Title: No Justice
Characters: Pein, Konan, Yahiko and Jiraiya
Entry Line: "If there was any justice in this world, they'd find it. They had to."
Contest: The first Naruto omake contest.
About: How three young children ventured into the real world and broke. The birthplace of monsters starts here.
If there was any justice in this world, they'd find it. They had to.
Konan closed her eyes, and shivered. She didn't want to think about Yahiko any longer. And...Nagato needed her. He was taking Yahiko's death far worse.
They were like brothers. Yahiko had always been the strong one. He protected Konan and Nagato from bullies, he was the one who thought up the plan for them to escape and survive when Amegakure attacked their village and no one else survived. He was the one who said they needed to find someone strong to help them. He was the one who truly convinced Jiraiya to train them.
And...
He... was the one to die.
They got stronger under Jiraiya's training. That was definitely true.
It was slow at first. Konan hadn't wanted to train. She was a girl. She just wanted to have her mommy and her daddy back. She didn't think she could be strong. All she wanted was the happy times again when she could smile.
Nagato hadn't wanted to train. He was a weakling. A coward. He didn't want to fight. He didn't want to lose anyone else. He didn't think Yahiko's dream could come true. All he wanted was to be loved. But he didn't dare dream.
Yahiko wanted to train. He was a dreamer. He was a light in the darkness. Hope. He wanted to make sure that no one else suffered like they did. He was so strong.
They were attacked.
It should have been a massacre. Nagato was frozen. Konan was panicked. Yahiko was desperate.
Still, Yahiko tried. He fought with everything he learned from Jiraiya. He used every dirty trick he knew. He pushed himself to his limits.
It wasn't enough.
He was going to die. He had fallen. The ninja picked him up by the scruff of his shirt, mania in his eyes, and a kunai in his other hand.
And...
Then...
Nagato...
Went...
Nuts...
Konan had been horrified at first. Nagato was going to die as well now. She needed to do something. Anything. She was just a weak girl. She had to get Jiraiya-sensei. Nagato and Yahiko were distracting the ninja. But how long before Nagato and Yahiko fell again? Did she have enough time?
She was so relieved. Somehow, Yahiko and Nagato had survived.
That was all that mattered.
Nagato was different after that. She was surprised to see what she did in him after he talked to Jiraiya-sensei. She wanted it too, though.
Resolve.
Konan resolved to not be a weak little girl. As long as she had Yahiko and Nagato, she could always laugh and smile. They weren't her mommy and daddy, but they were her brothers. She would never doubt again.
Nagato resolved never to doubt again. If he had a power to change the world, he'd make Yahiko's dream come true. As long as he had Yahiko and Konan, he had what he wanted. He would never freeze again.
Yahiko had his own resolve. To never falter again. To never lose again. He would never come so close to death again.
How easily it all shattered. They were supposed to be unbeatable. Their teamwork was supposed to be unstoppable. Their dream was supposed to be unbreakable...
And...
Yahiko was dead!
DEAD!
Where was justice?!?
Why him?!?
WHY?
WHY?
WHY?
Nagato was transfixed over the body of his friend's corpse, blood dripping from his hands, his eyes empty, staring down, unmoving.
Konan's eyes were closed. Unseeing. The world was black. Reality wasn't real. This was all just a dream. Yes. A frightening dream and any minute, they'd be back with Jiraiya-sensei.
Her eyes opened. Yahiko was still dead. Nagato was still frozen. She was still in doubt.
The girl who would always smile and never doubt, would never smile again. Would never make another decision again. All she could do was follow. Follow. Follow. Follow. Like a broken doll.
The boy who would always care and never freeze, would never care again. Would always be frozen in his pain. All he could do was spread his pain. Spread. Spread. Spread. Like an engine of destruction.
If there was any justice in this world, they'd find it. They had to.
Because if it existed, they'd remove it from existance. Again. Again. Again.
Just like they did in the past. Just like they do in the present. Just like they'll continue to do it in the future.
Until there was no justice in this world.
Until they die, and meet Yahiko again on the other side of the world's edge. And maybe...they'd have shown the world, what justice really was. It was a dream...that never really should be.
Justice...did not exist. Not for them. Not for anyone.
Not if they had their way.