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Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan felt the chilly wind blow by as they made their way through the thick forests of the Land of Fire. The leaves had fallen down, but the forest around them still felt dense compared to the sparse, rocky lands around the Land of Rain.
Yahiko said, “I can’t wait to get to the Hidden Leaf!”
Nagato rubbed his hands together to stay warm. His cheeks were a rosy pink from the cold. He could see his breath as he exhaled.
He glanced over at Yahiko and nodded in agreement, “Indeed, I’m feeling tired already. I guess that’s what we get for trying to rush here.”
Konan smiled optimistically, “Well, I’m sure we’ll all get some rest soon.”
Then, she pointed south as she said, “I’m pretty sure I see the gate up ahead.”
Indeed, the trees in the forest began to clear away, revealing the walls of the Hidden Leaf Village.
Yahiko hopped over to the branch where Konan was and gave her a little peck on the forehead.
She teased, “Hey, save that for when we get there.”
Yahiko shook his head as he said, “Nah, how about I do it anyways? You saw it first, after all.”
Nagato thought to himself,
They’re too cute.
Her gave her one more forehead kiss before looking back at the path ahead of them.
A brief moment later, Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan leapt down from the tree and followed down the dirt road where carts would go into and out of the city. They made sure to stay away from the carts, though most people were courteous enough to give them plenty of space.
The Hidden Leaf Village felt very different from their homeland. It was bright and sunny, and it felt tranquil by comparison. The roads were wider, trees grew in the parks and by the homes of the many people who lived here, and it felt somewhat quieter than the Hidden Rain Village. All of that despite the Hidden leaf technically having a larger population and, well, being larger than the Hidden Rain Village.
There also appeared be a few decorations for some sort of festival, though Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan had no idea what the festival would be celebrating. They wondered iff it was to celebrate some of the past leaders of the village.
As the leaders of the Hidden Rain Village, they were here for a diplomatic meeting, discussing trade agreements between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain now that they were allies. They knew that there was a lot of work ahead of them, but they also knew it would all work out.
Still, they made sure to reach into their pouches and pull out their papers so they could head in.
However, the guard already knew why they were there, and he was glad to see them.
He greeted them, “Hello, Lords Nagato and Yahiko and Lady Konan.”
They said, “Hello!”
He asked, “You’re here to speak to Lord Hokage, right? Just give me one moment and I’ll let him know you’re here. I’ve heard that he’s been looking forward to the meeting.”
However, the hokage appeared right in front of them before the guard even let him know. He was carrying a bag in one of his hands, but he kept the other one clear. As he stood back up, he brushed off a bit of dirt that was on his coat.
The guard gasped, “Oh, you’re already here, Lord Hokage!”
He bowed and said, “Hello, sorry for the wait! I know you were ready to meet with me.”
Yahiko reassured him, “It’s okay, Minato, there wasn’t any wait at all. We only just got here.”
Konan nodded, “Indeed. We actually assumed that we would just visit you in your office, so it’s nice to be greeted here.”
Minato seemed relieved that he wasn’t late at all. Yahiko wondered if he had really been that busy. Then again, he normally was prompt, almost shockingly so thanks to his jutsu.
He said, “Besides, we were busy ourselves. That’s just what it’s like to lead a village. Well, that and we had to deal with some trouble on the way here.”
Minato nodded in agreement, “Indeed. At least we all have a lot of support to help us, don’t we?”
Konan agreed, “We sure do!”
They looked around at the decorations. Many of them were white, though some of them were in all sorts of colors. They all looked rather beautiful.
Konan asked, “What are the decorations in the village for?”
Minato said, “There was a big winter festival last week. They’re still taking down decorations. ”
He handed them the bag and said, “These were some souvenirs I picked up for you.”
Inside was a box of sweets, a carved figurine of a fox, an ornately painted sheath for Yahiko’s tanto. And most surprisingly, a small wooden disk hand-painted with the Uzumaki clan symbol. Nagato ran his finger along the spiral of the clan symbol. Every time he looked at the symbol, he felt strangely nostalgic. It reminded him of the night that Jiraiya first told him about the Uzumaki clan when he was little. Even once Nagato became an adult, he was fascinated by the stories of that clan. No,
his
clan.
