PC: Pain x Blacky

Pain was having one of those days where nothing seemed to go right, and everything seemed to go wrong. Not only had Deidara and Sasori failed to get a hold of the Nine Tails, the former Sunagakure ninja had actually fallen in battle—and to a scrawny medic ninja from the Hidden Leaf, and an old lady from the Sand, no less. Kakuzu was refusing to take on any new assignments until his next two bounties had been claimed. Which meant less clientele for the Akatsuki, and more complaints from Hidan, who wanted absolutely nothing to do with bounty hunting. On top of all of that, Deidara wasn't even properly mourning the loss of his partner. The only thing the young bomber had been doing since Sasori's death, was threaten to kill Tobi if the little brat continued to follow him around. As the head of the Akatsuki, all of this and more fell onto Pain's shoulders. He felt as if he was being suffocated by his own stress, with absolutely no way out. So finally deciding he had had enough for one day, Pain walked out onto the balcony that over looked the Hidden Rain Village, and leaned over the small railing. He hid his face in his hands, and began to slowly rub his temples. “I don't understand how a group of grown men can act like a group of small children...”

Twenty minutes had passed since he'd stepped outside, and he'd been so lost in thought, that he never heard Konan approaching. She gently placed a hand on his back, and looked at him with concern. “Pain?”

He sighed heavily before slowly turning around. “What is it?”

She pursed her lips for a moment. “I think... you could use a break.” She rolled her eyes at the skeptical look she received in response. “Go off the grid for a while, even if it's just for today. I think you need time away from this place, and from the rest of the Akatsuki. I do not believe the organization will crumble to the ground if its leader is absent for ten hours.”

Seeming less skeptical about the whole thing, Pain softened his expression. “And just where do you suppose I go?”

Konan sighed thoughtfully. “Why don't you go east into the Land of Fire? Get out of the gloomy atmosphere of the Hidden Rain for a while. I'm sure the food will taste better too.” She took her hand off of his shoulder and turned to leave. “Look, all I'm saying, is that it would be good for you to get out once in a while. Take in the scenery, and enjoy being yourself instead of the Akatsuki's leader for once in your life. At least think about it, all right?”

Pain grumbled, and waved his hand in dismissal. “Yes, yes. I'll think about it.” He watched as his long time friend and partner stepped back inside, then frowned when he realized she was right. “I suppose ignoring everything that's been going on as of late would be all right for one day. Yes... I'll put all of my responsibilities on pause until tomorrow.” Having made up his mind, Pain went to his bedroom to change into something a little less conspicuous. He was the Akatsuki's leader after all, it would do him no good to be caught in the Land of Fire with his cloak and headband on. He threw on a black tank top, a pair of black sweatpants, and his Akatsuki-issued sandals. He glanced at himself in the mirror and realized he may look more intimidating without his cloak than with it. After saying a quick goodbye to Konan, he made his way out of Amegakure and began his short journey to the Land of Fire. The ginger-haired man had no real plan or course of action, he was simply walking through the forest. At first taking in the scenery as his partner had suggested, was rather entertaining. However, after walking through the woods for hours on end, he was beginning to grow bored of trees, grass, and birds. Those were not things he was accustomed to seeing. He was used to cold, gloomy, concrete streets that were always wet with rain. He growled softly as he smacked a mosquito away from his face. “I'm beginning to regret this decision....”

“Geez, Pain, you'd think forests and insects were a foreign thing to you. You look like a fish out of water or something.”

Pain was startled by the sudden sound of a female's voice. He turned in the direction it came from, and relaxed his expression when he realized who it was. There stood a young woman with green and black hair, wearing an “Ex-Konohagakure” headband on her forehead. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of green, and she had a few facial piercings. Atop of her shoulders were red pauldrons, and she wore a black short-sleeved shirt. She had long black and white fingerless gloves, and her nails were painted green. She had a brown belt with a pouch attached to the left side, which was connected to her black pants. Over her pants, she wore a green loin cloth and a brown kunai holster. Her boots were black, and reached mid-calf level. All in all she was a rather attractive young lady. Pain was well acquainted with her, as were most of the Akatsuki. “Ah, Blacky, it's you...”

Blacky smiled softly. “Aww, don't sound so disappointed. Or am I that much of a pain to be around?” She giggled when she saw Pain roll his eyes. “But really, how come you look so glum?”

“I look... glum...?” This confused the ginger-haired man for a moment, and he tilted his head. “I suppose if anything, I'm just tired of walking through this forest on an empty stomach. It would also be wise to say I've no idea why I'm even here in the first place, other than taking Konan's advice on leaving Amegakure for the day.”

