Don't own Naruto


10 Years Ago (Prologue)

The air smelt of crisp fire; screams and cries rung through the air. It was the night he would later in his life refer to as "the day it all began". The notorious gang, the Sound, as they called themselves, was wreaking havoc on the town of Ame. The reasons weren't fully known at the time, but Yahiko's family always had a plan in case the Sound ever started a series of riots such as this one. Little did Yahiko know, however, that his parents knew a bit more of the gang than he had been led on to believe.

Yahiko felt his father's large hand push his son's form down the creaking cellar stairs, where he ushered him into the closet that he and his wife had prepared for this very day. It was bare, and had only a small survival pack, but it would do.

"Yahiko, listen to me carefully," his father spoke in a dead-serious tone, "you have to stay here until you hear absolutely nothing. You will not come out of here until you know you cannot last any longer, and even then stay in one more day. When you come out, find the police if they haven't already found you first, and they will take care of you."

"But father, aren't you and mother coming in, too? That's what you've always said would happen if the gangs did this." Yahiko choked, the stench of fire growing stronger.

"You're right. I'm going to get your mother and we'll be back in a minute. Promise me you won't leave until I come back?" Yahiko's father insisted.

"Promise. Now go get mommy so we can all be safe." Yahiko grinned his special grin, and his father smiled softly. He leaned in and held his son in a tight embrace. After all, this would be the last time.

"You're a good boy, Yahiko. Don't ever forget that we love you."

With that, his father backed away slowly, shutting the door and praying his son didn't think too much of the sounds of the door locking. He ran up the stairs and looked around frantically for his wife. He found her sitting by the big windows that were next to their front door, staring out at their town. It was usually such a quaint image. The trees were full, the soft rain that the town was known for drizzled, and the people walked up and down the streets waving to one another. But now the buildings all burned, the rain was a raging storm, and yet it couldn't wither away the flames engulfing the homes. And the people- they were all screaming and running, being shot down by the Sound gang. The agony that filled the atmosphere was positively morbid, and yet his wife was watching it all as if it were clouds passing by in the sky.

"Honey, we need to do it now." He said solemnly.

"Is Yahiko safe?" She whispered.

"Yes. He's in the closet we prepared. It's flameproof and there's enough food for a while. By then the police will have found him." He couldn't bear telling his wife that he was starting to doubt if the police would even be coming. It just wasn't a time to think like that.

"That… that is… I'm happy. Our son will live a life for the both of us. He will make change, when sadly we only brought pain. Tell me, is it our fault? Our fault that the Sound is here?" She smiled, but tears streamed down her face.

"No, don't think like that!" her husband harshly denied her words, "How were we supposed to know this was his idea all along? I- I swear that I believed him when he said he wouldn't hurt anyone if I didn't rat him out."

"I know. You're a different person than you were long ago. But your past caught up to you."

"Yes. And now everyone is paying the price. I'm sorry for you. I'm sorry for Yahiko."

"Don't be sorry. I meant everything I said the day we got married. I accept you despite your darker past. I love you now, and I always will. But it is time for us to go. We can still take down a lot of the Sound if we leave now." She walked over calmly to a locked drawer in the foyer and pulled out numerous guns. "We need to live our last moments making up for our mistake."

"Right." He nodded, and armed himself with the guns, as his wife did the same.

The woman looked to her husband and nodded. It was time to go. He walked through the front door and into the chaos going on down below with his wife right behind him.

As he walked down the patio stairs, his wife stood behind for a moment, and looked over her shoulder back at her home. "Yahiko, bring peace, unlike your father and I could."

The man looked to his wife, and their eyes met in a gaze that resurrected everything they had shared over the years they had been together. They remembered every moment, every laugh, every cry, and every second of time with their wonderful son. But now they had but one duty. He held out his hand and his wife took it, walking down the few stairs until they both were in the streets surrounded with mayhem. They readied their guns and walked into their inevitable demise, praying for their son, and praying that he would live a long and happy life.


