Thank you for the follows! This chapter involves contact with the Sannin, after which there is no canon documentation of how the story for our cast goes. Enjoy.
Around half a year later, the novelty of living with anime characters had completely worn off. Hoshi found the only thing that could rival how much Nagato cried was how much Yahiko preached about becoming powerful enough to end the war and crush countries.
Impressionable children that they were, they soon began to share this dream. The way Konan and Nagato agreed reminded Hoshi that their achievements had not come from simply following Yahiko; they would all be S-Rank in the future.
They everything they could to live; cheat, lie, extort at kunai-point. Hoshi found it funny how his second chance at childhood was very much like his first, albeit the climate was much colder and wet, so he ruled out dying of thirst as one of his top three causes of death.
The worked in groups of two, Hoshi often with Nagato, and Konan with Yahiko, but when the circumstances worsened (as often as they did) they all split to cover more area to search for food.
Wandering alone allowed Hoshi to gather what information he could about the village, often by having to surrender his some of his scraps to people as payment. Food was worth its weight in gold, and he wisely kept quiet about his activities to the other three.
From what Hoshi gathered, all the craftsmen and traders the shinobi needed were kept hostage within the village and cheaply provided to keep them contributing towards the war effort. And for all Hanzo ruled the village (at this point the terms seemed ridiculous after he'd seen a few urban towers), he could not leave ninja in charge of administrative matters, so there was another lot scorned by your average citizen.
And there was a lot of propaganda, no doubt spread by the tactical ruler who could hold his own against three of Konoha's generals, essentially.
I can see why they thought Pain was a god. Hoshi thought once, hearing a baker ramble about how Hanzo was going to 'deal justice to the vile little thieves' as he held a kunai to his throat while Nagato grabbed a few stale loaves, not going for the best items in the shop.
On other occasions he witnessed men with a forehead-protectors take down a thief, help a few civilians carry their load and exchange small talk over tea and deal politely with strangers, making feel confused. And being confused mean he had made some wrong deductions, or had obtained the wrong information.
"Konan," Hoshi asked as soon as he came back, water dripping off him, "Why do you hate Hanzo?"
"Mom and dad said he was bad guy and when they thought I was asleep mom called him an assho-" she began to supply,
"I get it." Hoshi cut off and went out again the next day. The more he searched, the more he found out that Hanzo was shrouded in mystery, referred to with fear or respect in equal parts.
Once he chanced upon an inebriated old man during the day, who had many a few teeth missing and dishevelled hair. If not for the rain he looked like someone who wouldn't even bothering to bathe regularly. Hoshi pinned him as smart, for he remembered the distinct man enter a shogi place once, dressed in the same beaten black robes and black beard with grey hairs, bushy from lack of shaving.
A little bit of flattery plus the offer of a red jam cookie of the many he had surreptitiously pocketed earlier from a stall with Konan (The girl narrowed her fetching eyes, but knew better to cuss him out on the street while he was doing whatever the hell he did) soon got the old-timer talking.
"Of course the Five Elemental nations wanna take over Ame! Damn Fire wants our engineers, Suna will plunder us to divert these rivers and fish, and Iwa would do well with our rare mineral deposits that don't exist even in the land of Iron! And I don't like Hanzo, really, but he's the best shot we got with those damn shinobi from other villages coming down on us."
Hoshi had the urge to strangle someone when he heard that particular account, but torture would never get him results. Alas, the boy realized he wasn't dealing with a military commander serving as a dictator; he had to take down a full-fledged politician.
No wonder the man gets along with Danzo of all people.
And then there were his own fights, more narrows shaves than Hoshi could count on both hands and countless times all of them returned empty handed, placing rocks on their stomachs and pretending they were full just so they could catch a few hours of sleep.
Yahiko and Hoshi woke up sore from yesterdays' altercation. They had decided to pick the pockets of a well-fed teenager wearing clean and new clothes only to be caught in the act by his friend across the street.
That had led to a fight at the end of which Hoshi sliced opened one's hand and threw his kunai towards the other's chest, the weapon embedding in the boy's fleshy forearm and staining his new clothes instead of piercing his chest.
