"Wuye, do you remember when we first met?"
In the bath, Wuye held Konan in his arms and covered her from head to toe in soap suds.
Konan's wet, slippery arms looped around his neck, her gaze affectionate.
Seeing how delicate and lovely she looked, Wuye could not help but smile. "Of course I remember. You were such a tiny thing, yet so composed."
"What about the second time?" Konan asked.
Wuye gently stroked her smooth, jade-like back. "I remember. You fainted from hunger, and I fed you mouth-to-mouth..."
Konan's pretty face flushed slightly. "And the third time?"
"The third time..."
Wuye paused. "That must have been many years later, when Hanzo captured you, right?"
"No." A flicker of guilt suddenly crossed Konan's eyes. "Actually, it was much earlier. You came looking for me once, but I was too afraid to see you. I knew you used your Byakugan to look at me then, and I was hiding behind the wall, secretly watching you too... So that was the third time..."
"That's true..."
Wuye sighed. "Come to think of it, there were fourth, fifth, and sixth times too, all like that..."
"Brother Wuye... Teacher..."
She rested her forehead against Wuye's shoulder and murmured, "Before, Konan belonged to herself, so there were so many helpless memories. But in the future... Konan will be yours..."
Wuye held her tighter. "No, you have always been mine. Even if there are things you want to do yourself, you are still mine..."
"We still have a long, long life ahead of us. The past is only the shortest part of our lives. It may not have been happy enough, but it will surely be a vivid stroke in the story of our lives."
Konan's heart surged with emotion as an immense sense of happiness flooded