Hi. I'm back.
I've been working on this fic for a while. Excuse my lack of writing skills, thanks. And the somewhat OOC-ness.
So... Puffy clouds...
I hope you like this, you probably won't, but I can hope, can't I?
Reviews are highly appreciated, but it's your choice. It's not like I can force you to review.
Before we begin, I'd like to mention at this beginning point in the story, Nagato is 35 years old (though at the exact point in the manga he tells his story he's only 32) and at the beginning of the flashback that is this story, he's ten.
I've got it T for character death and like, sadness. And also mild romance. There won't be any sex in this.
Read on then...
Akatsuki, my love.
"Naruto, there were three great pains in my life. The first was the death of my parents. The second was the death of one of my only friends- Yahiko." Nagato paused and stared down at his hands as if they were alien objects growing on his body. "The third was the death of my beloved wife- and not being able to save her as she died in my arms."
Naruto stood still before tue man that had destroyed his home and killed his comrades, only then forgetting his rage and realizing they weren't that much different. They had both suffered immensely.
"In exchange for the return of your comrade's lives, I want you to listen to the story I am about to tell." Nagato began to reminisce. "Even now, four years since her death, I remember just how beautiful she always was."
-Story start-
"Konan? Who are they?" Yahiko, a young, skinny orange-haired boy, stepped into view from behind several boxes settled in the orange-ish tinted cave.
"They were dying." the girl with the blue, well-kept coiffure whispered sheepishly as Yahiko turned to evaluate Konan's new recruit.
"Cripes, a dog too?" Yahiko asked as he approached the young boy. "What's your name?"
"Chibi..." the pale redhead whispered quietly.
"That's your name? It's kinda weird." Yahiko responded, walking back over to yet another of the many stacked wooden boxes that rested in the mountainside cave, continuing on his previous task.
"No, Chibi's the dog." The small, fragile looking boy bent down and picked up the small, beige animal. "My name is Nagato."
"Well, I gotta ask my sister if you can stay. She's kinda the boss around here." Yahiko turned to face the back of the stone cave. Chibi leapt out of Nagato's arms to wander around the stone cave a little bit.
"Hey Akatsuki! Wake up!" he cupped his hands in an 'O' shape around his mouth.
For about five minutes, nothing happened, making Nagato wonder if this Yahiko boy was making up this sister of his.
"Akatsuk-!"
There was a loud crash and an explosion of wooden box debris, as well as about twenty red apples, following the awkward silence after Yahiko's call, which scared Chibi to the point he took a flying leap into Nagato's pale arms.
Shortly after the unexpected explosion of flying box pieces and fruits, the dust cleared, leaving a blonde pre-teenage girl, maybe two years older than him, about their age standing in the center.
"What do you need, Yahiko?" she stared menacingly at the orange haired boy whom squeaked in fright, high tailing it behind Konan. "And who the hell put the apple bucket there?"
"Konan brought a visitor!" he yelped, ducking his head behind the blue haired girl once again when Akatsuki threw a rather large apple with amazing precision at his skull.
"Yahiko, my foolish brother, don't you think this could've waited till I woke up?" The blonde sighed, exasperated and obviously exhausted.
"I'm sorry, sister." he whimpered, rubbing the back of his head, laughing timidly.
"Well... I'm up for now. What's your name, kiddo?"
"The dog's Chibi and the boy is Nagato." Yahiko stood next to his sister, apparently trying to act cool to impress the new boy.
"I asked him, didn't I?" the blonde glared at Yahiko and the much shorter boy backed away, somewhat fearing for his life.
"Well, we haven't been formally introduced, Nagato. My name is Akatsuki, this knucklehead here is my little brother, Yahiko and the girl with the blue hair is Konan." Akatsuki explained. "Although, I'm sure you already knew that."
Nagato noted she was cautious; watching his every move very closely. This girl was serious, getting her point across very bluntly with no tolerance for Yahiko's tomfoolery.
"Thank you for allowing us to stay with you three." Nagato bowed respectfully to the three other children, putting his dog down on the ground once more.
"Our only rule is that you help contribute to the collection." Akatsuki smiled at the boy's stunned reaction, as though he'd expecte to be rejected.
"You... steal?" he squeaked, understanding exactly what the blonde meant by the devious gleam in her cerulean eyes.
