The Konoha Massacre (Part 1)
It was a beautiful day outside. Shame it was so busy.
All identified missing genin have finally been collected from the Forest of Death, and a few tournament matches had been completed.
All exhibition matches were completed, and one main match. Caused a bit of a fuss, too.
Made a couple Clans talk about how their star ninja should drop out if the competition was cutting arms off! No sense in getting killed in a ridiculous competition, right?
It was really busy for Konoha.
And busy for a lot of other ninja.
Two men and a corpse sat in a dimly lit room.
A single lantern illuminated the table they sat at, and neither men bothered exposing themselves to the light. Papers lined the table.
And cups.
They were enjoying a nice spot of tea.
"Guess there's no way around it, eh? You sure made a problem for yourself!"
"Damn it! You're the one who escalated this! I had it under control!"
"No, you didn't. What, you were gonna lock him up? Maybe put him in a genjutsu? We both know killing him was the only way."
"...Tch..."
"At least I stopped the Heavenly Sending Explosion Seal they give him, huh? Man, I don't know how many times those ruined my day! It's real shitty these days, though. Don't make 'em like they used to. Pretty sure sufficient heat straight up makes them not work. Works based on body temperature, you know."
The happier man completely downed his cup of tea, and gave a sigh of relief.
The sadder man simply looked at his tea.
"You're enjoying this too much."
"You're not enjoying this enough! Feels good having one last adventure!"
"One last adventure is hardly what I call this, old fool."
"Aw, don't be a spoilsport. Besides!"
The happier man leaned across the table.
A grin was plastered on his face.
He was the 4th Raikage: Engetsu Bōfū.
"This world... thrives on conflict. One last thing to shake things up before I go, is the best thing I can leave for the young'uns."
"...I don't care if I'm only a means to an end, Lord 4th."
Inaba slammed his cup of tea on the table, and gritted his teeth.
"I don't care about the conflict you wish to sow.
All that matters is the future of my family."
"I worry about their future, too! That's why I'm helping! If you don't want my help, you can just say so. Climb out of the hole I dug for us by yourself!"
"...Why did I have to get stuck with you?"
"You didn't look hard enough. I know a guy in Mizu that would've got what you wanted EASY! But it's too late to back out now..."
Engetsu stood up, and glanced at the corpse of the Anbu he had just killed. He looked back at Inaba.
"Isn't that right, Hyūga?"
"...Right."
"Well, today's the day! Let's hope you survive what happens next."
"Soooooo... boooooooooored..."
Kichōna lay awake in her bed.
She was a bit frustrated with recent events.
She was grounded! After her little match witn Vix, Osamu pulled the plug, so to say.
'It's too dangerous', and 'it's not worth it', and 'it's a stupid competition, anyway!'
She was completely pulled from the Chūnin Exam.
As part of what Kichōna would call a punishment, she was to remain in the Osamu household... or maybe you would call it a labhold? Well, she was to remain in the building where she sleeps until her full recovery.
The building itself was foreboding to most people; alternating tiles of brown and white, each fairly large, lined the walls and floor of the building.
It seemed to mislead outside eyes, appearing much smaller on the inside due to empty space in the walls.
Racks loaded with mechanical and wooden parts littered the rooms, and made traversal for anyone not well acquainted with the layout difficult.
Hardly a decent place to live, especially for the claustrophobic. Only the most dedicated to their craft would think that this is acceptable.
Not like Kichōna cared, though. She was raised in these circumstances; anything less would feel empty, and she spent most of her time outside when she was feeling active.
But, due to her house arrest, she was stuck.
And she was bored.
She already broke a couple things, drew some silly pictures (on the walls), and commited other acts of mischief.
Not like anyone was there to tell her NOT to...
Because, for some reason, Osamu wasn't in the house.
She was all alone.
He didn't say why he was gone, but he was. He sorta panicked, quickly said he'd be right back, told her to go nowhere, and left.
And what was weirder, all of those fancy puppets he worked on were active.
They hung around Kichōna's room, outside her room, outside Osamu's room, and everywhere else.
Although, 'everywhere else' was only a few other rooms and a couple halls in the cramped home...
Their gaunt, vaguely human faces stared unrelentingly. Or maybe it was best to say formerly human?
Wooden heads turned, closely watching their surroundings with makeshift-eyes that barely functioned.
Synchronized marching reverberated through the home in intervals.
Step, step, stop.
Step, step, stop.
If one got close enough to Kichōna, she could hear the buzzing of their inner workings.
All in all, Kichōna found them cute!
But she was annoyed that they were there at all.
"Wow, I guess papa really doesn't want me leaving. I've never seen all of those guys wandering like this! LAME!"
And most of all, she was horribly bored.
SNAP!
BANG!
Kichōna heard a loud noise, and immediately shot up with curiosity.
Every single puppet turned its head, all in one direction.
The lights were snuffed out.
And then they hid.
Among secret compartments in the walls and the floor revealed by lifting tiles, and also the racks that lined the rooms, it would take more than a careful eye to search them out.
Kichōna racked her brain. She remembered being told the cause for this. But... what was it?
A huge, gorilla-like puppet came up to her, and its chest opened up, revealing padded insides.
Its exterior was especially thick.
