Konan had never expected something like this to happen. It had started out as a normal day for her: following Pein's orders, dealing with obnoxious members, and keeping an eye on the new guy. Unfortunately, the last part proved to be a bit more difficult than she originally thought.

It had been almost midnight when she stalked down the hall toward the kitchen for a glass of water. Beverage obtained, the paper kunoichi stumbled back to her room, half asleep. She was unaware enough to stumble into the wrong room. Before she knew it, Konan found herself in her neighboring bedroom—Uchiha Itachi's room.

Like any normal person, she froze in place to prevent the sleeping boy from awakening. She needed to leave before Itachi noticed her presence.

But something stopped her.

Their newest member, who'd barely been here for three weeks, was… tossing and turning? He looked like he was having a rather violent nightmare.

Normally, seeing a thirteen-year-old boy distraught like this wouldn't bother her. She'd been a victim of the same thing at that age, and she'd seen children younger than him slaughtered mercilessly by Pein himself.

But this was Uchiha Itachi—Uchiha freaking Itachi tossing in turning in his sleep like the child he was. The first time he'd graced their organization with his presence, he'd carried himself with a maturity far beyond his years. His face was an emotionless façade impossible to break through. His skills were sharp and deadly, just like everything else about him. And his eyes—those beautiful, dangerous crimson eyes… Konan had seen her fair share of kekki genkai, but Itachi's sharingan was truly something to behold

Itachi also had a reputation to match his mettle. Word of his ruthlessness had even reached her ears. Then there was also the fact that he'd slaughtered his entire clan, but nobody knew exactly why. Rumors told her that he'd just been bored.

But after she actually met him, Konan knew that the reason had to be deeper than that. Itachi was an odd child, but even in the short time span of three weeks, she could tell that he had a value for human life. He never killed just because he felt like it. He only did so if there was absolutely no other way out. Randomly slaughtering his entire family didn't fit the Uchiha's behavior pattern. But even with this knowledge, Konan had never been stupid enough to actually question it.

Nonetheless, he had a way with making other members fear him, even the ones nearly twice his age. Kisame had ten years on him, and that shark seemed terrified of him. They got along, but the two of them were hardly close. Sasori didn't care much for him, and Orochimaru had an interest in the Uchiha that made Konan feel rather protective for some reason. Hidan and Kakuzu hated everybody, and Zetsu only liked dead people. Itachi had certainly chosen a peculiar crowd to join.

And now here he was in front of her, inadvertently revealing his only moment of weakness: when he slept.

People always told her that a person's true self comes out when they sleep, when their guard is completely dropped and the body repairs itself. Serene people typically had a still, tranquil way of slumber, and stressed people tended to be light, restless sleepers—but Itachi's way of sleeping gave a whole new meaning to the word "stressed."

Against her better judgement, Konan inched into the darkness of the Uchiha's room, the only light coming from the dimly lit torches of the Akatsuki hallway. Konan didn't know what it was, whether her sympathy as a woman or some nonexistent maternal instinct that she'd never considered herself to have. Whatever it was, she kept moving.

Her quiet steps continued until she reached the Uchiha on his bed. The violent nightmare continued, and it agonized her to watch. Konan reached out a nail-painted hand until it touched the Uchiha's grimaced face.

Before she could logic herself out of doing such a thing, the Uchiha ceased his movements, even if only for a moment. When she withdrew her hand, it continued, but when she gently placed it back, it ceased again.

Was that the key? Human contact?

Suspecting as much, Konan inched closer, her hand cupping the boy's cheek.

It wasn't until Konan fully rested herself against the bed that Itachi looked completely relaxed. Without her realizing it, he had cuddled against her, whispering unintelligible murmurings into her well-endowed chest.

Regardless of his age, whatever this child had done, he was haunted by it.

So, she stayed there. Konan didn't know how long, but she did know that she fell asleep, at least for a little while. When she awoke, it had been hours. Itachi remained asleep but would likely not be for long.

In a final moment of tenderness, Konan brushed the dark hair out of his eyes and then left the room, still not waking him.

As she slipped out of the room, Konan told herself that the one experience would be her last.

But it wasn't.

The next night, she stumbled back to the base, exhausted, but not as unaware as before.

She just wanted to check on him, she told herself, to see if the nightmare was a one-time occurrence.

