Naruto Fallen Angel

December had never been Pein's favorite time of the year. With December came snow, which meant having to bundle up and wearing big boots that he had never much cared for. The cold was always bitter and stung his ears, especially where the chilled metal of his piercings met his skin. Not to mention that it seemed as if the entire month was dedicated to a single holiday that would only last a day.

However, there were a couple things he did like about the winter weather. It always made his morning coffee taste a little bit better as the warm bitter liquid went down his throat, heating him up as well. The snow often times seemed serene and it was if time slowed and the world went quiet as it slowly fell from the night skies.

It snowed often in the city of Ami when it was cold out. The city was almost constantly raining during the warmer months, so despite being a city, it wasn't as crowded and noisy as most other urban areas of its kind. And thus, Pein found he didn't have much of a problem living in an apartment in the middle of it. The housing was affordable and it was within walking distance of where he worked.

Nagato Uzumaki, or Pein, as his friends referred to him, had only just graduated college and his godfather, who owned a large book publishing company along with being a famous author on the side, had offered him a job. Of course the pierced boy had accepted. He loved reading, and someday he wanted to take over the company, although he knew he had to work his way up to the top. Both of his godparents were very successful, his godmother owning her own casino, but they never gave him any special treatment. They paid for his college funds, but he was expected to live on his own after that, managing his own money and such. And he was well aware that if he wanted to run the business his godfather had built, he had to do his best. If there was someone who was even slightly better for the job, they would get the position, familial ties or not. But Pein didn't mind as it made him strive to work even harder. He had lost his own parents at a young age and ever since, they had been his family. Ever since his godparents found him on the streets, struggling just to find a meal to satisfy his hunger, they cared for him and raised him to be successful on his own accord, and so, they refused to treat him any better than the next worker.

Pein's job thankfully didn't force him to wake up early, otherwise, he wasn't sure he would be able to handle it. He didn't exactly sleep late, but he certainly wasn't a morning person either. He always needed a cup of coffee before he started the day. And thus, he found himself waiting at the same corner as always, leaning against the brick building behind him as he waited for his best friend to arrive. It was a tradition he had; every morning he would wake up and meet the boy at the same spot, despite the coffee shop being in the opposite direction from his workplace. The two would always meet up and chat over coffee before going their separate ways for the day.

"Good morning, Pein! Hm!"

"'Morning." Pein replied back in acknowledgement to the blond's approach, watching in slight amusement as the long ponytail bounced with every step as the boy strode up to the amber-haired man, smiling brightly as usual.

Deidara was only nineteen while Pein was twenty-three. The blond was taking a year off and interning before going to college. He claimed he wanted to be a construction worker, explaining that he loved to design things, but his friends knew that even more, he loved to destroy them. The pierced man had a suspicion that blowing up buildings and being part of the demolition crew was the true reason Deidara was striving to go into the career.

Deidara and he had been friends since high school when he stepped in to defend the freshman against some fellow seniors that had been making fun of the kid's girlish hair. One glare from the outcast was enough to send the cowards running, and the two had been friends ever since. Although most people tended to avoid the Uzumaki due to his tough exterior and lack of conversation skills, the blue-eyed kid had seen right past him and stuck by his side. It didn't take him long to realize it wasn't that Pein didn't want to talk with other people, he just didn't know how. And so, Deidara had taken the liberty of doing most of the talking when they were with each other; occasionally prodding his friend to talk and build his communication skills by asking him questions and such. After five years, Pein was indeed much better at holding a conversation, but the blond still did a majority of the talking as it was a sort of silent agreement between the two that Deidara could talk as much as he wanted and Pein would listen, no matter how trivial. That's how they liked it.

Wordlessly, the two men began to walk side by side towards their favorite cafe. It wasn't a long walk and the silence was in no way uncomfortable. However, Pein wouldn't have minded if the temperature was a little higher, he decided, as he shoved his numb hands into his coat pocket.

Soon enough, they arrived at the small coffee house, the bell on the door ringing as it was pushed open, alerting the worker behind the counter that they had arrived for their daily dosage of caffeine. It was always the same boy behind the counter. His name tag read 'Sasori', although neither of the duo had ever held much of a conversation.

