Chapter 4: Oddities
Konan
As she walked out of the bar, a noticeable wave of lightheadedness hit. She moved aside and stopped for a few seconds to marvel at the fresh air and presence of light. Now that she thought about it, the bar had actually been surprisingly dark when you looked past the plenitude of things to look at. She had been in bars before, but only on spying missions because such places happened to be useful for gathering information. She had never actually tasted alcohol, and the bars in question had been in her world. If he hadn't been there, this lack of experience might have seriously injured her efforts. But he had been there, shirtless and with his hair combed back, looking just like he usually did. Well, almost. She had expected Hidan to trust her to some degree after merely looking, and she had expected him to persuade others to trust her by whatever method he may choose. But the way he acted hadn't been at all what she expected. What she expected was that he wouldn't remember her, would treat her as a stranger. Instead he'd been taken aback by her presence, as if he hadn't remembered her until she showed up at which time he was overcome by a blast from the past. That was the only reason she could think of why he'd looked so overwhelmed by her presence. One normally didn't have to think much about a stranger; that's what snap judgments based on only a few characteristics are for. Strangers don't warrant intense mental energy, not at first glance. Yet intense focus and thought was what she'd gotten, and Konan could not think of any reason why that might be. The only way this general rule of human interaction could be defied was if the stranger had some characteristic that was particularly interesting (which she did not seem to), they weren't strangers (but he wasn't supposed to remember her), or if more information was available than just a few characteristics. She knew well the surprisingly high quality of Hidan's eyes, so it was possible that upon first meeting he could have learned much more about who she was and other things simply by looking. She didn't think he could have seen enough to be so overwhelmed by, though. Had something changed for him?
Her senses restored, Konan turned left and proceeded to follow Hidan's instructions. The buildings did seem to be grouped in rough rectangular shapes, so she guessed that "blocks" meant intersections. After reaching the second intersection, she stopped. He had said that if she turned left, there would be an aquarium, but if she did not, there would be someone else at a gas station. Who to visit first? She decided that it would be easier to explore the dead ends first. If she went to the aquarium, the only person she could see working with marine life was Kisame, who wasn't very sociable and open to forming connections. He was the least likely to know anyone else she needed. Whoever it was at the gas station, they had to be more outgoing and/or open than Kisame, because it was very difficult to be less so unless one was a full-time hermit or agoraphobe. Aquarium first, then. She turned left.
Kisame
*sigh* I love my job.
This was what the shark-man thought as he carefully placed dead fish into the shark bucket, carefully checking to see if any of them were diseased as he did so. The smell of fish might not be good for one's social life, but Itachi didn't mind and neither did any others he was casual acquaintances with, and that was all the social life he desired. Kisame was very glad to be back at his job after a couple months of vacation, and to see Itachi again. Just as importantly, he was glad to see Samehada again.
Well, that's fitting. A shark among sharks. Not that that's really the case. He tugged his work hoodie tighter over the gills on his shoulders, then picked up the bucket and began the walk to the shark tank. No, stop it, Kisame. You know damn well that is really the case. You are a shark. Own it like you always have. What's up with this sudden insecurity? The uncomfortable truth was, he didn't really know. It had just happened very recently, within days, that he'd started really noticing what he was and how weird it was. It was irrational of course. He'd always been very sharky in appearance, and there was no reason why that fact should be different now. It just seemed kind of weird that he hadn't really noticed that other people weren't sharky until that same time. But who cares about that? Insecurity was for people who weren't strong enough to resist social conditioning about their bodies. He was no weakling like that! But still...nobody else has looked at me funny, it's just my own personal discomfort. For my own comfort, maybe I should find out why I have scales and gills, etc. Facts are facts, and the facts are that's abnormal. Okay, that was a way of stating it that was acceptable. Not general insecurity about appearance, just curiosity about a phenomenon he'd seen. That was cool.
Also cool were the waters of the shark tank. Kisame looked up at it, observed how easily its occupants swam, and scanned the bottom. His favorite of its fishy residents usually rested on the bottom, which he fully recognized was not something that sharks were able to do. Well, some species were, and he didn't really know what species Samehada was, but even they did it only by pumping water over their gills. He'd gotten the chance to look at Samehada resting like that for an extended time once, and it appeared to be perfectly natural and easy, not taking energy at all. It occurred to Kisame that perhaps his realization some days ago when he'd come back from vacation had a silver lining to it. Now we both get to be freaks of the shark tank. I like spending time with him even better now that we have more in common. Samehada had never been sexed, but it was easier to think of a "best friend" as the same gender he was.