Yahiko had been in the little room for six days. It was now April 2, and he was beginning to wonder if he would soon lose his mind. It had become apparent to him after he heard the sounds of his father locking the door that neither of his parents would be joining him. That scared him, because although he had always been a bit oblivious, he knew what was going on outside their home. There was no possible way his parents were still alive. He had cried himself out four days ago. Now, after six long days, he just had to leave the confinements of that small closet-turned-room. The police may never come; he realized that pretty early on as well. In the panic of the moment, his father may have struck out that possibility, but its consequences were showing now. He was pacing back and forth in the confined area, whimpering every so often in defeat, only to start thinking again. He never gave up.

Yahiko looked around the closet, searching for anything that could get him out. There was a lock from the inside, but he was just a kid, he didn't have any lock picking experience! He knew his parents would be smart enough to hide a key in the closet, but the room was nearly bare, and he had searched all the supplies already, finding no key. It wasn't in the first aid kit. It wasn't in the food rations. It wasn't in the water supply. He sighed and ceased his pacing, plopping down on the floor and throwing his head back against the wall.

Tnk.

Wait, what? Yahiko threw his head back again, hearing the sound once more.

A key! His parents had hidden a key in the wall! With a new revival of hope, he thought quickly and retrieved the knife from the survival pack. Bringing it over to the wall, he observed the knife and realized he had no idea what he was doing. Oh well, no sense in not trying.

He began repeatedly stabbing the wall, yet it took him ten minutes before the wall finally broke. It was easier once he imagined the wall as the head of a Sound member. After cutting and cutting, he finally saw a glimmer of silver, and fished out the key. Grinning, he slid it into the lock, letting out a triumphant squeal when the door clicked. He pushed it open cautiously, surprised when he heard no noise outside.

"H-hello?" He called out.

No answer.

He grabbed the backpack from the inside of the room and threw it over his shoulder. The stairs creaked under his feet, and he didn't know how to feel about the still-lingering smell of burnt wood in the air. Opening up the door from his basement, he could never have prepared himself for what he saw.

The entire house was a charred black, burnt to nothing but rubbish. As he walked out, his jeans began to stain at the bottoms with the black soot. The sky, which usually appeared so blue out of the front windows, now looked depressingly gray.

He walked out of his home, expecting to see police cars everywhere and people attempting to clean the village, preparing to rebuild it. The darkness of the sky did nothing to help the emptiness of the streets. It was as if the police decided that the town was...

A lost cause. Oh no.

With fear ebbing its way into his heart, Yahiko realized that no one was here to fix Ame. No one. He wasn't even sure at this point if anyone survived. Something in the air just told him. He stepped out of the door, the crunching of debris sounding from under his sneakers. He walked down the stairs; and walked down the sidewalks. He tried as hard as he could not to look around at everything that had been destroyed. Not one home wasn't burnt by the gang's fires. Even bodies were tossed around, making Yahiko stop and puke every so often. He was silently crying the whole way, never having been this afraid before. His parents never told him it would be like this when the Sound gang attacked. Passing by one home, Yahiko stopped and observed it. Something about this one in particular calmed him. No dead bodies were tossed around on this lawn, and the toys on the porch suggested this home once housed a kid like him as well. In his midst of a daydream, Yahiko could have sworn he heard something. He jumped back. Was it a ghost?

Listening closely, he noticed that the sound was akin to a muffled sob. He wasted no time in racing up the path and into the house. It was smaller, and upon entering he realized it was a condo-like apartment, quite similar to his own. Pictures of a family were cracked and fractured laying all across the floor when he first walked in, but he paid no mind to it. He heard the sound grow louder as he stepped over the broken glass, careful to avoid the shards. He came all the way to a back room, a family room as it seemed, when he saw the source of the crying noise.

A girl. A girl with silly looking blue-ish hair.

He couldn't help the grin that came across his face. He wasn't sure if it was the funny look of her hair or the fact he found someone other than himself that had survived that made him so happy, but he decided to not care and instead focus on relishing in the feeling.

"Hey what's wron-" the girl screamed at his voice, obviously not have noticing Yahiko earlier. She looked terrified, and her still-shreiking voice alarmed Yahiko, who stumbled back.

"Easy there! I'm not going to hurt you. I'm Yahiko. I don't know if you're sure what happened, but it looks like we're pretty much alone here. You're lucky I happened to find you!" The girl sniffled, and tried shuffling away on her hands and bottom, yet instead yelped out in pain.