Bored doe-brown eyes turned at the sound of the bell, a slight smirk making its way onto his normally impassive features as he recognized his most popular customers. "You're a little late today." He commented, casting a glance at the clock as if he had been keeping track of exactly how many extra seconds had passed since the "normal" time they paid him a visit each day.

Pein ignored the other's words, immediately placing his order. "Expresso, no sugar."

The redhead nodded before turning his gaze towards the blond that stood by the older man's side. "Caramel latte?"

"Y-Yes please." The worker chuckled slightly to himself at the small stutter that slipped out of the blond's mouth before turning and taking the money that had been placed on the counter, slightly pleased that it was the exact amount. He silently turned to whip up the men's orders, already knowing that their order was 'for here'. Not like it mattered, the cups were the same either way.

The pair turned and strolled to their usual table by the window, Pein glancing at his companion as they each took their seat. The blond hardly had time to get comfortable before the auburn-haired man spoke up.

"Why don't you just ask him out already?"

Blue eyes snapped up to stare at his pierced friend in horror at the suggestion. "No way!"

An orange eyebrow raised on the man's perfectly sculpted face. "And why not?"

"Since when do you care about the love life of others?" The older of the two didn't bother to answer, knowing it was a rhetorical question. The teenager let out a sigh, silently thinking how it was unfair that Pein could tease him all he wanted, yet Deidara had nothing on the other. He was half convinced the other boy had as much interest in romance as a robot. If not less, that was. "You know I can hardly even place my order without panicking, hm."

"That's why you should ask him out." Seeing the confused look his friend gave him, Pein continued to explain further. "If you go on a date with the kid, then you'll get to know him better and you'll be calmer around him."

Deidara frowned, knowing the advice had some merit to it. But at the same time, he doubted it's effectiveness. "I doubt he would even agree."

"What makes you say that?"

"He doesn't like me. He always calls me "brat" and laughs at me. Hm." To most people, it seemed cruel of the redhead to treat him like a child, especially since they seemed to be the same age, but it only made Deidara want to catch his attention even more.

Pein couldn't help but roll his eyes, ignoring the glare he got from his friend after. "He calls me "pin-cushion", I think he's the kind of person that teases people he likes. And I've seen him looking at you."

Deidara let out a snort. "Yeah right."

"He does." The older man insisted. "It's pretty obvious he likes you."

"He does not!" The blond finally snapped, having enough of his friend raising his hopes, convinced they would all just come crashing down.

"Who doesn't what?"

Deidara's eyes widened in horror as he heard the silky voice come from behind him. Sasori was always silent whenever he approached, something the blond hated. He turned, staring at the boy who placed their coffees on the table, trying to come up with a good response. Unfortunately for him, Pein beat him to it.

"We were discussing whether you liked him or not." He stated simply, a smug evident on his lips. '_That asshole!'_ If Deidara wasn't about to die of embarrassment before, he certainly was now.

"Oh?" The cashier glanced at Deidara, an amused smirk showing clearly on his face. "Quite an interesting subject." He mused as Deidara buried his face in his hands, wishing he had never rolled out of bed that morning. "I guess I'll leave you two to your conversation then." Was all he said before turning and heading back to the counter, hearing the older of the duo chuckling quietly behind him.

As soon as Sasori was back to work, Pein raised the cup of coffee to his lips. "That wasn't a no." He pointed out before taking a sip, relishing in the way the burning liquid flowed down his throat, warming him to the bone.

Deidara raised his head, casting a glare towards his friend. "You jerk! That certainly wasn't a yes. Hm!"

The pierced man brushed off his friend's scowl, already used to Deidara's easily soiled attitude. "Relax, he's just toying with you."

"How do you know that?" The blond asked, letting out a sigh as his previous anger evaporated. That was another thing about Deidara, he was just as quick to calm down as he was to get upset.

"He was clearly amused," the ginger pointed out, "if he had any objections as to what we were saying, I would imagine he's the kind of guy to bluntly deny any such claims."

Deidara couldn't help but snort a little at the pierced man's way of speaking. It was so old-fashioned; he constantly sounded like he was speaking as if straight out of a book. It would make sense if the man actually was an author, but he had no interest in writing, only running his god-father's business.

"You can't say that, you hardly know him. Hm."

"Likewise."

The teenager rolled his eyes at the older man, realizing the argument was never going to get anywhere. He decided to leave the conversation at that, instead sipping at his caramel latte before it got cold. Pein understood the notion and did the same, accepting the comfortable silence.