Today, Kisame got no such opportunity for extended observation. By the time he spotted his dark-scaled pal half hidden under a rock, Samehada had spotted him and almost immediately rushed to the top of the tank where the feeding platform was. Kisame grinned and climbed up the ladder as fast as was recommended. When he got there, Samehada had managed to throw himself halfway out of the water, and lay there slapping the ground with his small pectoral fins. He couldn't raise his head without risking slipping back into the water, so he made a rattling growling sound and wagged his body slightly as Kisame approached.
This latest incident was one of many that had previously meant little to Kisame except as proof of how special his favorite was, but which ever since his revelation had inspired fear. He looked around quickly and saw no one except a janitor starting her rounds of this floor on the other side of the large room. Even so, he crouched down and allowed Samehada to bite his hand in the usual playful manner only warily, and with his senses still fully open in case a supervisor or somebody else with authority walked in. As he slipped off his thick gloves, which was a safety violation he'd have been fired for if any inspectors had been investigating at that moment, he wondered why his life seemed to have shifted into such a bizarro dimension when absolutely nothing in it had changed. His fingers free, Kisame was able to reach a very thin patch around Samehada's dorsal fin which was one of the only areas of the shark's body with exposed skin, and began to lightly scratch. Samehada's grip on his other hand lightened, and he seemed to roll over onto his side like a pet dog while rumbling contentedly. Kisame looked around once more and leaned in to whisper, "Do you have any idea how many tenets of shark biology you are breaking right now?" Samehada flapped his pectoral fins again, but otherwise gave no reply. Kisame stopped scratching, patted his shark friend on the snout, and slipped on his gloves as Samehada wriggled backwards into the water just in time for the janitor to come by.
Aside from him, the people who came to check on the tank itself after him, and the people caring for animals in other exhibits, the janitorial staff were the only ones that regularly stayed in the building until this time. Therefore, he knew this one. She had been hired sometime during his vacation, and seemed to come by the shark tank at the start of her rounds a little too often for coincidence. She was friendly, seemed to genuinely care for the animals she saw as she passed, and had a sturdy but small frame topped with dark brown hair in a short, smooth ponytail. She smiled up at him with a hardly noticeable glance at his broad shoulders as she mopped up spilled water. Kisame noticed anyway and deliberately turned his attention back to the water as he splashed the surface and spread fish chunks and a small amount of blood on it. The tank's smaller residents were the fastest to come up in response, and he slid the smaller fish from the bucket into their mouths as soon as they came up. When the feeding was over and Samehada politely swam out to him, only then did he dare look down. The janitor was gone.
Thank god. Weirdest end to a vacation ever, fretting over my appearance like a little girl, Itachi's acting all funny, basically everything's not how it was when I left. This is no time to even consider dating, even if it wasn't already a good idea to never date someone you work with. Kisame shook out his shoulders and relaxed, but not too much. He still had something to do. Slipping off his glove, he allowed Samehada to munch on his hand again while he pulled out a larger fish, the last one in the bucket. "The feeding" was part of his work duties, when he had to feed the sharks. His time with Samehada was totally different. He took back his hand and held the fish vertically from its mouth. Samehada wriggled and splashed excitedly before assuming the same position in the water. Then Kisame flipped the fish backwards in the air, catching it in the same position for a 360. Samehada curled inwards like an armadillo, flapped his fins wildly to tilt backward, then arched his body the opposite way and waved his tail and fins wildly to turn in place until he was facing up again. I know they have cartilage which is softer and more flexible than bone, but that still seems impressive. Kisame noted that the flailing of his tail and fins looked much more graceful this time than last, and decided to leave off the third move and give him the fish now. Samehada took it and gladly began to rip it to shreds, swallowing precisely none of his prey and starting a feeding frenzy among the smaller sharks. Kisame raised his hand, Samehada flapped his fins in the water, and then the shark swam to the bottom while the shark-man smiled, put on his gloves, picked up his bucket, and put everything back where it was supposed to go for the last few minutes of his day. Then he changed into less fishy clothes and made to leave, walking out of the aquarium which was his sanctuary and directly into Bizarro Land for his (scheduled without his permission) guided tour.
