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The Akatsuki were going to investigate a bandit camp on the western border of the Land of Rain. However, the way there was much more dangerous than they had expected. They had to steer clear of land mines and escape a landslide all in a single day. The group had taken so long that the sky had been pitch black for hours once they were even near the area.
Even worse, fog settled over the area much more quickly than anyone had anticipated. The members of the Akatsuki muttered amongst themselves about what they were going to do. A couple of them considered using wind-style jutsus to clear the area, while others considered traveling forward. One of them was desperately trying to stay awake, shaking their head and slapping themselves every time they started to nod off.
Even Nagato looked a bit groggy, though he put on a brave face in front of the newer recruits.
Yahiko stared out in the distance and sighed.
“I hate to say it, but we’ll have to set up camp here,” he said while shaking his head in frustration.
Nagato and Konan nodded in agreement.
One of the newer members of the Akatsuki grumbled, “Why? Shouldn’t we keep going?”
The three leaders turned around to tell the others why they made the decision they made.
“It’s getting pretty late,” Nagato said.
Konan added, “And the bandit’s camp is still a couple of hours away. We don’t want to leave ourselves too exhausted if we can help it.”
The new member bowed his head, “You’re right. Sorry.”
“Besides, we’ll have a lot more energy in the morning,” Yahiko said.
Nagato added, “If something strange happens in camp, I’ll be able to handle things.”
Yahiko and Konan pulled out some tarps from their bags while the others pitched the tents.
The fog was still looming over them, so they had to work carefully. But eventually, the tents were all set up for rest.
“I’ll keep watch,” Nagato offered.
Konan asked, “Are you sure? You kept watch last time.”
He gave the group a thumbs-up.
“I’m the strongest one here. If anyone comes after us, I’ll be able to stop them.”
Konan gave him a worried look.
“Don’t force yourself, okay?”
He gave her a little smile and a wink, as if to reassure her that everything would be fine. She nodded, but Nagato could tell she wasn’t confident about it. She just quietly handed him a spare pack of dried meat for a snack and a spare roll of bandages.
“If you need to sleep, just let us know and we’ll take over,” Yahiko said.
“I will,” Nagato lied.
And with that, the rest of the Akatsuki gathered their sleeping bags and crawled inside the tents. Nagato could hear a few of them chatting with each other while he stood by the tents. The chatter was oddly reassuring, even though some of them were worried about their mission.
Little by little, the camp quieted down until everyone else was sound asleep. Nagato stretched his legs and lit his oil lantern. Then, he wandered around the camp, keeping an eye out in case something strange happened.
The place was eerily quiet. Not even the sound of rain could be heard. Nagato paced around the camp, looking for any signs of danger. His head felt foggy, but he shook his head and picked up the pace.
Midway through his patrol, he stumbled on a rock. He felt pain in his knee as he picked himself back up. He quickly bandaged it up with the bandages Konan gave him before shuffling away. Nagato thought, How could I be so careless?
Meanwhile, he muttered, “Just a little longer…”
It was hard to tell how much time had passed. He couldn’t see the moon in the sky, nor could he see wildlife activity in the distance. Nagato tried to keep himself busy, though he felt like he had been out there for hours.
All of a sudden, Nagato heard the camp’s tarp rustle and the sound of footsteps nearby. He wondered to himself if one of the bandits had spotted the Akatsuki’s camp. All he could do was watch the area like a hawk, walking slowly towards the source of the sound. Then, he saw a light like his own swaying in the fog.
He wondered, What’s going on?
Nagato pulled a kunai out of his pocket, just in case. His eyes darted all around him, trying to find any sign of a threat.
Instead, Yahiko’s voice called out, “Hey there!”
Nagato jolted back and dropped his kunai.
He yelped, “Ah!”
Yahiko and Konan emerged from the fog while Nagato scrambled to pick it up. It took him an embarrassingly long time to grab it, but eventually he stuffed it back in his pocket and peeked his head back up.
“You scared me,” Nagato exclaimed.
Yahiko scratched the back of his head.
“Sorry about that,” he said, “We just didn’t want to wake up anyone else, but it’s hard to see anything without the lantern.”
Nagato took a deep breath to settle his nerves.
“It’s okay. I should be the one apologizing, since I almost pointed a kunai at you two,” he said sincerely.
But then, he asked, “But why are you up so late?”
Konan said, “We didn’t want you to be out here by yourself.”
“Besides, you’ve been pushing yourself really hard,” Yahiko added, “We won’t let you work yourself to the bone if we can’t help it.”
Konan gave him a pat on the back.
“That’s why we’re together, right? We’ve been here for each other ever since we were little, and nothing’s going to change that.”
Nagato turned off his lantern and let Yahiko wrap an arm around him. The two of them headed back, and Yahiko propped him against a tent before sitting down beside him.
“Do you want me to watch over you two,” Konan asked.
Yahiko said, “No, I can stay with Nagato. Well, unless you want to watch him while I patrol the camp.”
“I’ll keep watch then.”
“Thanks.”
Konan made a few paper butterflies, which followed her around. Then, she sent one more to watch over her loved ones before turning her lantern on. Then, she started to quietly walk around camp.
Now that Nagato’s loved ones were helping him, the air felt less heavy than it had even moments ago. It was like he could finally, truly rest. He sighed peacefully as he rested his head on Yahiko’s shoulder. A wave of sleepiness immediately hit him, and his eyes fluttered as he took one last look at Yahiko.
As Nagato drifted off to sleep, Yahiko ruffled his hair and gave him a kiss on the forehead.
“Goodnight,” he whispered, “Get plenty of rest.”
The two sat there for a good long while. Yahiko readjusted his position every now and then, just to make sure Nagato was as comfortable as he could be. Yahiko read through some old reports to pass the time, though he kept sneakily giving Nagato tiny forehead kisses whenever he got bored.
After a long while, Konan stopped by and crouched down in front of them.
She whispered, “Aww, he’s adorable.”
Yahiko smiled back at her.
“He sure is.”
She gave Nagato a kiss on the cheek. He cracked a smile and hummed as if he could hear their flattery. Konan then gave Yahiko a hug.
She whispered, “Thank you for staying with him.”
“No problem.”
“Oh! And I have just one more thing for you two.”
Konan wrapped a blanket around the two of them, just to make sure they were both warm.
Then, she waved and whispered, “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight,” Yahiko whispered back before blowing her a kiss.
The three of them knew that whatever the morning would bring, they’d be able to handle it. All they had to do was rely on each other and wait for the fog to clear, and they were doing just that.