Disclaimer: Naruto is the property and creation of Kishimoto Masashi. I own none of the characters and places mentioned in this story.
It was a rainy night in the Hidden Leaf Village, with the moon illuminating everything despite the heavy rain.
Only a few days has passed since the funeral of the Third Hokage and all the leaf ninja that gave their lives to protect the village from Orochimaru.
The weather seemed to reflect the emotional state of the villagers after the loss they suffered, especially, the loss of the Third Hokage which was like a father to the most of the villagers, especially orphans.
At the Memorial Stone, near the Third Training Ground, a lonely, slender figure, with long hair, dressed in black, like a person that was mourning a dear one... a loved one, with a kunai hanging loosely in the left hand, whose eyes were covered by the bangs of hair, cried silently.
"Hayate...", said the mysterious woman with a hoarse voice full of sadness.
"I promised I will save you if ever need me and... I broke that promise", said Yugao through her falling tears.
"I can't even hold a sword in my hand... every time I see one I'm reminded of your death. I'm not fit to be in Anbu any longer...", added Yugao, as her falling tears, on her cheeks, mixed up with the rain drops.
"There is only one thing that I could do right now...", said Yugao as she brought the kunai from her left hand at the back of her head while with her right hand she grabbed her hair, raising it above her neck.
Then she prepared herself to do the unforgivable, something she never believed will ever do in her life. Something that Hayate would surely admonish her for. She prepared to cut off her hair with her kunai.
But her kunai never reached his target because a gloved hand caught her wrist.
After finishing reports for the Fourth Hokage and helping the villagers with the rebuilding, until the sudden starting of the rain, Obito decided to visit the grave of his first love, Rin Nohara, and then to pay his respects to the fallen ones by visiting the Memorial Stone. Many of the fallen ones were Obito's teammates or subordinates when he was an Anbu captain.
When he got to the Memorial Stone, he saw Yugao already there. He knew what she was going through. He knew how was like to lose the love of your life.
So he did whatever sensitive thing would make a person in this case... he hid behind a tree near Yugao, to give her privacy to mourn.
And he listened patiently Yugao, waiting for her to finish her speech so that he could reveal himself and do what he came to do in the first place.
While he waited for Yugao to finish, Obito suddenly heard her saying: "There is only one thing that I could do right now..."
As he peeked from behind the tree, he saw Yugao raising her hair above her neck while bringing her kunai behind her head.
He realized what Yugao was about to do and without thinking too much he used Body Flicker Technique (Shunshin) to get behind her and to grab her wrist with his gloved right hand.
"Obito sempai?", said Yugao in a small voice, with a terrified facial expression, after seeing the rage on Obito's face.
"What were you thinking, Yugao?!", asked Obito in a loud voice, still enraged.
"Tell me, wasn't enough death already? Do you want to add another soul to the countless people that died already during the invasion?", asked Obito, angrily.
"What are you talking about?", asked Yugao with confusion in her voice.
Then she looked at her kunai and a bitter laugh could be heard coming from her.
"What are you laughing about?! This is serious! Do you think that I could stand by and do nothing for a citizen of this village?", asked Obito with exasperation in his voice.
"I'm laughing about the fact that you believed that me... and my kunai... that I could do something like that", said Yugao with a cold voice.
"Weren't you trying... ?", asked Obito with confusion evident in his voice.
"No, I wasn't trying to do that... I was trying to cut off my hair", added Yugao with the same cold voice.
Then Obito released his grip on Yugao's wrist.
"Why were you trying to cut off your hair in the first place?", asked Obito with a calm voice.
"Did you ever felt that the current you wasn't good enough? That you are a good for nothing shinobi?", asked Yugao with a weak voice.
Obito sympathized with her more than she could ever realize. He felt like that every day when one of his comrades died during a mission and when he couldn't save Rin.
"I was thinking that if I could cut off my last link to the current me, my hair, I could become a worthy shinobi like I was when I first joined the Anbu", added Yugao while caressing her long hair.
Then Obito did something unexpected that surprised both him and Yugao: he got closer to her and put his hands over her left hand, the one holding the kunai.
"Yugao, you don't have to do this. You don't need to become someone from your past to overcome your current pain. You need to become someone new/better for the future. Your old self is dead and you can't bring it back no matter what you do", added Obito with a voice full of determination.
"That and I really like your long hair", thought Obito to himself absent-mindedly.