He looked troubled, same as before. She inched forward, her hand reached for his cheek. Just as it made contact, once again, he calmed.

Before Konan knew it, she crawled back into bed with him. His face found its way back into her chest, and her arms encircled the boy's shoulders. Both of them relaxed, and, from there, fell asleep, once again.

And, somehow, that became her routine.

She certainly wasn't there every night. Neither was he, considering missions, but she managed at least four nights a week and, every time she checked on him, he appeared restless and strained until she made her way over and lay down with him.

Human contact seemed to be the only tactic that worked. And somehow, she remained unnoticed. With having her own room, especially one right next to the Uchiha's, no one noticed when she was or wasn't there, but one morning, she lingered just a bit too long.

Somehow she knew, but Konan ignored the voice in her head telling her too move.

Just a bit longer, she told herself. He gets to sleep longer and so do I.

But how wrong she was. She'd gotten away with it for nearly two weeks, sneaking in and leaving before anything happened. But this time, she awoke to a jolting feeling in her arms, and when her amber eyes opened, a pair of coal black orbs met her gaze.

Itachi was awake.

He didn't say anything, he just stared at her, limbs frozen, eyes wide. Konan didn't know how to respond.

"What are you doing here?' his voice was high, higher than she remembered. Contrary to how mature Itachi acted, he'd barely hit puberty.

"You looked restless." She answered simply. He didn't know how long she'd been coming here. Or at least, she hoped he didn't.

Itachi didn't say anything after that. His gaze lowered back down to her chest where he'd previously lain. Konan's nail painted fingers caressed the back of his head, and he seemed to like that.

"Why were you frightened?" Konan went out on a limb and simply asked, hoping he was tired enough to not attempt anything violent.

"Nightmares," the Uchiha murmured. "Just nightmares."

He didn't tell her to leave. He didn't even tense. He just fell back asleep against her chest. By the time morning came, Konan did as she did every other night, but as she left, Itachi awoke once again.

Sleep glazed eyes stared at her, questioning her motives. In the kindest voice Konan could muster, she told him.

"My room is open any time you wish for company."

She hadn't expected him to actually take her up on that offer, but one night, when she didn't go to him, he came to her.

Konan had been nearly asleep. She was in her nighttime clothes and lying down, eyes closed. But then she heard a faint creaking and felt a sliver of light on her closed eyelids as the door opened.

She tensed, prepared to reach for the kunai on her nightstand, but then she heard tiny footsteps, footsteps that could only belong to a child.

Her suspicions were confirmed when she felt the covers move to her side. The warmth of another person joined her beneath the bedspread, his face buried in her back. She didn't move to let him know she was awake, fearing he may run.

His breathing against her spine was uneven and choppy, as if he were holding back tears or, worse yet, hyperventilating. After a few minutes like that, his breathing seemed to slow, and, after what felt like an eternity, they were both asleep.

When she awoke in the morning, he was gone, but the imprint left beside her on the mattress confirmed his presence, that the encounter was not a dream and had actually happened.

Three more times, Itachi ventured into her room, and each time, she pretended to be asleep. That is, until the third time when she felt a wetness against her back and his uneven breathing indicated he was indeed crying. She could only taking the quiet sobbing for so long until she brought her hand up to squeeze his, indicating that she was there.

Just like the first time he realized her presence, Itachi froze.

He didn't run as she had initially feared. He stayed there, breathing halted and body unmoving. She turned so he wasn't facing her back anymore, and indeed, there were tears in his eyes. She outstretched her arms to him, and, without hesitation, he embraced her.

Nail-painted hands stroked his hair, soothing the Uchiha as he cried untold sorrows into her bosom. She fastened the crimson hair tie from his usual ponytail onto her wrist as she worked, caressing the Uchiha's silky strands of dark hair.

This wasn't the cold-hearted killer everyone said he was. This was barely a teenager, scared and lonely just like everyone else in the world. Whatever lies Itachi told to make others fear him had worked, but not on her. Not when she saw him like this.

Konan didn't need to know the whole story to know this was the closest to a mother's love Itachi had ever received. Konan knew he had a younger brother, a brother that he had spared, but from what she inferred, the younger sibling had received the majority of his mother's attention.

She didn't know what Itachi had seen to make him so uneasy, restless even as he slept, but, if it was anything like her childhood, she knew enough.