He politely bowed as he said, “Why, thank you. I’ll put the disk and the fox by the mantle when we get back home.”
Nagato wondered to himself if he should have brought a gift with him. He figured that the meeting was just going to be strictly business this time, so the thought hadn’t crossed his mind.
As they placed their gifts into their pouches, they noticed that there were stains on Minato’s shoulder. Not only that, but he had a tired look in his eyes and his hair seemed even messier than usual, though he was still trying to be courteous. They had never seen him looking so exhausted before.
Konan asked, “By the way, are you okay? You look really tired.”
He rubbed his head in embarrassment, “Sorry about that. I’ve been pretty busy these days. Kushina and I had a baby a few months ago. I had to check in on him before I headed over here, and I’ve been busy with work as the hokage.”
Yahiko’s eyes widened in surprise as he said, “Whoa, congratulations! I know you’ll be a good dad!”
They were a little surprised that they hadn’t heard about it sooner, especially since they knew that Kushina had wanted children for a long while.
He looked down at his coat and sighed, “Kushina’s going to be annoyed to see me greeting guests like this. Hopefully, she won’t notice until I can get changed.”
Yahiko reassured him, “That’s okay. It’s not going to affect our meeting or anything. I know you’re prepared.”
Konan asked, “Um, do you need us to get you anything for your little one?”
Minato shook his head, “Thank you, but I can’t think of anything right now. Kushina and I were as prepared as we could be. ”
Then, he looked back at the village and said, “Anyways, I guess we better head to the Hidden Leaf.”
They all started to make their way to the hokage’s office. The whole town seemed to be busy, even though the festival had ended. People were buying a lot of things at the outdoor market, and there were children in winter coats playing outside.
One of the civilians said, “Congratulations, Lord Hokage. I hope you’ll be a great father.”
Minato said, “Thank you, I hope so too.”
Eventually, they saw the Hokage tower in the distance. It was nowhere near as tall as most of the buildings in the Hidden Rain, but it was still taller than most buildings in the Hidden Leaf. However, Minato suddenly hesitated for a moment.
Then, he offered, “Actually, would you rather rest for a bit at my house first? I know you three had been traveling for a while, and Kushina said she wanted you to meet our son.”
Konan asked, “Is your schedule clear for that right now?”
Mianto said, “Oh, don’t worry. I made sure to finish up my paperwork ahead of time. I didn’t want to leave myself overwhelmed later, not when I knew the three of you were coming. I also have an assistant who’s helping out.”
Nagato thought to himself,
No wonder he looks tired.
Between taking care of a baby and managing work as the leader of his village, he had a feeling that Minato had probably not gotten much sleep in the last few days. Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan had assistants to help out when the paperwork was building up, but they couldn’t picture doing everything that Minato was doing without getting overwhelmed.
As they walked through the streets of the Hidden Leaf, Minato told the three of them about how he had been doing. Apparently, his son was already learning a few simple things, such as how to grab things and how to laugh. Nagato could see how proud he was of his son, and it warmed his heart to see Minato’s joy.
Then Minato gestured towards his house and said, “There we are.”
Minato’s house wasn’t a large estate like most of the clan households. Somehow, it felt much more familiar to them, even though it looked very different from the ramshackle buildings they grew up in or the tall towers of the inner city. The front of the house had a painted sign with Minato’s name on it and an Uzumaki clan symbol, and there was a small yard in the front.
Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan noticed that Kushina was standing outside the door, carrying her baby with her.
She almost jumped with excitement as she shouted, “Hi! I’m so glad to see you!”
Kushina immediately walked over quickly, though she held her baby carefully with one arm. It wasn’t every day that she got to see her family from the Hidden Rain, after all.
Kushina hugged Nagato with her free arm and said, “I couldn’t miss the chance to see you three again. Besides, you should get to see your new cousin, shouldn’t you?”
Nagato patted her on the back as he said politely, “Greetings, Lady Kushina.”