She did remember that she was supposed to enter this one.
As Kichōna dropped the clay in her hand she was molding into shapes for fun, she swiftly climbed into the moving armor, and it headed into the bowels of the home.
Then, Kichōna remembered what this protocol was for.
"Why's someone breaking into my house?"
SNAP!
BANG!
A man cloaked in black had kicked open the door to the home in front of him.
Another man waited behind him.
He clearly and concisely spoke to his compatriot.
"Lock broken."
The second man nodded.
The first man spoke again.
"Confirm objective?"
The second nodded again.
"Detain target; alive."
"Affirmative."
Each man took out a dagger-length, black rod. Each pressed a button on the side, and they crackled with electricity for as long as it was pushed.
The men slowly and silently walked into the home. Racks of limbs and puppets surrounded them.
Carefully, they stepped over fallen limbs, and the faint rattling they first heard when they kicked down the door had already gone silent.
"Intel confirmed tunnels. Check under the tiles."
Both men kneeled down, and one tried to wedge a gloved hand under a tile.
"SCREEEEEE!"
Pouncing from the tile and onto the cloaked man's face, a small, monkey-like puppet stabbed him with its puny and sharp arms.
The man ripped the thing off his face, and along with the puppet, the mask that protected him from its assault.
The mask dropped to the floor. It resembled an animal. The mark of an Anbu.
The other Anbu pierced the puppet with the electrified baton, and it writhed before stopping, several insects leaving their husk behind.
Some of them stopped shortly after, as well.
"DAMMIT! PUPPETS!"
Beneath tiles, and from racks, puppets of all shapes and types lept at the invaders.
Pieces of wood, mechanical workings, and insects flew in all directions as the Anbu swung their batons, cleaving through the puppets.
Some puppets left small cuts, but most were quickly and swiftly dealt with by the experienced ninja.
Of course, these were only the smaller puppets.
Larger, humanoid puppets shambled off of racks and out of holes from the ground and walls. Dart guns, blades, and crossbows emerged from their bodies.
"MOVE IN! MOVE IN!"
Another three Anbu dashed through the door, smashing through puppets surrounding their compatriots, and the battle between the squad of 5 and the dozens of puppets began.
Compacting themselves into a circle, the Anbu through electrified shuriken at the puppets who stayed away and jabbed and smashed the puppets who came near.
Darts and needles were blocked by two Anbu who sat their hands on the ground and created a short-lived barrier, and the rest threw shurikens at the puppets who assulted them.
A few larger puppets with bladed hands shambled onto their opponents, and they gave those they could hit deep cuts and gashes, but applications of batons difectly to their limbs caused them to be disabled and destroyed.
Multiple, crawling, round puppets dropped from the ceiling, and exploded into acid, giving burns to the Anbu.
A few puppets merely released the insects they contained, swarming the Anbu and impairing their vision, only their batons being able to cull the swarm.
As the Anbu sustained more injuries, and the puppets' numbers thinned, one of them was hit by a dart directly in his neck, and he keeled over.
A female Anbu tended to him.
"Shit! We need to acquire the target, now!"
"It has to be in here, somewhere!"
A huge, rotund puppet was smashed to pieces by two Anbu bludgeoning it with their batons, and the assault ceased.
Smoke filled the air.
The Anbu were exhausted and weak from the attack, and still had to apprehend their target.
The unmasked Anbu had blood running from his face, and elected to try reason.
"HEY, KID! C'MON OUT HERE, ALREADY! WE'RE GONNA TAKE YOU TO YOUR DAD!"
...No answer. Not even an assault from some puppets.
"DAMMIT, BRAT! HURRY THE HELL UP, OR I'M GOING TO BEAT YOU TO THE GROUND WHEN I FIND YOU!"
...Still no answer.
CREEEEEEEEAAAAAAK...
The Anbu all turned behind themselves, and saw a gorilla-like puppet, attempting to sneakily leave the premises.
It had stepped on an old tile near the front.
"GET IT!"
Three Anbu pounced on the puppet, and though it attempted to throw them off the best it could, they stabbed their batons into it.
The puppet crackled, and then it cracked.
Slam after slam, the Anbu smashed into it, breaking it, and leaving splinters off its armor over the door way.
As the Anbu beat it down, and bugs spilled from it, they looked out the doorway.
Flames appeared in the distance.
"Shit! What the hell is going on out there now?"
"...We can't abandon the mission yet. Find the target. Then we'll head back to base."
One Anbu turned over the bulky puppet, and inspected its chest. He saw that it was leaving, and had a hunch as to why.
The line in its chest that hinted to its ability to open up confirmed his hunch.
"Guys! I think the target is in... here."
He pressed down his baton on the puppet, and gave it an immense shock.
Even the bugs who were fleeing the broken body were struck by the great burst of electricity.
And then, the Anbu jammed gloved fingers into the cracked chest, and he heaved it open with all of his might.
...Empty. There was only a cushy interior.
"Damn... I was off the mark."
The Anbu gathered together, and looked over their injuries. They kneeled down over the member with the dart in his neck.
"Status?"
"Stable, but he's fading."
"...The target's still here. Leave him for now."
"Affirmative."
The four Anbu went back to their search, and realized they would most likely have to enter the tunnels.
