ok. hi. five times safe. yahiko.
five times. . . / tentatively accepting still.
there was no one there to pull her out from the rubble of her own house. she emerged from the debris herself after days trapped beneath, helpless & waiting. she crawled out, soot covered and nails cracked, bleeding. she remembers her parched mouth, she remembers the dehydration, the taste of morning rainfall -- or was it evening? the clouds were so black, riddled with smoke, impossible to tell -- on her mouth. there was no one else who emerged from the ruined remnants of her neighborhood.
there was a boy she ran into first. or did he find her? the memory is confusing and hazy. but they found each other. they stared at each other like cautious rabbits. he had a water canteen in hand, perhaps fearful she was a knife - wielding thief who would pry it from his hands. or so she thought. did she say something to him that day? she can't remember, her ears were ringing and her tongue was a dry, dead weight. perhaps she was still hysterical, suffering from trauma, on the verge of cracking. he approached her first, that she remembers, his hands gently gripping her biceps to keep her upright. the gentleness of his boyish tone ; hey. hey. it's gonna be alright. you're alright. here, drink this. . .
he's lying through his teeth telling her everything will be alright. his own parents have died the day prior. he's all alone. but he's the world's greatest liar and for a split second, she deludes herself into thinking the sun has come out.
they've gone out earlier one morning, in fact, it's barely even dawn itself. master jiraiya snores so painfully loud sometimes, that they might as well be out & about doing something. no use in wasting time trying to gain fruitless sleep. besides, there is plenty to be done -- the two of them have shared enthusiasm about mastering their skills as soon as possible. controlling their chakra flow to be able to walk on water is a basic feat for shinobi, yet together they've struggled. the last time they practiced was a day of embarrassment and drenched clothes. not this time, they're determined.
and they think they've got it. steady, though nervous, their stances are. it's as though they're walking on ice itself. yahiko is the one whose legs shake with uncertainty, while konan likens herself to floating. she thinks she's mastered it better than him when suddenly -- without warning, without any sign that something was amiss -- she is sucked beneath into the icy black depths of the river. she is startled, somewhere between a gasp and the formation of a sound, of his name. she has no idea if he saw her.
she can swim, of course, but the water at this time of year is brutal. it's like a thousand needles stabbing her all at once. she's sent into shock & unable to react. she's already sunk too deep before her brain's signaling for her legs to kick. she's pathetic, flailing dead weight . . . and then she's not. and then from the darkness, there is yahiko at her side. an arm around her, the two of them trying to move against the tides. she doesn't know it then, but yahiko's not actually a good swimmer, but she's believing it at this time. the truth is, the both of them very nearly drowned. it was master jiraiya's perfectly timed appearance -- sensing something amiss, the house being unusually quiet with only nagato inside -- and his strong pair of arms pulling them both up.
breathless and lips bluer than her hair, a shivering konan tentatively placed a hand beside the still - panting yahiko's cheek and whispered ; ❝ thank you. ❞
it's only a moment, a single moment in a seemingly insignificant point in time. things are going unusually well for their organization. she hates to be the pessimistic one -- that's nagato's job, all three of them mutually joke -- but there haven't been any setbacks as of late. the war against hanzo's tyranny is still ongoing with no sign of end. their people are still deeply affected. things are still happening but . . . not everything's bad.
she's quiet, observant in the meeting as yahiko goes over the table map. he is candid and upbeat, there's a riveting energy to him when he speaks. he looks up and their eyes meet, and he flashes her a smile. yahiko always smiles, but there's something special reserved for the ones given to her. it is like being enveloped by the sun's warmth. there is an unspoken promise in it, things will get better.
she believes him. she believes in him.
nagato had a dream about you. she hates even speaking of it, as though it will physically manifest. there are knots in the pit of her stomach. she chewed her nails after nagato told her, they are uneven nubs now with bloodied cuticles. she's not this superstitious, but nagato's dreams are prophetic. they are rare and always to be taken seriously, in her opinion. which is why it frustrates her to a degree when yahiko playfully leans into her touch -- his embrace warm and inviting, his scent comforting to her -- and prods her only with ; and. . . ?
she is practically trembling, reembering the emphasized dread in nagato's own tone. hanzo is going to kill you.
he laughs. he laughs. he has the audacity to laugh. her ears burn, her cheeks fluster. it's not meant to mock her, nor nagato. no, yahiko so boldly laughs in the face of death.
i bet he'll try. he says when the laughter dies down, taking her into his arms, soothing her. he's so relaxed, so nonchalant. there is so little worry. threats roll off his shoulders these days. he kisses her forehead. he'll have to get in line first. i'm sure there's a queue for my head at this point.
and in spite of herself, she laughs with him after that. his attitude is infectious. she scolds herself for succumbing to paranoia so easily. nagato worries too easily and his worrisome outlook gets the best of her too easily. yahiko makes her believe that it's no matter at all.
her head rests against his chest, counting each slow heartbeat of his. the relaxed rhythm soothes her to sleep, or at least, settles her mind. today, it does neither for her. but only because she is so preoccupied with a matter that rattles inside her chest, trying to pry her jaw open to speak.
yahiko, her tone is off. it sounds so nervous, so unlike herself. she hears his hum for reply, feels the way he cranes his neck up ever so slightly to gaze down upon her. but she cannot look upright to face him. her hands tighten into nervous fists, she forces out a breath. and then. i think i'm pregnant.
a beat. a heavy silence. she hears his heartbeat stutter first before his breath staggers, before his entire body freezes. before she gives him a chance to speak, the words tumble out gracelessly out from her mouth first. i-- i think. i don't know. i'm not entirely sure. nagato suspects there's a spy in the organization, and our intel reports line up with that, i'm too afraid to go to a medic right now. but later, when i do go, if i am-- what do you. . . what do we do?
and he's terrified, just as terrified as she is. but his smile is sunlight itself and there is joy beneath the fear. he pulls her up closer into his arms, he's breathless & hysterical himself. he can't say if this is good news, it might not even be true at all. to others, saying we'll figure it out, sounds callous and dismissive. but not from him, not the way he says it. there's immense love poured in his words, despite the fear of the future and the unknown.
they are a pair of grinning, giddy idiots. she kisses him, and though her fears don't lessen, in his embrace she feels safe against the world's potential wrath out for them both.
( sadly, it would all be for nothing. )