4Chapter Two: The Battlefield
Yahiko got up early every morning to perform certain chores. He always made sure to share out chores among the group equally, so no one had a reason to complain. As he swept things up with the broom he'd stolen a year ago, he saw Rukia walking out in Soul Reaper form. Her gigai was lying on her bed.
"Rukia, you're heading out early?" said Yahiko. She hadn't done anything like this in a while. The past few weeks had been a blur of action, luring wholes to the town so Rukia could purify them. They'd reaped at least a hundred souls, maybe even more than that, and the number was still rising.
Definitely making the place a lot safer.
"Yes, I've just gotten orders," said Rukia. "There's been a battle nearby. All surrounding Soul Reapers are supposed to head to the battlefield. We have purification duties."
"Right, I remember now," said Yahiko, who had dismissed the battle as not something he could effect. "Hanzo staged an offensive against the Leaf, didn't he?"
"I wouldn't know," admitted Rukia, heading to the door. "The affairs of mortal armies aren't our concern."
"Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night," said Yahiko.
Yahiko made breakfast with some of the perishables he'd stolen and made it as Konan and Nagato got up. He cooked bacon and eggs today. Partially because eggs and bacon don't keep, but mostly because they could die today.
Nagato was surprised at this and ended up crying at the sight of it. When Konan talked to him, it turned out that his parents had used to do it. Yahiko guessed he'd hit a sore spot, but he pretended to care, if only for appearances.
"Um, Yahiko," said Nagato, as they ate.
"What is it?" asked Yahiko.
"Do you think that Hanzo will be able to beat the Leaf?" asked Nagato.
"I don't know," said Konan.
Yahiko decided to give Nagato a reality check about that particular warlord. "Don't really care, either."
"But Hanzo's trying to liberate us and make the Land of the Rain independent," said Nagato.
"Independent or no, we're not gonna see any benefits if Hanzo sets himself up as Feudal Lord," said Yahiko. He ate some bacon. "He'll probably just surround himself with whores and sycophants. Then nothing will actually change."
"But there would be peace," said Nagato.
"Peace, are you kidding?" asked Yahiko with a laugh. "We're at the border between the biggest empires in the world. If Hanzo loses, the Ninja Villages keep fighting, and the war continues. If Hanzo wins, the Ninja Villages unite to destroy him, and the fighting continues.
"No change for us either way."
"But Yahiko, if the war comes to this place, it could get burned down?" said Nagato.
Sharp, wasn't he? "I know, I know. But there isn't anything we can do to change that, so we ought to focus on what we can do. Lure wholes to this place so Rukia can purify them.
"Heck, maybe that'll free up enough soldiers so we'll have an edge in future battles.
"Small things lead to big things, y'know."
"So what now?" asked Konan. "We stole as much as we needed for a week yesterday."
Yahiko pretended to think about it as they eat their breakfast. Then he leaned back in his chair and looked up. "...Nagato, Konan, get the torches and your stuff. We're going to go see a battlefield?"
"A battlefield, but isn't the battle still going on?" asked Nagato.
"Sure, but it'll be over by the time we get there," said Yahiko. "Way I see it, the Soul Reapers will miss one or two souls, and we can direct them over to Rukia. Save some people and some souls."
"Won't that be dangerous?" asked Konan.
"That's why we've got the torches," said Yahiko.
And that was how they began their journey.
A few hours later, they were heading toward a river as mist rose around them. Their path was only illuminated by torchlight. Konan was expressionless, like always. But Nagato kept looking around as if expecting a tiger to leap out and eat them.
"...Um, Yahiko?" said Nagato after a moment.
Be patient, you need him. Yahiko glanced back, keeping his torch ahead of him. "Yes, what is it Nagato?"
"How do you know the Soul Reapers will miss some of the souls?" asked Nagato.
"Soul Reapers only stick around for the battle," said Yahiko. "I've seen them, and a lot of them are lazy and afraid. They miss a lot of souls, and those souls might get eaten by a hollow or turn into one."
"This can't be happening!" said a voice. "I can't be dead! I can't that kunai; it didn't hit my heart, just my shoulder!"
Yahiko glanced up and saw the ghost of a Leaf Ninja. Nagato tensed at once, as Yahiko moved forward. Time to put on the charge. "Hey, ninjaman."
"You..." the ghost turned to him. "You can see me?"
"Yeah, and right now, you're in the wrong place," said Yahiko. "If you stick around here too long, the hollows will get you."
"My comrades..." said the ninja. "The Leaf never abandons its own. They won't leave me."
"You are dead. And they probably know if they aren't dead too.
"So, you've got to make do with what you have.
"The Soul Reapers have already left this place, and there will be hollows here soon. But I've got a safe space you can go to."
The man paused. "Where?"
Yahiko glanced back. "There's a village south of here. Head in that direction and wait, I'll get a Soul Reaper over to send you on your way."
The man nodded. "...Right, yes, thank you."
And he headed off.
"Why are we helping Leaf Ninja?" asked Nagato, an edge in his tone.
"Would you rather we get eaten by them, Nagato?" asked Konan. "If they go hollow a lot of people could die. If they get eaten by a hollow, it'll have a meal. Whereas if we make sure there aren't any souls for the hollows to eat, they might starve."
They spent a large part of the day acting as much, going about directing spirits to the Leaf. Some of them were in a sorry, miserable state, and Konan had to be nice to them. Many of them were hardly older than Yahiko, and these were almost all part of Hanzo's forces.
Some were younger.
