Even in the midst of the investigation, Toru walked at a relaxed pace with Konan.
It's been more than four days since Sasori died and Toru wasn't feeling too well. Although it was strange, Toru looked strangely depressed since that day.
Konan was looking at him out of the corner of her eye over and over again. Although Toru's expression didn't show any emotion, somehow he could feel a lonely feeling in his gaze.
'He's a child, it's normal. We all feel pain and young people are prone to feel it twice as much as adults' Konan knew that Toru got along quite well with Sasori and Deidara. In fact, she saw him smile a few times while talking to these two guys.
In Akatsuki everyone has different goals. Toru's goal is revenge, or so Konan gathered from what he researched about him.
She folded her arms and thought about it for a few seconds. She had become quite close to this boy, so... How would Toru's reaction be if Konan dies too? There were times when Toru seemed to enjoy killing his victims, times when he looked strangely lonely and depressed, and lastly, those deaths where he would stare into the void without saying a word.
'I must not let him die. Nagato said that he is an important piece in Akatsuki and, even if we can replace him if he should die, it won't be easy to find someone equal or better' Konan sighed and looked at Toru. 'Asahi Toru... they have murdered your entire clan, forced you to leave your village, the people you love and the place you considered home. You are so young and you have withstood all the suffering that comes with that very well' Somehow, she could find many similarities between Toru and that man who passed away that day during that tragic war.
Konan is not someone so cold-hearted. She has always been kind to those who deserve it and has been cold to those who don't deserve a place in this rotten world. Toru had somehow earned a place among the people she should treat with kindness.
Even though Toru has certain mental problems, when he is with people he trusts, he is quite docile, quite calm. Besides that he is a great monetary help to Akatsuki, thanks to his advances in pharmaceuticals and his physical and destructive power.
"It's raining again. Even though we're outside Amegakure, it's been raining quite a bit lately" Toru looked up at the sky for a few seconds.
After that, Konan decided not to think about this anymore. Toru is the priority in this trip, if he dies, it will have to be a long time until she finds someone equal or at least similar. Although Toru is strong, she believes that this boy is overconfident when fighting. That can be a fatal mistake, so she will make sure that this boy does not commit recklessness when fighting against any Jinchūriki, that is her mission.
"Should we rest, Konan-san? We've been walking for two days straight. I can continue, but I wanted to ask you that." Toru lifted his hat a little and looked at Konan.
She was quite thoughtful, but she could hear Toru's words and nodded her head.
"Then let's find some nearby town. You should also wear your hat."
The hat is used to hide the identity of Akatsuki members. Though almost no one except for Toru wears them. Sasori and Deidara used to wear them, but since they came to Suna they stopped wearing them. Consequently, Sasori died and now Deidara was left without a partner.
On the other hand, Toru wears the hat in case he encounters someone from Konoha who might recognize him. This way he makes sure that people close to him are not questioned regarding his hidden abilities.
"It's not necessary. I don't plan to hide my identity, it's not something that's necessary for me. Outside of Amegakure, I'm someone who doesn't exist, so without the hat I'll be fine."
"I see... it's fine" Toru looked at Konan again. He narrowed his eyes and thought about it for a few seconds. He hadn't realized it until now, but he had a beautiful woman by his side these past few months. 'It could be that I'm overthinking this, but Konan-san is quite beautiful. I think she's over 30, but she looks quite young' Slowly he moved closer to Konan, so he could see her better. 'She's pretty strong too, although in taijutsu she's always a bit... slow. Her ninjutsu is pretty good, but she always has quite a few weaknesses' He tilted his head curiously. 'If she trains enough a way to combine taijutsu and her ninjutsu, she'd improve a lot when it comes to fighting, plus she could lessen her weaknesses'
Konan watched as Toru approached her with that usual expressionless face. He seemed to be thinking about something, but she couldn't think what. Still, she felt a bit overwhelmed by this boy's gaze, but she decided to ignore him, even if that's kind of hard....
'Paper Kekkei Genkai is weak to many elements and forms of chakra. If he uses some sort of special paper resistant to these it would be pretty good, but I don't know where the paper comes from'
Konan sighed wearily. This had already become uncomfortable.
