Nagato pulled his raincoat shut and shivered. He sat against a dirt wall in a cave, lit by a lone lamp hanging from the ceiling of the chamber, and the gusts of wind from the dark, rainy outdoors blew in through the mouth, across the cave from him, and chilled him deeply. There were wooden crates and baskets stacked against the walls, full of food, cooking utensils, clothes, and too many knick knacks for Nagato to recall. He looked up to see Konan, still in her raincoat, at the mouth of the cave, arguing with a boy in his own raincoat that was a little taller than Nagato and had brown eyes and spiky, orange hair. When Konan had brought him to the hideout, the other boy – was Yahiko his name? – had starting yelling at Konan and waving his hands around, and Nagato strained to listen to their conversation against the patter of the rain.

Yahiko said, "Why do we need someone like that? We don't have enough to share, and he's a wimp! All he's done is sit in the corner and stare at the ground."

Nagato saw Konan put her hand on Yahiko's shoulder, and Yahiko closed his eyes and let his arms fall back to his side. Nagato wished he knew why the girl was so kind to him. She had let him eat a few loaves of bread and some carrots despite Yahiko's rejection of their guest.

Konan said, "Let's give him a chance, Yahiko. He's like us. He doesn't have parents or anywhere to go…I'm sure he can help."

Yahiko looked at Nagato, catching his eyes. Nagato did not know why he blushed and felt nervous, but he did, so he looked back down. He heard Yahiko's deliberate footsteps across the dirt floor, Konan's close behind, and began to shake. He did not want to walk in the rain again. The footsteps ceased in front of him, and he slowly looked up to Yahiko, who was looking down at him with a blank expression. Nagato was going to start begging when the blank face turned into a smile. Yahiko held out his hand to him.

He said, "Hey, you've got some weird eyes…but I'll give you a chance. You wanna steal something?"

Nagato's parents had told him stealing was bad. However, he was not going to get himself kicked out of the only place that would take him over that rule, and he nodded, grabbing Yahiko's hand and getting pulled up. They stood closer than Nagato was comfortable with. Yahiko continued to look into his eyes as he held his hand, still holding a smug grin.

"Well, then we can go in the morning. I've been craving fish for weeks," He said.

He released Nagato's hand and ran to one of the wooden crates, digging through it. Nagato stood, now looking off into the black at the mouth of the cave, and let his hand drop, and he felt a pang of excitement at the thought of breaking the rules. He had never done anything his parents did not want him to do. Konan walked closer to him and smiled.

"Nagato, do you want something else to eat?" she said.

Nagato nodded and mumbled his assent. Konan reached forward and pushed his hair, which fell into his face because of its length, out of his eyes, and Nagato looked at her as she turned around and dug into a small crate of tomatoes.

She said, "You should cut your hair so it doesn't hide your eyes."

Nagato smiled as he caught the tomato she threw at him. She had made him feel much better about his eyes just by the time she had spent with him that day, and he was hoping he could be her friend. He was not sure what he felt about Yahiko, but at least Yahiko put him at ease with his sheer confidence and energy. Nagato felt he could follow him and feel safe in whatever they did. He bit into the tomato as Yahiko pulled out three bedrolls from the crate and threw them on the ground, and Konan kneeled to the ground to unroll them and arrange them in a row. Nagato swallowed and felt guilt over doing nothing.

He said, "C-can I…help?"

Yahiko looked at him and paused, thinking. When he smiled at Nagato and snorted, Nagato thought the look of joy was confusing. What was so funny to him?

"Wow, it talks," Yahiko said, "Well…you can put up the rain curtain. Consider it your initiation."

Nagato said, "What's initiation?"

Yahiko shrugged as if he should not have to explain.

He said, "Uh…I don't know, it's like what people do to people who want to join their group. Back home the older kids always initiated the younger kids into school. Just do it."

Nagato did not understand the concept, but he would put the rain curtain up anyways to get rid of his guilt. He carefully set the tomato on one of the bedrolls. Yahiko pointed towards a tarp bunched up next to the mouth of the cave. Nagato saw two metal, upturned hooks on either side of the top of the entrance and realized he had to hang the tarp up. He walked to the pile of shiny fabric and dug around in it, looking for a hole to hang it on. When he found a hole in it he dragged it over to the mouth of the cave and held it above his head to try to put it on the hook, but he could barely reach. The cold rain slapped against him on top of the biting wind, making him begin to shiver. Nagato jumped and put it on the hook then quickly started to look for the other hole before he had to get any colder. He decided that initiation, whatever the exact details of it were, was a bad thing. It took a few more tries for him to jump up and hang the other end on the hook, and he ran to the back of the cave and sat down again, pulling his knees up against his body and letting his teeth chatter. He wanted the cold to go away. The temperature in the cave immediately went up without the wind blowing and took away some of his discomfort.