Barely had they gotten up did Konan rush in, bearing bad news.
"There are people on the street who asked me if I knew two boys with orange and white hair. Whoever you picked on yesterday wants us dead." Konan informed them and they were up and about in minutes, abandoning the hideout they had been using for six months.
Endless rain pelted their face as they ran, Yahiko taking the front and Hoshi at the back, Konan and Nagato between them.
Black eyes scanned their empty surroundings and Hoshi noticed that not one person was around. Just as it was supposed to be towards the outskirts of the village, where battle took place every day, multiple times per day between ninja of various villages.
Konan and Nagato panted loudly, but refused to stop. Hoshi smiled at their effort, feeling sorry for a moment that they had to go through this before focusing on watching their surroundings again.
Only when they finally reached some shelter raised from earth-release jutsu near a barrage did they collapse, leaning against stone pillars.
The entire area fell in the shadow of the mountain that overlooked one of the rivers that ran into Amegakure and drained into the lake Hoshi knew was beneath the city. The ledge they stood on provided a full view of the barrage and its sink.
"Wow!" Yahiko exclaimed and Hoshi had to agree. There was something awe-inspiring about millions of litres of water rushing down a dozen spillways.
Always thought where all this continuous rain went, Hoshi thought, looking at the answer. Yahiko went further, excitement taking over exhaustion. Hoshi kept an eye on him to see if he stayed a safe distance from the edge before he went off further.
"Uu, I'm even hungrier now." Konan said, clutching her stomach. "Nagato, are you okay?" She asked and the redhead sitting next to her nodded. He wasn't crying, which was an improvement.
The mention of hunger reminded Hoshi of his own twisting intestines and he placed a hand over this belly, trying to will the ache away.
"Hey guys, there are some people eating not too far off. They seem like shinobi." Yahiko returned from wherever he went.
"How many of them are there?" Hoshi asked him, feeling excitement run down his spine.
"Three, two of them are women, but one is a guy. They've all got long hair but his body was really big. Like a real man." Yahiko gestured with his arms spread out.
He thinks there are two women? Hoshi wondered but didn't say out loud. Well, from a distance Orochimaru could be mistaken for a woman, especially since the sunlight was being filtered by rainclouds and he doubted Yahiko could have gone that far.
"Let's go. If anything, I'll beg them." Hoshi sighed and Yahiko's expression turned sour.
"This war is their damn fault, you know." Yahiko retorted as Konan and Nagato got up, leaning against the pillar for support. Hoshi raised an eyebrow and pretended to clap, not actually letting his hands make contact less the Sannin pick up the sound.
"Your words have satisfied my stomach that has been empty for two days. Let's go." Perhaps it was unfair, but Yahiko needed to know when to carry his pride, and when to simply carry onwards.
"Yeah yeah, fucking smartass," Yahiko retorted as they slowly followed his lead, careful not to make any noise. There was no heat behind the insult, and now was not the time to remind the most vocal of their group to mind his language, so Hoshi let it slide.
Ah, the wonders of war on the vocabulary of children.
Soon the shinobi came into view, and as Hoshi ran his gaze over to recognize them indeed as the Sannin, one of them stood up. Orochimaru, Hoshi quickly deduced from the long black hair.
"Hey you, come out already!" And that was Tsunade, sounding very much like her voice-actor. Hoshi turned to Yahiko, who nodded. Signalling the other two to stay back, they emerged from their hiding place.
Two of the three looked surprised to see them, children as they were, while the snake summoner stayed on guard. Yahiko took a deep breath, before ordering with all the authority he could muster, "Give us food!"
"Please." Hoshi inserted much more calmly, making eye contact with all three of them. Having had much experience with beggars and begging in his previous world, he knew it was the best way to guilt trip people. Crying or sobbing tended to put people off and make things awkward, which in turn made just passing by instead of helping an easier option.
As for the rest, up to the people how they rationalize not helping someone in need.
