The sun slowly sank, painting the sky and sea in warm shades of orange-red and violet-gold.
Worn out from playing, Anya said goodbye to Klee and toddled back to her parents, dragging her little shovel. Then she collapsed into Kabuto Yakushi's arms and fell asleep almost instantly.
Sand still clung to her cheeks, but a sweet smile rested on her lips.
Yor could no longer resist her exhaustion or the drowsiness brought on by the sun. At some point, she had fallen fast asleep, her breathing even and the rise and fall of her chest faint and steady.
Kabuto carefully shifted his position. He lifted the sleeping Anya with one arm and settled her little head against his shoulder, then gently wrapped his other arm around Yor's shoulders to support her.
He drew a deep breath of sea air that still held the sunset's warmth and felt the solid, reassuring weight of the two people in his arms.
Holding them both, he crossed the soft sand toward the Peace Tour at the harbor, step by step through the last rays of sunlight.
Golden light edged their figures with warmth and cast long shadows that nestled together.
Several days later, at the harbor of Kirigakure.
The morning mist was thin, and the sea breeze carried a familiar salty dampness. The Peace Tour, a white cruise ship that had endured so much, rested beside Kirigakure's diplomatic pier like a weary but steadfast giant.
The bullet marks and scorch stains left by the fierce battle had received emergency repairs, but a closer look still revealed traces of the terror that had unfolded not long ago.
The deck no longer rang with tourists' chatter. Only crew members and a few security officers remained, completing their final handovers and inspections.
On the pier, the atmosphere