Konan walked up to him and crouched down, and she poked him in the arm. Nagato looked up and saw her frowning. He assumed she was worrying about him.

She said, "Yahiko's so mean, making you go freeze to death when you're starving. Get out of that raincoat and those wet shoes. If you get in the bedroll you'll be a lot warmer."

Nagato nodded and stood up, pulling off his grey raincoat and his black boots, which were falling apart after weeks in the mud and rain. He wore long, black pants and a filthy, white shirt underneath. He picked up the tomato off of the bedroll, which lay between the other two, all three with the feet facing towards the mouth of the cave, and slipped into it, and he laid his head on the small, built-in pad at the top of the roll. He felt himself getting warmer, although he still shivered violently. He rolled on his side and took a bite out of the tomato before setting it down again. His mother would buy him tomatoes when they went to town, before the war, and eat them with him in their warm kitchen, and Nagato remembered his father smiling – he seldom did, even before the war – whenever he joined them to eat and talk. He wanted to go home. He wanted to be warm and cared for. Nagato felt hot tears trails down his cold face, and he could not suppress his rough breathing and a few quiet sobs.

He heard Konan and Yahiko whispering harshly, probably arguing. Then he saw a pair of feet stand over the bedroll he was facing and kick off their shoes. Yahiko crawled into it and turned to face him, resting his head on his arm and looking at the floor, wearing a long-sleeved, white shirt. His former, cocksure smile was nowhere to be found, replaced by guilt.

He said, "I'm sorry. It's my bad for making you put up the rain curtain. I just thought it would be funny to…hey, are you ok?"

Nagato muttered something through his sob and moved his hand up to wipe his tears away, but Yahiko caught Nagato's arm with his free hand and held it to the ground. Nagato saw that Yahiko begun to frown and leaned his head a little closer. He thought it almost looked like Yahiko was sad and worried.

Yahiko said, "You must've not been an orphan for long. Me and Konan lost our parents a long time ago…we cried all the time at the start…Isn't your name Nagato?"

"Yes…" Nagato said.

Yahiko let Nagato's arm go, and Nagato let it lie on the bedroll, looking away from Yahiko to some vague point on the ground. He did not want to look like a wimp in front of someone as tough as Yahiko, especially when he had already called Nagato a wimp. His shivering had gone down, but Nagato shook a little harder when Yahiko's free hand wiped the tears out from under his eyes. Now he met Yahiko's eyes.

He said, "Nagato, you can cry all you want, we won't get angry. Me and Konan'll take care of you… Try to sleep. If you go to sleep when you're this tired you won't have any bad dreams."

Nagato said, "Ok…"

The light in the cave went out. Nagato heard Konan settling into her bedroll, and then he felt her as she cuddled against his back. Yahiko retreated into his bedroll and pulled it up to his chin. He scooted until his body was against Nagato's too, and Nagato furrowed his eyebrows.

"W-why are you two cuddling with me?" he said.

A smile graced Yahiko's face, returning to get rid of the sadness that made no sense on Yahiko's face. Nagato liked it when Yahiko smiled, because it made him feel safe and confident. Yahiko gave off an air of absolute certainty about what he did and said, and Nagato had missed the absolute safety of so many weeks ago more than anything.

Yahiko said, "We cuddle so we stay warmer at night. Since you're in the middle you're warmest…you'll need it, shivering so bad."

Nagato nodded. It made a lot of sense, and he had almost stopped shivering. He moved his body around to get comfortable and closed his eyes. Consciousness began to fade to oblivious sleep, and he heard a little of Yahiko and Konan's murmuring.

Konan said, "Thanks for apologizing, Yahiko."

Yahiko snorted.

He said, "Eh, I'll try to get used to this guy. We just need to get him to talk more."

"Uh-huh," Konan said, "Good night, Yahiko."

Yahiko said, "Night Konan."

In the hazy state of half-awareness he had entered, Nagato could have sworn he was back home, lying between his parents in their bed. Their warm bodies surrounded and pressed against him and put him at a total ease, letting him gently float away to his dreams. It was nice to be home.

He murmured, "Good night..."

Hundreds of people filled the market square of Kurume. It was a large, stone-paved area in the midst of the crowded city around it, and vendors of food and clothes set up carts and booths all over it. In the midst, pushing through the throng, Nagato walked with Konan and Yahiko on either side, all three wearing their raincoat with the hood pulled up. Yahiko and Konan had told him he could never be too safe, so Nagato submitted. A clear day in the Land of Rain never lasted long. He remembered his father telling him that on days when the rain stopped, the sky clear of clouds, people flocked to the streets, restless from staying indoors much of the year, and today he could see clearly in the sunlight and could smell the trash and greasy street food whose scents the rain usually annihilated. While he thought he tripped on an upturned cobblestone and would have fallen but for Yahiko grabbing his arm and giving him a chance to regain balance. Nagato stood up between his two companions and stopped, staring down at the ground, and a red blush grew on his cheeks. He had already embarrassed himself after ten minutes being in Kurume. He looked up to see his companions staring at him, Konan smiling and Yahiko with his arms crossed and a frown.