The two friends continued to drink their coffee, occasionally pausing to chat about whatever came to mind, which mostly happened to be things that had happened at work since they had last seen each other the day before. Stupid mistakes their coworkers had made, impossible demands and deadlines their bosses had forced upon them, and so on. The same old boring things they talked about every other day.

Finally, several minutes after his coffee had been downed, Deidara let out a sigh before standing up, chair legs scraping against the cold floor. "I need to get going so I won't be late, hm."

Pein let out an understanding nod and rose from his spot as well, having finished his own drink only a minute earlier. "See you monday, then." It was a curt goodbye, but the blond was already used to it and hardly even noticed as he waved a single hand in farewell upon running out of the small shop, ponytail swishing back and forth with every step.

It was unusual for Deidara to rush even if he was late. From what Pein knew of Deidara, he only rushed when he wanted to avoid an awkward confrontation, and it didn't take a genius to realize that it was more than likely the redheaded cashier that he was attempting to avoid. At this, Pein couldn't help but let out a tiny sardonic smirk. His friend really was hopeless.

As the ginger tossed his empty cup into the trash bin, he heard the cashier call out from behind him, and he didn't have to turn to tell the boy was smirking once more. "Don't be late again. I hate to be kept waiting."

"Yeah, yeah." Pein replied, a slight smirk of his own pulling at his lips before raising a hand in a casual goodbye, not bothering to look over his shoulder as he exited the small shop, bell ringing behind him.

Snowflakes danced around, taking their time as they fell to the earth in silence. The city was quiet today, as usual. The only sounds around the man were the crunching of snow beneath his feet and the occasional car that passed. His breath formed puffy clouds in front of him that vanished as soon as they appeared, only to reappear with the next breath he took. It was peaceful. The lazy snow gave the city a sense of serenity, and time seemed to slow. It was times like these that Pein enjoyed the weather, and he slowed his pace slightly as he took in his surroundings.

Upon making his way into the bridge that he crossed on his way to work, Pein paused, casting a glance towards the river down below. The current seemed weak, almost as lazy as the rest of the city. He watched, lavender eyes fixated on the way the falling snow was absorbed by the water, instantly vanishing the second it connected with the stream. It was "ephemeral", as Deidara would put it, yet never ending as the flakes that disappeared were soon replaced by newer ones.

As Pein took a rare moment to admire the beauty of the city, a spot of color captured his interest. Ringed eyes turned towards the source, narrowing in slight confusion as he realized the color was none other than the hair of a strange woman, who looked about twenty. It was a deep purple - or was it blue? -, and ended just above her shoulders. The top right side of her hair was pulled into a bun, adorned with a flower a few shades lighter than her hair color, though it was too far away for the man to identify. Her skin was a light peachy color, and covered by a long white dress. As his eyes moved lower, he noticed she was barefoot as well. Certainly strange attire for a walk in the snow by the river. Who would be crazy enough to wear such clothes in the middle of winter?

When he looked closer, Pein realized that the dress stuck to her. A little too much. As realization struck, Pein bolted towards the end of the bridge without a second thought, taking the fastest path to her down the slight hill that led to the river bank. It no longer mattered to the man why the girl was there, all that mattered was that she was soaked to the bone, and surely she was going to die if left there. She was already freezing, that much was obvious in the way she slowly rubbed her arms, taking small wobbly steps. Before Pein could get to her, the girl stopped and began to sway where she stood before finally collapsing in the snow.

As Pein got to her, he hardly spared a thought as to what he was doing, moving on instinct alone. He slipped his arms under her frail body and lifted her bridal style, holding her against his chest to help share his heat, and quickly began running back the way he had came, climbing the hill as fast as he could. As he neared the top, he considered bringing her to the hospital, but that was four blocks away while his apartment was only one. The choice was an obvious one. She needed to get out of the cold as soon as possible.

The man dashed through the streets, struggling not to stumble over the litter that lined the path or crash into the occasional person walking along as he ignored the strange looks they cast towards him. It took only a few minutes - way too long in Pein's opinion - for him to get back to his apartment, struggling a bit with the door to the building complex as he entered.