"Where are your parents?" Jiraya asked. And Hoshi abruptly broke eye-contact, letting the action speak for itself.
"They're dead. Will you give us food or not?" Yahiko shot back.
"Here...have some crackers, kid." Jiraya mumbled, holding out his hand with the salty biscuits and wrapper.
"Jiraya?" Tsunade questioned, not liking the slightly vacant expression on his face. He paid no attention towards her.
"Konan-chan, Nagato-kun, you can come out now." The other orphans crept out slowly but then dashed towards the ninja upon seeing the salty biscuits, even nabbing the ones the kunoichi had on her lap to her surprise.
Nagato shared his with Hoshi while Konan went and offered half of hers to Yahiko. They finished the meagre snack whilst standing, never taking their eyes off the adults.
And they trailed behind the Sannin when they left, keeping a distance that would not even fool a genin. When it became apparent that the four would not be deterred, even following them onto a bridge that lead towards the battlefields did the Sannin stopped their steps.
"Would you quit following us? We already gave you what we had!" Tsunade yelled over the roar of water and rain. Taking their pause as an opportunity, the four walked up to them.
"Thank you." Konan placed a folded rose – much better than the ones she had made before- in the palms of the older female.
"You guys are ninja, right? Teach us ninjutsu!" Yahiko piped up again in a way that made Hoshi feel they had brought a knife to a gun fight.
"Don't you guys have anywhere to go?" Jiraya stepped forward. The look on their faces was telling, although Hoshi appeared aloof. The white-haired kid stood out in more ways than just his hair.
"The war makes many orphans and destroys countless homes," Orochimaru had a distant look in his eyes. "These four will die before it's over, from malnutrition if they are not killed first. Just children and so broken, how inhumane...should I?" He looked at the other two.
His teammates shifted uneasily, following his thoughts. As much as Orochimaru rubbed people wrongly, the two knew it was his roundabout way of being bitter about his own personal suffering. The offer that he alone disposes of the orphans was another twisted show of kindness.
"I guess the war breaks the perpetrators as well," Hoshi's high voice came out in a sad, adult-like tone. "If us living until our last breath is 'inhumane' but killing us now is a mercy for you. The only ones who should kill are those who are prepared to die."
And from how Orochimaru was taken aback, Hoshi grasped that he had not turned out to be the evil person he had been written as he had been depicted in the anime.
"If the end result is the same, why would you want to suffer needlessly? Do you think as long as you can keep trying, things will end how you want to?" The snake Sannin glanced at Tsunade from the corner of his eyes before turning to the brat. His teammate's best efforts and hope had not managed to save what she had prized most in the world.
His leaked a small amount of killing intent while trying to rein in his anger, irked by the boy's statement that he wasn't prepared to die. It was a part of him he had hidden so well that even the Sandaime didn't know, but here a total stranger had managed to grasp that with those soulless black eyes...what was he?
Hoshi met Orochimaru's gaze head-on, registering the killing intent without flinching. It was no different than staring down the barrel of a gun, or having a knife pressed against his throat. The Sannin wouldn't kill him, and had plenty of experience with the aforementioned actual killing attempts.
From his side Nagato hiccupped, causing Konan to put an arm around him and Yahiko to glare in annoyance
"That is enough, Orochimaru. Cut it out." Jiraya cut in. "You guys head ahead. I'll take care of them. At least until they can look after themselves." He added to the baffled looks of his teammates, but after a minor protest on Tsunade's part they complied.
"What is your name?" Orochimaru asked one final question.
"Just call me Hoshi, Orochimaru-san." He bit his cheek to prevent any wisecrack from escaping his mouth, such as asking what shampoo he used or that Yahiko had mistaken him for a woman.
"Hoshi...I'll remember your name. Let's go Tsunade." Orochimaru said no more and turned around. He could have killed the kid with a single finger but...not even his Sensei, the Sandaime had managed to see through some of his thoughts like this.
Only when they were a safe distance did Yahiko speak to Hoshi.
"What the fuck was that, Hoshi?"
"Hmm, did you say something?"
