Chapter 4 - The Sannin of Konoha

Yahiko watched the battle rage beneath him for a while longer. Hanzo was seriously strong. At one point the man had his body immobilized by something snake-like from one of the Konoha Shinobi, and just as a barrage of needles followed up to finish him; he disappeared and reappeared at another location. It was like an adult fighting against three kids. The leader of the Hidden Rain was simply toying with his foes.

He turned back to his companions. Nagato was holding the little puppy in his hands, panic laced his voice.

"Y-Yahiko, what do we do? Chibi … Chibi's not moving!"

"It's not safe. We have to get out of here first!" he barked.

Frantically, they ran as quickly as they could, until they were back at their hideout.

"Chibi …." Nagato sniffed, laying the motionless puppy on the ground at one corner.

"It's no longer safe here. We need to leave. The war has spread too deep into Amegakure territory." He said, taking a final glance at the dead dog. It's death caused him pain as well, Chibi had accompanied them on their stealing sprees, and he had also grown to see the furry creature as part of their family. The puppy had brought them joy, and he recalled fondly how he and his companions enjoyed playing with it.

"Where can we go?" Konan asked.

"Those shinobi that fought against Hanzo. Let's try to ask them for food." he said. "And if they're willing, maybe we could get them to teach us some ninjutsu. The chances are not high, but we have to try! Without power, we'll only be forced to always live like that, depending on the mercy of others."

He remembered his mum's words. Try and fail, but never fail to try.

They began packing up, and took along whatever food and essentials they could carry. Yahiko was a little reluctant to leave as the place had grown to be his second home. A place where he would spend time together with Nagato and Konan.

However, this was a chance, and he wasn't going to let it slip away. However slim it was.

=====

A few days had passed, and Yahiko had been leading his companions on, trying to find traces of the shinobi who fought against Hanzo, but to no avail.

Beside him, Konan's body shook, trembling in the cold weather thanks to the rain, her movements slow. She stopped, knees on the ground, catching her breath.

"Sorry. It was my fault. I made all of you go along with my plan … Let's take a break."

Yahiko kneeled down in front of Konan, his back facing her, while gesturing for her to get on. Soon her arms were around his neck, and he stood, giving her a piggyback ride.

"T-thank you. I-I'm fine." Konan's voice was so soft he could barely hear it amidst the rain.

"Idiot, like hell you're fine. We'll rest."

They made their way into the nearest cave they could find. Yahiko set the girl down against the wall, and passed her the last bits of food he had.

It was then he heard voices coming from the other end of the cave.

From his periphery, he eyed three figures that sat down, eating biscuits. Their headband had a leaf symbol, they were most likely the Konoha Shinobis he saw fighting with Hanzo the other day! Perhaps fate was on their side after all.

"Come out! We know you're there! There's no point in hiding."

A feminine voice called out to them.

Was this the power of a shinobi? They were able to sense them even from a distance. He stepped out with his companions, and could feel the unnerving gazes of the hidden leaf ninjas landing on them.

"Children … What are kids doing on the battlefield?" A white-haired man remarked.

"Do you have food?"

The other two companions appeared wary, but the white-haired ninja smiled. He stretched his hands, full of biscuits, towards them.

Immediately, Konan and Nagato swooped in and took every last one, drawing a scowl from the blonde kunoichi.

"Sorry … we've just been really hungry." he apologized.

"Well, if that's it. We're leaving." A third ninja with creepy eyes said and turned his back on them.

The other two shinobi stood up and followed after him.

"W-wait!" Konan ran after them.

"Jiraiya's already given you his food. What more do you want!" The female ninja spoke, her voice full of irritation.

"Shall I kill these children, Tsunade, Jiraiya?" The creepy ninja stared at them and raised a kunai. "I've seen countless war orphans like this. It's cruel. The best thing for them would be to put them out of their misery, right here and right now."

"Stop it, Orochimaru!" The white haired ninja raised a hand and held him back.

There was silence and Yahiko stepped forward. It was all or nothing.

"I k-know it's an unreasonable request. But could you teach us some ninjutsu? It's hard to survive without having any shinobi skills to make a living …"

Beside him, Konan stretched out her hands and held out a beautifully made origami flower, made from a biscuit wrapper, towards the three shinobi. "Thank you for the food earlier, this is something to express our gratitude."

The white-haired ninja accepted the gift.

"Go on ahead, Tsunade. Orochimaru. I'll stay behind and look after the kids for a while. It's the least I can do."

(900+ words)