The next morning, she recognized the Uchiha's hair tie on her wrist. She kept it there, as a reminder, not bothering to take it off as she prepared for the day. Pein even took notice of it, questioning what the paper kunoichi was doing with such a bright ribbon on her pale wrist.

She had simply told him that it was a spice of color in her otherwise dull life, almost like a streak of blood to remind her of what their enemies deserved. Nagato hadn't pried much after that, but, judging by his expression, he suspected there was more to the story. The next morning, Itachi attended the meeting with his hair down, looking oddly like a girl with such a smooth, youthful face and long eyelashes. As she passed him in the hallway, Konan discreetly returned the Uchiha's hair tie, and he nodded a silent thank you.

The next night, Konan once again came to him, but this time found him merely restless rather than crying. He was awake, but the two had become used to each other's presences by now and, if anything, found it difficult to fall asleep without a companion.

With such an understanding, Konan lingered the next morning, this time not fearing if Itachi should run. They'd developed this much of a bond—why should it matter now?

Unfortunately, it wasn't Itachi she had to worry about. It was Kisame.

Konan hadn't known the Uchiha had such an early mission. Normally, Pein would notify her of each member's missions, but whether it was because it slipped his mind or she was too busy telling him about the hair tie on her wrist, she hadn't known.

The paper kunoichi's heart nearly leapt out of her chest when she heard the door open. It was barely dawn, and in the weeks they'd been at such an activity, no one had intruded.

Aside from his massive chakra, Kisame's silver eyes were unmistakable as, without knocking, he simply barged in, prepared to bark at the Uchiha that it was time to go, likely earlier than intended. Instead, he was met with Konan's gaze as silver orbs stared into narrowed amber.

She expected him to say something. To yell, to shout, to berate—anything. But he didn't. The shark merely closed his mouth, ceasing whatever word or sentence he had been about to utter, took one more look at the boy pressed into Konan's chest, and walked out, shutting the door behind him not loudly, but loud enough that Itachi began to stir.

Konan left before he fully awoke, but not to return to her own room. Instead, she pursued the shark. His back was to her, but, despite being in her nightclothes and barely awake, Konan was quick to catch up with him.

"Kisame!" she called the shark's name, and he turned his broad shoulders toward her—shoulders so much larger than Itachi's.

"That—" Konan began.

"Is none of my business," Kisame finished, hands raised in the air as if he wanted to hear no more of it.

"It's not like that," Konan attempted to keep her tone as deadpan as possible, but with the color blooming on her cheeks, it was easier said than done.

Is that what he thought of her? Some female version of Orochimaru, who only had an eye for the most vulnerable of little children? Come to think of it, that snake would likely kill to be in a position like hers.

"I am simply his companion," Konan tried to explain, but even that sounded wrong the moment the words left her lips.

Kisame raised a blue eyebrow, and Konan tried again.

"He has nightmares," she said instead.

This time, Kisame's tone was not accusatory. "I could have told you that," he scoffed.

But you're not a woman, Konan wanted to say. He didn't understand the instinctive need to protect a child from the horrors people like them had seen, horrors that Itachi had clearly already experienced and seemed to relive every night.

"I'm just trying to help."

She wasn't some pervert sexually interested in thirteen-year-old boys. She'd only loved Yahiko. No one else.

"I'm old enough to be his mother," she added.

"Probably do more good than she ever did." Kisame's next words surprised her. His back turned to her once again, but she could still hear him. "What you and Itachi do in private is none of my concern."

And, as he walked away from her, likely back to his own room or down the hallway toward the main room, Konan knew that it was in no way a warning for her to stop. For whatever reason, Kisame was okay with this.

Her supposition was confirmed when Itachi returned to her room the next night. Not shaking, not crying, just… relieved. Like he was finally home.

Clearly, Kisame had not told him of their encounter, otherwise Itachi would not be here.

She'd been awake, waiting for the Uchiha, and greeted the boy with open arms and a kind smile, even if he could not see her clearly in the darkness of the paper kunoichi's room.

She played with his hair until they both slept, his hair tie once again repositioned onto her wrist. When she awoke first the next morning, she returned the red ribbon on the nightstand for him to retrieve when he awoke, but what she did not expect was Pein's harsh words upon meeting with him later than morning. By then, Kisame and Itachi were long gone on yet another mission.

"I noticed something odd this morning," her childhood friend began, and at first, Konan thought nothing of it.