Yugao, on the other hand was perplexed by Obito's gesture. He was leaning in her space... too close for comfort. She could feel his breath on her cold, wet cheeks... up this close she could see why so many women from the village considered him so handsome and attractive, even if the right side of his face was scarred beyond repair. Then, for the slightest moment, she began to lean towards his face, wanting... wanting so badly to just... but then she stopped, only a few centimeters separating their faces.
As for Obito, he got frozen like a statue when Yugao began to lean towards his face, knowing fully well what she intended to do. The reason why he became frozen like a statue was for the fact that he never kissed a woman before and , more less, knew how to reject a woman, especially one that was a friend and was grieving. And then she suddenly stopped.
As the rain poured hard on them, each one looking in the other's eyes, fully aware of what was about to happen, none of them daring to do anything but to stay frozen, wanting for that moment to never pass until a lighting broke up the moment's magic.
The first one to break up the silence after the lighting faded was Obito.
"Were you trying to kiss me, right now, Yugao?", asked Obito, bluntly.
Yugao, ashamed of her gesture and of how that gesture might have destroyed her friendship with Obito, passed by him, with her head down, wanting to just go home and forget everything that happened.
But she didn't manage to get very far, because Obito grabbed her arm.
"I will ask again. Did you want to kiss me?", asked Obito with more determination in his voice, this time.
"Yes", answered Yugao,with a weak voice, barely a whisper, still with her head down.
Then she felt Obito's hands on her face, raising her head up, looking in her eyes and in that moment she knew her friendship with Obito was compromised, for good, by the look in his eyes ... a look cold like winter.
"I'm so sorry. I never intended to... it was just the heat of the moment... seeing your handsome face up so close... and the fact that you were my first love back in the Academy... I never wanted to destroy our friendship, Obito sempai...", kept babbling Yugao, until Obito stopped her by hugging her.
"I know... I know about almost everything that you confessed now, I know how it's to feel the way you do, I know how the pain can make you react. I'm not mad with you, Yugao. To be honest, I think I have developed feelings for you, too, and I only realized this, earlier, when you wanted to kiss me. Every mission that we did, every enemy that we defeated, allowed me to get to know you better and to fall in love with you. I think the only reason for suppressing, unconsciously, my feelings for you, was out of respect for Hayate.", added Obito with a relieved tone.
"And after you heal, only if you want to, we can try to be more than friends", added Obito with a hopeful voice, while holding tight Yugao in his embrace in the rain under the moonlight.
"Is that your Mikadzuki no shita no anata no negai (your wish under crescent moon), Obito? ", asked Yugao with a gentle tone, while watching him in the eyes.
The Fourth Great Ninja War ended a year and a half ago and many things have changed in the Leaf Village. For starters, Obito became the Fifth Hokage, since Minato stepped down from the position, blaming himself for some situations, where he could have acted differently and, which, in his opinion, brought up the Fourth Ninja War. Secondly, Madara fucking Uchiha, ran away after the war, being revived by the Sage of the Six Paths. Among the rumors that were circulating was the fact that he started a forbidden romance with Mei Terumi.
And lastly, Obito and Yugao got married after the war, after Yugao faced her demons during the war, during her encounter with an Edo Tensei Hayate. Their relationship, or better said the courtship, lasted only a few months before both of them realized that they want to spend the rest of their lives beside each other's side.
Now, Obito, was waiting outside the birthing wing, worried, wondering if Yugao and their baby were alright.
After hours of waiting, that seemed eternity, Obito was called, finally, by a nurse into a room to see Yugao and the new member of their family.
Upon entering the room, the sight that Obito witnessed left him without words. Yugao was holding a baby in her arms, while staying in the bed. As far as Obito could tell, the baby did have Yugao's hair color. Then in a blink of an eye, Obito was by Yugao's side.
"It is a she...? ", asked Obito in a gentle tone.
"No. It is a boy. He does have your eyes, silly sempai and his name is Mikadzuki", said Yugao with a laughing voice.
Then she added with a soft voice:
"Remember what I asked you, all those years ago at the Memorial Stone? Mikadzuki no shita no anata no negai ? That's why I picked up the name Mikadzuki for our son. "
"Yes, I remember like it was yesterday", added Obito, with a voice full of emotion, while tears glistened in his eyes.
Then he hugged his wife and son, feeling an immense happiness that couldn't be measured in words.
All of his dreams came true. He became Hokage and he had a real family… not with Rin, like he always envisioned…but, still, with a worthy woman that made him happy.
This short story is a tribute to my one favourite rare ship.
I hope you all liked this one-shot and please don't be too rude in your reviews.