I wouldn't want my son to go through the same things I had to go through. I don't want to become like my parents.

They are phrases that in certain situations appear to us as absolute truths. They become the goal of the person who at a young age found himself suffering trauma and unjustified prohibitions. A purpose so important that this person will end up not forgiving himself for the slightest thing that makes him similar to the person who created him. Many times it becomes a real phobia which can lead to extreme actions, such as resorting to plastic surgery in order to eliminate even physical similarities.

However this extremism was not the case with Konan. Her only daughter, born to parents now advanced in age and all other relatives much older than her. She had only met one of the four grandparents that each of us has, and she was also very old. Her cousins, all teenagers, had never wanted to play with that apparently shy little girl who was nevertheless eager to give all the confidence in the world if someone allowed her to do so. Her uncles, who were also quite grown-ups, did nothing but talk about politics every time they met with her parents. They did it very loudly, this terrible habit ended up leaving her dazed every time.

A family of crazy closed-mindedness, especially the mother, to every little initiative that Konan or her father proposed to make family life a little less boring and flat, the woman responded with: "What are you doing? What comes to mind?"

So even going out to the cinema or to eat out was very rare. There had never been any talk of concerts, dance halls or New Year's Eve parties; anything that forced one not to be in bed by midnight was considered taboo.

When Konan was about four years old, the family was invited to the wedding of a maternal cousin, her mother had been mumbling all day before and the next. For her, attending a social event seemed to be a source of extreme stress and a major hassle. At the age of about eight, Konan had already understood that her proposals and initiatives were best kept to himself.

The discussions that occurred between her parents were absurd, full of both verbal and emotional violence, the little girl trembled visibly even just hearing them. Every time Konan had to prepare to face days of resentment, silence and long faces. It happened that, three days after one of these catastrophic arguments, her mother had returned to attack her father again suddenly while they were in the car.

Okay, so every time this happens I'll have to be scared for three days. Only then will I be able to allow myself the luxury of breathing a momentary sigh of relief.

However, the worst thing was the fact that her mother had refused to let her attend nursery school.

What are you going to do there? I'm a housewife anyway, I can look after you. It's not free, you know?

So Konan grew up alone in that dysfunctional family, without having any comparison with her peers until she entered first grade. She was shaking that day. She watched her parents on the threshold of the classroom without having the courage to express what she felt, it would have been perfectly useless, they wouldn't have understood her as had happened since she was born. Once they had left, she was left there in danger, to face alone that emptiness and that unknown that opened up before her and that her classmates already seemed to know how to manage perfectly. She began to tremble again as the teacher explained the day's program to the new students at the beginning of their careers. Konan, in fact, did not know the meaning of the word recreation, she had never heard it. She understood that it was the break, and therefore a good thing, only after she saw it with her own eyes.

This feeling of being further behind and more immature compared to her peers remained with her until she graduated. Talking about feelings and approaches to the opposite sex, she also extended to the following years of youth. Konan gradually realized that the other girls considered normal everything that her family had instilled in her to consider as dirty or even humiliation. Oral intercourse, in particular, had been labeled as such by her mother. Many of her classmates had snubbed and made fun of her for this. Making friends with her had always been a difficult task for her, the others, when they went out or went to the disco, considered such a clumsy girl a drag.

The first real sign of detachment from the umbilical cord of her family was given by her at the age of twenty-one, when she decided to dye her hair, naturally light brown, that electric blue that would also characterize her in subsequent years. Her mother's screams seemed to take the roof off their suburban house, her father sat in silence at the kitchen table without giving any reason to either of them.

Only after her wife began to have a hoarse voice due to her shouting too much, the man dared to say: "after all, it's not permanent, hair can always grow back."

Konan, at that moment, felt a light bulb turn on in her head that illuminated her completely. After a week she returned home with the permanent thing done: a piercing on her lower lip, a small silver sphere.

The door, closed calmly and safely, muffled the umpteenth screams of her mother. From that day Konan decided never to return to that house.

I still don't have a clear idea of what I want to be and achieve, however I am certain of what I don't want to be, and this is already a good starting point.

