Andromeda
Konan walked past poster after poster advertising the yearbooks, which would be handed out the next day. She was pretty excited for that (since she and her friends had submitted a lot of pictures to the yearbook staff), but her mind was elsewhere at that moment; she'd received another letter from her father. And unlike the majority of his letters, this one had no fluffy 'wherefort art thou Konan' crap.
This one was straightforward, barely eight sentences on the paper. Which was a major change. When Konan saw her father's shaky writing and small words, a seed of worry had planted itself in her stomach; it was so unlike her dad to do that, she was sure he had to be stressed or something.
Chewing her lip, she unfolded the letter and re-read it for the six billionth time; Konan, I need you to come and visit me in Milan this summer, ASAP. Your mother's sick, and I want you here. A plane ticket is in the envelope, it's for the 16th of June. A taxi will meet you at the airport, and there will be a change of clothes inside a bag on the backseat. Change in the car. This is important, so do exactly what I say. The taxi will take you home. See you, Daddy. Konan frowned and knocked on the door to Tsunade's office. Shizune answered after the fourth knock.
"Miss Amega? What's up?" Shizune asked, as usual mixing up awkward formalities with slang.
"Hi, is Tsunade there?" Konan asked. Shizune shook her head, giving Konan a wry smile.
"No, she's packing...I mean, she's doing paperwork." Konan rolled her eyes, and grinned. "Well, can you please tell her that I have to leave before the end of the school year? My dad wants me to leave as soon as possible...here's a letter." she said, handing the folded paper to Shizune, who read it over.
"Sure, no problem. When are you going?" she asked. Konan frowned and ran a hand distractedly through her hair.
"Uh, I think tomorrow afternoon...after yearbook pick-up, and then I'm going to the airport. My flight's at 7pm." she said, taking the plane ticket out of her pocket.
"Alright, I'll tell Lady Tsunade, and she'll excuse you from your last classes of the year. Have fun." Shizune said, and smiled before closing the door. Konan sighed and began walking back to the boys' dorm, worried. Just how 'sick' was her mom? She jumped as two cool hands slid over her stomach and wrapped around her waist, pulling her back against a hard chest she had almost memorized.
"Hey, Pain." she said, grinning. She heard his laugh behind her before he kissed the top of her head.
"Hey. When are you going?" he asked, coming around her to walk next to her, holding her hand.
"Tomorrow afternoon. I think I'll have to catch the 1:00 bus to get to the airport on time." she said.
"Why is this school so far away from everything?" she asked in annoyance. Pain gave her a rather crooked grin.
"It's to keep the students away from everything." he said, and winked at her.
"What do you mean?" Konan asked, bewildered. Pain grinned.
"Well, just imagine. Most schools are within easy walking distance from, say, a 711, a Safeway, maybe even a mall or a hardware store. There is a good reason St Misery's is so far away from that stuff. If some of the students here were that close to alcohol, saws, nails, glue, fiberglass, and lead-based paint, just think what would happen. Most of the kids here have been arrested already, you know." he said teasingly, and Konan frowned.
"Yeah, but what could you do with saws, nails, and fiberglass...oh." she said. Her imagination had already answered her question. They were almost at the dorm doors, when Konan asked
"Do you know anybody who's killed anybody?" Pain looked thoughtful.
"Well, I know a lot of people who had the intent to kill and just got caught first...but I'm sure there's people who actually went through with it. It's just not what we talk about, right? I mean, the whole point of coming here is for a new start, to be given a chance where you wouldn't be given another anywhere else." he explained, and Konan nodded, resting her head on his shoulder as they stood outside the doors.
"So, what did you do to get here? I mean, I know you told me already, but really, I don't think that's..." Pain smiled down at her, eyebrows raised.
"Sure you wanna know?" he asked, and Konan nodded, sure that she wouldn't mind, whatever it was. Pain grinned.
"Well, I kinda tied Annie's ex-boyfriend to a chair and pierced him rather...painfully. You know, blocked some veins, stuff like that...and then there was the psychological torture...but other than that, I drove my old bike into a store window by accident." he said casually, watching her face for any sign of a reaction. Konan just stared at him, seriously trying not to imagine what kind of 'psychological torture' he was talking about.
"Well, I learned something new today." Konan commented, and Pain laughed. "Remind me not to break up with you." she joked, and he laughed harder. He leaned back against the wall, the fingers he hooked into her front pockets pulling her hips towards his. He looked into her eyes, pulling her closer so that when he spoke, she could feel his breath on her neck.
"And why are you here? How'd I get so lucky to find you in a place like this?" Konan smiled.
"Well, I already told you my dad-"
"Yeah, I know, I know about your dad. But why here? Why not some posh boarding school for débutantes?" he asked curiously. Konan bit her lip, and grinned.
"Well, he did sign me up for one year at one of those schools...where you'd learn about 'ladylike entrées into society'." She said, making a face.