Kushina pinched Nagato’s cheek.
She said, “You’re just as cute as ever! And there’s no need to be formal with me, you know? We’re family.”
He said, “Um, okay. Sorry, Kushina. It’s nice to see you as well.”
She said, “Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad to see that you’re here.”
Konan said, “I’m glad you see us as a part of the family.”
She said, “Of course I do. Nagato’s an Uzumaki just like I am, and if he’s a part of my clan then you are too, you know?”
Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan hadn’t really had a family for many years. At first, they all had felt desperate, not knowing when they’d find their next meal or if they’d even grow up at all. Without Yahiko’s courage to seek help, as well as others like Jiraiya or other survivors of the Uzumaki clan, they might have truly been alone.
And yet here they were, now they were a family. They knew that there were many people standing right behind them. Minato and Kushina had gone out of their way to support the new Hidden Rain after learning of their goals to bring peace, as well as their shared history as students of Jiraiya.
However, Konan couldn’t help but worry about Kushina. She seemed to be healthy, but Konan knew that having kids wasn’t easy. She and the other members of the Akatsuki had seen too many mothers who had suffered in the wars.
Konan asked Kushina, “How have you been? I know you probably went through a lot, but-”
She reassured her, “Ah, I’ve already recovered, don’t worry. Minato and I just kept quiet for a while since we didn’t know if anyone would come after us. That’s why you didn’t get to know sooner.”
Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan nodded in understanding. They knew that they had almost been targeted by Danzo, who saw them as a threat to the old shinobi order and wished to eliminate them with Hanzo’s help. If Minato hadn’t arrested Danzo, one of them could very well have been killed. And if that were to happen, then the Hidden Rain might have gone down a darker path.
Heck, even Kushina herself had almost been kidnapped at one point when she was a child. It was never an easy thing to talk about, but they all knew it was best to be careful.
Konan answered in a bittersweet tone, “Ah, I see. I’m glad that you stayed safe, then.”
That was the sort of fear that she wished to eliminate from the world. Nobody deserved to fear for their lives just because of power-hungry people.
The baby started crying as if he knew the horror of what Kushina and Konan were talking about.
Kushina gently rocked him and said in a soft voice, “Shh, it’s okay. Mommy’s here for you.”
She could tell that her baby was fussy, but it wasn’t because of their conversation.”
She asked him, “Ah, it looks like you’re sleepy, aren’t you? I’ll make sure you get a nap.”
Then, Kushina admitted to Konan, “Anyways, I get tired sometimes, but it was all worth it, you know? I love my little baby boy so much.”
Nagato said, “Anyways, we better head inside. I heard what Kushina said.”
As she turned around to the entrance, Kushina noticed the stains on Minato’s coat as he turned around to unlock the door.
Kushina asked, “Hey honey, why is there a stain on your coat?”
He said, “I had to check on Naruto, remember? He spat on it while I was burping him. I was going to get changed after our meeting.”
She said in annoyed tone, “They’re
still
the leaders of the Hidden Rain, you can’t just go out like that to greet them!”
Yahiko said, “It’s okay, it doesn’t bother us.”
Kushina insisted, “Still!”
Minato held up a finger and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll go back and change.”
He blinked out and blinked back in almost as soon as he left. Now, his outfit was clean.
“Anyways, let’s head inside.”
Minato waved his hand as he said, “Feel free to have a seat wherever you like.”
They took a seat near the table in the center of the room. Yahiko unwrapped a small package he had in his pocket. It was a box of individually wrapped sesame mochi.
He held out his pouch and said, “Here, feel free to have some.”
After they got settled in, Konan , Nagato, and Yahiko started rereading the reports to make sure that they were ready for the meeting. They knew that Kushina was probably busy getting her son to take a nap without fussing.
However, Minato waved his hand to reassure them.
He said, “Don’t worry about that just yet. We’ll have the meeting tomorrow. You can just get some rest for the time being.”
Minato then stood up and offered, “Would you like some tea, by the way?”
