Some people may know this as a remake of an old fanfic I made a couple years ago, and since I hated the way it was going, I decided to start it again on a different account.

For those of you who have never read it before, thank you for checking out the fanfic, and I hope you enjoy!

Also a small note, I had to mess with the ages a little so that their meeting would make sense. Nagato is eleven and Obito is nine, so Obito is at least a genin. So there is nothing but fluff here!

Alone, Nagato was completely alone. He was scared, his friends weren't anywhere nearby, and it didn't help that he was lost. He and his friends had accidentally been split up thanks to shinobi fighting dangerously close. Nagato didn't even know if they were alive or not, and that terrified him. His friends were the only people he had in his life after his parents died. He didn't even have Chibi with him, the small dog had died not too long ago, and that still hurt.

He didn't know what to do, or how to find his friends, he had already searched for what felt like hours. He was now wandering through a forest, trying to ignore the rain that kept pouring down. Even if he was used to it, he was getting cold. All he had on was his rain jacket, and it didn't keep him that warm. He was starting to lose hope, he was scared and tired. So instead of continuing to search and exhaust himself, he sat against a tree, pulling his knees up close to himself, trying to calm down.

But he was worried, scared of never seeing his friends again. Maybe searching for those Konoha shinobi was a bad idea, it caused this to happen.

As time passed, Nagato slowly let his worries get to him, fearing they were dead. The thought of it started to make him tear up, so close to crying. He was trying to be strong, but it was hard. It didn't take long before he was silently crying, curled up against the tree, hoping his friends were okay.

His crying was interrupted by the sound of rustling in the trees, and he automatically assumed it was a shinobi. This had happened before, seeing and hearing shinobi fight among the trees. He almost immediately stood up and looked up in the trees off in the distance, seeing a figure move in his direction. Nagato didn't know what he could do, so tried to run to a different tree to hide behind, hoping he wouldn't be noticed. He had no special training, how could he possibly know how to hide well?

A couple minutes passed and nothing happened, there was not a sound besides the rain hitting the ground. Just as Nagato was about to release a sigh of relief, he heard a shout and the sound of something hitting the ground behind the tree he was standing by. Nagato tensed up, almost letting out a startled sound, but quickly stopped himself, not daring to make a sound.

"Ow, ow, ow!" There were groans of pain from the other side of the tree, and Nagato couldn't help feeling a little concerned. Was...the other person okay?

He let his curiosity get the better of him and he peeked out from behind the tree. When he did, he saw a boy that was probably close to his age sitting on the ground, rubbing his head and cringing. Nagato almost stepped out to see if he was okay, but his eyes were almost immediately drawn to the headband on his forehead. Konoha.

He was frozen in place, remembering the day his parents died, and felt his fear only grow. Run, run! He screamed at himself, but just as he was about to, the boy turned his head and noticed Nagato. As soon as he noticed him, Nagato started to slowly back up, the expression of fear clear on his face.

"H-Hey! Don't leave!" The boy quickly stood up, still cringing a little from the lingering pain of the fall. "I'm not going to hurt you!"

Nagato stared at him, still nervous, not knowing why he'd tell him to stay. He swallowed quietly and tried to speak without showing how scared he really was.

"What...do you want?" Nagato's voice shook a little, his eyes still concentrated on the headband.

"I uh...heh, I was just hoping you know where this is." The black haired boy spoke a bit awkwardly, trying his best not to scare off the other kid.

Is...he lost too? The thought crossed Nagato's mind, and he forced himself to focus on the face of the boy he was talking to. He wore goggles over his eyes, had black, spiky hair. He...didn't seem too dangerous or violent like those Konoha shinobi that killed his parents.

"Um...I don't really know myself...Are you lost...?" He asked, still a little cautious about talking to him. At least he was keeping his distance.

The boy rubbed the back of his head, giving an embarrassed smile. "Yeah, I got separated from my team and I've been searching for them." Then he paused for a moment as if thinking. "Since you don't know either, you must be lost too huh?"

Nagato only gave a nod in response, not knowing what else he could say to him. He wondered if he should attempt to leave, still not entirely trusting him.

"Well, uh, if you're lost maybe you can come with me." The boy suggested, trying to be nice. Maybe he didn't want to be alone either.