"But...when I got there, I was so mad at my dad at the time, that I skipped a class, covered the entire bathroom suite (yeah, there was a bathroom suite) with toilet paper, sprayed it over with kerosene, and lit it on fire. So then I was kicked out, and I came here instead. That's why I arrived a week or so late in the school year, because this was my second school." she explained. Pain stared at her.
"...What?" she asked nervously before he started to laugh again.
"You're a crazy girl." he said affectionately, ruffling her hair and grabbing her around the waist, lifting her and spinning her around as she laughed and kicked.
"How romantic." Sasori drawled, as he and Deidara exited the boys' hall.
"Isn't that romantic, Deidara?" he asked. Deidara locked eyes with Konan, who smiled, and grinned back. Sasori was looking at Pain teasingly.
"I think we can beat that, don't you?" he asked, tugging on Deidara's shirt. The moment Deidara's eyes left Konan's and met with Sasori's, he was bent back in one of those old-movie romantic kisses, his long dark-blonde hair brushing the stone floor, Sasori's tongue obviously in his mouth. Pain wolf-whistled, and a passing group of second-year girls stared.
One of them got a nosebleed.
Konan applauded when Sasori brought Deidara back up, breathless and grinning. Deidara was staring at him, a blush still evident on his tanned skin, his hair messy. A little voice in Konan's head began singing 'somebody's getting laid tonight, somebody's getting laid!'
"Well? I think we totally beat you." Sasori said, crossing his arms.
"No way," Pain argued, but just then Kakuzu walked past, Hidan next to him.
"Girls, girls, you're both pretty." he said before going through the doors to the hall.
Hidan winked at them before following.
That evening, the sixth-and-seventh years went to their graduation dance (the sixth-and-seventh years that passed, that is), leaving the rest of the school to basically hang out and do whatever they wanted for the whole night, since all the staff were supervising the graduation ceremony and dance. The hornier of the students were already locked up in bathroom stalls or empty classrooms, and quite a few were lighting up outside.
Sasori had been about to drag Deidara off to the empty drawing classroom when Konan had asked them to 'restrain themselves', since they did it almost every second night, and it was her last night at the school.
"Fine," Sasori said, acting grumpy as he sat down on her bed. "What do you want to do, then?" he asked, and Konan smiled.
"Well, I thought we could play Truth or Dare, just without the truths." she said. Deidara raised his eyebrows at Hidan, who looked at Itachi. Itachi glanced at Pain, who grinned at Kakuzu, who glared at Kisame, whose gaze was on Sasori. Sasori looked at Konan.
"Sure. It's the fucking last day of school, practically. Even if we do something totally fuck-ass insane, it's not like we're gonna get in any shit for doing it." Hidan said, and they all nodded. "We're gonna decide who dares first by playing spin the bottle, so it's totally random." Konan said, grabbing an empty 7up bottle from under her bed. She placed it on the floor and spun it. The skinny end pointed at Sasori, who smirked.
"Great. Why does the most perverted person get to dare first?" Kisame muttered, and Sasori winked at him.
"Okay. Hidan. I dare you to walk down the fifth hallway and unhook the bra of every girl you see." Everyone laughed, and Hidan grinned.
"Easy."
They all stood at the end of the fifth hallway, laughing their asses off. Hidan had casually 'hugged' two girls already, and both of them had gasped and slapped him. But now...Hidan looked a little awkward as he hugged Hinata. She looked surprised as Hidan's arms wrapped around her, and then her expression turned into total shock. Hidan backed up, but not quickly enough; Hinata's hand, moving so quickly you could hear it, swung straight into Hidan's cheek. He fell away from her, his cheek bright red. She walked away quickly, red in the face and angry. Hidan was swearing madly, rubbing his cheek as he walked back to his friends.
"Jashin, that fucking hurt like an ass-sucking sisterfucker bitch." he said, glaring at Sasori, who was almost crying from laughter. Hidan rubbed his cheek a bit more, than grinned maliciously at Deidara.
"Dei, I dare you to make out -that's french kiss for two whole minutes- with Konan, right here, in front of everybody." Konan felt the bottom drop out of her stomach as she automatically locked gazes with Deidara, who also looked kind of surprised.
He sighed, and looked steadily at her, as if saying 'You ready?' Konan nodded. In two steps, he was in front of her, his arms around her waist and his mouth was on her own. She put her hands behind his head, pulling him closer. As she opened her mouth and his tongue slid over her own, she froze a little in shock.
Okay, this was the weirdest thing ever. It didn't feel bad, because Deidara was an amazing kisser, but it didn't feel right because it wasn't Pain. She squeezed her eyes tight shut, kissing back, but honestly she was waiting for the two minutes to be over.
Yes, it felt amazing, and she was being kissed wonderfully, but it wasn't Pain, there was no comforting metal on her lower lip from his piercings, the hair beneath her hands was long, it was all different. However, if she wasn't in love with Pain, and if Deidara wasn't in love with Sasori...then Konan kind of felt that this would be really, really nice.
"Two minutes." Itachi said quietly, and Deidara and Konan broke apart immediately, breathing heavily and blushing identically.
