4Chapter One: Yahiko's Call
Yahiko was on the clock, even if he didn't have a watch.
Approaching a merchant while trying to look as pitiful as possible, he limped forward. If he could get something extra from this, so much the better. He'd smudged his face with dirt and messed up his hair, and his posture was all different. Harder to recognize him that way.
"Excuse me, sir, I'm a war orphan," said Yahiko with a trembling lip. "Could you spare some food for me, please?" Konan went into action behind the man. The blue-haired girl, clad in white, slipped into the stall.
"Get out of here street rat, my wares are for paying customers." said the merchant, trying to look unaffected. He looked a bit guilty.
"But... please, I'm starving here..." said Yahiko, remembering the days he had been starving.
"Get a job." said the merchant. By this point, Konan had opened her sack and began to put several loaves of bread in.
"Please, I'm begging you, I don't want to die," said Yahiko.
"Out, and if I hear from you again I'll-" said the merchant.
"Hey, you, girl, put that back!" said someone.
Yahiko glanced back and saw a passerby running his way. Why did he have to run into a good person now of all times? Wretched dogooders.
"What?" said the merchant, glancing to where Konan was making a run for it.
Yahiko ran as well.
"Get back here, you little brat! Guards, guards!" cried the man.
"Goddamn dogooder," muttered Yahiko.
They had to dodge several guards, and Yahiko ended up having to hide in a heap of trash. But, in the end, he got back and met Konan at the usual spot. Konan offered him his share, and they began to eat a loaf.
"We did it, Yahiko." said Konan.
Yahiko wasn't happy, though. Neither of them had seen that guy coming because they'd been working on their job. But both had necessary parts of the plan. "That was too close. We need a third man."
"Hmm, what do you mean?" asked Konan.
"This thieving act isn't working out as well," said Yahiko. "I can distract the merchant, and you can sneak stuff out. But I can't cause a distraction and watch for others.
"We need a pointman. Somebody to give a warning, you know."
"Where can we find one of them?" asked Konan, taking a bite.
Yahiko brought his half of the loaf to his brow. "Let me think, let me think.
"Well, I'll bet there are loads of orphans like us wandering around. We can find one and recruit him. But it can't be just anyone, you know.
"They have to be our age, and we can't just up and make them an offer.
"If they can stand on their own two feet, they won't work, or they might take charge. No, we need someone who's helpless, but not because he's weak. Because he's not willing to do what he needs to.
"And he needs to be starving."
"Why all that?" asked Konan.
"If he's starving and we give him food, he'll be grateful," said Yahiko. "If he's weak and we make him strong, he'll be loyal. If he's our age or younger, we can be friends and boss him around. If he's healthy, strong, or older, though, he'll want to be in command.
"Once we finish, go out and find someone like that, carry some bread with you."
"Yes, Yahiko." said Konan.
They finished their meal, and Yahiko washed up as best he could. Konan changed into a new set of stolen clothes and went to the door.
"Oh, and Konan." said Yahiko.
"Yes?" asked Konan.
"You're an angel to my god, got it?" said Yahiko.
"Angel?" asked Konan, looking confused.
"Remember to smile," said Yahiko. "And do it with the sun behind you. I want this kid to think you came down from on high."
"Yes," said Konan before pausing. "Why can't you do it?"
"Eh, I don't really fit the messiah angle," admitted Yahiko. "If I give a kid some bread, he'll assume that I'll want something. You, though, you'll be doing it out of the goodness of your heart and introduce him to me. Then I offer him a place with us, but he'll need to help out because we're all in this together.
"Make sure he's observant."
"Right," said Konan, before frowning. "What will you do?"
"Me?" asked Yahiko, realizing there was nothing to do in this plan. Then he considered his side project, the one he'd been working toward all this time. In fact, it had been the whole reason they'd stuck around this town so long. "I'm gonna take a walk and think things through. Maybe herd some ghosts."
Herding ghosts was a hobby that was not nearly so dangerous as one thought. Yahiko made his way around the outskirts of the war-torn town. To his left was an abandoned farmhouse that had been burned down. Plenty of trampled fields could be seen, and there was a forest maimed by jutsus.
The battle had happened months ago, but the scars wouldn't heal for years.
And then Yahiko saw a brown-haired girl with pigtails. With a sigh, he put on appearances of being disinterested. "Oh great, another one." Then he moved over to her. "Hey, hey, kid."
"You can see me?" asked the girl.
"Yeah, and I've got some advice for you," said Yahiko. "Get moving now and find a Soul Reaper. If you stick around here, you'll get chomped for sure."
"But this is where I died, my... my parents might..." began the girl.
"Do you want to eat your parents?" asked Yahiko. "Assuming they're not already dead and waiting for you on the other side?"
"No," said the girl, wiping away tears.
"Then move," said Yahiko. "Start walking into the middle of town. Soul Reapers like to start in major population centers, so if you go there, you'll have better chances. And stay in public, hollows usually hit isolated people."
