Chapter 18
Yahiko never met people like them. They should be nothing but strangers, but from the moment they were welcomed to the caravan, it felt like they had long since belonged with them.
With them, he couldn't hear the silence. Even at night, when they all tried to sleep, Yahiko heard someone playing a lute or someone reciting a poem. Not speaking of the sounds of lovemaking, thankfully, neither Konan nor Nagato understood them and thought it was just a pair of cats.
Well, he should have expected that there would be little privacy. After all, most of them lived in tents close to each other. So, they could only get used to it. And thankfully, Yahiko's body wasn't mature enough to crave something like that, as some women showed little modesty among kids.
He still remembered the second day they were forced to bathe with other women, since hot water was easy to come to. And the women were too used to washing others' kids. They were a bunch of strangers who were tight as a family.
There were performers, merchants, laborers, hunters, and warriors all mixed in. Families with children, lonely old men, pretty girls, and rough men all shared their food and place under a roof. Some even the same bed.
So, as much as he enjoyed their company, he was also glad to have some time alone, fishing. The moment of stillness and silence helped him recharge his energy after being surrounded by so many people all the time.
"Yo, Yahiko, another great haul." Yahiko was met with great enthusiasm as he returned with a bucket full of fish. "I have to say, I've never met a better fisherman than you before."
The guard captain Taka was the first to meet Yahiko after returning from his outing, full of smiles and praise at the fresh fish Yahiko would always come back with. Kyo, the head of the kitchen, the woman who took Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato in, was always the second one to greet him.
That woman was unnecessarily kind to them, making sure they always had dry and fresh clothing, were fed, and had clean bedding to sleep on. Well, she was kind to all the kids in the caravan; it just happened that they were the only ones without parents here or guardians, so Kyo decided to fill in that role.
They were now traveling south, away from the village and other shinobi that might roam around. Taka seemed like a skillful swordsman. But as skillful as he was, at best, he could defend against one chunin, and with the rest, maybe defeat a weak team.
But even Yahiko could destroy them, and he didn't think he was much better than most chunin. With Nagato and Konan's help, none of them would stand a chance. So, it was a smart move to avoid places where there was even a rumor of shinobi roaming around.
It had already been quite a few days since they joined this caravan and everything. Nagato and Konan helped around the caravan, while Yahiko enjoyed his time fishing, as there were plenty of ponds around wherever they went.
"Yomuro, how is the next town?" Yahiko looked over at another warrior who came back on horseback.
"All quiet, captain. It was a nice little town. We should reach it by tomorrow noon."
Once the news of it spread through the caravan, it felt like new life spread through the people. They were all travelers who spent their whole time on the road, but in towns, they made money and could resupply to continue their travels.
Since the town they were heading to originally was destroyed, they were now running low on supplies, and people were getting restless. There were plenty of people who had things to sell, and plenty of people who wanted to perform their songs and dances for others to see, too.
Though Yahiko enjoyed his time with them, he didn't see any reason to stay with them much longer. Even Kyo was strongly suggesting that they stay in the next town, as winter was coming and it would be far more difficult to travel in the coming months.
And since they didn't want others to know about them being trained shinobi, as Yahiko didn't know how they would react to it. But it was fine; Yahiko only thought of experiencing this kind of life for a while before looking at the other towns in this country.
So, maybe they would stay in the next town, or maybe they would travel a few more towns before finding a place to settle in for the winter. Yahiko was in no hurry, and he just wanted to enjoy the easy-going life of this caravan.
"You little, I lost again," Yahiko sighed as he saw Nagato playing dice with some adults.
And nobody even suspected him of cheating, since he was just a kid with unkempt hair that covered most of his face, eyes included. It was better for people not to notice Nagato's eyes, or it would bring only trouble for them.
Konan was busy playing with other kids. She taught them how to do origami today; she was way more comfortable with kids than adults. She seemed to have already made plenty of friends. It was nice to see them enjoying their time with other people.
It was a life Yahiko wanted for them to have. And seeing them so easily accepting it and acclimatizing to it made Yahiko relieved. But now he was worried about how he was going to protect it.
So, in the end, it might not be possible for them to have normal lives like this one. But that didn't mean they couldn't enjoy it as much as possible. As long as nobody disturbed it, there was no need to leave. And even if someone was trying to disturb it, Yahiko believed they were strong enough to ward off anyone like that.
But were they strong enough to do so without harming themselves and others? They learned everything they could from Jiraiya. And from Yahiko's limited knowledge and experience, they were pretty strong. But in a real battle, anything could happen.
Yahiko had never killed anyone, and he didn't intend to do so. But he couldn't be naïve and forget that he might not have a choice in the matter. Nagato already had to kill people to save him; he just couldn't let it repeat over and over again, but he also couldn't accept killing others so easily, either.