It was then Yahiko noticed her right foot was twisted under a fallen wooden pillar. Poor girl, she probably had been like that for days. No food, no comfort. At least his closet-room-thing had provided safety.

"Don't worry. I'm going to get you out of here." He smiled in what he hoped was an assuring way towards her.

The girl whimpered, but nodded slowly still.

Yahiko approached her, and got on his knees, using his hands to gently remove the debris from on top of her ankle. Once he had finally managed to free it, the blue-haired girl had stopped whimpering, but it still looked pretty bad.

"One second," he said, reaching into his backpack. He pulled out a first aid kit and removed a bandage. He wrapped it around her ankle, praying he wasn't making it worse. When he finished, he stood up, and offered a hand to the girl. She was silent, but still took it. He carefully pulled her up, and placed her arm over his shoulder allowing her to take the weight off of her right foot. He felt her shaking against him, and he realized she probably had no idea what was happening. Did she even know that her family, and most likely everyone else in Ame, was dead? He needed to think fast, and prevent her from asking about her family.

"Hey, how old are you?" He asked.

"S-seven." She answered hesitantly.

"Me too! But I bet I'm still older!" He boasted. "What day were you born?"

"February...twentieth." She answered. She looked down shyly.

"Wow! No way! Me too!" He yelled out in excitement.

The girl's eyes widened at his outburst, but he only laughed. "I guess we share seniority here."

She still looked confused at how he could be so enthusiastic in a time like this.

"Well, you obviously can't walk in this condition. Hop on my back and I'll take you to a place we can stay for a while." Yahiko said to the girl.

"I can walk thou-"

"No." Yahiko cut her off. "No come on, get on my back." He crouched down and she was still for a moment before climbing on his back. She put his backpack on herself like he instructed, and then wrapped her arms around him. He hoisted himself up, and thanked the universe that he managed to find a small seven year old rather than an injured twelve year old with an addiction to Twinkies.

"Alright, everyone on board prepare for takeoff! There's only one rule. Before I tell you, promise me you'll follow the rule."

"Okay." The girl nodded.

"You need to close your eyes and put your face against my back. You can't look up no matter what until I tell you, okay?"

The girl nodded, and he was glad she didn't ask why.

When he felt her face pressed against the back of his neck, he walked out the door, ignoring the crunching sounds of the glass underneath his feet. He descended her stairs and began walking down the streets. By her steady breathing, he assumed she hadn't peeked and seen any of the numerous dead bodies lying around. For fifteen minutes Yahiko walked, hoping for a miracle that he would see the woods soon enough. He and his father had built a treehouse there when he was five, and it had enough supplies there to make it a home for a while, at least until her leg was better. However, if they didn't get to the woods soon, she might peek and see a dead body, or the charred remains of buildings, or blood splattered on the ground. Not to mention that it was taking all of his self-control to not to burst into tears and think about the lives that had been lost. There wasn't time for that right now.

Luckily, he saw the woods in the distance, and picked up his pace until he reached a point where they couldn't see anything but the distant view of the town. Yahiko carried her through the woods until finally he noticed an obscure looking fat tree. This had always been his marker for finding the tree house. He looked to the left and a bit further, and saw the small wooden fortress atop a thick tree. When he reached the bottom, he sighed in relief.

Yahiko let the girl down, and told her to open her eyes.

She rubbed them until she could see clearly.

"You didn't peek." He noted.

"You told me not to. And you saved me. I trust you." She said, before blushing and turning away.

He laughed. "I'm glad you trust me. Say, what's your name anyway?"

"Konan."

"Hi, Konan, I'm Yahiko. I know that you're probably scared, but you and I are gonna make it through this, okay?" He grinned.

"Yeah, okay." She nodded.

He took the backpack from Konan and tossed it up into the tree house before climbing it himself, lending a hand to Konan and assisting her as well.

The two kids looked around at the treehouse. It was big enough, but not huge. It was about the about the size of a full room, taking Yahiko and his father nearly a year to construct. It had sleeping bags, lanterns, flashlights, s'mores stuff, and pillows and blankets. In other words: a haven at the moment.

Yahiko set up two sleeping bags, putting a heap of blankets and pillows on them, sensing the false comfort was needed.