Nagato had a cautious look on his face, staring at him silently. He knew he didn't want to be alone, and with a shinobi around, maybe he'd be a little safer. After a minute of silence, he finally spoke up again.

"Okay...I'm also searching for friends of mine..." He decided to tell him, hoping that maybe he could help him find his friends.

When he agreed, the other boy smiled more. "Then maybe we'll run into the people we're looking for! We can search together. Oh, right! My name is Uchiha Obito, sorry, I forgot to mention it."

"I'm Nagato..." He introduced himself quietly, trying to look at his face and ignore his headband.

"Okay Nagato, let's go!" Obito started to move away from that area, hoping that Nagato would follow.

After a few seconds of hesitation, Nagato started to follow after Obito, keeping a small distance from him. Though after a few minutes of silence, Obito broke the silence.

"So, how old are you anyway, Nagato?" He looked over at the redhead, trying to make him comfortable with some casual conversation.

"I'm eleven..." Nagato told him, and Obito had a shocked expression on his face.

"Really? You're older than me?" He let out a small laugh at that. "I'm nine." He then proudly pointed at his headband with a grin. "I've already graduated from the academy too. Cool, right?"

"Is it really so cool...?" Nagato didn't see how it was so great, he didn't really know much about the academy or what shinobi had to do to graduate.

Obito's grin dropped and then gained a small pout. "I had to work hard to graduate."

Seeing his smile drop made Nagato feel bad about what he said, not knowing it was so important to him. "I'm sorry...I didn't know..."

Obito didn't seem to dwell on it long, because his smile returned, just smaller than before. "It's okay. I still have to work towards chunin anyway." A slight scowl appeared on his face. "One of my team is already a chunin..."

"Is...that a bad thing...?" Nagato tilted his head in confusion and curiosity, not understand why it sounded bad.

"Not...bad, I just...I want to be a chunin too, and he's always getting so much attention." The scowl remained, along with a pout, but then he suddenly tried his best to smile. "But just you watch, I'll surpass him one day! I'll become a chunin, and then, next thing you know, I'll be Hokage!"

"Hokage...? What is that?" Must be someone important if he really wants to be one...

"Oh, you don't know? The Hokage is the leader of Konoha, and one day, I'll become Hokage!" He nodded at his own declaration, his smile becoming more natural as he spoke about it.

He seemed so confident, and he sort of reminded him of Yahiko with his dreams. This made Nagato give a soft smile at him and say in a very quiet voice, "Well...I hope you become Hokage, Obito."

Obito seemed surprised at this, but he just grinned at him. "Just watch, I'll become Hokage! I promise you this!"

It was strange...Nagato was talking so normally with this boy he just met a few minutes ago. Maybe it was because he somewhat reminded him of Yahiko? Yahiko aimed high, and managed to even drag him into supporting his dream. If the Hokage was the leader of Konoha, maybe if Obito became Hokage, the village would be nicer?

He found himself sincerely hoping he would succeed.

Hours had passed, and the two boys had yet to find any sign of their friends. They had searched and searched, but found nothing but empty land, and by now, they were both freezing. They had managed to avoid getting completely soaked but as the sky turned dark, the rain got colder and the temperature dropped. Even the coat protecting Nagato and the cloak Obito had draped over himself couldn't protect them from the cold.

"I...think w-we should probably find some shelter." Obito said through chattering teeth. He was obviously not used to this weather, worse off than Nagato who had lived in it all his life, and even survived in it while living on the streets.

Nagato nodded in agreement, but he didn't know where they could stay. He knew this area, at least, he thought he did. Before he met Yahiko and Konan, he did have to wander everywhere, and if he remembered right, there should be a cave somewhere near by.

"Um...Obito...I think I know where we can take shelter..." He spoke up after a while, and pointed in a certain direction. "There should be a cave near by...Will that work?"

"Oh that would be great! I'd love to get out of this rain for a while. You go ahead and lead the way." Obito motioned for him to walk ahead, really wanting to get out of the rain that seemed to only pour down harder.

