When you see a child laugh and smile, you can't help but do so yourself. Youth is . . . golden. We start out as children for a reason; to enjoy the simple part of life while we can. They have little worries, and all they want to do is be happy, and make others happy too.

This is why Konan loved children. She had never gotten that golden childhood that other children were able to have. Her last bits of youth had been drowned in tears and death, so she made up for it by making other people's lives happier. Perhaps, she would one day have children of her own.

So, Konan walked past the window and back to her room. There, she settled into a small wooden chair next to her tiny window, one where she could watch the snow fall. She grabbed a piece of pink paper, and began folding it slowly.

Making her jump a little, a knock came at her door. "Come in." she said quietly.

Konan sighed-inwardly as Pein opened the door. He silently walked in, shutting the door behind him. "May I sit with you?" he asked.

"Sure." said Konan, nodding towards another small chair in the opposite corner of the room. She watched as he walked over and grabbed it, setting it down in front of her. He sat down, watching as she folded.

"Konan, may I ask you something?" he asked.

Konan nodded. "Of course you can."

Pein sighed, sitting up in his chair. He attempted to stare at her fingers, instead of her eyes. Perhaps, that would make talking to her easier. "You're mad at me, aren't you?" he asked.

Konan's eyes grew a bit wider, and her folding stopped. "What?" she asked.

Pein sighed again, looking up into her eyes now that the folding had stopped. "Don't pretend like that, Konan. You're attitude after the mission changed drastically." he said.

Konan's eyebrows furrowed. "Perhaps I was upset that I was almost assaulted and killed!" she said, raising her voice louder than normal.

This time, Pein raised his own voice. "Konan, I know that you don't hold onto things that didn't happen. Now please, just tell me what's wrong."

Konan fidgeted in her chair, turning her head towards the window. She stared outside at a tree, which was leafless and now being buried in snow. She caressed the folded piece of paper in her hands.

"Pein," she began. "Have you noticed that the past couple of missions have always been leading to you having to save me?" she asked.

Pein's eyes grew slightly wider. Yes, that was something that Konan would despise. She wasn't weak, and hated it when she was. He nodded.

"Well," began Konan, fingering her blue locks. "You and I both know that the past couple of months have been . . . hard for me, but, don't you think that it's a bit odd that all of these people and creatures have been coming so close to me? In fact, all of those monsters wanted to hurt me, not just anybody."

Pein sighed. Yes, he had definitely thought about that. Konan wasn't really growing weaker, but the monsters that they were fighting were growing stronger, as well as targeting her directly. "Indeed, I've noticed that a lot. I have to admit, I'm concerned about your wellbeing in this situation." he said.

Konan stopped messing with her hair, and put her hands in her lap. She nodded. "I am too. I mean, I don't understand why these creatures would be so mad at me." she said.

Pein sighed. "Konan, I think it is safe to say that someone is targeting you for a specific reason." he said, taking her pale hands into his own. "Your jutsu-style is priceless, and I'm sure there are lots of people out there that would do anything to get their hands on it, even if it means using large beasts to do so."

Konan nodded, bowing her head as a sign of stress. She nestled into Pein's shoulder in an attempt to calm that sense down. "So, what do I do?" she asked.

Pein stroked her hair with his pale fingers. "I suppose we'll just have to be more careful. If our theory is correct, then the person who is sending these beasts will eventually show his or her face." he told her.

Konan sighed and nodded. "Alright." said the kunoichi. She sat upon his lap, looking out as the snow fell. It was much prettier than she'd imagined.

"Konan," called Pein.

The female sat up, looking into his eyes. "Ye-" Before she was able to finish her question, lips smashed into her own.

_ _ _

Konan had never seen firecrackers before in her life, but she'd heard of them. Apparently they were set off in China all of the time. People said that they were amazing, and that they made every bone in your body tingle.

Perhaps, this was the feeling that those people spoke of.

At first, Konan did not react. She sat, frozen in her seat, as Pein kissed her gently. It wasn't until he pulled away that she wrapped her hands around his neck, and kissed him back.

Pein reacted as well. He wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her back. What was this? Had he really developed this type of feeling for his life-long teammate?

Unfortunately, this hadn't lasted long. A knock came at the door, one which caused the two to separate. "Just a second." said Konan with a weak, almost twisted voice. She straightened out her uniform, the purple trench coat with black tights, which showed her stomach, and pulled the door open. All the while, Pein had readjusted as well.

When the door was opened, Hidan and Kakuzu stood there. They both looked annoyed and angry, each having their arms folded. "Yes?" asked Pein, coming up behind Konan. He stood a few inches taller than her.

Hidan and Kakuzu looked at one another, than back at the leader and his assistant. "We've got a problem." said Hidan, clutching his weapon.

End of Chapter Quote:

"All the right friends,

In all the right places,

So yeah, we're going down,

All the right moves,

And all the right faces,

So yeah, we're going down."

-All the right moves, One Republic