"Oh come on-"
"How about we first find some shelter? I'd like a word with you then." Looking at Hoshi, he added, "And if any of you are like him, a long word."
The small cabin was located in the middle of nowhere, even had a small veranda and was decently was a sink and a paraffin stove, yellow plank walls, a small window and even green tatami around the wooden table and cupboard with had futons stored inside.
After the conditions he had been living in, Hoshi had no words to describe the luxury of a roof over his head with a bath – a warm bath heated up with a fire jutsu- and a change of dry clothes. In the time the four children cleaned themselves and put on matching clothes – green-trimmed black yukatas with a mesh undershirt and boxers – Jiraya's shadow clone returned with a large fish.
Hoshi felt a very queasy feeling in his chest, noticing two identical people in the living room before Jiraya dispelled it. While the other orphans had worn rags, Hoshi still had his durable clothing he had stolen from the Ame-nin, now finally washed with the leftover water from the bath as the others scurried about to help Jiraya with the fish.
"Hoshi-kun, the fish is ready! And look, there are plates for everyone! Come in!" Konan tugged at his sleeves as he hung the uniform on the wire strung across the veranda. He gave a small smile, wondering she got the energy from before following her inside. In no time they were occupying all four sides of a small table and true to her word, there were five plates and pairs of chopsticks set on it. In their midst was a fish bigger than Hoshi had seen (if you didn't count the internet), roasted brown skin peppered with spices and smelling heavenly.
"Tell me this isn't a dream." Yahiko rubbed his eyes. Nagato began sniffling.
"It's not." Jiraya supplied as he began to pile the plates with huge servings for everyone. Once ready they wasted no time saying "Itadakimasu!" and digging in furiously with their chopsticks. Only Hoshi paused, giving the chopsticks a funny look.
"Hoshi," Jiraya addressed the only child not stuffing his face. "Eat while it's warm."
"Right," He muttered, gripping the chopsticks with uncertainty. He glared at the wooden sticks, before shifting them clumsily. Setting them aside Hoshi went for the fish with his fingers.
He's never used chopsticks before. Jiraya felt a pang in his chest as he watched the boy hold the hot gobbet between his fingers, blowing before placing it in his mouth.
"Hoshi, you don't know how to use chopsticks?" Yahiko blurted out curiously through a mouth stuffed with fish. The white-haired boy looked at him irritably, wording his reply after he swallowed his own morsel.
"I've never used them before. I'll learn them when I'm not hungry. Nagato chew slowly, it's not going anywhere." He nagged at the redhead, but smiled softly.
They ate until they felt they were stuffed to their throats after which Jiraya finished the rest of the fish. They all looked at him gobble up a meal enough for three men. It made sense though, considering his size and capabilities.
"So," Jiraya sat on the floor one leg raised with his forearm resting against the knee. "That was quite a speech you gave to Orochimaru."
"Yeah, just what was that?" Yahiko put in his two cents. "I didn't even get half of what you said!"
"I understood him though. A little bit." Nagato spoke quietly and Jiraya belatedly realized he had not spoken at all before. Hoshi ruffled his red hair before putting an arm around him.
"That's Nagato for you. He's smart." Konan said proudly.
"Are you saying I'm stupid?" Yahiko levelled his gaze towards her.
"Yeah," She followed up with a smile to show she was joking. "And Hoshi-kun, your yukata's right side is over the left."
"So what, Konan-chan? Is there any problem with it?" Hoshi huffed. He knew only the dead had the right flap over the left, and he'd obtained that right.
"You're not a dead person." Konan replied evenly.
"Someone once told us we were dead, only we hadn't stopped breathing." Yahiko butted in.
"Those words are wrong-" And as she argued back and they bantered, the spymaster observed them silently. Yahiko seemed to be the leader, Hoshi also deferring to him despite being sharper and wiser.
The latter also paid continuous attention to everyone, and his eyes flitted to Jiraya multiple times as well even as they joked around. He seemed very mature for a child.
Whereas Yahiko was reprimanding and tough, Hoshi clearly had a soft spot for Nagato. Konan was cheery, but not as loud as Yahiko. Also very systematic from how she had consumed her meal, Jiraya had noticed.