"That was..." Pain began, staring at Konan, who shamefully met his eyes, feeling kind of like she cheated on him.
"HOT!" Sasori finished, wrapping an arm around Deidara, who grinned at him, but also looked kind of ashamed.
"That was weird...you've got boobs, un. It's different." Deidara mumbled. He met Konan's eyes for a second before they both looked away, faces flaming. Embarrassing....
"Okay, um...Itachi, I dare you to put a twenty dollar bill into Sasuke's pants, un." Deidara said, and Itachi's eyes widened for a millisecond. Seriously, if you'd blinked, you'd've missed it.
"...Alright." he said, and everyone followed him down into the third corridor. Sasuke, Suigetsu and Karin were sitting on the benches outside the metalworks supply room, as usual.
"Sasuke," Itachi said emotionlessly as he stood facing his younger brother. Sasuke's eyes met his. He stood up, and walked towards Itachi.
"What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked in a low voice. Itachi seemed to be saying something really quietly, but all Konan could see from where she stood was Itachi taking a crumpled twenty out of his pocket. She had to bite her fist to stop herself from squealing (she was kind of ashamed of her fangirl behaviour) as Itachi slowly put it down the front of Sasuke's pants. Sasuke stared at his older brother before Itachi turned and walked away.
"Kakuzu, I dare you..." Twenty minutes later, they all ran away from the first-floor boy's bathroom, which was fuming with the smell of burning orange peels. They zipped around the corner just as there was an almighty bang, and Konan's extra can of hairspray was no more.
"Okay, Pain, I dare you to..."
"Oh my God, I can't believe he's actually doing this..." Konan muttered as she watched (from a safe distance, obviously) Pain spread strawberry jam on the inside of each of Tsunade's DDD bras that had carefully been packed in her bag.
"I can't believe it either! But the camera never lies..." Sasori said gleefully as he snapped picture after picture of the sticky deed. When he was done, Pain carefully put them all back in her bag, tossed the jam out the window, and closed the door. He walked back to his friends, grinning. "Alright, Kisame..." he said, smiling wickedly.
Ino's high-pitched scream echoed everywhere, completely drowning out the yell of the boy that was with her. Konan could barely muffle her laughter as she ran away from the girls' bathroom with the others. Ino's night of romance was sadly (and a little meanly, Konan admitted) interrupted by the sprinkler system. And a balloonful of chocolate pudding.
But then again, Ino could make any situation erotic, so maybe she wouldn't mind so much. Kisame leaned back against the wall, catching his breath back.
"Ten bucks says Ino's gonna be showering tonight." Sasori said, but Konan giggled and shook her head.
"No she won't. All the girl's showers are busted -Sakura told me that Suigetsu was mad at Karin so he did it. The only girl's shower that works right now is mine." she said, hiding a smile behind her hand as the others laughed and Sasori grumpily handed over his ten dollars.
"Okay, who hasn't been dared yet?" Kisame asked, and Sasori and Konan put up their hands. Deidara grinned and whispered something in Kisame's ear.
"You sure that's okay, little Dei?" Kisame asked, and Deidara nodded, looking satisfied. Kisame raised his eyebrows at Pain, and then dared Sasori to make out with Konan.
"What the hell? Why is it me again?" Konan asked, already feeling bad for kissing Deidara -and not hating it- and now she had to kiss Sasori...because she had said at the start of the game that nobody was allowed to back out of any dare, no matter what. Foot in mouth, much. Pain nudged her and grinned.
"It's fine." he assured her, and Konan frowned before looking at Sasori, who was giving her a teasingly lustful look.
"Are you serious?" she asked him. He grinned.
"Come to me, baby." he said jokingly. Konan sighed, and walked towards him. As soon as she was within reach, Sasori's arms were around her, pulling her to him and pressing her body against his. His mouth was on hers instantly, his tongue exploring her mouth, running against her own. His teeth bit down on her bottom lip, encouraging her to kiss back. She started to kiss him back, still feeling very very strange- because Sasori was a good kisser too.
Just he wasn't Pain. So it felt wrong...and good...but wrong.
Kind of like stealing a million dollars and spending it on wonderful things, like your own amusement park, or clothes, or your own island, Konan mused. It was wrong...but if felt so good!
When two minutes was over, Sasori stopped kissing her, but didn't let go.
"You're a good kisser." he said. Konan, blushing and breathing heavily, smiled weakly. "You sound very surprised." she teased him, and he laughed, letting go. Konan backed away, and turned to look at Pain. He looked down at her and raised his eyebrows, smiling a little.
"You're not mad, right?" she asked uncertainly. Pain said no, but that he was kind of thinking about how he would make sure she still liked kissing him more when the game was done.
"So, Konan, who's the better kisser, me or my man Sasori, un?" Deidara asked with a grin. Konan looked up in surprise, to see both Deidara and Sasori smirking at her.
"Excuse me? You want me to rate you?" she asked, and they nodded. She sighed.