Then they heard scuttling.
The Anbu stopped, and waited.
It was from all around them.
"Look out! More puppets!"
And as they watched the tiles around them, waiting for movement, they saw a small shadow crawl from out of a tile.
One Anbu pounced on the spider like shape, and pierced it with his baton.
It was not like the other defenses. It squished.
The Anbu looked at the figure in the light of the baton's electricity, and he saw that it was made of clay.
Then, in an explosion, the Anbu's exposed face was engulfed in flame, killing him.
"SHIT!"
The three Anbu sidestepped closer to each other, and more spiders appeared for only a moment, before bursting into flames themselves.
The flames spread via the parts of puppets strewn about through the home, and all four Anbu were surrounded by heat.
"WE GOTTA GET OUT OF HERE!"
Two Anbu formed together hand seals.
The idea was to use dusty earth to put out the flames so they could make their escape.
And they saw a figure in the flames.
Too exhausted to react fast enough, the Anbu who were forming seals had their hands singed.
Backing away from the figure, and yowling in pain, the Anbu fell over.
The four Anbu were together now.
"You guys sure messed up, huh?"
From the flames themselves, the target of the Anbu emerged, her body made of molten rock.
"So... what did you guys want?"
The Anbu with intact hands lept up and pierced the Kichōna in the eye with the electrified baton, faster than she could react.
She yelped, and backed away into the flames.
"For you to come quietly!"
In the fire, a red glow emerged.
A blast of chakra pierced the Anbu's chest, and he was killed instantly, too exhausted from his prior battle to deal with his inferior opponent.
The last three Anbu were left, defenseless and helpless.
Kichōna stumbled back in through the flames, one of her eyes obliterated.
She was half blind, the baton seriously doing damage to her.
One of her arms was shaped into a cannon, and she aimed it at the remaining Anbu.
She was composing herself, and stumbled back into view of the Anbu.
"What did you want me for?"
The Anbu silently waited. They knew they were in no condition to deal with their opponent with damaged hands, and surrounded by flames.
One Anbu growled.
"...No point in telling you, freak."
The female Anbu shook her head.
"Not quite. We can still finish the mission."
She stood up, and looked Kichōna in her one working eye.
The other looked like it had a burn, clearly damaged despite only being a shape in magma.
"Your father has been captured for crimes against Konoha."
"W-What...?"
"If you ever want to see him again, alive, you should turn yourself in to the next Anbu you see. You shouldn't make things difficult."
Kichōna studied the Anbu in front of her, and took in what she said.
Panic started welling up inside of her.
"W-Where's he being held?"
"If you wanna find out, turn yourself in. Shouldn't be too hard."
"...I see."
Transforming an arm into a metal spike, Kichōna stabbed the female Anbu in the abdomen.
The Anbu let out a gasp, and collapsed as soon as the spike was removed.
The last Anbu who was still awake merely looked at Kichōna.
"The fact that you were ever let into Konoha sickens me. You and your father. A family of freaks! But I can't even call it that, right!? You're not even human! You... You're not even alive! We should have burnt this place to the ground, and killed you both before you went and betrayed Konoha!"
Kichōna started boiling with anger.
"Me and Papa are not traitors!"
"...Ha! You don't even know, do you? I don't blame your 'dad', if that's what he is, for not telling you. I wouldn't tell a freak like you, either."
Kichōna waited for him to finish, put her hand on his face, and ripped off his mask.
His eyes were pink from the fumes, and afraid.
Taking out a recently made Clay Doll from behind her back that she was making while the Anbu talked, she threw the gushy, spider-like Doll onto his face.
Gagging him, the Doll climbed into his mouth, and started forcing itself down his throat.
Kichōna smiled, while he attempted to scream.
"That little guy is gonna climb into you, and then he's gonna pop!"
She looked into the Anbu's eyes. They were tearing up.
"When he does, he's gonna rupture your guts! And it's gonna hurt a lot!"
She turned away, and began to walk through the flames.
"That should teach you to be nicer!"
Kichōna was dashing through the streets.
She had healed her eye, but there must've been some sort of curse or nullification jutsu on that baton she was pierced with.
It inhibited her regeneration, and she was still blind.
Of course, with the one eye that was still working, she could see the carnage that had fallen onto Konoha.
Everywhere she looked, she would see flames.
Occasionally, she would see a body.
The night sky was illuminated orange, and embers could be seen in the air.
Currently, Kichōna was looking for others. Something was going very, very wrong.
Running past a building, someone caught a glimpse of Kichōna.
"...Kichōna!?"
She turned to hear the familiar voice, and she saw Ichika Chinoike taking shelter in an abandoned shop.
"Hi, Ichika!"
"K-Kichōna! Get over here! What happened to your eye?"
"Anbu jabbed me with a stick."
"W-What!?"
Next to Ichika, an injured Shichirou Hyūga laid beside her. He was having his wounds treated.
Kichōna moved closer to them, and kneeled down to look at Shichirou.
"Hi, Shichirou! Wow, someone got you good, huh?"
Shichurou was injured, a large gash in his stomach. Ichika was treating him, but clearly he wasn't doing great.
"Ugh... you...?"
Ichika frowned and took a look at Kichōna.
"You were attacked by an Anbu?!"