"So," Jiraya cut in and they stopped whatever they were talking about, sitting up straight. "Why should I teach you ninjutsu? I want all of you to answer."
"Why? Because we need power! If we don't fight back, we don't get to live, and we don't get to change anything. It's always raining here...like this whole country is some goddamn cry-baby." Yahiko said, eyes burning. Jiraya said nothing, showed nothing, and turn Konan who was next to him.
"Me? I don't want to feel helpless. And I agree with Yahiko...we need power to change this country. Besides, I don't like what Orochimaru-san said, about us dying..." Konan trailed off, looking at her hands clasped in her lap. Nagato went next
"I-I don't want to be a b-burden to them...I hate fighting but..." Jiraya nodded towards Nagato, and all three turned to hear what Hoshi had to say, making him feel self-conscious.
You pretend to be wise just one time... He thought before coughing in his hand.
"I want Amegakure to be a better village. No matter if you are a shinobi or a civilian. I know that's what I want, but if you ask me the truth?" Hoshi gazed at the orphans, cute little kittens that they were, smiling softly. "You're precious to me and I want to do everything I can to protect you.
"And then the other people too. It's not their fault that they were born in this place that's always in conflict. I want to work hard so that one day they'll be safe, and their children will grow up much better than the world their parents lived in. Sure, there are bad people, but most of them are bad because their fate was cruel. And that is just...sad."
And Jiraya sat still, soaking his words like a sponge. How similar their thoughts were, even if the only thing the Sannin had initially thought they shared was the hair colour. And beneath the various emotions displayed on their faces, anger, sorrow, uncertainty, he could detect the underlying current of hope. That they thought the jounin was their salvation.
And there was also the prophecy before him. Could his student, the one fated to wield the power to make or break this world be one of these? The Toad Sage knew he was being biased, but could such a person exist in Ame of all places? Shaking his head, the Sannin made up his mind and nodded.
"I'll teach you to be a ninja. From now on, call me Sensei."
One week later:
Yahiko could barely contain his excitement when Jiraya began his first lesson. Even if was something as boring as just getting the feel for their chakra and then trying blow an origami shuriken off his forehead as he sat on the veranda with the other three, it was a step forward.
On his right, Nagato sat calmly while next to him Konan bit her lip, eyes closed to focus. To his left was Hoshi, trying to blow from the corner of his lips, and only managing to lift his white bangs.
Mentally, the boy from another world was mulling over what he had taken to calling Chakra theory, a precise summary of Jiraya's lecture on the spiritual energy the morning. Explaining to someone else was ideal in order to understand something in depth, but Hoshi did it to himself.
"Ho, looks like Konan is going to get it first." Jiraya informed them and snapped him out of his reverie, seeing the paper shift on her forehead. His prediction turned out right and Yahiko redoubled his efforts while their teacher placed another paper shuriken on her, telling her to blow two of them off.
Nagato was the next one to succeed. Yahiko snuck a look at Hoshi to see him looking back at him. His partner-in-crime smirked at him. Oh, it was on.
"The last one to have the shuriken on his forehead will do the dishes for the next week." Jiraya offered them an incentive, grinning as their faces screwed with concentration. Five minutes later Yahiko was preparing to go capture some fish for lunch whilst an irritated Hoshi still sat with the shuriken on his forehead.
"Ha ha! Be prepared to do the dishes Hoshi! Oi Nagato, let's go catch dinner!" Yahiko jumped up in excitement. .
"May I, Jiraya-sensei?" Nagato asked politely.
"Go ahead. At least someone respects me." Jiraya placed his hands on hips, cocking an eyebrow at Yahiko.
"If you wanted respect you should have never made us wear those frog suits! You weird toad sage!" he shot back before running off, Nagato in tow.
Then there was a subtle shift in his demeanour as Jiraya placed his hand on Hoshi's head. "Konan, there's some paper for in the top drawer of the cabinet."