"Fine, fine. Now, you're both very good kissers...but...if I had to choose, I'd say Deidara-"
"Yes! I knew it, un!" "-is better at actual kissing, but Sasori-"
"Oh yeah!"
"-is better at, you know...touching and stuff. Making it feel good, not just...you know." Konan was feeling so uncomfortable with all the male gazes on her as she evaluated kisses from her bi and gay friends. Honestly, that had to be one of the weirdest things she'd done. "Okay then. Konan, your turn. I get to dare you." Sasori said wickedly.
"No way! Not you!" she said, panicking a little bit.
Considering Sasori was...well, Sasori, there was no telling what Konan would be dared to do... Thoughts of giving a *BEEP * or maybe doing *BEEP * or maybe even having a *BEEP * done on her * BEEP* all raced through Konan's mind. Her legs felt a little watery. Sasori smirked at her.
"I dare you to..." he paused dramatically.
"Hurry up!" Konan snapped, biting her lip.
"Patience, patience!" Sasori teased.
"I dare you to wear this forever." he said, and took a long silver chain out of his pocket. Konan watched, speechless, as he slipped a silver locket over the end and put it over her head. She stared at him, and then down at the long necklace. She slowly opened the locket, and behind the left window was a tiny picture of Sasori, Deidara, Hidan, Kisame, Kakuzu, Itachi and Pain. Behind the right window was a tiny picture of Konan. She was speechless, staring down at it. Then she looked up at Sasori in bewilderment.
"Why...?" her mouth could only form that one word, and Sasori scuffed his foot on the floor, looking awkward for the first time.
"Well, I don't know...it's our first summer apart, and we just didn't want you to forget us..." Konan looked around at the others, too, her eyes wide with surprise.
"You mean...you all..."
"Well, it was Sasori's idea, but he did tell us about it." Itachi clarified.
"Oh...Aww!" Konan said, feeling like she might cry.
"Group hug!" Deidara cried out, and they all hugged each other.
"When did you guys get so girly?" Konan wondered out loud, and Pain laughed.
"Well, really, it's just Sasori who's girly. It was his idea, just nobody else said 'no'." he said, and Konan laughed, walked forward, and kissed Sasori on the cheek.
"I promise I'll never forget about you." she said solemnly. Sasori laughed lightly and punched her arm playfully.
"You better not, or I'll kiss you till you remember!" he threatened, and Konan grinned.
"Goodnight!" Konan said to Deidara, who walked into his room, followed by Sasori, before she closed her door. She turned around and smiled at Pain.
"Hey, you." she said, jumping on the bed next to him.
"Hey." he said softly, running a lock of her hair through his fingers. She lay down on her pillow, and he propped himself up on one elbow.
"I can't believe Sasori was worried I'd forget him." Konan said, fingering the chain of her necklace, which was tucked under her pyjama top. Pain smiled ruefully.
"Well, he's had a little history with people forgetting him. He might tell you someday, but basically it means that you're really important to him. He did the same with Deidara last year, only...a little more extreme."
"Seriously! What did he do?" Konan asked excitedly. Pain shook his head.
"Nah, later. Right now...I wanna make sure you still like my kissing best." he said, smiling down at Konan, who bit back a grin.
"Well, now that you mention it, I kjnd of have forgotten what your kissing is like..." Pain didn't need any more of an invitation.
Long story short, Konan happily remembered that Pain's kissing was the kind she liked best.
"I fucking can't believe this! Am I seriously 'Most desirable Murderer: the person you'd most like to be killed by'!" Hidan asked, gesturing to the page in his yearbook.
"Well, considering that you'd probably strip down and cover yourself in their blood while it happened, yeah, I can see why people voted for you." Konan said, grinning at him. He flipped her off before winking at her and walking over to Kakuzu.
"Hey, Naruto's 'Most Likely To Go Skinny-Dipping In His Neighbor's Pool'. That's so...ew." Tenten said as she passed, and Konan grinned as she walked over to Sasori and Deidara, who appeared to be signing autographs.
"You guys got, like, seven awards!" Konan said, not exactly surprised, just...wow.
"Yeah, I know!" Deidara said, flipping through the Awards pages, showing Konan all the ones with their pictures.
'Hottest Couple' had a really steamy picture of Deidara pushed against a wall, Sasori pinning him, and looking over at the camera, like he'd just noticed they were there. Sasori had also been named; 'Most Likely to get asked for ID at 30', 'Naturally Drunk', 'Best Pick-up Lines', 'Best 'Come Hither' Look', 'Biggest Flirt', and 'Separated at Birth' with Gaara, from fourth year.
"That's, like, seven!" Konan exclaimed, completely gobsmacked.
"Yeah, I only got 'Best Hair' and 'Most Artistic 3D'. What are you, un?" he asked, checking through the pages again. Konan flipped the page to the other awards.
"Most likely to have 5+ kids, Most likely to Get Pregant before They're 20', and 'Best Ass'. Personally, I don't think any of them are accurate." Konan said, but Deidara just shrugged and smiled.