Nagato only nodded and walked ahead, hoping that he was going the right way. Fortunately, after a few minutes of walking, he spotted the cave entrance not too far away. Before he could say anything, Obito was already dashing towards it with speed that Nagato was not used to. Was that an advantage to being a trained shinobi? Even if he doubted he could keep up, Nagato ran after him.

It didn't take long for them to reach the cave, and they both rushed inside for cover. Though they couldn't go too deep into the cave, it was pitch black deeper in. Even if it was still cold in the cave, they had finally had a bit of relief from the rain pounding down on them.

Obito let out a content sigh, "Geez, how do you live with this every day?"

"Used to it..." The redhead shrugged, but was happy to get out of the rain as well. Just because he was used to it doesn't mean he didn't get sick of it every now and again.

"So, uh, I guess we're spending the night here, huh?" The Uchiha glanced around the cave, but could barely see inside. The outside was also becoming pitch black, making it hard for the two to see. "Too bad we didn't find this place sooner, we could of made a fire."

Nagato silently agreed. The night would be cold, and nights in Amegakure could be horrible. He knew from experience. He didn't know how they'd fare without any source of warmth, but hopefully they'd manage.

"Wait! Maybe if I can find a stick somewhere, I can make a torch! See, I know ninjutsu!" Obito suddenly exclaimed proudly, and began to feel around for some kind of stick on the ground.

Nagato watched him, not knowing much about ninjutsu, but hoped whatever he had in mind would work.

After a minute or so of searching, Obito perked up and held something up in the air. "Found one! It's a big stick too, should work! Stand back." He warned him, and Nagato moved a couple steps away, a little nervous.

Within the next seconds, a bright light came from Obito as he blew the fire onto the stick he was holding in his hand. The sight of the fire made Nagato jump, but the light was a welcome change. Though Obito did not think it that far through, since the fire quickly spread on the stick, consuming most of it, and making him drop it before he burnt himself.

"Oh! Oops...I...thought that would work." Obito muttered, a little embarrassed. The fire was still burning on the ground. It was fortunate the stick was large, but one barely lit the area, and would burn fast.

"I guess we better get ourselves comfortable while we can still see." Obito sighed, shrugging off the wet cloak, and sat against the cave wall near the degrading fire.

Nagato did the same, taking off his coat and sitting next to him. He pulled his legs close to himself, hoping to keep some warmth in by doing this.

The two of them sat there as they watched the fire disappear, leaving them both in complete darkness.

"You're still next to me right?" Obito asked, reaching out to check. His hand ended up on Nagato's shoulder, which caused him to flinch, but he relaxed after a moment.

"I am..." Even if he already knew now, Nagato answered anyway.

"Okay...just checking." The silence returned, and it was rather uncomfortable.

Nagato was used to sleeping with Yahiko and Konan, and the three of them would sometimes cuddle together to keep warm. He felt safe, comfortable with them. Where he was now, with a boy he just recently met and in the dark and freezing, was actually a bit terrifying. After having his friends for so long, it had become so odd to no longer have them with him. As he started to think about them, he started to tear up, but tried to hold it back. Crying wouldn't change anything.

The uncomfortable silence continued for some time, before Obito suddenly muttered. "We...should probably try to sleep right?"

"Yeah...we should." The redhead agreed, but wondered if he'd even be able to sleep in this situation. Despite this, he moved himself away from the wall and laid on the ground, trying to use his hands as pillows. He could hear Obito shuffling around to try and get comfortable on the hard ground. For Nagato, he was used to it, so it wasn't a big deal. But for Obito, Nagato was sure he lived more comfortably than he did.

The silence returned yet again, and the Nagato tried his best to sleep, but he felt too nervous to sleep. Not only was he nervous, he was cold, and that didn't help. Even with Yahiko and Konan, they usually had a fire to keep them warm. They really should have found shelter and prepared a fire sooner...

More time passed, and it felt like time was moving much slower than normal. Nagato shivered, curled up on a call on the ground, and was certain he could hear Obito shiver as well. Both of them were freezing, and it didn't make sleeping easy.

"Hey...Nagato." Obito spoke, his voice a little shaky from the cold. "You know...m-maybe we should, cuddle or something, you know, for warmth."

