Rain To Wash The Blood Away (Nagato x reader)

16. Nerves

Nagato remembered the night where he had promised to protect (Y/n) for years and it had been seven since then. In those seven years, he had been able to help in creating the organization which him and his closest friends were apart of.

The Akatsuki.

And now he was happy, he was on his way to helping Yahiko achieve his dream of world peace. Nagato truly believed in his friend's words and so did many others, that was why they had all joined their group and stood by their sides as allies. Nagato was proud of his friend and everything thing they had accomplished so far.

But even when Nagato tried to focus his mind solely on his friends goal, he was always distracted by something. It was the same thing every time and he was hopeless when faced with it.

His strong feelings towards (Y/n).

It pained him thinking about them because he had such little confidence in himself and he had seen other members try to flirt with her before. He didn't even know if she was with anyone or not but according to Konan, she hadn't shown interest in anyone at all. That still left him feeling down since no matter how hard he tried, she was always on his mind.

Sitting on the other side of the room, Konan noticed her close red-haired friend doing what he usually did. His abnormal eyes staring at the woman he was deeply in love with, watching her do her usual tasks. She liked to cook for the group and look after everyone, she was like a mother to members of the Akatsuki. She treated each one with care and made sure they were all okay, doing whatever she could to help Yahiko achieve his dream as well.

The blue-haired woman sighed and approached her friend, tapping him on the shoulder. He jumped in fright, turning to look at her with a quickened heart rate.

"Nagato, you're watching big sister again," she points out, knowing full well that Nagato didn't see her as a sister. He was supposed to, she took him under her wing and treated him like a younger brother but his mind wouldn't accept it.

"N-no, I wasn't," he tried to defend. Konan let out a long sigh and sat down beside her friend, sending him a reassuring smile. Nagato refused to look at her, his eyes gluing themselves to the table before they moved back up to look at (Y/n). She was currently helping one of the Akatsuki members reapply their bandages. Heaving a sigh himself, Nagato rested his face in his hands.

"She would never look at me like that, she sees me as a little brother like Yahiko." Konan rested her hand on his shoulder, giving it a small squeeze.

"Nagato, that isn't true. Big sister treats Yahiko and I like we're her siblings but you mean so much more to her. Please, just give it a chance and confess that you like her. She's the kind of person that will happily give her heart away to make someone else happy, it would make not only me but Yahiko happy too if she were to find someone to love her back. And I know for a fact that you love her, even if you won't admit it to me." Nagato remained silent, not saying a word as he peaked through his fingers to watch (Y/n) finish wrapping bandages around a guy's arm. She smiled kindly at him before bidding goodbye to him.

Then she looked up and caught Nagato's eyes, sending him a wave from the other side of the room. He returned the gesture with a shy wave of his own, his cheeks dusted red. Konan huffed and rested her cheek in the palm of her hand as he watched Nagato.

"I'm not forcing you to do anything but I really think you should confess. It doesn't have to be now but... I don't know. Sleep on it and we can chat more in the morning," she told him before getting out and leaving. They had made a base somewhat underground, using a naturally occurring cave and turning it into a place where the Akatsuki members could live.

Looking out towards the entrance, Nagato noticed that it was getting dark outside. It was also close to the time where they would eat dinner, his eyes drifting over to the small kitchen area they had set up. (Y/n) was already there, preparing ingredients while a few other members occupied the kitchen to help her out.

As their group grew, they would need more food prepared for each meal. And as the organization increased in size, (Y/n) never failed to provide everyone with the necessary amount of food and care. She worked hard, whether it was at the base or outside during a fight, she never gave up and put her all into everything. That was one thing that had drawn Nagato to (Y/n) but also the fact that she was so kind and was always there for him, even now when she had to take care of so many more people.

"It's almost ready," someone called out, snapping Nagato out of his thoughts. This drew most of the Akatsuki members out, most of them tired and hungry from being out all day, some for even longer than that.

They all lined up to get something to eat but Nagato remained sitting, watching as (Y/n) worked hard, handing out food to the starving shinobi who thanked her with smiles. She returned the gestures, the sight making Nagato's heart beat faster, a strange fluttering feeling filling his stomach.

He didn't know how long he sat hunched over, trying to clear his mind but it must've been a while. When he looked up, he was surprised to see (Y/n) standing in front of him, looking worried.

"Nagato, are you alright? Did you want something to eat?" she asked softly. The red-haired man nodded slowly, swallowing the lump in his throat. He hoped that eating would cure the odd feeling in his stomach and calm him down. But he wasn't sure that was going to happen at all, especially since (Y/n) sat right next to him.

He noticed Yahiko on the other side of the room and wanted to call out to him but his voice wouldn't work. He was lucky enough that Yahiko turned and saw him, sending him a thumbs up. He was confused, finally realizing when Yahiko pointed to the woman Nagato was sitting next to. He turned his head to look at her, only now seeing the bowl in front of him. (Y/n) noticed the redhead looking at her and cocked an eyebrow.

"Is something wrong, Nagato?" she asked. He shook his head, his eyes moving back to Yahiko who now had Konan by his side. The two of them smiling widely as they made hearts with their hands before running off.

Nagato let his eyes move back to the table as he began eating, not daring to say a word. He was a nervous wreck and he didn't want (Y/n), the one he loved the most, to see him in such a low state.

I love the idea of shy Nagato, especially him having someone that he loves and can't stay calm around. Nagato needs someone in his life and hopefully (Y/n) will be the one for him. I've planned out the next chapter and I am so excited for it. Thank you for reading :)