Yahiko said, "What're ya standing there acting all embarrassed about? We don't want to make people suspicious. Come on."

Yahiko shook his head and turned, walking into the crowd. Nagato blushed harder and started to follow, but Konan stopped him. He had stayed with the two one night and already felt awful for disappointing Yahiko. He expected a reproach from Konan, but she reached out and brushed his red bangs so they fell and covered his eyes. She took a hold of his hand and pulled him after her into the crowd, so Nagato followed, hoping to make up for messing up with his obedience. He almost cringed when Konan finally started to lean back to him and talk as they pushed through.

She said, "Don't worry about Yahiko, he's just got a bad temper. It's not your fault you tripped so…don't feel bad. I think I know where he went."

Nagato held on tightly. He did not want to get lost somewhere strange, but he still shook from fear of what he had to do. The people who stole, they hurt people and lived out in the wasteland created by the war. He did not want to be one of those people. He was reconsidering coming along when they pushed between two more people and arrived at a large stand with crates full of fresh bread on the counter, a red awning hanging over the whole makeshift edifice to protect from the always expected rain. Nagato saw Yahiko looking at the loaves of bread, standing on his tiptoes, and Yahiko picked one up, turning to Nagato and Konan and beckoning them with a wave of his hand. Nagato felt sick to his stomach and started shaking as Konan dragged him closer. This was so wrong. He did not even know what Yahiko was planning, but the smirk and furrowed eyebrows accompanies by dark brown eyes locked on Nagato could not bring anything but trouble. They stood in front of Yahiko after walking over. Yahiko held out the bread to Nagato, who grabbed it and almost dropped it. The baker, who was a portly, squat man with a black mustache and a white apron, looked down at the three orphans in front of his stand.

He said, "Are you three going to pay for that?"

Nagato held the bread closer to him and stared down at the ground. His heart was racing, and he felt frozen to the spot. Yahiko leaned close to him and whispered into his ear.

"Grab a few more loaves and get lost in the crowd with Konan," he said, "I'll distract the guy for a second. Consider this the rest of your initiation."

Nagato almost put the bread back to try to save what shred of law-abiding decency he had, but Konan grabbed two loaves herself and yanked his arm, shaking him out of his daze. Yahiko pushed a crate of bread off of the display table onto the baker, who fell to the ground covered with loaves. Nagato knew it was too late to go back. He started walking quickly after Konan, opening his jacket and stuffing the bread in as he tried to keep his eyes on her in the crowd. He heard Yahiko yelling and more wood snapping back from the stand, but he kept going from sheer adrenal energy. He had to push his hair out of his eyes to see well, garnering a few odd glances from this or that man or woman in the crowd. He did not care if anyone saw his purple eyes, though; he only cared about keeping track of the blue hair bobbing in and out of sight.

Finally he pushed his way and came out into an area clear of people at the intersection of a street with the city square. Konan stood, standing on her toes to look in the crowd, and when Nagato waved at her she smiled and ran to him. Nagato fell on his knees before she got there and vomited. He tried to scramble to his feet. Konan grabbed his arm and pulled him down the street. The acid taste in his mouth made Nagato feel worse, and he had to focus on what was going on as hard as he could to use his free hand to hold the bread in his coat. He had left Yahiko behind to fight with the guards and the baker. He had almost failed to even carry bread out of the crowd because he could not handle pressure. Nagato wanted to die to get rid of all the shame welling up inside of him, and he reasoned he could at least go back to help Yahiko.

He said, "Konan, w-we have to h-help Yahiko."

Konan shook her head.

She said, "We do this all the time. He'll meet us back at the hideout…don't worry about him, because you're the one who got sick and threw up in public."

Nagato nodded and followed her lead without any more questions. He hoped more than anything that Yahiko was all right, and he held onto the bread in his jacket in hopes of making Konan and Yahiko happy with him when they all got back to the hideout. These two were all he had now. He had to make them happy.

The silence in the cave made Nagato cringe. It was dark outside mouth of the cave, and the rain had begun again, albeit giving only a slow patter instead of a roar as in the day before. Nagato sat on the floor, a few feet away from the entrance to keep the rain from soaking him and facing out with his legs crossed. He heard Konan pouring some rice into a pot of water and holding it over the fire they had built for that night, but he would not eat until he saw Yahiko emerging from the dark grey and blue shadows looking in at him through the circular maw. He thought he could have helped Yahiko get away or at least left quickly enough that the stall vendor would not have caught Yahiko in his distraction. He let his head hang. His legs were sore from sitting for so long.