Pain came over later to say hi, and Konan found that he was voted 'Best Eyes', 'Best Halloween Costume', 'Most Artistic Other', 'I wish he was single', 'Most Likely To Change The World', and 'Most Dangerous'.
Kakuzu, of course, was 'Most Likely To Be A Millionaire', and Itachi got 'Hottest Siblings' with Sasuke, as well as 'Best Comebacks'.
Kisame was 'Best at Sports (Male), and Hidan was also 'Biggest Partier'. The 'Most Likely to Be a Sex Offender (In any grade)' was Jiraiya, surprisingly, since he's a teacher.
Kakashi, unsurprisingly, was voted 'Sexiest Male Teacher', and Tsunade got 'Sexiest Female Teacher'.
Konan almost dropped her yearbook when she saw that the 5th year girl voted 'Most Likely to Compete with Tsunade's Boobs' was her. "For God's sake, who the hell voted for me! I'm almost flat!" she exclaimed, preceding an awkward silence.
An hour later, she was clutching her yearbook to her chest, her wallet with her credit card, plane ticket, and cellphone in her hand, and her bag over her shoulder. She only brought one change of clothes, since her dad never liked her to bring her own clothing when she went to visit him. He thought she looked too 'goth' for his liking, so he dressed her up.
She was standing at the bus stop, already missing the school and her friends. She scuffed her foot in the dirt, a roaring sound buzzing in her ears. She sighed and looked back towards the school as the roaring grew louder. Wondering if it was a lawn mower, she looked over at the grounds, but it wasn't there...
The roaring grew louder and louder, and Konan turned her head to the road to see what it was- Pain was standing next to his huge black motorcycle, an extra helmet on the back.
"You didn't really think I'd let you take the bus, did you? I'm not letting you go that easily." he said, grinning, and Konan beamed, walking towards him.
"Thank you!" she said, adjusting the helmet as she clambered onto the back of the bike.
"No problem, babe. After all, you're ditching me for who knows how long this summer! The least you can do is let me be with you as long as I can before you go." Pain said cheerfully, and Konan wrapped her arms around his waist as the motorbike gained speed.
Soon they were cruising down the freeway. Trees, cars, lakes, and mountains were all a blur that Konan only vaguely acknowledged. Her thoughts were unfocused and hazy.
The misty feeling of happiness and slight loss that one experiences at the end of a school year was drifting in and out of her conscious thought, laced with thoughts of her father and mother, Sasori's necklace, kissing him and Deidara, and Pain...the leather jacketed boy who she was holding onto...
How long would she be in Italy? How long would she be away from home?
Home...home really is where the heart is...and as Konan's closed eyes unconsciously shifted towards the sea that she could smell clearly in the wind, she knew that her heart had not been with her father for many, many years.
If she was honest with herself, as she hardly ever was, she would realize that her heart had never been in Daddy's embrace, in Daddy's house. It was with her mother, in the asylum...and her heart had shut itself closed the day her mother had been dragged out of her house, into the white van.
No number of Daddy's hugs, smells of Daddy's cologne, slaps from Daddy's hands would make her heart open to him. And now her heart had found a home in Misery, with other miserable people who had found their love and home within its cold, stone walls. But...the impending airplane ride was certainly going to tear her heart right out away from her...
Home is where the heart is, and Konan's heart would surely rip right out of her body and stay right here with Pain. So she, the empty shell, would go and visit Daddy, and feel nothing, see nothing, taste nothing, hear nothing, touch nothing, until she came home.
To where her heart was.
"We're here." Konan opened her eyes and took Pain's hand, clambering off the bike. She pulled the helmet off of her head, and handed it to him with a smile. He took it, smiling, and hung it on the bike. Wordlessly, he took her into his arms, and Konan could feel that she might cry, but she stopped herself when she felt Pain smoothing out her hair. She pulled away in slight confusion.
"Your hair was poofy, from the helmet." he said with a grin, and she laughed, flattening it. They walked together in silence towards the airport, all the way through the gates, holding hands. Konan felt that if she spoke to him, she might cry.
Actually, if she did anything but hold tightly onto Pain's hand and answer the questions of the airline workers, she would cry. Pain himself seemed to know that she didn't want him to talk, or maybe he felt the same as she did. When they got to the final gate, they stopped. Pain looked down at Konan, and she turned to look up at him. Her eyes were full of tears she refused to let spill, and she was biting hard on her lip.
"I don't want to go." she said finally, her voice barely more than a whisper. Pain gently put his arms around her, and kissed her softly on the top of her head.
"Your mother's sick, and your dad wants to see you. You should go, right?" he said quietly, his cheek pressed against her head. Konan nodded, but she couldn't speak.
"I know," she said finally, in a thick voice. "I know I should go. But...I want to stay here with you. There's nothing for me there but a mother who doesn't...remember anything about me...and my dad...I want to stay here." she said, well aware that she sounded like a child who didn't want to leave his mother on the first day of school.