"Here," he said, helping Konan to a sleeping bag and sitting her down. "It's probably been a while since you've eaten." The look of hopefulness in her face told him that the mention of food was making her excited. He went over to the s'mores stuff, grabbing the graham crackers, knowing those would stale first, and brought them back. He opened a sleeve of crackers, giving her a few and keeping a few for himself. It was a shame really, but these would have to do. The food in all of the houses in town were completely burnt.

He noticed with a smile how she nearly inhaled the crackers. The way she was eating them reminded himself of how he ate normally, making him laugh quietly under his breath. The two of them ate quietly, enjoying the first bit of peace they'd had in a while.

Yahiko still wondered how they would manage to find food. This was good enough a shelter, but they would have to find provisions soon enough. Any source of food in the town was burnt to a crisp, and either way he couldn't stand going back in that horribly grotesque place after all this.

"Tomorrow I'm going to go see if any nearby towns have any spare food. I doubt anyone would turn a child away."

Konan looked up in shock, "You can't go! What if one of the bad people find you?"

"They won't, I'm a master of subtlety!" he boasted, giving a thumbs-up.

"I find that hard to believe."


The first day Yahiko tried a town next to his own. They were all part of the Rain Country, but he had grown up in the 'capital' of sorts, Ame. He didn't know the name of the town he was in now, and he didn't care. He just hoped it was safe.

However, as soon as he entered, he realized his mistake in hoping. Nothing was burnt, that much was at least something of a relief. But there were Sound symbols spray painted all over brick walls; the gangs must have wanted to mark their territory with graffiti. Most houses looked abandoned, and Yahiko had a sick feeling in his gut. He walked further into town, and saw a few people moving out and about. With excitement he ran up to one.

"Excuse me, ma'am, but can I ask you if the Sound came by here?"

The older woman, plump with gray hair matted, looked down at the grinning orange-haired boy. "Why, I'm afraid they have. Are you from around here, boy?"

Yahiko looked down, "No. I lived in Ame. But...it's pretty much gone."

The woman looked mortified. "You poor child. I-I- I had no idea there were any survivors. We heard of what had happened."

"Ma'am?"

"Many of the towns are being terrorized, but yours was the only to be demolished like it was. My son lived there." She choked out.

"Why is it that this town seems generally left alone?" The woman looked past him, most likely reliving memories.

"There were only two of the Sound gang members. They still did quite a number on us."

"Oh." Yahiko frowned.

"Excuse me- I must-" the old woman turned around and ran away, and Yahiko could have sworn he heard he begin crying. Not like he could blame her. She lost a son to the gang's attack, and he knew the pain himself.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, even though the woman was too far away to hear him.

With a sigh, he began walking. This town seemed unharmed enough, so he hoped most of the others were too.

Coming across a market, Yahiko's stomach growled. He could probably beg some food off the workers, and bring some back to share with Konan.

"Excuse me, sir." Yahiko tugged on a man at an apple stand's sleeve. The man looked down, scowling.

"Please, my friend and I have nothing to eat. Can we just have a few?"

"No, now leave you rat! No one is leaving this town with that gang around, and I'm not letting my only income go into the mouth of a begging kid!"

Yahiko was stunned, not moving at all. The man shoved him back, and he fell on his butt. "Ooph! Hey! What was that for?" He yelled.

"Either go get your parents to come here and pay for some or leave!" Yahiko felt the tears building up, right before they released and he felt them pour down his face. "I can't! They died in the attack you old bastard!" He screamed.

"The... attack? Look it doesn't matter. Get away from my stand, I have a family to feed!"

Yahiko prepared to leave in tears, but before leaving grabbed a couple apples, and scurried off ignoring the man yelling at him to give them back. He just couldn't go back empty-handed, it just wasn't an option.

When he reached the treehouse, he shook Konan awake, and as she sleepily sat up, he gave her an apple.

"Was this on a tree or something?" She asked.

"No. I had to take it from this mean old man. There aren't any fruit trees around here, and there's going to be a storm here soon; I can tell. I think we need to get as much food as we can stored. Do you think you can help me?"

Konan nodded, and he continued. "I know it's bad, but we're going to have to steal some things to survive. It's the only way."

She played with the fabric of the sleeping bag between her index finger and thumb. "I understand."