Nagato said, “Yes, but let me make it. We’re just glad you invited us. Besides, I think you deserve some rest. I know it’s not easy being the leader of a village, and I can see how tired you look.”
Minato hesitated for a moment. It felt strange for the guests to be taking care of him and not the other way around, especially ones as special as Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan.
Kushina said, “He’s right. You’ve been working yourself too hard lately, honey. I don’t want you to burn yourself out, you know? I’ll watch over our little one.”
He laid down next to them for a brief nap. Kushina kissed him on the forehead as she put a blanket on him.
The three of them continued to talk with Kushina about how things had been in their villages. Kushina’s eyes lit up as she told them about how her friend Mikoto had another son of her own.
“I just know our kids will be friends!”
Nagato then glanced at the kitchen and remembered that he forgot something.
He said, “Oh, I forgot that I was about to make some tea. I’ll be back in a bit.”
Yahiko asked, “May I see the baby? I’ll make sure Nagato can see him when he gets back.”
“Yes. I’ll go get him.”
A few moments later, Kushina came back. She held her baby close to her, still swaddled in an orange blanket.
She showed him to Yahiko and said, “His name’s Naruto. He just woke up, so he can hear you guys.”
The baby appeared to be about four months old, if he had to guess.
Yahiko rubbed the baby’s cheek and said, “He’s a little cutie. May I hold him?”
She handed him her child, which he tenderly held in his arms.
Yahiko said slowly in a gentle voice, “Hi, Naruto. I’m Yahiko, a friend of your mama and papa.”
Naruto went, “Ah.”
“Your papa told my loved ones and I a little bit about you already. Naruto babbled to Yahiko back.
Then, he said, “I should let you meet my loved ones, shouldn’t I?”
Naruto couldn’t speak, but Yahiko felt that he would say yes if he could.
Yahiko gestured to Konan and said, “This is Konan. There’s also Nagato, but he’s still in the back. You’ll see him soon, though.”
Then, he said her name again slowly, as if to teach Naruto how to say it. “Ko-nan.”
Naruto went “Oh-Ah.”
Yahiko said excitedly, “Very good.”
She waved at the little one. He stared at her with the sort of utter fascination that small children had about almost everything.
Konan said, “Hello, Naruto.”
Yahiko asked him, “Now, do you want me to let Konan hold you? You do? Okay, I’ll let her hold you.”
She gently held Naruto in her arms. Konan had little experience with babies, but she couldn’t help but find him endearing. His cheerful smile reminded her of the days she spent playing with Yahiko and Nagato when they were children. Konan couldn’t help but feel nostalgic about those days, back when they felt excited by all of the world’s little surprises. However, she was glad that naruto would not know the worst of their pain. The pain of loneliness, the pain of hunger, the pain of worrying if they would live to see another day. She would not let that pain continue any longer.
Then, she glanced back at the kitchen and wondered to herself about what Nagato would think of the baby.
Meanwhile, Nagato could vaguely overhear their conversation while he got the tea ready in the kitchen. He wasn’t sure if he got the baby’s name quite right.
He chuckled to himself as he thought about Yahiko and Konan playing with the baby.
Then, he set the teapot and teacups onto a tray and slowly walked back into the living room.
As Nagato made his way back, he thought to himself,
Be careful…
“You’re such a sweetheart, looking out for all of us.”
He carefully poured out the cups to everyone and handed them out to everyone before taking a seat and drinking the tea.
The tea was pleasantly light and fragrant. It was refreshing after such a long trek and in such cold weather.
Nagato asked, “Where did you get this one?”
“There’s a market not far from here. Minato and I sometimes go shopping when we have the time. It’s nice to get out every now and then, you know?”
“Indeed it is.”
Nagato thought to himself,
I’ll have to find some later.
It would definitely be nice to have some tea on the cold winters in the Hidden Rain Village.
Though once he had finished his tea, Nagato noticed that Kushina seemed excited about something. She was bouncing her legs like a young child.
Kushina handed the baby to Nagato and said, “You should get a chance to see the baby, too! Here you go.”