This surprised Nagato, not thinking that a shinobi would be trusting enough to allow a stranger close like that. Yes, it was to share body heat, but now Nagato was feeling nervous. He only trusted Yahiko and Konan, never anyone else. He didn't suspect Obito would try to harm him, but a small part of him kept screaming at him. He's a Konoha shinobi! He'll stab you, just like they did your parents! He's just making you feel safe, don't get- He tried his best to silence this voice yelling at him, too cold to even care.

"Okay..." He agreed. He really didn't want to freeze to death, and at this rate, he wouldn't be surprised if he got sick and died. He came close many times in the past.

He heard movement, and Obito was soon at his side, wrapping his arms around him, shivering. When Nagato felt this he wrapped his arm around him as well, just as he would with his friends. He could hear Obito's teeth chattering, his shivering, but as they kept close and shared body heat, the shivering died down.

Surprisingly, Nagato actually found himself relaxing. He thought he'd be uncomfortable and nervous the entire time, but as he the cold lessened, he relaxed. It was also nice having someone close, like he was used to. Even if he was a...no, he wouldn't think of that.

He was just Obito, the new person he met that day.

As the sun rose behind the clouds, the still raining sky started to brighten a little, breaking the pitch darkness. The two boys were still sleeping, still cuddling and keeping themselves warm. Nagato was the first to wake up, and when he first opened his eyes, he was a bit startled seeing someone besides his friends at his side, but quickly relaxed as he remembered who he was and where he was.

It was odd, waking up and not seeing his friends there. Had he really become so used to their presence? He wondered if they missed him too, if they were still alive.

No, he would not follow that line of thought. They were alive, they had to be. He just had to find them.

He glanced over at Obito, not wanting to wake him, so he carefully removed Obito's arms, which had fortunately mostly slipped off him during the night. After that, he looked over to the backpack lying on the ground, and started to look through it. As he did this, Obito slowly started to wake up from the lack of warmth he had throughout the night.

The younger boy let out a groan of discomfort and opened his eyes, looking over at Nagato. He rubbed his eyes and let out a yawn and then leaned against the wall. "Morning." He said in between a yawn.

"Morning..." Nagato replied without looking over at him, still looking through the backpack he had.

"What are you doing?" Obito asked, trying to look from where he was sitting.

"Getting food..." And as he said this, he pulled out a couple loaves of bread. He walked over to Obito and then held out one with a small smile. "Here...you can have one."

Obito blinked in surprise at the loaf, but then smiled and accepted the food. "Thanks! I was wondering what you had in that backpack."

"You're welcome." Nagato then sat back down and started to eat the loaf of bread he had for himself.

They didn't waste too much time eating. Right after they finished their small breakfast, they started searching once again. They both didn't want to waste too much time, and if it really did take another day, at least now they knew to find shelter and prepare a fire early.

"I can't believe we still haven't found them!" Obito let out a huff of annoyance as he saw the sky getting slightly darker. "Will it really take another day? Where could they have gone?"

"I don't know, but we should really find shelter while it is still light out..." Nagato hoped that this time they could maybe make a fire. If Obito could use that ninjutsu to make a lasting fire, it would be really useful.

"Got it. Do you know about any other caves?" Obito asked as he was looking around for one in the area.

"None that I can remember..." Nagato said, tone showing his disappointment in that fact.

"Well, no problem then! We'll just have to keep searching. I'm sure we'll find so-"

A sudden explosion cut Obito off, making the two boys jump in surprise. Obito instinctively got into a fighting stance, looking in the direction of the sound. There was a small wooded area not far from where they were, and smoke was seen coming from the area. Both Obito and Nagato immediately realized they were in a horrible spot, that a battle was going on.

"Come on, Nagato! We have to get out of here!" Obito grabbed Nagato's hand and started to run with him. Nagato didn't hesitate to follow, but out of the corner of his eye he saw a figure heading in their direction. Obito must have noticed it too, because he sped up, but running with someone who wasn't a trained shinobi slowed him down significantly.

However, what Obito didn't notice, was a kunai with a paper bomb strapped on it heading their way. Nagato noticed it, and within those few seconds, realized that if that hit them, they would most likely die. He recalled how Chibi died in the same way. He had so little time to react, he couldn't call out to Obito, and so he had to act suddenly.