From the looks of things, the Leaf had been defeated. The bodies were proof of that. But Hanzo had sacrificed a great many children to do it. Kind of sick too, actually. Yahiko wasn't big on morality but there were things you should and shouldn't do.
Yahiko had talked with child soldiers before. Evidently, Nagato had not.
"Why would Hanzo do this?" asked Nagato.
"There's a famine going on in the Land of Rain," said Yahiko. "A lot of crops and fields have been destroyed, so plenty of places have no food. There's also a lot of orphans going around. And the Leaf doesn't like killing children, it's how they sleep at night.
"So, Hanzo picked up as many orphans as he could from the streets. He gave them food, shelter, and training, then sent them into the meatgrinder. The Leaf formation breaks up, the surviving orphans get a job, and there are fewer mouths to feed. Also, fewer thieves.
"Now do you see why I'm not a fan of Hanzo? If he wins, I'll be next on his hit list. And so you will you and Konan. He might even rip your eyes out, just in case they have some powers."
Nagato shifted. "...It might be possible to make him realize what he's doing."
No point in arguing the point. "Maybe," said Yahiko, "anyway, let's see if there are anymore ninja around here. Once we do that, we'll head back."
Suddenly, Konan let out a cry and dropped her torch. Her arm was pulled into the air, and she shuddered, eyes wide.
"Konan?" said Yahiko.
And then he saw the hollow, a masked beast in the form of a toad. Yet with wings. "You smell...
"Wonderful..."
"Yahiko... my arm is..." said Konan.
Konan was his.
"You smell..." began the creature, opening its mouth. "Delicious."
Yahiko surged forward in a rage and stabbed his torch forward. Catching the beast in one eye, it howled and let go of Konan. Falling backward, it scrambled to get the burning brand out of his eye as the three of them fled.
"Ow!" snarled the beast. "My eye! You worthless human, you'll pay for that!"
"Head for the trees!" said Yahiko as they ran. They were near the river, and there was a bridge. If they were under it, the thing wouldn't be able to swoop down on them.
"Think you can get away, huh?" snarled the beast, swooping past them. "Well, I was in the mood for some sport anyway. Run you worthless kids, run!"
"Head for that bridge, quick," said Yahiko, wading into the river.
"The bridge, but-" began Nagato.
"Under it!" said Yahiko. "He can't swoop down from there."
"We'll never make it in time," said Konan simply.
"Keep on running," said Nagato, slowing to a halt.
"Nagato?" said Yahiko. "Come on!" He'd put way too much effort into him for him to get killed now.
"Go on," said Nagato, raising his torch. "You guys leave me I'll try to draw Shrieker off."
The hollow surged to a front as Nagato halted. Its eye had been burned out, and it looked enraged. Even as Yahiko tried to pull Nagato away, toad-like things jumped out of nowhere and grabbed them. They were forced down into the shallows of the water, as the beast landed. It was hard to keep their head over the cold.
"So, trying to draw me off are you, brat? Well, if you're feeling forgetful, maybe I'll make a meal of you." said the beast.
"Preying on children, are we?" asked a familiar voice.
The hollow sprang up as Rukia appeared. Her attack missed its mask, but it cleaved off an arm, and the beast howled as he scrambled away. "Arg!
"That was close, soul reaper. Just who are you supposed to be."
"I'm Rukia Kuchiki of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads," said Rukia, taking a stance. "Your time is up, hollow."
"We'll see about that," said the hollow. "Attack my minions!"
Suddenly, the toads leaped toward Rukia. She spread up as they exploded around her, but made her way out of the smoke cloud. The hollow, however, was speeding away.
"Sayonara, Soul Reaper! I'm out!"
"He got away," said Rukia. "Well, I got three others today." Then she turned to them and recognized them. "You idiots, what possessed you to come all the way out here to a battlefield?"
"You Soul Reapers have been missing a lot of souls," said Yahiko as he stood up. "We've been directing them to town so you can help them pass on when you get back."
"You could have been killed!" said Rukia.
"I guess, what of it?" said Yahiko.
"Don't you place any value on your life or the lives of your friends?" asked Rukia, voice with an edge in it.
"Does this world place any value on our lives?" asked Yahiko. "By doing this, we are helping to starve the hollows. What's the other option? Thieving until we get hung?
"If you want power in life, you have to be willing to sacrifice to get it."
"You all could have been killed," said Rukia. "If I hadn't arrived just then-"
"Is there anything worth living for in this place that doesn't involve risk?" asked Yahiko. He looked back to the others, who remained silent for a moment.
"I get where you're coming from. But this is not the way to advance your station," said Rukia.
"Okay, fair enough. What is?" asked Yahiko.
Rukia remained silent for a moment, and Yahiko suspected she had no answer. "...We'll talk about this later, this place isn't safe. Stay near me while I finish my rounds, and then we'll head back."
"Rukia..." began Konan.
"Um, what?" asked Rukia.
"That was really, really cool," said Konan.
Rukia looked proud. "Well, I did get the best ranks in my Kido Class. I doubt any low-level hollow scum can take me on. Kendo is actually my weak spot. You three stick close to me."
Good, Konan was doing her job. She was the angel to Yahiko's god, providing warmth when he had to be cold.
"Um, Yahiko..." said Nagato, speaking for the first time.
Yahiko looked at Nagato and noticed he looked slightly guilty. As if this was somehow his fault. "Yes? What is it?"
"Nevermind," said Nagato.
That settled it. Nagato knew something about that hollow. Time to exploit the fact that Yahiko knew. He put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, you can tell me when you're ready."
As soon as Nagato's eyes widened, Yahiko knew he had him.
