Ch4. Stealing

"Are you sure this..." Konan unsurely and frightfully looked at the target.

Rei and she were standing in a side-alley near the market, clad in black hooded cloaks, and watched a butcher trying to sell meat. Next to him was a stall with fruits. And on the other side were clothes. The quality was as one would expect from a war-torn country but at least it didn't rain today...

"Yes, Konan. Do you think you can help me?" Rei asked her patiently.

The chibi Konan nodded her head in determination.

"Do you remember the plan?"

Another bout of eager nods and Rei cracked a smile.

"Then, here we go."

He gave her a stack of papers. Konan took it and imbued each piece with her chakra, giving each enough to last the distance between her and the stalls.

Nodding at each other, their plan started.

Rei focused. His ten invisible chakra strings stretched towards the stall and connected to various sacks with light things inside. He took a deep breath and signaled Konan to start.

Just as the owner of the stall with clothes turned his back on the butcher, Rei made a few good-looking clothes fall into the mud. The clothes merchant quickly twisted his body around and his eyes landed on the now-muddy pieces of his wares. They coldly shifted to the only man around. The butcher.

As the men loudly shouted at each other, they attracted attention. The fruit stall owner came closer to them, trying to defuse the situation only for his foot to be yanked back by an invisible string as he was coming towards them. The two bickering merchants suddenly found their faces full of mysteriously floating paper, obscuring their vision. They could only hear a loud crashing noise. It was when they finally got the paper from their faces they found... The butcher's stall was toppled over, a lot of meat in the mud. In the middle of it was a disoriented fruit stall owner, still seeing stars while the butcher was glaring at him, seeing red and holding his knife. The clothes stall owner was on the other hand frowning at the butcher, his eyes demanding money for the ruined clothes.

People gaped at what happened and started to come closer. Rei among them. He quickly used his chakra strings to get pouches with money. He targeted those away from him and used his height to his advantage. It is hard to notice someone in a crowd who barely reaches your waist after all.

If someone noticed his pull, he would throw the pouch upwards. The crowd quickly became crazed as the money started spilling from various pouches and Rei had an easier time pickpocketing.

Deciding enough was enough as the people started calming down, he walked towards the alley with a battered-looking sack full of purses. As he was in the alley, Konan sent another flurry of paper into the crowd, straight at their faces. Rei quickly attached chakra strings at unopened sacks of meat and fruit and pulled them to the side alley. He also took two bundles of clothes as theirs were already worn out.

The crowd was still fighting with the paper-storm that mysteriously tried to stay in their faces as the two kids were happily hopping home. Eleven sacks of rightfully stolen loot 'floating' behind them on Rei's chakra strings.

...

Their first operation netted them nice new clothes. Konan quickly took it to herself to pick the best pieces for her Rei. She didn't even know when she started to think about Rei as hers but she knew she liked her friend. She didn't want to steal. But... there was nothing she wouldn't do for Rei. Rei was kind to her. And she promised to become his, right?

Both now sported better clothes.

Konan was astonished at the stacks of Ryo they acquired. Apparently, Rei focused on merchants more and tried to get their purses. Rei stole 50 000 Ryo. That was a lot!

The best part was the meat and fruit though! They ate their fill in celebration of success and Konan finally, for the first time in years, ate until her stomach was full! Not for once did she regret taking Rei's hand. Rei taught her. Filled her belly. And patted her head! He hugged her good night too!

Konan decided she will train hard and protect Rei! Her time on the streets taught her that only the strong survive. She had her reservations but she already stole...

Only the strongest can abuse and kill the weaker. Konan decided she will make sure she is strong enough to not be 'the weaker'. No matter who, she will kill anyone trying to harm Rei!

Slowly, the resolve in the girl and her goals, dreams, and values started shifting. Her mind became set in its path as it approached the mindset of her older counterpart. The counterpart that let a sweet girl like her become an S-ranked killer.

Unknown to Rei, his desire to make the girl into his loyal follower was almost fulfilled. But, not unlike one Hiruzen Sarutobi in the not-so-distant future, he also had no idea that one should not try to manipulate attention-starved children who lived through hell. Not when you are the person who saved them. The results can be... unpredictable. Rei had no idea that his friend was becoming a tad bit too fanatical. Even if she could hide it well behind her mask of stoicism.

In years to come... he will be grateful as well as annoyed at this change. As for Konan, she will always reminisce fondly on this day while serving tea to Rei. As this was the day, her heart finally found her life goal.

Rei suddenly shuddered as a cold chill passed through his spine. His head snapped towards Konan only to find her amber eyes stare at him with a minuscule smile. Relaxing, thinking it was just his imagination, he smiled back at her.

"So, Konan-chan. How much did you steal?" He asked her with a playful smirk as the girl went beet-red.

While Rei was in the crowd, stealing, Konan's small slices of paper were floating in the other part of the crowd, getting to a close proximity with the purses and sharing the chakra in them, imbuing the banknotes with Konan's chakra. She had a lower haul, but she had it nonetheless.

"I got a little over 10 000 Ryo."

Konan meekly offered the stash of banknotes to Rei.

"Keep them." Rei told her, making her bewildered.

"I am more interested in this..." Rei raised an apple with his chakra string. "Can you feel the thread?"

Konan looked at him weirdly but shook her head.

"And now?" Rei put more chakra into it. The string was still invisible though.

He didn't need her to put the answer into words. Her wide eyes were enough. It never came up because his control was always enough to not put so much chakra into them but now that he consciously raised the output, Konan could clearly feel it. Her eyes raised between the apple and Rei's hand, clearly trying and failing to see something her mind was telling her was there.

"You are a chakra sensor." Rei cut the chakra flow and spotted Konan attentively listening to him.

"Well, it is not really that surprising. To be able to imbue the paper with your chakra, you would first have to feel it. So, there." Rei chuckled. "I just never made the connection, you know? Until I saw you maneuver the banknotes through the thick crowd without the need for seeing them, that is. Then and there it hit me. You have this talent too. We will have to refine it, kay?"

Konan nodded enthusiastically.

Rei knew there was no shinobi around. His second talent. Godly Nature Energy Attunement made him able to feel his surroundings much more. He felt only two above civilian levels of chakra in the town. Him and Konan. It was still only the start of the war and barely the first skirmishes started.

He had time, but he needed to make Konan into a capable sensor too.

Unconsciously, Rei started to care for Konan. He slowly started seeing her as more than just a possible loyal follower. Neither of them was aware of it, but they already trusted the other with their lives.

Alas, chakra works in mysterious ways when it comes to maturing. After all, the beloved last Uchiha did have hordes of babies-craving-kids, called fangirls, after the contents of his brooding mini-me every day of the academy!