"Yeah. Multiple. I was under arrest, I think."
"What did you do!?"
"Nothing! That was the weird part."
Shichirou groaned in pain.
"...I got stabbed by some mercenary."
"Shichirou, don't talk!"
"Urgh..."
Kichōna sat down next to her fellow genin.
"I was grounded, so I don't know anything. What happened?"
Ichika directed her attention to Kichōna's eye for a moment, and then focused back on Shichirou.
"I was out and I was shopping. Then these... mercenaries were everywhere. Some of them threw bombs, the rest just set fire to things with jutsu..."
"I was-"
"Huh? Don't talk! You'll make it worse!"
"Hrmph..."
Ichika resumed.
"I saw one of them stab Shichirou. I... I dealt with him. Now I'm treating Shichirou's wounds. Did you see anyone else?"
"Nope. You guys are the first I found. ...Where'd you put the guy you killed?"
Ichika thought for a moment, clearly still shaken by how sudden it all was, and motioned her head towards a chest.
"Ooh, you're so smart! I think I woulda just left him out."
"Ugh, Kichōna..."
Stepping over Shichirou, Kichōna opened up the chest she was directed to.
Ichika really didn't need the distractions.
"...What are you doing?"
"I'm gonna check the dead guy for clues and stuff."
"Ok..."
Kichōna looked in the chest, and in it she saw the mercenary's corpse.
Blood was already pooled at the bottom of the chest from the many wounds Ichika gave him.
Just from a look, it seemed that Ichika hit him with her Blades of Blood from behind.
Kichōna checked everything on the body she could, getting covered in blood herself, but found nothing.
"Ohh, you're getting yourself covered in that blood!"
"Hm? Oh, it's not a big deal. You can just focus on Shichirou! I, uh, didn't find anything, though."
"I didn't think you would."
"Hey, either of you guys want some water?"
"Actually, yes. I think there's a tea shop down the street. Could you please go get Shichirou and I some water?"
"Alright!"
Kichōna popped her head out of the undetermined, ransacked shop she settled in, and looked for the tea shop down the street. Most of the signs were burned, so she had to look in each shop, one by one.
Although she saw a couple bodies, she didn't see much of anything else.
Eventually, she found the tea shop.
Going up to a pot, and confirming it contained water, she just picked it up and brought it back to her friends. She didn't forget a couple cups.
Covered in blood, she sat the pot on the ground, and happily poored a two cups of water.
She gave them to Ichika, who took a drink of one, sat it down, and brought the other to Shichirou's lips.
She had finished stitching him up.
"Thank you. Kichōna, you don't need a drink?"
"Nah, I ate a rock on the way. I'm good."
"I-I see."
Ichika stood up and looked down at Shichirou.
"We can't leave him like this, but we need to find more help..."
"Oh, I can help with that! Do you think I should dig him a hole to hide him in? Or bring him with us?"
Shichirou looked back up at his saviors.
"I think I'll take the hole..."
Ichika shook her head.
"No. That's a bad idea. It's too dangerous to leave him unattended."
"I could leave him with a Doll?"
"Still... I don't think that's for the best. Put him on a Doll stretcher, and we'll bring him with us to find help."
"Ok. And if we run into anyone who tries to kill us?"
"We'll make sure to defend him, and try to get away."
"Gotcha."
Shichirou groaned again.
"Aww..."
After molding a legged, clay bed, Kichōna and Ichika placed Shichirou onto it, and they went back out into the smoldering village.
Ichika took a look at Kichōna's eye.
"Even though you tried to heal, your eye remained blind?"
"Yeah. I think the stick they poked me with made my healing lame. It doesn't hurt anymore, though."
"I'll take a look at it later."
The trio traveled down the street, Ichika giving the bodies of Konoha villagers she saw sorrowful looks, while Kichōna only gave them a passing glance.
Shichirou wasn't looking at anything.
"So, what do you think we should do now, Ichika?"
"We need to find some Jonin. Maybe somewhere a whole bunch of people grouped up, like a hospital..."
"Yeah, that makes sense. After I drop you guys off, I guess I'm gonna have to go and save Papa."
"Huh?"
"Those Anbu said that if I ever wanted to see him alive again, I should turn myself in to some Anbu, or whatever."
"He's been arrested!?"
"I guess."
"The Anbu wouldn't just arrest someone for no reason!"
"Ichika, but they tried to arrest me for no reason! Those guys clearly can't be trusted. I think all the Anbu should be violently killed, personally."
"..."
Shichirou chimed in. He was getting a little better, and even though he started his sentence with a groan, he was able to make a full one.
"Those shady bastards... of course they would... but how are you gonna save your weird dad from the Anbu? ...How'd you get away from those other Anbu, anyway?"
"Ah. I killed them."
"W-WHAT!? S-Seriously!?"
"Yeah. Burnt one, left one to burn, stabbed one, stabbed one with a cannon, gave one a mean death for being mean..."
"Kichōna... you... you realize what you did, r-right? Maybe you didn't commit a crime before that, but you just did by doing that!"
"Hmmm... Maybe they'll understand when I tell them that they were trying to hurt me for no reason, so I hurt them back? Ooh, maybe I should lie and say that they died in a fire that they accidentally started!"
