A/N: This chapter is short because I want next chapter to be its own contained unit. The next two chapters will either be short or be combined into one long chapter, depending on how long they turn out to be. This is an exciting time. I wrote the events that will happen next chapter (or in the first half of next chapter) as a short story to submit to a writing class a couple years ago. That is how long they have been fully formed in my head. It's going to be so exciting to compare my writing then and now. I'm sure it's a lot better now. I wasn't very good then. (This time period would have been sometime during the first 50 chapters of this story, I believe.)

Huzzah!

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Kisame

Kisame sent a text. You available tonight?

He got a reply. Depends. Available for what, where?

Kisame sighed, then grinned. He shook his head as he sent back, Just a talk. Catching up. We can do it at the bar if you want.

Sounds great! As long as it's not too long, you know. Wouldn't want the ladies to think I'm uninterested.

Kisame left that conversation and went to the group chat. Who wants to have a conversation with Jiraiya at the bar? He doesn't want it to take too long - limited attendance only. He then put his phone away and ate lunch, because that was what he was supposed to be doing. He was sitting near the stingray pool, again, because he had rationalized himself into believing that organizing this conversation was important enough to justify not taking the time to seek out a new place to visit. And he liked the stingray pool. Knowing that these creatures were watched over by someone who cared about them like he cared for the sharks put some part of him that he hadn't known was stressed at ease.

"Hey, you took me up on my invitation," said the lady who looked after the stingray pool as she sat next to him. Tammy. Her name was Tammy. "How's it going? Are you making any progress?"

"I just reached out to a guy I met and instantly started a conversation with, then exchanged numbers with just a couple days later, to organize a meeting in a bar," Kisame said. "I'd say so."

Tammy punched him in the arm. "Congratulations! Not so hopeless, indeed."

He grunted. "I'd just like to say, I really appreciate how you actually care about the animals you're supposed to be looking after. It's nice."

She looked down at her hands, which twisted around each other. "I know what you mean. I knew someone like that growing up. I never wanted to be like them. Thank you."

They watched the rays circle the pool for a minute. Then she turned to him. "You mentioned a shark last time you were here. You told children about them."

"Samehada," he said. "Stop by the shark tank sometime and you'll see him. He likes to entertain the audience. He's basically a giant blob of scales with a mouth on one end. I have no friggin' clue what kind of shark he's supposed to be."

"Ooh, tell me more."

Kisame grinned. "Sure, why not. I've decided, for now, to think of him as a landshark. He can go on land. He has lungs and vocal cords; I know this because he makes sounds, like rattling or growling or chirping. He acts like a large dog. All he ever uses that big mouth for is licking your entire face with one lick. That, and sometimes chewing on your arm. He eats chakra. Do you know what chakra is? It's a kind of energy that living creatures produce. He can spit it back up too as an energy burst. He's smarter than other sharks, smarter than most dogs actually. He can understand human speech and make plans and even, if you explain it to him right, understand the abstract dilemmas we humans face. A friend of mine recently explained to him why people like to hype up potential dangers and make themselves anxious when there's nothing to worry about right now. That's the sort of thing he can understand. I mean, not entirely. I'm sure he doesn't understand why the future would be more important than the present, or how being scared could be better than being happy. But he's capable of understanding that level of reasoning. How old does a human have to be before they could understand that? Teenage years at least, I would think."

Tammy stared at him with her jaw dropped. He blinked. "What?"

"You…" She started to grin. "You really do care about him."

"Of course I do. He's my best friend."

She punched him in the arm again, still grinning. Kisame checked in with his face and found that he was smiling. Did I look just now like she did when she told me about her stingrays? He had never suspected he was capable of such a look.

He let himself off the hook for not having visited a new exhibit. Even though he had been to this one before, progress had still been made.

Nagato

What was I waiting for?

