A/N: After watching the Invasion of Pein Arc, I absolutely LOVE the Ame Orphans! Such sad histories that follows each of them, even after they find each other. I really really really wish they did a mini spinoff arc or something like that based on those three characters. Too bad they aren't... T_T
Anyway, I hope you enjoy! :)
Setting: When Konan, Nagato, and Yahiko first meet. Expanded from Naruto Shippuden Episode 172.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Naruto Shippuden, or any of these characters. If I did, Nagato would have remained a cute little redhead with long hair forever, Konan would have ended up with Yahiko, and they wouldn't have turned out the way they did.
The rain was pouring.
It didn't stop. It never did. It never would.
He thought the piercing of the bullets of water would get rid of the pain, but it didn't.
The gruesome image of his mother and his father, his everything, dead on the ground with nothing that could bring them back, just wouldn't leave his head.
Suddenly, everything was blurry. Everything but the bloody image.
He tripped every few steps, until he finally fell. After attempting to get back up, he gave up. Lying on the ground, unable to move, his body was already soaked from the predictable tears that shot down from the sky, so being sprawled across the wet dirt did not alter anything.
The dog that had been walking with him started to cry with the heavens.
"I can't go any further... Am I going to die here?"
His eyelids were heavy from the fatigue and the pain that was running through his entire body. They started to close very slowly, although if someone was there they wouldn't be able to see due to his red hair covering the top half of his face. But no one was there. No one. His mother was gone. His father was gone. Without any food the dog would be gone too. Not too much later, he himself would be gone as well.
Finally, his eyes closed, for what he thought would be forever.
As much as she loved the rain, it didn't bother her to be tucked away from it once in a while, which was why she had an umbrella.
Walking up a small hill going back to her current home, the juvenile was leaking excitement.
She would impress her friend with the loaf of bread, that she was carrying, which she had stolen solitarily at the market, no help needed. After taking in the awe her friend would express, she would take a seat by the cozy fire and work on her oragami. Tonight, a dog.
Halfway up the dirt road, the girl was shocked as she regarded a real dog on the ground, next to what appeared to be a young boy with long red hair flowing out of his hood.
The sound of the rain amplified with every minute that strolled past, up until the redhead realized it wasn't actually raindrops that were creating the intensified sounds, but rather footsteps. He suddenly heard the soft voice of a female, contradicting the roaring thunder of the storm.
"Here. Eat this."
Opening his eyes and raising his head to see who the offer came from, he noticed that he was in the same spot he was in when he thought death was upon him. But he wasn't dead. He was still alive.
A young indigo-haired girl was kneeled down by his head, a red umbrella in one small hand, a large loaf of bread in the other.
Swallowing, noticing how amazing just a loaf of plain bread appeared to be, he looked into the girl's delicate amber eyes.
"Are you sure?"
"Uh-huh."
He provided himself a minute smile, for the first time in weeks.
The rain still poured onto the grounds filled with sadness and war, but now in a grand cave, they could hide from the rain.
He brought the large leavened bread up to his watering mouth when his fellow companion whined. Ripping the bread into halves, he threw one portion onto the ground for the dog to eat, feeling it would be too selfish being the only one to get a meal, especially when they had been traveling together.
"Here, eat this slowly."
The dog began to chow down on his well deserved food, allowing the red-head himself to join in on the joy of eating for once. The blue haired girl saw this and smiled, with both her lips and her eyes.
"What's your name?" His saviour asked him quietly as he swallowed the bit of the bread he was chewing on.
"Nagato."
Upon answering her question, he continued to eat with a vast amount of haste, displaying his lack of food for the past couple of weeks. The girl was watching him intently, the smile still present on her face, and did not speak again until all the bread had disappeared.
"I'll take you to our shelter."
He stood up, nodding his head, and followed her outside the the cave back into the wetness, the dog trailing along beside him.
It did not go by unnoticed that she hadn't told him her name yet, or explained who she was talking about when she said "our" shelter.
"Konan, who are those two?"
A tall boy lathered in skin that was tanned, only compared to Nagato's, and bright orange hair asked the girl, who he now knew was named Konan.
"Sorry," She lifted her hand up to her mouth and bit on her thumb guiltily. "They were on the verge of dying."
"You even picked up a dog. Cripes, what's the name?" The boy questioned, taking a few steps towards Konan and Nagato.
"Chibi..."
"Oh," A frown appeared on the boy's face. "You sure have a weird name!"
Nagato responded, "No, I meant the dog."
Konan made an effort to disguise a giggle, but it was heard by both boys who turned their heads to the only girl present, curious as to what exactly it was that she found humourous.
"What's so funny?" The frown lingered on the orange haired boy.
Konan tried to maintain her fit of giggles to answer, "You thought his name was Chibi."
Her sounds of hilarity were now uncontrollable, flowing out of her mouth one by one, echoing against the walls of the deep cave.
Nagato released a diminutive chuckle and tried to pass it off as a cough, but it was overpowered by the sounds of Konan's laughter which brought out more snickers of his own.
Soon enough, the last boy that was left out from the laughing was brought into the joyful state as well.
Their laughs were contagious, making each other laugh more and more; Holding onto their stomachs, gripping their knees for support, slapping their legs from being out of control. Even Chibi, the dog, seemed to be enjoying this sudden change of the atmosphere, barking happily while jumping around the three adolescents.
Finally, the taller of the two boys wiped away his last tear from the aggression of the laughter and held his hand out to the smaller boy, a grin painted across his face, "Yahiko."
The redhead looked down at the hand that was offered to him and gave Yahiko his hand and smiled, "Nagato."
They shook hands and let go, only to be hit with another dose of laughing and giggling that was enough to fill up the cave for eternity.
With that, these three orphans of the Hidden Village of Rain knew that they would be together forever, no matter what they did, no matter where they were.
They are the Ame Orphans.
A/N: Thanks for reading! Please review! :)