Upon climbing the stairs to the second floor where his apartment was located, he quickly made his way to the door, kneeling in front of it. Pein slid his arm out from under the girl's legs before reaching into his pocket and fishing out his key. He picked the girl up once more and struggled to unlock his door, bursting into the room as soon as the door had opened. The pierced man quickly headed for his bedroom, not bothering to shut the front door behind him.

As he laid her down on his bed, a sudden thought crossed his mind. Her clothes were soaked, and if he left her in them, the chance of her getting hypothermia was even greater. It suddenly dawned on him just what kind of position he was in. Here he was, a twenty-three year old man, not only bringing home a random unconscious girl and laying her on his bed, but now he had to undress her as well. If she was to wake up while he was changing her... Well, he didn't want to think about that.

Deciding that he didn't have time to bother with worrying about such things, Pein moved to his dresser, kicking his bedroom door shut as he moved passed it, and pulled out the warmest-looking set of clothes he had before placed them on the bed next to the girl. Slowly, hesitantly, he moved his fingers to the bottom of her dress and gripped the hem before bringing the silk material to her thigh, where he paused and took a breath as he closed his eyes.

After what seemed like an eternity, most likely because changing a person with your eyes closed proved to be a challenging feat, the girl lay on the bed in a warm pair of boxers, gray sweat pants, and a white t-shirt, all rather large on her smaller frame. Pein let out a slight sigh of relief that she remained asleep throughout the procedure.

Without another moment's hesitation, he brushed a few remaining bits of snow out of her hair before moving her so she was bundled up under the blankets. His godmother used to be a nurse when she was younger, so he had grown up having to listen to "in case of this" rants, one of which was an explanation of what to do in the case of possible hypothermia. For the first time in his life, he was glad he had actually paid a bit of attention to such talks. The possibility of putting her in some warm water had crossed his mind earlier, but his godmothers words had come back to him, reminding him that it was a dangerous combination since the sudden increase of temperature could cause a dramatic shift in her heartbeat, and possibly causing a heart attack. The best thing he could do for now was to turn the heat up and bundle her under as many layers as possible, even if it meant adding towels to the top.

Pein had no clue how long it would take for the stranger to wake up, so he pulled up a chair next to the bed and pulled out his cell phone, already fully aware that there was no chance of making it to work today. He was going to make sure this girl was alright,no matter how long it took, and he already knew there was no way he'd get fired for missing one friday to help someone.

"Yo, Nagato!" The cheerful voice of his godfather resounded through the speaker as soon as he had picked up on the second ring. "What's up?" He wasn't one to beat around the bush, and he knew Pein was hardly one to call just for a casual chit chat about what he was having for dinner or whatever most people yapped on about.

"I won't be coming in to work today, I'm sorry."

"Oh? This is unusual for you. Ya sick or somethin'?" His cheery tone had morphed into something more along the lines of curiosity, although he knew it was unlikely for the man to be sick, else he would have come out and started off with that.

"No..." Pein took a moment to pause, trying to think of how exactly he explained his current situation. "You see, I found this girl-"

"Ohhh!" His dad exclaimed, the sound quickly followed by a booming laugh. "I see, I see! I understand completely, don't worry about work, I'll tell everyone you're feelin' a little under the weather."

"Dad, that isn't what-" Pein tried getting a word in, trying to explain to his dad what he had originally meant to say, but was cut off once more.

"You better treat her right, else she'll break that pretty little face of yours." Pein suspected he was saying that out of past experience. His godfather was known for being a bit of a player, after all. "And don't forget to be safe. Have fun!" With a click, the call dropped before Pein could get another word in.

The auburn-haired man sighed, unsurprised, yet still a bit frustrated. How like his father to jump to conclusions. Either way, he decided, it didn't matter. He could always just explain about the strange girl the next time he saw him.

Pein slid his cell phone back into his pocket once more before moving to pick up the book on his night table, hand hovering just above the object as his eyes shifted to the flower that lay next to it. It was origami, he had realized, but there was something that had confused him. As he picked it up, he thought back, wondering how it was possible for just the flower to be perfectly dry. Hadn't the girl fallen in the river? It was possible that she had gotten the flower after falling in, but where could it have come from?

Pein decided the only way to get answers to ask the girl directly, but that required her to be awake. His only option left was to wait. Luckily for him, Pein was a fairly patient man, but as he tried to get back into reading his book, he found his mind kept straying to the indigo-haired woman in front of him, to the point where he accidentally gave himself a paper cut upon trying to turn a page absentmindedly.