The more Nagato thought about how he felt, particularly how he had felt at the moment when he could have come out to Yahiko but chose not to, the more he remembered a story he had read once in school. It was a short story of a boy who stayed in some tropical country over the summer when he was 11. He tried to join older boys swimming in a bay, but they saw how childish he was and left. But before then, he had seen them swim through a certain passage beneath the water, and he took swimming through that passage as a test that he needed to pass. He practiced holding his breath for weeks. The part of the story that had most made an impression on Nagato, the part he remembered now, was that at one point the boy remembered how long it had taken the older boys to swim that passage and concluded he could hold his breath long enough to do it. But he did not attempt it then. He continued to practice, with "controlled impatience." Nagato remembered that exact phrase, and he remembered the teacher going over how this quality meant that the character was growing up and becoming mature. Controlled impatience.

He had sat back on his arms and looked up at the sky after Konan confided something highly personal, something that opened the doors and made it possible that he could share something personal too. It hadn't been fear that stopped him. At that moment, he had been seized by a sense that it would be wrong to come out at that exact moment. There was some other time he must wait for, some qualifying event that had yet to happen. He wanted to be done with secrets, but some inner voice said, Not yet. As if he wasn't quite ready. Controlled impatience.

Nagato bit his lip with excitement. In the story, just a day or two before he was to leave the tropical country, the boy had lain on the rock after practice and thought that he might not try it this summer. He might go back and try to swim the passage next summer, with another year's growth in his body. Suddenly he was seized with conviction and knew that he could not do that. If he did not test himself now, he never would. And finally, he tried it. Nagato didn't remember if the story had said so, but there must have been a feeling of rightness that came over the boy, a sensation that he was now ready. If it really was controlled impatience that had stayed his mouth, then that feeling of rightness could not be far away. Nagato could hardly wait. Next week, I'll be a new person.

He wondered what it would be like. What did rightness feel like? He couldn't recall ever having felt such a thing. He imagined it as like being doused in warm honey, a flood of warmth pouring down his body. Or maybe it was an electric buzz. Perhaps it was a vibration, like musical harmony. Perhaps it felt like nothing at all, because you were so immersed in the moment that you were not thinking about yourself at all and it was only afterwards that you could realize you had felt rightness. Perhaps it was all of these things at the same time? Nagato could hardly begin to imagine. Rightness must be a feeling of awesome proportions. He couldn't begin to grasp something so great and immense as knowing that you were correctly placed in the universe. His inability to wait went away. Something that great and important… He couldn't rush it. He must prepare for it. How did one prepare to receive such a gift?

He gave Marsha an end-day report, as usual. "Whisper looks much happier. So does Jonesy - he really liked Yahiko. Tipsy doesn't seem to have any problems. Golden's cooperating with her flea treatment. She'll probably pick up more three days after she's cleared for play. Jonesy nearly stepped on Lilac earlier during play, so I checked on her. She seems fine - no signs of nervousness or anxiety, and no response to Jonesy making sounds. I think Jonesy's just unsuitable for any household that can't tolerate rough play and rough…everything else."

Marsha nodded. "Go along, now," she told him. "Make the most of your weekend."

Nagato usually smiled and promised to do so. But this time, her words gave him pause. "Yeah," he murmured. "I think so." He raised a hand, as if this was a more permanent goodbye. Marsha looked puzzled. Nagato flashed her a brief, awkward smile and ducked out the door.

He placed a hand on the hood of the car. Wow. His arms were shaking now. He needed something to do that was not driving. He got in the warm car and fiddled with his phone, checked for messages. He had two distinct notifications. One was from the group chat, and the other was from Hidan. The latest message from the group chat was Itachi asking if he could join something, and the latest message from Hidan was, Don't do it. I planned something else. Hidan's message looked much more important. Nagato checked and saw that it was the only message Hidan had sent. What was he talking about? Nagato looked at the group chat.

Yahiko had agreed at once, literally the same minute Kisame posted, to go to this meeting with Jiraiya. Konan said just a minute later that, if interest was low, she would go too. Deidara asked if she would be more comfortable if other people were there. Not to talk with Jiraiya, of course, but as a separate outing to the bar. They could sit nearby and be available to join if she got too uncomfortable with Jiraiya. Kakuzu, surprisingly, agreed to this plan. Perhaps it shouldn't have been surprising, because he went on to mention safety in numbers. After previous events that had happened in that bar, nobody could argue with his reasoning. Kisame had, hours later, found time to volunteer to be part of the separate outing. And Itachi, too, had volunteered for that. But if nobody else is interested, may I join? was the last message so far in the group chat.