"Good. Then I guess we should go to the same town tomorrow."

For seven months, Yahiko and Konan perfected what Yahiko referred to as "the art of thieveryness" which Konan argued wasn't even a real word. The both of them together came up with numerous schemes. Konan would pretend to faint, and as people would rush to her aid, Yahiko would use their lack of attention to their stands to take as much food as possible. Sometimes Yahiko would pretend to trip and knock over fruits. As both he and Konan apologized and picked them up, they would stuff some up their sleeves and in their pockets. Other times they would simply run in, take the food, and run off. By the time the light rain of the town turned into the treacherous storm as Yahiko had predicted, they had managed to stock up crates and crates of food, and their morale increased a lot. Everything seemed pretty steady until one day Konan came home from a walk with a surprise.

"Konan, who are these two anyway?" Yahiko asked, motioning to the boy with blood-red hair covering his eyes and a scrawny looking dog she had brought up into the treehouse. In the last few months, Yahiko had become more focused on the survival of him and his friend than anything else. More people meant less food per person. And that in itself was enough to make Yahiko a bit annoyed with this new predicament.

"Sorry, but he was almost dead." She spoke shyly.

"And a dog to boot?" He sighed, standing up and walking over to get a good look at the new kid. "What's your name?"

"Chibi." The boy spoke, his voice still young sounding. If Yahiko had to guess, he'd say he was about his and Konan's age, seven and nearly eight.

Yahiko snorted air out of his nose in confusion. "Boy you sure have a weird name- Chibi?"

The boy tilted his head. "Not me. That's the dog's name."

Yahiko shook his head. This was going to be interesting.

A bit later, Konan was toying with a paper origami she made, playing with Chibi. Yahiko and the new boy, Nagato, however, were still getting acquainted.

"Wow, there's so much food here!" Nagato laughed, nonplussed that two mere children managed to collect such a variety.

"If you're gonna stay with us, then I expect you to help find provisions too, smallfry." Yahiko warned.

"Okay," the boy shrugged, "but how?"

"We steal." Yahiko said, as if it were the norm for a couple of kids to do.

"Steal? But isn't that wrong?" Nagato asked.

"Don't be ridiculous! These are hard times! We've gotta fend for ourselves by any means necessary. Naive ideals won't cut it." He answered, frowning at the red haired boy.

"No, you're right." Nagato said, remembering all the times he was almost denied survival due to the fact he was too weak.

"We'll do whatever it takes to live, even if it means we have to steal. Got it?" He asked sharply, and Nagato nodded.

"I understand."

Yahiko hated to admit it, but the three of them did make a better team than just him and Konan alone. Their stunts became easier to get food from, and Yahiko really really hated to admit this, but he actually started to take a liking to Nagato; he was pretty cool. The three of them were a team, and had become a strong unit that worked together to survive. All three were orphans, and all three had no one else to depend on but each other. When Yahiko heard Nagato's story of watching his parents die right before him, and then blacking out and waking right next to the two murderers, dead on the ground, he realized what this meant. He knew Nagato was innocent, and probably wasn't even sure himself if he had killed the two men. Even knowing what Nagato had done, he and Konan trusted him completely. They were an inseparable team, and everything was working out. Until, that was, the day they realized they needed to grow up.

Chibi was dead, right in front of them. It was a typical 'thievery' job. Quick and simple, they had gotten some food and were on their way home when an explosion went off, and they all were knocked to the ground.

"Is everyone okay?" Yahiko managed, as he tried to get up.

It was then that he noticed the explosion was from a homemade bomb, most likely a Sound gang weapon. Another explosion sounded, and Yahiko was barely able to pull himself up as the ground shook.

"Dammit, what now?" he growled. A little bit away the orphans saw a gang member, armed and dangerous, fighting what seemed to be three cops. Gunfire and explosions kept causing a cacophony of noise. But the three policemen, or two men and a woman, didn't give in. They fought with all of their might.

"Oh no! Chibi!" Yahiko heard Nagato call out a bit behind him.

The dog was laying on the ground, motionless. "Yahiko, what do we do? Chibi's not breathing!" Nagato cried out.

"Worry about him later. We need to get out of here, fast!" He frowned. It hurt, losing the little dog, but he needed to get them out of there.

