PART I

Kindred Spirit

Asaya peeled open the plastic wrapping of a disposable menstrual pad and attached it to her panties with a sense of relief. Her period had arrived exactly as she had expected three days after Itachi departed. She chided herself for being so reckless, using what she knew to be a wholly unreliable method of birth control. But it was the only one she had. Not that that was an excuse.

Where would she have gotten a condom, anyway? Asaya imagined how Konan might have reacted had she asked for one, and the idea of the older woman's bewilderment amused her. But, even if Konan would have provided one, Asaya couldn't have asked without raising suspicion on, if not outright revealing, herself and Itachi. There was a chance that the Akatsuki wouldn't disapprove of him sleeping with her, but they most likely would, and at the very least she knew Itachi would want to keep his affairs private. Therefore, the calendar method was her only option. Luckily it worked this time, but she would have never done it under any other circumstances, and she would never do it again.

Asaya pulled up her panties, rolled up her tights, slipped on a knee-length dress, and buttoned up her favorite, emerald-green cardigan. After pinning her long hair into a bun and styling her bangs, she was ready to go. She really did enjoy her outings with Konan. She liked getting dressed up, or at least neatening her appearance, specifically to go out. She liked drinking coffee and eating pastries while reading newspapers and magazines while listening to cheesy, commercial jazz music and the sensation of rain pelting her head and shoulders while walking between the impossible skyscrapers. She knew she'd miss Konan once this was all over.

And recently, Konan had begun to have chats with Asaya about things other than the Doomsday Idol, albeit not very long ones. As it turned out, Konan was quite the economist. This shouldn't have been surprising, considering Konan's position as Amegakure's shadow governor, but Asaya was happy for and always looked forward to her enlightening conversation. She learned that Amegakure's rapid development and prosperity after the Third Great Shinobi War was largely due to Konan's initiative. Asaya was impressed.

Konan's knock on the door came right on time. "Coming," Asaya called while stuffing a few extra pads into a small handbag. She grabbed her bright-yellow raincoat off the rack and opened the door.

"Ready?" Konan asked. These outings were also the only time Asaya saw Konan wearing anything other than the Akatsuki cloak. Instead, she wore a black turtle neck and trench coat, which didn't make for a flashy outfit, but it was sharply fitted and styled.

"Yes," Asaya answered.

At the café, they sipped coffee and nibbled croissants just as always.

Asaya folded the weekend edition of the Asahi Shimbun to an article titled "Globalization: Reexamining Long-Held Economic Beliefs" and flattened it on the table in front of her. She rested both elbows on the table and held her head between both hands while she looked down to read.

After the end of the great war nearly two decades ago, the international race for companies to find the cheapest sources of labor exploded. These practices resulted in the majority of industrial jobs being exported smaller countries, regardless of hazardous working conditions, environmental impact, or domestic rights. This has resulted in the elimination of an entire economic class domestically and a rise in climate-related disasters, which has caused disruptions to the global food supply chain, further exacerbating inflation and unemployment.

It seemed to Asaya, as she read, that the real problem was not globalization per se, but some other underlying cause.

Policymakers have shied away from passing regulations regarding the issues, believing that the free market would naturally result in efficiency and growth.

Shocking, Asaya thought sarcastically with a frown. This was the sort of topic she used to discuss with Itachi in the long interims between assignments. Late at night by the fire or in a cheap hotel room lying in separate, equally uncomfortable twin beds.

Three days was all he had been gone for. Every spare moment since had been occupied by some combination of memory and imagination. She thought that the night they had shared would have sated her desires, and in a way it did, but it had also given rise to entirely new ones. Now, instead of longing to know the feel of his hands roaming her body, his lips caressing her skin, or his length filling her, she longed to experience it all over again, to explore new ways of giving one another pleasure.

Asaya touched the center of her forehead while staring at the milk swirling languidly in her coffee. They would never meet again.