Nagato couldn't help a smile stealing over his face. I would love to hang out with Jiraiya! It's been so long. I have to ask him about this doctor friend of his. Maybe he has advice for me. So much has been happening lately in my life, too, and I would love to tell him about it. But then he remembered. He could not share his excitement with anyone quite yet. He imagined coming out to Jiraiya at this meeting, and it felt wrong. He would not be able to tell Jiraiya what was most important.

Then he remembered Hidan's message. Don't do it? Don't go to talk to Jiraiya? But he's basically my adopted dad, and I haven't seen him in so long. How could I not? Hidan was asking a lot. He didn't even justify his request by saying that it was very important, or that his plans couldn't wait, or anything. His words were as direct as a lightning strike. Don't do it. Nagato stared at them. Was he supposed to take it on faith?

Because that was what he was doing. Even as Nagato thought about it, he was returning to the group chat and typing out, Go ahead. I won't be able to make it. He wondered if he should justify himself, and ultimately decided not to. He couldn't think of any justification good enough to justify such a great and enormously important thing, so he didn't give any. He let his words be as direct as a lightning strike. This is probably the same logic Hidan used. He understood perfectly how much meeting Jiraiya meant to me.

Of course, Nagato had to ask. What are your plans? He watched his phone for a couple minutes, but Hidan did not respond right away. He put his phone away and observed that his hands were much steadier. He drove home.

Yahiko was waiting in the lobby. He smiled and waved. Nagato's heart thumped. What do I tell him? But Yahiko did not ask. He twisted his hands and fiddled with his hair nervously. "Um… Good luck," he finally said. He mumbled something about finding a good outfit and disappeared. Nagato watched him go. Good luck? What does that mean? Did Yahiko sense that great changes were underway? It certainly wasn't his usual oblivious approach. Nagato wondered if similar changes were underway in Yahiko's life.

Before he could wonder about anything else, a voice said, "Shh." He turned to see Hidan, holding a paper frog colored red with marker to resemble Jiraiya. Hidan looked around. "I'm gonna go surprise her now. C'mon."

Nagato went ahead to look for her. He found Konan in the kitchen taking inventory of their refrigerator. She looked up at him. "Hi," he said with a wave. He directed Hidan there hurriedly, face flushed. If that's not a tipoff. I just ruined the surprise. He followed Hidan in. Konan was waiting for them. Hidan grinned and swept his hands out from behind his back. "Surprise!"

Konan's face went even blanker than usual as she stared at the frog. She looked over it, then tilted her head. Silently she crept closer, examining it from all angles. She reached out and took it from Hidan as gingerly as if it were made of sugar glass. She tilted it, and the icons inside the mouth spilled out onto her hand. She looked down at them, then up at Hidan. He had such a big grin on his face. "Do you like it?"

"You made this?"

He nodded. "I came up with it all by myself, too."

Konan slid the sun, flower and moon back into the frog's mouth. She said nothing more. She placed the frog on the counter beside her, then enveloped Hidan in a bone-crushing embrace that made him gasp. "Fuck, you're strong," he wheezed as he held her back. Konan held it for a while, then released him. She carried the frog away.

"I think she liked it," Nagato said.

"I don't think I have tears in my eyes from her squeezing." Hidan blinked his eyes clear. "Best present idea ever."

Nagato leaned against the countertop. "So, about this plan of yours…"

Hidan looked around and felt his heartbeat. Nobody was around, so he said, "It's kinda… Shit. I… I want it to be a surprise."

"A surprise?"

"Yeah. It involves going somewhere, and I don't want to tell you where we're going until we're in the car."

Nagato's heart skipped a beat. Going somewhere, alone together, while everybody else is away. A surprise location. I know this scenario; I've seen it in movies. "You mean…" A date?