Once they were back in front of their treehouse, Yahiko pounded the side of the tree. "Dammit!" he growled. "Dammit, dammit!" he repeated. "Why is it always like this? If all of this useless fighting doesn't stop, then I'll become the God of this world and make it stop!"

Nagato and Konan looked at him in shock, and for the first time they were afraid of their usually cheerful friend.

Yahiko dug a shallow hole, Nagato wrapped the body, and Konan retrieved her origami dog. They made a small grave for Chibi, and said their final words to him. Nagato wouldn't stop crying, and Konan put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Nagato, quit crying all the time. If you only cry when you're beaten down, then nothing will change. Just like this nation. But I'm going to change this nation, and for that I will need power, not just words."

Nagato and Konan exchanged an unsure look. "What kind of power?"

"We need a normal life. The power in this world lies within those who know how to climb latters. If we find a normal family, get an education, and get high-power jobs, we can make a difference, and save this nation. We can start by finding the policemen from before and having them take us to a normal family."

They knew they couldn't live in a treehouse forever. They needed to take a chance and leave. As they passed over the stone of their fallen friend, Nagato smiled softly. "Chibi, rest in peace."

So they packed up all of their belongings that they needed and returned the leftover food to the market workers, who seemed extremely confused as to why the three rascals were returning the favor.

"We're sorry!" Konan awkwardly laughed as the three of them scurried off. It had been two years since she first met Yahiko, and she was proud at how far she had come. Both of her friends had taught her strength, and she had full faith in Yahiko's decision. He told her and Nagato last night that they needed to reintroduce themselves to society. They had originally never left the areas around their home, never encountering the police. Ame had lost nearly all forms of law, and so they never saw any chance to be taken in as orphaned children. However, if they could find those policemen that were fighting that gang member the other day, they may have a chance at a new life, and with that, eventual power.

It took a lot of weary traveling, and all three of them were exhausted from searching. But after four days, Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato eventually caught up with the policemen. There was a tall white haired man, a man with sleek black hair and sickly pale skin, and a blonde woman with her hair in pigtails and a cynical frown on her face. They were sitting on rocks, eating lunch, and chatting on the side.

"Konan. Nagato. Stay back and I'll talk to them." Yahiko sauntered off without another word, and Nagato pulled Konan off to the side.

Without even seeing them, the three policemen froze and looked the childrens' way.

"Come out! We know you're there!" The woman ordered.

Yahiko came out of the shadows and walked up. "Are you policemen? What country are you from?" He asked impatiently.

The woman frowned at his snappy tone, but the white haired man studied Yahiko and nodded. "We are part of the force of the Fire Country. We come from Konoha. What's wrong? I'm sure my friends and I can help you."

Yahiko stared at the man for a minute before giving the man his silent seal of approval. "Nagato! Konan! You can come out now, they seem alright."

The two children came out of the shadows, and walked up to the adults.

The white haired man turned to them and then back to Yahiko. "What are you three doing out here by yourself? The Sound gang is around these areas. It's not safe for children."

"We kinda figured that much. Look, our parents all died from the gang attack on Ame two years ago. We need a home. Are there any places in Konoha for kids like us?" The orange-haired boy asked.

The white-haired man looked over to his blonde companion, whose eyes had softened upon looking at the boy. Of course. He was the spitting image of her brother.

"How old are you?" The woman asked.

"We're all nine." Nagato answered, adding an awkward smile.

"Nine. Just a little younger than he was when he-" she broke off, and the white-haired man put a comforting hand on her shoulder. He then looked at the kids.

"We really aren't supposed to be off mission at any time. But I think this is a good call for an excuse. Tsunade, Orochimaru, go on ahead to the next gang cite, I'm going to look after these three for a while, then get them a way to the Fire Country."

"But Jiraiya-" the woman protested.

"Don't worry; it will only be a few days. I'll meet up with you then we can take down any gangs in the next location."

Orochimaru stood up, "Are you sure we shouldn't just dispose of them at the next town?"

"They will die there alone. The gang numbers are only increasing." Jiraiya noted, shaking his head.

The man, who strangely resembled a snake, frowned, but nodded.

"Thank you."