Finally she could now live her sexual and sentimental life as she desired. The fact of being inexperienced compared to her peers had always directed her towards men younger than her. Since she did small odd jobs, many of them simply exploited her for their own entertainment. However, despite her economic and sentimental difficulties, there was no question of returning to her parents' house.

The distance had smoothed out relations with the family a little, they spoke easily on the phone, they saw each other for the holidays, sometimes she slept with them. But she Konan continued to feel an emptiness for the adolescence years of which she had been deprived due to the rigid education she received. This lack made her behave directly, she went straight as a spindle to get what she wanted without thinking too much. This, on certain occasions, had caused her to make terrible blunders. Many partners had fled from her exuberance, not understanding the real reason behind it.

I wouldn't want it to end like this with Neji too.

In fact, that relationship had started quite the opposite. That evening at Susanoo she had taken that shy boy, eight years younger than her, in a way that suggested a complete insensitivity on his part towards the dark-haired man's feelings. Neji had attracted her in a way that had been impossible for her to escape. His awkward movements made him insecure on stage, even though he was objectively beautiful. The dress and the cat mask that had ended up embarrassing him even more, she felt like smiling when she thought of Yahiko and Shisui who dressed him up like this and of their efforts to make him a little more confident. It had all happened in that dressing room, two couples who had intersected in the most natural way possible. Perhaps the prosecco had given them a helping hand.

Maybe not…

In any case, they had no longer met with Yahiko and Shisui after that particular and magical evening. Konan couldn't understand if she was sorry or not, the connection that had been generated between all four was certainly not a small thing, however she couldn't pretend to be in Yahiko and Shisui's heads, much less that they had his own opinions.

If our possible meeting would risk ruining everything, I prefer it to stay that way. I will keep this wonderful memory within me.

Susanoo, since Obito had abandoned its management, had gradually become a normal nightclub. Konan, who continued to work there as a bartender, had witnessed the transformation, both of the place and the customers. Seeing groups of boys and teenagers meeting, getting to know each other, and interacting with each other filled her with a strange pleasure she had never felt before.

Who knows, maybe I will be an unwitting witness to the birth of some love.

Meanwhile, the relationship between her and Neji was slowly growing. They never talked about their first time again. However, the time to do it would come, the boy was loosening up step by step and she had decided to respect her time. Certainly the fact of having been hired as a model together with his cousin Hinata would have made him gain confidence in himself and in his abilities. Although Konan's apartment was large enough to accommodate both of them and Neji spent most of his time there, they were not officially living together at the moment. He still needed to spend some days alone. He probably still had some qualms about the age difference. An obsession which, however, was gradually waning.

Konan was over the moon when the brunette accepted his invitation to spend the evening in a pub. It was in fact rare for her to be free in the evening, this clearly meant that he no longer liked to miss any opportunity to be together.

Konan smiled at the image of her in the mirror, hooking on an earring in the shape of a little white rose, the final touch of that preparation studied down to the smallest detail. He wanted to amaze with delicacy that evening. He had built his outfit starting from the one thing that he couldn't and didn't want to change: the electric blue of his hair. He decided that he should not contrast with the rest of the look, but, on the contrary, be welcomed and accompanied gently. The sugar paper-colored mesh shirt went perfectly with the color of her hair, he chose a nail polish of the same shade only slightly darker, he wore it on both his hands and feet. Another small, bright blue rose hung from the thin necklace, stopping at the junction of her shapely breasts, just millimeters away from getting lost in them. His sandals were also blue, with thin but low heels. Tight black leggings wrapped around her legs, highlighting the roundness of her hips and butt, with her calves exposed. His skin, with a natural yellow undertone, pleasantly golden by the sun. A spray of hairspray to fix her rounded bob was vaguely reminiscent of the Sixties. She had remembered just in time, before entering the door, to put her white jade ring on her right middle finger, a further touch of class.

