Nagato:
When the white-haired man woke up, the Sun had already risen, flooding the pitiful realm of mortals with its glory. He lay on the living room L-shaped couch, a thick, fluffy blanket of beige colour draped over him. Looking at the nearby coffee table, he saw two empty beer bottles and three plates smudged with remnants of creamy sauce. With his eyelids still heavy, he tried to raise, but a scorching sensation flared up. Despite the pain, Nagato stood up, barely muffling a groan. Yet, to his discontent, some pained sounds escaped his throat, waking Konan immediately. With guilt written all over the man's face, he glanced at his friend, noticing black bags under her mesmerising eyes.
"She must have slept badly because of me," Nagato concluded. "I am sorry, Konan. It was not my intention to wake you up," he referred to the woman, trying to control his voice and smiling reassuringly.
"Let me see," the blue-haired woman said, pointing at the man's right side.
"I … fine," the white-haired man said, pulling down his tee.
"Come to me," she urged, slowly sitting down.
With no valid alternatives, Akatsuki's leader closed in, halting a mere step away from his best friend. He glanced at the bandage, finding it in an expected state. Its white surface was foregone memory, currently stained with copper colour. A moment later, a shiver ran down his spine as Konan's cold fingers brushed his exposed flesh. Nagato clenched his fist to control his emotions, but it was challenging not to lean into her touch. They were only friends, he repeated continuously inside his mind, desperately trying not to misread the situation.
Soon enough, the contaminated piece of fabric was removed, revealing the wounds. They must have reopened throughout the night, which was a rather unpleasant occurrence. The white-haired man saw concern imprinted on his friend's angel-like face, embarrassed that he bothered her. Not for the first time, he thought that he should have been the one dying that day, not Yahiko. She would have been happy with a man she loved, not depressed and constantly worried whether one day Nagato would not return home, being killed during the mission.
"I am sorry, Konan," the purple-eyed man whispered, not even mustering enough courage to look at her eyes. "I am sorry for being a bother to you."
"What're you talking about?" the navy-haired woman asked softly. "You've never been a bother to me … and I don't believe you'll ever be," she added, squeezing his left hand. "Come, we must clean this again and apply a new bandage."
Konan stood up, never letting off the man's hand. Then, she pulled him towards the restroom gently, realising that her friend was waging war inside his dark and complex mind. She would have wanted to help with that, to ease his pain, but it was painfully apparent that no matter what she would do, she would hurt him. The navy-haired woman was usually compared to a rose because of her beauty. But unwittingly, these people only made her realise that she had thorns akin to the flower these oblivious masses claim as a symbol of love. With everything she did, she only hurt him further. Perhaps letting him go after all these long years would be the right thing to do, no matter how much it hurt her. Even though she would never say it aloud, each passing year, she grew increasingly more accustomed and attached to Nagato. Everything seemed trivial when he was near her, as her friend would stand on his toes to make everything perfect. It was too convenient for Konan to leave, she realised. But … this unspeakable tension between them could not last any longer. Soon enough, it would drive both of them mad. Hence, the navy-haired woman needed to reassess what she had and what she could do to change this sad monotony of misery and hurt.
Nagato:
A too-familiar clicking sound reached Nagato's ear, informing him that the clip had run out. As a heavy sigh was let go, he released the magazine, replacing it with a fresh one in a heartbeat. By now, it was but a mechanical response born out of experience and necessity. Nonetheless, the white-haired man continued his shooting session, acing each scenario, but the images he wished to disappear from his mind remained. Wherever Konan's fingers touched or even brushed his skin, a scorching sensation lingered as if someone had marked him with a hot-white steel. When another mag ran out, he did not replace it, deciding it was time to leave.
A few minutes later, Nagato left the shooting range behind him, his favourite rifle safely stored in his locker. Looking at the clock hanging on the nearest wall, he frowned, annoyed. What was supposed to be an hour-long break spanned through two more, irritating the man further. After all, he was Akatsuki's leader; his time was precious and should not be wasted. With a deep exhale, he shook his head, heading towards the elevator, putting on his lenses beforehand.
Soon enough, the white-haired man unlocked his phone and switched on the internet connection to see what he had missed throughout his `little` relaxation session. However, he regretted this decision nearly instantaneously, which was to be expected, he reminded himself. Aside from numerous emails spamming his inbox, his attention was caught by messages from Obito and Konan. Thinking about the occurrence briefly, he concluded that calling the masked man would be the wisest option, as he usually did not bother the leader with nonsense and rarely contacted him in the first place. With a slight hesitation, he called the informer, heading towards his office.
"Oh, Nagato, how exhilarating," Obito said, answering the call.
"You found out something, did you not?" the leader followed with a question.
"Am I this trivial to read through?" the informant asked, chuckling openly.
"Obito, we have cooperated for quite a while," Nagato started, opting to remain as emotionless as possible. "I can not exactly say that I know or decipher you, but I know some of your behavioural patterns. Not to mention, you planned this exchange beforehand," he concluded, smirking.
"It seems I underestimated you, Nagato; apologies," the masked man said, but his tone hardly changed.
"You are not," the leader commented. "Can we continue? What have you found out?" he questioned.