Ichika looked at Kichōna, shocked, and lowered her voice.
"K-Kichōna... I... I don't know..."
"Aw, I'm sure it will all be fine! I'll clear it up for Papa, too! If not, I'll just break him out and escape."
"And become a missing-nin!?"
Shichirou thought for a second.
"If the village really does try and grab her and her dad for doing nothing... I guess she has every right to become a missing-nin."
"Yep, that's what I think, too! I'd really miss you guys... I guess I'd have to think of a way to hang out with you while being a missing-nin, huh?"
Ichika didn't have a response. Neither did Shichirou.
Ichika did have something to ask, though.
"Kichōna, how much of the war do you remember? The one that just ended, not too long ago?"
"The war? I don't think I was here for that. Or any, I think."
"It didn't affect your country? Really? I just assumed you saw some of it with how... accepting you are of... everything going on..."
"Nope. I think this is my first war, if it ends up being one!"
"Y-You shouldn't be so cheerful about these things."
"Really? Why not?"
"...Nevermind."
The trio just kept walking while they talked.
Then they stopped talking.
...And they walked for a while.
"...Hey! HEY! YOU GUYSSSSS! OVER HERE!"
Ichika perked up.
"That voice...!"
It's been a long while. Such a long while, that eventually Kichōna and Ichika moved in with Shichirou on his walking bed, sitting beside him. At least Shichirou was sitting up too, now.
But, at long last, they finally found some alive people.
"Missssster Miura! Over there! I found sssssome people!"
"Really? Great!"
Ichika and Kichōna got up off of the Doll, and walked over to meet the stragglers, at a pace the Doll barely kept up with.
The groups surveyed each other:
Other than Remilia Orochimaru and Miura Lee,
Yuma Kouda and Shimabukuro Fumio were traveling along with them.
Ichika went to meet with Remilia, hugging her, and Kichōna went up to greet Shimabukuro first.
"Hey, Uncle Shima!"
"Kichōna! I'm glad to see you're ok! ...What happened to your eye!?"
Kichōna was still blind in one eye, at the moment. Ichika looked it over, and concluded that while there was definitely something wrong with it, she couldn't do anything about it.
Her left eye was glazed over, and pure white. It hadn't healed correctly, and Ichika at least identified that it wasn't the cause of curse interference.
"Oh, poked out with a stick by-"
"Mercenaries. She saved me, and got hurt in the process."
Shichirou interjected. Kichōna looked at him and gave him a confused look, and he continued.
"Saw some nasty stuff back there, too... It's best not to talk about it unless we need to. Right, Kichōna?"
"Uh, right."
Shimabukuro hung his head low.
"I see..."
Shichirou groaned.
"H-Hey, Kichōna? Not to ruin the moment, but I need your help."
"Oh? With what?"
"We put that thing in the Doll, remember? I think I need one."
Miura and Shimabukuro both scowled at Shichirou. Yuma snickered.
"Dude... what thing? Are you seriously gonna smoke with an injury like that?"
"Smoking is bad for your condition! You really shouldn't!"
"Pffft... no way.... what an addict..."
Shichirou frowned.
"It's not anything I'd smoke, it's a thing! C'mon, Kichōna, let's get this over with."
Shichirou beckoned Kichōna over, and they both went behind a ruined building.
"...When did you put your smokes in the Doll?"
"Dumbass! You were gonna tell them the Anbu were after you? The old man and Remilia, sure, but they have Miura and Yuma with them! They'll turn you in without a second thought!"
"I'd just run away."
"Wha-? NO! Y-You gotta at least get somewhere where your eye can be treated first! You're lucky I was around to save you, you idiot..."
Kichōna smiled.
"Aww, I get it. Thanks for helping me, Shichirou!"
"...Yeah, whatever."
"So, where's your smokes? I can get them for you."
"Huh-!? I just told them that so they think I pulled you aside to hide my smoking!"
"That's bad for your health, you know."
"They don't even do anything for me! I'm immune at this point!"
"It also smells."
"True."
Shichirou and Kichōna returned to the group of stragglers, and found Ichika talking with the others.
Shimabukuro turned to them.
"Not to worry, Ichika filled us in on everything. I hope you enjoyed your break with that thing."
Shichirou braced himself.
"Oh, she did?"
"Yes. I'm so relieved you got away from those scoundrels that attacked you, with your lives..."
Shichirou sighed again, this time of relief. He nodded to Ichika.
"Thanks to Ichika, of course."
Kichōna agreed.
"Yeah, thanks Ichika! ...For whatever!"
Ichika nodded back at him, and then at Kichōna.
"Don't mention it."
Ichika cleared her throat.
"A relief point was set up at the hospital. Mr Miura and the other jonin have been going out and looking for people, to bring them back."
Remilia interjected, politely waiting for Ichika to finish.
"He jussssst found usssss not too long ago. Me and Misssster Ssssshimabukuro were holed up in a ssssshop near the North Dissssstrict."
Yuma intejected, rudely, speaking to the recently added trio.
"You three bitches sure are lucky me and my group found you before you got yourselves killed! Who knows what would have happened to you if you never got my aid?"
Remilia interjected again, and exactly like Yuma. She also pointed at Yuma.
"We found her crying in a bathroom."
