At dusk, Nagato returned to the tower and hung up his rain-dampened coat. He caught a fragrance drifting through the air.
"It smells so good. What is that?"
Following the scent, he reached the small kitchen doorway. By the light, he saw Konan wearing a little frog apron, standing at the stove and carefully simmering porridge.
For a moment, he was lost in thought.
He had never seen Konan cooking before... the sight of her from behind was simply too wonderful.
Before he knew it, he had walked over and stopped behind Konan.
"Gulp." After swallowing, he reached toward... Konan's slender waist.
What would happen if I wrapped my arms around Konan's waist right now and whispered my feelings in her ear?
Just as his hand was about to touch the edge of her clothes, Nagato pulled it back.
Reason reclaimed the high ground.
Facing forward, Konan smiled faintly. Her calm voice drifted over. "Nagato, what are you doing, sneaking up behind me?"
So she had noticed Nagato's return long ago. As for whether she had noticed his little move just now, no one could say.
Nagato said, "I wanted to see what kind of porridge you were making."
Konan said, "Meat porridge."
Nagato was overjoyed. He had thought getting to eat a sandwich Konan made with her own hands during the day was happiness enough. He had never expected... to drink meat porridge she had personally simmered that night as well.
"Do you need any help?" Nagato asked.
Konan said, "No need. You don't know how to cook anyway, do you?"
Nagato merely smiled without saying anything.
Back in the real world, he had been quite independent, and his cooking skills had been maxed out.
But during the time he had spent as Nagato with Konan, he had never