Rain To Wash The Blood Away (Nagato x reader)

15. Protection

Three years later

Jiraiya stood before the four of you with a sad smile on his face. Nagato, Konan and Yahiko stood by your side, tears running down their faces as they bid goodbye to their sensei. He had stayed to train you all for three years and now he was leaving. He needed to return to the hidden leaf village, his home.

It pained you to see him go as well, but you weren't as emotional as the others. You were very fond of the white-haired man, despite him being a pervert. He was an amazing teacher and was someone you looked up to. Jiraiya was also the only person you had told about your past and was very understanding, allowing you to lean on him when you had your weak moments.

Jiraiya stepped forward and bid goodbye to each of the others individually, giving words of encouragement and praise. Each of the younger ones gave him a hug, the older man eventually making it to you. He smiled widely as he took your hands and held them gently in hi own larger ones.

"Look how much you've grown, not only on the outside but within as well. You're so much stronger than you used to be, I don't I've met anyone as determined and hardworking as you," he chuckled, giving your hands a squeeze.

"And not only that, you've gotten so beautiful as well. I mean, I knew that you'd grow up to be a beauty but that really is an understatement." Jiraiya received a glare from Yahiko while Konan giggled, Nagato watching silently from the sidelines.

"Anyway, that's not relevant right now. Promise me that you'll look after these three and keep them on track, after today I won't be there to help any of you. It'll just be you taking care of them again and I know you're capable. In the future, I'm sure that you'll make a wonderful wife and mother, so stay alive and keep theses ones here with you." You couldn't help but smile as you nodded, keeping your head down.

"Thank you, Sensei," you whispered. He chuckled, releasing your hands and moving one to pet your head.

"No, thank you. If it wasn't for your determination and care for the other's survival, I don't think I would've been pushed to come out here and look after the four of you. Take care." You smiled up at your teacher.

"You too, look after yourself." He chuckled and began walking away, sending the four of you a final wave before he disappeared down the road and away from the cabin you all lived in.

You remained quiet for a moment as you stared off in the direction that Jiraiya went in, but stopped once you noticed that the three others were looking at you. Konan and Yahiko had both grown a little taller since they were 8 years old, the two of them now being 11. The same went for Nagato, he had grown a little bit but not as much as the younger two. He was 12 years old now but was still the smallest of the group. But out of everyone, you were the one who had gone through the most changes. Your body was changing shape, that being expected from a 14 year old girl.

By yourself, you don't think you would've survived nor understood the changes but Jiraiya was happy to educate you. He was helpful and held back from being his usual perverted self, keeping it a serious.

Jiraiya was a great man and you were proud to be his student. Along with the others, he had trained you, sharpening your skills. You were grateful and owed him a lot for being there for the four of you. When you had met him, you had been in a low, pessimistic mindset which made you feel useless. It made you believe that you couldn't look after the younger ones and would eventually let them die if you didn't do something. But thanks to him, he raised your confidence in yourself and your abilities as well. He didn't teach you any new jutsu but you were thankful for everything else he taught you, things much more valuable to you than power.

"Hey, big sister," Yahiko called, grabbing your attention. You turned to him, humming in response.

"Are you okay?" he asked, looking worried. You smiled gently, approaching him to ruffle his hair.

"Don't go worrying about me, I'm fine. I'll just miss Sensei, that's all," you admitted. The orange-haired boy was glad to see you doing fine and gave you a quick hug before re-entering the cabin with Konan following close behind him.

-------------------------------------------

Later that night, you sat at the table with the three others, eating quietly as Yahiko ate quickly, making a mess on the table. Instead of scolding him, you left him be and ate in silence as he continued with a satisfied smile.

"Wow, your cooking is still so good, big sister," he laughed, finishing his bowl. You thanked him for the compliment as you continued to eat your own food at a steady pace. Konan hurried her eating pace to finish along with Yahiko, gaining hiccups in the process. Yahiko thought it was really funny and laughed at the blue-haired girl as her face turned red from embarrassment. You couldn't help but laugh at the way they played around. But their loudness made Nagato's silence even more obvious, making you turn to look at him. He was staring down into his bowl, eating very slowly.

The other two continued to play, slightly annoying you with their loud behavior. Clicking your fingers, you gathered their attention and pointed to the door.

"Go play outside." The orange and blue-haired eleven year olds nodded and got up from their seats, thanking you for the meal before rushing off.

You continued to eat in silence with Nagato, an irk mark forming on your forehead when you could still hear Yahiko yelling outside.

"I'm gonna use my new skills to protect big sister!" he announced.

"Me too!" Konan cheered, being louder than her usual reserved self. Now your irritation had disappeared, leaving you to laugh as you ate. You loved those children so much, it didn't matter if you weren't related by blood, they were like real siblings. But as you ate, you noticed a pair of eyes on you. Lifting your head, you were surprised to see Nagato looking at you.

"Is something wrong, Nagato?" you asked, hoping that he was okay. He didn't respond, instead, he lowered his head to look back down into his bowl again.

"Do you not like it? I can get you something else if you don't like it, Nagato." You noticed that he was gently shaking, his fists clenched tightly in his lap. It wasn't from fear or anything along those lines, so you couldn't help but wonder what it was.

"I-I'm going to protect you," he said in a quiet yet stern voice. You were surprised by his declaration, unable to hide your smile. He looked up at you, still shaking. Now you understood, he looked nervous and saying something like that took a lot of will power. Leaning over to him, you placed a kiss on his cheek before drawing away.

"I look forward to it."

Okay, there will be one more time skip within the flashbacks and that should be it for now. I hope this is coming out well and easy to understand, I planned out a majority of the story this afternoon so there should be more structure to it. I'm just hoping that the ideas I'm taking directly from my brain to the computer, come out in an understandable way...if that makes sense :)