"I was NOT!"
Miura sighed, and clapped his hands.
"Alright, alright, settle down. We got a big group, so I think I should drop you all off at the hospital. See anyone on your way here?"
Shichirou opened his mouth, but Kichōna answered much faster than him.
"Oh, we saw a lot of people! They were pretty dead, though."
If Shichirou could, he would've wacked Kichōna on the back of her head, but his injuries made that endeavor impossible.
"Kichōna!? Where's your respect for the dead!?"
"...Huh?"
"Whatever."
Miura shook his head, a mixture of shame and the respect for the dead that some people lack, and began mumbling to himself.
"Damn it. Those bastards..."
Kichōna thought for a moment, and had a question.
"How much do you know about those mercenary guys, anyway?"
"Not much. They started their attack a little earlier today. Isolated incidents, so we weren't sure what was going on. Thought it was just some crazy bandit raid at first. But then their full assault started."
"Yeah?"
"Some sort of fire bomb; the weird part was how advanced they were. I think there's another village involved in this mess... if I had to, I'm guessing Iwa."
"Iwa, huh? I see."
Miura took a bag of supplies off of his shoulder and put it on the ground.
"You kids need something to drink or eat?"
"I'm fine, thank you."
"Got a smoke?"
"I had a rock earlier."
"...Nevermind, then."
"OH! I forgot!"
Kichōna turned to Yuma. They were in the hospital lobby, after the uneventful walk with Miura's party.
They didn't find anyone else alive.
The lobby was a disaster.
The hospital was one of the first places targeted.
...And there were casualities. It's been long enough that everyone who hadn't died just recently was put into a body bag. In the lobby itself, citizens, ninjas, and hospital staff were covered in wounds, blood, and dirt. They were the ones who didn't need immediate attentions.
"Hey, Yuma! I didn't say 'hi' to you earlier, right? I know I said it to Uncle Shima, but not you!"
"..."
"...Hi!"
"Stop looking at me with that gross eye."
"Ok, I'll try not to. Seems like a good challenge!"
Miura went back out. He was already gone to look for more people.
Shimabukuro was seeing his ex-wife. She was injured, but seems like she was going to be ok.
Remilia was with Kazen, probably crying. He was heavily injured. Doctors weren't sure if he going to pull through, but they had hope.
Ichika was with Kita. He was critical, but it seemed like her timely arrival actually saved him, since the overworked docs overlooked a serious injury of his. Maybe he would be ok. Ichika was probably going to be put to work helping the other injured soon... Remilia too.
Shichirou was with one of his brothers. The brother's condition was unstable, but Shichirou was doing fine. He abandoned that Doll on the way to the hospital, so he was walking. Before he did that, he made sure to have Kichōna wear a cloak, one that hid most of her identity.
And Yuma and Kichōna currently had no one to see but each other.
"...Wow~, it's weird trying to move it... I can feel it, but I don't see anything... am I looking at you with my gross eye right now?"
Kichōna was actively prodding her eye with her hand, moving the off-white orb with her fingers.
Much to Yuma's disgust.
"Wha-?! EEEEEEEEEEK! T-T-The HELL are you doing!? What's WRONG with you!?"
"Eh? I'm trying not to look at you with my gross eye."
Normally, this would have caused a scene. But people were through a lot today, so Yuma's screaming was just accepted as something that was gonna happen.
"N-No, what's WRONG with you!? People are dead, you freak! Stop playing around!"
"Uh... why would this be a bad time for playing around? What should I be doing instead?"
"...BEING SAD, maybe!? How stupid are you!?"
"I don't remember seeing any dead animals or anything. Not much to be sad about."
People gave a side-eyes to this. Some scowled before going back to their business, others just chalked it up to a kid going crazy.
"T-There were people dead in the streets!"
"I didn't know them."
"You psychopath, it doesn't matter if you know them or not! You're still supposed to be sad about them! Do you know every dead animal you see!?"
"No, but they're cute, so it's sad. People aren't cute."
"I'M a people and I'm ADORABLE!"
"...I don't think so. But I'd still be sad if you died!"
"I wouldn't want you to be! And I am adorable!"
"Aw, why wouldn't you want me to be sad? And you're still not cute."
"Because I don't need a freak's pity! And I am!"
"Yuh huh~, you need my pity! And nuh uh~, you're not cute!"
"STOP FUCKING WITH ME!"
"It's true, though! You want my pity and you're not cute~!"
"Why haven't you left anyway!? Didn't you say you were gonna leave for some reason? Fuck off, already!"
"I was, but Shichirou said I should wait for a doctor."
Yuma pouted. She was annoyed with not only the idiot who decided to tease her, but with herself for engaging with the idiot in the first place.
Shimabukuro walked into the room.
"...Kichōna?"
"Fantastic, someone can get this retard out of my hair. Enjoy."
Yuma stood up, and went to go be bothered somewhere else, disappearing behind a near by corner.
A couple of the injured in the room watched carefully.
"Bye, Yuma! See you later!"
"Oh, Kichōna..."
"Huh? Oh, hi Uncle Shima! What's up?"
He was solemn. Even more solemn than he was earlier.
"K-Kichōna... I... I don't want you to blame yourself."
"About what?"
"It's..."
