and if an angel loses her way [Complete]
Character(s): Konan, Luffy
Content: Konan arrives in Paixao. She meets Luffy, who mistakes her for a member of Organization XIII. Konan decides to see what she can learn from the odd pirate.
Setting: Joutenheim gate
Time: evening
Warnings: none
( Her surroundings were taken in with the cool, steady gaze with which she regarded most everything. )
Content: Konan arrives in Paixao. She meets Luffy, who mistakes her for a member of Organization XIII. Konan decides to see what she can learn from the odd pirate.
Setting: Joutenheim gate
Time: evening
Warnings: none
( Her surroundings were taken in with the cool, steady gaze with which she regarded most everything. )
The mayor would also be worth looking into, she supposed. Certainly there was work to be done, even separated from the shinobi continents as she was now.
She noted how the wood protested the man's grip. He was stronger than he looked, then--her caution had been well-warranted. But still, she doubted him clever.
"I will watch out for them," Konan said. "Thank you for telling me what you know about them."
She reached into a cloak pocket to pull out her own journal. "I was looking at this just before you arrived," she said, "but we do not have such devices in my homeland. That does sound useful. You've been so helpful, thank you."
She smiled wider than she was accustomed to. She had already decided on her next move, but made as if she was considering anyway. She pulled out a red square of paper.
"Here, I'll make you an origami animal as a present," she said. "It's not much, I'm afraid, but it's all I can offer at the moment. What animal would you like?"
Of course, any paper Konan folded was under her control--and any sort of folded animal could be seen through as easily as if she was looking through her own two eyes. She could also track it down if need be, although she could not pinpoint it exactly. The worst Luffy could do was throw the paper away, or destroy it. She had everything to gain by offering.
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"Hmm-hmm, you're welcome! Don't mention it," he nodded. "Gotta help each other around here."
He certainly wasn't above the gift. It was the simple things that often proved the most interesting. Her offer of a present immediately excited him, as he sat forward quickly and glued his gaze on the shade of red. "You're going to make an animal? Oh! Ohhh-make-make-make a...lion!"
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Soon a little paper lion emerged from what was a square of paper. Her eyes glittered with genuine satisfaction. Only origami drew her emotions out so obviously; she had been practicing at it for years, had based her jutsus around it.
She patted the lion once on the head and handed it over to Luffy. "Be careful with him."
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Taking hold of it, he held it up to his face and stared at it gleefully. Right down to incredible detail, Luffy could even stare into the paper eye folds of the little beast. It looked like it could let out a tiny roar at any moment!
"This is so good! I'll take really good care of it!" Luffy remarked, then flexed his lean, strong legs to stand up. "I guess I should be turning in for the night now, though. I'm beat."
The Haja o Que Houver wasn't far from here, thankfully. It would only be another few moments before he could enjoy a good meal and a good night's sleep. If she was a newcomer, she might need a place to stay too, and the hotel still had plenty of rooms; he opened his mouth briefly to extend the invitation, but stopped himself before the first word. As Luffy glanced at her once last time, instinct suggested that she already had her mind set on something else. "Don't forget, you can always ask people for help with the Box Thing you have. Take care, okay?"
With that, Luffy set off on his own again, his soft-soled sandals make the same padding sounds with each step as before. It was just as he was nearly out of sight, strolling off down the straight-paved street, that the spot of the bench that he had gripped out of boiling temper gave out a sharp, splintering sound, then completely snapped off and fell to the ground.
Even the metal nails that held the sections of wood together had been bent in half, just as easily as Konan had folded the sheet of paper.
"...thanks again for the lion!" came Luffy voice one last time from off in the distance.
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"The same to you," she replied pleasantly. "Farewell."
She watched him leave. An odd one, but there was worse company. As the bench gave way, her eyes narrowed ever to slightly and again regarded the straw-hatted man. Strength like that was not unheard of on the shinobi continents, but to do such a thing casually made him one certainly worth watching.
And that lion was the perfect way to do it. She smiled at his last words; with appreciation came care, which made the lion a good spy for her. She would have to see if she couldn't hand out a few more of the origami creatures, and gain a better idea of what was happening in the city.
For now, however, she did have something else in mind to do. Slipping away to a deserted alley, she brought her hands together in seals she had long grown familiar with.
Her body and clothes began to come apart in sheets of paper, and one by one those pieces of paper folded themselves into butterflies. Once she had dispersed completely into a good-sized flock, the butterflies scattered.
She would survey the city, and hopefully find Pein. Where she had been, she had now departed, as easily as a piece of paper carried by the wind.
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