Okay, next chapter is out. This is when Orochimaru started to appear in the story and the secret of the flower unveiled. Enjoy the story!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

A loud, thundering sound woke her instantly. Konan looked around her and moved quickly to wake Nagato. "Nagato-kun, wake up, wake up. I'm scared," she whined to him just like any nine years-old child would do. Her friend woke up groggily and rubbed his eyes. The eyes that hold great powers unraveled yet by any human, even himself. Konan quickly threw her arms around his neck and buried her dirt-smeared face into his chest. He responded, putting his arms protectively around her shivering body and patted her blue hair gently like a big brother.

"Go to sleep, Konan-chan. The enemies will not find us here. I will make sure of that," he spoke assuring words to her and she felt safe in his embrace. One minute later, she had already dozed off to continue her peaceful sleep under the ruins of what used to be the Ninja Academy of Amegakure. When he made sure that she was deep asleep, Nagato set her aside and crawled outside. His mission was to eliminate whatever that had been scaring her.

Ten minutes later, Nagato crawled back into the ruins and settled down next to her, pulling her into his arms. He was her source of comfort and she was his. She was waken by the gesture and turned around to face him. "Naga-kun, how come I can smell blood on you?" she asked with a puzzled expression though it was not seen in the dark. She felt him shifted uneasily. "They have gone, Konan. Now go back to sleep," he more like ordered her to. "But Nagato, how did you kill them? Did you…use it? Did you do what you did to Yahiko?" a low grumble from him confirmed her fear.

She struggled to get free from him. The visual image of Yahiko's bleeding body gave her the fear. She was not cut to live in the middle of a war, especially with only her ten-year old friend Nagato. But he pulled her closer to him, hurting her slightly. "Konan, you have to wake up from your dream. This isn't a happy, risk-free childhood anymore. If you want to survive, you will have to kill, even if it means losing your family and friends in the process. Bear that in mind and you will become powerful. If not, you are just a waste of time," his words sliced her severely. Konan remembered herself staring into the Rinnegan eyes for the longest time.

"Miwako-san," she heard someone calling her fake name. Konan quickly bolted up Kakashi's lap. So, the whole Nagato thing was a dream, she thought to herself trying to catch her breath. Apparently she had been talking in her sleep because Kakashi was quick to question her. "Who is Yahiko? What did Nagato do to him?" she paused for a moment before shooting him a sharp look. "It is none of your business, Hatake,". "It is when you spend all night talking in your sleep...on my lap,".

"Whatever, I don't care," she turned away from him trying to hide the slight blush that appeared on her face. She forced herself to stand up despite the exhaustion. She needed to be as far as possible from that Konoha shinobi, especially in her weakened state. Konan did not know what drove her to help Kakashi escape from the inn as well. What kind of kunoichi helps a known enemy escape from paying for property damage? 'I know the answer. A lousy one,' she answered in her head as she packed up her things into her backpack.

Kakashi however just leaned against the tree trunk, his hands at the back of his head watching her struggling to roll up a bandage. "Need help with it, Miwako-san? You pretty sure looked awful," Konan hated to admit that she desperately needed help. Her right arm was limp and unable to move, thanks to Kakashi's attack last night. The wound was too large to be closed with a simple healing jutsu, and she did not have enough chakra to perform a more complicated jutsu.

"It will really help me if you would just shut up!" she replied roughly and tried to bandage her injury using her left arm. But doing it was proven harder than it seemed. If she just left it, it will surely get infected. Like it or not, "Yeah, sure. You just need me to shut up," Kakashi teased her cheekily when she turned to him holding out the bandage. Fortunately, he appeared to have forgotten that she was a part of the Akatsuki, but she would still be cautious of him. He was acting surprisingly nice.

"It is very lucky you know healing jutsus. This is a quite serious wound," he commented after finished bandaging her arm. "More like it is lucky that I am left-handed. At least I can still use my jutsus," she barked at him and pulled away with quick a thank you. "No need to be that harsh. I know you are still sulking because of yesterday's loss," "One more word and this kunai will go down your throat, Hatake," he really annoyed her to the end of her nerves. Hastily, she slung her backpack over her right shoulder and spun around facing him. "This is the end, Hatake. I'll go my way and you follow yours," she spoke quietly. "Don't worry. We'll meet again," he smiled mysteriously before disappearing with his own backpack. Konan blinked several times, before letting out a string of colorful curses. He had stolen her ring while she was asleep.

Itachi took the flower for the umpteenth time and studied it. He noticed that the rip on its petal had repaired itself. He also noticed that it was plain white instead of its initial bluish white color. Is this flower is a voodoo or something? Why would Konan give something so precious to Kisame? Giving the flower was almost like giving in her life. What was she thinking? Is this some sort of message of her whereabouts?

He carefully straightened up a bent petal in the bottom. Every time he spotted a flaw on the flower, he will carefully fix it. Itachi loved to watch her elegant fingers fold papers into flowers; he watched it too many times that he had came to memorize it pretty well. After he fixed everything, he began thinking of something else. 'If this flower truly represents Konan, there must be somewhere where she stored her chakra,' he studied the flower again.

His concentration was disturbed by Kisame who began stirring. He woke up wearily and tried to sit up properly but the effect of Itachi's attack was still affecting him. "Itachi, that really hurts," he mumbled incoherently. "Kisame, did Konan said anything about this flower?" he ignored his partner's complaint and showed him the flower. "She said 'as long as the flower does not crumple, I will return' or something like that. Why did you ask?" Itachi shifted his gaze from the flower to his partner. "I finally know the reason why she entrusted you with this flower,".

Konan tried to trace him but found no result. Once she got her hands on him, she will rip his head off. Or so she hoped. The ring is the most prized possession of any Akatsuki member. Konan sent hundreds of butterflies to scout for him before stopping on a relatively large branch. She gets tired easily nowadays. "He can't be too far," she talked to no one in specific. Konan lied down with her palms on her abdomen and began thinking back of what she had been working for. Leaving the Akatsuki just to get caught in a chase with an annoying jerk from the village she was heading, it really made her go insane. Not literally, thankfully. She let out a long breath and wondered how the others were doing.

Deidara stared down on the name carved on the stone. He easily recognized it as Konan's writing judging from the neat and artistic way of calligraphy. In their organization, only the three of them were involved in arts, Sasori, Konan and himself. "Sasori-danna, hi," he grinned sheepishly. "It had been along time we did not get together, un," he continued while scratching the back of his neck. After a few seconds, he put a small clay bird on top of the memorial stone and left. He had never been very good in expressing feelings. But right now, he was really missing his partner, their usual bickering about arts, or they share stories about their respective villages and the times when Sasori told him about Konan. And he had never forgotten how jealous he was at that time.

Orochimaru looked on his assistant. Gray hair held up in a ponytail, with deep black eyes and spectacles, Kabuto looked like a typical medical ninja. But he was no ordinary ninja. He was one of the best ninjas around, and one of his most loyal followers. "You wish to tell me anything, Kabuto," his eerie voice rang throughout the underground chamber. "Yes, it seemed that your wish to obtain Pain's ability is nearly possible," he reported with a slight tone of pride. "How is that?".

"I heard he had a child, an unborn child carried by another member of the Akatsuki," this bit of news made Orochimaru quickly made his way towards the young man. "You mean, Konan-chan?" Kabuto let out a satisfied smile. "It seems so,".

Well, what will Orochimaru do to fulfill his goal? Wait till the next chapter.

I would really appreciate some reviews here, guys. Have a nice day!