Neji, that evening, had simply surprised her in everything, he had been incredibly gallant. He had gone to pick her up, waiting with infinite patience for the quarter of an hour she was late. The oval of her beautiful face was lit up with a big smile as she saw her approaching on the sidewalk. She had finally understood, perhaps also following Genma's advice, how to highlight her large blue eyes. The glowing dragon climbing up the right sleeve of her black shirt was in fact the same color as her irises. A little pencil of the same color on her lower eyelid. Her long black hair pulled back so the parting wasn't obvious.

She had opened the door for her and then, once they had taken their respective seats in the car, she had kissed her, not caring about her cherry gloss that was spreading everywhere. Konan hated actual lipsticks, even more lip tints, it's true that they don't stain or transfer, but they dry out the lips in a deadly way. Most of the men she had dated in the past had always complained annoyed about the gloss that ended up on her mouth and cheeks, and had often avoided kissing her for the entire evening. Neji had never done anything like this, even for these small but surprising qualities of hers she was attracted to him.

True, our relationship started out backwards, however it is the best thing I have ever done in my life. Following a pre-set or programmed pattern is very often the best way to make mistakes. People only do it to gratify society, never themselves.

Neji had continued to surprise her. They sat at a wooden table in the garden of that practically deserted pub, the evening seemed magical under the stars and colored light bulbs, a few fireflies flew among the flowering oleander bushes, the air pleasantly warm and mild. The dark-haired man had disappeared inside the building smiling.

"Wait here" he whispered softly, placing a kiss on her hair.

Neji took a while to return, Konan wondered what he was doing, probably not queuing at the counter since the place was practically empty. He noticed the mayor sitting nearby in the company of what must have been three close friends, the table filled with all kinds of junk food.

It was probably him who booked the whole place, he didn't want to be disturbed by anyone this evening.

Konan holds her breath seeing Neji return in the company of a waitress, after all there were many objects to carry. A vase full of red roses, candles and a bottle of lovely sparkling wine.

"I… I don't know what to say," Konan's light brown, almost golden eyes were wide. Cheeks slightly red.

"We definitely need to celebrate." Neji had placed a white oleander flower in her hair, then sat down, holding her small hands.

"Neji, you were amazing! But… if there is an anniversary, forgive me, I must have forgotten it."

"We've been together for two months" the brunette's blue eyes became even brighter.

Konan laughed happily showing off her perfect teeth. Yes, he had forgotten.

Let's be honest, maybe I was so afraid that the relationship wouldn't go through that I stopped myself with my hands. Just as maybe I'm slowing down Yahiko and Shisui's friendship. No, I need to change course.

And so, during an early summer evening, in a semi-deserted pub, at the age of thirty-five, Konan had understood that perfection exists and she had been nothing less than lucky to find it. She decided to live it to the fullest, despite what people would think.

The honking Shave and a Haircut, Two Bits in the parking lot certainly couldn't go unnoticed, at the mayor's table they spoke so softly that they seemed silent. Both he and the three friends turned towards the entrance smiling as if they already knew who it was. An exuberant boy with long blond hair literally burst into the garden dragging a skinny girl with glasses and red hair, pulling her by one hand. Another couple followed close behind, a small redhead, with darker hair than the girl who was with the blonde. His girlfriend was taller than him, long straight brown hair, Konan saw everyone from behind except the mayor and the muscular guy with the dark blue crew cut who sat next to him.

Well, it doesn't take much to be taller than him.

"Hey Kisame, look at this great news, Kabuto has become a scientist in the field of robotics. Sasori told me that you were in class together in high school" the blond waved a scientific magazine under the bodybuilder's nose.

The big man smiled as he showed the pages first to the mayor and then to the other two who were at the table. The two couples occupied a table next to the mayor's, however the blond newcomer had continued to jump from table to table, laughing with his contagious cheerfulness. He began to chug a bottle of prosecco directly with his mouth and then went around his friends to let everyone take a sip. He poured the wine directly into their mouths, they had no choice: either they swallowed it or they took a bath. The two girls talked to each other while the small redhead, who must have been called Sasori, calmly conversed with Kisame bypassing the distance between the two tables.

"Well, goodbye peace of mind" Neji pretended to complain when he was actually amused.