Nagato felt unsure of himself as he took the baby from Kushina’s hands. He had never really held a baby, at least as far as he could remember, and he knew that he would need to be very careful. The little one was sound asleep, and Nagato was worried about accidentally waking him up.
He had the same blond hair that Minato had, and he appeared to be healthy and pudgy as well. Though most surprisingly, the baby had little black markings on his cheeks that vaguely resembled whiskers.
Nagato wondered to himself,
Are they some sort of birthmark?
If they were, they looked very different from any other birthmark that he had seen. They seemed too neat, almost as if someone had drawn them on.
Kushina said, “Ah, they said it’s because I’m a jinchuriki. Apparently, Mito had a kid with cheek marks like his after she got the nine-tails.”
Nagato had heard Kushina tell him stories about Mito in the past. He wished he could have met her in person. A part of him wished he could hear her tell stories about the Land of Whirlpools, but he was mostly fascinated by the stories Kushina would tell him. However, by the time he met Kushina, Mito had been dead for years.
But in the end, he was mostly glad to have had the chance to be friends with another member of the clan.
He hummed to himself as he tried to adjust the way he was holding the baby, who was now looking a little uncomfortable. His arms felt like they were at an awkward angle, but he didn’t want to make the baby uncomfortable.
Yahiko noticed that Nagato was unsure of what to do. He tapped him on the shoulder.
“Hm?”
Yahiko offered, “Let me help you out. I used to have little siblings, so I know how to hold a baby.”
He guided Nagato’s hands into a more comfortable position, making sure that Naruto would be comfortable.
Nagato gave Yahiko a peck on the cheek and said, “Thank you.”
He asked, “What’s his name, by the way? I overheard you guys talking to each other, but I couldn’t quite get his name.”
Kushina said, “His name’s Naruto.”
Nagato exclaimed, “Just like the hero from Jiraiya’s book! That’s a lovely name. I bet our sensei’s proud.”
Minato smiled briefly. He sat back up and rubbed his eyes.
Kushina said, “Not everyone gets that reference, sadly. It’s such a good book.”
Konan smiled, “We had to read sensei’s book, you know? He wrote it around the time he was training us.”
Nagato remembered talking to Jiraiya while he was busy writing his book. Every now and then, he would catch a glimpse of Jiraiya’s older drafts, annotated with various notes along the sides as he tried to figure out plot details.
A few moments later, Naruto’s eyes fluttered open and stared at Nagato in wide-eyed curiosity.
He said, “Hello, my name’s Nagato.”
Then, he said, “It’s a lot like your name, isn’t it?”
Naruto continued to stare at Nagato. Part of Nagato wondered if he should be embarrassed by the staring or if he should just be glad that Naruto found him interesting.
Then, he remembered how he was a child and realized,
Naruto’s probably just curious.
Nagato felt Naruto squirming a little bit in the blanket.
He said, “You must be uncomfortable. Here, let me see if I can fix it.”
He undid the swaddle just enough to let Naruto’s arms loose.
Naruto then laughed as he grabbed a lock of Nagato’s hair. Nagato blinked in confusion before he realized that naruto was putting it in his mouth and suckling on it.
Yahiko said, “He must think your hair looks like his mama’s, and he’s curious about a man who looks like his mama.”
Nagato brushed back the rest of his hair as he said, “Oh yeah, it does, doesn’t it?
He then asked Naruto, “Do you like my hair?”
Naruto giggled.
Nagato asked him, “It’s a lovely color, isn’t it? Red, just like your mama’s hair.”
Nagato continued to talk and play with Naruto for a while. But then, he decided to give the baby to someone else. However, Naruto didn’t let go of his hair. Nagato tried to move his hair out of the way, but Naruto was gripping onto it tightly.
He grunted, “Your grip’s way tighter than I expected.”
Yahiko said, “I know. Let me see.”
There was one little thing Yahiko just had to find out. Was Naruto ticklish? His little brother definitely was, and there was only one way to find out.
He tickled Naruto on the cheek. As soon as Naruto felt Yahiko tickling him, he laughed and started swinging his arms as Yahiko played with him. Nagato’s hair fell free, and then he brushed it back into place. Nagato was glad that Naruto let go of his hair.