Everyone looked over to Konan, who held a paper flower and was smiling sweetly towards the three adults. She walked up to Tsunade, and placed it on her lap.

"You're... Welcome." And Tsunade couldn't help the smile that formed on her face.

Jiraiya may have shown up late to meet his two friends, but his time was well spent. It was in about a month that he, instead of just getting them a ride like he had said, brought the three kids himself to the land of Fire. He didn't bring them to Konoha, a bit to their disappointment, but he did manage to get them to a safe and guarded orphanage. In that month though, he had bonded with all of them, as he related deeply to their tails of woe concerning their parents, their struggles to survive, and finding comfort in each other. He taught them things about society they may have forgotten, but generally the three orphans managed to retain most of what they knew of life before the gangs in the front of their minds, never becoming uncivilized. They were small and defenseless in ways, so Jiraiya also taught them how to defend themselves. With the fighting skills he had known as a member of the police force, he was able to train them well. Through the journey from Ame to the Fire country, he had learned a lot about each of them, and they had learned a lot about each other. Yahiko, for instance, found out Konan actually knew everything about what happened the day they first met. She knew he tried hiding it, and didn't want him to feel worse than he did, but she knew they were stepping through a sea of corpses. Nagato also told everyone that it was Konoha police that killed his parents, but he didn't hold a grudge against that town, because it turned out they thought his family were part of a band of gang members, since they were in a neighborhood run by all gangs at the moment. Yahiko shared that he decided that when he grew up, he'd make sure that there were no more gangs, and achieve peace.

Saying goodbye to them had to be the hardest thing Jiraiya had done in his life, far harder than anything he had done as a policeman in the line of duty. In the month he had been traveling to the Fire Country with them, he had grown exceptionally close with them. So he couldn't help it if he got teary eyed when he dropped them off at the orphanage.

A dark-haired woman came to the door, smiling as she welcomed the three children. "Hello, I'm Guren. I'm the one who runs this orphanage. Officer Jiraiya?"

"Yes, that's me. We talked on the phone. This is Nagato, Konan, and Yahiko." He presented the children.

The woman smiled. "Hello, how are you all doing?" She asked in a soft and sympathetic tone.

"Don't bother, miss. They don't need pity; in fact, they lived alone for two years before finding me."

"Oh, I've never heard of a case like that." She responded, genuinely surprised.

"Yes, well these three are something special. Thank you again, for taking them in."

"It's my pleasure. Do you wish to say goodbye before I take them to get situated?"

"That would be much appreciated. Thank you."

Guren nodded before leaving the entrance to the large home. Jiraiya looked at the three kids, and smiled.

"You three are all on your own now. You've done a great job training and learning these past few weeks."

Of all people, Yahiko sniffled.

"Hey, don't cry Yahiko, or people will call you a coward. Konan, you're going to grow up to be a real beauty, I know it. I hope we meet again someday. This world is destitute, so there will be hard times ahead. But from now on, you three can change the fate of this world." He turned around, and began walking towards the door. "Nagato, you three have really grown up, wouldn't you agree?"

Jiraiya walked away, and the man that had taught them everything was receding from where they stood. He was an escort to their new home, but he had become more than that. He was their teacher, their sensei. So as he reached the end of the long and winding driveway, Nagato could only whisper "Thank you, Sensei."


Guren was kind enough, but she was a bit neglectful. It wasn't on purpose, that much was obvious, but with the twenty-one children in the orphanage, she let them do as they wished, only coming out of her room every once in a blue moon. Holidays and birthdays passed like any other day, and there was nothing to do except talk to each other. Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan soon noticed how quiet the other children were. They never spoke, and were all a bit mentally deranged. Some woke up screaming every night, with no one to comfort them. Others would draw morbid pictures, stare off into space, and speak words that made no sense. Every last one of them was illiterate. And as nice as Guren was, she had isolated these children who were already so alone, and denied them any further interaction with the world. Yahiko added a bit of light to the orphanage, but the kids never completely accepted any type of social activity. A few were a bit more mature, probably not born into the orphanage, and would at times talk to the three of them. However, after 11 months when the orphanage shut down, they were on the move again.