Konan looked at him beaming: "they're a nice group, very close-knit friends."

Two more couples joined shortly after, a tall man with silver and glittery hair pulled back by wet-look gel; the redhead who was with him, dressed decidedly not for evening wear with a burgundy maxi sweatshirt, jeans and Converse, greeted Kisame by kissing him on her cheeks. Two busty blondes were holding hands, both bleached, one with a very geometric bob, the other with her long hair collected in two braids. After greeting everyone, they went to sit at the end of the table to the mayor's right and started kissing and putting their hands in each other's necklines. The casually dressed redhead was perched at the other end, sitting on the sharp edge. Konan and Neji would never have imagined that inside that striped gypsy bag he kept a transverse flute, he began to play a melody so sweet it didn't even seem real. Her silver-haired partner watched her raptly sitting on her bench while she started drinking one beer after another.

"Good, right?" Neji's voice came out almost like a whisper, perhaps he was fascinated by the music or perhaps he was afraid of breaking those notes that seemed unreally suspended in the air.

"Divina…" Konan felt dreamy, her head light. That was more than just music.

"Hey newbie, up for an arm wrestling challenge?"

Neji and Konan jumped so apostrophized suddenly. The musician's boyfriend was standing there in front of them. He had unbuttoned his red shirt with three-quarter sleeves, thick gold chains with wide links hung from his neck. The mocking smile was widening asymmetrically, his eyes sent out disturbing flashes. They were brown but at times they seemed to have specks of fuchsia inside them. Strange, neither Konan nor Neji had seen him get up from the table, they didn't know how he had landed there out of nowhere.

This music... has something strange...

The flautist had suddenly interrupted the piece to call her companion with her hoarse reading voice: "Hidan, come on, leave those boys alone."

"What's the matter, are you scared?" Hidan had completely ignored her.

"Hidan, I know we didn't train today, if you want we'll do a double shift tomorrow" it was the short redhead who was now trying to convince him.

"Damn it, Hidan, don't make a show of it again tonight, okay?" the long-haired blond had grabbed him by the shoulders.

"Hear that pulpit, Deidara!"

"Um, sorry, he drank too much" Deidara had managed, with Sasori's help, to bring him back towards his table.

Konan and Neji had to laugh. Kisame had stood up ready to intervene, the wine redhead and the dark haired man with long straight hair who were sitting in front of the mayor had turned to look at the scene a little worried.

"Now I'll play you something I wrote thinking of you, would you like?" Hidan's partner stood on tiptoe to kiss the tip of his nose.

Konan and Neji clasped their hands on the table. A decidedly singular group of people, yet unique and interesting.

That beautiful union was not yet complete, two more people arrived passing the iron gate. Konan and Neji instantly recognized Yahiko's flame hair and Shisui's soft, black curls. The woman felt relieved, happy, complete, all at the same time. She felt like she was reliving that magic and union she experienced during the boys' last evening of work at Susanoo. She turned to Neji to find him beaming more than her. Yahiko had gone straight to greet the wine red in front of the mayor, while Shisui had hugged the long-haired brunette. They demonstrated that they were on good terms with everyone.

Being part of you will be an honor for me.

"Now that we are finally all reunited, and for this we have Kisame to thank, there are some important announcements to make" Deidara had stood up on the table where his girlfriend and Sasori were with his: "not only Karin and I are there we will get married, but so will Sasori and Sarana and Hidan and Tayuya. We have already decided the date, it will be September 10th, a maxi ceremony that will include us all so as not to divide this legendary group."

Konan instinctively turned in her companion's direction, the desire that shone in the honey of his eyes was caught by Neji without needing to use words. Shisui spotted them with a big smile, called back to Yahiko who was still with his hands on the shoulders of the wine red, then they both headed in their direction.

"What are you doing here all alone? There are friends there just waiting for you" Shisui held out his hand to convince them to follow him.

Konan met Naruto's turquoise eyes, their mutual smile inevitable.