He was all choked up.
"...It's about Nodao."
"Oh? Is something wrong?"
"I... c-come with me, please."
"Yeah, alright!"
Shimabukuro led Kichōna down the hall opposite to where Yuma went, and they passed several doors. Some were closed, some weren't. Kichōna thought she saw some people she recognized a couple times, but Shimabukuro pulled her along anyway.
It was a long walk, and Shimabukuro wasn't talking.
"H-HEY! MR FUMIO!"
"W-What?"
The startled Shimabukuro felt the hand of a rushed scientist on his back, exhausted and out of breath from having ran around the building.
"Mr Fumio... it's... it's her... she's gotten worse!"
"N-No!"
"I really think you might wanna see her!"
"...Alright! K-Kichōna, wait here! Don't go anywhere."
"Ok."
"I'll be back!"
Both Shimabukuro and the doctor hurried away, leaving Kichōna alone.
"...Kichōna, right? What are the chances?"
Kichōna turned around; someone had just called her name. Some... pervert in his underwear?
"Hey, kid, come over here. Name's Dojuma. I got something to tell you. It'll just be a second."
"...Hm, alright!"
Kichōna entered the dark room that Dojuma called her to, and he closed the door behind her.
"...H-Have you seen Oishi?"
"Huh? Don't know who that is."
From a corner of a room, a girl and a blob sat next to each other, the girl resting her hand on and gently caressing it. Kichōna was pretty sure the blob was the one who spoke.
Dojuma shook his head.
"Excuse him. That's Egao, one of my genin. Lost track of another one. He's real worried."
"Well, good luck! ...Is that what you wanted to tell me?"
"What? No. Listen, me and my team are getting out of here as soon as I find the missing kid. I never thought I'd get to tell you this, but I have a hunch, and may as well let you know. Maybe the message will get to the right person through you?"
"Huh, alright. What's the message?"
"How much do you know about your past?"
"Hm, not much..."
"Hmph. I gotta hunch that you're from Ame, kid. I'm not sure of it, and hell, I don't even know if what I'm talking about ever really happened, but a couple years back, some underground scientists at Ame really did some good work. Kekkei Genkai research... and real good stuff, too. Not to mention puppets. ...Their work was illegal, of course."
"Neat!"
"Anyway, story goes that one day, they just all died. No one ever found their bodies, no one ever found their lab, no one ever found their work. But I've heard of the work. That stuff you do... they don't fit the rumors quite right of what that work was supposedly capable of, but it's close enough."
"Wow, that's kinda cool!"
"...You don't know where I'm going with this, do you?"
"Not at all."
"Ugh... why do I even bother? Well, the point is... visti Ame if you can. You just might see something you've always wanted to see, and learn about what you are. That's if you are that work, of course. Even then, you might just get captured. But maybe you won't. Who knows?"
"I don't."
"Exactly."
The man in his underwear opened the door back up, and gestured for Kichōna to leave.
"Well, that's all. I won't keep you any longer. Honestly... probably a bad idea for you to go to Ame at all. Forget I said anything."
"Yeah, ok!"
"See ya."
Kichōna left the door, heard it close behind her, and... wasn't alone in the hall. Someone was walking towards her.
"...Kichōna?"
"Oh, Ghi!"
Ghidorah was walling down the hall, towards another door. Tock was with him.
"...Hey, Kichōna. What have you been up to?"
"Talked to some guy in his underwear."
"I see. I'm coming up here to see Junki. You haven't seen Sen, have you?"
"Sen, today? Nope. I think I might've seen her in the crowd during my match a couple days ago."
"S-She's been missing."
"Yeah, I hear that a lot."
"Well..."
Ghidorah was a cup of water, and he noticed Kichōna looking at it.
"...It's for Junki, if you're wondering."
"Oh, I helped fetch water a while ago, too!"
"What are the odds?"
"High, I think, since it happened."
"I... guess so."
"...Where's Junki?"
"He's, uh... right here."
True enough, the door opposing the room with the pervert was Junki's room. Opening the door revealed him, and his little bird fluttered around the room. He was still injured from his match, but it seems he evaded injury at the hospital.
"Hey, Ghidorah, Tock! ...And Kichōna."
"Hi, Junki! Hi, Junki's bird!"
Kichōna's greeting was met with apprehensive tweeting.
"I got you some water, Junki."
"Thanks."
Ghidorah sat the water down on the table, and sat in a chair next to Junki's bed.
Kichōna happily followed and sat down next to him.
"Any trace of Sen, Ghidorah?"
"No. Kichōna says she hasn't seen her recently, either."
"Oh..."
Kichōna wasn't good at a lot of things, but she did notice that she was making things pretty awkward.
"Anything you guys wanna talk about?"
'Fixing the awkward situation' was one of things she wasn't good at, cheerful as she was.
"...Actually... I'm not sure this is the right time... but do you remember the Forest of Death?"
"Yeah."
She didn't really remember all that much.
"The Raikage... do... do you agree with what he said?"
"Oh, that you gotta do your best to help your friends grow? Totally!"
"No... that you have to try to kill your friends to bring out your best?"
"That? Totally! It makes a lot of sense when you think about it, and we all wanna be at our best, right? Besides, even if it didn't make sense, the Raikage said it. You gotta trust him!"
