Author's Note: This is it, everyone! The final chapter of White Paper! So how will Konan confess her newly-realized feelings to Pein? And will Pein return them? What is the meaning behind the name White Paper? All of these questions are about to be answered! Read on!

Chapter Eleven: Love

Three days has passed since the kidnapping of Sakura and the subsequent rescue of her by Konan, Pein, and the "Akatsuki" gang. Sakura, with the help of Sasuke to catch her up, had already returned to school, but Konan had stayed at home, getting over a cold that she had caught from standing out in the rain ("That's what you get for being all kissy-kissy!" Sakura teased when she caught the blue-haired teen still in bed the morning after the incident).

But that Friday morning, when her fever had disappeared, her stuffy nose became occasional sniffles, and her coughing became now-and-again frogs-in-the-throat, Konan returned to Spring Green Academy. In her arms, wrapped in a paper bag, was the Akatsuki outfit she wore those few days ago, clean and dry and ready to be returned to the proper owner.

That owner was also going to be the bearer of some very important, very surprising news. After all, it wasn't everyday that Konan Nagato confesses her feelings to someone, especially when that someone was Pein Yahiko.

As she walked across the school's ground, she looked around for the familiar red, spiky hair. She knew he had to be here; he wouldn't miss out on classes, especially when he knew she was returning to school that day.

Suddenly, from the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of red hair from behind the corner of the science building, and instantly Konan went to investigate. "Pein, is that--" she started to say, but her voice caught in her throat and her tan eyes widened.

She watched as Pein was in a heated make-out session with another girl from their class, his hands on her upper arm and pushing her against the wall.

The paper bag that held the outfit fell from Konan's arms and hit hard on the ground. Tears formed in her eyes as she turned and ran away as fast as her feet could carry her, away from the school grounds. Sakura's words rang through her head as she cried, her eyes ignorant to anyone that she was going past.

"Love is sometimes like time. You have to wait for the right moment. But sometimes it can come too early or too late. However, when that moment comes, it's the best moment in the entire world."

"I'm too late...I'm too late," Konan said through her tears as she ran through the gates of Spring Green and down the sidewalk towards home.

Pein managed to push the offending girl off of him, slamming her against the wall again and spitting onto the ground before wiping his lips, "Disgusting."

The brunette smirked, "Don't tell me you didn't love it, you bad boy. I know I did. Come on, let's go one more time, please..." Just as she started to lean in for another kiss, Pein growled and pushed the girl to the ground, moving back a few steps from her.

"Not on your life. I don't go for ugly sluts like you. You're in for a quick screw-and-leave, and then you're onto your next guy. Sorry, but I don't go for girls like you."

"Oh, so you go for goody-two-shoes bitches like that Konan?"

"Konan isn't a bitch. She is a beautiful, innocent angel, and if you dare backtalk her in front of me again, you will regret it. So go find another guy to give you your sick pleasure."

The girl huffed, getting herself off the ground and rushing off. Pein shook his head, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he muttered a few choice words under his breath, taking a few moments here and there to spit out the taste of nicotine from his mouth. "Now that all of that's done...stupid slut...gotta go and see if Konan's by her locker yet," he said, looking on ahead of him.

Until his foot met what he thought was a large rock. He looked down curiously to notice it was instead a paper bag. Carefully he leaned down and picked it up, looking it over before opening it up, figuring it was probably somebody's dropped lunch.

It was a shock to see instead the Akatsuki outfit inside, folded neatly inside with a note of thank you written in Konan's perfect script. "Did Konan drop this?" he asked aloud, "Did she see what happened...?"

Tucking the paper bag under his arm, he walked towards the main building, hoping deep inside that Konan was waiting at her locker so he could give her an explanation, an apology...and a confession that was long overdue.

Konan never appeared at school. As the teacher explained, she called in saying she was still ill. Sakura and Pein had both looked at each other curiously at that point, both knowing that she was well enough. It was lucky enough for them it was free study period which allowed the two to go to the back of the room and question the sudden disappearance of the blue-haired teen.

"I tried to text her, but it looks like she turned off her phone. I don't know why she would do that; she always has her phone on," Sakura said, putting her cell phone away, "On top of all that, she said she was going to be here today too. She was feeling better, and it's not like her to skip school. Heck, I doubt she would even skip on Senior Skip Day!"

Pein nodded, his expression solemn as he held up the paper bag, "Plus...why would she come here, drop this on the sidewalk, and then disappear? Unless..."

"Unless what?"

"She saw...today that brunette slut from our home-ec class came up and started to make out with me."

"WHAT!?"

Pein glared, "Sakura, quiet down. As I was saying, that girl started to make out with me, and I was trying to push her away, but I get the feeling Konan saw and misinterpret it in a different way."

"You think? Oi...no wonder she turned off her phone. Konan is mega upset, and especially this had to happen on the day she was going to tell you she loved you."

"What!?"

"Now you need to quiet down."

