Chapter Four: Konan's Tale
For a long moment, Rukia stood dead silent as she sheathed her sword. Above them, the low pitter-patter of falling rain fell from the gray clouds far overhead. As it happened, Yahiko considered what he had learned.
What was a Quincy? Some form of bloodline?
Yahiko hadn't known of this, but he didn't mind it. Even so, something of what Konan had said concerned Rukia. Which told Yahiko there was something special about this bloodline.
Rukia spoke at last. "A Quincy?
"But... this changes everything."
"What does it change?" asked Konan, appearing shaken. Her voice was raised higher than usual. "I haven't even been using my powers. Not for years and years."
"Slow down, Konan," said Yahiko. "What is going on?"
"My family, they are part of an ancient clan called Quincy," said Konan. "We have an ability to use the innate chakra in the air to form weapons. Using it, we hunted hollows. Our actions kept the Land of Rain safe, and we were able to destroy thousands of hollows.
"But... well... the Soul Society didn't approve of us. They attacked. We had several wars with the Soul Society and were nearly exterminated."
"So, where are the rest of them?" asked Nagato. "Shouldn't they be helping us? Or helping to fight off the Leaf."
Konan shifted and looked down sadly as the rain-soaked her hair. The rain fell over her face like tears. "I'm the last, I think.
"My parents and my grandfather, they wanted to work with the Soul Society. But then one day, a huge army of hollows attacked. They told me to run, and I hid in the rushes, watching it.
"They fought for hours and killed hundreds of hollows, but not one Soul Reaper ever arrived. Eventually, both were overwhelmed. They were dead.
"Then, they appeared out of nowhere."
"Why would the Soul Society want you exterminated?" asked Nagato, sounding horrified.
"It was the balance of souls," said Rukia. "You see, the Soul Society, the World of the Living, and Houco Mundo are three different worlds. But they all draw power from the same source of souls. Ordinarily, when a human, a hollow, or a purified soul is killed, they are reincarnated.
However, when a Quincy kills a soul, it is destroyed."
"No, it isn't!" said Konan. "When Quincies kills a soul, it transports them to the pure land, a place without war or sickness. There, their souls will really be at peace."
"...What exactly happens to the souls isn't relevant, to be honest," said Rukia. "The key thing is that they disappear from the cycle.
"A certain amount of disappearing souls can be accounted for, of course. Humans create more souls sometimes. But the Quincies were destroying them at such a rate that it was endangering the balance of souls."
"Well, what's so special about the balance of souls?" asked Yahiko, curious. What even was the Balance of Souls anyway?
"All three worlds depend on it," said Rukia. "If it were to fall apart... well, the results would be disastrous?"
"Disastrous, how?" asked Yahiko, growing suspicious of her vague answers.
Rukia looked like one who had been caught with a question she didn't know the answer to. "...Well more disastrous than you could ever imagine!"
"You don't know, do you?" asked Yahiko, confident in his suspicions now.
"Information on the Quincy is heavily controlled," admitted Rukia reluctantly, sheathing her sword. "Central Forty-Six tried to write them out of history. I only know about them because my clan runs the histories of the Soul Society."
"Central Forty-Six?" asked Yahiko.
"What's that?" asked Nagato.
"It's uh..." Rukia paused. "They are a wise council of elders who preside over the afterlife for everyone's betterment." It didn't sound like she believed it herself. Likely it was like the Villages, only interested in themselves. "Either way, it doesn't matter.
"Konan, you and Nagato have unlocked powerful abilities. These are powers that will draw hollows to you if left unchecked. You need to learn to control your spirit pressure, at least if you're going to survive. I've got to alert the Soul Society of what is going on here."
"No, you can't!" said Konan.
"You don't understand, the continued existence of the Quincy is a huge deal. It's something I have to inform the Soul Society of," said Rukia. "It's my duty."
"What do you think they'll do if you do contact them?" asked Yahiko, a nasty suspicion growing in his mind.
"Well, I..." Rukia shifted with what was almost guilt. "I don't know, but it's not my place to know." Because she did not want to know, the Soul Society would kill them, wouldn't they?
"But Rukia, the Soul Reapers let my parents die!" said Konan in an uncharacteristic panic. "What if they called the hollows down on them and then let them die? They'll do it to me, please! You can't tell them about me!"
"I..." Rukia shifted. "Alright, I'll make you a deal. I won't tell them, but you can't use your powers except at the greatest need. And you need to find a teacher, someone who can teach you to control your chakra."
"It's a deal," said Konan. "I wasn't hunting any hollows anyway."
This was dangerous ground. It was time for Yahiko and the group to move off where Rukia could not find them. "Yeah, I'll bet it-"
And then there was a huge explosion over the hill. Looking up, Yahiko saw more explosions ripping through the air. By now, the rain was becoming a downpour. Figures were darting over the hill, and a wave of flame like a forest fire rose into the air then fell again.
"What the..." said Rukia.
"It came from over there," said Nagato.
"That power..." said Yahiko, having an idea. "There must be ninja fighting over that way! Come on, let's go check!" And he made a run for it.
"Wait, Yahiko, don't go there!" said Rukia.
Yahiko ignored her, and Nagato and Konan ran with him. Rukia soon was running beside them. "Stop this! We can't just rush into things like this!"
"Relax, will you, Rukia? You need to be there too," said Yahiko.