"...I see."
Junki spoke up.
"Kichōna... could you please leave?"
"Sure! Want me to fetch you something?"
"No... just... please leave."
"Gotcha! See you guys later!"
Kichōna happily jumped out of her chair, and waved goodbye to Junki and Ghidorah, letting her waving hand linger as she closed the door as much as she could without squishing herself.
"...Did you notice something up with her eye, Junki?"
"Who cares?"
Finally, Kichōna was back alone in the hall. Perfect timing, too. Shimabukuro was walking back down the hall, just as somber as when he first started walking with Kichōna.
"Excuse my absence, Kichōna. It was about someone dear to me... thankfully, it seems she'll be alright. I... I guess it's time to continue."
"Alright, Uncle Shima!"
And so, silently, Shimabukuro led Kichōna by her hand down the halls.
They went down many halls, made many turns, and walked for quite some time... and then they made it to their destination.
The morgue.
"K-Kichōna... I... I'm sorry. I'm, so, so sorry. I-I didn't know how to tell you."
They stopped, just before entering.
"I thought it would be easier for me to just show you... b-but I need to be brave for you, Kichōna... You deserve to make the choice yourself. Before we enter, let me know: do you want to see for yourself, or do you want me to tell you?"
Kichōna's heart sank. She knew that Shimabukuro was smart enough to tell that she wasn't very shaken up by random dead people. She probably told him herself at one point.
So for him to be acting like this, someone died that she knew and cared about.
"...It's ok, Uncle Shima. I'll see for myself. You can wait here."
"N-No, I'll... I'll come with you."
And, as they entered the door, they were first greeted by the mortician.
"You guys... Osamu's team, right? ...I'll leave you be."
It appeared that he heard of them. Likely from Osamu.
Kichōna examined the corpses lining the morgue, sat on the tables, most of them recently deceased.
Takeru, Kamare, Daiki, Mojo, and Nodao. All dead.
Kneeling in front of Kamare and Daiki, Fujiwara was paying his respects to the deceased. Fujiwara gave one understanding look at the duo who had entered, and went back to paying his respects.
Kichōna didn't know what to think.
She didn't know most of these people well, but they were still friends. They were supposed to be ninjas together.
And now they're not here anymore.
Of course, Nodao was different. Kichōna's best friend.
And as Kichōna looked at each and every fallen genin, before moving onto the next, she stopped and remained looking at Nodao's corpse.
Absolutely no signs of life.
Just like the puppets she thinks are adorable. Of course, the main reason why she loves them was because they'd get up and move again, no matter how broken they would get.
Nodao wouldn't.
Kichōna felt sadness and hatred well up inside of her. ...And some confusion.
"...How'd Nodao die, Uncle Shima?"
"I... I don't think you want to know..."
"Tell me."
"...Fire was set to the hospital, and there were fumes... She was bedridden..."
Shimabukuro caught himself. He realized too late that he said exactly what he didn't want to say.
"K-Kichōna, don't blame yourself! You couldn't have known... it... it was a match like any other, people get hospitalized. That was normal! This..."
Shimabukuro got on his knees and hugged Kichōna, who was unmoving.
"...This was an event out of your control! It never should have happened, but you're not responsible! Y-You couldn't have known!"
Kichōna just thought to herself.
She clutched the doll she always kept with her, and held it close to her chest.
"I... I did what he told me... why do I feel really bad? I don't like it... I... really don't like it... that's not right... this isn't right... t-this shouldn't have happened...! That's not... that's not right! I don't get it... I... I did this to Nodao... a-and those guys did this to Nodao...! And... and... Papa's not here... to make her better..."
Kichōna had tears in her eyes.
She felt like sobbing right there.
But something else gnawed at her.
She gritted her teeth, and grew angry at her own tears.
Through Magmafication, she dried them. A small amount of steam rose from her eyes. Her face of shock softened, and it transformed into a cold expression.
"...Uncle Shima, I have somewhere to be."
"K-Kichōna, n-no!"
Shimabukuro had tears in his eyes. This wasn't easy on him, and panic was beginning to set in.
"I understand... I understand that you want to avenge her, but... but there's no point right now! They won't get away, but it's too dangerous to try and fight them right now! W-With your eye, you can't!"
"...Are you sure? The people who took my eye... I think they're spread pretty thin. I have a good chance of killing a lot of them. I have whoever who set fire to the hospital to think about, too."
"N-No, Kichōna! Don't! Y-You can't!"
Kichōna paused, and she just stood there.
She then spoke calmly, concisely, and robotically.
"Uncle Shima, could you stop me?"
"...Huh?"
"If I kept going. Could you stop me?"
"...I don't know what you're asking."
"Would you hurt me? Would you use everything you had to keep me from going? You think I would get hurt out there, right? Or die. So, would you?"
"I... I..."
Fujiwara said nothing. He just watched.
"That's what I guessed. You should sit down. You've had a long day."
Kichōna left.
Walking away from Shimabukuro, and walking away from the morgue, she went out the doors.
She didn't say anything to the mortician, and he said nothing to her.
"Poor Uncle Shima... He doesn't understand... but this is the right thing to do. Once I'm finished, I should finally feel better... and so should everyone who matters."