He looked back at his partner and offered, “Um, do you want to hold him again, Yahiko?”
“Yeah, I’ll hold him. He’s a cute kid.”
He then took Naruto into his own hands. He was still so small, but he was full of life and energy.
Something about Naruto reminded Yahiko of his siblings. Perhaps it was the way he smiled, perhaps ot was those sweet eyes looking up at him, or perhaps it was the fact that Yahiko was holding him ever-so-gently in his hands the way he once held them in his arms.
A tear fell from Yahiko’s eye as he remembered playing with them. They’d sing, they’d laugh, they’d play with each other, and Yahiko would try to sneak whatever food he could find when they were hungry. Yahiko even remembered how how his brother would cling to him whenever he was scared.
How long had it been since they had passed away? Yahiko couldn’t remember, it had been so long. They were all too young when the cruelty of war ripped them away from him. He hadn’t even met Nagato back then, but the pain still hurt.
Nagato asked, “Are you okay? I can take Naruto back if you want.”
He took a deep breath before saying, “I-I’ll be fine. He makes me think of my family… I was a big brother, you know? I remember holding my siblings in my hands when they were this little.”
Konan patted him on the back. He felt more at ease in her arms.
She said, “It’s okay to mourn them, Yahiko. We all miss our family sometimes, even if time passes. I’m sure your siblings are looking down at you from the Pure Lands with smiles on their faces.”
He pictured them looking down at him with pride in their eyes. Maybe they were talking to other people in the afterlife about how cool their big brother was, or how he and loved ones were making the Hidden Rain a better place to live in.
He said, “I… I needed to hear that. Thank you, Konan.”
She said, “Of course, Yahiko. They loved you so much, didn’t they?”
He then looked back down at Naruto, who was still staring at him curiously.
He said, “Oh, I almost forgot! Nagato’s related to your mama. So we’re all a big family.”
Kushina said, “Yes, he is.”
Nagato moved in closer as he apologized, “Sorry, I’m a little shy sometimes.”
Thankfully, Naruto seemed to just be happy to see him.
Naruto cooed at the sight of Nagato and held his hand out. Nagato carefully extended his finger out, and Naruto grabbed it. Then, he pretended to give Naruto a handshake.
Yahiko continued, “We love each other the same way your mama and papa love each other. We love each other so much that we want to be together forever.”
Nagato said, “And we love you too.”
Then, Yahiko thought about how Naruto was ticklish.
Yahiko asked him, “Do you want uncle Yahiko to tickle you some more, huh?”
Naruto’s laugh was all he needed to hear. He couldn’t help but tickle him some more, laughing as Naruto laughed. That smile was just like his brother’s smile, warm and innocent.
Then, he booped Naruto’s nose with his finger.
Yahiko looked over at Kushina and said, “He’s precious.”
He then said, “I wonder what he’ll be like when he’s older. Maybe he’ll be just like you, eh?”
Nagato joked, “Maybe he’ll be a little troublemaker.”
Kushina shouted, “Don’t say that! He better not be!”
He said, “I’m just messing with you. I know you’ll keep an eye on him.”
Yahiko admitted, “Then again, we were troublemakers ourselves sometimes.”
Back when Jiraiya was taking care of the three of them, they pulled pranks on him every now and then. Sometimes it was sneaking frogs into his room in the shack, sometimes it was using transformation jutsus to pretend to be each other, or even using shadow clones to confuse him.
Then, Yahiko looked back at Naruto and said, “I know he’ll be a good kid, though.”
They all continued to rest for a while. Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan played with Naruto for a while. They loved to see how happy he was to get to play and laugh alongside them. The childlike joy warmed their hearts.
However, Nagato suddenly paused for a moment and stood up.
Kushina asked, “What’s the matter?”
Nagato gestured as he said, “Nothing. I’ll be back in a few moments. I know you said you didn’t need us to give you anything, but I feel like I should give you something.”
Then, he smiled, “It’ll be something you’ll love. You’ll see.”