"Sit comfortably; it will take a while," Obito replied. "Oh … and you might want to have a drink. Some of this might be hard to swallow," he commented.
"Then, I will call you in a few minutes when I'm comfortably situated in my office with a glass of whiskey in my hand," the purple-eyed man replied before ending the call.
Nagato:
Thirty minutes later, Nagato concluded the discussion with the organisation's informant. Even though Obito virtually pulled out a miracle, he was hardly happy with what he had heard, partially due to the `spicy pieces` as the masked man described them. He knew that the Russian they were after was a psycho, but not to this extent. Forcefully gripping his drink, he finally let go of the mobile, throwing it onto a couch. If things continue to spiral in that direction, he would be forced to take it upon himself to deal with the matter.
Needing a few minutes of respite, Nagato sat on the couch, putting a slightly wet piece of cushion over his tired eyes. It was definitely a weird habit that occasionally brought him solace. The man tried to remember when it had started, but after a few minutes spent on it, he concluded his endeavour was pointless. He could not link any particular memory with the habit.
The silence did not last long, for his phone beeped, foreshadowing the incoming call. Lazily, he inched towards the technological piece, accepting it without a glance.
"How can I help?" he whispered emotionlessly, a taught-by-heart question.
"Why didn't you call me back, Nagato?" a soft feminine voice sounded, Konan, he realised.
"Sorry, Obito's incident," he murmured quietly.
"What did he say?"
"A lot, actually," the leader replied, sighing. "But … for every useful piece, there was a price to be paid. It is suffice to say, this Russian is a degenerate worth killing even without a price tag on his head," he added.
"Come home?" a hesitant question sounded. "Talk to me in person," she added confidently after a short pause.
"Konan?" a breathless question was murmured.
"Just come home, okay?"
Author's notes section:
[2023-11-12]: Hey, here is a preview of the story's next chapter. Please, bear in mind that it is, as mentioned, a preview. Some parts of it might not be included in the final release. I will try to finish this chapter as soon as possible. I would like to clean up some of the tasks in my schedule, and right now, there are many chapters queued there.
[2023-11-19]: Hey, I have an update for you. I will try to finish this chapter within the next week, but no promises.
Don't forget to comment. I really appreciate your feedback.
Note that the dialogues written in italic are thoughts.
As always, I would like to thank you for everything. See you soon :)
Changelog:
[2023-11-12]: A preview has been released.
[2023-11-19]: An update was applied, focused on enriching the plot.
Info: Please note that I will be approaching the canon events loosely. I will try to use them to my advantage, but please be not surprised if I decide to change them so they fit the story I am trying to tell better. As you might have already noticed, I will not use Japanese forms as I would inevitably make mistakes.
Info: I have included more stories in the schedule as I'm not 100% certain what I want to write next. Please, keep in mind that I might add or remove positions from the list. I might rewrite some of the older stories or extract some of the longer stories from `The story of one lost soul`.
Schedule:
- See the world through my eyes (finish the WIP)
- Hidden in the mountain's shadow (new chapter)
- The rise of the Blood Moons' servants (new chapter)
- Black Diamond (new chapter)
- When the clock is ticking (Warhammer 40k new story)
- Sometimes it's just better not to know (new chapter)
- My home is where my heart lies (rewrite chapter 4)
- The heart not so cold (rewrite chapter 2)
- The family tree (revisit the previous chapters and apply adjustments)
- The Prisoner of Your Eyes (new chapter)
- Lifetime of war (new chapter)
- Hope is the last one to die (new story in SW universe)
- Sometimes it's just better not to know (finish rewriting the second chapter)
- Life is full of surprises (new chapter)
- Exiled you say? (new chapter)
- Until my last breath (new chapter)
- The family tree (new chapter)
- The story of one lost soul (new chapter)
- The broken heart (new chapter)
- My home is where my heart lies (new chapter)
- A new story in JJK universe - focused on Gojo/Geto/Shoko/Utahime
- A new story in Bleach universe (potentially a one shot) - focused on Byakuya and Yoruichi
- A new story in Demon Slayer universe (modern au, school)
- A new story in Demon Slayer universe (moder au, divorce setting)
- The shadows can be deceiving (new chapter)
- Forgotten World (a new story - translation of an old polish text that I wrote years ago)
- The silence of the shackles (new chapter)
- The war call (new chapter)
- Will you look past my mistakes? (new chapter)
- The Breaking Point (new chapter)
- Bury the light (new chapter)
Bonuses' section:
A new story taking place in the Warhammer 40k universe.
Story of one lost soul: The war call: rewrite.
An entirely new story (possibly Akali x [Irelia, Syndra, Katarina]).
A new short story (Vi x Cait).
An entirely original story (possibly even two stories, one taking place in medieval times, the other in the far future)
Bleach story. (Byakuya x Yoruichi / ?)
Naruto story. (Neji x Hinata / Neji x TenTen / Nagato x Konan)
Fairy Tail story. (most likely Erza x Mira)
Maybe some Star Wars?
References:
- Poison - Every Rose Has Its Thorn
- (alternatively) Edguy - Scarlet Rose
*bonuses will be worked on when I don't feel like writing the chapters pointed out in the schedule :D
End of the author's notes section.