Konan noticed Asaya's peculiar wistfulness. It was hard not to, as it had followed her for days now like a second shadow. It wasn't difficult to guess what had caused it.

The blue-haired woman could understand what Itachi might like about Asaya, but she could not fathom what Asaya saw in Itachi. Because what little personality Itachi did have, as far as Konan knew, was unpleasant. Arrogant, stuck-up, misanthropic. He was not crass or rude like Kisame or Deidara or Hidan, in fact he was rather formal. But in a snobbish, supercilious way. As if he were somehow better than everyone even though he was just as much a criminal as anyone else in the Akatsuki considering what he did. Konan's brow pinched; she hoped Asaya wasn't the type of woman who was helplessly attracted to bastards.

"Something catch your attention?" Konan asked.

"Hm," Asaya looked up, "Oh, just this article."

Konan looked down at the newspaper sitting in front of the younger woman. "Ah, yes. Globalization's been in all the papers lately. The larger nations have effectively outsourced major sectors of their economies to the lowest bidder, which has caused numerous problems. An article in Weekly Toyo Keizai speculated that even though Lightning Country is the wealthiest nation, it's at risk of collapse because of unaddressed underemployment and wage stagnation, although the article didn't exactly phrase it that way. All the wealth is concentrated at the top, so major swaths of the population just can't afford to participate and thrive in their own economy. It's causing a lot of tensions domestically and internationally. This is also why Amegakure remains firmly isolationist; we aren't interested in being exploited by the larger nations."

Asaya would really miss talking to Konan. The woman was fascinatingly brilliant.

"Ah, Konan, just who I wanted to see. What's the news?" Obito leaned back in his generously comfortable armchair. He had recently returned from a long period away.

"It's good to see you back," Konan replied. "Asaya plans to make another attempt to unseal the Demonic Statue at the end of next week. Her first attempt a few days ago was a failure, but that was to be expected. She's learned what she needed to and is ready to try again."

"Excellent, just what I want to hear," Obito said. "I plan on being there, of course. It'll be an exciting day for everyone."

"Certainly, sir," Konan said.

"By the way, did you know that Itachi was seen walking down the northeastern corridor on the 38th floor very early the morning he left?"

"I did not. I don't keep tabs on Itachi's whereabouts, but I know he routinely took walks around the building early in the morning."

"Oh? Were they always in that area? You know, by Asaya's room."

"That's a good question. I don't know." Shit.

Obito chuckled. "One of Pain's puppets saw him. He frequently has one patrolling around her room, but you already knew that."

Konan tilted her head and raised a brow in feigned ignorance.

"He spent the night in her room, Konan," Obito's voice was unamusedly flat.

"I see," Konan said evenly. "Is there something you would like me to do about it?"

"There's no point. He won't be back anytime soon." Obito tapped one finger on his knee. "I knew he was fucking her," he grumbled under his breath.

Konan declined to say that, to the best of her knowledge, they had only fucked. Singular. At least since they had been in Amegakure. She had no conclusive evidence as to what may or may not have happened before, but her instincts leaned towards singularity.

"I knew that was how she escaped. For his sake, I hope the blowjob was worth it."

Konan did not appreciate the vulgarity. "Itachi isn't the type to-"

"Appearances can be deceiving, Konan. Especially with someone like Itachi." Obito scoffed, "Well, at least his balls have finally dropped. I was getting worried."

"If it makes no difference, then what is your point, sir?" she asked. She would have rolled her eyes if she could.

"Depends on what I ultimately decide to do with the girl. She's turning out to be a much better deal than I bargained for." She was useful for not only her abilities, but possibly for influencing Itachi as well.

"That reminds me," Konan wanted to change the topic, "about the negotiations…"

PART II

Demons

Asaya looked over the counter seal she prepared one final time, reviewing sequences here and there and comparing them against her notes. She had written the counter seal upon an especially large scroll of paper. It had taken her the better part of two days just to handwrite all the calligraphy. If this attempt failed, which was a very real likelihood, then she would have to tediously recreate the whole thing again with corrections. She really, really didn't want to have to do that.