He stopped running and then grabbed onto Obito and held him close as his eyes opened and his Rinnegan activated. A sort of shield appeared around them, but it wasn't strong enough to completely protect from from the bomb going off. They both went flying back, and landed harshly on the ground below them. Unfortunately for Nagato, he took the full brunt of the explosion, and when he landed, he was knocked unconscious.

Obito, who was stunned and shocked, tried to quickly process what just happened. He looked over to Nagato and noticed he was out cold, and internally started to panic. He had to move, they had to get out of there before they were attacked again! He could figure out what Nagato did later, for now, they had to run.

He scooped Nagato up into the arms to the best of his ability, glad that Nagato wasn't too heavy, even for him, and he wasn't too strong. Right now he was really happy all his training was paying off right now. Once he had Nagato in his arms, he started to run as fast as he could. To where? He didn't know, just somewhere that wasn't out in the open, that was the worst place to be right now.

Obito ran and ran, getting tired faster than he thought he would, but as soon as they made it to a different part of the woods that was well covered, he stopped running. He panted as he looked down at the unconscious boy in his arms, making sure that he was okay before he scanned the area around them. It was quiet, and hopefully safe.

The Uchiha let out a long, exhausted sigh. He set Nagato down against a tree and then collapsed against the same tree at his side. Fortunately, the trees shielded them from the rain. This would probably be where they would have to stay for the night.

After he was done catching his breath, Obito looked over at Nagato worriedly. He could still see him breathing, so that was a good sign, but he was still unconscious. He didn't want to risk leaving his side, but he knew he had to get some wood for a fire. They couldn't have another night like before. It would be even worse without a fire since there were no walls to keep some heat inside.

He stood up and glanced at Nagato once more before he went off to find wood. He hoped he wouldn't have to wander too far off.

After about thirty or so minutes of searching, Obito managed to find a decent amount of dry sticks they could use for a fire. He didn't know how long it would last, but he hoped it would last through the night. When he returned to the area where he left Nagato, he set the sticks up in a pile, then used his fire style ninjutsu to light it. The feeling of warmth was nice, and very much welcome.

Before he stood up to move back to Nagato's side, he heard a quiet groan and looked up to see Nagato waking.

"Oh! Nagato, are you-" He didn't finish his sentence. He was momentarily stunned by what he was seeing. Nagato's hair that had been in his eyes this entire time had moved to the side, allowing one of his eyes to show.

Obito had never seen eyes like those before, and found himself staring at his eye. They were purple, but that wasn't odd, what was most odd was the ripple pattern going around his entire eye, leaving no white. No one he knew had eyes like those, he had never even heard of eyes with that sort of pattern.

As Nagato was gaining consciousness, he noticed Obito's staring, and rather dizzily spoke. "Obito...what happened...?" Obviously not knowing why exactly Obito was staring like that.

The Uchiha snapped out of his little trance and tried his best to ignore the unique eyes. "Oh, uh, you got knocked out. I got us to safety though, so don't worry! You're okay." He forced a bit of a grin, trying to hide any previous signs of surprise.

Nagato didn't seem to notice, too disoriented to study into it. He also didn't seem to notice that his bangs were no longer in his eyes, but he did notice the fire.

"You made a fire..." He noted as he stared into the new source of light and heat.

"Yeah! I thought it would be a good idea, you know?" Obito's smile slowly became more natural. He moved over to sit next to Nagato, glad that the redhead was okay.

Nagato hummed in agreement and leaned his head against the tree behind himself, too tired and dizzy to think much.

"Hey, maybe you should get some sleep, Nagato." He suggested, knowing they both needed some sleep to recover from that exciting day.

The boy didn't even answer, just closing his eyes again and almost instantly falling asleep.

Obito sat there for a while, just staring at the fire and watching Nagato. He didn't fall asleep right away, and spent some time throwing more sticks on the fire to give it a better chance of lasting them for the night. He knew it probably wouldn't last, and so, he just did what he did last night. He pulled Nagato closer, but he did so more gently than before, afraid of waking him. Though honestly, he didn't just want warmth from Nagato doing this. He was feeling just a little protective...Even if he hadn't known the older boy for long, he didn't want to lose him. He...felt like he wanted to protect him.