"Really? Thank you Jiraya-sensei!" She hurried inside, leaving the two alone.
"Having trouble? Keep forming your chakra." And the Sannin closed his eyes. Without his (partial) Sage Mode he didn't have much in the way of sensing abilities, but sensitivity to chakra was something a ninja learned as his years went by.
The student redoubled his efforts. Minutes passed and the teacher hid his shock behind an impassive face, vacillating in his mind before coming to a conclusion.
"I can't sense a drop of chakra in you." Said he with the grief of a doctor telling a patient they were terminally ill. And beneath his palm his student stilled, deflating. Konan chose that moment to walk out, looking uncomfortable.
"I'll go check on Nagato and Yahiko." She said and Hoshi belatedly realized she had been eavesdropping. None of them paid attention to the girl as she skipped past them.
"Isn't there anyway I can perform ninjutsu without innate chakra?" Hoshi asked weakly, slumping to the floor. He briefly wondered if he should start shouting about youth from now on. Would the others be more freaked out by that, or the fact that he couldn't become a ninja alongside them?
"No." Jiraya confirmed. "But it does explain how you were unaffected by Orochimaru's killing intent. You never felt it."
"But I did feel that. I also felt you level your own at him to make him stop." Hoshi rolled on the ground slowly, replying absently.
Jiraya blinked. It was one thing to feel widespread killing intent or just levelled at you, because it was a product of Yin chakra, something abstract that shinobi and even civilians felt on some intrinsic level, for everything that was living contained chakra and responded to it.
And he himself was a jounin and a budding spymaster, well-versed in psychology and able to utilize the phenomenon to his benefit but an untrained, undisciplined kid had picked up on his? And diluted as it was for his mean-spirited teammate, managed to steady against Orochimaru's?
As the Sage processed this, Hoshi pondered whether he and Jiraya ever have those moments where they'd passionately call out to each other with increasing volume, accompanied by a sunset genjutsu? Who knows?
Perhaps...Jiraya thought. It was dangerous, the elders would call him stupid and mean it, a chakra-deficient kid wouldn't be accepted by the toads even if he let him sign the contract, but if on the off-chance he could do that...Jiraya abandoned the thought.
"Sensei, you haven't said anything for a while." Hoshi said and Jiraya pretended to snap out of his thoughts. A shinobi was alert at all times, after all.
"My bad, I was just thinking about how tough your taijutsu and shurikenjutsu training will be," Jiraya grinned. "Prepare to go to hell and back, boy. You said you wanted to be a ninja."
Hoshi blanched, thinking of a twelve year old blond being pushed down a cliff to get the hang of the Summoning Jutsu. Before Jiraya could exploit his fear with his teasing, a familiar voice shouted at them.
"Sensei! Help! Yahiko and Nagato are in trouble!" Konan ran towards them, panting harshly and expression wild. In the blink of an eye Jiraya was on his feet, making a shadow clone as he leapt into the rain and vanished in an instant. The shadow clone grabbed Konan and body-flickered back to the house in the time Hoshi realized that the shadow clone did not follow the momentum of the original.
"Stay here," the clone commanded. "I'll track them down in no time." They complied, Hoshi wondering just how much time it would take the jounin to reach their fishing spot at ninja-speed.
After making sure Konan was alright, Jiraya's clone ushered them inside the cabin and the girl sat down at her fixed spot on their small table. Her shoulders sagged in relief as she laid her arms on the table, placing her head above.
Hoshi joined her, saying nothing put giving her comforting pat on the head. Nagato had the Rinnegan, and he knew what was going to happen anyway. Today was the day when the last person everyone expected to kill would take a life.
"Hey hey, you've got the Great Toad Sage to the rescue! No harm will come to my cute little students while I live! Except Yahiko, he's not very cute. But no one will touch a hair on his head!" Even when giving reassurance, their teacher couldn't help but brag and make one of his ridiculous poses. But it worked and the children smiled a little.
That's right, Konan thought. Everything will be alright, because Jiraya-sensei is here.
A/N: Couldn't find what killing intent actually was so made my own definition. Whelp.