'She turns her body into paper. I wonder if her organs also turn into paper, or is it just something like an illusion' He moved even closer, coming within a meter of Konan. 'Well, if that's the case it would be more difficult. I should perhaps imbue the paper with some special compound, but that still leaves his taijutsu weakness'
...
...
Konan stopped and looked at Toru. The latter noticed this woman's gaze.
She frowned and folded her arms. Toru looked at her curiously and couldn't help but try to figure out why she looked so annoyed, that frowning expression was something Toru was seeing for the first time on Konan, so he didn't know what to say. "Hm, what's wrong?
...
A paper hand stuck on Toru's face. He was left processing what had happened, but when he removed the paper hand from his face, he realized that Konan had moved a few more meters ahead.
Somehow he had made Konan upset, but he didn't know what he had done to provoke that reaction.
"Well... at least she didn't hit me."
...
In the end, he continued walking beside Konan without thinking so much about what had happened again. Although he discovered something new about this woman, she could change that serene and pleasant expression to an annoyed one.
-Hidden Village of Sunflower-
After a few more hours of walking, Toru and Konan managed to find a small village. There were few people and most of them seemed to be tourists and travelers.
There were small Japanese style houses, plus somehow there were fairly large inns. If this was a town where travelers could stay, this seemed to be the perfect place. And as the name said, there were beautiful sunflowers planted in the nearby mountains, somehow making them look yellow.
Konan looked at all this and smiled slightly. Seeing such a peaceful and lively town brought a good feeling to her heart.
"Let's find an inn. I'll pay" Toru adjusted his hat and set foot inside the village. A few people saw him enter, but then ignored him. 'Looks like they don't know Akatsuki here. That's one less problem' Toru looked around and quickly found the perfect inn.
Following Toru, Konan entered the inn and an old woman appeared.
"Oh, my. Two young shinobi, looking for a room? Come in, don't be shy, you can find what you're looking for here" The old woman smiled and over thought the situation as she saw a boy and a woman alone in an inn.
"I'm looking for a small room. If you have a kitchen or something I can cook in that would be perfect" Toru acted normal, with his expressionless face and dead look.
Konan agreed with Toru's decision. A single room for the two of them was what she was going to ask for, though she thought Toru preferred more privacy, though considering this boy usually slept in the great room lying on the floor it wasn't that strange.
Hearing Toru's request, the old woman smiled kindly.
"I see. Then follow me, I have what you are looking for" The woman walked into the large inn leading Toru and Konan. "Not many couples usually come to this small town, so it's a very nice thing to have you here. Normally our village is usually visited by renegade shinobi or travelers going around the world looking for opportunities."
Ignoring the part about the old woman believing Toru and Konan to be a couple, this boy thought that having renegade ninja around these parts would be a dangerous thing. Although, if they are there, it shouldn't be such a bad thing.
Besides, if the old woman knew Konan's age, she would believe that this visit would be that of a mother and child.
"Here it is. If you need a kitchen, this room has it. It's not small, though, so the nightly fee is-"
Toru interrupts.
"Don't worry about the money, we're only staying for one night."
"Hm... I see. In any case, you must pay at the entrance. My daughter is there. Don't fall in love with her, fufufu."
The old woman, after leaving Toru and Konan in the room, slowly walked away. This left them time to check the room a little.
...
"Yes, the room is big. It's a waste, but I'm hungry so it doesn't matter anymore" Opening one of the paper doors, Toru saw an old traditional stove made of stone. It was quite good, and only used firewood. Using Katōn he was able to light it easily.
Once they made sure everything in the room wasn't suspicious, Toru took out a scroll and put it on the floor.
"Release."
A small cloud of smoke covered the scroll and there were the parts of a skinned rabbit ready to cook. It was a bit cruel, as in order to hunt the rabbit, Toru ended up piercing it with a kunai.
"The rabbit..."
Konan recalled the moment when Toru surprisingly threw a kunai somewhere. What he learned later was that there was a dead rabbit in Toru's hands.