"What is it, Nagato?" she asked, her tone inquisitive, caring. And then the ringed gaze on Yahiko's face turned cold.

"Our newest member Uchiha Itachi, leaving your room early this morning."

The paper kunoichi's blood ran cold. What little luck she had been given with Kisame's acceptance had quickly run out with Akatsuki's supposed leader.

So, Konan attempted something she had never before done in Nagato's presence—she lied.

"Our rooms are right next to each other. Perhaps he was mistaken as to which one is his," Konan suggested.

"Mistaken all night?" his ringed gaze narrowed. "Surely you would have noticed."

There was no hiding it. Konan capitulated with a sigh.

"He is only thirteen, new to Akatsuki and just as new to being a rogue ninja."

"As if his age is any excuse. At such a young age, he has already achieved ANBU captain status and murdered an entire clan. I do not wish for him to pass such cruelty onto you."

So Nagato wasn't jealous? He was worried for her safety?

"Uchiha Itachi will not hurt me," she assured softly. A small smile formed on her lips as she recalled the boy, so much smaller than everyone else here, curled up at her chest. "If he were going to hurt me, he would have done it by now."

"He lived among his brethren for thirteen years before slaughtering them without so much as a warning," Nagato retorted. "Time means nothing to him."

But it does, Konan wanted to say. Konan wanted to tell him about the Uchiha's nightmares, about the vulnerability that he had shown her. But if she did, she would betray the trust Itachi had shown her, the trust that had taken months to build.

"If you wish for such an occurrence to end, then it shall. All I ask is for one more night to explain it to him."

"And one more night to risk your safety?" Usually, Nagato didn't care what the other members did behind closed doors. As long as it didn't involve her.

"Just one more night," Konan reiterated, and then added, "I will have my guard up. I promise."

Something in the paper kunoichi's stomach dropped. Perhaps dread, perhaps sadness, perhaps a mix of both. One way or another, she did not look forward to her next encounter with the Uchiha in the way that she usually did.

Sure enough, the Uchiha returned to her later that night, the same relieved look on his face as he ventured into the dimly lit expanse that was her room. At this point, it had become habit for whichever of them went to bed first to leave a light on for the other person.

The sight only pained her all the more to do what she did next.

"Itachi," her tone was soft, as soothing as she could make it as she untied his hair and ran her fingers through the silky locks. Far silkier than hers had ever been. Not fair, considering Itachi was most definitely a boy and did not use any additional products that she knew of.

Neither of them had spoken a word to each other since her offer to him all those weeks ago to visit whenever he liked. Somehow, he knew something wasn't right.

His dark eyes met her gaze, sharingan deactivated, unlike when she saw him in the meeting room or out in the light of day.

"What is it, Konan?" he asked, sounding more like a child than ever before. Judging by the look in his dark eyes, he knew what she was going to say.

"This can't continue," she said quietly. He didn't respond. His shoulders didn't even sag. He simply lay there for nearly a minute, eyes unchanging.

"I understand," he finally said, only pulling at the tattered remains of Konan's heart even more. She couldn't tell the rest of Akatsuki what a gentle boy this was, how hurt he had been. All she could do is watch as she added yet another injury to his already wounded heart.

"I'm sorry." Her words were as deadpan as his, but more full of underlying emotion than Itachi had any idea.

"I'll be fine," he said to her. Her fingers had stopped running through his hair. Now her hands were still, one of them cupping his cheek just like the first night, whether Itachi remembered it or not.

The paper kunoichi, in an act of what most would consider complete stupidity, pressed her lips against the boy's forehead. Tears slid from his eyes, but she pretended not to notice and simply held him. They fell asleep like that, the light of Konan's lamp still lit. Kakuzu would be angry if he found out, murmuring something about the electric bill or whatnot, but Konan didn't care.

At least for now, she wanted to be able to see him, to remember this moment for whatever remained of both their lives.

His sleep appeared nightmare-less, or at least minimal, considering Itachi slept until morning. For the first time, they awoke together. Konan felt Itachi's grip around her midsection.

The Uchiha rose to return to his room, but Konan reached out a manicured hand to stop him.

The paper kunoichi sat up, now eye level with the Uchiha, considering he currently stood on the floor. Still holding his tiny, oddly thin arm, Konan held out her opposite hand, where an origami rose much like the one in her hair began to form. When she finished, she presented it to the boy.