Konan and Neji discovered how extraordinary the history of that group was. Itachi, who had worked at Susanoo all his life together with his cousin Shisui and Yahiko, his younger brother was that handsome brunette who was now a colleague of Neji and Hinata. Obito was also part of the family. Nagato had identical eyes to Yahiko for a very specific reason. The others had met thanks to Kisame's gym, Sasori and Sarana, two of his old classmates and so on...

Difficult, intense stories, but which thanks to this had become indissoluble and would remain so forever. Konan was certain that she had not been welcomed to those tables out of simple politeness, she and Neji would have been part of those extraordinary people for the rest of their lives.

It wasn't painful to go home, the certainty that they would see each other again made her feel as if she had been born a second time that day. She and Neji had been given, in just a few hours, the chance to have a beautiful, long and fascinating life.

And who would have thought it when I left the house?

The completeness that had come pleasantly into her life continued with Neji's disarming sweetness. Perhaps what she had always thought was shyness had been nothing other than her misinterpreted delicacy. As soon as she closed the apartment door, the tenderness of those big blue eyes hit Konan. A lovely smile as Neji welcomed her small hands into his. She guided her slowly and gracefully into the bedroom, a pleasant warmth enveloping Konan's body.

Enchanting…

The woman had the perception that her heart had stopped, however it was not a negative sensation. She felt evanescent both in mind and in limbs. Light waves that came and went of her, pulled her up and then gently brought her back down.

Konan attributed a characteristic to the warm and pleasant air of early summer, she seemed smooth to her. A sensation very similar to the floating given by flying. She smiled, convinced that if she turned around, she would see two large white wings behind her.

Neji had made her lie on her back on the white and soft blankets, she was no longer able to formulate words but only sighs. The brunette's warm body lay on her, their lips met in a kiss that made you lose track of time. Konan had always been convinced that the longer a kiss, the more intense and sincere the emotions at play are. They had both eyes closed, more proof of this. The delicacy with which Neji had removed her fishnet shirt and bra had been sublime, as if she were touching one of those flowers whose petals crease easily. She remembered some of her petunias. Neji's long hair tickled her face as he trailed down with many small kisses to her slender neck, then to her breasts. It was different from when she had taken the lead their first time at Susanoo. Now that he was completely in charge, there could be nothing banal or mediocre. Konan couldn't remember ever meeting a man like that, most of the women she had met even snubbed them.

Poor fools!

The nipples had become very sensitive, while the dark-haired man ran his hands along the hourglass formed by the narrow waist and the curve of the hips, almost to the point of bordering on pain. She heard her own moans muffled by her intense pleasure as Neji buried his face in her soft belly to kiss her burning skin. The leggings slipped off along with the lace thong. Konan's golden eyes, which had remained closed until that moment, widened as they felt the dark-haired man's lips rest on her excited and wet sex. He twisted his legs in pleasure realizing he was selfish, yet he was too enthusiastic about the luck that had entered his existence like a door suddenly thrown open by a gust of wind. Door through which only glittering flowers and a light flight of butterflies can enter.

I am flying…

The small hands got lost in Neji's mass of black hair. He felt her cock rise, her flesh didn't offer the slightest resistance when he made his entrance inside her. Her mouths joined again in a soft kiss, Konan's legs surrounded her partner's waist while the movements were sweet and in unison. Waves of the sea, when they followed each other small but without stopping, so they felt cradled until the peak of pleasure. The kiss didn't end until their skin had calmed down a little.

Konan heard Neji turn to reach into the pocket of his dragon shirt that he had left on a nightstand. The woman's golden eyes transformed from curious to pleasantly surprised in a matter of seconds, her slender neck highlighting her ridges as she breathed in her surprise.

"I've been waiting all evening for the perfect moment to give it to you. I think it has arrived."

Neji had placed a small blue box in her hands, almost the same color as her hair.

A transparent but multi-colored brilliant illuminated her radiant face. He fit her left ring finger like a glove, it was incredible how fine Neji's observation skills were.

Konan's voice became very sweet as he looked at him again: "we will never be able to forget the tenth of September, it will be a date worthy of the best history books."

"Well, I guess that's a yes."

They hugged each other laughing and remained so for the rest of the night.