Before he could even get the chance to relax and unwind his thoughts from his place of employment, Kisame realized with a start that there seemed to be someone waiting for him. His feelings about this were mixed. On the one hand, his first response was justified annoyance at having one more oddity to add to everything else that seemed a little weird. He did not like dealing with things pouring down all at once; it was much preferable when they rained down one at a time. But no, as the old saying said, life didn't work like that. But soon his attention was captured by the color of her hair, and his annoyance forgotten.
He did a double take, or perhaps just extended his first, upon catching a glimpse of her hair. It was blue. A slightly lighter, more cheerful looking shade than the color of his own hair, but nonetheless it was blue. The same part of him that was annoyed to have to deal with a stranger now lightened his spirits as he wondered if perhaps she knew why everything seemed to be strange all of a sudden. Blue hair was one of the things that was definitely not normal. Some company in Bizarro Land! His eyes then moved slightly, taking in everything about her. He had no idea what to make of her clothing. ...Maybe company in Bizarro Land isn't always a good thing. His eyes caught hers, and he saw intention in her gaze. Uh-oh. She strode closer to meet him halfway and stopped a little closer than strangers usually did when meeting for the first time. Her eyes didn't waver or even seem to register him, as if she was prepared for this, and she said in a businesslike tone "Hello," the sort of hello that serves as a quick prelude to more important matters. Oh no. She must be a Bizarro Land native, here to drag me even deeper. What is going on?
Konan was prepared to say more, but suddenly stopped to allow a pause into the conversation. She hadn't expected Kisame to be quite this paranoid, although he usually was at least a little wary, but he seemed beyond wary and downright skittish right now. Only now was her head clear enough to fully process all the things she hadn't expected from her first encounter with Hidan and Kakuzu, and the look on Kisame's face helped her recall the similar look on Kakuzu's face. She suddenly wondered why he'd looked a little frightened. It hadn't seemed important in her joy at seeing Hidan again. Was something about her intimidating them? She hadn't practiced looking innocuous after realizing that the average civilian saw nothing, but they were shinobi, not average civilians. What was going on?
She lowered her gaze and her head a little, the better to seem unthreatening. "My apologies," she said. "I have been overly hasty. My name is Konan. I was given directions here by Hidan because I wished to ask you something. You are Kisame, correct?"
"...Yes." was his reply. "Hidan told you where to find me?"
"Yes."
"Ah." Okay, that changed things. Hidan seemed to have his head on straight, and to know who was okay or not without much effort. The white-haired guy had even told him what Samehada was like in personality the first time they'd met face to snout, although the shark put on a fierce face for newcomers. If Hidan had figured this lady was okay to send over, then she was probably okay. Didn't mean he'd take her up on whatever it was she wanted, but this "Konan" girl seemed worth a listen. "What did you want to ask me?"
"I'm trying to look into something important." she began. "I would like you and several other people to help me find out more about some unusual things around here." She reached under her cloak and pulled out a paper with an address written on it. "I've already invited Hidan and Kakuzu to this location to hear what I have to say. Your help would be appreciated."
Kisame also had enough passing familiarity with the town's layout to recognize that address as not any kind of public place close to town, probably a decent distance outside it. His first reactions to this pitch were
1. No.
2. Scam?
3. Nah, probably worse.
4. Seriously?
5. If she's a serial killer or something. she should be better at this.
6. Nothing about any of this seems normal or not-freaky in any way.
7. Whoa woah whoa woah woah...Back up to the part where she said investigating freaky things?
8. Is she trying to kidnap me as a freaky thing to investigate? Jeez, that's a paranoid thought even for me. And finally,
9. She said Hidan would be there?
"You said he and Kakuzu would be there?" the shark-man asked. That was the one thing about her pitch that got him actually considering it beyond how serial-killery it sounded. Even if he was one of the oddities she wanted to investigate, he had just been thinking of that himself a few minutes ago. Looking into weird things happening recently was actually a pretty good way of describing what he wanted to do. Itachi, himself, lots of things seemed odd. Kisame had to admit, that sounded like a pretty good way to get at what he wanted to know as well. That is, if he trusted this lady really wanted what he was reading into her words. She'd been just vague enough to sound enticing without letting him know specific details of what she wanted. That was usually a bad sign. It all came down to trust, and right now he had no reason to trust her. No reason except that someone he did trust had found a reason to.