Eventually, Pein gave up trying to read. With his thoughts wandering so much, he had hardly gotten any further in the book within the last hour. He stood up and made his way to the kitchen before turning on the Keurig, figuring he'd make himself another cup. He didn't particularly need it as much as he felt it would help pass the time slightly, but that was a good enough reason.

It only took a few minutes before the machine had heated up the water and brewed a cup. He took it back with him to his room and sat down once again, blowing on it gently so it would cool. As he was attempting to take a sip, he heard a slight shifting of bed sheets, and raised his ringed eyes so they were on the stranger.

The woman let out a quiet groan before slowly opening her eyes, bright amber eyes glaring at the ceiling in poorly-hidden confusion. She then brought herself up into a sitting position; something Pein decided not to help with as to not startle the poor girl.

She raised a hand and pulled the winter hat off her head, scowling at it as if the article of clothing had somehow offended her before placing it on the sheets next to her. It was then that she seemed to notice the man sitting beside her, and raised a dark purple brow in questioning. "Who are you?" She asked, voice laced with suspicion.

"I could ask you the same." Pein replied rather curtly before going on to answer her question, as he himself was someone who hated when others avoided giving a response. "My name is Nagato, but my friends call me Pein."

"I see." She stated before turning her head to take in her surroundings.

Pein awaited for her to say something else, but it didn't appear as if she planned to go on. "Mind telling me who you might be?"

"Konan." The woman didn't turn her head to respond, her eyes solely fixated on the window, watching the snow slowly sink to the ground just beyond the glass.

"And do you remember what happened?" He prodded, having realized the strange woman didn't plan on saying more than she felt was necessary. She was even worse at conversation than he.

Lazy amber eyes moved to look at him, the slightest expression of confusion sprinkled across her face. "What do you mean? I was passed out, of course I don't remember."

Pein had to hold back a sigh as he proceeded to clarify his words. "What I meant was, do you remember how you ended up in the river? Before you passed out."

Konan, as she called herself, gave a small nod. "Of course. I decided to take a bath, why do you ask?"

Pein could hardly believe what he had heard. She had decided to take a dip in the icy river on one of the coldest days so far this season? But that would also explain why the origami flower was mostly dry, considering she had probably taken it out before going into the water.

"You didn't think that perhaps you could have gotten hypothermia and died if I hadn't found you?"

The woman blinked for a moment, seeming to take in what he said. "It hadn't occurred to me at the time. I'm not exactly used to having to be careful of such things."

Pein was honestly considering calling an ambulance and having them take this woman to the psych ward, for her own safety, but he had to admit, he was curious and wanted her to continue. "What do you mean?" He asked, encouraging her to go on.

"I'm an angel." She explained, tone completely serious. "Or more specifically, I used to be. I'm what my people call a "fallen angel" now. So, the rules of death have never applied to me before now."

Pein could tell from her tone that this girl wasn't joking. So, he decided to respond the same way any sane person would. "I think you hit your head. Let's get you to the doctor."

Konan scowled at him, clearly not amused. "Do not insult me. Although I know nothing about human culture and lore that consists of us, I am aware of the fact many do not believe we exist. However, it's also foolish of you to automatically dismiss any claims of us being real. Simply because you do not have any proof that we exist does not mean that we're fake."

Pein had to admit, she made a rather valid point. But, there was still nothing proving she wasn't just some crazy woman. "Fair enough. But I still see no reason to believe your claims."

"If I was still a full angel, I would have no problem showing you. However, since I am a fallen angel now, I am basically just like any other human. I have a human body, and just about no power. The most I can do now is heal small wounds, but even that ability is pretty limited. And unfortunately, I can't heal myself."

Pein suddenly remembered the paper cut he had given himself while waiting for her to wake up. "What about this?" He asked, holding out his finger to show her.

Konan, in response, lifted her hand, brushing her fingers over the cut lightly. Pein instantly noticed the dull stinging had stopped, and stared at the spot where the cut had been as soon as she removed her fingers, rather impressed. There wasn't a single sign of it ever being there.

"Impressive." He admitted. Not very impressive considering it was only a paper cut, but for someone to be able to fully heal something in a split second was more than he had ever heard of happening in reality.