Yahiko waved, “Bye, Nagato!”
Kushina said, “I wonder what he’s doing. I hope he’ll be back soon.”
Konan nodded, “He will.”
After all, she knew that Nagato wasn’t easily distracted. And if trouble happened, then he’d easily be able to get out of it.
A while later, Nagato returned with a small shopping bag. Minato was finally awake, and he was now feeding Naruto a bottle of milk.
Minato said, “Welcome back.”
Nagato said, “I’m glad to see you got some rest, Minato. There’s something I want to give you.”
Nagato reached into the bag and set the items on the counter as he said, “Um, here you are. Some calming tea for you and a pacifier for Naruto. I know he might get fussy sometimes, so I wanted to help with that.”
He then chuckled a bit as he said, “I was a bit of a crier myself when I was little.”
He also held a spiral-shaped baby toy.
“I thought this would be a fun toy for him. It kind of looks like the Uzumaki clan symbol, doesn’t it?”
“It does! Thank you, Nagato. You’re a thoughtful guy, you know that?”
Nagato felt proud to hear those words. He thanked Minato back before taking a seat next to Konan and Yahiko.
Then, he glanced inside the bag as he said, “And as for you two, I decided to get you something special. I knew these would look wonderful on you.”
He pulled out a set of three matching necklaces. Each one had beads that matched the colors of their hair.
Konan was the first to put hers on, making sure to brush any stray hairs to the side so they wouldn’t get caught. She carefully adjusted the clasp before turning her head to see what her loved ones thought.
Yahiko brushed Konan’s cheek, “You look so beautiful, honey.”
She then quickly put his necklace on before saying, “You do, too.”
Lastly, Konan put Nagato’s necklace on, brushing his hair to the side so she could get a good look at the back of his neck. Right before she set it on, she gave him a little kiss right there. Then, she brushed his hair back once she was done with the necklace, letting it cover up her kiss like a hidden present.
Nagato couldn’t help but blush at the way she played with his hair.
Konan teased, “You’re too cute, you know that?”
Nagato couldn’t help but giggle at the sound of those words. He’d never get tired of the love Konan and Yahiko had for him.
Then, he ran his fingers along the beads of the necklace as he asked, “How do I look?”
Yahiko and Konan answered, “Handsome.”
Then, Kushina enthusiastically pinted at Nagato’s necklace as she said, “Wait! Look at the bead in the center.”
He bent his head down and noticed a spiral-shaped pattern on it.
He said, “The Hidden Leaf sure loves the Uzumaki clan symbol, doesn’t it?”
She eagerly said, “Indeed we do! Because the Uzumaki clan’s awesome, you know?”
Nagato couldn’t help but agree. Every other Uzumaki clan member he met, or even heard about, had been wonderful in their own unique ways. He saw it in the bravery of the clan leaders of old, to the confidence and enthusiasm of Kushina, to the adorable innocence of Naruto, to even his own determination to make the world a better place for everyone.
But before Nagato got too lost in thoughts, Konan walked him over to the mirror and said, “Look at yourself in the mirror.”
The red color of his new necklace was rich and vivid, just like his hair. It brought a beautiful pop of color to the dark robe he wore.
He exclaimed, “I really do look look handsome.”
Yahiko and Konan came in from behind and wrapped their arms around him. They heard Kushina running over to him, and she hugged him from the back. Nagato was a little startled at first, but then he embraced getting hugged by everyone.
He felt a tear running down his eye as he was held in everyone’s embrace. He thought for a moment about his own parents.
He knew that this is what they would have wanted for him: to be surrounded by people who love and cherish him.
At one point, they would have held Nagato ever-so gently in their arms the same way Kushina and Minato held their son. They would have talked with him and played with him, they would have praised him for taking his first steps and for learning how to talk. The love Nagato’s parents had for him was much like the love he was surrounded by now.
Nagato knew that everything would be okay. He and his loved ones would create a brighter future together, one where nobody would have to bear the pain and loneliness he once felt. Instead, the children of the world would know the joy of love and peace.