"Yes. Well, Hidan agreed to. I was convinced of his ability to force Kakuzu into this, so I left it at that." She smiled at this, and it didn't seem overly polite. Actual human feeling entered her face for a split second, and she looked like an actual woman for the first time this discussion. Kisame still didn't plan to agree to anything on the spot, but perhaps. He was definitely edging closer to being willing to do this. Maybe. Once she left and he was free to do whatever without her knowing, necessarily. Of course, if she had further talking to do once he got there he was free to respond anyway he wanted to that. He was finally willing to believe she wanted something he might actually be willing to give. But good god, did this lady not know how to convince him of that.
"Your technique needs work," he said once the burst of visible feelings had passed and she looked businesslike again. "Your eyes are just way too...directed. I was wondering if you were a robot for a second there, from your face. I was also wondering about the odds of you being a serial killer. Maybe tone down the eyes and try looking more human if you want anyone who's not like Hidan to agree to things." Kisame tried to mention this in a businesslike manner to match hers, but he couldn't help shivering while asking her to look more human. Wuss. Well, at least it helped get his point across if she noticed. Itachi had tried advising him to be more willing to put forth a good-faith effort to be friendly in the past, and even though he wasn't willing to be sure that he really should be helping her to convince people, this was the exact sort of distrust Itachi didn't want him to be plagued by. Maybe I should try baby steps, not trust the creepy lady first of all people. How do I even know she really did get Hidan to agree? Maybe she just knows I would trust his opinion over hers. More shivers ran down his spine. I don't like to feel so paranoid. I don't. It's just that I don't think there's any choice, just look at all the stories of terrible people taking advantage of people. If anyone's going to trust anyone, it's not going to be me. I'll outsource that to people who can tell who to trust, let them demonstrate.
Konan did notice the slight shiver, and she realized her flat face might not be helping her to inspire trust in others. That thought hadn't occurred to her. She focused and attempted to bring it down. Her efforts only partially succeeded. As for her eyes, she supposed lowering them was the best she could do. It was at this point that she discovered that body language in general is just as hard to un-fake once one becomes used to doing so as it is to fake at first. It just wasn't coming naturally. She nodded politely at Kisame and tried to inject more emotion into her voice as she thanked him and promised she would try. It sounded terribly wrong, and once she realized this she put in some effort to un-suppress a wince. She tried so too late, however, so it looked like a feigned wince. This was going to be a long adventure. Konan didn't expect she would gain anything more by standing here trying to take his advice, so she quickly raised a hand in farewell and walked away, trying not to look like she was scurrying away in embarrassment. Of course her effort to suppress that was much too successful and Kisame had to take a few seconds to work out that that was what she was doing from the speed and silence of her departure. Neither of them felt entirely comfortable, but no matter. He had agreed in his head. She had a gas station to visit. Thank god for Hidan's unwitting assistance. Konan almost hallucinated a sliding sound as she put that bit of awkwardness out of her head. It was time to visit the next person in her expanding web of contacts.
Konan
As she retraced her steps to the intersection and made a different turn, Konan pondered the new information she'd received from her discussions with her former coworkers. From Hidan, she'd learned that she could have quite an effect on the amnesiac shinobi of this world. On the other hand, she'd learned from Kakuzu and Kisame that said effect was not necessarily positive. Hidan had very strange tastes in what he found pleasurable, so she guessed it was safe to assume it would almost always be negative. Sakumo hadn't reacted to her, but that had been the night before her decision to metaphorically blast down her road and lose control for a while. That and Kisame's mention of her eyes suggested that whatever her powerful inner will was, it was scaring everyone else just as badly as it had scared her. Except for Hidan, of course. He probably liked the feeling of being in front of something that could destroy him.
How improbably lucky. I expected him to be more willing to trust me without reason, but I didn't expect his masochism to play a part too. Was that what Kisame meant? Did he mean anyone who's not masochistic like Hidan? That doesn't seem quite right, actually. He was advising me to show more emotion when he said that. It doesn't match. What part of what Hidan is like was Kisame referring to? Regardless, the hardest part of her quest to unite the Akatsuki was over (or so she thought). Kisame was the most cautious and distrustful of others; surely, whoever was next would be more open and willing to tell her more. Whoever this was could tell her what he'd meant. Konan slowed her pace and walked casually to the corner across from the gas station. There could be no doubt about who she saw sitting there near the door. Him. He can surely tell me everything I wish to know. Just as long as I'm careful...