Asaya took a deep breath. It all looked complete.

"Ready?" Konan asked handing Asaya her string of beads. "Pain should be here any moment."

Asaya wrapped the beads around her left wrist just as she always wore them. "Yes. I'll begin when he arrives," she said while laying out the scroll in front of the Demonic Statue and kneeling down to sit on her heels in seiza.

Only a few minutes later, Pain entered the underground cave, but he was not alone like she expected.

"Hello, Miss. Asaya!" Tobi greeted her cheerfully. "I heard you're going to unseal the statue today. I'm so excited to see it!"

Asaya only responded with a flat, uncomfortable smile.

This was going to be a fun day, Obito thought.

"Whenever you are ready, Asaya," Pain prompted.

"Yes, sir," Asaya laced her beads between her fingers, flattened both palms together, looked up at the Demonic Statue, and closed her eyes.

After one slow, deep breath, Asaya manifested her chakra into her hands and extended it into her string of beads. They took on a feint, pure-white glow. She pulled her hands shoulder-width apart, and the beads multiplied in length. She made the first sequence of seals- dragon, ox, rabbit, tiger- then slapped her hands back together. The long string of beads floated in the air, further lengthening to circle her body

Obito stood transfixed by the sight before him. His plans had been stalled for so long because of this, and now he was so achingly close. He heard her speak words in a language he did not understand, probably an ancient tongue, then she slamed both palms on the scroll. Nothing happened at first, but she kept her hands on the scroll, clearly channeling chakra into it.

She visibly winced, and Obito's chest tightened. He had to temper his expectations, remind himself that this attempt would likely fail, but damn did he want it to succeed.

Asaya grit her teeth. She felt a powerful resistance, the same forse that had stopped her first attempt. It stirred, sensing her intrusion, and quickly spiraled into a massive whirlpool. But this time instead of staggering and being overwhelmed, she could channel it. She made another long sequence of seals, and, though it was difficult, began to channel and direct the power of the seal binding the Demonic Statue. Her chest heaved at the effort, but she persisted.

A new presence entered her conscience, one that was malicious and awesome and willful. This must be the power of the Demonic Statue, Asaya realized. It was every bit as terrifying as she imagined it to be. It clawed at her from behind the seal, wanting her to reach for it, to open its cage like the ravenous, deranged monster that it was. Despite every instinct screaming at her not to, she did, and she felt the binding seal begin to thin and weaken bit by bit until she could almost puncture it like paper. So close-

Obito, Pain, and Konan watched frozen where they stood as the scroll in the Demonic Statue's mouth and the chains binding its fists shined a bright, golden light that weighed taught and heavy in the air around them. Then it dimmed into almost nothing while an angry, purple-red glow consumed it, bathing the cave in a wicked red.

Asaya sharply howled in pain. The sound of her squealing echoed off the stone walls and pierced their ears.

Seconds later, the Demonic Stature rumbled and shook. They looked up at it, not knowing what to expect next. They heard what sounded like stone cracking, then the scroll gagging the statue's mouth abruptly dropped to hang uselessly beside its neck. Its hands, balled and fisted together, broke apart and rotated so that its palms faced upwards, its fingers curled as if to obtain something. The red light vanished and all was silent.

Obito's eyes widened behind his mask. Was this finally it, he thought completely stunned. He could not speak, waiting to see if he were just imagining it all.

Konan brought one hand to loosely cover her mouth. She hadn't realized how fast her heart was racing until just now.

Asaya brushed one hand across her sweating brow. Exhaustion immediately overcame her once all the chaotic energy dispersed. She leaned forward and braced herself on both hands, unable to sit up while her vision blurred. "Good girl, Asaya," she heard Konan say, and felt herself pulled into her arms. Asaya collapsed into Konan's chest without hesitation.

"It worked," Asaya wheezed.

"Yes, you did it," Konan gently whispered while rubbing a hand soothingly over her back.