But he was the one who protected you. The thought popped into Obito's head, and he knew it was true. How would he protect Rin and the entire village one day? He had to get stronger, that was that. He did, after all, promise Nagato he would become Hokage. A Hokage had to be strong, and strong he would become.

With that thought in mind, he slowly let himself fade into sleep, still holding onto Nagato as he sat against the tree.

The sound of rustling tree branches and leaves startled Obito awake, and caused him jerk and wake Nagato up in the process. He hadn't realized he'd been so tense that that small of a sound could wake him up, but Obito knew someone was close.

He stood up, letting go of Nagato and pulled out a kunai defensively, not wanting a repeat of yesterday. Nagato, stood up drowsily, but tried his best to wake up and pay attention, even if he didn't know why Obito woke so suddenly.

"Hey, you don't have to raise a weapon, it's fine, Obito." A voice familiar to only Obito said suddenly.

Obito looked in the direction of the voice, and his eyes went wide when he saw Minato, along with Rin, and the irritating Kakashi. With them were also three children that were unfamiliar to Obito, but by Nagato's sudden smile, they must have been familiar to him.

"Minato-sensei!" Obito smiled at the sight of him and Rin, but definitely not Kakashi. He was definitely not happen to see that jerk.

"Nagato!" Konan had called out to the redhead, running over to him and hugging him. Yahiko followed after her, but didn't hug Nagato like she did.

"You gave us a scare, you know that right, Nagato?" Yahiko had a small smile on, but he was obviously more relieved than he was letting on.

"I'm sorry, but, I'm so glad you two are okay." Nagato had tears welling up in his eyes. He was so happy, happier than anyone else in the area could probably understand. The two that made up his world were back and safe with him.

"Are you hurt?" Rin asked the Uchiha who was talking to his teammates, explaining to them about how he was late then couldn't find them.

"Oh, no, I'm fine! Thanks for worrying about me though, Rin." Obito felt happy as well, knowing that Rin was worried about him. He glared at Kakashi out of the corner of his eye, but mainly focused on the girl in front of him.

Minato spoke up after everyone had seen each other again, clearing his throat. "We found these two while looking for you, Obito. We got really lucky that you both were together."

"We did manage to survive, sensei!" Obito crossed his arms, acting proud of living for the two days. Minato only smiled at Obito, but went back to a more serious topic.

"I'm happy that we were able to all get back together, but we still have our mission to complete. We had to put in on hold searching for you."

"And this is why you shouldn't be late." Kakashi spoke up, which caused Obito to narrow his eyes, and before he could yell at him, Minato started talking again.

"So we need to get going now, and start working on that mission. Say your goodbyes and then let's leave."

At his words, Obito and Nagato looked over at each other, knowing that this was where they parted ways. They both walked away from their group and stood in front of each other. Obito put on his best smile, knowing that this could possibly be the last time he saw Nagato.

"Hey, thanks for sticking with me this whole time. I really do hope we can meet again one day." He was honest about that. He wanted to return one day to see him again. Within the two days they had known each other, he felt like he had made a new friend, someone who supported his dreams.

"I should be thanking you...You were a big a help. I would like to see you again too, maybe we will." Nagato spoke in a tone a little louder than he normally did, something he reserved for only his friends. He saw Obito as a friend, and hoped he felt the same.

"Well, I guess I'll see you whenever that day comes?" If it did.

"Yeah, I'll see you then." Nagato gave a small smile to him, but both boys knew that the chance they'd meet again would be slim. And if they did meet again...they may not meet again in good circumstances, not with the war going on.

"Bye..." Obito waved to Nagato and then ran off with his team, only looking back once to make sure that Nagato was still there, and told himself to remember what he looked like.

Nagato said nothing, just waved as he watched the boy leave. He turned his back away from that direction, and looked back at the two friends that meant everything to him.

As long as he had these two, he'd be fine. He'd be happy.

But he still hoped that one day, they'd meet again.

And that is the end of the first chapter! This is so much longer than the original, and that is because I wanted to give them a bit more time together to get closer, and also get through it all in one chapter.

I hope you enjoyed this and please leave a review and give me some feedback! If you read the previous one, has it improved at all? If you do take the time, thank you. Even if you don't, thank you for reading.