Itachi
He'd known someone unusual was coming for the past 10 seconds or so. As she reached the halfway point of the block, his ears had registered and brought to his brain's attention the approach of someone with a strange tread. Even as the approaching person slowed to a walking pace, he was not fooled by the imitation of a casual manner. Some instinct told Itachi that he was the destination this someone had in mind, and he did not disregard instincts like that. Another instinct told him this approach, strange as it was, did not seem threatening. Itachi did not know why he had an instinct to tell him that, but ever since several months ago he had become very aware that he was not as regular as he'd always thought he was. Or rather, his definition of "regular" had changed and the blinders come off. I'm not quite what I thought I was. Is this person?
The steps stopped on the corner across the street from him, and he turned his head to look to the right. Across the street looking back at him was a woman he had never seen before in unusual costume. The paper flower nested in her blue hair was a nice touch, but did not reduce the aura of authority radiating from her intense gaze and body posture. Not just authority. Something else as well. Predation? Her form was completely covered by a thick black cloak with red cloud designs on the lower half. This is not a woman to be trifled with. Black conveys authority. Red clouds could mean blood clouds, or perhaps sunset or sunrise. Thick boots with open toes covered her feet, and appeared to extend some distance up her legs. Completely covered, from head to ankle. Even her face reveals little. Only her eyes show anything at all, and it looks hungry. In a way, her appearance was comforting. Itachi hadn't had much time for Kisame lately; he'd been too busy exploring new parts of himself, and did not know how to explain that to his friend just yet. What he had found was a great many things he could do that did not match his past experience. Always peaceful in his dealings with other people, Itachi was curious as to why offensive moves and strategical thinking as in a battle should be easy or natural for him. But without ever having lived such a life or being trained, he could think that way and fight if need be. This woman appeared to be just the same way. Despite her predatory vibe, he sensed no hostility. Itachi smiled sincerely, and raised his hand to welcome his opponent to the field of verbal sparring. She can certainly tell me what I wish to know. But only if I'm careful…
General
The woman nodded slightly in response, and her ears twitched noticeably as she listened for traffic before walking across the street to join him. She smiled, apparently feeling the same about their unexpected kinship, and sat down across from him with her legs folded beneath her. She looked him in the eyes and said, "Konan." in response to a question he had not yet asked.
"Itachi," he responded likewise.
Only then did her gaze break with his. Her eyes drifted over his left shoulder to the guitar case lying open next to him, its contents visibly including a comfortable array of money. She looked back at him as if that was a small surprise, but not completely out of the expected. He nodded back. Some of it was brought to start, should he need food or drink during the afternoon, but much was not. In addition to Kisame who had contributed his usual $5 over his lunch break, some others liked to regularly come by and listen. There was a certain patron he could usually count on to appear out of thin air whenever a cheerful melodic tune was played, and by sitting at Itachi's side and gazing out into the crowd with visible joy and a certain innocence could almost summon money. Of course it was not impossible for said patron's companion to provide such an effect, but he almost never put forth an effort to do so. Itachi had never asked them to assist him together. It might give his regular customer base an experience to never be equaled and drive them away.
Konan had not thought about what Itachi or any of her teammates would do in this world, but now that she considered it music made perfect sense for someone with his sensibilities. If any of them stayed in contact with her after her truly outrageous proposal, she would have to ask. This indicated some good things. First, he was smart enough to make a living at something so variable. Combined with the way he had analyzed her at first glance, that said very good things about his closeness to his shinobi heritage. It would make him a lot easier and more interesting to talk to and convince. Second, he must have many people come to listen to him. At this rate that would mean he knew every Akatsuki member in town. She decided to get serious and began her assault in earnest.
"You seek answers," she began. "Some of them, I likely know. Some others, I may not know right now, but I'm in a better position to understand than you are. The rest, I might know someone who knows. Or perhaps you do. Those answers are not to be considered relevant for right now."