“Well, tell you what? I know this great place to eat that's not too far from here. It's in a quiet little village that has no affiliation with shinobi, so we shouldn't be bothered at all. Then you can tell me all about life in the Akatsuki, and why Konan advised you to take the day off.” She gave Pain a reassuring smile. “Also, I kind of just want to treat you to lunch because of how handsome you look in that tank top.” Her last remark was followed by a meaningful wink.

Pain blinked a few times, then slowly scratched the back of his head. He momentarily turned away in embarrassment, before nodding towards Blacky. “All right, I suppose we could do that. I think... Well I think I could honestly just use someone outside of the Akatsuki to talk to. Because right now, that's the last thing I want to think about. I just want to get away from it all for the day.”

“Okay, that sounds good to me. If the Akatsuki is something you'd rather not discuss today, then I'll just be nosy another time.” She nodded and gave him another smile. “Come on, let's go.”

The two of them walked side by side in peaceful silence as they made their way to the village that Blacky had spoken of. It only took them fifteen minutes to reach their destination, and they were both pleased to find that the village's small cafe was rather empty. This meant they would have plenty of room to speak with one another, without having to worry about potential eavesdroppers. If she was going to get Pain to open up to her, it wouldn't do any good if people were listening in on their conversation. “Okay, Pain, here we are!” Blacky gestured towards the little cafe, and led Pain inside. “You can go sit down, and I'll get us some food. It'll be my treat.”

Pain's eyes widened slightly. “Oh no, I couldn't—”

She waved a hand at him. “No, no, really, it's on me today. You really don't seem yourself at all. I think some good food and good company will lift your spirits. So go on and sit down before you hurt my feelings.” Blacky batted her eyelashes at him a few times.

“Oh fine, I'm in no mood to argue today.” He gave a defeated sigh, and made his way towards the back of the cafe. There didn't seem to be a lot of customers, but on the off chance that more people showed up, he wanted to be as isolated as possible. The less people that were there to hear them, the better. He was reclined in his seat, with his arms folded over his chest, and his legs crossed together. “It has just occurred to me that I never told her what I wanted to eat...”

Five minutes later, Blacky walked over to the table where Pain was sitting, and placed two trays of food down. One in front of him, and one beside him. She sat a little closer to him than was probably necessary, but she didn't really mind. “Eat up, so you won't be so grouchy.”

Pain raised a brow, then gave his food a quizzical look. “Hmm... is this... seafood and asparagus stir fry?”

Already stuffing another mouthful of food into her face, Blacky gave a silent nod. “Yep! It's one of my favorite dishes. If you're scared it's gonna bite you, I wouldn't worry too much. I mean, the fish are dead, you know.” She took another mouthful, then took a sip of her tea. “And you wouldn't want to upset me by not eating it after I went to all the trouble of buying this for us, now would you?”

“No. I've just never had this before. I'm simply concerned about how it's going to taste mixed together like this.” He continued to give the dish a strange look, but it seemed slightly less suspicious now.

“Well you're never going to know how it tastes until you try it. Besides, you're still really grouchy so just shut up and eat up, then we'll talk. Okay?” She smiled reassuringly, before she resumed eating her food. As she ate, she noticed Pain slowly started to pick at his food, and it wasn't long before he started to look satisfied. Blacky couldn't help but smile to herself. “See? It's good isn't it?”

Pain suddenly felt self-conscious of the fact that he was being watched while he ate. “Well, it is better than I expected, yes.” They ate in silence for the rest of their meal, and Pain honestly felt much better than he had at the beginning of his day. “How do you and Konan always seem to know what I need, when I'm not even aware of it myself?”

Blacky smiled softly. “Probably because you spend so much time worrying about everyone else, and being this big, bad, boss, that you don't stop for five seconds to take care of yourself. It's always easier to notice someone else's pain than your own. Especially if you care a great deal for that person.” She leaned over and gently kissed his temple. “There's no need to suffer alone just because your name is Pain, silly.”

Pain blinked in surprise. He could feel his cheeks start to heat up in embarrassment. “I...” He sighed softly. “Thank you. I think this has really helped. I'm going to return to Amegakure now.” He stood up from the table, and glanced back down at her. “I'd like to make this a weekly occurrence, if that's all right with you.”

“Sure! I'd really like that!” Blacky smiled at him again.

“Good. Then I'll see you next week.” He leaned down and placed his lips on the top of her head, in a barely-there kiss. “That's a promise.”