"It was only a tiny cut, I wouldn't imagine something like that would make someone suddenly change their belief in what's real and what isn't, nor would it make anyone drop their suspicion that I'm mentally unstable." She pointed out, matter-of-factly.

"That's true." He couldn't exactly say he was convinced by that small act, but at the same time, he wasn't sure how else to explain it. As he was thinking things over, he considered another option. "Do you know of someone named Kurotsuchi Iwa?" Kurotsuchi was Deidara's younger sister, who had died of a rare disease two years ago. If there were such a thing as angels, then was it possible this one might know about people who died in the past.

A slight smirk spread across the indigo-haired girl's lips. "In fact, I do. I have heard stories that humans believe when good people die, they become angels and watch over their loved ones. However, that's not the case. Once one angel, such as myself, becomes a fallen angel, another newly deceased person takes their place. Kurotsuchi happened to be one. If you want proof I know her, I can tell you she has short black hair and eyes, looks like she died at about sixteen. Although I can't say much about her personality; once someone becomes an angel they have their memories erased and their emotions restrained. We basically become like dolls at that point. Our only purpose is to take the life of those who's time has come."

Now Pein was interested. She knew about Deidara's sister and could heal wounds, he didn't exactly have any other way to explain it other than that what this girl was claiming was the truth. Intrigued, he urged her to continue. "Then how does one become a "fallen angel"?"

"After many years of being an angel, the restraint that is cast on our emotions wears thin, and we become a bit merciful. We start taking pity instead of life. As for me, I let two people who were supposed to die live, in one day. That's what people call "miracles". The other angels weren't too fond of that, and so, I was stripped of my wings, turned into a human, and cast upon the Earth once more. The point of forcing a fallen angel to live on Earth is so that they learn what life is really like for humans. So we learn that there is no such thing as mercy when it comes to pain or death. We learn just how cruel the world really is. Once we're stuck on Earth, either whatever emotions we regained are killed, or we die like the humans we take the lives of."

It was a morbid reality, Pein decided, sitting back in his chair as he pondered over what the angel had just said. "So does that mean if you don't get rid of your emotions within a certain time, you'll be killed?"

"No, nothing like that," Konan dismissed, with a slight wave of her hand, "but a human's life is short compared to the lifespan of an angel, so they don't bother going out of their way to kill someone who's not already on their death bed. To angels, a human's life is short enough, although for people, it's the longest thing you'll ever experience. Most fallen angels can't survive as humans for more than a few days, and the few that do learn how to survive, eventually die of old age."

"I see." Pein concluded, realizing what kind of dilemma she was in. "So basically, you don't know how to survive, and you have no place to go?"

Konan confirmed with a small nod, confused as to where he was going with his question.

"In that case, you can stay with me."

Amber eyes widened in shock, hardly believing what the pierced man was saying. But before she could get a word in, he spoke up again.

"On one condition."

"Of course." Was her reply. Frankly, she didn't want to die. Not yet. Perhaps there wasn't much to look forward to in her future, but she couldn't explain why she had the urge to live. It could be human nature, she decided, the part of the brain that drives every person to stay alive. Either way, she wanted to live, and she would do whatever he wanted if that's what it took. "Anything."

"I want you come with me to the hospital. Just to make sure nearly dying of hypothermia didn't do any permanent damage."

Konan's eyes reflected her surprise for a brief moment before a gentle smile made its way onto her lips. "That's hardly a condition." She pointed out, already moving to get out of bed. She paused for a moment, noticing that she was no longer in her silk dress but instead in a t-shirt and baggy sweat pants.

"Sorry, I had to get you out of your wet clothes. I promise I didn't look." Pein, of course, had caught on to her realization, but Konan just shrugged it off, not caring about such things.

The hospital visit went by fairly quickly. Being in such an unpopulated city was a benefit when it came to the hospital, as they didn't have to wait behind a ton of other patients. When the doctor asked what had happened, Pein simply explained he had been going for a walk with his cousin, and she had dropped her scarf in the water and fallen in trying to reach for it. Thankfully, they seemed to have bought the story, and explained that she would be perfectly fine.

Just as the two of them got home, Pein heard a quiet rumble, and glanced over to see Konan glaring daggers at her stomach in annoyance. It suddenly occurred to him that she probably hadn't anything to eat recently.