"Of course," Itachi replied. That's a hard bargain. What could she want? "Those answers you don't know right now, you will need help to find. That's why we're talking, isn't it? You need answers for yourself as well, and to get them you need me." I don't like gambling.
He's right of course. I need to stall for time to think. "Not necessarily. I need more people than just you, and for what I have in mind it would not be improbable if several refused. On the other hand, the people I need are the same ones you could use to further your own search, and if they don't accept my offer they're out of luck and no use to you. If they do, you're out of luck. I seem to be in a unique position to understand the situation here." Something feels wrong…
Itachi's eyes widened at that. A threat? Of course, I shouldn't have expected someone with that look in her eyes to be any good at diplomacy. "Well, that's all right. You seem not to belong here. Unlike you, I do, and probably the others you are referring to are my friends. I won't accept bullying to them or to me."
Konan became conscious of her language, and attempted to summon more resources to her mind to change it. Crap. That's what was wrong. My disadvantage is exactly what he's realized, and I've led him right to it. Instinctive hostility to an enemy won't work. I must not think of him as an enemy. But how to think of him otherwise? "Bullying? Not exactly. I have no plans to interfere with you and your friends. The reason you would be out of luck is that the answers you want aren't such simple ones that can be spouted off on a street corner. There is a very real strength in numbers, which is why I've already gathered several at a place I deem suitable. I don't need to convince you. I need to convince all of you, which is why I will not reveal what I know, how I know it, or any reason you should accept my knowledge as an answer until I have everyone."
Itachi considered this. She's got me there. Whatever she knows, she holds and can release at any time, whereas my help can only be promised over the future. But what could it possibly be, that all of us need to be together at once to hear it? "Strength in numbers it is. Why do I need to hear it directly from you? We may find our own answers together."
"The strength I speak of is not for your benefit. It's for mine." Konan replied. Itachi speaks about understanding things using common methods. He has no idea what he's talking about. "Like I said, the answers you seek are not simple ones that can be spouted off on a street corner. The greatest obstacle to you knowing them is yourself. The answers you want are the same as the reasons I have for convincing you and the others to help me. I want you to know them. However, they are so improbable that any individual attempt to convince you of them would likely fail. My reason for gathering everyone is quite simple. I need to harness the bonds you have with each other to break through collective disbelief. Only those bonds can allow you to believe it. Are you willing to wait as long as it takes, become as desperate as it takes, to be willing to leave your little bubble?"
Refuge in audacity. She thinks I'm not strong enough to acquire my own answers because they have that as a shield. I've always considered myself open minded, but… That's all relative. Open minded compared to others, maybe. But this is something I cannot explain, and I've tried asking both grown and literal children. Itachi realized that he had no answer. Part of being open minded is realizing the extent of one's own bubble, so he definitely knew he had one. She didn't belong in town, was on the very edge of his bubble already, and seemed to believe that her own words were further out. I'm beaten. I'm in no position to refuse answers, and it seems I would be doing so no matter what unless I help her.
Itachi closed his eyes and lowered his head. "No." After some time, he looked up to see her head bowed slightly as well. She opened her eyes and looked at him, establishing eye contact once more. Her nod congratulated him as a worthy opponent.
Then Konan returned to business. "I need one thing first of all. I need to know where I can find some others. If you are as popular as that case of money suggests, you should know them. I will need Sasori, Deidara, and - Nagato."
Itachi's ears pricked at that little pause before Nagato's name. What was that for? At any rate, he did know them. "Nagato should be easy to find. At this time of day" - the sun was descending, and the sky colored everything blue - "they usually enjoy the sunset from the park. I wish you good luck with Sasori. Sincerely. He's more paranoid than Kisame nowadays. Deidara...has not been adjusting well since he returned from the military. Something to do with bombs, Sasori says. I do not know where Deidara lives, and Sasori will not tell you. He's very worried about Dei getting in trouble with law enforcement, he's not going to allow a strange woman to know things like that. If you want Deidara, you'll have to convince Sasori to bring him along. Sasori's not the easiest to recruit for any effort to begin with, and as far as I know he has no desire or need for anything you may promise. He works at the auto shop on the north side of town, normally until late enough that he should still be there if you go to the park first. I don't mean to be discouraging, but...good luck."