"I'm going to cook it. I don't want it to go to waste, or this animal's death will be in vain."
"..."
Konan sat on the floor and looked out the window. It was already getting dusk and the night seemed to have a full moon.
At that moment, she watched as Toru manipulated the cooking utensils while swinging the vegetables back and forth.
"I'm no expert, but I know how to cook. I lived alone for a long time, so in order not to starve I had to learn many things. Among those things was cooking. Although it was made easier for me by going to the library for cookbooks. Well... the recipes never fit me like in the pictures. But it's edible at least."
"I could have done it."
Konan is certainly very good at cooking, so she didn't expect Toru to know how to cook. In the end, she was left watching this boy prepare a stew with a rabbit that died at this boy's whim. At least its meat didn't go to waste, though.
After almost an hour, Toru finished cooking and served what he prepared on two plates. The first one was handed to Konan, who accepted it with a small bow and the second one was taken by Toru as he sat on the floor looking at the plate.
"Fortunately in this village they sell rice, so at least we can fill our stomachs. Hm...?" Toru noticed that Konan was looking at the plate carefully. This led him to think of only one thing. "There's no poison in it, in case you ask."
Konan ignored that comment and picked up the chopsticks. "Itadakimasu" She took some of the rabbit meat and brought it to her mouth. She chewed it for a few seconds and sighed. 'It's quite normal...'
It was to be expected. Toru is not a master chef, he just follows the instructions on a piece of paper. The taste will always be monotonous. It will be good, but nothing out of this world.
Toru on the other hand, was concrete about his own food. The taste for him was also the same, nothing out of this world. Although he has also been eating this kind of food for two years, so the this kind of food no longer tasted the same as the first times he tried it.
Even after this, Toru finished eating and put the plate down. He leaned back on the floor and looked up at the ceiling.
In this kind of situation, Toru acted quite relaxed. Konan had already seen this in Amegakure. This boy is quite calm when he's not on some mission. A normal guy, or so it seems.
"Konan-san... Nagato-san wants to change the world and that's something I respect. Not just anyone would focus on something that is nearly impossible, but there will always be someone who will try to thwart the plans."
"Nagato wants what's best for the world. Even if he sacrifices himself in the process, even if there are lives to be taken, he will complete his mission as a god in this world and I will take it upon myself to help him."
...
"They call you Kami no Tenshi for a reason, and that makes quite a bit of sense. I, on the other hand, do not seek to change the world, in fact, I don't give a shit what happens to the world. I'm selfish and hypocritical, and I do whatever I want. Although, if it's to fulfill my goals, I'll collaborate with anyone without exception."
She understood a little of what Toru was talking about. It is true that at first glance you can see that Toru is quite selfish with things, other times he can look kind and on a few occasions, he can turn into a dark angel who will destroy everything.
If she has to choose one word to describe this guy it would be "unpredictable".
"Everyone in Akatsuki has our differences. Some seek power, others money. Nagato and I seek to change the world. Pain will make this world change" I finish eating and place the plate next to Toru's.
...
"Pain, uh..."
Pain was a word whose meaning had changed again and again in Toru's life. He could more or less understand the goal of this woman and Nagato.
He closed his eyes and sighed.
"Pain makes us into real people. That's what Nagato said when I first came to Amegakure. Maybe he's not wrong."
...
"He's not wrong. Pain helps us move forward, helps us grow and think on our own."
...
...
'Did he fall asleep?'
Toru had fallen asleep halfway through the conversation. This kid doesn't sleep much, so sleep overcame him this time.
Konan looked out the window. Night has fallen, the moon was rising high in the sky and the lights in the village began to turn on.
She turned her gaze to the sleeping boy. She narrowed her eyes and smiled slightly, but then that smile slowly disappeared and she went to the corner of the room. There, she folded her arms and closed her eyes.
'Tomorrow... we must continue our search.'
With that, the night went on as usual. A night, where two people who have suffered could rest peacefully after so long.
______
I am back!
Ha~ life as an adult is garbage and even more so if you live in a country like mine. I don't want to work! But I have to, otherwise I'd starve to death and run out of internet.