Pain put a finger under her chin and tilted her face up. Silently, almost carefully, as if trying not to spill the tears in her eyes, he kissed her. While he kissed her, he fingered the chain of the silver necklace she wore, reminding her that it was there, and what it meant.
"I'll be right here, waiting for you to come home. The sooner you go, the sooner you come back to me." he said quietly, and he kissed her cheek. Konan couldn't stop the tears any more; they flowed down her cheeks like rain. She raised a fist to wipe them away, but Pain took the hand and kissed it.
"I love you. I'll miss you. Call me." he said, ending it with a grin. Konan sniffed and nodded, smiling weakly at him. She walked over to the entrance of the last gate, and turned to look at Pain again. "I love you." she said softly, knowing he couldn't hear her.
"I love you more." he mouthed back, and she walked through the doors, wiping away the tears that streamed down her face.
The walk into the airplane was surprisingly quick, but to Konan, it felt like a long trek that was taking her in the opposite direction than the one she ought to have gone in. She luckily had a window seat in the airplane, sitting next to an old fat guy with crazy eyebrows who drooled in his sleep, and on his other side was a twenty-something woman who was clearly terrified of planes.
Thankfully, she had a barf bag. Konan plugged in her headphones and listened to her ipod for a while before starting a movie. The only ones she recognized that were offered on the plane were Twilight, New Moon, Astro Boy, and Titanic. She folded herself into her chair, wrapping her arms around herself in her loose pink hoodie, and settled down to watch as Jack and Rose met aboard the infamous doomed ship, but she only half-paid attention to the movie.
Although she loved it, and cried easily while watching it every time, she was still thinking about her parents and her friends. She longed to call Pain, or Deidara, or anybody, but the air hostess had swooped down upon her and said that it was not allowed during the flight. So Konan spent the multi-hour flight to Milan in a light stupor, re-watching Titanic over and over, saying every line with Rose and Jack.
Konan opened her eyes. A voice was coming over the intercom, saying something she couldn't make out from the jumble of voices and words around her. People were standing up. She could see an airport out the window. The plane was stopped. She stumbled a little as she walked off the plane, clutching her passport, wallet, ipod, and bag. Konan numbly followed the stream of people towards the exit. In the large hall where bags were going around on treadmill-type things, she saw a man in black sunglasses and a black suit wave her down. He was holding a smart white sign with the words 'K. Amega' written on it in neat black text.
"Konan Amega?" he asked with a thick Italian accent, and she nodded.
"This way, miss." She followed him, thinking about how he was kind of the same height as Pain; about a head taller than her, maybe slightly more. They exited the airport, and right in front of the doors, a black taxi with dark windows was waiting for them.
"Please get in." the man said, opening the door for Konan. She obeyed, and found a drycleaner bag on the seat next to her.
"That's the clothes your father wants you to wear, Miss." he said from the front seat.
"Okay." Konan said, unzipping it, not quite sure what to find. If she was here for his formal events, it would be a dress. If it was just because her mother was sick, it would probably be something...frilly. Bracing herself, she pulled it out and off of the hanger as the car smoothly pulled out of the lot. She looked it up and down, frowning.
"You're sure this is everything? I don't know if this is all of it, I mean...it's kind of-" Konan said, but the driver shook his head.
"I can't understand you, bella. Your father just told me what to tell you. I speak English, I don't understand." he said, shaking his head. Konan scowled and muttered darkly; her dad had probablyhired this guy on purpose because he couldn't understand what she would say.
She sighed and began to change, counting on her chauffeur's good driving to keep her from needing a seatbelt for the first part of the journey. She pressed the button that raised the opaque wall between her and her driver, and shucked off her hoodie, tanktop, shorts, leggings, boots, and socks.
She examined the 'outfit' her father had arranged again, and sighed before taking off her bra. She pulled on the black strapless bra provided (which only had a ribbon between her breasts), and then pulled on the black lace bodysuit, wondering why in the world she would need to wear something like this.
But she had learned years ago not to question her father; questions, protests, and disobeying his explicit rules resulted in getting shut in the basement with no food for a day or two. And in the basement were spiders. So, lace or no lace, Konan would wear whatever he wanted.
Over the bodysuit, she pulled on the black high-top shorts, and then the black stilleto boots. She dug around in the drycleaner's bag before producing a black choker. Why the hell...? she asked herself, but remembering the spiders, she slipped it on before plugging in her ipod again, trying to forget that she wasn't at home.
An hour later, they were in an area of Milan Konan didn't recognize anymore -after all, it had been several years since she'd last been there, and her father had moved several times. They stopped in front of a large manor house, where Sergio the chauffeur opened the door and helped Konan out. Konan didn't really look at the house; she'd have loved it if it hadn't been her father's. She was more interested in the sky. It was cloudy. And she was wearing some stripperific bodysuit.
Oh, Daddykins, how I hate you so, she thought sarcastically.
Sergio led her up the stairs to the front door, which he opened for her. A maid in one of those typical French-maid-type get ups led Konan from there to her father's study, where the man himself sat in state on his leather chair.