They? Konan wondered about that choice of pronoun. I only asked about Nagato… No, Itachi implied that would be the easier of my two tasks. Not worth spending too much effort on. It sounded like she had bigger problems. Much, much bigger. Oh gods. Sasori. Kisame's paranoid, but he generally has reason to act at least. He was motivated enough by my proposal to help him find out more about strange things. Sasori? None of the things that drove him in my old world will apply here, since immortality is impossible to achieve. This version of him does sound motivated, but motivated to protect what he already has and not take risks. By Deidara, of all people. Could I possibly convince him that it would be in Deidara's best interest?
Instead of voicing any of this, she thanked Itachi, confirmed that the park he described was the one she'd been in earlier, and got the location of Sasori's workplace. Then she showed him the address of the abandoned building. Only after he closed the guitar case, picked it up, and made to leave did she remember what had seemed so interesting after her discussion with Kisame.
"Itachi." Konan called. He turned. "I remembered a question I was hoping you could answer. It's not essential. I just wished to know, since you know both Kisame and Hidan, what Kisame meant by a certain statement. He felt like giving me advice on how to be more convincing, and told me that I should show more emotion, I believe the exact phrase was 'Look more human', so that people who aren't like Hidan would trust me. What does that mean?"
Itachi tilted his head and regarded her in an odd way. She would have asked why, but after only a few seconds he concluded his reasoning with "Hmm. He's as unbelievable as you have claimed to be, but perhaps a different kind of unbelievable." He briefly ran through the paraphrase she had given him to make sure. "If, as you said, Kisame's comment was related to you needing to show more human feelings, he was probably referring to Hidan's ability to perceive feelings without needing them to be expressed. If you maintained a hostile tone but really felt that you were helping Hidan, for example, he would have also felt sincere goodwill and understood that you had no hostile intentions, even if all your words seemed to say otherwise. That's the most likely explanation." Itachi turned again. "I should go quickly. Goodbye."
Konan
Oh, I see. Or at least Konan thought she did. I should have thought of that myself. Hidan likes to make judgements of people, it is essential to his survival after all. I didn't expect it to be known to others, but he seems to actually have a social life in this world. Of course they would know he has such an ability to make accurate judgements. The specifics of Itachi's words were lost as she recalled her own knowledge of Hidan. That would be a reason to facepalm, or at least blush later. For now, she returned to the same park the evening's adventures had started in.
It looked different now. In the daytime, a few spring flowers either wild or planted had bloomed in a scattered, disorganized way, adding splashes of brightness to the scene but not much else. At this time, with the sun down to glorious orange in the west, those flowers were not visible. A new flora was, a nighttime shift of white flowers formerly hidden beneath the leafy surface of bushes, now bursting out. Once the sun was but a dull ember, she expected the air to become a lot more fragrant than it had been at any point previously.
She looked around at the entrance to the park. Here, there were several seating areas for the casual visitor who had no desire for a walk but nonetheless wanted to be outside in some visible way. They were of medium age, with the wood worn gray and neither excessively splintery nor worn smooth. Perhaps some nails had been poorly formed or in bad places from the start, and a few planks of the benches could be seen to visibly tilt. This would not make it hard to sit in them, in fact it added a strange charm. Some of the tables at either side of the trail leading in from the entrance had (perhaps by design) clumps of the aforementioned spring flowers at their base. Perhaps that was enough for some people, but the far greater show had yet to start. As the trail hardened, became visibly more entrenched and in the mind's eye became as strong as a cleaver carving its way through the dense trees crowding around, the tiny clumps of purple disappeared. The more imposing white blooms emerging from wherever they had hidden from the daylight now seemed about to drape themselves over some of the benches planted just at the edge of the trees. Considering last night's moonlight, a show of almost magical glowing appearance should be beginning soon. But, there was no one there to see it. All seats stood empty.
Konan regretted the sense of duty now and briefly wished to take a moment for herself and herself alone, but such feelings could happen from time to time among shinobi away on missions. She pushed it aside and reasoned that deep blooms are often found in the trees, hidden away in the dark as well, so she probably wouldn't miss a thing as the moon rose. With that she plunged into the depths after committing to memory a map of the park's layout.
The first fork on the trail led to a seating area consisting of entirely tables like the ones next to the entrance, enclosed in a clearing. Nobody was there. The second fork led to a couple benches overseeing a small pond. Nobody was there, either. At the very opposite end the trail left the trees and there was some seating outside a small shop. No one was there either. At this point Konan could see the occasional moth fluttering out of some hiding place into the night, and she wondered about Itachi's instructions. Had there been something she'd missed?