Well, there was no need to worry about things that may or may not happen. He might go crazy with all these thoughts running through his mind if he wasn't careful. For now, he would only enjoy his time and think things through when the time came to think these things through.
"Big brother, what did you catch today?"
"Take a look," Yahiko handed over his catch to the kids running up to him.
"Wow, look how big this one is."
"And this one has such pretty scales. What is it called?"
Damn it. It hurt so much to be reminded of the kids in that town. Everywhere he looked, he saw them, the ones he failed to protect. The innocent kids who called him big brother just because he was nice to them for a bit.
But he couldn't live in the past. Even if it felt wrong to move on, as he felt guilty for leaving them. Still, he had to, as he knew that nothing good would come from being stuck in that place. All he could do was never forget them.
"Now, now, kids, have you set up your tents? It's getting dark. Are you all going to sleep in the rain?" Kyo shooed the kids away while leading Yahiko to the kitchen area.
Not only had he earned respect by being able to catch fresh fish, but he was also an excellent cook. So, if he wasn't fishing, he was making food for the rest of the caravan. It was nice, and he liked to cook even if Kyo always fussed around him about working too much.
But he just couldn't sit around and do nothing. Everyone in this caravan did their due. Even kids helped with cleaning up and running around the camp, doing errands. It was a community, and even if it was for a short time, he wanted to be part of it.
…
"They were just kids; they haven't done anything wrong. Please believe me."
A woman with cold, dark eyes looked at the man who pleaded with her. She glanced at the rest of the survivors of the town nearby. All of them, seeking refuge in this abandoned warehouse, said the same thing.
Well, they tried to keep their mouths shut, but that doesn't work for long when fear and pain are introduced into their lives. These pathetic beings couldn't even comprehend how easily it was for her to kill them all. Just one slash with her fingernail and a life would come to an end.
"Do we have anything about these kids?" she asked her teammates.
"I will send a messenger bird back for information, but I have never heard anything about them."
"Come on, captain, why would we care about some kids? Those thieving and traitorous bastards are getting away from us; let's not waste time on unnecessary things."
"Shut up, Maeki." She couldn't care less about a couple of kids either, but her instinct told her she couldn't ignore it. "Daiki, what do you think?"
"We can try to find those kids later; they aren't our priority." This guy, who only cared about swords, didn't seem to share her intuition either.
"See, even Daiki agrees with me." This useless girl, who was only good for tracking other people, was getting on her nerves, too.
"Isn't this the area where my sister and her team disappeared a couple of years ago?" She couldn't care less about her stupid sister and hoped she was already dead, but it was the perfect time to use her. "Search the area and see if anything can be found."
Everyone was getting on her nerves of late. The traitors who couldn't handle their responsibility and decided to run away. The useless idiots who failed to capture them, and even these two weren't even trying to pretend to listen to her.
Arrogant shits. She was the captain, recognized by Hanzo himself, and they were pathetic idiots nobody wanted. If not for her sister's sudden disappearance, she wouldn't be stuck with these fools hunting some pathetic traitors. She was meant for more important things.
"Captain," Maeki called, making her smile.
"What did you find?"
"It is faint, but there were traps around this place, and there are plenty of signs of fighting everywhere. Like someone has been fighting in this place for months, if not years, almost every day. It's cleaned up pretty well, and the rain left little to no tracks, but it can't be concealed from my nose. I smell various types of chakra in the air."
Damn animal. But at least she was useful for something. So, someone was hiding here. Spies? Rogue shinobi? It didn't matter; they weren't from their village but still hiding in their territory. They just shot up to the top of their priority list.
"Ugh, we have our mission," Daiki complained before she could even say anything, hugging that stupid lump of steel like it was his child or something.
"Send the message; we are pursuing those suspicious kids," she declared, not able to contain her excitement.
This was her chance to rise in her village. After her sister fucked things up by disappearing, it was time to redeem herself in front of her village. And soon, she would stand right next to Hanzo himself.
She would get those kids with her own hands and make them squeal about who taught them ninjutsu. How dare they hide themselves within the village's territory? They would pay for their transgressions with their lives.
"There we go again. That's why nobody likes working with you, Captain," Daiki said with a sigh as he noticed poison already dripping from her nails. "Or should I call you Tatsumaki the Witch?"
"Shut up, Daiki," she replied, retracting her nails. "Lead the way, Maeki."
A.N. As always. Thanks for reading and supporting me. If you want 7 more chapters of this story and 42 chapters in total with all my current stories, please consider supporting me on pa treon ironworlf852. Thanks in advance.