"Konan, my darling! There you are. Welcome home." Home...ironic, since I feel more homesick here than I ever have anywhere else, Konan thought wryly.
"Hi, Daddy." she said, and he gave her his hand so she could kiss it. How many daughters kiss their fathers' hand? Honestly? When Konan raised her head, she examined her father. He looked older, and certainly more nervous and worried than the confident, arrogant man she'd come to call 'Daddy'. "So, what's wrong with Mommy?" she asked, well aware that most girls her age called their mothers 'Mom'. Her dad frowned for a moment, as though he'd forgotten that that was why he'd called her here.
"Ah, yes, your mother. I'm afraid she's very ill. Very ill indeed. We'll go and see her soon, Konan, my dear. But first, I want you to go to your room and unpack. I'm glad you put on the outfit I provided. Good to know that maniac school of yours hasn't put any odd ideas of lunacy and impudence in your mind." he said, nodding at her lacey bodysuit. Konan honestly didn't feel comfortable in his 'little outfit' at all, but she knew better than to object. "I'll go unpack, then." she said, and walked out.
"Konan, one more thing." She turned around and leaned around the door, meeting the cold grey eyes of her father.
"Mhmm?" she asked, and he frowned, as if an annoying fly was buzzing around his head.
"Do stop speaking with such informal terms, darling. It's not right, it's not how you've been taught. I've spent money making you speak right, and you mustn't waste that." he looked at her expectantly, and Konan stood straighter.
"Yes, Daddy." she replied.
"Alright, run along." he said, waving her out. As soon as she was out of his sight, Konan shot his office door a dirty look, tore the stilettos off her feet, and dashed up the stairs to the only room in the house with a K on the door. Slamming the door behind her, she flopped down onto the luxuriously soft bed and let out the biggest sigh of her life.
She rolled over, whipped out her phone, and texted I miss you to all her friends. To Pain, she texted I miss you, I love you. Promise. She didn't write what she promised. Just the one word seemed to sum up what she wanted to tell him. Promise.
Three hours later, Konan's stomach was growling from hunger. She'd barely eaten on the plane ride; the hurling woman to her left had kind of ruined her appetite. She really wanted to get some food...but she remembered the last time she'd tried to take food from the kitchen before she was called down to eat...Her dad had used a Matilda method, and made her eat until she threw up. She watched glumly as the sky grew darker and darker outside her tiny little window.
Finally, she fell asleep, too weak from hunger to move any more, and even if she could, her door locked from the outside. She was asleep when heavy footsteps moved towards her door. She half woke up as a cloth that smelled strongly of something sweet was slapped over her nose and mouth, but only for a moment; she wouldn't wake up for a long time after that.
The rising sun of the next morning shone in Konan's room. It warmed the empty bed with the rumbled bedding, its rays bounced off the screen of her phone, it shone on her bag, wallet, and ipod. But there was nobody inside to appreciate the sunrise.
"Hey," Pain looked up. Deidara was leaning against the wall next to him. "You're pretty down, considering she's only been gone a week, un." he said, casually checking his nails. Pain smiled slightly and punched Deidara's arm playfully.
"Yeah. But remember last year when you were only gone, what, four hours, and Sasori was all worried and stuff?" Pain retorted, and Deidara scowled a little, trying to hide a small smile.
"Yeah, well...he's weird, un. She still hasn't called or texted at all?" he asked, and Pain shook his head.
"That's what bothers me. She said she might not be able to, in case her dad confiscates her phone or something, but I didn't think she was serious." he said, checking his phone in case of any messages. Deidara looked up at his friend, the guy he'd seriously considered the 'only sane man' during his first year at school, and even this year.
"Hey," he said in a low voice, and Pain looked at him. "It's gonna be fine, un. And trust me, you're not the only one who misses her. But if she hasn't called in one week, I'll call her. I don't care how much it costs, un. If she doesn't pick up, then we can all go to Italy and find her, un." he said, joking. Pain laughed.
"Right. Thanks, Deidara." he said, and the blonde boy walked away into the kitchen, where Annie, Animal, Itachi, and Sasori were playing cards. The gang was spending the week at Pain's house before going their separate ways.
"Yeah, right. Go to Italy...that's actually not a bad idea..." Pain muttered, grinning to himself before following Hidan outside.
"...better get the money, Jared, because Mr A's not gonna like what you've given us! The measurements are all wrong. What happened to your science, huh? What you've given us isn't what you promised, so you're gonna have to pay up...
Of course we're gonna keep her! Not like Mr A'd say no, he's just not gonna accept her as full payment! ... Two more weeks? What the hell are you talking about, you can't say that for sure. Tests? All your tests have failed by the looks of things right now, Jared. ...
Alright, alright, two weeks. By the tenth, no later, she'd better be what you've promised or you're gonna have to give us the full payment. In cash. Yeah. Ciao."