Then a voice dragged him back to reality.

"Y-y-you guys shouldn't s-s-start eating without me," Yahiko said.

Nagato stood up and forced his stiff legs to run, hearing Konan's metal pot crashing to the ground. Yahiko stumbled in and fell to the ground, and when he turned over Nagato gasped and fell to his knees in front of him. Yahiko had lost his raincoat and shoes and wore only his torn white shirt and long black pants. Water and mud saturated his clothes and orange hair, causing him to shiver so hard it was more of a convulsion, and his skin was very pale except for the many purple and yellow bruises all over. Nagato knew it was bad and that Yahiko might die. He did not want his friends to die. Konan arrived and kneeled next to Yahiko's feet, frowning and furrowing here eyebrows, and to Nagato she looked more annoyed than afraid.

"Nagato, take his shirt off. It's cold and wet, " she said, "Yahiko, you could've gotten killed. What took so long?"

Nagato looked and thought about how to take the shirt off. He decided to tear it instead, grabbing one of the large rips and tearing until the shirt just fell off. Konan put her hands under Yahiko's legs and stared at Nagato, who realized he had to help her move Yahiko. He put his hands under Yahiko's back and hooked them under his armpits, and Konan nodded at him. They lifted him up, causing a loud grunt, and Konan went first and guided him to the bedroll on the other side of the fire, which had been unzipped. Nagato felt that Yahiko's body was cold, really cold. His head was rolling around loosely against Nagato's chest, and his brown eyes were half shut.

"I…got caught. T-took all d-d-day, but I g- I'm back," he said.

Yahiko's voice grew quieter with each word, and Nagato rushed with Konan to set him down. Konan pulled open the bedroll and set his legs down. Nagato lowered Yahiko's torso and made sure his head did not fall hard on the built-in pad. He looked at Konan and tried to formulate words, but he could not get it out, only think it.

Don't die.

I'm sorry.

Don't die, Yahiko.

I'm so sorry, it's my fault again.

Don't die like my parents did.

He saw that Konan frowned at him when he looked up at her, but she did not furrow her eyebrows. She put her hand on his shoulder and shook him. He knew tears were falling down his face again wanted to yell at himself for being so weak.

She said, "Nagato…it's ok. Yahiko does stupid stuff all the time. Just try to keep a clear head…what I need you to do is to get into his bedroll and lay with him to warm him up, because he needs to get warm now. I'll make some warm rice to feed him then lie down and help..."

Nagato stopped trying to speak and nodded rapidly. If this were all he could do to help, he would not disagree or delay. He lifted up the top cover. Yahiko's eyes opened and met his, and Yahiko nodded before on his side rolling so he was facing away. Nagato pulled off his raincoat and slid into the bedroll behind Yahiko, pressing close against him and pulling the cover over them. He could not hold in a quick gasp from the cold of Yahiko's body, but he pressed close all the same and put his arm around him to make it easier. He hoped it would work, because he was starting to shiver too.

The air grew in warmth when he heard the rain curtain go up and Konan jogging over to them. She pulled her bed roll up to Yahiko's and unzipped it, creating something of a continuous bed roll, and she slipped into it then pushed it close to his and Yahiko's make sure they were overlapping. Nagato was glad Konan could tell him what to do to take care of Yahiko, because he had never been out on his own to know these things. She almost was like a mom should be.

She said, "Don't worry about the rice. Let's just get him warm and go to sleep…"

Nagato could not disagree. Yahiko finally began to feel warm between the two of them, and his breathing eased. Yahiko's head turned to the side and showed Nagato one tired, brown eye surrounded by a purple bruise.

Yahiko said, "D-d-did you get the bread?"

Nagato wondered why Yahiko cared at a time like this, but he just nodded. Yahiko's head fell back to where it had been. There was a small laugh, which made Nagato close his eyes and expect the worst. Yahiko was finally going to get angry with him.

Yahiko said, "Good job, we should do it again...you're not too bad."

Nagato's eyes opened again, and he smiled. He did not have any words to reply – he never did – but the surprise made him feel warm and smile that little smile on his pale face.

He said, "Thank you, Yahiko…"

From Konan's side he heard a light snoring, and Nagato's aching limbs and lack of sleep hit him now that he was not worrying. He fell into sleep, close to Yahiko and Konan. Now Yahiko's bare back was warm, it should be, and Nagato silently rejoiced since Yahiko had not died. Yesterday he had found two people who he could be at home with. He swore to himself as the riotous imagery of dreams finally overtook his consciousness that he would never let them down.