Coming over the hill, they saw a battle. Ninjas were fighting ninjas, hurling kunai, and using jutsu. There was Hanzo, surrounded by his guard, standing atop his great beast. Against him were many ninja. And chief among them were three in particular.
One, a stunningly beautiful blonde-haired woman who wielded healing jutsu. Then there was a dark-haired man, wielding a sword and who turned his hands to snakes. Wherever he went, Hanzo's men fell as he cleaved through them. Last, of all, there was a spiky, white-haired man in red, fighting with the guards.
On the battle went, and it was brutal. Little by little, Hanzo's guards were killed. Yet the Leaf suffered many casualties. At last, only four ninjas remained on the battle. Hanzo, atop his mount, bearing a gas mask. Across from him, stood the three opposed to him. On the fight went, and little by little, Hanzo gained the advantage.
A series of explosive tags forced the three ninjas on the defensive. Yet the black-haired man flanked Hanzo and sent serpents from his hands to wrap around him. Then the white-haired man grew out his hair into a mane and sent it forward with sharp spikes on it. Yet Hanzo dodged and sent more explosions, throwing them around. Finally, the blonde and the white-haired man landed, supporting one another. At the same time, the dark-haired man stood by, ready for war.
"...I am surprised that three ninjas as young as you were able to push me this far. You are indeed powerful," said Hanzo. He sounded very impressed as he stood unaffected. "I predict that Konoha will win this battle, so I will allow you to live.
"Tell me your names."
"I am Jiraiya," said the white-haired one.
"My name is Tsunade," said the blonde.
"Orochimaru," said the pale-dark-haired man.
"Your names have been burned into my memory," said Hanzo. "Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Tsunade. I dub you the Sannin of Konoha." Then he glanced back to his remaining men. Pull back; this area is lost. We'll regroup behind."
"When did the Leaf get this far down?" asked Nagato with a shudder.
"It was probably a stealth attack of some kind," said Yahiko, remembering his own time. Even so, if Hanzo was losing ground, that didn't bode well.
As Hanzo left, Rukia made her way down to the group. As she neared them, the three exhausted ninjas drew kunai. "You... who are you?"
"I am Rukia Kuchiki, a soul reaper. I'm here to deal with the fallen," said Rukia. "If you have any final words-"
"Very well then, get on with it," said Orochimaru. "I've no business with any of them after they're dead."
Then he turned and walked, leaving behind a field of corpses. Jiraiya and Tsunade walked with him, reluctantly. Yahiko noticed that not all of the bodies had left behind spirits. It was as if some had passed on to the next life by themselves.
"...Did you see that, Hanzo was so powerful," said Nagato.
"Focus, Nagato," said Yahiko. "The Leaf are going to occupy this territory. Do you know what that means?"
"...There are going to be a lot more spirits in the village, aren't there?" asked Konan.
"Yes," said Yahiko.
Then there was a woman's scream.
Nagato looked up and pointed back toward the village with a cry of alarm. Konan and Yahiko followed the movement and saw the village in flames. People were fleeing, only to be caught by Leaf Ninja and killed or caught by nets. A woman was pulled down and forced down.
"The village is burning!" said Konan.
"Why would they do such a thing?" asked Nagato.
"They'd been put through hell taking this territory," realized Yahiko. "Hanzo made them pay in blood. That means the soldiers want to rape and plunder.
"It happened to my hometown too."
"Yahiko!" said Rukia, racing up to them.
Yahiko looked up and came to a decision. "Rukia, we're going to have to part ways here."
"What do you mean?" asked Rukia.
"The village you've been assigned to is burning, so you'll have to deal with the spirits there," said Yahiko. "We're going after the Sannin."
"What? Why not Hanzo?" asked Nagato.
"Because Hanzo isn't taking students," said Yahiko.
"You want us to become students to the Leaf Ninja?" asked Konan.
"Why not?" asked Yahiko. "If we're going to become powerful, we have to take risks. We'll follow these Sannin and observe them, figure out how they tick. Then, when the time is right, we'll ask them to take us for training."
"But why?" asked Konan.
"I told you, Konan," said Yahiko. "You're the angel to my God. And if I'm going to become God, I'm going to need a real trainer. Rukia's given us as much help as we're going to get from here.
"Let's take our supplies and go.
"We'll travel light."
"Are you sure about this, Yahiko?" asked Rukia.
Yahiko shrugged. "Yeah, I wasn't all that attached to that village anyway.
"See you on the other side, Rukia."
Rukia nodded. "...Right, you don't have to worry.
"After all, you've got Konan and Yahiko with you."
And so they parted ways.
Yahiko was glad he didn't have to explain his actions. It meant Konan and Nagato heeded his voice. Rukia Kuchiki was beginning to become a problem and could alert her superiors. It was time to find other means of power.
"Yahiko, what makes you think they'll take us?" asked Nagato.
"They won't take us, Nagato," said Yahiko thoughtfully. "They'll take you. Those eyes of yours were given to you for a reason. And the Leaf is always on the lookout for power. All the ninja are. Konan and I will be accepted as sidekicks."
"But you're not a sidekick, you're our leader," said Nagato.
"Sure, but they don't know that," said Yahiko. "Don't you trust me?"
"Of course we trust you," said Konan.
"Then, don't worry about it," said Yahiko. "Come on; it can't get any worse from here anyway."
The chase, so to speak, was on.