. "Let's just . . . walk." she purposed. It wasn't a suggestion, but more of a demand. Pein always did whatever Konan wanted to do, so there was no point in asking. This especially counted for the fact that Pein didn't have an idea.

The two ninja went silent for a few minutes, just walking. They didn't need to talk, because the sound of Ame's citizens were enough for them. Pein had always said that Amegakure's chatter was enough to talk for them.

The silence between the two ended when a little girl walked up to Konan, causing the two to stop in their tracks. "Hey, lady!" said the girl.

Konan looked down at the small girl who was tugging on her Akatsuki uniform. She had brown hair with choppy bangs, and was missing her front teeth. "Hey, lady?" called the girl again, louder.

Konan bent down to the girl's height. "Yes?" she asked.

The girl stuck her thumb in her mouth, but didn't stop talking. She held out a half-finished paper flower. "I tried to make a flower, but I think I messed it up. Can you help me with it?" she asked.

Konan, who was usually apathetic when using origami, smiled. "Of course, sweetie." she said.

Pein watched silently as Konan helped the girl to fold the rest of her origami flower. It came out beautifully, resembling Konan's flower in more ways than one. Pein grinned slightly as Konan set the flower in the girl's brown hair.

"There." said Konan. She grinned slightly. "Now we're both angels." she said.

Pein stared in awe as the little girl's face lit up. Her smile was overpowering, filling the air around the three with gratefulness. "Thank you, Konan-san!" she shouted. Before Konan could say anything, the girl ran off.

Konan rose to Pein's side, smiling the tiniest of smiles. She turned to him, looking at his curious face. "What's that for?" she asked.

"Hm?" he asked, not quite understanding her question.

"That face." said Konan. "What is that expression for?" she asked.

Pein smiled. "It's just . . . nice to see children interacting with Akatsuki members." He said, continuing to walk. Konan followed him. "Some children think we're frightening, but most don't consider you to be anything like that."

Konan fingered a lock of her blue hair. "What do they consider me to be?" she asked.

Pein breathed deeply through his nose. He closed his eyes, tilting his head backwards. "You know. They consider you to be an angel amongst devils, peace amongst violence. The people of Amegakure know that you're a peaceful person. I've never met a child who didn't think of you as someone to look up to." He explained.

Konan grinned slightly, but her Akatsuki collar hid it from Pein's view. He didn't need to see it though, because he could tell when she was and wasn't happy. It was far too easy for him.

After a few minutes of silence, Konan spoke. "What did Deidara and Tobi say about the monster last night?" she asked.

The mention of last night put Pein on alert. He kept his eyes closed. "The monster was already dead when they got there. Apparently, our ninjas had just been stalled, but they'd killed the creature." said Pein.

Konan sighed, relieved for her fellow citizens. "There was something odd they found, though." said Pein.

Konan's attention had been caught. "What?" she asked.

Pein sighed, opening his eyes and looking into Konan's. "This monster was half alive, and half made of wood." he explained.

Konan's eyes grew wide. "What do you mean?" she asked.

Pein kicked a rock in front of him. "This monster was a giant pig. They're native to the Village of Barbed Wire. The pig apparently had wooden limbs, which made him taller. The ends were also sharpened, so that they were like stakes."

Konan thought deeply. "But, in order for that to have been true, someone would have to . . ." she trailed off.

Pein finished for her. "Someone would've had to either saved the pig, or cut off its limbs on purpose." he finished

Konan swallowed. She twirled her hair in her hands. "Which would be more likely?"

Pein kicked another rock. "Deidara said that the ends of the pig's real limbs had been grossly and neglectfully sown back together, as if the person who did so didn't care much." he said. Breathing, he finished. "You can guess what that means."

Konan frowned. The sound of a loud "whoosh" caught both of their attention. They looked to the sky, where a giant clay bird was currently trying to land. On it, rod Tobi and Deidara.

As the bird landed, Pein and Konan ran up to the two. The crowd that was now gathering stepped back, knowing how dangerous Deidara's creations could be.

"Leader-sama," shouted Deidara. "Another giant beast has been spotted outside of Amegakure, in the forest. You two must come with us, now!"

Pein nodded, watching as Konan was helped up. He then followed, the clay bird flapping it's wings wildly. The air seemed to grow heavier as they rose. Finally, they were flying through the foggy sky of Ame.

_ _ _

They'd been searching above the forest for five minutes, and no one had seen a thing. All four were worried that it was too foggy to see anything. The world bellow them was a large mass of blurs and smudges.

"Deidara," said Pein. "Land the bird. We need to search on foot if we're planning on finding this thing." he ordered.

Deidara sighed, aiming the bird towards the ground. They landed rather roughly, and Konan nearly fell off. She'd managed to stay on two feet, with the exception of having a hand on the birds back. The group of four jumped off.

Deidara made a hand signal. "Release." he said. A large cloud of smoke appeared. When it vanished, the bird was gone.

_ _ _

It had been five more minutes, and there was still no sign of the beast. It was still a bit foggy in the forest, so Tobi kept running into trees. They weren't progressing very much, and Pein knew that.

The ginger-haired boy stopped in his tracks, Konan and Deidara doing the same. Tobi had bumped into Deidara, scaring him a bit. "Sorry senpai." he murmured.

Pein looked around, the sound of insignificant animals filling the air. "We need to split up. I'll go north, Tobi will go east, Deidara, you'll go west, and Konan will go south. " he said.

The sound of a giggling snort came from Pein's right. It was Tobi, who was laughing through his orange mask. "What?!" he asked.

Tobi continued to giggle. "Tobi gets the joke!" he shouted.

Pein glared. "What joke?" he asked.

Tobi laughed once again, a hand on his chest. "Konan gets to go south, because her name means 'little south'! Tobi gets it! Tobi gets it!" shouted the boy.

Pein sighed, pushing back the urge to smack his forehead. "Just go, Tobi." he ordered. The boy nodded, running off in his direction. Deidara also headed off in his.

Pein turned to Konan, who'd been hiding a smile throughout Tobi's conversation. "Konan," he addressed her.

The girl stopped smiling, professionally looking at Pein. "Yes?" she asked.

"I want you to use the Dance of Shikigami to travel faster. If you find this monster, don't try to battle it yourself. Call for us, so we can all fight. I don't want you to get hurt." he ordered.

Konan, who's nose and below was covered by her collar, sunk deeper into her Akatsuki suit, trying to hide a frown. Sure, he was looking out for her, but she didn't want him to think that she was weak. "Yes, Pein." she agreed.

_ _ _

Pein watched respectively as Konan made a quick hand signal. A piece of her shoulder peeled off, turning white. Some more pieces blew off, until she had slowly become thousands of tiny pieces of paper. The paper blew off into the direction that Konan needed to go.

Pein sighed, looking around. He started off in his direction, running at a simple pace. He kept his eyes and ears out for anything that looked or sounded suspicious. He could practically tell how close this thing must be to them.

Suddenly, a loud shriek broke through the air around them. Pein stopped immediately, recognizing the voice. He had heard the voice shriek like that only a few times in his life.

It was Konan's.

End of Chapter Quote:

I opened my eyes last night,

And saw you in the low lights,

Walking down by the bay,

On the shore,

Staring up at the stars,

That aren't there anymore.

- The Saltwater Room, Owl City