"How do you know all of this?" asked the girl.
Yahiko smiled reassuringly. "You'd be surprised what you can do if you pay attention. Now head off, you're in danger here, and I've got a living to make."
The girl began to move on, chain training behind her. Yahiko had made a point of checking all the chains of fate on each ghost he'd herded. As soon as one of them got too close to the town, he and Konan were out of here.
He'd have to start all over if that happened.
And then, out of the trees came a majestically beautiful black-haired Soul Reaper. Or was it just her sword? It certainly was elaborate. Didn't matter; she landed and looked around with a frown. This was not the first time he'd seen her, she'd arrived at several places like this. She'd gotten more and more frustrated as Yahiko stole her prey from her. That had been miles from here, of course.
Soul Reapers could sense hollows, but they couldn't sense wholes nearly as well. He'd noticed that much and more. They were really, really out of touch. He'd observed this one in action and noticed she'd always been very kind to kids who she helped pass on. That was what he was counting on.
He'd seen several other Soul Reapers, but this one was his mark.
Now it was time to get to work.
If he was going to get his memory wiped, it would be better for it to happen when Konan wasn't around. Brushing back his hair, he approached her. "Excuse me!"
The girl turned to Yahiko and halted. "What...
"So, you can see me."
"Yeah, I'm Yahiko," said Yahiko, trying to look worried.
"You shouldn't be out here. I'm on official Soul Reaper business." said the girl.
"Well yeah, but I want to help," said Yahiko.
"Help, don't be absurd." said the girl. "How could a mere human help me?"
The pretense of pride to hide a gentle, and hopefully gullible heart. "Well, I could point you in the direction of some souls that need purifying. There are a whole lot of them in that town over there."
"What would they all be doing among the living?" asked Rukia. "Most of the deaths in this region have been in outlying regions. I thought a Hollow had gotten here first."
"Does it really matter?" asked Yahiko. "There are ghosts all throughout my town, and we need your help."
"No." admitted the girl. "It does not. Lead me to them."
And Yahiko did lead her.
He spent the rest of the day leading her to each of the spots where he'd found the ghosts. Of course, he started with the one who had been dead longest. Maybe that was a mistake because the girl took notice of this order. She was soon regarding him as more intelligent than he'd put on. Eventually, he ended up leading her back to his hideout, out of reflex.
"You seem to know where all of these souls were hanging out pretty well." said the girl.
Well, the innocent child act wasn't getting anywhere, so Yahiko gave her a sly grin. "Well, I did point them in the direction of the town."
"You did what?" asked Rukia. "Why?"
Yahiko shrugged. "Back before I was orphaned, my parents owned a clinic. I was able to figure out a general idea of how things operated from the souls of dead patients. I also knew that hollows don't like coming after places with a lot of people.
"They like isolated targets."
"So..." the girl paused. "Why would you draw them in here?"
"Well, the Hidden Villages are busy butchering whole towns, so there are a lot of dead hollows out here," said Yahiko. "I figured I'd do my part to get the spirits to come into one place so you Soul Reapers could take care of them."
"But I only came here because there were reports of wholes disappearing! It was like they'd all vanished from the surrounding area!" said the girl. "How could you...
"Oh.
"You're pretty clever, aren't you?"
"I try," said Yahiko.
"I'm going to have to wipe your memories." said the girl. "Knowledge of Soul Reapers has become common knowledge, but that was a mistake. Mortals can't have the
"Why has it got to remain secret?" asked Yahiko.
"Well, humans with this kind of knowledge could be a danger to themselves and others." said the girl.
"How?" asked Yahiko.
"Well..." the girl seemed to be looking for an answer. Amazing how easy it was to flummox Soul Reapers with a few logical questions. "I... there are regulations about these kinds of-"
And the door opened at a time that Yahiko couldn't have planned any. The girl went into the shadows, relieved at not having to answer the question. In came Konan and another boy, who had his red hair covering his face. "Yahiko, we're back."
"Oh, Konan," said Yahiko, not missing a beat. "Nice to see you. Who's this you brought with you?"
"I... my name is Nagato." said the boy.
"Guess you picked up a stray, Konan," said Yahiko. "I'm Yahiko. What's your story, kid?"
"I... my parents were murdered by Leaf Ninja and... I had... I was starving..." said the boy.
"Geeze, sorry I brought it up," said Yahiko, putting on the appearance of regret. He knew he ought to feel it, but he didn't have stuff like empathy. "Listen, I'm sure you've been through a lot. But we all have. What we've got to do is keep moving forward, and things can get better.
"Konan, get him a meal. We could probably send him off with a full stomach, and a lot of this food is gonna rot anyway."
And so they began to eat. Nagato wolfed it down, having not eaten in weeks.
"Where... where did you get all of this?" asked Nagato.
"We stole it," admitted Yahiko. "Better than dying, and there isn't any other way for us orphans to survive.