"This is Konan's house, and here's the spare key. Just give it back, okay?" Sakura said, giving Pein the extra key that she kept.

"I'm more fearful of her parents coming into the picture."

"Nah, no worries about that. Her mom's going to be at work for a few hours, so you got plenty of time to fix things and get your confessions out of the way. Just please, don't be cheesy. Seriously, I don't want to hear anything so cheesy when Konan tells me later."

"Girls..."

Sakura stuck out her tongue as she stepped off the porch with a wave, "Just go and get her Romeo."

With the rosette gone, Pein sighed and turned the key in the lock. He never thought he'd ever do something like this: going into the home of the one he loved to fix something wrong and then in turn confess his feelings. But then again, Konan wasn't just a usual girl. She was far different, whether you went by looks (blue hair, tan eyes), her personality (one moment quiet and demure, the next firm and defending), her physical (she did have quite a kick) and mental (how she managed to stay up under the pressure of almost being stabbed was a feat within itself) strength...it was all something not in a normal girl.

It further proved to him that Konan was more of an angel than anything else.

As he made his way to the staircase, he saw a light coming from the upstairs hallway and he assumed it came from her bedroom. Quietly, he made his way up the stairs, his mind wondering on what he should say, how he should say it.

He never knew how hard it was to say "I'm sorry", or to say "I love you".

When he made it to the top of the staircase, he turned to the left and stopped at the first room he saw, the light pouring out onto his face. He stared into the room, noticing Konan sitting in the middle of the floor surrounded by white paper, her hands delicately making folds on one of the pieces. Her brow furrowed as she seemingly made a mistake, causing her to bundle up the paper and toss it into the wastebasket across the room. With a sigh, she picked up another piece and started to fold it, although it, too, ultimately met the same fate.

"Konan."

Her body stiffened and the paper that she held in her fingers fell to the floor yet again as the blue-haired teen turned to the doorway, "Pein...what are you doing here? How did you...?"

"Sakura let me in. Konan, why did you skip school today? Don't tell me it was to just make origami all day."

"I-I didn't skip school. I went for a bit, but I was still feeling sick, so I came home."

"After you dropped this, right?"

Pein held up the paper bag with the Akatsuki outfit still folded neatly inside and Konan looked away, tears forming in her eyes. His suspicions were confirmed, "You saw what happened, didn't you? And afterward, you dropped this and ran away, right?"

She said nothing, but then again, she didn't have to; her tears were more than enough to answer his questions. Pein's gray eyes observed her with sorrow, regret, "Konan...I'm sorry. That wasn't supposed to happen. It was all a mistake, I--"

"That's what all guys say, isn't it?"

He watched as Konan stood up, her eyes lit with anger through her tears. "They always say that it was a mistake, that it was an accident, that it was never meant to happen. How can girls even stand to fall in love when all guys do is take and play with their hearts!?" she screamed, "I thought that you wouldn't be like that Pein! I thought that maybe, just maybe, I found a guy that wouldn't break a girl's heart with such things like that, but I was wrong!"

"Konan, I--"

"I finally realized that I loved you, and today I was going to tell you, but instead I get my heart trampled on! I find out instead I was too damn late to tell you! How unfair is that!?"

Pein couldn't say a word as Konan choked on her tears, her hands balled into fists as she ranted and cried, "It took me too long to realize it! I should've known when I danced with you, or when I gave you my first kiss, or when I crawled into your bed and wrapped my arms around you, or when you kissed me in the rain, or--"

She found her voice cut off again for the second time that day, but this time not by surprise of her sight, but the shock of Pein's lips roughly against her own. His hands were on her waist, pushing her gently towards the wall as his tongue ran against her bottom lip, asking for permission to enter. With a moan, her lips parted, her arms wrapped around his neck tightly and her fingers ran through the hair at the nape of his neck.

In the back of her mind, she could hardly believe it; one moment she was crying and yelling at him, confessing her feelings, the next she was pinned against the wall, making out with him and finding it surprising that his tongue wasn't pierced like the rest of his face.

Reluctantly his lips left hers, trailing heated kisses down her jaw as he whispered against her, "I love you too, Konan...so much...and from now on...I'm never letting you go."

A few stray tears fell down her cheeks and he moved to lick the offending droplets from her skin. He stared into her tan eyes and flashed her a sincere smile before kissing her again, this time softer, sweeter.

The kiss of a true lover.

"By the way, Konan...what's with all the white paper?"

"I was trying to make a paper rose. Out of all the patterns in the world...it's the one I'm not very good at."

"Heh...I guess I'll have to show you. First, you start like this..."

Tada! Confessions made and lovers formed. And now, my loyal readers, this marks the end of White Paper! Hopefully you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. And don't worry; this really won't be the end of White Paper. I may make a sequel in the future, but on top of this, I'm cosplaying as Konan from this fic to Anime Central next year (so if you're an attendee there, be on the lookout for me!). Until my next story, ja ne!