For about eight years after that, Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan went from orphanage to foster home, one after another. Some they tolerated staying at, others were hell that they barely endured. But they always endured. Multiple times they feared being split up, but none of the workers in charge of the orphanages and homes for children ever had the heart to break them up. The three had grown so dependent on each other that survival wasn't certain anymore if they didn't have each other. But over 10 years after Yahiko and Konan first met and later recruited Nagato, the three of them were finally given news that made life seem a little less depressing.


Present-Day (Beginning of Story)

Konan slept soundly in her bed in their latest foster home. Their caretaker was a man who was rude, cruel, and strict. He wasn't abusive, but the stress never left the teens feeling calm. As the indigo-haired girl stretched in her sleep, she breathed in the calmness of the morning. She snuggled in her blanket and embraced the sleep that surrounded her.

She drifted further and further into sleep until...

"KONANNNNN!"

A large weight fell on top of her, causing the bed to rock. She jerked up in surprise, wondering what this morning wakeup call was caused by... or who.

Yahiko was on top of her laughing at her reaction, and nearly crushing her too.

"Get off me fatso!" She hissed, trying to free herself from his weight.

"Hey!" He play-frowned, sitting up. She took this chance to crawl out from under him and take deep breaths. "Stop acting like I weigh that much! It's all muscle." He winked, flexing his arm as he rolled up the sleeve of his t-shirt.

She rolled her eyes. It was true, he had matured well from when they first met, but she would never pass up an opportunity to make fun of the idiot.

"Sure, muscle that you've gotten from eating all of the Twizzlers in the hundred mile radius."

"Aw, come on Konan, don't be a party-pooper. After all, I have some awesome news!"

"Is that why you woke me up by nearly killing me?"

"As a matter of fact it is." He haughtily sniffed. He reached behind him and pulled out... a pack of Twizzlers.

"Really?" She drolled.

"Hey! I can't help it if they're so delicious. Want to toast?" He gave her a red chewy string and grinned. She accepted it and tapped it to his own.

"Cheers." She said sarcastically before taking a bite. "What's the good news anyway?" She asked after swallowing her bite.

"Well, I want to tell you and Nagato at the same time."

"This is important, huh?" She asked.

"Yeah. I just wish NAGATO WERE HERE." He said the last part loudly.

She covered her ears, "Why are you talking so loud? And can't you just go get Nagat-"

"BOO!" A voice screamed from behind her headboard. She jumped back, falling off the bed and screeching. Nagato and Yahiko high-fived and fell into a fit of hysterics as she poked her head up, scowling.

"Nagato, how long were you there?" She demanded.

"About ten minutes. Yahiko had me come in here early so I could jump out and surprise you."

"You guys are so immature." She scolded, but even she was laughing too.

"So, Yahiko," Nagato smiled, his purple eyes partially hidden by his locks of blood red hair. "You said you had good news. What is it?"

Konan hopped back up on her bed and wrapped her blanket around herself, joining her friends in a triangle shaped powwow.

"Yeah! Guess what guys! Mizuki decided he didn't want to be a foster parent anymore, so he's sending us away." Yahiko's friends looked shocked, but he continued. "Well he was originally going to put us back into the system and a random home would be chosen for us, same as usual, y'know? Well a certain someone found out we were free for the taking, and demanded that they receive us as foster children, for a while probably."

Konan shook her head in confusion. "What do you mean? Who would want us as foster children so badly?"

Nagato stiffened. "You don't mean..."

"Yep!" Yahiko grinned, "Jiraiya Sensei requested we come live with him in Konoha tomorrow! We're enrolling in an actual high school and we're going to have normal teenage lives!"

"Yahiko, are you serious?" Konan asked, silent in shock, unwilling to believe.

"Yes." He laughed happily, savoring the moment of great news.

"Jiraiya Sensei, high school, are you kidding me? This is amazing!" Nagato yelled, pulling Yahiko and Konan into a big hug, squeezing them with monster strength.

"Easy there, smallfry." Chuckled Yahiko.

"Smallfry? I'm the same size as you! I have been for years!"

"Sorry, I guess I just still see you as the same little boy mooching off me from when we were younger." Yahiko teased, before Konan flicked his head.

"Ow!" He yelped. Then the three of them began laughing again.

It was amazing that after over ten years since being orphaned, the three of them were finally going to have a home.