"There's no system in this poor nation to help war orphans like us, I woulda thought you'd have figured that out, Nagato." Yahiko sighed, leaning against the cold, stone wall. "I mean even the sky cries all the time, it's got to be bad if the sky cries."
"Now, I'll be returning to my room. Yahiko, you'll look after Nagato till he gets settled. Konan, would you be so kind as watch the dog?" Akatsuki glared once again at her brother as she stepped over box debris and apples, retreating to the wall of boxes.
One box in the large, unorganized stack had a handle attached to it, which the blonde pulled up upon and dissapeared inside.
"Alright, I guess I'll give you your orientation now." Yahiko grinned, seeing Nagato's priceless reaction to Akatsuki's sudden dissapearance.
"First off, Farmer's Markets are on Wednesdays. The markets that strictly sell fruits and vegetables are on Saturdays and Sundays. Those are our collection days, though we can't do it often 'cause eventually those damn farmers will figure out when we're coming." Yahiko explained to Nagato.
'This group is very organized... If it hadn't been for Konan...' Nagato thought to himself, completely tuning out what Yahiko was telling him.
"You understand?" Yahiko finished with his orientation, turning back to face the redhead.
"Huh?" Nagato immediately brought his attention to the frustrated tangerine-haired boy now towering over him.
"Go to bed, we're hittin' the market tommorow, you'll need sleep." Yahiko yawned and stretched, opening another box. "This is your bedroom, small, but it's yours. Akatsuki's on your right, Konan's on your left. If you have an issue, wake Konan. She's more sympathetic than my sister."
"Thank you very much." Nagato bowed again.
"No need to be so formal, I'll fill you in on the plan in the morning. And Nagato-"
The redhead looked up at the taller, older boy once again, watching as he walked over to the stone lantern that hung alone on the wall, illuminating the entire cave.
"My sister's not a complete bitch, she just believes a lot in tough love. Give her some time, the last newcomer before Konan broke her trust and-"
There was a loud pounding noise from Akatsuki's side of the box wall, and Yahiko shrieked and jumped behind a box nearby Nagato, waiting for some sort of projectile to be thrown at his head.
"Well..." Yahiko wiped the dust off of his chest and knees. "That's a story for another time. But that's was why she didn't stick around longer. Just give her time."
Yahiko blew out the lantern, crawling slowly into the confines of his darkened crate, falling asleep inside.
A loud rapping noise on the side of his crate woke Nagato very early the next morning.
He groaned once and rolled over onto his other side, clutching his pillow in his grasp, not wanting to wake up just yet.
"Nagato! Wake up!" the continuous rapping on the side of his crate increased in volume, making the boy shoot into a seated position, his head crashing into the ceiling of his little bedroom.
"Akatsuki and Konan are waiting outside, we're collecting supplies today, remember?" Yahiko's bright and cheerful face appeared outside Nagato's box again in the early morning.
"You're working with Akatsuki today, me and Konan agreed it's for the good of both of you." Yahiko stared at him with such intensity Nagato knew that Akatsuki would be his partner for that day, even if she was afraid to trust him.
"You two will start a conversation with the peach vendor, lookin' like you're a buyer. Distract him long enough for me to grab peaches from behind him, 'kay?" Yahiko clarified with the newest member, who just nodded in confirmation. "Then you'll point me out, when the guy turns around, stuff your bag and high tail it outta there."
"What about Konan...?" he inquired quietly, a worried expression plastered onto his face.
"You don't have to look so worried, someone has to watch the base while we're gone!"
"It sounds like a plan then..." he murmured quietly, beginning to walk out of the cave alongside his new tangerine haired friend.
"Nagato, you'll be coming with me." Akatsuki announced, standing up from where she was seated on a rather large grey rock, breaking the awkward silence that captivated the group. The rain pattered along the ground, however it was pretty light for the time of year. Usually there would be major flooding.
"Yahiko, you've got a bag?"
"Yeah, it's right here."
"Put something in it, we gotta look like we have money. Get another one."
"Yeah, okay."
Yahiko retreated quickly into the back of the cave, now a greyish color due to the lack of lanterns alight inside, grabbing another burlap sack and several apples, shoving them into the bag.
"We're ready, let's go." Akatsuki strted down the hill with Nagato and Yahiko in tow.
"Yahiko, stay alert." Akatsuki whispered to her little brother. "Something seems... off."