"I'll make prepare for lunch." He decided before heading to the kitchen, Konan following in step behind him like a lost puppy. He decided not to say anything else as she watched him over his shoulder as he put together a couple of sandwiches, and plead them on the table before taking a seat at his kitchen table, motioning for her to take the seat across from him. She did so, and sat there, staring at the sandwich in front of her. Pein raised his own lunch to his lips before pausing, watching her closely as she eyed down the meal.

"Do you not like ham and cheese?" He asked, raising an eyebrow in questioning.

The woman glanced at him, before looking back down at her sandwich once more, deciding to pick it up, but not taking a bite just yet as she continued to glance between him and the sandwich.

"Is something wrong?" Pein prodded, curious as to what was stopping her as her stomach let out another growl.

Konan let out a tiny cough, something Pein recognized as a sign of being embarrassed. Finally, she began to speak. "Uh... What... do I do with this?"

Pein stared incredulously at the girl in front of him, making her scowl and tun her head away upon noticing the look her was giving her. "You don't know how to eat?"

Konan was silent for a moment before letting out a quiet "no", her previous scowl gone, but still refusing to meet his eyes.

Pein had to admit, this was quite amusing. And honestly, the way she was embarrassed to admit that she didn't know something reminded him of a small child. He realized, for a moment, that it was actually pretty cute.

"Just say so next time." He told her, noticing her face form into what seemed to be a small pout. "Put the sandwich in your mouth, move your jaw up and down to chew, and then swallow." As she finally turned to look at him, he took a bite out of his own sandwich to show her.

Instead of following her example, she gave him a rather confused look. "So I have to shove this thing down my throat? Don't I use my throat to breath? Why would I do that?"

Pein let out a small sigh, finally realizing what he had gotten himself into. "Because humans need food to live. That's how we eat, and that's how you'll stop your stomach from growling at you."

"And what happens if I don't eat? Is eating really that important that we have to do this every day even though it stops us from breathing, which could also kill us?"

"Three times a day, to be exact. And if you don't eat, then your body won't get the nutrients it needs, you'll be exhausted to the point where you can't even move, you'll start hallucinating, and your stomach will be in excruciating pain as your body digests itself from the inside out. Which, for the record, is what causes your stomach to growl."

Konan's eyes widened in horror at his explanation. Perhaps he had been a bit too detailed; a simple "you'll die" would have gotten the point across, but she had asked, so he gave her a full answer.

Hesitantly, she raised the sandwich to her mouth and took a bite, looking more skeptical than Pein had seen yet.

Suddenly, her eyes widened in shock, and she swallowed before hastily taking another bite, eager for more.

Pein let out a light chuckle at her reaction. He supposed and angel wouldn't remember what food tasted like, so the introduction of another sense must be quite the experience.

"This is amazing!" Konan declared, her mouth still full.

"It's nothing special, just a sandwich." Pein simply shrugged before beginning to eat his own lunch.

"Just?" The angel repeated in confusion.

"There's tons of different kinds of food." The pierced man explained after swallowing the bit of sandwich that was in his mouth. "Many cultures have their own foods. Sandwiches are usually something you throw together when you don't feel like spending a lot of time preparing a food.

Konan looked amazed, amber eyes sparkling in the light. "I wanna try them all!" She declared aloud.

Pein gave a small chuckle. "Trust me, you don't. Not all of them taste good, and there's a lot to try."

The determined look that shone on Konan's face fell, leaving her her with only disappointment. "Well that's too bad."

The pierced man could only give a small smile in return before assuring her there were many more things she had yet to experience, which she, in response, demanded to know about instantly. It was strange, having this peculiar woman staying with him. But, it was something he was going to have to get used to for the time being.

***dies* ahhhh I wanted to finish this by Mousey's birthday but it's like 3 weeks past and I still have so little done ;A; I'm so sorry it took so long Mousey, but here's the first chapter, at the very least. I'll try to finish it quickly but I did think of a few more ideas that I wouldn't be able to incorporate if I wanted to finish it as soon as possible, but now that I at least have a section, I'll try to get those parts added in as well.**

**honestly, I wasn't planning on adding Sasori, but my SasoDei fangirl took over and well... hehe.**


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Naruto, Humor, Romance