"For you," she said quietly and released his arm.

His eyes were blank, but there was a smile ever so slightly present at the corner of his mouth.

In response, for whatever reason, the Uchiha reached behind his head and tugged out his crimson hair tie. Upon waking up, he had since refastened his ponytail, only for it to be taken out so quickly after.

Just like she had with the flower, he presented her with the hair tie, and wordlessly, Konan took it, smiling to herself. She reattached the ribbon to her wrist, as it had been when Pein had commented, while Itachi humored her another brief glance at the origami flower.

"Thank you." Although Itachi hadn't said it, Konan had been thinking it, so she said it for both of them. He nodded in an odd sort of agreement and, still in her sitting position on the bed, Konan kissed his forehead one last time and pulled the boy into an embrace.

His hands came up behind her back, returning the embrace and, after much too short a time, let go.

The Uchiha left the room without another word or so much as a glance, and that was the last time Itachi ever set foot in the paper kunoichi's room.

Although she never watched him sleep again, Konan was there to watch the boy grow from the hallways and when he checked into the meeting room between missions.

He grew taller, his voice changed, and, most noticeably of all, those lines beneath his eyes only became deeper, indicating sleep deprivation.

But, as cold as he was to the other members, including his partner Kisame, something always softened in his gaze when he noticed the red ribbon on Konan's wrist, which she wore every day without fail.

However long it had been, Itachi remembered. He didn't hug her again until eight years later, when their time together had become nothing more than a distant memory. The day he died, or at least the time before what Konan did not yet realize to be his final battle with his younger brother, something light brushed Konan's shoulder—Itachi's hand.

Kisame was back in his room, grabbing something before his and Itachi's mission. Pein was back in the meeting room while both she and Itachi stood outside their respective rooms, beside each other like they'd always been.

She looked up to meet his gaze, expecting to see crimson but this time only black. Konan almost didn't believe her eyes, but then Itachi took a step forward and embraced her, just like all those years ago, only now, he was far taller and they were both standing.

The embrace didn't last long, maybe a few seconds, but Konan recognized that aura of fear. Something terrified him. Something he didn't want anyone else to know.

It wasn't until Kisame reported the Uchiha's death some time later that Konan realized exactly what that embrace had meant. When the full story of the Uchiha clan was revealed and the truth of the young Uchiha's sacrifice became common knowledge among what was left of Akatsuki, Konan wasn't shocked.

Despite not knowing details, she'd known enough.

Even if Itachi had been, in all respects, an adult well into his twenties, all she saw when she looked at him was that scared little boy she'd stumbled upon all those years ago, tossing and turning in his bed.

If he'd considered her a mother figure, she'd been a poor one. But even so, she'd watched him grow up for eight years as if he were her own child. The hardest part about being a mother was watching her child grow up and leave. It was even worse having a child be buried before her.

She'd had to do both. And all she had to remember him by was a faded crimson hair tie.

As you wished for peace, Nagato and I will make that a reality. They both had to perform ugly deeds in the name of peace. With any luck, she would be able to achieve what Itachi couldn't in his lifetime.

Konan's fingers traced the hair tie around her wrist as she had once with the boy's silky raven hair. No matter how long it had been, she would always remember, like he had. Perhaps she would see him in the next life. But at least for now…

Goodbye, Itachi.

Just a small one shot. I love Itachi and I love Konan (both of them with their stoic but secretly caring personalities), and I just so happened to find a fragment of this story idea on my computer the other day. I know Konan's not THAT much older than him, but I think it's enough at least when he was thirteen to see her as a mother figure.

Sadly, I have a test and a quiz that I desperately need to be studying for later this week, but of course, because of that, I'm at an all-time creative high so I managed to finish typing the idea late last night when I should have been studying.

Aside from the sequel to my other story I'm working on, I have two other ideas, both involving Akatsuki, that I just finished outlines for: an idea where Itachi and Deidara's minds get switched and they have to learn to cope with each other on a completely different level, and the other is an Akatsuki/Sakura fic where everyone is shrunk to the size of a toddler (with their minds intact) and Sakura is the only adult. I really want to start writing at least one of them, but I also have to study for my test and deal with my typical procrastination tendencies.

Ah well. Life can always be worse. Hope everyone enjoyed!