Mending The Past To A Better Future

Chapter 39: Welcome Home

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Yahiko glanced over at his best friend's younger cousin for what seemed like the eleventh time that day. Naruto had been acting strange for the week that they had been on Uzushiogakure, and the following two days it had taken them to sail back into the safer waters of Fire Country. She had entered the beautiful temple very much excited, and then returned practically vibrating but more subdued, content to stray within the depths of her own mind.

When he and Nagato had laid awake that night under the stars, he had asked him what had happened.

'I don't know,' Nagato had responded worriedly, before turning away and succumbing to sleep.

The closer they gathered to Konoha though, there seemed to be a vibrant energy radiating around the blonde, so Yahiko knew she was okay.

A hand fell on his shoulder in silent support, and he looked back at Konan, who shot him a gentle smile. "She'll be okay," Konan said knowingly, and Yahiko marveled at her ability to read his mind.

He reached back to rest a hand on hers. "I hope so. For both of their sakes." He turned to look at Nagato's ruby red head, staring distantly at his cousin.

"Get ready, brats!" Tsunade hollered. "We're five minutes in!"

Naruto finally opened her eyes, and eagerness seemed to radiate off of her in charged waves. "I'M SO READY FOR THIS, DATTEBAYO!"

"Don't get too excited, kid," Jiraiya said. "We still have about a two hour run until we reach Konoha."

"Can't keep up, old man?" Naruto taunted, a sparkle in her glass eyes.

"Please," Jiraiya snorted. "You can ask any of my bedded partners if I can keep up. I'm sure their response will be... enlightening." A collective groan sounded across the ship deck, but the older man had no shame whatsoever, chuckling into his hand.

"Gross," Rin wrinkled her nose. "And actually, Jiraiya-sama, you're not actually that special. Stamina is just another representation of how well you maintain your body. Statistically speaking, as a ninja, you would have a higher stamina count than the average civilian male. However, when you factor in your age and durability of your bones, you would actually place in the lower stamina polls for Shinobi in general."

Silence falls over them, and Jiraiya's face is growing bright red.

And then Tsunade and Naruto break the silence as one.

"Oh my Kami-sama," Naruto wheezes, holding her chest, laughing all the while. "Or should I say Rin-sama? Oh my Rin-sama! Pervy Sage, you just got fucking... fucked! And not in a good way!"

"I knew there was a reason I picked you as my apprentice," Tsunade hoots, leaving the steering wheel in order to wrap Rin in a crushing side-hug. "You're no student of mine if you can't put my teammates in their place." Tsunade's honey eyes glitter manically. "Wait till Orochimaru meets you."

"I can't believe you just made my sex life statistical," Jiraiya groans. "And then claimed that my stats weren't even good."

Yahiko can't help but laugh, muffling his face into his shirt sleeve just to save face. It doesn't work.

"Oi, Yahiko," Jiraiya snaps. "I trained you, and I can see you! You too, Konan!" Then he turned to Rin. "You humiliated me in front of a beautiful lady," He whined. "I'll never recover."

Naruto snickers. "I bet that wasn't the first time you've said that, huh?"

That starts up another round of laughing, and this time, not even Nagato can hold it in. Rin and Naruto fist bump in satisfaction, similar expressions of glee on their faces.