Hidan scratched at his head. "Fuck, I didn't want to make you nervous, that's why it's a surprise…"

Nagato was inclined to hang onto his arm and tell him it was fine, blushing all the while. But his shinobi instincts couldn't help but intervene. He must mean that the location would make me nervous. The location, not the scenario. Dates are all about scenario, not setting. It's not a date. Or at least, it's not meant to be. He could not help but sigh. "It's alright, I'm not nervous." Why does it feel so bad to not be nervous anymore?

Hidan sighed too. "I only sent that to you earlier because I already planned this last night. If you want to wait, go see your dad, I could push it off." But he looked just as dejected as Nagato felt.

"No," Nagato said, taking his hand. "I already made up my mind. Now's not the right time to talk to him about some things anyway. I'll catch up with him later."

Hidan smiled back. "You mean that?" Nagato nodded. "Alright!" Hidan's spirits were restored. He let go of Nagato's hand and swept him under one arm. "Here's the plan. We wait until everybody else is leaving. We leave at the same time as them or a little after. It's a special occasion, so we take the time to dress up a little. Nothing too fancy; I plan to wear a shirt. Me wearing a shirt, you wearing a nice coat or something, we get in the car. Buckle up, pull out. I tell you where we're going. You have the rest of the ride to calm down a little, and then we have a night of fun."

Why would a location make me nervous? Nagato shoved that thought away. If he knew in advance it would only make him more anxious than he had to be. "Sounds like a great plan. I should go get dressed now."

He and Hidan went to get dressed. When he was in his room, Nagato checked his phone to see how his invitation had been received. Itachi had said, I may stop by then. Konan had said, In that case… She did not say for sure whether she would or would not talk to Jiraiya. Given how painful it must be to be near him, that made sense. Even she wouldn't know if she could stand it until she tried. Nagato let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. I'm just glad Yahiko won't be alone.

He selected a light purplish-black jacket that was only meant to keep off a light breeze. His own reasoning so many years ago had been entirely correct; according to everybody who had offered their opinion, purple looked good on him. His shinobi mind intruded again: Why did Hidan want us to dress up? Again, he pushed the thought away. Whatever was going to happen, it was supposed to be fun. He would not let Hidan's plans be ruined and make Hidan feel sad and disappointed in himself. The thought of that banished all of his anxieties, by the literal definition of banishment. Begone! Thou art not welcome.

He went out into the hall, and bumped into Yahiko. "Oh, nice jacket," Yahiko said.

"Nice shirt." Yahiko was wearing a shirt that was a little small on his frame. It was visibly tight around his shoulders. Aside from that, it suited him perfectly, the vivid colors on it joining the bright orange of his hair and giving him a bright and cheerful aura. It was hot pink with a giant sunflower in the middle.

Yahiko brushed invisible dirt off the flower's head. "Yeah… I've had it for a while but never really worn it."

They looked at each other. A million unspoken things flashed through the air between them. Yes; that definitely had not been Yahiko's usual oblivious approach. "You know," Nagato said with a smile, "I think we're going to keep that weekly deadline we decided on."

"Yeah," Yahiko said. "I think so too."

"But for tonight…"

"Tonight, no. I'm glad that you - I mean - Good luck."

Nagato chuckled, showing that he took no offense. "Me too. Good luck."

They nodded and passed each other, two lifelong companions flying apart so that they could reunite. They both smiled as they did. It was a spicysweet smile, happy but also afraid. What if they failed? If I fail, I will still know a self-respect I have never known before. If I fail, I will not really fail.

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A/N: Who decided that bitter was the flavor of sadness? Now that I think about it, wouldn't bitter be the flavor of disgust, because it makes you gag? Sour would be the flavor of sadness. And why is sweet the flavor of happiness? Why not savory? Sweet flavors have all sorts of emotions connected with them; they're very muddled by this point. As for spicy, it was the closest to suitable for fear. I have no idea if fear has a truly suitable flavor analogue.

And flying apart to reunite is an Encanto reference. I like that movie. Also, it should be needless to say by now that any story the characters describe is a story I know. I don't know what the title of that story was. Sorry!

Hehehe... Can't wait for next week. See you then!