"Everything hurts," Asaya mumbled before passing out in Konan's arms.

Asaya's eyes opened.

"How are you feeling?" a voice that sounded like Konan's asked.

Asaya could only offer a limp groan, but she was quickly gaining awareness. She felt terrible, the worst she'd ever felt in her life. Like she was completely drained and wrung out of all her energy. All she could really do was breathe, but even that was uncomfortable.

"You've been in and out of consciousness for a few days now," Konan said sitting at Asaya's bedside. "Do you think you can stay awake this time?"

"Mm-hm."

"Good. I'm glad," Konan said softly.

The memory of the Demonic Statue surfaced in Asaya's mind. How it had reached for her- clawing, clawing, clawing behind the seal with a mindless hunger. It had touched her after the seal broke, however briefly. She'd never felt a pain like that in her life. Incomparable to any physical pain, it was something entirely new and inexplicable. Like it had grasped a piece of her soul and tried to rip it from her body. It was pure agony, and the echoes of it still seethed inside her veins.

"Konan, leave us," a male voice said, one that was both new and familiar. "I said go," he firmly repeated.

Asaya felt Konan stand up from the bed and utter a "Take care." Then the door opened and shut.

The new voice dragged a chair over to her and sat down. The sound of the wooden legs scraping the floor stabbed her eardrums like a thousand needles.

Tobi, she thought confused upon seeing the orange mask.

"Good girl," he said, "You've made me very happy." But his was not the jovial, childish tone she associated with Tobi.

"I'll have to find a way to congratulate you. I've been trying to unseal that statue for a decade," he continued. "But I have time to figure something out while you recover. I'm surprised you lived, to be honest." He placed one finger on his chin, "You're not into gift baskets, are you?"

Asaya did her best to glare at him.

He chuckled at her antic. "Ah, yes. You already suspected I was keeping my true identity a secret, didn't you? I'm Obito, the real leader of the Akatsuki."

Of fucking course, Asaya thought derisively.

"But that's not all," he reached for his mask and lifted it over his face.

Asaya didn't really have a clear picture of what she thought Tobi really looked like behind the mask, but she was surprised nonetheless. Half his face was covered in gnarled scarring and his left eye remained closed. The lid appeared oddly flat and sunken, meaning he lost that eye. The one he still had, though, was pitch black with no distinction between pupil and iris, just like-

His eye flashed scarlet red. "More specifically, my name is Uchiha Obito." He laughed again at her reaction, "You should see the look on your face. Yes, your lover-boy and I are from the same clan. Or were, I suppose. I helped him with the Uchiha massacre, actually. Well, except for his younger brother, but I didn't tell you that if you didn't already know."

Asaya's mind whirled. This was too much information at once for her weakened state, and it all turned into static. "What- what do you want?" she eked out.

"Good question. I'm just fucking with you, really. You're not going to remember any of this later."

Asaya turned her head away in anger, but he pinched her chin between his thumb and index finger to turn it back. His eyes roamed uncomfortably over her face, scrutinizing every detail.

"I guess I can't blame him," he muttered bitterly and withdrew his hand.

Asaya's mind began to catch up. She remembered Itachi said he had a younger brother, one he appeared to think of dearly. But what was this about a massacre? And 'lover boy'? Then he knew that- did Konan tell him?

"You know what," Obito said, "you're a good pawn to have. Maybe I'll see if there's a way to keep you around."

His sharingan spun, and Asaya fell unconscious.

A/N:

The last few chapters have largely been an excuse for me to play with Konan. We are approaching the end of our time with her, and it makes me so sad! She was always one of my favorite female characters, and she never got the recognition she deserved.

I tried very hard to make the unsealing of the Demonic Statue as interesting and believable as possible. I found it a bit difficult to write, so if it does not appeal to you for some reason I would love to know why.

This fic is now primarily hosted on Archive of Our Own, if you want the most recent updates. Username is MajesticFlyingWalrus.