"I was getting the same vibe..." Yahiko murmured, grabbing his brown sack firmly in hand.
"Break off now, we'll go soon, I'll make sure Nagato here understands."
"Got it."
Nagato was standing still, staring over the edge of the rocky hill. He was lost in the moment, just staring at the dark clouds.
"Hey! Nagato!" Yahiko snapped his fingers, waving his hand in front of the redhead's face.
"Huh? What?" he jumped, pbviously startled.
"Do you understand what's going down here today?" Akatsuki stepped into the conversation as Yahiko high-tailed it down the hillside to get into position.
"Yes, Yahiko said that we will act like we're going to buy, then point out he's stealing. When the vendor is distracted, we'll shovel peaches into the sack and run."
"Good, Konan picked you well, kiddo!" Akatsuki grinned, slapping the redhead on the back in an affectionate way.
Nagato smiled a little, finally glad that Akatsuki had accepted him into their little group.
"Let's go."
"Right!"
'The market's very quiet today...' Akatsuki thought to herself, guiding Nagato along. Her hair had been tied back, already saturated from the downpour. The sack of fruit had been slung over her shoulder.
Nagato stared at the battle-worn looking shinobi that glared him down as he looked past. Nobody moved except their eyes. Their beady little eyes followed the two pre-teens as the walked down the street. The redhead gulped rather loudly.
"Nagato, don't make eye contact with them." Akatsuki whispered in the young boy's ear, tilting his head so that he wouldn't stare at the rugged mercenaries anymore.
"Good morning, sir." Akatsuki smiled warmly at the mustached peach vendor. His shack was well built; just like the many other little shops in the small market.
"Hngh." the man growled, standing up from his stool. The rain continued to beat down on the ground and tin roofing of this particular shack. The never ending rain...
"How much will this get me?" Akatsuki slammed a few ryo down onto the table, giving the man some time to count the money.
Nagato watched intently as a flash of carrot orange hair shot up from behind the stand, shoving fruit into the bag.
"Excuse me, sir!" Akatsuki pointed frantically to the back of the cart. "Thief!"
"What? A thief?" he growled, grabbing the dagger he had strapped around his waist.
"Nagato, run!" Akatsuki shoved Nagato aside as she shoved more peaches into her own bag, bolting in his direction.
"Do not let her escape!" the vendor screamed at the top of his lungs as the shinobi from before staggered into view.
All of a sudden, the blonde girl's face turned deathly pale.
"They knew."
"That kid looks unfamiliar... he must be a new recruit." one of the scarred higher-ranking rain ninja commented to his buddy.
"He sure does, boss." the genin beside him commented, snickering.
"I'll give you back the fruit. Just let us go." Akatsuki tried to negotiate with the only jounin.
"No, you must suffer the consequences of your actions!"
"Nagato! Run!" she shoved the stunned boy out of an opening between two of the many shinobi. Of course, Nagato had no idea what was going on, and did as he was told.
"Get him!" the jounin ordered all three of his suboordinates to follow Nagato, and without the slightest hesitation, they did.
The rain pouring down the hill didn't exactly help in Nagato's escape efforts, however, he managed to evade the attacks of the Genin shinobi on his tail and catch up to Yahiko.
"Don't lead them home!" Yahiko shouted to the redhead. He was frightened, no doubt.
"We have to split up!" Yahiko shouted over the thundering rain. They weren't too far from the village now, the village was a very dangerous place now with all the fighting.
Nagato split off from his tangerine haired companion, running uphill once more in the mud. He stumbled about, tripping several times on the unstable ground.
Very suddenly, a hand reached up from the ground and wrapped around his leg, forcing him down into the ground.
Nagato gasped for air, lifting his face from the soft earth, struggling to claw his way up the hill. He was still very malnourished and weak from the long time he hadn't had any food.
"Darn... it..." he whispered, as an entire body emerged from the ground.
"Pay for your actions!" the voice of the jounin shinobi laughed loudly, flipping the boy onto his back with an uncaring kick.
'And I thought things were going to be better... now that I had a home...' Nagato thought to himself, closing his eyes as the ninja drew his swords, preparing to bring them down into the center of his chest.
The sound of a blade piercing flesh echoed through the air, but Nagato felt no pain, he felt no blade. He slowly, hesitantly opened his eyes; stunned.
"Nagato, run!"