Konan couldn't open her eyes. Her brain was a mush, and she felt really sick. Her stomach felt emptier than it had her whole life, but she wasn't hungry; the idea of eating food was almost enough to make her throw up. She shifted a little, and then bit her lip in pain; how the hell had she fallen asleep in this position! Her legs were stinging and her feet were asleep.
She cracked open one eye, but couldn't see much; her eyelashes were glued together by dried tears. She was leaning against a wall, and her arms were hanging on either side of her, pinned to the wall somehow. She wiggled a finger, and had to bite back another whimper of pain; her hands were drooping down, and there was a lot of slow blood in there.
Where the hell am I...?
She forced her eyes open, and stared around the room. It was blurry for a while; she was dizzy and her head was pounding horribly. She was in a dark room, with no window. There was a pipe running down from the upper right corner straight down into the floor, with a small vent on one side. The floor was cold, cement painted black. The walls, too, were black. Konan barely had time to question again where the hell she was and how she'd gotten there when movement in front of her made her blink.
Out of the darkness, a tall man in black (why is it always black!) stepped forward, shutting a cellphone. He was thickset, with swarthy skin and thick eyebrows hiding large brown eyes. He grinned at her once he saw she was awake, and squatted in front of her so they were eye-to-eye.
"How ya feelin'?" he asked with a faint Irish accent Konan glared at him bravely, although she didn't feel particularly brave...especially now that she realized she was still wearing her dad's lace monstrosity.
"...who are you?" she asked in a barely-audible voice. She tried to clear her throat, but it hurt so much she almost cried. "...what?" she asked as the pressure on her throat burned. The man grinned, his white teeth gleaming in the darkness.
"You sound like you're from London! Funny, your Dad said you were abroad...But I wouldn't try to talk if I was you, love." he reached forward, and Konan flinched. But he just flicked an odd metal device on her throat with his forefinger. Tears leaked from her eyes as the horrible pressure increased and vibrated. "I don't like hurting little girls, of course, but I can't have you screaming, now, can I? That's a pressure collar. Presses on the sides of your throat. You can barely make a sound, now, can you?" he asked, and when she didn't reply, he laughed lightly. He had a nice laugh, but that would hardly make up for his horrible character.
"Do you know why you're here, Andromeda?" Konan blinked and shook her head.
"...not...my name.." she whispered, and the man grinned. "Oh, yes it is you. Your 'daddy' brought you here himself, you know." Konan's eyes widened and the man pretended to look sympathetic. "Oh, you didn't know that? I suppose it might be because you were unconscious... Andromeda...that's ironic, you know. Considering that in the Greek myth, Andromeda was sacrificed a seamonster to save her daddy's kingdom, and you are basically being sacrificed to pay off your daddy's debts." he slapped his knees and stood up.
Konan was staring at him, scared of what he meant 'sacrificed', but mainly, she was completely confused. Her dad wasn't in debt; didn't he keep on moving and buying new houses? Her name was not 'Andromeda', and why on earth was she chained to a wall in a basement! The man in front of her seemed to want to tell her more, probably to relish the moment of seeing her fear, or something nasty like that. He bent down again, fisting her hair painfully.
"I bet you're scared. But don't worry. So long as your daddy pays up, you won't...oh, no wait...Yeah, you should be scared." he said, grinning as he released her. He began to walk away, but tripped on something on the floor. As he did, Konan felt an odd, painful tugging on her skin at the wrists.
"Stupid IV drip things..." the man muttered as he walked out and slammed the door. There was a series of clicks as he locked about seven locks, and then his heavy footsteps faded away. Konan turned her head to either side, staring at two skinny plastic cords coming out from under some bandages on either forearm.
Her stomach churned, feeling even more nauseous as she saw what looked like drips of water (but almost certainly wasn't) flowed occasionally from the tubes into her. She followed the tubes with her eyes as they went down her arms, tied on by some plastic string-things, then across the floor to the other side of the room, where she could just make out two large metal canisters.
She could hardly read the large labels in the darkness, but if she squinted she could make out 'Nutriments' and possibly 'Hormo-somethings' Well, not that,but Hormo...Hormones! Konan's heart began to pound a bit faster as fear filled her again. She started to cry, alone in the dark room, the pressure on her throat paining her even more.
She was cold. She was alone. She was shackled to a wall. Hormones were being dripped into her. She couldn't speak. She didn't know where she was, or why she was there. And to make it all worse, she was afraid of the dark. And there was a spider in the opposite corner.
More than anything, she wanted to be at home. With her friends. At her school.
With Pain.
Okay, I know it's been AGES since my last update, but I had provincial exams and tests and stuff...THANK GOODNESS that's all over...so, now I'll update weekly (at the least), unless I go away, but I shouldn't be away until August...so I think I might finish this story before then!...unlikely, but you never know! the plot's moving along pretty quickly now that school's over... I'll update Provocation later today/tomorrow morning. I just have to go grab my yearbook, and then I'll be back, typing. :D Thanks to everybody who's stayed with this story for so long! And a huge thanks to Fun-Sized-Otaku who made me get up off my ass and type! THANKYOU!