She missed it—deeply.
The person in her arms.
The warmth in her arms.
The familiar scent held close to her chest.
Zaraki Kita wore a smile—very faint, very light, yet more than enough to satisfy her.
Konan trembled as she slowly turned around. What she saw was the person she had longed for day and night, the face she scarcely dared to think about for fear it would hurt too much.
And now, that person was holding her—letting her feel that warmth, that familiar presence she had missed beyond words.
Zaraki Kita…
Her Zaraki Kita.
"I… I'm sorry."
The voice was hoarse, tinged with a familiarity that pierced straight through the heart.
Itachi suddenly recalled the expert who had escaped right under the eyes of Akatsuki two years ago.
There was no embrace.
No kiss.
Only tears welling in her eyes.
Only that frost-cold face cracking with unmistakable pain.
And then—
A slap that rang through the sky.
Smack!
It landed squarely on Kitata's face—hard enough that a vivid red handprint bloomed against her pale skin.
"You bastard!!!"
She truly was a bastard—disappearing for so many years, only to reappear like this.
Even Kitata herself thought so.
This slap was well deserved.
That thought crossed her mind—and then she smiled.
No matter when, as long as she saw Konan, the corners of her lips would lift uncontrollably.
No matter where, as long as she thought of Konan, that despair-filled heart would once again feel whole.
These blows didn't hurt much—at least, not to her.
What she saw were Konan's tears.
Konan's grievances.
So much of Konan that she had missed.
And so she allowed the fists to fall.
Allowed the tears to soak into her clothes.
"You bastard… sob… you stayed alive and never came to see me… sob… bastard… were you happy, playing me like this?!"
She wasn't happy.
But… finally.
Finally, she had a chance to speak.
Finally, she could say the words buried deep in her heart for so many years—even if only this once.
"I… I'm sorry."
Kitata said it clearly this time.
Her voice was rough, trembling, stumbling over the words.
She owed that apology—for everything before, and for everything that was about to come after.
Konan broke down completely, crying like the young girl she had once been years ago.
"K-Kon… Konan, I… I… I lo-like you. I like you the most. I love you."
She loved her so much that she couldn't bear for her to suffer even a little.
So much that she was willing to shoulder everything in her place.
To protect her.
To guard her—even if it meant remaining unseen forever.
Then came a deep, heartfelt embrace.
She held Konan tightly in her arms, as if it were the final second of her life—feeling the trembling of the person she loved, feeling that warmth as though it were the last warmth she would ever know.
"S-so… I-I will never… never let you suffer. E-even if… in your life… I'm not there."
Kitata stammered.
She tightened her arms one last time and then that pale hand passed straight through Konan's body.
There was no blood.
What emerged instead was a golden sphere of light.
The person in her arms went limp without even a sound.
Kitata smiled as she gazed at the light.
Within it were reflections of everything about Zaraki Kita.
Their meeting amid war.
The days they walked side by side.
"Kita, you've gone too far!!!"
Nagato's voice rang out sharply. His Rinnegan eyes burned with unmistakable anger.
"This isn't fair to Konan!"
Kitata didn't look at him.
Her gaze never left the memories before her.
Meeting.
Understanding.
Falling in love.
"Th-this… is what's best… f-for her."
Her halting words fell as she released her grip.
The golden sphere, no longer controlled, dissipated into nothingness.
Kitata was smiling.
And drowning in despair.
No one spoke.
Toneri stared blankly, silent and unmoving.
━━━━ ❖ ━━━
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