"How did you run into Konan anyway?"
"I..." began Nagato, before choking on his words and falling silent.
"He was begging door to door and ended up collapsing," said Konan, playing the part of someone defending her actions. She'd come a long way at this game. "I couldn't just let him starve."
"Right, yeah, that happened to both of us at one point or another," said Yahiko. "So, what are you going to do next, after all this?"
"I... I don't really know," admitted Nagato. "I have nowhere to go."
"Yeah, tell me about it," said Yahiko, leaning back in his chair. "I'd love to work as a charity, but we sometimes have trouble putting food on the table ourselves. Word of advice, kid, don't beg.
"Even people with jobs are hard done by these days. Nobody who might starve is going to give handouts. And anybody who is doing well is going to want to hoard what they have for a rainy day.
"It's not a beggar's market right now."
"So what do I do?" asked Nagato.
"You steal. Snatch enough to survive," said Yahiko matter of factly. "Course you'll need a partner for that. Konan and I were lucky enough to be friends before the ninja wrecked our home. One of us distracts the merchant or whatever, and then the other sneaks in and takes the stuff.
"Not a perfect system though, we nearly got caught..." And the appearance of a sudden idea. "Actually, how would you feel about being our pointman?"
"Huh, what do you mean?" asked Nagato.
"Basically, I make a ruckus, and Konan sneaks in to get the stuff," said Yahiko. "But sometimes outside things come in to screw up the plan, like a patrolling guard.
"You could keep a lookout for anything and warn us with some sort of signal.
"You do that for us, and we'll give you an equal share. How about it? We'll have more success as partners than on our own?"
"Right, thank you," said Nagato, looking like he was about to cry. Then the hair fell away from his eyes, and Yahiko saw his eyes. They were emanating a bright light with some kind of power.
Konan really outdid herself today.
"Those eyes..." began Yahiko. "Nevermind."
Then Nagato noticed Rukia. "Who's she?"
Time to play it casually. "Oh, her. She's a Soul Reaper."
The girl came forward. "I am Rukia Kuchiki of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. All three of you can see us?"
"Yeah, I've sort of got a rule that if we see a Soul Reaper, nobody acknowledges their presence until I give the word," said Yahiko. "We've evaded a lot of memory wipes that way.
"Anyway, how long are you going to be here for anyway?"
"Stand procedure is for Soul Reapers to take the form of a gigai. We stay at various safe houses prepared in advance. Unfortunately, with this war on, a lot of those safe houses have been getting wrecked." said Rukia. "The place I was supposed to stay at came under attack, and the man there was killed."
"Well then, why don't you stay here, then?" asked Konan suddenly.
"Here?" asked Rukia.
"Yeah, we know this area like the back of our hand and can point out the spots where the spirits usually cluster," said Yahiko, seizing an advantage when he saw it. "And as long as you're hanging around here, you could make sure none of the hollows get us."
"Yeah, could you stay?" asked Konan.
As long as she was using them as a hideout, she wasn't going to wipe them. Which gave Yahiko more time to maneuver his pieces. "I... well, I'd need to get a gigai, but seeing as my main safehouse is broken, I could probably continue my mission from here.
"Though I'd need to get permission. But you can't tell anyone I'm here. The Soul Society operates in secret for a reason."
"Don't worry. Our lips are sealed," said Yahiko, before looking to Nagato and Rukia. "Well, Rukia, Nagato, welcome to the team."
Rukia smiled condescendingly, of course, thinking his confidence cute. And Nagato looked deeply touched like this was the first time he'd ever been shown kindness. They didn't realize Yahiko was three steps ahead. He was going to be a god, and they were going to get him there.
Author's Note:
So, I've come to realize that Yahiko, Konan and Nagato are probably my favorite power trio in Naruto.
For one thing, all of them pitch in for the overall group. For another, they actually have some goddamn ambition in life. And Konan is basically the only action girl in the series who isn't completely faux. Temari doesn't count, her only victories were against other women, who in the Narutoverse always lose.
Anyway, I think that Yahiko could have had his own series. The idea of a shounen hero whose goal is literally to be god is an interesting one. For one thing, it would mean that by getting stronger, he'd naturally work his way toward his goal. For another, it would dispense with the dishonesty that drags down a lot of Shounen aesops.
Meanwhile, Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends in Bleach are basically entirely interchangeable in terms of value to the plot. You could swap Ichigo out with any Shounen protagonist and nothing would change. Mostly because he is a totally passive character, who loses all defining characteristics after the Soul Society arc. I genuinely found it laughable when people started acting like Ichigo was the messiah because he hadn't DONE anything. He was basically a tool for Urahara and Aizen for the entire plot, with no arc, no real will of his own, and no worthwhile accomplishments. He didn't even defeat the main villain the end. Just had a deus ex machina bail him out of a situation he got into because of diabolus ex machinas.
And that gave me an idea just crazy enough to work.
