[Open] So. This was Konoha.

[teachingpeace]

Where: Konoha
When: June 4th-July 1st
Notes: Nagato hasn't actually ever been to Konoha before... But he's doing his best to make sure no one realizes he's the leader of Ame... Sort of.

Nagato had taken a few precautions to make sure that when he left Ame, people wouldn't instntly peg him as the ruler of his country. First, he made sure that everyone still mostly only knew of Pein, not his given name, and second, he made sure that everyone thought orange when they thought of said leader. Neither of which, clearly, applied to him.

Just as a bit of added precaution, he made sure to keep on a jounin vest when he wasn't roaming in a kimono outfit, and had his hitai-ate on at all times when he was in public. He also, maybe perhaps was acquiring the habit of dodging his escort half the time because he was curious, and wanted to roam without it being quite so obvious that he was more than just another one of the jounin instructors.

People, after all, always acted so differently to a leader than someone they considered a peer, even a foreign one...

He did, of course, make sure that the Hokage knew, and then promptly set out to find Kushina. He had no wish for her to hunt him down and try to scold him. It was... awkward.

Comments

[teachingpeace]

"What? No. I'm not that young." He shook his head, giving her a slightly sheepish smile. "But I haven't really fully recovered from something I did before I met you so now that I'm close I look more like I should, that's all."

[ghostpepper]

"How old are you anyway?" she finally asked, finally letting herself smile back. I've known you for what? Eight or nine years? And I never asked. I just thought you were an old man way back then."

He can't be too far off from her age, right?

[teachingpeace]

"Ah... Nine years. We met right after I turned twenty-six, by a few days in fact." He shook his head slightly and lifted a hand, toying with the ends of his hair. "I suppose I did look a bit rough by then, given what I'd done to myself. I'm thirty-five now."

[ghostpepper]

"Oh yeah, it was because Naruto was..."

Her voice cut off in an instant as his words registered in her head. He was younger than her. He had looked like a decrepit old man at twenty-six. If it was possible, her face paled slightly as noises failed to leave her mouth. In fact, her brain had shut down from the pure shock mirrored on her face. It took a while until anything came out of her mouth. And when noise did finally find the exit, it exploded.

"EH?! You're that much younger than me?! And a bit rough?! You looked like you could've dropped dead any minute back then, ya know! I can't believe it! Are you seriously eight years younger than me?!"

[teachingpeace]

He'd moved forward as though about to fuss over and check on her, but when she exploded he shifted back onto his heels quickly enough, eyes widening a touch. "Ah. Yes? I had overstressed myself for years by the time you met me. It was... I simply strained myself for too long."

[ghostpepper]

She could probably cry. Instead, she just buried her face in her hands for a moment, then smoothed out her hair. Gotta be cool as a cucumber. Keep blow-ups to a minimum of one per conversation.

"I'm gonna have to start calling you 'Nagato-niichan'."

[teachingpeace]

He was looking at her with slightly wary eyes. "...Why are you upset by this? I made no secret of my age..."