The only thing she could think of was her timing. Perhaps he'd assumed that she would have a car like everyone else seemed to? In that case, she was too late. Konan took a deep breath of the lightly scented air and disregarded that. It wouldn't do to lose hope now. The other option was that he hadn't expected her to be in such a hurry, in which case she'd arrived too early. In either case, she had to return to the entrance. Back into the darkness she plunged, a darkness filled to overflowing with whispering breezes, an almost-liquid scent pouring from flowers splayed open in the shape of a spout. In the blue twilight, Konan could almost lose track of herself, become a part of the darkness. Just another silent whisper pouring through the air, breaking and merging into an ever-changing assembly of every shape at once. She opened her mouth and let the air pour through, losing herself in the atmosphere. Like many of her desires in the wild, this was one that was well suited to ninja life. To merge with the environment is to sense all within it. Sadly this was better accomplished in the wild, which the Rain Village did not have much of. Sure would've come in handy that time...
A piercing light entered the darkness, and Konan slowed her pace. The trees whispered and the leaves filled with secrets. The light was peculiar, a bluish-white glow that actually was not as piercing as it had seemed. It had only seemed so because a single leaf had moved aside to let a single beam through. The end, or really the beginning, of the trail was visible, which led Konan to realize that this must be the light of the tall lamp she had seen over the benches with their backs to the trees. The sunset had still been bright enough earlier, it had not been on. Ducking to avoid the light, keep it from piercing her armor of darkness, Konan crept closer to the light and the benches like a feral outsider.
A moth fluttered past, almost blundering into the side of her head and leaving scales in her eyes in the process. It was not the only one. The air was ripe, and they seemed to swim. A shadow out of her natural home, Konan followed the small ghosts to the light and settled just on the border, crouching behind a bush covered in white flowers. Shyly, she peeked an eye around the bush, and froze. The light from the lamp was nothing compared to the light now filling the bench directly beneath it. Occupying the bench was a thing not of physical light, but the brightness of radiant expressed hope, and silvered beauty. An icicle seemed to penetrate in her throat, wiggle its way through her bones, and as it did so crystallize many more icicles off of itself like a tree limb sprouting branches, so that there was no part of her that did not within seconds feel the pain of deprivation. At once the darkness seemed solid, the shadows no longer fluid but impenetrable, and she was on the wrong side. She was a shadow. That was wrong. The sickening, corrupt feeling from earlier returned. Konan did not move.
The light, in contrast, was full of life. As she stayed there in the dark, her face shielded by the flowers, a universe of moths fluttered through the blue-white light, their furry bodies and churning wings plainly visible. One of the moths landed on an outstretched hand, and then another on a proffered nose. There it perched in perfect serenity, seemingly unaware of its brethren flitting all around it for a light they would never reach. As she watched, it spread its wings but did not take off. It just lay there, the flighty insect tranquilized by the beauty that had captured it. The scene was enough to break Konan's shock, and her chest shook there in the dark. There was little to say or think, except-
Is this heaven or hell? Both? Neither? It's wrong, impossible. How on earth could it be -
***INTERMISSION***
A/N: Two things.
First thing is, that last line of thought-text was really, really hard to write. Only the first two question marks have survived through all rewrites of this one line. The last interrupted statement was okay the second time around, but I just now rewrote the part in between again because that part is just very difficult to write somehow. Gah!
Second thing is, heheheheheheheeheeheeheeHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA - ahem, sorry. As I was writing, the impulse to use a cliffhanger like this just appeared. I needed some way to end this scene so there would be a distinction between the two different introductions, and the thought "Why not cut to a completely different scene?" just popped up. Your regularly scheduled scene will pick up next chapter, after the intermission.
I underestimated normal chapter lengths a lot, so this story is being posted a lot faster than I thought it would be. As of writing this I have only 2 more chapters ready to go. That's not a bad thing, just some pleasantly defied expectations. Better get typing!
------------
Support me on Patreon.com and leave a comment on this chapter if you like it or not. It will be more motivation for me.
And let me know if there are errors or mistakes.
You can read the advance chapters here : patreon.com/Vigilante04